The Hidden Hero

The weeks and months passed. There was no sign of Bellatrix Lestrange but Harry was sure that the woman was just biding her time. Snape must have felt the same because Harry remained confined to the Hogwarts grounds.

The days fell into a pattern and Harry had little time to worry about the escaped Death Eater. Second semester midterm exams were approaching and he spent hours studying in the common room with his friends. Actually, Harry spent very little of the time studying on his own behalf. Most of his free time, he spent tutoring a number of his fellow students (particularly Neville).

It was a warm April day when Bellatrix finally made her move. As bold as ever, she walked straight into Hogsmeade and announced to everyone that she was there. She waited patiently until Ministry Aurors tried to surround her and then set an invisible barrier around herself. They were unable to reach her and she cackled madly inside her self-imposed prison.

Holding up a vial of clear potion, she waved the flask and taunted, “Get Harry Potter here. I will tell him, and only him, where I have hidden Nathaniel Thorpe.”

The Aurors, and those brave onlookers who had crept close enough to hear her, exchanged puzzled looks. Who in the world was Nathaniel Thorpe?

“Get him!” Bellatrix demanded loudly. “I am never returning to Azkaban. If I swallow this poison before he gets here,” she waved her flask again, “I will take my secret to the grave.”

The Aurors whispered among themselves and one was sent to fetch Dumbledore. The headmaster came at once to Hogsmeade where he cautiously approached the trapped woman. “Stop!” she called. She held the flask up to her lips. “Come any closer and I’ll swallow this!”

Dumbledore halted and watched her with narrowed eyes. She smiled happily and gave a peel of laughter. “Have you discovered yet who Nathaniel Thorpe is?”

“He is a second year student at the school. No one has seen him since early this morning. What possible interest in Mr. Thorpe could you have?”

Bellatrix laughed dismissively. “I have no interest in the boy! I simply waited until a student passed close to the Forbidden Forest. He wandered near me and I took him. He is now in a place known only to me. If you wish ever to see him alive again, I want to speak with Harry Potter!”

Dumbledore turned considering eyes upon Bellatrix. The woman stood in her invisible bubble, with a wild look in her eyes. She was dirty and unkempt; she looked as if she had not bathed in months.

“I will let you speak with Harry Potter,” Dumbledore said finally. His voice was low. “But, if your plan is to swap Harry for Nathaniel, I will tell you now that I will not permit it.”

Bellatrix just laughed more wildly.

Dumbledore returned a short time later with Harry and Snape. Snape had reluctantly agreed to lift his restriction against Harry’s leaving the Hogwarts grounds.

Harry took a step nearer to Bellatrix, and gripped his wand tightly in his hands. The woman had stopped laughing when Harry had appeared. Her eyes burned with an unholy light when she saw him and hate filled her face. “There he stands! The boy who killed the greatest wizard of them all!” she spat.

Harry ignored her and asked, “Where is Nathaniel Thorpe? You said you would tell me.”

She curled her lip at him. “Do you know the boy, Potter?”

Harry shook his head. “Too bad. It would be more delicious if you did. But, no matter, Harry Potter will save him anyway, won’t he?” Her voice was laced with scorn. “Little hero Potter.”

Harry’s fingers tightened on the wand. “Where is he?”

“He is in a place where my master once brought two other children. I thought it would be a fitting tribute to the Dark Lord for you to meet your end there.”

“Do you plan on killing me, then?”

“Of course, Potter.”

Snape took an involuntary step forward and attracted Bellatrix’s attention. “Traitor!” she yelled. “I would kill you with my bare hands if I could.” Spittle collected at the corners of her mouth. She forced herself to calm down. “But, I must keep my eye on the prize,” she spoke to herself. She shifted her eyes back to Harry.

“You see this flask, Potter?” she asked. Harry nodded. “It contains a poison, brewed especially for today. The antidote is hidden in a basin, in the middle of an island.” Harry started. His movement did not go unnoticed and Bellatrix’s smile widened. “You recognize the place I mean, don’t you? Good. Good. I have given the boy the poison and he will die in less than an hour unless he is given the antidote. Only you can save him, Potter. Only you know where the boy is.”

“What’s to stop me from taking Professor Dumbledore with me to this place you mention?” asked Harry.

