Birds of a Feather
Chapter 9: The Cargo Hold
Summary: After Fawkes rescues Severus Snape in the Shrieking Shack, the phoenix decides to stick around.
The usual disclaimer applies. See Chapter 1.
"What was that?" said Dolohov.
"Something crowed," said Yaxley.
Severus' heart sank. Fawkes had awakened. If only he'd had an opportunity to slip the bird a sleeping potion, or cast a silencing spell on him. Or better yet, tell him to get lost and chase him out a porthole.
"It's probably Mavis, the captain's parrot," Seabiscuit said, smiling nervously.
"That was no parrot! Keep an eye on those guys," Dolohov said as he drew his wand and left the mess.
Severus started to get up, but Rowle stepped in front of him and pointed his wand. "Going somewhere?" he asked.
"I thought I'd get more tea," Severus said as he slowly stood up. Maybe if he could tackle Rowle and keep Rowle's body between himself and Yaxley, then Kat and Biscuit would have a chance to …
Yaxley wasn't going to fall for that. He lunged toward Severus. "Sit down!" he ordered. "Nobody's going anywhere until Dolohov gets back."
Severus sat down. Getting himself stunned or killed wasn't going to help anyone. He would have to contain his fury and wait for a better opportunity.
~~~~~
Fawkes stretched his wings and pushed the curtain aside to let the sun stream in. He crowed again and looked out the porthole. Seabirds wheeled over the island, and a few hardy flowers bloomed among the rocks. It was a beautiful day. Perhaps he'd go out for a flight after breakfast.
When he heard the door open behind him, he assumed it was Severus. Then he heard someone shout "Stupefy!" and everything went black.
~~~~~
Rowle and Yaxley were still standing guard over Severus and the sailors when Dolohov came back carrying the limp phoenix. He flopped it onto the table and sneered at Severus. "Thought you'd keep this for yourself, did you?"
"He's my bird, and I see no need to share," Severus snarled. Fawkes had better not be injured. He hated the Cruciatus curse, but if they harmed Fawkes Severus would give them all a few rounds of Crucio before he left them for the Aurors.
"I can't believe it! A phoenix! He's worth a fortune!" Dolohov laughed. "I'm impressed. You managed to steal Dumbledore's phoenix. But you shouldn't have tried to hide him from me. That wasn't smart." He turned to Yaxley and Rowle. "Take 'Mr Slade' and lock him in the cargo hold until I decide what to do with him."
Dolohov looked down at the unconscious phoenix and cast a strong sleeping spell on him. "I know a certain potions dealer who will be very happy to see you. Very happy indeed!"
~~~~~
Severus stood in the cargo hold and listened to them resetting the wards. He was fuming. Why hadn't he bothered to spell any magic pockets into his new clothes? The few items that might have been useful were in the pockets of his old jacket in his locker. He was an idiot!
He started tearing through the crates that Shunpike had searched. The herbs were all medicinal herbs. Nothing dangerous. Nothing explosive. Nothing that would help. He slammed the crates shut and opened the wand-wood shipment. He tried out a few of the sticks, but they were useless without cores. Nothing happened.
He'd have to try wandless magic. He'd spent a lot of time practicing, and he had mastered wandless magic as well as anyone could, but ward-breaking required good focus, and it was impossible to focus magic properly without a wand.
"Excuse me," said the lady from Melbourne. "My name is Lydia, and this is my husband, Jack."
Severus had forgotten about the two passengers. "Don't bother me!" he snapped. "Go sit down and stay out of the way!" The last thing he needed right now was a couple of chatty passengers. No, that was wrong. The last thing would have been Potter and Longbottom, or maybe some Weasleys. The passengers were the next-to-last thing.
Lydia looked at Jack and rolled her eyes. Then she and Jack went and sat down in a corner.
Severus concentrated, trying to focus wandless magic on the wards. Soon he felt the ship vibrate as the magic engines started up, and then he felt the ship dive. Wherever they were going, it couldn't be good.
~~~~~
Despite his best efforts, Severus hadn't made much progress by the time he felt the ship surface and come to a halt. Dolohov's wards were tough. He was getting a headache, but he kept trying. It was all that he could think of to do.
"I should be able to help, now that we've surfaced again," Lydia said, breaking his concentration.
"And just how do you propose to do that?" he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"We'll show you," said Jack. He walked over and opened the porthole. "There you go, dear."
With a soft pop, Lydia turned into a rather large, iridescent green dragonfly and flitted out through the porthole. She was an Animagus! It was all that Severus could do to keep from looking astonished.
"That's my gal!" Jack said proudly.
Severus dashed to the porthole and looked out. "Call her back!" he said. "Those men are desperate killers. She won't stand a chance against them."
"Don't worry," Jack said, smiling. "I'm sure she'll manage. She's really quite resourceful."
They were barking mad, both of them; Severus was sure of it. He went back to the wards, working frantically. As if he didn't have enough to worry about with Fawkes and the crew, now he had to try to keep Lydia from getting herself killed. Things were going from bad to worse.
