Forsaken
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,178
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,178
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.
Midnight Before Dawn
Chapter 44- Midnight Before Dawn
A huge stack of clean dishes sat on the counter, along with an array of forks, knives and a few large spoons. The rest of the kitchen was spotless, save for a couple of mugs of chilled coffee on the long table. Also sitting on the table was a copy of The Weekend Prophet, its main headline in huge type.
PRISON BREAK - MINISTER FORMALLY CONDEMNS SECRET SOCIETY
In a press conference at the Ministry of Magic, Minister Rufus Scrimgeour has formally condemned the secret society of resistance fighters believed to be founded by Albus Dumbledore, former Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He declared them to be a public menace and a danger to the wizarding community at large after several suspected members were freed from Ministry holding cells late last night. Several Aurors were sent to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries with severe injuries resulting from spellfire during the break.
“It is not for renegade citizens to take the law into their own hands, declaring themselves to be judge and jury,” said Scrimgeour. “Such lawlessness causes chaos and panic, in which accidents become unavoidable. Luckily no one was killed this time, but can we say the same for the future?”
(Story continued on page 2 and 3)
The page was crumbled, as if someone had wadded it up then smoothed it back out to reread.
~+~
“Stupify!”
“Nonverbal spells, Longbottom!” shouted Severus harshly, deflecting the boy’s stunner to the wall. “That means no words! I should not be able to hear your shouting all the way across London!” He held his left hand towards Caitlyn behind him and blocked her stunner as well, rolling to the floor to dodge a stunner from Blaise to his right. He barely scrambled out of the way of another one of Caitlyn’s well-placed spells.
“STOP SPELLFIRE!” yelled Moody, checking his watch. Neville immediately plopped on the ground and sprawled out on the floor in exhaustion. “Good, all of you. Minerva should be waiting for you three in the drawing room. Send the other three in here. We’ll debrief today’s session over dinner.” The three of them shuffled out of the room. Severus remained on his hands and knees, blinking away the black spots in his vision. Moody walked over and crouched down beside him.
“You alright there, kid?” he asked softly. Severus nodded.
“Just - just give me a minute,” he gasped, the sweat dripping off his face.
“You’re gonna need more than a minute,” mumbled Moody. “I’ll get Shacklebolt in here. Merlin knows he could use the refresher.” He held out his hand, offering to pull Severus off the floor. Clenching his jaw, Severus took his hand and was hoisted to his feet. He stumbled slightly, lightheaded. Moody grabbed his arm to steady him.
“Yup, you’re done for today,” said the old Auror sternly.
“I’m fine,” said Severus quietly, ignoring the shaking of his hands. He tensed immediately at feeling the end of a wand under his chin, forcing him to look into Moody’s scarred face. Moody pressed his wand against Severus’s ashen cheek, forcing him to look to each side.
“Hm,” mused Moody vaguely, releasing Severus from his grip. “Take the rest of the day off. Shacklebolt and I can handle the other three.”
“Moody, this is my responsibility,” growled Severus.
“And I am releasing you of it for just today, boy!” countered Moody. “You’re no good to us dead, whatever you may think.” He raised a crooked eyebrow at him and clunked loudly out of the room to fetch Kingsley.
Severus growled in fury and stalked from the room. He jumped lightly up the stairs, taking them two at a time until he reached the third floor landing. He walked into his room and slammed the door shut. Oh yes, he knew he was being petulant, but he didn’t care. He just needed something to do, something to keep his mind from idling -
Anything to keep the various sets of dead eyes from flashing through his mind.
He walked around the bed slowly. Steadying himself with one hand, he lowered himself to the floor, leaning up against the bed. He unbuttoned his left sleeve, sliding the fabric up to his elbow.
And there it was. The symbol of his youthful stupidity, a reminder of desperation and a false hope. He carefully traced his fingers around the ugly skull on his arm, feeling the soft scar tissue surrounding it from his futile attempts to physically carve it out of his skin. But the Mark itself was just a symbol. The magic behind the branding was what lost him his life, his friends, and his soul.
