Harry Potter and His Witches

By: Shinteo5

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: Chapter 9 out now. Sorry for the late release. Work, you understand. That and the fact that I have no idea what to write when Harry was alone with Bellatrix...

Oh, and japanese-jew? I think that Kodomo has something to say to you. Check the review section if you have the time.

Speaking of reviews, I would like to thank sasqch for the really long reviews that you have left. The points that you made were really interesting, and made me think that much harder on the story. Thanks too to all who reviewed. They were appreciated, all of them.

Anyway, I hope that you'll enjoy this new chapter as well.

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Chapter 9:

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"This isn't working..." Moody said, as they stood facing a dead-end, the third that they had found since retreating from the skirmish with the Death Eaters. "We're out-numbered, injured, and in the enemy's territory with no hope of reinforcement and little to no intelligences on our foes... Standard Auror tactics would be to pull back and regroup..."

"But what about Harry?" Bill asked, tapping the wall with his wand in case there was any hidden doorway.

"You can go back if you wish." Remus growled, slamming a fist into the wall. "But I'm not leaving without Harry. I failed Sirius, I will not fail Harry! Either I get him out of here, or I'll die trying!"

"Calm down, Remus." Moody replied. "That's not what I mean. I have no intention of leaving anyone behind. I was just trying to say that we have to make some kind of plan, or we'll just end up dead! Then who would be around to help Harry?"

The two men stood glaring at each other for a moment before Bill coughed, breaking the tension.

"I'm sorry..." Remus apologized, dropping his gaze. "All this delay is getting to me."

"It's alright." Moody replied, grunting. "I don't relish seeing Minerva and Molly empty-handed anyway... But it seems that the only way forward is through those Death Eaters. These passageways lead nowhere..."

"But there's too many of them." Tonks said, coughing lightly. She had recovered enough to walk on her own, but she still had to lean of Remus for support. "And I'm in no state to take them on again."

"We'll have to think of some way to trick them." Remus agreed. "There's no way we can beat them in a head-on match..."

"But what can we do?" Bill asked. "They are sure to know this place better then we do. They'll be able to spot any traps we put up easily."

"Damn... If only we have something to work with..." Moody grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets in frustration. His expression frozen, however, when he felt something inside them. His face started to grow more excited when he remembered what it was exactly that he had placed in his pocket.

"What is it?" Bill asked, seeing the change in expression. "Did you think of something that we could use?"

"I am a fool." Moody chuckled, pulling out a small packet with the WWW logo from his pocket and showing it to the others.

"Of course!" Bill exclaim, smacking his forehead. "My brothers' stuff! I had completely forgot we have those!"

"We are too used to fighting with only our wands, I think..." Remus replied, frowning. "If I have remembered, then you wouldn't have gotten injured." The last part was directed to Tonks.

"You don't know that." Tonks replied, laying a hand on Remus' shoulder. "Besides, there isn't time to use any of it, even if we had thought of them."

"It's no use playing 'what ifs'" Moody cut in. "So... shall we go give the Death Eaters a surprise?" This was said with as wide a grin as Moody could manage with his twisted mouth.

"Hell yeah!" Bill replied with a match grin, pumping one arm in the air. "It's payback time!"

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"Is it done yet?" Alecto asked her brother for the fifth time in as many minutes. She was growing inpatient, and itching to cause someone some pain. Sitting around had never been her style anyway.

"Just a little more." Amycus answered, watching as yet another blasting charm wear away at the rock fall. "The intruder seemed to have charmed the rocks. They are much harder then usual."

"Sir! The forward team reports that the way is almost clear, and the others are formed up and ready." The Death Eater recruit reported, standing at attention. Inwardly he was groaning. He had been pressed into the role of a massager again! Why is it that everyone sees fit to drop all these tedious job onto him?

"Understood." Amycus replied, with barely a glance at the person reporting; what was his name again? He had seen the recruit around before, but the name kept slipping his mind. Then the dull roar of falling rocks distracted him from his thoughts, and a sudden cloud of dust arose from the opening. Amycus raised one arm up in the air, ready to signal the Death Eaters forward to find their escaped preys, when something appeared in the flickering light of the torches.

