A/N: Okay, so this turned out to be longer than I even expected, despite the very uneven division of the chapter into two parts. Anyway, hope you guys like it.
Chapter 09 P2: The Dark Lord Calling: I left my heart in Godric's Hollow.
Sirius had bypassed all his nervousness at that point and had reached a point of calm which was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. He found no reason to fret over the inevitable and if tonight was his last night on earth, he didn't want to go down trembling in his boots, he would go down his head held high and proud. It did help that his cousin was more like her normal self. She admitted when they met that things might have gone out of proportion during the summer and she regretted bits of it. She didn't apologize, of course but he would have been suspicious if she had. She had told him that he was going to meet the 'dark lord' but didn't forewarn anything beyond that about what was going to happen on this night.
The portkey had taken them right outside the door of an old house in a village sort of area. Bella had flashed her arm at the person who opened the door and they had been given admittance. Sirius had asked her cousin where they were but had given the vague response that it was a hideout. He had expected to go to a residence of a well-known pureblood family, with all the stigmatized preference that was given to them but he had been wrong and now he had no idea where they were. He felt a fundamental building block of his plan collapse around him. He decided to find out more if he got any time alone which he knew was a lot to ask for.
He was happy momentarily when he heard that Bella was going to leave him as she went to meet her master before Sirius was called in; but his happiness was short lived. He had overestimated his cousin's blind trust over his naivety especially after how he had manipulated himself out of the first of his two vows. Before going, she left her cousin under the charge of Avery, who by the looks of it was around Bella's age. Sirius knew how unwise it was to battle a death eater right smack in the middle of their hideout. He was racking his brain for a possibility when he heard the incantation "Confundo!"He turned around just in time to see Avery's eyes slacken and assume a dreamy look. It was too good to be true. He looked around for the source of the magic. If he hadn't seen it happen over a million times in the past four to five years, he would have shrieked at the sight of his best friend's head appear out of nowhere. He looked at James in shock for a moment, and then he grinned.
Of course he came."Fancy giving us that pretty little mirror of yours, mate?" James Potter's head said grinning up at him. "You didn't work out the part where you find out the address did you, you old dolt. We'd figure it out, even when you have to go,"
Sirius looked at Avery who was observing a bunch of documents with utmost fascination, looking happily at it. He took out the mirror from inside his robes pocket and handed it to James before saying, "We? Remus came along too?"
"No, I finally got Evans to come on a date with me," James grinned slyly.
And Sirius's surprise just mounted when another head popped up next to James, with unmistakable red hair and green eyes.
"You wish, Potter" Lily Evans said angrily.
"Lily., How?," Sirius said, shocked. He liked Lily Evans, not the way James did. But she was quite pleasant and they were sort of like friends, even though neither of them would admit it to each other or anyone else. Yet she was one of the last people he expected to see here.
They heard footsteps and Lily and James disappeared back under the cloak. Sirius had time to glance at Avery who still looked dreamy and oblivious to what's been going around him. Satisfied, he looked back in time to see Bellatrix enter the room.
"All in order Avery?" She asked.
Avery nodded, smiling. Bellatrix glared suspiciously at him, as if he wasn't supposed to smile. She continued to glare at him for a while, before finally choosing to let it go.
"The Dark Lord will see you now, Sirius" She said to her cousin.
Sirius just nodded as he followed her to meet the most evil wizard to have ever lived.
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Sirius walked alongside Bellatrix, refusing to walk behind her. He was not going to show any weakness when he came face to face with the dark lord. He walked with his head held high, alert and dignified. He entered the long room at the end of which there was a long almost throne like chair. There were no other chairs in the room, but a lot of black robed figures stood and some knelt around the chair. As he came closer, he finally set eyes on the man who sat on it.
