Author Notes: I've edited this chapter - only the ending though. Just read
the last few paragraphs and you'll see what I mean.
Chapter 18: Behind Enemy Lines
Roxeanne and I sat in The Room - I still had my legs crossed - waiting for a hero of some sort. I heard voices at a distance and they were getting closer.
"How much longer are we going to have to sit here?" Roxeanne asked in a whiny voice. "I mean, the man did say he'd be back!"
"Shush!" I snapped. "Listen." The voices got closer every second. I soon recognized each voice. One was Draco's. The other was Lucius Malfoy's and the last one was Bridget's.
They were soon close enough for me to over hear their conversation. "Oh, brilliant job Draco!" Bridget said angrily. "You've let Harry escape once again!"
"Shut the hell up! You were supposed to be guarding the exit, anyway!"
"Both of you shut your mouths before I do it for you." Lucius spoke up. "Where are the girls?"
"Still in there." Bridget said.
"And Potter?" He asked. Draco looked at Bridget and Bridget looked back at Draco. Neither of them said anything. "Find him." Lucius said in a furious voice that reminded me horribly of Professor Snape's.
"I'll do that, father."
"And I'll guard the girls."
"I'll be waiting." Lucius said. I heard Bridget walk away. "And Draco," He called. "Don't disappoint me again."
"Yes, father."
Then I turned to Roxeanne. "Please tell me I'm hearing things." I begged.
"He'll kill him! Harry hasn't got his wand!" Roxeanne cried. I nodded. "We've got to do something Krystal! Don't just sit there nodding!"
"Well what do you want me to do?! There aren't exactly very many options here are there?" Roxeanne looked as if she was about to say something else but a deafening growl came over the entire place.
"POTTER!" Roxeanne and I gasped. I was about to get up when I heard another shout, just as loud as the first.
"MALFOY!" Now I bolted up.
"HARRY!"
"Krystal?" Roxeanne asked.
"KRYSTAL!?" Harry shouted. "ROXEANNE?!"
"POTTER!" Malfoy shouted again. "Potter." He said, calmer. They were right next to the room, but we couldn't see them.
"Malfoy." Harry said calmly, as to acknowledge his presence. "Let them go." He said sternly.
"No. I think I'll keep them here for the time being, thank you very much."
"Let them go." He said. His voice was growing fierce.
"You've always got to be the hero, don't you Potter? Can't ever let things go. Always have to save the day. Its been that way since you were a baby and now, once again, you live up to your name. Famous Harry Potter. That's what the world will always see you as, you know. The 'boy who lived' will always save the day... until I'm through with you." Draco was trying to talk him down again, like he had right before he let out the dementor.
"Shut up, Malfoy. You're nothing but a lap dog for your father. At least if I can save someone tonight, I'll be happy with myself. You, though... you'll never be happy. Because all you do is run around doing your father's dirty work. You'll never be happy... You'll never be accepted. You'll always be a rat." Harry attempted to keep this a magic-free fight for as long as possible. He was, after all, without his wand. It was too late, though. Draco immediately reached for his wand.
Bridget allowed a wide smile to spread on her face. "Do it." She muttered. "Now. Do it now!" She was saying to herself, as if Draco could hear her. It was almost as if he could because as soon as she said that, he shouted a curse.
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Draco shouted. I heard a thud that I knew must have been Harry's body. I closed my eyes as though I had a headache. Then I heard Bridget speak up.
"You petrified him?! You could've killed him! What's wrong with you?!"
"Lord Voldemort wants him alive. You heard him."
"Well that's just ridiculous, isn't it? He wants Potter alive... so he can kill him! Why can't we just kill him while we've got him?!"
"DON'T QUESTION YOUR MASTER!"
"Some master." She scoffed. "The boy he wants killed is in his grasp again but he won't let us take care of it!"
"Don't make me kill you." He said casually. I tried to hold back a laugh and Roxeanne looked at me like I was crazy.
"You're laughing?" She asked in disbelief. "What the hell is so funny? Harry is petrified and they're about to take him to You-Know-Who!"
I sobered immediately. "I don't know... Don't look at me like that!"
