Harry Potter and the Crystalline Darkness

Katling

Story Summary:
Continues on from Guild of the Night. Harry's sixth year is over, the Battle has been won and he's off for a summer with Sirius and Remus and then the Weasleys before starting his seventh and final year at Hogwarts. Life seems to be pretty good right now - or is it? What has happened to his old enemies? And what is happening with the looming, crystalline darkness?

Chapter 34 - 34

Chapter Summary:
Harry gets a reply from Aunt Petunia and then the waiting game begins. Voldemort/Draco puts some plans into effect that may turn out to be disastrous for Harry.
Posted:
03/09/2006
Hits:
3,426


Chapter 34

Two days later the owl Harry had sent returned and dropped a letter in front of him during dinner. Harry snatched it up and turned it over in his hands. He then held it out to Hermione.

"Who is it from?" he demanded.

Hermione took the letter and read the address on the back.

"It...it's from Petunia Dursley," she said with surprise.

Harry took the letter back and got to his feet. He grabbed his cane and turned towards the door of the Great Hall.

"Harry!"

Ginny's firm cry stopped him in his tracks. He didn't turn to look at her. His Oversight was once again not working and he didn't like just staring into the dark in the direction of someone.

"What?" he said quietly.

"I'm coming with you," she said and he felt her hand slip into his. "You'll need someone to read the letter to you."

"I have my..." he began.

"It's better this way," Ginny replied in a voice that brooked no opposition.

Harry considered that for a moment then he sighed. "Alright. And...I suppose if you're going to come, everyone else might as well come too."

"We were strongly considering doing that anyway," Ron said from beside him and Harry blinked. He hadn't heard Ron move though considering the noise level in the Great Hall that might explain it.

"Have I no privacy?" Harry demanded with returning amusement.

"When it comes to those Dursleys, no," Hermione replied tartly. "Now let's go. We're making a spectacle out of ourselves."

"What's unusual about that?" Neville asked dryly.

"Well, there are good spectacles and bad spectacles," Luna observed thoughtfully. "Then there are those horrible thick-rimmed spectacles Harry used to wear."

There was a moment of baffled silence from the group then they almost as one shook their heads and kept going. When you became friends with Luna Lovegood, you got used to the odd direction in which her brain worked and you didn't try too hard to follow her; doing that just led to confusion and headaches.

"Let's go to the Head Students' common room," Harry said into the slightly confused silence.

"Not the Room of Requirement?" Ron asked as he'd already been moving in that direction.

Harry shook his head. "I don't want anyone walking in on us and you know some of the DA like to use it for their own training."

"Fair enough," Ron said amiably.

The rest of the trip was made in silence and once the door was closed behind them and they were all sitting down, Harry handed the letter to Ginny.

"Read it out loud to everyone," he said abruptly.

"Wait a sec," Ron said. "Why did you write to her anyway?"

"I wanted to warn her that Voldemort might try something either with her or Dudley," Harry replied quietly. "I wanted her to leave for a while. Just until this is all over."

The others nodded then Ginny prised the envelope open and pulled out the letter. She opened it up and cleared her throat before starting.

Dear Harry,

You're right, that was a strange request but if I remember one thing about Lily's and your world, strange seems to be quite the norm. I hardly know what to make of your request though. I assume you are talking about those strange people who used Dudley before. I certainly don't want anyone to be hurt again so I will do what you want. Dudley will agree since I think I will suggest we go to America. He has always wanted to go there.

I am afraid that I am going to have to ask you for money. What I make barely covers our day to day expenses with very little left for saving. Thankfully we had already paid off the mortgage on the house or we would no longer be able to afford to live here. In light of all that has happened, I shan't ask for a particular sum. I shall leave that to you.

My only other question is this: How long do you wish for us to stay away? I can't imagine why you would want to keep us safe but I do appreciate your concern.

