Rating:
PG-13
House:
The Dark Arts
Characters:
Harry Potter James Potter Ron Weasley Remus Lupin Sirius Black
Genres:
Action Drama
Era:
Multiple Eras
Spoilers:
Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Order of the Phoenix
Stats:
Published: 02/26/2003
Updated: 11/13/2003
Words: 164,724
Chapters: 41
Hits: 101,291

Promises Unbroken

RobinLady

Story Summary:
Sirius Black remained the Secret Keeper and everything he feared came to pass. Ten years later, James and Lily live, Harry attends Hogwarts, and Voldemort remains…welcome to a darker world.

Chapter 34

Chapter Summary:
Sirius Black remained the Secret Keeper and everything he feared came to pass. Ten years later, James and Lily live, Harry attends Hogwarts, and Voldemort remains…welcome to a different world where nothing is as it seems. {This Chapter: Harry proves sneaky during the Easter Holidays, preperations to raid Azkaban begin, and the Order struggles to discover who betrayed them from within.}
Posted:
09/13/2003
Hits:
1,704

Promises Unbroken

Chapter Thirty-Four: Broken Dawn

The Easter holidays had finally arrived, promising to grant the Misfits some much needed time away from Hogwarts. Lee departed school two days early to attend his father's funeral, though, and after gaining permission from their parents, Fred and George accompanied him to lend moral support. The Weasleys understood loss, after all, and friends were friends even when things got hard to bear. Harry and the others, unfortunately, had to remain at Hogwarts, but they understood. Lee, Fred, and George had been friends long before they younger Misfits had entered the picture. The twins had the right to go.

Without them, however, Harry, Ron, and Hermione's compartment on the Hogwarts Express seemed very quiet.

"I hope Lee is doing all right," Hermione said about halfway through the train ride.

"Me too," Ron replied through a mouthful of chocolate frog. "But Fred and George's owl said that they thought he'd be okay."

"That's good," Harry agreed.

"Yeah." Ron suddenly dropped the chocolate frog he'd intended to eat and let it leap away without argument. "Why is it that I always lose my appetite when I think about the war?" he demanded. "It's not fair. So many people are dying and we've gotten nowhere. They've been fighting this bloody war since before we were born!"

"I know," Hermione said quietly. "Sometimes it feels like we're never going to win."

"And that it's never going to end," Harry added glumly. "Have you two ever thought about what will happen if the war is still going on when we graduate? What would we do then?"

"That's a long ways away, mate," Ron objected.

"But Harry's right, Ron," Hermione pointed out. "Don't you ever feel absolutely useless because we aren't allowed to do anything?"

"Like anyone would ever want a filthy Mudblood on their side, anyway," a drawling voice interrupted them.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked up to see Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle standing in doorway to their compartment, having somehow opened the door when the trio wasn't paying attention. All three Misfits leapt to their feet immediately, although Hermione had turned a particularly bright shade of pink.

"Get lost, Malfoy," Harry growled.

"Oh, does poor Potty feel helpless because the Dark Lord is going to win?" Malfoy taunted him.

"You-Know-Who is not going to win!" Ron snarled.

"Afraid to say his name, Weasel?"

"I don't exactly hear you bandying it about, either!"

Malfoy turned red and started to speak arrogantly, but Harry cut him off in a quiet voice. "I'm not afraid to say Voldemort's name."

"Of course you're not. You're a stupid Potter," Malfoy sneered. "Your father's going to die soon, you know. I hear he got promoted because the Dark Lord has killed someone else. You'd better watch it, or he'll be next!"

Harry whipped out his wand and pointed it directly at Malfoy's face before anyone could react. Within seconds, though, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle all also had their wands out and were ready to let hexes start flying.

"My father is not going to die!" Harry snapped.

"Oh, and you think that he can really stand up to the Dark Lord?" the blonde boy taunted him. "You're going to lose, Potter. You're going to lose everything."

Harry was inches away from throwing every hex he knew at Malfoy when a calm voice intervened.

"Is there a problem here?"

"Professor Lupin!" Hermione was so shocked that she nearly dropped her wand, and Harry noticed how quickly all six of them made their wands disappear. Not like it will do any good, a small voice in his head reminded him. Not much gets by Remus, if anything.