It was obvious that he had been handsome once. He had jet black hair which was cropped shortly. His skin was oddly pale and waxy; it almost wasn't human. His eyes were bloodshot red and yet there was a charm around him. He wore a smile which was less repulsive and more enchanting. He spread his arms wide as if to welcome Sirius, on his left hand between two long fingers lay his wand at the ready. Lord Voldemort had a twisted majestic aura around him even at first sight. Sirius knew even then, why Bellatrix and all these people here followed him. The careless ease with which he sat, the confidence on his face, all aspects of royalty ; it all gave the clear cut message, he was a king who had come to lay claim to his throne.
But as Bella went on her knee, as she faced this powerful man, Sirius did not bow out of reverence; Sirius did not even incline his head in respect; for he had no respect for Lord Voldemort. Sirius knew him for who he was; the tyrant who was advocating blood purity, the man behind all those murders and all that violence, he judged the man from those around him for he saw now; Lucius Malfoy in the crowd, Alecto and Amycus Carrow standing in the corner and his cousin at her knees, the independent woman who never bowed even to Lord Black. He was able to look the dark lord in the eye and see the arrogance, the cruelty and all he felt for the man was abhorrence.
"My lord, I present to you my cousin, Sirius Black," said Bella a she got up to her feet.
"Sirius Black," Lord Voldemort spoke. His voice was cold and yet charismatic. "The future lord Black, we meet finally,"
"Voldemort," said Sirius. He did not stutter. He did not know whether it was bravery or stupidity that gripped him in that moment, but he knew he would not call the man, lord. He was not worthy of it.
The whole room flinched. Sirius had eyes only for Voldemort, but he knew his cousin was glaring at him. He did not care as he looked at the cruel face, for his reaction.
Voldemort did not reprimand. He was not reproaching. But his face had lost the smile that was on it, from the moment Sirius entered.
"You would find Sirius," He said very softly, but somehow his voice still resounding. "That many older and better wizards than you find it unwise to speak my name. "The Dark Lord" would be more appropriate,"
"I've never had much time for wisdom, "Sirius said coolly. "But I do not fear you. I sure as hell do not fear your name and thus; I speak it,"
Voldemort stared at him through his dangerous red eyes, studying Sirius, sizing him up. "You did not bow before me," He observed.
Discomfort was finally creeping back into his system Sirius he felt himself under the dark lord's gaze and he felt power radiate from the tall wizard in front of him.
"Well, you didn't bow before me either," He said chuckling, his defence mechanism of humour kicking in.
The room started buzzing as the witches and wizards gathered there started looking at each other and whispering.
"Silence!" Voldemort snarled and the room came back to order. He directed his words back to Sirius, "Only time would tell Sirius Black, whether you are extremely brave or extremely stupid,"
"But I already know the answer to that question when it comes to you, Voldemort," said Sirius quietly.
There was another collective gasp and Voldemort rose from his chair, spreading himself to his full length which just added to his impressive demeanour. He strode almost gracefully towards Sirius and stopped to stand only a few inches away from him, glaring down at him as if the red eyes were trying to force the grey into submission. Sirius stared defiantly back, refusing to give Voldemort the satisfaction that would come out of his fear.
"Care to explain your statement, boy?" The dark lord sneered.
"Not particularly but since you ask so nicely," Sirius said smiling cheekily. "This whole gig you've got of being the baddest wizard in town and acting like the sun shines out of all your pureblood arses, I just don't buy it,"
"Sirius!" Bellatrix began furiously, her voice livid but she fell silent when Voldemort raised a hand in her direction.
The dark lord looked at the boy in front of him, for a few more moments before walking back in stride, laughing coldly as he did. His laughter sent chills down Sirius's spine.
"You just don't buy it," quoted Voldemort, still laughing. "It's not for a fifteen year old to buy, Sirius. It is fact that I am the greatest wizard alive. It is fact that I'm the greatest wizard that has ever lived, surpassing even the mighty Salazar Slytherin. It is fact that I cannot be beaten, little boy. I cannot be defeated. I cannot be vanquished. Even Merlin can't hold a stick to me. Who do you think is better than me? You?"
