Chapter 25- Where is everybody?

It had been a week and the team were in full flow of learning new spells under the guidance of Barty. There had been no sign of the assassins and everyone was on edge, especially Lucius.

"Mr Malfoy will you stop trying to escape Hogwarts. How many times do we have to tell you it's safe here." Harry ran trying to catch up with Lucius who was running down the corridor next to the courtyard.

"Mr Potter, have you ever wondered that the Assassins might be toying with us. They should have been here by now." Lucius stopped to catch his breath which gave Harry enough time to reach him.

"They haven't arrived and so we've been able to have more time practicing spells… It would surely be foolish for them to stay in Hogwarts, when they are surrounded by the enemy." Lucius raised himself from leaning on his knees, towering over Harry.

"You don't understand Potter! They're assassins. You never see them coming."

"What?" At this point Lucius's face begun to bumble, his facial expression contorting to pain. Once it was finished it returned to the bony features and dark ringed eyes of a death eater.

"And we will pick you off one my one"

"Where's Malfoy?!"

"Disposed of, much like you" All Harry could remember was being stunned and then blackness.

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Again Barty had woken up to hear the horrific noises of Violet throwing up in the bathroom and he was beginning to get really concerned. Rushing to be by her side, he was grateful she seemed to have finished when he entered the bathroom. Flushing the toilet, Violet stood up, walked over to the sink and washed out her mouth. This time she wasn't surprised to find Barty staring at her with concern. She signed while she leaned on the sink as another headache surged through her head.

"Maybe you should rest for the day"

She could only just hear Barty as her head spun. Gagging hard she resisted the urge to vomit again.

"But… But the others need me." Violet waved off Barty's concern and started to slowly stumble her way back into the bedroom.

"We can do without you for one day Violet, you're really not well… Please listen to me and spend the day in bed." Barty followed close behind, his arms out ready to catch her if she lost her balance.

"Fine!" Violet huffed as she fell back onto the bed. "But if anything happens you'll notify me, won't you?"

"Of course I will Love… I'll go tell the others that you won't be joining us today." Barty quickly changed into his usual outfit of a loose fitting black shirt and slightly worn dark brown trousers that were ripping near the ends of the trouser legs. "You'll be ok if I leave you alone for a while?" Barty asked one last time, uncertain if he wanted to leave his love alone.

"I'll be fine! Don't bother getting some food from breakfast, I won't be able to stomach it right now. I'll try and come down for lunch." Violet smirked as she watched Barty struggle to put his belt through the loops around his trousers. "You know it would be a lot easier if you tried to do that slower. You wouldn't be so clumsy trying to get the belt through the loops."

"Normally you like me going fast." Barty looked up to see Violet frown which he replied with a wink, causing her to role her eyes and crash her head down onto her pillow. Barty chuckled as he was finally able to attach his belt to his trousers. "Right I'm off" Barty said as he stepped over to the side table next to their bed to collect his wand. He leaned over to Violets side and kissed her on her fore-head which Violet moaned as a response. Barty clambered off the bed and exited the couple's bedroom as he blow Violet a kiss. Violet closed her eyes just as she heard the door close lightly. Her headache hadn't subsided and she felt exhausted. She only wished that this illness ended soon, it wasn't helping Barty's anxiety. Ever since the news of the assassins he had kept a closer eye on her, rarely letting her be alone. If she ever expressed a slight concern he would be there with a million and one questions. Plus with this added illness, it seemed that he never took his eyes off her. He was constantly asking if she was alright and for days had been asking her to stay in bed and rest where he could keep a close watch on her. A couple of times Violet had to stop Barty going to Mrs Pomfrey, telling him "it is nothing to worry about". But truth is she is worried. She'd never known an illness to last for so long. She'd been throwing up every morning for the past week and it showed no sign of stopping, to her disappointment. She couldn't think of the reason for the revolting symptoms. She'd eaten the same food that everyone else had eaten in the great hall and the food had spells on them to make sure they wouldn't cause illnesses of any sort.

Maybe someone put a potion in my drink and my body is rejecting it.

Violet thought to try and numb her worries but then her paranoid brain came up with a defence.

No it couldn't be that. I poured myself a drink from the goblet that many people had used and they showed no signs of the symptoms I have.

