Harry Potter and the Sacrifice of the Traitor

Chapter 19

Everybody turned suddenly towards the source of the quiet, calm voice, and Harry saw, with a rush of relief, Remus Lupin, robes as rumpled and threadbare as ever, with a look of quiet determination on his lined face, stepping out of the shadows. With a feeling of utter amazement, he then saw a whole group of people - Professor Snape, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Neville, and Alex the Thestral - stepping into the clearing behind him. Harry's head was still aching fiercely, and he couldn't understand: how had they known that he was in trouble? And why had Remus and Snape brought all Harry's friends with them? Surely they were just putting them into danger themselves. And how was Alex involved?

'Accio wands!' Remus rapped out quickly, and Wormtail's, Malfoy's and Bellatrix's wands all flew into the air and towards Remus, who caught them neatly. Harry saw Ron and Hermione exchanging fierce, triumphant glances. Hermione was looking rather tired, but pleased with herself, and Harry for some reason noticed that Luna and Neville were looking at her with what almost seemed like amazement, or awe. He wondered, even through his shock at their appearance, what Hermione had been doing to amaze the others like that.

'You idiot!' snarled Malfoy to Wormtail furiously. He strode across the clearing to Wormtail, ignoring the wands that were pointed threateningly at him, and grabbed him by the neck of his robes. He shook him violently by the scruff of his neck, and let him fall to the ground again. 'You've delayed too long, and now our best chance is gone!'

Bellatrix just cackled her mad laugh. Her eyes glittered malevolently, and she looked quite insane, standing there in the clearing, giggling at them all. 'Very clever, dear Remus,' she purred silkily. Harry saw Remus' grip tighten on his own wand. Harry realised Remus must want revenge on Bellatrix as much as he himself did, for sending Sirius through the veil to his death.

She strode forwards. Remus lifted his wand threateningly, and she stopped, still laughing. Her eyes were fixed upon his, and she paid no attention to any of the others. Malfoy was also smirking again. Harry couldn't understand why - surely they would all now be arrested and returned to Azkaban? They would be put in high security cells, with Aurors guarding them, to be sure they could never escape again. However, Malfoy just looked calmly around at the ring of people around the clearing. His face took on an expression of smooth distaste, as if he were disturbed by an unruly crowd while sitting calmly in his own lounge at his Manor.

'You all think you're very clever, don't you?' he sneered sarcastically. 'The good little would-be Auror group, and the traitor. Our Master will deal with you himself, Severus'. Harry saw Snape shiver involuntarily, though he did not reply to Malfoy's taunting. 'But you've forgotten one little thing,' continued Lucius Malfoy. 'Your precious Potter isn't the only one here who can do wandless magic!' And with a laugh, he and Bellatrix vanished utterly from sight.

Hermione gasped in surprise. She turned to Remus, almost accusingly it seemed. 'But, Professor, I thought you couldn't Apparate on Hogwarts grounds?' she exclaimed. Ron rolled his eyes, and strode quickly over to Harry and Ginny, helping them get to their feet. 'Are you alright, Ginny? And you, Harry?' he asked anxiously. Harry and Ginny assured him that they were unharmed. Harry looked around at the others, still completely confused, and willing for the moment just to wait to see what was going to be decided. He looked down at Ginny, who smiled weakly back at him.

Remus Lupin grinned cheerfully at Hermione. 'You're quite right, Miss Granger, and therefore they cannot have Disapparated from the grounds either. They have simply cloaked themselves in some sort of magical disguise, in order to escape.'

Remus pointed his wand suddenly at Wormtail, who alone was still lying on the ground, huddled in on himself, moaning quietly.

'As for you, Peter, you at least are not going to escape again. I will make quite sure of that now. Stupefy!'

Wormtail folded up quietly onto the ground and lay perfectly still, curled on his side. Harry looked at him and felt only disgust for the wreck of a man who had once been one of his parents' best friends. This man had had the chance to keep his parents safe, and had betrayed them, and now he lay there as if dead. Harry tried to feel satisfied that at least he would see Wormtail tried for the murder of his parents, but he was still too startled by the events of the evening to feel anything but shock.

'Hermione,' said Remus calmly. 'I think we are going to need your special talents again, if you can manage it again so soon.'

Harry looked at her, wondering what Remus was talking about. Hermione flushed bright red, and replied, 'I think I can, but is it alright for everyone to know now?'

'We have no choice', Remus replied. 'Malfoy and Bellatrix are undoubtedly heading for the edge of the Forest at this moment. The centaurs have agreed not to molest us tonight, but neither will they help us. We must track them swiftly through the Forest, and for that we need both you and Alex.'

'Very well then, just give me a moment,' Hermione said, and closed her eyes, concentrating hard.

