A/N: Get ready for some action! This is a nice long chapter for ya - enjoy!

"Do you really believe that this isn't some trap he's cooked up? I mean, look at how we're supposed to get in. That sounds like certain death to me, mate."

Harry sighed. Ron was voicing his concerns for the tenth time, at least, and Harry was nervous enough as it was.

"No broomsticks. No cushioning charms. No levitation possible. I mean, seriously, Harry! We could all die!"

"Ron…shut. Up," Harry growled.

Harry was spared Ron launching into more protests by the entrance of their boss, Kingsley Shacklebolt. At once, the room hushed as the Auror hit squad listened in anticipation of the plan. It was a much larger group than usual. Number one, so they could keep Draco Malfoy in check if he decided to attempt an escape. And number two, so they had enough people to handle what was sure to be a bloody battle with the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord.

"Listen carefully. Potter, Weasley, Tonks and I are going to lead four separate strike teams. Potter, you'll be taking the lead with our prisoner to the epicentre of You-Know-Who's lair. We're going to try to give you as clear a shot as possible," Kingsley promised, staring Harry in the eyes.

Harry nodded, having expected nothing less.

"Potter's team is going to be larger. He'll have to contend with keeping Malfoy in custody as well as facing down He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Morag, that means you'll be making sure that dear Draco doesn't run away as soon as we get into the Death Eater stronghold. Potter will have his hands quite full enough without worrying about keeping Malfoy on a leash."

Harry watched as Morag took a steadying breath and nodded. She looked to her other squad members, who both looked as determined as she did. Harry knew they would die before letting Draco Malfoy get away.

He listened as Kingsley finished handing out assignments. He was ready. This was the break they had been waiting for. He had a good feeling about this raid. Like they could finally make some real progress. He was even prepared for the inevitable – battling with Voldemort. He was even thinking that this might be it – he might actually get a chance to finish it. A surprise attack like this had to be worth something, didn't it?

When movement towards the door started, Harry snapped out of his thoughts and motioned for his team to follow him. They would swing by the detention area first and grab Draco before Apparating en masse to the location of the stronghold. Or as close as they could get without the wards being alerted. Draco estimated that it would be at least a 20-minute journey and it had to be done on foot to avoid detection of any magical signatures. They hadn't even told anyone outside the department so that they could ensure absolute secrecy. Harry just hoped that it would all work out as planned.

/

"You're absolutely sure about this, then?" Kingsley asked in an undertone to Harry as they approached the spot Draco had led them to.

The space was desolate and deserted of all human existence. They hadn't seen a single living being even during their 25-minute trek towards this spot. There were no trees, just scrub, bushes and howling wind. Draco hadn't been lying when he'd said the place reeked of Dark Magic – Harry's skin was crawling and itchy with the nearly physical feeling of it. Of course, the enchantments that had prevented them from arriving by any other method than by foot were not your average wizard's spellwork.

Harry leaned forward to peer down at the rocky, wave-crushed rocks below. It was not a short drop by any means and the fall would surely kill anyone, wizard or not; particularly because any levitation spells were made impossible by the spells in place. Taking a step back from the cliff's edge, he shifted uneasily, staring instead at Draco Malfoy, who was a few metres back with Morag and the rest of his team. Draco looked queasy, but alert, scanning for signs of any other Death Eaters in the vicinity, Harry imagined. Turning to Kingsley, he nodded shortly.

"Draco's many things, but suicidal is not one of them. He's not about to jeopardize his deal with us either. He's done with running and I trust his intel."

Kingsley looked highly doubtful and Harry grit his teeth. He couldn't afford for Kingsley to pull the plug on this operation – not now when they were so close he could feel it.

"All right. But let me go first. At least if he's lying, there will only be one casualty," Kingsley rumbled cheerfully.

"Not a chance. You're too important. The head of Magical Law Enforcement won't be dying on my watch, thanks," Harry retorted. "I'll go. Draco is many things, a murderer even, but he won't be looking to hurt me…yet."

"You sure about that, mate?" Ron interrupted uncertainly, looking a little green in the face himself.

"Yes," replied Harry simply. That seemed to be enough and so he walked over to his once-nemesis to review the protocol before they began. In the meantime, Kingsley rallied the other team's leaders and did a similar brief.

"There's a great deal riding on this, Potter. If you don't kill him, I'll be a dead man. I'm not entirely sure that I won't be dead following this suicide mission," Draco deadpanned.

