A.N. Thank you to everyone who reviewed!!! We are trying to get the next chapter of Harry Potter and the Torch of Darkness out, but one of the authors has been having computer trouble, and hasn't been able to get us her part yet. Don't worry! Expect it within the next week or so! Sorry for the delay.
Mal
Trapped. They didn't have anywhere to go. One way there was a field of Death Eaters just waiting to blast Harry's head off and would kill anyone with him, and the other way held a snake just waiting to blast their heads off!
Harry sprang up off the ground as the snake shot forward to try and bite him. Neville looked like he was going to scream, but Ron had clamped his hand on his mouth.
"MASTER! THEY'RE HERE!" Nagini hissed loudly. "MASTER!" Harry could've throttled that snake. Suddenly there was perfect silence. It seemed that the wind didn't blow, the leaves didn't move, and everything was quiet. Hermione was shaking and biting down on her lip so hard that Harry was afraid it was going to start bleeding. Draco's eyes were wide, and he stared in the direction of the cemetery. Then one voice broke the silence.
"Bring them to me."
Neville let out a muffled scream into Ron's hand. Draco just sort of stared at the ground. They all raised their eyes to look at Harry when they heard the sound of rustling bushes getting closer and closer.
Harry gulped and mouthed, 'Run!' They all bolted as fast as they could, jumping over Nagini, who attempted to nip at their heels.
"MASTER! THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!"
The Death Eaters burst through the wall of trees and bushes, right as Neville scrambled after Harry and the others.
There was a loud explosion, and several of the trees exploded into a giant ball of flames. Neville screamed, and toppled over. Harry skidded to a stop and pulled Neville to his feet, right as a Death Eater appeared behind them.
"RUN FOR IT!" Harry yelled as Neville went scrambling through the trees. Harry tried to bolt after him, but felt a strong hand holding him by his arm.
"Gotcha," said a gravely voice from underneath the dark mask. He began to drag Harry back through the trees.
"Harry!" Ron appeared through the trees. "Stupefy!"
The curse narrowly missed Harry's head, hitting the Death Eater in the chest. The Death Eater released Harry's arm as he fell to the ground.
"C'mon!" Ron yelled, running back through the trees with Harry following close behind.
"GET THEM!" Voldemort yelled from behind them somewhere. A fiery pain flew across Harry's scar and he winced in pain, stumbling through the darkness.
He could hardly see Ron ahead of him, for it was getting so dark all of a sudden. Harry almost ran headlong into a tree.
"Harry!" He heard Hermione shout. "Over here!" Harry skidded to a stop again, looking around for where the voice was coming from.
"Where?" Harry asked. All he could see was dark trees and bushes. Suddenly, two arms appeared out of nowhere, grabbed his, and pulled him forward. Suddenly everyone appeared before his eyes. Neville was leaning up against a tree, panting and sobbing lightly. Hermione was the one holding Harry's arms. Ron was sprawled out on the ground, moaning from exhaustion. Draco was also leaning against a tree, just staring off into space.
"Wha-where is this?" Harry asked, looking around the clearing.
"It's just a safe p-point that Hermione created," Ron panted. "They can't see us…"
"It will last for a little while," Hermione said, looking at Harry. "So we can figure out what to do."
Harry ran a hand through his sweaty hair and sighed.
"Harry are you okay?"
Harry shrugged. "As okay as I've ever been in a situation like this. Of course… I've never exactly been in this situation."
"What are we going to do?" Asked Seamus, whom Harry hadn't seen for he was in the shadows of a tree. "I mean, do you think that You-Know-Who will be able find us?"
"Yes," Harry said without hesitation. "He's very strong, and a spell cast by a fifth year witch won't be enough to stop him. Even though Hermione is the top of her class."
"And we don't even know where the hell we are," Draco spat.
"We should move soon-"
"SHH!" Hermione said suddenly. There was a rustling nearby, and someone stepped out of the bushes.
It was two Death Eaters.
"I swore I heard something," growled someone.
"Avery, you're always hearing things," Said the familiar voice of Lucius Malfoy. Ron glared back at Draco, who was staring at the Death Eaters with wide eyes. He looked utterly shocked.
"Come on," continued Malfoy. "Let's go. It's bloody freezing out here…"
The two Death Eaters turned around and went back the way they came. Harry turned and saw Seamus and Ron glaring maliciously at Draco, who had backed up against one of the trees.
"Ron," Hermione said in a warning voice. "Leave him alone."
"Why? He's probably been passing information to his father while we're all asleep," Ron said.
"Ron!"
