There are a few flashbacks in this chapter and things that I should remind you all of:

Earlier in the story, Vera and Albus were attacked in Ottery St. Catchpole by two strangers. Their identities were discovered later in Chapter 12 and one of them was named Alisto Johnston. Also, while still at school, James and Vera had a discussion in the Room of Requirement about the future. James' point of view is seen in this chapter.

The rest continues on the present story line. Vera and Scorpius were kidnapped from the Hogwarts Express on the way back to London. Harry allowed James to join the auror investigation to discover their whereabouts. James figured that they were likely being kept at Malfoy Manor, the location of which could only be revealed by the secret keeper. After speaking to Narcissa Malfoy, James discovered that Draco Malfoy was the secret keeper, a slight complication as he himself was on the run from the Half Blood Prince. Narcissa gave James the means to find Draco and, upon meeting with him, convinced him and his wife, Astoria, to return to England and aid in the rescue effort. In the last chapter, the Prince began torturing the Malfoy children not only with spells but by planting horrifying images in their minds.

Everyday was getting harder. Everyday without her. The longer she was gone, the more restless I got. Five days. She had been gone for five days. Had she been on holiday that would be one thing. But she was gone. Kidnapped. Possibly scared. Possibly in pain. And it was killing me.

"Brooding again?" I lifted my head from my palm to find Teddy sitting across from me on the ottoman.

"Wouldn't you be?" I replied irritably.

Teddy shrugged, "Fair enough."

"What are you even doing here?" I demanded irritably. I wasn't normally this abrupt with Teddy…but I suppose I also wasn't normally brooding over my kidnapped girlfriend.

"Auror's meeting, remember? Malfoy is going to give us the layout of the Manor and the security and shit."

I was instantly alert. I was out of my chair in one fluid movement and bounding toward the sitting room. There were about twelve aurors already assembled, including my dad and his best friends. Also present were Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy and Rose. I gaped at their vast numbers. Did they really expect this much resistance?

"Good, James, you're here." Dad said, catching sight of me, "Why don't you two take a seat?"

Teddy and I picked our way around the assembled aurors before commandeering a spare patch of carpet.

"Let's begin then." Dad said, "Mr. Malfoy has kindly agreed to share with us the floor plans and protection surrounding the manor. Draco, if you will…"

Mr. Malfoy rose grudgingly from his seat to face the crowd. He cleared his throat and began, "My estate is one of the most well-protected buildings in this country. It is entirely unplottable, to the point where only I may reveal its location. The whole of the grounds are surrounded by every protective charm in existence. And by the whole of the grounds, I mean every inch of them. The front gate allows entrance only to invited guests. Challenging the gate would be…fatal to say the least. The house itself would be impossible for a stranger to navigate. It is enchanted to trick, confuse, and baffle anyone who may wish to cause my family harm. There are four levels, each with various tunnels, hidden passageways, and trapdoors. The only way into the manor is in my company."

"I see," Said dad, "So what would you recommend?"

Mr. Malfoy eyed him for a moment before saying, "There is a passageway leading from a hunting shack two kilometers North into the second floor lavatory. I would be able to remove my protective enchantments as we passed beneath the gate and from the lavatory, I could direct various groups to passages leading to wherever my children are being held."

"Thank you, Draco. What is the likelihood, in your opinion, of the Prince knowing about this passageway?"

"Minimal. It is intended for quick escape. It does not appear on the building plan and is not immediately detectable to any spells that are intended to reveal magic."

"That does seem the best option…" Dad trailed off, apparently thinking, "Do you have any idea where in the house he may be keeping them? Any spaces that would be particularly conducive to holding victims?"

To my extreme disappointment, Draco shrugged. That would definitely make the plan a lot more dangerous. A load of aurors wandering around a giant fun house trying to find a good place to hide two people? Not the most efficient use of time, if you asked me. If only we could get someone on the inside. Someone to observe their patterns, stake out the Prince's use of the house…

My father seemed to be following a similar thought process.

"Perhaps," He began, "And mind you, this would be dangerous but…perhaps we could send someone in. Someone to get the lay of the land, so to speak – to communicate with us from the inside." He looked around at the group of aurors, "Disguised as one of his followers, maybe?"

"Or a rash and hoplessly in love boyfriend who would do anything to rescue one of the captives." I cut in suddenly. I shrunk slightly as every pair of eyes in the room turned to look at me.

