Harry Potter and the Orb of Power

Chapter 34: The Forest Hideaway

Harry lie on the floor for several moments, catching his breath. That last adventure was severely disorienting; he felt vomit inching upwards. Trying to suppress the urge, Harry took a deep breath, and forced his eyes open. He was staring at the floor, watching the torchlight dance across the stone. He felt no desire to stand up, but he felt a rough hand pulling him to his feet.

"Did you see it all?" a grating voice said above him.

"I saw it...Slytherin...killing Hufflepuff...Ravenclaw doing some sort of spell...oh, I think I'm going to throw up," Harry moaned, again coming close to vomiting. "Why am I so sick?"

"Your body is still reeling from the portrait's passageway. The shift was not meant to be pleasant."

"Someone should fix it," Harry said, feeling the nausea slowly subsiding. He rubbed his eyes, and stared into the grey, haunting pupils of Verdoth. "What exactly was that?"

"The final day of the Founders, the final day of a world that was living in peace. Unfortunately that day has haunted the wizarding and Muggle worlds for centuries after."

"Look, my head is spinning, and I have a monstrous headache. Cut the riddles and tell me clearly what bloody happened!" Harry yelled, his temples throbbing mercilessly.

"Even I do not know completely what happened that fateful day. The story is not as simple as it appeared, and I fear that a lot may influence the events to come. However, what you saw was sufficient. Rowena used the Arbiter Spell, a very complex and powerful spell that is used to make decisions when a person cannot make an unbiased and correct judgment. The old courts once used the Arbiter Spell to pass judgment on criminals, but the spell was so very complicated that the courts abandoned it. Rowena, in her loyalty to her two friends, was incapable of making a decision that could devastate the four founders. She chose Fawkes as the focal point of the spell, the Arbiter, to decide for her."

"I got that. But why did Gryffindor killing Slytherin seal the spell? The spell looked finished when Ravenclaw performed it," Harry asked, his head clearing a bit.

"Very true. However, the Arbiter comes with fine print that Rowena always hoped would never be a factor. The two parties that face judgment must both be alive. If one was to die before judgment, the spell would malfunction, but in a very dangerous manner. The conflict between the two is never solved, and the magic involved in solving the matter carries out the struggle until there are equal replacements for those that have died." Harry looked horrified as Verdoth continued to explain, the expression on the sentinel's face unemotional.

"So that means that their conflict is still going on today?"

"Isn't it obvious? Voldemort, the heir of Slytherin, was attempting to purge the school of Muggleborns, as was his mission as dictated by Salazar. He dabbled in the Dark Arts, and now he's becoming a raving lunatic hell-bent on ruling the world, a dream that only the mad would ever believe was possible to achieve."

"And Dumbledore inherited his mission from Gryffindor?"

"It certainly seems so. He has positioned himself to oppose Voldemort directly."

"But Fawkes is ready to make a decision," Harry said suddenly, "Which, if what Ravenclaw said was true, means that Voldemort and Dumbledore are going to realize they are very similar in goals."

"True..." Verdoth growled in a face that Harry could only interpret as an expression of deep thought. Harry doubted this was true; Dumbledore and Voldemort were as opposites as two people could be.

"I can't believe that all this is happening because of one spell."

"Magic is more powerful than you can possibly imagine, young Potter. It stretches beyond time and space, beyond the concepts of reality that we have established for ourselves. One spell ripples throughout the world, causing imbalances and surges of energy all over the place. It takes one spell to seal the fate of the rest of the world. Because of that one spell, a pattern of conflict has re-occurred continually in an endless loop. You yourself have seen it. Always it is that two polar opposites stand against each other. Always it is that the innocent die first. The young boy you saw murdered cruelly, the first victim of Avada Kedavra..."

"...like Cedric Diggory," Harry muttered, remembering the cold, lifeless, grey eyes of Cedric Diggory. Those eyes still haunted Harry's dreams, those eyes, locked in a permanent expression of surprise...

"And if the pattern is to continue, someone very important to the struggle will die, inciting the war that will come."

