AN: This chapter made my eye twitch as I think about it. I know the common belief in the books is that all Slytherins are evil but anyone who knows me personally knows that though I myself am a Gryffindor I am a firm believer that not all Slytherins are jerks. I felt compelled to say that due to what I may be writing here, even if I don't actually write it though this is staying up here because I said so.

Gone Missing

With the back of his hand Remus began rapidly beating James on the shoulder to gather his attention as his own was fixed on Lucius Malfoy standing before him. James muttered a 'what' as he turned and saw the menacing death eater glaring down at them. His mouth formed an oh as his eyes went wide. By now the others had begun noticing the death eaters appearing around them

The elder Malfoy stood above them and extended his hand out to Harry who was gripping the orb tightly. "To, me, Potter," he said coolly.

James looked around and surveyed the area around them, there were death eaters all around, they were outnumbered, even if they did fight they were no match. It seemed more just kept coming, James was glad he and the other Marauders were there to help, if they weren't he feared what would happen to them.

"To me," Malfoy said once more.

"Make him," James said.

The man turned his attention to the boy and sneered. "My, my, don't you look rather familiar," he said and somehow James knew that Malfoy knew of their true identities. "I believe that can be arranged."

"You'll have to go through us," Sirius said.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked ignoring the others.

The death eater's voices rose in a chorus of evil laughs and one particularly shrill voice sounded out amongst them. "The Dark Lord only knows!"

Malfoy smirked to them. "Always," he replied. "Now, give me the prophecy, Potter."

"I want to know where Sirius is!" Harry demanded.

"I want to know where Sirius is!" The shrill voice mocked to him, by now she and the other death eaters had closed in around them and there was no escaping. Their wands were poised and mere feet away from the heads of the Hogwarts students.

"You've got him," Harry said ignoring the panic he was beginning to feel deep within him. "He's here, I know he is."

"The little baby woke up frightened and thought what it dreamed was true," The woman mocked in a baby voice.

"Don't do anything," he said murmuring to the others. "Not yet…"

The woman threw her head back and let out a screaming fit of laughter. "You hear him, you hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!"

"Shut up, Bella!" Sirius cried not able to listen to her girlish taunts any longer. "No one wants to hear from you anymore, it's a wonder none of the balls have broken yet from that screech you call a voice." She snarled wanting his whole life to say that to her but never having the chance, if he had done it at home there was sure to be a beating for him and after he moved in with James he ceased to see much of her any longer, not like he minded.

The woman went silent and cocked her head she stepped closer to Sirius who shied away from her. She pulled down her hood to reveal the sunken and hallow face of Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius' cousin. She grinned with horrible teeth at Sirius and reached forward to pinch his cheeks as Sirius winced. "I thought you were familiar," she said, "Itty bitty Sirius is finally grown into a young man. You know last time I saw you so young and pretty was when you disgraced our family."

"The family was disgraced long before I came along." Sirius hissed.

"So how did you and your little dirty friends get here? Seems awfully odd if I do say so myself."

"That's none of your business Bellatrix," Sirius snarled as she walked around him taking him in with a smile on her face.

"Hmm…" She hummed as she examined him. "You're aged bloody terrible you know that? You were such a pretty boy." She reached forward to brush a strand of long hair from his face and Sirius swatted her away venomously she only giggled in response.

"Azkaban will do that to you, but you know all about that, don't you?"

"Enough of this Bellatrix," Malfoy said and she turned away from Sirius in a snake like manner as she sashayed over to Malfoy's side. "We need that prophecy and we don't have time for your mind games."

"I know Sirius is here," Harry said ignoring the banter between Sirius and Bellatrix. "I know you've got him." He said trying to control his uneven breathing.

Bellatrix laughed along with the other death eaters, though her voice rose above all the others.

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

"I dare you to, Lucius," Sirius said reverting back to the days where they all attended school together. Even though Lucius and his gang of friends were several years older then the Marauders that didn't mean they didn't cross paths from time to time. The Marauders made their distaste for Malfoy evident the two years they attended school together. "You didn't scare us then and guess what, you don't scare us now."