"What are you saying, James?" My father asked calmly, though I knew he had understood just fine.

"The Prince knows about Vera and me. And he seems to have some sort of understanding of my character. He might be wondering if I'm going to try and rescue her. In fact, he's probably expecting it. He's expecting some impulsive act from me, I'll bet anything. He also probably thinks I'll do it alone. That I'll be so overcome with a desire to rescue Vera that I won't even bother to make a plan. Just burst in, wands blazing." When everyone continued to stare at me I hurried on, "Sending in an auror in disguise would be risky. He probably knows exactly how many people are in the house and who they are. He would notice if one of them just showed up. Even if we sent someone to pretend to join his ranks, he would be suspicious. Someone from the aurors office suddenly wanting to join his ranks right when it would be useful to have an auror on the inside? Plus he can probably do all kinds of mind reading mumbo jumbo. But he wouldn't question me bursting in. As I said, he probably expects it."

I thought I'd made a good case, so was rather irritated when no one immediately began nodding and congratulating my genius. At last my father said,

"I'm sorry, James, but it's just too dangerous."

"Bullshit." I said, ignoring the scattered gasps of surprise at my daring, "The Prince won't want to hurt me. Remember when those men attacked Al and Vera in the village? Al said they were purposely trying not to hurt him. No, he'll want to keep me alive. But if he finds a spy in his ranks…" I left it there, allowing everyone else to dream up their own horrors.

"Harry," Said one of the aurors, Seamus Finnegan, "He has a point."

The look my father gave Seamus silenced him immediately. He turned his attention back to me but I interrupted before he could dole out any more warnings,

"Dad, it makes sense and you know it. Don't let the fact that I'm your son hold you up." I knew I was being disrespectful, and had my father been any other man, he would have shouted down my petulance and ordered me to my room, but instead he pursed his lips and said,

"I'll think about it. Until then, meeting adjourned. We will reconvene after I have spoken with Alisto Johnston."

The aurors dispersed quickly. I jumped to my feet and was at my father's side in an instant.

"Dad," I said quickly, "Can I – "

"Yes, James, you may accompany me to the ministry." He didn't look at me as he said this. I knew he was irritated with me. I knew he wanted me to back down and apologise. But I was so positive that my plan was the most logical that I forced down my guilt and stared at him boldly.

My heart began to pound thunderously against my ribcage as I watched my father sitting calmly in the interrogation room, drumming his fingers idly against the table. I wished I didn't have to stay trapped behind the two-way mirror with my Uncle Ron and a handful of data collectors, but as I was not officially an auror yet, I wasn't allowed to interrogate anyone. Apparently even allowing me to watch was pushing it, but as the head of the auror office, my father was pretty much allowed to distribute security clearance as he wished.

I jumped slightly as the latch on the heavy metal door slid open and Johnston entered, accompanied by two MLEO's. They forced him into the metal chair and restrained him with magical cuffs before moving to stand just outside the door. My gut clenched as I saw Johnston's face. His black hair was disheveled, his eyes were sunken, and his cheekbones jutted out of the sides of his waxy, pale face. He had every appearance of a man sent to rot in Azkaban. And yet, I felt no pity for him.

"Alisto Johnston." My father said coolly.

Johnston rolled his eyes, "No shit."

Seeming thoroughly unaffected by Johnston's rudeness, my father continued, "I'm told you've been administered the legal dose of Veritaserum, but I am required to confirm this. So, first question: when you were questioned by the Ministry several months ago, did you in any way omit or twist the truth in any of your responses?"

The man seemed to struggle for a moment, biting furiously on his lips as though trying to hold something back. After several seconds he burst out,

"Yes!"

My father nodded calmly, "Thank you, now onto business. Are you in league or in any way associated with the person masquerading as the Half-Blood Prince?"

"Yes." Said the man again, more easily this time. He seemed to have quickly given up on trying to prevent honesty from spilling out.

"How so?"

"He is my master. I do his bidding."

"Could you expound upon that? For instance, what did he tell you to do the night of your arrest? In detail, please."