Harry looked at her in bemusement. What special tracking skills had she learned, and what was the problem with 'managing' them in any case. A moment later his mouth fell open and all his questions were answered. Hermione's shape seemed to blur suddenly, and flow together. In another instant, a small brown tufted wildcat stood where Hermione had been. It's hair was rather more bushy than a normal wildcat would be, and instead of the slitted eyes that a cat should have, Hermione's brown eyes looked back at him from the furry face. The wildcat looked up at Harry and the others and yowled.

Ron was watching Harry nervously as he looked at the cat in complete and utter astonishment. 'I'm really sorry mate,' he said quietly, 'I found out by accident what Hermione had been doing with McGonagall all year, and so did Ginny. But we were forbidden to tell people that she was training as an Animagus until she was registered with the Ministry. It had to be kept a strict secret to be sure that Malfoy and his cronies didn't find out.'

'Never mind that now,' snapped Snape. 'We are losing valuable time standing here nattering, Lupin. Miss Granger, kindly get moving. You need to track the footprints through the Forest and lead the way, with Alex helping to smell out the scent and show us where to go.'

The cat miaowed again, then sniffed at the ground, following the almost invisible trail of scent and crushed grasses out of the clearing. The Thestral snuffled briefly at Harry's face and body, sniffing at the grazes and scrapes he had acquired, and then followed the wildcat, sniffing at the air as he went.

'Harry, Ginny, are you alright to come with us, or would you rather go back to the castle?' asked Remus as they prepared to follow Hermione.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other. Harry could barely keep up with what was happening. One thing after another seemed to be destroying everything he had thought he knew about his friends, but he knew one thing for sure. He was not tamely going back to the castle while Malfoy and Bellatrix were on the loose. Ginny read the determination in his face, and answered for both of them.

'We're fine, thanks. We're coming with you,' she said firmly.

'We really ought to get moving, you know,' said Luna dreamily, and glided after Hermione, Ron and Snape, Neville hurrying in her wake.

Harry could hardly believe what was happening. A few hours ago, he had been heading off for a nice relaxed afternoon with Ginny, maybe with some kisses and cuddles to look forward to. And now, he had been captured and cursed by Death Eaters, his girlfriend had turned out to be able to do better Occlumency than he could, he was in danger of having all his magic sucked out by Voldemort, and most astounding of all, one of his best friends had learned to be an Animagus without breathing a word to him about him. And now a whole group of his friends and teachers, along with a large Thestral, were pounding through the Forest after two highly dangerous Dark wizards. He almost wished they had time to stop, so that he could ask somebody to pinch him, and make sure that he wasn't dreaming.

The group soon learned to put their faith in Hermione's night vision, and the incidents of colliding with branches and tripping over creeping roots lessened. Neville, who Harry had always thought of as rather a clumsy boy, turned out to be extremely useful once he had got over his nervousness about speaking in front of Snape. His knowledge of the trees and bushes in the Forest was invaluable in helping them move swiftly through the dark without getting into trouble with any of the more dangerous plants that grew there. Harry thought they must surely be gaining on Malfoy and Bellatrix, as he didn't see how they could be making such good progress through the tangle of trees, without the guides that their group had. Sure enough, after they had run through the Forest for several minutes, Harry thought he could faintly hear cursing and cracking twigs somewhere ahead of them. He also thought he could hear something to the left - perhaps the centaurs were pacing them, making sure they didn't trespass too far into the Forest, he thought. Suddenly he saw dark shapes ahead, silhouetted against the half moon that was shining down upon another small clearing. Malfoy and Bellatrix, no longer invisible, were just about to run through it and out of sight again.

'Now!' gasped Lupin. 'Severus, Ron and Alex, you split off to the left. Neville and Luna, you cut them off to the right. Harry and Ginny, stay with me!'

The three groups put on a last, desperate, burst of speed, and Malfoy and Bellatrix were forced to come to a halt in the middle of their clearing, faced with several raised wands, a huge Thestral, and a hissing, spitting wildcat surrounding them.

Malfoy's face twisted with rage. His pale, pointed face, so like his son's, was flushed with anger and frustration. His robes were torn from his dash through the Forest.

'You think you're so clever, don't you Lupin?' he spat at Remus. 'Our Master will rescue us sooner or later, whatever you do, don't you worry about that!'

'Little baby Potter still needs all his friends around him, I see', sang Bellatrix in her hateful, mad taunting voice. Her robes too, were torn and muddy from her run through the dark woods around them, but she didn't seem to care. She seemed still not to realise that they were surrounded. Her face was alive with a dreadful malice, and her eyes shone with hatred. She sang out again, 'He can't cope without them, I don't think. I expect he still misses my poor dear cousin, doesn't he? Poor ickle Potter without his faithful black dog beside him.'

Harry took a step forwards, losing control of his temper, and ready to curse her with any curse he could think of to make her shut up.

'Harry, no!' said Lupin sharply, but it was too late. While his attention was divided between the prisoners and Harry, Bellatrix seized her chance. She darted forwards and snatched her wand out of Lupin's other hand. She cackled evilly, then raised it high.