"Like Hufflepuff..." Harry said, his thoughts trailing off.

"Like Helga..." Verdoth said, his voice breaking a bit.

"Do you...still feel...emotion?" The grey face looked up at Harry. Verdoth's eyes still blazed with grey energy, but contrary to when Harry first encountered him, he looked sad rather than terrifying.

"It is the worst part of the curse that has been brought upon me. I still feel the loss of my friends...as if it happened yesterday. It is the burden I bear." Harry felt a great swell of pity catching in his chest. "But then, we all carry burdens. Gryffindor knew this better than anyone."

"How so?"

"The robes you now wear, scarlet and gold, are the colors of Gryffindor's house. Not white and gold, but scarlet."

"White?" Harry asked, not understanding where Verdoth was going with this.

"Godric always wore white. It was his favorite color; it was pure, bright, it reflected the world around it. When he killed Salazar, the dark wizard's blood tainted his pure white robes. Godric murdered his best friend; he always had to live with that knowledge. So he changed his house's colors to scarlet, so that he would never forget that Salazar's blood, which tainted his robes, was shed by his own hands." The tomb was plunged into an awful silence. Harry was filled with sadness, with confusion, with a thousand emotions that were fighting in him but couldn't gain prominence.

"What do I do?" Harry asked, hoping for some sort of answer.

"We look for the one whose death will incite this war, the death that will spur the one who assumes Godric's role to take action against Voldemort."

"Cedric died, and Dumbledore hasn't made a direct attack against him," Harry said doubtfully. "Who could die that would motivate him to attack?"

"Someone close to him," Verdoth suggested. Harry cast his mind around, trying to figure out who Voldemort could target. Suddenly, Harry's heart dropped like a stone. His skin ran as cold as ice, and panic ripped through his body.

Voldemort was going to kill Sirius.

"Sirius! Sirius Black! My godfather, he's going to kill...we can't let him kill my godfather! We have to stop it!" Harry yelled, running for the door. "We have to find him!"

"You cannot fight fate, Harry! You have only learned a small part of the greater truth! If you leave, this door will be locked until all of the keys, all of the items in the chain of three, are found. The further knowledge that lies here will be lost if you run now! You're choice here will decide how this war will play out! You cannot fight your fate!" Harry stopped at the door for a moment, trying to master the emotions that were ripping through his body. He turned and looked at the sentinel that stood at the center of the tombs, and he shook his head.

"I have no choice, and to hell with fate!" Harry responded, and opened the door to the tomb. The hallway was looming before him. He took a step forward, and the doors of the Tomb slammed shut behind him.

There's no turning back now, Harry thought, and took a deep breath. Harry walked through the darkly lit hallway and to his surprise, the walls were no longer dripping with blood. The door that led to the Astronomy Tower as well was no longer locked, and when he entered in to the room, he realized that he was back in the usual Hogwarts, his Hogwarts. Harry rushed to the stairwell, which too had reverted back to normal.

"Harry! You're safe!" Hermione called out.

"Thank Merlin," Ron sighed. From the top of the stairs, Harry could tell they were pale with worry. Harry ran down the stairs as fast as he could.

"We have to find Sirius. He's going to be a target if we don't find him."

"Harry, what did you see up there?" Hermione asked Harry continued, totally ignoring her question.

"I can't explain it all right now; all I can say is that Sirius is in a lot of danger!"

"But where are we supposed to find him?" Hermione asked, her voice shrill with panic.

"The Order's been looking for him the whole time, how are we supposed to just find him?" Ron yelled. "Harry, take a moment to realize that we are stuck!" Harry rolled his eyes in frustration. They didn't see what he had seen in the Astronomy Tower, they didn't know why this was so urgent. War was looming, so many lives were waiting in the balance.

"The Orb! We can use the Orb! Why didn't I think of it before?" Harry yelled triumphantly.

"We can't use it, it's too risky," Hermione said at once.

"No it's not; I just used it a moment ago in the Astronomy Tower!"