Harry shifted his eyes to look at Sirius, he knew nothing could stop the hot headed Black from saying anything, presumably over half the people standing before him were related to him in some way and Sirius didn't hide the hatred he held for his family. But even knowing Sirius couldn't be stopped it didn't make Harry feel any better, if it were up to him Sirius would be quiet right now.

"You dare?" Lucius asked amused.

"Oh yeah," James said raising his wand along with Harry and seconds after every single other one of the students followed. "We dare alright, you were a coward in school and you're a coward now, and do you know how we know that? Only a cowardly Slytherin sixth year picks on a Gryffindor first year, but as I said, you are a Slytherin, it's in your blood isn't it?"

Malfoy glared at him but didn't not strike which surprised every one of them. "Hand over the prophecy and no one needs to get hurt, though that promise is getting harder and harder for me to keep." He said narrowing his eyes at the Marauders.

This time Harry laughed. "Yeah, right! I give you this, prophecy, is it? And you'll let us just skip off home, will you?" He asked.

Bellatrix seemed sick of this and before Harry could even finish her wand was raised and the words began shooting out, "Accio Proph –"

"Protego!" Harry cried, prepared for something like that to happen.

"Oh," she praised in a fake voice. "He knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter, very well then," she raised her wand once more and opened her mouth to speak.

"I TOLD YOU NO!" Lucius bellowed. "If you smash it –"

She sighed in frustration and put her hands on her hips while surveying the crowd before her. "He needs more persuasion I'd say, very well, take the smaller one." She ordered to the other death eaters. "Let him watch while we torture her, I'll do it."

The death eaters began approaching Ginny and instantly the others circled around her protectively. Harry held out the prophecy and spoke to her in the calmest voice he could muster. "You'll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us, I don't think you're boss will be too pleased if you come back without it."

Sirius was pleased as this rendered Bellatrix speechless.

"So, what kind of prophecy are we talking about anyway?" Harry asking thinking of nothing better to do but keep talking, maybe Sirius and James had something before. Just keep talking to them and wait for the situation to change, if it did change that is.

"What kind of prophecy?" Bellatrix asked breathlessly. "You jest, Harry Potter."

"Nope," Harry said casually. "Not jesting, how come Voldemort wants it?"

"Because it will complete his collection of pretty shiny things?" Sirius murmured.

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes and the other death eaters began conversing behind her. "You dare speak his name?" She whispered in a foul hiss as she lowered her head.

"Yeah," Harry said daringly. "Yeah, I've got no problem saying Vol –"

"Shut your mouth!" She gave an unearthly shriek. "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 half blood too?" Harry said and he could hear Hermione give a moan of disapproval behind him and he saw out of the corner of his eye Remus glance at him. "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!" Malfoy cried and deflected the attack on Harry. The attack fired regardless and nearly hit Remus and Peter as it flew past them to one of the shelves behind them. They ducked as several of the glass orbs shattered on the ground.

Out of the shattered orbs came two ghostly figures who began whispering something but it was lost in the insane ramblings of the death eaters, especially Malfoy who was screaming at Bellatrix.

"DO NOT ATTACK! WE NEED THE PROPHECY!"

"He dared…" Bellatrix said brokenly. "He dares!" She cried. "He stands there… filthy half-blood…"

"WAIT UNTIL WE'VE GOT THE PROPHECY!"

"Just smash it Harry," Sirius murmured beside him so the death eaters could not hear. "What's it matter anymore? We give it to them, they kill us. We don't they kill us and get it… If we smash it they kill us but they don't get it."

Harry couldn't say he liked Sirius's way of thinking at the moment, he must have been really riled up in order for such a thing to come from his mouth but it gave Harry an idea. "You haven't told me what's so special about this prophecy I'm supposed to be handing over," He began gathering their attention as he slowly moved his foot to find someone else's.

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

"I'm not playing games," he said shrugging as his foot found another, when he found a set of toes he pressed down upon them and he heard a slight grunt from Remus alerting him that his were the toes he found, which was good, with his hearing he wouldn't have to speak terribly loudly.

