Chapter 21

Cornered and Captured

Out of nowhere, people wearing black cloaks appeared behind Harry's group. They were surrounded and outnumbered, eight to twelve. Everybody got out their wands but before they could even utter a word –

"EXPELLIARMUS!" bellowed a bodiless voice. All of their wands flew out of their hands and zoomed towards a group of birch trees. Harry felt a shiver run down his spine. He recognised that voice and he suddenly regretted coming. Out of the dark shadows of the trees emerged a man who towered over everyone. His gaunt face was a deathly grey and his slit like eyes glowed red and seemed to glare at everyone at once. Sleek black hair went down his back and in one hand was eight wands, and in the other was his own. Wearing a plain black robe with acid green stitching, he strode over to the trapped group. Harry was the only one standing; the others had collapsed, maybe from exhaustion or from fear.

"And once again, we meet. Is this an occasion to be repeated over and over again until one of us finally kills each other?" breathed Voldemort, his voice sending shivers down their backs. But Harry had no fear.

"I know the prophecy as well, and I know it will be fulfilled. But it will be you who dies," said Harry, pointing at Voldemort viciously. Hated pulsed through his veins and gave him strength he had never felt before.

"So confident, Mr Potter. But I am not here just for you tonight," said Voldemort, a large grin appearing on his face, flashing pointed canines, almost vampiric.

At this point, Roxanne was doing whatever it took to get out of there. She had already kicked a Deatheater in the groin and poked one in the eye. But it was no use, it was her they wanted and they wouldn't let her go. She just couldn't understand how they had got into the forest.

"Roxanne Winters, how long I have wanted to meet you. Your prophecy will come true this night as well."

Harry looked wildly from Voldemort to Roxanne, who was struggling madly like a rabid dog trapped in a corner.

"This is un-unfair!" yelled Neville suddenly. He stood up, wavered, then went to Harry's side. "We deserve a fair fight, with wands."

Showing his elongated canines again, Voldemort held out his hand containing their wands. Neville, shaking from head to foot, made a grab for them, but Voldemort retracted his arm and Neville stumbled, ending up in a kneeling position in front of Voldemort.

"Just how his parents looked when I had finished with them," cackled a female voice whom was holding Roxanne's arms.

Harry turned around and found himself face to face with his godfather's murderer. Words could not express his rage, so he physically attacked her instead. Neville, taking the opportunity, grabbed the wands off a taken aback Voldemort and threw them forwards.

"CRUCIO!" roared Voldemort, pointing his wand at Neville's back.

"Neville!" cried Hermione. She pointed her wand at Voldemort. "Scourgify!"

With a wave of his wand, he blocked the simple spell. He acid gaze stared at Hermione, who staggered backwards.

"You're the powerful mudblood! You could be helpful," he hissed. There was a loud BANG and ropes came from his wand, wrapping around Hermione. "Crabbe! Take her to the Hollow!" he yelled to a Deatheater who was trying to pull Harry off Bellatrix. Taking her wand, Vincent Crabbe's father put a screaming Hermione over his shoulder and ran off into the dark forest.

Harry didn't even notice – he was punching Bellatrix so hard in the face his knuckles were bleeding. Strong arms grasped Harry around the waist and pulled him off. He kicked Bellatrix once more in the face and she fell to the floor unconscious. The man held him up tightly and Harry could see what was happening around him, or rather, what had happened. Neville was curled up on the leafy ground, not moving an inch; Roxanne had a large cut across her cheek and was being held up by another Deatheater. Ginny was holding a limp Mark, who had been knocked out with an Impedimenta spell. Luna was stopping Ron's legs from going crazy and Hermione wasn't even in the area.

"See? You can't win," said Voldemort. "Enervate."

Bellatrix sat up, her face a bloody mess. She saw Harry and growled at him.

"Don't bother Bellatrix, he will have his comeuppance soon enough. Its Miss Winters we need to deal with now. Goyle, get him."

"Get w-who?" asked Roxanne, looking frantically around her. Harry had never seen her like this before, it was almost scary.

Voldemort didn't reply, but the next person who came out of the shadows certainly answered her question. Harry hadn't been looking in that direction; he was watching Wormtail – who had stopped chanting – separating the animals. He chose the strongest – whom including Hagrid and his dragons – to stay, and the weaklings seemed to come out of the daze and they walked off calmly. He noticed Snape lying on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding him and soaking into the earth.

"You!" gasped Roxanne.

This snapped Harry's attention back to the person who was standing beside Voldemort, his pale pointy face emotionless.

"You bastard! You evil conniving bastard!" screamed Roxanne at Malfoy. His facial expression stayed the same, blank.

"Now now, Roxanne. You shouldn't say things like that to your future husband," leered Voldemort, looking almost proudly down at Draco, who as almost as tall as him.

"W-what?" stuttered Harry. He glanced at Roxanne and saw she was just as dumbstruck as he.

"What are you on about?" asked Roxanne, staring at Draco. He looked down at the floor.

