Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, do you actually think I would be doing this???

That night, Mona went up to her dorms early. She had put down all her books. What was more important than family?, she thought. After all, it wasn't NEWT year, was it?

Suddenly, she heard someone climbing the stairs. Mona ducked down under her covers and lay perfectly still, her head facing the wall. She heard Lavender and Parvati, still chatting—amazingly--, say goodnight and get into their beds.

About a half-hour later, she heard Hermione's quiet footsteps and unmistakable yawn as she entered the room. Mona felt Hermione pause for a second before getting into bed, she felt Hermione pause by her bed. She stood their a few seconds, then turned to her own bed and went to sleep.

When she was sure she could hear the gentle breathing of her roommates, Mona got up slowly out of bed. She wrapped her cloak around herself and slowly descended the stairs. She could hear her slightly fast and excited breathing as she passed the common room.

All of a sudden, someone put their hand on her shoulder. She gasped loudly and was thankful she didn't scream. Quickly turning around, Mona found herself face to face with Harry.

'Where are you going?' he asked. She thought she saw a slightly curious expression on his face, but that may have been the firelight. 'To old uncle Snape's?'

Ok, now she was sure she hadn't seen a curious expression on his face. 'It's none of your business, where I go,' she said, her voice full of spite.

'Well,' Harry said, 'I guess I have just as much a right as you to go where you're going,' he said while putting on his cloak.

Mona was vividly reminded of a stubborn Malfoy in the beginning of the year, by Harry's behavior. 'Fine,' she said, slightly angry, but surprised.

She turned and started to walk out, but Harry's voice stopped her.

'Uhh,' he said, as though a bit unsure, 'are you just going to go... like that?' he asked.

'How else do you expect me to go,' she asked, throwing up her hands.

'One second,' Harry said, before racing up to the Boys Dorms. Mona let out a sound very close to an angry lion's growl as she waited. She was thinking that it wasn't a very good idea to let Harry come with her. As she thought more about it, she figured out it wasn't a very good idea at all. But, before she could think about it anymore, Harry came running down the stairs.

He looked at her in a way that said, good you haven't left, then took out a long silvery sheet and threw it at her. Mona's eyes widened and she ducked, but the cloak still caught her. She looked around and found everything exactly as it was, but she looked at herself and couldn't find anything.

'I'm invisible,' she said, as realization hit her.

'Ya, it's an invisibility cloak,' Harry said, looking at her as he put a piece of parchment in his pocket.

'Oh,' Mona said, as she started to go out of the Common Room, into the hallways.

'Wait,' said Harry, 'why do you think I brought this?' He threw the cloak around both of them and took out the parchment and his wand and muttered a few words.

'Did you just say that you were up to no good?' Mona asked, looking at Harry strangely.

'Something like that,' he said, 'Let's go.'

They passed through the castle without passing any teachers, Filch, or Mrs. Norris the whole time. When they reached outside, Harry stopped and Mona said, 'Look, I don't think you should come with me any farther.'

Harry looked around the grounds, passed the lake, passed the forbidden forest and asked, 'Where are you going?'

'That's none of your business,' Mona said, she was wasting time, she might not even find her mom, she might of left.

'I'll make it my business,' he said, proudly.

'Look,' said Mona, reaching a limit, 'This is serious!'

'Sirius?' Harry said.

'Ya,' said Mona, 'now can you go?'

'No way, is Sirius alive?'

'Are you nuts or something,' Mona asked, 'I'm telling you that this is a serious matter and you start making jokes.'

'So, it isn't about Sirius Black?' Harry asked, looking down.

'No, whoever he is...'

Suddenly, Harry looked up from his parchment, and put his hand over her mouth. 'Shhhh,' he whispered, 'don't say a word, someone's coming.'

He dragged her into a shadowy area beside the castle.

They looked out to see who had just left. It was a dark figure, in billowing robes it was leaving very fast and before they knew it, it had disappeared with a pop.

Harry looked at her and asked harshly, 'That was Snape. Now tell me, where are you going?'

'Look, Harry,' Mona hadn't said his name in a long time, 'I have no idea what Snape's doing, but I have to go find my mother alright! You know now, so can you let me go!'

'Hermione said your mother was... well, dead,' Harry looked at her strangely.

'I just found out she wasn't,' Mona said as she started to walk towards the forbidden forest. 'So I'm going to find her.'

'Can I come?' Harry asked, as she heard his footsteps behind her.

'No,' she said instinctively, then she turned around and said, 'Why would you want to?'

'Well,' said Harry, almost shyly, 'It's important to you, isn't it?'

'And you would care what's important to me? You've ignored me for the past near month and got everyone else to and now you care?' she asked hotly.

