Chapter 12
Dawn's first though was that she was cold.
Slowly, she began to remember what had happened. She had been taken, kidnapped. And now she was cold and lying on a stone floor. She opened her eyes a crack and took in the area around her without moving.
A dungeon. Like the ones you would see in those old movies. It was lined with three stone walls and one wall with vertically lining bars, like a jail. The floor was so cold it felt wet and the walls had drips of water coming down every now and then. Out side she saw a man in a dark cloak standing facing away from her.
Dawn briefly wondered why they would bother with a guard when she obviously was locked in, when she returned her thoughts to figuring out where she was, why she was here, and how she would get out.
Deciding she might as well try to ask the guard she sat up. She expected him to turn toward her when he heard her move, though he did not. "Where am I?" Dawn had asked him urgently.
He didn't even glance at her as though she was worth nothing. "Where the Dark Lord wants you to be."
"What am I doing here?" Dawn asked immediately, aggravated with his answer.
The guard replied. "Our Lord, says he wants you, and so we take you. You will remain here until he calls upon you.
"And who is this Lord?"
"Voldemort," he replied shooting her a weird look as though it was obvious. Deciding that she would most likely get nothing more from him she sat back down and closed her eyes.
It was cold. So, she thought of Harry and his warmth.
But it didn't last. She thought of the guard's words. 'You will remain here until he calls upon you."
Dawn could not rid herself of the realization that she was in the hands of Voldemort.
And from what she gathered, that was not a very nice place to be.
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Harry's heart was pounding as he ran without thought through the halls to Dumbledore's office. He said the password upon arrival and dashed up the stairs. Not bothering to knock and threw the door open.
"She's gone!" he said before the door even opened. "They've got her. They've got Dawn." Harry would have continued but he got a good look at who was in the room besides Dumbledore.
"Mr. Potter," sneered Lucius Malfoy looking exactly how Harry remembered him, "do try to keep your voice down. We are trying to have a conversation."
"Actually, your trying to have conversation," Dumbledore cut in, his voice a little cooler than usual. "I was trying to end it. I will continue to educate muggleborns as I have been and I don't really care if you have a problem with it."
"Very soon, Professor, you will. Very soon," Lucius said not moving.
Dumbledore cut him of, in a tone Harry had never heard him use, "I'm sure, Malfoy, you have noticed we have a slightly more urgent problem, so unless you have anything useful you can do to help I will have to insist that you leave my office immediately."
Lucius looked slightly taken aback by this, but did not reply just left the room immediately.
Dumbledore turned his attention to Harry. "They have her?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah."
"Have you had any visions through your scar lately?
"No."
"Very well. I will consult with several spies to try to determine a location."
"May I stay?"
"I'm sorry, no."
Harry started to argue, but Dumbledore beat him to it. "Confidentiality," was all he said. Harry nodded and decided to return to the hospital to let them know the bad news.
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Dawn had been trying to sleep for hours, but it was no use. She shivered slightly huddling her body closer together.
Her guard sighed, before, to her surprise, taking of his cloak and tossing through the bars at her. It fell in a clump in front of her, so she picked it up, and immediately wrapped herself in it. "Thanks," she mumbled surprised that he would show such kindness.
"I did it because you were irritating. That's all." After that, he spoke no more, and neither did she.
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"Let's go."
Dawn looked up surprised. The guard hadn't spoken to her since he gave her his cloak, which was several hours ago. "Where?" she asked without standing up.
"Someone wishes to speak to you."
"Who?" Dawn asked standing up and handing his cloak back through the bars.
He sighed, aggravated. "A man who wishes to see you." While he spoke he pulled out his wand, pointed it at the lock, and the door opened.
Dawn walked out slowly. "Voldemort?" He, however, didn't answer, seeming to decide that if he didn't answer her questions, she would stop asking them.
Then, they walked. They walked for a long time and without stopping. They were in, what looked like a cross between a cave and an underground castle. Everything was damp and cold and stone, but the path began to slant upward, and walls dried. Eventually, they came to a tapestry.
One, single, looking out of place tapestry, simply hanging on the wall and attracting her attention. The picture was of a sword fallen onto the ground as if defeated, while snakes slithered around it and a book fallen open to a page that was titled, "The Transferring of Living Energy." The guard took the side of the tapestry, held it aside to reveal a hole in the wall, that he motioned for her to climb through, and she thought no more of it.
He climbed through after her. Before them was a single door, arch shaped and wooden. The guard knocked on the door, and from within, Dawn heard a voice yell, "Come." So, the guard opened the door for her and she went in, expecting to hear him follow, but he simply closed it behind her, leaving her alone with the person in the room.
