disclaimer:
JK owns about everything here except the Silent Knight and my floorplan of Azkaban. Putting the traps down there almost cost me my life and selling off all my posessions after my death would get you practically nothing. I guess what my point is, don't sue me... please...?
With the news that the Dark Lord was finally going to give them what they wanted, Harry and Hermione redoubled their efforts on training. Hermione had gotten stuck into the Auror training manual while Harry had chosen to start training with the Sword of Gryffindor.
Hermione had disapproved of his training regime. It would slow him down to carry the sword, even if it was reasonably light, and it was unsafe to carry around a sword with no sheath. While Harry agreed that he definitely needed to get a sheath, he pointed out that a sword, he could decapitate someone without needing to flair his aura. His girlfriend had mulled it over for a short moment and then agreed.
They poured over the maps trying to memorise the forty floor fortress. Azkaban was a very confusing place, with cells in the most unusual places. There were cells in the middle of walkways that you had to walk around, cells suspended outside of the walls, even two cells contained within the large fountain situated in the very centre of the fortress.
Looking over the plans, Harry had to ask himself if anyone in Luna's lineage had anything to do with the design.
"Fifteen passages..." Hermione mumbled before dipping her quill and marking on the map a few areas.
"Hmn? What's that for?"
"Devil's snare." She replied, adding her newest symbol to the legend they were acquiring. "How are you going with wards?"
Harry sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "It's not looking good. There are wards to stop prisoners getting out. It won't be as simple as using a strong flow of magic to overpower these..."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "That's to be expected."
Each ward is keyed to a certain artefact which is stored in one of the forty nine offices... Harry rattled off his notes. I think it would be easier to use the imperious on a few guards and get them to lead us to the correct key.
Hermione gained a thoughtful look, which Harry associated with running her quill feather through her lips.
"There has to be a backup key somewhere." Hermione suggested. To Harry's blank stare, she added. "Imagine if a temporary inmate's artefact got broken, they've have to have some way to get through."
Harry looked at the map. "Here." Harry pointed at the Head Auror's office. "We'll make him give us the master key."
"Harry, look at all the obstacles between the entrance corridor and his office!" Hermione slapped her hand down on the corridor in question.
Harry looked at the icons of Devil's snare, leech lashes, swinging axes, and a myriad of other obstacles. "It kind of makes the Triwizard look like a walk in the park doesn't it?" He looked at the traps. "Wait a minute, look at all the traps they have around the place. How the hell do the Aurors get around that place?" Harry asked.
"It would be really slow going if there was a jailbreak. They'd spend so much time negating their own traps that there's no way they could stop one." Hermione agreed.
"I reckon there's another way around the place." Harry started rubbing his chin, finding it rough. He stared at his hand in disbelief, and then ran his hand over his cheek once more.
'I'm getting a stubble.' He thought to himself.
He looked at Hermione who was giving him a huge grin. "My baby boy is growing up." She said, wiping a fake tear from her eye.
School was becoming increasingly difficult to manage between too much homework and Ginny's continual advances. He tended to barricade himself behind a large pile of books, just so he could say "Look at how much homework I still have to do!"
The funniest thing was when he overheard her saying "I'm not going to wait for him forever" at the lunch table one day. It seemed at that point horribly insensitive for him to keep stringing her along like it would be okay one day in the future, but he desperately needed to keep Dumbledore in the dark about his relationship with Hermione.
They'd decided over the summer holidays that they were going to live in their cave together, away from everybody else, where they could be with each other and nobody could try to take them apart.
With two days before the Headmaster's expected return, Harry started to notice Draco sneering at him, which usually only meant trouble. It had been a fair while since he had seen that sneer at school. It worried him.
The evil grin was with him all through classes with the Slytherins, and it got to the point where Harry pulled Draco aside roughly after potions.
"Wipe that idiotic grin off your face Draco." He said in a calm quiet. "You're up to something that involves me, and if I don't like what it is... I'll kill you."
Draco's smile faded. "You know Potter, when you say it like that, I feel like I might even believe you." Then he grinned. "Not. Besides, I am planning something, but it doesn't involve you or your friend."
"I don't believe you." Harry spat.
"Susan Bones." Draco replied.
Harry stared at him for a moment. "When it comes to the food chain Draco, I'm higher up. Don't make plans involving me because I'll make sure they fail."
With that, Harry turned and left just as Snape came out of the room.
"Potter!" He called after him.
Harry didn't answer him and just kept walking.
Harry's day got even worse when he sat down for dinner and found that their school's illustrious headmaster was back two days early, twinkling his pretty little eyes at the students in the room.
Harry had to force himself not to look at Hermione in worry. Instead he looked at Ron who was staring at the Ravenclaw table with a dreamy look on his face. Harry followed his line of sight and found himself looking at Hermione anyway.
Harry looked back at Ron. "I still don't think it'll work mate." He told him.
"No, it will. I've got it all planned out."
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"I'm going to ask her help studying. Merlin knows, I need it. Don't know how I've gotten so far before, my grades have really slipped since last year."
Harry grinned. He had to admit, the fact that Hermione wasn't around made it easier to deal with Ron; their bickering now non-existent.
