Chapter 21: The Rescue Is Put Into Action
As night time fell over Hogwarts, the perfects began their patrols of the castle ensuring that all students were in their common rooms; however no one knew that there were four first years that were about to embark on the biggest rescue mission of their lives-to rescue Luke and Leia's parents.
Having returned from confronting Malfoy straight after dinner, he was greeted by Ron who informed him that Leia and Hermione were still preparing themselves as he had prepared Luke and his's items, including Anakin's lightsaber, which confused Luke,
"Why did you pack that?" he asked as Ron explained,
"Well, in case your parents want to protect and help us out, your dad has his weapon" as Luke understood,
"That's a good idea, thanks for packing it" he told him as Ron smiled,
"Not a problem" as more voices came down the stairs,
"There you are! So did Malfoy tell you anything more?" Leia's asked, seeing Luke smile,
"Oh yeah, and it took some "persuading" but I managed to get it out of him" he boasted as Leia rolled her eyes,
"Well, at least you got something out of him" she replied as Ron sniggered as Hermione spoke up,
"So how do we exit the castle without being seen by the perfects?" she asked as Luke smirked,
"That's where our other skills came in handy" he informed her, as Leia agreed,
"Trust us, dad had taught us how to use stealth as well as sensing when danger is nearby" slinging her light brown backpack over her shoulder, "So shall we get heading out, before we are discovered?" she asked as everyone agreed,
"The sooner the better because I don't think mom and dad have much time left" he pointed, as Leia sucked in her breath, why did Luke have to mention that she wondered.
The house had gotten cold, colder than usual, but the only ones who were trying not to complain were the death eaters because they knew that Voldemort had planned this and they wouldn't dare question his methods.
While deep in two separate rooms, laid Anakin and Padme, their eyes were closed, and their hands had been positioned on top of their chest, still visible was their wounds and now deep bruises, amongst their shattered clothing. Anakin's body was trying to fight off the status he was in, keeping him alive longer but it was Padme, who's strength was decreasing with every passing minute, she was no Jedi and didn't know how to hold on, and with Anakin not beside her, feeding off some of his force strength to her, it was impossible to do it herself.
Though, try as Anakin might, Voldemort knew that the formula would be stronger and while it may not kill them directly. It will weaken their systems, so that if they did wake, they would be too weak to fight and protect their children, and it would easier to kill them when the time came.
Luke, Leia, Hermione and Ron never realised how quiet the castle was at night, although that was probably because they weren't allowed out and since being caught had done their best to stay in their rooms,
It was very quiet, except the odd footsteps moving towards them causing them to hide behind pillars and into classrooms to avoid being seen by perfects or worse Filch, and his cat Mrs Norris.
They slowly proceeded towards the front doors, breathing a sigh of relief as soon as they exited the front doors, the cold night air making them shiver, "That was close, we almost didn't make it" Luke spoke as they all agreed,
"Bloody hell, you weren't wrong about leading us out secretly" he replied as Luke smiled as Leia added,
"Now that's out of the way, let's keep going, the broomstick closet is not that far from here" she reminded them as they edged closer, pulling their jackets closer to their chests, they finally stopped at the small closet,
"Alohomora" Hermione whispered hearing the lock click as Luke opened the door,
"Piece of cake" he told them, before he handed each of them a broom including himself. "Okay, remember, follow my lead, and don't stray too far behind. We're heading north from here then when I turned left, you guys turn to left and it's a huge manor nearest to a lake" he explained as Ron seemed surprised,
"Wow, what did you do to get Malfoy to reveal all that?" he asked as Luke smirked,
"Simple techniques I picked up from dad" as Leia added, "Which means, lifting him up and pinning him to the wall and threatening him" as Hermione laughed, as Ron replied,
"Well, I won't say he didn't earn it" as the sound of further rustlings cause them to stir,
"Okay, let's get going. Ready?" he asked seeing them all nod,
"Alright, let's go!" he exclaimed and with that, Luke, Leia, Ron and Hermione each flew up into the night starry sky and high over Hogwarts and the forbidden forest, before they picked up more speed and Hogwarts was just a blur.
Something was wrong. Why couldn't he communicate with Anakin anymore? He knew he was alive because he could sense a small trace of his force signature but that was about it.
Something was happening, Anakin and Padme didn't have much time left-he needed to find a way to them, Dumbledore needed to be informed, he knew about this prophecy more than he did.
