After over two hours of meetings with the Minister of Magic and a few of her most trusted aides Harry finally exited the floo in Professor Dumbledore's office. Hermione and Professor Snape were both still there, now joined by Professor McGongall, deep in discussion about the ritual and what exactly they were going to do about it. He paused for a moment, wondering if he should join them, but eventually decided to let them be for now. They could tell him what had been decided in a few hours, until then he would just be in their way.
He left Dumbledore's office and began walking towards the Great Hall to finally eat the meal he had missed earlier. Food seemed like such a silly thing to be worried about at this point but he knew keeping his mind and body in top shape would be vital for when the fighting finally started. When he entered the Great Hall he was surprised to see that even a few hours after most people would have eaten lunch it was still full of people having a good time and completely unaware of what was going on. They had no idea what kind of danger they were in. Why, he wondered, hadn't Dumbledore began sending them home already?
The answer was obvious and typical of Dumbledore: if the school was evacuated Voldemort would realize that they knew what his plans were. Dumbledore was risking the lives of the students to maintain an advantage over Voldemort. That fact was not surprising either. He had done the same thing in Harry first year when he decided to hide the Philosopher's Stone inside the castle. Harry understood the reasoning but still didn't like it.
"Harry! Where've you been old chap?" Fred Weasley called from the Gryffindor table, waving Harry over towards him. Harry nodded and went to sit with the twins.
"What's with the face?" George asked. "Let me guess: problems with your lady friend?"
"Probably." Fred agreed. "You heard he forgot her birthday, didn't you? Maybe he just realized Christmas is a week away and he hasn't gotten her anything."
"I learned my lesson on that one." Harry said. "Christmas is taken care of."
"So not woman problems then." George shrugged.
"I've got it!" Fred exclaimed. "You haven't seen Snape all day have you? It must be because Harry here blew up his potion, flunked his test, and sent Snape to the hospital."
"Wouldn't he be at least a little happy if that happened?" George asked. "I'm pretty sure I would be,"
"Good point." Fred agreed. "So then Mr Potter, what's going on?"
Harry hesitated, unsure of how to answer their question. They had the right to prepare themselves for what was coming just like anyone else, but what would happen if word spread too far and Voldemort found out they had uncovered their plan? It would certainly harm their strategic position and possibly reveal that Snape had been telling them every thing and was not actually loyal to the Dark Lord.
"You guys have to keep this quiet, and I mean that." Harry whispered. "There's bad stuff going on guys, and Hogwarts is about to get a whole lot more dangerous. Dumbledore is trying to keep everything quiet and honestly I sort of agree with him, but you two already know about the Order of the Phoenix and what they're doing so telling you couldn't hurt too I don't think. Just keep your eyes open and be prepared, ok?"
"Sure thing, Harry." George said, surprised from what Harry had said to them. "Anything else we can do?"
"Not unless you guys have come up with some secret weapon in that lab you two are always at work in." Harry replied. "But I don't think pranks and gags are going to win the war."
"You might be surprised." Fred answered. "George, I do believe I have an idea. To the secret lair?"
"Lead the way, Fred." George replied. The twins got up and left, already excitedly discussing something. Harry watched them go and wondered what in the world they could be planning but knew with those two there was really no way to know. Deciding he would just have to wait and see, Harry turned back to his meal and continued eating. He watched his classmates as he did, wishing that he could warn them of what was coming but know that the light's chances of victory would be better if they remained ignorant. Harry hated having to make that decision, one of the type Dumbledore had warned him he would inevitably face if he was to be a leader. He had been quick to criticize Dumbledore in the past and still felt most of it the Professor had deserved, but now he wondered if he had judged him too harshly. What would he have done in those situations? He didn't know and didn't want to think about it. It didn't help him at the moment anyway.
