AN: The next three chapters are pretty epic. There is going to be a lot going on but I assure you that everything has its place in the overall story. I hope that you enjoy the chapter. As always, reviews are highly appreciated. I still don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 6

"Crucio," cried Bellatrix Lestrange. The target of her spell, the wand maker Ollivander, cried out in pain from the pain caused by the torture curse and slumped to the floor of the grand reading room in the Malfoy Manor. "You dare you try to conceal information from the Dark Lord! As if anyone, as pathetic as you are, could stand in his way."

"Bellatrix, perhaps it is time for this has-been to be returned to his cell," Lucius Malfoy interrupted. "Until the Dark Lord returns, we cannot be sure that the fool has served his purpose. If you break him before our master returns then he will surely be most displeased."

As soon as the words had left Lucius' mouth, Bellatrix whirled about to point her wand at the head of the Malfoy house. "Do not presume that you can tell me what our master would want, Lucius. I have always been his most trusted and valued servant. Even when those with less devotion had forsaken him, claiming only to have served him because they were too weak to throw off the Imperius curse, my loyalty was never a question. Can you say the same?"

"The Dark Lord's return was both joyous and terrible for me, Bellatrix. His anger knew no equal when he learned how so many of his loyal followers escaped death or imprisonment. His punishment for claiming to be under the Imperius was terrible; in order to return to his side, we had to accept his blood which makes refusing his Imperius demands impossible," Lucius had walked to the book shelf closest to Bellatrix as he was speaking. "If the Dark Lord wished, he could turn any of those who had claimed that excuse into puppets with no free will what-so-ever. They would be enforcers of his will but without a will of their own. Accepting this was enough for the Dark Lord, I expect that it is enough for you."

Bellatrix was about to reply when she saw a silvery Patronus version of a creature that she could not identify. "Lucius, it would appear that you have a message."

The Patronus drifted to the book shelf that Lucius was standing beside. The voice of Xenophilius Lovegood was heard, although none present could see a visible mouth on the strange Patronus. "I have him. Potter is at my house. Bring Luna and he's yours!"

Lucius regarded Bellatrix. "If he was able to summon a Patronus then it is possible that he did, indeed, manage to capture Potter. However, a man like Xenophilius Lovegood could easily have deluded himself into thinking that by sending a Patronus we would be more inclined to negotiate. I'll take Yaxley, Nott, and Avery with me to teach Xenophilius a lesson about respecting his superiors."

Malfoy left the grand reading room before Bellatrix had the chance to voice her disagreements. "You three, look sharp. We have to pay our dear friend Xenophilius a visit."

Harry and Hermione had both been shocked into silence by Xenophilius Lovegood's Patronus representation. They did not have much time to contemplate the strangely formed Patronus before there was a series of popping sounds outside and the door was thrown open. Lucius Malfoy was the first to step through the door, followed quickly by three other Death Eaters in full regalia. As Harry and Hermione expected Lucius was the first to speak.

"Xenophilius, I do hope that you haven't called us here to beg. You know what you must do in order to win your daughter's freedom. If you have not actually found Potter, as you claimed in your Patronus message, then both you and your daughter will face the Dark Lord's wrath."

"Lucius, I assure you that there will be no need for that. You can verify that it's Potter for yourself; I have him in the kitchen," Lovegood indicated that Malfoy should join him as he gestured from the door to the kitchen with his free hand.

Malfoy and his three comrades made their way into the kitchen and Malfoy let out a gasp when he saw that Xenophilius indeed had someone who appeared to be Harry Potter in the kitchen. Lucius had a smirk on his face as he raised his arm contemplating how his master would reward him for capturing Harry Potter. That was the last thought he had before he was hit with a jet of red light causing his world to fade to black as he slumped to the ground.

The other Death Eaters were confused; their leader had just been struck down and, before they could react, another Death Eater was struck by a red-jet of light and fell to the ground. The remaining two had since gathered their wits and were not going to be taken down without a fight. The first managed to conjure a shield that was able to withstand the combined brunt of Hermione's and Xenophilius' second stunners. The other Death Eater rolled into the kitchen while magically flipping the table onto its side to provide him with a barrier against the onslaught of spells.

Although the Death Eaters had been caught off guard, as veterans of countless battles they quickly regained their composure. The Death Eater who had dove into the kitchen aimed his wand at Xenophilius as he yelled, "Expulso."

In his Imperius-induced state, lacking further instruction, Xenophiliius was chanting "Reducto," while sending a barrage of Reductor curses at the Death Eater who had conjured a shield from the center of the room; he had not sought cover. His barrage of spells had been able prevent that Death Eater from casting many offensive spells; unfortunately, it also prevented Xenophilius from seeing the other Death Eater's spell racing toward him. When the spell made contact with Xenophilius' left arm there was a small explosion that sent a blood-red mist into the air. With a gasp Xenophilius fell to the ground.

At the same time, Harry, who had edged into the living room and was using the couch as a make-shift barrier realized that the disarming spell should still be effective against a shield and cast Expelliarmus charm against the other Death Eater. The Death Eater must have cast a sticking charm to the shield to prevent him from dropping it and making him an easy target because when the shield went flying into the wall behind him the Death Eater's body followed. The Death Eater twitched several times on the ground before he stopped moving. To be safe, Harry shot a stunner at his downed opponent before turning his attention to the remaining Death Eater.

