Dark Schemes, Darker Secrets

Chapter Ten

Joe lay on the floor, pain wracking his body. Lucius had left the room a few moments earlier, after nearly torturing the youth into unconsciousness once more. Joe couldn't recall ever being in so much pain. The curse had again put his body through pure agony. He had wanted to die, to give it all up—and that wasn't normal. Usually, whenever he was in severe pain, on the verge of death, his stubborn nature would kick in, and he would to let go. But this time…this time was different. When the curse was upon him, Joe wanted nothing more than to die, be put out of his misery—and that realization scared him.

On top of that, his wounded shoulder throbbed painfully with every beat of his heart. Joe still couldn't believe it—Frank had stabbed him. But recalling those normally animated chocolate eyes dull and expressionless, he knew that he had been forced to do it—he didn't know what he was doing. But still, the wound was there. And it hurt. And he knew it would haunt him forever. Joe's already moist eyes filled with tears as he once more heard his brother's last words to him before Joe had blacked out. 'Oh, little brother. What have I done?' And now he was gone, and Joe didn't know where he was. All he remembered was Voldemort saying that Frank was doing a job for him. But he wouldn't do it—unless he was forced to. Joe hoped that wherever he was, he was okay and better off than his brother.

Not only that, his muscles ached from not being able to move for so long. The ropes were cutting into his arms, and he regretted wearing a short sleeved T-shirt. Since he was wearing jeans, they didn't cut into his legs as much. He was hungry too. Having not eaten in over twenty-four hours, he was feeling rather weak.

Oh, and the emotional suffering! None of the physical pain he was in could compare to how much he hurt due to the revelation about Iola. Not only did this man kill her, he himself was accused of killing her. "I'm sorry, Iola," he whispered.

Then he mentally shook himself. 'C'mon, get over yourself, Hardy,' he chided himself. 'You can bet, wherever Frank is, he's not having a pity-party.' Joe knew that he shouldn't dwell on his discomfort; it would only make things worse. Maybe he could wriggle free from his bonds like Frank had done, but quickly realized he wasn't going anywhere. Every time he moved, a sharp pain shot through his shoulder. Also, when Frank had escaped earlier, his arms hadn't been tied to his sides. Joe couldn't move an inch.

Not bothering to conceal the growl of frustration, Joe lay still, defeated. He knew it was selfish and maybe a bit cruel, but he really wished Frank was here with him. He didn't like this; this was so much different than any kidnapping he'd ever encountered, for many reasons. He counted them down in his head, having nothing else to think of.

'One: the magic. Two: Frank's not here to comfort me. Three: Voldemort's more evil than any other villain we've encountered. Four: I'm the only one he wants to torture, because he blames me for—for…her death. Five: I know without a doubt that unless Frank gets here soon, I'm going to die.'

Joe squeezed his eyes shut. This wasn't working. It was making things work. He couldn't dwell on it anymore, however, because at that moment Lucius and Voldemort entered the room.

"I'm back," Voldemort hissed, striding over to Joe as the door disappeared.

Joe tried to hide his fears, but Voldemort must have sensed them. His snake-like nostrils dilating in excitement, he leaned down and grabbed Joe by his collar and pulled him into a sitting position. The boy winced as his shoulder wracked with pain again. Voldemort laughed in his ear. "Scared?"

"No," Joe said defiantly. Then, "Look, I'm sorry about your daughter. I…I loved her. Please…please let me go."

"Ah…pleading…"

"NO! I'm more worried for my brother than I am myself. Just let me go for him! He'll never forgive himself if you don't. I know you're going to kill me," he added softly. "I can tell. But are you really going to kill me without saying good-bye to him?"

"Yes," said Voldemort, no sign of pity in his red eyes. "And for your impertinence, you shall die all the more painful." He raised his wand and Joe knew it…it was the end. He closed his eyes and waited for death to come.

"The first thing we need to do is figure out where Voldemort is keeping him," Frank said matter-of-factly.

"Will you please stop saying that name?" Ron pleaded.

Harry, Hermione, and Frank all turned to him at the same time and said in unison, "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself."

Ron's ears grew as red as his face but he said nothing more.

"Do you have any idea where you were?" Fenton inquired. "Did it seem to be above ground? Underground?"

"Underground?" Frank frowned. "I don't know. I hadn't even thought about that. It makes sense though."

Harry's eyes lit up and he said, "After the third task in the Triwizard Tournament, Voldemort had the portkey transport me to a graveyard. Do you think he could be there?"

"I don't believe so," Dumbledore said. "When you were taken, he thought that you wouldn't live. But when you escaped, he knew that you would tell me where you had been, even if you couldn't say the exact location."

Hermione nodded. "It makes sense."

"But maybe," said Laura, "he's following the same pattern. Maybe they are in a graveyard somewhere."

"But it was inside," Frank argued.

"It could be a crypt—like a large, cave," Hermione said. "Some graveyards have them."

"I haven't seen any in Bayport," Laura retorted.

"It wouldn't have to be in Bayport, Mom," Frank said heavily. "Voldemort basically has the run of the world. He could be anywhere."

"And that just makes our task a million times easier," Ron said sarcastically.

"I think the best thing to do," Dumbledore said, ignoring Ron's comment, "is to see exactly what Frank saw."

"How do we do that?" Frank wondered aloud, feeling that if they could do that, it would prove very useful, but he dreaded seeing the whole ordeal again.

"Pensieve," Dumbledore answered. "I can conjure one here. It is where you draw out your memories. That way, we can all go into the memory and see what happened, and can look for any clue as to where your brother is."

Harry, who recalled his first encounter with a pensieve in his fourth year, nodded vigorously.

Frank was still not clear on the concept, but he readily agreed. Anything to find Joe. He watched in interest as Dumbledore conjured a large cauldron out of thin air. Then he pulled out his wand and pointed his wand at Frank's head. "I want you to concentrate solely on your memories from when you got attacked to what happened with Joe." Frank nodded, and focused all his energy on those painful recollections. Dumbledore slowly removed his wand and pulled what looked like a long, silver string away from the youth's head. He then put it in the cauldron. Frank watched in amazement as it swirled around, then came to rest on a tiny image of he and Joe running toward the alley. "Are you ready?" Dumbledore asked. Everyone nodded, and the wizard instructed everyone to lean forward into the cauldron.

Laura, Fenton, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, and Frank all did so and suddenly felt the sensation of falling. They landed as phantoms in the alley just as the Death Eaters emerged from the shadows. They were in the memory.

A/N: Okay, I have to know what you think so please please review! Thanks

~Emachinescat ^..^