Notes:

This chapter contains a new trigger warning - miscarriage. In general the scene they come upon is kind of rough. There will be a clear boundary before we descend into that part. I will provide a summary of the plot points at the end of the chapter.

I still don't own Harry Potter which is still a bummer.

Saturday, May 9, 1998

There had been 2 more raids in as many days, neither of them at all successful. Three more people had been lightly injured, but no one had died. The injuries had been patched up immediately by Madam Pomfrey, but she couldn't heal the gloom in the castle. The wards still hadn't been fixed, so rebuilding the castle itself was at a standstill. Instead, they were shoring up the parts that were undamaged or easily fixed, working on making that section as defensible as possible.

Ginny and Harry had been working together on the castle and seemed happiest when they were together. Ron knew they were both worried about Hermione and Tonks and the others as well, but they had each other and they just weren't struggling the way he was. Ron was overwhelmed with frustration. Before and after every raid, he presented his plan. He explained over and over that they wouldn't get in with brute force again so soon - that it would go better with stealth this time. Taking a couple of days off probably would have helped, too, though he felt frantic to get to Hermione. He was done trying to convince his superiors. It was time to take action.

"Harry," Ron called, seeing his best friend up ahead, "Headmistress Sprout asked me to come fetch you."

They hadn't been touching before, but Ron saw Harry drag his hand along Ginny's waist as he began walking toward him. Ron rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure if they were officially together again, but they could barely stand to be apart. If it weren't his sister and best friend in question, he might have speculated that they probably weren't even separating at night, but that was too gross to consider. Ron shook the thought away.

Once they had made their way around a couple of corners and down a staircase, Ron jerked Harry aside. "Sprout doesn't really need you, but I need to talk without my sister around. It's about Hermione and the prisoners."

Harry had looked angry for a moment before nodding seriously when he mentioned Hermione. He knew her absence was weighing heavily on the man who considered her his sister.

"Kingsley is never going to agree to my plan. I think I talked Remus around, but we're running out of time before Nott Sr. takes over at his Manor."

"On our own, then?" Harry asked.

"Almost. We'll need Bill. And Remus if he wants to go."

"Don't you think it will be too dangerous to ask them? What if they won't do it?"

Ron looked at him for a moment before shaking his head. "We don't have to worry about it. I know they'll both do it. Bill's been researching those wards and wants another go at them. He's going mad. He told me something. Harry, Fleur is pregnant. Just a couple of months along. Bill's falling apart not knowing if she and the baby are ok."

Harry's mouth was in a perfect O of shock. "We have to get her out. What about Remus? You said he was in, too?"

"He has volunteered for every attempt. He's as desperate to rescue Tonks as Bill is to get Fleur."

"But she's more likely to be at Malfoy Manor," Harry stated.

"More likely doesn't mean there isn't a chance. We can talk him into it. Or we can leave him out of it. What do you think?"

Harry debated for a moment, "Teddy may already lose one parent. Let's not be involved in making him an orphan. You said your plan works best with fewer people anyway, right?"

That was a point. Ron smiled. This was going to work perfectly. "Let's go get Bill and finalize plans for tonight," he said.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooO

Hermione enjoyed this job. It was quiet and simple. Because she spoke some French, the old man running the place - as much an antique himself as many of the books - set her to sorting and tagging all the French and English books he had stuck in the back. She had no idea how he would ever fit them in the main part of the store, but she also wasn't sure it mattered. This was her third day here and she had never seen or heard a customer come in. When she asked, he explained that most of his business was done through owl ordering. These books were for a very special audience most of the time.

There were moments when Hermione felt that the special audience was her. More curiously, her unusual boss came into the back the first evening to pay her and said, "Ramenez a la maison un par jour, mademoiselle." Then he disappeared back up front. One book per day that she could just have. From all these tomes; some practically ancient.

