Dear Readers,

Keep reading! This is our 6th chapter in 3 weeks! Whoopwhoop! ;)

~Rae

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:

VEXATION

"The same thing that kept you alive four years before. Love," Dumbledore said meaningfully. "Her parents loved her enough, and they died protecting her. Just like your mother died to protect you."

"Voldemort wants Shantiel because Draco told him about the third part of the prophecy," Harry realised gravely, it made the pit in his stomach grow deeper. He decided to tell everything, "There's more… I have other dreams, and in those dreams… I see streets of some place that isn't in Britain…I'm not sure where exactly, a place called River Liffey. It's by some dock, it seems very dodgy…almost like Knockturn Alley…there are people," Harry said, feeling for the first time in five days partly relieved. Harry was feeling more confident by the second as he went on. "I see Voldemort talking to one of the corner boys about a plan…but I don't know what it is."

The wise headmaster nodded and then questioned Harry, "I must know who's mind you are seeing this from? It's not Voldemort's?" he studied Harry's face.

Harry lowered his eyes before he replied, "No, I think it's from someone else's mind… I'm not sure whose," he said.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and then spoke, "Either it's whomever it is with Voldemort at these meetings or it's Voldemort himself unintentionally giving away the place his headquarters is hidden," he said solemnly. "It's hidden somewhere and only his closest supporters know where."

"Do, you think that's where he has hidden her?" Harry asked. "Somewhere in his headquarters?" Dumbledore nodded.

He sighed, "Or it might be a trick to see if you'll fall for the false information. He knows you want to rescue the girl. So…"

"So…he believes that if he sends me the wrong information I'll go to wherever it is to rescue her just like what happened with Sirius."

"Yes, indeed that is what he thinks he is doing but really he's showing you the truth," Dumbledore said. "I tried numerous times extracting what I wanted to know yet the information remained locked in the mind ...of a very unfortunate young woman, who did even less to deserve her fate than you or Shantiel did. But Adonna has been successful in receiving the memory we needed to confirm what we suspected to be the truth. Let me show you now what damage was inflicted on Lizzy, Shantiel's then-babysitter."

Dumbledore once again walked back to the Pensieve and he poured in another silver wisp into the basin. The liquid swirled and the office faded away again. They landed in the front lawn of a simple crème-coloured house. A girl with almond brown hair walked up the stone pathway to the front door. She knocked and when the door opened Harry could hear the excited voice of a little girl.

"Hi, Lizzy!" exclaimed little Shantiel, bouncing behind her dad's knees and trying to peak out the door. Harry couldn't help but smile at the tiny blonde's joy. He quickly followed Adonna and Dumbledore inside before the door shut. Moments later a blonde woman walked downstairs in a red dress, she bent down to pick up the small girl.

"Now, you be an angel as you always are with Lizzy, okay, Tilly-bug?" The woman said, kissing Shantiel's forehead.

"Okay, Mummy, I'll be a good girl," Shantiel said as her mum handed her to her father who tickled her with kisses. They both thanked Lizzy for coming and they gave her the child.

Lizzy took Shantiel into the living room and sat down on the couch. For hours, she and the small child played and watched a movie until Shantiel was half asleep with her head in Lizzy's lap. Lizzy smiled as she picked up the tired child and carried her upstairs. Moments later, she walked back downstairs. Harry could tell that something seemed to be wrong when Lizzy peered out the front window then looked at the clock. An hour passed by still and no adults returned. Lizzy was suddenly caught off-guard as five hooded shadows glided across the curtains from outside. She stood to see what it was that was out there. She drew back the curtains to see five people in dark cloaks going around the house. Panicked, Lizzy quickly ran to the phone to call authorities.

She had just barely dialed the number when a voice behind her shouted, "Crucio!" Lizzy fell down to the ground as pain collided with her body. She lay on the floor and tried to stay conscious. More voices began to speak now.

"Nathan, Lucretia, search upstairs for the child," ordered a deep rough voice. The two muttered agreement before heading toward the stairs. Lizzy's entire being stopped when she heard Shantiel's frightened voice from the doorway.

"LIZZY!!!!" shrieked the tiny blonde child as she tried to run to Lizzy. "NO! YOU KILLED HER!!" The injured girl tried to call out in desperation to the people who had now grabbed Shantiel to leave her alone. She reached out for a nearby table to stand up.

"No, she's not dead yet. That's the curse that awaits you," a cold menacing voice issued forth from one of the masked strangers. "Avada Kedavra!" Lizzy screamed along with Shantiel as a green emerald light hit the child. Shantiel lay limply on the ground when the light faded. Lizzy was so distraught with watching them murder Shantiel she succumbed to the darkness which had been threatening to overtake her.

