Harry Potter and The Heirs of The Founders

Chapter Thirteen

Pain and Hurt

"Please come now, I think I'm falling

I'm holding on to all I think is safe

It seems I've found the road to nowhere

And I'm trying to escape

I yelled back when I heard thunder

But I'm down to one last breath

And with it let me say

Let me say

Hold me now

I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking

That maybe six feet

Ain't so far down"

n Creed, One Last Breath, Weathered

n

At that moment Dumbledore entered the room. He looked very worried and severe. Harry felt quite worried.

'Professor McGonagall would you be so kind to go to the Halloween feast and oversee proceedings,' he said. 'I am needed elsewhere. Draco, you may return home, but I would prefer you to go, as you intended to go, to George and Katie's wedding. You thought that you might be putting Ginny in danger; well I would feel more comfortable knowing that you are there to keep an eye on her. We shall reconvene in the morning. 9 o'clock.' He turned and left the room. Harry was a little stunned.

McGonagall looked shocked and his parents looked like they had never seen behaviour like that before.

'I guess I shall follow my instructions,' McGonagall said. 'As for the rest of you, I shall see you in the morning. No doubt Albus will have his reasons for being so abrupt.'

Minerva and Draco left leaving the Potters to contemplate what was going on.

'Something serious must have happened to Sirius or Chrys,' Lily said after some discussion. 'I think we should all head towards their Quarters and try and find out what's happening.'

They headed slowly up towards the Staff Quarters conscious of keeping James out of sight, before reaching the empty quarters of Sirius and Chrys. Harry did not like this at all, it was making him nervous.

Making the decision at once they headed straight to the hospital wing.

*~*

Madam Pomfrey was surveying her patient to the best of her ability. She can fix it; she's not going to die. I'll have her in my arms in a few minutes.

Sirius was trying to console himself. He couldn't believe the grim look on Poppy's face.

Why hasn't she done anything yet?

Sirius had never feared losing someone as much as he feared losing Chrys now. Faced with the possibility he no longer wanted her to be in the damned prophecy and he had to confess that he didn't want her going into battle against Voldemort. He glanced at her lying on the guernsey again. He had trouble fathoming the blood. When people in the wizarding world hurt each other it was usually internal, invisible to the innocent eye, but this act of violence had done damage both inside and out.

Rage began to build up inside him. How could someone do something like this to what would have appeared to be an innocent creature? What kind of people were they fighting against? What kind of people found pleasure in pain? Sirius wasn't sure he wanted the answer.

'Sirius,' Poppy was talking to him now. 'Tell me exactly what happened.'

He drew in a breath. He didn't really know and that was the truth of it. But he was determined to answer the question as best he could.

'She flew into the air,' he began in a flat voice. 'She was trying to see what was on the other side of a wall. She was flying very high to get over the other side of the fence before she just plummeted to the ground.' He relived the images of the horse flying so gracefully before just dropping. They were playing through his mind over and over again. 'I ran to her and she said that the Cruciatus Curse had been placed on her. She was breathless and in a lot of pain. I don't know if she said anything else. I just recall all the blood.'

'And Dumbledore said that she's pregnant?' she asked.

Sirius nodded. He hadn't thought about that.

What if she's lost the baby? I put so much pressure on her to have this child. What if she thinks it's my fault?

'Chances are Sirius I can only save one of them,' Poppy said shaking him out of his thoughts. One of them. 'I can remove the child and place it in a magic womb for six months and I can mend her wounds. But I may not be able to do both. Removing the babe may kill her. I need to know what you want me to do.'

'Is the child in danger?' Sirius asked in a daze.

'If she's had the Cruciatus put on her chances are that the babe is already dead,' Poppy said. She said it plainly and simply, yet with a touch of sympathy. Already dead. My child is dead. 'Her pelvis has been shattered and it's sent fragments into the womb. The chances of saving the babe aren't good; maybe if you took her to St Mungos there would be a better chance. A trained Mediwizard would be able to do a better job. If I do anything here she's at risk of infection.'

