Chapter Eleven
The Good, the Bad, and the Aurors
1
As Ginny fell, wind blew her hair into her face and her robes flapped wildly around her body. Her eyes were clamped shut; it was bad enough to feel the night blustering past without watching it.
The cradle of air rushing by her seemed to be thickening. She vaguely recalled that things supposedly slowed down just before death, but she'd never taken it to be literal. It was as if friction were halting her progress where there should be not resistance.
Then, quite abruptly, she stopped.
"Buona sera, Signora Potter," said a pleasant voice. "What perfect timing you have."
Ginny's eyes flew open wide and she found herself surrounded by mist in the arms of a breathtakingly attractive man with dark hair and eyes.
Heaven? No, it was too dark and surreal here to be anything like that. The fact that she had been rescued by a beautiful Italian man was pure coincidence.
"Luciano?" she asked, amazed that his name came to her so quickly.
"Buon. I see you keep up with things," he replied with a dazzling smile as he set her on her feet. She still hung onto his arm for support because her knees felt as if they would give out. He was looking up at the roof where several flashes of light could be seen through the fog.
"Thank you," Ginny said when she had finally recovered slightly. "You must not be as bad as your file says."
He grinned at her, saying, "Hardly anyone is."
"No, I suppose not."
"Can I tempt you with some structural sabotage?" he asked, the way a gentleman would ask a lady friend if she would like another glass of wine.
Ginny blinked at him. "Uh…" She glanced at the brick wall looming over them. "How?"
"Well, I'm forced to stay out of sight," he explained, "so I've become very good at causing distractions – demolition included."
"But, if you're here – "
"Yes, the other Blood Traitors are here as well," he told her. "And so is your husband. We'll wait until they are safely out of the building before we bring it down, of course."
"Okay, what do I need to do?"
"First, we need to get your wand back."
2
"We should split up," Harry said flatly to the Blood Traitors.
They stood in a long white hallway, the yawning mouth of the fire shoot behind them and a black-barred window at the other end. The walls were blank other than that. The door they had just left from the roof had disappeared as soon as it closed.
Julissa nodded. "Gus, you and Imogene and Yvette find the basement. I'm sure that's where Alton will be. Dante said he'd sent him off to play, so look for an arena of some kind."
Some of the BT were looking at her and the Auror oddly, and finally someone stated the obvious:
"There are no doors," Yvette pointed out with a raised eyebrow. She gestured down the hallway's blank walls.
"Gwendolyn," Jules said in a commanding voice.
Suddenly, half a dozen doors materialized on the white walls, four on the left and two on the right.
"I know the doors will change positions, only Dante can figure them out properly. So make sure to mark each one you've already gone through if you end up back in the hallway," the woman instructed, then added quickly: "Watch out for the guards. No doubt, he's hidden them well."
"How do you know all of this?" Harry inquired, frowning.
"I know Dante very well," she answered. "Far better than I ever wanted."
"What if we need another password?" Gus said, his hands twitching a little out of nerves.
"He's using my name this week, apparently. Any variation or combination could work for you. And he may start changing them as soon as he wakes up, so be quick."
Harry wondered how many aliases this girl had. Obviously she had enough to control nearly every password in the building. Having that many names seemed ridiculous to him, but Gus nodded and took the Vampires down the hall to the last door, making a slash on it with his wand.
"How could Dante change them?" Harry said, voicing his next thought. "You have his wand."
Jules whirled on the nearest door, made a slash, and wrenched it open before answering. "This place does what he says, with or without his wand."
Harry and Ferris followed her into some sort of office. They were all ready for any attack that might show up unexpectedly.
No one was inside, however. It was a normal looking study, with a dark stained desk and a chair facing it. Then, Harry realized the chair had leather straps hanging lifelessly over the arm rests and from the back support. No one came in here merely to sit and have a calm chat.
"Dante's office?" Ferris asked, peering sideways at Jules.
She was looking down at a letter sitting open on the desktop. "Yes," she answered finally. "It must be. Which, is perfect really."
"Why's that?" said Harry. "No one is in here."
"No, but we should be able to get anywhere in the building through here," she explained. "At least, we should if he has it set up like he does at home."
"What do you know about his home?" Harry asked incredulously.
But the young blonde ignored his outburst and walked past him to the door they had just come through. "Her new room…" she said thoughtfully. It was what Dante had said before about where he had put Agape. Then, Jules made a command: "Dungeons."
Nothing happened.
"Cells."
Still nothing happened.
"Laboratory," Ferris offered instead.
Jules and Harry looked at him, but quickly turned back to the door as it swung open and revealed another white hallway, this one very lengthy and curving.
Jules tossed a grateful smile over her shoulder at Ferris. The expression softened her features tremendously, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. In the next moment, they were moving down the new hall, Harry in the lead.
At first glance, the tiny cells didn't seem to have doors. It became obvious, however, that they were like the Viewing Box, where only the observer could see through them. Anyone on the inside would only see four walls. After passing cell number twenty – the hall never seemed to end – Harry started to loose hope.
"Jules!" Ferris cried suddenly. He had passed them by a few steps and was at cell twenty-two. Harry bounded over to him and saw the still figure within.
"Agape!" he nearly shouted, putting a hand against the barrier. "How do we get inside?"
Jules didn't answer. She looked disconcerted.
"Could it be a password," Ferris offered. "One of your names?"
Jules started ticking off names. There were quite a few.
"Gwendolyn, Julissa, Jules, Culver, Rae…"
There list went on, but Harry wasn't listening. His mind was racing, trying to come up with something – anything. Then, it clicked.
"You were involved with the Optimates at one point?" he demanded of the woman.
Jules's eyebrows raised and Ferris gave him a look close to reproachfulness.
"Yes – "
"They all have code names now right? What was yours?"
Something stirred behind her eyes, as if the thought haunted her. "Miss White," she replied numbly.
The hand that Harry had been pressing against the barrier suddenly had no support and entered the cell.
He moved to the floor beside Agape. She was in a fetal position. He touched her shoulders and received a violent reaction: Agape jerked away from him, throwing her hand in front of her face and uttering a short shriek of terror.
"Agape, it's alright," he said gently. It took everything inside of him to keep his anger at Dante from his voice. "It's Harry. We're going to get you out now."
Her face came up hopefully. "Harry?"
"It's alright, Agape," he muttered to her as he hooked an arm around her waist to lift her to her feet. She whimpered in pain, and he thought it was from the gruesome gash on her back, but she was covering her eyes with her palms.
"Wait," Ferris said, moving in front of Jules to get inside the cell. "We should see what they did to her first. Who knows what Dante is up to."
