The Auror Headquarters were filled with people - Harry had never seen so many Aurors in service at once. They took turns over the Pensieve to watch Frank Longbottom’s memories, so that the images of the farm, of the forest and of the cliff where the cave was located were now etched on the retinas of each and every one.

Mrs Steadfast brought some of her closest collaborators, including Soundy and Snape, with her to the Ministry’s Geowlmap visualization room where the entirety of the British Isles could be studied three dimensionally, in relief and in exquisite detail.

“Five thousand owls contributed to the survey,” Mrs Steadfast explained to Harry who had been allowed to join her, after having argued that it was he who had gotten the operation started in the first place by capturing his assailers in the morning. This time he did not miss Snape’s disapproving gaze when Mrs Steadfast gave in. Sure, thought Harry, first year students normally didn’t join in real operations, but exceptions could be made! Especially if someone was already involved! Harry tried to ignore Snape.

“Let’s see if we can identify the farm,” said Mrs Steadfast. “If we’re lucky there’s an owl who has flown right over it.”

They were able not only to identify the farm on the map, but to study the disposition of its different buildings and of the surrounding area. They returned to the Auror Office, at which point Mrs Steadfast let all the Auror students attend the meeting, as a lesson in strategy and planning.

The aim was to find the cave and liberate the potential prisoners. It was still considered necessary to catch the Secret keeper, or they would not be able to open up the cave. The strong protective magic might in fact make them pass right in front of it without seeing it. Therefore Mrs Steadfast’s plan was to attack the farm and detain every single inhabitant in the hope of revealing the Secret keeper.

“This might well be where Mr Hatch and the leading Shiftings have been lurking all the time. Our intelligence says a farm has been mentioned by captured Shifting members,” said Soundy who was full of revenge fuelled energy, yet calm and focused on the task.

The strategy was taking form. They would surround the farm with several small groups of Aurors, approach while casting anti-apparition spells to prevent anyone from escaping, and then attack.

“Where do I go?” Harry wanted to know.

Soundy looked at Mrs Steadfast who opened her mouth when Snape stepped up to her and started to whisper in her ear. Harry frowned.

“Harry come over here, please,” said Mrs Steadfast.

Harry obeyed with a suspicious side glance at Snape.

“Now, I want you to hear reason and stay at Headquarters during this operation, Harry,” said Mrs Steadfast. Harry’s expression immediately darkened.

“But why?” he lashed out.

“You’ve obviously had very little sleep, followed by a rough awakening. That in itself is reason enough to pass on this one. Add to it the unsettling experience of witnessing the Desobliviating of the Longbottoms,” she explained patiently.

Harry clenched his jaws and looked at her in disbelief.

“I caught that Death Eater and made him talk. It was I who proposed to interrogate the Longbottoms. I’m part of this. You can’t ask me to quit now,” he said with force.

“I’m only taking a few first-years along this operation for practice, and I want them to be perfectly fit and balanced,” retorted Mrs Steadfast. “And today you’re not one of them, Harry, I’m sorry.”

“Is that because he says I’m not fit and balanced?” Harry hissed, his face turning white with anger, pointing at Snape. “I want to fight! I want to help find that cave!” Snape took a step forward, clearing his voice.

“It’s my opinion, yes, that you should be prevented from fighting. It might be dangerous considering the state of your emotions,” he said.

“The state of my emotions – what do you know about them?” Harry huffed aggressively.

“Please, Harry,” said Ron who had come up to them. But neither Harry nor Snape paid him deed.

“I saw with my own eyes what happened to you at St Mungo’s when you witnessed the awakening of the Longbottoms. Now you only want to escape your own turmoil by launching into a fight. That kind of motivation is a clear risk.” Snape endeavoured to sound reasonable, but it had no effect on Harry.

“You have no idea of my motivation,” the young wizard shrieked. “I want to help the people in the cave! It’s finally time to do something, and you want to stop me from having a part in the action!?”

“You might make fatal mistakes because you’re not in balance. It might be dangerous for you and for others,” Snape insisted.

