AN: Warning, there are minor depictions of violence, mostly in the form of trying to remove Penny against her will. But nothing along the lines of the previous chapters. If you prefer to to read that, go to chapter 19 for the summary.
Thanks!
Penny sat in the bath for sometime. The hot water was a welcome distraction, lulling her into a stupor. She'd been thinking about Harry, wondering how the tournament was going. Smiling inwardly, she remembered laying in the warm sun with him just a few months prior. The grass soft beneath them, wispy clouds skirting across the sky above. The sun was so warm, Harry's hand clasped in hers. The moment was pure tranquility, nothing intruding on their discussion of favorite ice cream flavors. Harry was a mint chocolate chip kind of person, while Penny always preferred rocky road.
Penny would gladly never eat rocky road ice cream again if she could spend afternoons with her twin again. By Penny's calculations, a month had already passed since she arrived at the Department of Mysteries, making her total separation from Harry three months now. It was the most time she'd ever spent apart from him. He'd gone away for one month to the Weasley's one summer because Penny had opted to stay at the Dursley's and help care for Aunt Petunia, who'd fallen very ill that summer. But other than that, they had no experience apart. Inside the enchanted walls of the Ministry, Penny also couldn't feel Harry. There was too much noise between them, making it impossible to pinpoint him. The feeling was an uncomfortable one, Penny never realized how routine it was for her to search out the familiar and comforting feeling of Harry's magic, even when he lay asleep in his dormitory.
With a deep breath, Penny submerged herself beneath the surface of the water, and then formed a bubble around her head, allowing her to remain there for as long as she desired, without needing to come up for air. Releasing her mind of all conscious thought, Penny listened to the buzzing of magic. To the untrained senses it could be mistaken as one large sound, but Penny began meticulously isolating its parts, trying to identify them. Some were very easy to do so, like the ministry officials performing basic spells to complete their daily tasks. Then there were things like the floo network which webbed through everything else. Penny focused on the sounds closer to her, but avoided the cursed items that were located in the never-ending room. Instead, she searched for the sound she'd discovered just a couple of days earlier. Down empty winding halls, in the center of almost eternal silence was a whispering that beckoned her forward. There were many voices speaking, but Penny could not make out what any of them were saying.
Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to be beckoned toward the pleasant sound, but never moved beyond the veil that separated them. She lay like this for several nights in a row, her mind finding refuge outside the pains in her body. But after an hour of this, someone rapped on the door and forced her back to her to her senses. Leaving her solitude, Penny returned to her room, dressed and prepared herself for whatever the day had in store for her. Heaving a great sigh, she looked at her desk, willing there to be mail, but like every other day, there was nothing. Draco still had not responded to her previous letter which worried Penny. Perhaps her request was too great, or he was not interested in risking his neck for her, either way she would appreciate some form of response.
After she was dressed, several stern looking Ministry officials showed up at her door and without explanation escorted her to a room where a sleek blond man, dressed in expensive golden robes stood waiting for her. Penny stood dumbstruck as Lucius Malfoy turned to scrutinize her appearance and waved away the others.
"Miss. Potter," he said, looking as though the words on his lips caused him great pain.
"Mr. Malfoy," Penny nodded. "To what do I owe this unexpected visit?"
"You know perfectly well why I am here, Potter, so don't play coy with me,"
"Coy? I can assure you I have never been the type to be coy, I prefer getting to the point, so please do, illuminate me," said Penny, moving to an empty chair.
Lucius hesitated, but followed her, taking the seat as far from her as possible, and turned to observe her.
"Draco wrote to his mother asking for assistance getting you out of here," Lucius bean, looking around distastefully at their surroundings.
"Did he now? What a thoughtful friend he is," Penny replied in a level tone.
"Thoughtful indeed. After some questioning, he divulged that you and he are an item and begged her to understand his love for you," Lucius continued, looking down on Penny with contempt.
Penny was shocked into silence for a long moment. The path before her was narrow but if she tread carefully, she might have a direct path out of the hell hole, if she didn't, Yaxley would no longer be her biggest worry.
"Draco is a romantic, that's for sure, and with those pretty lips, who can resist?" Penny sighed, looking into the distance dreamily.
"Do not insult me, Miss Potter, by insinuating I do not know my own son. While Draco might not be ready to come out, I could hardly be oblivious. Of course his mother does not know this, but Draco prefers it that way. "
Penny's brain ground to a halt, but she dare not let the shock show on her face. One wrong step and . . . She glanced away toward the clock, thinking hard on her response.
