A Mortal Enemy

Chapter 21: Mistakes

"It's louder. She must be in London. This way," Harry whispered from beside a tall fence made of a red colored wood. The sun was now reflecting off the pavement up through the alley they had Apparated into, giving the scene a pale eerie sort of feeling. A brief moment of impending doom rushed over Kara, but she shook it off quickly as Potter began leading them into the main street.

Sirius and Harry fell into step under an Invisibility cloak; Kara hugged her own tightly to her body and followed the pair. The streets were as Kara imagined they would be, littered with uncreative architecture and precisely manicured lawns. It was nothing like Wizarding neighborhoods where even the richest of families prided themselves on obscenely decorated porches, dangerous lawn ornaments and creative applications of color. Her own Uncle Fredberg's house was infamous for it's gawky violet colored window shades and leather clad grass gnomes.

When they turned onto Privet drive, Kara could immediately feel the presence of something other than the three wizards she knew to be there. Harry's senses must have picked up on it as well, because he stopped cautiously. Hearing that the shuffling footsteps had ceased, Kara paused mid-step.

"What is it?" Sirius asked. The rustle of fabric gave away that he was looking around for something that Harry spotted.

"I don't know but there is someone else here," he said quietly.

"Move along quickly Mr. Potter lest we be spotted," she urged quietly. When she heard the footsteps again she too moved.

The Dursley home was a model Muggle home, Kara thought to herself. The flowerbeds were unceremoniously tucked near the driveway without thought to making them colorful whatsoever. Solid rows of annuals, now browning with the onset of autumn, sat staring boringly at their pristine environment. It was almost as if you could hear them calling for the excitement of a wild garden with bugs, shrubs and tiny creatures. The only redeeming feature of the Dursley home was the wreath of heather and thistle that adorned the front door.

Harry knocked on that door and moments later a woman, shorter than Kara, opened it to find her front porch perfectly empty.

"Nasty neighborhood kids," she spat to herself. Harry's disembodied arm came out from under the cloak and he pushed his Aunt inside the house, covering her mouth as he went. She was trying to scream as the invisible force pushed her, but Harry held her until the door was closed and they were all de-robed. Petunia Dursley's eyes bulged out of their sockets at the sight.

"What.. what are you doing here?" she shouted. "Why aren't you at that freak school of yours?"

"Something has happened and I need to ask a favor."

"Of us? After all we've done for you, you'd ask us for more! Oh the gall you have! Get out of my house; I have absolutely no intention of helping you. And don't you dare bring these people here ever again."

She grabbed Harry by an ear and dragged him towards the door. Kara's instincts kicked in as Sirius darted forward to remove the gangly fingers from Harry's person.

"Mrs. Dursley," she said moving forward and putting herself between Aunt and nephew. "My name is Kara Lynch, I am a Professor at Harry's school. I assure you we would be here only if it were absolutely necessary, and indeed it is. Please let us sit down and discuss this like rational adults."

The blond haired woman (who had the most hideous hairdo Kara had ever seen) stared in awe and it offered an interesting glimpse into the mind of Petunia Dursley. It became instantly apparent to Kara why Mrs. Dursley so despised her nephew. Kara executed a relaxing spell and watched it rush over the fragile woman instantly causing her face to go soft in a pleasant way. She nodded compliantly and allowed Kara to put a hand under her elbow and lead her towards what was apparently a sitting room of some kind.

"What did you do to her?" Harry asked nervously as his Aunt took a seat near the window.

"A simple relaxation charm, Mr. Potter."

"What is it you want?" Aunt Petunia asked crisply.

"We need Uncle Vernon to drive us into London," Harry replied in a calm voice. Kara could see the look of pain on his face however. The pull of his Ring was becoming unbearable.

"And why is it that you need us to do that? Can't you just... Apparate?" A hushed silence filled the room as though the woman had used profane language. Kara caught the look on Harry's face that told her this was not something that he was at all expecting.

"Because if we Apparate he'll know we're coming."

"Who?" The woman asked in a very perturbed voice, the relaxation charm being the only thing preventing her from throwing a fit.

"Voldemort."

When Harry spoke these words, Aunt Petunia looked directly at him and a look of true horror crossed her face.

"But... he's dead. You... you killed him. You were supposed to..." The sharp voice had trailed off into a whisper. Harry looked at his Aunt fixedly, not moving his eyes from hers, and Kara thought that she saw her pupil's breath catch in his chest.