"You WHAT?" Ron yelled. "Harry, that thing is trouble, that's all it is! Look what it did to Neville's family! What it's doing to you! You've used it once and now you're using it for all your problems! I want to find Sirius too, but sometimes we just aren't supposed to know what's going to happen!"

"I DO know what's going to happen! If he dies, the wizarding world goes to war!" Harry yelled back. "This is the only way." Harry took the chain out from under his robes, and revealed the Orb.

"Don't do it, Harry!" Hermione sobbed, tears welling up in her ears.

"I have to! I can't let Sirius die!" Harry yelled. Harry clenched his fist around the small orb at the bottom of the chain, and closed his eyes, clearing his mind of all other thoughts.

"Where is Sirius Black?" Wind flapped all around him, and light shot out of the Orb, surrounding Harry in a dazzling flash of light. The light twisted into a dark forest. The scene lingered for a moment, and then flashed forward and revealed a dark housing rising in a small clearing. Smoke was coming out of the chimney, and a battered car was parked alongside it. The scene zoomed forward, behind the house, where a medium-sized backyard made a small pocket of clear area in the dense forest. The scene zoomed forward one more time, and a man curled in a fetal position, seemingly cowering behind a robed figure that Harry could not recognize. Suddenly, the light swept back into the Orb, which now twinkled innocently at the end of the golden chain, before fading away.

"That didn't help at all," Harry yelled, filled to the brim with disappointment.

"It's the Forbidden Forest," Ron said softly.

"How do you know?" Hermione asked, thoroughly bewildered.

"You could see the tracks that led to Aragog. Believe me; I'd remember that path any day. Besides, the car next to the house was my father's old car, the Ford Anglia."

"Then that's the trail we'll take to find Sirius," Harry responded firmly.

"We should tell Dumbledore! He'd want to know!" Hermione immediately said.

"We can't tell him. The Aurors that took away Malfoy will probably still be talking to Dumbledore about the arrest. And besides, Figg...Malagar...will be hovering around Dumbledore all night. There's no way we can sneak in and rescue him without giving up our secrecy!"

"Harry, what if Voldemort is there? What about his Death Eaters? How are we supposed to match that?" Ron demanded.

"Mrs. Figg didn't teach us how to magically conceal ourselves for nothing," Harry reminded Ron.

"The same Mrs. Figg that tried to have your soul sucked out by Dementors at St. Mungo's," Ron yelled back. "Be reasonable, we can't do this!"

"Well I'm going to do this with or without your help!" Harry yelled. He glared at Ron, who was glaring right back at Harry.

"Listen, mate, I'd go anywhere you'd go, but this is far too risky. I can't let you take a risk like this. Not after what almost happened to you last year. I'm not going without help," Ron said firmly. Harry glared at Ron, and turned to Hermione.

"Harry..." she whispered, but her eyes told Harry everything he needed to know. She was siding with Ron. She grabbed his hand but he jerked it away.

"I can't believe you guys aren't trying to help me!" Harry yelled. Hermione squirmed guiltily, but Ron stood defiant.

"Listen, Harry, there's no way you're going in there by yourself. Figg or no Figg, Dumbledore's the only one who can help us if You-Know-Who is there. Dumbledore would not want us to rush right into a situation like that without help!"

"You don't understand! If Sirius dies we all go to war!" Harry yelled. Why weren't Ron and Hermione getting it?

"We're already at war," Hermione whispered.

"It's going to get worse! You didn't see what I saw! We have to protect Sirius!"

"Let's go get Dumbledore," Ron said firmly. Harry looked at his friend in horror. Why weren't they willing to help him?

"If it was your family, you'd go to them!" Harry yelled. Ron looked as if he had been slapped in the face.

"Harry, don't you get it? If you go there, you could be killed!" Ron yelled, his face turning maroon. "What good does that do in the long run, with both you and Sirius dead?"

"So what, we just let Sirius die?" Harry asked incredulously.

"No, stop being thick! Let's tell Dumbledore!" Ron yelled hoarsely.

