There's Got to Be Battle

There's Got to Be Battle

Chapter 1

*** Padme played along; she knew she couldn't back out of it anymore. The Death Eaters kept circling around her, coming closer and closer every time. More of them seemed to be coming out of the woods. Padme felt scared, but not as much as she thought she would be. There was a small crumbled note in her hand - the note she got from Bill, and she wasn't letting go.

The Death Eaters didn't seem angry; some of them, pale faced and sneering, came to a visible distance and as she dared to look one of them in the eyes, the person who hid beneath the black harsh robe uncovered their face. A black-haired woman with huge dark eye-collars came closer and Padme felt shivers as the woman lifted her cheek with her icy cold hand, and softly crossed Padme's face with her long, polished fingernails.

"Sweet little child", the woman said, tilting her head as the look in her eyes became stony-cold. Padme closed her eyes in attempt to hide her horror, and felt a sharp, burning pain on her cheek.

The woman looked at her nails, drenched in Padme's blood, and quietly said: "Young girls have sweet blood, did you not know? And perfect little white skins..."

Padme felt blood pouring down her cheek, and disgust for the Death Eater was filling her soul. But she wouldn't give in; she could put up with it.

The female Death Eater dreamily turned away.

"Bellatrix," said a kind voice, "don't frighten our young guest. I suppose she has not yet tasted the tears and therefore can not enjoy blood, either." The voice grew nearer and nearer. The man slowly put down his hood. Padme was almost able to see his face...

"Isn't it so, girl?" he said smiling, right in her face.

Padme wanted to scream, but couldn't; she wanted to jump at him and kill him, and hurt him, make him suffer as much as she possibly could...

"Ahhh, good, I feel a lot of energy in her. I am sure, girl, that we can help you realise how to take the most out of it. That strength, that force you have inside you - it would be a sin not to offer it to the purposes of the Dark Lord."

Adrian talked to her and looked at her and patted her back as if he had never seen her before. Padme kept looking at him and everyone around, trying to get a grip of the things, trying to remember what was she doing here; but the harder she was trying, the harder it was to understand anything. The voices around her and the darkness of the night; even the cold breeze that stung deep inside the fresh cut on her cheek - it all melted into a blur, and she walked like a zombie, not knowing or even guessing where she was going.

***

"Hey pretty," someone said, pulling her back into consciense. Padme looked around; she could see everything clearly now, and the reality struck her. She was obviously inside a Death Eaters' lair. It was a cave, and its moist walls were covered in gothic reliefs. The walls, apparently charmed into existence, formed a small separate room in which there was even a fireplace, which made the space cosy warm. Padme was sitting curled up on a leather sofa, covered with a nicely made antique blanket. For a last, hopeless time she tried to close her eyes and cower under the blanket and pretend it's all just a bad dream.

But he was there, of course, and she couldn't ignore it. He politely waited for her to shake the sleep off. Padme looked at him; how could it be possible? How can Adrian be a Death Eater? Maybe he's some sort of spy as well? She took a long look at him trying to find a sign that showed that he was faking it all. But there was no signs, and there was no possibility for it, no matter how much she wanted it.

"You had a good nap?" He was sweet as always, but the look in his eyes, the cold-blooded iciness of his words told it all. Padme was too tired to hate him now; she just wanted to cry.

"Yes, I did, thank you. So, are you having a good time here with your new friends?"

"It's not bad. You know, you really shouldn't be so full of prejudices. I know you are. You have it all pictured in your mind, black and white. So, what are you doing here anyway?"

"I came to the regrooting spot. What does that tell you?"

"You really want to become one of the Death Eaters?"

"Wow, I see you improved your deduction skills. Yeah, I do, and what does it have to do with you?"

"You hate the Dark Lord. You hate us. You hate me..." he lifted his eyebrows, "so, how do you mean to become a member of our community?"

"Well, I wasn't aware that Death Eaters necesarrily have to like each other."

He burst out with a short laugh. "Yeah, you're right. We don't particularly love each other, but we all have a common goal. We all have common opinions. And you would probably be the last person I could think of that would agree with us. Except for all those folks in Gryffindor."

"Well, if the time has come when everyone needs to take sides, I'd rather stick here than with them." Padme smiled a little, remembering how things were easier in Hogwarts. It seemed such a long time ago, and only two months passed since she last saw that castle and its lake and the misty edges of Forbidden Forest. This summer changed everything.