“I have placed additional enchantments upon the entrance. Only one wizard may enter. If more than one attempts to enter, the creatures protecting the basin will rise up and take the boy.”

“Nathaniel is on the island?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t want me to save him. You have arranged it so that I will not be able to succeed,” said Harry suspiciously.

Bellatrix’s eyes glowed. “The Dark Lord told me of this place once he had removed his precious treasure. He trusted me and, once he no longer needed it, he was pleased to share with me how clever his protections were. I have added nothing. It is fitting for you to die at the hands of the Dark Lord himself. You will try to take the antidote. I know you. You may even be successful in giving it to the boy. But, you will not escape from the island. You will perish there.”

“Why should I trust anything you say?” asked Harry.

“Read my mind,” she invited. “I have no secrets. I have laid the trap. Now, we will see how eagerly you take the cheese.”

Harry took her up on her offer. He pointed his wand at the Death Eater. “Legilimens!”

Yes. The boy was in the cave and the antidote was at the bottom of the basin. Harry tried to learn more information but Bellatrix abruptly cut off access to her thoughts, employing her own occlumency skill. “That’s enough,” she said. “You know I’m telling the truth.”

Harry pressed further. “What if I save him and return here safely? I may surprise you. What then?”

Bellatrix gave the flask she was holding another wiggle. “I will swallow this poison myself. I will have failed my master and I will not deserve to live.”

Dumbledore stepped toward Harry and began, “Harry, if you know where Bellatrix has hidden Nathaniel, tell me now.”

Harry stared at Dumbledore and, thinking quickly, realized that neither Snape nor the headmaster would ever give him permission to seek out Nathaniel on his own. Before Snape could give him a command that he would not be able to disobey, Harry apparated away.

“No!” yelled Snape. “Potter!” But, it was too late. The boy had already left.

Bellatrix’s mad cackling filled the air.

*

Harry arrived at the cave he had seen before in Voldemort’s mind. He remembered vividly how angry Voldemort had been the last time he had visited here. The Dark Lord had just discovered that Regulus Black had stolen one of his horcruxes. Following in the steps of the Dark Lord, Harry floated above the pool of water that filled the crevice of the cave. Landing on the path on the other side, he muttered in parseltongue and an archway appeared. He walked swiftly along a path until he came to the submerged boat that would take him to the island glowing eerily in the middle of the dark lake. Harry averted his eyes from the water of the lake, knowing that Inferi lurked beneath.

He raised the boat, which slowly lifted from the watery depths. Shaking slightly, he climbed inside and let the boat steer itself to the island in the middle of the still lake. As he approached, he saw a figure standing in the middle of the island. It was Nathaniel Thorpe. The boy was completely white and trembling. When the boat landed, and Harry climbed out, the boy pawed at Harry’s robes. “I knew you’d come,” he said, his voice shaking. A few tears leaked down the boy’s cheeks and he brushed them away.

Harry recognized the boy now. He had never spoken to him before, but he had seen him in the hallways of Hogwarts. He was wearing a Hufflepuff scarf and Harry vaguely remembered seeing the boy on occasion sitting at the Hufflepuff house table next to Ernie Macmillan.

“It’s okay,” said Harry, soothing the boy. “I’ll get you out of here.”

The boy nodded and tried to calm down. His breath hitched in his throat and he was clearly petrified.

“I think…there are dead bodies in the water,” he whispered.

“Yes,” said Harry. “I know. Don’t look at them.”

Harry approached the bowl glowing in the middle of the little island. Yes, there it was. Under the liquid, he could see a tiny flask hidden at the bottom of the basin.

Harry took a deep breath and turned to face the boy. “Nathaniel,” he began. The boy stared intently at Harry, drinking in his every word. It was a bit disconcerting to have someone stare at him as if he held the answer to the mysteries of the universe. “Er…I need you to listen to me and to do exactly as I say.” The boy nodded vigorously. “No matter how hard it is to do it!”

The boy nodded again, this time more slowly, understanding the seriousness of Harry’s request. “Okay. Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to drink the potion in this basin,” said Harry. “It will refill and you must force me to drink the potion until the basin is empty. You must force me to drink it, even if I resist. Even if I beg you to stop giving it to me. Can you do that?”

Nathaniel hesitated. Harry stared at him steadily. Finally, the boy nodded his head and said, “Yes.”

“Good. When the basin is empty, take the flask inside and drink it. It contains the antidote to the poison Bellatrix gave you.”

