Companions of the White Warlock

Smoke Year VII - Companions of the White Warlock Chapter XV Friday, September 5, 1997

The group from the Order port-keyed to the first location just before dusk, deep in the Welsh mountains and high above the level of the cavern entrance. There were Harry, Remus, Russell, Ron, and Bill, plus Neville, Moody, and five others from the Order. The group split into groups. Neville and two Order members stayed near the top, the others swept down the hillside. The other three Order members stayed about twenty yards below the entrance to the cavern. Moody followed the assault team to the mouth of the cavern.

Russell, Remus, Ron, and Moody started a low chant in Latin, designed to weaken the first line of wards without allowing any triggers. Bill stood well back, ready to act if something went wrong. That left Harry to approach the mouth of the cave system alone.

Harry, feeling nothing, frowned as he wondered if this could be the right place. He took two more steps forward, and felt himself pass through some sort of magical boundary.

A wave of fear wafted through Harry, which then came back and hit him hard. He was suddenly in the middle of a different cavern. He was forcing Dumbledore to drink the poisonous liquid from the bowl containing the faux Horcrux.

"Harry!" Bill hissed.

Harry realized that he was being influenced by the dementors in the cavern. Russell had warned him this would occur. Harry could not fight this with his Patronus, at least not directly.

Harry stretched out his hands, and thought about his positive feelings. He thought about how he felt about his friends, his followers. He thought about his positive feelings for Dumbledore, rather than the frustrations. He thought about the feelings he had for Luna, although, since those were still new to him, he didn't dwell on them.

The bad feelings receded from Harry's mind. He continued to think what he termed 'happy thoughts'.

From the rear, the assault team saw a dim blue light start to extend from Harry's hands. As it grew, it seemed to draw a sickly green light from the air in front of him. Where the two lights interacted, the colors swirled into small vortices.

Time slowly passed. After some five minutes, Bill whispered, "Look!"

The blue was slowly dissolving the green in the swirls.

The group continued to watch.

Suddenly, there was a silent explosion of bright blue light. Harry fell to his knees and Bill walked forward, waving his wand and muttering under his breath. "It's clear!" Bill said.

Ron hurried forward and helped Harry back to his feet. He saw that his friend and leader was heavily sweating, and looked very tired. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I just ran five miles while puking and trying thinking good thoughts," Harry replied honestly.

Harry felt Ron put his arm around his shoulders. "I know," Harry said. "We have to go in there and destroy those things."

"We do," Ron agreed. "So come on. I know you hate it, but we need you, Harry."

"I know," Harry agreed, letting Ron help him to finish straightening up.

"Harry, Bill, and I will keep the dementors together if they start to move," Russell said. "Ron, Remus, you'll use these ultraviolet lights to start burning those things. We'll join in when we can."

"Let's go," Harry said grimly. The group marched into the cave opening.

Moody gathered the group together up near Neville's position at the top point. Harry and Russell sat heavily on the ground. Bill, Remus, and Ron looked nearly as tired. Seeing that Moody was looking around and that Harry was only two feet from his boots, Neville crouched down. "Is there anything I can do, Harry?"

"How's your canteen?" Harry asked. Conjured water, after all, didn't really quench thirst well, as it disappeared from your system at some point. It was really only good for washing.

Neville silently unhooked Harry's canteen and shared a quarter of his own remaining water with Harry. "Thanks, Neville."

Neville looked over at Ron. "Bad?"

"Bloody awful," Ron agreed. "Seeing my own worse fears and memories was bad enough, but our fears sort of bled over to each other."

"Don't worry, lad," Moody muttered. "If you won't think any worse of me, I won't of you."

Ron shuddered, remembering how Moody had felt as his eye had been torn out. "Thanks," Ron said, looking pale even in the dark.

Harry stood up shakily. "Remus?"

Remus shook off the bad memories and handed out chocolate. After Harry had eaten the piece Remus had given him, he fished out a Mars bar, the sole survivor from the box he had purchased while at Hermione's.

"There's more chocolate in this," Remus said, holding up a bar of Honeyduke's.

"Yeah, but there are better memories in this," Harry retorted. He surveyed the group. "You're Brian Richards?" Harry asked one of the Order members.

"Yes, sir," the wizard, in his mid-twenties, agreed enthusiastically. Ron and Neville grinned at Harry's slight discomfort from the form of address from the older wizard.

"Neville, could you and Brian take a port-key back to Hogwarts? We need more chocolate and more canteens of water."

"You intend to take on the next cavern?" Moody asked.

Harry nodded. "This was horrible, and the next one could be worse. Still, it's better to take these out as soon as possible. We don't want Voldemort to reenforce any of them, and we can't afford to allow them to come out of hibernation." Harry looked at the assault team. "Does anyone want to rotate out?"

None did.

"Neville, Brian?"

