Voldemort Ascendant

Chapter Six: Deep within the Darkness.

'Justin, if you step on my heel once more, I'm going to turn around and smack you upside the head, do you understand me?' Hermione hissed, re-adjusting Sally-Ann's cloak around her face.

'Sorry,' he replied, his voice muffled by the invisibility cloak he wore. Edward said nothing, guiding Hermione, disguised as Sally-Ann courtesy of a strong brew of polyjuice which Edward had explained was kept ready-brewed within the potions storeroom for various experiments and classes taught within the school now. Hidden beneath the invisibility cloak, Justin followed closely behind.

'We're here,' Edward said softly, and paused before opening the door to the old Slytherin rooms. Hermione fidgeted nervously, touching her fingers to her face - Sally-Ann's face - and casting her eyes to the ground in imitation of Sally-Ann's normal behaviour. Justin took a clearly audible deep breath. Hermione quickly shushed him, and Justin muttered another soft apology. 'Ready?' Edward asked, and opened the door before either had a chance to respond.

Hermione's heart thudded almost painfully within her chest, and she could feel her face burning from a rush of blood to the head. Edward took her hand gently and gave it a reassuring squeeze as he helped her through the doorway. In his rush to keep up, Justin once more stepped on Hermione's heel, and she firmly resisted the urge to swear at him. Edward moved further into the common room, and Hermione used the opportunity to quickly look around and immediately identify three hallways, each facing away from the dungeon entrance.

'Well well well, if it isn't Edward Fawcett and his little girlfriend,' a slimy voice chuckled. 'And what can a humble gaol-keeper be doing for you today, eh?'

'Same as usual, Travers,' Edward answered curtly, dipping his hand into his pocket and removing a handful of knuts. 'There's enough knuts here to get us through the night - and we don't want to be disturbed, Travers,' Edward said meaningfully, handing the coins to Travers.

'Alright, alright,' Travers muttered, pocketing the knuts without looking at them. 'I know when I'm not wanted, no need to get all uppity with me,' he continued, then led them down the hallway to the far right, stopping at the first door on the right. 'Ere you go, and I'll be sure not to be disturbing you 'til morning,' Travers said sarcastically, before moving down the hallway without looking back. He hadn't looked at Hermione once.

Pulling the door open, Edward allowed Hermione to enter first, paused long enough to allow Justin through, then closed the door behind himself. 'Did you get a look at the three hallways?' he immediately asked Hermione, keeping his voice low.

Hermione nodded. 'Where do they keep Harry?'

'I'm not positive,' he said, and gave Hermione a pained look. 'His cries normally sound distant - he must be in the hallway to the left of the common room, towards the back,' Edward responded.

'Right,' Hermione said, trying not to think of Harry screaming in the darkness. 'Now for the next part - are you ready, Justin?'

Justin shook his head and removed the invisibility cloak. 'I doubt I'll ever be ready,' he replied. 'But go ahead, Edward.' Edward withdrew his wand from his robes and lifted it, pointing it at Justin's throat. He muttered a low incantation as Hermione watched eagerly. Edward had a seemingly endless repertoire of spells useful for deception and sneaking around; he had explained that the vast majority of the spells were common knowledge amongst the students and had been long before Voldemort's victory, making Hermione wonder exactly what had gone on within Hogwart's walls in the days of Dumbledore. Justin raised an eyebrow expectantly. 'Did it work?' He asked. His voice was low, husky . . . and identical to Edward's voice. Noticing this, Justin smiled.

'Wonderful,' Hermione said briskly, taking the invisibility cloak from Justin and adjusting it around her own shoulders. 'Are you sure you're okay with doing this, Edward?' she asked, her voice full of concern. She wasn't happy about this next part of her plan, but Edward had insisted that he was capable of completing it himself, and reluctantly she had agreed to it. At least he has his wand and can protect himself, she thought to herself, though uneasily.

'I'll be fine, Hermione. The shadow spell will conceal me well enough that the dementors won't detect me until I've cast the Patronus spell, and then they'll be trapped at the end of the hallway until I cease the spell. And that old pervert, Travers, will be so busy listening to Justin's moans from the common room that he won't notice a thing. All you have to do is find Harry's cell . . . once you've done that, sneak past Travers, get back to Justin's cell and pass the invisibility cloak back to Justin, then get the hell out of here. Sally-Ann and I normally leave separately, so Travers won't suspect a thing when he sees you leaving by yourself.'

'What about you?'