"We've got to get out of here!" I nodded in agreement. "DRACO!" Roxeanne shouted, banging on one of the walls. "DRACO GET OVER HERE!" She was furious. I joined her. We both called him over but he ignored us. We knew he could hear us but chose not to answer. "Damn it! We're stuck here for God knows how long!"
Outside of the Room, I could hear Bridget and Draco struggling to carry Harry. "We can't let them do this!"
"But what could we do?"
"... We can't do anything!" I moaned. Draco and Bridget were successfully getting away with Harry and they were going to Lord Voldemort, obviously. I looked around for a moment, and it hit me.
"You realize what this is, don't you?" I asked Roxeanne.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"This." I said, waving my hand around the room. "We're in a cage." Roxeanne's eyes widened.
"Oh God. And we can't do one bloody thing."
"We're trapped." I slumped down in a corner. "This sucks." She nodded in agreement. I stood up again though, because Draco and Bridget were walking through the room carrying a body that could only belong to Harry. They just stood in front of us, outside of the walled in area so that they could get out of the room easily.
Draco turned to Bridget, completely ignoring our presence. "Deal with them." He told her, nodding towards the two of us. "I'll take Potter."
"Where?" She asked. I was thinking the same thing.
"Don't you know?" He asked her in amazement. "You know where Lord Voldemort is staying, don't you?" She shook her head. He chuckled. "Well, perhaps its best that you don't yet. I'll be back to get you. Do what you want with the two of them." He smirked and walked away with Harry. Bridget stood in the middle of the room.
"Too bad. You won't get to say goodbye." She said with fake pity in her voice. I knew she was right though. It was too late to do anything. Harry was long gone.
Lucius Malfoy had come out of the Room and was headed for the Dark Forest. He tried his hardest to ignore the noises around, although he couldn't help being somewhat afraid. He kept turning around and then telling himself to remain calm. Lord Voldemort wasn't the only evil in the wizarding world. There were plenty of evil animals and such in the Dark Forest that didn't care one bit that he was in Voldemort's inner circle. Then a noise behind him - like a twig snapping - startled him so that he stood in his spot for a good two minutes. He jumped again at the sound of a howling animal. It sounded as though it was in pain. He shook it off and continued walking.
Lucius didn't realize that he was being watched at that moment. He wasn't being watched intentionally, however. What was watching him was in no state to understand what was going on in its own mind. Although it was taking in the fact that Lucius Malfoy was headed deep into the Dark Forest, it's mind could not register that idea or take any action at the time.
He continued walking and found an area at the heart of the Dark Forest. There were no trees there although it was surrounded by an unfathomable evil that made trees, darkness and animals unnecessary. He looked around and noticed an unusually large cauldron - but it was empty. Then, right next to the cauldron, he saw vials of liquid. The liquid in each vial was a different color and a different substance all together. Lucius didn't recognize any of these chemicals.
Another figure stepped into the very same area. "Master." Lucius Malfoy greeted Lord Voldemort.
"Ah, yes, Lucius." Voldemort replied, turning around to face him. "The boy." He demanded. Before Lucius could answer, Voldemort's dilated eyes jumped as he looked around. "Lucius. where is the boy?"
"My son, Draco, is bringing him."
"Can he be trusted?"
"Of course." Lucius recoiled as though he had been insulted.
"Good. Then he should be here soon. I'm counting on this Lucius. Don't disappoint me." Lucius nodded. Only minutes later, Draco entered with Harry floating limply behind him. Lucius didn't speak to him but looked at Lord Voldemort.
Then Draco said, "I've brought him." He used his wand to drag Harry's levitated body so that it was now in front of him, facing Voldemort. Then he tucked his wand back in his robes quickly and allowed Harry's body to drop to the grassy earth.
A wide, evil grin spread over Lord Voldemort's face. He was now human now, just very weak. Now that he had Harry, he'd be able to finish him off and return to full power.
"Very good Draco. You've done well. Now little is left to be done. All that is needed is this potion." He showed them the potion he was talking about in a small book. "It is very complex as you might notice. I'll need the help of you both." They nodded in agreement.
"Of course, Master." Lucius said. Draco was still nodding, looking very foolish. His father shot him a threatening look. Before Lucius could say anything to Draco, Bridget strolled in.
"I took care of the girls and I followed Draco here." She told them, explaining how she knew where they were to meet.
