Chapter 9, Run? Hell Yeah.

"Speaking of our biggest fans..." Ron stuttered, pointing in front of them. Harry whirled around to see wizards in black long black cloaks and masks apparating around the three. "Harry!"

"What are we supposed to do?" Hermione whimpered.

"How should I know?" Harry snapped, his body tensing. He slowly started to reach in his pocket when a voice barked, "Don't move Potter." He recognized that voice!

"Malfoy." He spat back, "Gotten out of jail have we?"

"An unfortunate mistake." Lucius Malfoy responded distastefully, "But now that the dementors are under the Dark Lord's control what are you going to send me to? A muggle jail?" He snickered.

"Enough talk." A cold female voice broke through the taunting, "The Dark Lord is waiting."

"Bellatrix." Harry hissed under his breathe.

"Aw, did you miss me Potter?" She asked sweetly. "Without my bloody cousin around I suppose you did."

Hermione and Ron quickly took hold of Harry's arms as he started to lunge for that awful mask. The Death Eaters snickered at them, which only made Harry tug on the two harder, "Let go of me! I'm going to kill her!" He hollered at them. The Death Eaters laughed louder. Malfoy loudest of all. So Harry focused on him.

"How's your son Malfoy, about to become a Death Eater too, isn't he?" Harry called to Lucius after failing to rip himself from his friends grasps, "But he failed Voldemort didn't he? What happened to him? What did Voldemort do?" The Death Eaters stopped laughing immediately to stare at him. Lucius's wand arm raised, shaking angrily, but Harry couldn't stop, his fury consumed him as he continued, "He got it good didn't he? How could such a bad Death Eater come from a great one like yourself? You must be so proud to have such a pathetic son. Not even able to kill a doddering old man like Dumbledore! Not devoid of emotion like you are. Not as cold hearted and beastly is he? He'll never be a Death Eater like-"

"Crucio!" Malfoy shrieked. Immediately Harry's body convulsed and sharp knives jammed through his skin. Hermione and Ron lost their grips on him and he fell to the ground, his body writhing in pain. He didn't scream. He didn't yell. He grunted through the pain. Each time it got easier and easier, he realized. His body was slowly becoming accustomed to the sharp wracking pains. It left him panting heavily on the hard concrete.

"Do you want more Potter!" Malfoy demanded.

"We aren't supposed to do anything to the boy, Malfoy." Bellatrix drawled. "Do what you want to the other two. The Dark Lord just wants Potter."

"If he wants to remain whole before he makes it to the Dark Lord he had better watch his tongue." Malfoy said tightly. Ron and Hermione helped him up with terrified looks on their faces.

"You okay, mate?" Ron asked shakily.

"Fine." Harry whispered back.

"Oh Harry!" Hermione exclaimed tightly giving him a quick hug.

"We should teach him some respect before he goes to the Dark Lord." A voice echoed maliciously, Crabbe, if Harry was thinking clearly.

"As much as I would love to..." Bellatrix trailed off.

"We can at least make him watch us torture the other two." Goyle offered.

Bellatrix seemed to consider that one, "The Dark Lord wants him now." She said finally with a longing sigh. "I'd've loved to see his face though..."

"Would you quit talking about me like I'm not here." Harry snapped.

"Maybe some lessons in respect wouldn't be too bad." Bellatrix said, her voice filled with the rage they couldn't see in her masked eyes. "Imperio!" She shrieked. Harry grabbed Ron and Hermione and dove to the ground hard, he felt his jeans rip and his vision blurred.

"Where did they come from?" Malfoy hissed then shouting, "Avada Kadavra!" Harry's head shot up immediately to see Tonk's, Moody, and several other Aurors pop into the picture, including Knightly. Thankfully the killing curse was badly aimed and didn't hit anyone, but it came perilously close to Tonks. Way too close for comfort.

"Wotcher Harry." Tonks grinned at him as she caught his gaze. She wasn't fighting, but with the three of them. She helped them up, making sure to keep at least one eye on the battle going on all around them and her wand raised.

"You didn't think we could make it on our own?" Harry asked reproachfully.