At this the entire room burst out laughing. There were catcalls and jeering. Only Bellatrix stood without a smile on her face, fury and humiliation still radiating from her.
Sirius stood calmly facing the whole room full of Death eaters and said with a smile as the noise died down, "No, no not me. Not yet, anyway. But, let's see." He looked around the room, conversationally. "How about Albus Dumbledore?"
The room went deadly quiet. Sirius did not have to look at the deadly look on those red eyes to know that Lord Voldemort was beyond furious and he could feel power radiating from him. The logical part of Sirius told him now would be a good time to stop but Sirius was riled up and he wanted to push the dark lord's buttons.
"In fact, I heard the reason you are still hiding in this pretty little house is because he scares the holy shit out of you, Voldemort," Sirius said with a bark like laughter.
He knew he had gone too far this time, actually he didn't have much time to recognize the fact as he was thrown backwards all the way to the end of the room. And before he could properly register that, he was lifted again and thrown to the other side of the room. Pain like he had never known before spread through him, it was much worse than the Cruciatus curse. This felt dark; this felt like every bone in his body was being crushed and his lungs were being cramped and his heart was about to stop. He looked up at Voldemort, who stood tall, his wand raised, and his face impassive and merciless. Finally it stopped and Voldemort proceeded to stand above his limp form.
"Lucius was right. You need to learn some respect," said Voldemort quietly.
"And as I-I to-ld him you would need to earn it," Sirius said with great difficulty. His body was still trembling from the abuse it had taken as he forced himself into a seating position. He managed to see his cousin Bellatrix who stood where she had initially stood; all her fury was gone though. She looked impassive, but he saw right through her façade. Her hands were clenched into fists and her brown eyes that looked everywhere but at him spoke volumes. Even in the state he was in, his heart went out for her. He knew the dissonance she must be facing now and he wanted to help her. But they all had to own up to their beliefs today, Sirius knew.
Voldemort raised his wand again. "I'd earn it by torturing you out of your ego, Sirius Black. You see, I won't kill you as tempted as I am right now. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I want a friendly Lord Black and seeing that you aren't one, I'd carve myself a friendly Black heir,"
With tremendous effort, Sirius found himself back on his feet.
"Oh yea, I'd love to see you try," He said through gritted teeth as he waved his wand and the throne like chair behind Voldemort turned into a statue of armour that started marching towards its master.
Voldemort did not turn back, he did not flinch, he just flicked his wand lazily and the statue turned to dust. He turned his wand towards Sirius and Sirius knew that if the dark lord wanted with another flick of his wand, Sirius would turn to dust as well. After all, for Voldemort he was as much of a threat as that statue of armour had been. But this time he was ready. If Voldemort was going to do whatever he wanted to Sirius, anyway Sirius was not going to make it easy for him.
He created for himself an icy ledge on which he slid with pure adrenaline alone to avoid Voldemort's next attack sending a stunner at him in turn. And they duelled; the tall, dark wizard and the fifth year Gryffindor, throwing spells, dodging, blocking. He was proud to say that it wasn't as easy a contest as Voldemort thought it would. He did not put the dark lord through his paces, Voldemort did not sweat but he managed to evade the Dark Lord and fight back at the same time, more than someone of his age should have been able to. And when Lord Voldemort tried to invade his mind, Sirius threw him right out. As he looked at the cold face, he saw reluctant admiration and pure shock. But it was not to last. After all what chance did a fifth year stand against Lord Voldemort. Sirius had used up all the strength he had in him; all the adrenaline and he found himself on the floor with the dark lord's wand pointed at his heart.
