Harry Potter and the Hand of Gryffindor by Alice I

[emus]

your story is absolutly brilliant!! i have one comment tho: i dont remember what chapter it was but DD said that harry was a better seeker then james, but james wasnt a seeker he was a chaser. other then that small thing your story is great.

[Quicksilver]

Actually, although JKR said in an interview that James was a Chaser, in the movie he listed as a seeker, and we see James playing idly with a snitch in BK5, so the topic is still being debated.

Still as good the second time around Alice
-CF

[sweetsixteen]

Please post more Alice... On both sites. preferably HPP because the colours are kinder to my eyes

[Alice I]

Chapter Seventeen - Part 3
Azkaban

Harry tried to remember what Dumbledore had done when he interrogated Barty Crouch Jr. under the effects of veritaserum. Reaching back into his memory he whispered "Can you hear me?" Malfoy turned his gaze in the direction that the voice had come from and muttered "Yes." Harry stopped for a moment and tried to think of exactly what he wanted to know. "When did you come here?" Malfoy answered in a flat monotone "The evening before last." Harry looked at him astonished for Malfoy had come to Azkaban before he had left Hogwarts. It seemed a lifetime ago that Malfoy had used the Imperious Curse on Crabbe to try and kill Ron, and nearly killing Ginny but it had only been the day before yesterday. "Is Crabbe here too?" Harry asked but before Malfoy could answer with a toneless "Yes" he had already scanned the parchment and seen his name. Crabbe was on the sixth level.

Harry started to worry about the time and moved right onto business. "How do I find Voldemort?" Malfoy continued with that same flat tone "You cannot find him. He is protected with the Fidelius Charm." Harry sighed then asked "Who is Voldemort's Secret Keeper?" Malfoy said "I don't know." Harry was feeling like this was getting him nowhere and said "Where is your father?" Malfoy's eyelids fluttered slightly then he said "He is with the Dark Lord." Now he was getting somewhere. Harry looked back at the old man then at the sleeping man in the next cell. He lowered his voice slightly then asked "How do you contact your father when you need to speak to him?" Malfoy took a deep breath and his eyelids flickered again but he said "With a set of magical mirrors. I have one and my father has the other. That is how he was able to tell me about the Dark Lord's plan for Harry Potter." Harry's heart stopped for a beat "What plan?"
Malfoy continued "The plan to make Potter kill in cold blood. Ron Weasley was supposed to die and Potter was supposed to kill me in retaliation. My father taught the killing curse to me but he also instructed me in the use of the Imperious curse so that Crabbe would be the one to kill Weasley and be murdered in return by Potter. The Dark Lord's informant at Hogwarts made sure that the Minister of Magic was at the match so that Potter would use the unforgivable curse right in front of him sealing his fate. Potter was supposed to rot in Azkaban while the Dark Lord finished off the ministry. Then he would bring the dementors back to keep Potter company for a few years before killing him himself."

Harry swallowed hard at these words. Then he said "Who is the spy at Hogwarts?" Malfoy said "I don't know." Harry though he might know but Dobby interrupted him "You must ask how the mirror works. They will have a secret password." Harry turned his attention back to Malfoy "Tell me exactly how you use the mirror to contact your father and if there are any passwords you use." Malfoy seemed to flinch slightly but his face remained relaxed and he continued in a monotonous tone "When I want to contact my father I call 'Father' into the mirror. When I see his face I say 'Tioalgeinos' and wait for him to reply 'Poieoterma'. This is how we know it is really us. The pass words change every few months. The last change was two weeks ago."

Harry was silent for a moment, thinking about the passwords and how he could use the mirror to get to Lucius Malfoy and thereby get to Voldemort. "Where is your mirror now?" Malfoy said "I don’t know. It was in my trunk when I was arrested." This posed a problem for without the mirror or someway of knowing where Malfoy's personal belongings had been stored it was a waste of time to try and figure out a way to use the mirror to get to Lucius.

The sound of a body falling drew their attention for a moment. The guard had drunk his coffee and fallen off his chair to the floor. Dobby slipped out from under the cloak and looked around the corner to verify that the guard was asleep. He hesitated a moment before hurrying back to Harry and said "Someone is coming." Harry wasn't finished with Malfoy yet and asked his next question. "Does your father know that you are here?" Malfoy responded "No, not that I know of, unless he has tried to contact me with the mirror and was unable to. Then he might suspect that something was wrong." Dobby went to the door to the stairwell and said "They are almost here we must leave!" Harry persisted "What about your mum? She must have been told. Has she come to see you?" Malfoy answered as blandly as before but something in his eyes seemed to change; a flicker of life.

"My mother is out of the country right now. She does not know that I am here." Harry was worried that the veritaserum was wearing off and asked "Do you know what country Voldemort is in?" Malfoy's face almost flinched at the sound of his name but he replied "No…" but before he could say anything else the door to the stairwell opened with a bang and three wizards stepped out to the corridor. Mad Eye Moody, the wizard named Artimus and the warden all started toward Malfoy's cell when Moody stopped dead in his tracks looking at Harry under his invisibility cloak and Harry was staring right back at him.

Wick did not hold any clues for Max. He checked with the bus terminals and taxi services for signs of Harry using that form of transportation but no one had seen the boy in the photograph that Max was showing. The weather was indeed quite severe in this part of the country and Max went back to the train station. He looked around and tried to picture himself standing there at six o’clock in the morning with a house elf and twenty five miles to go before arriving at the destination that he wanted to get to. Max looked to his right and saw the harbor then thought that if he had to travel to the northern most spot of the coastline from here the easiest way would be to fly along the coastline. Max headed straight for the Harbor Quay and saw a natural land pier jutting out into the harbor. There was an old man sitting in a small folding chair fishing off the land pier and Max approached him. “Good afternoon sir.” The old man looked up at Max and said “Good day laddie.” Max sat down on the pier next to the old man and looking out at the harbor said “It is beautiful up here. I wanted to get out for a walk this morning around six and hadn’t noticed the pier here. How’s the fishin’?” The old man indicated the bucket next to his chair which held three good sized fish and said “Fishin’s no bad laddie long as yer don mind the chill. Ye’ll no be seeing much early in the morn’ on account o the fog. Tis better to give it some time ter burn off see.”

With the land pier obscured by fog Max figured that Harry had come out here and had probably flown the rest of the way to the gate that led to the ferry. Max only stayed a few more minutes talking with the old fisherman then got up and wished him a good day. The old man called after him “If ye be walkin’ up the coast laddie, ye be watchin’ fer the Geos. Yer don wan ter be falling in; loose a fer bit o tourists tha way now.” Max frowned and asked “I am not sure what you mean sir?” The old man looked a little exasperated and said “The Geo laddie…” when Max just stared at him with a confused look he replied “Along the coast line the Geos are deep gorges that yer could fall into. If yer do that then yer a gonner’ fer sure. So be careful caus’ yer don’t always see em’ till it’s too late.” Max thanked the old fellow and left the pier feeling slightly unsettled by his dire warnings.

When Max arrived at the lighthouse he passed through the gate and looked down the winding stair to the ferry dock below. The ferry was gone and it looked as though a storm was brewing so he did not expect the boat would be returning soon, especially given the churning rough seas that were clearly visible from the cliff edge. Professor Dumbledore had told Max of the Inn at the Last House and Museum in John O'Groats so that is where Max went next. It was the only wizard establishment near the gate so Harry would most likely be staying there if he had procured a room. When Max showed the picture of Harry and Ginny to the wizard behind the bar he said "Yep, that looks like him. He arrived this morning with an elf and left an hour or so later." The proprietor led Max to Harry's room where he had left his backpack, cauldron and other belongings in the room so Max took a seat in the corner to wait for Harry's return.

[Alice I]

The name of this chapter is still eluding me so I'll leave it a question mark for now.

Chapter Eighteen
?

"Potter!" Moody growled to the bewilderment of the two wizards with him. Dobby stood transfixed, his gaze darting from the three wizards that had just entered the floor and the general area where Harry crouched under the cloak.
Harry reacted instinctively and charged the group blocking his path to the door and escape. This sudden move took Moody by surprise and the others went scrambling when they were suddenly pushed aside by something that they did not see but sensed and heard coming at them.

Artimus fell hard into Moody knocking him down and the warden fell hard against the wall of the central stairwell. This cleared the path to the door of the stairwell and Harry reached out and yanked the door open as his cloak slid down to his shoulders. He spared a quick glance back at the stunned faces of the men; with fear, uncertainty and an almost pleading look of regret etched on his face before charging down the stairs taking them three at a time. The warden looked over at Dobby red-faced and said "You!" but there was a pop and he disappeared from sight.

"After him!" Moody bellowed recovering his feet and limped toward the door. The warden set off the alarm with a flick of his wand as he preceded Moody into the stairwell followed by Artimus. As Harry ran headlong down the staircases as the doors leading to each floor started to open and guards from each cell block came charging out into the stairwell at the sound of the alarm.

The guard who opened the sixth floor door saw Harry's disembodied head pelting toward him and was momentarily shocked so that Harry was able to push him aside and keep making his way down the stairs. Harry quickly pulled the cloak back up over his head as he continued to bolt down the stairs so that he was invisible to the guard on the fifth floor. Unfortunately this guard was a large man and he was blocking the stairwell looking up at the sounds of something approaching. Harry grabbed his wand and quickly shouted "Patrifiscus Totallus!" and the man's arms snapped to his sides and he fell over onto the landing backwards.