'I understand how you feel, it's happened to me before, too,' Harry said and added, 'and for the last month, well, I had to think.'

Mona looked at Harry, judging his words, then said, 'Fine, come on, we have two Thestral's to catch.'

Entering the forbidden forest, Mona looked around and finally spotted two thestral's by a corpse of some animal. She patted one's glossy back and jumped on.

'You can see them,' Harry asked.

'Yes,' said Mona, 'obviously.'

'Who did you see die?' Harry asked quietly as he rode his own Thestral.

'It's more of a question of who I didn't see die,' Mona said, her eyes getting slightly glossy.

'Well,' she said, 'Um, can you please take us,' Mona said to the two Thestral's, 'to the House of Riddle.'

Just as the Thestral's jumped into the air, Harry understood where they were going, 'Mona. You don't want to go there.'

57- The House of Riddle

They landed in the graveyard. Harry felt an ominous grumble in his stomach as he got off the sleek, dark Thestral's back. He looked around the only too familiar graveyard and up the slope to the more familiar house.

'Do you have any idea where we are,' Harry whispered in Mona's ear.

'Well, hopefully we'll be beside the House of Riddle,' Mona said looking around at the unusual scenery with raised eyebrows.

'This is Voldemort's house!' Harry said, his voice slightly high.

'We'll just stay a while, and then we'll go, alright,' said Mona looking around and walking up the slope to the riddle house.

But, as she was walking up, she couldn't hear the footsteps of Harry behind her. Stopping, and turning around, she saw Harry was still at the bottom of the slope. With a huff, she ran down and asked, 'Why are you still down here? Come on.'

However, Harry had a look on his face of deep thought. He looked at her and said, 'I shouldn't have come.'

'Well, I warned you,' said Mona, 'But, now you're here, so let's just finish this, 'she reached to put her hand on his shoulder.

Quickly, Harry dodged away from Mona's hand. 'What?' Mona asked, slightly hurt.

'You knew,' said Harry, 'you knew that I was going to follow you. You brought me here and now I can't get back,' Harry looked around wildly, 'this is exactly what Dumbledore's warned me against, a trap.'

'Harry, I didn't...' Mona started.

'No,' Harry interrupted, 'go do what you came to do. I'm going...' and Harry backed away into the many menacing shadows of the graveyard.

'Harry?' Mona said quietly, 'Ugh! I'll just go then,' and she turned away.

Mona walked up, step after step, to the growing house. She could feel her breath quickening; she wasn't sure if it was from excitement or fear. Was Harry right? Was this really Voldemort's house? If it was, then why was her mother hear?

All of a sudden, Mona heard the sound of footsteps. She looked behind her and found none other than her very own mother walking towards her.

'Mona! You're here!' she shouted and grasped her in an awkward hug.

'Mother,' Mona said. She looked at the straight black hair, dark eyes, and white face and smiled happily.

'I don't believe this,' Mona said ecstatically, 'I heard your name on the winds so I came. How did you survive?'

'I escaped,' Mona's mother said simply.

'But, how about dad?' said Mona sadly.

'Oh, him,' said Mona's mother, 'Well, he died.'

Mona looked at her mother strangely. This wasn't the same person whom she remembered a year ago. Mona still knew her last words.

[I]Her father had started to shout, since the winds had picked up terribly. 'Listen, just go; don't look back!' He turned to her mother, 'You go with her!'

'No, I can't leave you!' she shouted back.[/I]

But, maybe she was trying to put it behind her, Mona thought hopefully.

'How about we go inside, it's quite chilly out here,' Mona's mother gestured to the house.

Chilly? Mona thought, it's June. But, then again, she had a cloak on; her mother didn't.

'Yes, let's go,' said Mona slowly. The door creaked as she opened it, and the dust on the wooden floor parted before them.

Quietly, she followed her mother up the stairs into a firelit room.

'Mother, 'she asked her, as she thought of something, 'Who did you come to meet?'

Mona's mother looked at her, but her face was different.

It was older, more worn out, and her eyes were darker and looked haunted.

'Me,' said a voice behind Mona.

Slowly, she turned around, she turned all the way around. She was surrounded by a ring, a ring of death eaters. And at the head was Tom Riddle.

'A trap, 'Mona whispered, as she looked around at the nightmare that surrounded her.

'How convenient for you to join us, Mona Abd Allah,' said a cold voice, the unmistakable voice of Lord Voldemort.

Mona could barely believe the site before her eyes. About twenty cloaks of black surrounded her in a tight circle. And, just where she thought was her mom was standing, was another woman. She had a sunken face, straight black hair, a crafty smile on her face, and a maniac gleam in her eyes.

'She followed me, and came... just like you said my Lord,' said the woman, as she looked into the snake-like face of Voldemort.