"You've fought well, Black. Lord Voldemort is impressed." Voldemort said with a twisted grin. "But you are more stupid than brave. But it will change. It will all change,"
He raised his wand again only to be stopped by a table that came out of nowhere and hit him on the back and for once Voldemort didn't see it coming. The dark lord staggered. For a split second, Sirius thought Bella had finally opted to help him but then he turned around and saw, James Potter standing, his unruly hair messier than ever, his spectacles lopsided, wand at the ready.
"Not if I can help it," He said.
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James Potter? What is James fucking Potter doing here now?Bella was reaching her limit of tolerance. First of all, she had just had it with her cousin's defiance and stupidity. When he talked to the dark lord like that, she wanted to rip his tongue off and lash him with it. Did he not know who the dark lord was? He was the saviour of the wizarding world; the greatest, the noblest wizard to have ever lived.
And her own cousin.
The shame, the disgrace, the utter humiliation.But then, her heart had hurt when the dark lord had hurt Sirius. He did not want to see anyone, including the dark lord torture her Sirius. If it had been anyone else, she would have torn them to shreds. But it was the dark lord and Bella knew that he had good reason to do what he did. And what he was doing had Sirius's best interests too.
But now here comes James Potter to possibly wreck it all.
How did he even get here?"Potter, what the hell are you doing here?" She bellowed. She liked James Potter; she liked his spirit, his talent. He was a likeable kid. But she definitely didn't want another one that would just worsen Sirius's rebellion.
"Not happy to see me, Bella?" said James, mock offended.
"Not even in the slightest," she spat, raising her wand.
"And who may this be?" The Dark lord asked, almost curiously.
"James Potter, my lord," Bella responded through gritted teeth. "Heir to the Potter family"
"James Potter? I hear your father has been giving some of my death eaters quite a hard time, James." said The Dark Lord civilly.
"Yea, he tends to do that," said James with a shrug.
"How did you get here, dear boy?" said The Dark Lord. He looked sideways at Bella who looked ashamedly back at her master.
"My lord, I fear he must have taken the portkey with us. Maybe I did not notice. Maybe he was disillusioned or-"
The dark lord raised a hand to silence her, she looked at her in a way that told her that this is not over. Now, he turned back to James and smiled charmingly. James had now moved to crouch near Sirius and helped him to his feet again.
"It doesn't matter how you got here. All that matters is that you did," He said. "I offer you and your friend here Mr Black, salvation. I offer you redemption and eternal glory. It took a great deal of wit, I'm sure for your age, to outwit my lieutenant Bella and come all the way here and remain hidden all this time. It took bravery to come face Lord Voldemort. Your friend has already impressed me with his magical prowess. Join me, boys. Together, you will rise higher than anyone else within my ranks. And as icing on the cake, you are Lords too; pureblood lords,"
"You are right," James said. Bella looked at the boy in shock and Sirius turned sideways to give his best friend a look. "You are right. Together, we will rise higher than anyone else. But not within your ranks. Not as pureblood lords. We will be renowned for our contribution in bringing you down, Voldemort!"
Bella had enough of the disrespect and the stupidity of James Potter and Sirius Black. She started throwing curses at James who responded in stride after a split second delay. Sirius joined him as they both danced around her for a long while and she was winning, she was keeping both of them on their toes, fighting for their survival and then suddenly she was not. James Potter had hit her with a bunch of wooden blocks that he banished at her, which she easily flicked aside. But she underestimated him. It was merely a distraction. She did not see, Potter transform her shoes into a hedgehog. She tripped and Sirius brought her down with a Petrificus Totalus. As she lay there immobile and frozen, the fact that she lost to teenage boys in front of her lord bit at her heart.
"Very impressive," said the dark lord. It was obvious that he had taken this as a chance to truly test their powers. "Though I'm inclined to believe Bella was only beaten because she unjustly underestimated you. Avery Sr. and Lucius step forward,"
Nobody let her out of her frozen binds as the dance began again. This time, it was fewer tactics on the part of the boys, as it was when they fought her. Now they were using spells much beyond their level; defensive and offensive spells. Some she had taught Sirius and some they had evidently learned on their own. The duel went on for a while until Dolohov came running in, dragging a red haired girl along with him.
