To say that Ginny was nervous would be an understatement.

But at least she wasn't freaking out like Fred and Geroge. They were screaming at her and Malfoy. Thankfully, she had gotten really good at ignoring their nagging.

"It is far too dangerous!"

"You haven't even formulated a real plan!"

"You'll get yourself killed."

"Or worse."

"Enough." Malfoy said as he fixed his black, Death-Eater robes. "It's the only way."

The twins looked at each other before turning to Ron and Hemione. "Say something!"

Ron opened his mouth to talk, but Ginny interrupted them.

"Every minute we spend here formulating and scratching ideas and plans is a minute Harry is suffering. Or, a minute closer to his death. We don't have all the time in the world." she said.

"Ginny, maybe it would be better if we found more people... We're far too few." Hermione said.

"We've been here for a week." Ginny answered, glaring at her. "You two, for even longer. And we haven't found more people or come up with a better plan. Harry can't wait forever. We need to save him now."

"We shouldn't rush into anything." Ron said, trying to stay calm. "Hermione is right. We're seven bloody kids and Snape..."

"Not Snape." Malfoy said. "We're not getting him into this."

"Well, seven kids, then." Ron continued. "We're not enough, Ginny. We can't take him down."

"We're not taking him down." she said, exasperated. "We're rescuing Harry. Then we'll take him down."

"This is so stupid! Ginny, wake up!" George said.

"We've taken down a few Death Eaters but that doesn't mean we can just fool You-Know-Who and steal Harry from him!" Fred added.

Ginny swallowed and looked at Malfoy. The blonde boy rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"It's your call." he said quietly.

"What about you, Malfoy?" George said. "This will mean you entire cover will be blown. He will be after you, too. And as much as you don't want to get Snape involved in this, he'll be targeted, too."

"Are you sure you're ready to be running away all the time?" Fred added.

"Leaving your life of comfort?"

"This means he will enlist someone else to track down our remaining allies." Hermione tried to reason. "Someone more dangerous who will stop at nothing. Him enlisting you is probably the main reason why the others haven't been found. It sends the whole plan down the drain."

Malfoy looked at Ginny and she rolled her eyes. They had spoken all week long about how Harry could not be there anymore. How they had to rescue him as soon as possible. How both of them would give their lives up just to get him out of there. Draco was also tired of tormenting himself at night, thinking over and over about how he could've stopped each and every one of the times he had seen Harry suffer. He had even helped.

"Yes, I'm aware." he said. "I'm also aware that every day that goes by, could be the last day of Potter's life."

"Fine." George growled. "Okay, let's say we go along with this stupidity. Tell us everything again."

Draco rolled his eyes and began talking.

That night, Voldemort had called for another meeting.

They apparated a few miles away from the manor. Ginny, Ron and Hermione were subjected to the Species excursior curse, and looked beaten up and weak. Draco held their shackles in one hand.

"Are you sure about bringing her, Draco?" Snape said before they walked towards the somber mansion. His eyes landed on Ginny. "They will stop at nothing to torture you. They know Potter was in love with you." he told her.

Draco almost flinched at how Snape spat the word "love".

"Yes, this will prove to the Dark Lord that I'm on his side." Draco said, hiding their plan from Snape.

"I will stand whatever they dish out." Ginny said.

Ron shuddered, remembering his own torture, and shook his head.

"This is madness." he muttered.

Draco had discussed with Ginny the possible outcomes, and he stared at her to make sure she was still on board with the whole thing. He had told her that Voldemort enjoyed torturing Harry in every possible way, and that included rape. So, he wouldn't be above raping her as well, in front of Harry, because he knew that Harry had loved her, or at least cared for her in an entirely different level than what he had cared for Hermione or any other of his friends. He had told her that Ron had been tortured briefly, but Ginny would be an entirely different matter. If Voldemort decided to torture her, it wouldn't be brief. And, finally, if the plan did not work, her demise would be slow and grueling.

She had been surprisingly brave.

As she was at that moment. She stared back at him and nodded briefly.

Then, they began walking.

Pettigrew, as usual, received their coats. His beady eyes widened when he stared at Ginny.

