Chapter 23 Portkeys and Pain
Spring came.
It was mid-April and tomorrow Harry would play his last Quidditch game at Hogwarts. He wondered if it would be his last game ever. There were things in his life now that were so much more important than Quidditch.
Harry Potter wasn’t even eighteen years old and he was worried about the whole world. An evil wizard who couldn’t be killed by normal magic wanted to take over and was using fear, dark magic and murder to get what he wanted. And Harry had been marked as his equal, the one with the power to destroy the Dark Lord. The power Harry had that the Dark Lord knew nothing about was simply love. And what good was that? People Harry loved were being killed and hurt and tortured.
The Ministry of Magic was no help. The endless delays in the building of the Silver prison were maddening. Amos Diggory was dead and the triumvirate government was falling apart. Amada Bones was ill. She would die soon. Joseph Steelman was frightening. Harry figured that he was sympathetic to Lord Voldemort’s pure-blood lies and that he might even be a secret Death Eater. He was active in AHEM “ the Association of House Elf Masters. Percival Weasley was young and inexperienced. Percy had confided to Bill that he was scared.
Harry’s most important ally, Dumbledore, was aging rapidly. He was almost one hundred and sixty years old and hadn’t had a dose of life extending potion since he and Nicolas Flamel had destroyed the Philosopher’s stone. Harry could not imagine attacking Lord Voldemort’s army without him, but Dumbledore was no longer elderly, he was old.
Narcissa Malfoy had said she would help him find Lord Voldemort when the time came. Could Harry trust her? Would she have a change of heart? Would she help Harry trap Lord Voldemort or would she help Lord Voldemort trap Harry?
The blood that he had given in such awful quantities in November and December and January had all turned black and smelly. Someone had sabotaged the preserving potion.
Voldemort had to be destroyed. How much longer could he wait?
Hermione yawned, closed her transfiguration book, and snuggled up to Harry. Harry looked over at Ron. Ron noticed it.
“Alright everyone, it’s bedtime. Clear the common room. ” Ron ordered.
“But it’s barely ten PM. We’re playing Gobstones!” someone protested.
“Don’t argue with me! I’m the Head Boy and it’s your bedtime,” Ron snapped.
Ron pulled his wand out and slammed the Gobstones into the box before the kids could figure out who was ahead at the moment. No one argued with Ron about bed time. He had become a tyrant. He would do anything to protect Harry and Hermione.
The other students cleared out of the common room leaving only Harry and Hermione on the sofa, their sofa. Harry pulled out pillows and a blanket like he had done every night for the last three months. He would spend the whole night on the common room sofa holding Hermione. She had tried to sleep in her own bed but her nightmares would give her no peace. Lavender and Parvati had tried to calm her when she awoke screaming or crying but only contact with Harry could give her a peaceful night’s rest.
Harry thought back to the night before the Hufflepuff game three months ago. Their seventh year had been relatively peaceful compared to the madness of their sixth year. Hogwarts had seemed to be safe. But the Death Eaters hadn’t given up. Bellatrix Lestrange and Dolores Umbridge had entered Hogwarts disguised as Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode. Professor Snape had let them in and some empty bedrooms in the Slytherin dungeon had become their headquarters.
The memories that ruined Hermione’s sleep haunted him...
”What’s bothering you mate?” Ron had asked on that afternoon three months ago. “And don’t say nothing.”
“It’s silly Ron,” Harry said.
“Tell me anyway,” Ron prodded him.
“I’m worried about Hermione. I mean look, there she is. She’s reading a book. She’s fine. But I have this feeling of dread,” Harry said reluctantly. “I’m afraid something terrible is about to happen to her.”
“She has been acting strangely,” Ron observed. “I haven’t had a senseless argument with her all day. She didn’t jump all over you for not eating more vegetables. She even laughed at a joke Seamus told,” Ron said thoughtfully. “Did you give her a Happy Potion? Or put her under the Imperious Curse? Or did you two start doing a certain activity that might cheer her up?”
“Waiting to have sex is driving us both crazy. But if we did it, she would just feel guilty about not waiting until after our formal wedding,” Harry said with regret. “It’s not fair. The Dursleys should have let me legally marry her last summer.
“So you don’t know why she’s acting happy? Have you done a Mad-Eye yet? You know, ask her some question that only Hermione could answer,” Ron suggested.
