Chapter Twenty-Three – Lost and Found
He woke with a start: someone else was there with him. But there was no light, and therefore, unable to see who it was. Someone small, much smaller than him. He also had a feeling this person was sleeping. He tried to stand, but was too weak to do get up. The lack of food caused him to be feeble.
He wondered how long he had been there. Months, at least. Maybe even years. He had lost all track of time. He missed his home, and wanted so desperately to get back to seeing his friends. He just wanted everything normal. But he had known for a long time, that nothing would be normal anymore.
The smell of blood and urine from past prisoners in the cell seeped into his nose and mouth and he covered both with his large hand, trying to filter the fumes out. At least when he was asleep, he didn't smell any of that. Strange though: he thought he would have gotten used to it by now. He had gotten used to the rats. They were always crawling around on him. He began to think of them as pets, rather than pests. He had even named a few: Eenie, Meenie, Minee, and Moe.
Light was coming from down the hallway. He looked up to see someone walking towards the cell. He hoped the person was coming to get him...the sooner it was over, the better. To his joyful heart, the Death Eater said, "Come," and opened the door for him to be let out.
This time, he was able to stand, and he did so happily. The end is near, he told himself, over and over again. The end is near, and I couldn't be happier. He was led up a flight of stairs, and out of the dungeons.
It was a shame: had be been collected two minutes later, he could have been rescued by Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy.
^*^*^
Crude smells hit their noses first, then the sound of breathing. Draco moved his light over some to see that there was indeed a cell there, just where he had imagined. In the cell, there was a body, though the body was unrecognizable. But Hermione, with her feminine intuition, suddenly screamed, "Harry!"
The body stirred, and sat up, yawning as it did so. "Who? Who's there?"
Hermione flung herself against the metal bars, and tried to pry the door open. "Harry!" she cried, unashamed of the strong emotion that flooded her voice. "It's me, Hermione!"
"Hermione?" He sat up, his eyes still blacked out. "What are you doing here?"
"Rescuing you, of course," Malfoy interrupted. "And if you don't mind, I have a feeling we need to leave here now…"
"Malfoy?!" Harry squeaked.
"Yes, it's me. Now, let's get you out of there." Draco pulled a wand from his pocket, and whispered "Alohamora!" to the lock. After a few seconds, the door unlocked, and Hermione was able to rush in and hug Harry.
Hermione looked at Draco as she cradled Harry in her arms. "Doesn't seem like very good security."
Draco shook his head. "It only opens to Death Eater wands. It's very secure."
"What's going on?" Harry asked. "Is Ron here?"
Draco walked into the cell, where Harry lay, curled in Hermione's lap. "Can't you see he's not?"
"No, I can't. I'm blind."
Hermione gasped, and Draco looked as though he was going to be sick. Harry strained his eyes, but couldn't see anything except darkness.
Gulping, Draco stammered, "Well…that, er, is a p-problem, isn't it?"
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione cried, hugging him tighter. "What did they do to you?"
"I dunno…where…where am I?" Harry asked, trying to escape Hermione strong grasp.
"In Voldemort's dungeon," Draco said, somewhat coldly. "And not to rush you two in this touching moment, but I'd rather leave before he decides to kill all of us."
"Dungeon?" Harry exclaimed. "Well, that explains the foul smells, and the rats." He forced himself to stand, and leaned on Hermione's shoulder for support. "Well? Which way out, oh-mighty Malfoy?"
"Hermione, lead him this way," Draco said with strong authority. He held his wand out to them, its end bright with the Lumos spell. Harry stood on his feet, and he stumbled for a moment, clutching to Hermione's arm. She steadied him, while giving a strong look of distress to Draco. He returned the look, his eyes locking with Hermione's.
Harry and Hermione held each other, Harry's eyes able to do nothing except endanger their rescue mission. They had to walk slowly, too slowly for Hermione's liking, who was anxious to find Ron and get out.
"Almost there, Herm," Draco suddenly informed her, causing her to smile and quicken her pace a bit. But a sudden thundering yell from above them caused the three to stop suddenly, and look up.
"I recognize that voice," Harry whispered. Squeezing Hermione's arm, he started to lead her in the opposite direction the crest where Draco, Ron, and Hermione had entered from.
"Harry, no!" Hermione said, feeling as though she was talking to a three-year-old. She pulled him back, but he let go of her, and started walking in the direction of the scream anyway.
Draco cursed. "Get back here!" He looked at Hermione. "Why is he acting like a little lost puppy?" He then ran after the stumbling Harry, who was running into walls and constantly tripping over the not-so-smooth ground.
Biting her lip, Hermione then followed both boys. She watched as Draco took Harry's arm, and said, "Do you really want to go see what that was?"
"I have a bad feeling, Malfoy. I know that voice. I need to know…"
Draco nodded. "Alright. This way, Harry. But if we get killed…"
Harry didn't respond.