Chapter 9

"Dad, we need to use the library," James called as he and Holly jumped out of the fire in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place five minutes later.

"Of course son," Harry replied jumping to his feet and looking at his wife who looked as shocked as he did. Since the two of them had apparated from the house over an hour ago they had both sat by the fire on tenterhooks waiting for news from their son; they were full of anguish for their first born granddaughter and terrified about what might happen to her. Lily's head had intermittently appeared in the grate looking as frantically worried as they did but they had only been able to say that there was no news yet. She had reported that the triplets were playing but Daniel wouldn't get out of the chair by the fire and was simply staring at it waiting for his parents to appear with his sister.

Ginny and Harry followed the other two as they hurried hand in hand up the stairs to the study where volumes upon volumes of books were stored, some of which were almost a thousand years old. If it had not been for the situation they were in they might have commented on the intimate touch they shared but it went by unnoticed as they wondered what was going on. "James," Harry gasped when he found him searching a shelf of old books in a back corner, "what is going on?"

He paused momentarily to look at his parents who were as distraught as they were and garbled a quick but sufficient explanation, "When we got to the ministry there was a note from Yaxley. In return for Isabella's life he wants Malfoy and Nott released from Azkaban and given free passage out of the country." Ginny gasped and grabbed her husband's arm as he continued, "Beerney's following ministry protocol and drawing up a list of all deeds known to the Yaxleys, Malfoys and Notts, but that will take so long; we can't wait for that; I can't do that to Isabella," he breathed knowing that his father knew exactly what it was like to wait for procedures to be followed.

"But what else can you do? If Beerney won't give in to Yaxley's demands what other way is there to get her back?"

"We sent an owl, the owl he had sent the ransom with; he wanted us to reply when we could guarantee their release," Harry looked at his son curiously as James turned back to search the shelves again but continued with his explanation. "It's too complicated to explain how but I used a muggle tracking device to find out where the owl went when Beerney sent a note saying he needed more time and we have the…ah," he paused as he pulled out a dusty old book. It was large and bound in cracked brown leather; the parchment pieces inside it were brown and faded but as James started to turn the pages Harry noticed that it was an old atlas of Great Britain. He had looked at it a few times himself but never used it to locate anywhere as the ministry's extensive and up to date maps were much better.

"James why do you need that? It's ancient and probably out of date," Harry said stepping forward and looking over his son's shoulder; Holly was sat on the floor at his side, "how will this help?"

"Because the longitude and latitude references won't have changed and that is all we need; if we go to the ministry Beerney will know that I'm taking it into my own hands and…there," he said stopping on one of the fading brown pages.

"James I don't understand," his father said softly.

"Yaxley, he's here," James began, turning the map to face Harry and pointing at an area marked Dartmoor, "the device gave us this reference when the owl stopped moving so this is where he must be; if we find Yaxley I will find Isabella." Holly moaned slightly at this and he reached out a comforting hand to stroke her arm; she leaned into him again but within seconds he had jumped to his feet and was heading to the door of the study.

"James, I'm coming with you," Holly said jumping to her feet and barrelling to his side.

"No, Holly this is too dangerous; you should stay here with Mum and Dad; let me find her; I promise I'll bring her home," he had turned to look at her and took a step in her direction but he stopped at the wild look in her eyes.

"She's my daughter too," she screamed placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him, "I am not going to stay behind and wait worrying about you as well as her; I need to be there James; I need to help you," her voice cracked on these words as she knew the only thing keeping her from breaking down completely was concentrating on finding and rescuing Isabella. If she had to stop and wait anymore she would give in to the pain and sorrow within her and sob her heart out. "James, please," she added as her face fell and a soulful look crept into her eyes.

"Dad, can we take the cloak?" James asked turning to his father who looked wide eyed when he realised his son was going to allow her to accompany him.

"Yes son but…but maybe Holly…" he stuttered turning to look at his wife and appealing for help.

"Holly," she said softly walking over to her anguished daughter in law, "I don't think it is a good idea for you to go out there with James; he knows what he is doing and-"

"Ginny," she interrupted in a woeful voice, "she's my daughter," she finished hoping that as one mother to another the older woman would realise that she had to go.

