Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or anything Harry Potter related!


"Let go," said Dumbledore clearly. I detached my finger from the glowing mug and landed on soft grass with an audible thud. I rubbed the back of my head, as I pushed myself off the ground. Ben and Athena seemed to be recovering from the journey as well, but Dumbledore was already looking through the large bushes we were hidden behind. The bushes seemed to form some kind of enchanted fence around the Malfoy Manor.

After brushing the leaves off my jeans and pulling out a couple of twigs from my hair, I joined Dumbledore near the bushes.

"Sir, how are we going to get through the bushes?" I asked.

"I believe that your magic is much more powerful than the protection that has been placed on this property. I think that you will be able to get us through the fence," he told me. I stared reluctantly at the enchanted fence. By now, Ben and Athena were standing beside me too, examining the foliage.

"Alright, sir. I'll give it a try," I said, nervously. Dumbledore had basically just told me that I was our only chance of getting in (but no pressure, right?). I sighed, but closed my eyes in concentration. I tried to think of a way of getting us through the bushes. The way I saw it was that there were two options here: either we went over or we went through. Over didn't really seem feasible, especially as I couldn't think of a way that I would be able to use my powers to make that happen. So, there was really only one option here. I concentrated on the leaves of the bushes, focusing my magic on the leaves.

I heard a sort of rustling sound. I opened my eyes to see that the leaves of bushes directly in front of us had fallen off the branches, giving us a clear path into the property. I breathed a sigh of relief and stepped through the branches onto the property. I warily looked around, almost expecting sirens or something to sound, but nothing happened. I stepped aside and allowed the others to follow me.

While the others were climbing through the path in the bushes, I looked around the vast grounds. Clearly, the Malfoys had done well for themselves. The grounds were covered in lush green grass and gaudy flowerbeds. It seemed like they were just trying to show people how much money they had. I guess that's where Draco got it from.

"Sir, where do we go now?" I whispered quietly.

"Dobby said that the house elves lived in a room at the western edge of the property, and that it had one small window. I think that the window we are looking for is that one," he said, pointing his wrinkled finger at a tiny, lightless window. He lead the way to the window, and we followed quietly behind him.

He peered into the window to check for danger, but he didn't find anything. He pulled out his wand and tapped the window, which unlocked with a click and swung open.

"After you," he said, politely. Athena climbed through first. After she was inside the house, I followed, with Ben right behind me. Then, Dumbledore climbed through. We had gotten into the house with no problem! It almost seemed too easy, but I pushed the thought out of my head. I mean we had taken the Felix Felicis, so it wasn't that strange I guess!

"Ben, I think you will have to lead the way, as you have been here before," said the Headmaster. Ben nodded and started walking through the small room. He pulled open the door and glanced around for a moment, before declaring the path safe. We tiptoed through the silent hallway, our footsteps echoing slightly. This worried me, but luckily we didn't see anyone.

Ben lead us to a set of stairs and we crept upstairs. We were now standing in a large, open space. It looked like a living room... but there was something off about it. It didn't look like anyone really lived here, considering the pristine condition of the couches and coffee table. All the furniture looked like pricy antiques; it was yet another show of wealth by the Malfoys.

Ben crept through the living room as quietly as possible. Now, we were standing in what I would call their entrance hall. There was a grand set of double doors that I assumed was the front door. There were several closed doors near the front door. I was really curious about what was through the doors, but I decided that now was definitely not the time for exploring.

Ben was now leading us through the entrance hall to an open area. There were several closed doors surrounding the circular space. There was a grand staircase that lead upstairs to what I assumed would be bedrooms. I couldn't think about that though, because I was staring at a fountain.

The enormous marble fountain was pretty, I guess, if not a little bit extravagant for my taste. The water was spraying up in an arch into a large pool. The fountain itself looked gold. I wouldn't be surprised if it was made of real gold.

So, if this was the fountain that Dobby was talking about, then that meant that Adrien was really close. Unfortunately for us, the circular space had several doors that were close to the fountain... all of which closed. How would we figure out which one he was in.

"Professor, what do we do?" asked Ben, clearly seeing the same problem I was. He didn't answer. Instead, he pulled out his wand.

"Homenum Revelio," he whispered, quietly. A small, silvery orb left Dumbledore's wand and floated towards one of the doors.