"I can't believe this. Baby Malfoy caught a big fish!" he laughed.

"Shut up, Wormtail." Draco answered.

"The Dark Lord will be pleased." Pettigrew continued as if Draco hadn't said anything at all. "He's waiting for you in the living room on the second floor."

As they made their way towards the second floor, Draco could feel the fear emanating from the Gryffindors. Fear of seeing Harry.

They entered the living room, where Voldemort was sitting on a throne-like velvet chair surrounded by a few Death Eaters that included Fenrir, Bellatrix and the Carrow brothers. Harry was nowhere in sight.

"My dear, dear Draco" the Dark Lord said, a note of surprise in his dark voice, "and Severus. I must deeply congratulate you."

Ginny suppressed a shudder and stared at everyone else around the room. They looked torn between jealousy, because it had been Draco who found her, and a deep desire to rip her to pieces out of pure bloodlust.

"Found the little weasel-girl all on your own, I see." Fenrir growled.

"Yes, I thought I'd give Potter a surprise." Draco said, faking a smile.

Voldemort slowly got up from his seat, making every single person in the room tense. He walked towards them, his smile getting bigger by the second. When he was directly in front of Ginny, he began laughing, his subordinates following his lead. Draco tried to fake laughter as well. The three Gryffindors couldn't help but shudder... although Ginny's reaction carried unparalleled anger. She glared at the Dark Lord, who simply kept on laughing.

"You will be rewarded for this." he told Draco and Snape. "But first things first. Draco, accompany me to see our dear boy-who-lived."

Nervously, Draco and his three slaves followed Voldemort through the manor. The other Death Eaters, including Snape, stayed in the living room to continue hatching plans to keep Voldemort in power.

"Do tell me how you got your hands on sweet Ginny Weasley." Voldemort spoke as they descended a set of stairs.

"I tortured Ron Weasley into telling me all the possible places Ginny could be hiding. Turns out the Weasley family had certain spots where they would go if they were in danger and hope to meet each other. Snape and I went on a scavenger hunt then, to all the places he told me. And I found her in one of those, hiding all alone. It wasn't hard to outhex her and capture her, my Lord." Draco said proudly, the made-up story rolling off of his tongue easily.

"I'm so proud of you, Draco." Voldemort said.

They finally reached the end of the stairs. A black, shiny metal door was waiting for them at the end of a long, badly-lit hallway.

Voldemort spoke Parsel and it slid to one side, allowing them entrance into a dungeon.

Draco swallowed... at least he wasn't in the Dark Lord's personal chambers.

They walked inside and the four youngsters couldn't help but gag at the smell and sight. There were half-dead people lying inside the cells, most of them muggles no doubt. It smelled of blood and decay. Voldemort seemed unfazed and he simply lifted his wand, its tip illuminated to cast some more light on the scenery. The people who were still conscious cowered at the sight. Some of them cringed in their corners, some of them started crying or yelling, but the Dark Lord ignored them all.

"These are all prisoners of war." he explained as they continued forward. "Some muggles, some mudbloods, some traitors... I don't usually come down here myself. I keep them to entertain my subjects."

"Are there any prisoners that would've been friends with my slaves?" Draco asked, fighting to keep the trembling from his voice. The Weasleys and Hermione thanked him silently.

"No. After the auction we've only found one... Well, two with your little discovery."

"Who?" Draco asked. When the Dark Lord turned a suspicious, glaring eye towards him, he swallowed nervously. "If I may ask, my Lord. I'm just curious."

The older man smiled mischievously but remained silent. Only their steps and the moans and sobs from the people around them resonated as they kept walking. They finally reached the end. A tall, stone wall stood before them. The four youngsters shuddered, and Ginny felt real, raw fear for the first time since they had entered the manor. There, on the wall, was the image of a snake wrapped around a lion. The snake was wrapped so tightly around the lion that it was crushing it, choking it. One of its long fangs was going clean through the lion's eye.

Voldemort spoke in parsel again and the stone wall slowly moved, creating a doorway for them to walk through.

Nothing could've prepared them for what was inside.