“This is so unfair! You’ve no idea. I’m in perfect control when battling. I’ve the best battling score of my group. I’ve beaten several of Mrs Steadfast’s Aurors.”

“Undeniably,” muttered Mrs Steadfast. “But I, too, can see that you’re not exactly at peace, Harry.”

“It’s only because he winds me up,” retorted Harry heatedly. “I’m fine!”

“It’s out of the question. I won’t allow it,” said Snape curtly. For a moment Harry saw red.

“It’s out of the question, you say? And who are you to decide?” he hissed, furious. “It’s not as if you’re my father or something, is it?”

Snape flinched, while Ron and Mrs Steadfast looked at Harry in startled surprise. Snape’s face immediately darkened as he turned on his heel.

“I’m out of this,” he snapped. “I’m not staying one moment longer.” Snape was making for the door.

“No! Wait!” Mrs Steadfast hurried after him grabbing him by the arm. “Please Severus, please stay, I need you. We need you to fight with us. Don’t let Harry throw you off your own balance. I agree with you, it’s Harry who’s the liability here, but it’s hard to deny him…”

Snape breathed hard through his nose, avoiding Mrs Steadfast’s eyes.

“Listen, Severus, I’ll put him under Soundy’s supervision while you’ll be with me. Soundy is instructed to act as back-up in case something happens to me. And of course nothing’ll happen. Moreover, Soundy will be charged with doing recognition for the cave. If Harry sticks with him, he’ll be kept out of the fight.” Snape pressed his lips together and took a deep breath. He seemed to have quenched his impulse of leaving without delay.

“You’re right. I’m coming with you, Audrey, of course I am. Sorry, Mr Potter managed to…” Snape made a vague gesture and coloured slightly.

”I understand you were provoked by his behaviour, Severus, but as you say, Harry’s probably not well. We must make allowances for all he’s gone through this winter…” said Mrs Steadfast. Snape shook his head.

“I’ll keep my distance. I clearly only bring out the worst in him,” he said curtly, but with much regret.

They both glanced over at the corner where Ron had taken Harry, and was talking to him persuasively. Harry seemed somewhat self-conscious over the words he had let escape and thereby seemed to have sobered up somewhat from his fit of anger. After speaking to Soundy, Mrs Steadfast stepped over to Harry and explained the conditions under which he was going to be allowed to participate in the operation. Harry did not look all too satisfied but knew better than to object, and stomped over to Soundy. At least he was going to be if not in the middle of the action, at least close to it. Mrs Steadfast turned to Ron and said in a low voice that he could come too, joining one of the flank groups.

“You appear to be a fortress of stability in comparison to your friend right now,” she muttered sarcastically. “And it’ll be good to have you at hand if Harry snaps again,” she added with a meaning look at Ron who nodded his understanding and assent.

***

Soundy and his group, including Harry, supervised the attack on the farm from a safe distance, hiding in the border of the small adjoining forest.

“They seem to be doing fine,” said Soundy after some suspense. “I’ve seen no one escape so far. It’ll take them some time to secure the place, however. In the meantime, let’s try to localise the cave if possible. We should be pretty close. The trees look different from eighteen years ago, naturally, and we have spring instead of autumn, but the field next to the forest is the same, and I recognise that large stone over there. There’s where they entered the forest. Let’s go!”

It was true that contrary to Frank Longbottom’s memories, it was an exceptionally fine and warm day, with chirping birds and several summer flowers already blooming in the field, but all this was lost on Harry who had stood rooted on one spot and stared at the Aurors circling the farm. Robbed of taking part in the fight, Harry launched into the search for the cave with all the more determination. They had been standing in full sunlight for a long time and Harry felt his shirt stick to his back so it was a blessing to step into the shadow and enter the forest.

At the same time, the atmosphere changed into something darker and more mysterious. Whereas the farm and its surroundings had given a very unremarkable impression, almost to the point of Harry wondering if it was not run by ordinary Muggles, the forest proved to be an island of untouched woods in the agricultural landscape. Only a yard or two into the forest, the trees already seemed tall and ancient, and it was clear that no farmer had done any foresting to this part for centuries. There was one narrow path made by men, however, which they followed.

