Title: Black and Deep Desires

By: Dr. Kim-chan

Me: That was the biggest writer's block I had EVER experienced. But now that we've climbed over it, it's time to press on. Hey guys, you think we'll make it to Chapter 50?

Harry: It depends, really. How long is this gonna carry out?

Me: A long time. I won't spoil the ending, but it'll be a hell of a surprise. Let's retrace our steps. Ron was captured in the first week of August during Hogwarts shopping, so there'll soon be a chapter in which they return to the alley. I ain't giving anything away, but Ron will be in for a world of hurt.

Ron: (in the distance) What! (He and Draco had been filling Lucius in on what happened so far, and now they're coming back from whatever dimension they were in)

Lucius: Dr. Kim-chan decided to make a more serious chapter for me. So we know about the love fiasco. Big deal. The bigger question is if the Weasleys will meet my demands, and that's what Chapter 11 is about.

Me: Quite right, Luci. I've been trying to put in some humor since the super-serious chapters of One through Five; now we return to the somberness! This chapter deals with the negotiations, and Harry, it's your first debut since Chapter 1! (I felt bad about leaving the family out…I know how Mrs. Weasley wigs out about her kids.)

Harry: About bloody time.

Me: OH! One more thing. My faithful muses, you won't hear from me from July 4th to about July 17th, depending on how long I need to recover from the jet lag upon my return. So if you don't hear of any updates for a while, there's good reason. (breaks into big smile) I've been taking part in a student program, and now I'll fulfill my biggest dream! Starting on the Fourth of July, I'm headed for Japan for 2 weeks! (Seriously!) Want anything back!

Harry: That super-sweet Japanese candy everyone always talks about.

Draco: A samurai sword! Don't ask me why I need it; I just do.

Ron: Sailor Moon memorabilia!

Lucius: Hmm…I don't suppose you mind bringing back a woman.

(Everyone stares at him and Ron strangely.)

Lucius: What? I hear Japanese women are pretty.

Ron: And Sailor Jupiter kicks ass, all right?

Me: No wonder you two are made for each other. But you know what this means? I'll miss the American premiere of the Sixth Book! (thinks) You know what this also means? The series is almost done! I-I can't believe it! It's terrible! I don't wanna say goodbye to you all! (starts sobbing violently) Harry, just…just start the chapter!

Harry: (sigh) Rolling Chapter 11. (clicks the remote and goes to get tissues)

(Begin Chap. 11)

...Looking beyond that eventful night with Draco, Blaise, Ron, and Lucius, nothing much else of importance evolved from it. Lucius had made up his mind to let Draco see for himself why the love between he and Callisto's son would never be. It was almost a given that Malfoy dragged him into his rendezvous plot, so Ron didn't receive any further punishment other than on the count that he forgot to run the bath water. The "punishment" was only a recurrence of what Ron had already accepted as a routine in his life at the manor. Lucius's affections didn't hurt as much this time, which only confused him further. Did it hurt less because Mr. Malfoy had been gentler, or was it because he didn't mind as much anymore? That'll be a question to discuss later.

Now let's direct our attention to what happened after the very beginning of our story. The day of the Diagon Alley raid had been August sixth. On that late afternoon, the captured Death Eaters were hauled off by the Ministry, and the ones who weren't disappeared as suddenly as they had arrived…

(Flashback)

...Tom the bartender raised his head up from below the counter, surveying all that was left standing. What were left standing were a couple of tables, some chairs, and the people present. The commissioned Aurors of the Ministry of Magic used Charms to bind the hands of the incarcerated, taking away their wands so they wouldn't try anything.

Unfortunately for the members of the Order, the situation was urgent enough for Cornelius Fudge himself to barge through the back door. The second he did, he laid eyes on Moody. The retired Auror replied with a challenging glare. As Fudge briefly turned to address the Aurors, Lupin came up from behind.

"You believe our secret's out?" he asked. Moody grinned cynically.