A stabbing guilt followed him for he didn't want to curse all of these guards; so as he came closer to the fourth floor he slowed his pace and held his breath as he tried to slip past the guard who was looking upward toward him but also kept looking back toward the open door to his cell block because one of the prisoners on this floor was making a horrible racket.

Harry managed to slip past this guard but heard the unmistakable sounds of pursuit by Moody, the warden and the third wizard. They had reached the guard that Harry had hexed and were getting much closer. Harry kept running down the stairs and stopped before coming in sight of the third floor guard who was looking around uncertainly. Harry plastered himself against the wall and started down toward this man as quickly as he could without making too much noise. The sounds of running and shouting from the floors above helped to mask his passage and he managed to slip past this guard unheard, but as he got just around the corner he tripped on something on the stair and fell heavily into the wall making the guard he had just past start running down the stairs toward him. Harry pushed back from the wall and ran as fast as he could down the stairs to the sounds of the guard from the third floor. The guard on the second floor was also in the middle of the stairwell looking up but he was a smaller man and Harry simply plowed past him knocking him into the wall as he darted past.

By the time Harry made it to the cistern room he was shaking and coughing hard. His heart was pounding against his chest and he made straight for the pipe in the waste basin, which was filling up with wastewater. He started to wriggle his way down the pipe when dirty water started to wash down the pipe with a foul smell that splashed all around his head and face, up his nose and in his mouth. Harry tried to take a deep breath but suddenly the force of the water draining out of the pipe increased tenfold with its volume and he found himself shooting out of the drainage pipe with the prison wastewater. He tumbled out onto the rocks and rolled away from the gushing pipe coughing and sputtering.
"Dobby! Where are you?" he called looking frantically around for the little elf. Dobby emerged from behind a large bolder some ten meters to the left with Harry's broom in hand. Harry took hold of his firebolt, threw the invisibility cloak at the elf and yelled "Meet me at the cave!" Then he mounted and kicked off hard shooting straight up into the air.

The strong winds from earlier had grown to near gale force and the sky was shrouded in low black clouds. The storm that the Ferryman had spoken of in the warden's office seemed to have arrived and Harry was finding it extremely difficult to stay on-course. It had not started to rain or worse; snow yet but if that happened before he reached the other side of the firth he would never be able to see to fly. He fumbled in his robes for his wand and quickly pointed it at his glasses and shouted "Impervious".

A strong gust of wind buffeted him and he nearly lost his wand. He quickly pocketed it and looked back at the prison. The West Tower was right behind him and he turned back to the open sea. The warden ran onto the second floor through the open door because he saw Harry through the window behind the guard desk there. He drew out his wand and pointed it at the window opening it then shouted "Stupefy!" Moody saw this and also pointed his wand out the window and shouted "Protego!" deflecting the curse that the warden has sent at Harry fleeing on his broomstick. Moody turned angrily to the warden and shouted, "What are you trying to do, kill the boy? I wanted to find him to bring him back safely. If he falls into that water he'll die you fool!"

Harry never realized how close he came to being knocked off his broom by that curse. Moody had deflected it but only feet from him as he flew off over the torrential waves boiling below him in the firth during the beginning stages of a storm. Harry flew as fast as he possible could go on his firebolt to try and make landfall as quickly as he possible. The wind buffeted him and blew him far of course though he was unaware of this fact. He was growing weaker as the 30 mile and hour winds assaulted him and the fever from pneumonia sapped away his strength. Ice crystals had formed on his hair and around his glasses but mercifully he could still see as the Impervious charm was working on he lenses. Harry's hands were completely numb but he concentrated on gripping his broomstick hard and leaned forward trying to inch as much speed out of it as possible.

After what seemed like hours he saw the dim outline of the mainland on the horizon. He was becoming dangerously weak and sleepy as hypothermia threatened to engulf him. He looked resolutely at the thin line of darkness that told him that the cliff face was ahead and pressed forward.

The wind was whipping the waves near the shore into a foaming froth that splashed dozens of meters into the air. His vision was becoming hazy with fever and numbing cold and suddenly the two enormous spires of jagged rock that were the Duncansby Stacks blocked his path. He was flying directly at them at top speed and was too close to pull up. Relying on his quidditch instincts he spiraled off sharply to the left but his numb fingers slipped from the handle and he nearly fell to the churning waves almost two hundred feet below but as he continued to spiral he was able to grab the handle again.

He was not near the ferry dock at all and would have to fly up the coast for a least a mile to find the cave in the side of the cliff face. It was dark now and Harry was worried that he would not be able to find it. 'Hold on you can make it' he told himself and flew very close to the cliff face to try and identify the cave or at the very least the stairs leading down to the ferry dock but he was barely holding on to consciousness as he flew and nearly hit the cliff face twice. Fever and exhaustion had taken their toll and Harry's mind was becoming as foggy as the freezing air.

Up ahead he saw a dim light that had a flickering quality to it, which seemed quite odd indeed. Somewhere deep in Harry's befuddled mind he felt that this flickering light was important and that he should go to it. As he neared the source of the light he could make out a small person floating halfway down the cliff face. 'What is that?' he thought dimly to himself. 'Why would someone want to stand on the cliff in the dark?' Harry flew closer to the figure and it seemed oddly familiar. It was small with large bat like ears and was peering anxiously out at the churning sea. It turned its head toward Harry and shouted "Harry Potter sir!"

Dobby had lit a fire in the shallow mouth of the cave as a beacon to Harry and was beside himself when Harry landed on the porch of the cave an collapsed. He was freezing and seemed disoriented. Dobby took his broom and stowed it behind a rock just inside the mouth of the cave opening then took Harry by the arm and led him into the cave.

[Alice I]

Once Harry was inside the larger interior room of the cave Dobby hurried out again and quickly put out the beacon fire. He rushed back to Harry and peeled his sodden cloak off of him. Once again Harry's lips were blue and he was shivering so uncontrollably that he couldn't speak clearly. Dobby got a rather large fire going and levitated a sizable rock over near it so that Harry could rest up against it in front of the fire. After a few minutes Harry recovered himself enough to think and speak clearly. "D DDobby, g ggo gget our things." Dobby was wringing his hands and looked frightened.

"Harry Potter sir, this is wrong! You should not be here; we should not be here. You must go back to Hogwarts!" Harry just shook his head and shivered. "Harry Potter sir you could have died! You took so long to get here I thought you had drowned! Harry Potter you must go back; please Harry Potter please go back." Dobby sounded desperate and Harry was worried that he might be right. What had he been thinking? He had not gotten the information he needed to go after Voldemort directly. He had learned some very useful stuff but he was no closer to his original goal than he was when he left Hogwarts, and now Moody was on to him. Harry looked at Dobby who was standing in front of him wringing his hands so vehemently that it was a wonder that he had not rubbed the skin off. "D Dobby, p pplease go and g gget out things. We'll talk about th th this when you get b bback, ok?" Dobby realized that the first thing that he had to do was to warm Harry up so with a loud pop he disappeared.

There was a loud crack and a small creature wearing a tea towel appeared in the center of the room. It was rather small about the size of a child with large feet and long hands and fingers. It had large bat-like ears and huge round eyes that were close to the size of saucers. Max had never seen a house elf before, as they were not common in the United States. He supposed that some of the old and wealthy wizard families may have servants like this but he did not know any old and wealthy wizards well enough to have been invited over for dinner.

"You must be Dobby." He said in a mild tone from the shadows as he sat quietly in the corner of the room. Dobby let out a screech and jumped back about a foot. Max didn't want to scare Dobby off so he quickly said "Don't be afraid, Professor Dumbledore sent me. He is very worried about Harry and I am supposed to bring him back to the castle." Dobby stood uncertainly looking at this stranger his ears quivering madly. He was wringing his hands and his eyes kept darting around the room as if looking for someone else to jump out at him. Max could tell that Dobby was teetering on the brink of belief and he took from his pocket a tattered old wizard's hat that had a large tear at the base of it. He leaned forward and gently set the hat down on the small table near the fireplace. Dobby stared wide eyed at Max and then the hat itself. He had cleaned Professor Dumbledore's office and set the fires there enough to recognize the old sorting hat at once and knew that only Professor Dumbledore himself would have been able to give that hat to this stranger.

"Professor Dumbledore thought that you might need some proof that he had sent me and thought that this old hat would convince you." Max had his wand tight in his grip under his robes so that he could react if Dobby or Harry for that matter tried to run for it. The old torn hat seemed to have a calming effect on the creature for his ears stopped quivering and he was now looking at Max wide eyed. "Professor Dumbledore gave the sorting hat to you?" Max moved slowly so as not to spook the little creature standing a few feet from him. He sat forward in his chair again so that a beam of light from the window illuminated his face and said "His is very worried about Harry. I am a friend of Professor Weasley's up at the school and he contacted me to try and find Harry and you." Dobby's ears started quivering again and he said, "Professor Dumbledore knows that Dobby is with Harry Potter?" He seemed to shrink before Max's eyes and this creature was clearly frightened that his presence was discovered. "Yes, he knows and is very glad that you are with young Mr. Potter." Dobby looked incredulous at this news and a hint of suspicion crept into his eyes. He had expected Professor Dumbledore to be angry not happy about what he and Harry had done. Max saw the abrupt change in the elf's attitude and continued in a calm voice.