Yours truly,

Petunia Dursley

"That letter is the definition of awkward," Hermione said once Ginny finished.

"Not much of a surprise," Neville said dryly. "It's got to be a bit strange to her for Harry to actually care about what happens to her after what they did to him."

"Good point," Ron said. "How are you going to answer, Harry?"

"I'm going to send her the money," Harry replied firmly. "And I'm going to tell her to stay away for at least six months or until I tell them they can return."

"As simple as that?" Ginny asked.

"I don't like them," Harry said quietly. "But they are my family. And Voldemort knows how I'd react if they were threatened. I want to take them out of the equation."

Ginny grimaced then nodded. "Do you want me to write the letter for you?"

"Yes, please," Harry replied.

The two of them got up and walked over to Harry's desk. Ginny sat down and pulled out some parchment and a quill and ink. Harry leaned on the back of the chair and quietly dictated what he wanted to say. Once that was done, Ginny folded and sealed the letter and handed it to him.

"I'm going to go up and see Dumbledore," Harry announced. "Let him know what I've done."

"Do you want us to come?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head. "No...I'll be fine."

He quickly walked out of the room and the others watched him go with open concern.

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The next few weeks were oddly tense. Petunia and Dudley had left the country to spend time in America. Harry had made note of the fact that neither of them mentioned Uncle Vernon. He wasn't sure what to make of that but since he actually found that he didn't care what happened to his uncle, he let it go. Once they were safe and out of the way, Harry was able to relax a bit. This was helped by the fact that his Oversight was still coming and going. So whatever Voldemort was doing was still ongoing.

Nhean had him, his Battle Guard, the four adults being trained and Jun'ko and Tien in nearly daily sessions. He insisted that Harry complete every one of these sessions without his Oversight, no matter what state it was in and he was now getting to the point where he was able to move with a fair amount of confidence. He still didn't like it. He still felt helpless and slightly unsure but he did know that he could do it. Using magic was the hardest because he couldn't see where he was aiming or whether he was having any effect. At least with the sword, he could feel the impact and know he was successful. But with magic he had to do what he could and hope for the best.

At the end of the three weeks, Master Nhean held him, along with Jun'ko and Tien, back after their training session. It had been a fairly brutal one with Nhean staging a fierce running battle and nearly everyone was heading for the Hospital Wing. Harry was one of the few who was not. Other than feeling tired and collecting some interesting bruises, he was pretty much unscathed...mostly because it had been the job of his Battle Guard to keep him that way using any and all methods possible. So he'd been shoved into corners or behind people, pulled to the floor and even jumped on a couple of times. It had been an interesting experience to say the least.

"Harry," Master Nhean said solemnly, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Ichiro contacted me last night and mentioned something I think we need to make a decision on."

"Oh?" Harry replied nervously. "What?"

"Bringing the Guild in," Nhean said. "Do you wish to formally request the Guild's aid? As a Night Warrior, you are entitled to make that request and the Council would definitely agree under these circumstances."

"Uh, I hadn't thought about it," Harry stammered.

"I would recommend that you do," Jun'ko said, all of her normal exuberance gone. "There's no doubt this is going to come down to something fairly apocalyptic in the end and you will need all the help you can get."

"Jun'ko's right," Tien added. "And the Guild also has a vested interest in making sure that people don't get ideas abut using Toventsky's spell. Calling us in formally would help with that. As a Guild member you have a responsibility on that score as well."

"What about the Headmaster?" Harry asked, stalling for time a little. "Didn't he say something about not wanting to alarm anyone?"

"I spoke to him this morning," Nhean replied. "He has agreed to allow them to come here if you make the request."

"Oh," Harry said with surprise. "He thinks it's that serious?"

"Yes," Nhean said bluntly.

"Oh," Harry said again then he took a deep breath. "Master Nhean, I would like to make a formal request for the assistance of the Guild."

Nhean bowed. "I shall pass that request along immediately. Jun'ko, Tien? I take it you will be joining me?"

