Written for Challenge Friday

Week #1 (tentatively named) 'Trapped Enemies'

By Jody Mena

"Two characters who are enemies have been forced by some means (superglue, a magic spell, hand cuffs, etc), to hold hands or otherwise be joined at the wrist. They have to cooperate and work together in order to be separated; they must also hide the fact that they are joined together, and cannot expose it to their respective allies. They may not kill each other or chop off one of their hands to accomplish this.

The story may be any genre and any fandom.

The story should include the following lines:

(1)"Put it in your mouth, but don't swallow."(2) "That had better not be what I think it is."(3) "If you do that, I will not be responsible for my actions."(4) "Spinach is an important part of a balanced diet."(5) "Run!"

The story should also include the following objects in some form: (1) A hammer(2) A trap door(3) A mask(4)An apple

Harry hurried out Madam Puddifoot's, following his date.

"Cho!" he called out, but the Ravenclaw seeker was nowhere to be seen. Not surprising, considering the now heavy rain falling steadily. Even though it was obviously a lost cause, Harry looked around for a trace of Cho. He had to explain that she had misunderstood, that he wasn't meeting Hermione for a date. Admittedly, he didn't know why Hermione wanted to meet him, but she was just a friend who happened to be a girl.

He sighed. Standing in the rain wasn't helping, and if Cho had any sense at all, she had long disappeared into some shop. Finding her in a shop packed with their schoolmates and discussing the issue with her there was less than appealing. Harry had just made up his mind to go to the Three Broomsticks early when someone grabbed his hand and everything went black. He felt as if his body was being squeezed through a very small tunnel. Breathing was almost impossible. Just as he thought he was about to be crushed to death, the sensation stopped. He found himself sprawled on a damp stone floor in a dimly lit, cold room. A mouldy smell assaulted his nostrils.

"Well, well, well…" a female voice sneered, "little baby Potter has found himself a girlfriend."

Still gathering his wits, Harry stared, dumbfounded, at the scraggly witch in front of him. Azkaban had not done her well. She looked wasted, her pale skin stretching tautly over the sharp bones in her face, deep, dark circles beneath her haunted eyes. Her hair was limp and dull, her body emaciated. But the hand pointing a wand at Harry was steady, her step as she circled the Gryffindor student was sure. He knew her, had seen her on the posters in Hogsmeade that very day.

"You…you're Bellatrix Lestrange," he croaked.

"Wow, such a smart boy! Were we in school, that would be ten points to Gryffindor…provided I would even consider awarding points to that pathetic house."

She grinned evilly as she continued her circles.

Harry's mind progressed what had been spoken so far.

"What do you mean, girlfriend? If you have done anything to Cho, I'll…I'll…"

"You will what? Poke me with your wand?" Bellatrix laughed.

Harry jumped up and pulled his wand from his sleeve, pointing it at the witch in front of him.

"Oooooooh, ickle Potty wants to play!" she giggled. Turning serious, she drew a deep breath. "Cru…"

"Impedimenta!" Harry yelled, his wand giving off a weird orange light that missed Bellatrix by barely an inch, causing her to trip against Harry. Before either of them could react, the orange light ricocheted off the wall and hit both of them, knocking them onto the floor.

"Get off me!" the heap of witch underneath Harry screeched, obviously enraged. Harry obediently rolled to the side, not at all eager to remain in close contact with the angry female.

"Good boy, Potter. Now, if you'd just let go of my hand…"

"Me, let go? I'm not holding on."

Bellatrix raised their joined hands and shook them, to no effect. They seemed stuck.

"What in the name of Merlin did you do? Is a Gryffindor fifth year too stupid to cast an ordinary Impediment Jinx?"

"I…no…I've cast this spell a dozen times before and nothing like this ever happened. I don't know what happened. That orange light was strange, though."

He held up his wand with his free hand, examining it closely.

"Oh." He said after a few minutes.

"What, oh?" Bellatrix asked, sounding annoyed.

"My wand. It's cracked and some of the phoenix feather is sticking out. That must have caused the spell to go wrong."

The witch rolled her dark eyes.

"Just my luck. Well, no worries. I'll be unstuck and escorting you to the Dark Lord in no time." With that, she raised her wand.

