Little Dragon
Authors Note: Hey everyone! I know, it's been far too long since my last update and there is really no excuse. Yes, life has been hectic, but the fact of the matter is that for a while I had lost my spark. I couldn't find it in myself to write or do anything creative really. But, I am happy to announce that my creative spark is back thanks to my darling Muse Master Pika! :)
So, this is my promise to you on this Christmas day, I shall endeavor to be better. Both in writing and in keeping you all updated and even replying to reviews seeing as I have been remiss in that as well.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Merry Kwanza my dears!
*WARNING: This chapter gets a little dark, gory and gross in parts… If you have a weak stomach you may want to skim over it. I don't think it's too bad, but then again that's me. There will be more dark parts in future chapters but it will be fairly spread out for a while and I will attempt to give you a warning when I remember.*
Disclaimer: I own only the story idea, original characters, any made up words and my own irritation at myself and Overstock. That is all.
Chapter 33: The Greater Good
Harry panted as the painful curse was once again lifted and his body went limp against the rough stone that made up the chambers floor.
Quirrell was speaking again but Harry just couldn't make himself focus, his body was still shaking from the pain that had just been inflicted upon it and, if he were being honest with himself, Harry didn't really care what the bastard did anymore.
It was obvious that the Defense Professor had gone mental. Who else would go to such obscene lengths just to find out what he saw in a stupid mirror? It was a mirror! All that he was going to see was his own reflection.
With a groan of pain Harry managed to turn his head so that his feverish forehead was pressed against the cool stone floor, the muscles in his body aching in protest.
Quirrell was talking still, his voice an unpleasant drone in the background much like the buzz of a fly inside an otherwise silent room.
Slowly Harry's gaze was drawn to the bracelet resting against his wrist, the jewel now a fiery red which was continuously shifting as though it were attempting to express the anger of the one who's emotions it was linked to but couldn't quite manage.
Looking past his bracelet towards the flame covered doorway Harry couldn't help but think of how pretty the flames looked when they flickered in the draft…
Draft? That wasn't right. The air down here was stagnant and filled with dust motes that tickled his nose and made it increasingly difficult to feel as though he were getting enough air without the pain that racked his body and his continuous screams. There was no possible way for a draft to be down here!
The bracelet that rested on his wrist was getting hotter the longer that his gaze rested on the flame covered doorway. Glancing down at his wrist Harry's eyes widened when he noticed that the stone was beginning to glow. What on earth was going on!?
Once again Harry found himself being hauled to his feet by Quirrel who he vaguely recognized was yet again demanding that he look in the mirror but Harry's gaze was stuck upon the doorway where the flames were nearly extinguished.
He needed to move. Now! He couldn't stay where he was, he needed to find cover! Something was going to happen and he needed to move now!
With a mixture of adrenaline and panic pumping through his veins Harry finally gained the strength to fight the hold that Quirrell had on him.
Wriggling his arms from the hands that were currently clamped on them Harry began to pull with all of his might and kick out when Quirrell would attempt to come closer. He needed to move now! Right now!
With a snarl of rage Quirrel finally managed to gain enough leverage and throw Harry onto the floor in front of the mirror so that he was standing between Harry's now prone form and the doorway and Harry could feel himself relax ever so slightly.
The curse was once again cast on Harry, his already abused vocal cords once again working to express the agony that he felt but this time it seemed to be far worse than before as he had used up his remaining strength to fight mere moments before. The spell seemed to last for hours but Harry knew that it couldn't have been more than a few minutes at most.
A mixed sob of relief and pain made its way past his lips as tears finally began to spill from his eyes and Harry's world began to grow darker.
Vaguely, as though from a distance Harry was able to tell that the room was shaking, dust and bits of the ceiling falling down onto the floor below, covering the rooms occupants with a thin covering before, in the space of a single second, everything exploded.
Harry could feel his body being thrown backwards and into the base of the mirror though it did not truly feel like his own body.
