Harry Potter and the Ritual of Love's Memory

Chapter 24

Harry stumbled as his feet struck the hard ground. The cup rolled a few feet away, resting against a mound of recently overturned soil. His green eyes darted around the unfamiliar landscape shrouded in the darkness of twilight. Large, grey stones jutted from the earth, occasionally marked with ugly statues. Before his mind had time to register what it meant, he heard a voice from behind him say, "A graveyard."

Viktor hadn't fallen to the ground upon landing, but he looked just as troubled by the setting as Harry felt.

"Do you think it's a final challenge for whoever grabbed the cup?" asked Harry as he rose to his feet and dusted off his pants.

"I don't know. Perhaps, but this does not feel right." His eyes narrowed as he took in his surroundings. "I think we should stay together. Keep on guard."

Harry nodded before pointing his wand at his shoes and casting the footstep-silencing charm Professor Moody had used against him in their training. Viktor gave him a nod, and Harry cast it again on his friend's feet. They crouched down a bit and moved uphill through the graves, careful to dart from one to the next quickly and quietly.

Viktor was turning around to say something when Harry's scar seemed to burst with pain. A scream escaped his lips. He fell to his knees, his wand clattering off a weather-worn tombstone as his hands sprang to his forehead.

A high, cold voice cut through the air. "Fool! I told you I heard the portkey! Find him at once! NOW!"

The pain pulsating from Harry's scar was enough to have him writhing on the ground until a knee came down on his chest, nearly knocking the wind out of him. A rough hand covered his mouth, stifling his cry. Dark eyes filled with worry met his gaze.

Viktor's whisper was barely audible. "Stay quiet." It took all the concentration he could muster, but Harry reined in his will to yell out in pain. He even managed to quiet his ragged breathing so that it wouldn't give them away as he heard Viktor cast a hasty disillusionment charm on them both.

Less than a minute later, a short man with a pointed nose cautiously passed into their line of sight, his watery eyes darting to and fro as he searched the graves. A mixture of anger and revulsion roiled inside Harry as he beheld the man responsible for giving up his parents to Voldemort. Viktor had loosened his grip over Harry's mouth slightly but felt the frown forming nonetheless.

In a hushed whisper, he asked, "You know him?" Harry nodded just enough to indicate to Viktor before he lowered his hand.

"He wants to kill me," Harry's words were so soft that Viktor could hardly hear them. "He got my parents killed."

"Attack? Or stay hidden?"

The fear and anger Harry felt in the moment made it hard to think clearly. They outnumbered Wormtail at the moment, but they didn't know if the voice of Voldemort meant that there could be others who were as of yet unseen. They were at a disadvantage by not knowing their location or the surroundings well. On the other hand, if they could catch Wormtail, Harry felt certain that Sirius would be exonerated and able to walk free. He knew capturing an adult wizard who'd been working with Voldemort wouldn't be easy, but he couldn't help thinking this might be worth it.

"Can you apparate?" Harry whispered, his green eyes staring unrelentingly at his parents' former friend.

"Yes, but only for myself. I cannot bring another with me."

"Damn! I don't know how yet." Harry furiously thought through ideas of how to both escape and take Wormtail captive. "What if you apparate back to Hogwarts, then get Dumbledore or some other professor to come back to get me?"

Viktor scowled before whispering, "I von't leave you here alone with a man who vants to kill you. And I don't know how I could explain to anyone vhere ve are." He held up a hand as the man looked in their direction, but the disillusionment charm was working well. The man muttered, "Lumos!" and cautiously tiptoed further down the path away from the hidden boys. "Also, Her-My-Own-Nee said we could not apparate to the school."