'I'll leave once I'm sure you're out of here safely. Remember, I have my wand . . . I'll be safer than the pair of you, even with the invisibility cloak.'

Hermione nodded wearily. 'Alright . . . but be careful. You too, Justin - keep that cloak over your head and make it look like . . . well, you know.'

Justin nodded solemnly, then suddenly moaned so loudly that Hermione jumped. 'What the hell are you doing?' She hissed.

'Just practicing,' Justin said. 'That's a hell of a groan you've got on you, Edward,' Justin added, and Edward blushed.

'Well cut it out, Justin - I don't want Travers arriving just yet!'

'Oh . . . right. Sorry about that!' Justin whispered sheepishly.

Hermione frowned, then pulled up the hood of the invisibility cloak. Edward whispered the shadow spell, and Hermione watched in fascination as his body suddenly became indistinct, hazy, and shadow-like. 'It's a spell commonly taught at Durmstrang,' he explained, then slipped silently through the door to the cell. As Hermione was about to follow, Justin called her back.

'What is it?' she asked, trying to hide her impatience.

'Hermione . . . doesn't this all seem a little to easy to you?' Justin asked quietly. 'I'm not trying to cause trouble or stand in your way, but . . . it just seems too easy.'

'I guess . . . but Justin, you have to bear in mind that these dungeons have been designed to stop prisoners escaping, not to stop people from getting in. Think about what it would take for anyone to get onto school grounds, never mind getting into the castle, and then into the dungeons. And they're not expecting us to try anything, so they really haven't taking any measures to prevent us from getting in - more fool them. Just relax, okay?'

Justin gave a reluctant nod, and Hermione followed Edward out, gently closing the door behind her and then moving into the common room, where she'd wait for Edward to signal to her that the dementors had been effectively distracted. In the faint, green tinged light of the common room, she could barely see him as he silently moved down the central hallway. Please don't fail me, Edward, she pleaded. Moments later, Justin's loud moans - Edward's moans! - filled the air, and Hermione stifled a grin, wondering who she ought to feel more embarrassed for - Justin or Edward.

Sure enough, within minutes the sound of Traver's footsteps could be heard slowly moving down the right hallway. Pausing outside the cell where the moans were coming from, Travers gave a slimy grin, then moved into the common room, where he sat down, his head cocked towards the sound of Justin's rather gratuitous moans. A few seconds later, Hermione caught sight of a vague shadow moving within the central hallway, and with a start she realised it was Edward, indicating, though he couldn't possibly see her, that it was safe for her to enter the left hall.

Making as little noise as possible, Hermione made her way down the hallway that would lead to Harry's prison.

***

The far end of the hallway was shrouded in silence, and Hermione frowned. How do I find you if I can't hear you, Harry? Taking a few quiet steps towards the final doors, she paused, straining to hear something, anything that might indicate where Harry was hidden away. She heard nothing. Blast! she thought angrily, and paced back and forth a few times. She wondered if she ought to gently cry out his name, but immediately decided against it. If he were truly mad, alerting him to her presence would no doubt only harm him more, particularly if he realised she couldn't take him with her. Not just yet, anyway. I dare not raise his hopes. Biting her lip, she considered her options, when suddenly she heard a trace of a sob.

Harry?

Pressing her ear up against the door to the right, she heard another sob, louder this time.

Harry! Oh light, you're really in there!

A flood of relief coursed through her. Repressing the urge to dance a victory dance or call out his name in glee, she continued to listen - her heart was beating so loudly within her chest that she found it difficult to focus on the sounds coming from within. When finally she managed to understand what he was sobbing, her heart nearly broke in two.

***

'Please forgive me, Hermione . . . forgive me . . . don't leave me in here, please . . . she'll come back . . . she'll return to me! No! It wasn't my fault, it wasn't . . . '

It was all your fault, boy!

'No . . . there was nothing I could do . . . nothing-'

You're the Boy Who Lived! Nothing and no-one could harm you, yet you were still frightened for your own precious skin, boy! Coward! The voices hissed.

'Stop it! Stop it! Light, make it stop, make it stop!'

Vicious laughter. We'll never stop - how can we? We're dead because of you, Potter . . . we're all dead!

'I'm sorry-'

Sorry won't bring us back, will it? The vindictive cries faded away, replaced by one soft, familiar voice.

Why did you let me die, Harry? We were like brothers - I thought you loved me!

'Ron? Ron! I did . . . I did love you . . . I didn't let you die - it wasn't my fault . . . Light, I'm so sorry Ron. I couldn't save you in time . . .'