"Professor Dumbledore knows that you would take care of him and protect him from harm if you needed to, but he is very vulnerable out here on his own, even with your help." Dobby looked less wary and shot another glance at the sorting hat. This stranger must have been sent by the Headmaster or he could not have had the sorting hat. Max could see Dobby mulling this all over in his mind but he also knew that he needed to act quickly and tried another tactic. "Dobby, once the Death Eaters find out that Harry is not under the protection of Professor Dumbledore they will be looking for him too, you do realize this don't you?" Dobby seemed even more upset now with the thought of Voldemort's Death Eaters coming after Harry. He made a decision to trust this stranger because Dobby was certain that no wizard could possibly get a hold of the sorting hat unless Dumbledore himself gave it to them.

"Harry Potter is hiding in a cave nearby but he is very sick and needs a healer." Max sat up alerted by these words. "I came to collect Harry Potter's things." Max stood and started to pick up the belongings in the room and shove them into the backpack that sat open on the bed and said "Where is this cave Dobby?"

When Max and Dobby entered the larger inner chamber of the cave Harry was still propped against the rock in front of the fire but he was slumped over to the side a little and was mumbling under his breath, which was coming in ragged gasps. Max dropped the bag and went straight to Harry. He was hot to the touch and was covered in a clammy sweat. "He has a fever and what sounds like pneumonia by his breathing." Max was quite familiar with the look and sound of pneumonia having suffered from it repeatedly as a child. Max conjured a stretcher and lifted Harry onto it. Harry opened his eyes and looked up at Max. It took him a moment to focus on his face but as soon as he did Harry sat bolt upright which sent a dizzying wave of nausea over him and he started coughing violently. Once the coughing spasm let up Harry looked at Max again and said, "Who are you?"

Max sat down on the rock that Harry had been propped against and smiled. "I am a friend of Bill Weasley's. Professor Dumbledore is very worried about you young man and half the Order of the Phoenix is out looking for you. You have given everyone quite a scare." Harry was staring at this stranger then his gaze moved to Dobby who was standing just on the other side of the fire wringing his hands and looking torn between relief that Harry would defiantly be going back to Hogwarts now and worry that Harry would be furious with him for leading this strange wizard right to him. "My name is Max Barnstodt and I am a bounty hunter from America. Bill Weasley contacted me and asked me to find you." Harry didn't know what to believe. He knew that the Order was looking for him because Moody had turned up at Azkaban but he had never seen this wizard before and had no recollection of Bill ever mentioning him.

A wave of dizziness washed over him and he fell back to his elbows on the stretcher. Max touched Harry's face and continued "Harry you are burning up with fever and you need to be washed up a bit. I am going to send your elf friend back to Hogwarts to get a healer to come and see you. You are in no condition for traveling." Harry, who was week as a kitten, had not choice but to believe this man and lay down on the stretcher again closing his eyes. He was so incredibly tired and he was finally beginning to really accept the fact that this wasn't going to work. He realized that he should never have tried to go after Voldemort on his own. 'Look what a mess I've made of things so far, and I still don't know how to find Voldemort' he thought dimly to himself as he drifted off into a fitful sleep. Max stood up and looked at Dobby. "How on earth did he get so sick and what in God's name is that stench?"

Dobby was wringing his hands again and told Max about Harry crossing the firth on the Ferry strapped to the side and nearly drowning, then about the flight down to the prison cistern room and Harry being washed out with the wastewater coming from the drainage pipe. Max was looking at Harry in silence his face showing shock and admiration for this boy's moxy. He turned to Dobby and said "You have been a very good friend to young Harry here, now I need you to go to Hogwarts and tell Professor Dumbledore what has happened and have him send a healer." Max pulled parchment and a beat up old quill from his robes and scrawled a quick note to Professor Dumbledore then handed both it and the sorting hat to the elf. "Harry is very ill and needs medical care before he can travel. After what happened at the prison it won't be long before Voldemort and his Death Eaters are aware that Harry has left school and they will come looking for him." Dobby nodded gravely and with a loud pop he disappeared.

[Alice I]

Harry was standing in front of a mirror over a fireplace the light of which was glowing up and illuminating his skull white face. He was staring into the face of Lord Voldemort but the Dark Lord did not look well. The skin on his white face was distorted in a grimace of pain and fear as he thought back to the events on the Quidditch field the other day. A voice from behind him snapped him out of his reverie and made Harry turn. A small mousy little man that Harry recognized as Wormtail stood watching him with fear evident on his face. "What is it my Lord?" Wormtail bowed so low that his face nearly brushed the floor. Harry turned abruptly and paced back and forth.

"Potter has left Hogwarts, I am sure of it. The fear humming in his heart is strong, but why has he left the safety of Dumbledore's watchful eyes? What does he know?" Harry hit his fist on the top of the mantelpiece as a flash of anger and uncertainty rushed through him. He remembered clearly feeling the pain that had been inflicted upon him when he was forced out of the boy's mind and with that kind of power manifesting at such a young age he was apprehensive about the boy's ability to defeat him as prophesized. Harry started pacing back and forth again then stopped suddenly and shouted at the air "What does he know?!"

Wormtail flinched and cowered away from his master's wrath. "The Hand of Gryffindor is in Godrick's Hollow, of this I am certain, but I must know where. I must have that scroll! Fourteen years that information has been locked inside of her mind, I must have it! I must get to the legacy first! Send Bellitrix to St. Mungo's. She must find a way to get the information I need!" Harry was shouting and a feeling of panic barely contained began to bubble up in his stomach.

Wormtail was cowering and spoke in a squeaky little voice "Master the boy knows nothing of the legacy or the scroll; how could he find it?" Harry turned on Wormtail anger welling up inside of him "Fool! Only the heir of Gryffindor can find the legacy, but as I have his blood all I need is that scroll and I can claim the hand for myself before he gets to it!" Harry continued in a soft voice that sent shivers down Pettigrew's spine "But I must have that scroll!"

Then Harry stopped and looked around as though sensing something. He turned quickly and stared into the reflection of the mirror over the mantel. The face of Lord Voldemort stared back then his eyes narrowed as though concentrating on the reflection staring back at him. Faintly he saw the image of another reflection starting to emerge; superimposed over his own reflection. Slowly dark hair and bright green eyes emerged behind the cold red eyes of the dark lord shown in the mirror’s reflection. Harry could now see his own reflection as well as Voldemort's in the mirror. 'He can see me!' Harry thought as a new panic filled him and he felt a cold fear as Voldemort concentrated on the reflection of Harry in the mirror. Voldemort was looking out into a large cave with a blazing fire going. A wizard that he did not recognize stood before him looking shocked and fearful. Harry heard Voldemort's voice say "Potter is not at Hogwarts!"

As the two stared at each other through the reflection Harry became aware that he was no longer seeing through Voldemort's eyes but through his own eyes reflected in that mirror. He looked out into a dark room with a large wing backed chair and Wormtail cowering behind Voldemort on the hearth rug in front of the chair. There was a small table next to the chair that held a shallow stone basin with runes all around the sides and a swirling silver substance floated inside. Unlike Professor Dumbledore's pensive, this basin also had a carving of a snake circling the base under the runes that almost seemed to be moving.

Voldemort eyes narrowed in concentration and Harry's scar exploded in fiery pain. He screamed and grabbed his head and Voldemort's high voice filled with rage snarled "You are mine!" then the red cat like eyes of Voldemort concentrated hard on the reflection of Harry and he felt the same pain that he had felt when Voldemort attacked him in the forest but something inside of Harry clicked into place and a small voice in the back of his mind said "NO!" and the pain subsided slightly then Voldemort's high voice screamed "Find him!"

Harry looked directly into those red eyes and concentrated on sending the pain back to its sender the same way he pushed the beads of light back to Voldemort's wand when they dueled. Much to his surprise he could feel it working. The searing pain that Voldemort was channeling through Harry's scar was seeping away and he had a definite sense of it traveling back to Voldemort whose eyes opened wide in shock and fear.

Max tried to shake Harry awake as he writhed on the stretcher screaming in pain and holding his forehead. He had been mumbling incoherently and Max had assumed it was delusional due to the fever but then he started yelling "He can see me. He knows I have left!" The panic in his cries and the pain he was experiencing was most defiantly real and no fever induced delusion. This boy was under attack by the Dark Lord as Bill had described to him. Then Harry stopped screaming and his eyes snapped open and Max got the distinct impression that he was not seeing the cave around him but some vision that only he could see. Harry stood and his face, glistening with sweat, took on a hard look as his green eyes blazed with a fire that was almost palpable. Raw power seemed to be flowing through this boy making him almost glow.

Max felt a twinge of real fear for the first time in his adult life and stepped back from Harry. After what seemed a long time but was only a few moments the sense of power flowing through Harry ebbed away and his face became slack as he collapsed on the floor of the cave. Max lifted his limp form back to the stretcher that he had conjured and wiped sweat from Harry's brow. Max felt out of his depth just now and was wishing that the little house elf would return.

[Alice I]

Snape felt a sharp pain in his arm and looked down at the Darkmark burning black. He quickly went to his office and opened the locked drawer of his desk and found that the snake's eyes on the snuffbox were glowing red. He had been expecting this and he opened the lid and carefully took the folded parchment out and read quickly. With a grim yet resolute expression on his face Snape destroyed the parchment and pocketed the snuffbox as well as the quill that went with it as he turned to leave his office.