As the darkness finally consumed him he could hear a voice that both soothed his soul to hear but brought him more pain at the anguish that it contained calling out to him…
Albus Dumbledore arrived at the once great manor which belonged to Gellert Grindelwald, at one time he had been happy within these walls, deliriously so in fact. How stupid he had been, a silly little boy who had been in 'love'. Hah!
Well he had gotten a brutal wake up call about that didn't he?
Though, he did get his revenge on his dear Gellert didn't he? Now Gellert was locked up in Normungard, and Albus was hailed as the hero that they had both wanted to be.
Albus could still remember those days as though it were just yesterday, Gellert had drawn the public's attentions toward himself with his shows of power and magic while Albus would work in the shadows manipulating the laws and twisting how witches and wizards viewed certain creatures and practices with hardly any opposition.
Yes, their plans were working perfectly and Albus had been looking forward to ruling the world at Gellerts side… At least until that night.
May of 1945 is when Dumbledore's perfect world collapsed. When he arrived at the manor to surprise Gellert he had instead played witness to his lover being with another.
Of course Albus couldn't stand for that. No, instead he played along with Gellerts lies until the perfect opportunity presented itself and he struck.
Within a few minutes Gellert was stunned and bound and three hours later Albus was being hailed as a hero and Gellert was imprisoned within Normungard and allowed no visitors by magic herself, or so everyone thought.
No, Albus quite enjoyed having Gellert reliant on him. It was through his mercy alone that the man was still alive. Albus would go once a week to visit the fool, bringing a small parcel of food and various necessities he deemed to give Gellert and reveled in the subservient behavior that Gellert had gained over the years.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts Dumbledore quickly drew his wand and walked through the wards of the manor where he was quickly greeted with the arrival of several house elves.
"What is you's doing here!?" One of the elves managed to growl out, its voice raspy with age.
Albus couldn't help but smirk as he fingered his wand. It would be only too easy to kill these pitiful creatures, after all, their true master had ordered them to do whatever he commanded.
"Stand in a line before me and be quiet," Albus commanded in a benevolent tone and watched in amusement as they hastened to obey, looks of contempt upon their faces the whole while.
Within moments the five elves were before him in a perfectly formed line. Now, how to kill them? He could always be merciful but then again he had quite a bit of anger which he needed to get rid of…
"You four are not to move," Albus commanded with a malicious smirk plastered upon his face. "You will make no move to help, you will watch and stand frozen until given further instructions," Albus said absently as he moved until he stood before the fifth elf that had not been given those orders.
Yes, this would do quite well to rid himself of some of his frustrations.
"Crucio!"
The moment the smoke and dust began to settle from the explosion that he had just caused Charlie raced through the newly created opening with a desperate cry of Harry's name.
As he drew closer to the center of the cavern like room Charlies gaze was drawn to where a large golden mirror stood, looking as pristine as if it had never seen the inside of such a dirty room but the mirror was not what caused Charlies heart to both race in relief at finding his mate and constrict in terror at the sight of him.
Harry had dirt and blood covering him, the beginning of bruises covering his arms and face, small scrapes and cuts were visible and his arm was lying at an odd angle that spoke of a break. Those were bad enough but the sight of his chest hardly rising as he drew breaths that were far too small and the thin trail of blood that was leaking from the corner of his mouth made Charlie feel frozen inside.
Just as Charlie was about to step forward towards his mate a spell was fired from behind the small group that had come to rescue the small Hufflepuff.
With a snarl of rage Charlie whirled around on his feet so that he was facing Quirrinus Quirrell who was currently standing near the hole in the wall that Charlie had created mere moments before.
As he gazed at the smirking Defence professor Charlie saw red. This was the bastard who thought it was a good idea to harm his soul mate, his Harry!? He would tear the man apart limb from limb much like one of his dragons would do.