The Aurors had fallen silent, and Soundy guided them towards the sound of running waters because they wanted to find the brook which was supposed to be near the cave. The path was ascending and steep at places and it became apparent that the forest did in fact cover a not so small mountain. It did not take long before they reached a bridge over the brook which danced over sharp stones between two steep cliffs.

It was wilder and higher than Harry had imagined from seeing Frank Longbottom’s memories and he had a quick surge of giddiness when traversing the bridge. There was an abundance of ferns, all over the cliffs. Soundy led them on. Ledges, cliffs – they all looked the same. Harry heard one Auror mutter something about finding the Secret Keeper. Harry frowned and stopped.

“Wait,” he said. “I think we’ve already passed it.” The others stopped.

“It’s quite possible,” said Soundy. “It all looks the same. But remember - we’re only recognising and making ourselves acquainted with the forest. You know the cave is protected and invisible to us.”

“We need to scan for magical traces,” said Harry, frowning. “Wait, let me return, I think I felt something earlier.” The conviction that there was something behind him grew stronger and irresistible.

Without listening to Soundy’s objections, Harry turned and hurried back, panting slightly. Here! Yes, there was something. They were quite close to the brook, just as they should be, considering Neville’s father’s testimony. Harry deviated from the path and took a few zig-sacking steps up the steep mountain. He reached a ledge and stared at a rounded stone wall covered in ivies and tufts of ferns. He held his hands out, approaching, backing off, going left, going right, feeling and muttering bits of incantations. Soundy had caught up and joined him, while the others stayed on the path below.

“It’s here,” said Harry. Soundy frowned.

“You can’t be certain…” he began. “You are certain,” he affirmed, widening his eyes. “How come?”

Harry liked this side of Soundy. The sturdy and impassive wizard allowed himself to display a curiosity which was unpretentious and which made him more open and less prone to confrontations than Snape for example.

“Well, detecting hidden magic is a bit like a diagnostic test,” said Harry. “And I’m good at diagnostics,” he added proudly. “At least that’s what they say at St Mungo’s. I think I can feel some traces of Parsel magic, which makes sense if the Pleasure Temple was created by Voldemort in his time. I’d be more sensible than most to that kind of magic.”

“You would, wouldn’t you?” said Soundy and added with vibrant impatience: “What a nuisance we’ll have to wait for the Secret keeper to open it up. It’s probably right under our noses, right here!”

Harry reminded himself that Soundy had been looking for this cave for more than a year. His own frustration was easily awakened and he felt a prickling sense of excitement and determination.

“I can try something,” he said eagerly. “I’ll try to bring the protective magic down by magic. Parsel magic.”

Soundy looked doubtingly at him, but Harry held his gaze defiantly, showing that he meant what he said. The temptation became too strong for Soundy who nodded his consent.

“Er… you’ll have to step back… For safety…” said Harry. Soundy frowned but joined his Aurors by jumping and sliding back the steep cliff. For being so sturdy he was surprisingly lithe. “Er… the other side of the brook would be best, please,” Harry called down to them.

The other Aurors started to mutter, but Soundy herded them over the bridge from where they could just perceive Harry up on the ledge, between strands of beard lichen hanging down the branches of some majestic fir trees, and his lower body bathing in a sea of ferns. They watched him lift both arms, wand clutched in his right hand, fingers on the left stretched and spread, and palm directed at the mountain.

Harry took a short moment to concentrate before he let it all loose. He was far from sure that he would succeed, but he would sure give his most to bring the Fidelius down! He knew that he should not hold back, because that was how this kind of magic worked: It needed crude force, and it was best fuelled with anger. He needed to do something similar to what he had done to the portrait of Mrs Black at Grimmauld Place. He’d have to improvise.

Harry closed his eyes and welcomed the opportunity to let all the frustration from the night, the morning and from what had happened at St Mungo’s earlier during the day mount in him. He egged his frustration on with desperate determination, defying that chill of fear in his stomach. The ground started to shake like an earthquake while Harry let go and launched all his frustration into the magic, muttering furiously with hissing sounds.

