Chapter 36:
Alicia moved first, instantly, around tent, she huddled things into her bag and then pointed her wand into it. She tapped the bag itself after a moment while Harry turned to Hermione and Ron, now mere outlines in the darkness. Hermione pointed her wand at Harry as Alicia tapped herself several times. She tapped her bag and it suddenly shrunk immensely. She opened the tiny clasped, dropped her wand inside with a shove, and tucked the bag away just as there was a bang.
Alicia looked up at the burst of light and found Harry's silhouette on the floor. Suddenly the tent was filled and she was grabbed by several hands before being yanked and pulled outside. Someone began to pat her down roughly, they went through all her pockets and didn't find anything on her worth taking. Harry was pulled off the floor and in the light of the outside she could see his face was all swollen and puffy and his eyes were hardly visible. His glasses fell off as he was moved and Ron and Hermione were shoved out after Alicia.
"Get — off — her!" Ron shouted. There was the unmistakable sound of knuckles hitting flesh: Ron grunted in pain and Hermione screamed, "No! Leave him alone, leave him alone!"
"Your boyfriend's going to have worse than that done to him if he's on my list," said the horribly familiar, rasping voice. Alicia looked up and she froze. A face covered in matted grey hair and whiskers, with pointed brown teeth and sores at the corners of his mouth. Before her was Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf who was permitted to wear Death Eater robes in return for his hired savagery.
"Delicious girl… What a treat… I do enjoy the softness of the skin…"
"Search the tent!" said another voice.
Harry was thrown face down to the ground and Ron was too beside him. Alicia's had her hand behind her back and a set of fingers clutching at her hair while she remained still. Hermione was being clutched just as tightly to prevent any escaping.
They could hear footsteps and crashes; the men were pushing over chairs inside the tent as they searched.
"Now, let's see who we've got," said Greyback's gloating voice from overhead, and Harry was rolled over onto his back. A beam of wandlight fell into his face and Greyback laughed.
"I'll be needing butterbeer to wash this one down. What happened to you, ugly?"
Harry did not answer immediately.
"I said," repeated Greyback, and Harry received a blow to the diaphragm that made him double over in pain, "what happened to you?"
"Stung," Harry muttered. "Been stung."
"Yeah, looks like it," said a second voice.
"What's your name?" snarled Greyback.
"Dudley," said Harry.
"And your first name?"
"I — Vernon. Vernon Dudley."
"Check the list, Scabior," said Greyback, and Harry heard him move sideways to look down at Ron, instead. "And what about you, ginger?"
"Stan Shunpike," said Ron.
"Like 'ell you are," said the man called Scabior. "We know Stan Shunpike, 'e's put a bit of work our way."
There was another thud and Ron was kicked in the mouth.
"I'b Bardy," said Ron, and his mouth was filled with blood. "Bardy Weadley."
"A Weasley?" rasped Greyback. "So you're related to blood traitors even if you're not a Mudblood. And you two, darling." Greyback stood before Alicia and she looked back at him. Greyback smelled as he had done at the top of the tower where Dumbledore had died: of dirt, sweat, and blood.
"Lavender Brown." she responded simply.
"Easy check, and, lastly, your pretty little friend…" His voice was full of relish.
"Easy, Greyback," said Scabior over the jeering of the others.
"Oh, I'm not going to bite just yet. We'll see if she's a bit quicker at remembering her name than Barny. Who are you, girly?"
"Penelope Clearwater," said Hermione. She sounded terrified, but convincing.
"What's your blood status?"
"Half-blood," said Hermione.
"Easy enough to check," said Scabior. "But the 'ole lot of 'em look like they could still be 'ogwarts age —"
"We'b lebt," said Ron.
"Left, 'ave you, ginger?" said Scabior. "And you decided to go camping? And you thought, just for a laugh, you'd use the Dark Lord's name?"
"Nod a laugh," said Ron. "Aggiden."
"Accident?" There was more jeering laughter.
"You know who used to like using the Dark Lord's name, Weasley?" growled Greyback. "The Order of the Phoenix. Mean anything to you?"
"Doh."
"Well, they don't show the Dark Lord proper respect, so the name's been Tabooed. A few Order members have been tracked that way. We'll see. Bind them up with the other two prisoners!"
Alicia's hair was yanked and she gasped slightly from the pain as the other three had done the same. She was forced down to a sitting position and Harry was tied to one side of her, Ron on his other and Hermione beside him. Alicia turned to look and looked surprised, Dean sat beside her and so was a Goblin she recognised as Griphook. When at last the man tying them had walked away she turned to him.
"Dean." she whispered surprised and he looked at her confused. She chuckled, she'd transfigured her face. "It's us, we literally just heard on Potterwatch you were still running."
"Alicia!?" he asked surprised and she shushed him. Harry whispered next from beside her.
"Anyone still got a wand?"
"No," said Ron and Hermione from either side of him.
"Yes." Alicia said and they all looked at her. "I'm not stupid."
"Get us out of here." Ron said
"I can't, I can't get to it with my hands bound." she confessed before glaring at Harry. She knew he could feel her.
"This is all my fault. I said the name, I'm sorry —"
Dean noticed Harry's voice.
"Harry?"
"Dean?"
"It is you! If they find out who they've got—! They're Snatchers, they're only looking for truants to sell for gold —"
"Not a bad little haul for one night," Greyback was saying, as his pair of hobnailed boots marched close by Harry. There were more crashes from inside the tent. "A Mudblood, a runaway goblin, and three truants. You checked their names on the list yet, Scabior?" he roared.
"Yeah. There's no Vernon Dudley on 'ere, Greyback."