As the others behind him readied their wands for the coming confrontation as well Charlie glanced back at his little Harry who looked far smaller as he laid in a heap against the mirror. They had to finish this and quickly…
As he shifted his weight Charlies attention was momentarily drawn to a small weight inside of his pocket. Reaching in slowly so as not to draw the others attention Charlie wrapped his fingers around the object inside…
A rough chalk like texture and the cold hard feeling that comes from metal… One of the keys? Charlie remembered that he had absentmindedly picked one of them up in his brief moment of shock, he must have shoved it inside of his pocket when they had began running again.
As Charlies attention was drawn to the figure in front of him again he could see that he was slowly beginning to creep towards the exit as the Professors accompanying him were asking questions about why he had done it.
With a quick glance at Darius who nodded they both moved quickly and cast protective wards that were strong enough to keep a dragon at bay, Charlie on the entrance and Darius over Harry since he was closer.
Charlie could see that Quirrell knew what had just been done as a look of rage tore across his expression and he began to fire hexes at a surprising speed, lacking the stutter that Harry had felt bad about him having. Harry was far too caring for his own good.
As Charlie dodged a blasting curse that had been thrown with a deadly accuracy he took a moment to once again survey the situation they found themselves in…
The Professors were all spread out in front of Quirrell, firing spells and deflecting them at an impressive rate, Darius and Mary were across the room on Quirrells other side and Charlie was the closest to Quirrells back just out of his peripheral vision now that he had turned ever so slightly to more fully face Flitwick who was launching an impressive barrage of spells himself.
Casting a quick illusion of himself to make it appear as though he were standing guard over his downed mate Charlie began to slowly edge himself further behind Quirrell being careful to not draw any attention. If he could get close enough he could take Quirrell down the muggle way since he appeared to be able to sense when spells got near him and move out of the way just in the nick of time.
Yes, if the others could keep Quirrell's focus on them then he could do it, it was their best chance!
Edging closer Charlie had to hold back a curse of frustration as Quirrell flung himself forward to avoid a disarming charm that instead hit Charlie and sent his wand flying to the far corner of the room. For a brief second Charlie could see the panic which had entered into Mary's eyes as she watched his wand fly but he was quick to reassure her before Quirrell noticed. He couldn't be able to use it now anyway.
As Quirrell stood once again Charlie vaguely noticed that his turban was beginning to fall apart as his hand drifted towards his pocket.
Quirrell was standing straight once again and Charlies gaze was focused on the purple fold that began to fall away from the rest. Time seemed to slow as Charlies heartbeat sped within his chest at the sight that awaited him.
A face, its eyes closed but its brows furrowed as though it were focusing quite hard on something else.
Charlies gasp seemed to echo loudly within the room, it was the only thing that Charlie could hear as the previously closed eyes opened to reveal scarlet eyes which glared at him.
A hiss like voice came from the mouth and Charlie could feel his heart come to a sudden halt. He knew that voice! He had only heard it once before but it was burnt into his memory. That was the day that he had seen someone die, the day he understood why his uncles helped to fight against the evil man and the day that he truly understood that their world was at war.
"Voldemort," Charlie breathed out as his hand clutched around the singed key within his pocket as though it were a weapon.
"Kill him!" Voldemort hissed and, as Quirrell began to turn towards him, Charlie did something very brave and stupid that was driven by desperation, fear and anger.
With a cry of rage and reflexes honed through years of Quidditch and being surrounded by tempermental dragons Charlie shoved Quirrells shoulder away so he was turning in the opposite direction while he drew the key from his pocket with his other hand and, as the scarlet eyes were once again looking at him Charlie lunged.
Grabbing onto Quirrells shoulder to hold him still Charlie raised the key up and forced it forward with all of his strength until it was firmly positioned through one of those scarlet orbs which had widened in shock at his actions.
Twin screams of pain sounded from the figure as it crumpled to the ground and Charlie stumbled backwards. He was covered in splatters of blood from his attacks, most of which seemed to have focused on his face and hair.
