Whatever You Say, Blood's Important
Title: Whatever You Say, Blood's Important
Rating: PG-13
First posted: 4th March 2004, Chamber of Secrets Forums
Challenge: Chamber of Secrets Forums "Fan-Fiction Contest"
Length: 1,500 words
Summary: On Harry's 16th birthday, he receives an urgent warning at Privet Drive from Snape.
Notes: Written for the CoS Forums "Fan-Fiction Contest" in February 2004 (the original threads have long since disappeared). I'd been wanting to have a go at writing a fic of my own, because it looked like fun, and this was the ideal opportunity to have a try. (It was, in fact, the first story of any kind I'd written since I was at school.) It's now thoroughly non-canon, and is probably best labelled 'not bad for a first try'. Still, it did come second!
Some odd things in it can be explained by the fact that the entries had to meet certain criteria that the mods dreamed up in a brainstorming session. There were three possible themes -- (a) the Forbidden Forest at night, (b) a visit from the Order of the Phoenix to Privet Drive (the one I chose), or (c) an unusual classroom incident -- and the story had to include (1) a broken, talking mirror, (2) a popped balloon, (3) a chase scene, (4) Snape and his pet, with a length of 1,000 to 1,500 words.
The morning sun filtered through drawn curtains in a bedroom at No 4 Privet Drive, where a sixteen-year-old boy was sleeping uneasily, still fully dressed. Ever since his return to this house, Harry Potter had been fighting a running battle against depression. Although safe here, he felt more isolated than ever, knowing now he was the only one capable of defeating Lord Voldemort.
His mood had been briefly lifted last night by owls bringing cards and presents from his friends for his birthday today, and he lay awake looking at them until dozing off about 4am. Now, however, he was again dreaming fitfully about recent events. His godfather fell through a curtain ... Trelawney prophesied ... Voldemort's terrible face looked at him ... Snape sneered "You think I want nonsense shouted at me, Potter? ... Do you hear me, Potter? Potter? POTTER!"
Harry woke up with a start. He could still hear Snape, curiously muffled: "Potter! Are you there, boy? POTTER!!!" That wasn't a dream, it seemed to be coming ... from his trunk? Quickly, he opened it, to hear Snape's voice from the mirror Sirius had given him: "Potter! Curse you, boy, WHERE ARE YOU?"
Harry snatched up the mirror, still barely awake. "Snape! -- er, Professor?! What's going on?"
Snape's face could be seen in the mirror, distorted by the cracks caused when Harry had thrown it down at Hogwarts. His voice, snide but tense, echoed from each piece: "Listen, Potter! Death Eaters have been ordered to your house. Get your wand ... "
"What? How do you --" said Harry, shocked.
"LISTEN, imbecile! Prepare to move quickly. Members of the Order will be with you shortly. GO!"
Snape's face disappeared. Confused, Harry grabbed his wand. Downstairs, he could hear Dudley complaining bitterly about something, followed by a loud popping sound and a door slamming. As he listened, the sound of his Aunt Petunia muttering to herself was brought to an abrupt halt; there was a terrified scream, a harsh shout, then a series of crashes that sounded ominously like someone falling across a tableful of china. Harry reached the top of the stairs in time to see a masked Death Eater follow his aunt from the house (apparently moving her with Mobilicorpus, she didn't seem conscious). In desperation Harry raced downstairs, but wheeled round as he reached the front door at a sound behind him.
Another Death Eater stood grinning at the far end of the hall. Before Harry had time to react, he shouted "Expelliarmus!" and Harry's wand flew from his hand. "Well, Potter, the Dark Lord will be pleased with our success," said the Death Eater mockingly in a voice Harry found vaguely familiar. "We eliminate your protection, and bring back Snitchboy himself!" Harry didn't even have time to take this in, his eyes opening wide with horror as Dudley stepped into the hall from the lounge.
"Scared, Potter?" jeered the Death Eater. "You should b-- " He whirled round, but before he could raise his wand Dudley, moving surprisingly swiftly, had planted a solid right hook on his jaw. Harry was extremely pleased to discover his doubts about his cousin's boxing prowess were unfounded, as the Death Eater staggered backwards and tripped over the telephone table. He got up, unsteadily, but Harry, diving for his wand, hit him with a Stunning Spell at point-blank range.
"Nice one, Dud!" panted Harry. A reluctant grin appeared on Dudley's face. "Nice one yourself, Teenage Freak." The smile vanished. "Mum! Where's Mum?" Harry winced. "Look Dud, they took her, I'm going after them, OK? STAY HERE." Fright and a mutinous expression chased each other across Dudley's face. "Dud, please," said Harry frantically. "You took him by surprise, you might not get lucky ag -- ARGH!"