It had taken him and Remus most of the rest of the night to dig through the rubble of the Potters’ house at Godric’s Hollow. Very few things were salvageable - a few pictures that weren’t completely burned; a battered trunk where they found James’s Invisibility cloak, along with some bank documents, a will, and vault keys; a letter to Petunia from Lily, written the day before Harry was born but was never sent.
At dawn, they carried Lily and James to the tree in the backyard. They dug two holes in the ground while Albus conjured two matching black coffins, beautifully decorated with engravings of vines along the sides. Severus and Remus stood in the growing light, shivering against the cold.
“Today we mourn the loss of two of our friends,” said Albus quietly, tears streaming down his face. “They were both so strong. They sacrificed everything so that the rest of us may have peace. May their souls rest in knowing that their sacrifice was not in vain. You will be sorely missed. Rest in peace, James Nathanial Potter. Rest in peace, Liliana Marie Evans-Potter.” Severus and Remus raised their wands in sync with one another and carefully levitated the coffins into the graves. Albus murmured a spell, covering the coffins with earth. He transfigured a small stone into a headstone to mark the graves.
“Severus, we need to get back to Hogwarts,” said Albus reluctantly. “I have a feeling Cornelius is already flooding my office with owls.”
“The idiot,” muttered Severus viciously, wiping his face on the sleeve of his shirt.
“Remus, take care of yourself, child,” said Albus gently. Remus turned his head slowly, meeting Albus’s gaze. “Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.” Remus just turned away from him, falling to his knees as he wept beside the graves of his friends. Severus averted his eyes, both due to the awkwardness he felt at the man’s open display of emotion, and the guilt - the overwhelming guilt - he felt.
Harry would never forgive him for this.
The rest of that day was a blurry haze. Albus cancelled classes that morning, as Minerva had disappeared somewhere. Albus himself disappeared before nine a.m. Hagrid brought Harry to Severus amid the curious students celebrating their day off from classes.
“I thought maybe you’d like to see ‘em,” said Hagrid, standing awkwardly outside Severus’s guardian portrait. Severus swallowed thickly and nodded, taking the sleeping child from his arms.
“I’ll come back for him tonight,” said Hagrid. “Dumbledore’s taking him to the muggles - er, Lily’s sister.” His huge face blushed red at Severus’s scowl.
“Do not tell anyone else about where this child is going,” said Severus firmly, “or so help me I will murder you with my bare hands.” Severus stepped back inside his quarters and slammed the door in his face.
He walked carefully into his bedroom and laid the baby in the middle of his huge four-poster bed. He picked up the spare blanket off the trunk sitting at the end of his bed and gently tucked it around Harry. The dark red cut on boy’s forehead brought tears to his eyes - tears of self-hatred and loathing for what he had done. He was responsible for this child being marred for the rest of his life. He was the reason Harry had to be tucked away with those damn muggles in Surrey, who were sure to keep the child at a distance. And while Harry was being ignored by people who hated him and his parents, Severus himself would be left here to stew in his miserable grief.
Unless…unless....
Really, there was no need for him anymore. The threat had passed - the Dark Lord had disappeared entirely. The Mark had faded from his arm, though the many cutting scars were still there to denote the outline of it. One more cut - that would be all it took.
He sat down on the corner of the bed and watched Harry sleep. And sleep. And sleep.
One more cut…
To say that Albus had been shocked, furious, and disappointed when he returned late that Tuesday evening to find Severus unconscious from blood loss would be the understatement of the century. He and Minerva had cancelled his classes for the rest of the week, telling the bewildered students that their Potions Professor had caught a horrible bug going around and was bedridden in his chambers.
Not too many bought the lie. The Aurors were at the school by week’s end with a warrant for his arrest. His medical examiners at Azkaban were very close to committing him, and probably would have if Albus hadn’t been so quick to act and get him out of that hellhole as fast as humanly possible.
