Forsaken
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,174
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,174
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
The Line Drawn in the Sand
Chapter 40- The Line Drawn in the Sand
Kingsley rubbed his eyes, feeling the grit against his eyelids as he muttered a count under his breath. He swiftly removed the glass stirring rod from the cauldron and held his hand under it as he moved it to the sink. Molly stuck her head into the kitchen.
“How’s it coming, Kingsley?” she asked.
“It’s coming,” he answered hoarsely. He cleared his throat, looking away from the woman’s haggard appearance. “I’ve got to go. I have to be at the Ministry in half an hour.”
“At six?” said Molly incredulously. Kingsley shrugged.
“Robards is being a hard ass,” said Kingsley. “Excuse my language.” She waved her hand at him, dismissing his apology.
“I can finish this if you want to go,” said Molly, walking over beside the stove where he was brewing. “Minerva should be here later this morning.”
“Thanks, Molly,” said Kingsley gratefully. “I left off just here.” He pointed to a line scratched out in black ink. She frowned and bent down closer to the book.
“Severus really has atrocious handwriting,” muttered Molly. Kingsley smiled and strode over to one of the armchairs in front of the smoldering fireplace, picking up his cloak from over the back of the chair.
“I’ll be back when I get off,” said Kingsley, “although that may be late tonight. Fridays are always the worst.”
“I’ll keep some dinner warm for you, then,” said Molly, checking the clock on the wall. She picked up the handful of chopped nettles and sprinkled it into the potion as Kingsley hurried towards the door. He held it open for Ginny and slipped past her on his way upstairs.
He loathed the thought of going in to work - just another day of dodging tricky, damning questions about his whereabouts on the night of December first.
The look of indignation on Scrimgeour’s face when Dawlish made his report Tuesday morning was priceless, though.
The kids had done a good job covering their tracks. All of the Death Eaters they caught - Derrick Bole, Terence Higgs, Xavier Summers, Kenneth Towler and Penelope Clearwater - knew nothing about the identity of their captors or even how they had ended up bound and gagged inside the lift where Dawlish found them. Their trials had been conducted the following day. A formality, really. The Dark Marks on their arms condemned them before they were ever ushered into Courtroom Ten under heavy Auror guard.
He paused at the bottom of the staircase, glancing up at the second floor landing. Harry usually woke up for a few hours late in the morning, long enough for Molly to cram a bit of food down his throat along with an entire apothecary of potions from Minerva before he fell back into a deep sleep. Severus had yet to wake even once.
Kingsley rubbed his face, pushing his worry and concern to the back of his mind as he hurried towards the front door.
~~+~~+~~+~~
Severus, wake up.
I’m so tired. Tired of war. So tired…
You can’t stop now, Severus. It’s only just begun. There is much yet to do.
I - I just - can’t.
Please, Severus? For Harry.
Harry…
“Harry!” cried Severus. He sat up, fighting blindly against the hands that tried to restrain him.
“Oh shit!”
“Fred, you have to hold him down!”
“I’m bloody trying, Mum!”
“Watch your language!”
“He’s going to put himself back into shock. Stupify!”
~~+~~+~~+~~
Oh dear God, he was in pain. Every muscle in his body refused to move. He forced his eyes open, gasping at the pain.
“Ah, it lives,” said a quiet voice to his right. “I will admit you had me worried there for a while, Severus.”
“That’s my job,” murmured Severus, his tongue heavy in his mouth. “Why do I feel like shit?”
“Hm,” said Minerva, picking up one of the many vials of potions laid out on the nightstand. “A good question. Here, drink this.” She gently set the edge of the vial to his lips and lifted up his head. She slowly poured the thick liquid down his throat. He sighed as the potion chilled a path down to his stomach.
“Hopefully that will keep you calm,” said Minerva, laying his head back down on the pillow. “Your flailing about every time you woke up nearly doubled your recovery time.”
“What is today?” asked Severus, pushing himself up off the bed.
“Lay down!” said Minerva tersely, threatening him with her wand. “It’s Thursday. You’ve been unconscious for a week and a half.”
“A week and a half?” repeated Severus weakly, his mind spinning. “Jesus. Harry, is he -“
“He’s fine,” said Minerva.