"Finite incantatem!"

Nothing happened.

"Deprimo!"

Nothing happened.

Several spells later, Bellatrix and Harry were still joined.

"I'm out of spells." The witch grumbled, then glanced at Harry.
"Don't look at me, I'm still in school."

With an angry cry, Bellatrix suddenly jumped up and pulled at her hand with considerable strength, causing Harry to topple over and hit his head on the stone floor.

"Ow! Stop that, are you mad?" he yelled. Dull pain spread through his head.

"Don't be a wimp." She bent down and pulled a knife from her high-heeled boot. "We'll have to cut us apart, I guess." With an evil smile, she raised the knife.

"Now, Potter, seeing as I am the Dark Lord's right hand and you are a mere annoyance to him and us, I'm sure you understand that MY hand must remain intact." She said conversationally while proceeding to sever Harry's hand.

"No! Stop that! You can't…." He flinched as the knife came down, squeezing his eyes shut, expecting pain. It never came. Instead, he heard the knife clattering to the ground.

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Bellatrix yelled, frustrated.

"This stupid jinx deflects knives! I don't believe this!"

Grumbling, she replaced the knife and plopped onto the ground, pouting.

"I'm sure Dumbledore could get us unstuck," Harry offered timidly after a while. "Oh, why didn't I think of that? Let's go back to Hogsmeade and saunter into Hogwarts, me being an Azkaban escapee and all. I'm sure Dumbledore will be thrilled to help me." Sarcasm dripped off every single word.

"Well, do you have a better idea?"

She thought for a while.

"No." she finally admitted, grumbling.

"So, how do we get into Hogwarts? Apparating is obviously not possible."

Harry hesitated. He knew several secret passages, but revealing them to a Death Eater wasn't an option.

"I don't trust you." He finally said.

"Huh. You're smarter than you seem at first sight."

"I know how to get into Hogwarts, but there's no way I'll show you how to get into those passages. If you can see where we're going, you could use that information to get into the school whenever you'd want to."

A greedy look had crept into Bellatrix's eyes at the thought of knowing a way to get into Hogwarts. The Dark Lord would be most delighted to receive such information, especially since Draco, in all of his five school years, had discovered nothing the least bit useful.

"You would have to be blindfolded." Harry continued, emitting a shrill laugh.

"Well, Potty, the problem is that I don't trust you, either."

"Yes, but you don't want to be stuck to me infinitely, do you?"

She cocked her head. "I could just take you to the Dark Lord, I'm sure he knows a way to remove this jinx."

Harry shrugged. "Okay, then do that. I've fought Voldemort before and I'll fight him again."

Bellatrix fumed. "You dare speak his name, you filthy Mudblood! You aren't fit to be dirt beneath his boot! Crucio!"

Pain shot through his body, pain more intense than he had ever felt before. He screamed in agony, writhing, trying to escape. After a felt eternity, the pain slowly subsided. While Harry gasped and panted, trying to convince his pain-clenched muscles to let go, Bellatrix thought about her options. She could, of course, take Potter to the Dark Lord, but it would be infinitely humiliating to admit that she couldn't reverse a jinx a fifth-year had cast. She'd never hear the end of it. Even bringing Potter wouldn't really save her from her master's scorn or from that of her fellow Death Eaters. Going to Hogwarts would save her from humiliation, but it would put her at Potter's and Dumbledore's mercy. Going nowhere was no option, she wanted to be rid of this jinx as quickly as possible. She racked her brain, trying to find an alternative.

Finally, she gave up. There was no other way than going to Dumbledore for help. "Oi! Get up!" she poked Harry with her free hand.

Groaning, the boy sat up.

"I agree to go into Hogwarts with you and I agree to be blindfolded in your precious secret passage."

"Good." Harry rasped. "I can't wait to be rid of you."

"Believe me, me neither!"

"We'll apparate into Hogsmeade first."

An instant after those words were spoken, Harry was plunged into blackness, feeling again as if his body was being squeezed through a tight tunnel.

With a loud crash, they apparated. Apparated, couldn't find proper footing, and crashed, landing in a heap of rubbish just outside some house's back door.

