Disclaimer: I own nothing. I just enjoy playing with other people's toys. Thank you JKR for sharing.
Chapter 9: Breendonk
"Mommy! I wan mommy," screamed the young girl.
Lily sat on her hard cot in the cold gray cell she had been locked in the past several days. Tears streamed down her grimy cheeks as she wailed continuously at the two guards placed outside her door.
"Quiet girl," shouted one of the men clad in black.
"MOMMMMMY," came Lily's reply to the man's voice.
"No use, Nott. She's been screaming like that for days," the other man said wearily.
"Can't we stun her?" Nott asked wearily.
"You know we can't. Blasted orders. Can't harm the little brat. Though I wouldn't say no to a silencing charm."
Theodore Nott opened the chamber door wide enough to see the trembling figure now curled in a fetal position on her grimy blanket.
"Silencio," Nott said firmly pointing his wand at the girl without a shred of compassion on his shadowed face.
Lily's mouth continued to open in silent screams as Nott shut the door once again and locked it with his wand.
Out side the walls of Breendonk, hidden under the cloak of darkness, thirty-five wizards waited for their signal. Ginny, holding fast to Harry's hand, knelt behind a bush at the gated entrance to the old camp. Dumbledore with his band of thirteen Order members hid not far to their left in the shadows. With a nod towards them Harry raised his wand ready to set their plan in motion.
"Tento Detectum," he muttered under his breath wand pointed purposefully at the closed gates.
As predicted and unwanted a screech assailed their ears as an alarm pounded their ears. Fifteen Death Eaters, masked and cloaked, ran from all sides of the building towards where Harry, Ginny, and the others lay in wait. Far to their right they heard the sound of Kingsley's voice ring out as his disarming charm flew towards the Death Eaters hitting one with precision and causing his wand to fly into the air. The hooded figures started towards Kingsley firing spells as they came. Ten other members of the Order of the Phoenix had joined him in his attempt to attract the Death Eaters' attentions. When the final Death Eater had run into the fray Dumbledore nodded to Harry and Ginny who made their way, close to the ground, towards the now unprotected gates.
"Alohamora," Harry said in a voice just above a whisper.
He pushed the gates open enough to allow him and Ginny entrance. Behind them they knew that Dumbledore, Remus, Tonks, Brenda, Moody, Ron, Hermione, Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, and Percy were following and dispersing themselves in pairs into hidden corners of the building. Unnoticed by the Death Eaters fighting the other members of the Order they made their way quickly up, what had been dubbed long ago by prisoners of the camp, the last walk.
The alarm that had once sounded had ceased and all that could now be heard was the shouts and spells of the Death Eaters and the Order. They gained the double doors to the forts main entrance with hearts pumping wildly, afraid that any noise they made would alert the Death Eaters to their presence.
Harry released Ginny's hand and stood to one side of the door, Ginny stood on the other ready to admit themselves into the Dark Order's headquarters. Not knowing what they would find within Harry gently pushed one of the heavy wooden doors open. He found the entrance deserted though it was apparent by the broken mug lying on the stone floor behind the door that it had been being guarded. He slipped inside silently Ginny close on his heels. They made their way up the hall and heard a small click as several of the Order members following them sealed the door, before setting two as guards well hidden in the shadows.
They came to the first set of passages and peering down both Harry took the one to the right knowing, due to Hermione's research, that it would lead to the cells once used for solitary confinement and the "stube" where the other prisoners were kept. This, she had said, would be an ideal place for them to hide Lily and therefore where they would head first.
They stole down the passage without a sound, due to the silencing charms they had placed on their shoes, towards a dim light at the end. As they approached the light they found a second set of passages. Looking carefully around they saw two Death Eaters running full tilt in their direction. Flinging themselves against the damp stone wall they prepared for their first confrontation.
The two masked figures rounded the corner in their panicked run and nearly missed Ginny and Harry.
"Stupefy," Harry and Ginny said in unison as the two came to a sudden halt and attempted to aim their wands at the intruders. Both fell with loud thuds to the stone floor stunned.
