Chapter Forty-Four: Albus: The Trapped

If there was a time I hadn't known what to do, that was it.

There were just too many options. I mean, we were right there. My dad and Emily were so close, and I knew they were there, and hopefully we weren't too late. But if I went back, I could've told the Order of the entrance to the ministry – get back up, since it was pretty obvious we were facing magic no one in England had ever dealt with before.

I should've listened to my mum.

But the pull of my dad, trapped here for weeks, those Death Eaters torturing him to get what they wanted, and of Emily – not dead not dead not dead – was a bit too strong. I kept silent, as I was the last to get out the portrait hole, watching my friends as they debated where they could be. I doubted this was a trap for them – after all, for some reason, they wanted me here, not them – but I couldn't help but feel like they'd be spares.

"Guys," I said loudly, breaking into their discussion of Merlin-knows-what, "I think you should go back and get help."

They all turned to me, shell-shocked.

"What, and let you go in yourself?" Adam asked in disbelief.

"Yes, don't you remember what David said?" I demanded, trying to sound more confident. I didn't really want to go in alone, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was getting them into something… well, fatal. "This is a trap. You guys need to go back, so I can at least try to find Emily before they –"

"Don't finish that sentence," Scorpius interrupted sharply.

James smacked me on the head. "You're not going in alone, you idiot."

"But what if –"

"Anyway, onto more important things," James said loudly, effectively cutting me off and turning back to the others. "I'm not sure what he meant by 'darkest corridor of the ministry', but I'm going to guess the Department of Mysteries."

"Do you think they kept Uncle Harry there, too?" Dom asked.

"No, probably not," I put in, having given up. I guess they were dead-set on this. "I'm thinking he was supposed to be kept in a secure place, and that's not exactly ideal."

"Emily is more disposable to them," James pointed out, and I wanted to strangle him. But he was right. "We might want to split up, so we can search for both."

"We're not splitting up," Dom said immediately, going pale.

"No, I think it's a good idea," I said slowly, thinking hard. "You guys find my dad, and Scorpius and I will get Emily. Get in and get out before we can get trapped in this place."

"But how will we find each other?" Adam asked. He wasn't looking at me, but at Dom, who seemed scared out of her mind at this point.

And I didn't really blame her. The portrait had led us to the main hall of the ministry – but it was empty. And clean. If I hadn't known that people had been forced out, I would've just guessed that everything was normal, and this was normal for the middle of the night. But it wasn't the middle of the night. It was quiet and eerie, and we definitely weren't supposed to be there.

"Let's not split up," Adam suggested, putting an arm around Dom. "We wouldn't have a way to find each other anyway, and if this really is a trap, we need all the help we can get."

James nodded, directing his next question to me. "Al, who first? Emily or Dad?"

What kind of question is that?

I groaned, pressing a hand through my hair. "Merlin, James, I don't know. Dad's been in here for a long time, but they hurt Emily more, because they don't want anything from her."

"Also, we have some clue to where she is," Scorpius added. "I'd say we find her first."

James settled his gaze onto me, seeming disappointed. I understood why, but I didn't know what else to do. I'd been trying to get into the ministry for weeks, ever since he was kidnapped, but I physically couldn't. I tried. I'd never done something so rebellious in my life, and it wasn't as though I didn't care for my dad. I just had no other choice.

But I was finally there, wasn't I? Didn't that mean anything?

His expression was stony and sullen, and he didn't look at me as we took the elevator down. Dom was huddled close to Adam, who usually looked happy about this, but he seemed to be as scared as she was, at this point. Scorpius was defensive, wand tight in his hand, as though he was just waiting for something to happen. I knew he was there for Emily, and not for my dad, but I appreciated it just the same.

The elevator shuddered as it reached the ninth floor, squeaking as it opened. We stumbled out, cautiously walking in the corridor towards a black door. James automatically took charge, not hesitating to open it and lead us into the room.

It was a circular room. I vaguely remembered my dad's description of this in one of his stories he told me as a little kid, and I felt my stomach twist. It was as though a vivid, horrible nightmare had become real.