Bellatrix was busy untangling herself from some kind of net, while Harry had landed, face first, in some spinach.

They struggled to their feet with some difficulty, just as noises at the back door indicated someone coming to check what the racket was all about.

"Run!" Bellatrix yelled and took off, pulling Harry with her.

Rounding a corner, they stopped, leaning against the wall, panting.

"What's that green stuff all over your face, Potty?"

"Spinach, I think."

"Well, eat up! Spinach is an important part of a balanced diet. And a growing boy's diet should definitely be balanced." Bellatrix snickered.

Harry just sighed, quickly wiping his face with his sleeve.

"So, now what?" the witch asked.

"Now you get blindfolded."

Annoyed, she rolled her eyes. "Fine! Do you have a blindfold?"

Harry shook his head.

Huffing, she rummaged through her pockets, pulling out a mask after a few minutes.

"That's all I've got."

He laughed. "That won't do at all, you can see through that."

"Then I'll just use a spell." Bellatrix pointed her wand at herself. "Obscuro!" A black piece of fabric appeared at the tip of her wand and wrapped itself around her head, completely hiding her eyes.

"Happy now?" Her voice sounded extremely impatient.

Harry thought. The usual method of pretending to hit someone to test if a blindfold was completely hindering vision wouldn't do, since he doubted Bellatrix would flinch when a hand moved toward her face. So instead, he leaned in as if kissing her, keeping his eyes on her face. She didn't flinch, didn't react in any way. Harry decided the blindfold would do.

"Next, we have to make you invisible. Do you know a spell for that?"

"Yes."

"Do it, then give me your wand."
"No way am I giving you my wand!"

"I need it to make sure you don't take off the blindfold while invisible."

"Fine!" Bellatrix snarled.
She muttered something under her breath and suddenly seemed to disappear. A moment later, a wand was shoved into Harry's free hand.

Carefully, he made his way towards Honeyduke's, mindful to mention any obstacles and changes of direction to Bellatrix. Her falling would pull him down as well, and he could just imagine the amount of bitching THAT would earn him. There were only a few people in Honeyduke's, which made it impossible to slip down into the cellar and use the trap door to enter the secret passage.

"Harry! There you are! Why didn't you meet me for lunch?" Hermione suddenly appeared next to her friend.

"Did you have such a great time with Cho that you completely forgot?"

"No…our date didn't last long. She ended up running off and I spent a lot of time looking for her. I was so upset that I completely forgot about our plans." Harry lied through his teeth.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Hermione rushed forward to hug him, but stopped when Harry stepped back.

"I…I really don't feel like getting hugged."

Hermione looked hurt, but dropped her arms.

"Well, come on, let's head back to the castle, we need to get back or we'll be in trouble." she said.

They left the store and walked towards the school, Harry being careful to keep Hermione on his left side, away from Bellatrix. His friend's presence made it very difficult to mention obstacles to the Death Eater, so he tried to steer her by pulling on her hand, causing his walk to look rather clumsy and choppy.

"Harry, are you alright? You're walking strangely." Hermione observed.

"I'm fine…just very hungry, since I didn't get any lunch."

His friend reached into the pocket of her cloak.

"Here, I've got an apple." She handed the fruit to Harry.

"Thanks." He greedily bit into the fruit, instantly stumbling as his right hand was being roughly yanked. He crouched down, pretending to re-tie his shoe.

Hermione had walked on without realizing that Harry had stopped.

"What are you doing?" Harry hissed.

"I'm hungry as hell and you're eating an apple. If you do that, I will not be responsible for my actions."

Quickly, Harry gave the apple to Bellatrix.

"Hurry or others will see nothing eating an apple next to me."

The crunch of apple was followed by a giggle, and the fruit was shoved back into Harry's hand.

Hermione had stopped and was looking over her shoulder to see what was keeping Harry. He stood and hurried to catch up.

Finally, they entered the castle, almost running into Filch. Carrying his big hammer and ladder, he was obviously on his way to hang up another sign for Professor Umbridge.

Harry and Hermione made their way up the staircase toward the portrait hole. Just before Hermione could utter the password, Harry exclaimed: "I totally forgot that I need to ask Professor McGonagall something about our homework assignment. You go on, I'll join you later."