"He's back. He came back a few years ago." The voice Harry used sounded guilty as though he had somehow failed at his task and was woefully sorry for it.

Kara thought that Petunia Dursley might cry, and given what she'd seen in the woman's mind just a few moments ago, it did not surprise her at all. Petunia Dursley knew more about the wizarding world than she'd ever let on to Harry. She had seen her parents die at the hands of Death Eaters, and after that had forever sworn to herself to forget the other world existed. It had been that night she learned that her parents were wizards, a fact they had hidden from both their daughters in order to allow one to live a normal life. One could only imagine the shock it gave the already jealous Petunia Evans to see her parents with wands defending their defenseless daughter.

Harry stood quickly and began to pace the room, seemingly unable to bear the pressure in his mind and the added information that Petunia Dursley had just provided to him. In dramatic fashion he left the room towards the kitchen. The now silent house was soon filled with the rumble of Muggle plumbing and when Harry returned he was holding a glass of water. He sipped it slowly.

Vernon Dursley returned home some time later to find his wife in a peculiar state and three wizards in his house, one of whom he was instantly inclined to turn in to the Muggle police. A relaxation charm was required almost instantly as he began to pick up breakable objects from every surface of the room and hurl them at his nephew. After a few more relaxing spells, it took very little convincing to get him to drive the trio to London.

The car ride had made Kara's stomach feel ill at ease. She had ridden the Knight Bus just once a long time ago and had sworn never to take anything resembling Muggle transportation ever again. While Vernon Dursley's company car was a great deal more pleasant than the violent purple bus that hopped all over England, it was still enough to make her feel sick. By the time the silver car had pulled up in front of the Ministry of Magic, she had executed more than one calming charm on her stomach and had taken both doses of Pepper Up potion that she kept stored inside her teaching robes.

As soon as Harry exited the car, he fell to the ground, unable to bear the song in his mind any longer. The Invisibility Cloak had slipped off him and he sat apparently alone on the pavement. Quickly, Vernon Dursley sped away, leaving them alone on the street.

"She's here," he managed to mutter.

"Good. Sirius, take Potter back to the school. I will go in alone from here."

"No!" Harry shouted. "I will not leave her here."

"Mr. Potter, you are no longer needed, and as you can see there is little you can do to help her in your state. As you are aware I am more than capable of handling this without you."

With great effort, Harry pulled himself up from the pavement and leaned against a telephone booth.

"Where is the door?" It was a great struggle for him to keep his head up and eyes open.

Sirius pulled the Invisibility Cloak off of him and looked at Kara who had just done the same.

"Harry, as your godfather I forbid you to do this. If Voldemort is in there you'll never survive in your state." Sirius walked towards his godson and gripped him on the shoulder. Understanding what Sirius was about to do, Harry ducked inside the booth and closed the door quickly. He then became very still as his eyes fell upon a tiny piece of paper on which a note was scrawled.

Moments later the phone booth door opened and Harry was clutching the paper in hand.

"She is on level nine in a holding cell," Harry read out loud. "Who would have left a note?"

Sirius walked over and peered curiously at the note.

"Wormtail," he muttered.

"You're sure?" Kara asked.

"I would recognize that scrawl anywhere," he spat. "Which means this is a trap. Harry you're not going in."

"The hell I'm not. Where is the door!" He looked around the street wildly, using the phone booth to hold himself up. Sirius almost smiled at him and glanced towards Kara where he said in his mind that stopping Harry was pointless. He was about to give into Harry and before Kara could object, Sirius spoke up.

"You're standing in it, mate." He pushed Harry inside, closed the door and dialed the digits on the telephone. Seconds later they were descending into the ground. Kara hesitated for a moment, feeling a bit helpless, while remembering what Snape had said to her. You are to find her only. But no one else had heard these words and Harry was already inside the Ministry. Little could be done at this point to stop the inevitable. Kara closed her eyes and focused on the Atrium. Moments later she was looking at the lift descending with her pupil and his godfather on it.

Several people had seen her Apparate inside and they instantly stood back when they recognized her. Sirius had one arm around Harry, holding him up. They stepped off the lift and looked around.

"Where is level nine?" Harry asked, clearly exhausted.

A Ministry official approached them quickly.

"You are not wanted here, Ms. Lynch. You need to leave immediately or I will be forced to arrest you. Apparating inside the Ministry is not permitted."