"Which door…" James trailed off, jaw clenched and thinking hard. I didn't blame him. The dimly lit room had five doors besides the entrance, and as soon as the entry door shut, the room rumbled and turned, quicker than our eyes could focus. We weren't sure whether the walls were moving or us, but we gripped for each other anyway, just to make sure.

As the doors stopped moving, I realized the point: we weren't going to find this "darkest corridor" on the first try, and when we came back, we weren't even going to be able to figure out which doors we'd tried. We didn't even know which one was the entrance.

"Shit," Adam muttered, clapping a hand to my shoulder. "Well, which one do we start?"

"We're not splitting up," Dom said quickly, even though no one had suggested it. Or about to. This place was creepy and all kinds of dangerous.

Merlin, if Emily was somewhere here…

No. Not going there.

"Okay, well we have to start somewhere," I said, running both hands through my hair and glancing from door to door. They were all the same – black, plain and scary-looking. I shrugged and pointed to the one in front of us. "Might as well, right?"

"You can go first," Adam said nervously. He poked a finger to the middle of my back and I stumbled forwards towards the door. I grasped the handle tentatively; I didn't know what I was going to face on the other side. Death Eaters? Metal chains and traps? Killing curse? Some monstrous creature Hagrid had probably set loose?

He did that a lot, you know. 'Misunderstood creatures', my arse.

I opened it a crack and peered through. It seemed pretty bright, so it couldn't have been the corridor David was talking about, but –

"Bloody hell, this is the entrance," James groaned. I slumped and shut the door, immediately jumping back as the walls began to blur before our eyes. As they slowed down, James nudged me. "Remember what Dad said?"

"About this place?" I asked. "Yeah, to stay away at all costs."

"No, in the stories." I blinked in confusion, and he rolled his eyes. "Maybe you were too young."

"Was not."

"Remember he told us about the rooms?" he asked. "He said there was that one that's always locked. There's another one where he found that death-thingy."

"Death-thingy?"

"Shut it," James snapped to a sniggering Adam. "That's where he fought all those Death Eaters and Voldemort, remember? Do you think that's the room?"

I paled. "But… death?"

"I mean, death and darkness…" James shrugged, but he looked worried. "They go hand-in-hand, don't they?"

I felt a lump in my throat. "No offense, but I hope you're wrong."

"I think we don't really have a choice there," Scorpius pointed out. He looked entirely in denial, and I was pretty sure I knew how he felt. "The room moves as soon as we shut each door, so we'll just have to check every one we can."

So we tried. We didn't know how to mark the doors and didn't want to split up, so we kept choosing the one that came in front of us, thinking we'd encounter it eventually. Turned out that we found the entrance a couple of times (again), encountered the locked door then finally found a different room. James carefully opened the door, not bothering to hesitate like I did and strolled inside, wand outstretched, the rest of us trailing behind him.

The first thing that struck me was that everything was glittering, like fresh snow in the sun. Then I realized there were clocks ticking at us from every nook and corner of a narrow chamber, and what seemed to be smashed time turners scattered on the ground. It didn't seem like anyone had been there in years, and there was no dark corridor in sight.

"This can't be it," James muttered, stepping over the crushed glass.

"Where does that door lead?" Adam said suddenly. I followed his gaze to a door farther in the chamber, hearing the door slam shut in the distance.

Uh oh.

"That didn't lock, did it?" Dom said nervously.

"We'd better try that door, then," James said confidently, despite the fact that he looked as shaken as she did. We hurried over, the broken glass crunching beneath our feet.

The next room was much larger, with giant benches leading up to a platform with a large stone archway covered in curtains. There were more doors leading out of the room, but no corridor.

"Emily, where are you…" Dom murmured, walking around the benches.

I swallowed thickly. "We should try another door."

"Which one?" Scorpius asked, sounding frustrated. "There are just about twenty in here!"

"Probably not the one we just came through," Adam pointed out unhelpfully.