"What?" Remus murmured through clenched teeth, next to him Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly noticing what Harry was doing when her eyes wandered down to their feet.

Malfoy smirked. "Dumbledore never told you that the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Ministries?" He wondered sneeringly.

"I – what?" Harry asked. "What about my scar?"

Remus swallowed the lump in his throat and glanced to Hermione. "Harry," he whispered quietly so none of the death eater could hear or see him move his mouth. "What is it?"

"Can this be?" Malfoy asked and the death eaters began laughing, except for Bellatrix, she was still lost in her anger.

"Smash shelves," Harry murmured through still lips.

"Dumbledore never told you?" Malfoy continued and began ranting on to him.

"When I say go…" Harry went on.

Remus and Hermione tensed as Malfoy and Harry continued exchanging words. They no longer cared what Lucius was saying anymore, they were only concerned for Harry's plan, neither of them understood it but regardless they passed on the message to the others around them who tried their hardest not to question the information.

"What's going on?" Neville asked through clenched teeth.

"I don't know," James replied praying that Malfoy and the other death eaters were too engrossed with Harry to notice their conversing behind them. "But I sure liked it better when we were yelling at them."

"I don't care what's going on or what Harry's chatting about," Sirius said narrowing his eyes at the death eater, his cousin in particular. "But if we don't cut the crap soon I'm about to cut it myself."

"You won't," Remus denied. "You won't do that."

Their quiet speaking was interrupted by another unimaginable cry by Bellatrix making them all jump a little. "Get it himself!?" She cried. "The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting time on my dear cousin?" Her eyes drew to Sirius. "Yes, I'm afraid it's your fault, if you hadn't murdered all those people years ago everything would be fine now."

Sirius sneered at her, "bitch," he said lowly.

"Naughty, naughty, mummy doesn't like that sort of language around, especially coming out of a worthless pest such as you," she said and Sirius made to move forward but James and Remus quickly took hold of him.

"Oh," she said noticing the other two move. "Got the man you betrayed and your pet doggy helping out do we?"

"Shut up," Sirius said.

Harry watched the battle going on between Bellatrix and Sirius and he knew that if he didn't say something soon Sirius was going to physically maul his cousin. "Now!" He screamed startling the death eaters around him.

All around him his friends began firing off spells causing the shelves to quake and fall, orbs shattered all around them, some narrowly missing their heads along with pieces of broken wood. The ghostly images of the people rising up from the orbs spoke, but their voices all mixed as one incoherent eerie voice as the shattering commenced. The death eaters began panicking as Harry ducked away with his prophecy not allowing them to see if his had been shattered with the others.

"RUN!" Harry screamed and grabbed Hermione by the robes to pull her along. He saw the others around him running with him, their arms over their heads trying to protect themselves from the falling glass robs and the wood. Though it was in vain, he could feel the falling bits on his arms he was sure the others could too. The deaths eaters tried coming after them but spells were fired and blows were thrown to deflect them, Harry even managed to elbow one in the face.

They reached the end of the row and made a sharp right, by now harry had let go of Hermione and he could hear her urging Neville on just as he could hear James urging Peter on. He hoped they would all make it, he wanted to stop and make sure but his prophecy was held tightly in his hand and he couldn't find the courage to slow down and help them in fear of the death eaters getting it. But he could hear everyone behind him, they were close too, close enough to hear them beyond the still shattering glass and breaking shelves that is.

The door was close, they were almost there and out, soon they would be able to leave this place. He didn't care what happened when they passed the door he would worry about that later but for now all he cared about was getting to the door mostly unharmed.

No more than a minute later Harry flung himself through the door, he waited for his friends to get through as well before shutting it behind them. He heaved a sigh as Hermione cast a spell upon it shutting it for good.

Harry glanced around. "Where… where are the others?" He said noticing that Remus, Ron, Luna and Ron were not among them.

"They must have gone the wrong way!" Hermione cried looking back to the door.

"I thought Moony was ahead of us," James panicked for his friend. "He's always ahead of us, he the fastest, he wasn't behind us that's for sure."