“No I haven’t asked her to prove her identity lately. How would you like it if I started quizzing you? What happened to Rex Bruin?” Harry said.
“Rex Bruin? I never heard of him,” Ron joked.
Hogwarts seemed to be safe! Harry hadn’t used the Marauder’s Map in months. He hadn’t thought to look at it. It would have told him everything. Hermione had paid a heavy price for this carelessness. He could have captured Bellatrix Lestrange. He could have rescued Hermione from the Slytherins’ dungeon. He could have stopped Umbridge…
“Tell you about Fritz?” Hermione said in surprise. “Fritz was my poodle and I turned him purple when I was a little girl. Why do you ask Harry?”
“I’m just worried,” he said. “I feel like bad things are happening and I don’t know what it’s about.
“Relax Harry,” she said as she massaged his shoulders. “You’ll need your strength for the Quidditch match tomorrow.”
“I feel so tired all of time. I can’t keep on giving so much blood. I’m too weak to face Voldemort. What if the Ministry of Magic decides they won’t finish the Silver Prison? I’m worried about your safety. I just wish the war with Voldemort was over.”
“It’s going to be alright Harry. You’ll defeat the Dark Lord. I have faith in you,” she said reassuringly. “Is there anything I can do to help you to relax?” she asked with a grin. “Anything at all?” she added seductively.
“Do you remember when we went to the beach with your parents, almost two years ago? That was a wonderful day. That evening your mother played the piano and you sang a song about bluebirds,” Harry reminisced. “Would you sing the bluebird song again?”
“Yes Harry Dear,” she said. “Just give me a few minutes to go to the little-girls room. I’ll come right back and sing for you.”
She blew Harry a kiss and went up the stairs to the girls’ dormitory. She came back ten minutes later.
“Now try to relax Harry,” she said. “Close your eyes and try to remember our day at the beach.”
Harry closed his eyes and listened to Hermione sing.
There'll be blue birds over,
the white cliffs of Dover,
tomorrow,
just you wait and see.
There’ll be joy and laughter
and peace ever after
tomorrow
when the world is free.
Harry loved to hear the sound of Hermione’s voice. He didn’t realize that it wasn’t Hermione singing. He didn’t know the song came from a music box. He didn’t know what they had done to Hermione to force her to make that recording…
He could not think about it. He had to be strong. Hermione needed to sleep and his arms kept away her nightmares.
Three months ago Gryffindor had won the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. Harry had been so tired from the bleeding he could barely stay on his broom, but somehow he caught the Snitch.
The party was in full swing in the common room. There was food and music.
Hermione brought him a Butterbeer on a tray.
He reached for the bottle.
He felt a strange sensation sweep over his body when his fingers were inches from the Butterbeer.
His hand was deflected from the bottle, but Hermione touched it and vanished.
The noise of the party suddenly stopped. Hermione, the real Hermione, was standing in the middle of the room pointing her wand at him. She had just cast an Imperturbable charm on him. She wore nothing but her underwear. She was bleeding, bruised, and crying. Her knees buckled and she slumped to the floor.
“Oh Harry… that was close…” Hermione sobbed. “The Butterbeer bottle… was a portkey. That was Bellatrix Lestrange.”
Harry had rushed to her. He wanted to hold her but she had been beaten so savagely it was hard to find a spot on her body where he could touch her.
Harry had followed the blood stained footprints that led from the Slytherin Dungeon. He and Dumbledore found Delores Umbridge and Professor Snape petrified. He had shouted at the terrified Slytherin students. He saw where Hermione had been chained. He saw the bloody whip that Umbridge had used to flog her without mercy.
When Hermione had healed enough to talk, she told him what they had done to her.