"Ferris?" Agape whispered, trembling all over as Harry half supported her.
"Yeah," said the youth. "Jules and I came to help. Agape, what did they do to you?"
"My eyes," Agape moaned, nearly sobbing. "My eyes hurt so badly."
The three of them exchanged unsettled glances. Jules told Ferris to check it out.
"Can you open them?" he inquired.
Agape only replied by vigorously shaking her head.
"Please try, Agape," Ferris implored.
Trembling even harder, she gasped once to hold back a sob. Then, she pried her eyes open, cried out in agony and shut them again, unable to hold back tears any longer. Harry had caught a glimpse just like the other two, and he saw that the normally brown eyes had turned solid black. Even the white sclera had been taken over by darkness. It was as if her pupils had been dilated far past human or even animal capacity.
"The light, it burns," she told them weakly, "even when they're closed. Don't make me open them again…please."
Ferris was already drawing a bandage in the air with his wand. He turned it black to block more light and wrapped it around her head several times, thoroughly covering her eyes before tying it in the back. "How's that?" he asked her. "Any better?"
"Yes," Agape breathed with some relief. "Thank you, Ferris." But she suddenly gasped again and seized Harry's robes.
"Harry! They're going to kill Ginny! You have to save her – "
"I…I know," he said, feeling the chill rise in his chest again. "I – I don't…" He gave up trying, and turned the conversation back to her: "We need to get you out of here."
"What about Alton?"
Jules answered that one. "Gus, Imogene, and Yvette are working on it as we speak."
3
From the other side of the door, Gus, Yvette, and Imogene could hear a terrible commotion coming from inside the locked room. The sound echoed and seemed to move far distances, leading Augustus to conclude this was the arena Jules had spoken of.
"We've already used Gwendolyn, and Dante," Imogene was saying, referring to the passwords.
"Julissa Culver," Yvette said to the door with no results.
"What was that silly name that Ferris called her sometimes? She never uses it," said Gus.
"Black Dove?" Imogene supplied.
The arena remained closed to them.
There was a rumble from inside, resulting from either a very hard impact or a small explosion. Both were more than likely with Alton Drake inside.
"How about her entire name," Gus insisted, his brow furrowed; he was more eager than ever to get inside the door. "Gwendolyn R. Dante!"
Another booming vibration – he was almost positive it was an explosion – but the room remained impregnable.
There was a shout from inside that approached the door at a very quick speed. After an impact that made Gus flinch violently, a familiar voice cursed repeatedly in vehement shouts.
"That's it, you nasty little bugger! I'm gonna roast those wings and make you eat 'em with buffalo sauce!"
"Alton!" Gus cried, banging on the door. Judging by his shouts, their friend was just on the other side.
"Gus?" came Alton's hoarse voice, sounding confused.
"Alton, what's the password?" Gus shouted urgently.
There was a furious shout from inside and the sounds of a struggle. Alton was barely able to answer him over his fight:
"I'm not sure, Mate."
Another voice, most likely whoever he was fighting, demanded to know who he was talking to.
"Why don't you open the door and find out," Alton rasped at his opponent. It sounded like he was being strangled. They could hear more shuffling sounds and – was that flapping? The door shook on its hinges as something slammed into it and slid down it.
Gus became anxious when the sounds abruptly stopped. "Alton? Alton! Answer me!"
"Give me a bloody minute!" Gus was relieved to hear his voice instead of a Neo's. "I was nearly strangled to death for the fourth time tonight!"
"We can't figure out the password to the door," Imogene called, her voice as calm as ever.
"They're all one of Jules's names," he told them.
"Yes, but which one? We've tried them all," Gus explained.
"Try her new name."
"We did."
"The whole thing?"
Gus and the vampires exchanged glances. They knew what they had done wrong at the same time.
"What's the 'R' stand for, anyway?" Yvette inquired of them.
"Rae?" Gus guessed.
"Gwendolyn Rae Dante," Yvette shouted at the door. When it remained closed she started rattling off curses in French.
"No, that's her original middle name," Imogene insisted. "The new one is some ancient witch or something."
"This is so confusing!" Gus seethed. "How did she come by so many names in the first place?"
Alton was coughing badly inside. He was trying to say something to someone inside – something along the lines of: "Yeah, you would wake up now." Then there was a gasp and more struggling. "Hurry up!" he snarled at Gus and the women.
Gus's concern grew when he heard Alton's voice getting farther away from the door.
An animal hiss escaped Yvette's lips and she started slashing at the door with her nails, removing large chunks of wood in her rage. "Zut! Porte merdique. Putain!"
This would do no good of course; if tearing it to pieces were possible, Gus would have used a spell on it ages ago. The wood simply repaired itself as quickly as she could lash at it.
"Wait! Stop!" Imogene said, grabbing one of her sister's wrists. "He's yelling something."
Gus pressed his ear to the door and tried to make out what Atlon was shouting from the large room behind. His human ears couldn't decipher it, but Imogene's could.
"Rhiamon! He's saying Rhiamon!" she exclaimed triumphantly.
The door swung open and they rushed in.
It was an enormous cemented room containing four very bloody people. On the floor near the door was a young man with enormous wings. He was struggling to get up, but Gus shouted, "Impedimenta!" and he froze in place. There was no time to gawk at the massive, leathery obtrusions starting at the man's shoulder blades and ending in a crumpled spread on the floor. It would seem that Alton had broken one of the wings, because it hung at an unnatural angle – even for something that was unnatural on a human to begin with.
Gus tore his eyes away and looked for more of the mutated beings. He saw one advancing on two struggling figures in the center of the room. It was a large man, who's jaw stretched to an unimaginable length and width. Inside the horrific orifice were rows and rows of shark teeth. Gus raised his wand in protection as if the man were aiming for him.
Imogene rushed out of no where and gripped the man's throat from behind, spinning him around with her delicate hand. His mouth snapped shut in surprise and his eyes went wide.
"Sorry, my dear," said the vampire, showing off her lengthy canines, "but I'm afraid my teeth are even more dangerous than yours." She bit into his neck and he let out a shout filled with fright and pain.
Yvette had leapt onto the back of the woman who was repeatedly hitting Alton in the stomach with metal encased fists. Her weight knocked the woman down face first. Yvette's high pitched cackle sent a chill up Gus's spine and he winced as she bit into the mutant woman's neck from the side. The winged man was by far the luckiest of all three foes.
Alton sat dazed on the floor where he had fallen, watching them blankly. Blood was slowly seeping from his slightly parted lips.
