Chapter 51

They both landed on their feet, although Harry almost went headlong into a very thick tree before catching himself. They were standing among the dense portion of the tree line directly behind the manor and Harry watched as Malfoy got his bearings.

"Come on," he motioned as he took off at a tear amid the trees.

Harry followed as quick as he could ducking large limbs and small, hopping over fallen trees and crunching through long dead leaves.

"Where are we going?" he whispered as loud as he thought best.

Malfoy ignored him and continued for another minute before stopping.

Harry caught and tried to even out his breathing because he noticed they were only a few feet from the side of the manor. Malfoy turned and smiled evilly.

"I put this in last summer. Father doesn't know about it."

Harry started at the mismatched stones on the side of the large and windowless wall. "Put what in, where?"

Malfoy took out his wand and tapped on certain protruding stones.

"I got the idea from the entrance to Diagon Alley."

The stones didn't reform and set themselves into an archway, but they did settle into the wall and release some sort of catch opening a hidden door. It was a brilliant piece of workmanship and Harry was quite impressed.

"How did you do it with out magic?"

Malfoy gave him a surreptitious look as if to say, 'I'm a Malfoy. I'm above the statute for underage wizardry' and proceeded through the hidden passageway.

The door closed behind them and the passageway became dark as pitch.

"Lumos!" whispered Malfoy.

A small beam of light issued forth from his wand to show him the way through the darkness.

"Follow me and be very quiet. If we're overheard there is a good likelihood we'll be dead before we leave this house."

Harry nodded silently, and followed close behind trying to make sure his broom didn't bang into anything as they made their way.

After a few minutes they had encountered a set of stone steps that led upward. Harry lost count at fifteen mainly because he bumped into Malfoy who had stopped suddenly.

He looked up and got the 'quiet sign'. Harry nodded and Malfoy listened at what seemed to be the end of the trail. "Cephissus."

In answer to an obvious password, a portrait swung open into an empty bedroom. They stepped out, into the room and closed the portrait back to seal the entrance.

Malfoy crossed the bedroom, listened at the door and cracked it open slightly. He waited for a moment and closed the door back.

"I don't hear anyone, and there's nobody downstairs."

Harry set his broom aside against the wall. "Dumbledore was right. He said that they would be asleep or passed out drunk."

Malfoy agreed. "We can take them out one by one. They're probably using the bedrooms of the secret room under the living area."

Harry tried to make a quick plan. "Do you know how to do an anti-Apparation charm?"

Malfoy shook his head. "That's seventh-year."

"Then we can't risk it until Dumbledore gets here. I'm not going to lose any of them because we messed up his plans. Remus has to do the charm first."

Malfoy didn't like it, but grudgingly agreed. "We can at least place ourselves to strike at the first sign of the fighting."

Harry thought that a good enough idea. "Can we make it to the entrance to the secret room without being seen?"

Malfoy thought about it for a few minutes discarding a number of ideas before deciding on a route. "This way."

Harry grabbed the Firebolt and they headed out. Malfoy crept slowly down the hall stepping over spots in the carpet that Harry supposed was places the floor underneath might have creaked. Up a flight of stairs, across another hallway, through what could only be best described as an armory they stealthily made their way.

Once they had transversed the entire third floor, Harry came to the conclusion that the Order of the Dog Star would have had absolutely nothing to do in the battle except act as a diversion for the main force entering the front. Harry glanced at his watch quickly as he thought of Dumbledore and found they had been gone for close to an hour.

He tapped Malfoy on the shoulder and pointed at his watch signaling they had about four minutes before the battle would take place if Dumbledore had not changed the battle plan. Malfoy nodded and pointed down.

Harry hadn't noticed that they had stopped directly over the living area and were peering over into the vastness that was the main hall. He checked to make sure the hall was clear and climbed on his broom. Malfoy matched his moves. Right when they were about to kick off, a noise startled them and they froze.

It was the sound of someone yawning and walking across the floor underneath them heading toward the back of the house to the kitchen.

Malfoy closed in. "We can be down there in half a sec. Do you want to wait here for the headmaster?"

Harry nodded.

No sooner than Harry agreed to wait did they hear a crashing from down the hall. The battle was on!

They pushed off from the floor and jetted out in the main hall as Death Eaters bled quickly from the downstairs rooms out onto the floor. Harry saw Malfoy using curse after curse on unknown Death Eaters. He did the same, stopping them in their tracks with everything he could think of.

The large ornate front doors blew off their hinges and slid across the entire length of the floor knocking two of the enemy off their feet in the process. jets of red and green light whizzed past Harry's head and he avoided most of the blasts by barrel-rolling and dipping underneath and behind the large chandelier hanging in the middle of the room.

Tonks and Applegate burst into the room followed my "Mad-Eye" and a few people Harry couldn't catch a glimpse of because he was just moving too fast.

"Draco, now!"