Adrian thought about what she said for a while; Padme had a feeling he was somehow testing her. There was the sound of shoes clacking down a hallway, and Adrian winced uncomfortably, throwing a quick glance behind his back. Then he leaned close to her, and said softly:

"There is something you're hiding, and I'm not going to tell. But you might want to give it up, you know, if you plan on surviving in here."

Adrian smiled again and winked at her, leaning back into his chair. The sound of his voice was still cold and emotionless - but Padme had an impression he tried to give her some kind of warning. But she wasn't able to think about it any longer, because someone else walked into the small room.

Lucius Malfoy looked around the room as if he never saw it before, and then, with much less interest, glanced at Padme.

"Mr Malfoy! I did everything I could to make Miss Connelly feel comfortable here. I'm sure she already got used to the... um, inappropriacies of this realm of ours." Adrian blabbed with the same cheerfulness which kept annoying Padme. It wasn't exactly the way to talk to Voldemort's first officer.

"Mr Locke, I'm not aware I asked you about the girl's present sentiments. Leave us, please. We have got work to do."

Malfoy continued walking around and observing the carved walls until Adrian picked himself out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"So, Miss Connelly," Malfoy began, slowly taking seat in Adrian's chair. "I understand you have decided to join the Dark Lord's army. I must say I disapprove of the idea of regrooting in the first place... but, of course, the Dark Lord would hate to throw away such young talents as yourself. In order to join our Circle, you must pass a certain education under my guidance with the rest of our newcomers, through which you will understand more profoundly our purposes, in which you, undoubtedly, already believe..."

Malfoy smiled disgustingly. "But as a true Ravenclaw, I'd say you couldn't function properly in our group before you logically comprehend the essence of our beliefs."

Padme thought she shouldn't say anything, but just let this man speak and go back to sleep when he's gone. Nevertheless, she asked:

"How did you know I am in Ravenclaw?"

"We do care to collect some information about our regroots. Maybe you think it is a problem that you weren't in Slytherin as a child? But, girl, being grown-up means making your own choises. You're not a child anymore, and you made a grown-up's decision to join the Dark Lord. That is highly respected - when a girl of pure blood like yourself decides to stand up for her race. You should know we all appreciate it, and will do our best to teach you to the finest, the most powerful magic, which you've never had a chance to learn before..."

Finally Malfoy finished his speech. Padme looked blankly at the dark ceiling, feeling nervous and excited. Her stomach looped and twisted at the thought of all the awful things she'll be forced to do - but she also felt a bit of curiosity. The man, Malfoy, remained in the room, apparently waiting for her to say something.

"I'm glad I'll be able to learn the dark magic. I really am, you don't know how long I've waited for this! All those years in Hogwarts, not being able to approach the forbidden areas of the library... It was frustrating." And while she was saying it, she really meant it. Padme was a good actress and she knew she had to live the role she took on. So she did.

Lucius Malfoy was keen on the subject of books; unlike Harry Potter once told her, he wasn't underestimating others. Well, at least not her. They talked about magic and potions, and at some point Malfoy even said he will introduce her to his apparently perfect son, Draco. And it all seemed cosy and friendly until Malfoy finally left and Padme stayed alone in the small cave that was her room.

She got up from sofa, wanting to take a look out of window, because she had no idea what time it was, or what was the weather like. But there weren't any windows, there wasn't a single trace of daily light coming from anywhere; she was in a pit, a dark moisty cave deep beneath every trace of humanity, and all the roads that led to the surface were closed.

Chapter 2

The sun shone brightly upon Privet Drive, and Harry Potter, waiting for Mrs Figg to bring the mail for him from the Magical realm, sat on the grass in Dursley's front yard enjoying the beautiful summer day. A fresh breeze was blowing and it was making the burning sunrays easier to withstand. The wounds that burnt inside him were something else; but Harry came to an idea that nothing will change if he keeps thinking about Sirius, and somehow, slowly, he started to forget.

Or, at least, he stopped constantly thinking about him.

The Dursleys kept buggering him about it for the first couple of days of the summer. They were literally pushing his buttons intentionally - even though Harry thought they'll be respectful enough to let him live his pain through in peace.

The disappointment dissipated into resignation, and as the summer kept passing calmly and in the good old routine, Harry noticed that he hardly feels anything anymore. Sometimes he would feel excitement, or a bit of fear, but there were no true feelings. There was only emptiness. A pleasant emptiness, though, pleasant as a calm night after a long, hard day.

A raven screeched somewhere near; Harry suddendly felt a rush of anxiety. He almost forgot how it feels; but he knew instantly, something was going on in his world.

His real world.

Maybe it really isn't true - any of it; maybe he's not a wizard, maybe he's just a little boy gone insane from all the Dursley's torments and he's living in a little run-away world in his own imagination...