Abruptly, Imogene let go of her victim, letting him fall to the floor, and stepped back holding a hand to her red lips. She looked down at the large man in horror.
"Ima?" Gus had never seen her look like that before. It took a lot to disgust a vampire.
Likewise, Yvette made a distasteful noise and shoved the woman away from her with repugnance. "How horrid!" she hissed.
Gus stunned the two Optimates before they could recover or get up again.
"There is something in their blood," Imogene muttered afterward, her voice echoing in the now silent arena. "It's like they're…"
"Inhuman?"
Gus and the two vampires looked with some surprise at Alton, who had gotten back to his feet. He was very bloody, and parts of his face were purpling with bruises (his nose in particular). Traces of soot were smudged around his mouth and cheeks. His breath was shallow and trembling, as if it were difficult for him to inhale properly. Blood dripped sluggishly from his left hand, the fingers of which were too slack to be in good shape.
Gus had never seen him beaten up this badly before. The Neos had really done a number on him. Then again, looking around, he realized Alton had been pretty hard on them as well. Enormous scorch marks covered the floor and three of the walls. At least six of those hideous shark teeth could be seen from where Gus stood, and all of the Optimates wore multiple swelling purple badges on their bodies and visages. Three against one and they had come out pretty even – of course, it had taken everything out of poor Alton.
"Alton, are you okay to walk?" Gus asked him, very concerned about his friend. He looked like he was in very much pain just standing.
Alton uttered an exhausted breath that was supposed to be a laugh. "S'pose we'll find out, huh?" He turned to the vampires, "Don't worry. They may taste bad, but I don't think their blood will make you sick or anything."
Swaying slightly, he looked at Yvette in particular. "Do you remember when you threatened to eat me when we first met?" he asked, grinning a little drunkenly. He'd obviously taken a few too many hits to the head.
"Now I know better, I suppose," she said grinning back.
"You're death threats are useless if you can't stand to drink mutated blood."
Her smile broadened slightly as she replied, "There are other ways to rid myself of you, bien-aimé."
Alt chuckled a little in return, but he was fading fast. His knees finally buckled out of fatigue and Yvette had to catch him. She supported his weight easily, hooking her left arm around his back and curling his right arm over her shoulders. He leaned his bleeding head against her white shoulder and fought to breathe around blood, soot and a severely bruised diaphragm.
"Let's get him out of here, quickly," Gus suggested. "He needs more than one of Ferris's fix-ups."
"What about Agape and Ginny," Alton mumbled.
"I'm really not sure yet, Alt," Gus told him. "But don't worry. I'm sure Mr. Potter and the others have gotten them by now."
4
"Luciano, Aurors can't even get in and out of a building that easily," Ginny commented, examining her reclaimed wand for damage. "You are far too good at this."
"I'm sure if every Auror had ten years of practice double-crossing the Optimates, they could do it better than I can," Roman replied, smirking slightly as they sneaked away from the hospital after making the foundations much less safe.
Without warning, a flash of light lit the fog around them and a hex zipped between them. Ginny whirled, shooting back, while Roman kept his face turned away from the building. He pulled her into a crouching position on the ground and hissed into her ear:
"Do you see the eyes, Mrs. Potter?"
Spells shot over their heads from the windows of the building, but she tore her attention away from them to give Luciano a bewildered look. "Eyes?" she whispered back.
He pointed behind her and she turned. Indeed, there were eyes in the fog. Crouching bodies moved among the trees, made visible only by the curses lighting the fog, but their eyes shown yellow and green even in darkness.
"Go toward them," Roman told her. Catching her uneasy expression, he added, "Don't worry, they're friends."
"What about you?" Ginny asked him. "Where are you going?"
He grinned charmingly. "To cause another distraction, of course. I'll join you in a moment."
Ginny left him and ran to the trees were the eyes waited for her while Luciano moved through the fog toward the nearest brick wall. Once among the trees, Ginny kept her head down as she looked around.
The gleams of light had diminished to a single pair. A small black werewolf sat next to an oak tree stump, tail wagging. Ginny approached the creature cautiously. The wolf hopped up once she was less than two yards away and closed the gap between them, head down with tail still waving. "Hello," Ginny said awkwardly – grateful the Blood Traitor werewolves obviously took their wolfsbane potion.
The small creature – small for a werewolf anyhow – suddenly perked her ears up and looked past the trees to the clearing where the hospital stood.
Ginny followed her gaze and saw a masked, hooded figure moving out of the building, still firing spells though the other Optimates had stopped. He shouted and fired in any direction he saw movement. A woman Optimus's ordered him to get back inside from a second story window. He ignored her.
Ginny crouched to stay out of his sight and wondered where Luciano had gone to. Surely he wouldn't start blowing the foundations now. No one was out of the building yet.
The idiot Optimates in the clearing was shouting challenges that were only answered by the commanding woman telling him shut up and get back to his post. He whirled around to yell back at her when the sound of new voices stopped him where he stood.
The other wolves had started to howl, joined shortly by their black comrade beside Ginny. It was an eerie sound that echoed in the trees. Ginny was in no danger, but she still felt a chill run trough her at the sound.
Then the little wolf bounded away, and Ginny was alone. She turned back to watch the now rather panicked looking man in the clearing. He was backing away from the trees in terror, firing random spells as some kind of threat to the forms making their way through the fog. They were stalking him.
"Get away from there!" Ginny heard the woman shriek from the window. "You want them to bite you?"
The fool wasn't listening. He kept on aiming spells at the bodies moving ever closer. After another minute, he paused. The eyes had disappeared in the mist, and so had the forms. The man stood still, his wand lowered slightly. The fog thickened around him. He took one step back, as if flinching away from something. Then they were upon him.
Three dark shapes pounced, knocking him on his back. Terrible sounds came from the pulsing mass of bodies; snarls and ripping, and cries of terror.
Ginny's eyes went wide, too shocked to react any other way. I t seemed the Optimates were experiencing the same horrified delay because none of them acted in time. One minute the man was getting mauled, and the next, one of the large animals was pulling him by the shoulder into the forest. Ginny put a hand to her mouth as the Neo was dragged into the woods, his head lulling limply in unconsciousness. A mask still covered his face, but his hood and robes had been lacerated by fangs and claws. Then he disappeared into the mist and darkness.
As several of the Optimates moved away from their windows – away from the monsters outside – Ginny took off toward the sounds of rustling leaves in the forest. Optimus or not, she couldn't just let the werewolves tear him to pieces. Wand out and ready, she saw the crouched figures through the trees and sprinted toward them. The beasts were bounding around their catch making pleased grunts and barks. She stopped abruptly, nearly slipping on the damp ground, when she saw the man gracefully pick himself up from the dirt and leaves. He chuckled as he pulled his Optimates mask away from his face.
