Chapter Four: Protego!

November 30th, 1998

Where am I? I don't know how you can answer this considering that you're a leather bound book but I'm desperate here! I woke up not in my familiar bed but in this stone hard one… and it all came back to me! I've been kidnapped!

Found a note… said I should write how I think and feel into this book. I can better tell you how I feel and think just by throwing you across the cell. I'm not writing in any book just because some bastard gets off reading the torments of a human mind… someone must have realized what I did when I did first threw you across the cell.

A soft voice called out softly "don't do that… you have to write in it… or else they'll take you." I had jumped up… screaming. "Where are you? Who are you? Why are we here?" but no answer… it was most likely my imagination.

Not so long after that, screams of terror can be heard echoing through the halls. My heart was practically clawing out of my throat and through the walls I can hear soft cries. "Don't take me! PLEASE! I'll do whatever you want! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

That was the last words that person screamed before a thud sounded. What is this place? What does it do to those who disobey? Immediately after that, I took this book and started writing this. Don't know what's going on… but for now, I'll do what they want. I need time to figure things out.

"Mr. and Mrs. Chang, I understand how you must feel but please calm down," The secretary outside the Minister's office pleaded. Mrs. Chang only sobbed harder and Mr. Chang grew redder in the face.

"My daughter has been missing for two days! You expect me to calm down?" Mr. Chang thundered in his heavily accented voice. He turned to his wife, who had already made a huge wet spot on her husband's shoulder.

"Hoshiko, my darling," and he continued to soothe her in his native language, Japanese.

Jasmine Witherspoon shook her head in sympathy. Ever since He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named returned, there have been many disappearances but nothing like this. Kids have started to disappear as well. The Ministry kept it from the newspapers; Scrimgeour wouldn't want to look bad in the public's eye.

So far, the past twenty-nine people ranged from the ages of ten to twenty but they were unimportant people, no one anybody would notice once gone. They are those who lived in orphanages or on the streets near Diagon Alley. But now the daughter of a very well-known family has been added to the missing people list and soon enough, this whole ordeal will be on the front cover of the Daily Prophet.

Jasmine stood up from her desk and left the grieving couple alone. It seems to her that at a moment like this (they were lovingly cuddling and kissing each other), they should be alone.

"I guess I should take this time to face the dragon," she whispered to herself. She continued down the hallway that led to Scrimgeour's office. She knew he was busy and wouldn't like any interruptions but neither would he like to be un-informed about this latest development.

Jasmine finally reached the golden door with his full name engraved boldly across it and knocked.

"Come in," a very angry voice sounded. Before she swung the large door open, Jasmine took a deep breath and counted to three.

"Ms. Witherspoon, I thought I've made it clear about interruptions during any of my meetings," Scrimgeour thundered. Jasmine's cheeks colored when she noticed the two other occupants of the room eyed her coldly.

One man had a pair of hairy gray ears; wrinkles creasing into other wrinkles until his face looks like he fell asleep on a screen door. His thin brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he did nothing to hide his receding hairline. The dark circles under his eyes almost made it impossible to discern the color of his eyes; making him look almost evil.

The other man was young and handsome, though. His blond hair was slicked back and his crystal blue eyes shined clearly with intelligence. His had a strong face, with very lush lips and beautiful cheek bones.

Jasmine would have felt an immediate attraction towards this man if it wasn't for the way he looked at her. Almost like he was dissecting her, studying her one piece at a time but Jasmine felt it wasn't for his own pleasure that he did this. It was cold. Like how a doctor would be when study the anatomy of a corpse.

Scrimgeour looked rather like an old lion. There were streaks of gray in his mane of tawny hair and his bushy eyebrows; he had keen yellowish eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles and a certain rangy, loping grace even though he walked with a slight limp. His desk is enormous and would have dwarfed anyone sitting behind it but it only made Scrimgeour look larger than life.

"I know my actions are not welcome, Mr. Minister, but I have a new development on the Missing Orphans case,"

"You know to inform whoever I put in charge of that investigation," he replied.

"I do but the newest missing orphan isn't really an orphan,"

"What?"

"Um, she's the daughter of the Changs, Minister, and they are close friends with the Diggorys,"

"Damn…" Scrimgeour muttered under his breath. He turned to his guests.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Goldman, Mr. Saddler, but it seems our meeting must come to an end,"

"It's quite alright," Goldman, the handsome man, spoke smoothly. Saddler simply grunted before standing. "We must return to our pets soon. As you well know, they're…" Goldman paused eloquently before continuing in his hypnotic voice, "of a new breed. I wouldn't want to be caught off guard if anyone of them should try something,"

"Quite right," Scrimgeour agreed. All that Goldman said only confused Jasmine. Pets? What in Merlin's beard is he talking about? Scrimgeour hates all kinds of creatures, she thought silently to herself.