Ginny's eyes immediately filled with tears, a sob ripping through her throat. She was better at hiding her emotions than her brother, though, who immediately yelled out.

"Harry!"

"Shut up, slave." Draco said, but his eyes were trained on the image, too. He was paler than usual.

Harry was tied up against a wall. He seemed unconscious, his head dropped down to his chest and his eyes closed.

His entire body was destroyed. Blood covered him completely, and enormous gouges and gashes stood on his skin; a result of the werewolves' game. There was a puddle of blood beneath him.

Remus was in front of him, also tied up; but held down to the floor. He was on his knees, sitting on his ankles. His hands were tied behind him. He was gagged, too, and his eyes were swollen from crying; but he seemed otherwise okay.

"Professor Lupin." Hermione whispered.

Lupin stared at them, wide-eyed and terrified.

"Yes, Professor Lupin." Voldemort said, mockingly. "I brought some more of your students. If you don't mind, however, I would like to be the Professor this time. Ennervate." He pointed his wand at Harry, who woke up with a gasp. He looked around, disoriented, before the pain of his injuries hit and he cried out through clenched teeth, writhing. "It's very rude to fall asleep during classes, Harry."

"Ginny!" Harry exclaimed, his voice hoarse, ignoring Voldemort. Then, his eyes landed on Draco and anger settled on his destroyed face. "What did you do to her?"

Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry, who immediately began writhing in pain, but didn't scream. It stopped after a few seconds.

"You should not speak out of turn, Mr. Potter." he said, mockingly. "It was, though, an excellent question, so I will let it slide for now. However, I am afraid that what you should be asking is what we are going to do to her." Voldemort drawled, amusement and happiness evident in his voice. "I promised you that I would do to your friends what I did to you, and I promised that I'd make you watch. I spared Lupin because I knew there were even more valuable trophies out there. Case in point."

Harry swallowed and lowered his head. Exhaustion was evident in every single inch of his body. He was shaking with fear, anger and overexertion.

"Please, just leave her alone." he whispered.

Voldemort had force-fed him a variety of potions after his round with the wolves. He suspected those were the only reason he was still alive. After Fenrir's... actions, he had fallen into a deep unconsciousness. He only remembered waking up, tied up to the wall again, with Voldemort and Wormtail shoving liquids down his throat. He had been too weak to fight, and those had been the only sustenance he had received in a long time, so he hadn't put up a fight. After a few moments, he realized that the terrible wounds were slowly closing.

It wasn't exciting for him. He knew Voldemort healed him just so that he could keep on torturing him.

"I can't do that, though, my dear Harry. See, you're still in a healing process, and if I were to physically hurt you, I might risk killing you too fast. No, no, no." the older man mused. "I must hurt your friends."

Harry's body shook harder, his eyes squeezing shut.

Remus began yelling behind his gag, again.

Draco tried to laugh.

"You should untie him, my Lord." he said, his voice thin. "He will try to fight but it will be useless."

Voldemort laughed and pointed his wand at Harry. Draco tried not to look at Remus who was currently glaring at him. The professor being there complicated the whole plan.

After a wave of his hand, the ropes vanished and Harry fell to the floor on his hands and knees. He looked up at them for a moment before throwing up a mixture of bile, blood and the potions Voldemort had given him.

Ginny began crying.

"Harry!" Ron said, unable to control himself anymore.

"My, if that makes you sick, I can't even begin to imagine what you'll feel like after everyone upstairs is done with your girlfriend."

Harry gasped hoarsely when he was done and shakily cleaned his mouth with the back of his hand. Then he looked up at Voldemort, hatred evident in his eyes.

"Don't..." he croaked. He wanted to scream at the monster to just leave everyone alone, but he didn't have the energy.

"Merlin, Harry..." Ron said, trying to keep his tears at bay, while at the same time stepping in front of Ginny to protect her.

Draco took a deep breath, still trying to smile and then turned to Voldemort.

"My Lord, if I may," he said, "I've been practicing the Cruciatus curse. Could I show you using the Weasley girl as example?"

Voldemort smiled widely before laughing.

