11/4/03: The action picks up. Thanks to everyone for the reviews!
15. Confrontations
"Alright, what the bloody hell is going on?" Harry demanded, as Crabbe and Goyle moved to stand on either side of him.
"It's simply, really, Potter, even for a half-blood like yourself to understand," Malfoy said condescendingly. The door opened, and to Harry's surprise, Lucius Malfoy walked in.
"Ah, if it isn't the famous Harry Potter," he said in an oily voice as he tossed an object towards Harry. Harry instinctively caught the shiny object, the blood draining from his face when he recognized what it was – the necklace Hermione was wearing this morning.
"Wha-"
Lucius sneered. "Your mudblood is fine – for now. The Dark Lord has taken the gemstone, Potter - my boy here has finally shown that he has some use after all. The Dark Lord likes the world as it is, and he has taken the mudblood to ensure that you do nothing to disrupt his carefully laid plans. Once the mists disappear from the stone and the spell is permanent, the girl will be returned."
Harry seethed, itching to wipe that smirk off of Malfoy's face, both of them. But the three wands pointing at him gave him second thoughts. "You…you lured Hermione away. You're the school governor who wanted to talk to her!"
Lucius nodded. "The Dark Lord never said you were stupid."
"So, Voldemort gets the stone, and Hermione will be returned unharmed?"
After recovering from hearing Voldemort's name spoken aloud, Lucius laughed. "Did I say 'unharmed?' I suppose we'll have to see, won't we? Oh, and don't even think about alerting any of the professors, as if they would believe you anyways. They're all being watched by faithful Slytherins."
"But…how?" Harry asked. "How did you know about the spell?"
"Ha!" Draco said derisively. "You honestly thought I wouldn't notice an envelope appear out of thin air? I was there, Potter! I heard everything!"
"But..,I put a locking charm-"
Draco snorted. "Yes, but I think a silencing charm would have served you better."
Harry cursed himself for forgetting something so basic. He was so shocked by the revelations of the letter that it completely slipped his mind. "You won't get away with this," Harry said lamely.
"Is that the best that you can do, Potter?" Lucius and son shared a laugh.
Harry stood unmoving. There had to be someway of getting out of this mess, but without his wand, things were looking bleak. Harry could physically overpower Draco, but the two brutes were another story. Plus, even though Lucius hadn't drawn his wand yet, he had to have it somewhere-
The door to the classroom opened, and for a split second Harry felt a moment of hope. "What, did you start without me?" Ted Nott said in a light voice as he closed the door behind him. "Mr. Malfoy," he said politely, before moving to stand behind Draco and point his wand at Harry.
"Ah, so good of you to finally join us," Draco said sarcastically. "I just explained the situation to Potter, though he looks a bit unhappy with it all," he said tauntingly.
"Well, Draco, he's not the only one," Ted said, moving his wand so that the tip rested against the back of Malfoy's neck.
"Nott! What the hell do you think you're doing!"
"Shut up, Draco!" Ted said, wearily eyeing the others. The two large Slytherins boys seemed to be surprised into inaction, and Lucius looked mildly amused. "Drop the wands."
"What are you planning, huh Ted? You gonna take us all on? You think you can take down my father?"
"If I have to," Ted said resolutely. "Now, drop the wands or else I'll make you." Harry privately thought that Ted should just stun Draco and be done with it.
"You blood-traitor!" Draco roared in anger as he dropped his and Harry's wands.
"You stupid git!" Ted yelled back. "Just because my father is a Death Eater doesn't mean I am!"
Malfoy whirled around and grabbed Ted's arm, and the two began struggling. Harry used the distraction to his advantage by kicking out savagely with his leg, striking Goyle painfully on the instep. Before Goyle fell to his knees, Harry struck Crabbe in the nose with his elbow, producing a yelp of pain from the larger man. Harry lunged forward for his wand while the two Slytherins recovered. Harry grabbed his wand and turned quickly, rolling to the side as a blast of red light stuck the ground beside him. Harry muttered an incantation and, with a flick of his wrist, both larger boys were violently thrown backwards by a blast of air. Harry turned quickly and instinctively ducked as another jet of light slammed past him. The elder Malfoy had finally drawn his wand.
"Give up, Potter. You have no chance against me."