As the figure continued to scream and writhe on the floor a black smoke like substance began to leak out of it and form into a black goo like ball which quickly seeped into the floor.
Charlie could feel his stomach constricting and the bubbling feeling in the back of his throat that was a tell tale sign of his impending vomit. As he fell to his knees heaving a lock of his previously red hair fell down from where it had been matted to his head and scarlet drops of anothers blood began to fall.
With a choked sob Charlie lost his battle against his stomach and vomited the contents of his stomach until nothing was left but dry heaves and the slight burn of stomach acid.
As he drew in labored breaths Charlie could just barely make out the sounds of the others moving around and the hushed sounds of stilted conversation.
Darius was working on taking down his shield so that Snape could check on Harry, McGonagall was casting a preservation spell on… The body, so that she could call in the proper authorities for this situation.
At the thought of the corpse laying mere feet from him Charlie could feel his previous nausea return but just as he was about to lose himself to his guilt and grief a small hand rested on his shoulder, shocking him out of his previous thoughts.
Looking up Charlie could see both Sprout and Flitwick kneeling beside him with understanding looks upon their faces, searching deeper Charlie could not see even an ounce of pity there. Just pure understanding and support.
"Sit up lad, I believe that we need to have a bit of a chat," Professor Sprout said softly as she reached forward to help ease him up as Flitwick summoned his wand.
"Harry-" Charlie began only to be cut off by Flitwick.
"Is in good hands. Right now we need to take care of you."
"But I'm perfectly fine. I'm-"
"You have just killed a man Charlie," Pomona Sprout said softly. "There is no use in sugar coating it. However, you did the right thing."
"How is that the right thing!? I just-"
"You protected your soul mate, friends and others. From Voldemort himself. You did a great thing Charles Weasley and we can not fault you for it. If any of us had been in your shoes we would have done the same thing and indeed we have quite a few times," Flitwick stated calmly as he moved so that he was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed. "I have lived through three wars, two fought between witches and wizards and one between goblins. I have had to take lives before, quite a few of them infact. It never gets easier, it never should. When you are no longer effected by the deaths of others that is when you need to move on."
"I myself have lived through two," Sprout continued, "Not one member of this staff has never taken a life, the difference between us and those who we fought against is that we did not want to kill. Killing is a last resort, but sometimes like right now for instance, it is the only one. Do not hate yourself for taking a life to protect those dear to you."
Charlie could feel his shoulders slump as a weight that he had never known was there slowly began to fade. "How did you-"
"Pomona! Filius!" McGonagall's slightly panicked voice called out causing the three to look up to where the others were standing around Harry and Severus' forms. Severus was currently force feeding Harry several potions as he muttered inaudibly to himself.
Standing quickly the three hurried over to the group, worry clenching at their heart once again.
"What is it Minerva?" Pomona asked quickly, the fear she felt for her little Badger growing exponentially as she saw the unshed tears that welled in the Transfiguration mistress' eyes.
"Severus has found evidence of multiple cruciatus curses cast upon Harry for an unknown length of time, but even if they were only applied for a few seconds each the amount there could still prove a risk to his mental health. Add that on top of everything else that has happened today..."
"What can we do?" Filius asked quickly as a sob tore itself from Pomona's throat.
"We need to make an emergency portkey to the infirmary. I have already sent a patronus to warn Poppy. We need to act quickly."
"Of course Minerva," they said immediately as they began to cast the spells necessary as Charlie raced to his mates side.
As he walked to the main doors of the manor Albus absently spelled away the splatters of blood and viscera which clung to his robes from his previous… Recreational activities.
The first thing that he would have to do would be to get some money as well as a few more house elves. He, of course, could not access his vaults at the moment, far too risky after all. The goblins, insignificant beasts that they were would have no qualms against turning him in for the right price… No, he would get the money he needed in the same place that he would get his new elves.