Professor Dumbledore was sitting in his office talking to Cornelius Fudge who had returned to Hogwarts when Mad Eye Moody had turned up at the Ministry looking for signs that Harry had gone there. He was furious with Dumbledore for allowing the situation to have gotten out of control and stood ranting at him. "First you allow the boy to be attacked at home then he is attacked here at school! The quidditch match was an unbelievable disgrace and now you have allowed Potter to run away! You have completely lost control of things here and I will be bringing up your immediate dismissal with the Board of Governors as soon as I am finished here with you!"

Dumbledore was staring hard at Cornelius Fudge anger quite evident on his face. "Cornelius, the hypocrisy of your accusations is staggering. No one could have foreseen the events that have transpired here and while I was indeed having Harry monitored closely I could not have prevented the incidents that you blame me for. The Order of the Phoenix has been working tirelessly since the return of Voldemort; first to make you, Cornelius, and the rest of the wizarding world acknowledge Voldemort's return and then to set into motion the steps necessary to stop his full return to power." Dumbledore stood up and came around his desk prepared to continue but stopped at the popping sound that he heard behind him.

He turned to see Dobby standing there wringing his hands with his ears quivering madly, his large eyes positively watering. Dumbledore crossed the room to him quickly and Dobby lowered his eyes while huge tears fell down his face. Dumbledore knelt down and gently placed his hand on the little elf's shoulder "What has happened Dobby? Is Harry alright?" Dobby looked up into Dumbledore's eyes and shaking he squeaked "Harry Potter is needing help sir. It is all Dobby's fault sir. I should have tried harder to stop him. Harry Potter hid on the ferry to get to Azkaban and nearly drowned!" Dobby wailed as great big tears welled up in his eyes. "When we gets to the prison Harry Potter is finding out that Draco Malfoy is there. Dobby is putting Veritaserum in his water so Harry Potter can ask him how to find the Dark Lord."

Cornelius Fudge stepped forward and said "What did he find out elf?" Dobby shrank away from the Minister of Magic with a squeak and Dumbledore moved in front of Fudge so that Dobby was shielded from his view. Dobby continued to tell Professor Dumbledore about the events at the prison including their discovery by Moody and Harry's harrowing escape.

Professor Dumbledore asked "Dobby is Harry alright? Where is he now and is he alone?" Dobby pulled the sorting hat out of the inside of his tea towel and handed it over to Professor Dumbledore. "You sent an American wizard to find him sir and he is with Harry Potter now but Harry Potter is very sick. He needs a healer sir" Dobby then pulled out a rolled up parchment that was the note from Max and handed that to Professor Dumbledore who quickly unrolled it and read.

Professor Dumbledore looked down at Dobby who was standing there wringing his hands and crying large wet tears that were soaking the front of his tea towel and said kindly to him "Dobby I am very glad that you were with Harry through this, but right now I need you to go to Madam Tosh." He stood and strode over to his desk and referring to the note that Max had sent, Dumbledore wrote a new note to Madam Tosh hurriedly then turned back to Dobby. "Please take this note to Madam Tosh. Then lead her to Harry. I will send a carriage to pick him up but she needs to attend to him immediately."

Dobby took the note and pocketed it and looked up again to Professor Dumbledore and said "Dobby is very sorry sir for letting Harry Potter leave Hogwarts. Dobby was not knowing what to do and Harry Potter was going to leave even when Dobby said not to. Dobby went with Harry Potter to try and protect him sir. Dobby is most ashamed for his disobedience to Professor Dumbledore. Dobby will punish himself soundly sir." The elf looked down and sighed.

Professor Dumbledore placed his fingers under Dobby's pointy little chin and lifted his head so that they were looking at each other. "Punishment will not be necessary Dobby. You did what any true friend would have done by going with him. Mr. Potter is very lucky to have a friend like you Dobby." The little elf's tears dried up at Dumbledore's words and he sniffled loudly. "Professor Dumbledore is not angry with Dobby?" he asked hardly able to believe that he was not going to be sacked for his part in helping Harry run away. Dumbledore smiled and with a twinkle in his eye he said "No Dobby I am not angry with you. Now if you please, go to Madam Tosh and lead her to Harry right away." Dobby pulled himself up and squared his shoulders then with a crack he was gone.

Dumbledore turned to the Minister of Magic "Cornelius if you would please excuse me I need to arrange for transportation for young Mr. Potter, back to school." he said in a dismissive and final tone of voice. Fudge could barely contain his rage as the color rose in his face. This is the second time that he, the Minister of Magic, had been summarily dismissed by Albus Dumbledore in as many days. "You brought in an American? The Board of Governors will be hearing about this and I will stay here in the castle Dumbledore! I will want to interview that young man as well as this American once they arrive. Do I make myself clear sir?"

Dumbledore's eyes flashed dangerously as he turned on Fudge. "Harry Potter's running away from school is in no way the responsibility of the Ministry. As to the Board of Governors they will undoubtedly remind you that as Mr. Potter's headmaster it is my prerogative to use any personnel I see fit to locate one of my students. Mr. Potter has taken ill as you yourself heard Cornelius, and I will see to his immediate physical needs before I will allow any sort of interview. I do believe that I have made myself quite clear. You may wait in the castle if you so choose but you will now excuse me!" Fudge turned on his heel and stormed out of Dumbledore's office just as Professor Snape was entering. Fudge was so angry that he didn't even realize that he nearly knocked him over as he left making Snape stare after him with an ugly look on his face.

Professor Dumbledore had called for Bill, Ginny, Ron and Hermione to come to his office. Molly was already there when they arrived. As soon as Ginny saw her mother she said "Have you found him? Is he alright?" she sounded frightened but her eyes had a hopeful gleam in them. Hagrid had just come in as well and placed a calming albeit huge hand on her shoulder for comfort nearly knocking her over.

"Please everyone sit down. Harry has been found and will be returning tonight to the castle." Dumbledore looked at Hermione and continued "He did indeed go to Azkaban Prison and used veritaserum on Draco Malfoy." Ron whistled and said "Blimey" Dumbledore smiled very slightly and continued "Professor Moody saw Harry inside of the prison but Harry managed to get away from him and flew back to the mainland as a storm was brewing."

Molly gasped. Arthur had gone to Azkaban once and she knew how dangerous the weather in Northern Scotland was in a storm. "Is he alright, did he make it safely back to the mainland?" Dumbledore raised a hand to calm her as he continued. "Harry did somehow manage to fly back to the mainland but between his crossing the firth hidden under his invisibility cloak on the ferry and the flight back during a brewing storm he became ill. Max Barnstodt, Bill's friend from America, tracked him down and sent word for a healer to come. He believes that Harry may have developed a case of pneumonia…" Ginny and Hermione gasped "…which you should know is a relatively simple illness to cure, especially for Madam Tosh, whom has already left to go and see him."

Ginny was so thankful that Harry had been found but relief was warring with anger inside of her mind because he had caused her so much worry. Dumbledore knew that what he was about to say wouldn't sit well with her but continued. "Now Harry will be brought back to the castle by carriage…" and he pointedly looked at Hagrid who nodded his understanding "but, he needs to recover first from the pneumonia and I will also need to interview him before he can have visitors." Upon seeing the stubborn, shocked and disappointed looks on the faces of his friends Dumbledore said "Not to worry, I imagine that he will be able to receive visitors by tomorrow morning. Now it is getting late so why don't you three…" he said indicating Ginny, Ron and Hermione "…head off to the tower. If there is a need to call you down to the hospital wing I will send for you immediately." The three of them got up reluctantly to leave but as this was the decision of the headmaster there was nothing for it except to go back to the common room.

[Alice I]

After they had left the office Dumbledore turned to Hagrid and said "Would you please take a carriage to the gateway in Duncansby. There you will be picking up Harry, Madam Tosh, Max Barnstodt and Dobby the house elf." Hagrid got to his feet and said "Right away sir." Then he turned back to Dumbledore "He really will be alright?" he asked and Dumbledore patted his arm as even at Dumbledor’s considerable height he could not reach Hagrid's shoulder and said "He'll be fine now Hagrid. Mr. Barnstodt will safely care for him until Madam Tosh arrives." Hagrid felt very re-assured by the fact that Madam Tosh was going to be taking care of Harry and that he wouldn't be sick for much longer. He got up and headed out to the forest to gather a couple of thestrals for the job.

When the portrait closed behind them Ginny headed straight for the fireplace with such a fiery look that a group of second years, who caught sight of her, quickly moved to the other side of the common room. Ginny sat down and with crossed arms, looked up at Ron and Hermione defiantly and said "So how do we get into the hospital ward tonight?"

Ron & Hermione looked at each other and realized that they had no hope of changing Ginny's mind so they shrugged and sat down with her to plan how they were going to get to Harry without getting caught.

The night was especially dark as clouds obscured the moon and stars. Cittel had never been to a council meeting before and was unsure how to react. Magorian noticed his unease and told him quietly to move up front and listen closely, but not to venture an opinion on the views or observations of the fully-grown centaurs unless asked to speak. "This is where you will learn how decisions are made young Cittel."