'St Mungos?' Sirius questioned. He didn't think it was a good idea. 'We can't take her to St Mungos. They'll ask too many questions. We can't tell them where we were and what we were doing, it's a bad idea.'

Poppy surveyed his wife again.

'Well perhaps if I de-bone her,' she murmured. 'If I remove her pelvis and her femurs perhaps we can wait it out and see what happens, but if I have to make a decision Sirius, I need to know what it is. I know it's not easy and I know I'm putting pressure on you, but if I do nothing they both could die.'

'Save Chrys,' he said shaking. 'She's more important than the baby. I need her. I don't want to lose her.'

He sat down beside his wife as Poppy tended to her wounds and instructed Snape to prepare some potions to aid her. He watched as Snape left hurriedly. He hoped that everything would be fine. If only he had stopped her from flying.

*~*

Draco did as Dumbledore had requested and apparated to the Bell family home where he knew the wedding reception was being held. He knew that he would have missed the ceremony, as it was already dark and he knew they were getting married at sunset. Additionally he had not told Ginny that he was going to be late and he sensed that he was going to be in a little bit of trouble when she saw him. Whatever her attributes were, one of them certainly wasn't her temper. Draco had been on the wrong side of her temper enough to know that he didn't really want to be there again.

Draco glanced at the gorgeous house that welcomed him. It wasn't Malfoy Manor, it was in fact quite a lot smaller, but all the same there was something about it that called out to Draco. This is a home. I never had a home. I had a house, but not a home. He wandered up to the house and entered it wandering around trying to find the reception. He finally found the ballroom and saw that it was filled with people. Filled with people he didn't know. He looked around for a glimpse of someone he knew. Draco felt relieved when he spied Lee Jordan. At last someone I recognise. He walked over to Lee.

'Lee,' he began. 'I don't know if you recognise me, but I'm Draco Malfoy. I'm looking for Ginny. Have you seen her?'

Lee eyed him up and down a few times. His dreadlocked hair shook slightly.

'She's over there,' Lee pointed at a table. 'She's armed with brothers. You'd better be careful.' He had a bit of laugh.

'I'll just use some Malfoy charm,' he said. 'It won't be a problem.'

He took in a deep breath and headed over towards Ginny. She was standing next to a table talking to her brother Bill. She look beautiful dressed in her lilac coloured bridesmaid dress. Little hyacinths were tucked into her swept up hair allowing little curls to cascade from it. He crept up behind her.

'Sorry I'm late,' he whispered in her ear as he put his arms around her waist.

'Draco,' she said with surprise. 'I though you'd decided against coming.' She looked very happy to see him. 'Now you're a little more than fashionably late. Would you care to explain why?'

'I can't' he said. 'Not now. I'll explain later. I promise you Ginny.' He looked at her sincerely.

'Alright,' she said. 'As long as you explain.'

'Good,' he said nibbling at her ear. 'Now I need to congratulate your brother, can you take me to him?'

*~*

Lily and James came flying into the hospital wing. Harry and Hermione were with them. They knew that if Chrys or Sirius were there they would be in the screened off section of the hospital and headed straight there. They found Sirius sitting beside a bed over which Poppy was fussing over with Dumbledore's help.

Chrys.

'What's wrong?' Lily asked. 'What's happened?'

'She got hit by the Cruciatus,' Dumbledore said. Sirius just sat there, in a daze, staring at his wife. 'She fell and has a few internal injuries.'

Lily starred at her. She looked almost lifeless.

'Sirius,' James said moving over and placing his hand on his shoulder. 'Do you want us to stay?'

Sirius shook his head.

Lily moved over towards Sirius and embraced him.

'She'll be fine,' Lily said even though she didn't fully believe it. 'She's a survivor.' Lily and James made their way to the door. 'You know where we are if you need us?'

Sirius didn't even acknowledge Lily's offer if he even heard it. His concentration was solely on Chrystal. He didn't even acknowledge Dumbledore leaving, or Snape returning with a potion. Madam Pomfrey had to shake him roughly to get his attention.