Join me, Harry . . . it's so much better here . . . we're all waiting for you. Join us!

'I can't . . . I can't. Don't you see? She said she'd come back for me . . . she'll come back for me, she will . . .'

No, Harry - she's dead. Don't you remember? She died because you were too cowardly to save her.

'No! No, she can't be . . . she said she'd return for me!'

She's dead, Harry. You let her die.

Harry gasped in pain. 'No! She can't be . . .' But even as he said it, he saw the visions, the memories of her falling to the Killing Curse, and he knew the truth of it. 'I'm sorry I let you die . . . I tried . . . I tried . . .'

***

Hermione choked back a sob, stuffing her fist against her mouth in horror. What have they done to you, Harry? By the Light, what did they do? Dashing tears from her eyes, she pulled herself away from the door and hurried quickly down the hallway, emerging into the common room to find Travers all but drooling over the now faint yet enduring moans of Justin. With a jolt, she realised Travers was eyeballing the doorway. She wouldn't be able to open the doorway without rousing suspicion.

Blast! Well done, Hermione, for overlooking such a basic part of the plan! Moving herself to the far side of the room, Hermione looked around, wondering what she could do. Draw attention to the common room doorway? At least it'd take the Death Eater's eyes away from the cell where Justin seemed to be enjoying himself a little too much. No, that wouldn't work. The reason for Edward's presence in the first place was so that it wouldn't look unusual when the door opened on its own. Glancing back towards the left hallway, she wondered if all the unoccupied cells had unlocked doors. She didn't recall Travers taking the time to unlock Justin's cell door, but perhaps that was because students frequently 'rented' the room. What if I simply rap my knuckles against one of those doors and rush back to Justin's cell? Mentally shrugging, she decided it was worth a try.

Silently slipping back to the left hallway, Hermione paused to knock on the first cell door, then decided against it. Best to do it a little further down the hall, on the chance that he'll actually get up and walk down here to see what's going on, she decided, and moved further down the hallway. She realised she was making things difficult upon herself, but decided she'd have a better chance of getting back to Justin's cell unnoticed if Travers walked further down the hall. Finding a doorway, she gripped the handle and twisted. The door swung open easily, and she deliberately allowed it to slam against the wall, then immediately made her way back to the common room as quietly yet quickly as she could.

In the common room, Travers heard the slamming door and looked up with a guilty start. 'What the bloody hell was that?' he muttered, raising himself to his feet and peering in the direction of the far hallway. 'I've told those bloody dementors to leave the damn boy alone,' he continued, then, mumbling the entire time, he made his way to the far corridor. Relieved, Hermione made her way into Justin's cell.

'It's just me, Justin,' she said quietly.

Justin sat up, pulling the cloak from over his head. Winking at her, he gave one final, loud and thoroughly tasteless groan of pleasure. Hermione removed the invisibility cloak and rolled her eyes. Justin smirked. 'Did you find him?' he whispered. Putting a finger over her lips, Hermione nodded and handed Justin the invisibility cloak.

'I'll tell you once we're safely back in the kitchens,' she whispered, and opened the cell door once Justin was hidden by the invisibility cloak. 'Ready?' she asked.

'Ready,' Justin's disembodied voice replied.

Swinging the door open, Hermione stepped into the hallway and moved slowly into the common room. Travers was there, scratching his head and shaking it. He ignored Hermione entirely, muttering about 'them damn sneaky bloody dementors'. Once she was in the hallway outside the old Slytherin rooms, she ran as fast as she could, stopping only when they'd reached a part of the castle that she regularly cleaned. 'Justin?' she panted, looking around her.

'Here,' he replied, dragging the invisibility cloak from his head and passing it back to her. 'Let's get back to the kitchens so we can all hear what you have to say.'

'Alright . . . but we wait until Edward joins us. He's deserved it,' she said, and gave Justin a pointed look. Justin nodded, and together, they headed back to the kitchens.

***

'He's mad,' Hermione said flatly, casting her eyes to the kitchen table. 'I don't know if it's a spell, the dementors, or just the aftershock of the battle taking its toll, but what the students say is true. He has lost his mind.'

Parvati raised a gentle hand to Hermione's shoulder. 'Oh, Hermione . . .' she said softly, for want of anything else to say.

'How do you know?' Justin asked.

