Bill and Charlie were alone at The Burrow when an alert sounded on Bill's wand. Molly and Arthur were off having dinner with Percy, and the twins hadn't been around since they'd confronted their brothers after Harry had first went missing. The two eldest Weasley children had been enjoying a peaceful night when the alert came and changed everything.
"It's the cottage," Bill said with a frown. "Almost all of the wards have been attacked."
"What about the one prohibiting magic use?" Charlie questioned as he jumped to his feet.
"It can't be broken in any traditional way," Bill reassured his brother. "Whatever Harry is doing, he still can't use magic."
"Then how did he affect all the other wards?" Charlie asked.
"He didn't," Bill answered as he checked the alerts he'd received. "The attacks came from outside the cottage. Harry hasn't broken out, someone's broken in."
"Shit," Charlie swore. "How did they find him? I think the magic ward cloaked his location."
"It does," Bill replied. "So how he was found, I don't know. Of course, we're assuming it's a rescue attempt, but it might not be. Something else might be going on."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. Do we go and find out, or stay here and hope for the best."
"What good's staying here?" Charlie snorted. "Harry knows we're behind his kidnapping, so we're screwed if it's a rescue, whether we stay here or go and investigate. I say we go and hope we can fight our way out. You never know an outburst of violence might be just what the wizarding world needs for it to wake up and see that the dark are a threat."
"Let's go," Bill said shortly as he raised his wand and nodded at his brother.
The pair vanished with matching cracks, and they reappeared on the dusky country street down the road from the cottage. Keeping their wands at the ready, the pair headed towards the cottage. As they approached the cottage they could immediately tell that something was amiss. The front door was missing and there was a foreboding feeling swirling in the air.
"What do you think?" Charlie whispered as they reached the gate. Looking around, he couldn't see or hear anything, but his instincts told him that he and Bill were not alone.
"We have to go in," Bill answered. "Just remember, the second we pass through the gate we'll have no magic."
"Can you not drop the ward?" Charlie asked his brother, not sure if he wanted to progress with no magic.
"I can, but it will mean if there's anyone inside, they'll regain the use of their magic," Bill answered. "I say we keep the ward in place and hope we have the physical edge over whoever is in there."
Hoping his brother had made the right call, Charlie followed after Bill as they slowly entered the garden. Cautiously making their way towards the house they paused briefly on the front step before ploughing forward. Instantly, they could see the destruction in the cottage, with chunks of ceiling lying on the floor and debris littering the entire front room. In fact it looked more like a scuffle had already taken place rather than any sort of rescue attempt.
"What happened here?" Charlie asked in a low whisper.
"We happened here," A cold voice answered and both Weasleys took in a deep breath when an irate looking Voldemort stepped from the shadows of the room.
Before they even had a chance to react, they sensed movement behind them and turning around they found a few more Death Eaters emerging from the shadows. Doing a quick head count, they found one of the Death Eaters hovering in the doorway which led to the kitchen, another one blocking the front door, a wizard and a witch on either side of Voldemort and another one pacing the floor like a caged animal.
"How nice of you to join us," Voldemort said with a malicious grin. "I think you both know what happens next."
"We both know you can't hurt us," Bill replied, sounding a lot more confident than he felt.
"I don't need magic to hurt you," Voldemort growled. "You kidnapped my grandson, I could kill you both with my bare hands. Or I could let Greyback tear you apart."
"Greyback?" Charlie muttered, his attention turning to the wizard that was pacing the floor. In return, Greyback gave him a chilling smile that showed off his sharp teeth and Charlie took an instinctive step backwards.
"Just say the word and I'll rip them limb from limb," Greyback snarled.
"Let's start with getting them outside," Voldemort instructed.
Bill and Charlie barely had time to react before the two Death Eaters on either side of Voldemort launched themselves at the pair and they found themselves ensconced in a tussle. The Death Eater guarding the front door quickly joined the fray, as did Greyback. Being young and fit, Bill and Charlie were able to hold their own for a while, but since it was four against two they were soon the ones who were bloody and bruised.
Voldemort stayed out of things and just watched as his Death Eaters got the upper hand and the two Weasleys began to be herded outside. Once they were out of the cottage, Voldemort pulled Rabastan out of the attack and informed him what would happen next. While Rabastan stayed at Voldemort's side, the others worked on getting Bill and Charlie over the boundary line of the cottage. The second they were out of the garden, Voldemort raised his wand and with a nod to Rabastan, the pair blasted the two redheads with the Cruciatius curse.