"On our way, Harry," Neville assured his friend.

"If we can, I want to take out the other Welsh cavern and the Scottish one tonight," Harry said.

"Ambitious," Russell pointed out.

"The Scandinavian one is supposed to be the smallest nest," Harry answered.

"Go on," Remus told Neville and Brian, offering them a portkey. "Professor Flitwick should be on duty. Have him summon a house elf and have the elf bring the large box of chocolate bars I have on the bottom of the book shelves in my office."

"Right," Neville agreed. He took the proffered port-key, and the pair took off.

"Harry. . . ." Remus started.

"You know we have to take out as many as we can tonight," Harry replied wearily. "If that means I have nightmares for the next week, so what? The dementors are the last major weapon we know for certain Voldemort has. We either take them out tonight and tomorrow, or we could still lose even if we win the war."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"The Muggle governments know about dementors," Russell answered. "They can fight them with ultraviolet light, but they still can't detect them. If they start taking heavy losses, they will start pressuring us, and we could lose our secrecy."

"I forget the exact number of Muggles in Britain," Moody started.

"About fifty-nine million," Harry put in, "and about three and half million in Ireland.

"Right. So say sixty-two million Muggles. We number a little under thirty thousand in Britain and Ireland. We're outnumbered more than two thousand to one." Moody shook his head. "We had to hide when we had magic nearly equal to what we have now and the Muggles had pitchforks. What could they do to us now?"

"You almost sound like you agree with Riddle about Muggles," Ron said. He shuddered at the look Moody shot him

"One difference is that I don't think we could or should kill off or enslave the Muggles," Moody snarled. "I also know perfectly well that we emerged from the general Muggle population, and continue to do so."

"We are the next stage of human evolution," Russell said. "The Muggles are equal to us in every respect except for magic, and that makes them, culturally, more imaginative and creative. I honestly doubt, with our low numbers, if we would ever had even invented agriculture without Muggles. They advance, and we copy. We need the Muggles, they don't need magic. If every magical creature died tomorrow, the Muggles wouldn't miss any of us. They would only miss wizards if we disappeared and magical dangers, like dementors, didn't disappear at the same time."

"At our historical numbers, we would have died out long ago," Remus pointed out.

"True," Russell agreed.

At that point, three figures appeared via port-key. "Luna?" Harry demanded. "Why are you here?" He gave Neville a dirty look. Neville shrugged helplessly.

Luna walked over to Harry and knelt beside him. "From what I heard, you had a difficult time fighting the dementors' evil. I thought, perhaps, you needed some more powerful good thoughts than what you have. I will go back if you insist before you go to your next cave, but first. . . ." Luna leaned forward and whispered intently in Harry's ear.

Even in the near darkness, it was possible to tell that Harry was both embarrassed and incredibly turned on by whatever Luna was whispering. After more than a few minutes, Luna stopped speaking, kissed Harry's ear and then his cheek, leaned back and smiled.

"Ready to go on?" Remus asked, smiled.

Harry recovered his wits and smiled grimly. "Yes, I'm ready. Let's take those caves out." He turned to Luna, silently begging her to go.

"I'll port-key back to Hogwarts," Luna said. "I'll be waiting for you when you get back." Harry took and kissed Luna's hand. She helped Harry stand, and the group went on to tackle the next nest of dementors. Harry was so inspired that they managed to take out the remaining all three nests that were their responsibility fairly quickly, rather than just the two, although when they emerged from the cave in Norway dawn had already broken.

Everyone was tired; Harry more than the others. The last port-key took them back to the front of the great doors of Hogwarts. As they came into the entrance hall, the first students were already coming down for breakfast. None of the group felt like eating, and so they split up to go to their individual quarters.

Harry and Ron went back towards their quarters together. They had suites in the back of the castle. Harry patted Ron on the shoulder in silent thanks, and Ron hesitated in front of his room but finally went in. Seeing Hermione wasn't there, Ron went to take a shower. He would knock on Hermione's door later to report, and then he would fall into bed.

Harry went into his room and was about to clap his hands for Dobby when he saw Luna asleep in his bed. He tried to quietly shut the door, but he had come in too noisily. Luna was sitting up in the bed as he turned around.

Luna slipped out of bed, nude, and walked over to give Harry a kiss on his forehead. "Dobby has a magical bubble bath ready," she said. "You soak for a bit and I'll come and wash your back. Shall I order you something to eat or drink?"

"I could use lots of hot chocolate," Harry said, trying not to stare.

"How about a cup of hot chocolate, and then a cup of camomile tea to help you sleep?" Luna suggested. "After you drink the hot chocolate, I will wash your front, and after you drink the tea, I'll dry you off, massage your back, and we can cuddle as you fall asleep."

Harry smiled. "That sounds wonderful."

