Moments

51. Flesh of the Servant, willingly given (pt.2)

A/N I realise I've taken a bit of artistic licence with Beška Island – in case anyone happens to have been there.

Also, WARNING: things get a bit gruesome and sacrilegious...

(999 words)

They landed in the forest edging Lake Skadar. The morning was foggy, heavy with humidity as the sun failed to break through the greyness. It sent a haunting darkness into the deep-green forest, casting vague shadows which threatened their path. Ahead, across a narrow causeway, a stone monastery loomed through the greyness which merged into the silvery water.

Draco shuddered.

Harry! He reached out, even though he knew it was useless. He'd never been able to start the connection. Damn it! HARRY! He pushed in frustration.

Booth laid a hand on his shoulder, 'anything?'

'No.'

Angelina said, 'cover me. I'll check for Wards...' She crept through the trees.

They waited in a tight circle; wands drawn, until she returned.

'There's nothing until we get inside, but I picked up a hint of a Repelling Ward,' she reported. 'The gates are open and there are queues of muggles going across the causeway. There's a weird lot in brown gowns.'

'Monks,' said Booth.

The others looked confused.

'Muggle god enthusiasts, we should be safe unless they're protecting something extraordinarily religious.'

Draco raised an eyebrow at Booth.

'What? Muggle theology is fascinating.'

'And the point is?' Draco sneered.

'If they're hiding the Holy Grail, it'll be heavily guarded. If they aren't, anyone can come and go. Monasteries tend to be welcoming,' said Booth. 'Either way, expect the worst.'

'I always do. Can we go and get Harry before the very worst happens?'

'Disillusionment, Silencing Charms, and full Vantablack op.'

Draco touched his ear, 'Peanut, can you hear me?'

'Loud and clear.'

'Are our tracking signals picking up?'

'Perfectly. I've got a blueprint in front of me so I'll be able to direct.'

'Where's Harry?'

'Once in, you need to get to the furthest of two churches.'

'I'm guessing that it's the more complex to reach.'

'Yes. There's only one entrance, off an internal Cloister. You may have to negotiate your way in. Dray?'

'Yes?'

'H's signal's very faint...'

Draco's throat felt restricted and tight with the fear of what that potentially meant.

They skulked forward, dipping between the people who were crossing the causeway.

'Peanut,' Draco whispered. 'Get Robards to investigate Voldemort's burial site. I want to know if it's been opened. I'm assuming it has...'

'Shacklebolt's already on it. I'll let you know.'

At the main entrance there was a bottleneck despite the large archway which allowed everyone through.

'We need a diversion,' hissed Draco.

'On it...' said Sakura.

Draco watched an old woman in the line stumble and faint. It was enough to draw the attention from the monks on the doorway and distract the crowd and they slipped into a vast courtyard.

The monastery was hewn grey gritstone, the floor softened by hundreds of years of people crossing the flagstones. Above them towered a tall church tower. It felt suffocating and claustrophobic and Draco could feel dark magic.

'Be careful,' he hissed to the others. They maintained their circular formation.

'Dray?'

'Peanut.'

'At the rear of the courtyard there's a door into a refectory. From there, on the left, is the entrance to the cloister.

They edged around the outskirts, staying in the shadows, and waited as a group of monks gathered nearby. Draco swished his wand so that a basketful of apples was wrenched from a monk's hands, scattering its contents across the ground, and they eased past as the monks scrambled to retrieve their precious harvest.

Harry! Draco tried again fruitlessly as they silently stole around the fringes of the refectory. The Cloister itself was empty, as was the church they entered but Draco could feel the strong Repelling Wards emitting from the westside of the Apse.

'Can you feel it?' he whispered into the darkness. Wall sconces flickered, casting deep wavering shadows that looked like fingers reaching out to snatch at them. Draco shuddered. 'It doesn't feel very holy...'

They crept towards the crypt door, pushing carefully against the boundaries of the Wards. 'Can you take it down, Sakura?' he whispered.

She nodded and worked in silence.

Draco sighed in relief as he felt the Wards fall.

'Dray? H's tracking beacon has become a bit clearer.'

He smiled and signalled that he was going down the confining stairs into the darkness.

Draco... Harry's voice called weakly.

I'm here... he had to stop himself from hurtling full pelt into the crypt.

Trap! Harry whispered.

Draco had reached the bottom of the stairs, wand drawn, Sakura by his side and they peered into the darkness. A thick acrid smoke hung in the chill air.

He had to swallow the gasp that threatened to erupt from his throat.

Like the church above, flaming sconces lit the walls and flickers of orange and darkness reached towards Draco. He could taste the dark magic as his eyes were drawn towards a huge cauldron that bubbled and simmered over a fire on the earthy floor.

Oh Harry!

He'd seen this scene before; he knew its image well. The difference was, here, beyond the cauldron, beyond the squat man who paced near the flames, Harry was strapped, naked bar a dirty loin cloth, to a wooden crucifix that hung over a base stone altar. His head was hanging, his tousled dark hair falling about his face, his chin against his bare chest, his glasses missing, his hands limp. Every part of him was covered in cuts and, apart from one on his face and one on his arm, they were not deep; just enough to weaken, to torture.

Harry! Draco forced his words into Harry's mind. It had to work; Harry wasn't allowed to give up. He couldn't leave Draco. Not now, not after...

There was a larger gash in Harry's side, right through his tattoo of the lilies which stretched across his ribs. And blood trickled down his side and leg into a bowl beneath Harry's feet.

Sakura gently squeezed his arm as the figure by the cauldron raised his knife with a silver hand and said firmly, 'flesh of the servant, willingly given...'

*****