"Gee, thanks. I wasn't aware that this was so important. Thanks for clearing that up," Harry retorted. Draco simply glared. "Right. Morag is going to be your best friend during this op, so she's going to stick to you like glue. Chiswell and Striker will be her backup, just in case you have any thoughts of running away when things get hairy."

"I'm not going to run, Potter. I'm not a coward like my father," Draco snapped.

"Glad to hear it, Draco. Now, remind me again how this goes?"

Draco glared, then smirked slightly. It unnerved Harry that he changed expressions so fluidly, especially given the topic of conversation.

"Pay attention, Potter. I'm only going to review this once more with you. In order to enter the stronghold, you need a Dark Mark. Now, unless any of your goon squad here are hiding something from you, I'll be the only avenue into said fortress. There's an entrance halfway down the cliff, just below where that funny-looking scrub is.

"To get there, you cannot fly, Apparate or use levitation. The place is spelled against such trivial modes of transportation. Instead, you and I will step off the cliff and the charm will ensure we'll land in the foyer, as it were. If you lose contact with me, you'll fall to your untimely – yet highly desired, by me – death." Draco stumbled a bit as Morag gave him a jostle for the jab. "Yes, yes, he won't die. I'll keep your precious Boy-Who-Lived safe.

"Once we land in the foyer, there are no guards. The Dark Lord believes this place untraceable and unknowable to anyone but his faithful Death Eaters. His arrogance will be his downfall. There won't be guards unless we're in the throne room or the prisoners' area."

"Remind me again where those are," Harry interrupted, eager to see about recovering Marlisa.

"The throne room is at the very centre of the fortress. It's a maze of tunnels down there, but it essentially boils down to two rights, a left, a corkscrew staircase down and another left. You'll know you're close because there will be guards there and plenty of them. Again, he's overconfident so they won't be his best and brightest. If your Aurors aren't as half-witted as they seem, these sentries will be easily dispatched.

"As you pointed out, I'm not in the Dark Lord's favour, so I can't promise you won't run into trouble once inside the antechamber. I mean, apart from the Dark Lord, that is."

Draco's smirk was more pronounced. Harry ignored it and gestured for him to continue.

"The prisoners' wing is only accessible through one avenue and you'll need to go through the throne room to get there. Everyone will need to follow me. Most of these tunnels aren't used – they're only there to create confusion and disorient anyone not meant to be there. Once you get through to the corridor beyond, it's a simple left, right, left scenario to the cells. You'll know you're close because of the stench, trust me. It's horrid."

Draco's pert nose wrinkled in distaste, as though he were already able to smell the area where the Death Eater's prisoners of war were kept. Harry nodded distractedly to what Draco had said, thinking briefly of Marlisa and if she might still be alive. Broken out of his reverie by movement, he looked over to see Kingsley, Ron and Tonks headed their way.

Harry pushed everything else out of his mind like he'd been taught and relayed the information for what felt like the hundredth time. Questions were answered and plans re-reviewed. Finally, it was time. Harry was really sticking out his neck here. If he was wrong or had misread Draco, he was about to meet his end. While a few months ago, he might have greeted this possibility with some curiosity and need, he was no longer in that frame of mind. His instincts told him he was right to trust Draco's information, but he was still wary, no matter what he'd told Kingsley.

Shifting Draco closer to him and transferring the tethering spell from Morag to himself, he brought them both nearer the edge of the cliffs. At the funny scrub that Draco had described, he took the time to look down again and had a brief moment of clarity about what he was going to do and how foolhardy Severus would have thought it. He could almost hear the Potions Master's voice in his ear telling him what a complete and utter moron he was.

He smiled, grabbed Draco by the upper arm and they stepped off the edge of the cliff together.

/

The sensation of falling, but floating at the same time, was a strange one. Harry knew that this was the spell at work and that he was about to land in the foyer of Voldemort's headquarters. He could see Draco's left arm, the one scarred by the Dark Mark, rise as if in sacrifice to the magic. After what felt like a long time of looking down at the rocky water below, they were deposited gently on rough stone in a slightly larger area than the tunnel ahead. Blue-tinged fire lit the entry from sconces on the wall, contributing to an illusion that they might be underwater after all.

Harry's wand was in his hand, but he daren't use it until he had more backup in the cave with him. Nodding at Draco, they stepped back out into thin air and were launched quickly upwards to the cliff's edge once more. Gasping at the unexpected sensation, Harry's eyes were wide with shock when they met Kingsley's.

"All right?" the older man asked briskly. With a nod, Harry gestured for Morag to come forward with Striker and Chiswell.