Her mind frantically searched through her knowledge to think of a suitable reason for her headaches and vomiting. Then she gasped.

It couldn't mean?

Violet raised her hand and placed it on her stomach. It seemed reasonable to think such an idea as she remembered that Barty never used any contraceptive charms. They were always distracted to even think of such spells. She was pregnant. Pregnant with Barty's child. Tears swelled around her eyes, bursting and tumbling down her face. She was overcome with joy that she was going to give Barty one of the most precious gifts she could give to him. But then her thoughts attacked her happy moment.

Would Barty want a child? He's had such a terrible upbringing that he might hate the idea of bringing up his own child… it would just give him more things to worry about… I might not even be pregnant.

Violet quickly brushed that last comment aside, there was no way that she couldn't be pregnant. Thinking about it, it was bound to happen at some point as Barty was very keen in the bedroom. She laughed at the fact that they were both intelligent but not one of them could have remembered to use protection.

How am I going to tell him?

Even though Barty might hate the idea of Violet carrying his child, Violet realised that she had to tell Barty about the baby. Even if it did heighten his anxiety levels, he had to know or this knowledge could be used against him if the deatheaters found out. But first she had to confirm it. She was about to lift herself up into a sitting position when she heard the door open. Opening her eyes, she turned her head to look at the door. She didn't see anyone there at the door or anywhere near it.

"Hello? Barty?" She called out but got no reply. Thinking it was just some silly student who had opened her door and ran for it. She clumsily rolled of the bed landing on her feet and almost dragged herself over to shut the door. "Probably a bloody Slytherin!" She moaned she heard the familiar click of the door shutting. She was about to turn around and return to her bed when she heard a floor board creek behind her. She froze, she was certain that someone had caused that sound. Her wand was located on a nearby table and she slowly tried to discreetly meander her way to it. Her task was defeated when she heard a ruff voice shout.

"Don't you move!" She didn't recognise the voice which made her start to panic. She had to start looking after herself and the baby. Violet didn't dare move as she couldn't risk hurting the child now growing within her. She stayed frozen and soon she felt cold heavy metallic cuffs forming around her hands. She was being handcuffed. She couldn't defend herself. Looking down to see her hands chained together in front of her, she didn't realise that the door had opened. When she heard the creek of the door as it opened fully, she looked up to stare at a man dress completely in black with only his eyes visible.

"Move!"

Violet didn't hear the command at first. Her body was beginning to shake and all she could think about was what these people in black were going to do to her, and if Barty would return just in time. But she secretly knew Barty wouldn't be back to save her.

"Move!"

This time she acknowledged the commanded as she was given a sharp push on her shoulders causing her to take a step forward to stop herself from falling. The person in front of her turned and began to walk down the corridor. Another shove told Violet that she should follow. She was surprised that these people were not travelling discreetly as they were walking about in the open. Violet silently wished that a student or teacher would stumble upon them and alert the authorities. But everyone were busy with their studies. Students were in their lessons learning new and interesting things and the teachers were guiding the next generation to their precious futures while Violet felt like she was walking to her death.

She couldn't help but imagine Barty finding out she had been murdered by the assassins. It broke her heart to imagine him breaking down completely. She even shuddered to think of what he would become if he lost her. He would have nothing to lose, causing him to be more dangerous than Belllatrix. No! She had to survive. For Barty.

Suddenly they stopped and Violet came back to her senses. They were standing outside the defence against the dark arts classroom. The man ahead of her entered, shortly to return and beckoned Violet to enter. When she did she was stunned to see all the student's tables had been shoved to the side and all that remained in the centre of the room was a chest. When she neared the chest it rocked and Violet could hear muffled cries of a few people. She glanced back at the two people in black that had brought her here. This was when Violet found some new found confidence.

"What do you want?"

Laughter was her only reply. The two people, men, Violet suspected, circled her to intimidate her. Finally they stopped. One directly in front of Violet and the other beside the chest.

"What are you going to do to me?" Her voice betrayed her as it croaked due to nerves. Again the men chuckled as she could slightly hear the clicking of the chest being opened. Violet gulped as the man in front of her stepped forward.

"The same as we did to the rest."

Violet was going to question what that meant when she was pushed back, falling into the chest.