"He is in there. I am not sure if he's alone, but it is definitely that room," said Dumbledore. He began walking towards the door. I guess it was time...

He strode over to the door that had been identified by the orb and pointed his wand. He unlocked the door and pushed it open.

I braced myself for the worst, but it didn't come. When the door opened, I peered inside, to see a small boy sitting in a chair. There were ropes binding him to the chair, but other than that he looked unharmed. His eyes were closed at the moment, and he was breathing steadily, letting me know that he was just sleeping (and not dead...). I rushed over to him.

"Adrien!" I whispered, as I gently shook him. It took a moment, but he opened his eyes. He stared around, disoriented.

"Ava?" he asked, as if unsure if I was actually there.

"Adrien! You're ok!" I whispered, throwing my arms around his neck in delight.

"I knew you guys would come!" he said quietly, and when I pulled away I saw a large grin on his face.

"Are you alright?" asked Dumbledore calmly.

"I'm ok. They didn't hurt me. They just tied me to this chair, and asked me some questions. They left a little while ago," he explained.

"I am glad you're alright," said Dumbledore with a smile. He tapped the ropes that were restraining Adrien fell to the ground. He hopped off the chair and stretched for a second.

"Let's go, before we run into anyone," suggested Athena. I nodded fervently and followed the others out the door. I kept my arm securely around Adrien's shoulder.

We walked back into the circular hall, with the fountain and began back the way we came.

"Well, well, well. What have we got here," said a quiet voice from behind us. The cold dread I had been feeling earlier tonight flooded over me.

I slowly turned around, and saw my worst fear standing in front of me. Lord Voldemort, draped in long black robes, was standing casually behind us, wand pointing towards us. Behind him were a mob of Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy. When I saw Lucius' smirking face all the fear left me, and was replaced by rage.

"Hello, Tom," said Dumbledore, equally as quietly. I saw Voldemort's face twitch slightly in anger at being referred to as Tom, however he chose to ignore the comment.

"Dumbledore. I haven't seen you in a long time," he stated.

"I cannot say that I minded," said Dumbledore lightly. Voldemort's lips curved into a menacing smirk.

"Of course you didn't. You never did like me, even when I was in school," he replied.

"Well, I had a hunch about what you would turn into early on," replied Dumbledore. Voldemort's smirk grew.

"I doubt you ever had the hunch that I would be the one to kill you," said Voldemort.

"You will not be the one to bring about my death, Tom," said Dumbledore.

"You foolish old man. I could kill you right now if I wanted," said Voldemort with a laugh.

"I think that if you were going to kill me, you would have done it already," Dumbledore replied. I turned my turned my eyes to Voldemort, waiting for his answer.

"You don't think I would kill you?" he demanded angrily. "AVADA KEVADRA!" he cried. A beam of green light erupted from his wand, and it was soaring straight to Dumbledore.

Thinking quickly, Athena raised her hands and formed some kind of shield of air around us. The green beam seemed to blow away before it reached us. Voldemort growled angrily.

"You won't be able to maintain that shield forever. I can wait," said Voldemort. It was true. Though the shield was incredibly useful, it was also difficult to maintain. Athena had only ever managed to maintain it for a few minutes at a time. I wasn't sure what we would do after the shield failed. I could already see Athena's face was strained.

"You're not going to hurt any of us," I said defiantly, though I wasn't sure anymore.

"Oh, is that right, Avery?" he asked with a humourless laugh.

"Yes, it is. We have powers that you don't. You can't compete with them!" I replied angrily.

"But of course I do. Benjamin?" said Voldemort, locking his eyes on Ben, who was standing beside me. Clearly Ben had played his role well. I let out a loud, ruthless laugh.

"Ben? Ben isn't going to help you! He was just pretending to be on your side!" I laughed. I glanced at Ben beside me, whose face was stoney.

My laugh was cut short though. Ben stepped forward, and walked out of the protection of the shield. My voice caught in my throat, as I saw my friend Ben stride over and stand beside Voldemort.

"Ben?" I whispered, just loud enough that he would be able to hear me.

"Actually, you're wrong, Ava. You were right that I was pretending, but not about being on their side. I was pretending to be one of you!" he said with a cold laugh. My fingers started to feel numb.