A/N: I got this chapter out as quick as possible as was requested! lol. But I hope you like it.
Chapter 13.
Ginny watched Draco enter the graveyard and approach the other death eaters.
"He shall be here soon Draco." Lucius said.
Draco simply nodded and traced his gaze towards the open crypt. He saw the swish of a tail upon the roof and felt his heart jump. She was still here. Why hadn't she left already?
Ginny saw Draco cast his gaze towards the crypt and slowly slunk backwards. She felt the effects of the poly juice potion wearing off and got ready to jump. All of a sudden she heard a crack and tensed up.
"My Lord…" Seethed the unmistakable voice of Lucius Malfoy.
Ginny felt herself whimper inside. 'This is bad." She thought. 'Really bad…'
Ginny quickly scooted back into the burial chamber through the back window as she felt the grips of her morph back into her human appearance begin.
"Thicknesse, Greyback, please go and retrieve the boy, his side-kick… and Mrs Malfoy." Voldemort hissed in his snake-like tone. The two death-eaters swiftly left the graveyards towards the dungeons.
"What?" Stuttered Lucius? "Surely you do not mean my wife?"
"Lucius I think it unwise to even entertain the idea you believe I do not know what I am talking about."
Lucius gulped and looked at his feet.
"Your wife is no longer trustworthy. She is a blood-traitor. Her efforts to hold us back from our task, of putting the Wizarding World into its proper command, has earned her the final responsibility of being your son's punishment." Voldemort said stonely.
Lucius felt a part of him slipping away. He had agreed to his wife's imprisonment in the dungeons simply because the other choice was death. Her disloyalty to the death eaters became apparent when the Long bottom boy escaped thanks to his son. Narcissa had covered for Draco so he could sneak into the dungeons, but she was never able to lie directly to Lucius and he saw straight through it. Lucius had always thought extremely highly of the Dark Lord, but in this one instant he thought he saw the side the rest of the world saw. The sick, twisted, heartless side. Lucius saw the Dark Lord for his insanity.
He chanced a look at his son who was staring towards an open tomb obviously not paying any attention to what Voldemort was saying. Lucius followed his gaze inside and recognised a red-headed girl holding a tiara, looking towards Draco searchingly.
Ginny became aware of Lucius' stare upon her as she attempted to find a way out. She thought that the game was up and he was certain to give her away. But instead he simply gulped thickly and gave a curt nod. Ginny could see a struggle in his eyes. She looked towards Draco who was then staring towards his father with a mix of shock and curiosity. Lucius made eye contact with his son and delved deep into the depths of his mind with Legilimency to discover the game plan. Lucius wanted in. There was only one person in the world he couldn't bare to lose and that was Narcissa. He loved his son but had been blinded. He wanted to make it right…
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Hermione, Harry, Ron, Neville and Narcissa made their way back through the castle until reaching the large black door in which they had last ventured to.
"Draco said there was a way out from this room." Hermione said looking around the room they found themselves in.
It was nearly bare and quite musty. A large gold trimmed mirror hung on one wall and a dark elegant tapestry on another. The tapestry entailed a hoard of dark figures standing upon a large podium in a building similar to the Colosseum, yet on closer inspection it became evident that the building was constructed of the bloodied and decapitated bodies of muggles. Hermione thought back to their venture to the ministry and the statue which was comparable to this monstrosity. The only furniture in the room was an old cauldron which sunk into a dark forgotten corner.
"He didn't bother telling you how?" Ron said as he scanned the room for a way out.
"He couldn't Ronald, It is a protected passage and many curses are placed upon passages to prevent the where-abouts being announced. He was spell bound not to release its exact location."
"I never knew there was a secret passage from here; do you know where it leads?" Narcissa said. She wrapped her arms around herself and seemed to be shivering even though it wasn't cold within the room. It occurred to Hermione that this was odd. It should be cold in here…
Hermione went over to the cauldron in the corner and peered inside. There was a sickly substance simmering inside. It was a deep russet colour and emitted a terrible smell. Hermione warily dipped her hand beneath the rim of the cauldron and instantly discovered the source of the warmth. The potion was nothing more than an illusion and beneath the surface Hermione felt warm air.
"Neville come here." Hermione ushered him over. Neville stood next to her and peered into the cauldron.