The curse on top of their other injuries, proved too much for Bill and Charlie, and despite being young, fit and healthy, they both let out cries of pain. Voldemort ignored their cries as he kept up the curse for a few more minutes. When he did drop the curse, he quickly bound the pair using magic and confiscated their wands. Just as he was contemplating what to do next, he heard movement behind him and found Harry, Severus and Lucius exiting the cottage. Harry was being supported by his father and Lucius, but aside from that, he looked just fine.
"Ah Harry," Voldemort greeted his grandson. "Come and have some fun with these Weasels. I think they deserve to suffer, don't you?"
"I do," Harry agreed. "It's payback time."
Bill and Charlie both looked up at Harry defiantly. Neither of them were sure what was in store for them, but they weren't going to give the dark the opportunity to see them scared.
"Consider this payback, not just for the kidnapping, but for all the years I had to put up with Ron," Harry said to the pair as his father handed him his wand, while continuing to support him alongside Lucius.
Bestowing the pair of them with his best chill inducing smirk, Harry raised his wand and hit Charlie with the Cruciatius curse. While the curse wasn't quite as potent as the one Voldemort had been using on them, it was still strong and there was certainly a lot of feeling in the spell from Harry. His rage, and eagerness to prove he was worthy of being The Dark Lord's grandson fuelled the curse and the longer he held it, the more painful it became for Charlie. The whimpers that Charlie had been submitting at first, increasingly grew in volume until he was howling with pain.
"Stop it," Bill cried unexpectedly, causing Harry to falter and lose focus in his spell. "I did this," He said when Voldemort and Harry looked towards him. "It was my plan. Punish me, not Charlie."
"There is no instead of option here," Voldemort cackled. "I don't care whose plan it was, you both took part in it, and therefore you will both feel the consequences."
"But since you insist on being held responsible, I've got a special treat in store for you," Severus said, making sure Lucius was fully supporting Harry before stepping forward and bending down beside Bill. "This is a very special spell I invented, and it hurts," He whispered menacingly as he pointed his wand at Bill. "Sectumsempra!"
Bill's screams echoed through the country lane as invisible knifes lashed through his skin. Within seconds, blood was seeping from hundreds of wounds and a pool of the sticky red stuff had started to pool around him.
"Will he survive this?" Voldemort asked his son.
"I don't know," Severus replied with an unconcerned shrug. "And frankly, I don't care. I'm taking Harry home now, I'll leave you to deal with these two thugs."
As Severus turned and gathered his injured son in his arms, Bill's cries of pain still echoed around the countryside. Beside him, Charlie was quietly whimpering, still suffering from the effects of the two Cruciatius curses. Voldemort watched his son and grandson disappear, before turning back to the two Weasleys.
"Nott," He called, making a decision about what he was going to do.
"My Lord," Bernard said, suddenly appearing at Voldemort's side. He'd been present the entire time, but he'd stayed out of sight and hadn't gotten involved.
"Arrest these two men," He ordered, handing the Minister of Magic the pair's wands. "Officially, their arrest was the result of an investigation by your Aurors. Aside from the Aurors, no-one else was here, is that understood?"
"Yes My Lord," Bernard replied with a nod. "I take it you want them to go to Azkaban for life."
"However long that is," Voldemort replied, looking down at Bill, who had gone quiet and was very pale. "I also want a statement released naming Bill and Charlie Weasley as Harry's kidnappers. I want the world to know what they did to my grandson."
"And if anyone asks questions about their injuries?" Bernard checked as his two Aurors stepped forward and began securing the two redheads.
"They resisted arrest," Voldemort answered smoothly. "I don't want this to come back on us in any way, Bernard," He warned in a low voice. "These two are the villains of the peace, not us."
Satisfied that Nott had things in hand, Voldemort thanked the Lestranges, Carrows and Greyback for their assistance. Turning to Lucius, he exchanged a relieved smile with his closest follower, before the pair apparated back to Voldemort's house to check on Harry and make sure everything was okay at home.
C.O.T.D.
Relaxation wasn't on the menu back home as Harry's friends and family anxiously awaited news of his rescue. Hermione in particular was finding the waiting hard, and even though Beth had tried to get her to sit and down and relax, she'd taken to pacing the floor in the front room. Even Draco couldn't get her to sit down, and she'd just ignored anyone's attempts to stop her from pacing the floor. As a result of her pacing, it meant she was the first one to react when they heard sounds of apparition from the hallway. Sprinting out of the front room, she skidded into the hallway to find Harry being propped up by Severus.