The Aurors on the other side of the bridge were squatting in order to watch, touching the trembling ground with their hands in surprise. Soundy’s lips were pressed tightly together. Would Mrs Steadfast sanction this in retrospect? He was bound to find out later. Big stones were rustling down the mountain and landed on the path where the Aurors had been standing before they crossed the bridge.

“Merlin’s beard!” someone muttered.

Harry had been keeping his arms and hands outstretched and still, but when there was still no sign of an opening, he increased his efforts into what seemed like a tantrum of Parsel magic, and at a climax of earth trembling, he made a quick tearing movement downwards with both arms. Instantly there was a large thunder - a sound as if the lightning had struck right beside them – and smoke which hid Harry from the Aurors’ view. The wizards and witches cowered instinctively and protected their heads. A few stones flew by, but no one was hit.

“By all battling Goblins…” Soundy exclaimed and rose. Everything had gone quiet. “Mr Potter? Harry?” he shouted. “Those two will kill me if he’s come to harm…” muttered Soundy to himself as he ran over the bridge, wand in hand. The smoke was drifting away and revealed the young wizard standing at the exact same spot from where he had performed his magic, seemingly unscathed. With a ripple of excitement Soundy realised that in front of Harry there was now a large, slit-formed opening into the mountain – the entrance to the cave. In a few large strides up the steep side, Soundy joined the young Auror trainee who blinked at him, visibly shocked by his own deed.

“It worked!” Harry whispered hoarsely.

*

Soundy and Harry stepped into what could be described as some kind of antechamber because it was obvious that the cave spread deeper into the mountain than this small hollow showed. A drapery that once had been luxurious, but which was now heavy with dirt concealed the real entry. The rest of the group had joined Harry and Soundy and the Aurors filled up the room, stooping slightly not to hit their heads. Before drawing the drapery to the side, Soundy turned to his colleagues.

“Freddy, Miss Swan, you stand guard outside,” he said.

The drapery was magically removed and, taking a deep breath, they proceeded into the proper cave. The first thing that hit Harry when he entered, was that the roof seemed to disappear altogether. There was a sense of chill and emptiness over his head that made him feel dizzy. Moreover he could not make out the farther end of the cave. The space seemed enormous, like a doom. Cautiously, Soundy proceeded a few steps, sending a light off in the air from his wand to illuminate the belly of the doom. A curious scene met their eyes, and they proceeded a little further to try to make out what they were actually looking at.

There was a big table with benches along its sides, which was dressed as if ready to accommodate a feast any time. Not far from the table there were three enormous king size beds with canopies, as if the decorator of the room had not felt bothered at all by combining dining and sleeping on the same space. It was a bit like a set stage on a scene. It looked ordinary and strange at the same time. Harry noticed that the beds were empty and felt a sting of disappointment and dejection. Where were the prisoners?

Harry felt increasingly cold, to the point of his fingers gripping his wand feeling numb. There was something… not right in the atmosphere, he had time to think, before Soundy gave away an exclamation. He had sent off another light in another direction which revealed a strange set of instruments. Several of the Aurors drew their breaths, but Harry stared at the benches, the chains and the cog-wheals without understanding what he was looking at.

“Instruments of torture,” one Auror whispered in a stifled tone to him.

Harry shivered and felt his stomach make a turn. But he was hearing faint, very faint sounds by now. He felt the hair on his arms rise and a shiver run down his back. What was it? Where did it come from? Soundy, whose shoulders were slumped and whose back was rounded, lifted his arm with what seemed to be an immense effort and sent out another light even further away into the cave, where Harry thought the back wall stood. The small light danced away and revealed a sort of corridor penetrating even deeper into the mountain. And there on the floor, the sight that they had all expected, but dreaded: people! Or rather, heaps of dirty pieces of cloth on the very floor, which were stirring slightly and emitting muffled sounds, and which had the forms of human beings.

