Alexander Chronicles Year 5: The Growing Darkness

Chapter 29: It's a trap!

Alex starred at the beautiful girl in front of him. It had been so much easier to resist the temptation to give in to his feelings for her when he hadn´t been close to her at the school, because it had been impossible. Now he wanted nothing more than to run over to her, hug her and kiss her.

Daphne also looked at Alex, "Alex?"

Daphne wasn´t the only one that looked at him, everyone did. Alex could see that everyone expect Harry was surprised to see him.

"Daphne, what the hell are you doing here?" Alex asked Daphne and then looked at Harry. "Harry, what the hell is she doing here?" Daphne looked offended by his questions.

"We were in a tight predicament," Hermione answered, "And Daphne, Tracey, Blaise, Neville, Ginny and Luna helped us out of it."

"What are you talking about?" Alex spoke. "What happened to you guys when I left?" As they began to walk through the Ministry, Hermione began to explain to Alex about what had happened since he had left. Fred and George had dropped out of Hogwarts so they could start their joke shop. That Hagrid had a giant half-brother. And finally the reason why they were here; that Harry had had a vision during the exams, about Harry's vision of Sirius being tortured. About how Harry tried to use Umbridge's fireplace to contact Sirius but was caught, but then Hermione had to stop her from using an Unforgivable. Long story short, Umbridge was taken away by a herd of centaurs and it was Blaise, Neville and Luna who saved Tracey, Daphne, Ron and Ginny from the grasped of the Inquisitorial squad, and the trio of Slytherins wanted to help save Sirius, Alex´s father. They mounted Thestrals and flew to London, and here they were.

As the moved closer to the lifts, Alex walked over to Harry. "Why did you let her come?" he whispered to Harry in an angry voice. "She shouldn't be here!" Alex was angry. Harry knew about his feelings for Daphne, and he knew about his fears about losing her.

"What did you want me to do?" Harry whispered to Alex.

"I don't know, stop her from coming," Alex hissed. "By any means necessary. Maybe tie her to a tree."

"Look, it was her choice to be here," Harry replied. "She wanted to help save your dad, and it wasn't my choice to make her stay." Alex sighed heavily as they entered the lifts.

"Just what is your problem, Alex?" Daphne asked loudly, glaring at Alex. "What is so bad about me being here?"

Alex briefly looked at Daphne she looked even more beautiful then he remembered. As Alex´s, eyes met Daphne´s he looked away. He knew that she was capable and that she was a powerful witch. Still if Voldemort was here - if his death eaters were here then things would get dangerous, and once again Janus and Daphne´s father´s warnings flashed through his mind. What if something happened to her? He would do anything to save her, but wouldn´t she do the same to him. What if he failed to save her? So even though Alex knew that Daphne was great then he didn´t really wanted her to be in danger.

"Well Alexander?" Daphne said again.

"It is too dangerous."

Daphne gave Alex an icy glare, "so you don´t think I am capable? What do you think I am some damsel in distress?"

Alex flinched, "no of course not. You are a brilliant witch. Strong, powerful, clever, cunning, resourceful and amazing." Alex said, Daphne looked away for a few seconds before looking back at Alex. "You are very capable to defend yourself, but this is so dangerous and even powerful wizards and witches can fall to a lucky curse." Alex paused, "I mean Blaise help me out. Do you really want Tracey be here?"

Tracey huffed, but Blaise nodded. "He kind of has a point."

"No, he doesn´t those bastards killed my father and my mother is still recovering from the attack. She might never be the same again. I want revenge. So trust me Alex. I would be here even if it wasn´t for your father." Tracey hissed as the lift began to move. Ginny nodded in agreement.

Alex signed and looked at Daphne, who still were glaring at Alex. "I am not leaving either." She said.

"Why? You don´t have a reason to be here."

"I have serval; it is your father for one thing." Daphne said, "beside I have just as a much reason to be here as Neville, Luna, Ron, Hermione and Blaise. I don´t see that you want them to leave."

"Damminit I can´t bear to lose you." Alex hissed. "I can´t live with myself if you-"

There was silence were both Alex and Daphne blushed a bit.

"Alex I am not leaving." Daphne said. "I have the same reason to be here as Hermione and Ron does. Beside it is the right thing to do. I know it isn´t easy, but it is still the right thing to do."