Mrs Figg came in her carpet slippers and threw two small notes at him and looked at him sadly and just continued walking. Harry's been like this all summer, she thought, but how could she possibly help him? It wasn't just a petty little problem that was troubling him. It wasn't a typical teenager's depression. It wasn't even comparable to the pain she's experienced in her long life, and she had her a deal of misery...

Meanwhile Harry looked her leaving unable to even say Hi to her. Sometimes he would decide not to even look at people he knew; he knew he wouldn't be able to put on a decent happy face, so he didn't bother trying.

He rose from the ground and, feeling just a vague little cheerfulness, opened the first letter. It was from Hermione, who was spending summer at Viktor Krum's place in Bulgaria. Harry remembered how ridiculously disappointed Ron looked when he heard Hermione's going to see Krum. Well, he might have just asked her to spend the summer at his place, instead of supposing she'll definitely come.

They've been meeting that summer, Harry, Ron and Hermione, and it was probably the only thing that kept Harry on the ground. Otherwise he would probably just float away, losing himself in the empty thinking about everything that's happened (or has it?) to him in the last five years. Those little chit-chats helped Ron too - he finally learned how to travel via tube and railway. And after a couple of unsuccessful tryouts in a Muggle coffee bar in Little Whinging, he managed to light a cigarette by using a plain lighter.

Harry thought about it for a while, and somehow felt safe. He started to read Hermione's letter.

"Dear Harry!

I hope you'll get this letter and answer it soon, because Ron doesn't seem to have received the letter I sent him. Or he just wants me to think so - but I'm fine with that, too. I'm in Plovdiv, as you know, and it is really great here, you should check out these monuments, round here there is so many magical places practically uncovered. No wonder that the Muggles in this country are so superstitious.

Viktor and I go to see Quidditch matches (I'm finally starting to get the beauty in the game), we go to see plays, and guess what? We've been to a Salem Skylines concert last night! I was trying to go to America to see them for ages, but my parents wouldn't let me. Pretty neat, huh? I'm learning a new language here, too. And it's not even Romanian, it's ancient Greenskish. They're a tribe of midgets who lived here a while ago. I've heard that their language can be useful in studying Ancient Runes.

I'm sorry to bother you with all of this, but I just had to tell it to someone! Anyway, how have you been? I hope you're better than last time we met. I know you're trying to make it look as if you're not hurt, but you don't have to, you know it. Just let it go. And blow the Dursleys off in my favor sometimes, will you?

Well, you know all of it, I guess, and I'm sorry I keep telling you the same thing all the time... Answer to me soon, because I'm leaving Bulgaria in two days!

Love, Hermione

PS. How about a drink at "Monte" next week? It'll be two more weeks to go before school starts and I'd like to see you before that. I'll be bringing Viktor too. See you then, Bye!"

Harry folded the letter nonchallantly and put it in its envelope. He'll answer her later. At that moment he didn't really feel like meeting Hermione, put aside Krum. He just didn't know what was he supposed to tell her, what was he supposed to talk about. The only thing he was thinking about has been talked through a long time ago.

He opened the other, bigger letter. Inside there was a small note and a flyer of some sort. Harry threw a look at the flyer, which was saying: "Regrooting students and youngster report to..." well, somewhere, whatever. The note was small and it was from Padme Connelly.

Harry felt annoyed - he didn't trust that girl, but he respected her. He supposed she wouldn't betray the Order, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that she wasn't really a part of it, not truly... And her ideas were always too much - too bold, too abstract, too elaborated. The idea she brought up in her letter was just like it - whimsy and doubtful.

"Hello, Harry,

I'm writing to you because I think I shouldn't bother the Order with this. (Even unintentionally, she kept reminding Harry that she is in the Order and he's not, not yet anyway). It's just that I've come across this flyer I'm sending to you. It seems that the Death Eaters have got as far as to summon up volunteers to join their band. Don't ask me where I got the flyer. I can only tell you they pay big attention to who they give the flyers to. Most of the people I knew have got them would never tell anyone about them. But one way or another, I got hold of one. I'm going to the regrooting spot they mentioned in the flyer and I'll see what happens there. I guess we'll be seeing each other in school, if not sooner, and we can talk then. Otherwise, I'll stop contacting the Order, so if anyone notices the radio silence just let them know about what happened, okay?

Thanks a lot, and say Hi to Hermione for me.