"You may do as you feel you need to," she looked into his eyes. "Mr. Branch. However, I am here on important business with Harry Potter. I'm sure you are not going to deny him access, now are you?" The short man looked quite taken back when he turned his eyes towards Harry. His eyes scampered over the scar and his cheeks went red.

"No. No of course not. Mr. Potter is always welcome here. But if you could just wait outside..."

Kara stepped past him and moved towards the guard checking wands. She pulled hers out and smiled sweetly at the fearful look on his face. "You may keep it. And you don't need to check their wands either." A glazed look came over the man's face and he let Sirius and Harry pass without stopping them. Several people were waiting to get on the lift that would take them to level nine, but as soon as Kara stepped on, they quickly hurried themselves away quietly. Inwardly, Kara frowned, wishing people could know truly what she was up to. Never in her life, until she had revealed her secret to the world, had she had to face the odd stares and fearful looks from others. She knew that Sirius glanced curiously in her direction, attempting to read the look on her face. But he was disappointed, for she remained passive and neutral.

Halfway down to level nine, Harry stood up straight and whispered in horror to them.

"She's taken it off. How will we find her now?"

"We will split up," Sirius answered him some time later as they descended down the hall. They faced a door in front of them and a staircase to their left. "Harry and I will go this way. You'll be all right going through that door?"

Kara nodded and looked at her pupil. The fear in his eyes answered everything she wanted to ask. She executed a few spells and the door in front of her popped open.

- - -

"What is this?" Harry asked as he and Sirius walked into a large room. "Wait a second. I've seen this before."

"It's the Wizengamot courtroom. I think the holding cells are through here." Sirius walked forward and pushed his way through another door on the other side of the room. Still looking around at the high benches and ceiling, Harry followed.

The corridor was extremely dark as there were no torches on the walls. The only light came from their wands that they held out in front of them. Down two curvy passages they went, descending down further into the depths of the Ministry. Some time later they came to a fork in the passageways.

"We'll have to split up," Harry said.

"No. I'm not leaving your side," Sirius responded. "Together we'll try going left, then come back if we don't find her there." Harry looked up and saw how serious his Godfather was and knew instantly that there was no arguing on the point. They walked forward together down the left passageway.

Rusted out chains and manacles hung from the old grimy stone walls. Every now and then one could see red-brown stains; it looked suspiciously like dried blood. The whole scene strongly reminded Harry of Muggle interpretations of torture chambers and dungeons. He wondered if this is what Sirius had lived like for all those years he was in Azkaban. His Godfather's face wasn't giving any indication that he was having flashbacks though as he merely looked worried and determined.

They began passing heavy wooden doors with smaller cutouts just adequate enough to push food through. It was yet another reminder for Harry of the Muggle world and his own room at the Dursleys that was fitted with a heavy padlock and doggie door with similar purpose.

"Look into the ones on the left, I'll look at the right," Sirius said, going to the first door on his right and pushing open the food grate. Harry watched him stick his wand inside and peer around. Catching on, Harry did the same.

Most of the rooms were filled with the stench of decaying straw and more chains. None of them had windows and the entire place was eerie and depressing. Harry hurried up, wanting to find Hermione as soon as possible and get her out of here but the row of cells seemed to go on forever. He must have checked a hundred cells before he came to one whose food grate was already opened. He lifted his wand to shine the light inside and found what they were looking for, sprawled out on a velvet robe and lying comfortably on straw. Her hair was everywhere over her face but she didn't look injured in anyway.

With hopefulness in his mind, Harry concentrated and executed Alohomora in his mind, but the door did not open. Again and again he tired until he was so frustrated he found himself shouting the spell out loud. His wand was still pointed at the room inside at Hermione. He would have done anything but take the light off of her for fear she might disappear before his very eyes. Sirius came running from a ways down the corridor, wrapped a skinny but strong arm around his chest and pulled him back. With his own wand he executed a spell that blew the door to the cell apart easily. Both rushed inside.

"Hermione! Hermione! Wake up!" Harry found himself yelling as he kneeled down beside his friend and shook her.

"Enervate," Sirius spoke, pointing his wand at Hermione. Her eyes began to flutter and soon were open.

"What? Where am I? Harry?" She looked startled and then frightened. "No! You have to get out of here. Go! It's a trap. He's waiting for you!"

"I know. Come on."

"No, leave me here and go. If they find me gone they'll know you've already arrived."

Harry looked at her incredulously.