This was the moment when they should all precipitate themselves forward and liberate the poor sods who obviously had been held prisoners and had been treated like animals, made to sleep on the floor even though there were empty beds at hand. But none of them took more than a few hesitant steps forward. The Aurors all looked drained, their eyes empty as if not seeing what was surrounding them, as if they were preoccupied by some sort of painful introspection of sorts. Harry stared at his colleagues - even Soundy seemed incapacitated, and sighed heavily.

Something strange was acting on them, Harry thought. He himself had started to hear a far off, distant sound ringing in his ears which did not come from the outside but which… sounded like screaming… exactly like… Harry drew a sudden breath. He recognised his symptoms! There must be - there must be! – Dementors around.

With an immense effort, Harry rose his head, and his arm, and fired a light upwards, toward the ceiling of the cave. At first Harry did not understand what he was looking at. Those could not be real Dementors, could they? They would have come down on them and attacked by now? What was going on? Soundy had lifted his head towards the ceiling as well.

“Merlin!” he muttered. “Well spotted, Mr Potter. Help me out, will you? Your Patronus!”

But Harry was beyond conjuring a Patronus. His head was turning, the screams grew louder, his fingers were about to release their grip on his wand. Several of the Aurors had sunk down on their knees and were pressing their heads between their hands.

Soundy could be relied on, however. Having been made aware of the problem by Harry’s discovery, the Auror managed to produce a bear Patronus which had an instant effect. Another Auror stood up and made her own Patronus patrol another section of the roof and soon the entire cave was secured against the effect of the Dementors. Harry’s head was clearing up. He threw an appalled glance at Soundy which told the older Auror how close it had been.

“The Dementors must be stuck to the ceiling,” explained Soundy. “A permanent sticking charm, probably,” he added. Harry gaped and shook his head.

“A tapestry of Dementors! Voldemort must’ve had his day when creating that!” he muttered sarcastically. Soundy looked at Harry with a weird expression on his face.

There was no time to lose - Harry turned away from Soundy and strode up to the nearest prisoner. They must start assessing the need of medical attention and get the sick and wounded to St Mungo’s. Someone managed to light a circle of torches in the doom of the cave, but the gallery where the prisoners were held lay still in dusk. The light from the Patronuses flying over their heads helped the situation out a bit, but it was not a pretty sight.

Some of the Aurors shed instinctively in front of the smelling heaps of blankets and bodies. Every inch of cloth was heavily incrusted with dirt and infestations, as was the hair of the prisoners. The toughest smell came from two dead bodies which had been left to rot among the living ones. Harry was stunned by the screaming lack of regard for human dignity, and realised that they must have come in the nick of time, because disease would spread from those dead bodies like fire if they were not removed – it might already be a fact. It also spoke of the state of the prisoners who were still alive: none of them had had the force to rise and drag the corpses of their dead comrades away.

Contrary to his colleagues, Harry did not seem apprehensive, but only eager and solicitous when he approached the bodies on the floor, and gently drew the blankets aside to examine them, one after the other. It did not mean that Harry was not appalled by what met his eyes. He did not need to examine more than one or two bodies before it dawned on him that they needed more healing competence in place. He would not be able to sort this out alone with his fellow Aurors who only mastered a few basic healing spells.

“Please send for healers, care-witches and care-wizards from St Mungo’s,” he asked. “Preferably a Grief Swallower, or at least a Swallowscope,” he launched after the Auror who prepared to send his Patronus away. “Most of these people are not able to sustain a transport without being Relieved first.”

Then Harry set to work. His aim was to stabilise the sick and wounded enough for the Aurors to lift them onto a stretcher and have them removed at first from the corridor to the doom where there was more space and where the light was better, and secondly, after a new assessment, out of the cave and to St Mungo’s. Harry worked doggedly, trying to prioritise his spells in the order he had been taught to do. There were about twenty victims, and nearly everyone needed a Relieving from him – they were all in pain. There were traces of torture on the bodies, with secondary infections.

On more than one occasion, Harry actually had to start with Renervating a person before undertaking the proper healing because they were so close to death. They were a mix of Muggles, witches, and one or two wizards as well, although initially it was hard for Harry to tell who was who, because the magical cores had burnt down to almost undetectable levels.