"This is just wasting time," James shouted, "Holly you stay under the cloak and by my side, do you understand?" she nodded mechanically at him. "And keep your wand in your hand at all times, come on," he finished grabbing the cloak which Harry had just removed from the deep bottom drawer of his heavy oak desk and then they all flew in convoy back down the well trodden stairs to the front door.

"The children?" Holly gasped turning to look at Ginny as James opened the front door.

"Are fine," she reassured her with a smile. "Be careful, both of you," Ginny added holding back her tears as her husband came to stand behind her and the two younger adults apparated from the front doorstep, once again wrapped up in each other.

They landed on a windswept bleak hill in the middle of a field and James let his wife go as he started to turn around surveying their surroundings; there were sheep dotted around in the fields which stretched out almost as far as the eye could see. A few trees grew intermittently over the hills but most of the vegetation was made up of gorse and wild grasses which the animals grazed on. In the distance James saw an old rugged track leading over the top of a craggy rock and he tugged on Holly's hand as he set off to follow it.

They scrambled hurriedly up a steep rise and dropped to their haunches at the top hiding behind some vegetation which obscured them from view by anyone on the other side. Carefully parting the bush with his hands James peered through and saw a short valley; at the bottom of it was a small woodland area but there was nothing else as far as the eye could see; nothing habitable anyway other than a crumbling wreck jutting out from the wooded area. The wreck looked as if it might have been a stately home at one time but now it looked dangerous with loose bricks sticking out at various angles and collapsed roof beams leaning against the walls. There was a small driveway leading up to what would once have been an impressive main entrance but the building had only two walls which reached two storeys high while the others were completely demolished. He groaned in frustration and turned to look at his wife, "There's nothing, nothing that could be used to keep or hide someone," he said bitterly. "Unless he's in the wood," he added desperately trying to find a reason why the owl would have flown here. In his mind he was starting to worry that either Yaxley had come here to wait for the bird or it had simply needed a rest and stopped for a while. They had not continued to watch the muggle tracking after the blinking red light had stopped and James was now wishing he had at least asked Suzannah to keep surveillance.

"Could he be hiding somewhere inside it?" Holly asked, desperately trying not to come to the same conclusions as James but it didn't really look big enough for anything to hide in it. Apart from an area blocked by the desolate old building they could see straight through the trees to the hillside beyond it.

"We'll have a look," James replied grabbing her hand again and pulling her to her feet, he could not bear to give up now and needed to at least see if there was anything down there which might give them another lead to follow.

They hurried down the craggy side occasionally stumbling over rocky areas and near the bottom of the valley Holly lost her footing and twisted over her ankle landing in a heap behind James. She squealed slightly and James turned to look at her as she pushed herself into a sitting position and reached out for her ankle. "Are you alright?" he asked dropping down by her side and tenderly reaching out for the ankle which he could see was already beginning to swell as she rolled her trousers back.

"Great," she sobbed feeling stupid and frustrated, "this is really going to help."

"Let me see," he said lifting her ankle up a little and resting it on his knee. "I might be able to take some of the swelling away," he went on reaching for his wand and pointing it at Holly's lower limb. As part of his auror training he had had to learn some basic healer skills for use out in the field when they had to patch colleagues up as best they could before getting them back to St Mungos. Whispering a spell and concentrating hard he moved his wand slowly over her swollen ankle and they both watched as it immediately began to decrease in size; Holly could feel an almost icy sensation as the wand travelled over her and she felt instant relief from the pain. "It won't be healed completely," James said looking back up at her, "but it will be easier to walk on. You might have a bit of a limp though," he chuckled as he put her leg back on the floor and stood up.

Reaching out for her he tugged her back onto her feet and though she wobbled as she took a couple of steps Holly's determination to find her daughter erased the discomfort and she stepped forward again. James approached her side and wrapped his arm around her waist to make it easier for her and together they took a few more steps, she was about to open her mouth and say thank you to him when she just stopped and stared straight ahead of her. "James," she gasped as she stopped moving and lifted a hand to point in the direction of the woodland they were heading for, "look!"