Magorian called the centaurs to order after a few minutes and they all turned toward him. "Reading the signs is a difficult task, and when there is dissention among the viewers it causes tension." Magorian said this looking directly at Bane. "The path of wizard kind has been shown to us but not all have seen the same outcome written above." Magorian turned to the fire burning in the council clearing and threw a hand full of dried leaves into the flames. They burned quickly and formed a thick smoke that swirled before the centaurs.

To the untrained eye this just looked like smoke wafting up from the leaves burning in the hot embers but there was a subtle design hidden in the swirling smoke. Magorian reached out his hand and swiped it through the smoke and a branch with three tributaries seemed visible for a moment before dissipating. The crow's foot sign was clear to all of the centaurs present, even Cittel.

Magorian turned to Cittel and asked "What did you're young eyes see?" Cittel was startled by the question as he had just been told to hold his tongue but after a moment he realized that Magorian had only told him not to comment on any of the other Centaurs opinions. After only another moments hesitation, that he hoped seemed to the others to be a thoughtful interlude, he replied "The foot of the crow and the sign of the legatee." He replied in a firm voice. Magorian smiled and said "How does your heart interpret your vision?" Cittel grew nervous now. Of course none of the others had ventured an opinion yet so he was commenting on what his own knowledge of foreseeing told him so he said "It shows that the path is unclear. The one who can find the true path takes up the quest but it is unclear if he will succeed."

All of the centaurs were looking at Cittel and listening carefully. He felt slightly uncomfortable under their gaze. Magorian turned to the heard and said "Cittel has a good eye and sees more than I would have credited him for. Wizard kind is entering its next great war. That is clear to all. One of our number has seen the outcome as a victory for wizard kind over the forces of evil, while another has seen the fall of the wizard world as we have known it. I have seen both futures and it is unclear even to me what will be the outcome of the red star's war for the wizarding world."

"Why did Firenze leave the heard and go into service of the humans? If he saw the end to wizard kind then what can he hope to accomplish by doing this? He must come home to the forest and leave the wizard's war to the wizards." said Ronan.
"He is a fool and a traitor. We have all decided on that point" Bane cut in angrily. There was a stirring in the back of the heard. "You have seen the same signs as Firenze but you do not agree that wizard kind will fall. You and Firenze contradict each other and it is YOU, Bane, who does not want Firenze back." A petite chestnut brown centaur said. Bane looked daggers at this female and shot back "You have always favored Firenze Isis, and your judgment is suspect." Magorian said in a loud clear voice "I have seen the outcome of wizard kind winning this war against the evil that approaches but I have also seen the ruination of the wizarding world as it is now." Bane pawed the earth "Why should we care whether or not wizard kind fights or wins this war? We are centaurs; we do not abide by their laws, or their needs. We are not their servants!"

Magorian sighed and said "Bane, if the wizard world that we know comes to pass then we will share this world with the dark one. He will not care for our privacy, he will put and end to our world as we know it for if he defeats the wizard world he will have more power that we alone could fight." The centaurs murmured amongst themselves at this consideration.

There was movement at the back of the herd and a tall sleek female centaur stepped in to the light of the fire. She was honey colored and had long blonde hair that cascaded down over her chest and back. Upon her head was a fine crystalline wreath of leaves and tiny flowers. All of the centaurs in the clearing bowed before her presence before Magorian spoke. "Lady Gryphon; you honor us with your presence." Then he bowed even lower.

"I have seen the one that Cittel spoke of; the one who could find the path to victory for wizard kind." Magorian looked up at the Lady Gryphon and asked "Does he find the path Lady?" She looked around at the centaurs gathered and took in the mixture of emotions showing on the faces and in the stances of her herd. "It no longer matters if the legatee finds the path to victory for even if he finds the dark star's bane he will perish in the task alone, we will be driven from our home and our lives will forever be changed. Our foals will perish under the rein of the dark star. Our lives will be forfeit at the hands of a merciless tyrant who seeks immortality and complete dominion over all life; not only wizard kind."
"Lady you say that all hope is lost to us?" Isis asked with a shiver evident in her voice.

Lady Gryphon moved gracefully toward the center of the gathered adults to face Isis directly and spoke soothingly to the young female. "The future is not fixed. We must decide whether to fight against the dark star or perish as the red star brings war to our domain." She looked up at all of the council gathered in the clearing before continuing "The final battle will be fought here." She looked at each of the adults in turn but her gaze lingered on Bane and she said "I will fight the dark star. This is my home and I will fight for it, not in servitude to humans, but to my people, my foals. I will not see them perish." Every centaur in the clearing was staring raptly at Lady Gryphon stunned by her pronouncements. She turned to Magorian and said "The council will come to its own conclusions as I have no say in your decision, I only wished to inform you of my personal conviction and my decision in regard to my foals." She bowed to Magorian and left the clearing soundlessly to the stunned stares of her heard.

Bane stepped forward "We must not allow the Matriarch to fight alone." He pawed the earth as his next words came grudgingly "I will fight with the wizards." The rest of the council swayed by the Matriarch's pronouncement and the reversal of Bane's stand on the issue decided to join the fight against Voldemort. Magorian instructed Bane to accompany him and go the school to speak with Firenze and Dumbledore in the morning.

[sweetsixteen]

Wow people here are so nice! ...not.

Isnt anyone going to reply?

[Alice I]

Max was pacing back and forth in front of the fire watching Harry. He had not yet woken up since the attack or whatever it was. Max could see that he was breathing regularly if a bit ragged from the fluid in his lungs but he seemed to be more peaceful than before. His mumblings had stopped and he seemed to simply be asleep. Max fought the urge to wake him as he was still feeling a bit disconcerted about what he had witnessed earlier. Max had decided that what he had seen was indeed a real battle between the dark wizard Voldemort and this rather unimpressive looking sixteen year old boy.

Max had never seen or felt the kind of raw power that seemed to seep from Harry's very pores when he was locked in an unseen struggle with Voldemort through their shared connection. Max now understood fully why Bill believed the prophecy about Harry being the one to defeat the Dark Lord. Max chuckled to himself at his initial fear of Harry when he drove Voldemort from him. Max had seen a few possessions and thought that possibly that was what had happened tonight, but he was unsure. Bill had told him of Voldemort's possession of Harry on the quidditch field a couple of days ago but this seemed different. For one thing the boy's eyes had not changed from their bright green color. They had definitely burned with an unmistakable fire but he never saw any red in them so perhaps it wasn't a possession afterall. Max wanted very much to discuss what he had witnessed tonight with two people, Bill Weasley and Devon O'Donnell.

Harry stirred and opened his eyes. He looked around and saw a vaguely familiar wizard pacing on the other side of the fire, but he didn't see Dobby. He felt hot and cold at the same time and sat up propped on his elbow. The movement caught Max's attention and he turned toward Harry. "Well look who has decided to join us." Max said as he came around the fire. Harry had a dim memory of this man saying that he was a friend of someone he knew but his brain didn't seem to be working properly.

He sat up and a wave of nausea washed over him as he caught a whiff of his clothing, which reeked of a foul odor. Suddenly the memory of the last several hours came to him. He had narrowly escaped Azkaban through the waste water pipe in the bowels of the prison, he had flown at top speed over the churning waters of the storm torn Pentland Firth, he had nearly crashed into the huge sea stacks that lay a few miles to the south and then woke up to find this stranger standing before him. He said that he had been a friend of Bill Weasley and that Dumbledore sent him to bring Harry back to school.

Harry felt flushed and the smell of his robes was making him sick. Max could clearly see this and said "Let's get you cleaned up shall we?" Max took out his wand and conjured a large washbasin and filled it with water as Harry slowly took off his robes. Max took his fetid clothing to the mouth of the cave and laid them in a heap on the side of the stone lip of the cave. The storm that had been brewing during Harry's frantic flight from the prison was raging with full force now. Max stopped for a moment and looked out at the churning waters of the firth and felt the freezing rain stinging his face and marveled at how anyone could have flown safely through the rugged weather.

Harry was busy washing himself when Max crawled back through the stone tunnel into the large chamber, grateful for its protection from the storm. As Harry tried to get dressed in clean clothes from his backpack, a sever coughing fit wracked his tired body. Max had to help him finish getting dressed once the coughing had passed as it had drained the last of his strength.

Shortly after Max had gotten Harry back to the stretcher where he had fallen back into feverish and fitful sleep there were noises coming from the stone tunnel connecting the chamber they were in to the front of the cave. Max drew his wand and pointed it at the opening of the tunnel when Dobby's head appeared in the opening. Max let out a sigh of relief and lowered his wand. Dobby crawled out of the tunnel and following him was a large Great Horned Owl.

As soon as this owl soared through the opening there was a loud pop and the owl transformed into a tall witch in her fifties. She looked over at Max and nodded saying "You would be the American wizard?" Max was still looking slightly startled but nodded just the same. Madam Tosh immediately turned her attention to Harry as she pulled out her wand and conjured a small table, which she started putting potion ingredients on, that she pulled from inside her robe pockets. She spoke quietly as she worked "Professor Dumbledore sent Dobby to get me. My name is Madam Tosh and I am Harry Potter's healer. Professor Dumbledore is sending a coach to pick up Harry as he is obviously too sick to travel. We must get him back to the safety of Hogwarts before anyone finds out that he has left the protection of the school." Max was watching this witch closely but felt comfortable that she was who she claimed to be as Dobby had indeed arrived with her.