"Good show, mates," Roman Luciano said to the three werewolves jumping excitedly around him. "If that didn't make them wet themselves, I don't know what could." There wasn't a single scratch on him, but his robes hung in shreds from his shoulders.
Ginny stood nearby, pausing for a moment to process what had just happened. Then she let out an exasperated sigh and glared at his satisfied smirk. "Good show, indeed," she said tartly as Roman repaired the rips in his robes. "I doubted your friends here for a moment. But the Neos certainly won't be leaving the building any time soon."
"Just like we wanted."
The wolves howled inharmoniously at the hospital. The loud sound bounced off of the trees and sounded like many more than a mere three voices. It would be enough to make even the gutsiest Optimus bolt the doors tight.
5
Harry opened the door at the end of the laboratory and found himself peering into the blank hallway. Still no guards had replaced the first two that the vampires had sent down the fire shoot. Where were they if they weren't here to watch over such a key area to the building? The less rational, more action oriented part of his brain told him to shut up and get a move on. The fact that there were no guards only helped them. He would be able to escape sooner to get Agape to safety. And find Ginny…
The thought of Ginny bore everything else out of his mind. He desperately wanted to get through this so he could go to her. He needed to take her away from here, no matter what had happened to her.
He led Agape out into the hall by the elbow, Ferris was at her other side and Jules followed as a guard. Yet again, Harry was impressed by her obvious knowledge in the field. She knew that they were particularly vulnerable with having to guide an essentially blind Agape. Judging by what he had observed tonight, had she been training to be an Auror she would already be past her second year and probably top of her class in field practices. Kingsley would probably offer her a job if she weren't anti-Ministry.
Harry no longer cared what she felt about Aurors or the whole Ministry lot, she was helping him save three people from the Optimates and that made them allies.
The blond woman put a slash on the door they came out of before letting it close. It morphed into a smooth surface to blend in with the rest of the wall. Jules's voice then rang through the hallway:
"Gwendolyn."
All of the doors reappeared and the three with marks on them were in different places than they had been last.
"Why do you have so many names?" Harry finally asked her.
"Like I told you, Mr. Potter," she said with no emotion, "legally I died. I needed a new name." She picked out a door and grabbed the handle.
"I don't see how you could possibly be the true Julissa Culver," Harry stated gruffly. "Her records said the body they found was genetically hers, and people don't just come back to life."
"You're right, and that part of me is indeed dead. If you want details you should go back to the roof and talk to Dante. I'm sure he'd be willing to tell you everything. After all, he's the reason for it all. My joining the Neos. My death. My names. My current life. It's all just a small part of his big plans."
"What kind of plans?"
"Insane ones, which I still don't know much about," she answered, knowing what he would ask next. She turned back to the door and swung it open.
"And what 'small part' are you playing, exactly?" he persisted.
"Allow me to answer that, Mr. Potter," came a cavernous voice from inside the door they had just opened.
They had found Dante's office again, as well as the hooded man himself.
Agape instinctively clutched Harry's arm tighter at the sound of that voice. Moving her behind his back, Harry aimed his wand at the space inside the void of the hood where a forehead should be. Jules and Ferris did the same, but neither of them seemed as surprised as he was. Culver hadn't been kidding when she said the stunning spell wouldn't last long.
"You see," Dante said, reclining in his office chair, but still seeming oddly stiff, "this woman calling herself Julissa Culver, is actually my wife. Gwendolyn Rhiamon Dante.
Harry gave Jules a side glance, but her hardened expression never changed. Ferris's visage was even angrier than hers.
"How did you get out of your chains without a wand?" Harry demanded.
The hood tilted his way slightly before Dante answered. "I'm known for my ability to escape problematic situations." He cocked his head back to Jules, saying, "Just like my darling beside you."
Harry noticed he never once acknowledged Ferris in any way.
"Apparently she couldn't escape marrying you," Harry commented.
The hooded figure uttered a rumbling sound that turned out to be a dangerous laugh.
"And she's never forgiven me for that. I suppose you think you have me cornered, Mr. Potter. Otherwise you wouldn't be so relaxed."
"You're very self assured, aren't you?"
"Well, I didn't get to this high position over night without talent, Sir."
Though chains hadn't worked so well last time, Harry shackled Dante's arms together with a spell. "I'm sure your mother is very proud," he told the man, taking a few steps closer and making a quick overview of the desk, searching for any surprises. Dante stood up slowly and Harry shouted at him to stay put.
"Don't think I won't blow you apart just because I work for the Ministry," he growled as he inched his wand closer and closer to Dante's shadowed face. The chill in his chest told him to hurt this man – to kill him for what he's already done and for what he would do if he lived. Ginny's tearful face flashed to mind. Harry tried to stay calm despite the rage working up inside of him.
"Dante – or whatever your real name is – you're under arrest –"
Suddenly Harry couldn't step forward. He couldn't even pick his feet up off of the floor. He looked up at Dante furiously. "How are you doing that?" he demanded.
There was no wand in Dante's hand but his hood turned a fraction. Harry followed where the black face pointed and saw Jules standing behind him, aiming two wands – hers and the one she had taken from Dante on the roof – directly at them. Her face was steely.
Ferris looked uncertainly at his leader. "Jules… What?"
"You have no idea how sorry I am about this, Mr. Potter," she said flatly. "But I cannot allow you to arrest him."
"What?" cried Harry, Agape, and Ferris in chorus.
That dangerous laugh echoed in the office again. "It seems even the most unfaithful wives still have some loyalties," said Dante. "Thank you, Gwendolyn."
The chains and shackles fell off of the large man's wrists as if they had suddenly stretched, and he pulled a hidden wand out of his sleeve. Pointing it at Ferris – finally acknowledging him – Dante commanded them to drop their wands.
For the first time that night, Harry saw fear spread over Jules's features. She glanced at Ferris uncertainly. Ferris glared at her and shook his head. He wasn't lowering his wand.
"You know that you have no choice, Love," Dante said to Julissa. "Drop our wands or I'll shoot him."
She dropped the wands and lowered her arms.
Dante's hood then watched Harry, waiting for him to comply, which he finally did, seeing no other way. He knew Dante wouldn't hesitate to kill any of them other than Jules.
Satisfied, Dante spoke to his wife, "My love, I know how difficult all of this is for you." With one flick of his wand Harry, Jules, and Agape were hurled against the wall and with another flick were swiftly chained to the spot.