He turned his head to follow the line of her arm and then gasped audibly as his gaze fell not upon the crumbling ruin they had seen at the top of the hill but upon the stately home they had expected it once to look like. Spying a couple of trees to their right James helped Holly over to them and hid her before he peered around and looked once more at the wreck which was no longer crumbling and forlorn. The driveway he had seen was now magically enhanced and sported two enormous lion shaped sculptures at its entrance. It swept it's way up to the porch he had imagined which had two columns on either side of a large oak doorway. Imposing sash windows were positioned equidistant apart along the front of the house and around the top was a striking battlement imitation stone effect with grotesque gargoyles on each corner overlooking the garden at the front. The house looked as if it had not been properly lived in for a while and the garden was overgrown with grass and weeds; the windows were dark and it still had a forlorn look about it but was much more impressive than the wreck it had been. "It must be hidden by enchantments like Hogwarts," James began in a whisper, "so that muggles will stay away and so it is not noticeable until you pass the magical protection barrier."

"So…so Isabella could be in there?" Holly whispered half relieved that they might have located her but still frantic with worry about what might have happened to her.

"I hope so," James replied in a gritty sounding voice, "we have to go and find out. How's your ankle?" he asked, "Do you think you can still walk on it?" She nodded her head determinedly and stood up passing her weight to her uninjured leg but proving she could go on with her husband. "We'd better get under this," he continued removing the invisibility cloak from his pocket and he flung it around Holly and himself so they could step out into the open again. "Hopefully we won't have already been seen; if they believed Beerney's message and think we are going to give in to them then they may not have high security around the place just yet." James was desperately hoping that this was true as they began to edge closer to the building and then skirted it looking for a way in.

Their movements were slower under the cloak but Holly gritted her teeth and kept up with James despite the throbbing in her ankle. Eventually they came across an old hatch which James thought might lead into a cellar and they advanced slowly towards it making sure the invisibility cloak was still covering them completely. When they reached the rusting metal trapdoor James lifted the handle and was surprised when it opened immediately; either this was the wrong place or they were a little lax over security but he desperately hoped it was the latter. Below the trapdoor was a set of steps leading down into the darkness and the two worried parents dropped into the steps simultaneously and then James pulled the door back over behind them.

There was barely any light at all except for a feint glimmer from one tiny window above the steps which just offered them enough to see them safely to the long stone floored corridor at the end of them. It stretched off in two directions and neither end could be seen because it was so dark and there were no other windows anywhere along it to give more light. James lit the end of his wand and held it up in both directions peering as far as he could but all he could see were small stone doorways scattered symmetrically down the corridor each of which had a heavy looking oak door set in them. "Maybe we should split up?" Holly suggested lighting her own wand and seeing exactly the same in the opposite direction, "You go that way and I'll search down here."

"Good idea," James said stepping out from under the cloak; he had just spotted a second set of steps which presumably led up into the house and they were on his side of the corridor; if there was any danger of them being detected people would surely come down them and he would face the danger before Holly. "You take the cloak," he continued, "and this," he added holding out the deluminator in his hand for Holly to take.

"But we'll be leaving together James," she uttered quietly, "all of us."

"I know, but if anything happens and I need to stay and fight you have to get Isabella out of here," he saw the grave look cross her face and continued as firmly but sensitively as possible. "She is my main priority Holly, she...and you," he added staring into her deep blue eyes, "if you find her you get yourselves out of here as soon as possible; you know how this works and I need you to go. Do you understand Holly?" he asked as he saw the doubt cloud her eyes. "Do you?" he repeated when she did not answer and slowly, with a few tears pricking her eyes, she nodded her head at him. "If I find her I will come down here for you and we will leave together; but if you find her, you go," he stressed. "I can take care of myself," he added gently reaching up to rub her arms and smiling softly.

He let go of her arms and turned to walk away but Holly grabbed one of his hands and turned him back. "James," she whispered taking his other hand as well, "I love you," she finished leaning up to quickly kiss his lips and holding back the tears which threatened to overwhelm her at any moment.