"She is right," Harry, answered, turning to look at everyone. "I can´t tell you how proud I am. All of you willing to help me save my godfather - Alex´s father." Harry looked at each individual. "I will say I am proud to have you guys follow me, most likely into a dangerous battle. I know Alex, I know you don't like that Daphne is here, but she is here for you, as well as Blaise and Tracey. I am proud to call them, these Slytherins, my friends. They're here, and so are we. We will have each other's backs. I know we will. I trust each and every single one of you. And it is that makes us special. It is our unity that is our strength" Harry walked out of the lift. They were at the Level of the Department of Mysteries. He turned to his friends. "Come on, Let's go save Sirius."

Alex frowned, "right." He was actually a bit proud of Harry´s comment. He called Alex´s Slytherin friends, his friends, and would basically trust them with his life. Alex turned to look at Daphne who looked worried. He smiled and nodded at her. She nodded back, pulling her wand, exiting the lifts with Hermione. Blaise and Tracey left the lifts together, but before Alex left, he was stopped by Ron. He looked at him questioningly.

"I'm sorry, Alex," he said, looking up at Alex who was confused. First of it had been years since Ron had used his first name, and he did really sounded sorry. "I was wrong. Everything I know is wrong. Your friends aren't bad or like Nott. I am sorry about everything. I have been a big jerk. The things I have called you. The things I have called your friends and family, it is unforgivable. I am truly sorry about the way I have treated you. I know that you won´t forgive just like that, and frankly I will understand if you never does. Still I just wanted to say it now, you know in case I don´t get a chance later."

"Thanks" Alex said. "Come on. Let's go save my dad, and get you guys back to the school!" Ron smiled and gave a nod, following Alex out of the lifts.

Harry led the group down the corridors, towards a plain black door with a golden handle. As he moved closer to it, it swung open. Harry then left the group through the threshold.

They were standing in a large, circular room. Everything in here was black including the floor and ceiling; identical, unmarked, handleless black doors were set at intervals all around the black walls, interspersed with branches of candles whose flames burned blue; their cool, shimmering light reflected in the shining marble floor made it look as though there was dark water underfoot.

"Someone shut the door," Harry muttered.

"Wait!" Alex blurted, but it was too late as Blaise shut the door. Without the long chink of light from the torchlight corridor behind them, the place became so dark that for a moment the only things they could see were the bunches of shivering blue flames on the walls and their ghostly reflections in the floor.

Everyone looked around. There were around a dozen doors here. Just as a few heads were gazing ahead at the doors opposite them, trying to decide which was the right one, there was a great rumbling noise and the candles began to move sideways. The circular wall was rotating.

Alex could feel that Daphne grabbed his hand and held it tight. Alex grabbed her hand. For some odd, reason it made him feel safer.

For a few seconds, the blue flames around them were blurred to resemble neon lines as the wall sped around; then, quite as suddenly as it had started, the rumbling stopped and everything became stationary once again.

"What was that about?" whispered Ron fearfully.

"I think it was to stop us knowing which door we came in through," said Tracey in a hushed voice.

Alex realized at once that she was right: he couldn´t see what door they had come from, nor would they know which door to take.

"How're we going to get back out?" said Ginny uncomfortably.

"Well, that doesn't matter now," said Harry forcefully, clutching his wand tighter than ever, "we won't need to get out till we've found Sirius -"

"Don't go calling for him, though!" Hermione said urgently.

"I think we'd know not to yell for my Dad, Hermione," Alex replied, "I'm sure none of us want to get caught."

"Where do we go, then, Harry?" Ron asked.

"I don't -" Harry began. He swallowed. "In the dreams I went through the door at the end of the corridor from the lifts into a dark room - that's this one - and then I went through another door into a room that kind of… glitters. We should try a few doors," he said hastily, "I'll know the right way when I see it. C'mon."

He marched straight at the door now facing him, the others following close behind him, raised his wand ready to strike the moment, and pushed on the door.

It swung open easily.

After the darkness of the first room, the lamps hanging low on golden chains from this ceiling gave the impression that this long rectangular room was much brighter. The place was quite empty except for a few desks and, in the very middle of the room, an enormous glass tank of deep green liquid, big enough for all of them to swim in; a number of pearly-white objects were drifting around lazily in it.

"What're those things?" whispered Ron.

"Dunno," said Harry.

"Are they fish?" breathed Tracey.