"Yes," the two Night Warriors said almost in unison. "And we'll add our recommendations as well."

"We'll likely have an answer for you in the morning," Nhean said to Harry.

Harry nodded and took the dismissal for what it was. He slowly turned and walked out of the room, his cane tapping lightly in front of him. As he started up his Oversight, sighing with relief as it bloomed into being, he couldn't help but wonder what his decision was going to bring.

****************************************************************************

"My Lord!"

Voldemort/Draco looked up from the parchments he'd been perusing to see Antonin Dolohov hurrying across the room. The senior Death Eater dropped to his knees in front of his Lord and pressed his forehead to the ground.

"What is it, Antonin?" Voldemort/Draco asked lazily.

"It is done," Antonin said with triumph as he got to his feet. "The crystal cannot take anymore power and the radius of the effect sphere is just over six and a half feet."

Voldemort/Draco smiled cruelly. "Excellent! You and the rest of my Death Eaters have done well. You shall be well rewarded when I have gained control."

He rose to his feet and strode as best as he could towards the door, snarling inwardly at the limping gait that he'd inherited when he stole Draco's body. He could have done without that and the missing eye but under the circumstances he wasn't going to be overly choosy. It was certainly several steps above his last body after all. He didn't look to see whether Dolohov had followed him; he knew the other man would be obediently trailing behind him. He had them well trained this time. This body was young and full of power that he was able to add to his own. Disobedience was not tolerated and was punished severely.

He walked into the main ballroom and eyed the tall black quartz obelisk with satisfaction. Small darts of blue lightning crawled sluggishly over the quartz surface and the room practically thrummed with energy. He ignored the Death Eaters standing around the perimeter of the room and walked around the obelisk, chuckling with dark pleasure.

"Excellent," he crooned before turning and facing Antonin and the rest of the Death Eaters. "Now that it is finally ready we can proceed. Antonin, what is the situation regarding Potter's family?"

Antonin paled slightly. "Black and the werewolf have not budged from Hogwarts since Christmas and the Dursley woman and her son are gone. The people we questioned said the woman had come into some money and they had left on an extended holiday. It is impossible to reach the Dursley man. He is currently in solitary confinement in the Muggle prison he was sentenced to."

Voldemort/Draco snarled. That was inconvenient; he had hoped to use the Dursley woman and her son.

"What of Wormtail?" he demanded. "Where is he?"

Antonin paled even further and looked around. None of the others were willing to come to his aid, so he ploughed on.

"Wormtail was captured while at Hogwarts," he said with admirable calm. "The reports I have had say he has lost his mind."

"Not that he had much of a mind to begin with," Voldemort/Draco snarled. "Get him out. With the Dursley woman and her son gone, we need him to get Potter. You have two days. Do whatever you need to, use whoever you need to, just get him."

Antonin bowed deeply and hurried out of the room before his Lord could change his mind about punishing him. He gestured to a number of his fellow Death Eaters and they followed him rapidly. Voldemort/Draco watched him go then the turned to face the obelisk again.

"Get out," he snapped, not even bothering to look over his shoulder to see if the rest obeyed.

****************************************************************************

Antonin hurried along the corridors of Riddle Manor with his chosen colleagues following in his wake.

"Who do you all know in the Ministry?" he asked grimly. "People who might be able to get us access to the little rat."

"The Aurors and the Unspeakables cleaned out their departments of anyone even remotely crooked," one man grumbled. "There's no one. And we don't have time to bend another to our will and do it subtly."

"We could use the Imperius but you're right, it's risky," another man said. "They're alert for that these days."

"I know someone."

Antonin turned to look at the speaker. It wasn't someone he'd chosen and he was surprised the man would join them

"Tybalt Parkinson," Antonin said with a lack on inflection. "I'm surprised you're willing to risk yourself on something like this."