"My lord! Avery Jr, Rabastan and his father were all knocked out and I found this one in the waiting room wearing an invisibility cloak," He said and true, a bundled up cloak lay on his left arm.
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Lily's POV (Almost an hour back)"I don't like this, Potter," whispered Lily nervously as the echoes of Sirius's footsteps died down.
"Yea me neither. But hopefully, Sirius will be fine. As long as he is less –"
"like one of you?" suggested Lily with a smirk.
James shook his head, smiling slightly. "Okay, we need to search for anything which might tell us where we are,"
"Yea, well I don't think we'd find much in this waiting room. Let's go nose around," Lily replied.
James nodded and they walked under the invisibility cloak off the waiting room down a narrow corridor with a bunch of doors.
"Can you do a disillusionment charm?" asked James
Lily considered this for a while, and then said, "I know the theory. Haven't really tried. Why?"
"Do it on me. We need to split up in order to cover these rooms," James instructed
"I don't think it's a good idea, Potter. What if it doesn't work?" She asked.
"Would make for a good story," He urged with a grin. "Besides, I have complete confidence in you,"
"You don't miss an opportunity do you, you toerag?" Lily asked with a shake of her head. But strangely, she felt more amused than annoyed this time around. She quickly revised all she knew about disillusionment charms in her head and then waved her wand and muttered the incantation.
"Well did it work?" Lily asked.
"I feel like an egg got shattered on my head. Are you sure this was the right charm?" James pondered.
"I thought you had complete confidence in me," Lily mocked. "Take off the cloak, you idiot. How would we know if you are disillusioned or not, when you are invisible?"
Laughing slightly, James shed the invisibility cloak and to her relief, he was not there. When she focused harder, she could see his general shape but it looked like a chameleon, it was part of the back ground.
"Okay, so it worked. I'd take the rooms on the left, you take the right," she said.
With the cloak wrapped around her, she started going through rooms none of which amounted to much. The first room looked like it was a duelling practice room, second room had a lot of books, but it was more library and less drawing room. She browsed around them, nevertheless before moving on. The third room looked like it had once been a study but now a bunch of futons have been arranged almost like barracks.
She came out of the third room, when she heard a whisper.
"Lily, are you there?" James's voice said.
She concentrated harder to see his shape next to the wall.
"Yes," she whispered back.
"Found anything?"
"No, you?"
"Well, nothing of substance but I noticed something strange." James said. "I kept looking out of the windows and a lot of open signs of magic are there. I think I just saw a closed broom stick store. And what's even stranger, most of the Christmas decorations around here in the stores and places are red and gold,"
"Gryffindor colours," Lily mused. "That reminds me. As we were entering the house, I saw two people fly in broomsticks above. Isn't this all very odd?"
"This must be a complete magical village. Otherwise, such open breach of International Statute of Secrecy, would not happen. Just like Hogsmede," James said excitedly.
"But this isn't Hogsmede. James, I think I know exactly what village we are in," said Lily with the same excitement, even calling him with his given name in the fervour. "Gryffindor colours. All magic village. This is the birth place of Godric Gryffindor, James. This is Godric's Hollow. I'm almost sure of it,"
"That's brilliant! Let's tell Remus," said James.
"No, no. Dumbledore can't scour the whole village looking for us. We need to see if we can find another clue about where exactly we are," said Lily.
James was about to reply when they were both taken aback by a loud crash. It was coming from the room at the end.
"That's where Sirius is. I have to go help him!" said James.
"Let's go," Lily said quickly.
"No!" James replied. He quickly removed the mirror off his pocket and handed it to Lily. "Take the mirror, Evans. Find out where we are and call Remus. Get us out of here,"
Hesitantly, Lily nodded. She waved her wand and James appeared again. "Good luck, Potter" She said with a small smile.
