The Weasley living room was as silent as a grave.
"Where is she?" Harry asked again in sudden, overpowering dread.
Everyone looked at each other and then around the room again.
"Krysta!"
There was no answer.
"What the hell happened?" Sirius demanded whirling around to the teenagers. "She was with us, wasn't she?"
Hermione nodded. "She was! She bright us! Where could she have gone? It was barely five seconds!"
"She was right here!" Harry exclaimed. "She was holding my hand!"
"Is there any chance she had returned home already?" Mr Weasley said urgently. "Did she say she was going to just drop you off?"
Sirius shook his head. "No, she told Dante she'll be back in a few minutes."
"She was gonna say goodbye to Harry." Ron added. "Of course she was."
Lupin whirled around to Mrs Weasley. "Molly – the rembrall! We need to call Dante!"
The elder woman nodded and dashed to the sideboard to grab the glass orb still swirling with black smoke.
She didn't need to.
Dante picked up the rembrall.
Slowly, he turned around.
The entire room stepped backward in sudden terror.
Dressed in his monster-killing gear, Rebellion clutched in one hand, raised and ready to carve up an entire army, and usually serene steel blue eyes blazing deep blood-red, Dante looked like he was about to commit mass murder.
"Where is she?" he demanded, soft and deadly. "She said she'd be back in a few miniates – where is she?"
Inexplicably terrified, the entire household held onto each other. Even those who had known him for years and those who had just met him had never seen the young man like this before.
Finally, Harry found his voice and darted forward. "Dante, she just disappeared in the middle of the journey – nobody saw anything. We just realised she was gone a few minutes ago."
Shaking off the paralysis, Sirius stepped forward too. "No one saw anything – she definitely didn't come home?"
"No."
Dante's knuckles turned white he gripped Rebellion so hard and forced himself to get a grip. Closing his eyes briefly, he caged the beast that spilled out so uncontrollably.
Steel blue eyes opened again and focused on Harry. "You were next to her, right?"
Harry nodded.
"Were your eyes open?"
"What?"
"Yes," Lupin jumped in. "His eyes were open when they appeared. Harry was watching – can you use him?"
Dante nodded. Hooking Rebellion on his back, he held out a hand to the teenager. "The trip takes less than a second. You were watching, but your mind can't register something so fast. I need to see your memory."
"Use me," Sirius said instantly. "I was watching too."
"I can't. It has to be Harry, he is the only one who won't be damaged. I'll hurt you Sirius."
Harry stared at him, stunned. "What does that mean?"
"Your scar." Dante said. "My magics work on you without damaging you because of that scar. I can't do that for anyone else. I am a Dark Source. I can only hurt and kill others with my magics – but not you, Harry."
Hermione gasped sharply, her hand flying to her lips. "That's why you thought it was weird both yours and Krysta's magics work on Harry. Dark arts only cause damage; it's not supposed to be able to heal, yet you could fix his broken ribs."
Dante nodded and looked deep into the teenager's apprehensive eyes. "My power can't hurt you, Harry, because of that bastard that gave you that scar." He held out his hand again. "I need to see what happened to my wife."
The teenager held out his hand too.
Harry gasped as Dante grabbed his wrist and instantly swept his free hand through the air. Blood-red magics sparked, collecting together in a pool before bursting out to create what looked like a giant mirror.
The magics banded together and formed into an image. The memory showed Harry and everyone else standing in a circle as the pure white magics rose up around them, shimmering and swirling in spectacular fashion. And there was Krysta standing between Harry and Sirius.
Then something black, like a tendril or an arm, sliced through the magics, wrapped around Krysta's left arm and tore her away in a split second before the Weasley living room appeared.
Dante's eyes were blazing red so hotly when the power dissipated, everyone felt the very same primal fear course straight through them.