Tybalt snorted. "This is a vital step in achieving our Lord's plans. If we succeed, we will be favoured. Always remember the overall plan, Dolohov."

Dolohov scowled. "Who is this contact of yours?"

"He's not a contact as such," Tybalt replied smoothly. "It is more a case of using the fuss that his...reappearance would cause to further our own aims."

"Reappearance?" Antonin said curiously then understanding dawned. "Fudge? You know where that useless little slug is?"

"Of course I do," Tybalt said with malicious amusement. "He has been my...guest for these last few months. You didn't think he escaped the Ministry teams on his own, did you?"

"I'd thought his disappearance was a little too clean for his level of intelligence," Antonin muttered. "So what's your plan?"

"We dump our beloved former Minister on the steps of the Ministry," Tybalt said. "In the chaos and confusion we make for the Aurors' cells. Pettigrew is still there, I can assure you. They do not wish to risk him making another escape and believe if he's right under their noses that won't happen. We grab him and floo out from the Auror Headquarters."

"Their floos are protected," one of the Death Eaters protested. "Only Aurors can use them."

"The Floo connection spells are something of a speciality of mine," Tybalt said slyly. "I can redirect them temporarily."

Dolohov thought that over for a moment. "I like it. It's definitely workable. We'll go in under glamours to give us the best possible chance." He looked over at Tybalt. "When can you be ready?"

"Tomorrow," Tybalt replied simply. "In the afternoon when most of the Aurors will be out on callouts. About 3pm?"

Dolohov nodded. "We'll meet at the Dog and Pony in Knockturn Alley at 2.45pm. Don't be late."

Tybalt and the others nodded and the group separated to make their preparations.

The next day Antonin was the first to arrive at the Dog and Pony and he casually handed over several galleons to the barman. That bought him a back room and silence and he settled in to wait for the others. Tybalt Parkinson was the next to arrive, bringing with him a dazed and cloaked Cornelius Fudge, and the rest arrived shortly afterwards.

"Give us time to get into position then you can apparate in with Fudge, Parkinson," Antonin said once everyone was present. "Apparate into a safe place and wait for the chaos. I'll give the signal to enter."

The others nodded and everyone except for Tybalt and Fudge slipped out of the room. After nearly fifteen minutes, he nodded to himself and grabbed Fudge. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the former Minister of Magic.

"Imperius," he said firmly and then he whispered soft instructions to Fudge.

Once that was done, he tucked his wand away and pulling up the hood of his cloak. He gripped the other man's arm firmly and apparated them into the atrium of the Ministry. He then immediately apparated over to the side of the room and slid behind a large column, casting masking and notice-me-not spells as he did so. He immediately picked out where the other Death Eaters were hiding then settled in to watch the show for a while.

For a moment no one seemed to notice that Fudge was there then the portly man threw back the hood of his cloak and looked around indignantly.

"What is going on around here?" Fudge said angrily. "I am the Minister of Magic and I demand answers!"

The various Ministry workers and visitors who had been bustling around the atrium came to a halt and stared as the former Minister continued to bluster and rage. Then the shouts and exclamations started as they recognised who was standing there. Fudge looked tired and drawn under his anger and he was definitely a little the worse for wear but he was still clearly recognisable.

"It's Fudge!" an anonymous voice rang out and then the real chaos started. People rushed forward towards the former Minister while at the same time others rushed towards the lifts and the fireplaces. Within minutes the atrium was boiling with people and Dolohov chose that moment to send up a stream of green sparks. No one seemed to notice this signal in the excitement and the Death Eaters were able to make their way to the elevators without much fuss. Once there, they hurried into an empty lift and pushed the button for level two and the Auror Headquarters.

They were very careful emerging from the lift but they may as well not have been. The place was empty; clearly all of the Aurors who weren't out on calls were downstairs in the atrium. They hurried through until they reached the holding cells area. Only one cell was occupied at the moment and it took only a few seconds to blast the door open.