She fired off several curses around the clearing, forcing the people in the circle surrounding her to duck hastily. Harry, to his horror, heard a scream from Luna - one of those curses must have hit her! He heard Neville shouting, 'Luna! Are you alright?' and then the sound of something hitting the ground - Luna, he assumed. With the circle broken, Malfoy seized his chance and ran swiftly through the gap and out of sight. Remus and Severus fired several stunning curses after him but there was no sound of him falling to the ground, and Harry knew that Malfoy had escaped again, and that it was his fault. Snape strode swiftly out of the clearing to look for Malfoy, but Harry knew that it would be no good.

However, Bellatrix was still in the clearing. She seemed to have forgotten the need to escape in her desire to injure Harry's friends. Her gaze fell on Neville, who was kneeling by Luna, checking to see if she was alright. A twisted smile lit her face, and she cried out gleefully 'It's the little Longbottom boy again. I shall give you the same present I gave your dear parents. Crucio!'

Neville fell to the ground screaming in agony, but before any of them could do anything to help him, another voice was heard from the darkness.

It shouted a command, and ropes flew out of nowhere to surround Bellatrix and tie her arms tightly to her sides. They all turned sharply round, to see the figure that now strode back out from the darkness into the clearing. Harry's heart missed a beat. A tall, black figure, with greasy hair and a supercilious sneer - it was Snape. Harry had never thought he would be so pleased to see him return.

'I might have known you would mess things up, Lupin, Potter,' sneered Snape. 'You have forced me to blow my cover as a Death Eater now, in front of Bellatrix, you idiots.'

Bellatrix looked astounded. She had not noticed Snape before in the brief confrontation in the clearing from which they had vanished, and had clearly never suspected that Snape was a spy. However, she recovered quickly, and with a speed that could come only from madness and desperation, she muttered a few words, and the ropes puffed into smoke and blew away. There was another loud crack, and both Remus and Snape were hurled backwards to the ground. Bellatrix chuckled again, and turned to run from the clearing to follow Malfoy.

Harry raised his wand, ready to do whatever he could to stop her escaping. At his side he saw Ron step up to join him, face pale, but wand raised and ready. They exchanged quick grins.

But by now Neville was back on his feet, and with a courage Harry had never suspected in him, he strode out to block Bellatrix's path from the clearing. She looked at him in astonishment. 'What is it, little Longbottom, do you want another present?'

Neville's face was white, but his eyes showed a furious determination. He raised his wand and cried 'Impedimenta!', and Bellatrix was brought to a virtual halt. She struggled against the curse, her eyes looking totally mad now, and her face twisted with rage. This curse gave both Remus and Snape a chance to regroup, and they quickly conjured more ropes to tie Bellatrix up again. Again she blew them apart. They tried swiftly to Stun her, but her madness seemed to lend her extra strength and agility. Harry couldn't seem to get his thoughts together enough to do anything to help, as the three duelled together.

Hermione had resumed her human form, though her face was twisted with exhaustion - it looked as if it was difficult to change shapes like that, Harry thought distractedly. She, Ginny and Luna were crowding around Neville, who seemed to have collapsed again after his heroic effort.

Ron now left Harry's side and darted at Bellatrix, distracting her for a moment. Remus shouted 'Ron, look out!' but it was too late. A Stunning spell from Bellatrix's wand hit him, and he slumped to the ground. However, the distraction had worked, and Bellatrix was now clearly on the defensive. Snape looked savagely at Remus and called, 'For goodness sake Remus, can't you do anything right? She cannot be allowed to escape with news of my double role!'

Remus redoubled his efforts to capture Bellatrix, and for a moment it seemed they had finally cornered her, but once more she slipped away from their curses.

She darted behind a tree, then called out, 'If I can't take Potter alive to the Dark Lord, then I will kill him, you traitor! Then the Dark Lord will have his victory and I will be rewarded beyond my wildest dreams!'

She pointed her wand straight out Harry, and before any of them could disarm her, shouted 'Avada Kedavra!'

For Harry, the world seemed to slow down. He saw the burst of green light leap from the end of Bellatrix's wand, and flow slowly through the air towards him. He started to throw himself out of the way, but could see he would never make it in time. A small voice at the back of his mind said coldly that at least he would soon be with Sirius and his parents. Then, from nowhere, he saw a large black shape throw itself between him and the green light. At the same time, a large and heavy body hit him hard, and he felt himself start to topple sideways. He heard an animal scream of rage that could only have come from Alex. A voice he vaguely recognised sneered in his mind, 'Just my luck to be always saving your neck, Potter. Just don't waste this sacrifice too.'

As he fell to the ground, he saw the light hit the shape, and saw it crumple to the ground. He heard Alex snorting as he galloped away, and was glad that he seemed unharmed. He didn't know who had been hit by the curse, but he couldn't seem to focus his eyes. Screams filled his ears, but he was beyond caring, as his senses left him.