He said "It is too late for that miss." Madam Tosh put down the goblet that she had been mixing a potion in and turned to face Max and asked "Why do you say that Mr. Barnstodt?" Max looked at her and was clearly weighing how much he felt that he should reveal to her as she was still non-the-less a stranger. "Harry had a…
…a vision of sorts. He said that Voldemort knows that he has left the castle." Madam Tosh winced slightly at the mention of the Dark Lord's name but the grave look on her face was very telling to Max. "Did Harry say whether or not his location here in this cave was known to the Dark Lord?" Max shook his head and said "He only said 'He can see me. He knows I’ve left' I do not know if Voldemort could see where Harry stood at the time of this vision or what ever it was but even if he could, all it looks like is a cave and that tells him nothing."

Madam Tosh returned to the goblet that she was preparing but continued to speak to Max "The fact that Harry's absence from Hogwarts is known puts him at enormous risk. We must get him back as quickly as possible. If Lucius Malfoy is not yet aware of his son's imprisonment, he will be very soon." She turned to Harry and shook him gently on the shoulder to rouse him. He was feverish and week but his eyes flickered open and when he focused on Madam Tosh relief flooded through him. She smiled warmly down at him and said "You must drink all of this Harry." She helped him to sit up and then handed him the goblet that she had prepared. Once he had drained the goblet he closed his eyes and laid back down falling quickly into a more restful sleep than he had had since Friday evening.

Within four hours Harry was feeling much better but still very tired. He sat up and drank another goblet of potion when he heard a loud voice saying "How in blazes am I ter fit through tha tiny hole! Harry yer in there mate?" A smile spread across Harry’s face as he recognized the voice of Hagrid although he sounded quite upset. Madam Tosh turned to Harry and said "I believe that your ride has arrived." Max picked up Harry's backpack as Madam Tosh transformed and flew out through the stone tunnel followed by Max and Harry with Dobby bringing up the rear. Once Harry had emerged from the tunnel Hagrid pulled him into a giant bear hug that nearly cracked his ribs. "Ah Harry, yer ok!" he said as great tears welled up in his eyes. He let go of Harry who smiled up at Hagrid "Hi Hagrid." he said with a smile but Hagrid suddenly said in a very angry voice "Don' yer go runnin' away like tha' ever again, Harry! Ginny she's been cryin' ever since yer left and Ron and Hermione's been worried sick! I aint slept a wink and Dumbledore, well he is dealin' with the Minister o' Magic blamin' him fer you runnin' away!"

Harry's smile faded and was replaced with a look of consternation. His warm feeling vanished like smoke and he felt terrible. He hadn't realized how much trouble his leaving would cause and to have Hagrid angry with him hurt more than anything he could have faced out here on his own. "I'm sorry Hagrid." He said but Hagrid turned his back on Harry and stumped off out of the mouth of the cave. He called back over his shoulder "Come on you lot, the carriage is at the top by the gate!" as he made his way up the stairs up the cliff face. Harry was astonished that the staircase would support Hagrid's immense weight and size but it did not so much as creak as he ascended the cliff face in the raging storm that was sending hard pellets of frozen snow and ice raining down on them.

At the top of the stairs Harry saw one of the carriages that they ride from the train platform to the school every year pulled by not one but two thestrals. Harry assumed that that was due to having Hagrid as a passenger. Harry was wondering how they were all going to fit inside the carriage with Hagrid but his question was soon answered as Hagrid took a seat up on top of the carriage where the driver would normally sit. Harry found this curious as the thestrals were able to take Harry and his friends to the Ministry of Magic last year with out guidance, so he wondered why Hagrid needed to drive them to this place.

Once everyone else was inside the carriage the thestrals took off into the night taking the carriage along with them. Snow had started to fall and Harry stared out the window feeling worse than ever. He was only slightly feverish now but still very weak, but it wasn't the pneumonia that had him feeling so lousy, it was Ginny. Hagrid had said that she had been crying since he left, that Ron and Hermione were worried sick and Hagrid was clearly very angry with him. He kept thinking about why he had decided to leave in the first place and all of his convincing reasons seemed so mute now. Hagrid would probably never speak to him again and if he had made Ginny cry for the last three days then she would probably never speak to him again either, that is after she had thoroughly told him off for leaving in the first place. All in all he felt completely miserable and even life on Privet Drive seemed almost preferable to facing Ginny when he got back to the castle.

Fudge was pacing impatiently having decided to wait in the hospital ward to see that Harry was indeed back and to give him a piece of his mind for running off like that and causing no end of trouble for everyone. Dumbledore had told him that there was no need for him to stay but he insisted that as the Minister of Magic he was going to do precisely as he wished regardless of what Dumbledore felt was necessary.

When the carriage finally arrived in front of the steps leading up to the great oak front doors Harry had fallen asleep again. Madam Tosh touched his arm to wake him and when he opened his eyes the sight of the castle sent mixed feelings through him. He realized that leaving was not a good idea and he wished that he had not done so but he still felt justified in his reasoning so he was torn by shame at causing so much worry and trouble for the people he loved but by the same token he was also trying to protect those very people with his decision to leave.

Thinking about this is all he had done on the return trip to the castle and his head hurt now. He was exhausted and wanted more than anything to just go to sleep for a good long while, but he knew that was not going to happen. First of all he needed to tell Professor Dumbledore about the contact that he had had with Voldemort. He had pushed him away again and had attacked him back this time knowingly. He had a weapon to use against Voldemort but he was still unsure how to get it to work. He knew that of Voldemort tried to attack him he could turn that attack against the Dark Lord but had no clue how to initiate the contact.

Then there was conversation that Harry had overheard between Voldemort and Wormtail. Had that been a trick to lure Harry to a place called Godrick's Hollow like he did with the Department of Mysteries last year or was this the genuine article. Had Harry overheard or gotten a glimpse of Voldemort's plans? What was the legacy of Gryffindor, and what about the scroll that Voldemort talked about? How could sending a Death Eater to St. Mungo's get him the information that he wanted? Voldemort had said that only the heir of Gryffindor could find this legacy but that he, Voldemort, had his blood. Was he talking about Harry's blood? Was Voldemort saying that Harry was the heir of Gryffindor, as he was the heir of Slytherin, and finally what was "The Hand of Gryffindor?"

[Alice I]

Chapter Nineteen
Dangerous Liaisons

Harry got out of the carriage and saw that a heavy snow had started to fall. It was well after midnight and even though he was exhausted he felt the need to speak with Professor Dumbledore immediately and instinctively turned toward his office. Madam Tosh placed a hand on his shoulder and said "You need to go to the hospital wing and get properly cleaned up. Professor Dumbledore will call on you there." Harry reluctantly allowed himself to be steered toward the hospital wing while Max asked Hagrid to show him to the headmaster's office where he found Bill Weasley talking with Professor Dumbledore.

Max told both of them everything that he had witnessed with Harry including the power that he seemed to posses. "I have never seen or felt anything like it before." He turned to Bill and said "I can see why you believe this prophecy, but was he actually possessed by Voldemort in that cave?"

Dumbledore looked from Max to Bill with raised eyebrows. Bill turned scarlet and said “I told Max about the prophecy because he needed to know how important this was and what he was going to be up against. I should have said something to you sir, but with the situation with Harry and Ginny…” Dumbledore held up a hand and said “I quite understand Bill.” He turned to Max and said “Now you understand how important Harry is to the future of this world." Dumbledore decided that the time had come to share information with this wizard.

“Voldemort has grown stronger over the last year and has formed alliances that that the Order of the Phoenix has tried to stop. You seek a man from the United States for a bounty, is that correct?”
Max was now the one looking wide eyed between Bill and Professor Dumbledore but Bill raised both hands looking just as surprised and said “Honestly I didn't tell him anything Max.” Dumbledore was smiling and said “Mr. Barnstodt I assure you, Bill never mentioned you to me before Harry went missing. However, I do take notice when an American wizard turns up looking for a dark wizard that is quite obviously tied to Voldemort. It seems to me sir that we may be looking at opposite sides of the same coin.”

This was the opening that Max had been waiting for. “Perhaps it is time for the Order of the Phoenix to meet The Hunters.” Dumbledore smiled and said “I do believe that you are correct. We could meet here tomorrow evening in my office.” Max nodded and said that it would be arranged.

Once Harry had washed the foul smell out of his hair, had a proper bath and had a fresh pair of pajamas on he felt ready to face the consequences of his actions. Madam Tosh brought another potion for him to drink before she would allow Professor Dumbledore and the others in to come in. Once he had finished he looked up and saw his headmaster, Professor Weasley, Max Barnstodt and Cornelius Fudge enter the ward.

Madam Tosh looked at the men who had entered the ward and said in a firm voice "Harry has been through quite a lot today and this interview should be kept as short as possible." She was looking at Professor Dumbledore who nodded his understanding.

Harry was no longer flushed with fever, but was in fact rather pale. Dumbledore could see the exhaustion in his eyes but he had determined that after Max's report, he needed to get all of the information that he could about Harry's visit to Azkaban prison. Professor Dumbledore sat down in one of the chairs next to Harry's bed and said "Harry now is not the time for recriminations. As Madam Tosh has said, you have had a rather long day, but I need you to tell me about your interrogation of Draco Malfoy for a start, then I would like for you to describe for me the experience you had in the cave below the gate later that day." Cornelius Fudge looked confused by the reference to the cave but held his tongue at a warning look from Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry about all of this sir, I just couldn't get the picture of Ginny out of my head." Bill leaned forward and said "Harry what happened out on that field scared me as much as it did you. In times like that we all need to rely on our friends instead of running from them. Professor Dumbledore is right; now isn't the time for blame but you must understand that you are stronger with allies beside you, than alone." Harry sighed and bowed his head.