"Draco is young and passionate, sometimes leaving himself vulnerable, but if I can help it, he will come out on his terms and when he is ready. I will not let some blackmail take that right from him," Lucius finished, the threat dripping from his voice.
Penny turned back to the handsome face, Draco certainly got his looks from his father, and his sneer. However, Penny found Draco rather less contemptible, and was offended that this man was accusing her of blackmailing Draco with something so personal. It never occurred to Penny that Draco might be gay, she found that type of speculation rather rude, much like Lucius's insistence that Draco's involvement could only be induced out of fear of Penny.
"Draco is my friend, and has been since my first year at Hogwarts, your prejudices against my family name delude you. You have greatly underestimated your son, he has done this from his own character. As for blackmailing, I thought that was a Malfoy speciality, I have no interest in commenting to anyone about Draco's private matters," Penny said, her voice unsteadily angry.
Lucius said nothing, his grey eyes narrowing as he considered her sincerity.
"He says if we will not help, he will write to the Daily Prophet about your predicament. With his name and Rita Skeeter's love for drama and gossip, I've no doubt she will publish it,"
"Is that what you are afraid of, Mr. Malfoy, your son being associated with my name? I think we both know if I write to tell him not to he will know you were here," said Penny.
"You seem to know Draco well. I was skeptical when Severus said you two were as thick as thieves in his class, I'd heard of his soft spot for you, though I found it hard to believe, but you are the spitting image of that mudblood mother of yours, so I shouldn't be surprised. I can't imagine why Draco would want to help you" said Lucius, as though Penny were not sitting across from him.
"And I shouldn't be so surprised by your ignorance. Thankfully, Draco only appears to take after you in looks. Give Draco my gratitude for his care, I am undeserving of such friendship," Penny replied coldly, getting to her feet.
The insult to her mother pushed Penny's anger to its boiling point. She did not trust her ability to give a measured response if she remained in the man's company for another moment. Lucius Malfoy, a certain Death Eater, would have loved to see the likes of Penny's mother murdered. Of course he could not understand what would motivate Draco, when Penny was dirty blood, which to people like Lucius, was as good as being less than human. Lucius Malfoy was a contemptuous git. When she wrote to Draco, Penny had not bargained for Lucius's involvement, and she found herself regretting the oversight.
He followed her to the door, placing his hand on it before she could open it. Penny turned to face him, her chest puffed up, and her angry green eyes meeting his cool grey ones. The handsome man towered over her, eyes full of contempt in an attempt to make Penny feel small and insignificant, but she refused to turn away from his challenge. People like Lucius relied on intimidation to get their work done.
"To be clear, you are not fit to lick the dirt from Draco's boots, however. . ." he said delicately, looking her up and down, "you Potter's have a reputation, so I can be certain Draco has nothing to fear, as embarrassing his choice in friends may be. I suppose he gets his charity from his mother, so I cannot condemn him. But be warned Miss Potter, if I hear so much as a whisper about Draco you will have much more to fear than Yaxley," he said, and then he pushed her aside unkindly and whisked through the door without so much as waiting for Penny's response.
The anger welled in Penny's chest, she felt very much like she would enjoy hitting the man. She gave herself a few moments, taking some deep breaths before exiting as well. She was surprised to find her guards were not waiting for her. She glanced down the hall, it was empty. Penny knew turning to the left would take her back to her room, but she did not feel the least bit inclined to be a good prisoner. Instead, she turned right, and wandered up a hall she'd never been to before. Penny's feet moved with purpose and so much force that it startled Penny. She wound through the empty halls with a quiet purpose, an urge she could not ignore. The closer she got the more she thought she should turn around, and the more incapable she became of convincing her feet to do so.
She stopped just outside a door, the whispering beckoning her, but unaware of her nearness. With a deep breath, she pushed through the door into a large, dimly lit and rectangular room, its center sunken, forming a great stone pit some twenty feet deep. She was standing on the topmost tier of what seemed to be stone benches running all around the room and descending in steep steps like an amphitheater. There, in the center of the pit was a raised stone dais on which stood a stone archway that looked so ancient, cracked and crumbling that Penny was amazed the thing was still standing. Unsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had just been touched.
