I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter Twenty-one

For Harry, the short run from the castle to the Whomping Willow never felt longer. He tried to get slip between the branches but the tree was being more ruthless than normal. He wished he brought along Ron or Neville sine their forms were a lot smaller than his. He almost didn't see Crookshanks twist his way through the branches like an expert. As the cat reached the truck the tree stopped moving. Harry was finally able to let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding. He hadn't transformed back until he reached the end of the tunnel.

The place was swept often so there wasn't a trail that he could follow and didn't dare use his Pronglet form to catch a strong scent. He had only one option and he didn't use it that often. He closed his eyes and tried to sense a wand. When he found a phoenix core it was to late, he was already stunned.

It was Peeves who found Lavender. He pelted her with bits of chalk. When that didn't wake her he retrieved a few water balloons he was saving. When that failed to wake her a new emotion overcame Peeves, worry. He actually went to Filch so that she could get help.

At first the irritable man tried to give Lavender a detention but when Peeves pointed out that the girl was unconscious and wasn't responding Filch brought her to the Hospital Wing. Even ordered Peeves to find Snape, and for the first time in history a poltergeist did what without causing trouble.

Madam Pomfrey was already working on trying to wake Lavender when Snape arrived with Peeves tailing behind him asking if he could help Lavender. Snape eventually snapped at Peeves and demanded him to be silent. It didn't last very long.

"I wonder what's wrong with her eyes." Peeves wasn't that loud but Snape and Pomfrey heard him and looked at her eyes. They were blank. Snape and Pomfrey had seen that blank stare too many times to not know what it meant.

"Sweet Merlin, no!" gasped Pomfrey. "How can a student be under the Imperious Curse? Not that many people here know how." She brushed a strand of hair from Lavender's face. "I have to inform the Headmaster. There is nothing I can do for her until she is released. Minerva will need to know as well. Could do that, Severus? I don't think I can do this more than once." He left the room and quickly found McGonagall. They found that Dumbledore was already there.

"I need to use Legilimens on Miss Brown in order to find out what happened to her. I don't usually approve of going into the mind of a child but I might be able free her from the curse." He shifted through her thoughts and found what he was looking for. What he saw made him pale.

"Minerva, Floo Harry's family, and find Remus."

When Harry woke up he had no idea where he was, then he felt the familiar hard wood floor of the Shrieking Shack. Everything came flooding back to him. Hermione had been kidnapped and he had been lured into a trap. He forgot the most important rule of Defense; never go into an unknown situation alone. Harry knew that any one of his friends could have helped him despite their age. They proved that last year. He also hated that he didn't even use a shield charm when he entered the shack.

Now he was lying on a cold floor with his hands tied behind his back. His wand was on the floor near Hermione's head. He knew that he could summon it but he couldn't with Pettigrew watching. He would tell Voldemort everything.

"Why are you doing this?" He must of surprised Pettigrew since he heard something drop.

"So, you're awake."

"Obviously," said Hermione, "otherwise Harry wouldn't have asked you a question. Now answer Harry's question. I would love to know as well!" Hermione was also awake and very angry.

"I don't have to answer you. I am in control here. Be quiet until the Portkey is ready." He sat at a nearby table.

"James and Lily would be disappointed in what you became. Are you proud you took innocent lives just so you wouldn't be tortured?" snarled Hermione.

"They weren't innocent, none of them were innocent. They deserved to die." He refused to look at either of them and missed the look of surprise on Harry's face when Pettigrew revealed that. However, Harry got over his surprise quickly.

"Wasn't I innocent?" asked Harry.

"You stole James from me! All the attention I earned by being treated nothing more than a lackey he gave to you," Pettigrew yelled.

"I was a baby!"

"Quiet!" Pettigrew pulled out a dagger and plunged it into Harry's leg. "There will be no more talking or she'll die." He didn't pull out the blade. For a short time, that was actually a good thing.

The two felt relief when Pettigrew left. This gave them a chance to talk.