'Are you ready for this Sirius?' she asked. 'When we give her the potion it will induce labour and the child will be expelled. There is a high chance that only one of them will survive, but there is little chance if we do nothing. It will at least be less painful without bones.'

Sirius' troubled eyes looked towards the hospital Matron.

'Do whatever is necessary to save her,' he said firmly.

'We must wait until she is awake,' Madam Pomfrey said. 'It shouldn't be too much longer now.'

She was right. Chrys began to stir within the half an hour and while Madam Pomfrey explained to her what needed to be done, Sirius was fairly sure she hadn't really comprehended. But she had agreed and Madam Pomfrey began to administer the potion. Sirius watched as his wife's body began to change, as she began to strain.

'Is everything alright?' Sirius asked concerned.

'It hurts so much,' Chrys said in a weak voice.

'I know honey,' he said.

The next few hours passed slowly and Sirius had little idea of what was going on, every cell in his body was focused on his wife and child. Madam Pomfrey did not show him the child when it emerged, she only shook her head.

'I'm sorry Sirius,' she said. 'The babe is dead. Would you like me to get anybody for you?'

Sirius shook his head as he glanced at his sleeping wife. She would be devastated, when she worked out what was going on.

'Call me when she wakes,' Madam Pomfrey said as she headed to her office.

Sirius stroked Chrystal's forehead. It was sticky. He could smell the smell of fresh blood and vomit. He couldn't shake it from his mind. He kept staring at his wife. She was almost unrecognisable. He knew that Madam Pomfrey had fixed the internal injuries and had removed the immediate danger, but Sirius couldn't help feeling that something was wrong.

*~*

Ginny had led Draco to her brother so that he could congratulate him. While Draco was talking to George and Fred, quite civilly in fact, she reflected on the day she had just had.

She had flooed to the Bell home earlier in the morning to find that Alicia and Angelina the two other bridesmaids were already there. Katie was having a bath to try and calm her nerves, so there wasn't too much for Ginny to do except to join in the champagne breakfast that was underway. Andrew Bell, Katie's father and only living relative was there with them. Katie finally had emerged from the bath and the three girls immediately set to making her look beautiful. Ginny had really enjoyed this. She was definitely the sort of girl who enjoyed make-up and fashion, as was Alicia, so they two of them had fun with Katie's hair and make up while Angelina helped Katie with her dress. When Katie was ready, they themselves left her to have a bit of time alone and got themselves ready. It was while Ginny was getting dressed into her lilac coloured dress that she had received Draco's owl.

Ginny,

Something has come up. I'm not sure when I'll make it to the wedding, but I promise I will be there as soon as I possibly can.

Love Draco.

Ever since Draco had agreed to spy for Dumbledore he and Ginny had an agreement that he wouldn't tell her anything she didn't need to know. But it was hard when she had to explain where her boyfriend was to others when she didn't know herself. Plus she worried about him dreadfully whenever she received these letters from him. She had been angry at first, this was the first time someone in her family had acknowledged that Draco was Ginny's boyfriend and he wouldn't be there, all because he had to do something secret. She had sat down on the bed in the room she was changing in and bawled her eyes out. After about half an hour she had a headache from crying so much. It was then Alicia entered the room to help her with her hair and makeup. She had never been especially close to Alicia, but she needed someone to talk to. She had poured her heart out to Alicia, conveniently omitting the facts that Draco was both a Death Eater and a spy. Alicia had surprised Ginny by asking her if she suspected that Draco was cheating on her. Ginny was astonished that anyone should suggest anything, but it was then that Alicia told Ginny that she had thought Lee was up to something for a while and then finally she caught him with Blaise Zabini, a girl in Malfoy's year. Alicia began to sob as she related the story that Lee had been commentating at one of the Catapult's games and he had run into Blaise afterward. She had asked him out for a drink and the affair had started from there. Ginny had felt so sorry for her and the two girls spent the next half an hour crying in each others arms. Angelina walked in to discover the two girls comforting each other. She had given them a hurry on, because Katie was waiting for them all. Alicia quickly helped Ginny with her makeup and then fixed her own up before they made their way down the staircase to meet a gorgeous Katie at the front door.

