::A/N:: Alrighty here's SotP6. I got great reviews on chapter 5, so thanks to everyone for that! I'm totally psyched right now because I'm going to see Prisoner of Azkaban tonight! After months of waiting, June 4th is finally here!
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Harry's stomach was in knots and his breathing was ragged while Nott continued to drag him down the corridor, pulling roughly on the neck of his tee-shirt. He knew he was panicking; insane escape ideas were clogging his brain while he could hear Hermione and Ginny kicking and screaming as the Death Eaters yelled in the background. Please don't let anything happen to them, he thought while his heart beat wildly, Please help us...
Nott kicked a door open and Harry found himself in a dark, dank circular room with a stone floor. It was very similar to the cell he had been locked in, but smaller. Nott grabbed him by the hair and led him across the floor while Harry let out a moan of agony. He was held against the wall while MacNair and Dolohov pushed Ginny and Hermione into the room. Both of them looked at Harry with terrified eyes, which were clouded by tears. Harry's stomach plummeted as he watched them and realized that he was the reason they had to endure this.
Lucius Malfoy walked slowly into the room, followed by none other than his son Draco. "Well what do you know?" Draco said with a laugh. "Looks like Potty, Weaselette, and everyone's favorite Mudblood are about to have a little fun." Harry tried to free himself from Nott's strong grip in an effort to lunge himself at Malfoy. Draco just leaned casually against the wall and watched him, smirking broadly. "You're about to get what you deserve, Potter," he said seriously. "You can't just turn my father into Azkaban and expect to get away with it."
Harry could not bring himself to speak; he was so furious, and yet he was terrified. He simply gave Malfoy the most loathsome look he could muster and tried to look brave and in control. Hermione and Ginny still looked terrified, although both of them were also giving Draco hateful looks.
"So, Potter," drawled Lucius as he looked approvingly at his son, "we are going to give you one chance. Tell us the prophecy, or I'm afraid we'll have to use the Cruciatus curse on your charming friends."
"Harry doesn't know the Prophecy," said Hermione, speaking for the first time. "It smashed in the Department of Mysteries." Lucius and Draco both looked infuriated at her, but Hermione looked determinedly at them.
"Mudblood, if we want you to speak, we'll ask you. Although I don't know why we would want that…" he said contemptuously. "And Potter has lied to you. He knows the Prophecy. That old muggle-loving fool told him last month."
Hermione looked very upset, but both she and Ginny stared at Harry. He had not told any of his friends about the Prophecy yet. Harry didn't meet their eyes; instead he stared fiercely at Lucius.
"Well, Potter?" Lucius asked.
"Don't tell him, Harry!" Ginny shouted.
Harry was at a crossroads. Either he give the Death Eaters the knowledge of how to destroy him, or otherwise allow them to destroy his friends. He thought frantically for a way to avoid the conflict, although he knew it was hopeless.
"Potter, I expect an answer," Lucius declared.
"Harry, don't tell them," Hermione said, although she sounded horrified.
"I…I can't…" Harry began, feeling like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
"Potter, I am beginning to get impatient with you. Perhaps a taster for your friends?" With these words, Lucius pointed his wand at Ginny and muttered, "Crucio!"
Ginny shrieked and fell to the floor. Her captor let her go and stepped back, laughing, as he watched her. She was twitching on the floor, flailing her arms and screaming. Hermione began to bawl uncontrollably, covering her eyes.
"STOP!" Harry yelled. He felt incredibly sick. All the Death Eaters, as well as Draco, were clearly amused at Ginny's pain. Harry couldn't stand to see her in agony like that, convulsing and yelling, and he felt extremely guilty. "STOP!" he cried again, while tears began to form in his eyes. "I'll tell you!"
Lucius finally ended the curse and turned to Harry. "That's better," he said. "You're cooperating. Heroes like you are so easy to manipulate." Ginny lay on the cold ground, sobbing with her eyes shut. Hermione uncovered her eyes and attempted to bend down and help Ginny, but Dolohov wouldn't let her move. She raised her gaze to Harry with a pleading look; her breathing was rapid and the tears continued to fall. Although Harry knew she didn't want him to admit the Prophecy, he read the message in her eyes: I don't want this to happen to me next.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord," Harry began weakly. He saw Lucius' hungry look and drew breath to continue, but he was finding it hard to speak. "The one with the power…" he began again, shutting his eyes tight and attempting to calm himself. He felt like he was hyperventilating.
"Potter, I'm warning you," Lucius said. "Either tell it to me or the Mudblood's next."
Harry opened his eyes and took a deep breath. Just as he was about to speak, the door crashed open and Lupin bounded into the room, closely followed by Tonks and Mr. Weasley. Harry's heart lifted and he began to think clearly again. We're going to be alright.
Lupin sent a stunning spell at Lucius Malfoy, Tonks hit MacNair, and Mr. Weasley hit Nott. Harry felt the grip on him loosen and slid to the floor. Just as Mr. Weasley reached out a hand to help him up, Dolohov sent a stunner at him. Draco seized the opportunity to hit Tonks, who had been clearly surprised at Arthur's collapse. Both Mr. Weasley and Tonks were now out cold on the stone floor. Harry angrily charged at Draco and leveled a punch at his jaw. Draco fell to the ground, whimpering, and Harry grabbed his wand. Dolohov was still holding onto Hermione, but now he was involved in a fierce combat with Lupin.
"Harry!" Lupin called while dodging Dolohov's stunner, "take Ginny and go find Fred and George! They're helping Ron!"
Harry didn't hesitate. He was confident that Lupin would be able to overtake Dolohov and easily free Hermione. He grabbed Ginny and led her past Malfoy, who was still whimpering. Harry hit him with a stunner so he wouldn't be able to thwart Lupin.
"Come on Ginny!" Harry shouted, pulling her out the door.
"Harry, I can't run. I'm too weak. I feel like I'm about to faint…"
Harry put her arm around his neck and tried to run down the corridor. He staggered under her weight but with a lot of effort he made it down to the cell where they had been held captive.
"Harry!" Fred called out to him. "Ginny! Are you okay?"
Ginny looked blearily at Fred and Harry explained, "She was hit with the Cruciatus Curse." Fred's eyes grew wide and he looked very faint for a moment, but he put Ginny's other arm around his shoulder and helped Harry carry her.
George was leading Ron out of the cell. Ron looked very weak and his forehead was bleeding; he had his arm around George who was helping to steer him. "Harry, Ginny," said George, "thank God you're alright. Ron was knocked out but I think he's okay."
"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked groggily.
"She's still back there with Dolohov," Harry answered. "But Lupin is fighting him; she should be okay."
"Okay," said Fred. "We need to get out of here. C'mon." Fred led the way down the corridor, past the circular room where Harry could see Lupin and Dolohov still fighting, and up a flight of stairs into a grand hallway.
"How did you get here anyway?" Harry asked.
"Took a portkey," George answered. "We heard you guys screaming at the beach house, saw the wrecked door, and realized what had happened. Dad got in contact with Headquarters right away, who had been keeping a close eye on the Malfoy's, and we realized that you'd been taken to Malfoy Manor. So we got authorization for a portkey and took it here. Dad dropped it somewhere around here…"
"Here it is!" said Fred. He was holding an old cracked mug, which had an eerie glow to it. He tapped it lightly with his wand and muttered an incantation. "Now it will take us to Grimmauld Place. Okay, everyone put a finger on it."
Harry reached out and touched the mug with his index finger. Ginny leaned her head on his shoulder and also put a finger to the mug. Harry had a glimpse of her vivid red hair before he was suddenly whipped away from Malfoy Manor and into the kitchen of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
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