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"Where the bloody hell is everyone?" Barty was now frantically running down corridors, he swore he had looked down before. He had looked everywhere for any of the golden trio and he couldn't find anyone. Feeling worried he ran back up to where Violet and he shared a room. He stopped as he saw the door leading into the room was left ajar. Curiously nearing the door, he found that the room was empty. He stormed inside, rushing to the bathroom. Empty. Barty started to panic as he knew Violet wouldn't of gone anywhere in her current situation. Running out of the room and back out into the corridor, he was faced with a crowd of students, exiting their lessons. He carefully meandered his way through making sure he didn't hurt anybody but yet being as quick as possible. His destination was the Headmistresses' office but just when he rounded the corner to the secret stair case he bumped into someone. They didn't give him enough time to turn around before they stunned him.

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"Something doesn't seem right." Neville placed the utensils he was using to care for the aconite (wolfsbane) in front of him down on the table. He hadn't heard anything from the others and he hadn't seen any of them at lunch. Originally he thought nothing of it and decided to go to the Herbology classroom to prepare for his next lesson. "I've got to find out what's going on" Neville spoke to the plant like it could understand him, he nodded as he agreed internally that he should go and find someone. He pulled off his apron and placed in next to the equipment he was using. "Be back in a minute" Again he spoke only to the plant.

First Neville tried the main hall again but found it only to be filled with a few students who were late for lunch or hadn't finished. He could see no sign of his friends. He climbed stairs looking all over the place. Neville was walking up to the defence against the dark arts classroom when he saw two men carrying an unconscious body. Neville quickly shuffled behind a pillar to stay out of sight. Squinting his eyes he was able to identify the unconscious body. It was Barty. Pulling out his wand, Neville waited till one of the men opened the door to the classroom then he attacked. He was able to stun the first guy with no trouble. As the guy tumbled to the floor, he dropped Barty's head which smashed on to the floor. This caused Barty to snap out of the spell they put on him. Neville wasn't so quick to stun the other guy. As he was awaiting his fate, Barty managed to yank the man's leg causing him to fall to the ground. This then gave Neville the chance to stun the man, causing him to be unconscious. Running over to Barty, Neville helped him up.

"Thanks Neville… Neville… You knew they were going to kill me. Why did you save me?" Barty asked as he brushed himself down and inspected the place on his head for any damage. He winced as his fingers pressed on the swollen patch which hit the ground.

"It was the right thing to do… Whether you're good or bad. We are all human beings. I couldn't watch another human being die when I know I could have prevented it." Neville confessed while looking at the sleeping bodies on the floor.

"Thanks" Barty put his hand in front of Neville. Neville looked at it, paused then reached for it and shook it. "So… Think these two are linked to the disappearance of our friends?" Barty crouched down beside one of them and managed to pull the black fabric away from his face. He didn't recognise him and realised they must be one of Bellatrix's new recruits.

"They were going to put you in there" Neville waited till Barty straightened himself, to point towards the classroom.

"Let's go have a look then shall we." Barty whipped his wand out of his trouser pocket and ensured, with a spell, that the two assassins were tied up with ropes to prevent them escaping when they wake up. Lifting them up with a spell he guided them into the room first while Neville followed. Barty placed them back down on the floor when Neville sealed them in the classroom. Realising what was in the middle of the room, Barty knew where the others were being kept. He stepped forward towards the chest that brought back terrible memories of his past.

"Shouldn't you be careful with that, they may have put a horrible curse on the object?" Neville asked as he noticed Barty stroking the top of the chest softly.

"I used this when I pretended to be Moody. I know that magic cannot influence the chest. If it could, wouldn't you think I would have put something on it so that no one could open it but me? I never thought it was still here and being used against me." Barty stepped back, swished his wand which caused the chest to unlock itself. The familiar turning of locks and sections opening out, reminded Barty of the day he was caught. Where Harry and Violet watched with horror as it was revealed that professor moody wasn't who he said he was and that they were in the presence of a dangerous deatheater. That was the first time Violet had ever seen his true self and he wished he could go back in time and change that.

