Harry Potter and the Orb of Power

Chapter 15: The Loosing of Azkaban

    Harry tossed in his bed; sleep did not come over him easily. He felt an urge to get up and walk, but he didn't want to leave the dormitory. He lay in bed, tossing his thoughts around, and finding them catch on the dull ache of his scar. Harry instinctively put his hand to his forehead, and pondered what it meant. Harry sat up and got out of bed, rubbing his scar, almost asking it what was wrong. Harry looked down at his watch (which he now never took off) and asked it a question.

    "Something horrible is happening, isn't it?" Harry asked. The watch remained blank for a moment, and then turned green. Harry shook his head. What was it? What was causing his scar to twinge? Was it Voldemort? Was he attacking somewhere? Harry heard a bump from somewhere in the dormitory, and felt his skin crawl and his stomach tie up in a knot. He looked around in a panic, and then pulled himself together. He was being stupid, paranoid. He wasn't going to let Voldemort toy with his mind like this. Harry wrapped a robe around him, and took out his invisibility cloak. He wrapped the cloak around him. He went down to the common room, and was about to leave the dormitory, when he realized that invisibility cloaks wouldn't fool the sentinels. Harry shook his head, wracking his brain for a solution. He needed to walk around. Harry decided quickly to take his chances with the cloak; if a sentinel spotted him, he could always run away. He opened the portrait, and snuck outside, and immediately wished he had his Marauder's Map. However, he never got it back last year, and felt that since most of the faculty knew of its existance, he would never be able to get it back. And even if he did manage to get it back, he'd never be able to use it properly. His barefeet on the cold stone floor muffled any echoes Harry made as he made his way down the hallway. He let his mind wander back to his scar, and what Voldemort could possibly be doing. Harry, deep in thought, suddenly found himself at Dumbledore's office. Harry reached out and touched the stone gargoyle of the phoenix. When Harry touched the gargoyle, a sense of heat seemed to radiate from it, much like Fawkes earlier that day. The gargoyle then sprang to life, and Harry stepped onto the stairwell, feeling nervous about breaking into Dumbledore's office. Harry reached Dumbledore's office, and looked around in the dark. He could hardly see, so he pulled out his wand.

    "Lumos," he muttered, a light glowing at the end of his wand. He didn't know what he was looking for, or if he was looking for anything. All he knew and understood was that he needed to explain his vision, and his scar, and that Dumbledore's office might have a clue as to where Dumbledore went. Harry saw Fawkes, perched, his head folded under his wing as he slept. Harry reached out to the bird, almost as if he was going to pet him, but remembered not to directly touch the bird, lest he wake up. Harry felt the heat radiating from Fawkes. What did it mean?

    "What are you doing here, Harry Potter?" a voice suddenly rang out in the darkness. It was the witch's voice, the witch from Diagon Alley, the one that was following Harry but never revealed herself.

    "I...I don't know," Harry stuttered, his heart beating wildly after such a shock. "I couldn't sleep."

    "Your scar hurt, didn't it?" the voice rang out, the same soothing, melodius voice that nursed him back to health after the Vipertooth attack.

    "Yes. Who...who are you?" Harry asked the voice, searching blindly for a body, a source of the voice. He saw none, and was frustrated by this witch's obsession with remaining unseen.

    "I must remain nameless, for a time, Harry Potter. It is not in the plan that you know this soon. You must listen very closely, for time is of the essence."

    "Why should I listen? You've given no reason for me to trust you!" Harry said back, growing more impatient and braver by the moment. If this witch was only going to use a disembodied voice, she couldn't hurt him.

    "A good point. You're quick to learn who to trust, Harry Potter, and more importantly, whom not to. It is your decision whether or not to trust me, I cannot make your choices for you. It is our choices that make us who we are."

    "Why are you following me?" Harry demanded the darkness.

    "Another question that must remained unanswered. However, I must tell you this. Terrible things have happened, are happening as we speak, and are going to happen. Diagon Alley was just one step in the prelude to war. There will be more such incidences, as many as needed for Voldemort to carry out his plan."

    "You aren't afraid of him?" Harry asked the voice, who had fearlessly and without reluctance spoken out Voldemort's name.

    "Voldemort is only his name. The name is not important, but the power that name wields."

    "And so? What do you need to tell me?" Harry demanded, growing even more impatient.