"Good." Voldemort said with a stern look plastered on his face. "We don't want any mix ups this time."
"No, sir." Lucius replied. "All necessary... er... precautions have been taken. The boy is here. The girls are there and can't interfere." He stopped for a moment and looked into the night sky. "We couldn't have chosen a better night. That Lupin character is a werewolf now. Werewolves wouldn't even dare come into this pit of the forest." He was feeling much braver since he was now in Lord Voldemort's presence.
"Good." Voldemort said with a serious and stern look plastered on his face. "Then let's begin making the potion."
They were soon adding chemical after chemical into the cauldron that was prepared for them there. Draco noticed that they hadn't used any of those ingredients in Potions class but then realized that was probably because they were mostly poisons and things like that. Lord Voldemort was confident, though, when he assured them that the potion would not kill Harry at first. They'd need him alive for the Deprovack procedure to work. That was the name of this process. What they had to do was get Harry to drink enough of the potion so he'd become painfully paralyzed. Then they'd need to use the Deprovack procedure to suck all of Harry's magical abilities out of him. At the end of this procedure, Harry'd be so weak that any spell used against him could be fatal - even the simplest. Also, being that he'd have no magical powers left in him, he'd have no chance of trying to block the spells. His wand wouldn't work either.
Voldemort was planning to make Harry suffer as much as possible before killing him. It was flawless. Nothing could go wrong, Lucius told them all. After about twenty minutes, the potion was complete and it was time to wake Harry up so he'd be able to drink it.
Lucius went over to Harry and muttered, "Exarte pentrinum!" He then stepped back with his wand still raised as Harry started to come out of his petrified state.
"What the-" Harry began, looking around to see where he was. When his eyes fell upon the four of them, he shouted, "FUCK!"
Draco smirked and replied, "Oh, we missed you too." Then he shot snake-like cords out of the end of his wand. The cords ties Harry's ankles and knees together. They also pulled him hands together behind his back. This happened so fast that Harry didn't even notice he was being tied up until he found himself on his knees with his hands behind his back, unable to stand.
"Get the fuck off!" He shouted as Draco and the others walked closer. Lucius and the rest were very amused watching Harry struggle to stand up. The cords were thin, but unbreakable, and as Harry struggled to free himself from them they just dug deeper into his skin. His arms were throbbing in pain. He could've sworn the cords got tighter around his wrists. He could no longer feel his hands.
"Now, now Harry. There's no use struggling." Lord Voldemort spoke for the first time in the past half hour. "Just drink your medicine like a good boy." He teased, grabbing Harry by the jaw. Harry jerked his head away
After an extremely messy force feedng, Lord Voldemort and his minions successfully got Harry to swallow the potion. This left Harry in a paralyzed state of some sort. He could not move a single muscle and all he could feel was a cold, icy liquid running through his veins all throughout his body. The coldness reached to the very tips of his fingers and all the way down to his toes. They watched him anxiously while he lay helpless on his stomach.
Voldemort, Lucius, Draco and Bridget just stood and stared and waited. At this point, Harry was so cold that he thought he'd freeze to death. He partially wished that they'd get it over with and put him out of his misery. Unfortunatly for him, they sat there waiting for a little more than three hours. One of them would jump excitedly as Harry involuntarily twitched his leg every so often.
Just as Harry was wondering when the cold would leave, a force came over his body that caused him to go rigid. He cried out in agony because this was a pain much worse than that cold feeling he had before. Draco and Bridget watched in astonishment as Harry's whole body turned a crimson red. He cried out in pain again. It felt as though every bone in his body was being broken and his skin was now tingling with a horrible burning sensation.
Is this dying? he thought. Is this what my parents felt? Is this what Cedric felt? Cedric Diggory's death was a horrible memory that still haunted Harry... especially since he saw it in person and realized that his parents died the very same way. Is this it? he was still asking himself as the pain steadily grew worse. He had never physically felt anything so awful in his life.
Lord Voldemort finally stood up and the rest of them followed suit. "Very good." He beckoned for Lucius and Draco to move closer. Then he motioned his hands in a way that told Bridget it was her time to leave. She nodded and sulked back further and further away from the middle of the forest.
When she was out of sight and earshot, Voldemort turned back to face Harry, who was still experiancing quite a lot of pain. Harry looked up at Lord Voldemort with tears in his eyes; streaking down his face.