"I know," he replied reaching up with one hand to stroke her cheek and then freezing as a clatter from the house above disturbed them. "Go," he said holding out her hand in the direction of the slightly safer end of the corridor, "and hurry," he finished letting go of her hand as he slowly began to creep along his side holding his lit wand aloft and casting an eerie green glow ahead of him. Holly watched it for a moment but it disappeared quickly as he walked further away and biting back a fresh wave of tears and remembering her daughter she held her own wand up and set off in the opposite direction.

Holly paused at every doorway and tried the door handles; they each opened with ease and she found behind them an assortment of rooms. Some housed dusty wine bottles but most of them were empty of anything but shelves and some equipment; she could tell that certain rooms had once been used for hanging meats and storing various food items but they had evidently been unused for some time. At the last doorway she stopped and tried to turn the door handle; like all the others it was a heavy wrought iron circular handle which lifted a latch in the other side. However after turning the handle and pushing against this one Holly found it did not open and as she lifted her wand up and down she saw two heavy metal bolts slid shut into the stone alcove; one at the top and one at the bottom. Her heartstrings tugged as she realised this might be the place where her daughter was and as she slowly slid the bolts back with a lot of effort she held her breath and did not release it until the door was opened and she gazed into a tiny room lit by a torch in a wall bracket.

The room smelt of damp and she could feel it seeping in through the stone walls; the floor was bare like all the others but pushed up against one wall was a wrought iron bed frame with a thin mattress laid above it and on top of a blanket sat a tiny looking girl with long dark hair and wide terrified eyes. Holly let out the breath she had held and felt her body relax a little as she stared at her frightened daughter, "Isabella," she gasped expecting the child to run into her arms.

But instead she backed up against the wall and hugged her knees as she sobbed, "Who…who's…the…there?" Realising that she was still wearing the invisibility cloak Holly quickly discarded it and as she came into view the little girl jumped from the bed and ran headlong towards her. "Mummy," she cried when she reached her arms and Holly lifted her up into a tight hug and rocked her from side to side as they both cried. "Oh Mummy, I was so scared," she gasped through her tears.

"I know Darling, I know," she crooned as she stroked her hair and squeezed her tightly, "I was so scared for you."

"Mummy I'll never, never go to the gate again; I'll never… I'm so…sorry," she could barely speak through her sobs but Holly continued to rock her gently.

"I doesn't matter now," she whispered, "everything's going to be alright, I promise," and they stood for a few moments longer crying and holding one another until Holly realised she still had to get the child out. Lifting the deluminator up in her hand she prepared to click the top and get them away but her heart felt heavy and though she had promised to leave straight away she could not leave her husband behind. "Listen sweetheart," she said dropping the child back to her feet, "we have to go and find Daddy and then we can get away from here."

"Dad…daddy's here?" she croaked not expecting her parents to be together.

"Of course he is," she replied stroking back her messy hair, "he's out there; but we have to find him. Now listen I want you to stay really close to me and we're going to hide under this cloak," she started to explain, "it's Granddad Potter's invisibility cloak, "do you remember it?" The bewildered girl nodded her head as Holly went on, "Now you have to stay close so we can both hide under it and then no one will be able to see us."

Still holding the deluminator in one hand and grabbing her daughter's hand with the other Holly set off out of the room and back down the corridor stealthily keeping close to the wall and finding their way in the darkness. When they reached the steps where Holly and James had entered the building she paused and looked down the other end of the passage; without her wand light she could see nothing but knew they had to keep going in order to find James so they continued slowly along the stone floored passage.

They had only taken a few steps when a feint greenish glow caught their eye a little further ahead but afraid to make a noise and alert anyone to their presence Holly continued to lead their little girl down to the glow. As they approached she gasped loudly and stopped so the child walked into her legs; seeing the greenish glow now right in front of them and its source clearly on display Isabella peered curiously at the floor and then bent down to pick it up, "Mummy, what is it?" she asked looking up at her as Holly dropped the cloak.

However in the darkness she could not see the look of abject terror on her mother's face as she answered in a cracked whisper, "It's Daddy's wand."