With that decided Albus walked quickly to where Gellert had kept some of his more valuable items and, grabbing some that were unimportant and useless to himself, Albus left yet again, walking past the scattered bits that were left of the previous batch of elves.
Cleaning their remains up without magic would be his new elves' first task, it would serve as a lovely reminder of what would happen to them should they disobey or displease him.
Just before exiting the protective wards of the manor Albus cast a strong glamor upon himself that would give him the appearance of an average and plain looking man, how utterly boring but it had to be done.
Apperating himself to Schatten Alley, Germany's version of Nocturn Alley, Albus moved quickly with the hood of his now brown robes pulled up and his head bowed down.
Visiting each of the various shops which would buy 'procured' items Albus soon had a featherlight, undetectably expanded bag of galleons safely nestled within his inner robe pocket so that none of the pickpockets that littered the street would be able to get to it.
With that task done Albus began to walk further down the alley to where the less reputable businesses lay, making note of what was there so that he could come back in the future as he passed a brothel which advertised that they had young muggle children available. How positively delightful, he thought with a smirk as he passed, his eyes lingering on a small boy who was peering nervously from on of the upper windows. Interesting indeed.
Further down the alley he finally reached the business that he had come here for. Though it wasn't considered to be illegal like many of the other businesses located within the Alley the way that they went about their business was… Unpleasant for many.
Very few witches and wizards who were in search of house elves would actually visit the shops, instead they would hire someone else to or send an owl with their order and receive their purchase on a trial basis. The few who came to examine the elves at the shops were those who truly wished for a specific… Upbringing.
Not all of the shops that sold house elves were proper however. Quite a few of them were far too lenient with their elves. It was disgusting!
Upon entering the shop Albus found that he was quite pleased with what he saw though. This was a proper shop!
Lining the walls of the dimly lit room were wire cages stacked three high, each one containing anywhere from one to four elves each of varying age. None of the elves were wearing clothing and they appeared to cower away from him as he walked through the long and narrow room, pausing occasionally to peer inside a cage more closely and taking morbid pleasure from the fear that shone in their eyes.
Halfway through the room, as he paused to look at a cage filled with four elves, Albus couldn't help but chuckle as the only male elf within attempted to shield the three females with his own body. Looking closer at the elf Albus couldn't help but notice the similarity between this ones eyes and a certain emerald eyed boy.
Looking more closely at the elves wide green eyes that were equal parts fear and determination and he couldn't help but think of a different set of green eyes looking at him from behind the bars of a cage…
He could see it now, Harry huddled in a small ball against the bars of his cage, not even big enough for him to stretch out in. The beautiful emerald eyes filled with crystaline tears as he looked up at him, his skin exposed, nothing covered bar his wrists where magical suppressing cuffs bearing the Dumbledore symbol would lay, glinting in the flickering light of the single candle which he would so mercifully provide for the boy…
"I see you've taken an interest in this one have you sir?" An oily voice asked from behind him, effectively breaking him out of his pleasant day dreams.
"Yes actually I have," Dumbledore replied, reveling in the panic that entered the elves green eyes and how the others in its cage desperately clung to it. "Tell me, who are the three bitches in this cage to him?"
"His mate and two daughters sir," The man replied with a smirk as he moved forward, shooting sparks from his wand into the cage and cackling as those within shook in fear. "Don't you worry none though. I don't much care if you take em all, just him, or him and others. I don't bother with their 'emotions' they're nothing but beasts."
"I admire your ethics," Dumbledore said with a smirk as he backed away from the cage.
"I require four, one set of mates so that I might have more in the future and another bitch, I require that she is seperated from her mate here, and then I want him."
"Excellent choices sir," The man said with a cackle in his voice as he moved to a wall to gather together four lengths of rope before moving to a cage which contained two elves, on male and one female and tied the ropes around their throats before using it to drag them from their cage where they landed on the floor with a smack.