"Well, look at the famous Harry Potter now, won't you?" Lord Voldemort said. Harry only stared at him. "Not so special now, are you? Not so powerful now!" He had a crazed look on his face as he gave a horrible, screechy laugh.
Unable to fight back, Draco sat Harry up against a tree stump. "Now Harry," Voldemort spoke again. "The rest is simple. You just sit here while we do all the work. And don't worry about the sharp pain through your chest - that only means that it's working properly." Harry sneered as he watched Lord Voldemort step closer, now holding a black book. Lucius and Draco Malfoy stood next to him on each side. Lord Voldemort pointed to something written in the book and they understood. All at once they began to chant something. But the second verse of this little chant, Harry felt something in his chest - like a knife. No, not a knife... like... well, something was being pulled out of him. He thought his insides would just fall out because something was pulling at him so hard.
Harry let out a moan as something large, silver and undefinate floated out of his mouth and into the tip of Lord Voldemort's wand. He gasped for breath, feeling as though his chest had just been yanked through his mouth.
He looked up at the sky, almost begging the heavens for help, and he noticed that it was getting somewhat lighter. Not much - the sun was just starting to rise. The moon was still in the sky.
At the end of two hours, Harry's throat was dry and blood was flowing freely from one side of his mouth. Over fifty silver blobs had been sucked out of him. He was very pale - more than usual - and his bright green eyes were now glazed and dark. He now had very little life left in him and Voldemort, Draco and Lucius were doing their very best to suck it all out of him. He didn't know how much longer he'd be able to survive what they were doing to him but he doubted it would be very long. His breaths were now short and he was wheezing. His head was throbbing and he was shaking all over. The lightning bolted scar on his forehead was bleeding as well and it hurt more than anything.
Harry was lying on his back - his chest moving up and down rapidly - looking at the sky. It was no longer dark. The sun was rising in the sky and the moon was no where in sight. Harry could hardly see, though, for the pain was blinding him. This throbbing pain which started at his scar and flowed throughout him was causing him to be helpless against whatever they were doing.
At this point Lord Voldemort, Lucius Malfoy and Draco Malfoy stopped chanting. Lucius and Draco tucked their wands into their robes. Harry knew this wasn't over, though. Oh no... what's next? he thought.
Lucius and Draco seemed to have backed off for the time being. They were now just sitting back to back on a tree stump. Lord Voldemort, on the other hand, began advancing towards Harry. He stood next to him, looking down and chuckling at the sight of him.
"You're finally going to meet your parents, Harry. Yes, you'll be with them soon." Voldemort said darkly. He raised his wand and Harry winced. Any second now... he was thinking.
"Avada Kedavra!" Lord Voldemort shouted.
At the same time, somebody else screamed, "NOOOO!" and lunged at him from the side. The spell that Voldemort cast did not hit Harry's heart as it was supposed to, but it hit his stomach. Harry's chest hitched and his eyes grew wide as Remus Lupin wrestled down Lord Voldemort. In the rush of things, Lord Voldemort's wand got snapped in two. Draco and Lucius weren't even there at the time. They'd left before Voldemort even said the spell.
Standing up, Remus pointed his wand at Lord Voldemort. "I knew you were still alive." Voldemort snarled. "You think you've won. Take a look around. You've lost. You're too late. I'll be back for you before you know it." Then he apparated, realizing that he wasn't going to win any more than he already had.
Remus watched and when he was sure that Voldemort was gone for the time being, he turned to Harry. Harry was still breathing, amazingly. Since the spell only hit his stomach, it was taking some time to work its way up to his heart. Lupin ran to his side and held him up a bit.
"Harry. Harry, no! Hold on... just... hold on." Harry gave him a small smile. "You're going to be fine." Remus tried to assure him, but his tone told Harry otherwise. His voice was cracking and he was crying. "C'mon Harry. Just... just hold on. You can't die now... no!" But Harry's chest hitched and he exhaled a great breath. Remus waited but Harry didn't inhale again. "NO!" He cried, hugging Harry.
Lupin reluctantly stopped hugging Harry and lifted his body, still sobbing. He carried Harry back to the Hogwarts castle. Remus was shaking and more distraught than he'd ever been before. The only other time he had ever felt this way was with the news of James and Lily's deaths.