"I'd say Daddy's little boy has been a good little spy…" Seamus spat. "That snake knew just where to find us."
"Seamus snakes can sense Parseltongues!" Hermione exclaimed. "It sensed Harry and that's how it found us."
Ron looked at Harry, who looked quite clueless.
"Harry, you agree with us right?" Seamus said.
"I just think that we should get going, and worry about Malfoy later," Harry said sternly. "C'mon, the Death Eaters could come back any moment."
Ron muttered something under his breath and continued to glare at Malfoy.
"When we get out of this shield run as fast as you can without sounding like a heard of elephants," Harry said. "Hermione, on the count of three turn off the shield. One… Two… Three!"
They all bolted out of the shield, running as fast as they could away from the Death Eaters. All they could hear were loud explosions in the background…
~*~
What's the difference of never knowing at all?
When every step I take is always too small.
Motivation such an aggravation
Accusations don't know how to take them.
Inspiration's getting hard to take it
Concentration's never hard to brake it.
Situation never what you want it to be.
~*~
"Harry," Remus gasped, waking up at the sound of yelling and explosions somewhere in the distance. Sirius sprang to his feet, whimpering and sniffing the air. In an instant he changed back into his human form.
"Where are those explosions coming from?" Remus asked.
"Over there," Sirius said, pointing to the north. "Come on, let's hurry!"
Sirius morphed again and sprinted in the direction he had pointed, barking and growling while he ran. Remus bolted after him, trying to keep his eyes on the massive black dog. Deeper into the forest Remus could see a giant fire. Sirius was far ahead of him by now. Remus had lost him.
Remus could hear the screams of children coming from somewhere else in the forest, and he ran to search for them.
"Hello!" He yelled. "HEY!"
"Help us!" Sobbed one voice that sounded not too far from where he was. He darted past a few more trees and found a group of first and second year students that hadn't been recovered yet.
"Who are you?" Asked one of the second years, standing up and drawing his wand. He tried to look brave, even though he was shaking.
"I'm your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Remus said hurriedly. "Come on, let's get you out of here." Remus searched the ground and picked up a branch. He made it into a Portkey.
"Quick, touch it. It will get you to Hogwarts," Remus said. The kids looked a little wary, but reached out and touched the wood. They all disappeared instantly and Remus was alone once more. He could hear Sirius' barking in the distance, and he went off in search of his friend.
~*~
Nothing's new, everything's the same.
It keeps on dragging me down, it's getting kind of lame.
I'm falling further behind, there's nothing to explain.
No matter what you say nothing's gonna change my mind.
~*~
There was a light of some sort ahead of them. They could see it through the trees. Harry, Hermione, and Seamus recognized it as an electrical light of some sort. They couldn't hear the explosions behind them anymore, but they didn't know if the Death Eaters were still chasing after them. They ran out of the forest and into the bright streetlights of a park. There were some swings and a jungle gym nearby. They collapsed on one of the benches, to tired to run anymore.
"Well," Harry panted. "I think we're in a Muggle town now."
"Oh well that's great," Draco snapped. "How the hell are we supposed to contact anyone?"
"Ron, do you know your home number? You know, the one you used this summer anyway?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, yeah I do."
"Okay, here's what we're going to do," Hermione said. "We're going to call your parents and have them get in contact with Dumbledore. They'll tell him where we are, and we'll get out of here."
"Sounds good," Seamus said.
Neville was having a coughing fit of some sort, and Harry patted him on the back. "You okay?"
Neville pointed at a point in the woods. There were eyes staring out at them.
"Come out and play…" hissed Nagini.
"Time to run again," Harry said. He pulled Neville to his tired feet and dragged him quickly through the park and into the streets of the village.
Harry could hear the snake following them, whispering things like, "I'm going to get you…"
"Faster!" Harry hissed. "Quick! In there!" They made a sharp turn into a building that looked like a bar. They slammed the door shut, and collapsed on the floor.
Harry was the first to notice all the people in the pub who were looking at them oddly.
"Er… sorry about the intrusion," Harry said, getting to his feet.
"No problem, boy," the bartender said. "What'cha running from?"
"Um… nothing. Just a game to see who could reach here first," Harry lied. "Ran quite a ways. We're quite tired. By the way, where is here?"
"You're standin' in The Hanged Man," said the bartender, putting a glass on the shelf. "In Little Hangleton."
"Do you, by any chance, have a phone we could use?" Hermione asked, coming up beside Harry.
"Sure, missy," replied the bartender. "It's in the back." He jerked his head in the direction of the back door.
Hermione motioned Ron to follow her and they left. They found the phone. Hermione put some Muggle coins into the slot and Ron dialed the number for her.