Finally finished with lunch, Harry decided to go relax for a bit. He knew he would not have many opportunities to do that in the coming day. A few minutes later he was laying on a couch in the Gryffindor common room listening to everyone joke and laugh while they celebrated the end of the term. Not long after that he drifted off to sleep.
"Eneverate."
Daphne's slowly opened as she attempted to figure out what was going on. The room she was in was dark and cold, lit only by a few candles on the opposite wall. She was sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall but when she began to stand up she saw that there were chains on her arms and legs the were connected to the wall. Although they had enough slack in them to allow her to stand up or sit down she could not move very far from the spot she was in.
"Good to see you again, Daphne. Aren't you going to say hello to your uncle Gabriel?"
Daphne's eyes darted to focus on where the voice had come from. She could see a figure standing in the shadows and when he finally stepped into the light she saw that it was indeed her uncle. Daphne's hand reached into her pocket, hoping that somehow her wand would still be there, but it was not. She vaguely remembered setting it on the table next to her bed right before Pansy had ambushed her.
"No wand, my dear." Gabriel laughed. "Just you and me here at the moment."
"My friends will find me." Daphne said. "And when they do they will kill you."
"So sure of that, aren't you?" Gabriel asked. "But no one even knows where you are. How do you think they are going to be able to save you?"
"Where are we?" Daphne asked.
"I don't think you need to worry about that." Gabriel answered. "But you are right on one thing, your little boyfriend will try to save you. We're counting on that."
"So I'm bait." Daphne realized.
"Oh you're more than that to me." Gabriel said. "You are going to live long enough to see the Dark Lord kill Harry Potter. But after that I am going to kill you, and then I am going to kill your father. After that I am going to kill your little sister. Astoria, wasn't it? And when that's done I will take my rightful place as the head of the Greengrass family and finally restore our family's honor. Your father and mine have done much to tarnish our family name."
"You're nothing compared to my father." Daphne boldly stated. "If Harry doesn't kill you, he will."
"He'll certainly try." Gabriel said. "Now, unfortunately I have to leave you for a bit. There is much to be done in the next few hours. The war ends tomorrow you see. A day from now nothing will be able to stop my lord and he will crush everyone who stands against him. Don't go anywhere, ok?"
Gabriel laughed as he walked out of the cell, closing and locking the door behind him. Daphne could hear his laughs echoing through the hallway, growing fainter and fainter until there was complete silence. For a few minutes she struggles against her bonds in the hope that she could break free, but it soon became clear that she was stuck. Finally she gave up and sat back down on the floor, resigned to simply hoping that an opportunity to escape would present itself or that someone would come rescue her.
The loud crack of someone dropping a textbook on the floor caused Harry to wake suddenly and sit up from his spot on the couch. He looked over to where the noise came from and saw a second year girl picking up her books and continuing on to her room. Harry checked the time and saw that he had been asleep for over two hours. It was late enough that a few people were already making their way to the Great Hall for dinner. Harry yawned and thought about what he needed to be doing.
Hermione, Snape, and McGonagall were probably still in Dumbledore's office discussing the ritual. He would need to be there soon to start getting a better idea of what they needed to do to stop Voldemort. He also remembered that he hadn't told either Daphne or Neville what was going on and they certainly deserved to know. Knowing it would be easier to start with Neville, Harry walked up to the fifth year boy's room to see if he was there but the room was empty. He then pulled the Marauder's Map out of his bag so that he could more easily locate his friend.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry said. Instantly the map began to appear on the piece of parchment, along with hundreds of dots and names that represented the people in the castle. Harry was able to quickly find Neville in one of the greenhouses apparently talking to Professor Sprout. Hermione, Snape, and McGonagall were all still in Dumbledore's office as he had suspected. And Daphne... wasn't in the Slytherin dorms. Or the Great Hall. Or in any of the classrooms. Or in the hallways. Or on the castle grounds. Or anywhere else the map showed.