"Yes. So difficult… Almost like having to stay collected while knowing that your wife has a lover on the side!" He shouted the last words irately, right as his wand flashed red.
Ferris crumpled to the floor.
"NO!" Jules screamed in horror. Harry's stomach clenched.
"Oh, yes, Darling," Dante continued, the calm voice of death fully returned. "Now perhaps you'll learn. Though I suppose I'd have to kill the Italian as well before you completely stopped being unfaithful. If you're good, maybe I won't tell the Optimates how he's been two-timing them. No doubt he was the one who lead you here."
"You bastard!" Jules screamed. Her cold, determined face was suddenly flushed with murderous rage. "I kept my promise! If it weren't for me, you'd be on your way to Azkaban!"
Harry was furious as well – furious at himself. He couldn't believe he'd let this girl lead him around all night. He had Dante in shackles and was about to get this screwed up situation under control at last, but his foolish trust in a nineteen-year-old vigilante had made everything more complicated. He should have taken the lead a long time ago – then maybe he and Agape wouldn't be pinned to a wall and his wife would be safe.
Dante's awful laugh rang out louder than ever, sending a chill up Harry's spine, and he advanced on the three prisoners.
"What do you purpose I do, Gwendolyn?" he said. "Let you all go? As if you would simply go home and never come back to my laboratory! You have to learn your lesson. You have trespassed into enemy lines – with an Auror no less! Don't you see? I must punish you because I love you, Darling. If I didn't you would never learn."
He had moved so close to her there was barely an inch between them. Dante was enormous compared to Jules, who was barely average height for a woman. He had to stoop to bring his face down to hers. Her eyes flashing dangerously, she thrashed violently against the chains to get at him, but to no avail. She was pinned too tightly to the wall. Dante's hood shadowed her face and he kissed her hard.
Jules thrashed more desperately, and uttered a muffled cry of disgust. Dante pulled away suddenly, a slender trail of saliva mingled with blood lingered briefly between their mouths – or rather Jules's mouth and the void of Dante's hood. Jules had bitten into his lip. Another rumble came from Dante, this time a growl of anger instead of amusement.
"That was a mistake, Gwendolyn," said Dante, his large shoulders crouching as if he were ready to pounce.
Jules strained as hard as she could against the chains, metal creaked against metal. She only gained an inch or two, but it was enough to bring her face closer to his.
"You will die, Dante," she hissed. "And I will be there, watching every moment."
"I know that will never happen, Darling," Dante answered, his voice rising with glee. "You won't let me die, because as soon as I do, your precious traitors will follow."
Jules looked ready to reply when, without warning, her icy eyes grew round. A shadow loomed over Dante from behind and his hood tilted upward in a questioning manner. Harry's eyes flew up and he sucked in a breath.
There was a deafening crash and Agape shrieked in terror.
6
"All those doors and this is our best way out?" Alton rasped. He was peering down the dark mouth of the fire shoot.
Yvette, who was still supporting him under one arm, tried to reassure him: "Don't worry Alton. It will be just like one of those kiddy slides on ze playground."
"I don't know about you, but I usually didn't go on the kiddy slide if I had internal bleeding."
"It's the quickest way out, Alt," Gus told him. "We have to get you out of here."
"What about…" Alton was interrupted by another coughing fit.
Gus frowned. Alton didn't have his mask to hold in the fire breaths and his coughs were getting steadily worse. The Ministry worker couldn't tell if it was good or bad that there was no smoke coming from the racking coughs.
"What about the others?" Alton finally choked out. More blood was on his lips than before. No smoke was definitely a bad thing.
"We need to get you out first," Gus said in a tone that was as close to commanding as he could muster.
"Then, we had better hurry," Imogene said, peering over her shoulder into the blank white hallway. "I hear someone coming."
Gus took hold of Alton. "Slide down, Yvette," he said to the girl. "I'll send him down once you're there to help him. We'll be right behind you. Find the werewolves."
The tall vampire obeyed immediately, gracefully sliding down the metal tube feet-first. Gus looked at his currently pallid friend.
"Are you ready?"
"They're here," Imogene announced calmly.
Alton swung his legs inside the tunnel with a grunt and nodded to Gus before letting himself slide down. Gus could hear him rasp, "Geronimo! Ouch!"
"Go now, Augustus," Ima ordered as one of the doors in the hall swung open.
"But –"
"GO!"
He had to dive down the shoot head-first to dodge a barrage of curses from the Optimates now flooding the hallway. Imogene had already started darting among the masked figures quicker than they could react.
7
Dante's large body lay crumpled on the floor, his desk broken on top of him. Papers and wands and books were scattered everywhere before Jules, Harry, and Agape. All three of them stared at the mess.
"Ferris –" Jules breathed.
Harry looked up and saw that the blond youth had risen from the floor and was standing, leaning against the wall for support and clutching his wand with an outstretched hand. He looked very dizzy, like he was ready to loose consciousness again. Harry was amazed that he had come out of a hex like that so quickly – Dante must not have done it properly.
Ferris didn't change position against the wall, but his wand twitched. The desk and Dante were slid as one away from the three prisoners and into a neighboring wall. Then Ferris moved forward.
Stumbling, he made it across the room to Jules and slumped to his knees at her feet. The hex was definitely still in effect on his equilibrium.
"Ferris!" said the girl, straining to get to him.
Harry saw the wand move in Ferris's hand again, and their chains fell from them, evaporating as they hit the floor. Then Jules was on her knees and wrapping her arms around her rescuer. Harry went to Agape, who seized his arm in a vice grip.
"Don't let go of me again, Harry," she commanded in a shaking voice.
"I'm sorry, Ferris," Jules was saying repeatedly, tears running down her face. "I'm so sorry."
Harry almost couldn't believe this was the same fearless woman who had coldly commanded the Blood Traitors all night. Previously, she had shown little emotion other than anger. Had she not betrayed him by saving Dante earlier, he would have felt badly about rushing her while she was upset:
"We need to get out of here," said the Auror. "Someone will have heard that crash. Here…"
He found his wand on the floor and touched it to the back of Ferris's skull. The kid would still be a little light headed, but his spell would counter act the hex enough to let him function better. He would need medical attention soon, though.
Jules looked up at him distractedly and nodded, some of the resolve returning to her face. She looked around for her wand and snatched it up, pausing briefly before picking up Dante's as well. "Come on, Ferris," she said, helping him up. "We have to get you out."