Harry felt that familiar brush against his mental shields and he looked up at Dumbledore to see him twinkling merrily in his direction. Dumbledore gave a polite nod and Harry smiled back. 'I wonder what he'd make of me being friendly...' He wondered to himself.
'Smile and shake the man's hand, then Avada Kedavra him in the gut when he's not paying attention. The look on his face would be worth it.' He thought to himself darkly. When was the old fool going to get it through his thick head that he couldn't breach Harry's mind.
It occurred to Harry that perhaps all the old man wanted was to get his attention. It had certainly achieved that. Perhaps that was Dumbledore's way of saying "Look, you failed, and I'm still alive. Now, I'm going to kill your girlfriend."
With that thought in his mind, Harry tore his eyes away from Dumbledore and went back to eating. He had to find some way to protect Hermione!
To make matters even worse, that night, Harry found a portkey with his name on it. He was to meet the Dark Lord alone. Harry did not want to go until he had met Hermione however.
She had appeared rather sleep deprived. It was evident to Harry that the idea of Dumbledore being back had been the cause of her lack of sleep.
Instead of studying, Harry insisted that she lay down on the bed and get some sleep. He assured her that she was safe here and that nobody would kill her in her sleep tonight.
Hermione became comfortable and drowsy as Harry watched over her. He ran his hand across her face, down her neck and over her breast.
He was still embarrassed to touch her there, but she gave a small moan of pleasure at him doing so. She appreciated it and with Harry's gentle ministrations, she was soon asleep.
He didn't tell her about the portkey to meet the Dark Lord, it would only add to her worries and make it harder for her to sleep. And so, as she slept, Harry rose from her side, donned his cloak and mask, and took the portkey to the Dark Lord's manor.
He arrived in a fancily decorated foyer. It was dimly lit, as was to be expected for this time of night.
Bellatrix Lestrange was waiting for him when he appeared.
"You're late." She told him.
"Dumbledore is back at the school." The Baron replied. "I had to be extra careful tonight."
"The Dark Lord will see you immediately." She started walking down the halls and Harry found himself dying to ask her one question.
"Why did you give me that book?"
"It was a joke you stupid kid." She grumbled. "I never expected you to actually learn from it." She turned a corner and led him past a set of knight armour, which reminded Harry vaguely of Hogwarts.
"The fact that you turned up here at all still amazes me, though I know the Dark Lord keeps you around simply for his own amusement."
"That doesn't matter to me." Harry told her. "As long as I get what I want, he can put me under the imperious and make me dance a jig for his entertainment if that's what he cared for."
Bellatrix grinned nastily. "If you were capable of wandless magic, an attitude like that would go far, but until you make him realise you're not just a joke, you're nothing to him, and you're even less to me."
She stopped at a couple of large doors adorned with a carved pattern of a large scale battle. Harry would have liked to have stared at it longer, but his host pushed on the doors, leading Harry to the dining hall of the Dark Lord.
The dining hall seemed like a glorified version of the Baron's own training hall, plus an oversized table. The Dark Lord Voldemort sat at the other end of the table, to the Left hand side of the head seat.
Next to him, on the table, lay the Sorting Hat.
Behind the head table were seventeen prisoners, and standing near the pillars were Voldemort's followers. Lucius, Wormtail, Knight, Severus, and several others that Harry did not know.
He stared at one man whom he did recognise in the room. Victor Krum stood at attention, in full Death Eater garb, minus the mask.
Harry followed Bellatrix down the table, opposite Voldemort.
"Baron Black, I'm glad you came." The Dark Lord said as he gestured to his ally to take a seat.
Harry sat himself down in front of his master. "It's rather rare you wish to speak with me, it would have been rude to pass up the invitation."
"Yes, yes it would have been."
"Who are the flunky's?" Harry asked, indicating his head towards the prisoners.
"Oh, they're just here for some entertainment." He replied nonchalantly.
Harry lifted an eyebrow, but he doubted that Voldemort could see it. Looking them over, he saw in their ranks Kingsley. He guessed that these were the people that were captured in their blitzkrieg.
"Join me for a game." Voldemort said, pulling out a deck of exploding snap cards. "I'm sure that you've played this a few times, yes?"
Harry blinked a couple of times and sat down as the Dark Lord deftly shuffled the cards. "You seem surprised Baron."
Harry laughed. "I suppose I am, I guess it's just kind of hard to imagine you spending your time playing card games and not plotting to take over the place."
"And what makes you think I'm not doing that by playing this game?" He asked as he dumped half the deck in front of Harry and put down his first card, a five.
Harry flipped a two onto the table. "Well, I wouldn't imagine you scheming over a deck of cards. But it's still hard to imagine you doing normal things."
"I eat, sleep and go to the toilet just like everybody else." He replied, flipping a nine onto the table.
Harry laughed as he threw a card down, a nine. The Dark Lord's hand came down like a cannonball and hit the cards.
Harry had expected them to explode, but they stayed intact. Instead the dark lord lifted his hand and waved it over the card, enchanting it and then banished it to the auror behind Harry. The man screamed as the card flew towards him, and on impact, exploded, leaving the man little more than a blood stain on the wall and floor.
"Interesting variation." Harry muttered.
"It's called 'House Rules'." Voldemort grinned. "We're playing for a prize each." He told Harry as he flipped a king onto the table.