He knew he was late but there wasn't much time, so grabbing his night cloak, he quietly left his quarters and proceeded for Dumbledore's chambers, when something else hit him-Luke and Leia! How come they weren't in the castle? No! They were off to rescue their parents, now he really needed to speak with Dumbledore.
A small smirk crosses Voldemort's pale face; he knew they were coming, at last! Soon the magical world will be his's with their help. He clicked his fingers and another one of his loyal assistant, Wormtail, appeared at his side,
"My lord?" he asked as Voldemort sneered,
"They are almost here. Don't approach them when they land, let them find their parents. Then the fun starts" he laughed as Wormtail asked once more,
"So…I shall alert the others then of the plan?" as Voldemort snapped,
"Yes, you fool and then go to Lucious and Bellatrix and give them this. Tell them to administer it to the prisoners. It will level out their status but if their skin is touched, they will still be cold as ice" he laughed, hearing Wormtail scattering away with the two vials in his chubby hands and to alert the others of his plan.
Over the towns and villages they flew, edging closer and closer, Luke and Leia trying their best to fly faster because they knew time was running out, as Hermione pointed it out before they noticed it, just beyond the trees
"I see the house!" she yelled out to them, as they looked in her direction, and sure enough, she was right, with only a few lights on and a strong sense that their parents were inside, Luke shouted back,
"Okay, let's land to the left of the house so that they don't see us. There's a few trees there so land closer to them" he instructed them as they each began to fly lower till their feet were touching the ground, quickly hiding their brooms, they each reached out for their wands, as Leia spoke,
"Okay, we'll enter from the back then we spilt up" as Luke agreed,
"Okay but I think that, to be fair one of you girls has to come with us" he informed them seeing them glare over at him,
"Don't look at me, like that, it's because you girls are smarter and know a lot more spells to help us out" he explained as they understood what he meant,
"Agreed, so Ron will come with me and Hermione will go with Luke" Leia explained back seeing them nodding in agreement before slowly running towards the back of the large manor, seeking a way in,
"How do we get in?" Ron whispered as Luke looked around,
"Ah, here we go" rushing towards a side door used by the servants, "Alohomora" he whispered as the door clicked and opened, "This way" he ushered them over before entering inside.
They found themselves in a large, what appeared to be a dining room, "Lumos" they all whispered and they had light,
"Okay, let's split up. Ron and I will go this and Hermione and Luke go to the right. Find mom and dad before we find Voldemort" Leia instructed, learning his name but knew Ron hated to hear it but there would be time to argue later, time was of the essence.
"So you are certain that Luke and Leia are going after them?" Dumbledore asked once more, seeing Obi Wan nod,
"Yes, their presence is no longer here and more than likely they're gone after their parents, should have know, they're like Anakin, they never want to sit still" with a small laugh, as Dumbledore rose to his feet,
"Well then we shall set out to find them" as Obi Wan cut in,
"Professor, I think it would be wise if I didn't come. Not that I don't want to, it's just that I don't want to allow them to know I was here" he replied seeing Dumbledore break out into a huge smirk,
"Who's says that you were here before? I could have contacted you after they ran off?" he asked as Obi Wan started to see what he meant,
"But still, couldn't Anakin say something if he survives?" he asked as Dumbledore went on,
"We'll handle that when it comes to it, right now, we need to track Voldemort down and stop Luke and Leia before he can turn them" he informed him as Obi Wan listened,
"But how do we know where he is?" as Dumbledore replied,
"Fortunately I am the one Voldemort fears the most apart from the prophecy and so I'll know where he could be" turning to his desk, he set to work along with Obi Wan into discovering where he was hiding.
Leia and Ron descended the creepy stairs into the lower part of the house, brushing cob webs out of their way, Ron was not enjoying that part, hoping that the spiders were not nearby, but Leia pressed on, her wand shinning brightly in front of her, as Ron asked,
"Leia, do you really think that they're down here. I mean what if they're upstairs?" as Leia kept moving but replied,
"Because I didn't sense anything up there and I just didn't feel right" turning another corner, she knew she was onto something, "But we're closer here than we were upstairs" she added, coming across more stairs,
How many levels did this house have? She wondered, but continued down them, she knew they were close, and she couldn't wait to see them again, she only hoped that Luke was onto the right track.