The boy cast his eyes towards the basin and back to Harry. He nodded again. Harry continued. “Once you drink the antidote, we must leave this island. I am not sure whether I’ll be able to help much. We can both get into the boat and it will take us back to the other side of the lake. Follow the path to the exit and, once outside, I hope I can apparate us both back to Hogsmeade. If I cannot, take my wand and try to send up a distress signal.”

Nathaniel nodded but looked young and scared. Harry remembered that he had entered the Chamber of Secrets and battled the basilisk at Nathaniel’s age. He couldn’t believe that he had ever been so young. “You’ll be fine,” he encouraged the boy. “Before you know it, we’ll be back at Hogwarts and this will be a fine adventure to share with your friends.”

The boy tried to smile but his lips wobbled and a few more tears leaked out. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, scrubbing them away.

“There’s no shame in being frightened,” said Harry. “I have been scared out of my mind many, many times.” At the boy’s look of surprise, Harry smiled wryly. “Yeah. Just don’t tell anyone. It’ll ruin my image.”
The boy snorted and looked marginally calmer. “Ready?” asked Harry.

Nathaniel nodded and Harry conjured up a goblet. He dipped it in the solution filling the basin, and carried it to his lips. Right before he drank, he reminded the boy one last time, “Remember. I must drink all of the potion in the basin or we will both die. You must make sure I drink it all.” Nathaniel nodded, his brown eyes dark in his pale face.

Harry gulped the potion down as quickly as possible. Not waiting to give it time to affect him, he dipped the goblet again and swallowed again. Three times Harry was able to dip the goblet into the basin, filling it to the brim. The fourth time, however, his hand weakened and the goblet fell from his fingers.

Nathaniel caught the goblet before it hit the ground and dipped it into the basin. Harry turned his head to avoid drinking again, but Nathaniel said, “Please, Harry. Drink it. You know that you must.”

“I don’t want to!” he muttered.

“You must,” said the boy firmly. Obediently, Harry swallowed and Nathaniel filled the goblet again.

Terrible images filled Harry’s mind. “Please don’t hurt her! Please leave her alone!” he called.

“There’s no one here, Harry,” said Nathaniel in a quiet voice. The boy lifted the goblet to Harry’s lips again. “Drink.”

Harry drank. “Oh, please leave her alone,” he begged. He began to rock back and forth and tears poured from his eyes.

Nathaniel’s hands shook as he refilled the goblet and brought it to Harry’s lips again. “She’ll be fine if you just drink this, Harry,” he said.

Harry drank quickly. “No! She’s hurt! We’re hurting her!”

Nathaniel shivered at the pain in Harry’s voice. Reluctantly, he refilled the goblet and forced the older boy to drink again. Harry had fallen to his knees.

Harry screamed. “We killed her! I wish I were dead!”

Nathaniel put the goblet to Harry’s lips again. He was crying so hard, he had a hard time seeing and almost missed Harry’s mouth.

“I am unclean!” yelled Harry. “I am not a hero! I didn’t save her! I killed her!”

Nathaniel forced himself to ignore Harry’s screams and poured the liquid into Harry’s mouth again and again. Finally, when Harry’s screams were becoming weaker and Nathaniel was sure that the other boy couldn’t swallow another mouthful, the goblet scraped the bottom of the basin.

He swiftly scooped out the flask inside and opened the stopper. Praying that this was really an antidote, Nathaniel swallowed the potion. A chill ran through his blood. He shuddered but the chill went away and he felt fine. He quickly filled the flask with a bit of the potion in the basin and put it inside his robes.

“Water. I’m thirsty,” moaned Harry.

Nathaniel turned back to Harry and knelt besides the teen, who was laying on the ground. “Harry! Come on! Let’s get in the boat and get out of here!”

Harry staggered to his feet. “Thirsty,” he moaned.

Nathaniel grabbed the goblet and dipped it in the lake. Taking the water back to Harry, he held to the older boy’s lips so that Harry could drink. Feeling a tug on his robe, Nathaniel looked around and screamed. An Inferi had arisen from the waters and was dragging at his robes trying to pull him into the water.