Chapter 18: Behind Enemy Lines
Roxeanne and I sat in The Room - I still had my legs crossed - waiting for a hero of some sort. I heard voices at a distance and they were getting closer.
"How much longer are we going to have to sit here?" Roxeanne asked in a whiny voice. "I mean, the man did say he'd be back!"
"Shush!" I snapped. "Listen." The voices got closer every second. I soon recognized each voice. One was Draco's. The other was Lucius Malfoy's and the last one was Bridget's.
They were soon close enough for me to over hear their conversation. "Oh, brilliant job Draco!" Bridget said angrily. "You've let Harry escape once again!"
"Shut the hell up! You were supposed to be guarding the exit, anyway!"
"Both of you shut your mouths before I do it for you." Lucius spoke up. "Where are the girls?"
"Still in there." Bridget said.
"And Potter?" He asked. Draco looked at Bridget and Bridget looked back at Draco. Neither of them said anything. "Find him." Lucius said in a furious voice that reminded me horribly of Professor Snape's.
"I'll do that, father."
"And I'll guard the girls."
"I'll be waiting." Lucius said. I heard Bridget walk away. "And Draco," He called. "Don't disappoint me again."
"Yes, father."
Then I turned to Roxeanne. "Please tell me I'm hearing things." I begged.
"He'll kill him! Harry hasn't got his wand!" Roxeanne cried. I nodded. "We've got to do something Krystal! Don't just sit there nodding!"
"Well what do you want me to do?! There aren't exactly very many options here are there?" Roxeanne looked as if she was about to say something else but a deafening growl came over the entire place.
"POTTER!" Roxeanne and I gasped. I was about to get up when I heard another shout, just as loud as the first.
"MALFOY!" Now I bolted up.
"HARRY!"
"Krystal?" Roxeanne asked.
"KRYSTAL!?" Harry shouted. "ROXEANNE?!"
"POTTER!" Malfoy shouted again. "Potter." He said, calmer. They were right next to the room, but we couldn't see them.
"Malfoy." Harry said calmly, as to acknowledge his presence. "Let them go." He said sternly.
"No. I think I'll keep them here for the time being, thank you very much."
"Let them go." He said. His voice was growing fierce.
"You've always got to be the hero, don't you Potter? Can't ever let things go. Always have to save the day. Its been that way since you were a baby and now, once again, you live up to your name. Famous Harry Potter. That's what the world will always see you as, you know. The 'boy who lived' will always save the day... until I'm through with you." Draco was trying to talk him down again, like he had right before he let out the dementor.
"Shut up, Malfoy. You're nothing but a lap dog for your father. At least if I can save someone tonight, I'll be happy with myself. You, though... you'll never be happy. Because all you do is run around doing your father's dirty work. You'll never be happy... You'll never be accepted. You'll always be a rat." Harry attempted to keep this a magic-free fight for as long as possible. He was, after all, without his wand. It was too late, though. Draco immediately reached for his wand.
Bridget allowed a wide smile to spread on her face. "Do it." She muttered. "Now. Do it now!" She was saying to herself, as if Draco could hear her. It was almost as if he could because as soon as she said that, he shouted a curse.
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Draco shouted. I heard a thud that I knew must have been Harry's body. I closed my eyes as though I had a headache. Then I heard Bridget speak up.
"You petrified him?! You could've killed him! What's wrong with you?!"
"Lord Voldemort wants him alive. You heard him."
"Well that's just ridiculous, isn't it? He wants Potter alive... so he can kill him! Why can't we just kill him while we've got him?!"
"DON'T QUESTION YOUR MASTER!"
"Some master." She scoffed. "The boy he wants killed is in his grasp again but he won't let us take care of it!"
"Don't make me kill you." He said casually. I tried to hold back a laugh and Roxeanne looked at me like I was crazy.
"You're laughing?" She asked in disbelief. "What the hell is so funny? Harry is petrified and they're about to take him to You-Know-Who!"
I sobered immediately. "I don't know... Don't look at me like that!"
"We've got to get out of here!" I nodded in agreement. "DRACO!" Roxeanne shouted, banging on one of the walls. "DRACO GET OVER HERE!" She was furious. I joined her. We both called him over but he ignored us. We knew he could hear us but chose not to answer. "Damn it! We're stuck here for God knows how long!"