"Aquavirius maggots!" said Luna excitedly. "Dad said the Ministry were breeding

"No," said Hermione. She sounded odd. She moved forward to look through the side of the tank. "They're brains."

"Brains?" Blaise repeated.

"Gross." Ginny added

"Yeah" Daphne agreed. "I wonder what they're doing with them though."

Alex joined her at the tank, Daphne's hand in his still as she followed. Sure enough, there could be no mistake now he saw them at close quarters. Glimmering eerily, they drifted in and out of sight in the depths of the green liquid, looking something like slimy cauliflowers.

"Let's get out of here," Harry spoke. "This isn't right. We need to try another door."

"There are doors here too," said Ron, pointing around the walls.

"In my dream I went through that dark room into the second one," Harry mumbled. "I think we should go back and try from there."

"Alright, let's start over then." Alex agreed. So they hurried back into the dark, circular room.

"Wait!" said Hermione sharply, as Blaise made to close the door of the brain room behind them. "Flagrate!"

She drew with her wand in midair and a fiery 'X' appeared on the door. No sooner had the door clicked shut behind them than there was a great rumbling, and once again the wall began to revolve very fast, but now there was a great red-gold blur in amongst the faint blue and, when all became still again, the fiery cross still burned, showing the door they had already tried.

"Good thinking," said Harry. "Okay, let's try this one -"

Again, Harry strode directly at the door facing him and pushed it open, his wand still raised the others at his heels, Alex taking the rear, glancing behind him as they entered the new room.

This room was larger than the last, dimly lit and rectangular, and the centre of it was sunken, forming a great stone pit some twenty feet deep. They were standing on the topmost tier of what seemed to be stone benches running all around the room and descending in steep steps like an amphitheatre. There was a raised stone dais in the centre of the pit, on which stood a stone archway that looked so ancient, cracked and crumbling. Alex was amazed the thing was still standing. Unsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had just been touched.

It was odd, but Alex could hear what seemed to be whispering voices.

"Who's there?" said Harry, jumping down on to the bench below, just as Alex as about to comment. There was no answering voice, but the veil continued to flutter and sway. Alex followed Harry.

"Careful!" whispered Hermione.

Alex and Harry scrambled down the benches one by one until they reached the stone bottom of the sunken pit. Their footsteps echoed loudly as they walked slowly towards the dais. The pointed archway looked much taller from where Alex now stood than it had when he'd been looking down on it from above. Still the veil swayed gently, as though somebody had just passed through it.

"Sirius?" Harry spoke again and took a few steps forward. Alex had stopped. He felt a sensation. A magical sensation that ran through his whole body, and it was not a good one. No, veil thing was giving off an extremely terrible vibe. Alex gripped his wand very tightly and moved closer to Harry.

"Harry something is wrong."

"Can´t you hear the voices?" Harry asked. Alex could, but he didn´t liked it. The voices sounded odd, out of place and maybe a bit threatening. Alex felt a burning sensation of fear from his chest, where the ring was. He almost consider throwing it away. No, he need the stone, and its power.

"Harry we should go." Hermione´s voice sounded.

"What are you saying?" Harry said, very loudly, so that his words echoed all around the stone benches.

"Nobody's talking, Harry!" said Hermione, now moving over to him. They others slowly followed after her.

"Someone's whispering behind there," he said, moving out of her reach and continuing to frown at the veil. "Is that you, Ron?"

"I'm here, mate," said Ron, appearing around the side of the archway.

"Can't anyone else hear it?" Harry demanded, "The whispering and murmuring!"

"I don't hear anything," Hermione spoke.

"I hear them," Tracey whispered, clutching onto Blaise. Alex was watching Harry surprised to see his foot was on the dais.

"As do I. It sounds like people are in there," Luna added and, pointing at the veil.

"What do you mean, 'in there'?" demanded Hermione, jumping down from the bottom step and sounding much angrier than the occasion warranted. "There isn't any 'in there,' it's just an archway, there's no room for anybody to be there — Harry, stop it, come away —" She grabbed his arm and pulled, but he resisted.

Alex noticed dimly noticed that Luna and Tracey had moved closer to the vail as well, but Harry was the one most affected

"What are everyone talking about?" Blaise suddenly asked, "Why can you hear voices, but we can't."

"I believe it's the same as why they can see Thestrals, and we can't," Daphne spoke up.