"Let's go. Remember, you've all got to be tethered to Draco here. Morag, you'll be the liaison between Draco and the remainder of the teams. That's five trips. Got it?"

"Yes, sir. I'll make sure everyone's tethered before we step off the cliff," she assured him.

"Good. Let's go."

\\\\\\\\\\\

Flashes of lights from the spells being thrown about were hitting the tunnel walls and causing dust to rise and debris to fall. It was getting dangerous to be in these passages, Harry knew. If they weren't careful, they'd all be buried under thousand-year-old rock and even with the best shielding spells, a lot of casualties could result.

"Reinforce the walls and ceiling – quickly!" he shouted to Tonks's team, who were a few steps behind him.

While they worked on that, Kingsley's team covered them and Harry's team moved quickly forward, pressing their brief advantage. Draco had been right – there hadn't been guards until they'd arrived in the hall closest to Voldemort's throne room. With obfuscation charms and the element of surprise, they'd dispatched those guards quickly. But with the use of magic came the warning of the wards – and in turn, the inhabitants of the antechamber were alerted to their presence. Unfortunately, Draco's lack of intelligence on this particular area had proven difficult. Voldemort seemed to have been meeting with his upper echelon of Death Eaters – sans Draco, proving to them yet again that Voldemort had turned on some of his most loyal followers. They'd had no time to form a coherent attack before they'd been set upon by some of Voldemort's most talented generals and lieutenants.

Harry heard Bellatrix's mad cackle as she felled Striker and felt his blood boil. Despite all the years that had passed since, Harry could not push the image of Sirius's face, shocked and with the smile fading from his expression as he fell back into the veil. He'd relish the chance to pay her back in kind. But this mission was about more than her, more than his personal feelings towards her. They had a chance to end this. Voldemort hadn't yet joined the fray, but Harry felt that if they could just push into his lair, he'd be able to get a good enough shot.

Taking the opportunity that Kingsley's cover was providing to set a detonator down closest to the pack of Death Eaters aiming at them, he yelled at his teams to take cover and set a shielding spell. The explosion would have been deafening had they not all prepared for it. As it were, the reinforcements to the structure held and they all pushed forward in the lull created by the blast. Stunning curses rang out from all around and Harry charged over more than one fallen body.

Into the throne room, where several of the Death Eaters had collapsed and finally, the red, snake-like eyes met Harry's. They were furious, incredulous. He could tell that Voldemort did not yet know that they had Draco and that he was the reason for their stroke of good luck. Harry barely had time to set off the killing curse before Voldemort vanished with a crack. The wards must have fallen or been removed. As soon as the Death Eaters realized that their Dark Lord had abandoned them, several tried to Disapparate. Some made it through, but others were ensnared in the Anti-Apparation wards that Harry and Kingsley threw up in the seconds between Voldemort's disappearance and the Death Eaters' realization that the fortress was lost.

Harry pressed on, fuming that his chance to confront Voldemort had been taken away but unable to do anything about it. He stunned and trussed those Death Eaters that remained, relying on the other teams to forge ahead to the prisoners' area. He felt the open hostility that resulted as soon as Morag dragged Draco through the antechamber. Bellatrix in particular, who had been caught by ropes but not yet stunned, was shouting obscenities and "blood traitor" as Draco passed.

Harry'd had enough at that point and cast a stunner her way. The last thing they needed were to have her get away, down another passage. Ordering half of Tonks's team to remain behind to guard their haul, Harry waved the other half to follow Ron's team down to the dungeons. Kingsley's team and Chiswell followed him down the third and uncharted tunnel out of the antechamber to round up any other stragglers.

/

Ron shot a pulverising hex at the approaching Death Eater's leg and heard the man's deafening scream as his bones shattered and he crumpled. Another stunner and he was quiet. He led his team down the stone steps, quickly dispatching two more guards.

"Kill them! Kill them all!" he heard up ahead and braced himself for a fight.

Instead, he saw flashes of green, but not directed at him. To his horror, he realized that they were killing the prisoners who were trapped in their cells and defenceless. No words were needed from him. His team, along with Tonks and Draper, blasted their way through the two guards who had remained in the hall before each taking a cell. Ron moved to the very end of the hallway, where he could hear a struggle.

When he entered the dark room, his heart leapt at seeing Marlisa wrestling with the Death Eater who'd come to finish her off. She was weak, however, and the Death Eater finally got the drop on her.

"Say goodbye, you cunt!" the man hissed.