Harry was relieved to see that Ferris's legs were strong enough, he seemed to only lean on Jules for balance and direction. However, there was no guarantee how long his strength would last.
They opened the office door and rushed into the hallway. The previously sterile white space was now completely black. Harry almost pitched forward over something on the floor a few paces out of the office. Agape had stopped right before and ended up keeping him on his feet.
"Harry," she said tentatively.
Her tone told Harry she knew as well as he did that the thing was a body. It didn't occur to him how she had known the person was there before he did – at least not until he lit his wand.
Agape's hand flew over the tip of the wand to smother the light source. "Wait!" she gasped. "I just took the blindfold off. The light hurts."
"What's going on?" Jules demanded from behind them. "I thought we were leaving. We need to move quickly before the Neos find us in the dark."
Agape was the one to answer her: "Someone already found them."
By the tiny bit of light escaping his wand's tip through the woman's fingers, Harry could see that she had taken off her blindfold and was staring with black eyes at the floor. "Jules, are the werewolves inside?"
"No, they're waiting for us in the forest."
"The vampire's must have done this then," Agape concluded. "I'll close my eyes for a minute and you can see for yourselves."
She let go of Harry's wand and the light flooded over at least seven still figures sprawled on the floor or left propped against the walls. Blood was everywhere.
Furious, Harry whirled on Jules and Ferris. "This is what you do? You kill them all? That's how you bring them to justice?"
Jules was looking at the bodies dispassionately, unphased. "Justice is your job, Mr. Potter. And they aren't dead."
"They could be! Or worse, the Optimates may have seven new Vampires to add to their roster!"
"Imogene and Yvette never take enough to change anyone into vampires," Jules snapped back impatiently. "They may cut them, but they know the consequences of turning humans –"
"Cut them? You mean like slitting their throats?" Harry snarled, remembering his own blood running out of his neck.
"Are we getting out of here or not?" Jules cried.
"Harry lets go – please!" Agape begged, covering the wand light again so she could open her eyes. "I can't stay in here any longer. Please."
He took a breath and turned away from Jules. He took Agape's arm and started to lead her around the bodies, but she stopped him.
"Keep you wand covered," she begged. "It's enough light for you to see by, and I'll be able to keep my eyes open."
"How well can you see in here?" he inquired, wondering exactly what kind of spell they had put on her.
"Better than I've ever been able to see before," she replied, now moving forward, leading him instead. "I just wish it was a better sight to see."
She took them to the fire shoot at the other end of the hall, saying, "This thing would be our best bet, I suppose. I saw it when they took me to the cells before…"
Harry nodded, and stopped. He had heard something – a distinct noise from inside the hallway.
"Harry?"
"Shhh! Close your eyes."
He pulled his hand back from the wand tip and shined it past Julissa and Ferris. Ferris was peering over his shoulder into the darkness, but Jules watched the beam of light closely. It should have been lighting the entire hallway at least somewhat – but it wasn't.
The beam seemed to die midway, lighting only half of the area. Even then, what it lit was dim.
Jules closed her eyes in dread and her brow nit.
The sound returned much louder this time. It wasn't one that a person hears often, but it was unmistakable nonetheless. A body was being dragged down the hall toward them.
"Agape," Jules said suddenly, a note of desperation in her voice, "take Ferris with you."
The order was understood. Agape opened her eyes enough to swiftly grab a protesting Ferris and haul him to the oculus in the wall. Harry helped her shove him fighting into the shoot. Then she followed.
Harry turned with Jules, mind set on taking down whatever was coming nearer whether she wanted him to or not.
The combined light of their wands was enough to see the vague outline of a tall hooded figure. The shadows seemed to bend toward him, always keeping his stalking form in darkness even as he approached the light. His silence magnified the sound of the body he was effortlessly dragging with his left hand. It was another burly, hooded man.
Harry was not sure what to think at this point. He knew they had left a critically injured Dante in his office, so who was this?
Jules cursed beside him. "Please, Mr. Potter – you can't arrest him."
"But I'm going to," he answered flatly.
"You don't understand. I can't let you. You can take everyone else, but not him."
"Sorry, Culver," Harry replied. Then he said to the Reaper-like form still advancing on them, "Stop there, Dante. If you get any closer I'll take you down the hard way."
He was just thinking that he should go ahead and take him down the hard way regardless, when Dante stopped. There was a fury in the building – a deadly menace being emanated by the man before them. The shadows swirled around him like mist spurred by the wind. Harry made a move to go forward, but hesitated when Dante shifted.
"I said stop, Dante," he warned, his wand trained on the man's broad chest.
Then he saw who was moving. Jules sucked in a sharp breath.
The limp figure Dante had been dragging had grabbed onto his hand and was pulling itself up. The shadows thickened as the figure was nearly straight enough to stand, but it could go no farther. It simply hung there, suffering silently as it clung to the shoulder of an intrepid, unsupportive Dante. With no warning, it collapsed, but not downward – inward. It had fallen into Dante's body as if immersed in a black pool.
Harry's mouth fell open. Had his eyes deceived him?
"Do you see now, Potter?"
It was Jules. She watched the now waiting Dante with narrowed eyes. "He is capable of literally being in two places at once. Like a clone that can be tucked back in. Now do you understand how I died?"
Realization hit Harry like a sock in the gut. This time, however, he recovered more quickly. It was time for action now, not questions. Dante had to be brought down.
Before another second could pass, Harry shot him with an immobilizing spell – not caring if it wouldn't hold him long. It would give him more time to act. The shadows started spinning wildly around them and Jules was diving toward Dante, her two wands outstretched. Harry moved toward him at the same time, just as the shadows rushed from the frozen Dante in a powerful gust. It forced Harry and Jules back and even made the nearest unconscious Neos slide away from him on the floor.
How? How could he be doing magic while he was frozen? This man could not be human!
The wind increased, pushing them into opposite walls, pressing the air out of their lungs. Using every muscle in his body, Harry managed to move his arm enough to point it at Dante's heart. A jet of gold jumped from its tip. The wind stopped immediately and the shadows stilled, Dante was left clutching his chest.
He must have been the first person in history to so quickly overcome a properly done immobilization spell. And he had done magic at the same time!
But worst of all – at least by Harry's standard – he still wasn't in shackles.
Harry and Jules leapt into action at the same time. As Harry and Dante began to duel, the blond woman disappeared behind Dante somewhere.
Even as they dueled the wind was picking back up. Harry could no longer find Julissa over Dante's shoulder, but his foe did not seem concerned with her being out of sight. Only the light from their wands lit the hallway and kept them from stumbling over bodies. Harry was the faster of the two, if only by a little, but Dante was very talented at blocking. However, Harry had fought more talent when he was fourteen. He was the more experienced one by far, and so long as he stayed close to his opponent the wind would not affect him much.
