"Five
disappearances. Something is very wrong
about all of this Albus."
"I know
Minerva. But we'll figure it out. We always have. Now, what was it you were saying about
Harry?"
"He told Ms.
Granger his scar had been hurting him. And she told him about Mr. Malfoy's Dark Mark aching. Something about this ruby of his is bothering
me. I can't put my finger on it, but
something about it is, well, unsettling."
"I agree. There does seem to be something strange about
it. Did he tell you where he got
it?"
"His Gringotts
vault." She replied, picking it up to examine it. She gasped suddenly, her arm shot out and
grabbed Dumbledore's. "Albus, help!"
***************
"Ouch."
Harry cried again. His scar hurt even
more this time. Sirius asked if he was
okay. Snape could care less. Harry suspected if his head suddenly
exploded, Snape would burst out laughing for the first time in his life. Thankfully, they had not had to go all the
way to the dungeons to find him; they met him on the stairs instead. "I'm
fine, my scar just stung a little."
"And you see no
connection between this and your nightmares?" Sirius asked.
"No." Harry
said flatly. He was tired of everyone
assuming everything was connected, even though it usually was.
"Well, there are
some strange coincidences. All those who
have disappeared have been Gryffindors, or with Gryffindors." Sirius
muttered.
"Then how do
these two disappearances fit in, Black?" Snape hissed. Dumbledore and McGonnagall were not in the
office.
"Damn. Not again. Dumbledore was the only one who might have a clue about all this,
besides Remus."
"Your confidence in me
is overwhelming." Snape snarled.
It was strangely quiet in the
office. Nothing had been disturbed. No one was there but Draco, Sirius, Harry,
and Snape. The ruby lay forgotten on the
desk.
"Is that the ruby
you were telling me about?" Sirius asked. "I've never seen it
before. Sure is odd looking."
He picked it up off the desk, but
dropped it as if it were on fire. Harry's scar burned with pain. The ruby landed on Sirius' foot. It was as if a vacuum had been started. Sirius was being sucked into the ruby! His hand grabbed the leg of the desk, trying to pull himself away.
"Sirius!"
Harry shouted. He reached out to him and tried to pull him back. He couldn't hold onto him much longer. He was being sucked in also. A hand grabbed him from behind and pulled him
back, and Harry lost his grip on Sirius. It was Snape. And he had gone
white, whiter than Harry had ever seen.
*********
Sirius had no idea where he was
going until he landed. The last thing he
remembered was dropping the ruby on his foot, which still hurt. When he picked it up, he heard a voice shout
"No." It sounded like Lupin,
whom he seemed to have landed on at the end of his trip.
"Oh hello
Padfoot, I was wondering when you'd be getting here." he said, as if
people fell on him from the sky on a regular basis.
"Moony! You're okay!" Sirius cried, hugging him.
"Yeah, no thanks
to you landing on me."
"Sirius."
said a voice, evidently glad to see him. It was Hermione. He looked, and saw
not only her, but also Dumbledore, McGonnagall, Ron, Neville, and Colin.
"Um, what's going
on?" Sirius asked cautiously.
"We seem to be
trapped." Dumbledore replied calmly. "Within Harry's ruby. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way
out. Poor Mr. Weasley has had a quite a
while to search without finding one. I
hope you were not alone when you were pulled in?"
"N-no. Harry and Draco were there. And we brought Snape with us."
"Good. Perhaps Severus can figure out this
mystery."
"Him? As if he'd
help me for one second." Sirius snorted.
"Well, the rest
of us are here too, so he won't abandon us." Lupin replied.
"Yeah, and he'll
be sure to leave me behind. Can you
believe he still hasn't gotten over my pranks in school Moony?"
"Well, you did
attach his underwear to a broomstick and fly it around the Great Hall during
Seventh year."
"So? I did the
same to James. He forgave me."
"Yes, but he
wasn't wearing them at the time."
**********
"Wh-what was
that?" Harry asked breathlessly. "And why did you pull me away? Who
knows where Sirius could be."
"I'm not sure
where he's gone. But had I not pulled
you back, you too could have been trapped. Draco, I assume you remember this from the Death Eaters?"
"Yeah, but I
didn't believe.."
"Neither did
I."
"Do you mind
telling me what's going on?" Harry asked.
"Evidently, those
who have disappeared have been pulled into the ruby. The Death Eaters were plotting a trap for
Dumbledore that would trap him within a stone which could then be destroyed,
but that was when Voldemort was still alive. Why now?" Draco replied.
"But, I'm not
pulled in when I touch it."
"Which makes this
mystery even stranger." Snape said.
"Er, Professor,
it sounds like the only way to find anything out is to go after them."
Draco suggested.
"Unfortunately, I
believe you are correct."
"I'm going
too. I'm not being left behind while
everyone I care about is trapped in a ruby that I brought here in the first place."
"Suit yourself
Potter." Snape replied. Draco had
already been pulled into the stone. Snape was reaching for it when Harry spoke again.
"Professor? If you hate Sirius and I so much, why did you
just save me?"
"Because, Potter,
though I may hate you, the laws of common decency forbid me from refusing to
help someone in danger. Hatred can not
make me stand by while the innocent die. The only way you can come with us is to hold on to me. I don't believe the ruby will pull you in
otherwise."
***************
"So, how did you
get pulled in Moony?" Sirius asked.
"Hermione and I
were in Dumbledore's office, waiting for the rest of you to show up. I picked up the ruby to examine it, and found
myself being pulled in. Hermione tried to
pull me back, but she couldn't, and got dragged in too."
"Were you the one
that shouted at me?"
"Yup. Sonorus charm. Only worked when you touched it though. And obviously it was too late by then."
"And what have
you been doing all this time Ron?" Sirius asked.
"Looking for a
way out; there is none, taught myself gymnastics, and thought of 107 ways of
killing someone without magic. I was
almost glad when Neville and Colin showed up."
"But, how have
you eaten?"
"Oh, he's fed
us. He checks up on us once in a while,
unfortunately." He replied, kicking the bars of the cell angrily.
"His cooking
sucks." Neville said bitterly.
"Whose?"
Sirius asked, thoroughly confused now.
"Mine."
hissed a voice behind them that almost made them jump out of their skins. They turned slowly to see its source.
Lord Voldemort.