    "Not tell you, Harry Potter. Telling is not an effective means of communication. You must see with your own eyes, and let yourself decide the truth. Look on that desk, I believe that it will hold some answers for you, and will help you understand the gravity of the situation."

    "Why must I look on the desk?" Harry asked thickly. There was no response. Harry decided that the voice had left, and went over to the desk. Holding his wand close to the desk, Harry saw a scattered pile of parchments rustled on the desktop. He noticed one letter in particular, and started to read.

    Minerva,

        The signs are appearing once again. I believe Voldemort is making his move for it. He must have     gotten his hand on some ancient text or ancient source,     because it is much too old for many recent wizards to     have knowledge of. Harry Potter's dream explains     everything. I believe Voldemort thinks it is in Azkaban.     My     sources say the object lies in a fortress, filled with     unhappy     memories and of lives taken in cold blood, but that's all I     could get out of them. I have a feeling the object is not     in     Azkaban, but we can't take the risk. He is     already one     step ahead of us, we mustn't let him obtain it. It can lead     him to immeasurable power, and we must prevent this     from happening, at all cost. I must go with the Order to     Azkaban and hold him off. While we are away, you     must     

    make sure that our charge is not harmed. These are

    important months, Minerva, and we must execute our actions     flawlessly.

                                    Albus

    Harry reread the letter several times, trying to absorb as much information as possible. Order? What Order? And what was their charge? And what is the object that Voldemort seeks? Harry's head swirled with questions. He put the letter down, and headed for the door.

    "Did you find what you were looking for, Harry Potter?" the voice said, filling the room once again. Harry didn't respond for a few moments.

    "Only more questions," Harry mumbled. Harry looked to the side, and saw that Fawkes was awake, and staring right at him. There was something in Fawkes' eyes that was unsettling to Harry. A red light danced across his pupils; it looked as if a mighty flame was raging within them. Harry stood, staring into Fawkes eyes as they bored into Harry's own with frightening intensity. Suddenly, a wave of pain hit Harry through his scar. Harry squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the pain spread over him. He opened his eyes as he fell to his knees, staring back at Fawkes, who had let out a note of phoenix song. Harry turned away from Fawkes, trying to force the pain in his scar out of his head, when suddenly, he felt like he was flying. He saw the ground disappear from beneath his feet, and it seemed like Hogwarts was rushing away from him. Harry closed his eyes, feeling sick, when suddenly he was on solid ground once more. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was no longer at Hogwarts. He was at a place he never wanted to be, a place where he never expected he'd ever have to visit. But it was clear where he was, clear by the feeling in the air.

    Azkaban.

    Harry felt cold as the wind howled through the hallway in which Harry found himself. Harry felt the cold chill his bones. The hallway was dark, dank; the floors were slick with dirty water and the walls seemed to be slime encrusted. Blotches of dry blood spotted the floors. There were torches on both sides of the hallways, lit with black flames, which managed only to outline the hallway so that anyone who travelled through the hallway could avoid bumping into the walls. There was a putrid smell of death and decay filtering itself into the air. Harry took out his wand.

    "Lumos," he muttered, lighting the end. Harry walked slowly through the hallways, hearing the screams of inmates or their insane ramblings as he made his way through the labryinth of cells. Many of them rushed forward and gripped the bars of their cells, glaring at Harry as he passed by.

    "He'd make a good meal. Tasty treat, I daresay," one of the prisoner's said in an oily, voice, licking his lips. "I haven't eaten a person in years."

    "I'd like to snap his little neck," a gruff voice came from another side of him. Some of the prisoners lay on the floor, quietly, others were hurling themselves against the walls, screaming for their lives. Harry quickened his pace. He expected at any moment to run into a dementor, but Harry didn't catch sight of any. He shivered as he turned around a particularly dank corner, and emerged into a what seemed to be a joke of a hall. It seemed more like a cavern to Harry, with only desks and tables to give the room a slight resemblance to something that was organized. At the far end of the hall were two large doors, ornated with skulls for doorknobs and with large words etched into the stone. The hall, the gaping hole that led to the innards of Azkaban, was the mouth of Hell itself. Harry looked around at the dank hall and was surprised when the heavy stone doors burst open as if they were as light as a feather. Outside, a storm was raging, the rain was pounding on the stone, and forks of lightning slashed the sky. Harry heard the waves crashing against the rock cliff on which the prison stood. Lightning flashed, and Harry saw several people rush in from the storm. They were all wearing grey cloaks, soaked through with water. One of them waved their wand, and flames erupted on the torches on the walls. The light illuminated the dank cavern, but barely able to light up all of the cracks and crevices in the hall. One of the wizards stepped forward and removed their cloak. It was Albus Dumbledore.