~~~~~
Severus thought he could finally feel the wards starting to loosen when he heard footsteps outside. He felt the wards go down and Rowle flung the door open, pointing his wand. "Get back!" he shouted.
Severus stepped back while Captain Clark and his crew filed in under the watchful eyes of the Death Eaters. Then Rowle slammed the door and Dolohov reset the wards. Now Severus would have to start over again.
"What's going on?" he asked Clark.
"We're anchored off a rocky coast in the north of Scotland," the captain said. "Apparently there's some trader here who specializes in illegal potion ingredients and exotic poisons and stuff like that. Dolohov says he came here a couple of times to get stuff for the Dark Lord."
Severus knew all too well what kind of 'stuff' it probably was. He used to wonder where the Dark Lord got some of those things. He almost shuddered.
"They're all going to go ashore, except for that young guy. They're leaving him on guard duty. They want to sell Fawkes."
That was more or less what Severus had expected to hear, and it did not improve his mood. "If any of you have any ideas, now is the time to say so," he told them.
Nobody answered, so he returned to attacking the wards.
~~~~~
Time passed slowly as they watched Severus work. It seemed hopeless, but he wasn't going to give up. Then they heard something scrape softly against the hull.
"Oh look!" Jack cried, pointing at the porthole. A wand was slowly sinking into view, dangling at the end of a string.
Severus reached out and grabbed it. It was Shunpike's. It didn't feel right in his hand, but it was a lot better than nothing. He pointed it at the door and the wards came down. A quick Alohomora took care of the lock.
They stepped out to find a smiling Lydia waiting for them beside a nervous-looking Stan. "Stanley and I had a nice talk, and he has agreed to help us," she told them. "We didn't know how to break the wards, so we lowered his wand to you. The rest of them have all apparated to shore."
A nice talk? Severus wondered what had really happened. He stifled an urge to thank her and headed for the deck, followed by the others. "Stay with the ship and go for help," he told them all. "I'm going to get Fawkes." With that, he dove over the rail and started to fly.
"Wow!" Kat said as he watched Severus fly across the waves. "That is so cool! I didn't know that was possible."
"Get my broom!" Captain Clark bellowed. "If Slade thinks I'm gonna let him go out there alone, he'd better think again. I'm gonna go kick those hijackers' mangy butts all the way back to wherever they came from!" He had no idea how he was going to do that without a wand, but he was way too angry to care.
Biscuit quickly fetched three brooms. "These are all we've got," he said.
"We only need one," Clark told him. "You guys are staying here."
"Oh no we're not," Kat said, and everyone nodded, even Stan.
To be continued …
Summary: After Fawkes rescues Severus Snape in the Shrieking Shack, the phoenix decides to stick around.
The usual disclaimer applies. See Chapter 1.
"What was that?" said Dolohov.
"Something crowed," said Yaxley.
Severus' heart sank. Fawkes had awakened. If only he'd had an opportunity to slip the bird a sleeping potion, or cast a silencing spell on him. Or better yet, tell him to get lost and chase him out a porthole.
"It's probably Mavis, the captain's parrot," Seabiscuit said, smiling nervously.
"That was no parrot! Keep an eye on those guys," Dolohov said as he drew his wand and left the mess.
Severus started to get up, but Rowle stepped in front of him and pointed his wand. "Going somewhere?" he asked.
"I thought I'd get more tea," Severus said as he slowly stood up. Maybe if he could tackle Rowle and keep Rowle's body between himself and Yaxley, then Kat and Biscuit would have a chance to …
Yaxley wasn't going to fall for that. He lunged toward Severus. "Sit down!" he ordered. "Nobody's going anywhere until Dolohov gets back."
Severus sat down. Getting himself stunned or killed wasn't going to help anyone. He would have to contain his fury and wait for a better opportunity.
~~~~~
Fawkes stretched his wings and pushed the curtain aside to let the sun stream in. He crowed again and looked out the porthole. Seabirds wheeled over the island, and a few hardy flowers bloomed among the rocks. It was a beautiful day. Perhaps he'd go out for a flight after breakfast.
When he heard the door open behind him, he assumed it was Severus. Then he heard someone shout "Stupefy!" and everything went black.
~~~~~
Rowle and Yaxley were still standing guard over Severus and the sailors when Dolohov came back carrying the limp phoenix. He flopped it onto the table and sneered at Severus. "Thought you'd keep this for yourself, did you?"
"He's my bird, and I see no need to share," Severus snarled. Fawkes had better not be injured. He hated the Cruciatus curse, but if they harmed Fawkes Severus would give them all a few rounds of Crucio before he left them for the Aurors.
"I can't believe it! A phoenix! He's worth a fortune!" Dolohov laughed. "I'm impressed. You managed to steal Dumbledore's phoenix. But you shouldn't have tried to hide him from me. That wasn't smart." He turned to Yaxley and Rowle. "Take 'Mr Slade' and lock him in the cargo hold until I decide what to do with him."
Dolohov looked down at the unconscious phoenix and cast a strong sleeping spell on him. "I know a certain potions dealer who will be very happy to see you. Very happy indeed!"
