FicWad

Chapter Eight: Mysteries Unraveling.

In the deep dark corridors in the Department of Mysteries, the rogue group of Unspeakables stood around, when one of the shadowed figures walked forward, to make his report to his fellow Unspeakables. Double checking the door to make sure the other members of the Department of Mysteries that were outside of this project could not listen or enter this corridor, the shadowed figure turned to the other members of the group.

“The weapon has began its degeneration, soon it will self destruct and hopefully wipe out Harry Potter in the process, leaving our path open,” remarked the shadowed figure in a hopeful voice but at that point, the distorted image of their leader appeared. If they could see their leader’s face, it would be contorted into a frown.

“It is unwise to presume Harry Potter’s death until he is deep under ground and we are doing a victory dance over his grave and even then, we still must not expect all to be certain,” remarked the leader blandly, as the featureless face looked at the Unspeakables. “Let us not forget how Potter had survived countless murder attempts in the past and may continue to do so in the future. While your attempts to disable the weapon were commendable to our cause as well, nothing is for certain until it is done. I leave nothing to chance. Proceed with the plan, but remember, expect anything, especially from Harry Potter. If my guess is correct, he will become desperate due to the current failing condition of the weapon and come after us.”

“What’s the chance that he’ll figure out it’s us?” asked one of the shadowed figures.

“I do not take chances, just be ready, make sure everything goes as I’ve intended,” remarked the leader curtly, as the Unspeakables crowded around. “Just proceed with the plans, is that clear?”

“Yes,” stated the Unspeakables in unison in dull, monotone tones as their leader’s distorted image flickered out, leaving them back to their work. They had a certain timetable to keep, allowing very little to no room for error.

On the outside, Number Four Privet Drive was a normal house, in a normal neighborhood full of normal people. Still, the people in the neighborhood talked about the mysterious owner, who had bought the house after the former occupants, the Dursleys had suddenly left one day under the most mysterious and sinister circumstances. The current owner did not actually live out the house, which did not make sense. It seemed rather odd that one would purchase a house but not use it. Still, while there was not much that can be done about it, even through they still casted dark looks towards the former Dursley residence.

Harry could care less about these people. He had only bought the former house that he was forced to live at as a last ditch safe haven. It was of course the last place that anyone would expect him to look. Right now, Harry cradled Lotus in his arms, with Luna standing behind them, looking extremely worried, biting down on her lip. Lotus had been shaking like mad just a few seconds ago, her forehead alternated between ice cold and burning hot, and at odd times, she screamed out in agonizing, unbearable pain. Quickly, Harry gently placed her down on the bed, and grabbed her hand, as she began shaking again. This seemed to calm the girl down, but she still seemed to be groaning in pain.

“Healer, I need one, please Luna, tell them anything, just get one here…please” said Harry urgently and Luna nodded, before she disapparated off to St. Mungos, sensing the urgency of the situation. Harry sat there, right beside Lotus, he saw a slight bluish tinge to her face, her eyes screwed shut and suddenly she screamed out in agony. Harry felt helpless, he did not know what to do, trying his best to comfort the agonized girl “Lotus, it’s going to be alright, Luna’s getting a healer, it will be alright.”

“Harry?” asked a voice and Harry spun around slightly to see Hermione standing there. “I came as soon as I could, you said it was an emergency, what happened?”

“I don’t know, Lotus just collapsed and started screaming in agony, I’ve never seen anything like that,” responded Harry but all the sudden, Harry felt a burning sensation through his hand before he was blasted backwards. The force had knocked Harry towards the wall, he had just managed to block the brunt of the blast with a cushioning charm. Still it hurt like hell. Hermione made her way to Harry, but Harry waved it off.

“What just happened?” asked Hermione in a frantic voice. “It’s almost like her magic’s unstable but that’s never happened….”

Hermione was cut off by another round of blood curdling shrieks from Lotus. Quickly, despite being blasted back before, Harry grabbed her hand, to give her comfort. His hand was beginning to blister, but Harry refused to let the pain get to him. Lotus needed him now, his own discomfort could not wait.

At that point, Luna arrived with a middle aged Healer, who looked rather befuddled. When she saw Harry, she screamed and began to back off in fear.

