A/N: So, for some odd reason, doesn't like my indents, so they didn't show up in chapter one. I'll see about selecting a different format for this chapter so that maybe they will show up this time. I've had this problem with the site before and I must say I'm glad it only killed the indents (as I've had times when all line breaks were eliminated, turning the entire chapter into one big block paragraph. Not pretty).

Anyway, here's chapter two. Enjoy, and please get them reviews flowing. I live for them.

At precisely four o'clock the next day, Harry knocked on the door of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's planning room. Harry and Ginny had arrived a full hour early to make sure they found the place correctly; when they'd asked Mr. Weasley, by Floo, for directions to the room, he'd offered them so convoluted a path that both Harry and Ginny had developed headaches.

Nevertheless, using a combination of Mr. Weasley's notes and advice from helpful Ministry workers around the hallways, they'd managed to find the place and now stood poised to enter. A second after the knock sounded, the door opened, and Kingsley Shacklebolt's friendly yet serious face greeted them. "Come in," he said, and opened the door wider.

Once more, Harry found himself underwhelmed. The "planning room" really only had two things in it: a white board and a table. There were no chairs or enchanted windows. The room was already inhabited by two other men, plus Kingsley.

"I'd like to introduce Harry Potter and Ginevra Weasley. Harry, Ginny, this is Eric Quigen," Kingsley indicated the shorter man with the glasses, "and Warren Upsrike." He pointed to the taller, heavily mustled man. "The four of you have been officially tasked with the retrieval of Azkaban inmate 440, Mr. Lucius Malfoy. Most of you will remember Mr. Malfoy's trial and sentencing eight months ago; Mr. Potter here gave the principle testimony that sealed Mr. Malfoy's fate. He probably would have been executed if not for offering up information on the identities of vicitims of Lord Voldemort and where their remains were hidden, but that's another matter altogether.

"Malfoy escaped from Azkaban prison two nights ago. How he escaped is still a mystery; however, when Ministry workers brought him his breakfast early yesterday morning they discovered his cell door open and Malfoy gone. They alerted officials here immediately, but a quick search of the island confirmed that Malfoy had successfully fled."

"Not too surprising, really," Quigen spoke up. "If he was crafty enough to get out of his cell, I doubt a bit of water would have given him much trouble."

Shacklebolt nodded. "True enough, and we can expect that same level of craftiness from him from here on out. We may have one advantage, though; according the Ministry officials who brought him his food, Lucius Malfoy has succumbed to the influence of the Dementors and has been driven insane."

"How do those officials manage to stomach it?" Harry asked, curious.

"They are rotated," Shacklebolt said. "No man who isn't condemned ever enters Azkaban prison more than once in a month, unless in times of extreme crisis. The men who found Malfoy's cell open had not been in to see him in a month."

Harry nodded and closed his mouth.

"We have compiled a short list of the various places we believe Malfoy might be going," Shacklebolt said, laying down a piece of parchment on the table. Obviously, the "table" was not just a table, because as soon as the parchment touched it, a beam of light clicked on, projecting the parchment's contents onto the wall with the white board.

Shacklebolt spoke again. "Malfoy Manor was obviously our first guess," he said.

"Not a soul stirring there," Upsrike said. "We went in yesterday morning to check the place. It's obvious that the kid and his mother don't even live there anymore."

"We'll have to keep checking it," Shacklebolt said. "Until we get a firmer idea of where Malfoy is and what he's up to, he could be anywhere – or he could be going anywhere. Did you set the wards there?"

"Yes," Quigen said. "If Lucius Malfoy comes within one hundred yards of his old mansion everyone in the Ministry will know about it." When Harry looked confused, Quigen continued. "From the screeching."

Shacklebolt returned their attention to the list on the wall. "We've outlined a few other places he could have gone," he said. "As you can see, each is a bit of a stretch. Still, the list comes directly from Draco and Narcissa Malfoy, and..."