Outside of the Room, I could hear Bridget and Draco struggling to carry Harry. "We can't let them do this!"
"But what could we do?"
"... We can't do anything!" I moaned. Draco and Bridget were successfully getting away with Harry and they were going to Lord Voldemort, obviously. I looked around for a moment, and it hit me.
"You realize what this is, don't you?" I asked Roxeanne.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"This." I said, waving my hand around the room. "We're in a cage." Roxeanne's eyes widened.
"Oh God. And we can't do one bloody thing."
"We're trapped." I slumped down in a corner. "This sucks." She nodded in agreement. I stood up again though, because Draco and Bridget were walking through the room carrying a body that could only belong to Harry. They just stood in front of us, outside of the walled in area so that they could get out of the room easily.
Draco turned to Bridget, completely ignoring our presence. "Deal with them." He told her, nodding towards the two of us. "I'll take Potter."
"Where?" She asked. I was thinking the same thing.
"Don't you know?" He asked her in amazement. "You know where Lord Voldemort is staying, don't you?" She shook her head. He chuckled. "Well, perhaps its best that you don't yet. I'll be back to get you. Do what you want with the two of them." He smirked and walked away with Harry. Bridget stood in the middle of the room.
"Too bad. You won't get to say goodbye." She said with fake pity in her voice. I knew she was right though. It was too late to do anything. Harry was long gone.
Lucius Malfoy had come out of the Room and was headed for the Dark Forest. He tried his hardest to ignore the noises around, although he couldn't help being somewhat afraid. He kept turning around and then telling himself to remain calm. Lord Voldemort wasn't the only evil in the wizarding world. There were plenty of evil animals and such in the Dark Forest that didn't care one bit that he was in Voldemort's inner circle. Then a noise behind him - like a twig snapping - startled him so that he stood in his spot for a good two minutes. He jumped again at the sound of a howling animal. It sounded as though it was in pain. He shook it off and continued walking.
Lucius didn't realize that he was being watched at that moment. He wasn't being watched intentionally, however. What was watching him was in no state to understand what was going on in its own mind. Although it was taking in the fact that Lucius Malfoy was headed deep into the Dark Forest, it's mind could not register that idea or take any action at the time.
He continued walking and found an area at the heart of the Dark Forest. There were no trees there although it was surrounded by an unfathomable evil that made trees, darkness and animals unnecessary. He looked around and noticed an unusually large cauldron - but it was empty. Then, right next to the cauldron, he saw vials of liquid. The liquid in each vial was a different color and a different substance all together. Lucius didn't recognize any of these chemicals.
Another figure stepped into the very same area. "Master." Lucius Malfoy greeted Lord Voldemort.
"Ah, yes, Lucius." Voldemort replied, turning around to face him. "The boy." He demanded. Before Lucius could answer, Voldemort's dilated eyes jumped as he looked around. "Lucius. where is the boy?"
"My son, Draco, is bringing him."
"Can he be trusted?"
"Of course." Lucius recoiled as though he had been insulted.
"Good. Then he should be here soon. I'm counting on this Lucius. Don't disappoint me." Lucius nodded. Only minutes later, Draco entered with Harry floating limply behind him. Lucius didn't speak to him but looked at Lord Voldemort.
Then Draco said, "I've brought him." He used his wand to drag Harry's levitated body so that it was now in front of him, facing Voldemort. Then he tucked his wand back in his robes quickly and allowed Harry's body to drop to the grassy earth.
A wide, evil grin spread over Lord Voldemort's face. He was now human now, just very weak. Now that he had Harry, he'd be able to finish him off and return to full power.
"Very good Draco. You've done well. Now little is left to be done. All that is needed is this potion." He showed them the potion he was talking about in a small book. "It is very complex as you might notice. I'll need the help of you both." They nodded in agreement.
"Of course, Master." Lucius said. Draco was still nodding, looking very foolish. His father shot him a threatening look. Before Lucius could say anything to Draco, Bridget strolled in.
"I took care of the girls and I followed Draco here." She told them, explaining how she knew where they were to meet.
"Good." Voldemort said with a stern look plastered on his face. "We don't want any mix ups this time."