"Finally, Draco. Of course, of course. Please show the class what you've learned."

Draco nodded and turned to Ginny. She looked back at him, determined. He lifted his wand, his hand shaking minutely.

"Don't you dare, Malfoy." Ron said, glaring at him. He tried to stand in front of Ginny, but his sister shoved him away.

"Crucio." Draco muttered, and the curse hit her.

She immediately fell to the floor, screaming. Draco forced out laughter. He didn't know if she was pretending to be extremely hurt by it as they had practiced, or if it really hurt as bad as it seemed. Either way, it was the only way to push Harry.

And Harry screamed as well. In fact, Ron and Hermione did, too, which forced Draco to pull on their chains, making them fall to the floor.

"STOP!" Harry screamed, before coughing dryly. "MALFOY, STOP, PLEASE!"

He did, only because he was worried that Ginny's writhing and screaming was more than just show.

She panted, shaking. It had hurt a hell of a lot more than what she had anticipated. She glared at Malfoy. The little bastard had promised that his curse wasn't all that powerful.

"Ginny, are you okay?" Ron asked, his voice shaking.

Ginny didn't answer, instead she swallowed and tried to sit up.

"Come on, Potter. Don't you want to save your girlfriend?" Malfoy laughed. "Crucio!"

Ginny screamed again, writhing. Draco wanted to look away, but it was part of the plan. If he was the one torturing Ginny, it would keep Voldemort from doing it to her as well.

"Please, Malfoy!" Harry continued begging, tears running down his face. He wanted to crawl over to them to protect Ginny, but his body couldn't move.

And Draco didn't stop. He kept on casting the curse, watching with apparent satisfaction as Ginny suffered.

What they didn't anticipate, though, was that the Dark Lord would turn on the other two. He had been happily observing, watching as everyone in the room except him and Draco cried and screamed... but then he acted.

"Crucio." he said, pointing at the other girl in the room.

Hermione started screaming.

Harry screamed with everything he had as he stared at his friends suffering, begging and sobbing and feeling his body shutting down from the immense effort.

Remus and Ron screamed, too.

Draco was stunned, completely unprepared for the Dark Lord's reaction, but he kept the curse.

Then, it happened.

Wandless magic exploded from Harry. Much stronger than when it had happened inside Voldemort's bedroom. It knocked Draco and the Dark Lord off of their feet, Remus fell on his back, and Ginny, Ron and Hermione slid towards the walls. The walls themselves cracked slightly, as did the floor. It was extremely powerful magic, and Draco could feel his wand cracking a little bit. He looked at Ginny, who was looking at him, too. He took a deep breath, rolled on the floor to face Harry, and pointed his wand at him.

A few seconds later, Harry passed out. His body was covered in sweat.

Voldemort sat up and glared at him.

"Looks like he needs more suffering." he growled darkly. "Ennervate."

Harry woke up with a gasp and panted, his body vibrating. He looked around, confusedly. His green eyes landed on Ginny.

"Ginny..." he muttered, before coughing again. "Ron, Hermione..."

Voldemort walked up to him and kicked him square in the stomach, hard. Harry curled into a ball and coughed again. Then, after a wave of Voldemort's wand, ropes wrapped around his wrists and neck.

"Off you go." Voldemort growled after pulling on the end of the rope. With another wave of his wand, Harry disappeared. "I just sent him upstairs. Draco, would you bring Professor Lupin as well?"

Draco nodded, getting up and chaining Lupin with magic as well.

They all walked back upstairs, Ginny leaning on Ron and Hermione as she had been weakened by the curse.

Harry's screams could be heard even before they reached the living room. When they got there, they saw Harry writhing and screaming as Bellatrix pointed her wand at him.

"That's enough." Voldemort said, darkly. His followers flinched at the anger in his voice. "We have a new toy."

He turned towards Ginny. The chains fell from her body and he grabbed her arm, harshly, and threw her in the middle of the room, next to Harry.

"Oh, yes." Fenrir growled, staring at her hungrily.

"No!" Harry screamed, trying to free himself from the ropes. Fenrir had nearly killed him, he could barely imagine what he'd do to Ginny. "Stay... away..." he said between gasps.