Harry spread the map out on top of his bed and decided to look again. Surely, he thought, he had just missed her somewhere. But after another fifteen minutes of searching he still had not found Daphne. Even the he did not begin to panic because he knew there were places in the castle that the map didn't show. A few minutes later he had looked in the Room of Requirement and seen that she was not there. It was then that he began to worry. He even checked the Chamber of Secrets, a place he knew she probably couldn't get to, just to be sure.
When he had done that he went to ask Neville if he had seen Daphne, but unfortunately he had not. Unsure of what else to do, he began walking around the school looking for her and asking people if they had seen her. It was while doing this that he heard a familiar voice call out.
"Potter! Come here."
Harry turned to see Draco Malfoy waving him over. Harry frowned, instantly thinking that Draco had something to do with Daphne's disappearance and not liking that one bit. He walked over to the blond Slytherin and waited for him to start talking.
"I hear you're looking for Daphne." Malfoy began. "Well there's something you need to know..."
Draco didn't get to finish his statement because Harry shoved him against the wall and held him there with one hand while the other pointed his wand right at Draco's face. Draco was obviously surprised by Harry's attack but didn't try to fight him.
"What have you done, Malfoy?" Harry asked. "Tell me where she is!"
"Ease up, Potter!" Malfoy replied. "It wasn't me. But... I do know who did it."
"Who?"
"Pansy." Malfoy answered. "It wasn't her fault, Potter. The Dark Lord was going to kill her family. Go easy on her, ok?"
"I don't care about her right now." Harry replied. "All I care about is getting Daphne back safely. What else do you know?"
"Listen, you need to believe me when I tell you that I had no idea any of this was going to happen until Daphne was already gone." Malfoy began. "Pansy was upset and told be what had happened. And then, a few minutes ago, I got a package from my father. She's being held at my house, in the dungeons."
"Then you're going to take me there." Harry demanded.
"That's what he wanted, too. They're setting up a trap for you, Potter." Malfoy explained. He then pulled a letter with 'Harry' written in feminine hand writing on the front. "This is a portkey. I was supposed to give it to you tomorrow afternoon and tell you it would take you to where Daphne is being held. As you can tell, I'm not following the plan."
"What are you up to, Malfoy?" Harry asked. "What game are you playing?"
"I am trying to help you, Potter." Malfoy replied. "With my help you are going to avoid the trap and be able to save your girlfriend."
"Why are you doing this?" Harry asked, but then he remembered something he had not thought about for some time. He finally let Draco go and lowered his wand, much to Draco's relief. "It's the life debt, isn't it? You're obligated to help me."
"That's partly the reason." Malfoy agreed. "But it's not all of it. I want you to win, and I think you will. I know what kind of world the Dark Lord will create if he wins the war, and quite frankly it's not a world I want to live in."
"Let's assume I believe you." Harry said. "How are you going to help me?"
"If you go tonight, they won't be expecting you." Malfoy commented. "Plus, my father seems to have forgotten he gave me some limited abilities to create portkeys into our home. I can make it so that the portkey takes you directly in to my room, not to where ever he had set this one up to put you. Plus this is a one person portkey, the best I can do is make it so you can take one other person with you. That's all I can tell you."
"Ok." Harry said. "Change the portkey."
Draco nodded and pulled out his wand while Harry watched his every movement, still unsure if he could trust Draco. The Slytherin slowly pulled his wand out of his pocket and began to concentrate before touching the tip of his wand to the letter and saying "Portus." The letter briefly flashed before turning back to normal. Draco held it out to his former rival and Harry carefully took it and began to inspect it.
"When you're ready, the password is 'rescue'." Draco explained. "Good luck, Potter."
Harry nodded but said nothing else while Draco turned and walked off. Harry stared at the portkey in his hand and wondered if he could really believe anything Draco had told him. In the end he know he would have to assume Draco was being honest because it was the only clue he had as to where Daphne was. The only question was who would he take with him to rescue her, but even that was obvious. Daniel Greengrass would never forgive him if he didn't give him the chance to save his daughter.
The sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway and into Daphne's cell where she looked towards the door and wondered who was coming, and what they wanted. Soon the footsteps stopped and was replaced with the sound of the lock on her door being opened. When the cell door finally swung open she saw a tall, thin man whom she didn't recognize walk in. Once inside the man closed the door behind him set a glass in front of Daphne. She took it and looked inside to find that the liquid appeared to be water but there was no way for her to be sure.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Water, you moron." the man replied. "When we do eventually get around to killing you it's not going to be by poisoning, you can count on that."
"Who are you?" Daphne demanded to know.
"The name's Jugson." he answered. "Don't move, I'm going to check your chains."
Daphne nodded and Jugson walked over to where she was sitting on the ground. One by one he pulled on the chains connected to her arms and legs to make sure they were still attached. The last one he checked was one connected to her leg, and when he did Daphne saw her chance and attempted to pull Jugson's wand out of his hand. She pulled with all her strength, but Jugson was simply too strong. In retaliation Jugson slapped Daphne across the face hard enough to knock her to the ground with a bright red mark on her cheek.
"You really are a dumb bitch aren't you?" Jugson laughed. "And here I was going to be nice to you. Try and make the last few hours of your life bearable. There's no escape from here little girl. Oh I know, Harry Potter is going to come save you right?"
"He will." Daphne said confidently.
"He'll die trying, exactly what the Dark Lord wants." Jugson disagreed. "It'd be easier if you just accepted that."
Daphne angrily threw the glass of water at Jugson in response. It harmlessly flew over his shoulder and smashed against the hard cell wall. This time Jugson did not laugh at her resistance but instead drew his wand and yelled "Crucio!". The torture curse struck Daphne square in the chest and caused her to scream in pain. Jugson held it for a few seconds before finally stopping and putting the wand back in his pocket.
"I wasn't supposed to do that." Jugson said. "The Dark Lord wants you healthy and whole for when Potter comes. That way you can see him beg for death at the hands of the Dark Lord before you die too. We'll just have to make that our little secret, won't we?"
Daphne bit her lip and tried not to give him the pleasure of seeing how much she was still hurting from the Cruciatus. Jugson shrugged at her silence before leaving the room and Daphne alone again. Only when she was sure that he was gone did Daphne show any sign of how much pain she was in. As she sat and waited for the pain to subside she hoped that Harry would come for her soon.
Harry didn't think he had ever seen anyone as angry as Daniel Greengrass was when he found out what had happened to his daughter. Harry understood it though, he was feeling the same thing. He had used Dumbledore's floo to go straight to the Greengrass's home and explain the situation in person. Each detail seemed to make him angrier and angrier, but when Harry's story was done Daniel sat down and attempted to calm himself. He did not believe that going into a battle in a rage was a good idea.
"Do you think we can trust Draco Malfoy?" Harry asked. The issue had been bothering him ever since their conversation ended. He wanted to believe that Malfoy was being honest because it was his best chance to save Daphne, but even so he and Draco had been rivals for so long that it was hard to see him as anything else.
"His story makes sense." Daniel said. "By getting you to walk into an ambush tomorrow he would win even if you were able to survive because you wouldn't be at Hogwarts trying to stop him. But I agree, it is strange for Draco to so obviously go against his father."
"Maybe he's changed more than I thought." Harry suggested with a shrug. "But I'll wait to make a decision on that until we can make sure he isn't just setting us up."
"Let's go." Daniel said. "It's been a very long time, but I've been inside the Malfoy house before. I should be able to point us in the right direction. Are you ready?"
"Right." Harry replied, holding the portkey out so Daniel could grab on to it. When they were both touching the portkey Daniel nodded and Harry said "Rescue."
