*A/n: Ack! I can't believe I'm almost finished posting this story! I'm so pleased with the great reviews. You guys are the best!

Chapter 17: un-CHO-sen

Harry lowered his hand from his head. He could feel that Voldemort was surprised that things weren't going his way but he was being patient for some reason. Voldemort thought he'd eventually get what he wanted.

       "Where are the thestrals?" Kevin asked.

Harry frowned. He'd completely forgotten that the only reason they got the thestrals last time was because he and Hermione had been drenched in Grawp's blood.

      "We need blood." Harry told them.

      "We can kill Malfoy." Ron suggested.

      "Blood replenishing potion!" Kevin shouted. Harry and Ron looked at him to explain.

     "I want to be a healer so in the rare spare moments I've had I've been trying to make a blood-replenishing potion."

     "My dad had to have that last year."

     "Where is it?" Harry asked, getting hopeful.

     "I have some in my dorm."

     "Hurry and go get it."

Kevin set off back toward the castle.

Kevin POV

Helen...Helen was taken again! Was she going to be able to take what was happening? Would she have another Salucidi incident? God, he hoped not. If those punks hurt her...no. He couldn't think of that right now. He had to focus on saving Helen.

*A/n: Darvit! I'm in a tumtigger. Right now I have this notion in my head right about now that could be seriously sad and I mean SAD! I don't think I could bring myself to do it. Helen would...oh man. Helen would FLIP. I don't think even she could handle it. No way. The poor girl's gone though enough. I won't be as cruel as to make Kevin die tragically to save her. Whoops! I said it! Hmm. Will I?

You mark my words though...by the end of this story...someone's life is about to get trashed. Sorry.

Kevin was running back out of his dorm with a huge cauldron of blood. All he had had to do was something very risky...slit his arm and drink so much of the potion that tons of blood poured out of his arm. After all...blood replenishing meant more blood...it didn't make blood itself, but Kevin was willing to do it to save Helen.

*A/n: No actually I change my mind. I think I'll make it so that everyone is safe. Nah! Too boring!

      "WATCH OUT!" Kevin hollered but it was too late. Draco smashed into Kevin and the entire cauldron full was spilled on him from head to foot.

      "WTF!" Draco swore. "Damn it man!"

*A/n: Sorry bout the language but they do it in the books and under these circumstances...they're bound to be using all this "French".

      "Great!" Hermione shouted. "Now he'll have to come with us."

Before Draco could react, Hermione and Kevin grabbed him from under his arms and dragged him onto the grounds, towards the forest.

     "What happened?" Harry yelled. "What-"

     "Forget it." Kevin mumbled. "I see the thestrals."

    "That was quick." Ron mumbled. "Boy, Malfoy you reek."

     "Shut it." Draco barked.

     "Kevin!" said a panicky voice.

     "Geeze! Why does this always have to happen every freaking year!" Harry shouted. "Why does everyone always come along on a rescue mission!"

Kevin froze. What was Cho doing there?

     "Kevin don't you dare go!" Cho cried. "Don't you dare go after Helen! She isn't worth it!"

     "Cho!" Kevin said shocked. "She's my best friend."

     "Look what happened to Cedric!" she shouted, sobbing.

     "Cho."

     "You come down from...whatever...right now! If you don't...w-w-we're over!" Cho stuttered. Kevin looked from Harry's determined face, to Ron's scared one, then his eyes glanced on Blood-drenched Draco, and worried Hermione.

      "Then it's over." Kevin said. When it came down to it...he didn't mind at all. It wasn't like he ever really had feelings for her other than fondness. He was in love with Helen as weird as it sounded. Yes, he'd wasted a year and he would be kicking himself for it later...but it was about time he ended his relationship with Cho. He figured by the look on her face it was the first time a guy rejected her instead of vice-versa. He waved goodbye as his thestral rose into the air and followed Harry, Ron, Draco, and Hermione's.