"Hermione get your hand out of that!" Harry said.
"It smell's bloody rancid that does!" Ron said as he peered over her shoulder and quickly turned away.
"Oh stop being a baby." Hermione said in a huff with her hands on her hips. "This is the way out."
"You've got to be joking there must be another way!" Ron said as he looked around the room. "That looks like it could give me raving-asperegous rashes!"
Harry took a deep breath and dipped his head into the cauldron.
"Hermione's right this is the way." He said as he resurfaced. His head was entirely dry.
"Oh fine…" Ron mumbled as he sent a scathing look towards the potion.
Ron walked over and hoisted his leg up into the cauldron before dropping into it and disappearing from view.
"You next Narcissa." Harry said.
Narcissa gave a quick nod and shuffled over before shakily taking Harry's offered hand and slipping into the cauldron after Ron.
Neville jumped in after her and Harry and Hermione watched him disappear beneath the brown liquid.
"After you Hermione." Harry said as he held a hand out to help Hermione up into the cauldron.
Hermione snorted.
"Your gallantry is lost on me Harry. You go first." She said. They were yet to notice the sound of approaching footsteps.
Harry shrugged and jumped into the cauldron falling out of sight.
Hermione fished into her pocket and retrieved a gold coin which she quickly scribed a message into before raising her leg over the side of the cauldron and slipping beneath the murky imitation of a potion and leaving the room empty.
A split second later the large heavy black door creaked open and two death eaters crossed the room towards the dungeon stairs unaware that the prisoners in which they sought had just vanished into a corroding cauldron.
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Hermione dropped a short distance and landed with a minor thud on hard timber floors. Dust rose around her as she stood and took in her surroundings. In front of her was a large roaring fireplace. A long corridor submerged in darkness twisted away behind her.
"What are we supposed to do?" Harry said.
"Can we floo out of here? Or do we have to follow the corridor." Ron said as he looked wide-eyed at the never ending dark passage.
"This is the only fireplace in which can floo out of here, but it is not your average floo. It won't take you somewhere if you ask for a specific location… It only takes you where it believes you a meant to be." Hermione said as she eyed the roaring fire.
"What? How do you know that? I thought he couldn't tell you bout this passageway? And how come it didn't take Malfoy to safety and he ended up right in the clutches of the death-eaters anyway?" Ron said.
Hermione let out a trying sigh.
"He couldn't tell me where it was Ronald, but he could tell me what was inside it. And he did end up where he was meant to be… In front of our tent."
"Where's that lead then?" Ron said pointing towards the passage.
"The graveyard."
"Oh… Right then… Lets floo!" Ron said and made his way over to it.
Neville came over to Hermione who stood still staring down the passage.
"I'm sure they're alright Hermione." He said. "I'm sure Draco is perfectly fine as is Ginny. Don't worry." And he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"What? Hold up!" Harry said having over heard what Neville had said.
"Ginny's here? Where is she!? Where's Ginny!" He said looking around as if she was just going to appear right there in the very room.
Hermione turned to look at Harry. Ron overheard Harry and quickly ran over too.
"She went to the graveyard to collect the horcrux. Hopefully she got out in time…" She said.
"Hopefully? Hermione come on!" Ron said.
"Ron she will be fine! Ginny is a fantastic witch and she will be fine! Now hurry up." Hermione said impatiently. Secretly she feared just as Harry and Ron had about Ginny as well as Draco. But she had to put on the brave front. It wasn't over yet… It was only beginning.
They all crowded around the fire and Neville stepped forward. He took a small handful of floo powder from the gold pot suspended in the air beside the fireplace and threw it in. The flames turned green as he spoke.
"Take me where I am meant to be." He said and stepped inside disappearing.
Ron and Harry followed and vanished into the flames.
Narcissa looked feebly at Hermione who gave her an encouraging smile and Narcissa disappeared into the flames as well.
Hermione took a deep breath and grabbed some floo powder out of the pot.
"Take me where I am meant to be." She said as she threw the floo powder in. The flames once again blazed green and Hermione stepped in as heavy footsteps sounded behind her in the twisted corridor…
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A/N: What do you think? What do you think is happening!!! Please review. it makes my day! Off to bed, bubi!