AN: I'm in school now so updates will be a tad more infrequent. Sorry about that. Thanks for the reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 12: No Escape
Ron Weasley's heart was pounding quickly and his insides were frozen in fear. He was running as fast as his legs could carry him. He was going to Dumbledore's office.
His best friend was missing.
"Remember Black!" Ron shouted at the stone gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's sanctuary. It jumped aside at the sound of the password and allowed Ron to enter.
Ron climbed the stairs as fast as he could and was surprised to see Dumbledore at his desk.
"What is it, Mr. Weasley?" Dumbledore asked him, his eyes widening in alarm.
"Harry! He's gone!" Ron shouted. He didn't know why he was shouting. He couldn't seem to keep his voice down.
"Take a deep breath, Mr. Weasley. And explain to me what happened," Dumbledore said calmly.
"We-we were playing chess at about midnight. We finished the game and I said I was going up to bed. Harry said he would be along in a minute. It's all my fault I should have stayed with him," Ron mumbled. "I fell asleep and I woke up around two…about a half hour ago. It was strange…I never usually wake up in the middle of the night. I saw Harry's bed was empty and I went down to the common room. I figured he'd just fallen asleep there…but he wasn't there. He never really goes anywhere without me, but I thought maybe he went somewhere…but I looked inside his trunk and his invisibility cloak was still there. He wouldn't have left without that…not if he had a choice."
Dumbledore nodded and stood up. "Did he say anything to you about going anywhere…yesterday…the last few days or weeks?"
Ron shook his head. "No…and like I said…he never really goes anywhere without me and Hermione."
Dumbledore nodded. "Follow me."
Ron walked behind Dumbledore, amazed that the old man could be so calm when Ron was practically wetting himself with worry. There was no way Harry would just wander off without telling anyone. Either someone lured him out of the common room or they had taken him by force.
Ron followed Dumbledore to the Gryffindor common room. Dumbledore said the password and walked through the portrait hole.
"Go wake, Miss Granger," Dumbledore told him. "Explain to her what has happened and tell her that her assistance is needed."
Ron looked at the staircase to the girls' dormitories and sighed. He remembered all too well what had happened the last time he had tried to go up there. He put a tentative foot on the first step and then heard a small chuckle behind him.
"I see you know what happens when a young man attempts to go up there. I will not ask how you know this. But don't worry, the staircase will stay as it is if a teacher or the headmaster is present in the room," Dumbledore said.
Ron ran up the stairs as fast as he could, ignoring Dumbledore's implications. He found the room designated for the sixth years and walked in. He saw Hermione sleeping in the bed nearest to the door. Her hair was a mess of brown tangles and one arm hung off the side of the bed. Ron would have smiled if the circumstances had not been so dire.
"Hermione, wake up," he whispered in her ear. She groaned and rolled over. "Wake up," he said a bit louder.
This time she responded by opening her eyes. "Ron, what are you doing up here? What's wrong?"
"It's Harry," Ron told her. "He's missing. Get dressed and come downstairs."
Hermione nodded and rose from the bed. Ron walked out of the room and waited in the hall. When she came out of the room, she began firing questions at Ron as fast as she could.
"What happened? When did you see him last? Did he tell you where he was going? Did you get Dumbledore? Do you have any idea where he could be?" Hermione questioned.
Ron told her everything he had told Dumbledore. They went downstairs and saw Dumbledore waiting for them.
"Miss Granger, has Mr. Weasley told you everything?" He asked her.
Hermione nodded.
"Is there anything you can tell us? Did Harry say anything about going anywhere?" Dumbledore inquired.
Hermione shrugged. "There's nothing I can think of. I don't think he would have snuck away and not told Ron and me."
Dumbledore nodded. "Then we must assume that someone took Harry from this castle or lured him away from it. We should check the castle grounds."
"Wait, headmaster," Ron said. "Do you know about the Marauders' Map?"
Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, Professor Lupin told me all about it."
"I used it to look for Harry when I saw he was gone. There was no one on the grounds. Would you like me to get it now?"
"Please."
Ron raced up the steps to the boys' dormitories and retrieved the map from Harry's trunk. He opened it up and saw that the grounds were clear. He sighed and went back down to the common room.
"Harry's still not on there," Ron told him as he handed the ragged piece of parchment to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore took the map and glanced at it. "Very well. We should still check the grounds for any sign of…..of…foul play," Dumbledore said. And for the first time that evening, his voice shook.
Ron and Hermione followed Dumbledore out of the castle. Ron had his arm around Hermione's waist. She had been struggling with tears ever since Ron had told her what had happened.
When they exited the castle, Ron looked around hopefully, thinking that perhaps Harry had just fancied a nighttime stroll and the map had just malfunctioned. But the Marauders' Map never lied.
Harry was nowhere to be seen.
Ron felt like he might just collapse from frustration. Harry had just goddamn disappeared. There was no trace of him anywhere.
Ron shivered in the cold air. He hadn't thought to bring his cloak. He kicked an innocent patch of snow and cursed under his breath. And then something occurred to him.
"The snow!" Ron shouted. "We have to see…have to look…if Harry was out here…there must be footprints somewhere."
He dashed off with Hermione at his heels, determined to find some clue that would reveal where Harry had gone.
"Don't get your hopes up, Ron," Hermione told him. "Whoever did this might have covered their tracks."
And it seemed they had.
The pair wandered around the grounds for what seemed like a long time and didn't find a single thing that would indicate that Harry had been out there. Dumbledore was walking around with his wand out, and seemed to be muttering spells as he went.
"Ron! Over here!" Hermione's voice was filled with excitement.