That first day Hermione had a terrible time choosing but went home with a book called Charming Wands that covered wand lore, some famous wands, and charms to place on wands, which Hermione hadn't even known was possible. Her second book had been a tome on grey spells, Illumine Le Noir. She wasn't sure she agreed anymore with Harry's insistence that they use only light spells. Today, she had found a captivating book with some ancient warding techniques. She thought those might be useful to add to her repertoire and the ancient magics fascinated her. When she left the shop, her boss barely nodded at her.

She was rushing to La Licorne Errante. She had sent out her Patronus message before she went to the bookstore earlier, this time chancing Grimmauld Place as well. Hermione had enough money today to buy dinner and take some home for Mimsy as well. Their portions were big enough that they might even get a couple of meals out of it. She preferred to stretch the money she was making since she wasn't sure what would happen next.

The hotel they had stayed the first couple of nights had been too expensive to keep with, but they had helped her find a couple down the way with a room to let. The Stodgers were thrilled to have a sweet young woman and her old gran staying. Hermione insisted to them that the single room with one large bed was plenty of space, and that she could sleep on a little sofa in the room if need be. In truth, Mimsy insisted on the sofa for herself, but at least she wasn't on the floor as she had planned. Hermione was having a very difficult time convincing her that she would be better off free.

Hermione was disappointed when she had eaten her fill and still no one she knew had appeared. She began packaging up her food when she caught sight of movement near the door. Glancing up, she tensed as she realized it was someone she knew, but not in a good way. Corban Yaxley had just walked in with a second Death Eater she didn't recognize. She had to school her breathing to keep from bolting. She reminded herself that she did not appear to be who they were looking for. As long as her glamour held, she was safe. She just needed to get out before someone hit her with a Finite Incantatum. As she finished gathering her leftovers into her bag, the two men began moving among the other patrons of the pub, swishing their wands at each of them.

Hermione stood and started toward the door. She didn't look their way, but in her peripheral vision, she could see Yaxley starting her way from across the room. "Where do you think you're going?" he shouted as her hand touched the door to go out.

"Tu me parle? Je parlais Francais," she replied as though she didn't understand. Clearly Yaxley didn't understand her, because he looked irritated. Hermione rolled her eyes and stepped out the door...to find Dolohov and Lucius Malfoy waiting outside. She should have apparated from inside, and who cared that they would have known it was her. Now they would know and she was likely not going to make it out of here.

"Bonsoir Messieurs," she said to this as though she was not being chased by their comrade and about to be taken down by them as well. She noticed Malfoy look up and down her body as she was walking away, a quiet, "Désolé de te voir aller belle dame," floating after her.

Miraculously, she managed to turn the corner beyond the building before she heard Yaxley slam out the door, "Did you get her? It has to be the mudblood!" There was spluttering and the sound of feet dashing her way, but Hermione had already begun to spin and disapparate.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooO

Harry, Ron, and Bill were crouched down outside the wards of Nott Manor underneath his invisibility cloak. It wouldn't cover all three of them completely, but the grass was tall enough here to cover their lower halves. As they got inside, one or two of them would need to disillusion themselves instead. It was dusk again. Harry felt like it was the best time for effective raids.

Bill had been working on the wards for close to an hour, gently teasing them apart. "Done," he whispered, wiping sweat from his brow.

Harry looked to Ron. The other boy nodded. Under the cover of the cloak, the three of them crept forward, Harry in the lead. They were approaching the house when they heard a low voice.

"You can stop right there," someone to their side said with a cocky tone.

All three moved the cloak, dropping it in their haste, so that their wands were out and shooting spells at the man. Shockingly, they all stopped several feet in front of him with no sign of where they went.

"Do you really think I would have spoken to you without covering my arse first?" the young man scoffed. His wand was held aloft, but he wasn't sending any spells their way. Harry took a long look at him. He looked vaguely familiar. He was about their age, tall and weedy with dark curly hair nearly as out of control as Harry's own. As they stood there, he lit up his wand with a Lumos and quipped, "Easier to find something you like if you can see my sweet body better." He winked at them. His eyes twinkled sapphire blue in the light.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Ron demanded.