It seemed dark to Harry for sometime before light and sound were once more inserted into the blackened world. Radios crackled all over the place among scattered voices.

"Hey David, she's waking!" a woman's voice spoke from somewhere above them. Lizzy groaned as she opened her eyes. Yellow tape was surrounding the entire living room. Lizzy quickly stood up ignoring her body's rebellion of her movements.

"Who are you? Where are my mummy and daddy?" Lizzy asked frantically upon seeing the police and everything her voice almost sounded like a young child.

"Your parents are coming, Miss," The woman spoke again as she tried to keep the girl calm.

"There were bad black-robed people and they killed my friend! A green light killed her!!" Lizzy exclaimed, trying to push passed.

"We're doing everything we can," the woman said, guiding Lizzy to a chair. She saw a baby doll on the floor inches away from where Shantiel stood. Lizzy picked it up and held it to her chest as she cried, rocking back and forth in the chair stroking the dolls hair. Harry heard the eerie lullaby echoing around them as Lizzy started humming before the scene faded away.

They returned to Dumbledore's office, Dumbledore put the basin back in its cabinet as he spoke, "You see, after that Lizzy assumed Shantiel's identity in every way. It's a bit similar to what happened to the Longbottoms when -" Dumbledore's sentence was stopped by the opening of the door and a person Harry never hoped to see again watched in with an entourage of people.

"There you are, Professor. I was told that you would be here along with Mr. Potter," Umbridge said in her usual sickeningly sweet tone. Her voice took on an edge of evil when she said Harry's name.

"And what is the cause of your visit, Dolores?" Dumbledore said as he eyed her and made his way to Harry's side.

"Well, it has come to the Ministry's and my attention that Harry Potter has been rumored to have helped Draco Malfoy in the kidnapping of Shantiel Biggs," Umbridge said in an overly concerned tone. Harry quickly became outraged.

"Why on earth would I wish to help Malfoy hurt someone I care about? Let alone help Voldemort torment her?" Harry demanded while trying to keep his composure. "And how would I have helped him while I was beaten to a bloody pulp by Draco Malfoy himself!"

"Enough, Harry, I am well aware of the truth. We have confirmed that Harry did not take or assist in the kidnapping of Miss Biggs, Dolores," Dumbledore said as he placed a hand in Harry's shoulder. The young man could sense the quiet fury in the elder wizard.

Umbridge laughed patronizingly, "Yes, of course you would take Harry's side and ignore those who tell the truth. I now understand the Minister's weariness of you, Headmaster." Umbridge's group laughed along with her but stopped when Madam Adonna walked in.

"The 'Harry' that you were told people saw was, in fact, Draco Malfoy. He preceeded in assaulting Harry minutes before to an extreme extent. Draco then used Polyjuice Potion and assumed Mr. Potter's identity." The healer spoke tersely to the toady looking woman, "Harry's injuries could not have been faked by any means possible. I think that anyone who uses Rita Skeeter as a resource is has questionable motives at best. Then again, as they say, 'Ignorance is bliss'," Adonna said coldly. Dolores locked eyes with the healer in silence; Harry knew she was trying to come back with a rebuttal but it never came.

"We will see about that when we are finished with the investigation," Umbridge said in quiet fury. She gestured to her entourage and left the office. This was just the beginning; it seemed she was determined to find anything to accuse Harry of the crimes.

*~*~*~*~*

For Shantiel, the days dragged on endlessly. The only thing that Voldemort's servant brought her was bread and water. The malnourishment caused her to have hallucinations of Draco Malfoy watching her from outside of her cage for hours on end.

"Wake up," said a harsh squeaky voice. She opened her eyes. A man in dark robes stood in front of her holding a tray of food. He was very short with thin colourless hair that was unkempt. A large bald spot was in his hair on the top of his head. He was stocky and his nose was long and pointed like a rat's. His eyes were small and watery.

"Who are you?" she asked curiously. Her voice was a bit scratchy from not talking much.

"Wormtail," he said. He set the tray in front of her. "My master wanted me to bring you some food." He smiled at her cruelly. "Feed the prisoners, feed the prisoners," He muttered under his breath as he sat down the tray. Shantiel's spirits momentarily lifted. Someone else was being imprisoned as well?

