Chapter 2

Pray

"There were promises made in the darkness. Promises made in your sleep. Promises the Gods demand you keep."

--Papa Ge, Once on This Island

6:50 p.m.

Number 4 Privet Drive

Harry froze as the point of the knife dug deeper into his skin. His wand forgotten in his hand.

A raspy voice whispered into his ear, "Make a noise, and you'll regret it. Make any sudden movements and you're dead. Understand?"

Slowly, Harry nodded his head as his grip tightened on his wand. All I have to do is stun him. A chance …all I need is a chance.

His captor jerked him back away from the edge of the stairs. In one fluid movement, Harry was swung violently into a wall. His face bounced hard off the wall. Moving into action Harry spun raising his wand arm with a stunning spell on his lips, as his left arm swung a punch into his aggressor's face. The man was sent reeling backwards into the banister. Harry stepped forward with the beginning of "Stu-" when someone tackled him from the side. Both figures rolled to the edge of the stairs and tumbled down all 13 of them. Harry landed hard, face down at the bottom and the other man lying on top of him. His breath had been knocked out of him and he struggled to breath. A tear of blood trickled down the side of his face where his glasses had cracked and a piece of glass embedded into the area of skin surrounding his eyes. His glasses fell off during his ride down the stairs.

Realizing he was trapped between the floor and a heavy body Harry tried to roll over so he could push the man off of him. The world was spinning horribly for Harry and he felt extremely dizzy. His attempts did not amount to much.

The pressure on his chest was gone abruptly from his back as the figure on top of him began to move. Harry hoped he would move off him, but he was not so lucky. The man only readjusted himself, so that he was straddling Harry's waist. His captor grabbed his hands pushing them roughly onto the floor.

"You got him?" A voice came from the top of the stairs.

"Yes. I think he's out," came the smooth voice on top of Harry. "Get your arse down here before he wakes!"

Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Two large black boots came to rest in front of Harry's vision. "Hold his hands," the man with the black boots whispered. Roughly Harry's wrists were pulled together behind his back and scratchy rope was tied tightly around his wrists. At the touch of the rope on his wrists Harry began to struggle anew, but he received a hard "thump" on the back of his head. He became motionless in his daze. Then Black Boots moved after tying the last knot and turned his attention towards his ankles, securing a length of rope tightly around them as well. The man got off him.

Harry received a swift kick in his side and was rolled over. Coughing, he was able to get a clear glimpse of his captors. One was a short stocky man with a buzz cut and the other, Black Boots, was tall, lean with a stubby beard and long grizzly brown hair secured behind his head in a ponytail.

The two men stared down at him for a few seconds before Black Boots knelt down in front of Harry's face and pulled a roll of duck tape from inside his large jacket. He realized what the man was going to do and Harry in a last attempt, jerked his head away. A course hand grabbed his chin and forced it back to look at Black Boots. "You're making this harder than it has to be," came the harsh voice. Before Harry could respond the man had taped his mouth shut and seconds later his eyes were covered.

Fear gripped Harry's soul. He was trapped; there was no way he could escape. To think that Dumbledore said he was absolutely safe from Death Eaters and Voldemort when he was at home. To think that the hundreds of wards surrounding the house had not gone off during Harry's fruitless struggles. Would they know he had not left of his own will? That it was not Voldemort, who had not taken him, but muggles? Would his disappearance not be noticed until he did not show up at Kings Cross on September the 1st?

Harry briefly felt himself being lifted and slung like a rag doll over someone's shoulder. A few minutes later the sound of a car door was slid open and Harry was brutally tossed into the back. His head hit the wall of the other side and promptly passed out.

Black boots and his accomplice jumped into the front with the driver. The van drove top speed out of the neighborhood and towards their destination.

At 7:06 p.m. Harry left the protective wards of Privet Drive.

7:02 p.m.

A large group of people was gathered around the table in the dinning room. Laughter and discussions rose above the clinking of dishes and silverware. Molly Weasley was talking quietly with Arthur and Kingsley Shacklebolt about recent events in the ministry. Sirius Black was telling an animated story about one of the Marauder's misadventures. The Weasley twins and Ron broke out laughing at Sirius's recent statement. Remus was drawn into a deep discussion with Hermione and Ginny on various love potions. A few other order members were engaged in conversation as well.

Sirius turned to Moony with a question about a particular prank they had once played when an agonizingly siren sounded throughout the room. Most of the adults rose to their feet drawing wands and looking around them.

Sirius had remained in his seat looking startled.

"Since when did we install an alarm system?" He asked confused.

"No! They're sirens for the wards!" shouted Kingsley over the noise.

"The noise for what?" was Sirius's reply.

Remus and Shacklebolt shared a look before Remus answered, "They are the wards for Privet Drive."

The color in Sirius's face paled visibly. "Aren't those the wards surrounding Har-"

"Children upstairs! Now!" Molly Weasley screeched. They didn't need to worry. They didn't need to get involved. Oh, Harry. You poor boy. They are too young. Harry, Merlin…oh please…Harry. Molly thought to herself.

The children scowled and were ushered up the stairs. Sirius was staring hard at Remus, as though the werewolf could tell him what was happening. The fireplace flared green and the Headmaster and Severus Snape had arrived.

7:02 p.m.