The ceremony itself had been beautiful and Ginny was amazed at how serious George was. They had chosen exactly the right time of day to get married because as the sunset over the lake on the Bell family property the entire scene became mesmerising. Ginny had wished that Draco had been there to share it with her. It had been unfortunate that he was unable to, and Ginny hated the fact, but she knew he had important work to do. By the time he had arrived, smartly dressed in his black dress robes, Ginny had almost given up hope of him even coming. Then he had snuck up behind her with his sparkling eyes and a smile on his face and Ginny couldn't help but forgive him. There was something about Draco that made her feel safe and secure, that meant she just couldn't stay mad at him for very long.

'What do you think Ginny?' Fred asked her for the second time pulling her out of her mind.

'I'm sorry Fred,' she said. 'I was just daydreaming. What did you ask?'

'Whether or not we should have a look at any of these potions of your boyfriends for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?' he replied. Draco had been studying experimental potions for St Mungos and from what he had told her in his letters he had come across a couple of formulas that he thought Fred and George might be able to use.

'It's worth a shot isn't it,' Ginny said. 'I mean, just give him a commission deal. If it's successful then you'll both make a lot of money and if it isn't, at least you don't have to pay him for it.'

Fred and Draco laughed.

'Right you are Ginny,' he replied as Angelina came to drag Fred away to dance. 'Look after my little sister tonight Draco.'

Draco put his arm around Ginny.

'Shall we dance?'

*~* 1^st November *~*

Sirius awoke the next morning to find that Chrystal was still sleeping. Sirius placed his hand on her forehead. She was burning up. Sirius had never felt a person this warm before.

'Poppy,' he called. 'Something's wrong.'

*~*

Dumbledore walked wearily into the Transfiguration Classroom. He was somewhat nervous about what had been discovered yesterday. The look on Minerva's face when he had briefly come in had told him everything. What they had seen was not pretty. He glanced around the room. Everyone was there except for Harry and Hermione, or at least they could be there, he was unsure. And of course, Sirius and Chrystal.

'I apologise for my briefness last night,' he said in the commanding way that only he could. 'I needed to help Poppy deal with the injuries of one of our party. Chrystal is in a stable condition for the moment. We need to ascertain the severity of the situation. Can you start Minerva and Draco?'

'Well at first there was nothing,' Minerva said. 'We wandered for hours without finding anything. We then came across an old abandoned hut. It had blueprints for a fortress on them.'

A dishevelled looking Draco pulled out the blueprints.

'As you can see,' he said pointing to several places on the map, 'it is obviously built magically. We could not find any information on where it was to be built or why, yet it appears very dangerous.' He pointed at certain parts of the blueprint that appeared to be harbouring magical weapons.

'Thank you,' he said thoughtfully before turning to Lily. 'Lily, what did you and James see?'

'Well at first we found nothing like Minerva and Draco,' she said. 'But after a while we came across some similar blueprints. One difference was though, we actually found a fortress. I managed to sneak inside in my cat form, well actually I was captured and it appears to be a training facility of some description, like that of the Muggle army. I saw no sign of the ghostly people that we saw earlier yesterday. These were all wizards; they were strong and appeared to be developing their skills. It's almost certain that someone is preparing for war.'

'Is it possible that this could be a Ministry training facility?' James asked. 'I know it sounds far-fetched, but if the Ministry had a facility like this they would almost certainly keep it under wraps.'

'Chrystal would know,' Dumbledore looked up surprised that it was Severus who spoke. 'James and Lily you weren't here for the earlier part of Voldemort's rise. She knew everything that was happening at the Ministry, even down to classified stuff that only Fudge knew. I don't know how she did it, but she knew. We've searched many training facilities similar that have been set-up by the Ministry. It would be strange if she didn't know this one.'