"Prisoners?" Shantiel asked curiously, Wormtail's watery eyes widened and he started to scurry away from her cage, mumbling to himself. She tried again almost pleadingly, "Please tell me who it is! Is it Harry?" She once again felt the painful shock of her cage as she uttered Harry's name. The disgusting man laughed insanely as she screamed in great pain. The tormenting shock ended in seconds and Wormtail spoke but it was only to taunt her, "The Dark Lord said that you were hard to teach just like Potter," he giggled as she lay on the floor of the cage. "I hope you enjoy your meal." He left her alone once again. She had wished that time the cage would kill her. Anything was better than this interminable wait for rescue that would never come. She closed her eyes in misery.

Something jarred her awake; it was quite startling as she hadn't even known she'd fallen asleep. A person was lurking outside of the room, but who could it possibly be? It wasn't time for the mysterious stranger for his regular visit, and it had far too short of a time for another meal.

Shantiel stood up, subconsciously clutching her side. "Who's there?" she inquired scratchily.

Without further warning, the door burst open. There standing in the doorway was a person she'd least suspected--for it was Harry. He quickly ran to the cage, pointed his wand to the entrance to shout assuredly, "BOMBARDUM!" The metallic gate blasted open and Harry rushed in carefully and gathered Shantiel into his arms. She hugged him tightly; she should have known he would always come for her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concernedly, embracing her tightly. She pushed gently back from him and smiled up at his fiery gaze. Harry Potter, her emerald-eyed love in denim and plaid amour had come to rescue her.

"Oh, yes," she told him, confidently, "everything's fine now. It was just so hard believing you'd still come."

He smiled back down at her, but as Shantiel looked...something...about his demeanor changed entirely. His normally sunny smile gradually twisted and his grip on her tightened from one of caring to cruelty.

"What...is...WRONG...?" she asked him fearfully, "you're hurting me Harry!" Then she yelped as his nails dug into her skin.

"What could possibly be wrong, my dear?" Now his normally smooth voice became a harsh shriek. "There is nothing wrong," he laughed menacingly and tightened his grip on her even more. "All is only going perfectly according to plan," still his iron-like hands continued to crush her. "So, you think your dear Harry will come to save you, do you?" scraped out this demon-image of her dearest love.

Despite her will, she squeezed her eyes shut with the pain he was causing her. It also hurt mentally that Voldemort was using Harry's visage to try and manipulate her.

Shantiel was panting now with due to pressure from pain. Harry's eyes flickered and changed suddenly to slitted and scarlet snake-like ones. "Your dearest love can never hope to find you," these words escaped altered Voldemort with a high-pitched hiss.

Hyperventilation due to Voldemort's vise-like grip around her was now making her pass out wholly. The last thing she heard was Voldemort's horrendous terrifying laughter echoing in her ears after he said, "He doesn't even know why you're here."

All physical sensation began to leave her and she only felt herself falling. Although hardly anytime passed, her eternal fall only ended when she felt herself land against something hard and unyielding. She cried out and her eyes flew open in shock. A horrible combination of relief and regret filled her as Shantiel released herself.

Harry hadn't been Voldemort; she hadn't been crushed into oblivion by him. It was an unspeakably terrifying nightmare she had just experienced...but...at least Harry was safe. She told herself that this was the best thing possible; Harry couldn't be hurt anymore. That's all she had to hope for anyway.

*~*~*~*~*

Harry was in the middle of yet another nightmare about finding a dead and bleeding Shantiel in the middle of a cage. Suddenly, his dream was interrupted, as if he'd picked up a signal from something else.

He was in darkened shadows, same as so many other dreams he'd had lately, but unlike his dream with Shantiel, the ones regarding River Liffey weren't recurring. They were always slightly varied. His vision continued parallel to the ground...he could hear voices. The vision stopped as he observed some street urchins under a dirty street lamp that was close to burning out.

Thus far, most of the voices in these visions had been non-descript...the most he'd been able to discern were mere snippets of words, as the sound faded in and out on him. Inexplicably, the words became sharp and distinct. Harry couldn't explain why; all he could do was be a willing observer. He heard one of the boy's voices say, "Ireland", followed by the other boys laughing and talking with him. They all had Irish accents, too. Is it possible the River Liffey could be in a dodgy part of Ireland?

The boy who was facing him abruptly quit speaking and began staring in his direction. He motioned to the other boys to quiet down and they did so. The first boy grabbed a lead pipe from nearby, ran over and started smashing Harry. Or smashing the thing whose eyes he was seeing through! That's it—Nagini! The corner boys had probably seen Voldemort's huge black snake slithering around and were now smashing her up with that lead pipe.

The next thing Harry knew, he was back in his own bed at Hogwarts, breathing hard and drenched in sweat. He had to tell Dumbledore straight away everything he had found out.