Tonks raised a rather confused eyebrow. "We've been trailing Malfoy ever since he got out of Azkaban earlier this morning. It just so happens that he ended up after you. Not that we didn't expect it."

"What Harry means is thank you Tonks." Hermione cut in quickly as Harry's mouth opened, no doubt to say something else as unthankful.

"Go on you three, off to Sage." Moody growled, as he sent a jinx straight to Bellatrix who's body immediately locked up, frozen. A rather triumphant look crossed Harry's face. He would never be truly satisfied until she was dead, but, for now, that would do.

"And this time I'm helping." Tonk's sighed, taking hold of the three of them. Suddenly Harry felt like he was being squeezed into an ultra tight tube. The oxygen around him was slowly disappearing and the silver ebb of the tunnel was swallowing him whole, and, just like before, just when he thought he was going to die from asphyxiation the tunnel let up and the cool breeze of oncoming nightfall hit him square in the face. It was later here than it was on Private Drive, the sun was just starting to descend and a cool silence fell like a shroud across the whole street. He looked up at the intersection. This was Broker Street all right.

"We could've gotten here on our own." Harry informed her weakly. "Eventually."

"Yeah, well, I think Mrs. Weasley's torn out enough hair for the day. She'll be bald if you three keep this up." Tonk's retorted.

"Where does she live?" Hermione queried.

"At the end of the street." Tonks responded. Then she raised a pink eyebrow at them, "You can make it to the end of the street without being attacked, can't you?"
"You're not coming with us?" Ron asked nervously.

"As much as I would love to see Sage..." Tonks said wistfully, "I have to return to the other Aurors."

"Oh. Right." Harry responded, "We can make it."

"Be careful you three." She said with a suspicious gaze as she turned around on her heel, wobbled slightly before catching herself and apparating, a slight blush to her cheeks, "Tell Sage I said hi..." Her voice floated back to them as she disappeared.

"Tonk's is absolutely wonderful." Hermione laughed.

"Good for a laugh anyway." Ron agreed, but Hermione just gave him a look and smacked him on the arm.

"Come on guys, let's get going." Harry said finally, shaking his head.

"187 Broker Street, right?" Hermione asked as they started walking.

"Yeah...right there." Harry replied slowly as they came upon the house. It was large and white, surrounded by colorful flowers and neat as a pin. But as they walked up the walkway to the front door the flowers quickly disappeared to leave dark green willows and shrubbery. Long tendrils fell from overhead and just skimmed their heads like a mother's hands stroking her child. It was a little eerie, but curiosity was chief among Harry's emotions as they drew closer and closer to the front door.

"And no problems to speak of!" Ron exclaimed sarcastically.

"POTTER!" A voice howled.

"You spoke too soon!" Hermione snapped at him. The voice clearly belonged to Malfoy. Not. Good. At. All. They dashed to the top step and Harry slammed his fist loudly on the door, hoping for all that he was worth that Sage was home. Suddenly Mystic glided up and picked something up on the top of the door frame and dropped it directly over Harry. It was small and felt like cold metal as it slammed onto his head. It bounced off and he missed whatever it was as it hit the cement walkway and slid underneath a bush.

"A key!" Hermione exclaimed, immediately diving down to get it. Unfortunately so had Harry and Ron at the exact same moment and they somehow managed to create a three-way head knock. Wonderful.

"Ow." They moaned in unison, drawing back and holding their heads. Mystic hooted agravatedly and scooped down under the bush, snapping it up and into Hermione's lap. He looked up at her, directly in the eye, and she felt something extremely-

"Hermione!" Harry yelled jumping up, "Open the door!" Ron was already on his feet waiting expectantly, but Hermione just sat there dumbfounded, staring at Mystic.

"Hermione!" Harry repeated, pulling her up and snatching the key out of her hands and jamming it into the lock just as Malfoy called, "ARE WE PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK POTTER!"

Harry shoved the door open and he, Hermione and Ron tumbled through, Mystic flying in over head. They fell to the ground in a jumble, tangled up in each other's limbs.

SLAM!

They all froze as the room was flooded with darkness. The door had shut. But they were all still on the ground.