"Even if it is, Fudge can hold nothing against us. We're the ones who were doing the work. After all, in these times, we have to protect the innocents at all costs—and him," Moody added after a pause, nodding his head towards Harry. The dark-haired teen was standing alone by the entrance facing downtown London. Worriedly, Lupin left Moody's side to talk to him. The dark-haired boy hadn't moved an inch since Lucius took away Ron. No one else but he and Lupin saw it. How many more friends do I have to kill or put in danger?, Harry thought bitterly. I mean, I know he isn't dead. The light wasn't green and didn't shriek, but Malfoy would still try something. Why'd he take him away and not me? Weren't they after me?

"Harry," Lupin called out. He turned around, and just as quickly his anger started to rise. That's right…Lupin had held him back…just as he did when…

"I could've stopped him from taking Ron!" he yelled. "Why didn't you let me save him? Stop holding me back!"

"Stop holding you back? When did I stop you the last time?"

"In the Department of Mysteries. I could've saved him—that's why I went down there in the first place! It was a mistake I made, I know, but I had a chance to save Sirius anyway…and you wouldn't let me!"

The older wizard was taken aback at first, then returned the roar.

"You think I didn't want to save Sirius? I know how you felt, but don't let your reputation get the better of you. That scar won't save you from human stupidity. A nice way to thank those who died for you. Sirius only fell through the veil; you had a better chance of being hit with an Unforgivable Curse! Besides, Sirius left us with good intentions. He wanted to ensure your life. Everyone risks their lives to save you, because they love you, so try and use good judgment."

"And do I have to sacrifice everything just so I can kill Voldemort! I'm aware of the intentions my mum, dad, and Sirius had, but that doesn't make it any easier. I dare you to say it's easy living on without Sirius—you were one of his best friends."

"So was Wormtail. Things happen that seem too much for us. All I want you to do is keep it together—"

"I've kept it together for sixteen bloody years!"

"Harry dear? Harry!"

In the heat of the argument, Mrs. Weasley finally intervened with Mr. Weasley in tow. Both of them had been making sure everyone was accounted for, and Ron was nowhere to be seen.


"Harry, is Ron still upstairs? I thought he was with you," Mr. Weasley asked.

Harry looked away with remorse. The befuddled parents looked at Lupin questioningly, and he almost did the same. Deciding against it and subconsciously wanting to teach Harry a lesson in handling situations of crisis well, he stared back at the both of them and took Mr. Weasley by the shoulder.

"I—I'm sorry, Arthur. Ron's with them now."

This led to further confusion. "With who?" Arthur asked.

But Mrs. Weasley figured it out; a second later she let out a sorrowful, screeching wail that caught the attention of everyone in the tavern. The sound of it shattered Harry's heart, although there was nothing remarkable about feelings of guilt for Harry. Moody immediately deviated from his one-sided "discussion" with Fudge and strolled towards the little group as quickly as he could, an expression of true alarm on his disfigured face. Also really worried, Fudge eventually followed.

"What's the problem?" Fudge asked.

Mrs. Weasley was still in tears, but it wasn't enough for her to answer him strongly.

"My son! He was taken!"

Fudge raised an eyebrow and his jaw dropped. "My God, a hostage?"

"My best friend," added Harry in a cross tone.

"This just gets more peculiar! First a raid in broad daylight, and now a hostage situation! What in the world's going on with You-Know-Who's forces? They're becoming totally unorthodox!"

"Maybe he's getting overconfident," suggested Tonks.

"I wouldn't count on it," advised Moody. "Even when war's at hand—especially when war's at hand—You-Know-Who is one to calculate his moves carefully. Not even boldness affects his techniques. I don't even think his orders have anything to do with this. Maybe it's the attitude of his Death Eaters that are changing, not him."

"Harry and I saw who was responsible. We were about to go on the offensive, but he used Ron as a shield," Lupin put in.

"So the kidnapper acted on his own. But still, he may refer to Voldemort about what to do with the boy, and considering his usual methods—"

Fudge was cut off by the severest glares from Moody, Tonks, Harry, Arthur, and Lupin, who all subtly nodded towards the continually sobbing Mrs. Weasley. Ginny and Hermione came close and stopped a few feet away. Guessing by the absence of Ron, everyone's apparent bad mood, and Mrs. Weasley in hysterics, it took no genius to figure something was amiss. Ginny looked aside at Hermione with worry.