'Yet it is a possibility,' Dumbledore said. 'What did Harry and Hermione find?'

'Hermione told me that there wasn't much to see,' Lily began. 'One thing however she said was that she thinks she knows what's going to happen in April. Fudge's term as Minister is up and from what she and Harry overheard the Death Eaters are building up a candidate to replace him. If a Death Eater gets in that position of power the wizarding world in Britain is almost certainly doomed.'

'That leaves us with two problems,' Dumbledore said. 'Who is their possible candidate and where is this concentration camp? As I understand it none of you located it?' Everyone nodded. 'I shall go and ask Sirius. There was definite Death Eater activity on their island; Severus had a run in with a couple of them when he was assisting Sirius with Chrystal. I shall call another meeting very soon. Say tomorrow afternoon. I shall just have to contact some of the members of the Order to discover if they are able to attend. It is imperative that we find these people before their spirits are broken.'

Dumbledore made his way to the hospital wing to find Madam Pomfrey fussing over Chrystal. Lilly and James came with him. Sirius looked concerned. Dumbledore could see why when he glanced at the gaunt woman. She looked dehydrated and pale, the sight being enough to worry about anyone.

'What happened?'

'She has a temperature,' Sirius said. 'Poppy thinks she has an infection, however she can't find the source.'

Dumbledore glanced at her.

'May I try Poppy?' he asked. After she nodded he pulled out his wand and waved it slowly over her body. 'Ah, you could not find it because it is in her blood. It involves her entire body.'

'Can you tell what is causing it?' Sirius asked. Dumbledore shook his head.

'I would suggest that it's obviously a very powerful organism although not one that magic cannot deal with,' Dumbledore said. 'If we guess correctly she will be fine. Poppy would you like me to ask Severus to brew some Potions?'

'Thank you Albus,' she said gratefully. 'A Bezoar Draught for starters, that will cover any toxin disease, then we need something for the organism, we'll start with a Mandrake Infection Draught.'

'Lily can you go to Severus' private dungeon and assist him with the draughts,' he said. 'The one where you have been working on the Lycanthropic Draught.' Lily nodded and headed straight for the Dungeons while James sat down next to his friend as Dumbledore tried to assist Poppy.

'She'll be fine,' he said. 'You know she's a survivor.' It didn't seem to cheer Sirius up. 'What happened yesterday? Do you want to talk about it?'

Sirius shook his head however, he began to speak anyway.

'We came across a compound of some sort,' he said. 'Chrys decided to take a look, so she flew above the compound to see what was below. Then I saw her fall. I've never seen that before, she never showed me Pegasus until she was confident in her form. She just plummeted to the ground, there was no sign, no warning, she just fell. I saw some men guarding the entrance, they were laughing. Chrys said they hit her with the Cruciatus. She can resist it in human form but not when she's a horse. I ran over to her and all I could smell was blood and vomit. It was enough to make me sick myself. I've never seen so much blood before James. When we were younger we used to see so much pain and destruction but there was never blood. We used to think we were invincible. The truth is I've never contemplated losing her. Now that it's staring me in the face I know I can't. Two things helped me get through Azkaban James; the first was the fact that I was innocent. The second was the fact that there was someone out there who believed me. Neither were happy thoughts James, so the Dementors couldn't suck them out of me. I almost lost all my feelings for Chrystal except for the thought that she knew I was innocent. Now with this damn prophecy the prospect of losing her is very real. I don't want her confronting Voldemort. He'll slaughter her like a baby lamb.'

James said nothing just walked over and placed his hands on Sirius' shoulders. It was the only comfort he could offer his old friend.

*~*

Lily made her way down to the Dungeon surprised that Severus was waiting for her.

'Dumbledore sent you didn't he?' he asked. 'Something's wrong.'

'He needs a Bezoar Draught and a Mandrake Infection Draught,' she said. 'I'm here to help if you need it.'

'Do you remember how to make either?' he asked her.

