Chapter 23

When Severus woke up that morning, Harry was not in bed. He naturally assumed that the younger man was making breakfast like he often did in the morning. Harry was not in the kitchen. Severus went to open Harry's old bedroom, there was no one in there. He went into Harry's room and rummaged through his things. The invisibility cloak was gone. Severus, without hesitation, opened Ron and Draco's room. Draco was all the way inside Ron when the door open. They both blushed crimson. Draco pulled out, and Ron grabbed the comforter to cover their bodies, "Please knock next time."

Severus ignored them, "Harry is missing"

Ron didn't even care that he was naked anymore. He threw off the blanket and put on his clothes as fast as he could. Draco grabbed a pillow to cover the essentials and dressed quickly too, "Where have you looked?"

"His room, the bathroom, the kitchen" Severus spoke in a panicked voice, "He's not here."

"I'll check the grounds," Ron said walking out. Draco walked into the library, "Severus is right. He's not here."

"Ron, I found something." Draco called. Severus and Ron both ran into the library, "That book wasn't out before, and Harry doesn't usually read."

Severus grabbed the book and opened it. A note fell out. Severus read it to himself, and then he threw the note on the floor. Ron grabbed it quickly before handing it to Draco, "Severus wait, we don't even know where he went."

"I don't care. I have to get him back." Severus already had his cloak on and was walking out the front door. Ron ran in front of him to stop him. Severus almost threw Ron out of the way, but Draco threw a bound Severus's body. Ron had to take a breath of relief. He would have been no match for Severus if he intended to fight. Draco knelt down in front of their old teacher.

"I know you are worried. You are scared to death but acting like this will only put Harry in danger." Draco spoke softly, "I'm going to unbind you, but you cannot attack us. Blink if you understand."

When Severus was released, he walked back into the kitchen and sat down in a chair. He covered his face with his hands to prevent the younger men from seeing his tears. Ron and Draco looked at each other unsure of what to say. It was a while before Severus regained his composure. With his voice still somewhat broken he spoke, "Let's go to Grimmauld Place to see if he contacted anyone"

Draco and Ron agreed. Mad-Eye was furious when he heard the news. Neville, Charlie, and Gregory had already left with the kids early that morning. They couldn't think of anyone they could have contacted, but they didn't feel safe sending any messages out. If the Dark Lord found out that Harry was on his own, he would be even more vulnerable, "The real question is what do we do now?"

"Perhaps we should focus on freeing more captives. The more Death Eaters that we can pull from the Dark Lord, the better chance we have at winning this war." Draco commented.

"The trouble is that we are one man short, and our back up have now gone to France." Ron said.

"I don't think you quite understand how the Order works currently." Mad-Eye explained, "Most of the remaining members are working either solo or in small teams. George is available if we need him. Finnegan, Wood, Kingsley is doing his best in the Ministry. Everyone is working hard, and we've only touched a handful of those who are on standby."

"Why didn't we know this before?" Draco asked.

"Mad-Eye is trying to protect their identities. Any person who comes out of the woodwork to try and help Harry puts themselves at risk. They also have their own separate tasks to carry out."

"Then its possible that Harry can carry out more tasks on his own." Ron said hesitantly.

"It's possible," Mad-Eye agreed, "We feel helpless because we know him, but our freedom rests on his shoulders. Harry knows that better than anyone."

"Then what is our next plan." Ron asked.

"In the note that Goyle sent, in Harry's flat, he mentioned that Nott was captured." Draco said, "He's either turned, killed, or in hiding."

"Nott's parents were close to the Lestranges" Severus commented from memory, "It's possible that we could start there. If I remember, he was neither for nor against either cause. Why would he help Goyle?"

"The weren't helping Goyle." Draco spoke, looking down slightly, "They were helping Pansy. Pansy was the lead on freeing the children of the Death Eaters, but the only one she relied on was Blaise. Somehow, all of this happened."

"Pansy must have suffered a lot." Ron put his hand on Draco's shoulder.

"She was the type of person who could make you believe that you were more than the killer that they wanted you to be. She helped us all keep our humanity. Now that she's gone, I don't know how Nott is going to react."

"Then its possible that he's loyal to the Dark Lord" Mad-Eye asked, "Is it worth the risk to rescue him if we lose numbers if he won't come?"

"Grief can drive a person to do many things, Alastor." Severus commented, "Anyways, regardless of what he may or may not be doing. We don't even know where he is."