"Interesting," said Greyback. "That's interesting."
He crouched down beside Harry and Alicia turned her face away from his smell.
"So you aren't wanted, then, Vernon? Or are you on that list under a different name? What House were you in at Hogwarts?"
"Slytherin," said Harry automatically.
"Funny 'ow they all thinks we wants to 'ear that," jeered Scabior out of the shadows. "But none of 'em can tell us where the common room is."
"It's in the dungeons," said Harry clearly and Alicia internally thanked themselves for having forced their way in in their second year. Well the boys had. "You enter through the wall. It's full of skulls and stuff and it's under the lake, so the light's all green."
There was a short pause.
"Well, well, looks like we really 'ave caught a little Slytherin," said Scabior. "Good for you, Vernon, 'cause there ain't a lot of Mudblood Slytherins. Who's your father?"
"He works at the Ministry," Harry lied. Alicia knew this wasn't too good. One slight poke for information and his story was over. "Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes."
"You know what, Greyback," said Scabior. "I think there is a Dudley in there."
"Well, well," said Greyback, and there was the tiniest note of trepidation in that callous voice as Greyback wondered whether he had indeed just attacked and bound the son of a Ministry official.
"If you're telling the truth, ugly, you've got nothing to fear from a trip to the Ministry. I expect your father'll reward us just for picking you up."
"But," said Harry, "if you just let us —"
"Hey!" came a shout from inside the tent. "Look at this, Greyback!"
A dark figure came bustling toward them, and there was a glint of silver in the light of their wands. They had found Gryffindor's sword.
Alicia mentally cursed herself, she hadn't picked it up! She hadn't hidden it with other things that'd been lying around the tent. Now they were likely to loose their tent, their only shelter and the weapon they needed the most!
"Ve-e-ry nice," said Greyback appreciatively, taking it from his companion. "Oh, very nice indeed. Looks goblin-made, that. Where did you get something like this?"
"It's my father's," Harry lied, Alicia knew that lie was gone the second the name under the hilt was read. Perhaps it was too dark for now. "We borrowed it to cut firewood —"
" 'ang on a minute, Greyback! Look at this, in the Prophet !"
Alicia felt her scar burn and turned to Harry beside her.
"''ermione Granger,'" Scabior was saying, "'the Mudblood who is known to be traveling with 'arry and Alicia Potter.' "
Alicia felt her heart stop. Greyback moved to crouch down in front of Hermione.
"You know what, little girly? This picture looks a hell of a lot like you."
"It isn't! It isn't me!"
Hermione's terrified squeak was as good as a confession and Alicia's eyes closed.
" '… known to be traveling with Harry Potter,' " repeated Greyback quietly.
A stillness had settled over the scene.
"Well, this changes things, doesn't it?" whispered Greyback. Nobody spoke: the gang of Snatchers watched, frozen, and Hermione was trembling. Greyback got up and took a couple of steps to where Harry sat, crouching down again to stare closely at his misshapen features.
"What's that on your forehead, Vernon?" he asked softly, his breath foul in Harry's nostrils as he pressed a filthy finger to the taut scar.
"Don't touch it!" Harry yelled; he could not stop himself; he thought he might be sick from the pain of it. Alicia turned to him, even if the scars were searing he'd just given it all away!
"I thought you wore glasses, Potter?" breathed Greyback.
"I found glasses!" yelped one of the Snatchers skulking in the background. "There was glasses in the tent, Greyback, wait —"
And seconds later Harry's glasses had been rammed back onto his face. The Snatchers were closing in now, peering at him.
"It is!" rasped Greyback. "We've caught Potter!"
Greyback turned to Alicia.
"Well, that'll make you his lovely sister."
"Do I look anything like him?" she asked
"Slight transfiguration can change that."
"Like we had time?" Alicia said back. The other Snatchers had stepped back and were staring stunned.
"I think it's my lucky day. The two famous Potters, found at last." Greyback said as he stood Alicia simply scoffed in disagreement. She was the best at keeping her head in these situations.
"Should we take them to the Ministry?"
"To hell with the Ministry," growled Greyback. "They'll take the credit, and we won't get a look in. I say we take him straight to You-Know-Who."
"Will you summon 'im? 'ere?" said Scabior, sounding awed, terrified.
"No," snarled Greyback, "I haven't got—" Alicia rose an eyebrow. He didn't have the mark. "They say he's using the Malfoys' place as a base. We'll take the boy there."
Greyback was not calling Voldemort for the single reason of he couldn't. The werewolf might be allowed to wear Death Eater robes when they wanted to use him, but only Voldemort's inner circle were branded with the Dark Mark: Greyback had not been granted this highest honour.
"You completely sure it's him? 'Cause if it ain't, Greyback, we're dead."
"Who's in charge here?" roared Greyback, covering his moment of inadequacy. "I say that's Potter, and him plus his wand, that's two hundred thousand Galleons right there! Not to mention his sister! But if you're too gutless to come along, any of you, it's all for me, and with any luck, I'll get the girl thrown in!"
"All right!" said Scabior. "All right, we're in! And what about the rest of 'em, Greyback, what'll we do with 'em?"
"Might as well take the lot. We've got two Mudbloods, that's another ten Galleons. Give me the sword as well. If they're rubies, that's another small fortune right there."
The prisoners were dragged to their feet. Hermione's breathing could be heard, fast and terrified.
"Grab hold and make it tight. I'll do the Potters!" said Greyback, seizing a fistful of Harry's hair and his gross, yellow nails jabbing Alicia's arm. "On three! One — two — three —"
They Disapparated, pulling the prisoners with them.