    "I pray we're not too late," Dumbledore said, walking directly at Harry, in a hurry. "I fear Voldemort may have obtained it already."

    "Where exactly is it in here, Albus?" a hoarse voice croaked. It was Lupin.

    "I can't be sure, Remus. But we must begin searching. We must round up the dementors before Voldemort reaches them." Another wizard stepped forward, with several clunks. It was the real Mad-Eye Moody.

    "We should have gotten here earlier. Damn storm. I don't know why the portkey took so long," Moody growled, throwing an old, knobby twig to the ground.

    "We can't apparate in here, Mad-Eye, portkey is the only way," another wizard spoke that Harry was not familiar with. His voice was rather slippery, but charming sort of voice, one that could easily be used to charm an unsuspecting person while he was stealing something underneath their nose.

    "I knew that, Mundungus. It's just a damn shame the storm is messing with the portkeys."

    "All right, Mundungus, Mad-Eye, you search down that corridor, Remus and I will search this one," Dumbledore spoke aloud. "You two stand guard here, make sure none enter," Dumbledore spoke to two members of the group that Harry assumed to be the Order that Dumbledore spoke of. Dumbledore continued walking straight towards Harry, and then, much to Harry's surprise, right through him. Harry turned, and decided that he had enough of these disembodied adventures for a lifetime. He watched Mundungus and Moody head down the hallway that Harry had emerged from, and decided to stay in the hall. If they found anything, they'd come back here. He was interested in finding out who else was in this Order, and what it's purpose was. Harry walked up to the two remaining members, knowing that they wouldn't be able to see him. One of them was talking importantly, while the other one only listened.

    "I tried to get Dumbledore to first search for Sirius. Ever since he went missing after the Diagon Alley incident, I've been worried. I'm sure Harry is worried about him too. And with Serena and Arthur not even here, I'm afraid I'm beginning to grow nervous. Something like this...we should have all of our strength. Things are getting more and more dangerous," a familiar voice spoke. Harry recognized it, after a few moments, as Mr. Ollivander's, the old wandmaker. The other person merely nodded. Two more people entered into the great hall, looking as if they were lost. Mr. Ollivander strode up to them and greated them.

    "Brolin! Ganymera! I'm glad you've made it." Harry saw a very old man remove his hood, revealing a tired face.

    "I always do. Ever since the old days with Dumbledore, I've always shown."

    "Very well, Brolin," Mr. Ollivander said quickly. Mr. Ollivander turned to the witch Ganymera, who remained silent. She removed her hood, and revealed a horribly scarred face. Her eye sockets were empty, and a gash ran on her left cheek.

    "I see you, Ollivander, you look worried," Ganymera spoke, her voice harsh and raspy. Harry must have been missing something, because he couldn't understand that Ganymera didn't have eyes and yet she could still see.

    "I'm worried about Sirius Black," Ollivander said slowly. The silent member of the Order turned, and started to pace. She limped, Harry noticed; her right leg seemed to drag a little bit as she walked. Harry looked at them all; they must have seen awful things, experienced awful pain, to be as scarred as this. Dumbledore and Remus returned from their trip.

    "Did you find it?" Brolin asked wearily.

    "No. But there are no signs of Voldemort either. We're not entirely sure where too look," Remus replied. Brolin sighed.

    "How long must we do this, Albus? How many times must we repeat our actions?"

    "As many as necessary," Dumbledore said. "I have reason to believe this may be the last time." Harry waited for more of an explanation, but failed to receive any. They all heard the repetitious clunking down the hallway revealed that Moody and Mundungus were done with their job. It seemed like hundreds of dementors were streaming down the hallway. Harry wasn't physically present, but he could remember the horrifying impact they had on him. He shivered as Moody and Mundungus pointed their wands at the dark creatures. Harry saw the angry look in Dumbledore's eyes, but he controlled his voice.

    "We're relieving you off command here," Dumbledore spoke aloud. "You are to depart from Azkaban by the end of the night." One of the dementors stepped forward, and uttered, in an icy voice that chilled Harry to the spine:

    "You cannot bid us to go." The dementor's voice was slow and slithering, but filled with intensity.

    "Do not make me take action," Dumbledore warned, taking out his wand. The dementor stood its ground.