"Don't be jealous, Potter. As soon as we're finished with her, you and I can continue what we started in the dungeons." Fenrir said. The rest of the group laughed.

Harry's eyes widened with fear for a moment before glaring at him.

Not a moment too soon, the fireplace crackled to life. Everyone turned to it as a face slowly appeared within the flames.

"My Lord", the Death Eater in the fire said. He looked panicked. "You need to come here, now. We found them! We found Dumbledore's Army!"

Everyone gasped.

"Found who, exactly?" Voldemort asked, walking calmly towards the fire.

"A lot of Gryffindors. Minerva McGonagall, Neville Longbottom, the entire Weasley family... well, except for the little girl." the Death Eater said.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Bellatrix exclaimed. "Bring them here!"

"No, no. They are far too many. We need help bringing them in. Please, my Lord!"

"Alright, I'll send a group over." Voldemort said. His anger was increasing by the second.

"No! You need to come! They... they said something about a... diadem they found." the Death Eater answered, panicked.

Voldemort tensed at that and whirled around to look at Harry, whose eyes were wide.

"I'll be right there." the Dark Lord growled. The fire died suddenly. "So, you told your little friends about Rowena's diadem, didn't you, Potter?"

"I... I didn't..." Harry was overwhelmed with emotion. Dumbledore's Army? They were still alive?! But at the same time, he was terrified. And the diadem... Only Ron and Hermione knew.

"Crucio!" Voldemort yelled.

Harry screamed uncontrollably. That was the hardest curse the evil lord had ever cast on him. The pain was excruciating.

Thankfully, it didn't last.

"My Lord, if you wish I can stay and take care of Potter and his friends." Bellatrix smiled mischievously as soon as Voldemort lifted the curse.

"You?!" Draco said hastily, his heart beating in his throat. "You'd kill him with your stupid, sadistic games. Please, my Lord. Snape and I will stay."

Snape stared at him, trying to hide his surprise and confusion.

Voldemort stayed quiet for a moment, and every single hair on Draco's body stood on edge. Was Voldemort suspecting something?

"I guess we can't take your slaves with us." Voldemort growled. "Fine, you and Snape can stay. And Bellatrix, too."

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Draco thought. If he tried to change Voldemort's mind again, then their cover would probably be blown.

Instead, he smiled.

"I guess we can show Ginny Weasley a good time." he laughed. Bellatrix smiled sadistically.

Voldemort smiled as well, and with a few cracks, they all disappeared from the room.

"Alright, what are we going to - "

"Petrificus totalus!" Draco exclaimed, pointing his wand at his aunt. Unfortunately, she was one of Voldemort's most skilled warriors, and she whipped her own wand around to deflect the curse.

"What the hell are you doing, boy?" she screamed.

"Draco, what are you doing?" Snape exclaimed as well.

Draco sighed and closed his eyes. It had been his plan from the beginning to save Snape from a lifetime of running.

"You, shut up!" He exclaimed. "I hate you both. I don't want to be a Death Eater anymore."

Snape swallowed and looked around the room at the Gryffindors. Then, he understood. They had a plan... but it was far too risky.

"You will pay dearly for this." Bellatrix said.

"Draco..." Snape tried to reason. He was panicking. Why hadn't Draco even consulted him about this?

"No! Shut up! Expelliarmus!" he exclaimed, pointing at Snape. The curse was so strong that Snape leapt through the air and landed against the center table, shattering it. And just like that, he was unconscious. If the Dark Lord saw that Draco had rebelled against his godfather as well, he would spare him.

Harry was instantly reminded of how he had done the same to Snape when they were at the Shrieking Shack. But he was intensely confused. He turned to look at Ginny.

"Harry..." she cried. "We need to leave. You have to do wandless magic again. Kill her!"

Harry swallowed. He couldn't. There was nothing left in him. He was awake only because Voldemort had forced him with his spells.

"By now, the Dark Lord must be alerted of the spells you just used. It won't belong until he returns." Bellatrix said. "You can't beat me, dear Draco, and the Dark Lord knows that. That's why he told me to stay here as well."

