Chapter 29:  Nowhere To Go

            The pain only lasted a few seconds, stopping abruptly.  Turning, his mind in a haze, Harry saw Draco struggling to take the Dark Lord's wand from him.  No shoddy deed below the man, Voldemort kicked Draco away, and pointed his wand to curse the boy.  Harry, however, was quicker.

            "Erauyowere!" he cried.

            Voldemort turned sharply toward Harry, but quickly found out his feet couldn't move.  He fell over, swearing, his feet still planted firmly on the ground.  Losing no time, for he knew the spell wouldn't last for long, Harry broke out in a run, snatching Draco out of his shock by the neck of his robes.

            "Now what?" Draco called as they ran.

            "Do you know a way out of here?"

            "No idea."

            "Then just keep running."

            "Oh, brilliant plan, Potter."

            "What, you have a better one?"

            "As a matter of fact, I do."

            With that, Draco leapt up, grabbing onto a tree branch above him.  He quickly pulled himself up, then helped Harry do the same.  They climbed as high as they dared, not resting for a second until they thought they were safe.

            Harry and Draco clutched to the tree branches, trying to catch their breaths.  However, they weren't given much time before a blazing red curse rushed through the leaves, inches from Harry.

            "He's found us; we're dead.  He's found us; we're dead," Harry moaned in a panic.

            "He hasn't found us," Draco whispered firmly, "He's just shooting curses sporadically."

            Suddenly, another curse rushed through the branches right between them.

            "Then again, I could be wrong."

            "No, you think?  Come on, we've got to keep moving."

            "We're in a tree," Draco said condescendingly, "There're only so many places we can go!"

            "Yeah, and who's brilliant idea was it to come up here in the first place?"

            Draco didn't get a chance to answer before a roaring wind seemed to rush from nowhere, encircling and pulling at them.

            "He's trying to knock us out of the tree!" Draco yelled above the howling, "Just hold on!"

            "This is it!" Harry said, panicking again, "I'm gonna die being blown out of a tree with a stupid Slytherin!"

            Draco turned sharply toward him, glaring, but saw that Harry was serious.  The boy was clutching tight to the tree with his eyes shut.  He looked like he was about to cry.  For what very well could have been the first time in his life, Draco felt sorry for Harry Potter.

            "No you're not!" he said with more courage than he felt, "Go, Harry!  I'll distract him and hold him off as long as I can!"

            Harry opened his eyes, looking at Draco in surprise.  He felt much of the panic leave him, knowing that he wasn't in this alone.

            "I went through the Waning Wizards' War for you, Draco!" Harry called back, "I'm not about to leave now!"

            The wind died down to an eerie silence, and Draco was looking at Harry with wide eyes.

            "You…you went through the Waning Wizards' War for me?  I don't…know what to say…  I-"

            "Think you could save it for later?" Harry said, with a slightly pained look, "We need to keep our minds on what's happening."

            Some of the branches suddenly shook violently, causing the boys to jump.

            "He's climbing up…" Harry whispered.

            Draco looked around, praying for an escape…and found it.

            "Harry!  Harry, that branch!" he hissed excitedly, "We can jump from there to the other tree!"

            "What?!  Are you nuts?!"

            "Oh yeah, and staying in a tree with Voldemort is perfectly sane!  Just follow me."

            Draco let go of the trunk and walked onto the outstretched branch, clutching to the leaves above his head.  The branch bent with his added weight, but he tried to ignore that.  When he had gone as far as he dared, Draco took a deep breath and leapt for all he was worth.  He landed squarely on the nearest branch, clutching onto it with both arms and legs.  After a bit of shuffling around, he managed to sit up and gestured for Harry to follow.

            Hearing Voldemort swearing slightly under his breath, Harry knew it was now or never.  He hurried out onto the end of the branch, preparing to jump.  Pushing hard against the branch with his legs, he felt it bend further…and snap.  He hadn't jumped far enough and found himself going right past the branch Draco was on.  In a panic, he managed to grab hold of the end of the next branch, hanging on for dear life.