"I will NOT ask Dumbledore for help!" Harry raged. "Dumbledore let things slide out of control. He let Voldemort take Sirius! He let Neville's parents die! He let us get attacked by that dragon! You saw him! He could have taken that dragon out the night we spied on the Order of the Phoenix, and he did nothing! He risked our lives in order to catch Lucius Malfoy! Dumbledore has lost his edge!" Harry yelled.

"Harry, you can't do this by yourself," Hermione pleaded, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Let's tell McGonagall, Hagrid, Flitwick, someone, even Snape, but please let's get some help!"

"Fine. You get help. You beg for Dumbledore to wake up and see the truth. I'm going to Sirius." Harry made to move past Ron, but Ron stepped in his way.

"Don't do this, Harry. Please. You know that this is wrong. You know you can't do this without help."

"Get out of my way, Ron," Harry growled. Ron took a deep breath, his mind obviously torn. Harry saw Ron's hands itching towards his wand, but he knew deep down Ron would let him go. Ron stepped aside. Harry slightly nodded and he stormed away from Ron and Hermione. Harry felt a pang of guilt, but that couldn't be helped. Sirius needed help, now, not later, and Harry was not going to just stand around and let him die. He had done enough standing around and waiting for Dumbledore to do something. Sirius was too important to lose.

You cannot fight your fate. Verdoth's voice echoed in Harry's mind, and it infuriated him. Sirius isn't going to die, Harry thought fiercely, heading towards the Great Hall. He entered, and saw that everyone was dancing to the music. Harry swept right through the crowd; no one noticed that he was heading right for the exit. He reached the doors and, with one look to make sure no one was looking, he left the Entrance Hall.

The cold weather struck him right in the face, biting hard against his skin. Fog blanketed the ground, surreally swirling and obstructing Harry's vision. He clutched his wand, keeping his ears pricked for any sign of noise, any disturbance in the air.

"Lumos!" Harry muttered, lighting the end of his wand. He approached the edge of the forest cautiously, trying not to draw any attention to himself. He entered the forest, trying to be as quiet as possible. Who knew what other creatures lurked in the forest, besides Acromantulas and centaurs, of course? Harry realized, only a few minutes in, that he didn't really know how to get to the forest house. He knew that the path was near Aragog's path, but without spiders to lead him, he'd get lost for sure. Trusting himself to the use of the Orb, Harry closed his hand around the jewel and closed his eyes.

"Show me how to get to the house." Nothing happened. "Please show me where the house is located." There was no answer yet again. The Orb twinkled innocently in Harry's hand, as if challenging him to try again. Harry clenched harder. "Where is the forest house?" The orb responded this time, glowing brightly in the gloom. A small orb of light shimmered out of the orb and hovered in front of Harry. It then moved quickly forward, darting between the trees, roughly following a dirt path in the woods. Harry jogged to keep up with his guide, following the shimmers of gold sparks emitting from the light. Harry walked for what seemed like an eternity. He was freezing cold; the winter weather was biting at his face as he trudged through the damp undergrowth. Harry nearly gave up hope until he emerged into a clearing.

A large house loomed in the darkness. It looked old; the paint had completely disappeared, revealing an ugly, molded, brown, wooden exterior. The gravel pathway that led up to the door was ruined by undergrowths pushing through the rocks. One of two chimneys had collapsed; a pile of debris lay beside the house. Harry saw Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglia alongside the house, lying idle, surrounded by trees. Harry decided not to think about why the car was there, and moved closer to the house. None of the lights were on, which gave Harry a bad feeling about the place. Not wanting to risk being spotted, Harry tapped himself with his wand.

"Defluam!" Harry muttered. He felt the Disillusionment Charm taking effect, and when he held out a hand to see if it worked, he could not see it. Now to find Sirius, Harry thought, moving quickly up the gravel pathway. The crunching sound coming from his feet seemed to echo through the forest. Harry cautiously made his way to the front door, and tested the door knob. Seeing that it was unlocked, Harry pushed the door slightly. It swung in, revealing a dark hallway on the inside. Harry quickly stepped in, and shut the door behind him.