The whispers stopped abruptly and then returned sharply, as though noticing Penny's presence. They were louder, almost urgent and Penny felt like she was being pulled forward, down the stairs, desperate to make out what they were saying. At the bottom of the stairs, she paused, glancing around. The air was stale with stillness, but still the veil moved, unsettling Penny. There was something just beyond the veil, Penny could feel it, but she could not make it out, being too tentative to even reach through the veil with her magic. But the whispers called her in a language unknown to her, she felt that if she just stepped through the veil, they would make sense. The urgency in the sound startled Penny, who realized she was suddenly only a foot away from the veil.
She could reach out and move the veil aside, her curiosity was certain she would know immediately what was on the other side. Her fingers moved slowly forward, mere centimeters before the veil when she froze. A chill shot up her. She'd heard something, she was certain she'd heard what was being said. For a fraction of a second it was audible.
Equivalent exchange
met Penny's ears and she immediately took two steps backwards. They were the words Tom used, of a magic Penny was not familiar with. But she understood the essence, the veil wanted to take something from Penny, and she did not know what. She took several more steps backwards, turned heel and made to run up the stairs but collided with a firm body. Startled, and still unnerved, she yelped, and lashed out at the person who grabbed her.
"A smart decision, there's no coming back once you go through that veil," said Yaxley, smiling down at her with his ugly yellow teeth.
"What the hell, were you following me?" Penny growled, tugging at her wrists.
" As a matter of fact, we have been keeping a close eye on you. It was terribly convenient of you to take our bait and wander off like this. With those auror dogs of yours keeping as close of a watch on you as they do, I wasn't sure we'd get the chance," he answered, dragging her up the steps toward the three men waiting at the top.
"Are you kidnapping me, from prison?" Penny said indignantly, trying futilely to ground her feet.
Yaxley ignored her efforts, and with enormous strength pulled Penny the entire length of the stairs.
"The MACUSA have agreed to pay a pretty price for you, I trust you'll be a good girl for them," Yaxley said, grabbing her chin in his hand.
"Because no one will suspect you when I've magically disappeared."
"To anyone who will inquire, I'm in a meeting with Malfoy," he grinned, his blue eyes full of sick excitement.
"You piece of-" Penny screamed, kicking out at Yaxley just as the three men descended on her.
One immediately stuffed something small and hard into her mouth, which promptly began to expand as soon as it touched her tongue, gagging her. The more she tried to get it out the more it expanded. Before she could take stock of her situation, a bag was shoved over her head and Yaxley's face was gone. A new set of arms dragged Penny from the horrible death chamber.
"Enjoy America," Yaxley cackled.
Shoe's screeching against the floor, Penny struggled with every fiber of her being against her abductors. Her choked yelling was quickly muffled with a charm, removing Penny's hope that someone would hear the squabble and come to investigate. She wasn't sure how far they needed to drag to escape the ministry, but Penny felt that once she was outside the doors, all hope would be lost.
"Get the door, they've set up the floo network for only 5 more minutes," a deep voice barked.
Penny heard the murmuring of a spell and realized what a dunce she was. She had a bad habit of forgetting she was not in fact a a muggle. She reached for her magic, and turned the hallway into ice. Every set of feet slipped out beneath its owner, Penny landing hard on the back of her head. She heard grunts, and quickly reached for the bag, yanking it from her head. Blinking, she saw the three men floundering to get to their feet, and toppling over. Penny remained low, and started crawling, but fingers ensnared her ankle and yanked her toward the exit that was only 500 feet ahead of them.
"Use your wand!" one man bellowed.
"I tried, I don't know what she did, but I can't seem to un-do it, just pull her to the door, we only have three minutes."
Penny kicked and tried to keep herself from fainting. The choking sensation was unrelenting and making it increasingly difficult to breath. But she couldn't fall unconscious now, if she did, she would wake up somewhere in America, with little hope of Snape finding her there. Penny's foot collided with the man's shoulder, who let go for a second before he tightened his hold and yanked her toward him, and then spun her around to take a handful of her hair. The door was open with one man finally scrambling over the threshold. Penny could see the green flames behind him, and fear swelled in her chest. She reached up and sunk her finger nails deep into the bearded cheeks of the man holding her hair. He yelped and raised his hand to hit her, but was forced to duck as a jet of red light barely missed his left ear.
"Aurors!"
His hand on his wand, he shot a green jet of light back, while trying to scoot backward with Penny in tow. Penny writhed, listening intently to the approaching root steps that also stumbled on her ice floor.
"Leave the girl, we have to leave now or we won't make it out!"
