-150 - The Black Door
All four teens were crowded into the small closet with wands lit. Draco looked at the Gryffindors and could see shock clearly written on all their faces over the horrible news he just told them. It was true though, he had seen it with his own eyes; Ginny Weasley was a prisoner, with his own father as the kidnapper.
Harry was the first to recover after hearing the grim news, "Malfoy, how do you know!" But he already knew that it was true, why else would Severus be running out and leave them with such a look of dread.
"Because I saw her Potter. I followed the group of Death Eaters down into the dungeon and saw her with my own eyes. She had a binding curse on her and they were taking her to the Dark Lord," Malfoy said as he readied himself in case Weasley attacked him. He quickly added, "She wasn't hurt though."
"What do you mean they're taking her to Voldemort!" screamed Ron as his lit wand shook with fear for his little sister.
"There's a portal that leads to Knockturn Alley in our dungeon, they went through it. I heard them say how happy V-v… um, the Dark Lord was going to be when they brought Ginny to him," Malfoy said keeping his eye on Weasley.
"What about my mum and dad? Were they hurt?" Ron demanded to know as his heart twisted with dread. There was no way his mum would let Ginny out of her sight and he knew they would fight to the death to keep her safe.
"Calm down Weasley," Draco said in a rush, "Your parents are alright. Your sister snuck out of wherever they were hiding her and that's when she got nabbed. I'm not sure how they caught her but I heard them say that she walked right into their trap."
"What happened to your face?" Harry asked as he tried to comprehend that Ginny was in mortal peril.
"My dad caught me before I had a chance to sneak back up the stairs," Malfoy said sullenly.
Malfoy shook his head before quietly confessing, "I told him he was wrong to kidnap a teenager. You have to understand, my father doesn't like anyone telling him he's wrong. Anyway, he just lost it and started hitting me with his fists. He's never done that before …"
Harry studied Malfoy's face for any signs of a lie, when he felt satisfied he looked at his friends. Hermione was slumped to the ground with her face in her hands and Ron was shaking his head in total denial.
"He's lying," Ron spat out with anger.
Harry stopped him from advancing on Malfoy, "No Ron, its true. I just know it's true."
"We have to go save her," Ron stated as he made to open the door.
"Whoa, wait Ron! Let's think about this for a minute," Harry said thinking of the other times he had led his friends into mortal peril. No, he wasn't going to be responsible for anyone else dying. "Okay, I'm pretty sure the Order already knows because Severus raced out of here so fast. We don't even know how to get to Voldemort's place."
"Wait a minute," Draco said and looked nervously at the trio, "I heard my dad tell Knott that they were taking her to the graveyard and they were setting a trap for the ministry Aurors at Knockturn Alley."
"What kind of trap?" Harry asked with alarm over the thought of Severus being caught, and Ginny in the graveyard.
"There's this cabinet at Flourish and Blotts that leads to a cave. My father said something about calling in more of the Dark Lord's followers to ambush the Aurors," Malfoy offered up, racking his brain for more information over what he had heard.
"How do we know he's telling the truth?" Hermione said as she stood back up. "He could be lying, just to get Harry closer to Voldemort."
Ron stepped closer to Malfoy, pushing his hand flat against the other teens chest, "You're lying, aren't you, you little ferret!"
Malfoy shook his head, "Shut up Weaslebee! I risked my own neck to come tell you filthy Muggle lovers!"
"Wait - wait guys!" Harry yelled above the insults being yelled by the other boys. "Malfoy …"
As soon as Malfoy looked at Harry, Harry pulled his wand up and pointed it at Malfoy's head, "Legilimens!"
Malfoy didn't stand a chance against Harry's powerful spell, images floated through his mind that he wished Potter didn't see:
Draco getting hit by Lucius, Draco running back up the stairs + Draco watching the Death Eaters bring in a girl with long red hair + Ginny being surrounded by Death Eaters +
Harry quit the spell and watched as Draco collapsed onto his knees. He looked into Ron's eyes and tried to hold back the terror in his own voice, "He's not lying, I saw what he saw. He really did see Ginny and he really did get into trouble for watching."
