Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.



Author's Note: I'm back! I went on vacation for a few days, and now this story is picking up right where it left off. To make it up to all of you, this chapter will be a pretty long one. I hope you all like this part, and I hope you will still keep on reading this story. On with the story! Note: If you don't like cliffhangers, I apologize for this chapter's ending.



Chapter Eleven- Capture



A few days later, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were in the library talking to one another. They were talking about Harry, and they had made sure he wasn't there before beginning to talk.



"Harry's changing," said Hermione quietly. "It's like he's drifting away from all of us."



"Every time either of us says the wrong thing to Harry concerning his childhood, he goes berserk," Ron commented. "Why is he doing this?"



Ginny remained silent. She looked very uncomfortable all of a sudden. Fortunately, Ron and Hermione didn't notice.



"Well, I guess Harry doesn't like to talk about his past," Hermione said. "What did the Dursleys do to him, those ten years of his life?"



"The Dursleys aren't really what's bothering him," Ginny blurted out.



Ron and Hermione stared. "What do you mean?" Ron demanded. "Ginny, it's all right. You can tell us."



"I can't," Ginny mumbled, getting up. "I promised I wouldn't tell."



"What?" asked Hermione. "Did Harry tell you something?"



"I'm not going to tell!"



"Is there something wrong?" a soft voice asked. The three turned around and saw Professor Clark standing behind them. A book was in her hands. She stared at them intently, but her face bore no expression of suspicion.



"There's nothing wrong, Professor," Ron muttered.



Professor Clark didn't seem to buy Ron's response for a second. "I couldn't help hearing a commotion," she continued. "If it's all right, I'd like to know what's going on. Does it have anything to do with Harry?"



"He's changing," Ron said simply.



Professor Clark raised an eyebrow. "Everybody changes. It's a part of life."



"No, that's not it," explained Hermione. "It's just that every time any of us seem to bring up the discussion involving his childhood, he gets mad. He may be pushing us away..."



"And Ginny seems to know something about it, but she won't tell us!" interrupted Ron, turning to Ginny.



"I promised Harry I wouldn't tell," Ginny repeated.



"Is it something that could endanger him?" Professor Clark asked gently.



"No," said Ginny quickly. "At least I don't think so..."



"Look, we won't tell Harry as long as you tell us," Hermione said. "I thought we were *all* friends here."



Ginny looked from Ron and Hermione to Professor Clark, all who were staring at her. "Oh, all right," Ginny said slowly. "But remember, don't tell Harry I told you this..."



She sat back down, took a deep breath, and began to explain. "A few nights ago, I couldn't sleep because I knew that the dementors were lurking in the corridors, so I went to the common room and found Harry sitting there."



She paused, looking at all of them. "Go on," urged Ron.



Ginny continued, "I asked him why he was up so late, and he said that he had a weird dream. I don't remember all of it, but it had something to do with him being in some kind of black ocean.... and he said that when he went under water..." Ginny gulped. "He saw the body of... Tom Riddle."



There was a loud thud. Professor Clark had dropped her book on the floor, a look of complete shock on her face. Ron and Hermione looked stunned.



"You mean... You-Know-Who when he went to Hogwarts?" Ron asked shakily.



Ginny nodded. "Uh-huh. Then he mentioned something about black shadow creatures... and bright star-like lights... and that's all I remember. And that's not all... Harry also said he had a dream this summer... he said that You-Know-Who was talking to his supporters... saying that his spies were taking their positions at the Ministry... Harry thinks that Fudge and the dementors coming to Hogwarts might have happened because You-Know-Who's spies at the Ministry told him what Dumbledore was doing..."



"That's what Professor Dumbledore thinks happened too," said Professor Clark, the shock expression never leaving her face.



"Why didn't Harry tell us this before?" Hermione asked.



"He didn't want to worry you," Ginny said in a small voice. "You won't tell him I told you, will you?" she added anxiously. And dully, Ron and Hermione both said no.



