The Missing by Raeinflight
Chapter Notes: I haven't updated this story in several years! However, I always intended to finish it and today is the day I get back to it! I hope that if you liked this story before, you find it again, and if you have never read it, that you find something you like here!
As we all know, JKR is the real genius behind the wizarding world, I'm just playing in it!
The dark figure loomed by the door behind him, sneering. Harry could see a wand concealed beneath the cloak. It is the unknown that is the greatest to fear. Not knowing what this phantom would do to him, not knowing if he would be forced to reveal something about his family. Yet, he had faced Voldemort, the darkest wizard that had ever lived. He had faced him many times and he had defeated him. Harry was sure that whatever lurked beneath the hood could not be as dangerous as that Dark Lord that he had met with just five years ago.
Mustering every ounce of Gryffindor courage he possessed, Harry lifted his head, set his jaw and faced the dark form now taking determined steps towards him.
From within the dark robes the figure produced a wrinkled dirty hand which lifted to its head and grasped its hood, pulling it down to reveal its face.
Harry burst out laughing. –You have got to be kidding me!†he exclaimed. –Karkaroff! Are you orchestrating this? How in the hell did you get anyone to follow your orders?â€
The bearded Bulgarian was a tall dirty man who Harry knew had seen better days. His eyes had dark circles beneath them and his teeth were incredibly grimy he was even missing a few teeth. His weak chin, once sporting a styled goatee, now carried a full beard which had grown in quite patchy.
Either way, the man was really not very frightening at all especially since Harry himself had seen him run for his life at the start of the second war. The idea that he was now in charge was laughable. Still, considering the circumstances, Harry’s outburst did not help his situation at all and perhaps he was behaving too confidently for a man who had been tied up and tortured for the last four days. It just seemed to him to be so outrageous that this man who had been so weak and cowardly in Harry’s fourth year was actually running this operation that he could not hide his surprise. At any rate, he immediately regretted his reaction as the Bulgarian hit him with a spell which caused his nose to break and blood began pouring down his face.
His attacker was seething from the insults that Harry had expressed and spat in Harry’s face before responding cruelly: –You think you are so special, Potter! Ever since I met you at that tournament you have been an arrogant child. It is not difficult to convince others to follow you if you have the right information. Once they see just how valuable your knowledge is, they will follow you anywhere.â€
–What is it that you want, Karkaroff? To kill me and have your revenge?â€
The Bulgarian laughed cruelly at that. –Potter, you think this is about getting revenge on you? We would not waste our time. We want someone far more valuable to us!â€
At this confession Harry’s mind began reeling with worry and dread. Over the past four days, he had heard other Death Eaters muttering to each other and mentioning –the childâ€. He had feared for some time that they were actually after Sirius and the longer they kept Harry alive the more his fear grew. But what could they possibly want with his son? They obviously didn’t want him for ransom, they already had Harry. They didn’t want to use him to get revenge on Harry as they seemed not to care much about that. So what did they want with his child? What could his innocent little boy give them that would be of any use? Then another thought struck him: was it possible that they meant Ginny? Both ideas were incredibly distressing. Harry closed his eyes and pictured his family. He took comfort in the fact that he felt absolutely sure that Ron was protecting them. He was also quite sure that his best mate had brought the full weight of the Auror department into the search for him and the protection of his wife and son. Still, as much as he trusted Ron with the lives of his family, Harry was overcome with panic. What could they do if they did not realize that they were in danger?
In his panic, he forgot to pay attention to the slimy git who was attempting to taunt him and began to frantically search for a way to get a message to his family. His eyes scanned the walls of the cave for maybe the thousandth time that week. There was really no chance for escape unless he could overpower one of his guards. The cave was buried deep within a cluster of caves and was enclosed but for a heavy steel door that had been installed. It was a rather ingenious way of keeping a prisoner. Harry was also pretty certain that the caves were near where his godfather had once hidden while Harry was at school. He recognized the particular green glistening on the rock. Magic had been hiding here for some time.
Karkaroff was growing increasingly more annoyed with Harry’s lack of attention and spat in his face again. For a moment this had the desired effect as Harry responded by straightening and looking him square in the eye, but poor Karkaroff was not expecting this and was taken aback by the eye contact. He faltered backwards and coughed loudly to cover himself. He recovered quickly and punched Harry with a strong right hook. Now it was Harry’s turn to be surprised and he bent over in the chair sputtering from the blood flowing from his broken nose.