    "We obey no one but our master," the dementor said, as the dementors started to slowly move towards the Order. They all took out their wands, prepared to strike.

    "Stand back!" Brolin yelled at the dementors, pointing his wand at the dementors. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the

lead dementor lunged forward and attached its mouth to Brolin's face. Harry heard a muffled scream as Brolin pounded on the dementor. There was an awful sucking sound, and a light seemed to pass from Brolin's mouth and into the dementor's. And as suddenly as the dementor attacked, it unclenched it's jaw, letting Brolin's body drop to the ground. Brolin moaned, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head, his chest still breathing. Harry stared, shocked at what had happened. Dumbledore pointed his wand at the dementors.

    "Expecto Patronum!" he bellowed, a jet of white light issuing forth. The light took the form of a bird (a phoenix, Harry recognized) and swooped down on the dementors. The Patronus was extremely bright and powerful. The rest of the Order called forth their own, combatting the dementors. Suddenly, an icy cold laughter filled the halls of Azkaban.

    "A group of old wizards matching their strength against piddling dementors," the cold voice echoed. It was Voldemort, but he himself was nowhere to be seen.

    "Show yourself, you coward!" Mad-Eye roared. The dementors vanished in a cloud of shadow.

    "Mad-Eye Moody, the ex-Auror. How's your nose? Or your eye? Or how about your leg?" the cold voice rang out, turning into laughter once again. Harry felt himself grow angry, but he realized there was nothing he could do.

    "I dare you to come speak to our faces, Voldemort!" Ganymera shouted in her raspy voice.

    "I'd prefer to not remember your disgusting face, Ganymera. I'm afraid I've rather grown tired of seeing your mangled visage," the voice replied again, cackling madly.

    "Enough of these games, Voldemort. I know you do not have the Orb," Dumbledore bellowed.

    "Ah yes, Dumbledore," the voice whispered, barely audible. "I suppose you believe you're very clever, figuring out that I'm seeking the Orb."

    "Yes, Voldemort. And as much as you try to convince yourself that you are one step ahead of us, I think you know the Orb is not here, and now no longer have any clue as to its whereabouts," Dumbledore said, his voice steady with fury, his body seemingly radiating with power.

    "Perhaps, yes..." Voldemort's voice said, sadly. "But there were other things that I have come to collect here. The dementors, and these." Loud metallic bangs echoed through the chambers of Azkaban.

    "What's happening?" Remus asked, his grey eyes flying open. Dumbledore looked as if he had seen a ghost.

    "He's releasing the prisoners of Azkaban." Mad-Eye looked in shock at Dumbledore.

    "I did not lose my limbs to have those bastards back on the streets!" he roared. They heard hooting, howling, crashes and loud bangs. Out of the gloom, Harry saw hundreds of prisoners rustling through the halls, heading for the great hall. The prisoners edged forward, wave after wave of them emerging from the shadows. The Order readied their wands, while the silent member picked up the empty shell that was now Brolin.

    "We need to get out of here," Remus shouted. They could hear Voldemort's cackling over the shouting of the prisoners.

    "Not until we get these bastards back into their cages," Moody growled. "Stupefy!" A jet of red light blasted one of the prisoners, who fell to the ground like a statue.

    "Alastor we have no time for this!" Dumbledore shouted. "Gather around the portkey!" Moody stunned several other prisoners, who charged at the Order. The other members began to stun the oncoming prisoners, but they continued to pour into the hall.

    "Morsmordre!" Voldemort bellowed from somewhere, clearly enjoying the chaos. The green light of the Dark Mark reflected into the hall, and reflected itself in Dumbledore's raging blue eyes. He turned to the prisoners.

    "Enjoy your freedom, it will not last!" he yelled. The Order shrank back near the twig. They all touched the twig at the same time, and disappeared. Voldemort was still cackling as the prisoners hooted; Death Eaters began to arrive at the prison. Harry looked on in terror, but heard the soothing melodius voice of the mysterious witch.

    "It's time to leave, Harry," she said.

    "Why did you do nothing! Why didn't you help them!" Harry shouted.

    "I did help. By allowing you to see this. Use the information wisely," the voice said. Harry was suddenly transported back into Dumbledore's office. He looked at his watch, which showed that several hours had passed. He felt extremely tired, and weary. Harry ran out of Dumbledore's office, throwing his invisibility cloak around him, and then rushing back to Gryffindor Tower.