"I do apologize," he replied, "My manners are slipping." He bowed aristocratically and proclaimed, "I am Theodore Nicholas Nott, Jr., master of this manor for the moment. How may I be of service, Mr. Weasleys, Mr. Potter?"

Bill was looking around for a trap, casting diagnostics of the area, and snatching up the invisibility cloak. Ron seemed stunned. Harry wasn't at all sure what to say, but he knew he needed to say something.

"Er…..hello. We've uh...we've come to negotiate." Harry stammered.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Generally, negotiators come to the gate rather than slipping in through the wards. Come with me," he said, walking toward the manor at a casual pace, not seeming at all concerned that they might hex him. They looked at each other. Ron shrugged and Bill grudgingly nodded. Harry followed first.

As they walked, Nott kept up a steady stream of one-sided conversation. "I'm really quite impressed, Bill - it's ok if I call you Bill, isn't it? That double Mr. Weasley stuff is atrocious - quite impressed that you made it through my wards so quickly. You must have done some studying since you were last here. I wondered how well you might do if whoever planned the first raid at Malfoy Manor was ever allowed some more planning time. Who was that, by the way?"

"It was Ron here," Harry answered automatically as both Ron and Bill glared at him and Ron stomped on his foot.

The man stopped abruptly, giving Ron a thorough once over. "Really?" he drawled as though he hardly believed it.

Ron's face and ears turned red. "Yes really, since Harry already let it out. I happen to be pretty good at planning things."

"I've got quite the trio here, don't I?" the man asked rhetorically. They were up to the manor now, and he flung the front door open dramatically. "Parson!" he shouted and a wiry elf appeared. "Yes, Master?"

"Be a good lad and bring us some firewhiskey to the study." The elf bowed and was gone.

Bill was looking around with his wand still held ready for battle. Ron was vigilant also, though Harry was mostly drawn in by Theo's monologue and the giant manor. It was a dark place: not just devoid of light, but with darkness sunk into every crevice. The furniture, even couches and chairs, were somehow grim. The art on the walls mostly consisted of nightmarish landscapes or scenes of grisly battle. Harry had to look away from the way they were moving.

Noticing the way the two redheads were on pins and needles, the young man said "If you're worrying about the death eaters, well, the rest of the death eaters here, you needn't bother. I poisoned them all. Most of them will probably wake up tomorrow, but they're all out of our hair for tonight."

He was so nonchalant. Harry's jaw was hanging open and he couldn't even form words. It was Ron who responded for all of them with a simple shocked, "What!?"

"You heard me. I poisoned them. It's just us tonight."

"What the bloody hell, Nott?" Bill managed.

"Not Nott, please. It's a ridiculous name, really. I'm Theo." For the first time he looked a little nervous instead of cocky. "I mean, I'd like to be Theo. My friends call me that and I'm hoping…" He cleared his throat, closed his eyes, and seemed to find his confidence again. "I have a proposal for you gentleman."

Theo was pouring drinks as he spoke, careful to do it right in front of them and immediately take a swig of his before handing a firewhiskey to each of them. Harry didn't comment on how much Theo's hands were shaking. He, Ron, and Bill exchanged a look, silently agreeing not to drink the firewhiskey even with Theo practically chugging it in front of them. He seemed nervous again.

"Listen. I've got the keys to the dungeons, and I want to give them to you. But I've got one condition." He was fiddling with his cup and eyeing Harry's. "If you're not going to drink it, I will," he suddenly declared as he grabbed the glass away from Harry and drained it. His eyes were starting to look a little glossed over.

Bill seemed to have had enough. "I want my wife back and I want her now. What's your condition? Quit playing with us." He was as angry as Harry had ever seen him.

Theo shrank away from him. It was in a child's voice that he said, "Take me with you."

"What? No!" Ron cried. "We wouldn't want your sort around."