"Of course not," said Professor Clark, trembling slightly. From the look on her face, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny could tell that Professor Clark seemed to know a lot more about the situation than they did. She walked away, abandoning her book.



***

Fiona paced around in her office. This was serious. It wasn't just paranoia that was convincing her that Harry could possibly end up like Tom; the evidence was right in front of her.



A black ocean... it was worse than she thought. Fiona knew perfectly well that a black ocean was a form of a person's dark side. It was a pool made up of their deepest fears, dark thoughts, and troubled experiences. If the person's soul succumbed to the black ocean, it would forever be lost in the darkness...



Tom's body... Harry saw Tom's body in the black ocean? How? As far as she knew, Tom never saw any black oceans in his dreams... But then again, when he passed the age of thirteen, Tom never visited you anymore, remember? Fiona thought bitterly to herself. Anything could have happened to him during that period of time...



Fiona grabbed her head and started shaking. No, no, no, no! she screamed silently. This can't be happening to Harry, it couldn't! Not again! Harry was different from Tom... and yet, so alike.



Well, she wasn't going to let Harry get Tom's fate. No sir... she'd keep her on Harry... he was too vulnerable already...



Yet her gut instinct told her that it would be something beyond her control.



***

For the next two months, Ron and Hermione avoided the slightest remark that could possibly make Harry bring up his bitter childhood. Harry still didn't confront Professor Clark about the fact that she could possibly know him from that day, nine years ago... Harry decided that it was probably something not to worry about right now.



Most of their time was spent preparing for exams. During their free time, on Hogsmeade visits, they often went to The Three Broomsticks to visit Joshua, Lili, and Emily Baudelaire. They became their friends very fast. Harry could definitely relate to them somehow; their family was dead, and all they had was each other. Whenever they came, Emily would always ask them to tell her about Hogwarts. The more she did this, the more Harry hoped that her brother and sister could pull enough money together to send Emily to Hogwarts when she was old enough....



In later June, the week that exams were finished, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were on a well earned weekend to Hogsmeade. They were having so much fun, the thought that something horrible would happen wasn't even in their minds. It's very strange: when horrible things happen to you, they often come when you least expect them to. Harry and the others found this out the hard way.



It was about late afternoon on that trip, they would have to go back to school in a little while, so they were trying to think of something to do that wouldn't take too much time.



"We could go visit the Baudelaires," suggested Ron.



"Don't be silly," said Hermione briskly, pointing to The Three Broomsticks. A large line was outside the building. "It looks extremely busy; we don't want to bother them when they're working!"



"All right then, how about Honeydukes?"



"Again?"



Feeling a sudden emptiness in one of his pockets, Harry searched the folds of his robes. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "My wand's gone!"



"Really?" asked Hermione. "Well, lets retrace your steps: where was the last place we went to?"



Harry slapped his forehead. "Oh, I must have dropped it at Honeydukes." He raced off, calling after them, "I'll be right back!"



"I'll go with him," said Ginny to Ron and Hermione. "You know- just to make sure he finds his wand..." She raced off after Harry, who had already vanished in the crowd.



For a few minutes, Ron and Hermione stood there, waiting patiently for Harry and Ginny to come back. They were both perfectly calm; they occasionally talked to another about how they might have done on the exams (Hermione was sure she passed, of course, being a top student and a prefect). Suddenly, they heard someone began to scream; a terrified, scream of a person in agony.



Ron looked at Hermione. "Did you hear that?" he asked.



Hermione nodded. "I think we should go check that out."



They raced off, following the sounds of the screams, feeling curiosity and a sense of dread growing in their stomachs. The screaming seemed to come from a dark alley. They crept closer to the screaming, only to hear it stop, followed by gasps and loud moans. Just then, a harsh voice of a man cried out, "Cruccio!" And the screams began again, sounding louder and more terrified.



"GINNY!" Ron screamed, recognizing the screaming voice. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, Hermione running after him. They stopped in a corner of the alley.