"You too," He said smiling back before running towards the room at the end, wand at the ready.
Lily was almost out of her mind with worry at this point. She didn't want either James or Sirius to get hurt. As annoying as they could be, they were still her house mates. And tonight, she had seen a side of James Potter that told her how much of a good person he could be when he wished to. That was the sort of person; she wouldn't mind getting to know.
She didn't have time to waste. Lily hurried into the room opposite her. As she entered this room, she knew she had hit the jackpot. It was a storage room and nobody was there. She started going through the papers and different artefacts which lay there without much success. She had almost gone through everything, when she saw a discarded trunk next to a locker. It looked strange to her so she went in and opened the trunk.
There were a bunch of family photos and one man from all the photos caught her eye. She had seen that man in the newspapers a lot lately. But his name was somehow not coming to her. She kept going through the pictures when he saw one of the man and a small boy in his Hogwarts uniform standing in front of this very house. The caption read: "Barty Sr and Jr."
Barty Crouch. The ministry guy who had been advocating for taking more severe actions against death eaters. Was Crouch a death eater? Was this his house?
"Remus! Remus Lupin" She said to it.
In a split second, Remus's face was there. It was almost like he had been waiting around with the mirror in hand.
Remus's jaw dropped with shock. "Lily! You? How?" He asked.
"No time, Remus. It's Barty Crouch's house in Godric's Hollow! Tell Dumbledore," She said as she heard footsteps approach the door. "I have to go," She put the mirror back in her pocket just as the door flew open
"Who is there?" said the man in dark robes who entered. He looked old but cruel. The cloak was making it harder for her to move. And it was impossible for her to escape at this point without a fight, cloak or no cloak. So she knew she had to shed it soon.
"Petrificus Totalus," She muttered from her corner at the man who immediately slumped as the spell hit him. She took off the cloak and stuffed it into her robes as she moved into the corridor, ready to run and find a place to hide.
But she was in for a bad surprise. Two death eaters in dark robes were walking towards her. One of them looked very similar to the old man she just took down and the other was Avery from the waiting room. They both looked shocked to see her and she had a feeling Avery was still confounded as he staggered stupidly.
They both started throwing curses at her, which she deflected and dodged. Luckily for her, Avery didn't have much of an aim at this point and one of his curses brought Rabastan down. She used the opportunity to hit Avery with another full body bind.
She realized her mistake of shedding the cloak so she put it right back on and ran quickly, unsure where she was going. She wondered whether she should go to help Sirius and James but she wanted to be able to guide the rescue party if they came along. She went to the waiting room but she collided head on with someone and the cloak fell off, due to the impact.
The bulky death eater with whom she had collided did not fall like she did. Out of breath and on the floor, Lily could not dodge the curse that came her way.
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Sirius looked at Lily in shock. She was bleeding from her nose and her face was sooty and her red hair dishevelled.
She got caught too.
Sirius sincerely hoped she had been able to send Dumbledore a message before she got caught or they were all doomed. James shot towards her immediately, wand pointed at the death eater holding her. Without thinking, Sirius followed his best friend's lead. There were twin bang like noises and they were both down on the floor being held down by an invisible force. Sirius knew without knowing how, that it was Voldemort who brought them down.
"Dolohov, are you trying to tell me, that this girl, this fifteen year old girl took down three of my adult death eaters?" said Voldemort, his cold voice angry.
"Y-Yes, m'lord," said Dolohov hesitantly.
"Well obviously, I've been recruiting the wrong people," said Voldemort. He moved to stand in front of Lily. "Tell me, my brave child. What is your name?"
"Li-ly, Lily Evans," said Lily.
"Evans, I haven't heard that name before," said Voldemort curiously.
Oh dear Merlin, don't let her say what I think she will say next. He will kill her outright."I am muggle born," said Lily, her voice defiant. It was obvious that it wasn't a slip of a tongue. She just wasn't going to shy away from who she was.