"Okay." Hermione made to go up to the portrait, then turned back. "Harry, are you sure you're alright? You're acting awfully strange."

"I'm fine, Hermione, I'll see you later."

With the Death Eater in tow, he hurried toward Dumbledore's office as quickly as he could. As he reached the gargoyle, Professor McGonagall walked towards him.

"Potter, what are you doing here?"

"I…I need to talk to Professor Dumbledore."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, he's in London and won't be back until tomorrow."

Harry's heart sank.

"Can I help you?" Professor McGonagall continued.
"No, I'm afraid not. Thanks, Professor."

Harry turned back and walked away.

"Now what?" Bellatrix hissed.

"I don't know, all right?" Harry hissed back.

After he rounded a corner, he stopped. He sighed deeply.

"What?" the disgruntled witch asked.

"I'm trying to figure out what to do."

"Well, you tell me. It's been an eternity since I graduated. I don't know my way around this place anymore. By the way, I'm taking off this stupid blindfold."

Harry was silent for a long moment.

"Sorry, I can't think of anything, either. Dumbledore was my best bet…well, actually my only bet. I'm not smart, like Hermione." he finally admitted.

"What would precious mudblood Hermione do?"

"Don't call her a mudblood! She's smart, funny, and a wonderful friend!" Harry yelled, enraged.

"She is what she is! A muggle-born mudblood. Like you. So I guess that's why you'd like her." Bellatrix sneered.

"That Dark Lord you worship is muggle-born as well, you know."

"You…I…you filthy…where's my wand?" The witch fumed.

"Here." Harry held the wand tauntingly out of her reach.

"Give that to me!"

"No, as long as we're here, I hold on to it."

They heard footsteps approaching.

"We need to get away." Harry whispered.

"Where are we going?"

"To the library. That's what Hermione would do."

Quietly, they hurried away, making their way to the library. They spent several hours poring over books, not really finding anything useful. Bellatrix suggested some books, which were in the restricted section.

"We'll have to wait until the library's locked." Harry closed the book and looked to his right, doing a double take,

"I can see you. The spell's worn off."

He pulled on their joined hands. Nothing happened.

"Why can't that one wear off as well?"

"Believe me, I would love that."

"We need to hide, I doubt it would be any good if someone saw you here."

Quietly, they slipped into a dark, tight corner and waited. And waited. And waited. Harry felt quite uncomfortable, with Bellatrix pressed so close to his front. As much as he disliked the witch, he was still a teenager and she was a woman. His body was showing his approval of that fact, much to his displeasure.

"Potter, that had better not be what I think it is."

He tried to shift away from her.

"Come on, please! Potter, you hate me and I hate you!" Bellatrix laughed,

"Yes, I do. But I can't do anything about…this…now." he said through clenched teeth. "Can you just try to ignore it?"

"I'll try." she sighed.

Hours later, the library was finally empty and locked. In the restricted section, they quickly found the books Bellatrix had talked about and found a spell that sounded promising.

"This should work…but we each need something made of silver in our mouth." Harry said, a puzzled expression on his face.

"That's easy." Sirius' cousin turned to him, opened her mouth and revealed a silver tongue piercing.

"Great. Now I just need to find something."

Sighing, Bellatrix slipped a silver ring that looked like a snake with emerald eyes curling around her finger off and handed it to Harry.

"Here, put it in your mouth, but don't swallow."

He did as he was told, also returning the witch's wand.

They performed the spell and finally pulled their hands apart.

"Thank Merlin, I thought this would never happen!" Bellatrix looked at her free hand.

"So…" she turned to Harry.

"So…" he mimicked her.

"Now, I could turn you over to the professors." Harry said as he spat out the ring and gave it to the woman.

"Yes, and admit that you knowingly led a Death Eater into the school." She smirked. "I could take you hostage, blast my way out of the school and hand you over to the Dark Lord."

"You would do that."

"Normally."

"Normally?"

"Yes, but this day has been anything but normal. You're lucky, Potter. I'm letting you go this time."

With that, she again muttered the spell to make herself invisible and disappeared from Harry's view.