Peter shook his head. "He wasn't," he moaned. "I fell, he helped me and pushed me along, I thought he was beside me I really did. It's all my fault." He hung his head low. "If I wasn't so –"

"Listen," Neville said cutting Peter off.

They could hear Malfoy shouting on the other side of the door, he was planning a search for him and any second they were going to come through the door at them.

"What do we do?" Hermione asked.

"Well," Harry said. "We don't stand here waiting for them to find us, for a start, let's get away from this door…"

"We're not leaving Moony," James said. "The Marauders stick together we have to find him, him and the others." He added.

"And we will," Harry said taking him by the arm and dragging him away. "But we won't do Remus any good if we get caught ourselves, besides you should be glad, if he wasn't here, if any of you weren't here, we'd be alone doing this." He said as they quietly crept down the corridor past the bell jar. "He's with Luna, Ron and Ginny… helping them."

Suddenly there was a bang from the door Hermione has sealed shut and knowing they couldn't make it to the other door without being seen they ducked beneath the desks as they door was unlocked with alohomora and two death eaters entered.

"They might have run straight trough to the hall." One of them said.

"Check under the desks," another said.

Without letting them even get a glimpse of them under the desks Harry held out his wand and attacked them with a red bolt erupting from his wand. There was a struggle and Hermione was nearly hit with a killing curse but Harry took a page from Sirius's book and threw himself at the death eater. With the death eater knocked over Neville took the opportunity to disarm him as quick as possible, however due to their close proximity Harry was disarmed as well.

Their wands went hurly toward the door where they had come from, Harry and the death eater alike went charging after them but Neville chased them as fast as he could. He cried for Harry to get out of the way as he was horrified for accidentally disarming his friend, Harry turned around and saw Neville so he dived out of the way just in time for the boy to shout stupefy at the death eater. However the attack was off and it merely grazed his shoulder hitting a cabinet in front of him. The cabinet was loaded with hourglasses and they all came crashing down to the ground in a sound familiar to that of the orbs breaking.

Behind them all Sirius took out his wand and with careful aim raised his wand and stunned the death eater, hitting him in the back of the knees so he fell forward and into the bell jar. But he did not clonk against it as they expected he would, he passed through it as though it wasn't even there. He now lay on the table on his stomach with his head inside the jar.

"Accio wand." Hermione said as Harry's wand was returned to her, she handed it to him with a sad smile.

"Thanks," he said. "Right, let's get out of –"

"Look out!" Neville shouted pointing at the jar.

They all raised their wands once more to the death eater whose head was in the jar but all they could do was gawk at it. The head began shrinking rapidly, for a moment they were unsure at what was happening to him but after a few seconds they realized it had reverted to that of a child's head, no, not a child, a baby. Now there was a baby's head attached to the grown body of a death eater. They all instinctively took a few steps back away from the jar in fear of accidentally tripping and falling inside, they all cringed that they had gotten so close to it earlier.

However the babies head did not last long, it soon grew again into that of a man, it was a grotesque process but Hermione managed to think through it. "It's time," she stated looking at the other and then back to the jar. "Time…"

As they stared in awe at the jar they heard a crash and then a scream of a girl, accompanied by a boy shouting as well, one shout sounded almost inhuman.

"MOONY!" James screamed as Harry shouted for Ron, Ginny and Luna. "That was Moony, I know it was, no one screams like that." He said fearing the worst for the werewolf.

Hermione screamed and gripped onto Harry's robes as the death eater who had pulled himself out of the bell jar approached them but his appearance was bizarre. He had pulled himself out at the wrong time and now possessed the head of a baby and the body of the man, the head was wailing and crying as the arms flailed helplessly.

Harry raised his wand but Hermione stopped him. "You can't hurt a baby!" She said.

"That's not a baby!" Sirius cried. "I don't know what the bloody hell to call that thing but it certainly wouldn't be a baby! Babies are cute! …Most of them…"

But they didn't have much time to argue the point, they could hear footsteps coming from the prophecy room, they were going to be found out any moment now. So, leaving behind the baby like creature they headed for the other door, but before they got there the two death eaters who had been heading for them opened the other door and they were spotted. Knowing they wouldn't be able to make the door Harry veered left into another room. Before Hermione could cast her spell upon it the door burst open and they found themselves trapped.