"Could we look in that small house where you-know-who was before?" Ron suggested.

"I had the house destroyed to limit the number of places that Voldemort could return to." Mad-Eye responded. Our goal is to limit the number of supporters which means we need people who can get into places without being detected. He looked at Ron, "You and Harry have been training for this for years. Now, Harry has already left. That means we need to coordinate the front here."

"What is the plan?" Ginny came up behind them, "What has happened?"

"Harry is missing" Mad-Eye interrupted before Ron could dodge the comment, "Ron, I know you want to protect your sister, but she is one of the best."

"The real question is, how do we find a way to communicate with Nott?" Draco continued, "The manor is gone, we've destroyed the Dark Lord's childhood home. Where else could they go?"

Severus suddenly looked at Draco. When their eyes met, they both shuddered inside a little, "Is it possible?"

Ron finally understood what they were talking about. Mad-Eye was getting a little annoyed, but he trusted them, "Will you need help?"

"Possibly," Ron responded, "We got out of there with great difficulty. We can't get in with disguises this time. It would have to be an ambush, and I'm not sure we have the numbers."

"Then we can send a surveillance team first to find out how many they have. You didn't get a chance to look last time, did you?" Draco asked.

"It's been quite some time. Harry, Hermione, and I were just trying to get you two out safely. We were holding our breath the entire time. If they discovered us, it would have been over quickly." Ron admitted, "Thankfully we were successful."

"The prison from where you were captured" Mad-Eye realized what they were talking about, "It would be easier if someone was captured. Then we could have someone on the inside."

"That's not a good plan" Ginny argued, "If its not someone they consider of value, they will just kill the person."

"Then it should be me" Ron said, "If I were captured, they wouldn't kill me for a while. They would use me to get to Harry."

"You don't want to do that, Ron. Last time …" Draco couldn't even finish the sentence when he remembered how they met.

"This is for Harry, Draco. His success means that we can all have our freedom. I don't want to be…." Ron couldn't say it either, "This is our best shot."

"What this needs to look like is a capture. They will suspect something if Ron volunteers himself." Mad-Eye pointed out, "We need a plan."

A person stepped out from one of the bedrooms, "This is why I stayed behind. Don't worry, your mother went with the children."

"Did you hear about Harry, Neville?" Ron asked. Neville had clearly been listening to their conversation. Looking at Neville, no one would have ever thought that he was the nervous boy, but he had disappeared quickly when they had been captured. His strength shown from his experience.

"If you send me, I think I can get in undetected. I only need Harry's cloak." Neville said. Ron and Draco looked at each other and shook their heads, "Then, I agree with your previous plan."

"You don't care what happens to Ron?" Draco asks.

"Ron is my friend, he knows that I care, Malfoy." Neville said with a little sting in his voice, "I would give my life to protect him, but our freedom as wizards is at stake. Harry and Ron have taught us that we have to do whatever it takes to protect that. So yes, I agree with your previous plan."

"You can call me Draco" Draco tried.

"I'd rather not, Malfoy" Neville sneered a little, "We may be on the same team, but we are not friends."

It stung, but Draco wasn't surprised. It was hard to forgive someone who was a bully to you in the past. Even now, he could see the resentment in his eyes, but Neville was friends with Ron and Harry. Therefore, Draco was trying every way to make amends. A thought had crossed Draco's mind. Neville had called Goyle by his first name, and that meant that Neville was hiding something. Someone entered his mind, "Who's there?"

"Don't look at me, but I'm Neville. I'm sorry I can't really speak in front of the others. Harry made me promise not to reveal anything. I trust you, Draco" Neville said in his mind.

"When did you learn Occlumency?" Draco thought.

"Never mind that, listen carefully. The likelihood of Nott being in that prison is high, but he's been there for a long time now. Do not be surprised if he has turned, or if things go bad. Harry has someone inside who will help you." Neville ended the connection before Draco could meet his eyes.

"I think three of us should be enough to get into the Prison. If we are doing a simple reconnaissance mission. I think four would be too many to keep track of. If three of us go, and two were to get out. Ron would be able to stay behind." Mad-Eye suggested.

"Or on the opposite side if one went in. He could move around much easier. Ron is exceptionally good at that. When he's alone, Ron works much better when he's not worrying about his partners." Neville smiled a knowing smile.

"Again, you're putting Ron at risk." Draco argued.

"I agree" Ron spoke for the first time in a while, "with Neville."