The hallway was very dark; the only source of light was coming from a small flicker of light somewhere in the next room. Trying not to be too loud, Harry entered this room. A set of candles barely lit the room; shadows filled the corners and edges. The room looked like a study. Wooden shelves lined the walls, each level filled with dusty volumes. Harry saw a desk covered in cluttered papers. Feeling curiosity filling him, Harry strode over to the desk, and picked up a piece of paper.

It was a Ministry document, filled with various reports and figures that disinterested Harry quickly. He put it down and picked up another sheet, which looked like a report on cauldron bottoms and the rate of thickness. Harry recognized Percy's pretentious scrawl droning on and on about the importance of cauldron thickness. Harry put the report down, wondering why Percy's report would be on the desk. He shifted through other papers, mostly boring reports. Harry then spotted a rather interesting paper among them. This parchment had a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth. The Dark Mark... Harry picked up the parchment and read it quickly:

Cornelius,

At the first, congratulations in discrediting young Potter and that old buffoon Dumbledore. You're anti-Potter advertisements have convinced enough wizards and witches that I have not returned, and for that, I am grateful. However, I am severely displeased with your attempted treason and betrayal of me and my faithful servants, and for that you should receive grave punishment. You're further escape from Wormtail during the summer has only furthered my impatience with you, and for that I should have come to kill you myself.

However, there is a way that you can regain my trust and reenter my favor. I wish for you to authorize an important scouting expedition, if you will, into Hogwarts. For that, I have assigned Lucius. He already has had experience with Hogwarts and he will look the most legitimate. You will, of course, arrange for all the necessary details to be taken care of, lest you face my wrath.

In addition to this scouting mission, I wish for you also to retire the use of Dementors at Azkaban prison. Many of my faithful followers are now residing at Azkaban, and I need them to be here, in my service. I trust you will find a way to cover up this unfortunate unpleasantness and make it agreeable to the public.

I rarely give second chances, Cornelius. Be careful not to fudge this one as badly as you did your first. The clock is ticking, and I expect results. You will also wait for further correspondence from Severus, as you are very near to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It will be then that you will receive details of our later missions.

-L.V.

Harry felt shock spreading through his body. Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, was a Death Eater? How could it be? How could the leader of the wizarding world fall to Lord Voldemort so quickly? It was incomprehensible! Harry's hand shook with fury. He let the letter drop to the desk, and he turned to face the doorway.

He should have known sooner. He remembered from his dream back in July that Wormtail went to kill a traitor. Wormtail had failed, as Voldemort knew. Why didn't he realize that it was Fudge? He knew the Minister went into hiding for a reason. Harry took another glance at the letter, and reread the bottom half. Harry felt more anger surge through his body.

Snape has been corresponding with Fudge.

Harry's mind was working furiously. Either Snape is now back in the service of Voldemort, or he is working for Dumbledore. Either way, Snape seemed to be playing both sides.

Fudge had been hiding here the entire time, planning out his savage attacks on Harry while ordering Malfoy and Snape while they were at Hogwarts. It was ingenious. Voldemort had infiltrated Hogwarts, not only with an inspector, but with two teachers, Snape and Figg. Not to mention that Malfoy had snuck Wormtail into the castle earlier. Dumbledore was indeed losing his edge; so many Dark Agents in the castle. How would the Order respond when they knew how close they had come to failure?

Harry shook his head; he couldn't worry about this now. He had to find Sirius. After that, he'd figure out Snape's role, and what to do about Fudge. Harry moved quickly into the hallway, trying not to make too much noise. From what the Orb had shown, Sirius looked like he was in some sort of backyard. There must be a back exit somewhere around here, Harry thought quickly. Harry moved quickly through the bottom floor, and found a screen door that opened into a back yard. He opened the door slowly, not sure what to expect when he exited the house, and stepped outside. Once again the cold weather hit Harry hard, but this time Harry did not notice. His attention was drawn to a haggard man curled in a ball on the far side of the lawn. In front of him was a woman, with long, auburn hair. She was saying something to the haggard man, but Harry couldn't hear. She looks familiar...