Angry brown eyes looked down at Penny, and with a desperate effort he shot two well placed spells wrenched her over the threshold of the door. The other two men had already disappeared while they were only two good strides from passing through the fire. Penny was certain her scalp was bleeding and that chunks of her hair were going to come out. She felt the hope in her chest die, as, almost in slow motion, the man took his final stride, his toes stepping into the soot, he leapt. At the last moment, a red light collided with his back and he collapsed, his heavy body falling backwards on Penny.
Her bones crunched under him, but there was no pain, only a great sense of relief. From beneath the man, Penny watched two sets of boots leap over their bodies and make it through the fire just before the flames flickered back to red and the network closed. A moment later, the body on Penny was lifted off of her, and Tonks skidded to their knees before Penny, who was clutching her throat.
"Kingsley, it's a sweller, do you have any diminishing serum?" Tonks asked, looking over the rest of Penny.
Kingsley knelt down beside Tonks and extracted a dark blue vial from inside his robes and poured a couple of drops into Penny's mouth. The wedge shrunk instantaneously, landing in her throat. Penny rolled over and coughed the thing out, a bright red marble landing on the dirty floor.
"Thanks," Penny said in a broken voice.
She gulped in air, her throat searing with pain.
"Oh Penny, I was so worried," Tonks said, eyes glassy. They wrapped Penny in their arms and hugged her tightly.
Tonks smelled wonderfully of cedar and aftershave, it wafted over Penny, calming every tense nerve in her body.
"That is quite the magic you performed out there, it was the only reason we made it here in time," Kingsley said in his deep voice, clasping Penny's shoulder.
"Yaxley," Penny breathed, unable to speak louder than a whisper.
"We know, but he was nowhere to be found. It seems only these MACUSA fools are all we have to go on right now," Tonks said darkly, pulling away from Penny to look her up and down.
"How did you-" Penny started.
"Lucius Malfoy made a formal complaint based on the evidence of his son, and then he gave us intel that you were being moved today," Kingsley replied, nodding his head at the look of disbelief on Penny's face.
"It's true," Tonks confirmed. "But Penny, look at you, what have they been doing to you?" Tonks said, their purple eyes examining her dark under-eyes and then moving to the bruises on her neck and arms from her nightly visitors.
Before she could respond, Cornelius Fudge cleared his throat, and they all turned to look at the man, holding his bowler hat in hand and looking uncomfortable.
"Kingsley, the aurors told me two made it through the floo network? Good, good. How they made it past our defences. Well, I'll need an inquiry, you understand?" Fudge said, looking anywhere but at Penny.
"Yes Minister, we already have Fredrick on that. Lucius' information allowed him to pinpoint it before it closed," Kingsley replied, getting to his feet.
"And the girl?" Fudge said, still not looking at Penny.
"She slowed their progress with the interesting bit of magic you saw in the hall."
"Yes, yes. I'll be taking her from here, she is to be collected, Dumbledore has already sent someone, how that man knows. . . But never mind, we will look at an order of merlin for Lucius, yes? For services to his country against foreign intervention."
Kingsley nodded his agreement, and Penny stared at them dumbstruck. She could not follow the event unraveling before her.
"I get to go home?" Penny asked stupidly, her voice hoarse.
"Only if you hurry up," Fudge said impatiently, exiting without another word.
"I'll escort her Kingsley and be back," said Tonks, pulling Penny to her feet.
Tonks kept their arm wrapped around Penny even though she could walk just fine. Penny was thankful for the gesture, her body was shaking from head to toe, and she dared not believe she was about to leave this hell hole.
"My things-" Penny said, turning to Tonks.
"I'll get them for you, you just worry about getting back home," Tonks said with a soft smile.
"Get the animals too, they were testing on them. You can send them to me, just make sure they're free'd," Penny whispered urgently.
Tonks shook their head and walked silently through the halls that soon became crowded and loud. Many people stopped to point at Penny and whisper, but Fudge shooed them away impatiently. At Fudge's office he waved the door open and beckoned them inside.
Penny's eyes locked onto the worried pair of brown eyes that met hers as soon as she stepped over the threshold. Without thinking, she threw herself across the room and landed in his waiting arms. Neither of them cared they had an audience, he simply engulfed her in his warmth and hugged her tightly.
Penny pressed her nose into his chest, and heaved a great sigh, tears pouring over her face.
"It's alright Penny, you're safe now," Lupin whispered into her hair.
Penny merely hiccuped in response as she pulled away to look at him, her voice still too raw to form words. He wiped the tears from her cheek with his thumb and smiled gently, then turned to Tonks.