"No, sir." Lucius replied. "All necessary... er... precautions have been taken. The boy is here. The girls are there and can't interfere." He stopped for a moment and looked into the night sky. "We couldn't have chosen a better night. That Lupin character is a werewolf now. Werewolves wouldn't even dare come into this pit of the forest." He was feeling much braver since he was now in Lord Voldemort's presence.
"Good." Voldemort said with a serious and stern look plastered on his face. "Then let's begin making the potion."
They were soon adding chemical after chemical into the cauldron that was prepared for them there. Draco noticed that they hadn't used any of those ingredients in Potions class but then realized that was probably because they were mostly poisons and things like that. Lord Voldemort was confident, though, when he assured them that the potion would not kill Harry at first. They'd need him alive for the Deprovack procedure to work. That was the name of this process. What they had to do was get Harry to drink enough of the potion so he'd become painfully paralyzed. Then they'd need to use the Deprovack procedure to suck all of Harry's magical abilities out of him. At the end of this procedure, Harry'd be so weak that any spell used against him could be fatal - even the simplest. Also, being that he'd have no magical powers left in him, he'd have no chance of trying to block the spells. His wand wouldn't work either.
Voldemort was planning to make Harry suffer as much as possible before killing him. It was flawless. Nothing could go wrong, Lucius told them all. After about twenty minutes, the potion was complete and it was time to wake Harry up so he'd be able to drink it.
Lucius went over to Harry and muttered, "Exarte pentrinum!" He then stepped back with his wand still raised as Harry started to come out of his petrified state.
"What the-" Harry began, looking around to see where he was. When his eyes fell upon the four of them, he shouted, "FUCK!"
Draco smirked and replied, "Oh, we missed you too." Then he shot snake-like cords out of the end of his wand. The cords ties Harry's ankles and knees together. They also pulled him hands together behind his back. This happened so fast that Harry didn't even notice he was being tied up until he found himself on his knees with his hands behind his back, unable to stand.
"Get the fuck off!" He shouted as Draco and the others walked closer. Lucius and the rest were very amused watching Harry struggle to stand up. The cords were thin, but unbreakable, and as Harry struggled to free himself from them they just dug deeper into his skin. His arms were throbbing in pain. He could've sworn the cords got tighter around his wrists. He could no longer feel his hands.
"Now, now Harry. There's no use struggling." Lord Voldemort spoke for the first time in the past half hour. "Just drink your medicine like a good boy." He teased, grabbing Harry by the jaw. Harry jerked his head away
After an extremely messy force feedng, Lord Voldemort and his minions successfully got Harry to swallow the potion. This left Harry in a paralyzed state of some sort. He could not move a single muscle and all he could feel was a cold, icy liquid running through his veins all throughout his body. The coldness reached to the very tips of his fingers and all the way down to his toes. They watched him anxiously while he lay helpless on his stomach.
Voldemort, Lucius, Draco and Bridget just stood and stared and waited. At this point, Harry was so cold that he thought he'd freeze to death. He partially wished that they'd get it over with and put him out of his misery. Unfortunatly for him, they sat there waiting for a little more than three hours. One of them would jump excitedly as Harry involuntarily twitched his leg every so often.
Just as Harry was wondering when the cold would leave, a force came over his body that caused him to go rigid. He cried out in agony because this was a pain much worse than that cold feeling he had before. Draco and Bridget watched in astonishment as Harry's whole body turned a crimson red. He cried out in pain again. It felt as though every bone in his body was being broken and his skin was now tingling with a horrible burning sensation.
Is this dying? he thought. Is this what my parents felt? Is this what Cedric felt? Cedric Diggory's death was a horrible memory that still haunted Harry... especially since he saw it in person and realized that his parents died the very same way. Is this it? he was still asking himself as the pain steadily grew worse. He had never physically felt anything so awful in his life.
Lord Voldemort finally stood up and the rest of them followed suit. "Very good." He beckoned for Lucius and Draco to move closer. Then he motioned his hands in a way that told Bridget it was her time to leave. She nodded and sulked back further and further away from the middle of the forest.
When she was out of sight and earshot, Voldemort turned back to face Harry, who was still experiancing quite a lot of pain. Harry looked up at Lord Voldemort with tears in his eyes; streaking down his face.