            "Draco!"

            "Just hold on, Harry!  I'm coming!"

            Before Draco could find a way down to Harry, however, he spotted Voldemort emerging onto the branch they had so recently left.  The man looked at Draco, and then slowly looked down to where Harry was dangling.

            "Like shooting fish in a barrel," Voldemort smiled, bringing out his wand.

            Draco looked down in horror at Harry, who was oblivious to the danger he was in.  Almost by instinct, Draco launched himself off the branch, straight at Harry.  Harry watched this with wide eyes, unable to understand why Draco was heading in a beeline for him.

            "What the-"

            Draco collided into him, and they fell five meters, landing roughly on the ground.

            "What do you think you're doing, Draco?!" Harry yelled.

            "Voldemort was about to use you for target practice," Draco moaned, in obvious pain.

            "What are you…" Harry started to say, but then he glanced the hole that had been burned into the back of Draco's robe.  It was still smoking.

            "You…you saved my life…"

            "That doesn't mean that I like you," Draco said, holding up his hand.  He tried to smile, but winced instead.

            Another curse brought their attention back.

            "Run," Harry said, picking Draco up.

            They sped through the forest, but Harry noticed Draco was lagging behind, and limping as well.

            "Hurry, Draco!"

            "It's my leg," the boy grimaced, "I must have twisted it or something."

            "How did I know you were going to say that?"

            Harry tried to help him along, but they realized the going was too slow.  Looking around, he pulled Draco under a tree, where the roots had made a suitable hiding spot.  They weren't there too long before they heard Voldemort approach.

            "You might as well give yourselves up now," the man called, "There's no escape, no town around for kilometers.  I'll find you, sooner or later."

            His steps on the leafy ground grew closer, and the two fugitives held their breath, expecting Voldemort's face to appear at any moment.  And then, the steps started fading.  Harry could have cheered; Voldemort was going the wrong way.

            "Okay, I can't hear him anymore," Harry said, "Do you think you can run?"      

            "Yes, but not far.  Definitely not a kilometer."

            "Then we'll have to find another way."

            "This is impossible," Draco moaned.

            "No it's not.  We just need to find a means of getting back to Hogwarts."

            Draco sighed.  "What we need is a miracle."

            "Harry!"

            The two boys whipped around, squinting in the darkness to find the voice's origin.  Suddenly, a figure appeared and dove between them.  Harry felt his heart jump into his throat, clutched by a fear greater than he had yet experienced.

            "Azar?!  What are you doing here?!  It's dangerous!  You could get killed!"

            "It's nice to see you, too," she grinned.

            "How did you find us?" Draco asked, a little wide-eyed.

            "I'll explain later," she said, "First, we have to get out of here."

            "What do you think we've been trying to do, mudblood?" Draco hissed.

            "You don't have to accept my help, Sir Prissy," she snapped, "You can just wait here for Voldemort and hope he turns out to be a nice guy.  Is that what you want to do?  Hm?"

            Draco looked at the ground sheepishly.

            "Changed your mind, eh?" Azar smiled, her normal air of relaxation coming back a bit, "Okay then.  When I say 'go', we jump up and you two follow me.  Oh, and run like your life depends on it, 'cause it does.  Ready?  Go!"

            They burst out of their hiding place, pumping their legs for all they were worth.  Harry and Draco had some trouble keeping Azar in sight as they ducked tree branches and dodged bushes.  They came to a bit of a clearing, the grass rough and past their knees.  Azar bolted into the woods on the other side and the two boys followed quickly.  When they cut around a tree—first Harry, then Draco—they found Azar mounting a broom.

            "Hop on," she said, smiling at them, "I only have one."

            Draco quickly scrambled over, taking a seat right behind her.  Harry, however, hesitated.

            "C'mon, Harry," Azar said, "I've got a seat saved for you, right up front."