Death, Alex realized. The Vail was associated with Death.

Alex grabbed onto Harry's shoulder. For a brief moment, he considered pushing Harry though the vail, just to see what would happen. It was all most like a voice in his head was encouraging him to do it. To give in to all of the anger and hate that he felt towards the boy. No Harry was an ally; he had been a friend once. They had fought once, and they had both apologized to one another. Alex couldn't do it, it was wrong. "Mate, we're here for Sirius. My father, your godfather. Remember?" Alex said.

"Sirius," Harry repeated, still gazing, mesmerized, at the continuously swaying veil. "Yeah…" Harry blinked, turning to look at Alex, taking several paces back from the dais. "Let's go," he said.

Harry turned and began to lead the group back to the first room. "What d'you reckon that arch was?" Harry asked Hermione as they regained the dark circular room

"I don't know, but whatever it was, it was dangerous," she said firmly, again inscribing a fiery cross on the door.

Once more, the wall span and became still again. This time, Alex approached a new door at random and pushed. It did not move.

"What's wrong?" said Hermione.

"It's… locked…" Alex said, throwing his weight at the door, but it didn't budge.

"This is it, then, isn't it?" said Ron excitedly, joining Alex, as did Harry, Neville and Blaise, in the attempt to force the door open. "Bound to be!"

"Get out of the way!" said Hermione sharply. The four boys moved out of the way. She pointed her wand at the place where a lock would have been on an ordinary door and said, "Alohomora!"

Nothing happened.

"Sirius's knife!" said Harry. He pulled it out from inside his robes and slid it into the crack between the door and the wall. The others all watched eagerly as he ran it from top to bottom, withdrew it and then flung his shoulder again at the door. It remained as firmly shut as ever. What was more, when Alex looked at Harry´s knife; he saw the blade had melted.

"Right, we're leaving that room," said Hermione decisively.

"But what if that's the one?" said Ron, staring at it with a mixture of apprehension and longing.

"It can't be, Harry could get through all the doors in his dream," said Hermione, marking the door with another fiery cross as Harry replaced the now-useless handle of Sirius's knife in his pocket.

"You know what could be in there?" said Luna eagerly, as the wall started to spin yet again.

"Something blibbering, no doubt," said Hermione under her breath, and Neville gave a nervous little laugh.

"Let us just forget that room," Daphne added.

Harry wasted no time pushing the next-door open. "This is it!" he exclaimed and jumped into the room. "This way!"

The group followed Harry into the new room. It was a lit up with beautiful, dancing, diamond-sparkling light. Clocks gleaming from every surface, large and small, grandfather and carriage, hanging in spaces between the bookcases or standing on desks ranging the length of the room, so that a busy, relentless ticking filled the place like thousands of minuscule, marching footsteps. The source of the dancing, diamond-bright light was a towering crystal ball jar that stood at the far end of the room.

"This way!" Harry said as he led the way forward down the narrow space between the lines of the desks. Alex recognized some from the Occlumency lessons he had with Harry.

. "Oh look!" said Ginny.

Drifting along in the sparkling current inside was a tiny, jewel-bright egg. As it rose in the jar, it cracked open and a hummingbird emerged, which was carried to the very top of the jar, but as it fell on the draught its feathers became bedraggled and damp again, and by the time it had been borne back to the bottom of the jar it had been enclosed once more in its egg.

"We have to keep going," Alex said from the rear, before anyone could get distracted.

"This is it," Harry said again, "it's through here -" He looked back at the others. All of them had their wands out looked suddenly serious and anxious. He looked back at the door and pushed. It swung open.

They were there. They had found the place: high as a church and full of nothing but towering shelves covered in small, dusty, glass orbs. They glimmered dully in the light issuing from more candle-brackets set at intervals along the shelves. Like those in the circular room behind them, their flames were burning blue. The room was very cold.

Harry edged forward and peered down one of the shadowy aisles between two rows of shelves. He could not hear anything or see the slightest sign of movement.

"What is this place?" Blaise asked as they were all inside the blue orb room. "Alex?"

"No idea," Alex asked, curiously looking around.

"You said it was row ninety-seven," whispered Hermione.

"Yeah," breathed Harry, looking up at the end of the closest row.

"We need to go right, I think," whispered Hermione, squinting to the next row. "Yes… that's fifty-four…"

"Alright, let's get on with it," Alex spoke, looking at everyone. "Wands at the ready. Remember your training." Everyone nodded.