Harry flipped a two. "I'm listening."
"It would appear that the venerable Sorting Hat wants to be in your possession, now that it has fulfilled my wishes in getting past the mental defences of a few choice people. I thought it would be more interesting for you to win the right to have it." An ace.
Harry raised an eyebrow as he played a three. "And if you win?"
Voldemort played a three, to which Harry's hand landed on the cards first. Harry passed his wand over the card turning it into a very sharp blade, engorged it and sent it to the auror to the right of his opponent. The auror had a stunned look on his face as the upper half of his body slid off the lower half.
Voldemort looked at the mess in appreciation. "If I win, your Baroness carries my heir."
Harry's eyes flashed in fury. "That was not part of our agreement!"
"I'm making it a part of our agreement. I need a particular breed of child to sacrifice for my experiment and I'm willing to bet that Sorting Hat that she would have powerful offspring."
Harry stood up and started walking to the door.
"Avada Kedavra." Voldemort's magic blew a hole in the ground next to Harry. "Sit down and play Baron, or you'll lose both of your lives."
Harry ground his teeth before reluctantly sitting down.
"The first one to kill the Order auror in the middle wins." He said, finishing off the rules to the game. "I don't see what the big fuss is about. You're not married. I have seen little to suggest that you two even have anything other than a mutual agreement to kill Dumbledore."
Harry threw a five onto the table. "Actually, I'm waiting to ask the Baroness' parents for their consent to Marriage."
A nine. "Then beat me Baron, if you can."
There were now fifteen aurors lined up, with Kingsley looking in fear, it didn't matter who won, he was dead. Harry flipped out his next card and they began a flurry of flicking cards.
From Kingsley's perspective, it was going to be a close game. With six down in the Dark Lord's favour and five in the Baron's, the prisoners left were sweating, along with Harry.
Harry placed a three on the table. 'I can't let him win!' He thought angrily.
His opponent placed a card on the table. Another three! Harry barely thought about it as the Dark Lord's hand came down. Harry's instincts took over and he flicked a card off the top of his deck which landed face down under Voldemort's hand.
The older man raised an eyebrow and flipped the card over. A queen. Harry let out a breath.
The old man placed a queen down and Harry's hand landed on it. They were tied.
"A close game Baron. Let us decide her fate."
Voldemort flipped his card. A drop of sweat ran down Harry's cheek. Harry's card was different.
Different.
Different.
Different.
Different.
Different.
Same!
Voldemort's hand came slamming down on the top of Harry's. He had done it by a microsecond.
"Very well, you win." Voldemort smiled. "I guess I'll have to have the other one I had in mind then picked up."
Harry let out a loud sigh and flicked his wand, sending every card towards Kingsley, having them all swarm him with papercuts, leaving him to bleed to death.
"Leave her out of any schemes you may cook up like that, we'll assassinate for you, but that was just below the belt."
Voldemort stood up and in the blink of an eye had cast the cruciatus on Harry who slumped in his chair as he writhed in pain.
'Come on Harry!' he desperately thought to himself. 'Releasing your magic was worse than this!'
Abruptly, the pain finished and a very angry Voldemort was standing over him.
"Do not overstep your bounds boy! I will not go near your mudblood again, but I will not tolerate you thinking you have any control over me. Try it one more time and it will be you lying in a pool of blood! Now take the damned hat and get out of my sight!"
The sorting hat was thrown at Harry who painfully picked himself up off the floor and stumbled down the length of the table.
He heard someone snickering at him towards the door as he moved past. Harry stopped next to him and stared at him. He did not know the man. With four flicks of his wand, magic as powerful as he could manage, he fired four ethereal stakes into each hand and foot, the force of which pushed him to the wall, pinning him there.
The man screamed in pain.
Harry spared a glance at Voldemort who did not look impressed.
With two more flicks, either one landing next to his either ear Harry turned to leave. "Don't laugh at me."
Harry tried desperately to carry his dignity until he got to the front of the manner where he could apparate out and back to the cave.
As Harry stumbled and tried to straighten himself, Hermione came running.
"HARRY!" She screamed as she caught him. "What happened? Are you alright!"
Harry looked at his love and realised exactly what it was that Voldemort would have done to her had he lost the game. "I'm sorry..." Harry murmured. "Oh god Hermione, I am so sorry..." He cried as he slumped to the ground and wept.
"Thank Merlin you're alright! I was so scared when you weren't here!" She cradled the cloaked figure and realised he was cradling the Sorting Hat in his hands.
"It was a nasty game he played for your sake." The hat said to her, surprising them both. "Played with the world on his shoulders the boy did and didn't even realise the true stakes."
"What do you mean?" Hermione demanded.
"Tom Riddle forced Harry to play a game where if he lost, Riddle would have made you carry his child so that he could sacrifice it for his immortality."
"HE WHAT!?" Hermione screamed at the hat. "How could you Harry!?" She demanded.
"I didn't have a choice." Harry replied softly. "I tried to leave the game, but there was no way I could leave with so many Death Eaters and Voldemort surrounding me. I had to play."
"Yes well, now that he won, I can see about giving you both the knowledge you need to beat both Albus Dumbledore and Tom Riddle."
They both stared at the hat in disbelief. "You what?"