The look on Malfoy's face had become positively livid and he glared at Harry as if this was all Harry's fault.

"No, sir," Harry answered Lupin's question quietly. "Just a difference in opinion."

Remus' brown eyebrows rose high enough to touch his hairline. When he spoke his tone was flat, and warned them that he didn't believe a word Harry had said. "A difference in opinion."

"That's all it was." Malfoy's eyes flashed angrily, but a significant look from Remus made him add, "Sir."

"In case you were unaware," Remus commented mildly, "'differences in opinion' are not to be settled with wands or fists at my school or on my train. So if you cannot desist from using either, I suggest that you separate yourselves and remove the temptation to do so."

"Yes, sir," Harry said glumly, hearing the others respond the same way. What else could they say, really? He was just glad that Remus wasn't in the habit of deducting House points.

"I trust there will be no more differences in opinion on the train," the headmaster continued. "It would be a shame come back from holiday and serve detention, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, sir," they all chorused, truly meaning it this time. If there was one thing in the world Harry really didn't want to do, it was share a detention with the arrogant and stuck up Draco Malfoy. Seemingly satisfied, Remus turned and began walking away.

"Like you'll be around long enough for it to matter, beast," Malfoy hissed under his breath.

Harry froze, his eyes widening in shock. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard--although there were some in the Wizarding world with lingering prejudices against werewolves, he'd never seen anyone dare say that within Remus' hearing. Then again, if Malfoy was too stupid to realize that being a werewolf enhanced the headmaster's hearing beyond that of a normal wizard...

Remus had stopped cold, and turned around very slowly. His face was still calm, but his eyes were sharper than Harry ever remembered seeing them.

"That may well be, Mr. Malfoy, but as long as I am at this school, you will obey my rules." His voice was suddenly very frightening and powerful. "If you choose not to do so, mark my words, you will not be at Hogwarts long."

"You can't threaten to expel me!" Draco objected, but he flinched under Remus' implacable gaze.

"I have no desire to expel anyone," the headmaster replied evenly. "That choice lies in your hands."

And without allowing Malfoy the chance to reply, Remus strode away. Harry followed his departing figure for a long time with his eyes, wondering what was suddenly so different and powerful about him. Harry had known Remus Lupin for all of his life, and he had never seen him appear so coldly dangerous before. Something had changed him, Harry realized. Something important.

"Wow," Ron breathed as Malfoy and his cronies departed, glaring at the trio but daring do to no more. "That was unbelievable."

"Yeah," Harry agreed quietly. "I've never seen him like that before."

----------------

Easter dinner was quickly becoming a three-ringed circus. Between Harry's dad, Remus, Peter, and Peter's puppy, the living room had become a battleground that Harry yearned to enter--but he was stuck in the kitchen helping his mother. Lily, of course, had banned the Marauders from the kitchen, claiming that not one of them could cook and she couldn't bear to see anything burned. Peter had actually had the good grace to look insulted, but Remus had only laughed and James had relished the reprieve. Besides, Harry already knew that his dad couldn't cook worth a knut, anyway. Sirius, his mother declared, was the best out of them all, and that wasn't saying much at all, especially since he wasn't even there yet. Finally, though, the front doors burst open.

"The party can start now," he declared, grinning as Harry finally managed to escape the kitchen while his mum was distracted. "I have arrived."

Harry's dad and the others started forward to greet him, but the Siberian Husky, Joe, made it there first, leaping up and striking Sirius in the stomach with his paws.

"Oof!" Sirius staggered back a step and then obligingly petted the eager puppy's ears. He looked up, grinning. "You little brother, Moony?"

"American cousin," Remus deadpanned, and they all laughed.

"Sorry I'm so late," Sirius said after they'd all exchanged greetings--and Lily had shot Harry a dirty look for abandoning her, but seemed to realize that she wouldn't succeed in getting him back. "I was out with Julia and kind of lost track of time."

"Sure you did," Harry's dad snickered.

"Who's Julia?" Harry asked.

Peter leaned towards him, grinning, and whispered. "Sirius has a girlfriend."

"Peter are you telling lies about me again?" Sirius demanded good-naturedly.

"Who, me?"

"Well, you are a little rat, you know. Always have been."