Ron deflated right before his eyes that glimmer of hope gone. "My sister is with Voldemort?" Ron asked in a voice that cracked with emotion.
Draco stood up, giving Harry a dirty scowl, "I'm outta here! You guys are on your own!"
Harry stopped him when he stood in front of the door, "No way, we need your help Malfoy. We have to let Severus know what your dad has planned before its too late." A thought suddenly occurred to Harry and he reached into his pocket for the mirror.
He held it up to his face and clearly stated, "Severus Snape." After waiting a minute he said it once more. When nothing happened his stomach dropped with anxiety over the thought of his father being caught by Voldemort. Now what? Ginny was in Voldemort's hands, Severus was either caught already or about to be caught and most likely headed to the wrong place.
Ron tried to push Harry out of the way but Harry stood his ground. With the training and added weight, Harry outweighed him and was stronger now.
"Ron, we have to come up with a plan. I'm not gonna risk letting you guys get hurt," Harry said with strength. "Now think about it, if Lucius planned a trap then we have to make sure that the order members didn't walk right into it. Let me try getting a hold of Dumbledore or another Order member first. Don't worry Ron, we'll get her back, I promise."
All four teens walked out of the closet looking shaky and troubled. Harry walked over to his body guard as the man looked back at him curiously. "Excuse me sir, but I need to get a hold of someone from the Order."
The giant man pulled out a pocket watch from his cloak. He opened it up and in a deep voice said, "Order contact requested."
Harry and his friends waited to see what would happen next. There was a slight crackling noise coming from the watch. The big man waited another few minutes before repeating the same words. Still nothing happened. Harry heard him whisper out, "Impossible, someone's got to answer."
The giant man seemed to be searching for something else in his pocket before he pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil. He wrote something down and waited. Harry could see the pad looked blank before mysterious writing could be seen. The man read the note then looked at the teens once more. He began waving his wand around the door, casting a strong spell. He didn't notice when the pad of paper fell to the ground.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked as he watched the man strengthen whatever spell he was working on.
"An emergency has come up. I can not locate any Order members. You young people are to stay in this room. The spell I cast will keep anyone from entering and anyone from leaving." The man didn't stay to answer their questions; he strode down the hall with purpose.
"Wait you can't leave us locked in!" yelled Ron frantically. He tried getting through the door but was thrown back with a zap.
Harry picked up the pad off the floor and froze. Hermione came to his side and read the words on the pad. She put her hand to her mouth and stepped back with big eyes.
"What? What the bloody hell does it say?" Ron asked with bated breath.
Harry handed the pad of paper to Ron. Ron took hold of it and read the note out loud, "Emergency. Aurors missing, contact headquarters immediately."
"Oh no! Do you think they were caught by Death Eaters?" Hermione asked with tears in her eyes.
"I'm going after Ginny! She's my little sister and I'll be damned if I'll let Voldemort get a hold of her," Ron yelled. "Let's go to Malfoy's house and use that portal that they took Ginny through."
"I heard the password to get into the graveyard. But how are we going to get out of here and floo back to my house?" Malfoy asked.
Just then the guard came back and took the spell off the door, "Come on you kids, you're going back to Hogwarts." The bodyguard looked at Malfoy and said, "Except you. You need to go back home."
All four teens walked down the stairs slowly putting distance between themselves and the bodyguard. Harry knew the only chance Ginny had was for him to get to her and use the ring Severus had given him. If he could just touch her then he could activate the portkey and they would be safe. The thought of going back to the graveyard was quite daunting.
"Okay, I have a plan," Harry said in a hushed whisper. "Malfoy you floo home first. Then I'm going to follow. As soon as I get to your house you have to lock the floo so the bodyguard can't follow me. Do you know how to do that?"
Malfoy rolled his eyes, "Of course Potter. Any wizard child knows how to lock the floo."
"I'm comin with you!" Ron hissed out, trying to keep his voice down but failing.
"No, you can't! I have a ring that will take Ginny and I to the training camp. I can't be responsible for you too Ron," Harry whispered back furiously. No, he wouldn't put another friend at risk.