After a moment he looked up and said "I didn't know that Malfoy had been sent to Azkaban. I went there looking for a Death Eater who would be able to tell me how to get to Voldemort. I was going to end all of this once and for all…
…only that isn't exactly how things turned out."

"I used my invisibility cloak to sneak onto the ferry going over to the island but I got stuck behind some barrels that were suddenly tied down to the side rail and couldn't get out from behind them before the ferry set out to sea. The sea was rough and the waves were so big, I felt like I was gonna’ drown just getting to the island. I got inside the fortress through the wastewater pipe that leads to the cistern room." Bill raised an eyebrow in appraisal.

"After I got inside the prison I used my cloak again to sneak into the warden's office to see if I could find some kind of list of the prisoners. The wizards that rode the ferry over to the island were inside talking to the warden and they mentioned that Moody was coming and I got worried because he can see through my cloak. I nicked a prisoner list and saw Malfoy's name on it." Harry was careful not to mention Dobby at all. He really didn't want him to get into trouble because of his stubborn determination to go through with this plan.

Dumbledore asked "Why did you choose to interrogate Mr. Malfoy rather than one of the Death Eaters there?" Harry stopped and thought about that question for a moment before answering. "I think because he always seems to know what is going on. His dad is right up there in Voldemort's inner circle.” Fudge winced every time his name was mentioned and Harry was getting a perverse pleasure in seeing the minister squirm.

"He knew about what happened on my birthday, he and Crabbe and Goyle beat me up on Voldemort's direct orders, he is definitely in contact with his dad. I guess I figured that if I could find Lucius Malfoy, I would find Voldemort." Max was smiling at the simplicity of Harry's reasoning. It was actually a very good plan that would have worked except that, had he succeeded, Voldemort would likely have killed him.

Dumbledore then asked Harry to describe his entire interrogation of Draco Malfoy and to leave out no detail. Harry told Professor Dumbledore that the Fidelius Charm protected Voldemort but that he didn't know who the secret keeper was. He told him about the mirrors, and pass codes but what got the attention of all present was Voldemort's plan to make Harry kill in cold blood right in front of the Minister of Magic.

"Now hold on one minute! How is that a possibility? You Know Who had no idea that I would be at that match!” Fudge turned an ashen face to Dumbledore and continued “I came to speak with you, Dumbledore, about an unrelated matter. How could You Know Who have predicted that I would be at Hogwarts on that particular day?" Fudge was sounding slightly panicky and he was staring hard at Harry. Dumbledore turned to Fudge and eyed him very closely. "Apparently Cornelius, your attendance at the quidditch match this past weekend was not your own idea."

All of the others turned and looked hard at Fudge as well for if he were being controlled by the Imperious Curse, they should be able to tell by looking closely into his eyes but no sign of coercion seemed to be there, only fear. "Why are you all looking at me like that?! I make my own decisions, no one is controlling me!" he shouted. Then he turned to Harry and said "What else did young Mr. Malfoy say?"

Harry looked from Fudge to Dumbledore uncertain whether to continue but at Dumbledore's nod he continued to tell them that Malfoy said that Lucius Malfoy was actually with Voldemort and how he had taught the killing curse and the Imperious curse to Draco to carry out the plan. He also told them that Voldemort has a spy at Hogwarts but that he doesn't know who, only that that person had made sure that the Minister would be present at the match to see Harry use an unforgivable curse and that the minister would have him arrested and he was supposed rot in prison while Voldemort took over the ministry.

Fudge couldn't seem to contain himself any longer and blurted out "And this is all on your say so. You realize Mr. Potter that you have broken several laws today. You broke into Azkaban Prison, used Veritaserum on a fellow human being without authorization, used a knock out drug on a guard and another prisoner. You do not seem to have any compunction about breaking laws yet when your cousin attacked you over the summer you did nothing to defend yourself."

Harry was looking at Fudge as though he had gone mad. "What should I have done to defend myself against Dudley? He is four times bigger than me." Harry replied with an edge of real anger in his voice. Fudge was still very flustered about Harry suggesting, to his mind, that he was being controlled by the Dark Lord and almost shrieked "This Dudley is a muggle isn't he?"

Harry had had enough of this nonsense and had been longing to speak his mind to Fudge ever since last August. He stood up and faced the Minister of Magic with anger etched in every line of his face and yelled "HA! Last year when your crony Umbridge sent two dementors after me and Dudley and I did defend myself, YOU nearly chucked me out of school! Then for an entire year you made me out to be some attention seeking nutter that was a danger to myself and everyone around me. YOU sent that evil old cow into this school where she was tortured students and wouldn't allow any of the fifth years to practice for our Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. exam because YOU were afraid that Professor Dumbledore was raising and army to take over the Ministry!"

Every bit of anger and frustration that Harry had felt over the last year and a half came streaming out of him unleashed, unfettered and he didn't care that he was saying all of this to the Minister of Magic himself. "You are a warped, power hungry useless excuse for the Minister of Magic and if VOLDEMORT takes over the world and kills everyone it will basically be YOUR FAULT!"

[Alice I]

A white faced Fudge stood opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water staring at Harry and twisting his bowler hat in his hands. Harry had shouted so hard that he began coughing uncontrollably and Madam Tosh came over and tried to call an end to the interview and send everyone away, but Harry got control of himself and said "No, I'm alright." He looked at Madam Tosh willing her to understand that he must speak to Dumbledore alone about what had happened in the cave. She turned to the group and said in an extremely stern voice "Everyone except the headmaster OUT!" She raised her hand and pointed toward the door and would not move until Bill, Max and Cornelius Fudge had left and closed the door behind them.

Harry was still shaking from his outburst and he couldn't believe what he had just done. Cornelius Fudge was still the Minister of Magic after all and Harry was now worried that he had made things worse for Dumbledore and looked up at his headmaster saying "I'm sorry sir, I don't know what's got into me. I just exploded and I…" Harry hung his head for it seemed that this day was never going to end. "I'm sorry" he finished lamely.

Professor Dumbledore was looking at Harry with an unreadable expression on his face and took a moment before speaking. "Harry, what you just said to the Minister of Magic was very dangerous and very foolish regardless of how true it may have been." Harry looked up sharply. "You have made a dangerous enemy in the Minister this evening." Harry sighed but looked resolute just the same "So then, nothing is different from last year!" Harry said with a bitterness and defeated tone in his voice.

"That is not true Harry. With the ministry publicly acknowledging the return of Voldemort the relationship with the Minister and the Order of the Phoenix is even more tenuous. There are things in motion that you are unaware of, but are greatly affected by your actions.
You would be wise to be very careful what accusations you are willing to voice openly. Mentioning the minister's fear of the DA was not a wise choice Harry and it has brought that fear to the forefront of his mind. He might find himself rather at odds with Professor Weasley for being the DA teacher, especially if he hears what some of the students call him."

Dumbledore came over and sat on Harry's bed and looked at him very closely before he said. "Mr. Barnstodt told me of an experience that you had while in the cave at Duncansby. I now need you to tell me what happened tonight?"

Harry took a deep steadying breath and told Dumbledore every detail of the dream he had had including the ability to concentrate on the pain that Voldemort was making him feel and turning it back on him. Dumbledore sighed and got up to pace the room. "Harry, Voldemort believes that you are the actual heir of Godrick Gryffindor, something I have wondered about ever since you pulled his sword out of the sorting hat in your second year."

Harry's jaw dropped when he heard this. "Why didn't you tell me? Don't you think I had a right to know? I thought that you were done keeping secrets from me!" Harry was sounding angry again. Dumbledore raised his hand and said quite calmly "I said that I wondered about your ancestry but I had nothing to support that suspicion. As to the legacy of Gryffindor or the Hand of Gryffindor; it is a tale I have heard, but once again I had no proof of the existence of this artifact, nor how to find it."

Dumbledore looked directly at Harry and said "If indeed you are the actual heir of Gryffindor then you should be the only person who can find this magical item." Harry's head was spinning with this revelation but he looked up after a moment and said "But Voldemort said that he has my blood now so he can get it too. I thought maybe Voldemort was trying to trick me into going somewhere like he did in June" Harry's voice faded as he mentioned the events that lead to his Godfather's death.

Dumbledore looked appraisingly at Harry. To stop and examine the vision even while in the throws of a fever showed much better judgment than he had been showing the last few days. "Where is Godrick's Hollow anyway, and why is it so special?" Dumbledore smiled and said "It is your home Harry; that is where you lived with your parents."
Harry felt a jolt of strong emotion but he couldn't put a name to it right at that moment. What he knew was that Voldemort was trying to find a legacy left for him in the home of his ancestor and his parents; the home that would have been his if Voldemort hadn't taken the lives of his parents fifteen years ago and Harry suddenly realized that he would do anything to keep Voldemort out of Godrick's Hollow.

Just then something occurred to Harry "Would my dad have known about this hand thing? Am I Gryffindor's heir because of my dad?" Dumbledore said "Once again let me caution you Harry that we have no proof that you are the actual heir of Godrick Gryffindor but if indeed you are I would assume it is on your father's side as he came from an old pureblood family where your mother was born to muggles hence your Aunt and Uncle."