Johnston paused for a moment before the words came spilling out of his mouth like water from a faucet,

"He recruited me specifically for the mission. He said I was his strongest ally. His most trusted assistant. His most talented follower. He told Krakowski and me to take up residence in Ottery St. Catchpole around Christmas. He said we were to cast the Imperious Curse upon all of the locals in the public sphere to alert us if they saw the girl. He said that one day the Malfoy spawn would visit the town with one of the Potter children, and when they left we were to follow them. The Potter child was not to be harmed but the Malfoy was to be kidnapped. And if we could not achieve this, we were to…" He stopped to sneer maliciously, "…to 'put the fear of God into her,' and to use any force necessary."

The way he said 'force,' was so filled with horrendous implications that my fists tightened. This bloke was lucky he was sentenced to life in Azkaban.

"I see." My father said calmly, though I noticed that his hand also convulsed threateningly. The peaky bastard didn't seem intimidated in the slightest.

"And what else did your 'master' ask you to do?" Dad asked slowly.

Johnston's sneer grew, "Oh, many things, Harry Potter. He encouraged me to torture hideous Death Eater spawn. He let me hurt them, rape them, kill them. He let me gouge out their insides with my bare fists. He let me destroy them. The way they destroyed my family."

My father gazed at the man for a moment, "I see. And what did your master promise you in return for your services? Other than fulfillment of your revenge fantasies, obviously."

"Power," The word was a growl. A growl of complete, delirious pleasure. "He promised me power. He told me he would teach me his ways. He has the power of a thousand wizards. He has spells, enchantments, curses that only he knows. Magic that defies description. Magic that can rule the world."

I shuddered, and I knew I wasn't the only one. Evidently this man was a complete sociopath.

"I see." My father said again, "Now Mr. Johnston, what can you tell me about the Half-Blood Prince? Do you know his real name? Where is he from? What happened to his family? Where did he learn this so-called magic that 'defies description?' What else does he plan to do?"

The sneer melted slowly off of Johnston's face as he said, "My master is…guarded with his secrets. He does not wish for many to know of his past or his plans. Afraid of traitors, you see?"

"Of course. But why not tell you? After all, you are his most trusted follower. And if he has such overwhelming strength, why are you still in Azkaban? Did he tell you that would happen? Did he tell you he would get you out if you got caught?"

A growl escaped the man's throat as he glared viciously at my father. I momentarily feared for his life before I remembered that Johnston was well restrained.

"You will not say such things about my master! You will bow to his awesome power like the rest of us! We will destroy all the hideous purebloods and non-believers! We will rip them limb from limb and laugh as their blood rains from the sky! You will rue the day you ever doubted the power of the HALF-BLOOD PRINCE!"

Listening to a murderous raving lunatic spout obscenities and curiously misled beliefs on morality wasn't my ideal way to end the week. Of course, I suppose I shouldn't have expected too much considering the week had started with my girlfriend being kidnapped by yet another murderous raving lunatic.

I sighed as I finished signing my name with a flourish. Rolling up the stack of parchment into a scroll, I stood and approached the stern-looking barn owl upon the windowsill. I tied the thick scroll to the owl's leg and watched as it carried my application to the auror program away and out of sight.

I sighed again. The whole Vera being in danger thing was really taking the fun out of life. Like earlier that morning…

I jumped groggily as Boromere, our family barn owl, fluttered down onto the kitchen table in front of me and upset a basket of rolls. Lily let out a groan and began righting the breakfast table as I untied the letter, saw that it was addressed to me, and opened it.

"Oh." I said unenthusiastically as I glanced down the page, "NEWT results are in."

"What?" My mother squawked, ripping the parchment from my hand and bringing it around so that both she and my father could peer down it.

After a moment my father's face split into a grin and he said,

"That's my boy. Ten 'Outstanding' NEWT's and one 'Exceeds Expectations' in Arithmency."

"Congratulations Jamie." Said my mother, grinning and kissing me on the cheek. I shrugged and did my best to look enthusiastic. Apparently I fooled no one.

"C'mon James," Dad said, "This is something to be proud of. You'll be a shoe in for the auror program with marks like these."

I nodded and continued poking at my eggs and bacon until Mum said,

"This calls for a celebration. Why don't we have the family over for dinner? For you and Rose and Fred."

I shrugged noncommittally, which seemingly served only to exasperate my parents.

"James," My dad said firmly, "You need to stop moping around. I know you're upset about Vera, but you can't let it bring your whole life to a stop."

"I know." I said unconcernedly, "I just don't really feel like celebrating right now. Maybe later."