Draco stared minutely at his slaves. Their chains had loosened when he had cast his spell on Snape, and they were frantically trying to untie Remus. Fortunately, Bellatrix's back was towards them.

"Y-you're right." Draco said, trying to stall her. "You're right, I... I was just so mad at Snape. I hate him. B-but I didn't mean what I said. I hate Potter, you know that."

"See, why don't I believe you, my dear Dwaco baby?" she said, feigning a baby voice.

"Please, aunt Bella." he said. "I-I can torture Ginny Weasley to prove it to you."

"No!" Harry exclaimed, again, hoarsely.

Bellatrix smiled.

"Alright." she said softly. "Do it, then."

"Harry, do wandless magic, please." Ginny muttered in Harry's ear. "Please, please, you have t-" she was cut off by her own scream as Draco began torturing her again.

Harry screamed and tried to get up, tried to push himself. Tried to push his magic outwards again, but nothing happened. He was empty.

"Please, Malfoy! Please!" he screamed. "Torture me!"

He didn't have to, though, as Remus was finally freed from his bonds.

Everyone acted as quickly as they could. Remus grabbed every single piece of energy he had inside of him and lunged at Bellatrix. She wasn't expecting it, so they both fell to the floor and rolled around. Draco then undid the chains around Ron and Hermione, who rushed towards Harry and Ginny.

"Take him outside! Now!" Draco exclaimed, and then he lunged at Bellatrix, too. Ron grabbed Harry, wincing as he cried out in pain, and carried him bridal style. Hermione helped Ginny up and the four of them rushed out of the manor.

While Remus was holding her down, Draco took her wand from her hand and broke it into two.

"Go outside with Harry! Now!" he told Remus. "They are coming!"

Lupin didn't waste a second. He got up and ran after the golden trio and Ginny.

Draco panted before pointing his wand at Bellatrix, who was cowering under him, and muttered the killing curse.

Harry stared in complete shock as the window in the horrible manor lightened a florescent green. Draco ran outside as a shrill shrieking noise began to emanate from the mansion. It was the alarm, alerting the Dark Lord and his followers that Harry had been taken out of the mansion. There was nothing left to do. Voldemort and his followers would've noticed by then that the Death Eater calling them through the fire was nothing more than a lie. They would've already reached the point were the Death Eater was supposed to be to find everything empty.

They would've also noticed that magic (and not exactly torture spells) had been cast inside the mansion. That magic included the killing curse, which would highly alert Voldemort.

And the alarm... that was the tell-tale sign.

They kept running towards the woods. Remus was intensely confused, but he followed them nonetheless.

As soon as they were deep in the forest, they stopped.

"Grab onto Harry." Ginny ordered, and they all did.

And then, with a loud crack, they were all gone.

Harry had passed out during the transportation. It was normal, seeing as he was the vessel.

He was lying on a makeshift bed that Fred and George had set up while the others were at the manor. Everyone else was sitting around him. They were inside a tent, in the middle of a faraway forest. It would take a long time for Voldemort and the others to find them... or so they hoped.

Remus was casting a set of healing spells on Harry. They weren't enough, not by a long shot, but at least they were closing some of the more severe injuries and fighting some of the infection. He was worried, though, because he was using Malfoy's wand so the spells weren't all that strong either. If he only had his wand with him...

As soon as he was done, he handed the wand back to Draco.

"Alright, now tell me everything. What just happened?"

"We hatched a plan." Ginny said. "I can't believe it worked out."

"Just two days ago we found out about Vasa pretiosa, a spell that turns a person into some sort of portkey, or vessel, except it's only one trip and nobody can ever find out where they went. It only lasts for about 30 minutes, too." Draco explained.

"Yes, I'm familiar with it." Remus muttered.

"Yeah, well, there were two problems with that. First, the person receiving the spell needs to be displaying magic as well. That is, they would need to be casting a spell at the moment or it wouldn't work. And second, if we were to cast it inside the manor, the Dark Lord would've found out." Draco continued. "He gets alerted about any use of magic that happens inside or around the manor."