–I vill give you a chance to sink about vhat I have said.†the Bulgarian said and spat at Harry again before leaving the room. Harry could hear him casting locking charms on the door and then he was alone again.
Harry was still spiting blood and had not had a chance to clear his head when there was a loud familiar crack. –Kreacher!†he exclaimed. There stood the little house elf looking very tired and very worried. Harry’s hands were still tied behind his back, so he turned his head, trying to wipe his face on the shoulder of his shirt.
–Here, Master Harry, Kreacher will help!†cried Kreacher, running forwards and producing a small handkerchief which he used to wipe the blood gently from Harry’s face. The elderly elf’s eyes filled with tears as he took in the condition of his master.
–Don’t worry, Kreacher,†Harry assured him, –I’m ok.†The elf did not look convinced, but he seemed to perk up when Harry suggested that he untie his hands. Relief flooded his arms as they were released from behind his back. He rubbed his sore wrists gratefully and turned back to his house elf.
–Kreacher, how did you find me?†Harry asked.
–Master Ron and Mistress Ginny sent Kreacher to look for Master Harry,†the elf said proudly, puffing out his chest.
Harry could not contain his smile at the mention of his family. Kreacher looked very pleased that he had caused this reaction.
However, urgency was still pressing in the back of Harry’s mind. –Where are they?†he whispered quickly, –Are they alright? Is Sirius alright?â€
Kreacher nodded rapidly –Young Master Sirius is safe at Grimmauld Place with Mistress Ginny.â€
Harry paced the little cave rubbing his chin. That was no good. Grimmauld Place, while well protected, was also well known. Although Karkaroff was a git, he seemed to be well organised. Harry knew that he could trust Ron and Ginny to care for his son, but he had to get a message to them. Kreacher interrupted his thoughts:
–Kreacher will go to Master Ron and tell him where Master Harry is!†he exclaimed cheerfully.
–No, Kreacher,†Harry sighed, running his hand through his thick black hair. –You must not go back to Grimmauld Place. Go to Professor McGonagall at Hogwarts. Give her a message. Tell her that Sirius is in danger, tell her that he is not safe where he is being kept. Tell her to go to Ginny and get Sirius out! Then stay at Hogwarts and stay safe. Do you understand?â€
The elf’s eyes were wide and he was nodding his head profusely. –Thank you, Kreacher.†Harry said placing a hand on the faithful old elf’s tiny shoulder. –You are a good friend to us.†At this, Kreachers eyes welled with tears and he bowed low. –Go!†Harry said gratefully and the elf Disapparated with another loud crack.
Harry was grateful for the steel door then. Although it was very heavy and impossible for him to move without magic, it had protected his conversation with Kreacher and kept the sound of the elf leaving from being heard. Now that he was free fro his binds, Harry needed a plan. He had no wand, no light, and nothing in the room but the dirty old wooden chair. With no other options, he would have to use force. He had never been much of a fighter, but he realized that he had surprise on his side and that would have to be enough. He picked up the chair and stood by the door ready to act when next it opened. With nothing to do but wait, he silently hoped that his family would not suffer, no matter how it turned out for him and he hoped that his elf would reach McGonagall in time.
And he had. Ron had used every available Auror to guard Ginny and Sirius during the transfer. It had been decided that the safest place for the boy would be somewhere that no one would ever think to look; a muggle village just outside of London. The cottage was completely untraceable to the department. It had been purchased with Muggle money by a wizard who owned a small shop in Hogsmeade.
When they arrived, Ginny made sure that Sirius was settled in his cot (he had fallen asleep during the journey) and then she rounded on Ron. –Don’t think that now that Sirius is safe I am just going to sit here and wait while you try to find my husband!†she cried, shaking her index finger at him. –You find me someone we trust to look after Sirius. I can’t just stay safe while Harry is out there somewhere maybe being tortured or killed! I’m not-– But Ron interrupted her.
–Ginny, I know.†he said, laughing softly at her. She stopped, finger still pointing in mid air.
–You do?â€
Then Ginny heard a familiar voice behind her. –Ginny dear, you’ll wake Sirius if you don’t keep your voice down.â€
–Mum!†Ginny exclaimed rushing to her mother who opened her arms and crushed her in a motherly hug the way she had since Ginny was a child. She could not help but shed a few tears then. The past week had been stressful. She was worried, she was worried about Harry, about Sirius, and she was scared that she would lose them. She was torn between staying and protecting her son and going and searching for her husband. The battle within her was nearly tearing her apart, but knowing that her mother was there, that she had Molly Weasley protecting her son, she knew he would be safe and that she could go.