"You heard me. You think I wanted to be in your home because you'd give me better company?" The hat replied indignantly. "I have a job to do."
"What job?" Harry asked the hat as he wiped his eyes and ushered Hermione into the study. "I thought you were just for sorting first years into their houses."
"Boy, I anoint kings and queens, I chose leaders. Sorting children into houses is a menial task that the four founders thought would keep me amused for one night."
"So why exactly are you in our possession then?"
"You're smarter than that Granger. You've already figured out why I'm here, you just don't want to admit it."
Harry blinked, Hermione grimaced.
"You want us to lead?" Harry asked.
"Yes." The hat replied.
"Lead what?"
"Wizarding Britain." Hermione replied. "You want us to take out the two controlling figures of Britain."
The hat flexed in acknowledgement. "And I shall give you the key to your success," The hat replied. "A potion, a very dangerous potion, but one I think you can handle."
The following day at school, Harry fumed as he mulled over what the hat had told him. The thought of drinking such a potion made him want to hurl. You could not drink a potion with the ingredients given and not be changed.
Hermione had cracked a fit just reading the potion's ingredients; requiring two human sacrifices, a litre of unicorn blood, two drops of werewolf spittle, and ashes of a phoenix, just to list the more exotic ingredients.
There was no doubt about it; the potion was going to be incredibly powerful. It was also incredibly dark magic.
Hermione had spent the rest of the previous night doing calculations on what effects different stages in the potion would produce. She wanted to know all of the side effects and what the end result would be.
When Hermione realised that the first quarter of the potion would have similar effects as a fertility potion, she had scratched it all out and sworn that she would not drink the potion.
Harry remembered what the Sorting Hat had said to her after her revelation. "Love is a powerful force to be reckoned with Granger. Potter of all people should know that a spell that is the embodiment of love is what kept him attached to this world when the killing curse hit him.
"If you are serious about stopping Dumbledore and Voldemort, you need a magic so strong, that it can only be made out of love of the purest kind, and there is no love greater than that generated by parents who willingly conceive a child."
Harry too had screamed at the hat. It was nigh on impossible for the both of them to willingly bring a child into a world where they would either be obliviated into submission by Dumbledore or they would probably be used as weapons of war by the Dark Lord.
There was no way that Harry could do that, and Hermione was absolutely ropable. Harry had petrified her in order to stop her from tearing the hat to shreds. After that, she was all about tearing Harry to shreds instead.
He had no idea why he had saved the stupid hat. Merlin knows that he wanted to do it himself.
Emotions ran high on the current day as Ron came dancing into the dorm, swinging off everyone's bed posts and singing Happy Day as Harry tried to read over his Astronomy textbook.
"What's got you in such a happy mood?" He demanded.
"Hermione!" Ron gleefully replied.
Harry felt a twinge of jealousy. "She accepted your study group idea did she?"
"No! But she knows my name!"
"You're the keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, of course she knows your name." He informed Ron resentfully.
"You just don't know how it feels to be in love!" Ron announced. "My sister is still available."
Harry could have puked. 'No, I know what it feels like to be in love, I also know what it feels like to have some stranger hitting on your girlfriend.' He thought to himself. "Sorry Ron, but I don't think I'll be able to even consider it until after the exams. I'm really struggling as it is myself."
And so the week passed slowly, Draco's sneers had stopped which made Harry relax a little. He assumed that Draco had either backed off or fulfilled his other plan. He doubted this was the case however as Susan Bones was still sitting at the Hufflepuff table talking animatedly, none the wiser that Draco was drilling holes into the back of her head with his eyes.
After hearing his request and given specifications, Knight had been willing to hunt down a sheath for the sword of Gryffindor. What had been delivered to Harry's home did not suit the sword at all, it wasn't even properly shaped, but as the note left by Knight said, "It will do for now."
Apparently the Headmaster was approaching Hermione on a regular basis for her to see him in his office, but Hermione had insisted that she was far too busy doing homework to see him at the moment.
It helped that whenever Hermione wasn't in class, she was honestly trying to stay ahead in her classes. The fact that Dumbledore would always find her in the library studying did her credit.
Harry's heart was jumping erratically as he donned his Baron cape once more in preparation for their attack on Azkaban.
He looked at Hermione meaningfully as she held her mask loosely in her hand.
"This is it Hermione. Let's do our best and get your parents back."
He looked into her eyes and saw fierce determination. She was ready.
Harry stepped close and kissed her.
Hermione tilted her head and slipped her tongue into his mouth.
When they pulled apart, Harry could see her smiling as she placed her mask on top of her face. The Baroness would play this night.
They were amongst the other Death Eaters, awaiting their instructions. They knew that they would be portkeying onto a boat along side three others. It was up to them to drop the anti-portkey wards so that the other sixty could get in.
Lucius Malfoy's voice rang out from the stairs in the foyer. "When we get inside, you will break into teams of five. You are to each secure a floor while the strike team gets a hold of the keys to the cells. The strike team consists of... Draco, Wormtail, Barons Black and the Silent Knight. It will be lead by the Barons, you will all follow their orders. Understood?"
Harry grimaced. A strike team with Draco, this would not bode well. He would put aside his differences on this particular night, but his biggest concern was whether Draco could put aside his...
