Alone

Chapter 24

"Please wait here, Derek," Dumbledore said kindly, sensing his discomfort. Derek nodded and sank into a chair. Dumbledore tapped at a piece of glass on his desk in the shape of a phoenix and muttered something inaudible to Derek's ears. The glass statue glowed for a second before returning to normal.

Ten minutes later, wizards and witches walked into the room and the meeting of the Order of Phoenix started. Dumbledore looked towards the sea of familiar faces.

"Before we begin, there is something that all of you must know. Harry Potter has come back into the wizarding world," Dumbledore began. Whatever he was going to say after that was drowned out by shouts of disbelief and happiness.

"Silence!" Dumbledore shouted, and everybody froze.

Whoa, Derek thought in surprise. That guy has a voice on him, man. Never thought anything that loud or powerful could come out of someone so.... old.

"Thank you," Dumbledore continued as if the outburst had not occurred. "As I was saying, Harry Potter has indeed returned. However, when he learned of the Order's attempt to retrieve Lucy Campbell, he decided to journey to Malfoy Manor himself. We now need a group of members who are willing to go and aid him in the face of battle."

There was a pregnant pause after the little speech Dumbledore made.

"I'll go!" a voice shouted from the back of the room. Immediately it was joined by a dozen other voices.

"Albus," Terry Boot said finally, after all the noise died down. "If this is indeed the last battle, shouldn't all the members go?"

Dumbledore regarded Terry through thoughtful eyes. The young man was, of course, right. He had a feeling that this was the last battle as well.

"Very well," Dumbledore said finally. "Be out in the quidditch pitch in ten minutes. We shall apparate as near as we possibly can to Malfoy Manor and we'll then try to disable the apparating and any other defence wards. After that, we shall apparate into the manor itself and hopefully, be there in time to be of any help."

All the heads bobbed up and down in agreement before they filed out, all discussing intensely about the up and coming final battle.

Derek watched this all with worried eyes. He wanted to go as well, but he figured that Dumbledore would somehow say no. Sighing softly, he looked around the office dejectedly.

"Derek," Dumbledore said as he turned around to face the man. Derek glanced up. "I know that you wish to go, but you are a Muggle and therefore defenceless against a wizard or witch. I'm sorry."Dumbledore looked sadly at the man before walking out towards the quidditch pitch.

Derek stared after him.

"No, you're not," he whispered to himself. "You're not sorry at all. After all, what good is a Muggle to a Wizard?"

~~*~~

Jake glanced wearily around thinking that maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. He felt Lucy quiver slightly behind him and turned to look reassuringly at her. He was determined to not let anything happen to his friends. In less than five minutes, the group was completely surrounded by Death Eaters.

"Well Potter, how do you like my Death Eaters?" Voldemort asked and watched as Jake turned towards him with a glare so fierce that if looks could kill, Voldemort was sure he probably would be dead, cremated, buried, reincarnated and killed again.

"They're nothing but a bunch of brainless fools who are a disgrace to the wizarding world," Jake spat out. Voldemort laughed.

"Shame on you, Potter. Some of these 'brainless fools' are your old friends, did you know that?"

Jake glared at the Dark Lord.

"You're wrong," he said flatly. Voldemort laughed again and motioned for a high-ranking Death Eater to step forward and take off his mask.

The person stepped forward slowly and removed the mask. Jake watched with a sort of detached fasciation as the white mask dropped to the ground.

"Neville," he whispered as his eyes met the unfeeling eyes of his old classmate.

~~*~~

Derek knew he was being stupid, but he couldn't help it. He felt so goddamned helpless just sitting there and doing nothing because he was a Muggle. Sighing in frustration, Derek rose to his feet and trudged back to his room, his posture full of regretful resignation.

Dropping heavily on to the sofa, Derek stared unseeingly out the window.

He hated feeling helpless.

~~*~~

The silence stretched for an uncomfortably long period, everybody staring at the former clumsy Gryffindor in disgusted shock. No one had even thought that Neville, good, old, dependable Neville, could do something like this could, be something like this.

"Why?" the single word slipped out of Ginny's mouth before she could help it. She and Neville dated briefly in her sixth year. She hadn't noticed a change in the young man then, but who knew what happened in the few years since they lost contact.

"Why?" Neville asked incredulously. "Why?! Who would suspect poor, clumsy old Neville? Who would suspect that stupid Gryffindor to be anything other than a gardener? You were all hero-worshipping Potter, but never paid any attention to anyone else. You all treated anyone who wasn't remotely what you considered important as scum."

By the end of his ranting, Neville had turned an alarming shade of red. His eyes were practically shooting sparks at Ginny. "Even when we dating all you could talk about was perfect Potter and his fucking scar."

Ginny's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to protest, but nothing came out of her parted lips.

"Neville," Jake cut in politely, pulling the youth's fierce glare to himself. "I know that you felt that you were ignored and everything at Hogwarts, but you weren't. No one ever treated you badly and you know that."

"Are you blind or just plain stupid, Potter?" Neville spat. "You didn't see the pitying looks directed at you when you added the wrong ingredient in potions. You didn't see the smirks and mocking looks on people's faces when you gave the wrong answer in DADA! You were so wrapped up in your own little world that you didn't see anything beyond your own inflated ego."