“Harry Potter!” yelled the Healer in fear, but Hermione had blocked the door, holding her wand firmly. “You’re a fugitive…to the Ministry…”

“That’s not important right now, the fact remains that your Healing skills are needed now more than ever, my friend here is in a bad state, as you can see,” responded Harry. “I need to know exactly what’s wrong with her and what can be done to cure her. Please, she needs your help, put aside what you think you know about me and help her.”

The healer signed. While being caught helping Harry Potter could land her in Azkaban, she had taken an oath to help any patient in need, no matter what. If He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had checked himself into St. Mungo’s even during the height of his terror, he would have to be helped.

“I’ll see what’s wrong. Please stand back, so I can run some tests,” stated the healer as she pulled out her wand, before doing a series of tests on Lotus. Luna, Hermione, and Harry stood back, waiting, watching, hoping for the best, but fearing the absolute worst.

In his mind, Harry was grimly coming to the conclusion that those shadowed figures did something to Lotus when they had gotten possession of the remote control. Nothing in the memory indicated so but there were so many spells in the air during that battle, that something could slip by so easily. Still, Harry stood, waiting, watching, as the Healer conducted the tests over Lotus, who was silent, but from the distance, Harry could see a slight twitch every few seconds. At least that indicated that she was still alive, even if it was just hanging on. The Healer turned, Harry spotted the grim look etched upon her face.

“Well?” asked Harry coolly, bracing himself for the worst.

“It’s very peculiar, her cell structure has absorbed a great deal of magic, overcharging her body and slowly causing her organs to fail,” responded the Healer grimly before she decided to explain. “When casting a spell, naturally, as magic is in the air, you have to concentrate to summon the magic to you and release it back into the air in the form whatever spell you choose. It’s a controlled process once you’re trained. However, children when their emotions run high draw in magic at an accelerated rate but after a certain amount, it is released in bursts of accidental magic.”

The Healer signed, as she saw the unreadable expression on Harry’s face.

“Your friend has been drawing in magic for quite some time now, but while bits of it are being released, even more is being drawn in and this is not healthy on the human body,” stated the Healer. “It’s like a dangerous virus, that will end fatally. It is unfortunate but inevitable that she will meet her end soon.”

“Cure her, gold is no objective,” stated Harry curtly and the Healer just responded with a sad look, a frown, before she shook her head.

“It would take the best healers years to find a cure for this ailment, its unprecedented how something like this could have occurred,” stated the Healer as she saw Harry’s cold, stare. “And I’m afraid….she only has a day or two.”

The Healer found herself levitated a few inches off the ground as Harry’s hands were shaking. Luna grabbed his arm, in an attempt to hold him back but the attempt to hold him back.

“I’m telling the truth, this is not some attempt for me to leave as soon as possible!” cried the Healer in a panicked voice, as she saw the deadly glare in Harry’s eyes but Harry gently lowered her to the ground after he had verified that he was hearing the truth.

“Anything else that we should know,” prompted Luna.

“Yes, when she draws in enough magic, they will cause her internal organs to expand and explode, to release a chaotic burst of destructive magic that could wipe out an entire city block,” stated the Healer. “My advice would be to get her to a safe place away from civilization…”

“No, I’m not losing anyone else,” interrupted Harry coldly, causing the Healer to once again look on in fear. “I will find a cure and she stays here and me with her. If I die, then that’s what’s going to happen, but I refuse to believe that this can’t be cured.”

“I trust you will tell no one when I take you back, Harry won’t like it,” said Luna to the Healer.

“No, you have my word, not one word, to a soul,” remarked the Healer fearfully, as Luna took the Healer, leaving Harry and Hermione alone. Harry sat down, Lotus had stopped shaking, but she was groaning.

“Hurts…no…Harry…Harry….Luna…leave me….them…it’s…them…hurt…you” rasped Lotus, but Harry moved over to comfort her. It seemed rather difficult to touch her, there was like some kind barrier in between them. Harry was rocking back and forth, as Hermione watched him with an uneasy expression on her face.