"Harry." Without thinking she flew across the floor to her nephew and when she flung herself at him, the pair went crashing to the floor as Severus lost his grip on Harry.
"Ow," Harry muttered as his father scolded Hermione. "Thanks for the greeting, Hermione."
"I'm so sorry," Hermione cried, helping Severus get Harry back upright.
"It's okay," Harry replied, shooting his aunt a grin. "I missed you too."
"Harry," Beth cried as she and Rosmerta hurried over to him. Unlike Hermione they were more careful and they both hugged Harry without sending him flying.
"Where's Lucius?" Narcissa asked as Draco stepped forward to help Severus get Harry into the front room.
"He stayed with father," Severus replied. "We left them to deal with the Weasleys."
"After we'd had a go first," Harry added with a wicked smirk.
"So what happened here?" Beth asked as she checked out her grandson's broken ankle.
"I'm afraid that was us," Severus admitted with a wince as Beth fixed Harry's ankle and bound it up to keep it secure. "We had to blast our way into the house."
"It's okay, it's worth it to be safe and back home," Harry said.
"So what happened?" Draco asked his friend. "How did the Weasleys get you?"
"Perhaps we should wait until father returns," Severus suggested before Harry answered. "That way Harry only has to go through it once."
"I'll organise some tea," Beth said.
"You rest, Beth, I'll sort it," Narcissa said, urging her heavily pregnant friend to sit back down.
By the time Narcissa had sorted some tea with the house elves, Voldemort and Lucius had returned. After checking Harry was alright, Voldemort explained what he'd done with Bill and Charlie Weasley. Everyone agreed it was a good idea to let the authorities deal with them, but they all also hoped that they had permanent scars from what had happened to them that evening. Everyone hoped they suffered, especially since they'd brought it all on themselves. If they hadn't kidnapped Harry they would have been left alone, but as it was, they'd had their lives ruined by refusing to back down and accept the new order of things in the wizarding world.
"So what happened, Harry?" Severus asked his son. "How did they get you?"
"I was tricked," Harry answered with a snarl. "I was approached by Daphne, or at least I thought it was Daphne, and she led me to an alley behind The Hog's Head. By the time I realised it wasn't Daphne, she had me trapped. That's when Bill and Charlie turned up and they disarmed me before I could do anything. They then moved me to the cottage, and as you saw, I couldn't do magic there."
"This person posing as Daphne, it was Ginny, wasn't it?" Hermione questioned, although it sounded more like a statement than a question.
"I can't prove it, but she certainly acted as though it was," Harry replied. "Besides, who else would help Bill and Charlie?"
"I'll expel her," Severus snarled. "And we should have her arrested."
"Don't," Hermione said, a devious smirk appearing on her face. "Let me handle Ginny. We all agree she's a threat, so let me deal with her."
"How are you planning on doing that?" Voldemort asked his daughter, wondering just what she had in mind.
"You'll see," Hermione replied with a smirk. "But have patience. My plan isn't a quick one, but rest assured, she's going to regret taking part in Harry's kidnapping."
"Just make her suffer," Harry said to his aunt.
"She will," Hermione said, a cruel glint in her brown eyes.
"Just be careful," Beth warned her daughter. "Whatever you're going to do, don't get caught."
"She won't even know I've been involved in what's going to happen to her," Hermione promised her mother.
"Enough about revenge, let's celebrate having Harry back," Rosmerta said. She still wasn't as bloodthirsty as her new family, and although she thought the Weasleys deserved everything that came their way she wasn't entirely comfortable talking about vengeance so casually.
"Yes, let's all celebrate the hero," Harry said with a grin.
"How are you a hero?" Draco asked with a laugh.
"I'm not sure, but I'll think of a way I am before the end of the night," Harry retorted with a laugh of his own.
Smiling at the banter of her nephew and boyfriend, Hermione sat back and let her evil plan fully form in her mind. She'd meant what she'd said about it being a long term plan, but the end results would be worth it. All she would have to do was control her temper around Ginny, and play the long game. As tempting as it was to rush in and gain immediate vengeance on Ginny, she knew the plan she was hatching was the perfect way to get back at the troublesome redhead. And by the time Hermione was finished with her, she was confident that Ginny wouldn't be a problem anymore.