I knew all four pairs of eyes of my family members were on me then, but I wasn't much in the mood to face them at the moment.

I sighed as I watched the progress of a rabbit-shaped cloud across the clear, blue sky. It was a beautiful summer day. I should have been outside, enjoying the fresh air, enjoying life. Why couldn't I bring myself to step outside? To relax in the green grass? Why couldn't I, for the life of me, get Vera out of my head? I was getting obsessive, crazy. I needed to think about something else.

I sat heavily in one of the kitchen chairs and rested my head in my hands as another memory wiggled its way into the forefront of my mind.

We were entwined on a fainting couch in the Rubbish Room (as I liked to call it) setting in the Room of Requirement. She had just finished quizzing me and we now sat in silence, me rubbing gentle circles into her hip with my thumb while she stared off into space.

"Vera, can I ask you something?" I said suddenly. She jumped slightly, as though I had just broken her from deep thought.

"Of course you can." She smiled dazzlingly at me and closed the book. It was oddly satisfying to have someone be so attentive to me. I was James Potter, so naturally I was accustomed to getting attention, but people always seemed to care less about what I was saying and more about the fact that I was the person saying it. Vera had this way of looking at me that made me feel like she was looking right past my face and into my soul. When she looked at me it was as though she was truly fascinated by anything and everything I could possibly have to say, and that I never had to worry about boring her.

I hesitated before asking the question that had been dancing on my lips for the last few weeks. I'd been putting off this conversation, mainly because I was afraid of where it might lead. But it was the end of the year now and our time was running out to settle the issue so…here goes,

"Do you ever…wonder about the future?" I met her eyes then; her fantastic, penetrating eyes that could never seem to decide exactly what colour they were. Her voice was light when she responded, completely at odds with her calculating expression,

"Honestly I can't see very far past my exams, as they may mark the end of my days."

I gave an unconvincing guffaw before plowing on anxiously, "But beyond that? Like…how do I phrase this…how do you see the next five years of your life?"

She bit her lip thoughtfully in that way that always made me want to…well…bite her lip as well.

"I don't know really. Nothing specific so far. I'll of course finish my final year here. Then I suppose I'm off for two years of pre-healing school. After that there's my one year internship at the Hospital and then I'll be a fully-fledged Healer. I can't really see too far past that, to be honest."

I considered her words, silently attempting to align her proposed plan with my own plan for the future.

"Sounds as good a plan as any." I sighed heavily before touching on the part of the conversation I was dreading, "What about next year do you think…maybe you'll want to see other people?"

An unfamiliar and horrible expression flitted across her face before she could conceal it. My heart stuttered in panic as I recognised it. Hurt.

"What are you saying, exactly?" She asked. Her voice was slightly hoarse, as though she were forcing the words out. Knowing her panic was needless I hurried to correct the situation,

"Oh no that's not what I meant! I was just wondering if you'd given any thought to…whether or not you'd like to stay with me. I understand if you're not interested in long-distance…"

Much to my relief, her response was prompt and confident,

"Oh shut up. Of course I want to stay with you." Something else seemed to occur to her then and the injured, anxious expression returned, "Unless you don't want to…"

"No of course I do. I just wanted to make sure." I said quickly. She smiled at me then; a smile that was the perfect combination of confident, sexy, and kind. It took my breath away. Unable to help myself, I leaned forward and kissed her softly.

I shook myself and got to my feet, hoping to squeeze in a kip before dinner and, if my unconscious mind cooperated, a few blissful hours when I wouldn't have to think about Vera. I dragged myself toward the sitting room, moving sluggishly and admittedly rather aimlessly. I was just in the middle of reciting to myself the names of the last fifty keepers of Puddlemere United in chronological order when I heard the muffled sound of what was unmistakably a raised voice. I crept toward the sound and came to a stop in front of the closed door of my father's study.

"…risking the lives of fifteen aurors, Harry. Not to mention the lives of your sons and my daughter. I can't believe you are even considering going through with this."

"What am I supposed to do Ron? Let two innocent children die?"

"You mean two Malfoy children. Come on Harry. Have you forgotten everything they've done? Everything they've failed to do? Why do you keep insisting on protecting the whole lot of them?"