Hours later Ginny was alone and scowering the caves near Hogwarts. She had somehow gotten separated from Ron, not difficult to do since the terrain was rocky and there were so many caves to search. She wasn’t worried though because the place was now crawling with Aurors. She reached the mouth of yet another cave and threw a searching orb into it. She listened as it bounced around inside, suddenly she heard the orb omit a few musical notes to indicate remnants of magic. This is what she had been waiting for! She called out to the other Aurors, but no one was in earshot. Ginny was torn, what should she do? It could be nothing inside the cave. The orb could have simply detected an old spell used by a witch or wizard hiding out here many years ago. However, there was always the chance that this was it; that her husband was locked away deep inside and was being tortured or worse! She couldn’t take the chance to leave and go get help. She quickly cast a patronus to Ron, telling him what she had found and that she was going to search the cave and then she stepped inside.
The walls of the cave were shining, but solid. She remembered Harry’s story about how he and Dumbledore had once gone after a horcrux in his sixth year. –Payment must be made,†she whispered. She used her wand to cut a gash in her hand and let the blood drip into the wall. It changed into a long narrow hallway. Her heart raced. Maybe she could do this, dark magic wasn’t that difficult to figure out.
She walked carefully down the hall, lighting her wand when she could no longer see in front of her. But she was too confident, Ginny suddenly found herself surrounded by Death Eaters. They seemed to have come right out of the walls. She had walked right into a trap! Panic threatened her, but she would not let it seize her. She forced herself to quickly rationalize. She was surrounded and there was no way she could fight them all off. What good would she be to Harry if she were dead? She would have to hope that her brother would get her message. Very carefully, Ginny placed her wand at her feet and held up her hands in surrender.
The Death Eaters brought Ginny before Karkaroff and she had had a similar reaction to seeming him there as Harry had. She was rewarded in kind with a swift kick in the stomach by one of her guards. Karkaroff was getting increasingly angry by the not surprising lack of respect. Ginny was still sputtering when he neared her and grabbed her chin with his grimy hands. He forced her to look directly into his yellowing eyes and sneered at her. Then he said:
–I have a propostion for you Mrs. Potter.†Ginny flinched at the smell of his breath, but he continued: –I will release your husband to you, you need only to hand your child over to me.â€
Had her cheeks been free of his grasp, Ginny would have replied that there was no way in hell that she was going to give her son to him and that he had better release her husband to her or he would very well get his bits blown off, but she could only grunt and make her eyes wide.
–No?,†Karkaroff guessed her answer, –Now my dear, I do not think that you are thinking it through. The rebellion has begun. It will not be long before we have your son. Now if you want to risk his life in the process and also allow me to kill your husband, you go ahead, but I can assure you that I will raise your son as my own. He will be well cared for , my dear, and at least he will be alive.â€
Aside from the shock she felt at realizing that Karkaroff wanted to raise her son (WHY?), it also really bugged Ginny that Karkaroff kept calling her my dear. It was creepy. He finally released her face and looked at her expectantly, as if he really thought she might consider his offer.
Ginny decided to probe for information. –What is it that you want with my son, Karkaroff, if not to kill him?â€
–I want to raise him as my own. Is that so hard to believe?â€
–Yes.â€
Karkaroff laughed, well cackled is more like it. –Fair enough, I will tell you how important your child is to the world as you seem not to know yourself. Many moons ago, a prophecy was made of your child:
There will be one who will choose between the light and the dark
Born in a place of power where a dark lord was once killed
Named for the one who suffered in chains
Within this child new power will take hold
And upset the balance between dark magic, and lightâ€
Ginny was stunned. –That fits your child does it not Mrs. Potter? You see, my dear, ever since your husband,†he spat, –killed our Dark Lord, the balance of dark and light has been leaning heavily toward the light. Your son is the key to bringing about change. I will teach him to control his power and change the world. I will make him a great wizard, the greatest wizard that ever lived.â€
–I will never, in a million years give my son to you for any reason and there is nothing that you can offer me or threaten me with that will change my mind,†Ginny growled at him.
Karkaroff smiled, if you can call it that. The crooked expression he was making was something of a half smile half sneer.
–Then there is nothing stopping me from disposing of you, my dear.â€
He raised his wand.
Chapter Endnotes: Don't be mad I ended it on a cliff hanger! The next chapter will be here soon!