Chapter 18: Unleash the Dragon

Draco POV

*A/n: Yeah Draco's hard to read at the tender age of 16. OoO I'd like to say "Don't be a hata!" because my story "Wild Tension" is a fan fiction so it's basically just how I'd imagine the 6th HP book to be. Anyway, Draco gave Helen a hand massage. He helps her off her feet. They accidentally kiss. He says he's got fantasies about her (and alot of other people lol.) and he admits he fancies her. Now a Malfoy can fancy someone and yet still not having enough human feelings towards them that they actually do something about it.

Maybe the same will go for Draco towards Helen. Who knows. Maybe they're compatible. Maybe I'm blind and can't see that they don't match. That's one thing I'm still unsure of. (And if you guys want to know…the tally so far is 3 votes Harry/Helen, 2 votes Harry/Hermione, 2 votes Helen/Kevin, and 4 votes Helen/Draco.) Who's winning for Helen? The Prince of Evil! Draaaaaaco Malfoooooooy. I'm surprised no one thinks Ron and Hermione should be together…

Draco didn't know how to feel. He was covered in blood...he was being licked and riding something that was invisible...and he was helping his enemies save a girl that hated his guts at the risk of being disowned or disemboweled or dismembered...or just plain dead. None of those sounded appealing. He'd have to think up some excuse to save his bum from his father and still make him look like a hero in Helen's eyes, though it looked like Harry and Kevin were going about it better then he was. Draco still had to play the double agent which sucked big time!

It seemed like an eternity before they spotted the Nott household...they weren't quite near enough yet but for some reason the thestrals were landing. Good: in his opinion because this whole experience scared him so bad he was surprised he hadn't wet himself but bad: because it would take another fifteen minutes to get to house and it had probably been hours and hours and hours and hours.

     "Pot-head! Are these beasts trained to do this?" Draco yelled.

     "There's a dead animal down there." Hermione explained. "Hey Harry are you okay?"

Draco saw Harry with his head bent down on the invisible something...like he was in pain. After a few seconds and right before the thestrals touched down he raised his head, panting.

      "Voldemort's  really angry. He-Ahhhhhh." Harry screamed, falling off his thestral and crouching in pain. Hermione and Ron rushed over to him and tried to help him up.

       "We have to hurry!" Harry started running, on shaky feet. "They won't kill her but she's getting close to Salucidi."

Helen had been lying on the floor, involuntarily wallowing in her own pool of blood. She'd been there for what seemed like seven hours. The first ten minutes were pretty bearable. A few slaps here and there. Nothing big. After about an hour it went to punches and kicks. Then getting the hems of her robes lit on fire (feet and legs included) but Lucius told him just to result to the Cruciatus Curse (which felt like her whole body was being lit instead). Then after about an hour it changed to Ancient past punishment. Neil's preference was using the same dagger that Eumaria had slashed Samusotepso with on her. Luckily she'd only sustained cuts across her cheek, right side of her neck (that one was shallow), her robes being torn though (thank goodness she had clothes underneath) and a lovely engravement of an amulet that Neil carved into her arm. After she was untied (they knew she was too weak to even try to get up) they spent the last two hours breaking her wrist (the same one she sprained in Quidditch) and a few ribs. Voldemort came in to see how things were going. He and a few others thought it would be amusing to see how a person could react to five powerful wizards putting the Cruciatus Curse on her at the same time. Yeah...as if it wasn't painful enough with one person.

After five doses of this Helen was more than ready to give up. So many people think that you should die before you give in. You should never surrender. This wasn't a movie. This was real life. Most people would give in after only fifteen minutes but Helen's only reason for putting up with it was the fact that her enduring that pain was saving the magical world. But how long could she hold on? It may be days before anyone found her. No! She couldn't even take one more minute of it let alone a full twenty-four hours. Her body was swollen, broken, burned, dug into, and shaking from the effects of the curses thrown at her. If the pain didn't kill her than Salucidi certainly would. It sure was looking like a bright ray of hope right about then. If she purposely tried to fall under Salucidi then she could die and Voldemort would never get the amulet. Her death could save the magical world...but somehow she didn't feel that this was the way things were supposed to go. There had to be another way. Any other way.

       "One wave of my wand and I can heal you, Helen." Voldemort spoke. "I sense you are ready to give in. I can see it in your eyes."