There was a high pitched noise came from an object in Lucius' hand. "That's the signal! Go!"
The strike team all reached for and grabbed the lifebuoy-portkey and found themselves on a boat in a storm, the rain pelted against them and visibility was almost impossible.
The only way that Harry could see the four aurors guarding the boat was by their shining auras which shimmered in the rain.
He and Hermione dashed towards the front of the boat, each using a lethal spell to dispatch their enemies before they had a chance to react.
Knight and Draco had dispatched the boat's captain and the rear guard.
As Knight moved to take over the boat, Draco went down to the holds to free the death eaters and an accountant from the cells there.
Wormtail was retching over the rails of the boat.
"You're pathetic Wormtail." Hermione told him as they walked past on the way to see Knight.
They waited patiently as the boat moved towards the shore. As soon as they were inside the anti-apparition wards, Draco and the three convicted Death Eaters threw the accountant overboard.
Victor Krum entered the cabin. "You vere lucky. If you vere anoser three minutes, you vould haf missed your chance."
Harry snorted. "There was no possibility of that. This mission is too important to screw up like that."
Knight pulled three wands out of his cloak. "Make good use of them Krum."
Krum took the wands and left.
"I'm surprised you never told Bellatrix and friends that I could do wandless magic." Harry told Knight when they were alone.
"I figured there was a reason you were hiding it. Truth is that you and I are very alike Baron. I joined the Dark Lord as the lesser of two evils, not because I believe in his way of life."
They waited in silence for half an hour as the boat neared the shore of Azkaban fortress.
In the rain, all you could see was a large institution looming in the distance.
As the boat crashed into the shore, the strike team jumped off onto the sand and scrambled up the small mountain face. This was not an easy task in the rain. It would have been impossible without the aid of magic.
When they reached the top, Wormtail pulled out a small disc, tapped his wand on it and said a lengthy incantation.
The disc flared and a beam of light shot out of it into the sky where it poked a hole in the clouds.
A second later, all of the death eaters from the foyer were portkeying into the area around them.
"Right on time guys, start the second phase!" Hugh Flint called.
They broke up into their individual teams and ran towards Azkaban fortress. There were no windows, no doors, no visible way of getting in or out.
"Stand aside runt." Wormtail said roughly as he barged past and put another disc on the wall. A second later, a hole appeared in the wall. "Inside everyone now!" He yelled.
Harry jumped in the hall, brandishing his wand. He looked around quickly. Nobody was there.
They kept closely together while the other groups got their bearings.
Hermione had already ascertained their position long before they even got on the island. Harry had seen her scribing the map on the inside of her mask two nights before. He had thought that she would be ruining her mask, but instead, she had a map of the first floor overlayed on her vision.
She had refused to do it to Harry's mask to ensure that one of them had perfect vision.
The strike team set off through the corridors, Knight leading the way for the most part. He lead them down certain corridors steered them away from others and deftly disarmed traps that were unavoidable.
Harry was amazed at the skill this guy showed.
"We're going to the head auror's office." Hermione directed him.
"Why?" Knight asked.
"To get the master key."
Knight thought for a moment and then led them in another direction. "This way then."
"You sure know your way around here." Draco commented.
"What do you expect?" Wormtail replied. "He's an ex-auror who was stationed here."
Harry was stunned, but followed Knight's quick pace.
"There's no guards anywhere." Knight commented. "What's going on here?"
Baron Black was also quite concerned at the apparent lack of defence in the place. "A trap?"
"Maybe, keep your eyes keen."
"If there is nobody around here," The Baroness stated. "It would be best to just grab the keys, rather than go for the master."
"Are you stupid Black?" Malfoy asked. "The sheer number of cells in this place make the logistics of grabbing that many keys completely unmanageable."
"The kid's right." Knight agreed. "You had it right the first time, we should have planned on getting that key right from the start."
They followed the passages, as directed by the former employee, stopping only to disarm traps. "Here." He led them to a dead end and tapped on a few bricks. "This is the safe way to the head auror's office."
They warily moved forward, unnecessarily of course, until they got to the other end of the secret passage, leading them to a safe part of the hallway to the main office.
"I don't like this." Wormtail muttered.
"That's because you're a coward." Draco replied.
"Keep it together guys, we're a team until this job is done."
They approached the doors leading to the office. The huge office was empty and poorly lit, with just a few candle sticks to give any indication someone had stayed here at all. It was a grey brick room with nobody there. Wooden shelves were propped up against all walls and two large windows allowed the team to see the rain splashing against the glass.
The team moved forward tentatively.
Knight however was quite suspicious.
"I would have thought there'd be someone here." Harry said as he approached the desk.
When Knight took one step further into the room, the doors slammed shut.
"What the fu--"
Lightning struck, showing shadows of people in a room under an illusion charm.
Fifty Aurors stood around them in a circle and went invisible as the darkness enveloped them once more.
From in front of them, a man clapped his hands and the darkness dispelled into a well lit office, "You've done well, you brought them as you promised." A skinny, balding man sitting behind the head desk called. He had a scar that went from his forehead, down his nose, through his lips and down to the right of his chin. He was looking straight at Draco.
"Phillips, it's good to see you again. Though I wish you wouldn't wear those rags, they're most unbecoming." The man said to Knight.