Harry and Lucius simultaneously sent spells at one another; Harry's stunning spell seemed to gobble up Lucius' spell, and he was flung backwards where he crumpled to the ground. Harry took a quick glance to make sure that Crabbe and Goyle were still out cold before looking to see how Ted was faring. Not good. Draco stood over Ted body, wand in hand, with a look of triumph in his face. The triumphant look quickly disappeared when Draco saw Harry, wand in hand. Draco looked around frantically, until his eyes landed on the prone bodies of his two cronies and that of his father.
"Now Potter, let's be reasonable…" Draco stammered.
"Reasonable?! You expect me to-" Harry was interrupted as Draco quickly shot off a stunning spell. But Harry was quicker and had cast a shield before Malfoy had finished his incantation. The red light struck Harry's shield and zoomed back towards Malfoy, hitting him in the chest and sending him sprawling to the ground. Harry quickly conjured ropes to bind the Malfoys, Crabbe, and Goyle. The threats neutralized, Harry ran over to check on Ted. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Ted was still breathing, though shallow. "Ted, Ted, can you hear me?" Harry asked. No response. Harry muttered "Enervate" and Ted's eyes blinked open.
"Harry?" he asked weakly.
"Yes, it's me, Ted. How do you feel?"
"Like I was hit by a bludger…or ten," he said with a smile. Harry grinned and helped his friend to sit up. Ted looked around. "I see you took care of them." Harry nodded.
"Why Ted? Why did you help me?"
"It's like I told Malfoy: just because my father is a Death Eater, doesn't mean I am. I…hate my father," he said resolutely.
"Thanks Ted," Harry said gratefully. Just then, the door burst open again, and Harry immediately sprang to his feet, his wand aimed at the newcomers.
"Harry, we heard – Oh Merlin! Ted, Malfoy…Harry! What's going on?"
Harry looked at the confused faces of Pansy, Daphne, and Blaise. He did not lower his wand. "What are you doing here?" he asked with a hint of menace.
Blaise recovered first from seeing his friends tied up and a wand pointed at him. "Millie said she saw you guys walking in here…we were coming to get you for the party…then we heard spells…is that Draco's father?"
Harry looked at each of them, locking eyes. He carefully searched for any images of Death Eaters, but saw none. Relieved, Harry lowered his wand. He looked around. "It's a long story."
Daphne knelt down next to Ted. "Are you okay?" she asked him.
Ted nodded. "Just a stunner from Draco. I'm tough."
"Draco?" Pansy said, her eyes widening. "What the heck happened here?"
"That's what we'd like to know!"
Harry raised his wand again as Pansy and Blaise whirled around to face the latest to enter the classroom. Daphne protectively tightened her grip on Ted.
"Sheesh Potter, not that I don't mind seeing Malfoy all trussed up, but what has been going on?" Ron Weasley said, Ginny, Neville, and Lavender behind him.
"None of your business Ron," Harry said, lowering his wand. "What are you doing here, anyways?"
"I was supposed to meet up with Hermione to watch the match," Lavender said nervously. "But she never showed."
"Someone mentioned they saw you here, so we came to see if Hermione was with you," Ginny said, completing the story. Harry groaned inwardly and cursed his recognizability. (A/N: is that a word? If not, it is now!)
"Well, Hermione's not here, so you can move along."
"Yes, let's go," Neville said anxiously, tugging at Ron's sleeve. "Maybe we should go tell a professor-"
"No!" Harry said suddenly. Everyone looked at them curiously, and Harry realized that they wouldn't simply walk away and forget such an odd scene. He sighed. "Fine, come in and close the door. Someone cast a locking and silencing charm on it, please."
Ron looked at him wearily before complying, the other Gryffindors following his lead. Pansy reached over and cast the charms on the door, and then they all looked at Harry expectantly. Harry took a deep breath, and then began to explain the entire story from the point when Malfoy asked him to go to the castle to when Pansy and the others walked in, though he declined to explain why Voldemort wanted the crystal, leading them to believe it was a powerful piece of dark magic, believable given what they knew of Harry.
"So," Blaise said, breaking the silence after Harry finished his tale. "What do we do now?"
"We? What are you talking about Blaise?"
Blaise looked at Harry as if he were a bit slow. "You-Know-Who has Hermione. You can't go to a professor, so that leaves us. What are we going to do to get her back?"
"We aren't doing anything, Blaise. I will figure something out while the rest of you take care of Ted." His statement was met with a sudden outburst of protest.
