One Young Heart

Chapter 23: The Advancement of Knowledge


Lightening flashed, cloaks rustled, wind blew. Ronald Weasly sat in silence, his mind following a track it had run a hundred times this night. Was it really my fault that Harry got caught?'

---

By the time Harry, hours into his headlong flight from Hogwarts school, slammed into Ron, the redhead had been on a headlong rush of his own for most of the day. Harry raised his head, far more pleased to see his friend than he would admit, but a darkened shape appeared between two trees, and he felt a rush of irrational fear, needed none of Ron's urging to rise and run again. The two boys ran together blindly, aiming for whatever space seemed to be most free of the dark shapes.

A brief pause, a scramble, and the boys disappeared beneath a cloak. The footsteps passed them by, and they relaxed. Too tense to talk, they picked a direction at random, slipping swiftly through the night, beginning to feel the thrill of a successful escape, pride at beating their opponents-

A foot came down, hard, on the brim of the cloak, ripping the delicate fabric before it fell completely off of the boys' shoulders.

One eyebrow raised above his snakelike features, Voldermort leered down at the children. Nice cloak. Shame they don't work on me. Bending down, he lifted the shimmering silver fabric, then pulled a long, thin knife out of his robes. Pausing to make sure Harry was watching, he slowly sliced a gash through the precious fabric, then spun the ruined cloak onto his shoulders. Oops. Now it doesn't work at all. He shrugged. Another casualty to the advancement of knowledge. What did we learn here, boysssssss? That a cloak shouldn't be ripped, or that insolent brats shouldn't try to escape the power of Lord Voldemort? hmmmm?

Two pale, horrified faces stared back. Two pairs of eyes darted about frantically, searching for an escape. The Dark Lord's expression turned to rage. Answer me! His blow knocked Ron to the forest floor, and all Harry could think of was escape. He spun around, slammed into Lucius Malfoy, turned again, and felt Voldermort lift him from the ground by his hair. Oh, now would you look at that? The famous Harry Potter, abandoning his friend to save his precious skin. Clearly, fame isn't everything.

---

Harry broke into Ron's train of thought, speaking for the first time since they'd met in the forest. Did you hear what he said? He said clearly, fame isn't everything'. Yeah, so what? He said a lot of other stuff too, and its the other stuff that's got me worried.

Harry spoke with increased urgency now, his voice barely above a hushed whisper. Snape! Snape said that to me during my first potions class. Remember? Yeah, but- Ron, listen. If Voldermort uses Snape's phrases, they must be friends. He must be tricking Dumbledore. And if Snape isn't on our side, who is going to get us out of this mess? Ron didn't respond for several minuets. When he did, his face had acquired a determined look. I think that we're stuck in this alone, Harry. And maybe its our fault. We've been acting like Voldermort would just go away if we ignored him, but he won't. I reckon we have to get out of this on our own. If we get out at all

---

The storm continued to rage, the boys continued alone, freezing, lost in their own thoughts save when a tormentor paused to jeer at them. One particularly persistent adversary was describing precisely what would happen to them once the storm ended,when the lightening ended, though the rain returned with extra force. With then end of the crashing noises, Harry felt sleep overwhelming him, an intense desire to just rest, then and there, coupled with a deep disinterest in his surroundings. Behind him, Ron drooped, already snoring faintly. A Death Eater fell asleep where he stood, and fell out of his tent into the rain. Their tormentor's words stuttered to a slow halt, and he stood gazing dumbly down at the boys.

Harry watched from behind drooping eyelids as the man swayed, a vast array of conflicting emotions passing over his face. His inner struggle continued for a few moments, before his jaw fell open, his eyes lost their focus, and he moved forward like an automaton. Nearly unconscious, Harry observed the knife the man held only seconds before the rope holding him was severed, and he fell face down in the mud. Grabbing Harry by his much-abused hair, and Ron by one arm, he dragged them slowly past the tents filled with snoring wizards.

The trees loomed closer, then they were all about him, scraping his neck as he was dragged along. Abruptly, the wizard stopped and dropped the children in the mud, then stood blinking dully. A whispered spell met his ears, as did the sound of the man falling.

---

The sense of painful exhaustion was passing slowly. Harry sat up stiffly, feeling his sore limbs again, and heard Ron moan into the ground beside him. Rubbing his eyes, Harry was suddenly grabbed again, and dragged to his feet alongside Ron. Wake up! hissed a silk-smooth voice in his ear. Its no easy feat, to put an entire camp of Death Eaters off their guard, and they'll be after us soon enough, so move. Beside Harry, Snape gave the closest he ever got to a smile. Yes, Potter, its me. Maybe now you'll finally stop thinking I'm the enemy. His voice grew stern again. But I'll not be risking my neck for you again, so start moving!