Not far behind them the heard Tonks' voice say, "Wingardium Leviosa."
The two bodies began to levitate off the floor and make their way down the hall towards her and Remus, who held open a door allowing them to float into the empty room. With a small wink Remus nodded his head for Harry and Ginny to continue. They took a left heading towards the light that began to grow stronger with each step they took. Treading even more watchful now, for they could hear voices ahead, they approached the light. Inside the glowing room they could hear a low sobbing followed by cold laughter.
"Perhaps I did not make myself clear the first time Nott. The girl is not to be harmed," came the voice of the woman they did not recognize.
"I am sorry, so sorry Madame. I did not think that placing a silencing charm on the girl would cause her harm," came Nott's whimpering reply.
"I do not agree Nott. I have told all of you. She must be left alone for our plan to work. The potion we have concocted is highly volatile and any magic performed on her once she takes it can undo all that we have worked so hard for," the woman sneered.
"I am truly sorry madam. I did not-" Nott started.
"Crucio!" The woman cried.
Nott screamed as though his skin was on fire as the Cruciatus Curse hit him. Taking their opportunity they hurried past the door as Nott's screams filled the hallway and echoed off of the walls. They could see him manacled to the wall in the chamber. A quick glimpse of his surroundings told them that this was the "bunker" or a room of interrogation as Hermione had told them about. Large pegs were driven firmly into the stone walls from which chains and shackles hung threateningly. A large iron hook was suspended from the ceiling and other horrible looking instruments lie on a table against a far wall. Ginny shuddered involuntarily. This had obviously been a place of torture not interrogation and was now once again in use.
Nott's screams followed them hauntingly as they raced down the corridor telling them the woman had not yet lifted the curse. She had looked oddly familiar to Ginny, but she could not quite place her.
"Narcissa Malfoy," Harry whispered to her as if he had read her thoughts.
"Narcissa Malfoy? Draco's mum?" Ginny asked.
Harry nodded as they paused at the head of yet another set of passages. He looked to his right first seeing a doorway leading out into the night. A pair of feet could be seen just below the large crack beneath the door. To the left a soft glow came from beneath a shut door halfway down the hallway. They took the left path stopping outside the lit room.
"Is it nearly done?" came a voice Harry remembered only too well.
"Wormtail," Harry muttered under his breath.
"Indeed yes. Soon we will be able to administer the draught to the girl," came the nasal voice of a second man.
"I shall go tell Madam Malfoy. She will be pleased," came Wormtail's voice again.
Footsteps approached the door quickly and Peter Pettigrew opened and closed the door that both Ginny and Harry had flung themselves behind. With one swift movement Harry placed one arm around Pettigrew's neck while the other held his wand to the face of his parents' murderer.
"Not one move Wormtail," Harry said threateningly in his captive's ear. "Ginny take his wand."
Ginny obliged quickly, reaching her hand into his robe, producing the wand, and placing it into her pocket.
"Harry," came Wormtail's weak voice. "You wouldn't hurt me Harry, would you? You said before your father wouldn't have wanted it."
"I said my father wouldn't have wanted his best mates to become murders for you. I however have already killed one man. Your master. It wouldn't take much for me to kill you too," Harry said acidly. "You are going to tell me where my daughter is Peter. You are going to lead me to her right now."
Wormtail swallowed hard trying to nod his head, but finding it difficult owing to the hold Harry had on him.
"She's that way," Wormtail said gesturing down the dark hallway with his middle finger.
"Let's go then," Harry said giving Wormtail a shove to get him moving, arm still firmly in place, wand now pointing at his prisoner's face.
Wormtail scuffled along before him making, in Ginny's opinion, far too much noise on the stones.
"Harry," Ginny whispered quietly.
Harry did not seem to have heard her.
"Harry," Ginny tried again.
"Hmm," Harry said.
Before Ginny could reply the corridor behind them echoed with footfalls alerting them to their coming visitors.