He watched as Malfoy took out another Death Eater and they both dove for the living room. With luck on their side for now, the room was clear for the moment. They tossed their brooms behind a large curio cabinet so they wouldn't be found by anyone right away, and checked on the progress of the advancing assault. Harry took an easy shot at a crouching enemy that was holing "Mad-Eye" at bay, stunning him to the floor. He was thanked with a shower of sparks from "Mad-Eye" and Malfoy tugging at his arm.

"We have to go. We're in a very good place for a crossfire."

Harry turned and looked to the opening on the other side. the living room wasn't enclosed. Malfoy was right; this was a bad place to be standing about.

"I need a distraction, Potter, or whoever is guarding the door will have our necks."

Harry looked at the floor. "Where are they likely to be standing?"

Malfoy pointed to the left center and the center of the living room. "Everywhere else is shelves, boxes, and chests."

Harry nodded. "Stand back and get ready."

Malfoy had his hand on a gas lamp that stood out from the wall

"Explodere Utweard! Explodere Utweard!" yelled Harry.

At his first attack Malfoy pushed up on the gas jet and the bookcase it was next to sunk into the wall and opened a stairway leading down. Harry didn't even have time to see what kind of damage he created because of the dust and debris flying everywhere.

Malfoy took the steps two at a time and slid to a stop at the last two.

Harry heard coughing from inside the room and a few groans to go along with it.

"Ready?" he whispered.

Malfoy nodded and they stepped out from behind the wall into the room.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry grabbed a hold of Malfoy's robes and jerked him back as a flash of green light shot passed the blonde's head singing his hair in the process.

"Draco?"

"Father."

"Turned blood-traitor I see," he coughed.

Malfoy frowned. "Not really, Father. I just came along for the ride. Had a score to settle."

Harry couldn't wait any longer. "Where's Voldemort, Malfoy?" he yelled.

He heard the coughing again. "Is that Potter you've brought along with you, Draco?"

Draco chanced a quick look around the corner and almost regretted it when a stunning spell took out a chunk of wall nearest his head and threw him back against the staircase.

Harry didn't dare turn his back to check on him. He had to trust that the younger Malfoy was knocked out, dead, or could take care of himself. He knelt down and threw a disarming spell around the corner in vague hopes that someone would have been hit.

"Yes, it is you, Potter. I recognize that pathetic charm of yours."

Harry wasn't rising to the bait and stood as tall as he could. "We've brought the whole gang, Malfoy. Half the Aurors in the Ministry. Some have come out of retirement just to come kick your bosses butt. Dumbledore's even here."

That brought a curse from the elder Malfoy.

Harry heard a stirring from behind him and a whisper in his ear. "He's at the back corner of the room with a bookshelf on top of him. If we go in low we can avoid his curses."

Harry turned and replied, "There's nobody else in there?"

Malfoy shook his head. "Not unless they are buried under that rubble you sent down on them."

Harry didn't buy it. He had heard a number of coughs and groans.

"They're there. I heard them."

Malfoy was getting itchy to have his revenge.

Harry tried another tactic. "I'll go up and distract him. You take him out."

Malfoy nodded and grinned. Finally something he would enjoy. Harry didn't know if he totally agreed with what he was doing. He knew that Draco would kill his father for what he had done to his mother, but it wasn't Harry's choice to make. Just as it was his duty to avenge his own parent's deaths.

He trotted upstairs as quietly as possible as not to alert the elder Malfoy of his intentions, and pulled the bookcase open. He looked both ways and saw that the coast was temporarily clear and stepped out. The bookcase slid back into place and a familiar voice called out to him.

"It's the wee little Potty, back again with help, this time."

He spun on his heel but it was too late.

"Crucio!"

The searing pain shot through his body like peppered lightning, making each nerve-ending explode with pain. He fell to the floor screaming in agony, and abruptly it stopped.

"Your friends are being held back, wee Potty, and it is just a matter of time before the Dark Lord destroys that annoying anti-Apparation charm. Crucio!"

Another jolt of searing pulse throbbed its way through his body, but this one lasted for much longer. Just when he'd though he was going to die from the pain it stopped again. It was almost like he couldn't form a coherent thought except for the one running in his head to escape by any means necessary. He raised his wand in a shaking hand and the scarred face of Bellatrix Lestrange laughed maniacally.

"What are you going to do, wee Potty? Curse me? It took a month for them to break that Popping Boil curse you gave me. After I am through with you, you'll wish you were so lucky."

Then Harry saw what he wanted. Over the shoulder of Lestrange he spotted the Malfoy Family Crest full as life hanging on the wall: A dragon holding something in it's foreclaws.

"I'll give you first shot, Curse me!" She kept laughing like this was the greatest entertainment on the face of the Earth.

"Accio Broadsword!" Harry spit out with the last of his strength.

The sword exploded out of the Dragon's claws and zoomed across the room. Bellatrix Lestrange turned just in time to catch the deadly point, deep in her chest, and the laughing finally ceased with a small gasp as her body flew in the air and down into the secret room below.

The last thing Harry remembered was the yelling of an Unforgivable Curse and the looming face of Draco Malfoy a minute later.