"If you think we're just going to let you go off by yourself, you have another thing coming, mister!" Daphne cried.
"Waitaminute...hold on a second…HOLD ON!" Ron roared. He got the silence he was looking for. "Whatever else that's happened, Hermione is one of ours, and Gryffindors do not leave their own behind. Whether you like it or not, Potter, we're going after her!"
Harry looked at the people around him, feeling an odd sense of deju vu. From the determined looks they all shared, he knew it would take a long time to convince them to stay, assuming he could convince them in the first place, and Hermione's time was running out – the longer she stayed in Voldemort's hands… Harry shuddered at the thought. "Okay, fine," he said finally. "But I want you all to think about it. Voldemort!" he yelled, suddenly
As expected, shrieks and gasps followed. Harry scoffed. "How do you expect to fight him if this is how you react to just hearing his name? Not only will you face Voldemort himself, but also he'll undoubtedly have his Death Eaters, fully trained adult wizards, with him. You can all be killed!"
The Slytherins and Gryffindors exchanged looks. "Then you'll definitely need our help," Blaise said. The others nodded. Harry sighed. "It's your choice," he said. "But first, we need to find out some information." Stepping over to Lucius' limp body, Harry muttered "Enervate" and Lucius' eyes slowly opened.
"Where is she, Lucius?"
"bleep you, Potter!" he said angrily, though Harry detected the fear in his eyes.
"You're a brave man, Lucius, I'll give you that. But do you honestly think I can't get the information out of you?" Harry asked, brandishing his wand.
"You won't get anything from me, Potter; The Dark Lord ensured that I won't speak anything that would betray him. Not even Veritaserum would work"
Harry regarded Malfoy with a look of disdain. "I don't need you to talk for me to find out what I want to know," he said ominously. Harry pointed his wand at Lucius. "Legilimens!" Immediately, Harry was granted access to Lucius' most closely guarded memories. Harry was able to easily sift through the images, searching for the memories that would help him find Hermione. Lucius did his best to resist, but for someone of Harry's abilities, his resistance only served to cause him great pain, something Harry did not mind. Finally, Harry plucked the memories he was looking for. "Thanks Malfoy," he said to the wheezing and gasping Slytherin, before stunning him again.
"Everyone wait here," Harry said. "I'll be back, I promise. Just watch over Lucius and the others." Harry rushed to the Slytherin dungeons. He found his invisibility cloak and returned to the classroom where the other waited for him. "Anyone change their minds?" he asked. No one had. Harry grabbed Lucius' cane from where it had fallen; he had seen in Lucius's mind that it served as a portkey that would take him back to Voldemort once his message had been delivered.
"Okay then. Here's the plan. Ginny, Pansy, Daphne, and Lavender, you're the smallest and should all fit together underneath the cloak," Harry said, handing it over to Daphne.
"What is that?" Ron asked.
"It's an invisibility cloak," Pansy answered for Harry as she and Daphne draped it around their shoulders. "C'mon Ginny, Lavender." The two Gryffindors hesitantly made their way over to them and allowed the cloak to be placed over their shoulders as well.
"Okay, cover up now," Harry said, and the four girls disappeared completely from view. Harry then turned to the boys. "Ok, relax now, this won't hurt a bit," he said, mostly to Ron and Neville. Harry waved his wand and cast a disillusionment spell on three of the boys, passing over Ted. Ron whistled in appreciation. "Sorry Ted, someone has to stay behind in case we don't succeed, and you're the wounded one." Ted looked stricken, but he accepted the wisdom of Harry's words. Harry debated on whether to disillusion himself, but thought better of it. The disillusionment charm did not make them invisible, only blend in; Harry knew they would eventually be spotted. But if Harry remained visible, he would garner all the attention and the others could move and act freely. Harry decided to take the risk.
"Now," Harry continued. "This cane is a portkey. Everyone put a finger on the cane. Wands out." After everyone had complied, Harry asking for verbal confirmation from the invisible girls, he muttered the activation word that he pulled from Lucius' mind. Harry felt the familiar tug at his navel as they were wisked off.
A/N: Is that three cliffies in a row? I didn't do it on purpose, honest! Oh, about Harry's legilimency? Remember in Chapter One? Harry has a natural affinity for Legilimency (thanks to Voldemort), and the Slytherin Harry definitely practiced it.
Sorry, no responses this time; I'm late for a meeting!