"Come on," I muttered irritably, hurrying towards the door on the left wall of the square room. I didn't hesitate to fling open the door, which was an acceptable decision on my part, but it was not a good decision was to look around the new room we'd just entered.

Because to the right of this corridor was a tank full of brains.

"What the actual fuck!" I shouted in disbelief. Dom screamed.

James pushed me forwards and I kept running, to the opposite side of the room and through yet another door. As soon as I ran into this one, I nearly lost my balance and fell on my arse. Actually – I did lose my balance.

But I didn't fall, since we were somehow floating.

My friends slammed into me as I skidded to a halt. Or tried to. I fell and somehow found myself staring at the floor, arms flailing, feet probably kicking James in the face as I floated right above the ground.

"What is this place?" I heard Adam ask as I tried to bring myself back to standing position. Which looked quite stupid, since I was flapping my arms. "Are those planets?"

He was right. It was dark, numerous doors lining the walls and large, colourful orbs floating in midair. It was very strange; they seemed to aligned in the orbit, but there didn't seem to be a Sun present. Probably because it wasn't a planet.

I floated around the room, looking ridiculous because I looked like I was swimming in mid-air, but I didn't care; this was by far the closest to a "dark corridor" than any other of the rooms. Luckily, I wasn't the only one sort-of swimming around; Scorpius flapped over to me and caught my gaze.

"Do you think this is it?" he asked, frowning.

"It seems like it, doesn't it?" I replied as reached for the wall beside me, trying to grab onto it so I could direct my way towards the other side. "It's dark, but there isn't really – ARGHHH!"

I saw Scorpius lunge for me right before I was suddenly sucked into the wall. I felt his hands grab my feet right before I fell to the ground behind the wall. I sat up and squinted as he pulled me back; I'd fallen into some sort of dark hole with gravity, and it was so dark in the other room that I hadn't realized it was a wall.

Not dark hole, I realized. Black hole.

Scorpius pulled the rest of me back and grasped my arms, looking terrified. Everyone was flapping their arms, trying to gather round. "What happened?"

"It's a black hole," I said in awe, looking back at the blackness behind me. "Not a wall. It's still trying to suck me back –" I cut off, my eyes widening. "Holy shit."

"This is where Emily must be," Scorpius whispered, realizing it at the same time I did. "Is it a corridor?"

"Sort of, I guess." Black holes have gravity. They suck light. I glanced behind me again. "I'm betting magic won't work in there, it'll absorb light. I wouldn't have been able to figure out where I was if you hadn't gotten me out."

"Are you going to look?" Dom piped up, sounding scared. "Do you really think she's in there?"

"She has to be," I said almost desperately, staring at the hole. "Where else could she be?"

"But how will we get out, even if we find her?" Scorpius asked.

My eyes narrowed. "We? I don't think so."

"Al's right," James cut in as he conjured up rope. Rope? "We can't have two of you go in and get lost, and we don't even know what's in there. We'll tie this around Al in case we need to pull him out."

"But I could help!" Scorpius argued, looking furious. "We shouldn't split up!"

"This could be a trap," I added, pulling the end of the rope from James and looping it around my waist. "I don't want you getting caught, okay? It's supposed to be me."

"And with any luck, it won't be," James mumbled, tightening the knot. He wasn't looking at me as he cast an extension charm on the rope. "Just get in, find her as fast as you can, and whenever you want to get out, tug three times."

Scorpius looked like he was about to argue again, but thought better of it. He let go of me and floated back from the hole to avoid being sucked in, allowing me to go through. Into the unknown, where I would be blind and practically defenseless.

I grinned weakly at my worried friends.

Well, here goes nothing.


Getting in definitely wasn't the hard part.

I was instantly sucked in and fell over again, this time actually falling flat on my face. I groaned, standing from the cold floor and trying to get used to gravity, blinking rapidly and trying to find some kind of light – but there wasn't any for my eyes to adjust to.

"Lumos," I whispered feebly, but it was no use. There wasn't even a flicker of light that escaped – and if there was, it was quickly sucked in. I pocketed my wand and stepped forwards, feeling as though I was about to fall off a cliff.