"Well, look at the famous Harry Potter now, won't you?" Lord Voldemort said. Harry only stared at him. "Not so special now, are you? Not so powerful now!" He had a crazed look on his face as he gave a horrible, screechy laugh.
Unable to fight back, Draco sat Harry up against a tree stump. "Now Harry," Voldemort spoke again. "The rest is simple. You just sit here while we do all the work. And don't worry about the sharp pain through your chest - that only means that it's working properly." Harry sneered as he watched Lord Voldemort step closer, now holding a black book. Lucius and Draco Malfoy stood next to him on each side. Lord Voldemort pointed to something written in the book and they understood. All at once they began to chant something. But the second verse of this little chant, Harry felt something in his chest - like a knife. No, not a knife... like... well, something was being pulled out of him. He thought his insides would just fall out because something was pulling at him so hard.
Harry let out a moan as something large, silver and undefinate floated out of his mouth and into the tip of Lord Voldemort's wand. He gasped for breath, feeling as though his chest had just been yanked through his mouth.
He looked up at the sky, almost begging the heavens for help, and he noticed that it was getting somewhat lighter. Not much - the sun was just starting to rise. The moon was still in the sky.
At the end of two hours, Harry's throat was dry and blood was flowing freely from one side of his mouth. Over fifty silver blobs had been sucked out of him. He was very pale - more than usual - and his bright green eyes were now glazed and dark. He now had very little life left in him and Voldemort, Draco and Lucius were doing their very best to suck it all out of him. He didn't know how much longer he'd be able to survive what they were doing to him but he doubted it would be very long. His breaths were now short and he was wheezing. His head was throbbing and he was shaking all over. The lightning bolted scar on his forehead was bleeding as well and it hurt more than anything.
Harry was lying on his back - his chest moving up and down rapidly - looking at the sky. It was no longer dark. The sun was rising in the sky and the moon was no where in sight. Harry could hardly see, though, for the pain was blinding him. This throbbing pain which started at his scar and flowed throughout him was causing him to be helpless against whatever they were doing.
At this point Lord Voldemort, Lucius Malfoy and Draco Malfoy stopped chanting. Lucius and Draco tucked their wands into their robes. Harry knew this wasn't over, though. Oh no... what's next? he thought.
Lucius and Draco seemed to have backed off for the time being. They were now just sitting back to back on a tree stump. Lord Voldemort, on the other hand, began advancing towards Harry. He stood next to him, looking down and chuckling at the sight of him.
"You're finally going to meet your parents, Harry. Yes, you'll be with them soon." Voldemort said darkly. He raised his wand and Harry winced. Any second now... he was thinking.
"Avada Kedavra!" Lord Voldemort shouted.
At the same time, somebody else screamed, "NOOOO!" and lunged at him from the side. The spell that Voldemort cast did not hit Harry's heart as it was supposed to, but it hit his stomach. Harry's chest hitched and his eyes grew wide as Remus Lupin wrestled down Lord Voldemort. In the rush of things, Lord Voldemort's wand got snapped in two. Draco and Lucius weren't even there at the time. They'd left before Voldemort even said the spell.
Standing up, Remus pointed his wand at Lord Voldemort. "I knew you were still alive." Voldemort snarled. "You think you've won. Take a look around. You've lost. You're too late. I'll be back for you before you know it." Then he apparated, realizing that he wasn't going to win any more than he already had.
Remus watched and when he was sure that Voldemort was gone for the time being, he turned to Harry. Harry was still breathing, amazingly. Since the spell only hit his stomach, it was taking some time to work its way up to his heart. Lupin ran to his side and held him up a bit.
"Harry. Harry, no! Hold on... just... hold on." Harry gave him a small smile. "You're going to be fine." Remus tried to assure him, but his tone told Harry otherwise. His voice was cracking and he was crying. "C'mon Harry. Just... just hold on. You can't die now... no!" But Harry's chest hitched and he exhaled a great breath. Remus waited but Harry didn't inhale again. "NO!" He cried, hugging Harry.
Lupin reluctantly stopped hugging Harry and lifted his body, still sobbing. He carried Harry back to the Hogwarts castle. Remus was shaking and more distraught than he'd ever been before. The only other time he had ever felt this way was with the news of James and Lily's deaths.