Padme"

Harry first cleaned his glasses in disbelief and read the letter again; then, assured that his dioptry is not the problem here, he shut himself in his pleasantly cold room. Was she crazy? Does she really mean to go right into Death Eaters' lair, unprepared, unprotected, alone, believing she'll make everyone in there think she supports them? With their mind control powers?

Harry was there that late night in Diagon Alley when few members of the Order, mostly Weasleys, escorted him home from his stay at Ron's place. They talked about some secret Order matters in the Leaking Cauldron after they sent Tom to sleep. They've decided to let Harry have some more information on what was happening. So as Harry was fiercely shooting questions and soaking in what he's heard he didn't notice there was a late guest on their way to the rooms upstairs. Apparently the person heard parts of their conversation and wanted to skive off unnoticed. But Bill Weasley noticed her before she managed to get to her room - and it was Padme Connelly. She came back down looking scared after Bill called her severely, and she begged them not to erase her memory. Harry instantly knew why - it would damage her brain, and she was a Ravenclaw senior, famous for her super-extra-ultra intelligence.

So she ended up being accepted in the Order (and thus bonded to keep all their secrets hidden), because hey, she is of age. And the fact that Harry's only a year younger than her, and that he's fought a zillion times for the matters of the Order didn't really mean much... He still had to wait for a long time to become a real member.

Harry looked out of his window through half-closed blinds; the points of the trees in Privet Drive swayed on the light wind. He wanted to do something more, he wanted to get involved, to feel alive. Maybe he's become adrenaline addict - he couldn't figure that out. All he knew was, he'll just float off to a land of imagination and ludicrous ideas if he doesn't get into some action soon.

Padme might be insane, but she'll still need help to get herself out of there. It'll be just like in the good old times - he'll see Ron and Hermione and explain them what's happening and they'll all run to save Connelly out of... wherever she was. They'll find her. And they won't be needing the Order's help - after all, as Padme said, they're busy enough anyway...

Excited, Harry grabbed some paper and a feather and scribbled short messages to Ron and Hermione, saying they should meet as soon as possible. He sent them off via Hedwig, who was smart enough not to get caught by anyone... Then he sat back and started thinking about a plan. Outside, sun was shining brightly and the frogs in the nearby pond were as loud as ever. Late afternoon doziness laid over the rows of square houses, over the roads and parks of the silent lazy summer Muggle world. And things looked up for Harry, because he found his new piece of action, and he clinged onto it, and he wouldn't let go.

***

"You gotta let go of this idea," Hermione said shortly and seriously.

"What? Why... Ron, you agree with me, right?" Harry asked, a bit kicked out of his tact.

Ron sighed, rising his eyebrows: "Sorry, mate. I'll have to agree with Hermione on that one. I mean, come on. You're talking about going right into Death Eaters' nest and... and right in front of V...V...Voldemort and... well, Bellatrix."

"How do you know? How do you know they'll be there? They probably won't. It's just a sort of school... a brain-washing center, where they fix little Slytherin's minds even worse than they are. It's not something Voldemort would personally do. It's probably kept by a small number of his lower asistants."

"Yeah, but... you can't go there yourself, because they're all waiting for a nice chance to capture you. And if it's right that there are only Voldemort's puppies in there, Padme will be relatively safe there. Safer than you, anyway." Ron strived to bring out logical reasons for not going. Harry's nasty little alter ego thought he's just a coward.

"I'm letting the Order of the Phoenix know about this," Hermione said firmly and left Ron's room. The three of them agreed it's the best place to talk, so Harry and Hermione packed their school things and decided to stay in the Burrow for the rest of the summer. Harry filled the quote of the time he had to spend at Dursleys. Hermione sent Viktor home earlier than she planned to - and as Harry could see, Ron was maliciously happy about it.

When Hermione closed the door, Harry fumed. He expected a bit of disbelief, a resistance he'll have to overcome with Ron and Hermione - but he also knew for sure they'll come with him eventually. Apparently he was wrong. Things have changed. Harry smiled malevolently.

"So, Ron, maybe I should just leave you two alone for a while. You and Hermione, I mean. You really seem to be wanting to tell a helluva lot to each other. I'm going for a walk."

He stood up defiantly. Ron looked worried and confused.

"All right, mate, just don't..."

"No, I'm not stupid enough to go looking for her by myself. See you later," Harry said, slamming the door shut behind him. He thought he needed his friends to be around; but now they finally met, he felt like he needed to be alone. The fresh summer evening seemed perfect for a strawl around Burrow. Crumpled and clutched in his hand, which Harry was unaware of, was the flyer of the Death Eaters' "regrooting section" Padme had sent him.

~~TO BE CONTINUED~~