"You trust them?" Harry asked.

"No," Shacklebolt said. "Not completely. But this is all we have to go on, right now, so that's what we'll go on.

"I want the four of you to investigate the next entry on the list – the Lestrange Manor. Dismissed."

Quigen and Upsrike both nodded. This wasn't a big deal to them. Harry and Ginny both blanched upon hearing the name. As Shacklebolt left the room, Quigen turned to Harry. "Something the matter?" he asked.

"Lestrange," Harry said. "I don't have any fond associations with that name."

Upsrike laughed. "No one does. At least, not anyone worth mentioning."

Ginny steeled herself. "One person worht mentioning might" The three men turned to her. "Lucius Malfoy."

Upsrike and Quigen shared bemused smiles. "Sounds like she's got her head screwed on straight," Quigen said.

"Shall we?" Ginny asked, withdrawing her wand. The two Aurors nodded, and all four of them Disapparated.

They popped back into existence in the middle of a dark, overcrowded wood. The sky was not visible below the tree line and on the forest floor it was dark as night. Harry immediately raised his wand and said, "Lumos."

As Harry's wand light illuminated the area, Lestrange Manor came into view. The old, run-down looking mansion was deeply affected by age and neglect. Paint peeled from the walls and several windows were broken. The trees that maintained the constant, oppressive darkness actually grew through the middle of the house as well as around it. The massive front door, covered in rusty iron bolts, hung from its broken hinges, damaged so badly that Harry wondered whether it had been forced open.

As Harry, Ginny, Upsrike and Quigen approached the door, Harry got a chance to examine it (and the house) closer. The door was dusty in too many places to have been forced recently and it was obvious that they were the first people to walk on the path in some time.

"Looks deserted," Quigen said.

"Unless he's Apparated directly into it," Upsrike replied.

"Hope he hasn't got a wand," Quigen said.

"Isn't he still dangerous without one?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, yes," Upsrike replied. "But not nearly as dangerous as he would be with one. Come on, let's see if the bugger's here." He pushed on the destroyed door and it fell away completely, onto the ground next to the doorway. Upsrike lit his own wand and slowly entered the doorway. Quigen followed.

"Mr. Malfoy?" he called. "If you're here, we'd like to talk to you. We're here to help you."

Do they honestly think that'll work? Harry thought, but kept it to himself. He pushed his own way into the house, grabbing hold of Ginny's hand and pulling her closely after him. He didn't want to leave her out in the dark in front of the massive, evil old house – not that he much wanted to bring her into it, either.

Upsrike and Quigen had both stopped short of leaving the entry hallway. "He's not out here, not that we'd thought he would be," Quigen said. "We'll split into two teams. Remember, if you see him, Stun first and ask questions later. Got it?"

Harry and Ginny both nodded and the two Aurors pressed their way through one of the doors that led out of the entry way. Harry picked the first door on his left, pushed it open with a decidedly shrill squeak, and once more led Ginny through it.

The room they entered had probably, at some point, been quite beautiful. The reddish, wood-paneled walls were accented by a deep red carpet and a large chandelier, as well as several dark green couches. However, what was once a grand sitting room had fallen into disrepair. A thick layer of dust covered everything in the room, including the peeling walls and the dim, unreflective, dirty chandelier, which was noticeably missing several candles. Harry considered lighting the ones that remained so that he could put out his wand, but decided against it; the old thing looked like it could fall at any time and Harry didn't want to have to deal with the mess and fuss that would come with such a loud crash.

"I don't see him," Ginny said, and Harry was brought back to the purpose of their visit to Lestrange Manor.

"Nope," Harry said. "Doesn't look like anyone's been here in years."

Ginny looked again. "Weird, isn't it," she said.

"Not really, the Lestranges have been dead for a year now."

"I know," Ginny said. "But like you said, it looks like no one's lived here in years, plural. It doesn't look like they were staying here a year ago."