But Ron wasn't about to let that happen on his watch. Now that they'd stopped struggling and rolling around on the ground, he could take his shot. He did not bother to think about how strong his spell was, but the stunner blasted the man clear off Marlisa and into the wall so hard that it was dented. Marlisa looked up at him, bleeding profusely from a gaping wound on her forehead, but grinning a bloody smile.

"Well shit, Weasley. I didn't know you cared so much," she deadpanned. Ron didn't have time to respond before Tonks came into the room and scanned it quickly.

"The others have been neutralized, Ron. They managed to kill three of the four prisoners in the other cells before we could get to them. Another two Death Eaters by DBW. I see Marlisa here used all her training to prevent that from happening to her, though," she finished cheerfully, crouching next to the other girl and setting to work on stemming the bleeding. "Boy, is Harry ever going to be glad to see you!"

"Harry – is he here?" The panic in Marlisa's voice did not match with the emotions either Ron or Tonks were expecting.

"Yeah, don't worry. He'll be bloody chuffed to see you alive. He's been a wreck since you went missing," Ron assured her, thinking she might believe herself to be in trouble for getting caught.

"No – you can't let him see. Not yet," she pleaded, trying to push Tonks off her and failing. "You don't understand. He won't understand."

"Understand what?" Ron asked, perplexed now.

And before Marlisa could say anything else, Ron's wand shifted quickly at the rustling of chains from the darkest corner of the room. There was something or someone else here in the room with them. A quick Lumos revealed a shrunken, dishevelled, dirty figure curled as far into the wall as possible. The person was trying to present as small a target as possible, something Ron had seen in the past with Voldemort's prisoners.

Grimacing at the smell that hit him as the adrenaline wore off – Draco had been right, it was awful – he lowered his wand and weakened the light spell so that it wasn't so jarring to everyone's eyes. This person looked like they had been in the dungeon for a while. They were covered by a sheer and torn black robe, shivering; and from the rips in the back of the robe, Ron could see vertebrae poking out. He heard both Marlisa and Tonks gasp. It had been dark, so of course Marlisa would not have been able to see the full extent of the damage to her cell mate.

"Hey. You're safe now. My name's Ron, I'm an Auror. No one here will hurt you."

When the figure failed to unfurl, Ron noticed the marks he hadn't seen before. Cruciatus left purple bruising after prolonged use; and the bloody marks littered across this prisoner's body looked like they'd been made by some other cutting curse. Poor bugger.

"I promise, it's safe. I won't hurt you," Ron entreated.

"It's okay. He's only trying to help," Marlisa said, pleading. She sounded desperate. Ron knew that prisoners often bonded with each other, that there was likely a connection there that no one else could understand. "Ron, put your wand down. I don't think he'll trust you with it."

Listening to Marlisa, he put his wand on the ground, still lit up softly and raised his hands in a kind of surrender. After a few more coaxing words from Marlisa, the man began to straighten and Ron saw black matted hair where the skeletal hands had been covering the head. There were patches on the scalp that looked like they'd once had hair, but that had been yanked out cruelly in large hanks. At long last, dark and glittering eyes met Ron's, peeking out from behind knobby knees exposed by the insufficient robe.

"W…Weeze…Weasley?" croaked the mysterious prisoner and Ron's brow furrowed as he squinted harder, trying to see who this man was. When he finally realized, his eyes went saucer-wide and his heart skipped more than a few beats. It couldn't be…

"Oh. My. God," Tonks uttered, resembling a gaping fish.

"I told you. You can't let Harry in here. He won't understand," Marlisa said sadly and with more than a tinge of anxiety. "Please. Harry can't see him like this. He'll never forgive himself."

"Right," Ron uttered faintly.

"Ha…Harr-ee? Here?" slurred the man. Trying to straighten up more, he was foiled by the chains still wrapped around him. They connected his neck uncomfortably to his ankles with a shortened link. Letting out a pitiful whine, he began rocking back and forth, repeating Harry's name softly and croakily.

"Ron. Grab Draper for me and go head Harry off. They should be finished their patrol any minute now. Harry's going to want to come down and see if Marlisa's alive – it will be the first thing he'll want to do. Tell him we're cleaning her up – anything. Don't let him down here, whatever you do," Tonks ordered. "Get Lewis and York in here to help these two with some of the wounds they can clear up. Oh, and get Kingsley – he's the best at curse-breaking and I'd bet my left hand that those chains will kill him if the wrong person tries to remove them."