Trust Justin to ask something like that, Hermione thought to herself. 'I heard him. I heard him sobbing, whimpering, occasionally screaming and yelling . . .' she broke off sharply, swallowing the large, painful lump rising in her throat before continuing. 'He . . . he seems to be blaming himself for that night . . . for how many people died. And he's confused,' Hermione said softly, finally raising her eyes to the people surrounding her. 'He was apologising . . . first, to Ron, for letting him die. And then . . . and then, to me. He thinks I'm dead, and that it was his fault-' she whispered, trying to hold back the tears threatening to blind her. 'I don't know how he could think such a thing . . . he saw me, knew I was under the Battle-lust. He knows we can't be killed short of a direct physical attack when we're afflicted . . . I don't understand why he-'

'Shhh, Hermione,' Parvati whispered, and wrapped what she hoped was a comforting arm around Hermione's shoulder. 'Take a deep breath and sip some water. Don't torture yourself over this, it's not your fault. You're going to break him free, remember? You're going to rescue him, and everything will be fine.'

'It's the dementors, Hermione,' Edward said quietly, tightening his arms around Sally-Ann, who was perched on his lap. 'I wasn't even halfway down the hall before I could feel them, before they started to affect my mind . . . and immediately the first thing I saw was visions of that night. But it was all scrambled,' he explained, shaking his head. 'Part of me knew that what I was seeing wasn't what really happened that night . . . but another part accepted it as the truth. And there were these voices, screams . . .'

Sally-Ann gasped softly and wrapped her arms tightly around Edward's shoulders, whispering sweet nothings against his neck, whilst Hermione gave Edward a considering look. 'Do you think that's what is causing Harry's madness?'

Justin looked optimistic. 'Of course it is, Hermione. That's what happens to everyone in Azkaban, right?' He made a faint 'oomph' sound as Parvati's elbow connected with his guts, and he gave her an affronted what did I say?! look.

'It would explain so much . . . I guess I just thought Harry was stronger than that.' So saying, Hermione immediately felt shamed. The others' obviously felt the same, as they all shifted uncomfortably.

'Is that really fair on Harry, Hermione?' Colin Creevey asked. 'Everyone has always assumed that just because he was the Boy Who Lived, he was stronger than us, knew better than us . . . but he suffered so much that night. Not just that night, but in the lead up to the battle. Don't you think it's fair that he lost a part of himself following?'

Dennis Creevey nodded in agreement. 'Harry was always sensitive to the dementors because he'd suffered so much more than any of us. Imagine living with them for the past two and a half years, with no hope of rescue . . .'

'It's a wonder he didn't lose his mind sooner,' Colin completed the thought.

Hermione nodded, rubbing her eyes. 'You're right,' she replied, and sent another look at Edward. 'You say when you were close to the dementors, they skewered your memories?'

Edward nodded. 'I saw my brothers fall in the fight against Voldemort, and Sally-Ann was being . . .' he abruptly stopped himself before continuing. 'My brothers weren't even there that night; my family were in France at the time. Sally-Ann is fine, as we can all see, and I was in Hogsmeade, like most of the Slytherin students. Not even at the battle, though I heard some graphic descriptions and we were shown penseive recollections in classes.'

Derek cringed in disgust. 'Penseive recollections were shown to you in classes? Isn't that a little . . . off?'

Edward nodded and shrugged. 'A lot of what goes on in the school these days might be described as "a little off". It's certainly completely unlike what Hogwarts was like.'

'And you say you saw your family fall, and Sally-Ann?' Hermione asked. Edward nodded. 'So it's safe to say that what you saw was visions of your loved ones being harmed . . . even killed?' Edward nodded once more. 'So what Harry is seeing and experiencing isn't even necessarily what happened on the night . . .' Hermione whispered softly. 'We need to get him free.'

'But how?' Parvati asked, her voice more curious than defensive.

Hermione shrugged. 'The dungeons will be the easy part. It's getting out of the school grounds that's going to be the problem.'

'The invisibility cloak? Polyjuice?' Justin suggested in an effort to be helpful.

'They're options,' Edward responded. 'I can get enough polyjuice for all of us, but there's still the problem of finding people to transform into. People with legitimate excuses to be leaving the school grounds as a large group.'

'And then there's the matter of getting as far away from the school as possible, without being detected,' Derek prompted. 'And do we go by foot or floo or broomstick?'

'And they might tighten security in the dungeons after my attack on the dementors . . . I'm not even sure if dementors would report such a thing. Do dementors make reports?'

Hermione shrugged. 'I'm not sure I care how we go about the escape right now. All that matters is that we agree to get him out of here.'

Before these lies destroy him, she added to herself.