"Because they're good people!" I heard my father burst out angrily. There was a brief silence. When Ron spoke again his voice was incredulous,

"Are you completely off your rocker? Good people don't maim, torture, and kill. Good people don't stab their friends in the back. And good people sure as hell aren't the Malfoys."

"Draco isn't like the rest of the Malfoys. Nor are his children. Do you remember that day back in sixth year? The day Dumbledore was killed and those death eaters infiltrated the castle."

"Yes I do. And I remember it was that little wanker Draco who let them in."

"That's not the point. Draco has always been and always will be a product of his environment. But when it comes down to it he is a good person. That night on top of North Tower…before Severus and the Carrows came in, he was lowering his wand. We have a chance at true peace here, Ron. We have a chance to make this world better for our children. For everyone's children. And to do that we need to let go of these stupid, ancient prejudices and all move on with our lives. Didn't you listen to anything Dumbledore ever said?"

There was another brief pause punctured a moment later by a sigh.

"Fine. I'll do my part. But it was pretty low of you to pull the Dumbledore card."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"I still don't like this."

"Well one of the great things about my job is that I really don't have to care."

Ron chuckled, "Arsehole."

"Prick." My dad replied promptly. My father and his best friend lapsed once more into silence. This one lasted so long that I almost continued my trek back to the sitting room. Then at last,

"I am going to get them back though. Vera is very important to my son – both my sons. And Scorpius is to your daughter."

"Ergh. Don't remind me…but I suppose for Rosie's sake, I'll do what I can to save them."

"So will I."

So will I. I agreed, as I closed the rest of the distance to the sitting room and collapsed onto the long, comfortable couch. So will I.

"Harry, this is mad! I can't believe you're even considering this." I was startled into consciousness as the sound of my mother's cracked like a whip around the room. I was careful to stay perfectly still and not give away my newfound consciousness as my father said, in a voice of forced calm,

"I know it sounds mad, Ginny. You can't possibly think this is my first choice. I've agonised over this for days, trust me. But it's really the only way to get in and get everyone out alive."

"Why can't one of your aurors go in? They've been trained for this kind of thing, haven't they?"

"Yes they have." Came Hermione's voice, "But they would never survive it. If the Prince finds a spy in his ranks he'll torture and murder them no matter what their heritage. It has to be someone close to Harry."

"Then why can't one of you three go? Or me? I think we'd have a much higher chance of survival than my eighteen-year-old son."

"Because the Prince knows us, Ginny. He seems to know everything about everyone. Think about it, love. What adult is stupid enough or rash enough to go and attack compound full of enemies single-handedly? He'd know there was something else going on. He'd be ready for an attack. It would endanger anyone involved. He'd accept a teenager just bursting with out a plan. In fact, he's probably expecting James to do it. Rose is far too sensible. He'd know that if he'd done his research and something tells me he has."

"Then we all go in." My mother said defiantly, "Attack them all at the same time. We'd have the element of surprise on our side."

"That would be extremely risky Ginny. I can almost guarantee we'll lose someone if we do that. We don't know where they are being kept and the time spent searching could mean someone's life." Said Hermione.

"Shut up Hermione!" My mother said viciously. "You have no say in this matter."

"You don't think this bothers us too?" Hermione screeched back, apparently reaching the end of her tether. "This is no one's favourite option! You know Ron and I love James like a son."

"But he's not your son! He's mine. He's my baby boy." Her voice broke at the end. There was an uncharacteristic degree of vulnerability in my mother's voice as she broke down into sobs. My stomach clenched. So confident was I in my abilities that I hadn't even bothered to wonder how my mother would feel about me risking my life. I almost sat up then and denounced the whole idea. Almost.

I heard someone drop to their knees by my side and run their hand gently through the fringe of my hair. I knew from the soft touch that the hand belonged to my mum.

"How would you feel?" She whispered. "What would you say, Ron, if it was Rose going in instead of James? Would you let her do it?"

I heard my uncle sigh heavily. "No, I wouldn't. But not for the reason you think, Gin. Rosie is my little girl, and she is an extremely capable young witch and an extraordinarily strong person, but she's not like James. She's a caretaker, a nurturer, not a fighter. James is. We all know he will fight anyone for anything if he needs to. As much as I love James, I agree that he really is the only one who can do this."

My mother let out a heavy, broken sigh before whispering, "But he's my little boy…"

Then hesitantly my father said, "No he's not, love. He's a man now. We can try and fight it for as long as we like but eventually we are going to have to accept that he's grown up. He's a very capable wizard now. I have every confidence that he can handle this."