*~*~*~*~*

"Professor, I know that Shantiel's being held in place called River Liffey! I finally figured out where those visions have been coming from—it's not Voldemort, it's Nagini! She's been slithering about at night, probably as a guard or intelligence measure, and I've been seeing things through her eyes!"

"Thank you for telling me this, Harry, but it is as much as I've suspected already."

For a moment, Harry looked blankly at Dumbledore until it finally dawned on him, "Wait a minute. You know where she is, don't you! You've known ever since I first told you days ago that Shantiel's being held in Ireland!" he accused the headmaster.

Dumbledore looked meaningfully at Harry and said, "Yes."

"And why haven't you gone to get her yet? Go and take action!"

"I am reasonably certain Voldemort does not wish to kill her. Yet."

"And why not? Are we all supposed to just sit around and wait for her to die?" demanded Harry.

"Of course not, Harry," Dumbledore answered. "But you must be patient. Plans are being made, it's just that you aren't privy to them."

"What? I can't stand aside and let others go for me!"

"Yes, you must," insisted the professor. "Because Voldemort is using her as bait to lure you there. He's using the exact same tactic as he did with Sirius. Don't you realize the havoc he could wreak with both Chosen Ones at his disposal? Think, Harry! Think and be patient!"

"But...but it's been so long already! Can't you go...soon?" he pleaded.

"Believe me, Harry, we're doing all that we can for her. It might not seem like it, but we are."

*~*~*~*~*

Harry made his way to the Black Lake to just try to wrap his mind around what he had found out. Voldemort was most likely keeping Shantiel captive somewhere in a place called River Liffey. He needed a plan to get to her before it was too late. The young man could feel Shantiel's life essence though miles apart though weak, he knew she was still alive.

Everything else became distant to him to the point that he barely noticed Ginny standing next to him.

"Hey…" she said quietly, knowing what was on his mind. She sat next to him and silently looked at the horizon.

"Hey, sorry, didn't see you there," Harry said as he clasped her hand in his and then let go.

"It's okay, Harry," Ginny once again became silent he knew that they had been drifting apart since long before all of this had happened. "You truly care for her, don't you?" the redheaded young woman asked, breaking the growing silence between them. The question itself threw Harry off-guard. He thought he'd been so careful, not letting Ginny know of his growing feelings toward Shan.

"Yes, I do…" Harry admitted, while watching his rippling reflection in the lake. The more he thought about it, the more he knew it to be true...his feelings for Shantiel had grown so much that there was little room left for Ginny in his heart anymore. It was the most intense love and connection he'd ever felt for anyone.

"I could tell awhile ago, especially with how her kidnapping is killing you," Ginny said, running her fingers through the water. "You have a deep connection--it's extremely rare."

Harry stared at her for a bit, "You knew that, too?"

Ginny smiled a bit sadly and replied, "Oh yes, it's obvious, the way you look at her, the way your eyes light up when you talk about her. I'd feel almost jealous if I didn't know that it's foolish to try and force a person to love someone. I just wish it could have been me."

"And...you're okay with this?" Harry asked, surprised with how well she was taking everything. Ginny nodded, a bit misty-eyed in spite of herself and smiled.

"Yes, I'm fine. But if you break her heart, I'll have to come and kick your arse," Ginny jested. Harry chuckled and shook his head in amazement before his mind returned to the matter at hand.

"Thank you, Ginny. For everything. Now I just hope that we can find Shantiel," Harry sighed. Ginny hugged him.

"We will, Harry," She said with the some kind of hope that Harry was feeling with the mixture of dread. It was taking far too long, it was time for Harry to take matters into his own hands.

Harry remained by the Black Lake for awhile longer with Ginny, lost in attempting to formulate a plan of how to get to Shan and rescue her. He knew that Voldemort would want his lair heavily secured, just in case someone did come. What Voldemort didn't know that Harry was smarter then he has been last year; he had learned from Sirius's death about what not to do.

The young man stood. He needed to go to the Room of Requirement so he could think more clearly. He bade Ginny goodbye before heading back to the school and up the marble staircase. He reached his destination and when he went to enter through the door he found a surprise waiting for him. The DA turned and looked at him as he entered the quietly pushed passed him, smiling as she stood next to Ron.

"We wanted to help find our friend," Luna said, as Harry looked around in grateful shock.

"So, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and I rounded up the DA," Neville said, "We knew you couldn't do this alone." Harry just stood there, looking at those who had always stood by his side.

"You're not going to let me do this alone, are you." It was a statement, not a question. His friends all stood there, folded their arms, and nodded.

"But how are we going to get to Shantiel?" asked Ron.

Harry grinned, shared a knowing look with Luna and said, "We fly, of course!"