If he could keep Julissa from assisting Dante, he could throw him in Azkaban before morning. The only problem with keeping the young woman at bay was that he had no idea where she had gone.
But he did not have to wait long before she returned.
"Lloyd!"
Dante was in mid swing with his wand but when the name rang through the hallway he whirled rigidly toward the speaker. The wind stopped abruptly and Harry could see Julissa standing at the end of the hall in front of the barred window.
It was Harry's chance to stop him for good, and he was just raising his wand to do so when a cool hand slithered up his arm and held it in place. The grip was strong enough to quickly pull his wand arm behind his back where he could aim at nothing but the wall. At the same time another delicate hand seized his throat from behind. Claws dug into the sensitive skin of his neck as a voice breathed in his ear: "Do not interfere, Mr. Potter."
Dante was facing Jules, his shoulders hunched like a large cat ready to fight. "What did you say?" his deep voice snarled dangerously.
Harry would not let this happen. "Imogene, let me go, or I'll make you very sorry." Even with his wand pointed at the wall, he could do a fair amount of damage.
"First let me tell you what I saw out the window, Mr. Potter," replied the vampire, her nails still digging painfully into his neck.
Jules was talking to Dante: "There's hardly a better way to get your attention than to call you by your birth name, Howard. You know you'll always be Lloyd to me."
'More names!' Harry thought incredulously.
"STOP!" Dante shouted. "You should know better than to upset me like that, Gwendolyn. I'm busy."
"Are you listening, Harry?" Imogene whispered into his ear.
"Let go of me, you –"
Dante was turning back to deal with Harry, but again Jules cried, "Lloyd!" and he spun around, this time furiously advancing on her a few steps.
"SHUT UP!"
Jules watched him placidly. "Yes, that really does do the trick," she commented in a bored voice. "But I can think of an even better way to get your attention."
"What way is that?" Dante demanded impatiently.
Jules paused.
"I'll tell you whether you want to listen or not, dear," Imogene was saying, her face just beside Harry's. "When I passed the window just now, I saw a woman outside. A pretty, red-haired woman."
Harry stopped struggling immediately. His heart felt like it had stopped. "You saw Ginny?"
"I would assume it was her," replied the vampire. "And she seemed just fine." Relief swept through him, warming the chill in his chest, but she continued: "Though, like all of us, she's still in danger. So now, I believe you have a choice. You can go to your wife and take her away from here, or you can stay and capture Dante."
He let out the breath he had been holding and focused on Jules and Dante again.
Dante had grown more impatient. "Well, Gwen? What way? Do I need to hex it out of you?"
Jules's features turned to stone and she slowly lifted her chin before placing her wand just beneath, the tip pointing toward her head.
"What are you doing?"
"If you want to continue your duel, by all means go ahead," she told him. "But know that if you do, I won't hesitate to blast my own skull. I know you wouldn't want that, Howard, but I'm sure you've noticed that sometimes I do."
"You wouldn't," Dante hissed.
"I will. The only thing in question here is will you let me die? I'll give you a moment to decide. Three…"
"I will not let that Auror out of my laboratory alive! You want me to let him go?"
"Yes," she snapped. "Or let me die."
"Gwendolyn…"
"Two…"
"Harry. What do you choose?"
"Gwendolyn!"
"Take me to Ginny."
"One."
The wand flashed. Jules hit the floor and Harry dove into the fire shoot with Imogene at his heals.
8
"Where are they?" Yvette muttered impatiently.
The Blood Traitors, Ginny and Agape were all gathered together just inside the first layer of trees that skirted the old hospital. They were watching for any sign of their leaders from inside. Roman and Yvette stood in between the three werewolves, vigilantly watching the darkened windows. Ginny was holding Agape in a comforting embrace as she silently wept. Alton sat on the ground, propped against a tree trunk, while Ferris sat to one side mending as many of his injuries as he could. Gus was on his knees at Alt's other side, doing what he could to help Ferris work – Ferris was still dizzy and unbalanced.
"Ferris," Alton rasped as he held back another cough. Ferris looked up from repairing the snapped tendons on his left hand – he had just pulled a shark tooth out of the bloody flesh there. "Don't – Don't let me die before I see Payton," Alton told him.
The seriousness in his voice unnerved the two men leaning over him.
"Don't be so dramatic, Alt," Ferris replied. "You're not going to die. You'll see her again."
"Your expression says otherwise," Alton said, his voice barely more than a hiss of air. He had a lung injury from a cracked rib, compliments of Enyo's metal fists.
Ferris sighed and shook his head. "I promise you're not going to die, mate," he assured his friend. "I just can't concentrate. My head…" he trailed off and went back to work on reconnecting the tendons in Alton's hand.
"We have to get him to St. Mungo's," Gus insisted for possibly the tenth time. He had pushed Alton's shirt up to look at his abdomen and Ferris could see that the bruises had grown and merged into a large purple blotch.
Ferris's jaw clenched, but he didn't respond to Gus's comment as he continued to work.
A noise of frustration came from Yvette. "Where are they?" she snapped again.
"Maybe Jules felt she was better off on the Optimates' side after all," Ferris muttered bitterly.
Roman's head snapped in his direction.
"What are you talking about, Ferris?" Gus inquired.
"He doesn't know what he's talking about," Roman answered instead.
"But of course you do," Ferris snarled back. "You always seem to know more than the rest of us. Especially about Jules! I watched her save Dante in there!"
Roman faced him fully now. His poker face was on, but he was obviously irritated. "You don't understand."
Ferris shot to his feet and was directly in front of the taller man in two strides. "Then, enlighten me, Roman! Why would she do that?"
"To save us, you idiot" Roman said hotly. Ferris started to reply, but all of his swift movements had caught up to his head and he swayed dangerously. Roman seized his shirt to hold him on his feet while he talked to him. "You're supposed to be smart. Couldn't you figure it out? Dante knows everything about us! Why do you think he hasn't killed us all yet? If Dante dies, or goes to prison the Optimates get all of our information. Then we die. That's why she keeps him safe. Enlightened yet?"
Ferris was clinging to Roman's forearms to hold himself steady, but glaring at the Italian with nothing but antipathy. "How do you know that, and I don't?"
"Because I was there when Dante struck the deal," Roman explained, calmer now. "She was never supposed to tell any of you. It's his version of a joke. He wants you to think she's betraying you."