Harry looked at Draco and whispered. "You're a dead man Draco. I warned you."
Draco grinned back and stepped off to one side, away from the group. "I'm not the dead one Potter."
Wormtail snapped around and looked at the Baron. "P-p-p-potter!?"
Harry stepped forward. "I'm only going to ask this once. Where is the cell of the Granger couple."
"The Grangers? Those Death Eaters?" He waved his wand at a filing cabinet and a file came flying out of it and into his hand. "I don't usually do requests, but lets see... Arrived here, placed in cell Fifteen-five. Two days later, we received an order for immediate execution. Given the kiss that day and then cremated."
Harry couldn't believe his ears, his Baroness slumped to the floor. "No..." She whispered.
"Who gave that order!?" He yelled.
"That's classified."
"NO!" Hermione screamed. "I'll kill you all! I WILL!"
"Pettigrew, do what you do best." Knight whispered to him as he fired a reducto at the nearest auror.
Peter nodded and turned himself into a rat, aurors desperately aiming at the scurrying beast.
Harry cast a shield around both Hermione and himself and then fired a stupefy at Draco who was caught completely off-guard and fell like a rock to the floor.
Hermione released her magic, blinding everyone in the room capable of seeing them and in a scream of anguish, she released a half a dozen ethereal daggers which flew around the room attacking everything in their path.
Harry ducked to avoid one and released his own magic, pouring deadly curses at those unaffected by her display of power.
Knight desperately shielded himself from the flying daggers that were flying wildly through the room, running through half a dozen men.
Harry disillusioned himself and removed the Sword of Gryffindor from it's sheath.
Dodging a dagger, Harry charged at the nearest standing auror who conjured a shield to block one of the daggers as Harry swung.
Much to Harry's surprise, the sword sliced straight through the shield and embedded itself in the man.
The rat scampered around the floor frantically trying to avoid two falling bodies and getting covered with blood in the process.
The head auror conjured up a thin mist which enabled him to see where the invisible Black had gone.
Harry had to shield himself as he ran forward dodging spells and sliced the next man's arm off who screamed and fell to the floor clutching the stump.
As the number of Aurors fell, Knight found himself able to stop blocking and started firing a few spells of his own.
The aurors were getting desperate; there was only a couple left. Another one slipped over a pool of blood and felt an invisible blade pierce his heart.
The look in Hermione's eye was fearsome to anybody who looked at her face. Knight himself would describe this attack as 'the night the devil answered her call'. Her tears streaked down her face as she used the most powerful and horrible spells she knew.
Those that were not hit by the daggers were reduced to bones, or less. She repaid her anger and torment out on everybody in the room, not even realising that Harry too... Her love, was being sliced up in places. His left arm hung limply at his side as he plunged the sword of Gryffindor through the neck of the last auror.
There was nobody left standing except the three of them.
"Baroness!" Knight called urgently as Hermione's daggers continued to fly around the room.
"Hermione!" Harry yelled as he removed his disillusionment and held her by the arms, forcing her to look at him.
Her eyes were unfocussed, she didn't see him, but the tears were still falling down her face.
"HERMIONE!" Harry screamed urgently as he shook her. "Snap out of it Hermione!"
He hugged her fiercely and her sobbing slowed. "H-Harry?"
"I'm here baby." He whispered to her as he cradled her head. "I'm here."
As he held her, the daggers stopped flying and one by one, fell to the ground.
"They're gone Harry..." She whispered. "Oh my god... They're gone."
"Accio Granger file." Knight called. Nothing came to him. "Damn. It was destroyed in the fight." Looking around the office, everything was covered in blood. The shelves were nothing but splinters. Even the desk had been reduced to nothing.
Hermione lurched. "I think I'm--" Hermione pushed Harry away violently, pulled up her mask and threw up on the floor.
Harry rubbed her on the back until she had finished. She lifted her hand from the ground and stared at the blood that was all over it. "What have I done?" She asked herself.
"You saved us all." Knight said as he moved to where the head auror was. The man was still alive. Just.
"Phillips you traitor." He heaved his lungs.
"Fix him up Knight." Harry called. "He's going to be a trophy."
"I have to kill him."
"The Dark Lord will want a high up trophy to play with." Harry insisted.
"He killed my wife and baby girl Baron!" He said. "This man's life belongs to me."
Harry stared at him. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't know."
Knight looked at the man. "Fifteen years Ben." He whispered. "I've waited fifteen years for my revenge. You killed my child. She was my world, and you took her from me."
"It was ordered, I couldn't disobey."
"You could have! YOU SHOULD HAVE! She was my baby!" Knight shouted.
"There was a prophecy..."
"THERE IS ALWAYS A PROPHECY!"
"Fifteen children had to be killed in order to stop Britain from falling, if even one of them survived, it would mean the end of it all. That's what the prophecy stated. We all swore at the academy--"
Harry perked up his ears. "Did you kill every one of those children?"
"No. Three are still alive, we've been trying to hunt them down for years."
'She should have been killed the moment she was born.' Moody's last words before he died crept back to him. "Why did they have to be killed? What were the conditions!?"
"Children, marked with the star behind their ear, their ultimate happiness will be the destruction of the world as we know it."