"Snatchers." He seethed, the image of his wife's shocked expression etched into his mind. He pulled Rebellion from his back and whirled around, his trench coat tails flaring like a man on the warpath. "Sorry, Mrs Weasley, there will be a lot of corpses on your property today."
Finally finding their voices, everyone piled after Dante as he stormed out of the front door and into the yard.
"Dante!" Harry called desperately running after him. "What happened to her?!"
Struggling to keep the beast in check, Dante turned to his young brother-in-law and forced himself to calm down for the boy's sake. "Stay here, Harry, all of you kids stay here. Snatchers grabbed Krysta just before the magics finished, she'll be nearby with them, probably within a few miles." He looked into terrified blue eyes. "I'm going to get her back. I don't want you to see this, kid. Stay here."
Inexplicably scared, Harry felt Ron and Hermione gripping his arms either side, just as terrified of the man they had already come to adore.
Mr Weasley gripped the kids' shoulders too and nodded to Dante. "Go. We'll look after them."
Dante turned away and faced the dense forest outside the Weasley house, his eyes flaring red again. "Remus, Sirius, I need your noses. If she hasn't called me by now, she's hurt."
Instantly, Sirius transformed into his black dog form and bolted into the forest alongside Remus who was suddenly faster, primal and already losing to his beast too.
"Be careful." Mrs Weasley called as Dante raced in after them too, Rebellion raised to kill.
Left in nothing but their dust, the teenagers clutched the elders, breathing hard and heavy and still scared out of their minds.
"It's okay, kids." Mr Weasley said, his heart tearing as he felt all three of them trembling. "Dante's very protective. He loves Krysta more than the world. He didn't mean to frighten us."
"Dante," Hermione stammered. "He-he was…"
"He was bloody scary." Ron finished, his voice much higher than usual.
"Terrifying." Hermione murmured, her voice breaking.
The parents held the teenagers close.
"Yes." Mr Weasley said gravely. "Without her, he gets like that. But remember, it's not aimed at you. Dante's fury is rare, but it's never aimed at us. He only gets like that when anyone threatens Krysta."
"Like what?" Harry whispered, despite really not wanting to know.
Above them, the couple exchanged scared looks.
"Like the devil." Mrs Weasley whispered.
"Krysta is the only one who can quell the beast inside." Mr Weasley said. "Without her, he's a full-blood demon on the war path. A Dark Source with no other will than to kill until he's sated. Those Snatchers must be mad to take Krysta. Dante will show no mercy."
Stunned silence descended.
Harry didn't remember how he got back inside the house, but suddenly he was standing by the winding staircase. There were so many thoughts in his head, he couldn't comprehend them all and was drowning in the din.
"What happened, Harry?"
Slowly, the teenager came back to reality and looked up. He almost didn't recognise the faces that looked down at him from the floor above. Fred and George actually looked scared and were holding Ginny protectively between them.
"Harry?" George said fearfully. "What made Dante go demonic?"
"He never gets that scary." Fred said, his voice oddly smaller than ever before.
Between them, Ginny just bit her lower lip, too scared to say anything at all.
Finally, Harry made a decision.
Shoving his fear away, determined blue eyes fell onto the Weasley twins. "Fred, I need your broomstick."
"I need yours too, George." Ron said suddenly appearing behind him. He looked at his best friend. "If you're gonna do something stupid, you'll need back up."
"I'll distract your parents." Hermione added. "Stay high in the sunlight so no one can see you and hide in the tree tops; Snatchers usually are on the ground. Remember, Dante's power is dangerous and he's furious they've dared to hurt his wife; stay out of his way, just help search for Krysta. Dante didn't want us to see him in action – make sure you look away. I'm not kidding. We know what the forbidden curses can do; Dante's a Dark Source, he is millions of times worse than the killing curse. Don't look."
A ghost of a smile touched Harry's lips and he nodded. He looked up at the twins. "We need your broomsticks."
They nodded. "You got it."
Together they all raced upstairs and silently flew away from the very top tower of the house.