Mona felt those red eyes piercing into the back of her head as she looked at the woman with hate. 'What do you want?' she asked the barely human figure.

'You,' came the words from the thin lips, 'It is you that I have been looking for.'

'Why,' asked Mona.

'Why?' the Dark Lord interrupted, 'First, I wanted to kill you, to have you slowly murdered like your parents, because you had power. Power that had to be destroyed.'

'But, she...' said Mona, pointing to the woman near the opposite side of the circle.

'Bellatrix Lestrange,' said the cold voice, 'used the Pollyjuice Potion. When my faithful Death Eaters and I couldn't find you last summer, we took some of your mother's hair... just in case,' he laughed, a high cold laugh.

Mona felt herself swallowing her own saliva as she looked around the dark ring. Standing beside Lestrange was a tall, lean figure. Though he was covered in black and a mask Mona knew from the strands of blonde hair escaping the borders of the mask that the man was no other than Lucius Malfoy.

'Malfoy here,' continued the Dark Lord,' did the honors.' As she looked into the pale mask of a face, she could almost feel the cool gaze and light smirk of his pale face.

'Yes,' Malfoy drawled, 'she was quite a pretty one. Too bad she had to die.' An echo of laughter rang around the circle.

'We looked for you in every possible place,' Voldemort had walked forward out of his place in the circle, 'Your old school, your friend's house's...' Mona gasped [what had happened to her friends], 'your few family member's houses, but we couldn't find [B]you[/B].'

'I wondered where you could be. Could a child have possibly left everything behind, for her very own safety? Then I remembered something I had learned when I was very young, one of the most basic concepts of all: The closer you are to the enemy, the farther you are from danger,' Voldemort stopped and looked at her.

'So, the only place left was Hogwarts. Of course, you were in Hogwarts, I thought immediately, under the protection of the crooked nosed, old fool, Albus Dumbledore.'

Suddenly, a brave voice shouted, 'He's [B]not[/B] a fool!'

Mona turned quickly and saw Harry walking carefully out of the shadows, his wand in hand. He hasn't left, she thought quickly, he didn't leave.

'Well, well, well,' said Voldemort lightly, 'Harry Potter has joined us at last.'

At last, Mona thought, how did he know that Harry would even be here?

'Why don't you hear the rest of this story I have to tell,' said Voldemort as Harry was pushed roughly into the middle of the circle where Mona was standing. He looked into her eyes, and then stood at her back.

'When I thought a few Dementors would finish you off, I found out more than I ever thought I would find out,' he looked around the circle almost excitedly, 'You,' he pointed a thin finger at Mona, 'were a friend of Harry Potter. While Dementors circled you, Harry Potter came to your rescue. I found out that you could bait Harry Potter. Now, you were suddenly important, if I could bait you, then I could get two in one.'

Voldemort looked around the circle.

'And I did.'

This is my fault, Mona thought in a slight panic, this is my fault, now what am I going to do?

Well, listening to me might help, said a familiar voice.

Mona nearly cried out in happiness. Severus, she shouted in her head, forcing herself not to turn around. Where are you?

That's not important, said the voice quickly, you are in a very dangerous position, one wrong move... and well, Avada Kedavra.

Not good, thought Mona.

Not good at all, said the voice, try to keep him talking, people are coming to your rescue.

'So,' said Mona out loud, 'you actually think you've got us?' she said with a sudden burst of bravery. She could feel Harry shift uncomfortably behind her back.

Mona's bravery disappeared as the red eyes looked at her. 'Why, yes I do. And now that Harry Potter shall be defeated, no one will win me.'

'Dumbledore will always be better than you,' shouted Mona.

'Where is your Dumbledore now, girl?' he said, his eyes glowing in a mania. He circled around her and faced Harry, 'No one left to protect you, famous Harry Potter. Unless you mean the girl,' and suddenly he had grabbed Mona by her hair.

Surprised, Mona fell backwards onto the ground. She had no idea that such a thin man could hold such strength. Before she knew it, a wand was pointed at her neck.

Mona looked up into Harry's face. Written in his eyes was disbelief. He still thinks this is a trap, Mona thought. We won't win if we're not together.

'Harry,' she cried, 'please... help me,' She saw Harry take out his wand and look around at the large circle of Death Eaters. No one was answering, no one would help her.

'Help me, Hawwy. HEeelp, pwweese,' shrieked the girl in black robes, Bellatrix Lestrange. The laughter of Death Eaters echoed in her ears, as she closed her eyes.

'What's it going to be, Harry Potter?' asked Voldemort, as he tightened his grasp on the Mona's hair.

But, Mona was falling...

Into the depths of her mind...

Where there was no hope...

Or light...

Where she didn't believe...

That she had a chance...

Then there was a light...

But it was too late.