Instantly the portkey activated and they found themselves spinning through a magical whirlwind. Harry had never grown to like travel by portkey and he was especially unhappy with it now because he knew that there would be a moment right after they arrived when they would both be vulnerable. Finally the spinning began to slow and Harry felt himself being hurled towards the ground. He hit and rolled forward before leaping to his feet with his wand in hand only to find that there was no one on the other side waiting for them. Daniel landed without problem moments after he did.
Harry had no problem believing the room they had arrived in belonged to Draco. Almost everything was either black, silver, or green. A few Quidditch posters supporting the Falmouth Falcons hung on the walls, but oddly there were no photographs of Draco with friends or family in the room. The one window was covered by a thick black curtain and let in very little light.
"Where to?" Harry asked.
"The bedrooms are all on the second floor." Daniel explained. "I've never been in this part of the house, guests are rarely invited up here. But out that door is probably the main hallway which should lead to the ground floor. The door to the basement, where the dungeons are located, is through a door in Lucius' office. We have no idea what we're going to face in here, just promise me you'll save Daphne if I can't."
"Of course." Harry replied. "But we're all going to be fine."
Daniel nodded in agreement before walking to the door and slowly opening it. Harry could only see Daniel looking both ways before he quickly closed the door. Daniel motioned for Harry to follow him before opening the door and firing off a red spell that struck a Death Eater walking through the hallway in the back, dropping him as soon as it hit. As the passed him Harry noticed that the man was merely stunned. Daniel seemed to be expecting his question.
"We have to be quiet." Daniel whispered. "Can't let them know we're here before we're ready."
Harry agreed with his point and silently disillusioned the stunned man so no one would see him. They then walked to the end of the hallway where Harry looked around the corner, careful not to be noticed. The room he saw appeared to be a living room full of expensive looking furniture and decorations. There were two Death Eaters there, completely unaware of Harry and Daniel's presence, discussing how boring their current assignment was. Harry pulled his head back and held up two fingers. Daniel nodded and silently mouthed the words "On three. One. Two. Three."
At the count of three Harry and Daniel stepped out of the hallway and silently fired off a pair of stunners which knocked both Death Eaters out before they could even react to the sudden attack. Harry smiled and gave Daniel a thumbs up before disillusioning the men like he had done with the other Death Eater. Together they searched the rest of the second floor but found it to be empty of additional Death Eaters. Harry was a little surprised by how few guards were in the house but assumed it was because Voldemort never expected him to learn where Daphne was being held this soon.
Downstairs they found a group of five Death Eaters eating dinner in the kitchen. They had not passed any others on their trek through the first floor so believed it to be likely that this group was everyone stationed there. Harry was ready to go when Daniel pulled him back so they could talk.
"No need to hold back anymore." Daniel whispered. "Just take them out."
Harry nodded in agreement and led the way back to the entrance to the kitchen. He was first through, casting a powerful wide arcing slicing curse which managed to decapitate one man, cut another completely in half, and cut another Death Eater's legs off at the knee. Daniel was right behind him with a strong blasting curse that caught another man right in the face resulting in a gruesome explosion of blood and bone. While Harry mercifully finished off the Death Eater with no legs, Daniel turned his attention to the last remaining Death Eater still capable of putting up a fight. He even managed to get his wand out and point it towards them before taking a piercing hex through the heart that dropped him to the floor.
"I don't recognize any of these guys." Harry said. "Who do you think they were?"
"New recruits mostly." Daniel speculated. "It does make me wonder though, if Voldemort's best Death Eaters aren't here where are they? And what are they doing?"
They turned and walked out of the kitchen with Daniel leading the way to the dungeons. It went without problem until they passed the room leading to the main entrance of the house when out of a darkened corner they heard someone yell "Avada Kedavra!" They both instinctively dropped to the ground and the killing curse flew harmlessly over their heads. Whoever cast the spell did not seem to be disappointed however, they simply laughed crazily. When they made it back to their feet, wands ready to strike, they saw Gabriel Greengrass walking towards them.