“Professor Snape helped them. They took my clothing. They chained me to a pillar. They took some of my hair for Polyjuice. They gave me Veritaserum. Umbridge tortured me. I tried to be strong. I tried to stay silent. But the Cruciatus curse…”
“I told Umbridge everything. The password for the portrait of the fat lady, our secret passwords, I told them about Fritz, I told them the Gold Serpent Staff was a fake, I told them my parents address…”
“I was chained in a room next to the torture chamber. I heard a girl crying. She was screaming. They tortured for hours. I couldn’t bear to listen. She was in agony. They had no mercy. It went on and on…”
“Umbridge came in. She took me to the torture chamber. There was no girl in there. But Umbridge had a time turner…and I knew … who the girl had been. She used the Cruciatus curse on parts of my body. My head… My breasts… My… My…” She couldn’t finish the sentence but the way her hands covered her lap revealed what Umbridge had done. “I tried to resist. But the pain… She made me sing… ”
“When the music box was ready, she said we had extra time. She said the earlier torture had been for business. She said she was going to punish me for what I had done to her career. She sat and knitted a sweater for her cat while I was flogged by an enchanted cat-o-nine tails. It hurt so much. It cut deep and made me bleed and I felt like I was being burned. I thought she would kill me but she used healing spells to keep me alive. And she kept flogging me… and flogging me…”
“I was chained in the torture chamber,” she said. “Bellatrix Lestrange came in. They talked about the Portkey. She left with the Butterbeer bottle. I saw my wand on a table. I begged for water. Dolores Umbridge poured a glass. She brought it over to me, but she wouldn’t give me any. She dumped it on my feet and she laughed at me. She had the pitcher in one hand and the glass in the other. When she turned her back, I summoned my wand and Petrified her before she could get her wand out. I surprised Snape and I escaped and I ran to Gryffindor Tower.”
Harry had watched coldly as Dolores Umbridge and Severus Snape were tried and executed a few days later. Professor Snape had been given a second chance in life. Dumbledore had trusted him. But when it started to look like Voldemort might win, he had jumped sides again.
Because of Hermione’s nightmares, they had been sleeping together on the sofa for three months. They had been magically bonded for a year and a half. Their wedding date was set for July thirty-first, Harry’s birthday. It seemed close, but at the same time too far away. The inevitable had happened on that sofa about a month and a half ago. There had been bad news that day, more delays in the construction of the Silver Prison. They were both restless and awake in the middle of the night. Their first time it wasn’t about two teenagers filled with lust, but two frightened people who loved each other and needed comforting.
Harry felt her slender thigh. She was loosing weight again. He thought she had gotten over that. Her breast was warm and firm.
“Not tonight Harry,” she said tenderly. “My stomach’s horribly upset.”
If they beat Ravenclaw today, Gryffindor would win the Quidditch Cup again. Ron was playing good but the game was even. It all came down to who caught the Snitch.
Harry looked at Luna Lovegood. She was an excellent seeker, sharp eyed and fast. Her long blond hair was blowing in the breeze. She had a nice figure too. Harry didn’t feel bad about looking at Luna. It was his job to look at Luna. If she saw the Snitch, he had to beat her to it. But he did feel a little guilty about enjoying it. Luna and Ron were engaged.
He scanned the entire pitch, looking for the Snitch. He saw Hermione in the crowd, in her nurse’s uniform. Now that was a beautiful sight. She was so mature and still so young. She was so brilliant and yet foolish enough to love Harry Potter. She was so strong and yet so vulnerable.
Luna was moving! Harry had been daydreaming. He shot off after her. It was going to be close! He lunged for the Snitch but his hand closed on air. The Snitch darted to the side. Luna had it!
She was gone.
Harry circled.
What had happened?
Where was Luna?
The crowd wasn’t roaring for the Ravenclaw victory. A hush had fallen over the stadium. Madam Hooch had fainted.
“Harry!” Ron shouted. “Where’s Luna?”
“She caught the Snitch!” Harry yelled. “It must have been a Portkey,” Harry heard himself say.
The world was reeling around Harry as he landed in front of Dumbledore. “They got Luna,” Harry said.
“The Silver Prison isn’t ready,” Dumbledore said wearily.
Harry looked over at Ron, then he looked back to Dumbledore. “We’re going to rescue Luna.” Harry declared. “We’re going today!”
Harry flew over to Hermione. “Meet me in the common room,” he said softly to her.
He shot off towards the side door of the castle that led to George’s pantry. He found Dobby in the kitchen. “Contact Mrs. Malfoy, we’re going today,” Harry told the elf.
Harry flew to the Gryffindor common room. Hermione was there with Ginny, Ron and the boys.
Ron was pale. “Harry, what happened?” he asked fearfully.
“The Snitch must have been a Portkey,” Harry answered. “I think Lord Voldemort has Luna.”
Ron looked like he would faint.