Luna knelt and started to untie Harry's dirty trainers. "You don't have to wait on me," Harry said.

"I know," Luna agreed. "If I've learned anything about you, Harry, it's that you have never been pampered in your life. If you really took out two or three nests of dementors. . . ."

"We took out all four, actually," Harry said.

"Then you certainly deserve to be pampered," Luna said firmly.

"Do I really?" Harry asked plaintively.

"Yes," Luna said firmly, her expression not dreamy in the least. "You are a very good person, Harry Potter. I care for you very much. Now, just follow my lead, and by tonight, there will be no room for nightmares left."

Harry smiled. "I'm in your hands."

"Well," Luna said in her matter-of-fact way, "you will be soon."

Harry arrived at the situation room alone late that afternoon. The only person there was Remus. "Did you rest well?" Remus asked.

"Very well," Harry agreed.

"Shouldn't Luna be here to oversee any new information?" Remus teased.

"With you and the Prof in the castle?" Harry asked with exaggerated innocence. "Seriously, any news?"

"John received an owl, but it let me take the message. Part of it was in a code he taught me, and part is in one I don't know. Our allies took out five of the dementor nests last night, and presumably will attack more tonight. The locations might be in the portions I can't decode."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "So, that would mean about three quarters of the dementors are already destroyed."

"More like two thirds," Remus rejoined. "Except for the second nest we hit last night, this other group was taking on the largest six. Still, even if this mysterious group doesn't finish them off. . . ."

"They will," Harry said with confidence. "They don't like dementors."

"And they aren't afraid of Voldemort?" Remus probed.

"Not really. Voldemort will know they won't go after him directly, either, unless he attacks them. He'll no doubt mark them down for future action, but I can't see him attacking them when he still has us to deal with."

"So we can't count on any more help from this group?" Remus asked.

"I can count on one more thing," Harry answered, "but then that is it."

"And that is?"

"An empty Horcrux," Harry admitted. "It might not be the best solution, but we can try and disembody Voldemort if we can't find the missing Horcrux. We can entrap the soul fragment left inside him in this new Horcrux until we destroy the missing one and the one inside the snake."

"That's potentially fairly Dark magic," Remus warned.

"It is," Harry agreed. "Still, I won't be making the thing, and either way, I have to kill Voldemort's body, no matter if what's left of his soul is destroyed then or later. I don't see much of a moral difference."

"I suppose there's some truth to that," Remus agreed reluctantly. "I still don't like it."

"I don't like it either," Harry retorted. "Still, it's another option. We can use all the options we can get."

"I can't disagree with that, either," Remus admitted.

"Come on," Harry said, standing.

"Where are we going?" Remus asked.

"Dobby promised to have some double dark chocolate custard with chocolate whipped cream atop something called American chocolate chip brownies. Let's go get a sugar rush and a chocolate buzz before Ron eats it all."

Remus stood up. "That sounds like a good plan."

Draco Malfoy sat across the long scarred table from his father, having described all that had happened to him since they had last talked. Lucius was just looking at his son, considering the tale. Finally, he said, "I cannot say you did well, Draco. However, given the circumstances, you did not do badly, either."

"Yes, Father." Draco's eyes roamed around the large room. There were a number of these long tables, empty at the moment. The room was made of a dull concrete-like material, and twelve feet above floor level there was an observation gallery for the guards that went around the room. There were three looking at them, even now, holding Muggle weapons.

"They said you would explain things to me, sir," Draco hinted.

"Such as?"

"The routine, whatever that means. And, I would hope, where we are, and why we're being guarded by Muggles."

"I'm not certain where we are," Lucius admitted. "Some high, cold latitude, that's all I know. We aren't allowed outside. You went through that orange mist and then a shower?" Draco nodded. "That suppresses our magic, and we have to go through it every day. There are similar potions in the food and drink. You'll notice we are fed soggy foods -- oatmeal and mush for breakfast, soups for lunch, stews for dinner. Many are actually palatable, but they are also a means of holding us. Refuse the food, and by the time the potions weaken enough to access any real magic you'll be too weak to use any wandless magic you might be capable of. The walls contain both nickel and platinum ores, impossible to apparate through in any event. The guards may or may not be Muggles or Squibs, although my guess is Squibs and low-powered wizards. They have Muggle weapons because they are certain to work in this environment."

"Oh."

"As for the routine. . . ." Lucius shrugged. "We have to awaken at Six. Breakfast is at Seven, then we're misted again. We work either from Nine to Eleven, One to Three, Four to Six, or Seven to Nine."

"Work?" Draco asked, shocked.

"Work," Lucius said. "We do some of the cooking except for breakfast and all of the cleaning. It is somewhat degrading, but it isn't difficult. I'll get you assigned to the cooking. It is slightly less degrading than the cleaning up."

Draco looked uncertain about that.

