The Downfall of Lord Voldemort

The Downfall of Lord Voldemort

by

Satrios

Chapter I

"Sleep"

Harry moaned and sat up in bed. For a moment he couldn't recall where he was. Then he remembered.

For the summer holidays, he was stationed at Professor Sinistra's house. Sirius was there too, and from what Harry had picked up, his name had been cleared and he didn't fancy staying at Hogwarts all alone over the summer. Dumbledore had been quick to inform Harry that next to Hogwarts, the Sareni Mansion was the safest place to be.

It was a good life at the Mansion. House elves waited on Harry, the sheets were silk, he had his own room, but best of all, he had "parents."

Sirius and Florence, who were apparently old schoolfriends, took care of Harry and every night they would come in and sit with him in their pajamas and tell them stories of Lily and James.

The digital display alarm clock read 4:30 in glowing red digits that shone out throught the pre-dawn gloom of his spacious chambers.

Harry swallowed, and grimaced. His mouth was cotton. Deciding he needed a drink of water, Harry headed downstairs.

Once in the kitchen, he selected a crystal drinking glass. There were definite differences between life at The Burrow and life at the Sareni Mansion. Here, there was running water and glass windows that provided a stunning view of the Alps; Hogwarts was just down the road. Every room had a theme and a fireplace, not to mention books of magic that Hermione would drown in to the point of suffocation. Professor Sinistra's Mansion, Harry wagered, would make Malfoy's place look very much the skin tent. Versus the Malfoy dungeons, there was a spooky crypt where Florence's ancestors were buried.

The Sarenis, Harry had been told, originated near what is now France. Florence had shown him pictures of her mother and grandmother, and his Astronomy professor was a very beautiful example, Sirius had pointed out, of a Sareni witch. Florence had blushed and swatted at Sirius with the hand that was not holding the frame.

Sarenis, for the most part, were Seers and Weather-Workers for the most part, but their main trade had been fine wizarding wares such as Invisibility Cloaks, Obsero-Boxes, staffs, Pensieves, and luxury chess sets, not to mention exotic wands and they were great exporters of exporters of Dreamwater and dragon ivory.

Harry ran crystal clear water into the drinking glass and relished the icy flow of liquid down his throat. The water here was unlike what he had ever tasted, and it slid down like silk.

Suddenly, Harry saw the front door open. A Death-Eater walked in, peering about. It then spotted him.

Harry felt his sides. His wand was upstairs, on his bedside table. Meanwhile, the Death-Eater drew its wand. Harry crouched against the floor and waited for the impact.

In his mind, he saw a sky-blue net drift over him, and settle lightly over his body.

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

The net was a sleeping spell. Florence stepped over the dozing Harry, took off the black robes and went straight to bed. Once in her room, she stripped off almost all of her clothes and fell into bed, enjoying the fell of silk on skin.

She and Severus had planned last night for years, and it had gone beautifully. Voldemort had swallowed the whole thing hook, line and sinker, as had Malfoy. That had been good.

I told him, Florence thought, happily. I told him that plan was a gem!

While it was true that she and Severus had found The Potion of Immortality, she had found another with it, and that was a recipe for one that hid your emotions. Tonight she had smelled of nothing but excitement, like a wolf closing on its first kill in days, as a good Death-Eater should have.

Good Lord, she mused, and snorted with derision. He thinks I was being sincere, that I like nothing better than pleasing him. Soon he shall know better. Severus and I will avenge Lily and James, and Harry will be safe forever.

With those thoughts to comfort her, she leaned back on the pillows and drifted into a blissful sleep.

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

She was awakened the next morning by Sirius' strangled yell. Florence opened her eyes just in time to see Sirius bound through her open bedroom door.

"Florence," he begged, "Florence, come quick. Harry's out cold on the kitchen floor. I think it's a sleeping spell but it's been so long since I've used a wand...just come and check, will you? I want you to be there when I wake him."

So she grabbed the sheet, wrapped it about herself, and followed Sirius downstairs.

When they got there, Sirius was waving his phoenix-feather wand over Harry. "Ennerverate."

Florence bent over Harry.

"Harry," she implored, waving a hand over his face. "Harry? Can you hear me?"

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

"Harry? Harry? Can you hear me?"

Professor Sinistra's clear alto drifted to snag Harry from a strange dream about dragons, summoning him into a half-waking state. He opened one eye.

Meanwhile, Sirius had run cold water over his hands and was now patting Harry's cheeks. "Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey..."

"Really?" Harry mumbled around his tongue. After he sat up and rubbed his fists in his eyes, he decided that he was alive after all.

"I suppose, if you really want eggs and bacon you can ask the elves to make you some," said Sirius, caught off guard.

"Well, then," Florence said, and Harry wondered if he could indeed detect a certain degree of guilt in her smile. "You go get showered and dressed and you can have your "eggs and bakey'," she grinned at Sirius, and he smiled back.

