A Lighter Shade of Black

Popping and Portkeys

"Where did they take him?" Ginevra snapped in a deadly hiss.

Nicole knew that if a snake had any specific tone of voice, that it would be the one her friend was demanding in right now. She was so angry and desperate to find Draco that Cole could feel the magical energy pulsating off of the redhead. If Goyle even tried to lie to her, she might hex him into oblivion.

What little bit of her mother was in her made Nicole hope he would try.

He turned to face her now. "Our place, Niks." he whispered, "Salvation is there for him."

At those words, Gregory Goyle's eyelids slide down and his last breath escaped him. Ginevra picked up a small blue vial and read the label before tossing it to her friend.

"Poisoned himself." Gin stated, "Couldn't live with the shame of betraying his friends."

Nicole whipped her wand out and pointed it at the vial, muttering a few well-chosen words.

"Touch the bottle, Gin, it'll take us to the place."

The shorter teen touched the bottle and a few seconds later she could feel the sickening tug behind her belly-button that could only mean one thing.

"I hate Portkeys." she muttered as they both arrived at their destination.

"Same here, but you couldn't have apparated. You didn't know where it was."

Only then did Ginevra take in her surroundings. They were standing outside of a cave that had hanging roses dangling in front of the opening and she saw a faint blue glow coming from deep inside. As she turned and looked down at the cliff, a numbness flinched through her body; she despised heights.

"We're right above Hogsmeade." Nicole stated, "Just about half-way up that great mountain."

…

They had reached the very end of the cave now and Ginevra was beginning to get butterflies in her stomach for the first time tonight. What if Goyle had lead them wrong? What if it was a trap? What if -

"Gin, look!"

Ginevra stopped and stared at the table before her. It had a bow and a quiver of arrows laid out on it and a sword that looked rather wicked with its perfectly straight blade and the silvery-green tint of it. Now that she got a closer look at the arrows' tips, she could see that they were not only silver; they were more of a silver-blue color. It was so very strange to see weapons with the craftsmanship that these had. They could have been fashioned by ancient elves or even Veela.

Ginevra was so mesmerized that she had almost reached out and grabbed them until Nicole pulled her back slightly.

"Don't touch them, Gin." Cole warned.

"But-"

"Don't touch them yet. They're Portkeys and they'll lead us right to Draco, I'm guessing." Nicole continued, releasing her friend's hands, "Are you sure you're ready?"

"Please don't ask me that," Ginevra whispered, "I'm about to do something extremely stupid and Gryffindor by charging in there unprepared. So, please, don't ask me if I'm ready."

Nicole hugged her friend tightly.

"Don't worry, babe." she said, grinning into her friend's shoulder, "I've got a plan."

Taylor sat on the corner of Katie's bed with a storybook in her hands. She had been reading the small girl a bedtime story until she fell asleep. The teen slowly and carefully got off of the bed and set the book on a nearby shelf. She touched a kiss to the girl's forehead before leaving the room, cracking the door open a little and making her way to the room she shared with Laura down the hall.

"Any news?" she asked, closing the door and plopping on her bed.

"No, but I can feel something." Laura replied, gazing out the window hauntingly, "It's getting stronger... He's getting stronger."

The girls both jumped as a beeping sound filled the room. T.J. grabbed the gold-bronze coin on her bedside and whispered something.

"Cole? Gin? Are you there?"

"Yeah it's us." that was Cole.

"What's up?"

"We're somewhere near Little Hangleton, just outside of the town. Send back-up."

"We'll be there, too."

"No!" Gin now, "Stay with Katie-girl and send the reinforcements soon!"

The communicator beeped and the voices were lost. The teens exchanged a glance before pulling on cloaks and boots and strapping on their wands.

"We'll leave Katie with Tonks, she's too ill to fight."

Laura ran quickly to her cousin's room as Taylor when upstairs to wake the Weasley boys there.

…

Harry bolted upright the moment his scar pained. It was a quick jolt, like static electricity, but he knew what that meant. Voldemort's power was growing. He jumped out of bed the moment his cousin pushed his door open. She could tell by the looks of him that he had just felt was she was feeling now.

"Ginny and Nicole" (she only said Ginny so he would know who she meant) "went totally Gryffindor. They ran off to rescue Draco Malfoy from the Dark Lord."

"She risked her life for Malfoy?" Harry demanded angrily, pulling a shirt on as well as his shoes.

Laura dropped her regal war-face for a moment and smirked faintly. "She's got a thing for ferrets."

Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed his cloak. "Whatever, we've got to wake the others."

…

Charlie opened his eyes slowly and smiled as he saw Tonks shift against his chest. He and N'Dora had fallen asleep talking again, he supposed. His N'dora? No, no… they were just mates, friends. He liked her and all, but…

But what?

He thought about it a moment. Truth be told, there really wasn't any reason he shouldn't have asked her on a date. Just to see how it went, of course.

Charlie was pulled from his thoughts by the whole household storming down the stairs in their pajamas with wands outstretched and the hysterical ranting of his mother.

"What do you mean Draco Malfoy?" she wailed, her fiery gaze upon Harry, "No daughter of mine will risk her neck against the Dark Lord for some rich, blonde brute!"

Charlie would have rolled his eyes at that, but the way Tonks shot to her feet with her hair flying everywhere (and also going from a long smooth, dark brown to short and blood red) had captured his attention for the moment. Why? He had seen that reflex of hers come out many times before, why should it make him feel something now?

Shaking himself out of the confusing thoughts, Charlie made his way over to his mother and the group around her. As he did, the sound of two distinct 'pop's didn't quite register with him.

"What's going on?"

End Chapter