Ginny was lying, twitching on the ground in absolute pain. And nearby her, their wands raised, were a group of wizards in cloaks, hoods over their heads, and masks concealing their faces...



"Death Eaters...." Ron whispered in horror. Hermione didn't say a word, she just stared at the Death Eaters in a numb kind of terror.



At the same time, Ron and Hermione both drew their wands, but two of the Death Eaters pointed their wands at their wands and yelled, "Expelliarmus!"



Their wands flew out of their hands. Ron tried to pick his up as quickly he could, but another of the Death Eaters pointed his wand at Ron and said, "Stupefy!"



A jet of red light shot towards Ron and hit him, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.



Hermione tried to help Ginny up to her feet, but two Death Eaters seized her and dragged her away from Ginny. "Let's have a little fun," one of them said to the others.



Hermione's last thought before one of the Death Eaters yelled, "Cruccio!" was that their idea of "fun" couldn't possibly be the least bit fun for her.



***

Harry raced into Honeydukes, and sure enough, near the door, was his wand. He must have dropped it on the way out. As he picked it up and pocketed it, he could hear a familiar voice screaming in the distance.



"Hermione?" he muttered in surprise.



Fearing the worst, Harry ran out of Honeydukes, following the sounds of Hermione's screaming. It led him to a dark alley where a grisly sight greeted him.



There were a large group of Death Eaters there. One was preforming the Cruciatus Curse on Hermione, who was rolling on the ground, twitching, screaming in total agony. They must have also done the curse on Ginny, for she was also twitching on the ground. Moans and sobs escaped her. Ron was also on the ground, unconscious, his wand nearby him.



One of the Death Eaters lifted the curse from Hermione and yelled to her, "How do you like being in the wizarding world now, Mudblood?" He raised his wand to do the curse again, but Harry pulled out his wand and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"



It worked. The wand flew out of his hand. However, that wasn't going to stop the Death Eaters. Harry knew he was easily outnumbered, but all that mattered to him was getting his friends to safety. Quick as he could, he pulled Ginny up, reached for Hermione, who had fainted from the pain, no doubt.... and then a Death Eater stepped out in front of them.



He pointed to one of his companions, whose wand was pointed directly at Ron's heart. "Try to escape, and we'll kill your friend," threatened the Death Eater in front of Harry. "Surrender to us, or they'll all die."



Thinking fast, Harry weighed all chances of escape with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. He was completely surrounded, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were all in danger... surrendering to the Death Eaters would mean another encounter with Voldemort... It was either giving himself to the Death Eaters, or his friends lives...



It was no contest. Harry pocketed his wand.



"Harry..." Ginny managed to whisper hoarsely. She was still weak from the Cruciatus Curse. "Harry... don't..."



"If I'm all you want," Harry said without hesitation. "then take me. Just don't hurt my friends."



The Death Eater nodded to the other with his wand pointed at Ron's heart. He lowed his wand.



"All right, Potter," said the Death Eater. "They'll live... for now. But you're coming with us."



He raised his wand and shouted, "Stupefy!". A jet of red light sped towards him and Harry knew no more.



***

Ginny could make out the blurred outline of Harry falling to the ground. The Death Eaters strode towards him, and ropes sprang out of their wands, binding him.



"Do you have the Portkey?" the Death Eater who tortured Hermione asked one of the others. Ginny realized with a jolt that it was Lucius Malfoy.



Another Death Eater nodded, pulling out a chain what looked like a Muggle pocket watch from his robes.



"Stupid boy," sneered Lucius Malfoy. "Master was right... he's do anything to save his friends... Now lets go... quick! Before the teachers come!"



Two of the Death Eaters dragged Harry towards their companions... they all touched the pocket watch and vanished, taking Harry with them...



Ginny couldn't think anymore... the pain was unbearable... Darkness enveloped her...



To be continued...



Oooh! Cliffhanger! Once again, I apologize for the cliffhanger at the end... trust me, there's more where that came from... All right, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and up next... well, I can't really tell you anything about the next part without giving anything away... so stay tuned!