"Are- are you Voldemort?" she asked, frightened but trying to hide it.
He chuckled slightly. "I? Voldemort? Trust me, when you see Voldemort, you won't have to ask.
The room before her was small, but not to small. There was a desk that the man stood behind covered in what look like ancient books and parchments. There was a wooden chair before the desk, but Dawn stood awkwardly at the door. The man was tall and had broad shoulders and white hair the flowed to his shoulders he had on dark robes and had the palest skin she had ever seen. He looked very familiar…
Summoning her courage, and thinking of Buffy and how she'd act she spoke, trying to sound sure of herself. "Then, who are you?" She flopped down on the chair and crossed her knees.
"My name is Lucius Malfoy; I believe you know my son." He spoke intricately, sitting down as well behind his desk.
"Draco," Dawn gasped slightly taken aback.
"I don't really have time to discuss him. Voldemort does not know you are meeting with me, and your guard will not remember after you return to your cell. You will not mention me." His words were cold, harsh, and rushed. "Voldemort wishes to conduct an ancient ritual, in which he can transfer magical energy into him, in order to gain power."
"I don't understand. What does it have to do with me?" Dawn inquired.
"The ritual only works if a living being is made up of this energy. The energy is, then, drained from the being."
Dawn understood. "Oh. I'm guessing, if it works, I'll be dead?"
"Quite."
"Why are you telling me this aren't you-"
"I am his humble servant and right-hand man," he interrupted. "I have killed and tortured many, and will do so again if I must. I am telling you so you know why you are here. If Voldemort gains the power within you, he will become unstoppable. Your boyfriend won't stand a chance. He will be able to control others without lifting a hand and will likely become immortal."
"I have to get out of here." She breathed. "You have to help me! You have to-"
He held up a hand to stop her talking. "If I could, than I would. If it comes to it, if you haven't been rescued in two nights, when the ritual will begin, be warned that I will kill you before seeing him get so powerful. I'm giving you two nights. There is no way out, so don't try to escape."
"You'll really kill me?"
"Trust me, child, you'll die anyway. Go."
Dawn waited a moment and then stood, her legs like jelly. She felt completely frozen. Stiffly, she went out the door. Lucius followed her, pointed his wand at the guard, murmured something, and, then, without another word returned to his office.
The guard led her back to her cell. She didn't speak. As soon as he had locked her up again, it seemed as if something went through him, and he didn't remember anything.
Dawn curled up in a ball in the corner, her thoughts on the conversation she had just had. She felt so cold, so empty. She thought of all the people she would never see again if she died. Buffy, Willow, Xander, Hermione, Draco, Ginny…
And as much as it pained her to miss them, it pained her more to know that she missed Harry more than all of them combined. She closed her eyes, silent tears streaming down her face, and imagined his arms around her, his lips on hers, his voice in her ear. And she loved him.
And, so, she cried harder.
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Several hours prior, and still at the hospital…
As soon as Hermione saw him, she knew there was something wrong. She spotted him from down the hall. He saw her too, and pointedly entered a closet. Hermione waited a moment and then entered as well.
"A little indiscreet, don't you think?" she whispered to him. He didn't reply. Not reading into it, she kissed him. He pulled away. "What's wrong?" she asked immediately.
"I have to tell you something," he sounded more scared than she had ever heard him, yet completely solemn, calm, and resolved.
"I guess it's not good, huh?" Hermione asked.
"In a few minutes, Potter will come back and tell you that Dawn's been kidnapped by Voldemort."
Hermione's heart stopped. Whatever she had been expecting that hadn't been it. Suddenly her knees were weak, and she hoped there was someplace to sit down. There wasn't. "Dawn? Is it true?" Draco nodded. "Why? Why does he want her? She's just a muggle."
"Voldemort thinks she's valuable," he spoke bitterly.
"Because of Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Possibly, or that her sister's a Slayer. The Dark Lord wants many things."
"You know I hate it when you call him that. It sounds like he's your king and that you really choose to help him."
He looked down as an apology but knew she would be much more angry soon. "There's more. Your not going to like it."
"Just tell me," Hermione pled, heart in throat.
"Promise not to scream."
Hermione was stricken. They both understood screaming would endanger their secret. She would have to livid to do it. "What is it?" Hermione asked, though she didn't want to hear it.
"I told them where to find her."
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A/N: So, what did you think? What? I can't hear you? That would probably be because you live no where near me. So, you can either get to my house, (which would be hard, since I'm not going to tell you where I live), or you can review. Until next time,
Teary Eyed