"'Mi, you have to turn into Fluffy and get out of those ropes." She did as she was told. "Pettigrew probably won't be back for a while but we can't take too many chances. We can't escape, I'm actually a liability right now, but we can prepare ourselves for an escape. Loosen the knots on both of the ropes so that they can be slipped off but not noticeably loose. I also need you to remove the dagger. It will bleed but I need you to stop the flow. I have a handkerchief in my pocket, enlarge it and tie it around the wound with as pressure as possible. The most important thing I need you to do is to get rid of the blood. Do you understand?"

"Why can't we leave?" she whispered back earnestly. "You have your wand and can easily take him out."

"Because there are some things that can't be rushed. We all know that I am more powerful than him but he will kill you. You don't have your wand and that makes you very vulnerable. I don't have that choice because I know what must happen, and even this is new to me. Just trust me."

"Alright, I'll trust you." She pulled out the dagger.

It was nearly lunch when Lavender was freed from the Imperious Curse. Madam Pomfrey was finally able to so something for her even though the girl was hysterical. A calming draught was forced down her throat. Lavender was still crying but fortunately she had stopped screaming. Pomfrey did the best that she could to comfort the distressed girl. Soon Lavender was given was given more calming draught and she fell into an uneasy sleep.

Pomfrey called Dumbledore to her office so that they could talk. She didn't what more she could do to keep the girl calm. During the war she was at Hogwarts all the time. Doing such a thing as putting a child under the Imperious Curse was unheard of. Sending her to St. Mungos wasn't an option. She needed familiar people around her as soon as possible, except for Trelawney, that woman would likely scare Lavender.

"Do you know who did this to her?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she checked on Lavender. Her pulse was a little high. Poor girl was having a nightmare. She must was done something horrible to be reacting this way, thought Pomfrey.

"No, she doesn't remember who it was. She heard a male's voice but it was too indistinct for me to place. All she was needed for was to deliver Miss Lupin to the Entrance Hall. I don't really understand though. Why use her when he could have just placed the curse on the ones he wanted under the curse." He mostly said that to himself.

"That isn't what I asked you. Do you know who did this?" She glared at him like he was one of her more difficult patients. "I can't do Legilimency but that doesn't mean I can't don't know what's going on in your mind."

"I have my suspicions but that's all they are." He knew that he was evading her questions. It was just easier to not give what she wanted.

"Do you have any idea where Mr. Potter-Black and Miss Lupin might be?"

"No." He turned to leave after giving Lavender a look that Pomfrey couldn't read. He sighed and left to go back to his office.

Ron was starting to get worried. No one telling them what was happening. Two of his best friends were missing and they everyone was confined to their Common Rooms. He hated that every time he looked up the chair in front of him was empty. He hated that every time he looked at Ginny and Luna, they were crying. He hated that Susan was alone in Hufflepuff.

Nothing was worse than waiting.

Sirius and Remus were in Dumbledore's office when he entered. Sirius was furious and Remus was trying to keep him calm. That was difficult with the full moon rising in only a few short hours. It didn't help that Dumbledore was so calm about the situation.

Harry noticed that it was getting late. He knew that if it weren't for the fear and adrenaline pumping through his veins, he would be sleeping. Hermione was napping due to her hunger. She didn't have much energy.

He did have his eyes shut, concentrating on his other senses. Remus taught him this. You could never be certain about the things you see. Scent and hearing were more important in a situation like this. As a wolf dog hybrid Animagi his human senses became slightly enhanced when he concentrated.

He smelled rather than heard when Pettigrew came back. The smell was quite putrid

"The Portkey is going to activate in five minutes. But I have something to tell you, the Portkey is only big enough for two people to touch comfortably." He held up a Muggle gum wrapper. "That mean that the has to die. I have been waiting 10 months to finish what I did last summer." He pointed his master's wand at Hermione. "Avada Kedavra!"

Harry jumped in front of Hermione and everything turned green.