"Harry you can't possibly think of going there by yourself. Professor Snape needs to know about all this," Hermione reasoned. She wasn't about to let her friends go off on some harebrained scheme.
Harry rubbed his scar furiously feeling it burn and tingle, "I have to go Hermione. You know I have to go. What's the password!"
"Maleficus," whispered out Malfoy. "Just say the password as you're going through the portal and the wards will let you in the graveyard.."
Ron gave Malfoy a filthy look, most likely due to the fact that the Slytherin knew so much about Death Eaters and their meetings. He still didn't trust Malfoy but didn't have a choice at this point. He turned to Harry, "I can't just wait around doing nothing."
Harry didn't have a chance to answer as the bodyguard turned back around and watched as the teens came the rest of the way down the staircase leading into the dungeon. The half giant held the laboratory door open and watched the teens walk through.
Malfoy walked over to the floo and threw the green powder in, giving Harry a quick nod before stepping in and saying, "Malfoy Manor!"
Harry grabbed a handful of floo next, ignoring Ron's pleading look to come along. He threw the floo powder in and said "Malfoy Manor!" Harry quickly stepped into the floo as the bodyguard lunged forward and tried to grab his arm. The next thing he knew he was spinning through hundreds of floos before he came to an abrupt stop and tumbled onto the ground.
Before he even stood up Draco had his wand out and was casting wards to block anyone else from entering. Harry picked himself off the ground and looked around. The place was amazing, even more extravagant than Snape Manor. Everything was covered in black marble with white furniture and statues sprinkled throughout the large room.
"Follow me Potter before my mum finds out you're here," Malfoy said in a hurried whisper.
Harry thought the Slytherin looked more scared than he was feeling himself. Lucius was probably not a very understanding man and would most likely kill Draco if he found out what he was doing. The thought of Draco dying because he was helping him didn't sit well with Harry. He quickly followed Draco through a maze of rooms and down a dark hallway that led to the dungeon.
Malfoy pulled his wand out and opened several doors, each more foreboding than the next. Finally he stopped when they came to an old black scratched up door.
"This is it Potter. Once you walk through there you just say the password. It will take you directly to the graveyard," Draco said in a morose tone of voice. "Just don't tell anyone how you got there, no matter what."
Harry nodded knowing the tremendous risk the Slytherin was taking. "Don't worry, I won't tell."
Harry looked at the door suddenly feeling very unprepared for what lay ahead. What if he died? He never even had the chance to tell Severus how much he appreciated having a father, how much he had grown to love the man. He swallowed the lump in his throat and looked at Draco.
"If anything happens would you just tell Severus …you know, that he was a good father," Harry stammered out feeling his face flush. Before he lost his nerve he quickly blurt out, "And tell him I loved him."
Draco held back a mocking remark knowing how much danger the Gryffindor really was in. He nodded then looked behind him to make sure his mum or the house elves hadn't seen them.
"Well, good luck Potter," Draco said, hoping Potter would just go before someone came.
"Right," Harry said as he looked at the door. His stomach did a flip as he grabbed the door handle. Was he doing the right thing? He wished he could have talked to Severus or even went with Severus to help save Ginny. He wondered if his father was alright.
He stepped through the door giving one last look towards Draco, "See you."
"Yeah, I'll see you," Draco said. He felt guilty for not offering to go help Potter but he knew that the consequences were too heavy a price to pay.
The dark door shut and Harry made his way forward as pure darkness surrounded him. He felt a swirling sensation and cold air whip around his head.
"Malficus," he said out loud. The word echoed off the walls making it sound like a hundred different people said the same word. Suddenly there was a cold wind as the temperature dropped about fifty degrees. The blackness began to turn to gray and he felt his feet hit solid rock.
It took a moment before the fog cleared but when it did he could see exactly where he was. Everything looked exactly the same as it did two years ago and memories of Cedric came back to him in a rush. Harry looked down at his feet and realized he was standing on an unmarked grave. He walked around the headstone and stopped in his tracks.
He was surrounded by at least fifty Death Eaters with their wands pointing directly at his heart.
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