"So?" Harry asked. "Probably wasn't safe for Azakaban escapees to go and hide in their own houses."

"Even when the Death Eaters had control of the Ministry?" Ginny asked.

Harry stopped and considered. "It probably doesn't matter," he said. "You know how Bellatrix was, she couldn't stand being more than five feet from Voldemort...probably just couldn't get a good night's sleep without knowing he was in the next room."

Ginny frowned. "I don't think – " she began, but she was cut off by an exceptionally loud bang and a huge hiss. The blood drained from Ginny's face.

"Uh oh," Harry said. He turned and ran back to the door of the sitting room, Ginny following close behind him. He threw open the door, ran down the hall to the door Quigen and Upsrike had gone through, and peered in. What he saw made his heart slow for a split second and the begin racing faster than unicorn.

Standing in the middle of the room was Upsrike, frozen in place with a horrified expression on his face, staring a silver sink. Quigen lay in the corner of the room, cradling his arm and burying his head as far down as possible, waving his wand about with his good hand. Sitting across the room from him in the middle of a blasted-out wall, facing him intently and flicking its tongue in and out of its mouth, was a gigantic, angry-looking basilisk.

Harry pushed Ginny back against the wall, yelling "Cover your eyes!" as he followed his own advice. The basilisk's lower body whipped out, hitting Harry in the stomach and sending him reeling backwards, slamming into the door frame right next to Ginny. As far as Harry could tell with his eyes closed, the basilisk maintained its focus on Quigen. Beside him, Ginny edged along the wall.

"What do we do?" she asked, breathless.

"I don't know!" Harry said. "Last time I fought one of these Fawkes showed up and baled me out."

The basilisk hissed and Quigen, honing in on the sound, fired off a stunner at it. The spell rebounded and shattered the window over the sink. The basilisk hissed again, unhurt but no doubt annoyed. Quigen fired another stunner, which also rebounded, this time hitting the wall just inches above Harry's head.

"Think, Harry!" Ginny practically screamed. Out of his peripheral vision Harry saw the snake slithering slowly closer to the bleeding Quigen. "That thing must have a weak spot!"
It clicked. "It's eyes!" he yelled. He raised his wand toward the source of the hissing. "Conjunctivius!"

A jet of yellow light burst from Harry's wand, and a second later the angry hiss of the basilisk turned into a scream of pain and rage. It thrashed again, tearing a great long gash in the wall as the end of its body danced wildly around the room. Harry took the creature's momentary distraction as an advantage, jumping forward and seizing Quigen by the arm, dragging him to his feet. Unfortunately, it was his injured arm, which caused him to gasp in sudden pain. The enraged basilisk heard the sound and stopped its thrashing long enough to lash out with its venomous teeth, but Harry had already moved Quigen out of the way and the creature's off-balance, wild thrust carried it forward headfirst into, and through, the wall.

Harry and Quigen grabbed the petrified Upsrike and dragged him out of the room as Ginny, her wand pointing towards the basilisk while her head remained pointed safely away from its murderous gaze, covered them. Once the two men and the petrified statue were outside the room all three who could still move pressed their backs up against the wall, breathing heavily. "I'll bet they left that thing to guard the place when they were shipped off to Azkaban and then couldn't get control of it once they were back," Ginny said. She turned to Harry. "Doesn't matter, huh?"

"Focus," Quigen said, nursing his bleeding left arm. "Harry, you've fought basilisks before?

"Once," Harry said. "I killed it by driving a sword through its head."

Quigen allowed a brief, grim smile. "Got any swords?" he asked.

"I must have left it in my other pants," Harry said, wryly. "What else do we have that we could use as a weapon?"
"The problem isn't weaponry," Ginny said. "The problem's getting close enough to it to hurt it. The only reason you could get close enough was because it's eyes were gouged out by Fawkes and its death glare wasn't active. How do we kill it without being able to look at it?"