"Ms. Witherspoon, I don't pay you to stand around in my office like a complete dolt," Scrimgeour sneered, "return to your desk," Jasmine obediently exited his office and hurried back to her desk but all the while she was swearing angrily to herself.

Harry, Ron and Hermione turned away from the wall and they were finally face to face with the people holding the guns. They were two men and one woman. The larger of the two men is also the oldest and the younger man was incredibly handsome. The woman was small and looked overwhelmed by the men's largeness.

"How did she die?" Harry asked finally after a moment of sizing everyone up.

"Umbrella," the three said in unison, hatred dripping from their words.

"Are you Rule Legend?" Hermione asked. The younger of the two men nodded.

"This is Barry Burton and this here is Rebecca Chambers. They're also survivors of Umbrella,"

"Rule," Barry grumbled, "are you sure they're okay?" Rebecca looked up at Rule anxiously as well. Anyone who might threaten their position to Umbrella is an enemy.

"Yes, they're okay," Rule assured them.

"What is Umbrella?" Ron asked Rule but it was Rebecca who answered.

"Umbrella is a heartless company. They have a finger in every pie from law enforcers to politicians to scientists. They're the reas—"

"Oh, don't try explaining. He won't understand." Hermione interrupted. Rebecca looked incredulously at Hermione then at Ron. Is he mentally challenged? she wondered.

"We should go upstairs," Barry growled, "Umbrella has ears everywhere," Rule nodded his agreement but first asked the trio in front of him a question.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Ron Weasley, this is Hermione Granger and Harry Potter," Rule nodded and started towards the flat with Barry beside him.

"Follow us," Rebecca told them as she trailed after the two men. Harry didn't argue. He thinks he would have followed Rebecca anyway.

The flat was rather small for three people, let alone six. Everyone was cramped into the living room slash kitchen and the bathroom was just two steps away. Ron and Harry had taken their seats on the old mattress in the middle of the room. It had noticeable stains and a few springs had poked through the fabric. A few seconds after the two took their seats, Hermione did the same with reluctance clear on her face.

Harry had immediately noticed Rebecca from the start. She was small and cute with hair cut boyishly short. Her eyes were a crystal gray like the lake at Hogwarts just past midnight when the moon was full. Her skin looks to be as soft as -- whoa… slow down, boy. You're on duty, Harry reminded himself.

Rule, Harry also noticed was extremely handsome. It was the kind of handsome girls swoon over when they thought of cowboys and outlaws. He's as tall as Ron but much broader. Barry stood an inch shorter than Rule and Ron but seems larger than both put together. Rule's body was that of a professional swimmer; lean, lightly muscled.

Barry is very distinguishing looking with a reddish-brown beard covering most of his face. His brown eyes were emotionless at the moment and his wrinkles indicated how difficult is life must have been in the past.

"I know," Hermione started, breaking the silence, "that I didn't know her; didn't even knew that she existed before all this but I still can't believe she's dead," She said in a sad, kind of desperate, voice.

"It's all right, my only," Ron said as he wrapped an arm around Hermione's small shoulders and squeezed gently, "you're just disappointed because you couldn't save her," Hermione leaned over to rest her head on Ron's shoulder. This is the Ron she loved most; the caring, sweet, considerate person that she's learned to see.

"Well," Rule smirked, "as much as I feel touched by this lovely display, I want to know how the hell you knew where to find us," Hermione glared angrily at Rule and turned away haughtily. Though she had noticed (and felt the effects of) how incredibly good-looking he is, she did not like his attitude. Not one bit, she thought to herself.

"How much do you know?" It was Harry who spoke first. He was always the first to take charge and, if necessary, lead.

"Pretty much nothing," Rule admitted. "But I have a feeling you might say you're witches,"

"How!" Hermione burst out loud just as Ron cried out crossly "Hey! Harry and I are not witches! We're wizards!" Hermione stared at Ron.

"Only you would notice that he called you a witch and completely overlook the fact that a muggle knows that we're, well, not muggles."

"That's not fair! I've noticed," Ron cried out angrily.

"Yeah, right," Hermione agreed sarcastically. Rule noticed Harry, the boy with the scar, sigh heavily and shake his head when his friends' arguing became louder and more heated.

"They do this often?" He asked. Harry looked up.

"Ever since we were eleven years old,"

"Quiet!" Barry roared. Everything went silent at the command. The silence proceeded for a long moment before Rebecca asked the question that was burning on the ex-S.T.A.R.S. members' minds.

"Do you really believe you're… uh, witches?"

"I'm a wizard… a wizard!" Ron repeated slowly.

"You shouldn't know this," Harry said but Hermione shook her head.

"I think it's all right. Remember, McGonagall told us that whatever Portia did, she did for the greater good,"

"The greater good?" Rule repeated angrily, "Having a four-foot long tentacle suck your face isn't for the greater good, girl,"

"What?" Harry said shocked.