A series of cracks outside interrupted him. Lupin ran through the door, followed by Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and a woman Harry dimly remembered. All had their wands out, Dudley staring at them with a mixture of hope and revulsion. "Harry, what happened?" gasped Lupin. "The magical activity detector we set up for Privet Drive suddenly started going berserk. We grabbed everyone on call at Order headquarters and Apparated straight away."
"Death Eaters turned up," said Harry shakily. "They kidnapped my aunt ... stunned her, floated her out. We've got to get after them. Can they Apparate her away?"
Kingsley answered after a brief pause. "Probably not, Harry," he said slowly. "It takes great skill to Apparate with another person -- they've probably set up a Portkey somewhere nearby, out of sight of the Muggles. You know the area better than us -- where could they go?"
"Loads of places!" said Harry exasperatedly. "Little Whinging is full of alleyways, you could chase down them for hours ... wait a minute. Have you all got those two-way mirrors?" Tonks nodded. "Right -- I've got my Firebolt upstairs, I can fly over the town under my Invisibility Cloak and spot them from above. I'll use the mirror to tell you when I see them."
"Harry, that's highly dangerous --" began Lupin, but Harry cut him off. "Look -- er, Remus -- we don't have time to argue. No-one else here can fly as well as me, and I'm used to spotting things from the air. I know she can't stand me, but she's still my aunt!". The adults exchanged hesitant glances, then shrugged.
"OK, Harry," said Lupin briskly. "Here's the plan. Er, Dudley?" he said kindly, and Dudley jumped at being spoken to. "Do you have a map of the area?" Dudley nodded mutely, and Lupin continued, "Excellent. We wait here until Harry spots them, then you point out the place on the map and Kingsley, Tonks, and I Appar -- er, get there as quickly as possible. Hestia -- you stay here and keep guard."
Harry shot upstairs without another word, grabbed his broom, threw the Cloak over himself and shot out the window. From three hundred feet up, he could see the whole town, and frantically scanned the ground below. Twice, he swooped down on pairs of people moving suspiciously rapidly, only to find a couple running for a bus and some joggers. Then he spotted them; the Death Eater, still pretending to support his aunt, was heading for a patch of waste ground where the old public library had been demolished.
Harry took out the mirror and whispered, "Remus Lupin;" and as Lupin's face appeared, "Old library," feeling a pang of dread about whether Dudley would know where a library was. He gripped his wand ready for a last-chance attack of his own, but as he dived three people appeared out of thin air below him. The Death Eater dropped Petunia and swung his wand towards her, but before he could cast a spell he was hit by four jets of red light, and crumpled to the ground.
*****
Back at Privet Drive, Harry found his aunt recovering in the lounge (under the ministrations of Hestia Jones, who was apparently a trained Healer), and hugging Dudley to her so tightly he was in danger of suffocation. He quietly stepped out into the hall to find Kingsley and Tonks with the two unconscious Death Eaters. "Wotcher, Harry. Here's an ... old friend of yours, I think," said Tonks quietly, pointing to the man Harry had Stunned. A sick feeling came over him as he recognised trollish features he had last seen on a Quidditch pitch -- Marcus Flint, the former Slytherin captain.
Harry made his way into the kitchen, where Lupin was magically repairing the broken china. He looked up and smiled as Harry came in. "Well done, Harry. Apparently Voldemort decided removing your aunt from this house might help break Dumbledore's protective charm. He didn't know if it protected your aunt as well, so chose to blood a couple of his newer and more expendable servants with a mission to kidnap your aunt if they could, kill her if not." Noticing Harry's puzzlement, he indicated the top of the fridge, where a large sooty black Stygian owl was preening itself. "Severus just sent us his owl with details of their meeting."
Harry sank into a chair and buried his head in his hands. "Great. She already hates me for what I am, now I nearly get her and Dudley killed. Best birthday ever, eh?" Lupin looked at him sympathetically and pointed to a small side table. "Oh, I don't know, Harry," he said, unconsciously echoing Hagrid. "Whatever you say, blood's important." Balloons lay on the table -- Dudley had apparently angrily slammed his Gameboy on one, which must have been the pop Harry heard -- and next to them, barely large enough for sixteen candles but unprecedented, was a birthday cake.
A lump rose in Harry's throat as his aunt and cousin came in. "Aunt Petunia?" he began. "I'm sorry ..." but she interrupted, looking at him for once without disapproval. "T-t-t-thank you, Harry," she said with a catch in her voice. "Um ... Happy b-b-birthday."
