Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for the plot and the owl from the previous chapter. In this chapter, I used a quote from the Animaniacs….aah that was a good show. Okay, back to Harry Potter.

A/N: I replaced "accio" with "ascendio" because I can. Also, this chapter is rated PG-13 for sexual related humor. I couldn't resist…

                  Chapter 2: The Sacrifice

Harry woke up late the next morning, annoyed that he didn't sleep as well as he usually does. He looked over to his left where Draco was supposed to be sleeping. However, he was gone. Where could he have run off? I hope nothing bad happened to him! We're still in a dangerous area, Harry thought worriedly. After putting on his glasses, Harry searched the woods next to the large clearing and the clearing itself. He couldn't find Draco. It's all my fault! I shouldn't have let him out of my sight. Then Harry thought of one place he hasn't checked – the lake. There was a lake on the other side of the clearing. But what would he be doing there? he wondered.

Harry rushed over to the lake. He found Draco, but he was…naked. He looked so perfect for the water because he was so graceful in motion. The warmth of the bright sunlight seemed to dance over his body. His hair shimmered and made him look godly (again, not that Harry noticed.) Harry was staring at Draco accidentally. Just when he was about to look away, Draco caught his gaze.

"Potter, I didn't think you were that fascinated by me," Draco said with a hint of sarcasm. Harry was speechless. "Or is it because," Draco said as he looked down "You've never seen one this big before?" Harry's mouth gaped. He was shocked that Draco had such a perverted mind, although he should have suspected it before. Harry's face turned red and for a moment he was frozen in place. Then he ran away. "Geez, I was just kidding," Draco mumbled under his breath.

Harry was still embarrassed when he went to conjure up breakfast with his wand. "Ascendio pancakes!" he shouted, with his mind still reluctantly on Draco's…um…wand. The pancakes appeared and Draco joined him (while fully clothed) for breakfast.

"Potter," Draco said seriously. "About that thing back at the lake, I was just kidding. You know that, right?"

"Yes, I know," Harry lied. He was relieved to hear this news.  The truth was that Harry had never really seen something that large before. There was a small moment of silence after this. Then Harry thought of something to ask Draco.

"Why did the dementors send me a letter to go to 3 Maynard Avenue when everyone thought I was dead?" Harry asked curiously, while wanting to change the subject.

"I thought you would have figured that out by now. Anyway, the owl found you by accident. That note was not intended for you. The dementors were looking for new bait. I think they were getting tired of me. They wanted to kill me in front of some random person and then kill that person after I died. I could tell they were honestly as shocked as I was to see you."

"Is that a good thing?

"Unfortunately enough, it was."

Harry managed a small smile and Draco gave him an unnecessary glare in response to that.

"Which way is 'Ogwats from here," Harry asked anxiously.

"That way," Draco said while pointing to the woods.

After the boys were done with breakfast, they set off into the woods. There was a dirt trail in the woods, so they would follow the path easily. The woods looked rather ordinary, with animals gathering food and thick, tall trees. They didn't say much of anything since entering the woods, until they came across a small pond.

"What's a pond doing in the middle of the woods?" Draco asked after he stopped to look at it.

"I don't know." Harry said while shrugging his shoulders. Then he leaned closer to the pond and saw his reflection staring back at him. "Hellooooooo, nurse!" he said with a surprised smile on his face.

"What are you talking about? Is this another one of your silly little games, Potter?"

"No, Malfoy. This is the first time I've seen my reflection in two years. Wow I look good!" he exclaimed.

"I hate to break the news to you Potter. No wait. Actually I love to break the news to you, but that's beside the point. The point is that you're not as good looking as you think you are. That's just the ripple in the water. In fact, I've seen trolls better looking than you." With this rude remark, Draco gave his famous evil sneer and a small laugh. However, he was the only one laughing.

"Can't you ever learn to treat people with respect? Especially me, since I saved your life and all."

"Well I'm sooo sorry that I made precious little Potter upset," he said sarcastically.

Harry ignored this comment and replied, "Come on. Let's go," as they walked further down the path. I was wrong about Malfoy. I do know the real him. He's mean and inconsiderate to other people. He's just an annoying git! If Harry weren't trying to save the world and find his friends, he would just ditch Malfoy right now.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted when he heard voices from deep inside the woods. The whispers were barely audible. Draco could hear them also, because he stopped short. They looked at each other and apparently; they both had the same idea. They mover closer into the woods and abandoned the trail. They both were very careful not to make any noise while maneuvering along the twigs and trees. The voices grew louder as they slowly mover towards them. Finally, they could see where the talking came from. They were careful to hide behind thick trees while observing a small group of Death Eaters. They wore long dark capes with hoods over their faces, so it was difficult to see most of them. As they talked, however, Harry knew some of their voices and as they moved, he could see some of their faces. He recognized Bellatrix LeStrange, Lucius Malfoy, and Rookwood. He didn't recognize the other two. He didn't know who one of them was. The other one kept the face completely concealed and didn't say a word. There was a large table in the middle of the group. The members were sitting in a circle around it. Harry and Draco hid behind trees that were adjacent to each other. The Death Eaters seemed to be oblivious to the fact that they were being watched. Lucius stood up, while wanting to make some sort of a speech.

"Ladies and gentleman," Lucius began. "We are gathered here today to support the rise of our master, the Dark Lord!" Cheers erupted from the small group, except from the one that remained covered with the hood and silent. As they cheered with enthusiasm, Harry could see the Dark Mark on their arms. "On this joyous day, we are all members of the most powerful group in the world!" There were more cheers and hollers. "We must praise the Dark Lord for giving us this splendid opportunity to serve him. After all, we are his most loyal followers, so we must make a human sacrifice in his name. Hail Voldemort!"

"Hail Voldemort!" the audience repeated.

Harry was shocked, although he shouldn't have been. They were about to watch a human sacrifice! He couldn't let this happen. I've got to do something, he told himself.

As if reading Harry's thoughts, Draco grabbed his arm and whispered, "Don't even think about it."

"But we can't let this happen! An innocent person if going to die! We have to stop this!"

"Snap out of it, Potter. You have to just face the fact that you can't be a hero all the time. We should just leave right now, if we know what's good for us," Draco said sensibly.

"I can't believe what you're saying!"

"Well, we're outnumbered five to two. Who do you think will win? After all, they are the most powerful group in the world, according to dear old dad," Draco said with a touch of annoyance on the last three words.

"How do you expect to save the world without putting other people before yourself?" Harry asked quietly.

"I don't even have my wand with me," Draco said while ignoring Harry's question.

Their conversation was cut short when a loud voice said, "Bring out the sacrifice!"

Both Bellatrix and Rookwood stood up and vanished out of sight for a moment. They returned while carrying a person. Bellatrix took the person's feet and Rookwood carried the head as they stepped forward to Lucius.  The sacrifice was sobbing quietly, but the boys could still hear the familiar female cry. She was tied in ropes all over her body that resembled when Draco was tied up by the dementors.  As the cry became louder, Harry recognized the voice of the girl. Then he gasped as he saw her bright red hair. He asked a question out loud, but it was mostly to himself. "Ginny? You're the sacrifice?"