“Harry, please don’t do anything you’re regret,” said Hermione timidly but Harry turned slowly, staring at her through narrowed eyes, causing Hermione to shiver instinctively, before she sat back down. It was obvious that Harry was in no mood for her advice. She felt like it was an eternity that she watched Harry rock back and forth, with an insane expression on his face until he decided to speak.

“They will pay, all of them, each and every one of them, I don’t care if I have to overturn all of Britain, I will find them all and teach them not to hurt those I care about,” muttered Harry, as he leaned his head forward, as he continued to rock back and forth. “And Hermione, I won’t regret it, the sounds of their spines snapping, I will rip open their minds and find out what exactly they did to Lotus, I will find a cure, not going to happen again, not now, not ever, I will become what the Ministry has declared me to be. They’re the one’s that pushed the issue, Hermione.”

“Harry, you’re scaring me,” interrupted Hermione. “Please, I’ll help you do whatever I can to help Lotus just…”

“Nothing you can do Hermione, not anymore, I’m tired of being everyone’s favorite target when they have an axe to grind, I’m going to impale them on their own axe,” interrupted Harry, as he saw vague images of Luna’s death in the original timeline, that sent the original timeline version of Harry locked deep into his subconscious in a slightly unhinged state. “They ruined me, they have my clone thus causing me to be marked as a fugitive, they crippled my organization, they’re going to kill all the people I care about one by one, but I’m going to kill them first. All of them. Starting with the Ministry. They’ve outlived their usefulness, I don’t care if I go down, I’m dragging them straight to hell with me.”

At that point, Luna apparated into the room, seeing Harry with a crazed expression on his face. If Lotus did not make it , Luna shuddered to think what Harry might do and even to some extent, what she might do.

“I sent the Healer back, no one was the wiser and as far as she knows, she just dozed off,” remarked Luna. “It’s all a dream to her.”

“It’s not a dream to me, it’s a bloody nightmare,” remarked Harry gravely. “They got close to her, they hurt her, now I’ve got hurt them.”

“First, we’ve got to find out who did this,” argued Luna logically. “Although I do agree that a more proactive approach is necessary, because it’s not like the answers are going to fall into our lap.”

“Yes, but what can we do?” asked Hermione in an agitated tone of voice. “We don’t even know what happened to Lotus that caused it. It could have been a spell, it could have been a defect in the cloning process that made it, it remains a mystery.”

On the word “mystery”, Harry just remembered something, that he was kicking himself for not remembering before. Luna turned towards Harry, but Harry spoke before she could inquire what he was thinking.

“The Department of Mysteries, the Unspeakbles” stated Harry calmly, as it was all starting to make sense in his mind, since the beginning, Lotus, Wizarding conspiracies, Inferno’s powers, everything that had happened, events that occurred in a cloak of deceit and mostly uncertainty . “Of course, it would have to be them, who else would want to obscure who they are, I mean, I doubt they even know exactly who their fellow Unspeakables are.”

“It makes perfect sense to me, The Department of Mysteries while employed by the Ministry, there were rumors that they were a rather independent entity with their own agenda that the Minister of Magic was not completely privy too,” added Luna. “Inferno, they would have been able to give him his powers, they had the resources to replicate the supposed lost components. Lotus, they must have grabbed your clone from the forest after you defeated it.”

“And your contact, might have been a pawn of the Department of Mysteries, trying to misdirect our suspicions towards Dumbledore,” stated Harry and Luna nodded slowly, with a frown.

“I don’t think it’s the Department as a whole, but it may be a group of Unspeakables, maybe rogue to even the Department of Mysteries,” suggested Hermione and Luna and Harry exchanged a look before nodding in agreement. It was a strong possibility and did make sense.

“Yes, but I feel there has to be at least one leader, he’s yet to be unmasked, that’s enlisted the help of these Unspeakables,” responded Harry.

“Winston?” prompted Luna and Harry shook his head.

“No, he’s a big player, but not the big player, we’ve yet to unmask the mastermind, perhaps the individual that believed himself to be the reincarnation of the Grand Warlock that Aberforth Dumbledore mentioned but I will verify my theory when I pull it from his mind,” said Harry quickly, as he rose to his feet, before he moved to the door.