Harry decided that caution was the better course of action, and snuck sideways around the yard, circling around the haggard man and the woman. As Harry got closer, he heard the woman's voice become more audible. She was yelling at the man, seemingly scolding him. Harry looked closer, and saw that the haggard man was Sirius, his godfather. Harry's heart leapt; Sirius was still alive! He made to run forward, but when he got a look at the woman's face, he felt his heart stop. His skin crawled icily, an emotion that Harry had never felt before ripped through his body. A tear formed and fell down his cheek, unrestrained.

"Mum..." Harry whispered, looking at the beautiful woman that was before him. She looked exactly like she did in the pictures he had of her. Harry couldn't see her face perfectly, it was far too dark, but he still knew it was her. The hair, the skin tone, details Harry obsessed over whenever he looked at her picture, were tell-tale signs that his mother was alive and breathing, before his very eyes.

No, this isn't right, a voice said in Harry's mind, and it startled him out of his haze. You know your mother is dead, that can't be her. But it looked so much like her! She moved like Harry thought she would, with grace and poise that no woman could ever hope to have. Harry approached more, knowing that something fundamentally was wrong with this picture, but wanting to make sure that this woman was his mother.

"...how could you do it to us, Sirius? How could you give us up?"

"Lily...please..." Sirius' hoarse voice moaned. Harry felt his heart leap. Sirius had called her Lily! It had to be his mother!

But how? Voldemort killed her when you were one year old, the voice countered logically. Harry paused, feeling dread mingle with his hope. It was true that everyone said that Voldemort killed his parents. And, no spell could reawaken the dread. Perhaps this wasn't his mother...

"We trusted you! We thought you would protect us!"

"Lily, you must understand..."

Harry heard his mother's voice waft through the air. It was like music, even if she was yelling at Sirius. Harry wanted so very much to be able to hear his mother's voice again, and he now got to hear it.

No, no, this is all wrong...

But maybe she was a sentinel? Harry never could remember hearing the spell Voldemort used on her, even when Verdoth made Harry remember things from when he was a baby. Maybe he decided the Sententia Curse was a more apt punishment for his mother. Harry felt a pang of sorrow. What if his mother was cursed to live like that forever? He couldn't just let her suffer an eternity of torment. No wonder why she was yelling at Sirius; every day she had to live with the knowledge that Sirius convinced Peter to be Secret Keeper. It was Sirius' decision that led to her death, and to the childhood of loneliness that Harry had to endure. Harry moved even more closer, trying to get a good look at his mother, trying so very hard to fight the urge to run up to her and hug her, to tell her that he was there. The Disillusionment Charm was wearing off, but Harry didn't care. His mother was here in this yard.

"You sentenced James and me to death! You killed us and ruined Harry's life!"

"Lily, I swear I didn't mean to!" Sirius sobbed, trying to squirm away from Lily.

"I can never forgive you for what you have done! Never!" Lily spat, moving closer to Sirius. Harry moved closer, so close to his mother. He could reach out and touch her.

"Mum?" Harry said aloud. His mother turned, and for a split moment Harry's eyes saw the emerald green eyes of Lily Potter.

A loud crack filled the air, and Lily disappeared, reappearing as a Dementor, towering over Harry.

"Wait...what...I don't understand," Harry moaned, clutching for his wand, feeling the Dementor starting to suck away at his happiness. Sirius looked up at Harry wildly.

"No, you shouldn't have come..." Sirius whispered hoarsely. "Should have known...it was a boggart..."

Harry's insides twisted horribly. A boggart...it was all a boggart...

"R...r...Riddikulus!" Harry shouted. The boggart disappeared in a wisp of smoke.

"Get out of here," Sirius gasped. Harry turned, but silver bars of energy shot up from out of the ground, forming a cage around him and Sirius. A cold laughter filled the air as Harry realized just what had happened.

He was trapped.