Note: Sorry! Internet trouble!
"Here's something," Hermione said, laying the paper she had onto the table. "Bellatrix and her supposed potion that she wants to use to bring the Dark Lord back from the dead. Doesn't say anything more about it though."
"I heard about that," Ron said.
"Do you think they're trying to get at Harry?" Ginny said, looking up from her paper. "They used me twice. They used Sirius. They could be using James."
"Or they just want James," Hermione pointed out.
"I hope it's the first one," Ginny said quietly. "I'd much rather have Harry up against Bellatrix than James. He's only in his third year. There's no way he could protect himself."
"If we figure this out, we'll all be against her," Ron said.
Harry came into the room quickly. He had been gone for some time. "I figured it out."
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Why they wanted him." He came to the table and sat down quickly. "They can't use me again - to bring Voldemort back, I mean – because it doesn't work the same way. There's a big difference between being almost dead and dead. But they still need something from me."
"They need a child," Hermione mumbled.
"Yes," Harry said. "And James was just the easiest to get at."
"If that's right then we might already be too late," Ginny said quietly. "No, wait…" Her voice got louder. "Potions like that would take a long time to make."
"She could have already made it," Ron said.
"No, no. It would go bad. I remember learning about this somewhere."
"Volatile potions," Hermione said. "They are only good for a certain time and then lose their power. Yes, but, how would we know if what she is making is a volatile potion?"
"There's a good chance that it is. She invented it in a hurry, she needs it quickly, it will have to act quickly to effectively bring him back… it has to be. It would take a long time to make, and then she would have to use it right away, so she would need the victim in advance."
"Then we might have more time," Ron said.
"Yes, some, but not much."
"We need to find them," Harry said, looking at the mess of papers on the table.
"Nothing so far," Hermione said. "They're covering their tracks well."
"We should ask the Order, in case they've seen anything."
"We'll have to wait until morning for that," Ron said. "We're usually the only ones that are up this early."
The sun was starting to come up. Harry stood up. "I have an idea."
"What the hell do you want?"
Harry stood in a back alley of Diagon Alley while a very tall man with dark hair approached him. "I need your help."
He knew this man from back in his school days. Although he looked like no one Harry had ever seen before, Harry knew it was him. The man's name was Mark, but his real name was Draco.
"Why should I help you? You helped me once, I helped you, we're square. I have no reason to help you with anything."
Draco had faked his own death shortly after Harry had finished Voldemort, to protect himself from death eaters. He had taken the alias of "Mark" ever since.
"Bellatrix took my son."
"Why does that concern me?"
"She's your aunt."
"So?"
"So, maybe you've heard something."
"No, I haven't."
"Nothing?"
Mark sighed. "I've spent the last fifteen years running away from people like her. Why would I know or care where she is?"
"Doesn't she know that you're dead?"
"Probably, but if she finds out I'm not, she'll kill me. I helped take down her Dark Lord, I got her sister killed… she will murder me. She'll rip out my heart with her teeth. I have two children. I can't afford to get into that." He started to walk away.
"She's trying to bring Voldemort back," Harry mumbled softly, so that no one who might be listening would hear.
Mark stopped and turned. "What? No, it's impossible."
"She's trying, and she's using my son. She took him yesterday. I need help finding her."
"Get your precious order of the whatever to help you."
"By the time they do anything it will be to late. I need to act now. Look, if you help me find him, I'll owe you. I'll do whatever you want. I just want to find my son."
Mark stared at him for a minute, and then sighed, walking back to Harry. "Last time I heard, she was hanging around the old Slytherin house. I don't know if that's where she is now."
Harry suddenly felt better. She was there, he knew it. He began walking away. "I owe you for that."
"Don't worry about it. Just – stay the hell away from me, okay? You're going to get me killed."
"Think of it as revenge for all those times you tortured me."