By this time, Hermione's cover had been blown. The Death Eater who had sheltered behind the table had seen the jets of spells coming from the far side of the fireplace. Since he couldn't find the source of the spells, he sent blasting curses at the fireplace hoping that the debris would help him find his invisible opponent. When he saw the other remaining Death Eater go down he realized that if he could succeed where his fellow Death Eaters had failed then his lord would reward him beyond all others. This put a new intensity into the spell casting of the remaining Death Eater.

Hermione realized that the spells her foe had been sending at the fireplace had reduced her defensive barrier to a pile of rubble. She needed to move; otherwise she would be in very real danger of being injured by the same fireplace that had once protected her. Casting a Leviosa charm she levitated the table that the Death Eater had been taking cover into his line of sight. By doing this, Hermione was able to accomplish two things. First, the Death Eater's spell ended up destroying the table that he had been sheltering behind. Second, Hermione was given the window that she needed to leave her previous sanctuary and advance upon the unsuspecting Death Eater.

After destroying the table that had been providing him with protection the Death Eater needed to act fast. Harry's attention was now also upon the Death Eater and his rapid spell casting kept the Death Eater on the defensive. Thus Hermione was able to slip closer and drop him with a simple stunner at close range.

Harry and Hermione shared a quick look before their eyes began to roam over the chaotic scene that consisted of the Lovegood living room and kitchen. The kitchen was completely devastated; the spells of Harry, Hermione, Xenophilius, and the Death Eaters had reduced the Kitchen to rubble. What was left of the table had lodged into the wall. The cabinets had either fallen or were hanging at odd angles. Silverware and bits of china had been strewn about the floor. In the midst of all the mayhem was Xenophilius Lovegood. Harry and Hermione immediately rushed to their fallen comrade in order to assess the severity of his injuries; Xenophilius was only just hanging onto his consciousness.

"Quick, Hermione," Harry shouted. "We need to do something, Mr. Lovegood is seriously hurt."

"I have some Essence of Dittany in my bag," Hermione replied, distracted as she rummaged through her bag. Eventually she got frustrated and resorted to a summoning spell. "Here it is, lay him out so I can pour it on his injury."

Harry obliged and laid Xenophilius out as Hermione hovered above with the potion vial. "Are you sure that's going to work?" Harry asked as Hermione poured the contents of the small vial onto the stump that had formerly connected Xenophilius' arm to his body. There was a glow as the potion reconnected the skin and closed the wound. When the glowing had stopped, Xenophilius' breathing had returned to a normal rate. "There is no way that he will be up and around any time soon."

"Luckily it was not his wand arm," Hermione responded while turning her gaze to the fallen Death Eaters. "He will be able to fend for himself when he wakes up. Now we have to figure out what to do with them."

"We still have to save Luna. I have an idea, but I know that you won't like it." Harry replied with a contemplative look. "Even though Mr. Lovegood got hurt, we were able to figure out about the deathly hallows. Under the Imperius curse, Mr. Lovegood opened the door to Malfoy manner."

Hermione gasped, "Harry! There will definitely be wards around Malfoy manner. I've studied Ancient Runes and Arithmancy but there is no way that I could get us into a place like that. It would be like breaking into Grimmauld Place!"

"Calm down, Hermione." Harry said as he saw Hermione starting to get going. "We can use the exact same scheme that we just used with Mr. Lovegood, except, instead of getting information; we'll have Malfoy to take us to Luna so that we can free her. The only difference will be that instead of having one extra wand on our side we will have four."

"Harry, using the Imperius is an incredibly involved experience. There were times, during the fight, when I felt Mr. Lovegood slipping from my hold. If we put these four under the Imperius curse then it would be even more difficult to maintain the concentration required to keep them under control. If we were to lose control of them at Malfoy manor then at best we would end up captured; I don't even want to contemplate the worst-case scenario." Hermione said with a shudder.

"We have to do something, those stunning spells will only keep them unconscious for so long. After everything we just went through, we can't afford to have them run back to their master and tell him what happened here," Harry said, attempting to justify himself. "Everything has been moving so fast recently; I think this is what we need to do and I believe I know of a way that will make everything work out."

"Harry, this has to be the single most hare-brained thing that you have ever wanted us to do," Hermione's reluctance was evident in her voice. "We have been through more in the last two days than most people would go through in years. Just tell me that everything will be ok in the end, I need to hear you say it."

"Hermione, I don't know what the future will bring but I do know that we have to rescue Luna," Harry replied, hoping that Hermione wouldn't catch onto the fact that he was trying to avoid answering her question. "I will always do everything in my power to keep you safe. This is a dangerous mission, but I don't think we will get a better chance to succeed than we have right now."

Lucius Malfoy and the other Death Eaters were beginning to stir as Harry finished talking. Looking at Hermione one last time, Harry made his way through the rubble to Lucius Malfoy. Standing above the fallen Death Eater, Harry aimed his wand and cast the Imperius curse on Lucius Malfoy.