Floo-Jacked!
By: CNJ
PG-13
2: Vanished In a Yellow Flame
Ron:
"...is rotten luck that Harry got caught eavesdropping and spent most of today stuck in McGonagall's office helping her in some dull task on her computer and files," I commented to Luna as the two of us wove our way through the crowds at Hogsmeade to head back to Hogwarts.
"Yeah..." Luna nodded. "Oh, I'm glad you're free today since Hermione is working on a paper today and Ginny's organizing her photo albums ." The air had a hint of spring in it after the long winter, but it was still chilly in the evenings. I really think they should have given Harry some lax and maybe just had him serve a regular week evening detention.
All of us have been worried about the teachers and the Minister's rotten handling of the recent death eater/dark magic insurgency in the wizard/witch world. All we have to do is look around and see many more aurors guarding the streets.
Also, we students must travel in pairs or groups off Hogwarts grounds including Hogsmeade and have to stay together at all times. I also suspect that Harry is relieved at this rule, since I think he is afraid to go very far alone.
He still occasionally suffers from the after effects of his traumatic encounter with Voldemort at the end of our fourth year and the disastrous havoc of last year Umbridge the Urk wreaked on Hogwarts. As we headed into Three Broomsticks to floo back to school, someone bellowed behind us.
"Roooon...Lunaaa..." We turned and Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, Ernie Macmillan, and Dean Thomas were weaving their way through the crowd behind us.
"Hello..." we called. The fireplace at Three Broomsticks is big enough for several people to floo through at once. Normal size fireplaces can only floo one person at a time.
Just then a group of other Hogwarts students joined us. Until this year, we'd been able to stay at Hogsmeade later, even overnight if we got McGonagall's or Dumbledore's permission and it was a Friday or Saturday night, but not this year. We now have to be back by early evening and there's no overnights.
"Ready...?" Luna asked. She pulled out the floo powder packet and let five fourth-years go first, then several fifth years and a few six-years. I heard something strange with the last group, a kind of heyyyy...
Luna must have heard it too because she looked over at me. The remainder of us strained to listen, but we didn't hear anything more. We stood a minute and looked at the flames, but they looked normal, a regular shade of fire-orange.
"Let's go..." Dean stepped forward. Luna sprinkled our bit of floo powder and once the flame turned green, making it safe, we stepped into the fireplace and said simultaneously, "Hogwarts..."
It should have taken us to Hogwarts, to the fireplace near the Great Hall, but it didn't happen. I heard a loud WHOOOOOSH, then a blowing sound and suddenly there were yellow flames around me...or us and some yells. The yellow in the flames looked sinister and I began to feel scared.
I mean really scared perhaps for the first time in years. This is the yellow flames that are being investigated by the aurors, I realized in horror.
We finally hit solid ground and the yellow flames faded. I sat up and looked around and was relieved to see the others with me. But where we landed was not Hogwarts at all. It was a narrow hall that resembled a storage space. It was hard to see if it really was because it was so dark.
"Oh, Merlin..."someone was whimpering.
"We're not at Hogwarts..." another younger student rasped fearfully.
"What happened!" Luna gasped. My own breathing was fast and tight. I really don't know how long we sat in that small space. There was just one barred door, so there was no escape.
After an undetermined amount of time when we sat, too afraid to move for fear we'd panic, figures zoomed beside us, a group of about twenty apparating from...Merlin knew where.
Oh...God! my heart jumped into my stomach when I saw that they were death eaters. Several of us gasped. Right beside me was Peter Pettigrew, who'd facilitated the murder of Harry's parents.
"It worked," he purred, cackling a soft cold laugh.
"We have them here," another one crooned. "I think Lord Voldemort will be pleased, won't he?" We're fried London broil! I thought as I saw the terror in my classmates' faces.
Harry:
I don't know why I felt so nervous as we headed down to the Great Hall. Perhaps it was because my scar had twinged about a half hour before Dumbledore had called us early for dinner over the loudspeaker saying that he had something urgent to tell us. I found Neville, Hermione, and Ginny and the four of us headed down together.
I was surprised that my hands were shaking as we sat. Looking up at the teachers' table, we saw the teachers sitting, looking very grave. Hagrid was wiping his eyes and my heart began to pound fearfully and my hands began to sweat. Had someone died?
Oh dear! I thought fearfully. Another thing I noticed where that Ron and Luna and several others who had gone to Hogsmeade were not back yet.
"I think something's happened at Hogsmeade," Hermione whispered shakily. Dumbledore clinked his glass for attention and yes, it was something that happened at Hogsmeade...very serious. The students visiting Hogsmeade today had been kidnapped via floo powder when they attempted to floo back here about an hour ago.
"...It is with a heavy heart of great regret that I must inform all of you that no one is to leave Hogwarts ground until the students are found and brought back safely and those responsible are caught," Dumbledore finished.
Most of the teachers were pale. Madame Hooch burst into tears and McGonagall reached over and put an arm around her. A few minutes of bedlam burst over the Great Hall as food appeared. Hardly anyone ate.
"Ron!" "Luna!" were the screams that came from Hermione, Ginny, and me. Neville began to weep and Hermione put an arm around him, tears welling in her own eyes. Ginny and I were trembling as we held onto one another.
From the Slytherin table, we vaguely heard loud complaints about being stuck here and Malfoy heaved a gusty sigh and flung his fork onto the table. Then most of them started to argue over something so asinine that I tried to tune them out.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Great Hall fell silent while some students made an attempt to eat without much success. McGonagall glared over at the Slytherin table as they got louder. Pansy Parkinson saw her and motioned the others to shut up. She stood and hissed shhhhhhh...loudly.
The other Slytherins I guess saw McGonagall's glare and fell silent also. McGonagall went back to trying to comfort a still weeping Madame Hooch, but I guess poor Hooch was still upset because McGonagall excused herself and Hooch and they got up and left the Great Hall.
Shortly afterward, Hagrid, still crying, got up and left too. The rest of the evening went by in a dark haze and all of us Gryffindors fell in bed early, all of our hearts weighing about five tons.