            Again, the boy didn't move.  He stared at her, wondering…wondering how she had conveniently arrived to save them; wondering how she just happened to have brought a broom; wondering about the note he'd received at the first of the year stating "Know your friends, and all goes well."  Under its own will, his mind brought back the memories of last year, of a girl he thought he had loved and had thought he could trust…

            "Harry, this is Azar," she said softly, seemingly reading his mind, "Azar Zundel, Seeker wannabe and proud owner of 'Weasley Wizard Wheezes' Little Kit of Mayhem'.  You can trust me…"

            Harry glanced back at the open field, spotting Voldemort making his way across it.  Slowly, he turned back to Azar, looking at her intensely.  He stared into her eyes, trying to see a hint of malice.  All those crystal blue depths held was love, complete and pure.

            "Okay, let's ride!" he grinned, hoping on in front of Azar.

            Suddenly, Voldemort burst past a nearby tree.  He stopped, shocked at finding the three so out in the open.

            "Bye-bye, Voldie," Azar grinned, and they pushed off, soaring into the sky.

            Harry gave a quick glance back, seeing Voldemort rush into the clearing, staring after them.  He felt his smile widen.

            "We've done it!" he cheered, giving a triumphant whoop.

            "Uh, no we haven't!" Draco yelled, panic in his voice.

            The other two spun around, gaping.  Voldemort was soaring right behind them, his own broom in hand.

            "Where the heck did he get a broom?!" Azar gasped.

            "He summoned it or something!" Draco answered.

            Suddenly, a streak of red flew past them, followed by one of yellow.

            "Oh, crikey, he's throwing curses at us!" Azar cried, ducking low, "It's time to show your skills, Seeker boy!"

            Harry started flying for all he was worth, constantly looking back so he could dodge each curse as it came.  Voldemort, however, seemed to be catching on and sent three curses in a row, one to each side and another straight at their broom.

            "Hang on!" Harry yelled, pulling up sharply.

            They shot upwards, and Draco gave a yell, his hands slipping from Azar's waist.  Reacting quickly, Azar reached out and grabbed Draco's hand.

            "Not that I encourage our close quarters, but hold on tight, Draco!" Azar scolded, tugging the boy back onto the broom, "You're supposed to be a Seeker, for crying out loud!"

            "He's getting closer, Harry!" Draco yelled, gripping Azar's waist firmly.

            "I know that, Draco!"

            "Draco, trade me spots!  Quickly!" Azar suddenly shouted

            "What are you doing, Azar?" Harry called back to her as the two managed to switch places on the broom without falling.

            "You'll see!  Just keep flying straight for a moment!"

            "Oh no…  You are not doing what I think you're doing!"

            "Oh yeah?  Watch me!"

            And with that, she quickly stood on the broom and leapt off, landing right on Voldemort.

~*~*~

A/N: Another day, another chapter. I like this one, but not as much as the next one. *grins* I think I'm developing a new taste for cliffies. Ah, I'm in too good a mood to bash myself. Poor Zar-zar… ^_^ 'Nuff said.

Thank you, you wonderful lovely people, for taking time to review my stuff! I know you could just read it and think, "Eh, okay." or "That was crap-tacular.", but I'm so glad you take the time to tell me so!

Katrina Skyfrost: Thanks! Oh, do I know it! My brothers have learned to keep away from me each time a trailer comes on or I'll squeeze the living daylights out of them. ^_^

Allison: Allison, Allison, Allison. You have too much faith in my compassion for lil' Harry. ^_^ I'm pretty sure he'd prefer death to… um, never mind. *cough* Well, speaking of people who need to post more chapters… *gives piercing, Hermione-like look of disapproval* Literally, there are some days I think, "Oh WHY won't Allison put up another chapter?!" When was your last update, August 24? Let's see that's… WAY TOO LONG!!! Maybe I just won't post the next chapter 'till you get a new one up… Gah, no! I'm too review hungry… Just hurry and write, pweety pweese? *puppy dog eyes* Thanks for the review, though!

Scarlet Phoenix: Oh, I assure you, he can die, and will. Some day or another. ^_^ Thanks!

Starie_88: Thanks!

DJay: Thanks, I'll try. ^_^