"Luke, are you sure they would be this way?" Hermione's worried voice asked as Luke peered around another room, his wand shinning light directly into the room,
"I know that someone's here and I want to find them" he informed her as Hermione pointed out,
"But Leia said to find your parents first then take on You Know Who" as Luke shrugged,
"I know what she said. I just heard a noise and wanted to check it out" moving his wand around once, but found nothing, "Damn, nothing here. Oh well, shall we continue?" he asked her as she agreed,
"I think that's wise, maybe we can rescue your parents without attracting attention" she informed him, moving back into the front hallway, he stopped,
"Hang on, I think I know how to find them" he spoke, looking into the front lounge room, "I sense that they've been in that room" he started, moving over to a set of descending stairs, "Then they were dragged down these stairs" he went on, as she simply followed him down, her wand brushing the cob webs out of her face, while her coat was pulled closer around her chest,
"Then what?" she asked as he moved down the stoned narrow corridor,
"They were still dragged down here, past these cells to,….Oh great! More stairs!" he complained but kept going, "Then down here, they were kept" he finished, looking around now, they couldn't be far.
"Oh my goodness!" Leia gasped, "It's like another hallway. This can't possibly be the house still?" she asked, turning to Ron,
"Can it?" she asked him as he shrugged,
"I don't know. It's too weird" he replied as Leia moved forward, her eyes catching hold of a still figure not too far ahead, and before she said anything, she sprinted to the figure, as Ron didn't understand but followed her, seeing the figure as he got closer,
He could see that it was Anakin, but he was not moving, just lying there, with his eyes closed and his clothes in tatters,
"He's so cold" Leia cried, "Oh no, is it too late" her lips quivering as her now shaky fingers reached out to feel for a pulse, breathing a little more, when she found a faint pulse, "He's still alive" she happily cried as Ron knelt beside her,
"But what do we do now?" he asked as Leia looked around,
"We need to find a way out of here. I won't let my dad die" she informed him.
"Oh Luke, look!" Hermione exclaimed as Luke followed her finger, and gaze to another long corridor lead to but this time at the end was a large empty room, with a figure, and Luke wanted to collapse with joy, it was his mother,
"Hermione, we did it!" he exclaimed running over to her, stopping when he was standing over her body, it was Padme, her eyes were closed and her hands were clasped together on top of her chest, her hair was all mattered and her clothes were almost ripped to sheds,
"Is she dead?" Hermione asked, as Luke fell to his knees, searching for a small pulse,
"No, there is faint pulse. It's a good thing we came after all, otherwise they'd be dead" he replied adding,
"We need to get her out of here and meet up with Leia and Ron, who have hopefully found dad" he told her hearing her shriek,
"Luke!" and Luke looked up in her direction, his eyes widen in fear, a figure, not sure if he was the same from the first time, but a figure wearing a looming silver mask and dressed in black, loomed towards them, Luke held his wand at them,
"Who are you? What have you done with my mother!" he exclaimed, as they loomed towards him,
"You know you really shouldn't come unprepared" they spoke, as Luke stared coldly into their masked eyes,
"We are prepared and you'll be sorry" he told them as the figure laughed,
"Really? The dark lord has been waiting for you, but first" he waved his wand and Luke looked around, nothing happened, until Hermione gasped looking down, he saw his mother's eyes snap open,
"Luke" she whispered, her breath soft struggling to sit up, Luke knelt beside her,
"Mom, you're alive" he cried as the figure laughed once more, "Not for long" they spoke.
Leia and Ron quickly looked around, more worried than before trying to find a way out of the room, Leia looking down at Anakin, shaking him gently,
"Dad, please wake up. Please! We need you to wake up!" she cried, shaking him further, and then she remembered, "Ron, my dad's lightsaber! Do you still have it?" she asked, as he pulled a face,
"No, Luke asked could he hold onto it, he's got it" he confessed as Leia sighed in frustration,
"No, we could have used that! We need to get out of here!" she exclaimed as a menacing laugh filled the room,
"What's the hurry, little one?" they asked, with a sinister laugh as Leia and Ron turned their heads in the direction of the voice, "Aren't you wanting to see your daddy wake?" she laughed as Leia gripped her wand tighter,
"You do anything to him and I'll kill your leader" she warned her as Bellatrix just laughed,
"We'll see" she crackled, and with a swish of her wand, Leia heard her a gasp, and someone else around her, she looked down, to see movement, her tears falling from her cheeks,
"Dad! Dad, you're alive" she cried throwing her arms around him, he still felt cold to touch,
"Yes but he is still weak, which is perfect for Voldemort's plan" Bellatrix laughed once more.