The room started buzzing again; some laughed, some muttered, some made faces of disgust.
"Shame," said Voldemort. "Such great potential. But maybe something could be done,"
He seemed to be talking to himself more than Lily. He started to walk back stopping next to his cousin and waving his wand. Bella stood up quickly, bowing to her master. Voldemort didn't say anything to her.
"Well, it has been quite an evening. Three of you have chosen to defy me, attack my followers but Lord Voldemort is merciful. I will not kill you. But you have to know that actions have consequences and thus-"
"But that is a lesson that you should have learned by now as well, Tom," said a much more welcome, warm and yet powerful voice.
They all turned towards the door which was ajar and Albus Dumbledore stood at the doorway; tall and wand at the ready. It was an almost scary image. Sirius had never seen Dumbledore look that furious. Dolohov that had stood at the door lay unconscious. Sirius turned around to look at Voldemort who looked shocked and – was Sirius imagining things or did the dark lord look a little scared as well.
"Dumbledore," He said simply.
"I wish I could say that I am happy to see you, Tom but I confess I'm not," said Dumbledore. "But as you just told my students, actions have consequences. And you will face the consequences of yours too,"
It was not a threat, if anything Dumbeldore seemed to be sad about what had become of Voldemort. Sirius wondered whether it had been the old headmaster who taught Voldemort, like he had done thousands of students.
"There is nothing you can do Dumbledore, I cannot be killed," said Voldemort quietly.
Sirius saw a tiny flash of recognition in the headmaster's face but it faded and Dumbledore said, "Every tyrant in history lives and ultimately dies with that belief, Tom"
He turned around and for the first time, Sirius saw Minerva McGonagall and a battle hardened wizard behind him.
"Minerva, you will take the students back to Hogwarts," Dumbledore instructed her. McGonagall nodded and helped Lily to her feet.
Dumbledore walked towards Sirius and James and death eaters started coming at him to prevent him from coming closer, while Voldemort just stood observing the happenings. The man behind Dumbledore moved to help him but it was barely necessary, as Dumbledore made through the ranks of death eaters with flicks of his wand, as if they were made of paper, blowing them away. Nobody managed to harm the old headmaster at all. He approached the two boys and waved his wand.
Sirius and James could move all of a sudden.
"Go, boys," Dumbledore commanded and they obliged immediately, moving towards Professor McGonagall who started to guide them out of the room. But then, James stopped. He turned back and walked to where Dolohov was just stirring again. He kicked him hard on the nose which broke with a crack.
"That's my cloak, you son of a bitch!" He said angrily before walking back, the invisibility cloak back with its rightful owner.
The bangs and the flashes increased as almost all the death eaters in the room tried to bring Dumbledore and his companion down, without much productivity. As Sirius left the room, the last thing he saw was Bella being sent flying by Dumbledore and Voldemort finally raising his wand.
Out in the corridor, there was a man around Dumbledore's age waiting to whom McGonagall instructed to go help the Headmaster.
Then she took out an old brush and muttered, "Portus"
As it turned blue, they all touched it and then they were gone.
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The wait that followed was terrible. Sirius found himself on the edge and jumpy every time, he heard a sound. McGonagall had left immediately as soon as they landed in the Headmaster's office, to re-join the battle. Remus was in the office and they swapped stories to pass time. Remus had grown tired of waiting for them to contact him, so he had come to Dumbledore's office and told him everything. Dumbledore had looked for other ways to find them, as they waited. Finally, when Lily contacted them, he had taken Alastar Moody; the auror, Elphias Doge and Professor McGonagall and gone to the house, the address which Alastar already knew.
Finally, after half an hour Dumbledore and McGonagall reappeared.
"Most of them, fled," said Dumbledore immediately answering their unasked plea for information. "Including Lord Voldemort,"
He moved to sit in the Headmaster's chair and looked at all of them.