Nathaniel pulled his robe out of the Inferi’s grip and shouted again. He grabbed Harry’s wand, which was beside the fallen teen, and shouted “Wingardium Leviosa!” It was the only spell he could think of. Immediately, the Inferi was lifted into the air, floating feet above them. Nathaniel’s eyes were pulled away from the Inferi overhead by the scores of Inferi emerging from the water.

Panting in terror, he swung wildly around when he felt another tug on his robe. He almost passed out with relief when he realized it was Harry, who was returning to consciousness. “Give me the wand,” Harry gasped.

Quickly, Nathaniel passed the wand back to Harry. Using the younger boy as a crutch to hold himself erect, Harry pointed the wand at the advancing Inferi. With a slash of his wand, Harry caused fire to erupt all around them. Nathaniel and Harry were in a protected circle; the fire pushed outwards, driving the Inferi back into the water.

Pulling the boy with him, Harry stumbled to the boat. They scrambled inside and made their journey back across the water. Nathaniel’s gasps of fear and Harry’s involuntary moans from the pain still coursing through his body were the only sounds. Once the boat hit the bank on the other side Nathaniel jumped out and reached back for Harry, to help balance the older boy as he disembarked.

Staggering, Harry leaned heavily on Nathaniel as they made their way to the exit. At Harry’s hissed instructions to open, the archway reopened. Harry didn’t have the energy to float above the water. The boys plunged into the cold water, which came up to their chests, and waded across. At the edge of the cave, they climbed onto some jagged rocks.

“Hold on,” directed Harry in a weak voice. He was trembling from the cold.

Taking hold of Harry’s arm, Nathaniel gave a nod that he was ready. Harry gave a twist of his body and they apparated away from the cave.

*

When they appeared in Hogsmeade, they were immediately surrounded by concerned adults. Nathaniel was pulled away from Harry and put in Madam Pomfrey’s care. Dumbledore bent over Harry, who had fallen to his knees again. “Harry. What happened? How can we help you?” the headmaster asked, his voice urgent.

“I had to drink some sort of potion,” gasped Harry. “It made me relive a horrible memory, but I’m okay,” he said.

“You are not okay,” snapped Snape. The older man was kneeling at Harry’s side. “Who knows what harm that potion caused. Describe it to me exactly!”

“Sir,” interrupted Nathaniel. He had pushed away from Madame Pomfrey. He held out a flask, which he had hidden in his robes. “Here’s a sample of the potion. I put it in the flask that held the antidote to the poison Lestrange gave me. I wasn’t sure if it would be important to know what the potion was.”

“That was good thinking, Mr. Thorpe,” praised Dumbledore.

Snape took the flask and, unstoppering it, sniffed at its contents. “I will take this back to the castle immediately. I must know what this contains.”

“I will take care of Harry,” promised Dumbledore.

Looking reluctant to leave the weak boy, Snape nodded in agreement and set off quickly for the castle.

Nathaniel knelt at Harry’s side. “Thank you, Harry,” he whispered. “You saved my life.”

Harry smiled weakly. “You did well, Nathaniel. You were brave. You should be in Gryffindor.”

The boy laughed shakily. “I don’t think my nerves could handle it!”

Harry struggled to rise and Dumbledore and Nathaniel helped support him. “Let’s get you back to the castle, Harry,” said Dumbledore. “You can rest in the hospital wing while Severus is identifying the potion ingredients.”

Harry nodded but, before he could leave, his eyes fell on Bellatrix. The Death Eater was still in her protective bubble, watching him with eyes full of hate.

He stumbled toward her. “You see, Bellatrix,” Harry gasped. “You have lost. Again! We were able to escape Voldemort’s trap.”

Her eyes flared at his mention of Voldemort’s name. “You are not worthy to speak his name!” she hissed.

She quickly swallowed a mouthful of the poison in the flask she held. Harry gasped. She cackled again, enjoying his shock. “I will not return to Azkaban. I have tried to avenge my lord. I have failed and deserve to die.” Her voice dropped lower and she approached the edge of her protective barrier.

“You deserve to die too, you know.” Her voice was soft and almost crooning. Harry’s eyes fixed on her and he was unable to look away. He felt as if he were drowning in the dark pools of her eyes. She nodded slowly. “You are unloved, unwanted and unclean.” The words hit Harry with tremendous force. He staggered a step backwards. “You know I’m telling the truth.” Her voice was as sweet as a lover’s. In the background, Harry thought he heard other voices telling him not to listen, but he could only hear Bellatrix. “No one will ever love you. You will always be alone. You are unclean. They all think you are a hero. But, we know better, don’t we?”