He rubbed the long, pale scar that ran almost the entire length of his forearm, his eyes glazing over in thought. Who was he to be leading these kids into battle? Sure, he had experience, but even then, Minerva and Moody seemed to still be a bit wary at the kinds of experiences and knowledge he was passing on to the kids. Stealth, Concealment, Forgery, alongside illegal use of Memory Charms - not exactly textbook Auror material, though their concern was more with how readily and willingly the kids picked up the new material.
He reached over and pulled open the drawer in the bedside table, feeling around for a vial. He lifted one out and held it in front of him, allowing the light from the window to shine through the deep navy blue liquid. At hearing footsteps in the hallway, he turned his head sharply towards the door and hid the vial in his hand. Minerva would have kittens if she caught him taking this particular potion, lecturing him on the addictiveness of it in such high quantities and the possibilities of overdosing.
She isn’t your mother, said the back part of his mind. Gryffindor self-righteousness…you’ve lost the only woman you will ever love in your entire life, not to mention killing two more innocent children. You’re allowed to grieve. And be miserable. And wish that the Dark Lord had killed you like he did them.
He pulled the cork out and drained the entire vial down his throat. The effect was nearly instantaneous.
~~+~~+~~+~~
“My lord, we’ve found them.”
“Good. You have freedom to do whatever you wish. I do not suffer fools and I most certainly do not suffer traitors. I want them made an example of.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Take some of the younger initiates with you, Dylan. I know Jakob is particularly good with Explosion hexes and potions. Perhaps he can provide some of the flair for this mission.”
“I will contact him immediately, my lord.”
“And whatever you do, Dylan, do not mess this up, or I will personally remove and liquefy your internal organs one by one. Are we clear?”
“Y-yes, my lord.”
“You may go. Report back when you have completed your task. We must rethink our strategy and do a bit of - regrouping.”
“Yes, my lord.”
~~+~~+~~+~~
Petunia sighed softly and took another sip of her tea. She glanced at Vernon, who was totally immersed in watching the news. A rash of strange accidents had happened all over the country - people being murdered in their sleep with no physical wounds, strange natural disasters occurring with no warning, bridges collapsing, buildings exploding.
Tonight, it was a government building that had mysteriously caught fire. Every possible exit had been sealed shut. No one in the building survived.
Secretly, she was scared out of her wits. She remembered the last time things like this happened. It had been almost twenty years ago. Then, strangely, they had stopped after - after Lily had died, as if she had taken the violence with her to the grave.
Then he had arrived, left on their doorstep like some beggar’s child, with that positively ghastly scar on his forehead. They didn’t ask her and Vernon if they’d be willing to take the child in if something happened. But then, Lily had always been presumptuous.
Her cup rattled as someone beat on the front door.
“Who in the blazes is that?” asked Vernon loudly, well aware that his voice would carry through the door. Petunia’s stomach filled with a strange, sinking dread as Vernon got up to answer the door.
“Dudley!” cried Vernon as he opened the door. “What are you doing home from sch -“ Petunia jumped up from the sofa as her son was marched into the house by three men -
Men dressed in long black cloaks and white, faceless masks.
“I believe this belongs to you,” said a snide voice as one of the men shoved Dudley towards his parents.
“What do you want?” bellowed Vernon, his face an ashen shade of white. “Why are you here?”
“Why, we’re here to kill you,” said one of the masked men casually. Petunia gasped, clutching Dudley to her chest. The men chuckled. “Oh yes, did you know? Your precious Potter has made the Dark Lord very angry. We’re here to exact a little repayment.”
“I told you he would get us killed!” screamed Vernon, his face flushing as he turned to Petunia. “I told you as soon as that weirdo dropped him off that Potter would be a nuisance and ruin our lives!”
“We couldn’t agree more,” said the third man. “But as much as we’d love to stay and chat about how much we both hate Potter, we really have to be going now. Ta!” The Dursleys jumped as the three men vanished into thin air with loud, obnoxious cracks.
Thirty seconds later, Number Four, Privet Drive exploded in a huge ball of green flame, along with the rest of the block.