As soon as the chest had finished unlocking the different compartments, Barty waved his wand which caused the bottom of the chest to rise. Although from the outside this wasn't visible. Soon the people trapped inside were able to reach the sides of the chest and pull themselves out. Harry and Ginny were the first to immerge. Hermione was next, followed by Lucius. Barty wasn't paying attention to the happy cheers of Neville realising his friends were ok. No Barty was concentrating on the chest. No one had immediately exited the chest, and for a brief moment Barty feared that Violet wasn't there. But then a hand clasped round the side of the chest and Violet's head and shoulders were now visible. Barty ran to the chest, grabbed under her arms and pulled her out, hugging her before she could set her feet on the ground.

"You gave me the freight of my life… I'm never leaving you alone… They could have done horrible things to you." Violet didn't say anything, she let Barty ramble on about how he could have lost her as she knew he was right. Soon Barty silenced and just held Violet close.

"How did you all fit in there?" Barty could just hear Neville asking about the chest. Pulling away, he turned to face Neville but still having his arm around Violet's waist.

"It's bigger on the inside… incredible piece of magic… Is everyone alright?"

"Yes… just a little shocked. We really weren't prepared for this." Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she was finally free. "Thanks Barty and Neville for saving us."

"No problem" Neville blushed as he never expected to save anybody in his life.

"Right I'm going to go to McGonagall to tell her what happened here." Harry said making his way to the door.

"I'd take these two with you." Barty pointed to the still unconscious bodies tied up. "They would be better under Professor McGonagall's supervision. They need to be questioned as they could give us some vital information about Bellatrix's army and when they plan to strike."

Harry nodded and left the room, who was followed by Ginny, Hermione, Neville and Lucius who all thought they should be there to make sure the men don't escape while they take them to the Headmistress. Leaving Violet and Barty alone.

"I wonder if they kept all of my belongings when I came here as Moody" Barty began looking around the room. Violet just watched as he opened various cupboards. She didn't want to interfere as she was happy to be back with Barty and she wanted to savour his happy mood before she told him.

Barty came to an object covered with a cloth. He pulled it away causing a cloud of dust to rise. Coughing and trying to fan away the dust from his line of sight he realised that it was his Foe glass. He saw the faces of Voldermort and deatheaters that he use to know appear. Barty was happy to call them his foes as it meant he had changed. He noticed a hand on his shoulder. He turned towards it to find Violet standing beside him. He smiled at her and returned staring at the foe glass. That's when it began to change. Voldemort's face melted into another's. Barty was looking at his own reflection. A single tear trickled down his face as he realised that his only enemy is himself. Violet noticed the tear and wiped it away gently with her thumb.

"Hey… It's ok. I know you can see yourself. I know you too well. But you need to understand that, that was the old you."

"Old me?" Barty questioned while frowning at Violet. He looked back at his reflection and noticed that his eyes were different. They were filled with death, anger and loneliness. This wasn't him now, this was the old Barty. Looking at this, Barty's tongue subconsciously flicked out.

"I can't look at this anymore." Barty gathered the cloth up and threw it back over the object.

"I haven't seen you do that in a long while."

"What?" Barty looked at Violet, frowning with confusion.

"Your tongue flick. You did it just now"

"Did I? I didn't know. Sorry if it offends you."

"No it doesn't… it's actually… kind of sexy" Violet smirked as Barty raised one of his eyebrows.

"Oh really" Barty stepped closer to Violet, pulling her into his body while occasionally flicking his tongue in the manner he use to do. This caused Violet to giggle and rest her head against his chest. "You're obviously feeling better".

Now or never Violet thought.

"I… I need to tell you something."

"Go on then."

"Just promise me you won't be angry."

"Violet what is it?"

"Promise me"

"Ok ok I promise. Now what is it?"

"I know why I haven't been well recently"

"Yes…" Barty pushed Violet gently away from his body so that he could look Violet straight in the eyes.

"Well… I'm… I'm…"

"Please just say it Violet, you're making me worried." Barty rubbed her arms for comfort as he awaited her answer. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes she answered.

"I'm pregnant."

A/N: I apologise for making you wait I really thought I could have got this complete before Christmas but I didn't have any free time to do this. Hope it was worth the wait. This year I hope to be more prompt with these chapters but I am getting writers block a lot now, so bare with me. Please comment if you like the story so far it does give me motivation to continue with this. Thanks for waiting my loyal followers. Till next time. All the best and have a great new year xxxxx