"What's that?" One of the Death Eaters asked, puzzled, as the something came into view. A small black ball appeared, walking rapidly forward on tiny feet. Then another appeared. And another.

"Did someone let loose their kid's toys or something?" Alecto asked sarcastically, aiming her wand at the leading... ball-thingy. "Reducio!"

They watched as the spell impacted onto the weird thing, tossing it upwards and back. It landed on its back, tiny feet still moving in the motion of walking. The watching Death Eaters laughed at the sight. Some of them aimed their own wands at the other ball-like things, which had now increased in number to almost ten.

Then the one on its back exploded with a loud bang, shocking the Death Eaters.

"Damnit! Bombs! Those things are bombs!" One of the Death Eaters shouted, as soon as he could hear himself. There was a moment of stunned silence, before the Death Eaters literally jumped into action, leaping back from the suddenly dangerous-looking devices, the foremost already almost at their feet. They were so busy with the Explosive Decoy Detonator that they completely missed Moody sudden appearance at the entrance of the cavern. He did not stay for long, however. Just long enough to lop a tightly sealed bottle in the direction of the Death Eaters before he retreated back from where he came from.

Some luckless Death Eater looked up from the Decoy Detonators just in time to see the bottle fly end-over-end before it smashed into his face, releasing the contents. A sudden lightning bolt flashed before his eyes, microseconds before he was flash-fried by it. The bolt then leaped out from the smoking corpse, acing through the empty air in an expanding circle. Four more Death Eaters fell to the deadly electricity before the flickering edge touched the first of the Explosive Decoy Detonators, with explosive results.

Alecto stared at the carnage in shock, unable to comprehend the sudden destruction within her ranks. She had brought thirty Death Eaters into the room. Now less then half was still alive, and most of the survivors were in just as much shock as her. One moment she had the upper hand, with numeric superiority and an injured quarry. Now her numbers were cut into half by some unknown device, and they had not even seen a glimmer of the enemy. It was almost enough to make her cry!

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Just beyond the opening to the room, the rescue team was in as much shock as the Death Eaters. They had expected perhaps to distract the Death Eaters a little, giving them the chance to punch through them and into the passageway beyond. They had not expected to decimate half of the Death Eaters in less then a minute.

"Well... that went better then expected..." Moody noted, looking at the devastation of the room.

"That's an understatement if I ever heard one." Bill laughed, running a hand through his ponytail. "Remind me never to piss off the twins, ever!"

"Who would have guessed that they are capable of something like that?" Remus mused, stoking his chin. "But then again... considering their accomplishment during their seventh year, when they broke out from Hogwarts... perhaps not so surprising after all..."

"Remus," Tonks asked from the corner, where she seemed to be thinking of something. "Do you think you can use the spell when you extinguish the fire on me again, but this time on the Death Eaters?"

"Of course." Remus replied, somewhat surprised at the sudden change in topic. "But why would I want to do that?"

"Well...I was just thinking... water conducts electricity rather well, right?" She asked, barely acknowledging the answering nods before continuing. "So, what if we combined the weather bottle with that water spell of yours..."

The resulting grins on the faces of the rescue team were positively vicious.

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It was, all in all, a rather nice room. It was used by Voldemort as a place to relax before he had to face his servants, and as such was outfitted with a small wine cabinet, charmed to remain chilled at all times, and a long, comfortable couch to rest in. A table stocked with various types of potions stood in a corner, in case there is a need for them. On the other side, a small bookcase filled with dark arts tomes stood. Narcissa waved the rest of the party in, before closing the door with a small sigh of relief. With a solid door between them and the Dark Lord, and away from the various surveillance charms, they were finally able to talk freely. There were still plans to be made, after all, if they hope to escape with their lives.

"Now, my Lord. If you would wait here, I will go retrieve your wands, and then we can leave this place."

"Is this place safe?" Hermione asked, gazing around the room, though her eyes lingered on the couch, passing over even the bookcase. She had stood face to face with the Dark Lord, and it had taken much out of her. She was exhausted, and there was nothing that she wanted more at that moment then to drop onto the soft couch and rest.