"The other times, well, we can exercise, we can study, and we are allowed to talk in small groups. Then we are run through a group shower and to bed at Ten."

"Father, why are you still here?"

"I am here because I have not yet discovered a way out, and the Master prefers to make me suffer for my failures."

"Why did you serve an inhuman, insane, half-blood like him?" Draco hissed in a whisper.

Lucius nervously glanced around, although he knew no other prisoner was nearby. He considered several options, but finally opted for part of the truth. "Tom Riddle is a genius, greater and more powerful than Albus Dumbledore was. He attracted a number of influential followers despite his birth because he is the Heir of Slytherin. He was not as inhuman as he is now. In fact, he was more human right up to his bodily destruction by Potter. By then, there was no way to back out. There may be a way out of here, I am not certain. If we take it, we will be committed to serving him still or hiding from both him and the authorities. Everything else means an even quicker death. Are you still in a hurry to leave?"

"I . . . I'm not certain," Draco admitted.

"If the Master wins, he will reward us for staying faithful. If he loses, well, I have arranged certain payments to be made, and we will be out within three or four years of his defeat."

"But I told you what Weasley said. . . ."

"No Weasley understands finance," Lucius snapped. "Your mother has money, and that is not being touched. I have other moneys, which will not be discovered, although I must admit they have found a bit more than I had anticipated. Even if they did track down every knut I have squirreled away, I have other monies hidden in the Muggle world they do not suspect yet, and your mother would insure that you would not be poor, even if you would no longer be rich. Now, try and forget everything I have said since you asked that question. If we are freed by the Master, and that is in the forefront of your mind, we are both dead."

Draco swallowed nervously.

"And practice your Occlumency. That is one magic still left to us. Practice it now, and you will survive this ordeal. Fail to do so means the end to us both."

Draco nodded. "Yes, father." He glanced up at the guards.

"Don't worry. They cannot hear us. Magic doesn't work down here," Lucius said. Draco nodded, as unaware as Lucius that while magic indeed did not work in this prison, Muggle eavesdropping devices did.

Monday, September 8, 1997

Voldemort stormed out of the room he used to grant audiences to his remaining Death Eaters and potential allies and recruits. He now had six fewer allies, having just finished torturing them to death. He crashed into the potions lab, sending bottles, cauldrons, retorts, and flasks flying.

Severus Snape turned angrily around, but his anger instantly turned into fear when he saw who had invaded his laboratory. "Master!" He fell to his knees. It was clear that he wanted to ask what had happened, and equally clear he knew his life would be at an even greater risk if he asked for any information.

"Gone!" Voldemort shouted. "They are all gone!"

Snape couldn't hold himself back. "Gone, my lord?"

"Yes! Somehow, all the dementors who came to me have been destroyed!" This was the first time Snape had ever seen the Dark Lord rage like this, and he hoped it would be the last. "All thirteen caverns where they were hibernating, waiting to emerge in their larger numbers, hungrier than ever, invaded! How could anyone have gotten into those caverns? I cannot believe even Dumbledore could have forced his way into more than one, and I doubt he and all his Order would have come out alive had he done so!"

Voldemort halted his tirade. "It must have been someone new, someone allied to the Ministries and that stupid boy!"

"But who else could it be, Master?" Snape dared to ask.

"You may know even more about potion theory than I do," Voldemort allowed, "but you know little of the deeper workings of the magical world. There are covens and cults that hide away from the magical world as assiduously as the common wizard hides from Muggles. There are individuals of great age and magical power who have never striven for the real power, such as I have." Voldemort halted. "No, no! I cannot believe they have moved against me."

"Perhaps they did not move directly against you, Master," Snape suggested.

Voldemort turned angrily on Snape. "What do you mean?"

"Perhaps they hated or feared the dementors themselves, and so moved against them while they were finishing their reformation," Snape suggested.

"Perhaps, but they still have disturbed my plans, and destroyed my allies! But who?"

"Is there any particular group that feared or hated the dementors more than any others?" Snape suggested.

"All but I hated and feared dementors," Voldemort declared. Then he thought about that idea. "Still, vampires certainly particularly loathed dementors. Perhaps a combination of the oldest, more powerful magical vampires?" Voldemort frowned, thinking of other, more dangerous powers that might have struck against the dementors. He dared not mention them, not to Snape nor even really to himself. Voldemort turned his frown onto Snape. "Comment, Severus?"

"I am at a loss," Snape admitted. "If any ministry or whomever the people are who are fronting Potter were behind this, they would have announced it by now."

"It will be in tomorrow's Prophet, although so far as my informant knew there are no details as to who was behind this," Voldemort snarled.

"Would this person know exactly what was in the article, my lord?" Snape asked.

"Actually, no," Voldemort admitted. "Assume a disguise and bring me an early edition."

"Yes, my lord," Snape said with a bow.