After three rings Mrs. Weasley picked up the phone. She seemed close to tears.
"H-hello?"
"Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione said quickly.
"Hermione! Where are you! Are you okay?! Where's Ron? Where's Harry? Oh my goodness we've been so worried!"
"Everyone here is okay," Hermione said. "We're in some village called Little Hangleton. We're in a pub called…. I can't remember. Where that is… I don't know."
"Who's with you?"
"There's Ron, Harry, Neville, Seamus and Draco Malfoy," Hermione said, barely squeaking out the last name. "We need to get out of here! There are Death Eaters on the look for us! Harry was almost taken away by one! And there's this mad snake that-"
"Hermione, we'll get someone over there as fast as possible," Mrs. Weasley said. Hermione could hear her yelling something to Mr. Weasley.
"Arthur is going to contact Professor Dumbledore right now, dear. Just remain calm. I'm sure someone will be there to get you in a moment."
"Thank you so much Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said. Ron was staring at her with pleading eyes. "Here, Ron wants to talk to you."
She let Ron blabber on with his mother for a few minutes before he hung up and they went back to the bar. They found the other four sitting around a table with glasses of water in front of them.
"Did you get in touch with your parents?" Harry asked Ron. Ron nodded as the bartender brought him a glass of water, which he gulped down appreciatively.
"Someone should be coming here soon," Ron replied, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"How soon?" Draco snapped.
"As soon as my parents contact Dumbledore and tell him where we are," Ron spat back. "I'm just going to be glad to go home."
Harry was staring around the small pub. There were pictures of people who Harry thought to be villagers on the walls. Some had goofy, drunken grins on their faces, while others were looking quite solemn. One black and white picture caught his eye. It was of a family and people dressed like maids and gardeners. There were three well-dressed people, two men, and a woman. The younger of the man had sort of darkish hair and light eyes. He had a malicious looking grin on his face. It made Harry feel sort of nervous. Instead he looked at the servants that surrounded the three of them. One of them looked sort of familiar.
An old man, leaning on a walking stick was staring at the two of them, their wands connected within a golden web of light…
"He was a real wizard, then?" said the old man. "Killed me that one did… You fight him, boy…"
"Harry! HARRY!" He jolted out of his thoughts and stared at the one who had called to him.
"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked, frowning at him. "You were in a trance…"
Harry didn't really pay attention to his friend, and instead he turned to speak to the bartender.
"Who are the people in that picture?" Harry said, pointing at the picture he had been looking at.
"Them? Ooh… interesting story that goes along with that family…" The bartender said, coming out from behind the bar. "It all started fifty years ago. The maid, this one here-" He pointed at one of the women. "-Came in to find these three dead." The bartender pointed at the tree well-dressed people. "No one could figure out how it happened. And they dragged this man into the police, thinking that he had committed the murder. However he was let out a few days later for lack of evidence." The others at Harry's table were watching with interest as the man gave a grin.
"Then, just last year, he died mysteriously too. It appears to be the same way that those three died. Quite bizarre actually. And over this past year or so every one of these other servants has passed away as well. Some by what appears to be natural causes, and some were just found dead with these bizarre looks on their faces, just like the Riddles."
Harry's eyes got huge. "Who?"
"The Riddles. Those three. No one liked them when they were alive, 'specially their son, Tom. I'm sure no one likes them in hell either." The bartender gave a chuckle and went back to the bar. Harry turned back to look at Ron and Hermione.
"Did you hear that?" Harry whispered.
"Yeah, weird. I wonder why they haven't figured out the murders yet," Ron said.
"No. That's not what I mean. Those are the Riddles."
"Harry, I'm sure that there are other people who have the last name of Riddle," Hermione said, even though she looked horribly nervous.
"No, you don't understand. Voldemort was named after the father who abandoned him. Tom. And then they mysteriously died fifty or so years ago? That would have happened soon after Voldemort graduated from Hogwarts. And Voldemort said that he killed his father. I've seen the grave!"
"Stop. Saying. His. Name." Ron said through gritted teeth.
"You-Know-Who's grandparents lived here?" Seamus said with a disgusted look on his face.
Harry opened his mouth to reply, but the doors burst open and someone familiar walked in.
"Dad!" Ron called out. "Over here!"
"RON! Thank Merlin you're okay!" Mr. Weasley said, walking over to them quickly and pulling Ron into a hug. "Let's get out of here."
"Trust me, there are no objections," Seamus said. They stood up and prepared to leave, just as Nagini slithered through the door that Mr. Weasley had left open.