'The Bezoar,' she said quickly. 'I can get to work straight away.'

He handed her the ingredients and they worked silently beside each other.

'It's ironic,' Severus said after a while. 'This is how we got to know each other, practicing Potions in the dungeons.'

'James was awfully jealous,' she said softly. 'He still is, I think.'

'I would never touch another mans wife,' he said defensively. "I have some honour.'

'I know Severus,' she said. 'I would never have been with you if you hadn't.' There was an odd silence in the room. It was as if there was something he was holding back, but wasn't sure as to whether or not he should reveal it. Finally he chose to speak.

'Lily,' he said softly. 'I went to Godric's Hollow that night. I heard about the Dark Lord's plan to attack you. I saw you lying there, seemingly dead. It broke my heart. I'm sorry.'

Lily was somewhat shocked, but she had wondered how many people had seen her lying there. But some people would have had a need to see. Severus was one of them. They had a connection that neither could explain, it wasn't love but they cared very deeply for each other.

'It's okay,' she said. 'I understand. Now lets get these Potions done or we're all going to have to grief counsellors for Sirius for the rest of eternity.'

*~*

Rose took Natalie McDonald up to the Hospital Wing after Quidditch practice. They had been having a friendly match between the Gryffindor reserves and the Gryffindor team to play Ravenclaw the following week, when she had uncharacteristically fallen from her broomstick. Rose's number one priority was ensuring that her team members would be ready for the match, so she immediately called the practice to a halt and headed straight for Madam Pomfrey.

Rose knew she would be fine; however she was just a little anxious about this game. It would be the first one that her father watched and she wanted to make a good impression. She wasn't quite sure why it mattered so much, she knew he would lover her anyway, it was just that Quidditch was one of the few common links that she had with her father and she didn't want that shattered.

At last they reached the hospital wing, allowed Madam Pomfrey to mend Natalie's broken bone and were about to leave when Rose noticed the exhaustion on Madam Pomfrey's face.

'Is there anything the matter?' she asked. Madam Pomfrey shook her head and encouraged the girls to leave. As they were headed out the door Rose spied Madam Pomfrey heading towards the sealed section of the hospital wing. She recalled that neither Chrys nor Sirius had been at the feast the previous night. Sensing that there was something wrong and unable to satisfy her curiosity, Rose sent Natalie ahead and waited quietly behind the door to the sealed section of the hospital wing. Finally she heard voices emerging from inside.

'What's happening now?' she heard Sirius ask.

'Neither potion has worked,' Madam Pomfrey said. 'I think we should take her to St Mungos tomorrow. I know how you feel about that however I think it's a matter of life or death here.'

She didn't hear Sirius' response but realised that he must have agreed as Madam Pomfrey didn't say anything else. She watched quietly as Madam Pomfrey exited the room, before sneaking in to find Sirius sitting there holding Chrys' hand. He noticed her standing there and looked grateful.

'Thank you for coming Rose,' he said. 'Did you hear what Poppy said?'

'Yes,' she said softly. 'What's wrong with her?'

'She has an infection in her blood,' he said. 'Poppy thought it was a bacterial infection but it's not responding to any of the potions. Feel her, she's burning up.'

Rose did as she was instructed, and then took her hands, placed them above Chrys and slowing ran them over her. She concentrated hard.

'It's a magical toxin Sirius,' she said. 'It's in her blood and her bodies trying to fight it just like it would an ordinary toxin. Do you know how she got it?'

He shook his head.

'Poppy wants to take her to St Mungos but they'll want to know what happened?' he said lamenting. 'I can't tell them yet I can't risk her life.'

Rose took another glance at her godmother. A magical toxin like this would not respond to standard potions. She knew that. Ever since the Shrieking Shack explosion last year, Rose had immersed herself in books on medical magic. She was going to be prepared in case she was ever in that situation again. Two of her best friends had died beside her, with Rose being unable to help. This time was different. She could help, but she knew there was only one way to do it. The question was could she risk it?