“Harry, I’m coming too,” stated Luna firmly and Harry hesitated for a briefest second, before reluctantly giving in the pleading look etched in her eyes.

“Hermione, stay here with Lotus and if worse comes to worse…use this to get out,” remarked Harry, as he handed Hermione a Portkey. “It will return you safely to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.”

“Of course Harry and while I’m here, I’ll keep researching Winston, I know you intend to question him yourself, but at the same time, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared,” stated Hermione, before she looked at Luna and Harry with a worried look on her face. “Be careful, both of you.”

“Don’t worry Hermione, we will,” responded Luna but Harry just stood there, a blank, focused, look on his face, a bit of malice etched in his emerald green eyes, that indicated that anyone who stood in his way would get hurt.

The front lobby of the Ministry of Magic was bustling with activity. Since the new bills that gave the Ministry of Magic stricter control over the Muggle world were pushed through, it seemed like things were more chaotic then ever, since Aurors being worked even harder if that was possible. Also, the matter of finding a new interim Minister of Magic to serve out the rest of Scrimgeour’s term needed to be resolved. The Wizengamot had been debating the matter ever since it was found out that he died and it seemed like it might drag out until the regular Ministry of Magic, leaving the Ministry under the defacto control of the Auror office for the time being.

A cloud of smoke appeared in the Ministry, causing many of the Ministry employees to look around. As the magically created smoke cloud thickened, several of them felt the sensation of them being magically struck in the back of the head with a blunt object. Only a few people in the corridor remained standing, until the smoke cleared, revealing the most notorious fugitive in Wizarding Britain, Harry Potter and his accomplice, Luna Lovegood. The people who remained on their feet screamed, as they ran, but Harry grabbed a young desk clerk by the arm. As he struggled, Harry turned to him, staring in his face. Magically, the clerk felt every bone snap in his arms, as Harry glared at him with a deadly look in his eyes.

“Get me, Winston, now,” hissed Harry in a dangerous voice and the clerk nodded fearfully, as this madman, who might be even more evil than You-Know-Who stood, as the clerk staggered, to sound the alarm, to get the Aurors but several had already entered the corridor, wands drawn, pointing them at Harry and Luna.

“Potter, hands in the air, we’re taking both of you in,” stated the Auror forcefully, but Harry pushed his arm forward. Several of the Aurors dropped down to the ground as Harry’s attack hit them. It was as if a solid wall was smacking right into them. Ribs shattered, the breath was knocked out of them, but those Aurors were not the people that Harry wanted. They were useless, mere pawns, just collecting a paycheck, blissfully ignorant to a larger agenda.

“Not here, maybe we can draw him out,” suggested Luna calmly and Harry took her hand, before he aimed towards a stairway. The stairs blew up, as several more Aurors who attempted to attack from that angle fell. The shatter of several limbs went unnoticed by Harry, as he moved forward, before he pushed open the door, to move towards the lift to take him up to the Department of Mysteries. Magically, he froze everyone out from tampering with the lift, thanks to the blueprints he obtained from Gringotts that detailed the Ministry’s wards. Much like everyone else in the Ministry, nothing else had really changed.

“Department of Mysteries,” stated Harry calmly, as they walked inside. There were dozens of doors, more than Harry ever remembered from that one time that he had went to this place during his fifth year at Hogwarts during the previous timeline. Throwing his hands up in frustration, it could take hours to try them all and Harry could hear footsteps behind him, approaching him. Quickly, Harry aimed his wand towards the ceiling and caused a large section of it behind him and Luna to collapse. It would take some time to shift through, even when using magic. Harry screwed his eyes shut. “Which one.”

“I wish I knew Harry, and every corridor, there’s dozens more if the rumors are true, we could be trapped in this maze of doorways for weeks,” stated Luna and Harry agreed, in the previous timeline, he had several months worth of dreams to guide him towards his destination, here he had absolutely nothing.