Jake felt anger rise in his veins. How dare Neville say that he was wrapped up in his own little world and uncaring of anything else? Did Neville know how many hours he lost and how much sweat he put in for missions of the Order? Did he know how many times Jake nearly lost his life trying to keep Hogwarts safe? Did Neville even care that he mightn't be alive today if it wasn't for Jake and the other members of the Order's work? Did he even care that Jake was emotionally abused in his own home in the long summer months and still had to keep up a happy face for the rest of the world?

Looking at Neville's spiteful face, Jake would have to say that he did not. Neville didn't even know the true meaning of pain and, yet, here he was, preaching about the hurt he felt when he was in Hogwarts.

"You have no idea what you are talking about!" Jake shouted, losing his temper completely. The people in the room could feel the raw, untamed magic flowing from Jake in giant waves. "You have no idea what pain is. You try having all the people you ever knew and loved turn against you. You try being emotionally abused by your only living relatives, and then having to pretend that nothing is wrong. You try living my fucking life, and maybe you'll see that yours wasn't so bad. You're a fucking coward. You took the easy way out and became a Death Eater. You bring pain to others to make them feel what you feel, but that isn't possible. You can't feel!"

Neville, just like everybody else in the room, was staring at the tall proud man in front them. This wasn't the pale prisoner in their face a second ago. It seemed as if Jake Stevens had completely changed and taken charge.

The silence was broken when the clapping of a single person sounded. The circle of Death Eaters parted to reveal a smirking Voldemort. His red eyes glittered maliciously as he looked with what seemed to be a look of approval in Jake's direction.

"Very well done," Voldemort said mockingly. "Very heroic and noble of you, Mr. Potter."

Voldemort's eyes met Jakes's and Jake felt pain explode in his head. Taking a staggering step back, Jake shook it to try and clear his mind.

"I will offer the same thing to you that I offered to Longbottom. Join me," Voldemort hissed seductively in Parseltongue (Um beta readers? Is that what its called?). Jake stared at him in shock.

"W-what?" he stammered, not expecting an alliance offering from the Dark Lord. Voldemort smirked and repeated what he said.

"Join me and you will never feel pain again. Imagine what it will feel like to hurt the people who hurt you. Imagine what it will feel like to hold their lives in your hands, knowing that you could do anything to them. You can have your revenge," Voldemort hissed and watched as emotions chased each other in Jake's eyes.

Lucy was looking at the subdued Jake in horror.

"You can't!" she shouted, startling everybody out of his or her stupor when Voldemort was talking. She had realised that it was another language, but it was pure instinct to understand and use it. She knew what every hiss meant and knew how to pronounce each word flawlessly. So when she heard Voldemort's offer, she shuddered to think what would happen if Jake accepted the offer.

Jake turned towards her and she could see the confusion in his eyes. He didn't know what to do. She supposed revenge to someone like Jake might seem like a sweet idea, but she knew Jake wasn't really like that. He wasn't, couldn't, be like the merciless Death Eaters in this room.

"Ah, Lucy dear," Voldemort continued to hiss, directing his attention to Lucy. Lucy jerked violently as if she had been struck. "You know it will happen. Why fight it? Join me and you will be the queen of the wizarding world. Join me."

Lucy knew why it was so hard to refuse Voldemort's offer. There was a seductive, soothing tone laced into the hiss that calmed her. The tone sizzled with temptation and Lucy felt it wash over her, daring her to do anything other what was being offered to her.

"I-" she struggled for the words and watched as Voldemort smirked in victory.

Jake watched the proceedings with a fuzzy mind. This feeling was familiar and he could feel the temptation to join Voldemort spreading throughout his body and mind.

Imperio.

The word wove in and out of his conscious mind and Jake grasped at it, feeling that it was important. The word had barely been audible, just brushing the top of his mind before it flittered away, lost in the hazy fog in his mind.

Jake shook his head again and struggled against the curse, but the years he had spent in the Muggle world had obviously taken a toll on his will. He could feel himself slowly breaking and submitting to Voldemort's wishes. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Lucy, and it was clear that she was feeling exactly the same as he was. Unable to hold the curse at bay anymore, Jake dropped to one knee in front of Voldemort.

"My Lord," he whispered.

The silence after that one simple statement was chilling. He could feel the Order's shocked stares on the back of his neck, but could do nothing about it. His will had weakened without the cynical Snape snapping at him in potions and his relatives wanting to break it at home. It had weakened without the jeers of the Slytherins and it had grown relaxed in the years he had spent in the presence of his new friends.

"Excellent Potter," Voldemort said smugly before making his way back to his throne. Jake stood up and followed the Dark Lord, his head bowed. Taking his side beside the elaborate chair, Jake refused to meet the eyes of his old friends.

"Lucy," Voldemort hissed. "Won't you join us?"

Lucy struggled against the voice in her head telling her to obey the voice.

"No," she mumbled, but it was no use. Having just been introduced to the magical world a few days before, she wasn't prepared for the immediate, overwhelming magic this powerful curse presented. Her feet dragged as she made her way slowly towards Jake and her father.

Dropping to one knee as Jake did before, Lucy kept her head bowed.

"Father," she greeted Voldemort. Voldemort laughed cruelly, his eyes taunting as he watched the Order members.

"Let the games begin," he repeated mockingly, his voice sending shivers down their spines.

~~*~~