"I don't know how to thank you. . .?"
"Tonks, and the pleasures all mine. . .?"
"Remus. Tonks, thank you," Lupin said again, extending his hand to shake Tonks'
Tonks grinned and took Lupin's hand. "I'm glad she's in safe hands now, Penny is one spectacular witch. She did some might fine magic down there, very brave too, she'd be a natural auror,"
Fudge cleared his throat, "I do have other things to get to today."
"Right…" said Tonks, looking at Penny and rolling their eyes behind the Minister's back.
"The Minister has given permission for you to use his floo network to send you to my parent's house, my dad should be home, his names' Ted. He will have a portkey that will take you back to Hogwarts, where Dumbledore is waiting."
"I really get to go home?" Penny croaked, afraid to believe what she was hearing.
"Yes, and about ruddy time. Listen to me Penny, I will personally make sure there is justice-" Tonks said, trailing off as their eyes fell on her neck again and filled with sadness.
Penny nodded at Tonks, and they let the looks that passed between them say the things Penny could not get out of her throat. With a forced grin, Tonks pushed Penny toward the fireplace.
"Get going, if you hurry you'll be in time for dinner. That brother of yours will be waiting."
Lupin gave Tonks another fierce look of gratitude, and took Penny by the hand and led her through the fireplace, neither of them bothering to say farewell to the Minister. On the other side, Lupin moved Penny to the couch and sat her down, kneeling in front of her. His warm hands engulfed her own shaking ones. She peered down, not realizing how badly she was shaking all over.
"Penny. . . I-look at you. We knew something was up, but this," he said, his voice breaking.
"Promise me I won't ever have to go back there." Penny said, a fresh wave of tears falling over her face.
Lupin looked suddenly stern, "You will never go back there," he said with a coldness that rivaled even Professor Snape. Penny nodded, gulping away her tears.
"Can you get me some water, my throat still hurts a lot," she forced out, finally looking around her surroundings.
It was a small cozy cottage, floral wallpaper lined the walls and the small trinkets reminded Penny of an old grandmother. It was quaint and cute, Penny quite liked the aesthetic. Lupin jumped to his feet and mumbled about her drink and finding Tonks, leaving her to her thoughts. Thoughts she wasn't ready to face. Everything happened too quickly from the moment she heard the voice behind the veil. She had not been allowed to face the truth because Yaxley had interrupted her.
But in the silent living room her thoughts reeled. The exchange the veil wanted, it was a life. Penny recognized the feeling the veil was hiding. The moment the voice slipped through, she got a glimpse of the other side, the familiar silence of death. It was some sort of portal, but it required payment, the payment of a life, which is why Yaxley had said no one comes back out.
But what if an exchange was made, of a life force that was not of ne's own? What if there was a force that consumed all life when it touched it, leaving behind that same silence. The experiments of Yaxley all made sense, now. He was milling Penny for tokens of exchange, testing that the substance of her magic was the same as that of the veil. The dark pearls he collected, could they be used to enter the veil and leave unharmed? If that were possible, what waited on the other side? Penny remembered the awful sound of the whisper, and a horrible shiver went up her spine. She did not want to know what waited beyond the veil.
Thankfully Lupin returned a moment later, Ted hot on his heels. They gave Penny a sizzling beverage that returned her voice to her and then Lupin wiped some of the dirt from her face.
"The ministry did this?" said Ted, looking horrified.
Penny nodded and then looked back at Lupin who was moving through a range of emotions. There was sadness, anger, fear, and something else Penny couldn't quite pinpoint.
"You should have seen them," Penny said with half a grin, trying to lighten the mood.
Lupin shook his head at her, "Penny, this looks like torture, you're nothing but a kid. What were they doing?"
"Don't make me say it here and then have to say it all over again when Dumbledore asks," Penny pleaded, closing her eyes.
"Of course, but I am here for you, you know that, right?" he said, his worry coloring his voice.
Penny opened her eyes and turned toward him to wrap her arms around his chest again.
"Everyday in that place I told myself, if I just made it through today, I could finally do this. I could meet you at Hogsmede and have that butterbeer you promised. It's what got me through, your words got me through," she whispered, clinging tightly to him.
"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," he said, voice full of anguish, his mouth moving to kiss the top of her head.
Don't be sorry, just take me home," she said, pulling away.
He nodded and they stood, his hand grasping hers. She let the warmth of it engulf her, with it, Penny felt she could recount the events in the Department of Mysteries so long as he remained beside her.