“Try one I guess, hope for the best,” remarked Harry appearing calm on the outside, even if he was anything but mentally, as he and Luna blasted the door off of its hinges. It was a crude, but effective way to ensure that they remembered the way they came, when the Department of Mysteries pulled its door switching tricks. The duo moved forward very cautiously, ready to defend themselves at the slightest hint of trouble. All they reached a blank corridor. It was bland, nothing important of value. Sure enough, forward, there were another set of doors at the end of the corridor. “There seem to be more on the other end…”

“I just got it Harry, it’s an illusion, only one door leads anywhere,” said Luna suddenly and Harry looked at her before she decided to elaborate. “Just think about it, the chances that one person would pick the right down out of all those are astronomical. Most would go mad trying to figure this place, but obviously, there is way to see through the illusion. Otherwise the Unspeakables would never find their way to work.”

“Good point Luna,” agreed Harry, as they backtracked there way through the doorway they came. Standing at the corridor, Harry could hear voices from beyond, time was running out. Quickly, they began to do every spell they could think of to help remove the illusion spell. Behind their backs, they had to create another barrier for the Aurors to defuse.

“Right there,” said Luna, pointing to the set of doors. All of them had been enveloped in a blue light, with the exception of one notable exception. Opening door, the two slid through, with the Aurors right on their tales.

“Good work Luna, just keep doing what you did,” stated Harry as they rushed forward, they could almost feel the Aurors right behind them.

“The spell should have reset itself, so the illusion is not revealed, at least I hope,” said Luna, as she found the next door. “We should be inside by now…”

Luna trailed off, when she saw the clone of one Harry Potter in a glass tube. It was in stasis but it was proof that the Department of Mysteries had the clone. Harry looked at them, it appeared very odd, really peculiar that there was no one here. Almost too peculiar.

“Be ready for anything, Luna,” muttered Harry and Luna stood up straight, to indicate that she was in fact ready for anything. Each step was taken for caution, Harry looked around for any signs of life. He needed to find someone, to find his answers. At one second, Harry heard a rustling of a cloak behind them. “LUNA GET DOWN!”

At that second, a jet of green light flew right towards Harry and Luna. Both had just threw themselves on the ground barely at the last minute. The spell connected to the wall and Harry turned around, a robed figure was in the distance. The mysterious guest threw another spell at Harry, which Harry blocked before he moved forward. The attacker, seeing that he could not properly take Harry out, bolted his way towards the door. Quickly, his legs snapped together, as he fell to the ground. Harry moved in front of him at the speed of light, before he pulled the figure up. The hood fell back, revealing a young man that appeared to be in his thirties at the most, with blue eyes, that were filled with contempt as they looked at Harry.

“G.W. won’t be pleased with your meddling Potter,” remarked the young man, but Harry did not even flinch. “It’s obvious why you’re here. Our little weapon is beginning to self destruct. You want to know how to fix it, I take it.”

“Yes, what did you do to Lotus?” demanded Harry, as his emerald green eyes blazed with fury, but the man just chuckled. It was a nervous chuckle, but he seemed to be amused at Harry’s words. “Tell me damn it, tell me how to cure her!”

“It’s almost like you care for her,” remarked the man calmly, in amusement. “Listen here Potter, it’s not like she’s a human being, she’s just a weapon, a creation of the Department of Mysteries, our property in other words. We reserve the right to take steps to eliminate her just like we do when our other property falls into the hand of others that are not entitled to our secrets. All Unspeakables, especially my team, can’t risk anyone finding out about us, what we’re up to, but you found out…”

“She’s more human that you bastards are, I’ll tell you that much, she can think for herself, which is more than I can say for most of this miserable Wizarding World,” stated Harry coldly, as he magically pulled the man forward, staring him down. “She’s not your property, so you will tell me what the cure is.”

“It was a shame that it was defect that caused her to come astray, she was extremely powerful, all that power wasted, imagine would it could have accomplished had it be properly directed,” remarked the man crudely but he felt pain fill throughout his body, as Harry glared daggers through him. “Fine, kill me, if you dare, it doesn’t matter to me and if you kill me, there’s not even a chance she’ll survive the night.”

“I don’t need to kill you, but I can make you wish that I did,” hissed Harry, his eyes flickering madly, as the Unspeakable was flipped upside down, bobbing up and down, coming precious inches from smashing into the ceiling and the ground. “Either you cooperate or I rip your mind open to find out. I don’t care either way.”