"They will," an unexpected voice assured them and everyone turned to find Draco Malfoy standing in the mouth of the cell. Ron had forgotten that he and Morag had led them down here in the first place. "Merlin, I didn't think he'd live this long. I didn't know he was still alive. I would have…"

There was a strange mix of what sounded like pity and horror in Draco's voice. Ron didn't have time for this.

"Never mind what you would have done, Malfoy. Do you know how to get those chains off him or not?" he snapped.

"Yes, of course. I'll need a wand, though." At Ron's incredulous look, Draco sighed dramatically. "Unless you want to explain to your best friend how you let those chains choke the life out of his –"

"All right!" Ron growled. "Morag – here's his wand. Stun him if he so much as makes a twitch at an escape attempt."

/

"This is great work, Harry. You've outdone yourself," Kingsley was saying as they came back into the antechamber with their haul – another two Death Eaters who had been trying to flee on foot.

"Couldn't have done it without you or the other teams. Or without Draco," Harry insisted, tired but happy. "Bloody hell. Doesn't feel real, does it?"

Months without any leads, any progress, any real intelligence. And suddenly, they had at least fifteen Death Eaters in custody, four of them from the upper tier of Voldemort's organization. Draco Malfoy had not let them down, had not led them into a trap. Had potentially saved Marlisa's life and perhaps the lives of other prisoners. It had been a good day.

"Let's go down to the cells. I want to see if Marlisa's there," Harry implored.

He didn't want to get too hopeful, but couldn't help it. It had been such a good day. Only two of their Aurors had been seriously injured in the siege on the stronghold and both were being cared for while the others alerted St. Mungo's mobile Mediwizards of the emergency. Kingsley had also sent his Patronus off with a message for the Minister for Magic about the sting operation, advising him of its success and promising more updates upon their return to the Ministry.

"Harry!"

He turned at the sound of his name, towards Ron who looked stressed and was coming towards him and Kingsley almost at a run. He nearly skidded into them in his excitement.

"What is it? Has someone else been hurt?" asked Kingsley sharply, but Ron shook his head.

"Only some of the prisoners and other Death Eaters. Our teams are intact – so is Malfoy," Ron updated him. "Kingsley – they need you down there to help with curse-breaking on some of the prisoners."

"Did you find Marlisa…is she alive?" Harry asked, his throat constricting at the thought of the worst.

"Oh – yeah. Yeah, she's fine, Harry. A little banged up, broken leg, dislocated shoulder. She had to fight off the Death Eater that was trying to kill her. The leader down there issued a kill order as soon as we stormed in. We lost a few of the prisoners that way; and some more of the guards DBW'd. But she's great," Ron reassured him.

"That's – that's such great news. Take us to her," Harry urged, turning towards the passage that would take them to the dungeons.

"Oh. Well, they just asked for Kingsley. They don't need you, mate," Ron said nervously.

"Don't be ridiculous," Harry laughed. "I'm coming with you guys."

"Hey – um, Harry, just a second. Kingsley – can I talk to you quickly?"

Kingsley looked just as perplexed as Harry felt and Ron went tomato-red. What the hell was going on?

As Ron pulled Kingsley aside, almost stumbling in his hurry to chat, Harry looked around at the Death Eaters they'd captured. Bellatrix, Dolohov, Greyback, McNair, Nott. Greyback was the only one still conscious, as regular stunners wouldn't work on him. His yellow eyes were furious and he growled through his gag when he noticed Harry's eyes tracking on him.

Chiswell, Harper and Warren were on guard duty and all seemed well. They'd sent for backup, which was only just arriving. Now that the wards were down, it was possible to arrive by more conventional means of transit, including Apparation and brooms. The Mediwizards were also with them and moved immediately to help Striker and Ahmed.

Harry moved over to Striker, patting him on the shoulder and telling him he'd be all right while the Mediwizard worked on him. Striker grabbed his hand and squeezed, unable to speak through the stupor he was in and Harry left him in very capable hands.

"Harry," Kingsley called from where he and Ron had been standing. "I want you to go back to the Ministry. Go provide the Minister with an update."

"What? Kingsley, this is absurd. Let me see Marlisa and I'll go. Or better yet, send Rogan to update the Minister. Either way, I'm going down to the dungeons."

"Harry – that wasn't a request."

Harry bristled at the order, at the authority in Kingsley's tone. He and Kingsley had always had a good working relationship, never one where he felt undermined or unappreciated. But he felt this was overstepping and he wasn't afraid to call Kingsley out.