The protective barrier separating Bellatrix from Harry disappeared. She held out the flask in her hand, offering it to Harry. In a trance, he reached out and took it. “Drink,” she urged.

Bellatrix’s hypnotic spell muted even the strength of the indenture’s compulsion not to harm the body that was pledged in service to another. Harry lifted the flask to his lips. Boom! It exploded in his hands. Glass flew in all directions and Harry was jolted out of his daze.

Dumbledore had shattered the flask. Looking more furious than Harry ever remembered seeing him, the headmaster waved his wand again and strong ropes flew through the air encircling Bellatrix. “Silencio!” he yelled, and Bellatrix was finally silent.

But, she had done her damage, dropping poisoned barbs into Harry’s mind, weakened by the potion he had taken. Harry dropped to his knees. Dumbledore knelt beside him again and, speaking in a low but urgent voice, said, “Don’t believe her, Harry! Everything she said is a lie!”

Harry looked at the headmaster with dull eyes. “It’s not a lie. It’s the truth!”

“It’s not true! You are wanted. You are loved. You are not unclean. Your soul shines like the brightest star.”

Harry shook his head, rejecting what Dumbledore was saying. “You don’t know. You don’t understand. She’s right. I am not a hero. You don’t know all the people I couldn’t save. All the people we hurt because I didn’t stop Voldemort soon enough.”

“That’s not your fault, Harry! You didn’t hurt anyone. Voldemort is to blame for his own actions. If you hadn’t stopped him when you did, he would have killed far more.”

“It was me!” insisted Harry. “I was inside his head. I did it too!”

“No! You didn’t!”

Remembering the vivid memory that the potion in the cave had just made him relive, Harry’s voice dropped and he spoke as if to himself. “I remember one woman. She begged us to leave her alone. But we hurt her. We killed her.”

“No!” said Dumbledore sharply. “You did not hurt her! You did not kill her!”

“Professor,” interrupted Nathaniel, who had been listening in horror to the exchange. “This is what Harry said while drinking the potion. This is the memory that he had in the cave.”

Dumbledore nodded in understanding. “Harry! That potion must have made you susceptible to hypnotic suggestion. Bellatrix knew this, as she must have known that the potion you drank in the cave brought back a terrible memory. She’s playing with your darkest fears and insecurities. Don’t let her win, Harry.”

“We raped her.” The blunt words fell from Harry’s lips.

Dumbledore drew back in shock. “What?”

“We raped the muggle woman,” repeated Harry. “I couldn’t save her. We hurt her. Then, we killed her. I am unclean.”

Finally, Dumbledore realized just what damage Voldemort had done to the boy. “Oh, Harry,” he said, sadly. He drew the teen into his arms and hugged him. Harry looked shocked and searched the headmaster’s eyes for the disgust he was sure he would find.

“You are not unclean,” Dumbledore assured the boy, his voice shaking. A tear spilled down the old man’s cheek. “You are as much a victim as that poor woman who Voldemort hurt and killed. If you could have, I know that you would have saved her. You must accept that you cannot save everyone and you must forgive yourself when you fail. I think that this will be the hardest lesson of all for you.”

Harry started to cry silently. “I see her face in my dreams. I hear her screams,” he admitted. “I see other faces too, but hers is the worst.”

“Will you let us help you? Will you let us soften that memory for you? It’s the memory behind the locked door in your mind, isn’t it?”

“Oh, you know about the locked door?” asked Harry sheepishly.

Dumbledore nodded. Harry thought for a moment and then nodded. “Yes,” he said finally. “I will open the door. I don’t want Voldemort to win. I want to believe you. His memories…my memories… are like a poison running through me. I don’t want to feel unclean anymore.”

Dumbledore helped Harry to rise again. Deliberately, he shielded Harry so that the teen could not see Bellatrix.

The poison the Death Eater had swallowed was taking effect and her struggles against the bonds holding her were becoming weaker. As Harry was led away, back to the castle, Nathaniel and Madame Pomfrey bringing up the rear, Bellatrix stopped twitching at last.

Approaching her cautiously, the Aurors poked at her with their wands. They breathed a sigh of relief when she did not respond. The wicked witch was dead.