They crept forward, glancing behind them as they went on down the long alleys of shelves, the further ends of which were in near-total darkness. Tiny, yellowing labels had been stuck beneath each glass orb on the shelves. Some of them had a weird, liquid glow; others were as dull and dark within as blown light bulbs.

They passed row eighty-four… eighty-five… Alex´s heart was pounding so heavily, that he felt it was going to pop out of his chest.

"Ninety-seven!" whispered Hermione.

They stood grouped around the end of the row, gazing down the alley beside it. There was nobody there. "He's right down at the end," said Harry, whose mouth had become slightly dry.

They stood grouped around the end of the row, gazing down the alley beside it. There was nobody there.

"He's right down at the end," said Harry. "You can't see properly from here."

And he led them between the towering rows of glass balls, some of which glowed softly as they passed…

"He should be near here," whispered Harry, but as Alex desperately looked around. There was now Sirius. "Anywhere here… really close…"

"Harry?" said Hermione tentatively.

"Somewhere about… here…" he said.

They had reached the end of the row and emerged into more dim candlelight. There was nobody there. All was echoing, dusty silence.

"He might be…" Harry whispered hoarsely, peering down the next alley. "Or maybe…" He hurried to look down the one beyond that. Alex stood in the aisle, as everyone looked around. Sirius wasn't here, and there was no sign of him, which had to mean, he was never here to begin with. But why would Harry bring them here when Sirius isn't even here?

"He's not here," Alex said quietly. Everyone but Ron turned to Alex. Harry returned to the group. "Sirius isn't here!"

Harry shook his head. "No, he is," he replied. "I saw it!"

"Listen to me he isn´t here." Alex said felling a wave of anger wash over him. That stupid idiot had led them in a trap. Just how stupid where he? "Harry you bloody fool. He knows about your connection! He only wanted you to see what he wanted you to see!" Harry shook his head.

"What are you talking about?" Tracey asked. "Who knows about what?"

"Voldemort." Alex said. "Potter somehow have a connection to Voldemort´s mind. Sirius was never here."

"But why?" Neville asked. "Why would he want Harry here?"

"Harry?" Ron called.

"What?" Harry growled.

"Have you seen this?" said Ron,

"Seen what?" said Harry, but eagerly this time. He strode back to where they were all standing, a little way down row ninety-seven, but found nothing except Ron staring at one of the dusty glass spheres on the shelf.

"What?" Harry repeated glumly.

"It's — it's got your name on," said Ron. Alex moved over towards Ron as well.

Harry moved a little closer. Ron was pointing at one of the small glass spheres that glowed with a dull inner light, though it was very dusty and appeared not to have been touched for many years.

"My name?" said Harry blankly.

He stepped forward and craned his neck to read the yellowish label affixed to the shelf right beneath the dusty glass ball. In spidery writing was written a date of some sixteen years previously, and below that:

S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.

Dark Lord and (?)Harry Potter

Harry and Alex stared at it.

"What is it?" Ron asked, sounding unnerved. "What's your name doing down here?"

"Harry, I don't think you should touch it," said Hermione sharply, as Harry stretched out his hand.

"Why not?" he said. "It's something to do with me, isn't it?"

"She may be right, Harry," Alex agreed. "Let's just leave it alone."

"But it's got my name on," said Harry. He turned and closed his fingers around the dusty ball's surface. Harry lifted the glass ball down from its shelf and stared at it.

Alex was surprised that nothing whatsoever happened. The others moved in closer around Harry, gazing at the orb as he brushed it free of the clogging dust.

And then, from right behind them, a drawling voice spoke.

"Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me."

Alex spun around with his wand raised

Black shapes were emerging out of thin air all around them, blocking their way left and right; eyes glinted through slits in hoods, a dozen lit wand tips were pointing directly at their hearts; Ginny gave a gasp of horror.

"To me, Potter," repeated the drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy as he held out his hand, palm up. They were trapped, and outnumbered. "To me," said Malfoy yet again.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry said. Once Alex saw the Death Eaters, he felt a warm sensation on his chest, and anger began rising in his chest. It was like everything in his body, almost like a small voice in his head said; "The Enemy is here."

Several of the Death Eaters laughed; a harsh female voice from the midst of the shadowy figures to Harry's left said triumphantly, "The Dark Lord always knows!"