As Harry passed the sheet-and-boxer clad pair, he frowned. Sirius and Florence, he could tell, were very close. Could this be what his parents would have been like? Well, this had to be the next best thing. Harry sighed. His life didn't need any more complications.

Looking back, Harry recalled the way Florence had used the Dursley's fireplace to transport Harry and his belongings to her home--she had posed as an orphanage worker. Petunia had been out of the house at the time, and so his Uncle Vernon did what he could to get Harry off of his hands.

After Harry had gotten his belongings settled, they had gone shopping. It had been a lot of fun, watching his Astronomy professor and an escaped convict try on the newest muggle fashions. Harry grinned at the memory of Florence and Sirius dressed in matching leather outfits.

Here in the Sareni mansion, Harry had to admit (as he preened in his floor-length mirror) that he looked pretty darn spiff.

And, Harry noted, there were differences between how he was treated at The Burrow, and how he was treated here.

Florence and Sirius treated Harry like a son, while Mrs. Weasley, or Molly, acted as though Harry were something fragile that might break at any moment. But here, there were no children to play with, although Florence had said that he could invite some of the Weasleys, if he wanted. Harry had told her about Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and she had laughed, and said Fred and George could use her mansion to work on ideas, as long as they cleaned up any mess they made and didn't destroy and of her heirlooms.

It was Friday, and he had invited Ron and Hermione to stay for the weekend.

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

Correspondence, Ron Weasley to Harry Potter

July 26, 1995

Dear Harry,

How are you doing at the Mansion? Hey, thanks for the invite to the prof's house. Is it really as big as you said in your letter?

Mum hasn't found out about the 1G you donated to Fred and George. If it's o.k., can they come and work on WWW too?

Listen, I asked Dad about the Sarenis and he's jealous that I'll have a stay in the mansion. Ask Sinistra if we can explore the Crypts. I'll bet Mione wants to spend all of our time reading! Well, I'll see you Saturday and if you want anything just use the Floo. Ask the Sinistra to give you an in-depth explanation of how to use it.

Ron

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

Correspondence, Hermione Granger to Harry Potter

July 24, 1995

Dear Harry,

Are you learning much from Professor Sinistra? The Sarenis, from what I've read, are a fascinating bunch. Did you know that there are probably caches of illegal dreamwater stored in the Mansion, and that Professor Sinistra's people are likely to have made your invisibility cloak? I bet if you asked the professor she would give your cloak a going over.

Have you practiced much Quidditch for next year? I can't see why they wouldn't hold the regular competition. Also give some thought to who you'd like to be Keeper and Captain.

How is Sirius doing? I read in the Prophet that his name's clear and there was an interview with him, and they got the whole story. And it was the truth. Guess who did the interview? Rita Skeeter! She actually made someone look good for once. Do you have any idea why she might do such a thing?

Well, I'll see you and Ron Saturday morning.

Love From,

Hermione

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

Harry smiled and put his letters away. He had eaten breakfast, and today he would ask Professor Sinistra to give him a tour of the crypts, if she wasn't too busy.

He happily trotted down the soaring marble staircase, and he found Professor Sinistra in the front room, brewing a potion.

Upon noticing Harry, she smiled and waved him over to look into the cauldron. A silvery mixture with hints of rainbow bubbled gently inside.

"What's this?" Harry asked. He had never seen anyone brew a potion for fun before, not counting the unforgettable incident with the Polyjuice potion in his second year.

"It's Invisibility Serum," Professor Sinistra said, stirring the brew twice (Harry noticed that she was left-handed) with a long-handled spoon. "My people held the monopoly in magical trade. It's mainly used for industry, but I've got the home recipe. What it does is it...ah, how do I put this...if you soak something in it, the thing becomes invisible. Take for example, a broomstick. No one will be able to see it. But if an individual drinks a cup of the same batch of the potion as what you dipped the broom in, then that individual will be able to see the broomstick, and use it. The person can decide whether they want to be visible when they ride the broom, you'll learn about that in sixth year."

"Does Snape have the recipe?" Harry asked. He was curious. Anyone could be creeping around unseen. Harry promptly forgot his own adventures under his Invisibility Cloak.

"Severus?" she looked surprised. "Probably not. Like I said, this is mainly used for industry, to manufacture things. Oh, and that would be Professor Snape to you."

She paused, then added thoughtfully, "Would you like to know how to make it? I could teach you."

Harry shuddered playfully. "Save that for Hermione. She'll read the entire contents of your house and then bombard you with questions."

Florence was grinning now. "That Hermione...she's a topic of discussion in the teacher's lounge."

"What do they say?" Harry asked.

"Well, if you haven't noticed, whenever Hermione gets a perfect score, any of us will knock a few points off on account of her being "an insufferable know-it-all" and she'll wander after us teachers asking what she missed. We've got bets on when she'll realize why we're taking points off her grade."

Harry smiled. Saturday was bound to be interesting.

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

Up Next: Crypt

A/N - Well? How did you like it? R/R, please! It's just considerate. E-mail me if you have any questions, I will answer!

-Satrios