It was a bit like when I read late into the night, and when I had to get up to turn off my light, the trip back to my bed was a little unsettling, because of the sudden darkness. I was unbalanced, wandering into nowhere, and there was no moonlight for my eyes to see the pillow before I collapsed onto my bed.

There wasn't a cliff, though. It just seemed to be a huge room. Corridor. I couldn't exactly see it. I wandered aimlessly, making twists and turns but a hundred percent sure that I wasn't going backwards. Which was a good sign, really. But I couldn't help having that nagging voice in the back of my mind, one that sounded vaguely like my mum, repeating over and over as the darkness inflicted self-doubt upon myself.

She's not here.

But I brushed it off, because this had to be it. Where else could she be? David said the darkest corridor of the ministry, and if this wasn't dark, I didn't know what it was.

I felt more and more uneasy as I wandered. Was she really there? Wouldn't I have found her by now? How big was the Department of Mysteries? I grew more and more nervous, the rope around my waist grounding me to reality. James seemed to tug every now and then, almost comforting me. I didn't want to give up, just in case, but what if she really wasn't there? Was I wasting time?

It was only after what felt like hours that I heard a small, weak voice.

"Who's there?"

I froze. That was her. That was her, it had to be her, it sounded just like her -

"It's me," I said before I could stop myself. Stupid, stupid. My voice was barely legible, it was so raspy. I cleared my throat, praying that I wasn't walking into a trap. "It's me, Al."

I heard her breath hitch from - somewhere. I couldn't pinpoint where, it was as though the place swallowed all my senses. I was also positively sure she'd stopped breathing; I couldn't hear her at all. I didn't dare to breathe. That had to be her.

"Emily?" I said hesitantly, quietly. "Is that you?" Please let it be her, please -

"Yes," she whispered from somewhere - on my right. Or was that on my left? "Is it really you?"

It was as though my entire body had flooded with energy - or adrenaline, because where else would it have come from? I was shaking; Emily was here. That had to be her. She was so close, I could just feel it.

"Oh Merlin, this can't be you," she said, breaking into my thoughts. "This is just my stupid hallucinations, isn't it? You're never going to come, are you? I'm going to die here."

I immediately shook my head, even though she couldn't see it. "You're not, okay? I'm here, I swear it's me."

"This is just cruel, okay?" she said, her voice breaking. "I'm going insane, I know I am..."

I heard her begin to shudder with short breaths, like she was crying. I kept entirely still, even though I just wanted to rush into the darkness, aimlessly shouting and feeling for her until I found her. I wanted to hold her and never let go.

"Emily, please..." I felt a lump rising in my throat. I couldn't hear where she was, dammit, and I wanted to, so badly. She was right here. "Don't cry, just -"

"I can't see anything," she breathed, sniffing. "I can't. Stop torturing me."

I stilled. That was on my right. It was definitely on my right. I took a tentative step in that direction, still straining my ears. "They're - they're torturing you?"

"Yes," she said, her voice shaking violently. I moved closer. "I don't know how, I never see or hear them, all the pain just comes at once, like they're stabbing me all over -" She dissolved in another round of tears. My heart thudded in my chest, barely listening to what she was saying. I needed to concentrate.

"Why are they torturing you?" I asked desperately. Her sobs were getting louder.

"I don't know," she gasped. "They want me to join them, but I don't want to, and then they told me I was useless and threw me in here."

I was so close. She was right there, I could feel her body heat. I just wanted to lean down and throw my arms tightly around her, but I just... had to make sure it was her. Not a trap.

I stopped. "Emily, tell me the last thing I said to you before you left."

Her breath hitched again. I think she only just realized in the midst of her tears that there was someone standing in front of her. That she wasn't just imagining it. I heard her rise to her feet. Her hand reached out and touched the middle of my torso.

"Al?" she whispered. I felt her hand leave my chest. "No - no, I'm dreaming, I know I am -"

"Tell me," I urged, feeling down her arm and grasping her hand. Tears rose in my eyes; this was how she felt. I felt as though I wanted to memorize her skin - the feel of it, her warmth. "What did I say?"