"Always," echoed Malfoy softly. "Now, give me the prophecy Potter."

"I want to know where Sirius is!"

"I want to know where Sirius is!" mimicked the woman to his left. That voice piqued Alex´s interest. He moved forward, stepping next to Harry.

"Is that my dear cousin, Bellatrix?" Alex spoke, looking through the dim it area. Behind him, he could hear Neville growling in anger.

"Who are you?" the woman asked, sneering at Alex.

"Yeah I forgot; you don´t know me," Alex said.

The woman sniffed, and examined Alex. She and her fellow Death Eaters had closed in so that they were mere feet away from Alex and the others, the light from their wands dazzling their eyes. "You look like him. That blood traitor cousin of mine, Sirius!" she hissed coming into a little bit of light. Azkaban had hollowed Bellatrix Lestrange's face, making it gaunt and skull-like, but it was alive with a feverish, fanatical glow. "She looks almost dead. We should finish her off." The same feeling or voice sounded in Alex´s head.

Bellatrix Lestrange then looked at Neville, "it that baby Longbottom? How is mummy and daddy?"

"Better now that they are about to be avenged." Neville was just about to begin cursing the insane witch, but Alex stopped him.

"Not now, we will kill her later."

Bellatrix Lestrange laughed, "Kill me later? Oh you might have the Black blood inside you."

"Enough." Malfoy said,

"You lured us here," said Harry.

"The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo," said the woman in a horrible, mock baby voice. Alex felt Ron stir beside him.

"Hold it tight," Both Alex and Harry muttered to the others. "Not yet -" Although Alex had a strange urge to start a fight to slaughter those pitiful Death Eaters

Bellatrix Lestrange let out a raucous scream of laughter. "You hear then? You hear them? Giving instructions to the other children as though they thinks of fighting us!"

"Oh, you don't know Potter or Black as I do, Bellatrix," said Malfoy softly. "Both have a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this mostly about Potter. Now give me the prophecy, Potter."

Prophecy? About Harry?Alex thought, glancing at the orb in Harry's hand then at Harry. Its Always about him.

"This is a prophecy?" said Harry, holding up the blue orb. "Why do you want this? He showed me Sirius being tortured, to get me here. Why?"

More of the Death Eaters laughed, though Bellatrix Lestrange laughed loudest of all. Alex glared hard, annoyed at their laughs. He wanted to strike now. He wanted to destroy them. How pathetic were they when they bowed to a puny wizard like Voldemort. Alex was disgusted.

"It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter," said Malfoy. "Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands."

"Go on, then, try and take it," Harry said, raised his wand. Alex joined him and so did the eighth other´s wands of their friends.

But the Death Eaters did not strike.

"Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt," said Malfoy coolly.

It was Harry's turn to laugh. "Yeah, right!" he said. "I give you this prophecy, and you'll just let us skip off home, will you?"

The words were hardly out of his mouth when Bellatrix shrieked: "Accio proph—"

Harry was just ready for her: he shouted "Protego!" before she had finished her spell, and though the glass sphere slipped to the tips of his fingers he managed to cling on to it.

"Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter," she said, her mad eyes staring hard. "Very well, then -"

"I TOLD YOU, NO!" Lucius Malfoy roared at the woman. "If you smash it -!"

Alex looked around, counting the Death Eaters. They were at least fourteen of them. He and his friends were too outnumbered. This here was a death trap. They were surrounded. How were they going to get out of this one? If only he was quicker and stronger.

"You need more persuasion?" Bellatrix hissed, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Very well - take the blonde girl," she ordered the Death Eaters beside her. "Let them watch while we torture the girl. I'll do it." Alex felt Daphne stand close behind him, clutching his arm again while she was shacking. He felt others close in around her. Alex tightened the grip on his wand with a murderous glare towards his insane cousin. If she even tried, Alex would tear her apart limp by limp.

"I will smash this bloody thing if you attack any of us," Harry told Bellatrix. "I don't think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?"

She did not move; no one did. They all stared at one another for a moment of silence. Alex didn´t relax though and he was still glaring at Bellatrix, who had dared to threaten the love of his life.

"So," said Harry, "what kind of prophecy are we talking about anyway?"

"What kind of prophecy?" repeated Bellatrix, the grin fading from her face. "You jest, Harry Potter."