"He has your Ring, although he doesn't think it's yours. He thinks it's Professor Lynch's." Harry's own face became flushed now.

"If she runs into Voldemort and he thinks it's hers he might try to use it," Harry said stoically looking at his Godfather. "We have to go find them."

Taking hold of Hermione's hand once again to ensure he wouldn't lose her he began running down the corridor with the padding of Sirius's feet following them. Up through the grimy passageways they ran as fast as they could until they came again to the Wizengamot trial room. Only instead of the emptiness they were expecting they found twenty Death Eaters in a circle waiting for them.

- - -

Kara opened door after door, carefully inspecting each room, listening for the penetrating sound of a girl crying or voices of any kind. But she found each room devoid of any life signs. A cruel thought was swimming in the back of Kara's mind. This was the Department of Mysteries and it was all together possible that even if Hermione were in one of these rooms, they might never find her. It seemed quite probable of Voldemort to consider such a cruel joke.

Backtracking the way she had come, Kara stepped into the circular entrance room to the Department of Mysteries yet again. With one small incantation in her mind she marked the door as it closed behind her and watched the blue-lighted room spin once more.

The fifth room she searched was filled with bright light and Kara walked quickly through it, avoiding the sparkling distractions. There were only two other doors in this room and one led to a storage closet filled with tiny jars of glowing blue liquid. The other however led into a room unlike any Kara had ever seen before. As soon as she opened the door, a pulsating pain worse than the Cruciatus curse entered her mind and she fell to her knees. Through a foggy haze in her vision she saw hundreds of wooden shelves filled with glass. It reminded her instantly of a smaller version of Snape's storage room. Unable to move, Kara closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on staying awake. The pain in her head was so great now that she began having hallucinations. People she had never met were now invading her mind. She could hear their thoughts, their pleadings and their pain. On her hands and knees, Kara tried to crawl backwards but quickly ran into something hard. Had she closed the door behind her?

She did her best to turn around and was just about to reach up for the door handle when she realized it wasn't a door her feet had hit. It was a person, and it was the last person she wanted to see at this moment.

"I have so often wondered my dear why you engage in such folly. A woman of your beauty and power is surely destined to do more than spend her life chasing after hormonal teenagers."

The smile on his face was so vicious and even if the pain in her head wasn't inspiring her to retch she probably would have wanted to anyway. The door that Kara had thought she left open slammed shut. Voldemort began to walk around her. Thankfully her pain was too great to look him in the eyes. It spared her the energy it would take to remain passive and aloof.

"For such a long time I wondered why you would be so foolish as to choose Severus Snape as a companion. Oh don't get me wrong. I have always considered him brilliant. Brilliant, but average in the male companion way of looking at things. Then of course I learned the truth about your fortunate pairing and I must say I am not surprised now. Had I only known then what I know now, I too could have benefited from the delights of dear Severus. But it is too late to ponder over such trivial losses. Yes, after I experienced your powers first hand it became all too clear that I would have to find a suitable way to subdue you."

Voldemort was now leaning over peering into Kara's pained face. She could feel the pressure of the blood rising in her cheeks and it was overwhelming her senses.

"But how does one stop an Oracle? I have always wondered that, hasn't the entire world? Oh of course there is your Ring." With these words he dangled a long chain in front of Kara's eyes near the floor. On it was strung Harry's brilliant golden ring. "But of course I didn't have this until just a while ago. What a wondrous coincidence. No, I asked myself, what better way to is there to entrap an Oracle? Why in her own mind of course. Yes, Kara dear," he said boastfully, the high pitched voice echoing through the room. "Welcome to your own personal Hell."

A laugh that chilled her blood cold rang out through the room and with it several people in dark robes swirled into Kara's blurry vision. She recognized the white masks and closed her eyes wishing for help.

"I think we had better be extra careful here, my faithful Death Eaters."

Kara could no longer see Voldemort but she knew exactly what was happening when he muttered the word Abstensus. He had just disabled Harry's powers without knowing it. In a rush of panic Kara crawled for the door, a move which only cemented Voldemort's belief that he had just disabled her powers. But she knew he would use the Ring to try to kill her, a move that would only cause him to kill Harry. At whatever cost, she needed to rush into the next room and regain the advantage once again.

But before she could get to the door it slammed open and she saw the darkest of robes in her vision. She fainted into oblivion knowing it was useless to try to bypass this Death Eater. All the energy in her quickly left and a sleep so comfortable and welcome overcame her.