She paused. "You told me not to run away," she said softly. This seemed to bring on another round of tears, and she clutched at my hand. "Is it - it is really you?"

It was as though relief and panic were simultaneously engulfing me. I needed to hold her and make her stop crying and tell her how much I love her - and it was so overwhelming, I felt like my limbs were too heavy to move. She was alive and here.

I found her.

"Al?" she said, her other hand moving to my cheek.

"It's me," I whispered.

Immediately, she pulled me towards her and threw her arms around my neck. I clung to her. "Please tell me you're real, Al. Please, I can't stand it anymore -"

"Of course I'm real," I whispered, my breath brushing against her neck. I found her. I found her. My arms were gripping her so tight, I was surprised she didn't squirm. "Emily, you're alive..."

"I thought I was going to die here," she confessed miserably. "Am I? Are we? I've tried so hard to get out, but I -"

"I know the way," I assured her, bringing her hands to the rope around my waist. She buried her face in my neck.

"I'm blind," she mumbled. "I'm sure of it. I can't see anything, no matter how hard I try -"

"Did they hurt you?"

"Not my eyes," she admitted. "But they keep using the Crutiatus curse on me... even when I'm sleeping, they just wake me with it, and everything hurts."

I kissed her shoulder. "You're not blind, this place... it's like it sucks light. Lumos doesn't even work." I felt her knees buckle. "You feel so weak."

She wrapped her legs around my waist and held tightly, afraid of falling. "Al, I'm so sorry."

"Don't even think about that right now."

"I was going to come back," she whispered in my ear. Her tears were making my shirt wet, but I didn't care. "I swear, I just needed some space for a second and then when I came home, they attacked me."

"I know, I know..." I said gently, kneeling down to the cold floor. She wouldn't let go of me as we sat down. "It's okay."

"It's not okay."

"It's not important right now," I insisted. "What matters is that you're alive." I wiped my eyes. "I'm so glad you're alive." She lifted her head and her nose brushed mine, as though she were looking at me, despite the darkness.

"I love you, Al," she said softly. "I love you so much."

I stilled for a moment, barely believing it - then I couldn't resist. I pressed my lips against hers. Then her nose. Then her chin. Her jaw, her neck, and everywhere I could reach. My lips came to her forehead, hands cradling her face as more tears fell down. I couldn't speak, and neither could she.

All she could do past this point was cry. And I understood.

It was as though she'd lost hope.


She fell quiet after a few minutes, or longer. I couldn't tell. I rocked her back and forth, afraid to hurt her more. I felt her heart against my chest, and it felt like a miracle. A real, fucking miracle.

(I felt like a sap, but I couldn't bring myself to care.)

"Where does it hurt?" I asked after a while.

She sniffed. "Everywhere."

"Did they physically hurt you?"

"I have a cut on my arm from when they took me," she said quietly. "Some of their hexes injured me, but mostly, it was just... you know. Torture." She leaned further into me as I kissed her forehead. "How long have I been in here?"

"A few days." It was harder to admit than I thought. "I'm sorry, I tried, I really did, it's just -"

"Thank you," she interrupted, squeezing my hand. "I didn't know if you'd come."

"Don't be stupid, I would never leave you in here." I pushed her off my lap and turned around. "Get on my back."

"I can walk," she lied.

"I need to make sure we're both going the right way," I explained, looking over my shoulder. I couldn't see her, but still. "I tied rope around my waist, and James has the other end."

"James is here?"

"I hope everyone is here by now."

I felt her hands slide up my back to my neck. Just as she was climbing on, she fell back with a loud shout. I spun around in horror as she began to cry and scream, her voice echoing in the darkness.

"STOP!" I roared, feeling around for her. She kept moving out of my grip, shrieking in pain. I didn't know who I was talking to, no one else was there, but they just - I couldn't stand it. I grabbed onto her hips and held her as still as I could.

"Make it stop," she begged, still twisting violently. "Please, it hurts -"

And just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Emily panted as I felt around in the dark, trying to pull her to me.