"Darn." Helen thought. She was too weak to even try and repel Voldemort from using Legillimency.

        "GOD PLEASE! SEND SOMEONE!" Helen screamed. "SAVE ME FROM THIS!"

Voldemort, Neil, and the other wizards just sneered, jeered, leered, mocked, and ridiculed her. But there is a God above and he did hear Helen's prayer.

*A/n: I have to say I'm proud of myself though for beating my record. My longest story (Cigam Journey) was 84 pages long (even pages with only one sentence on it counted as a page) and this story so far is 90 pages long! YEAH! Omg...I am shocked. Cigam Journey took five months to write! Okay I know I could have embellished on this one but I really didn't feel like writing a million details (this is why I admire real writers). Oh boy don't get me started! J.K Rowling. J.R.R. Tolkein.(Never read LOTR but the movies are way good) D.J. MacHale. Francine Pascal. Edgar Allen Poe (my fav poet actually lol) Yu Watase (go Ceres: Celestial Legand! Best manga I ever read!) Eoin Colfer. Carrie Asai. C.S. Lewis, and my own friends who write awesomely but are not as eager to actually finish their great works. That means you Valeri (Cindy) Starrlight and you

Junie (June Delor Nevaro or whatever) Pabruada. Oh! Kyle Atchley is good and I'd say so is Zachary Yarbough but ever since he destroyed Ron's life in his fanfic I've quit reading it. Sorry, bud.

Okay well anyway readers I shall force myself to continue writing tonight (even though I am dead tired and it will probably ruin the story) and the only reason is because...I stop writing after my parents go to bed and for some strange reason both parents are up and awake and about so I've got to write as long as I can no matter what! I'll try being tough like Helen. Story back now.

The dungeon doors opened, letting in Harry, Ron, Hermione, Kevin, and Draco.

      "Draco!" Lucius fumed. "What are you doing with them?"

      "Look at this blood on me! They forced me to come with them."

Way to save his butt, Helen thought. Real smooth...if they'd believe that Harry and the others were actually capabable of that.

       "Thestrals are attracted by blood and they cut my arm then those bloody beasts tore at me!"

Yeah...that one was better. Much more plausible.

       "So this is the famous Harry Potter." Neil said in his unscrupulous tone. "Say goodbye."

BANG! Dumbledore, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks, Mad-Eye, McGonagall, and Lupin burst in the room. Behind them was Fudge and a few wizards who had attacked Dumbledore. Maybe Dumbledore had somehow gotten Fudge out of Voldemort's mind control. Helen didn't care right about then. They'd found her and that was all she could think about. Spells went flying past in every which way. Hermione, Ron, and Kevin went to help the adults and Harry came to her side.

Harry POV

      "Helen." He said with an aching look on his face. He couldn't believe the sight before his eyes. Helen had gotten some serious blows but he marveled at the fact that she looked like...a heroine. Harry reached for her arm and she cringed in pain so he let go.

      "Harry...." she whispered, "Let me lean on you."

Harry found this an odd thing to say but he slowly helped her up as gently as he could. She was sitting up, resting against his chest. She struggled to lift her arms up to reach for the clasp on the amulet.

      "Don't help me." Helen warned the moment Harry was about to try help. It took close to twelve seconds of fumbling before she could undo the clasp. She turned around and cried out in pain.

"Broken ribs." Harry thought.

Helen placed the amulet around his neck.

       "Stop right there." Draco shouted, pointing his wand at Helen. Harry expected her to freeze but instead she just smiled.

       "Are you going to jinx me, Draco?"

They spent a minute staring at each other, like it was a contest or something when Helen shut the clasp and pulled herself off him.

       "Go Harry!" she yelled, falling flat on her back. "Beyond the veil."

Harry nodded and dodged the spells around him. He reached the veil...and he went through it.

*A/n: Yeah! I've been waiting to get to this part of the story forever! Yikes though. I don't think I'm doing this story justice but oh well! I'm tired and I'm sorry if I disappointed anyone so far. I'm going to bed. Goodnight.