Chapter Nine: It's never That Easy

"Ouch, Ron! That was my foot!"

"Sorry."

"Aah!"

"What is it, Al?"

"I walked into a spider web."

"Oh, grow up!"

"James!!"

"Will you lot just shut up!"

"Shut up yourself, Malfoy!"

"Ouch! RON!"

"Sorry, thought you were Malfoy."

"Very mature, Weasley."

"Okay, this is ridiculous. LUMOS!" Asteria held up her wand as the others lit their own. They seemed to be in some sort of tunnel.

"Well, let's get on with it," Harry said as he led the way through the tunnel.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-

"This Bellatrix isn't much of the decorator, is she?" Rose commented after five minutes of plain, gray wall.

"Oh, I hope our kids are okay," Asteria said, directing the comment to Ginny.

"Me too," Ginny agreed, "I can't even imagine what she is doing to them."

"Don't worry, Mum," Albus said, putting his arm around his mother's shoulders, "Lily'll be okay."
"Yeah, Lily's a smart kid. She'll be fine," James added, but it sounded like he was trying to assure himself more than anyone else.

"Hey, look over there! There's a light!" Everyone looked to where Rose was pointing to. Indeed, there was a light, and it looked like someone was sitting there, a child.

"Is it…?" Albus started, hesitant.

James squinted his eyes. "It is!!" he exclaimed, and he ran ahead of everyone else, with Albus close behind.

"Lily?" Ginny quietly said, walking at a faster pace. After a few more steps, Ginny grabbed Harry's arm and said, "Oh my god! Harry, she's tied to a chair!" And it was true, Lily was sitting in a chair with her hands tied behind her. She also seemed to be unable to open her mouth. Bellatrix must've put a charm on her. She had her head down, but when James yelled, she lifted her head and her face lit up with joy and hope. But then, a look of urgency spread across her face as Lily began violently shaking her head.

"What is it, Lils?" Harry asked as they drew nearer. In response, she only shook her head even harder and tried to loosen the ropes. Then she started moving her head, as if trying to shoo everyone away—

Then Harry understood. "James, Albus! STOP!!" he yelled, but it was too late. As soon as the boys stepped onto the white tile, the women everyone had hoped to never see again appeared with a pop.

"Now boys," she said, putting an arm around James and Albus, who looked absolutely terrified, "You should know that it's never that easy." And with another loud pop, Bellatrix Lestrange vanished, with James and Albus.

"NO!!" Ginny screamed, running to where James and Albus had just been standing, "I can't take this anymore!" and she collapsed onto the ground, angrily crying.

"Ginny," Ron said, crouching down next to his little sister, "don't do this now."

Ginny lifted her teary face and looked up at her brother. "What am I supposed to do, Ron? First she kills our brother, then she kidnaps my daughter, and now she takes my sons right before my eyes. It's like she's trying to torture us."

"But, Ginny, that's exactly what she—" Ron stopped mid-sentence, realizing that he wasn't helping, and started over, "Ginny, just calm down. You can get through this. We'll get them back."

"I just can't handle this anymore," she said, and then she slumped against Ron and cried into his shoulder. While Ginny was having her meltdown, Hermione and Rose went to untie Lily. As soon as she was free, Lily sprinted to her father and jumped into Harry's arms.

"Dad!" Lily cried, soaking Harry's shirt with her tears, "I'm so sorry. It was a trap! I'm sorry, I—"

"Oh, Lily," Harry said, kissing her black hair, "Don't apologize. None of this is your fault, Honey. Absolutely none of it."

"But if James and Albus hadn't seen me," she started, sobbing now, "If I hadn't gone with that Bellatrix woman, if—"

"Shhh," Harry soothed, stroking his daughter's delicate hair, "stop blaming yourself. You didn't have a choice when Bellatrix took you."

"You don't know how she took me," Lily said quietly, then looked up at her concerned father, "She told me to come with her, and I just followed her. I was stupid enough to fall into her trap, and now Albus and James are gone. You shouldn't have come. You should've—"

"Don't' you dare say it, Lily," Harry warned, "Don't say it and don't believe it. I am so glad we found you, and, even though she's a mess, your mum is really relieved to know you're okay now. As we were coming here, all we could think about was getting you back. So don't you dare say we shouldn't have come, because we did and now the six of us will work together to get the boys back," Harry finished, as he wiped away the last tear on Lily's soft cheek.

"Okay, Ginny," Ron soothed, rubbing Ginny's shoulder, "Shh, it's going to be alright. We'll get them back." Hermione sat next to them, stroking Ginny's hair. Seeing Ginny like that, how her posture was limp and slumped against Ron, the way she allowed her hair to hang over her face, whereas in any other situation, she would always tuck her hair behind her ears, Harry realized that Ginny had completely given up.

Albus and Harry had a special bond, ever since the day Albus left for Hogwarts two years ago. He also looked the most like Harry out of the three kids. Then there was Lily, Harry's baby. She always tended to cling to him, more than Albus or James had. On the other hand, Harry didn't have these kinds of relationships with James. James messed around so much that Harry only had time to be disciplinary with him. James usually bonded more with Ginny. He was her first child, the first baby she ever carried, so she treasured him a bit more than Albus or Lily. She understood him more, when he was acting a certain way, she usually knew why. His personality was also more like Ginny's.

When most people met James for the first time, they would think of Harry, with how he looks, and his need for adventure. Although, if they really got to know him, there would be more of Ginny in James than Harry; his boldness, his need for independence, all traits of his mother. She had always been rather proud of this. Now the fact that James had been taken away from her was really crushing her.

"Hey," Rose said, looking to the side, "I think someone's over there…" Harry, along with everyone else followed Rose's gaze and noticed someone emerging from the shadows around.

"Scorpius… what happened to you?!"

Sorry this chapter was so short, but I had to end it there. It is the perfect cliffhanger… MUAHAHA!

Beware! The end is near!