“Except he’s bloody bored out of his mind,” snapped a petulant voice behind her, “and hates being talked about in the third person when he’s in the same damn room.”
“Watch it, Potter,” said Minerva sweetly. “If you think Poppy’s bad, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Severus smiled at hearing a soft growl. He blinked his eyes as he felt the full effects of the Calming Draught.
“Mm - need to get outta bed,” mumbled Severus, rolling over.
“So help me, Severus, if you move another muscle,” said Minerva, drawing her wand, “I will bind you to that bed!” Severus flopped back onto his pillow sullenly, glaring at her.
“You’ve been in shock for a week,” she said sternly. “You are to stay in bed until your magical levels are back up to something resembling normal before I allow you to go traipsing around the country hunting Death Eaters.” Severus frowned at her, seeing Harry appear at her shoulder. Harry set a stack of newspapers on his stomach.
“You’ve been out the loop longer than I have,” he said, helping Severus to sit up. Severus forced his limbs to move, taking the top copy of the Prophet.
“Oh my God,” he whispered, his eyes flicking back and forth as he read the headlining article. “Five?”
“So far,” said Harry, “though Ginny left late last night for a meeting. I haven’t been allowed to talk to her about it.” Minerva pursed her lips at Harry’s glare, pouring a small vial of potion into a goblet of water. She conjured a stirring stick and rattled it noisily against the inside of the goblet. Severus flicked his eyes at her as he slid the paper in his hands aside and picked up another.
“They’ve been using Fred and George’s place to meet, but after today -“ Harry glanced at Minerva, catching the worry in her eyes, “we may have to find a new place for them.” He pointed to the newspaper in front of Severus. Severus stifled a yawn as he unfolded the paper.
“Holy shit,” he whispered as he read the main article. He read a line from the article aloud. “’Those caught attempting to capture Death Eaters or suspected Death Eaters without the express consent of the Minister of Magic and the Head of Magical Law Enforcement shall be detained for their own safety. The Ministry urges all citizens to be extra careful when in public places, such as Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade and surrounding government buildings.’” He shook his head. “He’s creating a mass panic. The entire country will either lock themselves in their homes or flee to the continent!”
“And Voldemort will take over with sickening ease,” said Harry.
“What about Kingsley? Arthur? Tonks?” asked Severus. “Any of our people working with in the Ministry?” Harry bowed his head. Minerva pulled out the stirrer and handed Severus the goblet.
“It’s bad, isn’t it?” whispered Severus.
~~+~~+~~+~~
“I’ve already told you everything I know!” shouted Kingsley furiously, pulling at the ropes around his chest. “Who told you I was a member of this Order, anyway?” One of the Aurors standing over him punched him hard, adding yet another bruise to his face.
“We can do this all day, Shacklebolt,” said Robards, crossing his arms over his chest. Kingsley spat the blood out of his mouth.
“Fuck you,” hissed Kingsley. Robards leapt up out of his chair.
“Where are they?” he shouted. “Where is the Order hiding, you son of a -“
“Let me handle this, Gawain,” said a firm voice from the doorway. “The squad you sent to Hogsmeade just returned.” Robards pushed himself away from the metal table between himself and Kingsley. Kingsley glared at him as he stopped next to his chair.
“You disgust me,” hissed Robards. “Traitor.” His robes rustled thickly as he swept out of the room.
“You two can leave as well,” said Dawlish firmly. “I’d like to have a private chat with Mr. Shacklebolt here.” He caught the eyes of one of the Junior Aurors and nodded imperceptibly. The young man nodded back and quickly followed the other guard out of the room, shutting the door heavily behind him.
“So, Eddie,” said Kingsley brightly. “What are we going to talk about, hm?”
“You’re going to shut up and listen,” muttered Dawlish out of the corner of his mouth. Kingsley sat up a little at his tone, watching warily as he pulled the other chair to sit down in front of him.
“Arthur’s in the next room,” said Dawlish quietly. “No one can locate Moody, but that’s not surprising. Elphias Doge has also mysteriously disappeared. He didn’t even show up to work this morning, but those boys down in the Department of Mysteries always seem to know more about what’s going on than the rest of us.”
