Harry Potter Veela's Embrace

His face got closer and closer as he tried to make out the tiny witches and wizards occupying the seats until his nose touched the liquid. He felt a great lurch and heard Gabrielle yell "HARRY!" as he felt himself falling into the basin as he had seen Hermione and Fleur do all of those months ago.

Harry found himself sitting on a bench in the room that he had just saw in the basin. "I'm in a memory then," He thought. "But whose and when?"

As he looked around he saw at least two hundred witches and wizards in the various seats and as he turned to the seat next to him he let out a small cry. Sitting next to him was Albus Dumbledore. "Sir...I'm sorry I didn't…" but he stopped. Professor Dumbledore hadn't turned toward him but kept his attention toward what was happening in the room. It was then he realized he was in one of Dumbledore's memories.

Harry turned his attention to what was happening. It must be important if Dumbledore had been busy reviewing it. He started studying the witches and wizards around him. It wasn't long before a door in the corner of the room opened and a man entered, flanked by two dementors.

Harry felt cold as the tall hooded creatures glided slowly toward the chair in the center of the room, each holding a wrist of the man between them. The man looked like he would faint at any moment and Harry couldn't blame him having felt the dementors up close himself. The man was placed in the chair and the dementors glided back out of the door they came through. When Harry looked back at the man they had escorted he recognized him. It was Karkaroff. As Harry watched, the chains glowed gold and snaked their way up Karkaroff's arms binding him to the chair.

Harry felt a movement to his side and looked over and found Gabrielle sitting beside him. "What's going on 'Arry?"

"I don't know. Why are you here?"

"When you fell in ze pensieve and didn't come back out after a minute, I came in looking for you."

"Thank you," Harry said and smiled as he took her hand, it felt solid in the memory and they both watched what happened next.

"Igor Karkaroff," said a curt voice to their left. Harry looked around and saw Mr. Crouch standing up in the middle of the bench beside him. Crouch's hair was dark, his face was much less lined, he looked fit and alert. "You have been brought from Azkaban to present evidence to the Ministry of Magic. You have given us to understand that you have important information for us."

Harry pointed his finger at Crouch, "That's Mr. Crouch," He said to Gabrielle "I don't think you ever saw him."

"Not in person, but ze paper 'ad ze judges pictures, though I doubt I would 'ave recognized 'im."

Karkaroff straightened himself as best he could being tightly bound to the chair. "I have sir," he said, and although his voice was very scared, Harry could still hear the familiar unctuous note in it. "I wish to be of use to the Ministry. I wish to help. I - I know that the Ministry is trying to - to round up the last of the Dark Lords supporters. I am eager to assist in any way I can..."

All around them Harry and Gabrielle heard the witches and wizard's murmuring. From the other side of Dumbledore Harry clearly heard a growling voice he recognized. "Filth."

Harry leaned forward so that he could see past Dumbledore. Mad-Eye Moody was sitting there - except that there was a very noticeable difference in his appearance. He did not have his magical eye, but two normal ones. Both were looking down upon Karkaroff, and both were narrowed in intense dislike.

"Crouch is going to let him out," Moody breathed quietly to Dumbledore. "He's done a deal with him. Took me six months to track him down, and Crouch is going to let him go if he's got enough new names. Let's hear his information, I say, and throw him straight back to the dementors."

Dumbledore made a small noise of dissent through his long, crooked nose.

"Ah, I was forgetting . . . you don't like the dementors, do you, Albus?" said Moody with a sardonic smile.

"No," said Dumbledore calmly, "I'm afraid I don't. I have long felt the Ministry is wrong to ally itself with such creatures."

"But for filth like this . . ." Moody said softly.

Harry's attention left Moody as Crouch had continued his questioning of Karkaroff. As he named various names only to find they had already been apprehended or captured Karkaroff appeared desperate.

"There was Travers - he helped murder the McKinnons! Mulciber - he specialized in the Imperius Curse, forced countless people to do horrific things! Rookwood, who was a spy, and passed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named useful information from inside the Ministry itself!"

Harry could tell that, this time, Karkaroff had struck gold. The watching crowd was all murmuring together.

"Rookwood?" said Mr. Crouch, nodding to a witch sitting in front of him, who began scribbling upon her piece of parchment. "Augustus Rookwood of the Department of Mysteries?"

"The very same," said Karkaroff eagerly. "I believe he used a network of well-placed wizards, both inside the Ministry and out, to collect information -"

"But Travers and Mulciber we have," said Mr. Crouch. "Very well, Karkaroff, if that is all, you will be returned to Azkaban while we decide -"

"Not yet!" cried Karkaroff, looking quite desperate. "Wait, I have more!"

Harry could see him sweating in the torchlight, his white skin contrasting strongly with the black of his hair and beard.

"Snape!" he shouted. "Severus Snape!"

Harry felt his blood go cold at that name and Gabrielle felt her bond mate tense.

"Snape has been cleared by this council," said Crouch disdainfully. "He has been vouched for by Albus Dumbledore."

"No!" shouted Karkaroff, straining at the chains that bound him to the chair. "I assure you! Severus Snape is a Death Eater!"

....

Join my P*atreon to enjoy 60+ advanced chapters.

Link: p*atreon.com/ScarletRosee (Remove the *) 

Free members can get 2+ advanced chapters FOR FREE.