Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 118: The Cabin
"I see something ahead." Tonks narrowed her eyes as she spotted a clearing ahead while they flew through a forest.
"What do you think? Is that the one?" McGonagall asked Hermione, who was right behind her on the broom.
Hermione took a moment to think. "I'm not sure. It does look similar to the one I saw." She had only come to this location by being teleported by Harry, so she never got a good look from the air.
"Useless," Voldemort scoffed at her while flying by.
"We will need to check anyway," Sirius said.
"Should we wait until morning before getting closer? It's getting dark already." Tonks asked. It was common knowledge that the demons were more dangerous during the night.
"Wait? Don't be stupid. We don't even know if this is the correct house." Voldemort said.
"Why don't we descend first?" Shacklebolt pointed to an area that was still a bit far away from the clearing. "We can approach slowly and observe the surroundings."
"That is a sound idea. Let's do that. Then we can make sure if… You know… if He is here." Sirius touched his face. A permanent scar had been left across it, and after all this time, it still ached.
Once on the ground, they took refuge behind the trees and slowly approached the clearing where the wooden house was.
"This is strange…" Shacklebolt said while waving his wand around.
"What's strange?" McGonagall asked.
"I can't detect any wards. I should have been able to pick something up already, but there is… nothing." the Minister revealed.
"Okay, now I'm starting to think that we got the wrong house," Sirius said.
"Do we keep going?" Tonks asked.
"Maybe it's not magic, but there is something off with this forest." Hagrid was looking around, sniffing the plants and tapping on the trees with his fingers. "It's weird…the smell."
"What is it, Hagrid? What is weird about the smell?" McGonagall glanced at the giant.
"It's hard to describe, but it reminds me of the darkest areas of the Black Forest. Very dangerous creatures live in those parts, and trees have this kind of scent…the centaurs call it the smell of danger. A muggle forest should not smell like this. So it's weird." Hagrid explained.
"It could be demons," Voldemort suggested. "They may be magical in nature, but the source of their power lies somewhere else, so you will not be able to trace them with our detection spells." He said while pointing at what Shacklebolt was doing.
"Okay, let's go a bit closer. The clearing is right ahead, and I want to take a look at this house," Sirius suggested.
The group continued moving very slowly while paying attention to their surroundings and checking for any kind of wards or traps. By the time they got to the last line of trees, nothing was found.
"That's the house!" Hermione exclaimed the moment she saw it.
"Shh! Lower your voice." Tonks told her. "I think I see a light inside."
In front of them was a large clearing, and at the end of it was a very typical wooden cabin. It was clearly well built, but at first glance, it didn't appear to have anything special.
Next to the cabin was a very large rock that had been carved in the shape of an altar.
"Snif snif…" Hagrid furrowed his brows. "This place reeks of blood."
"This is definitely the house then." Voldemort glanced at the rocky object. "That looks like a sacrificial altar over there. I bet he used it to summon his first demons."
Hermione's body began to tremble at the reminder of the atrocities committed by Harry.
"Hermione… you should stay here," McGonagall suggested.
The girl shook her head. "No… I want to see this to its end."
"I still don't detect any kind of protections," the Minister commented. "I used every scan charm that I could think of. There are no traces of magic in here. Not even a basic detection ward."
"He is either very confident or…" Tonks didn't want to finish her sentence because the other option was that this place had been abandoned and they had wasted the entire day.
"No point in wondering." Voldemort walked from behind the trees and began to make his way to the house.
"Wait!... Shite!" Sirius went after him.
"We should…" Tonks glanced at the others.
"Yes, let's go. We face this together." Shacklebolt walked ahead. "Whatever lies ahead of us."
"Spoken like a true Minister," Hagrid commented.
"He sure did." McGonagall turned to Hermione and offered her a hand. "Stay with me."
The girl nodded and took the hand.
"Tsk… I don't like this." Wormtail looked back into the dark forest and shuddered. "I really don't like this." He hurried to catch up to the others.
Voldemort was the first one to reach the door, and just like Tonks had said before, he noted some dim lights inside. With his wand firmly gripped in his hand, he opened the door and walked in while Sirius followed close behind.
The house was not too big. They were in an entrance hall and could see the dining room from there, as well as a set of stairs that led to the second floor.
Voldemort glanced at Sirius and pointed up. There was a strange blue light that could already be seen on the stairs.
Sirius pointed at his ears and Voldemort nodded. There was also a bizarre clicking sound coming from the same place.
At the very least, they couldn't see or feel any demons.
McGonagall and the others went inside as well, while trying their best to avoid making much noise.
Voldemort was only halfway up the stairs when they heard the clicking noises getting louder. Getting a very bad feeling, he decided to pick up the pace and rushed on to the second floor, following the direction of the noise with his eyes.
"What the…" At first, Voldemort didn't really understand what he was seeing.
There were dozens of small blue screens on the other side of the room. All sorts of letters and numbers were being displayed on them.
In front of the screens was someone seated.
Voldemort aimed his wand at that person.
"It would be better if you didn't shoot me right away… You really want to hear what I have to say." The person in front of the screens turned around in his chair.
"Potter…" Voldemort muttered.
Harry smiled. "Who else?"