Ferris looked deflated and dizzy. He shook Roman off of him and stumbled back to Alton.
Everyone was quiet now and watching Roman and Ferris warily.
"What does it mean for Jules, now that we know?" asked Gus, a deep frown on his face.
"Nothing good," Roman told him grimly.
There was a pregnant pause, then one of the werewolves whined and three tails started wagging. "Hey, fellows," said Yvette, "they're finally back. Can we leave now?"
Everyone's eyes flew to where the vampire was pointing. Harry and Imogene were crossing the clearing to where they waited. Ginny stood up and saw her husband. No sooner had he seen her than she was in his arms kissing him. Tears slipped down her cheeks and she buried her face against his shoulder. He spoke relieved words against her hair, but she couldn't hear – she didn't need to. He was alright and so was she, which was all she needed.
He pulled back slightly and turned her face up to his. "I was afraid you were… thought you were…"
She quickly leaned up and kissed him. "I'm fine. It's okay, I'm fine."
"Ginny." He held her tighter.
While Harry and Ginny were having their reunion, Imogene had walked up to Roman. She stood very close to him with her hand on his shoulder and murmured: "Julissa knows you're planning something."
"Where is she?" he replied, just as quietly.
"Inside, but she said not to worry. She wants you to go through with whatever you're going to do"
"You're sure?"
"I'm not, but that's exactly what she told me."
"Ima, if she's still inside –"
All three wolves started to growl and whine, each of them staring into the forest behind them. Everyone's head came up. Yvette took a closer look and suddenly hissed, "Le Ministère!"
"Merlin's beard, I can see them too!" Agape exclaimed, her black eyes wide with surprise.
"Roman, get out of here," Gus said suddenly. "If they find you, they'll arrest you!"
"I walked around their headquarters days ago, Gus," Roman answered calmly. "None of them recognize me. Besides, I'm not done yet."
"Don't get so cocky, Luciano," Harry spoke up. "I'm one of them, and I do know who you are."
"Harry," said Ginny.
"I told you he was a bast– " Ferris cupped a hand over Alton's mouth to cut off his last word.
Shouts could be heard as the Ministry spotted them all grouped together. The men and women spread out, nearly surrounding them, their wands raised.
"None of you move," Tonk's voice ordered from within the crowd. More Aurors were heading in the opposite direction to scout for more people.
"Harry! Please!"
It was Agape, and she rushed over to him and Ginny. "Please," she begged, grabbing his arm. "You can't let them get arrested. They saved Ginny and me."
"Luciano is a known criminal, Drake assaulted an Auror – "
"Darn right, I did!"
"–And I just saw the teenager who leads them prevent Dante's arrest twice," Harry argued. "Don't get me started on the vampire!"
"We owe them our lives!" Agape insisted. "Roman saved me from the Optimates and took me to their safe house. Then Alton risked his safety to get me home, and now he could be bleeding to death. Please, Harry!"
He frowned at her, uncertain of what he should do. The Blood Traitors were much like a very young version of the Order. The Order had had its share of people with unsavory reputations too – after all, Sirius was the first ever to break out of Azkaban. How could he fault Roman? Still, they were inexperienced in comparison and that made them dangerous. They didn't have someone like Dumbledore to lead them.
"Harry?" said Tonks, spotting him for the first time. She moved forward past the Blood Traitors.
"Harry," Agape said, imploring him with her altered eyes.
"She's right, Harry," Ginny agreed.
He sighed and looked up at Tonks, who raised her eyebrows at him expectantly. "What's going on? Who are these people?"
"These people… These people saved my wife and Agape from the Optimates. Some of them need medical assistance."
"Is there anyone inside the building?"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Four explosions blasted out the four corners of the hospital's foundation, making the ground shake beneath their feet. Everyone jumped or ducked away from the sudden commotion – Luciano was the only one who didn't flinch. He calmly turned his head toward the collapsing building, as if only mildly interested in it.
Ginny grimaced and shrugged slightly when Harry gave her a questioning look.
"Tonks," yelled one of the Aurors – it was Betts, the Scottish woman who had been on the scene after the attack in Schuler Library – "What you want us to do?"
"Stand down," Tonks instructed. "We need to get these people to St. Mungo's."
"The werewolves too?"
"Mr. Potter," said Imogene from beside Betts, "that may be a problem."
Harry frowned at her and looked around at the other Blood Traitors. Many of them were now wanted by the Ministry. If they were identified, they would be arrested. He owed them too much to let that happen.
"Tonks," he began, letting go of his wife for the first time, "can I talk to you for a moment." He led Tonks a little ways away from the group and talked to her in quiet tones.
Tonks looked at him several times during their conversation, each time her expression ranged from shock to irritation. When Harry had explained everything, they turned back to the crowd.
"Say," Betts was saying as she gave Imogene a peculiar look. "Has anyone ever told ye, ye sound jus' like tha' recorded voice inae Ministry?"
Imogene regarded the Auror soberly and replied: "That recording is my voice. They have been using it to announce the departments since 1901. Apparently people didn't like to hear the Minister's voice telling them what floor they were on all day."
Despite being distracted with more important thoughts, Harry couldn't help but mentally smack his forehead when he heard this. 'No wonder she sounded so familiar!' he thought. 'I hear her voice everyday. I can't believe I never realized it.'
He was brought back to more serious matters when Tonks started giving orders: "Alright, listen up! I want Neely, Betts, Jenkins, and Makesh to stay here. Everyone else, get over to that building and start searching for Neos. Any who are found are to be immediately unmasked and arrested. You know where to take the wounded."
The Aurors did as instructed, and she turned to the four people still waiting for orders. "Alright mates," she said, "I picked you to stay because we've got a situation here and you can keep your mouths shut. I want Neely and Jenkins to take the blond man and the red-head to St. Mungo's. You will take them to your own personal beds, no names, no questions asked. If the faculty gives you trouble, make sure they understand that it's none of their business. Betts and Makesh will take Agape and Ginny with them and make certain they're well taken care of. Harry, I'll have to keep you behind for a little longer." She added under her breath, "and maybe you can explain to me why I'm doing all of this."
"The rest of you can go home," Harry told the other Blood Traitors who were unharmed. "I'll be getting in touch to go over a few things." There was a warning in his voice that they all understood and they nodded.
"And, thank you," he added, "for everything."
(Oh my gosh, you guys! This chapter was huge! It took me over a month to finish the darn thing - well, really it was because I started college and I have no more "me-time" - but don't stop reading yet! I have one more chapter to go and it's not that long, so it shouldn't take me forever to finish it. Then I'll start on the sequal!)