"Please, take me. I can be a prisoner. Whatever you want. Just don't leave me here. I already made a big mess of my rooms. It looks like there was a struggle. They'll believe you've taken me."

"Just run off somewhere, then. Why would we take you with us?" Ron bellowed.

Theo's lips pressed into a thin line. "I have to fight this madness. I can't just sit on the sides somewhere and watch! And I can't just run. There are people I need to help. They want out but can't. I have more leeway since I haven't taken the mark yet. I'm not scheduled until my birthday so I've got a couple of weeks yet. I thought...I think...if I can show you all that I'm not a monster, maybe you can trust me. And maybe tonight we can start that with these." He handed the keys to Bill and began to lead the way down into the bowels of the manor where the dungeon was located. He looked younger and nervous, not the cocky man he had been at first. The sight in the dungeon was bad.

******************TRIGGER WARNING*******************

The ragged prisoners turned toward the sound of people coming. "Who's there!?" cried a panicked voice Harry recognized as Terry Boot from the DA.

"Harry Potter and Ron and Bill Weasley," Harry announced as they made it to the bottom of the stairs, "Is that you, Terry?" he called.

"Yeah! Yeah, it's me!" their old friend began laughing almost hysterically. They could hear voices behind him whispering and shouting and crying, "Harry Potter! Ron Weasley! They're here to save us!"

When the torchlight revealed to them that Theo Nott was the one leading the way, there was a collective gasp. Before anything could be said, Bill was at the cell door with the keys, unlocking and rushing in.

"Beel!" Fleur cried feebly. She had Hannah Abbott on one side and Padma Patil on the other. She was surrounded by blood. It looked like all three of them had been bathing in it. "Beel! I 'ave lost her, I theenk. I am so sorry, 'usband." She was sobbing into his arms, utterly heartbroken.

"Hush, my love, hush. You're alive. We'll get you to Madam Pomfrey."

"We did everything we could," Hannah said to him. "It may not look like it, but the bleeding has stopped. Padma knew the spells to stop it."

"But she needs blood replenishing potion soon or.." Padma trailed off not wanting to say that his wife, too, was fading.

Harry was watching the scene in horror when Ron suddenly roared beside him and slammed Theo against the wall, "How could you do that to her? That's my sister! That was my first niece she was carrying!" punctuating every statement by forcing the man's head into the wall.

"Ron!" Harry yelled, wrenching his hands off of Theo. His curly hair was matted with blood as he slid to the ground, eyes dazed. A Hufflepuff walked over to them, his uniform and tie so dirty they almost couldn't tell its color. His hand lightly touched Ron's arm as he angled his body slightly protectively in front of Theo. "I'm Jacob Finch-Fletchley. My brother's in your year and a member of Dumbledore's Army and everything. I don't remember anything much since the battle, but I do remember that bloke there telling the guards they couldn't manhandle us. He said it like it wasn't the first time he had to say it. They must have obliviated us right after we got here because I don't remember anything before that. Point is - I think he's decent enough."

Bill had scooped up Fleur and was already halfway up the steps. Ron started herding everyone out of the cell - Hannah, Padma, Jacob, his Ravenclaw friend Matthias, and a little Slytherin boy who couldn't have been more than 12. Harry debated for a moment, then threw Theo over his shoulder. They were going to be moving quickly if they wanted to keep up with Bill. The young man moaned and probably protested, but Harry wasn't really listening. Even knowing the death eaters were supposed to be neutralized, getting out of the manor was a frightening experience for them all. Most of the captured were injured, Hannah and Matthias were having trouble walking. As soon as they moved across the wards, they began apparating everyone out.

NOTES:

Summary of the dark part:

Fleur likely suffered a miscarriage due to her treatment as a prisoner and may die herself. Ron blamed Theo for it and beat him up. One of the prisoners, Jacob Finch-Fletchley (Justin's brother) defended Theo. Harry takes a barely conscious Theo with him as they escape with all the prisoners.