Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Anything you recognize belongs to JK Rowling, anything else belongs to me.

Authors note: There is no excuse for my lateness. I shall hang my head in shame for keeping you waiting (if anyone is actually reading this fiction). Sorry! I just got caught up with the holidays! I'll be quicker next time…promise!

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Chapter 9: Run

And we'll run for our lives
I can hardly speak, I understand
Why you can't raise your voice to say...Sorry

"Hey," said a soft voice. Ginny looked over her book to see a puffy eyed Hermione standing on the living room's threshold. "I let myself in…" she explained, awkwardly pointing behind her as a sort of reference to the front door.

"Come in," Ginny beckoned, putting her book down and pointing to a large leather arm chair beside the one she was sitting on. Hermione gently sat down, reaching out to warm her hands on the blazing fire.

They sat in silence for a while, each thinking of what to say.

"I…I heard," Ginny mumbled pathetically. "you know, about James." Hermione gulped and looked distantly at the fire. "Oh, 'Mione, I'm so sorry…"

"It's not your fault," She interrupted, coming out of her dazed expression as quickly as she had gone in. "I guess I'm just gonna have to except that he…he's gone." She stuttered, half heartedly.

"We'll get him back, I know we will."

Hermione snorted. "I know I should believe that. But…every time some one says that it makes me a little less convinced that we are." Ginny looked sympathetically at her friend, who had tears glittering in her eyes.

She sighed; she was going to have to tell her about the letter…she hadn't even told Harry about it, how could she just spring it on her like that?

"He's going to be OK, I promise you."

"You don't know that…"

"Yes I do… 'cause he's with Lilly." With that Hermione looked at her friend with surprise. Ginny hadn't talked about her daughter since the search party had come back and told them that they couldn't find her. All she had done after that was sit in the kitchen or her bedroom staring out the window, crying.

Ginny gulped, "The other day…she…sent me a letter." Hermione watched as Ginny silently reached into her robe pocket and brought out a crumpled piece of parchment. With shaking hands she held it out for Hermione, who took it slowly, and unfolded it.

She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand as she recognised the spindly scrawl of her niece. The bushy brown haired witch read the letter over several times, trying to analyse what it meant.

"It…it was a trap!" she whispered, her eyes shutting slowly as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Ginny nodded, trying to fight back the tears again.

It just hurt so much. After all she had done for her daughter, supporting her through her childhood; she couldn't get over the fact that she would betray her family just for revenge. She hadn't taught her daughter to do that, she had taught her to forgive and forget to have some moral importance in her life, to learn the difference between right and wrong. She was upset and angry and scared, but most of all, she was disappointed. Disappointed in Lilly and disappointed in herself. But the worst part of it all was that there was nothing she could do…nothing at all.

"I made sure they were all in Diagon Alley…I checked the map! I…I checked the burrow, and here, and Lupin's place…" the brunette stuttered, "It's impossible…I made sure… I… H-how? It doesn't make sense… No, I can't believe it -"

"But what else do we have to believe? You read the letter just as well as I did…they tricked us." The redhead interrupted. "They tricked us, and we fell for it; hook, line and sinker." Hermione just nodded slowly, watching her friend sympathetically with the crumpled letter still clutched in her sweaty hand.

"I know, Ginny… I know…"

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"She what?"

"S-she sent a letter to her mother, ma'am." Stuttered a small rat like man, by the name of Peter Pettigrew.

"Bring her to me! Now!" Bellatrix ordered, sending the man scuttling out of the stone chamber. Once she was sure he was gone she thrust her head back and let out a blood chilling cackle of glee. Her insanity took over as she laughed evilly, eyes open wide and nearly popping out of her head. She stopped laughing, but only to replace the hysterics with quiet mutterings to herself. She wrung her hands together, fidgeting and fumbling, jumping up in the air with such a look of an excited child on Christmas day, only more sinister.

Her mind was full of scenarios of her plan, each one ending with the same event; death.

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Lilly sat in the same corner again, in her cousin's cell, watching him dip in and out of consciousness. At times he would cry out, and pathetically tried to squirm his way from the chains, but he never succeeded. He took in sharp breaths once in a while, or small moans of pain.

Although it was dark Lilly could still see him quite clearly as her eyes were used to the darkness by now. She was almost positive he could not see her, as he never looked her way (on the rare occasions that he opened his eyes.)

Every night since she had sent the letter she had returned to James. She guarded her cousin in secret at every time possible, ready to pounce on attackers. The funny thing was that there weren't any attackers. Nobody had entered the cell, or even touched James since the first night he had come. She had been expecting daily visits, like they usually did, but nobody came… except her.

Lilly's thoughts were interrupted by a shout in the distance. She heard a slammed door, hurried footsteps and more shouts, this time mixed. She heard them shouting, and the loudest and shrillest of all was heard above them all.

"She can't be gone! FIND HER!"

Her gut dropped to her toes. She couldn't be found. Not now, not when she was in the dungeon.

She could hear the voices getting louder, the footsteps getting closer, and suddenly –

SLAM!

The big metal door into the prison had been opened.

Please don't come this way, please, please. Not over here.

Her heart was pumping against her rib cage. She heard voices coming from down the hall way.

"Come on, lets check the left wing." A husky voice sounded and the footsteps gradually grew quieter as the people went in the other direction. She closed her eyes in relief. She had at least 10 minutes to get away. Now she had to think, was that getting away to her room, or getting away…for good? If she went back through the dungeon door, she would surely be tortured…she wasn't sure why they were looking for her, but she was sure it wasn't good. Her only choice was out, she had to run, like the coward she once was.

With her choice in mind she looked quickly around, searching for an escape route. Her eyes finally rested upon a small window just outside the barred doors of James' cell. If she could only climb up to it without being heard…maybe she could squeeze through.

She quietly went over to the cell door. Having a last glance of James she slowly and silently unlocked the door, and stepped out into the stone hallway. She turned towards the window and looked how high it was. With a look to see if the coast was clear she jumped up and caught hold onto the window ledge. Heaving herself up, she balanced one knee on the window ledge and grasped onto the wall next to her with one hand, while with the other one she put a silencing charm around the window. With another flick of her wand she blasted the cast iron bars off.

It was going all too well. She knew it was too good to be true, because the minute the bars hard been blown off silently two men appeared at the other end of the corridor, unnoticed by Lilly.

SLAM!

That was strike two. She cursed underneath her breath as her cousin's cell door banged shut.

"Over there!"

Ginny spun round suddenly, to see two death eaters sprinting towards her, wands out-stretched. Jets of light zoomed past her head as she squeezed through the small window. She could hear James screaming in fright at the sudden noise. She jumped down onto the hard earth below.

She could hear the death eaters swear loudly at her escape as she ran into the woods surrounding her. She heard a curse sound and a flash of light filled the sky, followed by a loud scream of pain. She winced as she recognised the voice.

I'll be back for you James, I promise.

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