"It's safe." Narcissa assured her. "This is the Dark Lord's personal waiting room. There is no surveillance here. The Dark Lord insisted on that."

"How are we gonna escape from here?" Ron asked. "I mean, do we have to go through the whole lot of the Death Eaters? We didn't fare too well the last time we face them..."

"There is only one place within fifty kilometers that you can portkey or apparate out, and we have all the Death Eaters within this base between us."

"There are no other ways?" Harry asked. There is nothing more he would like then to leave this place behind him for good, and he was impatient to be gone.

"There is a floo connection to the old Lestrange estate. Your friends were brought here by that route."

"And I came through the front door?"

"You were brought directly to the Dark Lord, as you remembered..."

"Yes... I remember..." Harry replied, suddenly feeling the pain on his injured body that, in the excitement of confronting his old enemy, he had forgot.

"Anyway, when I return with your wands, we'll make a break for it through the floo system while the Dark Lord is preoccupied with the intruders at the front.

"Alright then... One last question."

"Yes, my Lord?"

"What am I suppose to do with her?" Harry demanded, waving a hand towards Bellatrix, who stood just behind him, eyes downcast.

"Anything you wish, my Lord." Narcissa replied stiffly. "The Dark Lord has given her to you after all..."

"Anything?" Harry asked slowly. "I can do anything to her?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Even if I did to her what she did to me?"

"...Yes, my Lord..."

"Even if I commanded her to kill herself?"

"...Yes..."

Harry was about to continue, but the sudden spike of sorrow from the corner of his mind that lead to Narcissa put a sudden stop to it. It was enough to shock him out of his rant, to see Narcissa shaking, with tears standing bright in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, concerned. Though he still does not fully trust her yet, the sight of a woman in tears never fail to unnerve him.

"Harry..." Hermione spoke up from the couch at the back of the room where she had been resting, her tone disapproving. "You try asking someone if you can rape and kill her sister, and see if you would not be upset!"

"Oh... I..." Harry reacted as if he had been slapped, as his mind raced back to what he had said in his fit of anger. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean..."

"It's alright, my Lord." Narcissa interrupted, dashing her tears away and straightening herself up. "She is yours, to do as you will. If you'll excuse me, I will retrieve your wands and then we can leave this place."

With that, she turned and left the room, leaving a rather awkward atmosphere within the room.

"I think she's upset, mate." Ron spoke up from beside the door where he had been leaning against.

"Yes... I can see that..." Harry replied with a sigh, as he walked towards the couch where Hermione was sitting, and sank into it warily. "Damn... What was I saying...?"

"I can understand why you are feeling upset, Harry. But are you really going to do what you said just now?" Hermione asked, laying a concern hand in his shoulders. "With Bellatrix, I mean..."

"Of course not." Harry answered. "Look at her..." He pointed to Bellatrix, who was now kneeing beside the couch near Harry, eyes lowered submissively. "How am I suppose to do anything to someone who is like that?"

"You have a point there..." Ron said, dropping into the free space beside Hermione with a grin. "It's not much fun unless they can fight back."

"Ron!" Hermione cried out, shocked. "How can you say that? That's a human being you're talking about!"

"Precisely my point." Ron shot back. "Look at that." He pointed to the collar around Bellatrix's neck, a broad band of leather etched with runes, not unlike the bracelet that Narcissa now wore.

"What about it?" Harry asked, not seeing the point.

"I have heard about such things before." Ron replied, now serious. "They sap a person's will away, leaving them as nothing more then dolls, to be used as their owner please. They can do nothing, not even sneeze or cough without their master's permission."

"What... That's horrible!" Hermione had always held very strong feelings about the free will of other people and races, the house-elves foe example. To find out that there are people that would take even such basic freedom away from other people was a shock.

"I heard that it was rather popular among the Death Eaters during the last war." Ron continued, his ears going red. "They used them on muggles for... sexual purposes..."

"But why would Voldemort use such things on one of his most loyal servant?" Harry wondered aloud. "What kind of monster is he...?"