There was a pause so long that I almost dosed off again. All I could hear was the crackling of the fire, the chirping of the crickets, the whispering of the light summer breeze. Then my mother let out one last sigh,

"Fine. He can do it. But if anything happens to him, it's on your head Harry."

My father chuckled, "I wouldn't want it any other way, love. Now go back to bed. All of you."

There was some rustling, a few muffled footsteps, and some softly bid goodbyes before the room was quiet once more. There was a beat wherein I briefly debated whether or not to move upstairs to my bed before my father's voice rang out again,

"You can stop pretending to be asleep now, James. I know you were listening."

I grinned before opening my eyes and sitting up. My father knew me all too well. The lights of the sitting room were still on, the fire was still crackling in the grate but otherwise the house was silent and still. It was obviously late at night. My father sat in the armchair opposite the couch in his dressing gown. He looked exhausted but the sparkle in his eye was still, thankfully, alive.

"So I can do it then? I can go in?" I asked, ruffling my hair excitedly.

"It appears so."

"When?" I demanded eagerly.

"Tomorrow afternoon. I'll inform the others as soon as it's morning and we can go over the plan." I nodded, grinning in spite of myself. "Now go to bed. You're going to need your rest."

I nodded again and hopped to my feet, very willing to do anything my dad asked now that he was taking this chance on me.

I stopped when I reached the doorway and turned around, "Hey dad?"

He raised his head from his hand, "What is it, son?"

"Thanks for, you know, believing in me. It means a lot. More than you know."

He cast me a genuine grin, "Cheers for being someone I can believe in."

Vera

For the umpteenth time in these many days, I was screaming. It was not a squeal of excitement that one might let loose when they discover their favourite band has reunited at last. Nor was it a screech of surprise that one might experience when their little brother had snuck up behind them. No, it was a horrified, drawn-out cry of agony.

My screams began to die down as my surroundings began to filter back into my consciousness and I realised that the scene I had witnessed was merely a vision. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to ward off the onslaught of images playing behind my eyelids. But eventually my strength failed me and the images slowly bled through…dead, tortured, disfigured faces of the people I held most dear…the sight of Hogwarts curling into ash beneath the groping hands of black flames…and the smell, the horrific, indescribable stench that swirled around my lungs…

I forced my eyes open, not wanting to focus on the images in my minds eye any longer.

"Stop it." I begged. "Please." My voice was quiet, almost a whisper. It was not tearful or broken. Just three simple, spoken words. I didn't really know what else to do. My cries of agony did not affect them, and I highly doubted they would be susceptible to logical persuasion either. So now I was pushed to my last resort. Begging. Not pitifully or sorrowfully. Just asking. Like how I might ask a particularly off-key singer to cease their attempts at making music.

Becuase honestly, I was done. I was finished with all of this. The pain, the illusions. I had reached my limit. I couldn't take anymore. At this point, I had nothing left to lose. No one was coming for me. I was entirely alone. I had to take care of myself now.

"What was that?" The Prince asked, sounding amused. An invisible force lifted me back onto my knees. "Did you say something, my sweet?"

I lifted my head slowly, laboriously and stared directly into his empty black eyes,

"I asked you to stop it." I said calmly. "I don't want to do this anymore."

He began to laugh and the faceless people around us joined in. I wasn't surprised. No, I knew my request would likely come to little. That's the point of a last resort, after all. You only use it when everything else has failed. When you have nothing left to lose.

"I see you still have it in you to make jokes." He said amusedly. "Let's try this again shall we?"

When his black eyes met mine again, and as my vision faded to black, I felt a bizarre, yet familiar sensation rise up in my chest once more. In the moment, right when our minds connected, it exploded. I was flying, flying through darkness before coming to an abrupt halt. I was in the woods, crouching behind a tree, looking upon a horrific scene. In the clearing before me was a small cabin, the lights were on, illuminating the dark figures of a seven people from behind. One of them was on the floor. Judging by the sound of their screams I guessed it was a woman. I heard a whimper beside me and my head whipped around. Crouching behind the adjacent tree was a small, dark-haired boy, no more than nine years old. A young woman, no older than I was, had her arms wrapped around him as she tried to pull him away from the scene. They were both pale skinned and black-haired, similar-looking enough to be siblings.