Antonin grimaced when he looked into the cell. Pettigrew was curled up in one corner, rocking back and forth and muttering to himself. He stepped forward and grabbed the dirty little man.

"Come on, Wormtail," he snapped with disgust.

Pettigrew looked up at him and it was all Antonin could do not to flinch away from that mad gaze.

"Potter," Wormtail moaned. "Sirius...Padfoot. Coming to get me."

"No, he's not," Antonin snarled. "Now, come on. The Dark Lord wishes to speak with you."

Wormtail whimpered but Antonin ignored him and dragged him out into the main room. Tybalt looked up from where he was fiddling with one of the fireplaces.

"Good, you got him," Parkinson snapped. "Let's get out of here."

Tybalt threw a large handful of floo powder into the fire with a brisk, "Parkinson Manor."

Antonin didn't hesitate; he simply dragged the protesting Pettigrew with him straight into the green flames. He emerged into a lavish decorated parlour and stepped away from the fire. Within minutes, the rest of the Death Eaters had arrived with Tybalt bringing up the rear.

"Well, that was smoothly done," Tybalt congratulated them all. "I thought it would be far more difficult."

"Your diversion was better than we thought," Antonin replied. "Come on, let's get this...thing back to our Lord."

Pettigrew was practically hanging from his merciless grip and was whimpering and muttering.

"Please," Tybalt said fastidiously. "He's ruining my carpet."

Antonin snickered and apparated to Riddle Manor, the others following. Once there, they found their resurrected Dark Lord in the ballroom, standing in front of the quartz obelisk.

"My Lord," Antonin said respectfully. "We have him."

Voldemort/Draco spun around and eyed them with surprise pleasure. "So you do and rather promptly too," he said with surprise. "A pity none of you were so...motivated last time."

The Death Eaters flinched and Antonin let go of Pettigrew. Wormtail fell to the floor with a thud and curled up, still whimpering and muttering to himself.

"Wormtail," Voldemort/Draco crooned. "Look at me, Wormtail."

The animagus gave a high-pitched whine then slowly climbed to his knees and looked at his Lord.

"Very good, Wormtail," Voldemort/Draco said, still in that unnerving croon. "Legilimens."

Wormtail yelped once then just knelt there and shivered violently. Nearly ten minutes went by before the Dark Lord let him go and when he did, Pettigrew collapsed to the floor again.

"He has his instructions," Voldemort/Draco told the others. "You will take him to Hogsmeade, to the gates of Hogwarts and let him go. He knows what to do." He turned back to Pettigrew. "Wormtail, change!"

Pettigrew shuddered where he was lying on the floor. For a long moment nothing happened then the little man changed into his rat form. The rat did not move, merely stayed where he was and shivered.

"You can take him," Voldemort/Draco said dismissively. "He won't do anything until you get him to the gates of Hogwarts."

The Death Eaters bowed and Dolohov bent down and picked up the almost unresponsive Wormtail. He left room and made his way back to the manor's apparition point.

"I'll do this," he said to the others who had followed him. "It seems easy enough."

"Let us hope the idiot does not fail," Tybalt growled, eyeing the rat with distaste.

"Thank you for your help, Tybalt," Antonin said with a small bow. "I owe you a favour."

Tybalt returned the bow. "We are all in this together, Antonin. And I know you do."

Antonin apparated out with Tybalt's dark laughter echoing in his ears and he shuddered, wondering what his payment for that favour would be. He dismissed that thought when he arrived in Hogsmeade and concentrated on getting up to the Hogwarts gates without being seen. Once there, he put Wormtail down on the ground and nudged the rat harshly with his boot.

"Here you are," he snapped. "Go and do what you've been ordered."

The little rat crouched there and shivered for a moment then he jerked into action and scurried up the path. Antonin watched him go and shook his head.

"What a thin branch to rest all our hopes on," he muttered before he apparated out.