Rating: PG-13
First posted: 4th March 2004, Chamber of Secrets Forums
Challenge: Chamber of Secrets Forums "Fan-Fiction Contest"
Length: 1,500 words
Summary: On Harry's 16th birthday, he receives an urgent warning at Privet Drive from Snape.
Notes: Written for the CoS Forums "Fan-Fiction Contest" in February 2004 (the original threads have long since disappeared). I'd been wanting to have a go at writing a fic of my own, because it looked like fun, and this was the ideal opportunity to have a try. (It was, in fact, the first story of any kind I'd written since I was at school.) It's now thoroughly non-canon, and is probably best labelled 'not bad for a first try'. Still, it did come second!
Some odd things in it can be explained by the fact that the entries had to meet certain criteria that the mods dreamed up in a brainstorming session. There were three possible themes -- (a) the Forbidden Forest at night, (b) a visit from the Order of the Phoenix to Privet Drive (the one I chose), or (c) an unusual classroom incident -- and the story had to include (1) a broken, talking mirror, (2) a popped balloon, (3) a chase scene, (4) Snape and his pet, with a length of 1,000 to 1,500 words.
The morning sun filtered through drawn curtains in a bedroom at No 4 Privet Drive, where a sixteen-year-old boy was sleeping uneasily, still fully dressed. Ever since his return to this house, Harry Potter had been fighting a running battle against depression. Although safe here, he felt more isolated than ever, knowing now he was the only one capable of defeating Lord Voldemort.
His mood had been briefly lifted last night by owls bringing cards and presents from his friends for his birthday today, and he lay awake looking at them until dozing off about 4am. Now, however, he was again dreaming fitfully about recent events. His godfather fell through a curtain ... Trelawney prophesied ... Voldemort's terrible face looked at him ... Snape sneered "You think I want nonsense shouted at me, Potter? ... Do you hear me, Potter? Potter? POTTER!"
Harry woke up with a start. He could still hear Snape, curiously muffled: "Potter! Are you there, boy? POTTER!!!" That wasn't a dream, it seemed to be coming ... from his trunk? Quickly, he opened it, to hear Snape's voice from the mirror Sirius had given him: "Potter! Curse you, boy, WHERE ARE YOU?"
Harry snatched up the mirror, still barely awake. "Snape! -- er, Professor?! What's going on?"
Snape's face could be seen in the mirror, distorted by the cracks caused when Harry had thrown it down at Hogwarts. His voice, snide but tense, echoed from each piece: "Listen, Potter! Death Eaters have been ordered to your house. Get your wand ... "
"What? How do you --" said Harry, shocked.
"LISTEN, imbecile! Prepare to move quickly. Members of the Order will be with you shortly. GO!"
Snape's face disappeared. Confused, Harry grabbed his wand. Downstairs, he could hear Dudley complaining bitterly about something, followed by a loud popping sound and a door slamming. As he listened, the sound of his Aunt Petunia muttering to herself was brought to an abrupt halt; there was a terrified scream, a harsh shout, then a series of crashes that sounded ominously like someone falling across a tableful of china. Harry reached the top of the stairs in time to see a masked Death Eater follow his aunt from the house (apparently moving her with Mobilicorpus, she didn't seem conscious). In desperation Harry raced downstairs, but wheeled round as he reached the front door at a sound behind him.
Another Death Eater stood grinning at the far end of the hall. Before Harry had time to react, he shouted "Expelliarmus!" and Harry's wand flew from his hand. "Well, Potter, the Dark Lord will be pleased with our success," said the Death Eater mockingly in a voice Harry found vaguely familiar. "We eliminate your protection, and bring back Snitchboy himself!" Harry didn't even have time to take this in, his eyes opening wide with horror as Dudley stepped into the hall from the lounge.
"Scared, Potter?" jeered the Death Eater. "You should b-- " He whirled round, but before he could raise his wand Dudley, moving surprisingly swiftly, had planted a solid right hook on his jaw. Harry was extremely pleased to discover his doubts about his cousin's boxing prowess were unfounded, as the Death Eater staggered backwards and tripped over the telephone table. He got up, unsteadily, but Harry, diving for his wand, hit him with a Stunning Spell at point-blank range.
"Nice one, Dud!" panted Harry. A reluctant grin appeared on Dudley's face. "Nice one yourself, Teenage Freak." The smile vanished. "Mum! Where's Mum?" Harry winced. "Look Dud, they took her, I'm going after them, OK? STAY HERE." Fright and a mutinous expression chased each other across Dudley's face. "Dud, please," said Harry frantically. "You took him by surprise, you might not get lucky ag -- ARGH!"