"Nope, not jesting," said Harry, Alex´s eyes flickered from Death Eater to Death Eater, looking for a weak link, a space through which they could escape.

"So why does Voldemort wants this?" Harry asked.

Several of the Death Eaters let out low hisses. Alex rolled his eyes. "How idiotic. They're weak." The dark feeling sounded. "End them now!"

"You dare speak his name?" whispered Bellatrix.

"Yeah," said Harry, maintaining his tight grip on the glass ball, expecting another attempt to bewitch it from him. "Yeah, I've got no problem with saying Vol—"

"Shut your mouth!" Bellatrix shrieked. "You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half-blood's tongue, you dare -"

"Did you know he's a half-blood too?" said Harry recklessly. Alex rolled his eyes. They needed to get away. "Voldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle — or has he been telling you lot he's pureblood?"

"STUPEF —"

"NO!" A jet of red light had shot from the end of Bellatrix Lestrange's wand, but Malfoy had deflected it. His spell caused hers to hit the shelf a foot to the left of Harry and several of the glass orbs there shattered. Two figures, pearly white as ghosts, fluid as smoke, unfurled themselves from the fragments of broken glass upon the floor and each began to speak. Their voices vied with each other, so that only fragments of what they were saying could be heard over Malfoy and Bellatrix's shouts.

". . . at the Solstice will come a new . . ." said the figure of an old, bearded man.

"DO NOT ATTACK! WE NEED THE PROPHECY!"

"He dared — he dares —" shrieked Bellatrix incoherently. "— He stands there — filthy half-blood —"

"WAIT UNTIL WE'VE GOT THE PROPHECY!" bawled Malfoy.

". . . and none will come after . . ." said the figure of a young woman. The two figures that had burst from the shattered spheres had melted into thin air. Nothing remained of them or their erstwhile homes but fragments of glass upon the floor. Harry looked like he had gotten an idea, but Alex could figure out what it was.

"You haven't told me what's so special about this prophecy I'm supposed to be handing over," he said, playing for time. He moved his foot slowly sideways, feeling around for someone else's.

"Do not play games with us, Potter," said Malfoy.

"I'm not playing games," said Harry

"Dumbledore never told you that the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?" said Malfoy sneeringly.

"I — what?" said Harry, and for a moment he quite forgot his plan. "What about my scar?"

"Dumbledore never told you?" Malfoy repeated. "Well, this explains why you didn't come earlier, Potter, the Dark Lord wondered why you didn't come running when he showed you the place where it was hidden in your dreams. He thought natural curiosity would make you want to hear the exact wording. . . .

"Did he?" said Harry.

"So he wanted me to come and get it, did he? Why?" Harry asked as Daphne whispered something to Alex.

"Smash the selves." Alex nodded, so that was the plan. Yeah he liked it smash the selves then the death eaters.

"Why?" Malfoy sounded incredulously delighted. "Because the only people who are permitted to retrieve a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, Potter, are those about whom it was made, as the Dark Lord discovered when he attempted to use others to steal it for him."

"And why did he want to steal a prophecy about me?"

Malfoy smiled "About both of you, Potter, about both of you . . . Haven't you ever wondered why the Dark Lord tried to kill you as a baby?"

Alex looked at Malfoy was that the reason Harry´s parents had been hunted.

"Someone made a prophecy about Voldemort and me?" Harry said quietly "And he's made me come and get it for him?"

"Yeah you would think he could save the trouble and get it himself." Alex commented.

"Get it himself?" shrieked Bellatrix on a cackle of mad laughter. "The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return?" Alex rolled his eyes, Riddle was so weak. "The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?"

"So he's got you doing his dirty work for him, has he?" said Harry. "Like he tried to get Sturgis to steal it — and Bode?"

"Very good, Potter, very good . . ." said Malfoy slowly.

"But the Dark Lord knows you are not unintell —"

"NOW!" yelled Harry.

Five different voices behind him bellowed "REDUCTO!" Five curses flew in five different directions and the shelves opposite them exploded as they hit. The towering structure swayed as a hundred glass spheres burst apart, pearly-white figures unfurled into the air and floated there, their voices echoing from who knew what long-dead past amid the torrent of crashing glass and splintered wood now raining down upon the floor —

"EVEYBODY RUN." Alex shouted and grabbed Daphne´s hand.

Chapter end