"We knew we needed it to be Harry. None of us have ever performed wandless magic before, we don't even know how to do it, so only Draco could use magic." Ginny added. "Besides, if we were to cast it on any of us before entering the manor, the circumstances were too unpredictable. The spell could've faded before we even saw Harry."

"So, we decided that we would force Harry to do wandless magic again, to be able to receive the spell, and to distract the Dark Lord from any other magic usage... which seemed to work. He was way too focused on Harry's display of magic that he didn't even notice my spell." Draco said.

"That's why you cast the Cruciatus spell on Ginny." Remus said.

"A few weeks ago Harry did wandless magic when Voldemort tortured Ron." Hermione said, her breath hitching a little as she mentioned his name. "That's when we knew that he could do it... But it was only reasonable that he'd be even more affected by Ginny."

"Then the second part of the plan would be for Fred to call Voldemort through the fire. If they came with us, Voldemort would immediately notice that they were using polyjuice potions. Through the fire, though, he wouldn't be able to tell." Ginny said. "He knows where all his followers are, so we hoped that he would assume that the Death Eater Fred turned into would be where we last saw him when we killed him. The incredible timing was just pure luck."

Fred and George smiled slightly, although they had paled as soon as they had heard that Draco tortured Ginny.

"I'm sorry we had to leave Snape behind." Ginny said softly. "I know you cared for him."

Draco remained silent for a moment.

"It's better for him this way." he muttered, shrugging. "He never wanted to be a runaway."

Remus sighed and nodded.

"It was very dangerous, but I'm glad it worked out. I don't know how much longer Harry could've lasted... Just yesterday they..." he swallowed, his throat closing up, before shaking his head.

"They what?" Ginny asked.

Remus fought against the tears but one still slipped down his cheek. He swallowed against the painful lump in his throat and shook his head again.

"It's no point telling." he sobbed.

"He's with us now." Hermione said.

That sentence should've made them all feel calm and grateful... but the truth that lied before them was too cruel. Even if Harry was safe, he was destroyed. He was covered in sweat and horrible wounds. Remus's spells weren't enough, and they all knew that he needed medical attention. His face was almost unrecognizable, covered in bruises and blood, swollen and twisted in agony even in his sleep. He was emaciated, stick-thin, and they had nothing to feed him with except for some food they had taken from Malfoy manor... He was with them, true, but he wasn't okay.

And his mind was in shambles.

Would their little group be enough to heal him?

Harry woke up on the floor. He looked around. There was only nothingness.

His body was incredibly sore, but not truly painful. Not as painful as it had been for the past few months.

He sat up, confused.

Was he dead? Finally? Had Voldemort finally killed him?

"No, you're not dead." the terrible voice whispered behind him.

He flinched and got on his feet, turning around and walking backwards. Voldemort was in front of him, but he was far away.

"W-where am I?" Harry's voice shook. Fear was assaulting his entire body.

"I don't know, you tell me. Your little friends took you away." the older man growled.

Harry's fear grew, but he could also feel Voldemort's anger as if it were his own. Then he understood... Voldemort was using their wretched mind bond to communicate with him. But it had never been like this.

"I don't know anything. I don't remember." he said, his voice shaking.

"Oh, my dear Harry. Have you forgotten how easily I can read your memories?"

Harry swallowed, his fear spiking. Every single time he had tried to keep his mind protected from Voldemort's intrusion had meant horrible, excruciating torture meant to break him down into pieces. He knew that logically Voldemort couldn't hurt him. They were in different places... But logic hardly flew when fear was reigning. And fear had been reigning in his heart and mind for a very long time.

"I don't remember, I swear." he said, closing his eyes shut.

Suddenly, the last few things that his mind could conjure began playing between him and Voldemort like a movie screen. He had been in and out of consciousness, so only small snippets could be seen: Draco attacking Snape... Remus leaping at Bellatrix... Ron running through the forest carrying him... Draco telling everyone to grab onto him... and then nothing. Harry closed his eyes again, relieved that Voldemort hadn't caught him in a lie.

"I will find you, Harry. And I will tear you apart. Just wait."

Harry woke up screaming, covered in sweat.