“I think it would be a good idea if you cooperate,” inputted Luna casually. “It will be much better for your sanity in the end.”

The man just squirmed, shooting Harry a dirty look, but Harry was not intimidated. In fact, he would have been amused, had it not been for Lotus’s condition. Harry stared right into the eyes of the man, as he hung upside down.

“Last chance to do this the easy way,” said Harry, a violent rage flashing through his eyes, and the man squirmed, before closing his eyes.

“You want to know, very well, there is a cure, but it’s not the easiest thing to get your hands on, as it’s not exactly in this world,’ remarked the Unspeakable, as he shook. Harry braced himself for this information. “I wouldn’t survive the trip without dying, it would take a very powerful witch or wizard to even get close to getting their hands on it. You couldn’t even begin to imagine what you’d have to face in there.”

Harry just looked at the Unspeakable with a blank, emotionless look on his face, before he stared him down.

“Where is it?” asked Harry, who came to the conclusion that he might have to retrieve this mysterious cure himself. The Unspeakable twitched, before he moved his arm slowly backwards. Harry followed the hand, where he saw it was pointing. He was pointing towards the mysterious veil that Sirius fell through during the original timeline.

“It’s right through there, when we created the spell, we obviously needed a counteragent in case of accidents, and our studies lead us through the veil, but unfortunately, none of us could move through the veil without dying or losing our sanity,” stated the Unspeakable. “Others were sent through the veil, Muggles mostly and all were recovered, but perished. But trust me, the component you need is through there. It will not only cure the weapon of its ailment, but it will prevent her from being susceptible from the spell that our agent cast on her. It’s called septumdecim. Trust me, you’ll know it when you find it. It is said to give off strong amounts of magical energy.”

Harry paused, as he watched the veil moving back and forth, calling to him, the mysterious voices from beyond.

“I was under the impression that veil was merely a barrier between life and death,” said Harry coolly.

“It’s an impression that we liked to encourage and in a way, it could be true, as going through it could ensure death,” replied the Unspeakable. “But more particularly, on the other side , the Department of Mystery’s studies have concluded that it’s a key to another Realm, a Realm of unknown horrors and powers that many can only dream of.”

Harry just stood, reading the mind. It appeared that the Unspeakable hovered in the air. After verifying the truth, Harry spoke once again.

“Tell me one more thing, exactly who are you working for?” demanded Harry dangerously and the Unspeakable paused, as Luna stood in the background, listening intently.

“I don’t know our superior’s name, he goes by the codename G.W., but he’s hired us to carry out something….” stated the Unspeakable but he went mute. It appeared that his voice was lost, preventing him from voicing exactly what he was working to. Harry attempted to pull the information from the Unspeakable’s mind, but he clutched his head, it was almost like he had hit the mental equivalent of a solid titanium wall.

“Nothing, I can’t find out anything about who’s behind this, G.W., it has to be Winston, it has to be him, he has to be involved in some way,” stated Harry. “We’ll get him…”

“Well Potter, I hate to bring it up, but the clock is ticking down,” interrupted the Unspeakable in a snide tone of voice, with a smirk on his face. “The weapon doesn’t have much time, if you want to save her, you need to do it…”

Harry blasted the Unspeakable right into the wall. Ropes snaked around the figure, before a chain wrapped around him, snapping shut around him with another layer of protection.

“Guard him, please,” said Harry and Luna nodded, as he took a few steps towards the veil, bracing himself.

“Harry, wait, this could be a trick,” said Luna but Harry shook his head, before grabbing both of her hands, staring into her eyes.

“No, Luna, trust me, this is the only thing that isn’t a trick,” remarked Harry. “There’s no time to worry, not right now, not ever. Time is running out, I don’t know if I’ll get back.”

Harry pulled Luna forward, before kissing her. Luna returned the favor, not wanting to let go, but knowing she had to.

“Just know if I don’t make it, I love you,” said Harry quickly, as he turned his back, before he stepped through the veil, into the great dark unknown, not knowing if he would get back or if he would ever get back.

“I love you too Harry,” replied Luna softly, as she saw Harry disappear through the veil, not knowing if she would ever see him again.