~~~~~
Severus stood in the cargo hold and listened to them resetting the wards. He was fuming. Why hadn't he bothered to spell any magic pockets into his new clothes? The few items that might have been useful were in the pockets of his old jacket in his locker. He was an idiot!
He started tearing through the crates that Shunpike had searched. The herbs were all medicinal herbs. Nothing dangerous. Nothing explosive. Nothing that would help. He slammed the crates shut and opened the wand-wood shipment. He tried out a few of the sticks, but they were useless without cores. Nothing happened.
He'd have to try wandless magic. He'd spent a lot of time practicing, and he had mastered wandless magic as well as anyone could, but ward-breaking required good focus, and it was impossible to focus magic properly without a wand.
"Excuse me," said the lady from Melbourne. "My name is Lydia, and this is my husband, Jack."
Severus had forgotten about the two passengers. "Don't bother me!" he snapped. "Go sit down and stay out of the way!" The last thing he needed right now was a couple of chatty passengers. No, that was wrong. The last thing would have been Potter and Longbottom, or maybe some Weasleys. The passengers were the next-to-last thing.
Lydia looked at Jack and rolled her eyes. Then she and Jack went and sat down in a corner.
Severus concentrated, trying to focus wandless magic on the wards. Soon he felt the ship vibrate as the magic engines started up, and then he felt the ship dive. Wherever they were going, it couldn't be good.
~~~~~
Despite his best efforts, Severus hadn't made much progress by the time he felt the ship surface and come to a halt. Dolohov's wards were tough. He was getting a headache, but he kept trying. It was all that he could think of to do.
"I should be able to help, now that we've surfaced again," Lydia said, breaking his concentration.
"And just how do you propose to do that?" he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"We'll show you," said Jack. He walked over and opened the porthole. "There you go, dear."
With a soft pop, Lydia turned into a rather large, iridescent green dragonfly and flitted out through the porthole. She was an Animagus! It was all that Severus could do to keep from looking astonished.
"That's my gal!" Jack said proudly.
Severus dashed to the porthole and looked out. "Call her back!" he said. "Those men are desperate killers. She won't stand a chance against them."
"Don't worry," Jack said, smiling. "I'm sure she'll manage. She's really quite resourceful."
They were barking mad, both of them; Severus was sure of it. He went back to the wards, working frantically. As if he didn't have enough to worry about with Fawkes and the crew, now he had to try to keep Lydia from getting herself killed. Things were going from bad to worse.
~~~~~
Severus thought he could finally feel the wards starting to loosen when he heard footsteps outside. He felt the wards go down and Rowle flung the door open, pointing his wand. "Get back!" he shouted.
Severus stepped back while Captain Clark and his crew filed in under the watchful eyes of the Death Eaters. Then Rowle slammed the door and Dolohov reset the wards. Now Severus would have to start over again.
"What's going on?" he asked Clark.
"We're anchored off a rocky coast in the north of Scotland," the captain said. "Apparently there's some trader here who specializes in illegal potion ingredients and exotic poisons and stuff like that. Dolohov says he came here a couple of times to get stuff for the Dark Lord."
Severus knew all too well what kind of 'stuff' it probably was. He used to wonder where the Dark Lord got some of those things. He almost shuddered.
"They're all going to go ashore, except for that young guy. They're leaving him on guard duty. They want to sell Fawkes."
That was more or less what Severus had expected to hear, and it did not improve his mood. "If any of you have any ideas, now is the time to say so," he told them.
Nobody answered, so he returned to attacking the wards.
~~~~~
Time passed slowly as they watched Severus work. It seemed hopeless, but he wasn't going to give up. Then they heard something scrape softly against the hull.
"Oh look!" Jack cried, pointing at the porthole. A wand was slowly sinking into view, dangling at the end of a string.
Severus reached out and grabbed it. It was Shunpike's. It didn't feel right in his hand, but it was a lot better than nothing. He pointed it at the door and the wards came down. A quick Alohomora took care of the lock.
They stepped out to find a smiling Lydia waiting for them beside a nervous-looking Stan. "Stanley and I had a nice talk, and he has agreed to help us," she told them. "We didn't know how to break the wards, so we lowered his wand to you. The rest of them have all apparated to shore."
A nice talk? Severus wondered what had really happened. He stifled an urge to thank her and headed for the deck, followed by the others. "Stay with the ship and go for help," he told them all. "I'm going to get Fawkes." With that, he dove over the rail and started to fly.
"Wow!" Kat said as he watched Severus fly across the waves. "That is so cool! I didn't know that was possible."
"Get my broom!" Captain Clark bellowed. "If Slade thinks I'm gonna let him go out there alone, he'd better think again. I'm gonna go kick those hijackers' mangy butts all the way back to wherever they came from!" He had no idea how he was going to do that without a wand, but he was way too angry to care.
Biscuit quickly fetched three brooms. "These are all we've got," he said.
"We only need one," Clark told him. "You guys are staying here."
"Oh no we're not," Kat said, and everyone nodded, even Stan.
To be continued …