Harry frowned. The last thing he wanted to hear about right now was prophecies.
"You'll never hurt another child again." Knight said lowly. "Avada Kedavra,"
Peter Pettigrew had transformed back into a human and grabbed a locket from around the deceased man's neck. "This would be the key." He said to everyone.
"Give it to me." Harry demanded, reaching out for it. "I'm taking Draco back with me, and nobody is to speak about it. Understand me. Not Lucius, not Voldemort, not even your familiar. Do I make myself clear?"
They both nodded.
Harry helped Hermione get up, but she was no longer willing to move under her own steam. "Come on my love, let's finish this."
"I don't want to Harry, just leave me alone. There is no reason for me to go on anymore."
"Hermione, I need you. Please." He looked into her eyes, willing her to understand. "You have to live. For their sakes. I know that when my parents died, they did it so that I could live, you have to believe that's what your parents wanted for you too!"
"You don't know that Harry, they might not have, if Dumbledore did not want them to believe that, they wouldn't."
"You know what I believe?" Harry asked her. "I believe that once someone dies, their spirits are able to see the truth."
"The truth Harry? The truth is that I just killed all these people! Why would my parents want me to live for that!? I have one of those stupid stars!" She cried, folding back her left ear.
Behind the ear was a delicate and perfect four pointed star, a birthmark.
Knight approached her. "I don't think you have to worry about that my girl. My daughter had one of those stars too and I knew what the prophecy said. That doesn't man that I wanted her to die. Truth be told, I'd be damned happy if my children came after me knowing they did everything in their power to rescue me from something I did. Even if I didn't.
"In fact, you know what, I am proud of you, even if you're not my daughter."
Hermione looked up at him and wiped her eyes. "T-Thank you Knight. That means a lot to me."
Harry smiled at him and mouthed 'thanks' as he picked up her mask.
Hermione was far from happy, but Knight's words gave her the ability to move forward.
They stepped out of the office, with Knight levitating a disillusioned Draco's body behind him, Harry supporting Hermione with an arm around her waist.
They made it back to the stair well and moved up to the next level.
"What took you so bloody--"
"Bloody is the word." The second floor team stated as he saw the look of the strike team, Wormtail looking like he'd gone for a swim in a pool of blood.
"Enough with the small talk." Knight told them, "How many on this level?"
"None."
"Then regroup on the next available level."
They headed up to the floor above.
"Fifteen people on this level, none death eaters."
"Free them all." Harry told the masked man.
"All of them?" The man asked.
"You heard me! Move it!" Harry demanded, handing over the key. The man scurried off. "I've got to get back to school before the night is out." He mumbled. "Ouch!" He winced as Hermione tugged on his injured arm to steady herself.
"Sorry," She mumbled.
"Don't worry about it." Harry turned to Knight. "Is anybody checking the underwater cages?"
"There's nothing but trouble down there Baron." The older man replied.
"I don't care, we're getting everybody out. Make sure everybody understands that. Take care of things for a moment." Harry said as he wrapped his arm around Hermione and headed back to the first floor.
"Baron! You don't have the key!"
Harry ignored him. It didn't matter if he had the key if there was nobody there in the first place, but he just needed to be sure.
"Are you okay?" He asked his girl.
"What kind of a stupid question is that?" She retorted weakly.
When the Baron found the large, overflowing fountain housing the two underwater cages, he placed Hermione at the edge of the pool and cast a bubblehead charm.
The water was ice cold and uninviting.
There were no plants, nothing in the bottom of the water. Not even fish.
All Harry could see were the two cages.
The first one was empty, but there was definitely something in the one furthest away from him.
He moved towards the cage, filled with air. Inside was a sleeping figure, half his height and looking incredibly pale.
Harry just about choked, and then remembered that he was breathing air.
He surfaced as quickly as he could.
"Hermione!" He called. "There's a young girl down there."
This was one thing that snapped Hermione completely out of her reverie. "What!?"
"We have to get her out of there!" He called.
Together, they used a wandless version of evanesco to evaporate the water from the pool.
With the water gone, Harry jumped into the pool and held his arms out to Hermione who jumped into them.
"We're not going to be able to break through that ward Harry!" Hermione informed him.
Harry cast his ward detection spell, only to find it did not work.
"Let's try overpowering it together."
"Are you sure that's safe?"
"We might be able to do it together." He said pleading. "We have to get her out of there, she looks sick!"
Hermione shook her head but put her hand on the bars and her aura increased to it's maximum level. The ward glowed red and began buzzing.
Harry too closed his eyes and let go of his magic, feeding it into the ward. It started to glow so hot that he could feel the heat and he started to sweat.
The magic they were pouring in was not enough, the ward held still, and then they both felt it. A third flow of magic. Weak, but enough.
The ward shattered, bringing Harry and Hermione back into the real world.
They stared into the cage as a small girl in an elegant dress collapsed once more.
"Diffindo" Harry sliced open the door and grabbed the small girl.
The girl weakly snuggled up to him as he cradled her in his arms.
"We have to get her out of here."
"We have to get ourselves out of this pond first." Hermione replied.
Harry raised his wand at the wall, aiming slightly upwards.