A series of cracks outside interrupted him. Lupin ran through the door, followed by Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and a woman Harry dimly remembered. All had their wands out, Dudley staring at them with a mixture of hope and revulsion. "Harry, what happened?" gasped Lupin. "The magical activity detector we set up for Privet Drive suddenly started going berserk. We grabbed everyone on call at Order headquarters and Apparated straight away."
"Death Eaters turned up," said Harry shakily. "They kidnapped my aunt ... stunned her, floated her out. We've got to get after them. Can they Apparate her away?"
Kingsley answered after a brief pause. "Probably not, Harry," he said slowly. "It takes great skill to Apparate with another person -- they've probably set up a Portkey somewhere nearby, out of sight of the Muggles. You know the area better than us -- where could they go?"
"Loads of places!" said Harry exasperatedly. "Little Whinging is full of alleyways, you could chase down them for hours ... wait a minute. Have you all got those two-way mirrors?" Tonks nodded. "Right -- I've got my Firebolt upstairs, I can fly over the town under my Invisibility Cloak and spot them from above. I'll use the mirror to tell you when I see them."
"Harry, that's highly dangerous --" began Lupin, but Harry cut him off. "Look -- er, Remus -- we don't have time to argue. No-one else here can fly as well as me, and I'm used to spotting things from the air. I know she can't stand me, but she's still my aunt!". The adults exchanged hesitant glances, then shrugged.
"OK, Harry," said Lupin briskly. "Here's the plan. Er, Dudley?" he said kindly, and Dudley jumped at being spoken to. "Do you have a map of the area?" Dudley nodded mutely, and Lupin continued, "Excellent. We wait here until Harry spots them, then you point out the place on the map and Kingsley, Tonks, and I Appar -- er, get there as quickly as possible. Hestia -- you stay here and keep guard."
Harry shot upstairs without another word, grabbed his broom, threw the Cloak over himself and shot out the window. From three hundred feet up, he could see the whole town, and frantically scanned the ground below. Twice, he swooped down on pairs of people moving suspiciously rapidly, only to find a couple running for a bus and some joggers. Then he spotted them; the Death Eater, still pretending to support his aunt, was heading for a patch of waste ground where the old public library had been demolished.
Harry took out the mirror and whispered, "Remus Lupin;" and as Lupin's face appeared, "Old library," feeling a pang of dread about whether Dudley would know where a library was. He gripped his wand ready for a last-chance attack of his own, but as he dived three people appeared out of thin air below him. The Death Eater dropped Petunia and swung his wand towards her, but before he could cast a spell he was hit by four jets of red light, and crumpled to the ground.
*****
Back at Privet Drive, Harry found his aunt recovering in the lounge (under the ministrations of Hestia Jones, who was apparently a trained Healer), and hugging Dudley to her so tightly he was in danger of suffocation. He quietly stepped out into the hall to find Kingsley and Tonks with the two unconscious Death Eaters. "Wotcher, Harry. Here's an ... old friend of yours, I think," said Tonks quietly, pointing to the man Harry had Stunned. A sick feeling came over him as he recognised trollish features he had last seen on a Quidditch pitch -- Marcus Flint, the former Slytherin captain.
Harry made his way into the kitchen, where Lupin was magically repairing the broken china. He looked up and smiled as Harry came in. "Well done, Harry. Apparently Voldemort decided removing your aunt from this house might help break Dumbledore's protective charm. He didn't know if it protected your aunt as well, so chose to blood a couple of his newer and more expendable servants with a mission to kidnap your aunt if they could, kill her if not." Noticing Harry's puzzlement, he indicated the top of the fridge, where a large sooty black Stygian owl was preening itself. "Severus just sent us his owl with details of their meeting."
Harry sank into a chair and buried his head in his hands. "Great. She already hates me for what I am, now I nearly get her and Dudley killed. Best birthday ever, eh?" Lupin looked at him sympathetically and pointed to a small side table. "Oh, I don't know, Harry," he said, unconsciously echoing Hagrid. "Whatever you say, blood's important." Balloons lay on the table -- Dudley had apparently angrily slammed his Gameboy on one, which must have been the pop Harry heard -- and next to them, barely large enough for sixteen candles but unprecedented, was a birthday cake.
A lump rose in Harry's throat as his aunt and cousin came in. "Aunt Petunia?" he began. "I'm sorry ..." but she interrupted, looking at him for once without disapproval. "T-t-t-thank you, Harry," she said with a catch in her voice. "Um ... Happy b-b-birthday."