A pair of care-wizards and a healer with a Swallowscope arrived from St Mungo’s and sped up the work which was, however, threatening to become overwhelming. Only shortly after having arrived the healer sent another Patronus for reinforcements, since the Swallowscope did not work very well on the brittle minds of the prisoners, and Harry was forced to perform Relieving after Relieving. They got very little coherent words out of the prisoners, and Harry dreaded they had another outbreak of insanity caused by torture in front of their eyes.

At one moment when all the prisoners had received at least one round of treatment and were all transported to the doom of the cave, Soundy fetched Harry to lead him down the gallery to a small dungeon at the end of a siding tunnel where yet another body lay.

“It’s a witch,” whispered Soundy. “And she’s pregnant. I’m afraid she’s dying. Who did this to her?”

Harry drew a deep breath. The witch was very young, he realised when he leaned over her. She actually had a mattress to lie on and her blanket was a tiny bit less filthy than the others had been. He saw no signs of torture on her body when he carefully lifted the pieces of cloth that covered her skin. Yet she was extremely pale and almost unconscious. Harry drew his wand and started to examine her. She was difficult to diagnose because Harry got conflicting results – he supposed it might have to do with her bearing a child. He had not yet studied pregnancies nor children healing medicine, so this was beyond his competence. He started by giving her some basic supporting healing spells, while asking Soundy to fetch the healer who was working in the great hall of the cave.

Together they managed to stabilise the young witch somewhat, but the more experienced healer was as at a loss to diagnose the primary source of her disease.

“She doesn’t seem as starved as the others,” she said, frowning. “There are only minor visible bruises, no internal bleedings, no shortness of breath which cannot be accounted for by her being in pain, and her tension is quite normal for her age and condition.”

“Is she affected by some dark curse?” asked Harry. “Because I sensed some traces, some kind of magical vibrations… but I can’t tell what it is.”

“That’s more than I got out of my diagnostic spells. Something’s interfering with them,” the healer said when they were interrupted by Auror Swan.

“Come quick! A heart arrest in the hall. We’ve Renervated the body but he relapses all the time – I think we’re losing him,” she said. The healer rose precipitately.

“Coming. Just keep stabilising her,” she said to Harry. “Get her in a condition to be removed to St Mungo’s and we’ll let the specialists on Dark Arts have a look. Where by all Goblins are the reinforcements?” And she was out of the dungeon.

The young witch had awoken by their attentions. She seemed to understand that rescue had come. Harry asked her questions about what had been done to her and she answered eagerly, raspingly but with much emotion in her voice, and so incoherently that Harry had to ask his questions again and again to make sense of her answers. He picked up on her name being Meleonora. He felt so sorry for her when her big dark brown eyes clung to his in desperate hope. He tried to press her hand reassuringly while trying anew to detect what was the matter with her, because after a brief surge of improvement she seemed to deteriorate again.

“Will you… Will you please send for Professor Snape?” Harry asked in a stifled voice of Soundy who was still in the room. “I think… I think he needs to see her. Please?” Harry got more and more convinced as he spoke that Snape needed to come, and when he riveted his eyes on Soundy to enforce his demand, he felt a strong conviction that Snape was the only healer who could help. The professor knew everything there was to know about the Dark Arts.

Perhaps he should have sent for Snape in the first place when they discovered the Temple, Harry thought, because Snape could have helped out with the Relievings as well. As it was, a million strange sensations were coursing his own body from all the Relievings he had performed. How many, already? He must have Relieved them all, had he not? He pushed the thought away to concentrate on Meleonora again.

“I’ll see what I can do. I need to report to Mrs Steadfast anyway. How long have we been in here? I wonder if they’re still at the farm?” said Soundy, but before he had time to turn around, the young witch let out a long plaintive sound and went still.

“Shit, her heart stopped!” Harry jumped up and started to Renervate the still body. He was successful, but he only got a very shallow breathing and a quick weak pulse. He had never lost a patient by Renervation at St Mungo’s, he reminded himself, but she was so fragile! What if he lost this young witch? He was only a student after all. He fastened his frightened eyes on Soundy.

“Please! Get Snape!”

“I’m on my way.”