Voldemort ignored her question. "You must be wondering how we managed to get into the forest without detection? It's all thanks to Malfoy. His ingenious idea of suggesting we all take on the same form of an Auror protecting Hogwarts gave us the foundations of this plan."

He received blank stares from the group.

"Every few weeks we came in as the same person using Polyjuice potion. The same Auror who did daily inspection every month. No one suspected a thing, well, apart from Snape here," he added, casting a glance at the bloody body of Professor Snape. "And every month that Auror would say he would take himself out of Hogwarts, but instead he would go deep into the forest and stay there, eventually changing back into his true form. No one suspected a thing, not even dear old Dumbledore…"

Harry couldn't believe it. They go in that easily?

"This little charm was not only to catch your attention, but to draw some strong creatures to me, and some traitors."

"My Deatheaters, we have no need for the rest. Kill them."

"NO!" cried Roxanne. She lifted her feet from the ground and the man holding her did a double take. She took the opportunity to kick him viciously in the groin. She grabbed his wand off him while he whimpered in pain and pointed it and each Deatheater individually.

"Don't you dare harm them!" she snarled.

One Deatheater launched himself at her but she was quick.

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" The man went stiff as a board and fell flat on his face. "Expelliarmus!"

Her friends grabbed the flying wands and pointed them at the defenceless Deatheaters. Voldemort stood stock still with Malfoy beside him, who didn't seem to be able to see anything going on.

All together they said the same spell. "IMPEDIMENTA!"

Bodies went flying and everyone turned to run back into the safety of the forest.

"They're following us!" gasped Mark, who was being held up by Harry and Ron. But whoever was following them, seemed to have stopped as the only sound was feet running through the overgrowth and people gasping for breath.

"Hermione!" said Harry suddenly.

"They took her away, mate," said Ron, his voice wobbling dangerously.

Harry turned to run back but Neville grabbed him.

"We can't go back Harry, we'll put everyone's lives in danger," exclaimed Neville, his eyes wide.

"They won't kill her," assured Ginny, shaking. "I heard them. They said she was powerful."

Using spells, they retrieved their brooms and flew above the trees. At last they reached the outside of the woods to find every single teacher out there, along with many other people separated into small groups.

"Harry!" cried Professor McGonagall.

"I told you not to go in there, Harry! You deliberately disobeyed me!" bellowed Dumbledore, looking more furious than Harry ever saw him. Harry felt fear for the first time in the night.

"I'm sorry but I – I had to!" he protested. "We're all safe!" he added, forgetting about Hermione for a moment. It didn't seem real.

"You most certainly are not! Miss Granger and Miss Winters are missing! Aren't they your friends?" said Dumbledore.

"Ro-Roxanne?" he repeated, he looked about them. Dumbledore was right; she was nowhere to be seen.

"She was with us!" said Ginny, her face red from crying. "She got on her broom!"

"I trusted you Harry, have I ever told you false? And this is how you repay me? By practically giving Voldemort Roxanne," continued Dumbledore furiously.

Harry opened his mouth to apologise once more, but he couldn't. He was utterly speechless. It was like when your father told you off for something you didn't do or you didn't mean to do.

"Albus, the Aurors are ready," said Professor Scota, her brows furrowed with anxiety.

Harry looked at the twenty-odd men and women, wearing tight, black clothes with short navy cloaks. Their wands were longer than average and they had various weapons on them. Some had crossbows, some had knives and he even saw a beefy man with a large gun on his back like looked like a magically enhanced M16.

He felt someone grasp his arm and for one split second he thought it was Roxanne, but he turned and found Ginny there.

"Don't worry, Harry. We don't blame you; neither does Dumbledore, he just worries for Hermione and Roxanne's safety," she said, her voice wobbling dangerously. "H-he won't hurt them."

Harry hadn't realised he had tears in his eyes, he wiped them away viciously with his free hand. He looked up to see all the Aurors march into the forest. He went to follow them but McGonagall called him back, saying he had caused enough trouble. The Auros disappeared into the forest, ready to clean up the mess Harry had caused.

One of the Aurors was Kingsley, along with Tonks and Alastor Moody. They had not been allowed to make contact with Harry for security reasons but they were doing this for his safety. Tonks had just recently passed her A.F.D.A.T's (Auror's Final Defense and Attack Test) making her a fully trained Auror.

"So men," growled Moody. "And women…" he added, receiving a scowl from a black-haired Tonks. "We are looking for two people. Young women. Roxanne Winters and Hermione Granger. Does anyone need reminding of what these two look like?"

"No," they replied wearily. When they had heard Moody would be in command of their five, they knew they were in for a harder time than they had perceived. The other two Aurors with them were Elphias Doge and Emmeline Vance. Two of who had retrieved Harry from the Dursley house two summers ago.

"Emmeline, have you enough arrows?" asked Moody.

"Yes, Alastor," replied the stately woman.

"We don't know how many Deatheaters will be there, Vance! Remember, constant –"

"Vigilance," finished the four.

"We know," muttered Doge.