Harry's mind raced. "We bring down the house on top of it," he said.

Now both Quigen and Ginny turned to him, their heavy breathing for the moment forgotten. "Are you mental?" Ginny asked, no doubt voicing Quigen's opinion as well.

"Maybe, but that's beside the point," Harry said. "We can't get close enough to hurt it while it's free to move about and turn and kill us with a glance; if we bring down the house on top of it, it'll be pinned and we'll have some time to figure out how to get close enough to finish it."

Slowly, Quigen smiled. "All right then, Mr. Potter," he said, mock business-like tones creeping into his voice. "Let's do it."

Once again, he and Harry seized Upsrike under the arms, as Ginny lead the way down the entry hall back towards the front door. She blew through the doorway and was about to turn back to help or at least encourage Harry and Quigen when the disoriented basilisk found its wits and came roaring through the wall.

Harry, who was behind Quigen and Upsrike, gave them both one final shove. Both men went tumbling through the door way, Upsrike's frozen form bouncing at odd angles. Ginny caught a flash of Harry diving onto his back, pulling out his wand, and yelling "Reducto!" before a large explosion caused the house to seemingly cave in on itself.

"Harry!" Ginny yelled.

A moment later, as Ginny bit her fingernails, Harry pulled himself out of the wreckage. A few feet away, the basilisk moved its head feebly. Without looking, Harry using a levitation charm on several sharp pieces of rock, which assaulted the basilisk's head, finally killing it as it opened its mouth to yell in pain and several shards lodged their way through its brain.

As calmly as he could (his legs were shaking a bit), Harry brushed himself off and walked back through the wreckage of the destroyed front hall of the house. As he emerged from the settling dust, Ginny bounded up and hugged him tightly.

Behind them, Quigen nodded his approval. "Well done, Potter," he said, a new note of respect in his voice. "I'd be lunch meat by now if it weren't for you, and Upsrike...well, he'd be as stiff as ever, I suppose."

The three of them laughed, and for a moment Harry could have sworn he'd seen Upsrike's eyes roll in annoyance. "How'd he see it?" he asked.

"Sink," Quigen said. "At least I think it must have been the sink."

"Lucky man," Harry said.

Quigen nodded. "I'll Side-Along him over to St. Mungo's. You know the way...?"

When both Harry and Ginny nodded.

After checking Upsrike into St. Mungo's, and getting checked over themselves, Harry and Ginny accompanied the bandaged Quigen back to the Ministry of Magic. Quigen himself had been quite lucky; the injury to his left arm had been caused by debris and not the basilisk's fangs.

They Apparated into the Ministry's front hall. As soon as they'd gotten their bearings they started their trek down towards the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, brushing through the ever-bustling crowd of Ministry workers and guests.

"Mr. Shacklebolt is not going to be happy," Quigen muttered.

"No, he isn't," Harry said. Quigen obviously had forgotten Harry's presence, because he looked back at him, surprised. "But he'll get over it."

Ginny and Harry fell into step next to Quigen. "You've known Mr. Shacklebolt for some time, right?" Quigen asked.

Harry ticked off the numbers in his head. "About four years now," he said. "I met him when I met the rest of the Order of the Phoenix."

Quigen's smile turned to one of nostalgia and longing. "I'd just graduated from Hogwarts four years ago," he said. "Took me another three after that to become an Auror. Don't I remember people mentioned how you wanted to become an Auror someday?"

Harry's cheer faltered ever so slightly. "I doubt that life is for me anymore," he said.

"Your performance at Lestrange Manor suggests otherwise," a voice from behind them spoke. It was Kingsley Shacklebolt. "I've just had an owl from St. Mungo's informing me of everything you told them. I'm glad you're all in one piece. I wish I could give you some time off to rest and heal, but we have something that needs immediate attention."

Instantly Harry's senses perked up. "What is it?" he asked.

"The wards on Malfoy Manor just went off."