"IMPEDIMENTA!" One of the death eaters cried and as a result they all flew back knocking into the desk, various bookshelves and chairs. They were all momentarily stalled while the death eater screamed for the others to come for them, but Hermione smartly cried out a silencing charm upon him.

Harry then continued saying, "petrificus totalus!" The second death eater then froze with his arms and legs snapped together, he fell forward onto the ground at Harry's feet.

Hermione smiled. "Well done, Harry," but before she could finish the death eater who Hermione attacked earlier was not as knocked out as they thought he was, he was merely momentarily stunned. He attacked her with a spell none of them had heard before and a fire like slash went across her chest. She didn't even have time to speak before she collapsed to the ground.

"HERMIONE!" Harry screamed.

As Neville tried to attack the death eater from under the desk where he lay the death eater noticed before anything could be done and threw out his foot to kick the boy. Neville cried in pain as the foot connected with his face and his wand easily snapped in two rendering it useless.

Sirius who had been recovering from hitting the bookcase to the left of them stood and with his steel toed boots he was often yelled at for wearing in uniform he swung his leg and kicked the death eater in the face, shattering his nose and causing him to loose consciousness. Sirius looked down and saw that his shoe was now covered in the death eaters slimy red blood. But he didn't mind, he ran over to Harry who was hovering over Hermione with James who was also trying to tend to Peter as well who had hit his head good against the cabinet and was unconscious.

At that moment the baby headed death eater entered the room and Harry made quick work of him shouting petrificus totalus once more, the baby headed man fell forward and landed on his broken faced comrade.

"Hermione?" Harry asked quietly.

Through his broken nose Neville slurred his words and spoke with a lisp, he was lucky to be speaking at all. "What'd he do to her?" He asked.

"I don't know." Harry replied airily.

Forgetting his nose and the blood dripping from his face Neville groped for her wrist to find a pulse. "That's a pulse, Harry," he said after a few moments. "I'm sure it is."

Harry sighed. "She's alive?"

"Yeah, I think so…"

"If only Moony were here," Sirius mused staring sadly into Hermione's still face. "He'd know what to do, he's good at healing."

After a moment's pause Harry looked up to Neville, and the remaining Marauders. "We're not far from the exit," he said to them. "We're right next to that circular room… if we can just get you across it and find the right door before any more death eaters come, I'll bet you can get Hermione and Peter up the corridor and into the lift… Then you could find someone… raise the alarm…"

"And what are you going to do?" Neville asked dabbling at his bloodied nose with his sleeve.

"I've got to find the others."

"Not alone you're not." James said. "I'm not leaving you here, Sirius can help with Peter and Hermione, but I don't care what you say I'm not letting my… my son stay here."

"And you think I will," Sirius asked looking to Neville who had the same look on his face as he did. "None of us are leaving you, we're not letting you stay here alone."

"What about Hermione… and Peter?"

"We can take them with us." Sirius said. "You think we haven't dragged his ass around before? Well we have, we can do it again, there's more then enough of us to do this."

Neville stood and the two Marauders helped put Hermione over his shoulders in a fireman's carry before they tended to Peter, he was only knocked in the head, with any lucky he'd be waking soon anyway. Harry hesitated but stood with them and nodded, he should have known he wasn't going to get rid of them that easy.

"My gran's going to kill me," Neville said as he kicked the remains of his wand around. "That was my dad's old wand…"

"I'm sure she'll just be glad you haven't already been killed," James replied as they existed the room and looked around for any more death eaters. Seeing none they headed out to the circular room through the far door.

They stepped into the circular room but before much could be done the door behind them shut hard and the room began to spin rapidly around them once more. With their already heavy heads they had to shut their eyes to prevent themselves from keeling over from its madness. But soon the walls ceased their spinning and the choice of which door to choose was before they once more.

"Well, which one?" James asked.