“We’re going to get her back!” Harry shouted. “Voldemort’s plan to trap me failed. He’ll be thinking what to do next. He won’t expect a big attack. Ron, you take Ernie, Neville, and Terry to Dumbledore’s office. I’ll be there soon. We know where to go.”
Harry approached Hermione and looked into her brown eyes.
“Ginny and I are ready. We’ll get Luna back, Harry,” she said with determination.
Harry aimed his wand at Hermione and conjured ropes that tied her up.
“Harry!” Hermione shouted in surprise.
Harry gave her a kiss.
“No! Harry, don’t!” she gasped in terror.
“I have to,” Harry said quietly.
“The Silver Prison isn’t ready!” she sobbed.
“It has to be today,” Harry said.
“We fight together! I can shield you!” Hermione pleaded.
“Not this time,” Harry said.
He kissed Hermione again and turned to Ginny.
“Remember,” he said pointing a finger at her, “you promised.”
Ginny started to cry.
Harry turned towards the door and followed Ron and the boys.
“You won’t stop at just rescuing Luna! You’re going after Voldemort! Aren’t you?” Hermione wailed to his back. “You’re going to use the Brown Plan! AREN”T YOU?” she sobbed.
Harry strode purposefully to Dumbledore’s office. It had always been coming to this. It was his destiny. Hermione was strong. She would loose her magical powers but she would survive. Some day she would get over him and learn to love again. If it was another wizard, she would regain her powers. If it was a Muggle she would be a brilliant and successful Muggle wife. He should have been stronger. He should have not allowed her to love him.
He would not allow himself to think any more about Hermione. He had to focus on destroying Lord Voldemort. So long as Lord Voldemort was alive the Death Eaters would keep coming. Some day they would get lucky and kill him or Hermione or Ron or someone else Harry couldn’t bear to see die. Voldemort had to be destroyed, today.
Harry met up with Ron and the boys in Dumbledore’s office. The tall old Headmaster held an ancient magical talisman of great power, a staff that could destroy Dementors.
Bill and Fleur Weasley were there as well as Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey.
“Dobby has gone ahead. I’ve summoned the Order of the Phoenix.” Dumbledore told him. “We can free Miss Lovegood. We can capture Lucius and Draco Malfoy and give them to Mrs. Malfoy, and then withdraw. We will corner Lord Voldemort again, some other day, when the Silver Prison is ready.”
“Right,” Harry said. “We’ll go in and get out. We’ll wait until the Silver Prison is ready to attack Voldemort himself.” Harry didn’t look at Dumbledore. He knew that the old wizard guessed that he was telling a lie.
They touched the Portkey and were immediately sucked into a vortex that deposited them in front of the Malfoy home. Kingsley Shacklebolt apparated with a loud crack. Then Remus Lupin, Sturgis Podmore, Hestia Jones, Daedalus Diggle and Mad-Eye Moody arrived by Portkey from Twelve Grimauld Place. Another loud crack announced the arrival of Arthur and Molly Weasley.
Mrs. Malfoy and Dobby came out of the house. She was carrying a bottle of wine on a tray. “Is this it? There are fewer than twenty of you!” she exclaimed bitterly.
“We are hopeful that reinforcements from the Ministry of Magic will arrive quickly,” Dumbledore assured her.
He was interrupted by a loud crack and the apparition of Old George and five house elves carrying wooden poles. The elves all bowed and Old George said, “We ask the Headmaster for permission to delay cleaning the carriage house and that he allow us to join him this day.”
Dumbledore nodded at the house-elves and turned to Narcissa Malfoy. “We must proceed at once.” Then Dumbledore stared into Narcissa Malfoy’s eyes. His face turned as rigid as stone as he concentrated. “Is this a trap for us Narcissa?”
“No!” she answered without hesitation. “Draco thinks I’m coming alone. The Dark Lord won’t be expecting you. I just want Draco and Lucius out safely.”
Dumbledore seemed satisfied that Mrs. Malfoy was telling him the truth, but there was a grim look on his face.
They crowded around Mrs. Malfoy and touched the Portkey or held the hand of someone who could touch it. Then the whole group was transported to an empty storage shed by an abandoned Muggle coal pit on the outskirts of Manchester. The members of the Order of the Phoenix hid in the shadows while Mrs. Malfoy called to Draco using a magic mirror.