"Ron's gone," Ginny said simply. Hermione shuddered, Mrs. Weasley's sobs stubborn in her ears. Despite that, she was trying her best to listen in on the conversation.

"So who took him?" Fudge inquired, attempting to change his own subject.

Harry snapped to attention in an instant.

"Malfoy."

Fudge almost choked on his breath, and the rest of the Order's eyes grew large.

"But—but we brought him out on bail!"

"That's what you get for trusting a Death Eater's word, especially in Malfoy's case," muttered Shacklebolt under his breath, he and the rest of the Order finally joining in on the conversation. "Malfoy can and is able to do anything to get out of Azkaban. This makes, what, the second count for him now?"


Fudge gritted his teeth and looked around at everyone else. This wasn't his only mistake. There was no denying it; Cornelius Fudge had horrible judgment. This certainly wasn't going to help his career. And to make matters worse, another faction had been working under his very nose! Was their purpose to overthrow the Ministry? Power was so easy to lose.

"I'm disappointed," growled Moody. "You don't take Potter's word and then you take Malfoy's. Next thing you know, you'll drop your Ministry position and join Voldemort's forces."

"And I suppose this little underground movement you're heading is any better. Even as I look around, I see my own workers fighting against me!"

"We're not fighting against you. If we wanted to destroy your establishment, we would've been helping the Death Eaters, now would we?" replied Hestia Jones crisply. "The Order is dedicated to acquiring information, making connections, stopping Voldemort, and protecting the one destined to do so at all costs. Think of us as a helping hand."

"You're so paranoid about your job, you're blaming the wrong people," added Vance matter-of-factly. "But this wasn't about politics in the first place. It's about safety, and first thing's first. We have to get Molly's and Arthur's son back."

"I will not be made out to be a fool again. I came to be the Minister fully committed to eradicating Voldemort, and I'll be the one to finish the job!" declared Fudge. "Your Order can go along masquerading as vigilantes, but from here on out the Ministry will take care of the negotiations. Interfere with us, and I will not overlook this infraction any longer. Arthur, Molly. Rest assured that you will have your son back as soon as I will it."

With a dignified swirl of his cloak, Fudge turned to leave the Leaky Cauldron. After a few moments of silence, Tonks sniffed in disapproval.

"What is it with him? He thinks everyone's out to get him."

"Can't really say. There's probably a lot of reasons," Shacklebolt answered. "But I'll say this much. If we can't trust Cornelius Fudge with a Death Eater's incarceration, we can't trust him with a human life…"

(End Flashback)

...Time had passed since, and it was now the night of August ninth. Two days earlier, the Weasley family had received the ransom note in the form of an owl sent to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. During a particularly raw morning, the ominous eagle owl swooped in, abruptly dropped the note on top of the parlor's fireplace, and left again. Moody took this as a good sign; the owl had left too quickly to observe anything, and even if it had, it probably wouldn't have remembered much.

Lupin handled it first to observe the handwriting. He couldn't discern it, so he handed it to Mr. Weasley. Arthur recognized it as none other than Lucius's and read the note aloud. They were demanding 1,500 Galleons for Ron, immediately leading the Order into a total uproar. A full-blown conversation wasn't needed to realize the Weasleys were in a bind. And so, those two days passed by at the House of Black with meetings discussing exactly how to get the money; August ninth was a day of particularly heated discussion.

It was late afternoon, the sun fast disappearing from the distant London skyline. In the renovated kitchen, the members of the Order sat or stood around the table. There was no friendly tea this time; just straightforward debate about getting the money.

"Did the note even say what they want the gold for?" asked Tonks suspiciously.

"Unfortunately not. On that point alone I don't trust them as far as I can throw the lot of them," criticized Moody, his electric blue eye traveling every which way. "Who knows what they'll use it for? Most likely to finance some scheme."

"And demanding ransoms isn't their usual way of doing things. Like Fudge said, it's unorthodox. Whatever they're up to, they must be desperate," replied Tonks sarcastically.

"Doesn't Malfoy have money? He's one of the richest Death Eaters they have on hand," asked Emmeline Vance, twirling her fingers around thoughtfully.

"From what I hear in the Ministry, they froze his assets in Gringotts," Mr. Weasley answered bitterly.