"What are their names?" Dumbledore asked absentmindedly as he watched the male hugging the bitches within his cage tightly.
"This pair here are Maggie and Earn, this bitch here is Opal," The man said as he tied another length or rope around said elves throat.
"And him?" Dumbledore prompted curiously.
"Dobby."
Charlie paced along the length of the infirmary in agitation. It had only been minutes since Madame Pomfrey had kicked him out of the small makeshift room that she and Severus were treating Harry inside. He shouldn't have asked all of those questions but they were shoving so many potions down his poor Harry's throat that he panicked. Especially after what Minerva had said about there possibly being mental damage!
He just wanted his Harry to be safe and happy and healthy, was that too much to ask for?
"Charlie, you need to sit down!" Mary finally snapped as she grabbed his shoulder and forced him to stop. "Look, when Harry wakes up he's going to want to see you, but how do you think he'll react if he sees you looking like this!? You at least need to clean yourself up a bit!"
"I am not about to leave this infirmary Mary! I can't! Not until I know that he's safe." Charlie yelled, his voice dropping down to a whisper as his shoulders slumped and he seemed to curl into himself.
"I'm not suggesting that you leave the infirmary Charlie," Mary said, her voice far more gentle now that she had his attention. "I'm suggesting that you ask one of the house elves for a bowl of soapy water, a washcloth and some clean clothes so that you can wash up here while you wait."
With a small sigh and a nod of his head Charlie did just as she had said, taking the requested items from the smiling elf and going behind a separation divider so that he could wash up.
It hadn't been very long since they arrived at the infirmary, not even half an hour at least. The other professors, apart from Snape, had gone to inform the rest of the staff what had happened and to call the appropriate authorities while Darius had gone back to the preserve to inform Sef that the three of them wouldn't be there for a few days as well as to gather some supplies for them.
At the beginning Charlie had been standing by Harry's side and watched as the potions master and the medi-witch worked on Harry; Poppy casting diagnostic spells to check what was wrong and what would need to be done while Snape had vanished all of Harry's clothes besides his underwear and began to spread a blue lotion like substance over every visible inch of Harry's abused flesh which vanished the dirt and debris while beginning to fade the multiple bruises and cuts.
Then they began to put potion after potion into Harry. So many that his stomach was filled and slightly bloated looking. That was when Charlie had panicked and was promptly kicked out.
With a tired sigh Charlie spelled the water clean yet again while trying to keep thoughts of why it was now red at bay as he did so.
He would have to speak with Flitwick and Sprout more later about what had happened and what he should do. His first instinct was to deny that anything had happened and try to forget about it but every time he'd consider it he would think about it being Harry who was going through this and the idea of him pushing something like this aside and suffering through it alone was like a lance through his heart.
No he wouldn't do that, not to Harry or to himself.
"Charlie," A soft voice called from the opening between the dividers, Charlie looked up to realize that it had been Poppy who spoke and he straightened up instantly earning a gentle smile from the Medi-Witch. "He's awake and perfectly fine, though he will be quite tired and rather sore. I'll give you a few minutes alone before he has to take a sleeping drought, he needs the rest."
With an excited shout Charlie rushed forward and picked the now shocked witch up before spinning her in a circle, kissing her cheek and rushing over to the dividers that hid his little love.
"Harry," He breathed out as he met the tired but happy emerald eyes of his soul mate.
"Charlie," Harry said with a small grin as he reached out for Charlie. "I knew you'd save me."
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Authors Note: Whew! That took quite a bit to write but you lovelies are most definitely worth it! May this be your holiday present from me as well as an apology for my severe lateness and my promise to do better.
I hope that you enjoyed this story and I apologize for how dark this chapter got but that's just how the story is working out in my head. I hope to hear from you soon, no flames please, and I swear that I will have the next chapter up far faster than this one!
Good night my dear lovelies!
*Schatten Alley is Shadow Alley in German according to Google Translate.