The people surrounding the woman were shouting and laughing. My heart stopped as one of the figures, the leader, or so it looked, tilted his face back just enough for the moonlight to illuminate his pale skin. I recognised him instantly. My grandfather.

The scene changed. I was running alongside the same little boy and teenage girl, but they were older now, perhaps five years had passed. As I watched the young woman let out a screech and tumbled to the ground. Black ropes sprang up around her hands, feet, and neck and she began to gag. The boy came to a sudden halt and dropped to his knees beside the young woman, screaming at her in a language I did not understand as he waved his wand wildly over her. She shook her head and bucked violently, perhaps trying to push him away. Voices became apparent in the distance, motioning for him to leave, to run. He seemed to refuse and began to murmur a complex string of foreign words under his breath.

The voices grew louder as the boy continued his work. A few minutes later the tension in the ropes began to ease. No sooner had the boy gripped the woman's hand and pulled her to her feet then a jet of red light hit her back and she collapsed to ground, screaming.

That cruel, horribly familiar laughter echoed in my ears again and I turned to see a crowd of people, all suddenly recognisable at this close proximity. I had seen all of their faces before, in photographs, in textbooks, and even in person.

"The baby boy finally stops running." The mocking tone in my grandfather's familiar voice was sickening as he stared down at the frightened boy. I wanted intervene. I wanted to jump in front of the boy and try to reason with my grandfather, but I couldn't. Because this had already happened. This was all a memory.

"We should keep him around longer, Lucius," Said one of the death eaters whom I recognised as a Walden Macnair from twenty years ago, "He has a strong spirit. It might be fun to break it."

My grandfather grinned at him, "Very well then, Macnair. But kill the girl at least. She could be dangerous."

The boy, seemingly unable to understand English, stared wide-eyed between the two men throughout their dialogue. When Macnair raised his wand, the boy seemed to realise what was happening just a second too late.

The young woman's struggling form went limp as the jet of green light hit her. The boy let out a strangled scream and rushed to her side. Before he reached her, fire shot from the end of my grandfather's wand and hit the boy, the flames consuming the left side of his face in a matter of seconds. He screamed…

…and I screamed too as I was brought abruptly back to reality by a searing pain. I opened my eyes when my screams at last subsided, and was met with an unexpected sight. The Prince was crouching on the ground, gripping his head as though he were about to explode.

"My lord!" Said the woman, Orna, rushing to his side, "Speak to me your highness! Are you okay?"

The Prince lashed out violently, knocking her aside. He stood and faced me, glaring at me with so much hatred, I was surprised his eyes weren't boring holes in my skin.

"Take this little bitch out of my sight immediately." He commanded, "She has proved her guilt this night. Prepare the facilities. Tomorrow night, we execute her."

It felt as though my heart had stopped, and I did not even struggle as two cloaked figures seized me and dragged me away, back toward the cellar. Scorpius was by my side the instant I was tossed into our makeshift prison. He seized my face in his hands and forced me to look at him. I struggled to focus my eyes enough to make out his features.

"What happened?" He demanded, "What did you do?"

"I…" How did I even begin to describe what had happened? "I…it was an accident. I didn't mean to."

"What was an accident? Speak to me, please Vera."

"I…I broke into his head. I saw his memories. I don't know how."

There was a pause, "The Prince? You broke into his mind?"

I nodded weakly, suddenly wishing very much that I could just pass out then and there. Seeing this, Scorpius shook me slightly.

"Stay with me, Oli. How did he react?"

"He was…he said…he said he was going to kill me tomorrow night."

I heard the slightest intake of breath.

"I guess that settles in then." He said calmly.

I nodded, "We're breaking out. Tomorrow."

A/N: I'm not sure what else to do other than to apologise for my absence. I know this was the longest break ever. I have many reasons, (person stuff, writer's block, technical difficulties, etc.) but I won't bore you with the details. I merely hope you enjoyed this chapter and will stick with me through the end. There will be two more chapters to this story and eventually a sequel. On that note, I'm making you all an offer:

If you review this chapter or either of the following two, I will, when the story ends, send you a sneak peek of the sequel through PM. Just a few things I have written that can fit the word limit. It doesn't have to be particularly long. Just a comment or two. Thank you for reading, and happy reviewing!