"You have all demonstrated great bravery tonight and great ability as well. To thwart Lord Voldemort and his death eaters is no easy feat even for a full grown wizard. Mr. Lupin told me why you had to go Mr. Black, but I must impress upon you that an unbreakable vow must not be made in haste. You could have lost your life. And especially, you Mr. Potter and Miss Evans, Mr. Black didn't have a choice but you both should have stayed back and allowed me to take care of it," said Dumbledore.
"Then I would be a goner, Headmaster. Without Lily and James and especially, Lily we would never have been able to relay the address to you," replied Sirius, simply.
"While that is true, fighting Lord Voldemort is not something safe for fifteen year olds to do Mr. Black," said Dumbledore. "If he had wanted to kill you, all three of you would be dead before I arrived,"
"But we want to fight, Headmaster," said James. "We've heard about your secret society. We want to join. We want to fight,"
Dumbledore looked at all the four teenagers in front of him and they all nodded in agreement to James' statement.
"I do not know where you get this information, but you are right of course," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "We would be blessed to have talent and courage like you four amongst our ranks and I assume Mr. Pettigrew would want to join too, as soon as he hears of it. But, the time is not ripe. You are too young, when the time comes I will definitely approach you,"
At least it was not a rejection."What happened sir, in the duel?" asked James.
"Lord Voldermort is a formidable foe. But in my own not-so-modest opinion, I'm not a slouch with a wand either. After a certain point, he decided to take his death eaters and count their losses for the time being," said Dumbledore.
Sirius noticed that it was a very vague answer and there was something about this duel that Dumbledore was being secretive about. He didn't push it though.
"Did you find something of value there, sir?" He asked, instead.
"Oh yes. They seem to have been using that house as a hideout for a long time now and hence, we found a lot of interesting information. We also know the identity of certain Hogwarts students who have become spies and followers; some we will deal with, others we'd have to keep a better eye on. We also know the identity of a lot of active death eaters too, your cousin being one of them unfortunately, Sirius. But we've suspected that for some time now," Dumbledore said gravely.
Sirius nodded but it was Lily who asked the next question.
"Why were they using the house of Barty Crouch, sir? Isn't he from Magical Law Enforcement?"
"Well, Ms. Evans, Barty did move to London recently, to be closer to the Ministry and for all extents and purposes, we must assume that the death eaters have taken the house without his knowledge. But that does not somehow strike to me as Voldemort's style. So I have my suspicions, now. But if Barty Crouch has indeed gone over to Voldemort, the heart of the Ministry just crumbled," said Dumbledore. "But enough of these grave matters. You should all head to bed now. Rest, before you leave in a few hours for your Christmas holidays,"
"What about punishments, Headmaster?" said Professor McGonagall.
They had almost forgotten she was there.
Dumbledore beamed this time, his blue eyes dancing with amusement.
"Ah, yes. A hundred points will be awarded to Gryffindor for your indispensible help to the wizarding community,"
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"My Lord,"
She knelt in front of her master, fully expecting to be punished.
"You have made many mistakes tonight, Bellatrix. You are my best lieutenant. And yet, you have erred. You have been careless,"
She nodded. "Yes, my lord. I will do better, my lord,"
"I don't doubt it, Bellatrix. And I will not punish you this time. Your mistakes have created favourable consequences. James Potter, Sirius Black and even the Mudblood, Lily Evans. They could all be of great use to me. They have a lot of potential and I want them, Bella," said Voldemort, with a twisted smile.
Bella looked at her master and a similar smile fitted on her lips too.
A/N: So yes, first of all "I left my heart in Godric's Hollow" which is the title of this part is an obvious allusion to "I left my heart in San Francisco" so credit is due there. I feel like I have deviated in certain places from Canon in this chapter; with Voldemort having hair and what not. But I think I have good reason for most of it, so if you want to ask me anything or criticize or review of any form, you know where the button is!