I apologize for the late update. I was feeling a little under the weather for the past couple of days, so I didn't write much. Instead, I'm going to publish two chapters today to make it up.

Enjoy!

Chapter 21-Fred

By the time James, Lysander, and I reached the doorway, there wasn't a door there anymore. It had been blown apart by the sheer force of Dolohov's spell. Little bits of shrapnel had flown everywhere. I cursed loudly as a piece of plaster knifed into the soft part of my foot.

"Are you all right mate?" James called loudly. His voice echoed loudly in the dim space.

"Yeah, fine. Just…stepped on something. Sorry about that."

"No problem. We need to-"

Just then, Lysander cried out in pain. He'd practically sliced his arm open on the jagged edge of a piece of debris and was bleeding badly. We rushed over to him and I dug a clean bandage out of my pocket before handing it to James, who was closest to him. James wrapped Lysander's cut up to the best of his ability, even though the room was black as pitch and dust was hanging like a dusty film in the air.

"You okay?" I asked. I prayed he would say yes, as I wasn't sure what would happen if he didn't.

"Yeah, I'm…fine." Lysander grimaced as he moved his bad arm. "We need to get Dolohov! We can't let him escape!"

I knew that he was right. We'd most likely never get this chance again. "Did you see which way he went?"

"No, I was hoping you did."

Just then, James interrupted us. "Guys, shouldn't we wait for Teddy and the others? We can't just go and try to subdue a notorious Death Eater by ourselves. That would be suicide."

"We've come too far to stop now. We have to keep going and hope the others find us. However, you can stay here if you want to." I said seriously. "No one's forcing you to go, mate."

James grinned. "And leave you two to try to figure things out by yourself? Not likely. You'll get each other killed. You might be out of your minds…but better all of us than only two. Let's go."

Lysander cheered and ran blindly down an empty passageway. James and I exchanged a look, rolled our eyes, and followed him.

When we caught up with him, he was standing in a small alcove. His wand was raised and pointed directly at Dolohov, who was watching us almost psychotically.

"Hello boys. How nice of you to find me." he drawled.

"Surrender. We beat you." James said. His eyes were crackling with fury.

"Shouldn't you find your cousins? They might be worried. Especially when they enter this room and see three dead and mangled corpses."

Briefly, I wondered if Dolohov could really kill us with a spell he'd created using nonverbal magic.

Then I realized that I couldn't worry about it. Whatever happened would happen. I had bigger things to do.

"You're surrounded." Lysander replied.

"But I can Apparate. See you, boys." He began to turn on the spot.

The next few seconds seemed to lengthen and slow down, until they seemed to pass at a snail's pace. "Wait! You have to save my cousins!" I screamed. He was getting away, and there was nothing I could do.

Suddenly, a voice from behind me yelled "STUPEFY!" A jet of green light hit Dolohov as he was disappearing and the Death Eater slumped to the floor, unconscious but very much in the room.

"Nice one, Vic." James congratulated.

Vic blushed. "Thanks. Just be happy we got here in time." She and Teddy stepped forward, wiping dust off their school uniforms.

"How did you know where we were?" Lysander asked curiously.

"We didn't. We just followed you, since it looked like you were about to try something rash-and it looks like we were right." Teddy said disapprovingly.

"Skip the lecture and help us subdue him." James interrupted. "He could come around at any second now."

"Right. Incarcerous." Immediately, ropes bound Dolohov from head to foot so he couldn't escape. "There. That should hold him."

"Agreed. Lumos." I lit the tip of my wand and watched as the corridor was suddenly flooded with light. I led the way back through the passage, while Lysander and James carried our prisoner the way you'd carry a dead body.

"Looks like we've got this problem all wrapped up." I joked.

James laughed. "Dude, that's terrible."

We all started laughing until it was hard to catch our breaths.

"So, where are Dom and Lorcan?" Lysander asked Vic.

"They got trapped behind another section of wall. We wanted to help them out, but they insisted that we follow you instead. You should be thanking them instead of us."

Just then, we reached the main room. Almost immediately, we encountered a small problem. Since the doorway had been destroyed, rocks now blocked the exit to the outside. We were now trapped.

"Hello?" Lysander yelled. "Anyone up there?"

I harbor no love for dark spaces. "So…does that mean we're stuck here?"

James helped me to sit down. He tried valiantly, though vainly, not to look worried. "Don't worry. We'll be okay. Someone'll find us eventually."

Teddy and Vic were exploring the section of wall where they'd left Lorcan and Dom. "Dom, are you still there?" called Vic.

There was no reply.

"Where did they go?" Vic whispered urgently to Teddy. "What if something happened to them? What if they're hurt, or worse?"

"She's your sister, Vic. You'd know." he said calmly. "I'm sure they're just trying to find a way out, just like us."

"I'm going to look for them."

Teddy shook his head. "We have to stay here. It'll be easier for us to be rescued if we're all in one place."

"But what if something happens to them?"

"We'll get through it. We always have before, haven't we?" Lysander said. He sounded choked up. He was worried, however he tried to pretend to the contrary.

For what seemed like an hour but was probably only twenty minutes we sat in the dark, alternately pacing and talking in low voices. We were all getting worried, even though we didn't show it. There was no way for us to signal the others if they couldn't see the sparks. There was no sign of Dom or Lorcan either.

Just then, when we had almost given up hope, there was a loud cry of "Look out below!" from somewhere above us. We quickly ran to take shelter behind anything and everything that we could find. I pulled James and Lysander down behind a wooden bench not a second too soon. The ceiling above us exploded and little bits of dust and other building materials rained down on us. Once things stopped falling, I dared to look up. We could see the night sky through a small hole high above us. As we watched, a rope spiraled through the air, landing with a soft thump next to us.

"One at a time, kids." the voice continued.

James jumped to his feet, already reaching for the rope. "Dad?" he asked disbelievingly.

At that moment, I knew that we'd all be okay.