Harry fell silent for a moment then he looked up at Professor Dumbledore again and said "Voldemort said that there was a scroll that he needed and he was going to send Bellitrix Lestrange to St. Mungos to get it…" Harry paused thinking hard "…no wait actually he said he needed information from St. Mungos; information that had been locked inside her mind for fourteen years. Who was he talking about?"

Dumbledore seemed lost in thought for a minute then he said "I do not know what that meant Harry but perhaps we have been mistaken about certain things for too long." Harry looked at his headmaster bewildered. Madam Tosh stepped forward and said "It is nearly one thirty in the morning and my patient needs to sleep."

Dumbledore nodded and said to Harry "Harry, Bill said something that you need to think about very carefully. You will never be as strong alone as when you stand with your friends and family. I am very concerned about your judgment of late. Do you remember when I told you that sometimes our greatest assets can also be our greatest weaknesses?"

Harry nodded but didn't speak. "Your strong convictions and emotion may have noble intent but uncontrolled they cloud your reason and lead you to make poor choices." Dumbledore sat back and said "Harry, speak with Master Kim. He can teach you some concentration exercises that you may find helpful. Now you must get some rest for I imagine that the Weasleys will want to see you tomorrow morning." Harry felt a great jolt of regret at the thought of Ginny's reaction and lay down as Professor Dumbledore and Madam Tosh left the ward closing the door quietly behind them.

Harry lay back on the bed and closed his eyes but sleep eluded him. All of the questions he had zooming around his skull like a snitch made sure of that. Was he really the heir of Godrick Gryffindor? As utterly ludicrous as that sounded a small part of him believed it. What had his home in Godrick's Hallow been like? Was their really a legacy left hidden for him to find? What was all this scroll business about and who was at St. Mungos with knowledge about it? What did Dumbledore mean about being wrong for too long?

Ginny's face floated to the surface of his mind but he pushed it away and rolled over mulling all of the shocking information he had learned tonight. It was the thought of Ginny and her reaction however that was keeping him awake. She had been crying the whole time he had been gone according to Hagrid, who was furious with him. Would she ever speak to him again? The exhaustion of his adventures finally swept over him as he fell into a troubled sleep.

Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape faced each other from across Dumbledore's desk. He had called Snape to his office after the interview with Harry to discuss the recent turn of events. "Voldemort knows that Harry left the castle Severus. Your position is compromised. I had hoped to keep Harry's absence a secret, especially from Voldemort but the connection between them has served to work against that plan."

Snape shifted slightly in his chair and said "The fact that I did not report Potter's absence can be explained by your desire to get him back before he was missed. It is perfectly reasonable that you would have kept this information from the teachers and students."
Dumbledore looked closely at Snape's face before he said "I am still concerned for you. Voldemort was the best student in Legilimency and Occlumency that I have ever taught. You must exercise extreme caution Severus."

Snape stood up and said "As long as he believes that you still trust me I can continue. The risks are the same as before." His voice held firm but he was paler than was usual for him. Dumbledore stood also and came around the desk and said "Severus, I know that your motivations hold as much power over your actions as they have for the last fifteen years, but I must once again caution you to remember the consequences of your being found out. I know that you are prepared to see this through or die in the effort, but I do not want to see it come to that. Your death will not bring her back nor erase the debt that binds you to your conviction."

Snape stared at Dumbledore with a hollow look in his eyes. After a moment his gaze hardened until he looked deadly and said "By my life or my death I will have a reckoning of his deeds. I will be very careful to ensure that I am witness to his fall." There was an edge to his voice that sent a chill into Dumbledore then Snape turned and with a swish of his cape he swept from the office, Dumbledore staring after him with an unreadable expression on his face.

[Phaerie]

Thats great Alice. i wonder who the SHe is related to Snape. Very intriging. Although i have a suspicion of what Voldemort wants at St Mungos.

Keep up the good work

[Alice I]

Thats great Alice. i wonder who the SHe is related to Snape. Very intriging. Although i have a suspicion of what Voldemort wants at St Mungos.

Keep up the good work

Thanks Phaerie I thought that folks here had pretty much stopped reading this thing.
I'm glad you are enjoying it.


Ginny, Hermione and Ron slipped silently into the hospital ward. They quickly made their way passed Madam Pomfrey's office to the other end of the ward where Harry lay. Hermione whispered "Maybe we shouldn't wake him." Ginny turned to her and said quietly "We didn't sneak down here to not wake him up." Ginny sat down on Harry's bed and shook his shoulder slightly. "Harry, wake up." Harry stirred and rolled over looking up at Ginny sitting there with Ron & Hermione standing behind her.

"Welcome back mate." Ron said before anyone could say anything else. Harry sat up and put his glasses on. "What are you guys doing here?" Ginny stared hard at Harry and said "Well, that's a stupid question Harry. What were you thinking?" Harry knew this was coming and hung his head and said "I just couldn't loose you again." Ginny stood up facing Harry with her hands on her hips in the exact same posture Mrs. Weasley had when she was ready to start shouting but her eyes reflected weariness and relief. "You didn't want to loose me; but it's alright for me to loose you is it?" Harry couldn't think what he should say to her or any of them. All of his fierce conviction that he was doing the right thing hung mute before the three people facing him. Harry swung his feet over the side of his bed and sat up. "I was wrong and I made a real mess of things." Harry looked up at his friends and said "I'm sorry...
... I don't know what else to say."

Ron sat down on the bed opposite to Harry's and said "Just say you'll never do that again; then tell us everything that did happened. Did you really use Veritaserum on Malfoy?" Harry smiled and promised never to go off on any more adventures without them. Hermione and Ginny sat on either side of Harry and listened while he recounted everything that had happened.

Hermione said "Well it makes sense that Voldemort would be protected by the Fidelius Charm. I wonder who the secret keeper is?" Ron tutted loudly and said "It's probably Malfoy. He is like You Know Who's right hand man." Ginny sat forward and said "Why wouldn't Draco know that though?" Harry shook his head and said "He wouldn't if his dad didn't tell him. What I want to know is what all this scroll business is about. Who is at St. Mungos with information?"
It was Hermione who tutted this time. "Well, that's obvious isn't it? If the information has been 'locked'’inside her mind for fourteen years then it must be a patient. We would need to find a witch who has been a patient at St. Mungos for the last fourteen years." Ginny stood up and started pacing "How many long term wards are there at St. Mungos? Maybe she hasn't been there the whole time. It could be someone who works there but had a memory charm placed on them fourteen years ago." Hermione sighed and said "That is possible. We need more information, Harry tell us again exactly what Voldemort said."

They went over everything again and again until Harry's head was pounding. At four thirty exhaustion set in and Harry said that he needed to get some sleep. Ron and Hermione said goodbye and began walking out of the ward. Ginny gave Harry a kiss before she left and said softly "Harry, I cannot loose you anymore than you can lose me." then she turned and left as well. Harry lay down and was asleep before his friends had reached the corridor.

Bane and Magorian arrived at the school very early the next morning. They met in Firenze's classroom with him and Dumbledore. The two centaurs looked around at the forest glade that the classroom had been transformed into and pawed the ground. Magorian spoke first "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore; the centaur Firenze has been banished for peddling our knowledge to humans on your behalf. He entered into servitude to you and for that we cannot forgive!"

Dumbledore stepped forward and said "Firenze consented to help me in a time of need when I asked him. He acted as a friend to me and remains a friend, not a servant. The subject of divination has been taught at this school ever since it's founding and when our teacher was removed from office last year I asked my friend if he would be willing to help me to keep other evil influences out of this school by taking up that position. Firenze has not betrayed the secrets of your people here in this school. He has only shared the most rudimentary methods known even to your foals. Firenze remains loyal to the herd and would not divulge that which the human mind could not accept or understand."

The last statement that Dumbledore made seemed to calm the centaur facing him for most centaurs believed that humans were simple creatures incapable of understanding the true study of reading the stars. Magorian moved off a distance from Dumbledore and Firenze with Bane and they spoke in low tones for a few minutes. Bane seemed extremely agitated and appeared to be in disagreement with Magorian but after a few more minutes of heated whisperings they both returned to face Dumbledore and Firenze and Magorian said "We have come to your school bearing tidings from the Centaur council and an offer of allegiance." Dumbledore and Firenze both looked surprised momentarily before Dumbledore replied "I am gratified to accept tidings from the council and would be pleased to hear your offer."

Bane stepped forward and said, rather stiffly, "The council has temporarily lifted the banishment of the centaur Firenze." Then he glared at Firenze and bowed slightly to the centaur and human he and Magorian were facing. Magorian stepped closer to Professor Dumbledore and handed him a tightly bound parchment tied with a vine that had tiny crystalline leaves.

"Our Matriarch has chosen to fight with wizard kind against the dark star and the council will stand with her." Magorian turned to Firenze and said "Firenze you are asked to attend council for consideration as a Centaur ambassador to the wizards. Will you return to the herd and hear the appeal of your matriarch?" Firenze did not answer for a moment. He did not believe this to be a trick to get him to reenter the forest and face a murderous herd but the thought had flickered across his mind. He quickly dismissed this thought for it was not in the nature of Centaurs to perpetrate this kind of deception, that was a human trait, and he nodded and said "I will come to the council and hear the call of our mistress."