"I'll do better next time, Daniel!" Gabriel promised. "You're early. How did that happen, I wonder? Oh well, it just means we've had to move the execution up a little. In fact I gave the order as soon as I realized you were here. Poor little Daphne should already be dead."
"Go find her, Harry! You know where to go!" Daniel commanded. "And leave him to me."
Harry didn't waste time responding, he simply ran towards the office they had been heading to. The door to the dungeons would have normally been hidden, but luckily someone had left it open in a rush to get down there. Harry sprinted through the door and into a long hallway full of cells. He checked in each one he passed, but none of the first few he looked in was occupied. Then a feminine scream at the very end of the hallway let him know exactly where his girlfriend was being held.
Meanwhile Daniel and his brother Gabriel were locked in a fierce duel. By all indications they seemed to be evenly matched. Each cast powerful spells towards the other, but in every case they were either shielded against or avoided. The room in which they were fighting was quickly being destroyed by their ferocious battle. Finally Daniel spotted an opportunity and summoned a rug out from under his brother's feet and sending the man crashing to the ground. Before he could move Daniel had cast another summoning charm which tipped over a bookcase and caused it to smash down on top of Gabriel who was now pinned to the floor an unable to move. The only part sticking out from under the bookcase was his head.
"Lucky, brother, very lucky." Gabriel said angrily. "Just like always. You've never deserved anything you have. It should have all been mine."
"You're a fool." Daniel replied.
"You're not really going to kill me." Gabriel claimed. "What would father say?"
"We'll never know, because you killed him." Daniel answered. "Avada Kedavra."
In the moment before the spell hit him and ended his life, Gabriel Greengrass screamed in rage at his defeat. His last thought was the hope that his Lord would avenge him and crush their enemies. A second later it was all over, and Daniel stood over his lifeless brother and shook his head at how the man's life had been wasted. His thoughts were quickly set aside as he remembered that his daughter was still unaccounted for. He immediately ran to follow Harry and prayed that she was still alive and ok.
After hearing her scream Harry had run towards the end of the hallway and noticed that the very last door was open. When he rushed inside he saw that Daphne was chained to the wall with a large bruise on her face, but otherwise appeared to be ok. She was crying and screaming at the other person in the room, a tall Death Eater who seemed to be enjoying his victim's fear. Harry did not recognize him, but the Death Eater was in fact Jugson. His wand was pointed at Daphne and looked as if he was preparing to cast a spell. He was able to get the first syllable of "Avada Kedavra" out of his mouth before Harry acted.
In his emotional state the magic seemed to flow through Harry like never before. It was almost as if he did not even actually need to cast spells but instead to simply command the magic to do what he wanted it to. Jugson's wand snapped in half in his hand a split second before his body was thrown through the air and crashed against the hard cell wall. The impact broke numerous bones, a fact that would not matter just seconds later. Jugson shrieked in pain as Harry summoned the man's still beating heart from his chest, and he lived just long enough to see it burst into flames before his world went black and he knew no more.
With another flick of his wand the chains fell off of Daphne's arms and legs and Harry rushed over to her. They slumped to the ground where Harry held her and tried to comfort her as she cried. A minute later Daniel Greengrass ran through the door with his wand out ready for a fight only to see his daughter crying on Harry's shoulder. His wand lowered and his face relaxed as the relief of knowing his daughter was alive rushed through him. Taking a seat on the ground next to Daphne he wrapped his arm around both teens and told them how glad he was to see both of them still alive.
Author's Note:
See, I didn't make you wait long after last chapter's "cliffhanger" ending now did I? And some of you had been wondering if I was ever going to mention Draco's life debt, believe me I had not forgotten. Hope you're enjoying the story and thanks for reading!
Updated: To those asking why I ended it there, sorry I guess I should have made it more clear that everyone in the house was either dead or incapacitated. Yes, the next chapter will start with them safely out of the Malfoy house.