"Diffindo" His spell flung forwards into the wall, throwing dirt, rocks and concrete everywhere, but creating a ramp for them and careened into the walls of Azkaban.
Screams were heard from inside the building.
"Uhhh... SORRY!" Harry called up to them.
With a child around his neck and his arm around his beloved, Harry lead them back to the stairs where he waited for the Death Eaters to finish freeing everyone. He guessed that the time was around four in the morning. He really needed to get back to Hogwarts as soon as possible.
"Hurry it up!" Harry called.
A group of un-uniformed men came down the stairs, Harry assumed that these were his gifts to the Dark Lord. "Alright everyone!" He called over the dwinding, but still strong rain. "Line up outside! Don't try and run away or you'll drop dead before the third step."
"Wormtail! Get your ratty arse down here!" Harry called. "Go find something we can make a portkey out of, long enough for every prisoner here."
He returned shortly after with a long rope which he had acquired from one of Azkaban's disarmed traps. With a mutter of 'portus' They had themselves a Portkey long enough for a hundred and fifty men, women and a couple of werewolves.
As everyone gathered in the courtyard, Knight called out. "Alright everyone grab the rope. If anybody is left behind, I'll avada your arse. Wormtail, open that ward."
Peter grumbled but pulled out another of those discs, and once the familiar light lit up the easing clouds, all but five and a half people were left, four and a half of them visible.
"The mission went well kids, I'm very proud of you both." Knight said to them. "I hope that we can work together again in the future."
Harry smiled and turned to Pettigrew. "Tell anybody about our identity or our magic and I'll see that you end up like Malfoy."
Pettigrew gulped and tentatively reached out for the brick he was using as a portkey.
Harry pulled out the portkey to the cave and held it out for everyone. He gripped especially tight onto the child. She would not go to Voldemort. That just seemed too cruel.
A second later, there was nobody left in Azkaban except a bunch of spiders, rodents and a single kneezle called 'custard' who was mourning the passing of his owner.
Harry placed each of the girls in one of the beds and wished them a safe rest
Knight removed the disillusionment from Draco, leaving him on the floor. "What are you going to do with this little creep."
Harry glared at the traitor and put the stasis charm on him, collapsing to the floor from the effort.
"You're weak kid, you should stop doing such excessive magic for a bit."
"I'm fine." Harry insisted, but still wobbled as he pushed himself up.
while he dealt with the Dark Lord again. He hated facing Voldemort, but he did bring quite a gift this time.
Harry apparated to the manor where everybody else was waiting.
"Baron Black." The voice of Voldemort rang from the steps. Harry looked up to him and approached the man, kissing the hand that was offered to him. "Who are all of these people you have brought?"
"Whatever you want them to be my lord." Harry replied smoothly. "I have brought your death eaters and everybody else in the prison. I thought you might enjoy some more people to torture when you are mad, or perhaps, time willing, you could save seventeen for a casual game of snap... for the fun of it."
Voldemort sneered. "Were there any casualties?"
"Just one my lord." Harry replied. "It seems that young master Malfoy tried to lead the strike team into a trap and got killed in the crossfire."
Lucius Malfoy shook with rage. "How dare you!" He screamed. "My son would never do anything against the Dark Lord!"
Voldemort put his hand in front of Lucius. "Knight, Wormtail. The truth."
"It is as he said my lord." Wormtail agreed slowly.
"He tells the truth my lord. The trap seems to have been laid for me." Knight said, taking the heat off of Harry a little.
"Very well, Death is too good for a traitor..." Voldemort sounded disappointed. "Prisoners to my holding cells, the rest of you may enjoy the rest of your night."
Snape, Bellatrix and Lucius moved to manage the prisoners.
"And what of your quest, my young friend?" Voldemort asked.
"Dead, my lord. The Baroness will probably grieve for a while."
Voldemort looked almost sad for a moment. "Another reason to see the old man dead."
The Baron nodded gravely. "Yes sir, yes it is. With your leave, I wish to take care of her."
"Very well. You have pleased me this night Baron."
Harry bowed to his head and apparated home.
Harry took off his mask and sighed. It was not yet light outside. Thank god for that.
Much to Harry's surprise, Hermione was up and walking around their home with a serene look on her face. "Harry. You're home." She sounded unnaturally calm.
"Hermione?"
"I'm fine Harry, I asked the Sorting Hat to move my thoughts to my subconscious for a while. He says they won't stay there long, but I should be able to get back to school now."
"You're sure you're ok?" She nodded. "And what of our little friend?"
"Yes, well... There's something you need to know about her." Hermione told him with a wince.
"What?"
"She's a vampire."
Author's note:
I'm sure there's a few people who hate me for this chapter, but a lot of this chapter is what I've had in mind ever since I read the challenge in the first place.
One of my goals for this chapter was to show that Voldemort is a scheming person, an evil scheming person. I never wanted to give the impression that he was any better than Dumbledore. Having said that, he's been reincarnated, but Voldemort is first and foremost, still human (if only barely). He does still have emotions too.
I was thinking of leaving off that last line, but the last thing I wanted to do was to give a total cliffhanger at the end of this particular chapter.
I offer my appologies and the promise of a bit of fluff next chapter. (There's a cute little vampire kid, how could that not be cute?) So please continue reading, things will probably start looking up from here.
--Steven