Ron jogged to where she was standing by the Whomping Willow and looked to where she was pointing. Right beside the tall tree, it looked as if something had been laying there.
"So he was here," Ron said. "But then, where did he go?"
Hermione didn't say anything for a minute. "Do you think there's any chance he's still alive?"
"He has to be," Ron whispered. "He's The-Boy-Who-Lived."
Harry's head bloody hurt.
He sat up and immediately regretted it. His whole body ached.
"It's about time," someone said, nearly giving Harry a heart attack.
It was Draco Malfoy.
But it was not the slick, groomed, handsome Malfoy that Harry knew. This Malfoy was dirty, his hair was not combed away from his face, his robes were filthy, his face was bruised, and his part was not straight.
"Am I hallucinating?" Harry said to no one in particular.
Malfoy let out a harsh bark of laughter. "If you are, then so am I."
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked him. "Where is here?"
"We are currently in one of the cells in Malfoy Manor. My father is no longer very proud of his gay son."
It took Harry a moment for this information to register. "He knows?!"
"Relax," Malfoy told him. "He only knows I've been going around with someone of the male variety. He doesn't know that it's you."
"How-"
"Pansy."
"Oh."
"Yes. It seems she kept quite the close watch on me," Malfoy said.
Harry said nothing. Truth be told, he wasn't very much in the mood for Draco Malfoy at the moment. Draco Malfoy hadn't wanted his company before and Harry sure as hell wasn't going to entertain him just because they happened to be the only two people in this cell.
However, he did have one more question. "Why am I not dead yet?"
Malfoy shrugged. "We don't keep the Dark Lord in our basement, contrary to popular belief. He wants to kill you himself and it takes time to get here. There might be a bigger plan to it."
Harry said nothing. He had about a million more questions, but he was not interested in talking to Malfoy about anything that was not of the utmost importance. Instead, he concentrated his efforts on his current situation.
It was strange to him that Lucius Malfoy had put him and Draco in the same cell. Surely, this place had more than one dungeon? But then it occurred to Harry that Lucius knew his son hated Harry and probably knew the opposite was true.
He was punishing them.
Great. Harry wouldn't have minded a bit of cell time with Draco a couple of months ago, but now…it angered him. He would have given anything to be able to have his own cell, to at least die without that damn ferret face ruining his last days.
Score one point for Lucius Malfoy, Harry thought.
He heard something slide into the cell and saw two trays enter through a small compartment that opened at the door of the cell. There was a piece of bread, a hunk of cheese, and a glass of water on each.
At least, I'm use to these meals, Harry thought, thinking that these were the same sort of meals that his aunt and uncle usually fed him. He grabbed a tray and ate quickly, hoping to alleviate his rumbling stomach.
"So how are we going to get out of here?" Draco said suddenly, interrupting Harry's quiet meal.
"What do you mean we?" Harry asked, his voice filled with venom. Malfoy had ignored him for two months and now he wanted Harry to be his ticket to freedom?
That was going to happen.
Malfoy seemed taken aback by his nastiness for a moment, but he recovered quickly. "We're in this together, Potter, whether you like it or not."
Harry ignored him and got to his feet, determined to find someway to escape. He doubted he could throw himself through the stone walls. Even the door was made of stone. Harry thought idly of his wand, and wondered who had it now.
He ran his hands along the stones. He didn't know what he was expecting…did he think that after he pressed the secret stone the wall would open up and reveal a yellow-bricked road to Hogwarts?
He sat down after a bit, feeling defeated.
"No way out yet?" Malfoy taunted.
Harry ignored him and lay down. He wished Voldemort would just kill him. He was getting tired of waiting and wondering and barely escaping…only to be in the same situation again.
He rolled onto his stomach. The dirt floor was very uncomfortable and Harry wasn't feeling very tired. He started to draw a picture in the dirt.
"What are you doing?" Malfoy asked.
Harry ignored him again.
"You can't ignore me forever, you know," Malfoy told him. "Who knows how long we will be here."
"And you can't just come crawling back to me because your family doesn't want you anymore," Harry said.
"Hey, you're talking again!"
Harry said nothing.
"We're both probably going to die here. Might as well use our voices for our last days," Malfoy muttered.
"Come on!" Malfoy shouted. "Talk!"
Harry continued to sketch in the dirt, pretending not to know that Draco Malfoy existed.
"Think you can ignore me?" This time the voice came from right beside him. Harry turned to see Draco Malfoy lying right beside him. Draco pushed Harry on his back and forced himself on top of him.
Harry worked to calm his breathing as Malfoy thrust his hips into Harry's. Harry's breath caught in his throat as he felt Draco's erection press into him. Harry felt his face grow hot…Malfoy still had that effect on him.
But then Harry thought back to Draco Malfoy's rejection. He would not go through that again.
"Get off of me now," Harry stated calmly.
Instead of complying with Harry's request, Draco let his full weight drop down on Harry and kissed him roughly. For a moment Harry felt himself going along with it. He moved his lips against Draco and relished the feeling it gave him. But then he came back to his senses and attempted to get up.
Draco pushed him roughly down and pinned his arms to his sides. It wasn't that hard for the taller boy to control Harry. Harry tried to kick his legs, but Draco's weight was enough to make even that, difficult.
Draco bit the flesh on Harry's neck hard enough to make him cry out. He struggled harder than ever, but Malfoy was able to keep him under control. Draco put his hand between Harry's legs, freeing one of Harry's arms.
Harry hesitated as he felt pressure on his erection, but then shoved Draco off of him in one quick motion and stood up.
"Stay the hell away from me," Harry said.
And he meant it.
AN: Please review!