There had just been an Order meeting and most had stayed for Molly's great cooking. Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape had declined dinner speaking of more important matters, when in fact Severus and Dumbledore were meeting together in the Headmaster's office. The two were discussing what Voldemort's possible plans are. Snape was not as trusted by the Dark Lord as the Order had hoped. Voldemort never talked about plans in front of Snape, he would only ask for information regarding the Order and Harry Potter's location. The two had both agreed that the Dark Lord was planning something big. Snape had said the Dark Lord could not wait until the Wizarding World knew of his return, but he wanted to make his return big and public.

The Headmaster was pouring Severus another cup of tea when suddenly lights began to flash all around his room and a wailing noise sounded. The teapot in Dumbledore's hands slipped and crashed to the floor. Severus Snape waved his wand over the mess and looked up at the startled Headmaster.

The old man had paled visibly and was standing staring at a funny looking watch in his hands.

"Severus, we must return to headquarters! "

"Wait, what is the alarm for? What has happened," said Severus as he watched the headmaster through floo powder into the fire. Albus slowly turned as the flames changed into an eerie green. The Headmaster's eyes bore into Severus, "The wards surrounding Privet Drive have fallen. A student has been removed from his home before the wards were finished regenerating."

Severus didn't like were this conversation was going. "And who is this student?"

"Harry Potter," was the old man's reply before Albus stepped into the flames shouting, "12 Grimmauld Place!"

7:20 p.m.

Headquarters, Number 12 Grimmauld Place

Loud sirens had been blaring throughout the house for the past fourteen minutes. The Weasley twins, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all sitting at the top of the stairs watching the commotion below them, covering their ears. Order members continued to come through the front door, Mrs. Black was screeching from her place on the wall. Every few seconds or so some one would run across the hall.

"Why in the hell won't they tell us what is going on?" moaned Ron as he held onto the white-faced Hermione. All of them knew that Harry resided on at Privet Drive and if the wards had fallen something bad had happened. The Advance Guard had left ten minutes after the sirens had gone off and now everyone was waiting. Waiting and planning on what to do. The teenagers had hear no word from the adults.

No one knew if Harry was safe.

8:38 p.m.

The back of the red van

Harry had slowly come back to consciousness. At first he had no idea where he was, but when he went to brush the bed sheet away from his eyes, did he realize he was bound, gagged and blindfolded in the back of some sort of vehicle. He could feel each bump the car went over, and when the thing turned Harry slid across the floor.

Shit. I'm screwed. I'm a sitting duck for Voldemort if he realizes where I am. Think Harry think. There has to be a way out of this. Harry slowly began feel around behind him hoping to find something sharp. He could not feel anything except for the floor. The van took another sharp curve and Harry rolled across the floor his back and hands struck the wall and as he made to roll over back onto his back Harry's hands cut themselves on something sharp piercing his skin. Blood slowly trickled down his hands.

Comprehending what his new possibilities were, Harry began to rub his hands fiercly against the edge sawing at the roped binding his hands. With a minute or two the rope snapped and his hands were free.

Harry gingerly rubbed them getting ciculation back before he removed the gag and blindfold. The dark van came into a blurry focus. There appeared to be a wall between the front seat and the back portion of the van. Harry could hear faint voices, from the other side..

"We don't meet the guy until tomorrow morning, why don't we stop and get some sleep at the warehouse. We could drug the kid. Make sure heh doesn't cause any trouble," came a new voice.

"Sure, turn here."

The car made another sharp turn. Harry tried to grab something beofe he rolled over. Realizing he had not untied his ankles he made a mad dash to. The van pulled to a complete stop.

Now was the time to act if Harry was going to make a move. If they drugged him he'd be screwed. But the question was who were they handing him off to? Death Eaters? Probably.

He listened as the men got out of the van. None of them opened the side door. It appeared as though they were going to leave him in the van. He carefully made his way to the back door of the van. He tried the handle and found that it was unlocked. Harry pulled it open, sticking his head out. There was no one around him. The van was parked at a docking bay to a deserted warehouse. Windows were smashed in all over the building. The building must have been desserted for sometime. His captors had disappeared somewhere into the building.

Harry jumped down onto his shaky feet. One of his ribs sent waves of pain throughout his body at the motion. He must have sprained something. If he could get to a phone or a crowded area, then he would be able to get some one to help him. He could call Hermione. She'd made him memorize it on the train ride back home. Seeing noone in the vicinity, Harry sprinted for the side of the building.

"Hey!" Someone yelled. "Stop him."

Shit.

Harry sped up. His whole body was aching. He glanced behind him to see the three men chasing after him. He didn't notice where he was going and he tripped. Scrambling to his feet Harry made it to the other side of the building. There was a phone booth a block down across the road. In the night there were few cars in the shady area. Nobody would stop to save him. With that in mind Harry hid behind a dumpster. The men came dashing past him.

"Split up!" Black Boots yelled. Harry sat there for several minutes. This was his opening. He sprinted to the end of the block and was making a sharp turn around the building. He never noticed a figure standing there or when he reached out and grabbed Harry pinning his arms to his sides with one arm. The other hand placed a cloth of Harry's mouth. The smell was sickly and Harry struggled in the man's arms. The smell was getting to his head. Spots started to appear in his vision, and the spots began to connect until everything became dark.

Attn:

Well here is another chapter. It didn't quite come out as I wanted it too, but oh well. Please review! Make my Christmas bright!

Sincerely,

The Royal Nav