"I could wring his neck for letting Malfoy go out on bail. Are they bloody mad?"

"They were pretty strict about it, though, which is the point I was about to make. Not only did it cost over five thousand Galleons to set him free, but they placed him on house arrest and used all sorts of Charms to cordon off all the fireplaces in his house so he wouldn't be able to use Floo Powder," Arthur rattled off.

"What? No tracers on his owls? No other magical restrictions on his mansion? No more raids on his house to make sure no other Dark Magic artifacts are left standing?" Tonks teased. "I mean, this is Lucius Malfoy we're talking about. Why not go the whole nine yards?"

"Money talks, I guess, and right now it's telling us we better get the 1,500 soon. Who knows what that devil's doing to my boy?" exclaimed Molly, glaring around the room and nearing tears again.

"The note said no harm would come to young Weasley, didn't it?" Elphias Doge put in.

"Like we're really going to trust every word Malfoy says, let alone writes."

"Do you think we should leave it in the Ministry's hands? Fudge actually seemed to mean business," Lupin suggested, "and we can't risk losing the Order."

"No! I don't care what that imbecile said!" yelled Moody. "That would upset our plans, and besides, I don't trust the Ministry anymore. After trying to silence Potter and setting free a madman, you'd put young Weasley's into their hands? They may go all gung-ho and attempt another raid on the manor without any negotiation. Arthur and Molly may never see their son again—and Malfoy sent the letter to us, not the Ministry, meaning he knows about our doings and wants to settle this on a personal level. The Order has to take care of this, no matter what the costs. Even if he shuts down the Order, he can't shut down the individuals."

After some thought, everyone nodded in stern agreement, and Moody appeared satisfied.

"I also know it's not the proper time to be an opportunist, but you think Ron would also have some inside information?" he added. Everyone's ears perked up, and they stared directly into Moody's irregular eyes. "Ron might've caught a thing or two which would be beneficial. If that information fell into the hands of the Ministry, there's no telling what they'd do with it."

"But be advised, Alastor. He's a prisoner, not a guest. Lucius might've already thought of that," said Lupin.

"Well, actually he's a servant and a spy."

Then everyone's attention turned to Jones. She had the note in her hands and had turned it over to discover a smaller note inside a perfectly hidden crease in the paper. A smile lit up her face as she gave it over to Arthur.

"Your son's a clever one, he is," she said. "He must've sneaked another note inside Lucius's."

Arthur looked at it intensely, grinning for the first time in days. "It says: 'To Mum, Dad, and the Order. I wouldn't worry so much about the money. I'm being used as collateral, so I'm a servant for the Malfoys. Don't worry. I'm being treated well, and I found out a lot. They hired an alchemist named Callisto Zabini, and they need the money to pay him. We'll be in Diagon on the 12th, but we'll be in Knockturn first. Maybe I can sneak a talk. But it'll be too risky to escape. You'll only be able to see me. Say hi to Harry and Hermione for me, and tell them I'm fine. Ron.' Well I'll be!"

"You think we should tell them now?"

Moody nodded. "Goodness knows Potter needs cheering up. Who wants to deliver?"

Before anyone could say a word, Molly snatched the note from her husband's hands, skipped towards the stairs and down a corridor.

(End Chap. 11)

Me: It's not a two-part chapter, per se, but I'll continue this in Chapter 12. The flashback just took so dang long. I just hope I'm capturing the mood of the books right. If I understand this correctly, no one's feeling too sorry for Fudge—

Harry: Damn straight.

Me: And I hear he's getting replaced in the sixth book. That will happen in this story as well, but since we don't know who it is yet, let's get it straight right now that I never intended for this story to be compatible with the Half-Blood Prince. I know it won't be Mr. Weasley, so I'm going to use my own best judgment…we're using that word a lot in this chapter. That's why it's the title.

Lucius: Who do you think it'll be?

Me: I'm not giving anything away! (mutters) But it won't be Dumbledore, either.

Ron: Well, that gets rid of two prime candidates right there!

Me: Oh, I have something up my sleeve…(smiles) Now, who wants to help me pack? The next chapter may be my last update for a while. Then I'm bound for the East!

All 3 (except Lucius): ME! (we start dragging out suitcases and clothes)