"Does that happen a lot?" I whispered, trying to keep my composure, but I was scared. She weakly gripped at my arm to pull herself up, but that's all she could do before collapsing onto me. "Emily, stay awake, come on..."

She breathed deeply, evidently trying to slow her heart. "Get me out of here. Please."

I quickly turned around and let her climb onto my back. It took her a couple of tries, but eventually, she was successfully gripping me. I moved the rope to the front of my body and tugged on it three times, like James had said. Immediately, it was pulling us forward.

I broke into a run.


It seemed like I'd been running/walking/stumbling/tripping for hours in the darkness. The rope couldn't have been that long, since I still felt the pull, but it was clear that the dark hole-like corridor wasn't going to show us back to the space room, since it was sucking all the light.

And Emily had fallen asleep.

Or fainted. But I prefer sleep.

I just wanted to get her out of there. It was ages before I heard a quiet murmur of voices nearby, and though I couldn't see them, I knew it was my friends. Using a burst of energy, I quickly ran as fast as I could in that direction. It was just darkness, black, more and then –

Fuck, that's bright.

James quickly rushed over to steady me. I felt like just laying on the ground and collapsing, but unfortunately, we were floating again. I felt Emily stir from the dim light and our friend's voices. She clenched onto my shoulders.

"Where are we?" she asked sleepily.

"In the Department of Mysteries," James answered, undoing the knot on my waist. Emily slipped off my back, only to be scooped up again by Scorpius.

"I'm so glad you're okay," he mumbled, hugging her tightly.

I turned to see her properly. Honestly speaking, she looked absolutely horrible; she was still wearing my clothes, except it seemed that someone had ripped my sweatshirt off of her and slashed her arm. She was covered with scratches, but nothing major. There were dark circles underneath her eyes and her hair was greasy and messy.

But she was alive.

She turned to hug Adam next, who picked her up and spun her around. She chuckled weakly as he put her down. "Thank Merlin. Al's a prat when you're not around, you know that?"

"He's always been a prat," Dom piped up, looking nervously at her. Emily didn't hesitate in throwing her arms around her, and she relaxed. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Emily whispered.

"What happened in there?" she asked, suddenly becoming less guilty and more Dom-like. She grasped Emily by the shoulders and held her at arm-length. "Do you need anything? When's the last time you slept or ate?"

"I haven't had anything since before they took me," she admitted. Dom's eyes widened and immediately began digging through her rucksack for food as James brought Emily in for a hug.

"Let's go somewhere we can sit," he said, pushing her towards the room with brains in tanks. We made our way back to the door we'd entered, Dom still rifling through her bag for the sandwiches we'd packed.

"So, where to next?" Adam asked after we'd sat down and started eating. "Any idea where Mr. Potter could be?"

"He doesn't seem to be here," James said through a full mouth. "It doesn't look like anyone's been here in years."

"But where else could he be?" I contemplated, thinking hard. "There are tons of departments – except I doubt they'd keep him in the auror office, since he'd know it best –"

"I saw him," Emily said quietly. I whipped around; she swallowed the last bit of her sandwich, leaned against my arm and lacing our fingers together. "I don't really know where it was, but it was this huge office, and he was locked inside. They set up bars for him."

"Huge office?" I repeated. "You don't think he's in the minister's office, do you?"

"That's ironic," Scorpius muttered. He took a sip of water before surveying my brother and I. "We need a plan."

"Yeah," Emily agreed, subtly squeezing my hand. "I know they're expecting you guys to just charge in and blow up the bars, but that's the trap. Once you step inside the office, you're powerless."

"Why?"

"Magic doesn't work in there," she explained, reaching for a water bottle. "They locked me in there for a few minutes when I first got here. I got to talk to your dad for a second," she added, giving me a small smile. "He's doing okay. They're keeping him alive, but I don't know why. He just told me to make sure I didn't piss them off, because it didn't matter to them whether I was alive or not."

I kissed her forehead. "How'd you end up in the black hole?"

"I don't know," she confessed. "They stunned me and threw me in there."