"Not always..." Grinning, Peter suddenly transformed into a rat and dove right between Sirius' feet, confusing the puppy and wizard both. Within a second, though, Harry's godfather transformed into a giant black dog and bolted after him. A similar expression crossed Harry's father's face, and suddenly there was a stag chasing the dog--

"NOT IN THE HOUSE!" Harry's mum bellowed.

Remus simply opened the front door.

----------------

Several hours later, Harry was completely stuffed and the situation was markedly calmer. He, his mother, Remus, and Peter were sprawled around the living room in various stages of relaxation, playing Wizarding Monopoly, which was entirely unlike the Muggle version. Harry currently had the best places on the board, the Ministry of Magic and Salamander's, and Remus was still trying to wheedle Diagon Alley out of Peter, who wasn't about to budge. His mum, on the other hand, refused to give Harry the Hogwarts Express, which was the only one of the four railroads that he didn't have, and the game was threatening to turn into an all-out war.

Until Lily landed on the Ministry of Magic and promptly owed Harry much more than she could pay.

"I give up!" she declared, handing Harry all of her money and properties. He grinned, realizing that he owned almost three-quarters of the properties on the board.

"I think I've won, then," Harry remarked. "Unless you two want to keep trying..."

"Not likely," Peter snorted.

"I agree," Remus said with a smile, toppling his game piece with a flourish. "The game goes to Harry."

"Speaking of winners, Harry, would you please go tell your father and Sirius that Easter is not the time to discuss business and to get out of that study before I send Remus and Peter to drag them out?" Lily asked.

"Sure, Mum."

For the last two hours, as he, Remus, his mum, and Peter had played Monopoly, Harry's dad and Sirius had shut themselves up in the latter's study and discussed something. Harry had been dreadfully curious about it from the beginning, but Remus had carefully steered him away from the door when he'd tried to eavesdrop. Harry had tried pouting, and had tried asking his surrogate uncle (both of them, actually), but neither had been willing to say a word. Peter had claimed that he didn't really know what they were talking about, but Remus had only smiled and said that Harry didn't need to know. His was a look that Harry recognized immediately, and had groaned upon seeing. Despite the fact that he understood that his parents were trying to protect him, Harry hated being treated like a little kid.

So, he was very grateful for the opportunity his mum had just given him. Harry headed quickly for his dad's study, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the door was partially ajar and that there were angry voices coming from inside.

"Stop, James. I know what you're going to say, but Dumbledore's right."

"How do you know what I'm going to say?" Harry's father demanded.

"I've known you since I was eleven, mate. You're just a tad predictable," Sirius responded.

"That's not the point. The point is I'm not going to let you go wandering around in Azkaban by yourself."

"I won't exactly be by myself, you realize. It's hard to get lonely when you're backed by a team of Aurors," his godfather retorted.

"And what are you going to do if you run into Dementors, Sirius? You know that they'll affect you worse than anyone else--by a lot."

"I'll deal with it. I've got quite a bit of practice doing so, after all."

"Padfoot--"

"No, James. You can't go, and you know it. First of all, we can't risk you. You're the Head of the DMLE now in addition to still running the Aurors, and Dumbledore is right. You can't go. Not with Figg as the Deputy Minister of Magic and Ernie dead. Second of all, I need you to be the distraction. Voldemort will believe we're hitting somewhere else if you're there, and it may very well draw him out."

"How about I go and you be the distraction?" Harry's dad growled.

"No," Sirius said quietly. "I've got to go to Azkaban. It's something that I just know."

James' voice became less angry and more worried. "I don't want to risk losing you to that place again."

"You won't," was the quiet reply. "And I need to go. I got out before, remember? I'm the only one who knows how to get back in. Trust me, James. I'll be fine."

Harry's dad sighed in defeat. "It's not you I don't trust," he said. "It's Voldemort."

"C'mon Prongs," Sirius said suddenly. "Let's go join the rest of the party. I bet they're wondering where we've gone off to."

Harry's heart leapt into his throat. If they realized he'd been listening, he'd be in a world of trouble--long ago, Harry's parents had made it clear to him that eavesdropping on conversations about the Order of the Phoenix's business was definitely a bad idea. James and Lily Potter could be fairly lenient about some things, but that was certainly not one of them. Quickly, he knocked on the door.

