Wolf's Survivor

A Change of Shackles

The darkness of their hopeless world swirled around them, its spiteful bleakness almost audible in their joint silence. The wizarding world's last hope sat around the long worn table in the basement kitchen of Grimmauld Place. Their hands were folded in front of them, their eyes fixed on the gnarls and scrapes in the aged wood. None of them wanted to put voice to what they were all feeling through their very cores.

Without Harry, they were doomed.

There were more of the resistance (the Order of the Phoenix) beyond this room of course, but those here were the ones heading the final fleet of light. Ron and Hermione had felt Harry ripped away from them by the snatchers. They had felt his fingers torn from them just as the crack of apparition took them to safety and they had had no choice but to seek help now. Even if Harry wasn't their best friend and his life hadn't been their personal priority, there was no point in destroying horcruxes if the only person that could destroy Voldemort was killed, tortured into madness or worse...

Hermione bit her lip, fighting back the tears from her eyes before looking around at those seated at the table. The table that they had once all gathered around for a happy Christmas meal. She and Ron were joined by Remus Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley, McGonagall, and a large handful of Weasleys including Molly, Arthur, the twins, Charlie, Bill and Fleur – who was almost as pregnant as Tonks.

With a deep breath in, Hermione managed to find her words. "We will just have to get Harry back, there is no other option." Silence followed and then...

"He Who Must Not Be Named has a location as impenetrable and unplottable as this building – even more secure, perhaps. We have no idea where it is," Kingsley began rationally, hastening to continue when he saw arguments brewing on the tongues of their younger members. "I want to save Harry as well, I don't dare to think what they may be doing to him..."

"Harry is the one bloody thing He's always wanted," Fred hissed, "we know exactly what he's doing, humiliating him, degrading him, driving him insane with pain and torment beyond...anything."

"And he knows that Harry is the wizarding world's last hope, he's sure to...publicise this somehow," George added with a repulsed shudder. "There's no way he'll keep this to himself. He'll take pleasure in using that method to take Harry's pride from him–"

"And the hope from the rest of us useless pillocks," Ron murmured self-loathingly, the first words he had spoken since he and Hermione had landed on the cold hard ground after apparating and realised Harry wasn't with them. Hermione placed her hand on his on the table top.

Another agonising silence drifted across the dim room briefly.

"So vat do ve do zen, if storming ze castle is out of ze question?" Fleur asked tentatively, an elegant had resting on her slight bump. Bill took her hand gently.

"The way I see it is there is only one way into Voldemort's stronghold, and that is to be captured ourselves," Remus began, looking at each of them solemnly in turn, as if preparing them for what he was about to say. "And once we are in there, we won't be getting back out until the He is dead. As much as I..."

The werewolf grit his teeth, his hands shaking where they curled into fists on top of the table. Tonks moved to touch his arm reassuringly, but it seemed nothing could comfort him. "Even though Harry is the world to me, we have to face the fact that the only way we can rescue him successfully is to destroy the remaining horcruxes and then get captured ourselves. Then when He is vulnerable we must help Harry–"

"You mean leave Harry there?!" Ron snarled leaping to his feet along with a few others at the table.

"You've got to be bloody joking!" Fred added.