"I heard something. This way," came a gruff male voice.
"No one has breeched the perimeter. They are being held off behind the gates," came a second voice.
"I know I heard something," the first man said firmly.
Ginny, Harry and Wormtail came to a halt. Ginny looked around wildly for a hiding place. Seeing a door set into the stone behind Harry and the trembling Wormtail she darted behind them quickly.
"Silencio," she muttered pointing her wand at the rusty hinges before opening the door wide.
Ginny entered the dark room first followed by Harry who drug Pettigrew over the casement.
Shutting the door quietly behind them Ginny whispered, "Colloportus."
"Here, behind here," Harry said gesturing to her to join him towards the back of the chamber.
"Damn. I swore I heard something," they heard one of the men swear through the door.
"I told you before no one has made it past the gate outside. The reinforcements have joined the others. The intruders will be dealt with very soon."
Ginny's heart caught in her chest. She couldn't stand it if anything happened to the others. It would be all her fault, she felt, if it did. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom she became aware of the large roughly made wooden beds stacked two high that they were hiding behind. They were bare of mattresses revealing large slats through which she could just make out the door. With a small leap of her heart she realized they must be in one of the prisoner's rooms. If Hermione was correct and Lily was being held in solitary confinement or a prisoner's barrack then they must be close.
They sat silently. Harry, his wand pressed against Wormtail's larynx and Ginny staring at the door they had entered, listening hard.
"I think they've gone," Harry said in her ear.
Nodding to him Ginny stood while Harry hefted Wormtail to his feet.
"Remember Wormtail, one peep and it will be your last," Harry warned him.
Removing her charm, Ginny opened the door a crack to gaze out into the deserted hall. With a last look at Harry and a nod they proceeded on their way much more quietly now with the silencing charm they had placed on Pettigrew's boots. At the end of the corridor they stopped. They could hear voices again although they did not seem to be coming nearer.
"Guards?" Harry hissed in Pettigrew's ear.
"Yes," Pettigrew squeaked. "That is her room."
Chancing a glance around the corner Ginny saw them. Two Death Eaters stood before a lone door, neither had their hoods up. They seemed to be chatting about the goings on outside the fort.
"We'll take 'em. They're no match for us," Vincent Crabbe said.
"Wish I could join them. Never get any action I don't," grunted Gregory Goyle. "You'd think seeing as how we were the ones who managed to snatch the girl we'd be allowed to fight. Alls we are doing is babysitting."
Ginny's face reddened in anger at what she was hearing. She wanted to run at them, hurt them, make them pay for taking her daughter, but with a look of warning from Harry she steadied herself. Instead of running off half-cocked at her daughter's guards she leveled her wand at Wormtail.
"Stupefy," she said through clenched teeth.
Wormtail went limp in Harry's arms. Harry caught him before he could fall to the floor and alert Crabbe and Goyle to their whereabouts.
"What did you do that for," Harry hissed in Ginny's ear.
"I can't take them both alone. If either of them gets a yell off we're done for," she whispered back to him.
A look of comprehension crossed Harry's face and he nodded to her leaning the stunned Wormtail against the wall silently.
"On three then?" Harry asked.
Ginny inclined her head before saying in an undertone, "One."
"Two," Harry muttered.
"Three," they said together.
Harry and Ginny sprung out into the passage facing Crabbe and Goyle who looked dumbstruck in their direction, too shocked to speak.
"Stupefy," Harry and Ginny said in unison causing the two men to fall to the floor in a crumpled heap.
Ginny shot off towards them at a run anxious to get into the room where her daughter was being housed. Harry though had stayed back; he was levitating Wormtail's body towards the fallen men. Harry didn't mind Ginny running to Lily that was as it should be and he expected nothing less. Though if the truth were known, he wasn't staying behind just to gather the stunned bodies. Harry was nervous. He would be meeting his daughter for the first time any moment.
"What if she doesn't like me?" he asked himself aloud. "What if I make a horrible father?"
Doubts and questions swirled through his mind as he approached the open door.