He acted just in time; his father opened it immediately. "What's up, Harry?"

"Mum said that you two better stop talking business and come out or she'll send Remus and Peter in after you," Harry grinned, trying to sound as if he hadn't heard a thing.

It worked. "We were just finished anyway. Coming, Sirius?"

"Yeah."

----------------

"Well, there you have it," James said several weeks later. "We're going into Azkaban."

Fletcher looked up from the Temptation seat. He'd been very quiet as James had covered the bare bones of their Azkaban plan, now named Operation Padfoot with no small amount of irony. The reason James had explained the plan was for safety's sake; no one knew yet why the raid in March had failed, and they weren't taking any chances, despite the fact that it was now mid-May and nothing new had happened. Even the Inner Circle didn't need to know everything; nor did they need to know that it would be Sirius, not James, leading the Aurors inside the prison.

"This is still awfully risky, James," the ex-Auror said quietly. "A lot of good people might end up in Voldemort's hands if this fails."

"A lot of good people are already in his hands," Lily pointed out.

"True. But all the same...just be careful."

"We will," James assured him.

"Aside from Azkaban, there is another topic we have not yet resolved," Snape suddenly said, making Sirius' head turn. To his surprise, the Death Eater was looking directly at him.

"And that is?" he asked, since no one else seemed willing to.

"The spy."

Sirius felt his eyes narrow, but Dumbledore answered before he could speak. "I believe, Severus, that we have already discussed this."

Snape ignored the warning in Dumbledore's voice and kept his dark eyes focused on Sirius. "I have done some research into the Distance Seeing Enchantment. Although information on the curse is scarce, I believe that it includes some resistance to Veritaserum."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sirius demanded.

"It means," Snape said very precisely, "that you could be under the spell and not know it, therefore spying with absolute immunity to Veritaserum. Without realizing that you are doing so."

"And you think I am," Sirius responded flatly.

"I fail to see another reason for the Inner Circle's security to have been breached."

Before Sirius could answer angrily, Mundungus Fletcher spoke up. "How exactly does this Distance Seeing Enchantment work?" he asked. "Do we know?"

"The impression I get," Lily said before Snape or Sirius could answer, "is that it allows the caster to see through the eyes of the victim. Unlike the Imperius Curse, it does not convey any type of control; the Distance Seeing Enchantment is more passive than that, which is why it is almost impossible to detect."

"She means that it is impossible to detect," Snape interjected. "And there is no counter curse, except to kill the caster."

Fletcher's response was rather quiet. "I see."

"My point is that we cannot afford to chance another betrayal like the first," Snape continued coolly. "Either intentional or not."

"So I suppose that I'm a security risk, now, am I?" Sirius demanded.

Snape sneered. "If the shoe fits."

"If you want to talk about betrayal, Snape, let's not forget your night job," he retorted, making Snape color.

"I think that I have proved my loyalty beyond doubt--"

"And I haven't?" Sirius cut him off.

"That's enough."

Only Dumbledore's soft voice could have quieted them both, but the effect was immediate. As Sirius clamped down on his temper, already regretting letting it loose, he glanced around at the others. Their faces were a study in various stages of discomfort or irritation; in Remus' case, a bit of tolerant amusement. But Dumbledore looked tired, and a little bit angry.

"As I have already told you, Severus, there will be no unfounded accusations of betrayal within the Circle. The same goes for you, Sirius." His blue eyes were hard as he surveyed them both. "Until there is further proof, we will assume that the Circle is whole. To lack trust in one another will destroy all that we fight for, and to do that will mean that Lord Voldemort has already won.

"I have brought each of you to the Circle for various reasons, for both your strengths and your weaknesses. I would have each of you remember that we are what we are together, and that alone we will fail. The Circle must not break."

----------------


Author's Note: Sorry about the shorter chapter this time, but what comes will come. Next Chapter: "Padfoot Returns"--Conclusions, journeys and prophecies come into play.

I have started a Yahoo! Group for the "Unbroken Universe". It's free to join, and I'll post updates plus other tidbits, like the trailer, that way. The address is: www.groups.yahoo.com/group/Unbroken_Universe. Please do not email me to be put on the update list now; joining the list is much easier.