"They interrogated you, didn't they?" Scorpius asked her, leaning forward a little. "Did they ask you to join them?"

She sighed. "Yeah. They told me I was there because they were luring you in," she said, looking at me. "This whole thing was a setup. They killed the minister to get your dad into the ministry so they could get what they wanted, but when that didn't work, they tried to lure you here by taking me."

"But why do they want me?" I asked, confused.

"So they can blackmail Mr. Potter, obviously," Scorpius cut in. His eyes were screwed shut in concentration. "But they didn't need Emily after she was taken, and she denied joining the Death Eater force." Emily nodded in confirmation. "But why didn't they kill you?"

"I don't know," she said softly, closing her eyes. "Maybe they didn't expect you to find me."

"Okay, so we need a plan," Adam piped up, dusting crumbs off his lap. "I guess we can't go into the office, but there must be some way to get him out."

"Break the wall?" Dom suggested meekly.

"Too dangerous, the ceiling could cave in from that sort of explosion," Scorpius dismissed. "We need to somehow destroy the prison bars and get Mr. Potter out, but not fall into the trap."

"There are guards, too," Emily added sleepily.

"I have my dad's invisibility cloak," I said suddenly, remembering. I pulled it out of my rucksack and handed it to James. "You have better aim. You can stand outside the office and dissolve the bars, but you have to make sure Dad doesn't fall into the trap."

"What if the door isn't open?" he asked uneasily.

"Destroy it?" Adam suggested, grinning.

"You want to take her home?" I asked Scorpius, wrapping an arm around Emily. "You can get backup, and I'm sure Rose is worried, too –"

"I'm not going anywhere," she interrupted firmly, digging her face into my chest.

I rolled my eyes. "You look like you're going to pass out."

"I'm fine, I just ate."

"So you must be full and sleepy."

"Bullshit, I now have energy."

"But you're injured."

"It's not that bad."

"You've been stuck in that place for days –"

"You can't tell me what to do," she teased, leaning back and sticking her tongue out at me. She looked to James, who was trying not to laugh. "We're running out of time, aren't we?"

He snapped out of it and immediately stood. We immediately followed suit in preparation to leave. "Yeah, we'd better get going."

Emily glanced back to me, and I shook my head stubbornly. "No, I don't think so. You're hurt and tired and couldn't even walk before now!"

"Maybe because they were starving me!" she shot back.

"You need time to get better!"

"Bloody hell, Al, I'm not glass!" she ground out through gritted teeth. I was aware of everyone watching us impatiently, but I couldn't let it go; they didn't see her in the black hole. They didn't see her so weak and defenseless.

But now she was staring at me defiantly, arms crossed and determined. And while I thought she was being ridiculously stubborn and stupid, but I couldn't help but feel a little bit relieved, that despite her time captured, she was still Emily.

It gave me hope for my dad.

"Stay with me, okay?" I asked quietly, hating myself as I spoke. "Keep out of the limelight."

She nodded slowly, and the tension seemed to break in the room. James gestured for us to start moving back to try and get back to round room, to try to find the entrance. Emily held me back, her grip tight around my wrist.

I frowned at her. "What're you –"

She cut me off by kissing me. Her hands tightly gripped my collar to bring me closer. It was short and frantic and I found myself clinging to her in those few, blissful seconds. I knew she was scared, but I had a feeling I knew why she was staying.

"You don't have to help," I whispered against her lips. "Go home. Stay safe."

"But I want to." She kissed me again, slowly. "Come on, we can do this." Then she was pulling me by the hand to catch up to the others. She would really do this for my dad, for me. I couldn't help but smile.

They couldn't break her. And I loved her for that.


A/N: Emily's back! She's (mostly) okay! She told Al she loves him! They're still in the ministry! AHHHH!

Sorry for the overuse of exclamation points ;D I also apologize for the lateness of the chapter, it was really hard to write... but I hope it turned out okay. Next chapter has already been started (and it's exciting!), so expect an update in about a week or two :)

Any thoughts on this? What do you think is going to happen?

Thanks for reading, and please review :D