“Eddie,” whispered Kingsley, “why are you telling me this?”
“Because I’ll be damned if the lot of you Order chaps are fucked for actually doing something!” hissed Dawlish. “So shut up and listen to me. Who do I need to contact?”
“What?” said Kingsley, completely confused. Dawlish rubbed his face in frustration.
“Who do I need to get a hold of?” repeated Dawlish slowly, giving Kingsley a significant look. Kingsley narrowed his eyes, scanning the man’s face.
“Really, your paranoia’s admirable,” growled Dawlish, “but I’m running out of time here. Robards will be back any minute, I can guarantee it. You know he gets his kicks from interrogation, and stubborn lads give him even more pleasure. Now give me a fucking name!”
“McGonagall,” whispered Kingsley. “Tell her to get Harry and Severus on it.” Dawlish’s eyebrows shot up.
“Severus?” he said incredulously. “As in Severus Snape?” Kingsley smiled, wincing as his lip split open again.
“Long story,” said Kingsley. “But those two have nothing to lose and are mental enough to try their luck.” Dawlish stood up and nodded, jumping as the door opened suddenly.
“Get anything out of him?” snarled Robards.
“Nope, not a damn thing,” answered Dawlish. “Maybe you should cool his heels downstairs for a while.”
“What a great idea,” said Robards smugly. He turned to the Junior Aurors beside the door. “Move him downstairs!”
~~+~~+~~+~~
Dawlish walked down the street towards the coffee shop on the corner. He pulled the collar of his trench coat up against the damp chill of the air and quickened his pace. He bent his head and smiled at seeing Elphias Doge chatting amicably with a woman on the opposite corner as he entered the very warm shop.
Minerva tensed as she spotted him making his way towards her, though the sight of him alone did calm her frayed nerves a bit.
“Professor,” said Dawlish as he sat down across from her. “How are you?”
“Fearing for my life,” muttered Minerva bitterly. “And you, Edward? How are Isabella and the girls?”
“They’re fine,” said Dawlish. “Isa’s planning a big party next week for Ali’s fifth birthday, but Capricia’s making things difficult because we weren’t able to give her a proper party back in May -“ he stopped himself, catching the sad expression on Minerva’s face.
“You needed to speak to me?” said Minerva, all business again as she picked up her cup of tea.
“Yes, Professor,” he said, glancing around behind him. He scooted his chair closer to the table. “Kingsley and Arthur are both being held at the Ministry for their ties to the Order.”
“And how does that concern me, Edward?” asked Minerva. Dawlish smiled a little at seeing her hand tremble ever so slightly.
“Kingsley told me that you were the go-to person to arrange a raid of sorts,” said Dawlish, a gleam of excitement in his eyes. “He said to tell you to get Harry and Severus on it and soon.” Minerva sighed and set her saucer down sharply on the table. She readjusted her spectacles and pinned Dawlish with an intense look.
“I am going to wring his neck,” she said sternly. “I will pass the word along, although I’m hesitant to do so, as both Harry and Severus are under my care as a Mediwitch at the moment. They and You-Know-Who had a bit of a disagreement about two and a half weeks ago now. They’ve nearly fully recovered - well, physically at least.”
“I see,” said Dawlish slowly. Mental, the whole lot of them, he thought in awe. He gave his head a little shake. “Right. Well, I’ll leave the details to your people. The less I know, the better.”
“Indeed,” said Minerva. “Thank you for your help.” Dawlish stood up and rebuttoned his coat. “And Edward?”
“Yes?”
“Be very careful,” said Minerva quietly. “If you and Isabella need anything, let us know immediately.”
“I will,” said Dawlish. He flipped his collar up and left the shop. Minerva sat back in her chair, lost in her thoughts. She barely noticed Elphias Doge sit down across from her ten minutes later.
“So, what’d he want?” growled Doge. “I see he didn’t bring any of his thugs with him.”
“We need to get back,” said Minerva. She stood up and hastily gathered her things. “I’m sure Molly has some supper left over.”
“Doubt it,” said Doge. “Those bottomless pits she calls sons were on their way over when we left. We’ll be lucky if the table’s still there.” Minerva laughed softly, taking his proffered arm as they walked towards the door.