"He may be making a point." Hermione reasoned, trying to avoid thinking about Ron's last statement. "Showing off his powers? That no one is indispensable, not even his most loyal servants?

"Or maybe he really want Harry to join him, that he is willing to sacrifice his best Death Eater to prove it..."

"Not likely, given how the prophecy went. I am suppose to kill him, not join him..." Harry answered. "I think that it is a stupid move on his part. Does he really think that giving me Bellatrix like that would turn me to the dark side?"

"Aren't you even a little tempted?" Hermione asked, tilting her head curiously. "I mean, there she is, helpless to anything you want to do to her. Don't you want to take revenge for what she had done to you at least?"

"Not really..." Harry sighed, turning to look at Bellatrix. "Looking at her now, like that. It makes me feel sorry for her. The Bellatrix I wanted to face should be on her feet, with her wand. Not someone who can't even defend herself. I want to defeat her, to beat her down. What meaning is there to victory, unless you are the one to win it...?"

"That's not important now..." Ron said. "The question now is... what do we do?"

"We wait..." Harry sighed. "It's not as if we can just walk out of here..."

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Draco turned the last corner leading towards the throne room, just in time to see his mother walk rapidly away from it, her shoulders hunched and shaking, as if she was crying. Draco had a momentary desire to go to her, and find out what's wrong, and to comfort her if she had truly been crying. She was his mother, after all... But it was gone as soon as it came, and Draco pushed it aside easily. He had a revenge to take, after all, and could not afford the time for every trivia things that happened his way...

He was momentarily surprised when he pushed open the doors to the throne room to find it empty... until he heard the voices of Potter and his merry men within the back chambers. He cursed softly, realizing the meaning. The chambers behind the throne room were the Dark Lord's personal room. As such, only guests were allowed inside it. Most Death Eaters had never even seen the inside of the room, though Draco had been inside it, the day professor Snape brought him back, after the botched mission to kill the Headmaster... to give an account of his failure. His mother had been with him then, he remembered...

Draco shook his head to clear his thoughts. This is not the time to be thinking of such things. She was just behind that door, and he would have his revenge. Soon...

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Harry sat, lost in thoughts, as he took advantage of the silence to organize his thoughts. Things had happened so quickly; his capture, the tortures, and the offer of aid from his enemy's mother, Voldemort's sudden change in attitude towards him, his 'gift'... It had left his head spinning, and this was the first time that he had the time to deal with it. Hw wondered who could it be that had entered Voldemort's base, and if they were really here to rescue him and his friends. He had told no one of the planned trip to gather information on the Horcruxes, and it was unlikely that anyone even knew where he was at the moment... Unless... they were following him... keeping track of him somehow...

Normally, he would have been furious at the thought that the Order would seek to keep track of him, but in this case, he could not help but feel relief that they had maintained as close a watch as they did. If he had been by himself, he would not have worried so much. But with Hermione and Ron along for the ride, Harry felt the weight of responsibility for their lives too. Added to that was Malfoy's mother, bonded to him as his servant, willingly, and Voldemort's... 'gift'. Though unwanted, he nevertheless had to take responsibility for them too...

Yes, at this point in time, he would have taken any help that he could get. He was way over his head in this, and he knew it. Even when he was surrounded by Inferi he had not felt so helpless. At least Dumbledore was with him then...

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt Hermione's head dropping onto his shoulders, and her hand intertwined with his. He turned his head, only to see Hermione smiling up at him, and feel her hand squeeze his softly.

An odd sort of calm fell over him, as he allowed his head to hit the back of the couch and relax, his eyes drifting shut for perhaps the first time since he woke up in this really screwed up day...

And of course, fate would not allow him even that. The sound of the door slamming open shook Harry out of his relaxed state. Standing at the doorway, wearing a manic grin and waving a small bottle, was someone that Harry would rather not face at this moment in time; Draco Malfoy.

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Well, the rescue team managed to get pass the Death Eaters. Up next would be the Dark Lord Voldemort.

And now it's Harry and co's turn to be in trouble. Will they ever escape? Or will I just keep them in various situation until the end of time...?