"Kingsley – that's a member of my team down there. What are you trying to hide from me? I've seen torture victims before. It's part of the job," Harry insisted. "I'm going down there and then I'll go update the Minister, like you asked."

\\\\\\\\\\\

"Shit," Tonks swore when they heard Harry's angry tones and Ron's increasingly anxious voice approaching. "Draco – any luck?"

"I need more time. Distract him," Draco muttered, going back to his spellwork.

"Let me up. I can help. Right now, Harry just thinks they're trying to bar him from seeing me. He doesn't know yet," Marlisa begged.

"Your leg is broken and I can't fix it without the help of a Mediwizard," Tonks snapped.

"So what? I can take it. Get me up and into the hallway before it's too late," Marlisa hissed. "Do you really want Harry to see him like this?" she exploded when Tonks hesitated again.

"Of course not! Fine. Draper, help me get her up. Hurry."

Harry's voice was getting louder and closer by the second, despite Ron's inept attempts at getting him to slow down. Marlisa groaned in pain when they got her sitting up, and with one on either side of her, they slowly lifted her to her one good foot. Marlisa was panting and her face was tinged grayish-green from the agony of standing with a broken leg. They slowly marched her out into the main hallway, reaching the door just as Harry was arriving.

"Marlisa," he sighed, relieved.

She wasn't as bad as he'd expected her to be. Her hair and skin were grungy from the dirty cells and she seemed weak as a lamb. Even though she'd only been missing a few days, it was clear she hadn't been fed by her slightly sunken face.

"Hey, boss. Sorry I'm such a mess. The Death Eaters weren't the most hospitable," she grinned, trying to make light of the situation.

Harry laughed, delighted that she was all right and seemed coherent; they hadn't tortured her as badly as he had feared. He leaned in to pat her gently on the shoulder and caught a whiff of the cell behind her.

"Phew! You weren't kidding. You need a shower, Auror Santos!" Harry joked, wrinkling his nose comically.

"Auror Potter," Kingsley snapped, out of patience now.

"Yes, sir. I'm going," Harry muttered, rolling his eyes discreetly at Marlisa and Tonks. They laughed nervously and Harry suddenly realized they were both doing their best to block the doorway. "Is someone else in there?"

"Harry!" Kingsley nearly shouted. "I gave you a direct order to go and update the Minister for Magic…"

But Kingsley never got to finish his sentence because at that precise moment, an inhuman wail came from the cell that Tonks and Marlisa were blocking. Harry could hear Draper, Morag and Malfoy arguing over the continued cries, which were making the hairs on the back of Harry's neck stand out.

"Kingsley, they need you in there," Tonks started quietly, wincing as her hair drooped from bright spikes to lank black. Harry knew that sometimes she couldn't control the change, that her moods could influence her looks.

"Who's in there?" he asked, aghast at the pain he could hear from the cell.

"None of your concern," Kingsley grunted, pushing past Harry and the others. "Go and make your report."

But as Tonks and Marlisa moved aside to let Kingsley by, Harry caught a glimpse of Malfoy knelt beside a dark figure and holding a wand out to it. His anger was swift.

"Morag, what the hell do you think you're playing at letting Malfoy have a wand!" he yelled as he followed Kingsley into the cell.

"Harry, no!" Ron cried, desperately lunging after his friend. "Malfoy's trying to help him, Harry. You can't do anything for him."

Kingsley was standing in Harry's way, looking anxious now. As concerned as Ron had just sounded. As nervous as Tonks and Marlisa had seemed to be since he'd met them.

"What aren't you telling me? Who is that?" Harry asked quietly over the softer cries coming from the corner of the cell.

Malfoy was murmuring spell after spell quickly, some of which Harry didn't even recognize. Kingsley looked pained and Ron's hand was clenching Harry's arm so hard that it was going numb. Harry heard a pained gasp behind him and turned to find Marlisa hobbling back towards him with the help of Tonks. Harry offered her another hand out of courtesy, trying to make sure she didn't fall. Marlisa in turn grasped him by both shoulders.

"I was put in this cell after the first round of questioning by You-Know-Who and Bellatrix Lestrange," she began quietly, looking at him earnestly.

A/N: Didn't I tell you to stick with me? Didn't I tell you that I hate sad endings? Happy endings abound! Look for another chapter next week. Drop me a line if you enjoyed, or if you have constructive criticism - I've been in COVID-19 lockdown since December 26th and I'm going a little stir-crazy. It's working, but what a shitty time to be a social being. Stay safe out there!