"You heard me." Hermione gasped angrily, Ron looked ready to tear someone's ear off and Harry looked to be reaching for a concealed weapon.

"Look this isn't going anywhere," Rebecca interrupted, "how about we keep calm for the moment," Everyone grumbled out an agreement when Barry walked over to the windows, taking a peek through the curtains.

"Shit," he whispered.

"Shit?" Ron asked. "Shit what?"

"He means," the Rebecca answered for him, "Shit, they're here,"

"Who's here?" Harry and Hermione asked.

"No time," Rule said, "you, go with Rebecca" he commanded Harry. Harry glanced over at Rebecca. She had picked up two bags and handed one over to Harry.

"Just keep close and you'll be alright," Harry nodded dumbfounded. He was too confused about what's going on to question her.

"Red, you're coming with me. I think I'll have some use of you," Rule told Ron. Ron only looked angry about what Rule called him but did what he was told.

"Barry, you'll take Hermione,"

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Barry asked Rule.

"Let's hope I didn't just wired this whole building with explosives for nothing,"

"Explosives?" Harry repeated, still dumbfounded by the rapid pace of events.

"Explosives!" Hermione shrieked.

"What do you mean 'explosives'?" Ron asked, scratching his head a bit.

"No time," Rebecca, Rule and Barry said in unanimity. It's probably a catchphrase of theirs, Harry thought.

"Let's go," Rule cried out. Rebecca started out towards the bathroom with Harry following her. Barry and Hermione were going to the closet and Rule and Ron left through the front door.

"Why are we in the bathroom?" Harry asked but Rebecca didn't answer. Rebecca placed her bag down on the tiled floor and wrapped her arms around the toilet and started pulling it. Harry immediately dropped his bag and helped her. After a few moments, the toilet started giving way and when they pulled it back enough, Harry could see a big hole in the wall, that was once covered by the toilet, leading to outside.

"Let's go," Harry nodded as he watched Rebecca shimmied through the hole. "Pass me the bags," Nodding again, Harry reached for Rebecca's bag and put it through the hole. Then he did the same with his own bag and now it's his turn to go through the hole.

"Quickly, they're coming," not knowing who they were and judging by Rebecca's anxiousness, Harry knew they were bad news so he moved quickly; shimmying through the hole without any trouble and assuming the bag again.

"Do you know how to handle a gun?" Rebecca questioned Harry as she ran towards the trees. Harry shook his head and Rebecca let out a frustrated sigh.

Her frustrations toward him almost made Harry wish he knew how to use a gun but in the world he grew up in, guns had no place.

"Look, I can help…" Harry started to say but Rebecca cut him off.

"Don't need it." Suddenly gun shots cracked through the air and a small scream echoed through the woods. Harry immediately recognized the scream as Hermione's. Something rustled behind Harry and almost instantly, Rebecca pulled out her gun and squeezed the trigger. BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM!

"Shit! What did you just shot at?" Harry shouted.

"A couple of U.B.C.S. members," she answered.

"What in Merlin's beard are U.B.C.S. members?" But Rebecca didn't answer. After another five minutes of running, Harry could see Hermione, Barry, Rule and Ron just ahead.

"Harry, you're safe," Hermione gushed in relief.

"No one's hurt?" Barry questioned but everyone was fine. A second later, a huge explosion shook the earth underneath them.

"I guess they worked after all," Rule commented dryly. Barry smirked at him just when a shot sounded and Rebecca's cry of pain sounded.

"Rebecca!" Barry called out and reached for her just before she fell. More shots riddled the ground around them, kicking up dirt as it did. Hermione screamed and clung to Ron desperately. Rule was surveying the trees and returning fire but he was outnumbered. Barry was too busy treating Rebecca's wound to be much help.

I guess it's up to me, Harry thought, pulling out his eleven inched holly and phoenix feathered wand. After the past seven years of usage, it was still nice and supple.

"Protego!" He yelled with a wave of his wand. Harry has no idea using the Shield Charm will deflect any of the bullets being sent his way but it's worth a try. The spell creates a magical barrier that usually deflects hexes thrown at the caster, not bullets.

"Harry! It's working!" Hermione shouted with excitement and indeed it was working. The bullets ricocheted off from the magical barrier back to those who fired them in the first place. After a few minutes, the U.B.C.S. members ultimately killed themselves.

"Wow," Rebecca croaked. Hermione was already at her side, using all that she's learned to heal the wound on Rebecca's shoulder. "You weren't lying about being witches,"

"For the last time," Ron said quietly, "we're wizards, Hermione's the witch." Harry smiled, knowing Ron was scared shitless despite his inappropriate correction.

"Yeah…" he agreed "we weren't lying."