Harry Potter and the Cult of Shadows

by chadsgirl824

AFTER HOGWARTS Harry now works at Hogwarts and has his hands full as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor. But Voldemort's fate is still a mystery and dark forces are closer than anyone imagines. Written before OotP

15. Chapter 15

A short while later, Harry finally reached the other end of the passage, and stepped silently out from behind the statue of the one-eyed witch, just near the Gryffindor tower. Once in the light again, he could see the ends of his hair hanging in front of his eyes, it was back to normal again. He glanced around nervously, not having any idea what to expect, but was relieved to find the hallway entirely deserted.

Moving as quickly as possible, Harry started down the corridor, intending on going directly to Minerva. He made it to the stairway and quickly went up the steps; finally reaching the floor which McGonagall was on, only to run straight into two men in ministry robes. Inhaling sharply, Harry ducked back into the stairway as they both raised their wands, and he felt the wind as the curses flew past him.

Readying his own wand, Harry fired a stunning charm directly at the first man through the door, who proceeded to fall limply backwards on top of the second man, giving Harry time to stun him as well.

As he stepped over the unmoving bodies, however, he heard a voice from behind him, and had only just begun to turn around, when he felt something hard slam into his gut. Harry sprawled backwards, his head connecting painfully with the stone railing surrounding the stairway platform, but could do nothing to ease the pain as his legs immediately clamped together, and his arms went stiff at his sides.

The guard who had shot him moved steadily up the rest of the stairs, coming to a halt at Harry's side and glaring down at him.

"Well wasn't that easy…time to go to jail, murderer," the man stated icily, proceeding to lift his wand again. Harry couldn't so much as utter a sound, and watched fearfully as the wand was aimed at his chest, presumably to levitate him from the floor, when suddenly a large shadow splayed across the wall, and the guard's expression went abruptly slack. Harry saw the man's eyes roll up in his head, and could do nothing to get out of the way, as the guard collapsed forward, landing on top of him.

It was only half a second before the weight was lifted, however, and Harry would have laughed with relief, as he saw Hagrid come into view.

"Yeh alrigh' there 'arry?" Hagrid asked, concernedly, waiting for a moment as if he expected Harry to answer, before realization finally dawned on his features, and he reached down for the nearest wand that had been dropped. After fiddling with it for half a minute, Hagrid finally managed to partially release Harry from the body-bind, but just enough so that Harry could do the rest.

"Thank you Hagrid," he said gratefully, scrambling to his feet beside the larger man. "Where's Minerva?"

"In 'er office with the others," Hagrid replied, "I was jes goin' there m'self when I saw this oaf attack yeh," he said, glaring down at the unconscious guard. "They ain't s'posed teh do it tha' way."

"What way?" Harry asked as the two removed the guards from the stairs, laying them just inside the doorway that led to the hall and starting for the head office. "And what others…is Sirius back?" Harry asked eagerly, wondering if there was any word on Mel.

"Pr'fssor McGonagall will explain it teh yeh," Hagrid said quietly, as they had reached the stone statue.

Harry looked at him, confused, but as the gargoyle slid aside, he quickly made his way upstairs.

Stepping into the office, Harry saw not only McGonagall, but Sirius, Ron and Snape as well.

"You left," Sirius said at once, the moment he spotted Harry.

"You didn't give me much choice," Harry shot back, feeling fresh anger beginning to simmer in his gut.

Sirius shook his head, and crossed slowly to his godson, no one else speaking a word as they watched.

"It was for your own good, Harry…"

"No Sirius, it was because you were scared," Harry said crisply, and rushing on. "Well I am too, alright? But I'm not going to let that stop me from doing what I have to…no matter what you may think is best for me."

"Harry…" Sirius began.

"Did you find anything out about Mel?" Harry interrupted quickly. "Do we know where she is?"

"No," Ron answered for him, quietly. "Whoever took her didn't leave any trace of where they went…but my dad is still out with several other ministers, looking."

"We came here as soon as we heard the news," Sirius added, darkly. "Seems you took a trip to the ministry this evening."

"It was my only way out," Harry said evenly.

"Well your only way out now has you accused of murder and nearly half the wizarding world looking for you…Thurston has guards in the school, on the streets…and did you know there's a reward?"

"What?" Harry asked, shocked. "For what, exactly?"

"For bringing you in," Sirius replied dismally. "Care to tell us how you ended up on the run?"

"We have to check on Hadley first," Harry said at once, remembering his whole reason for coming here. "Adrik wants her dead…"

"Why?" Snape asked then, his eyes narrowing.

"I don't know," Harry said quietly. "But she isn't safe…"

"Hagrid," Minerva spoke up at once, "Will you please go down to the Slytherin dorm and bring Miss Thurnes up here immediately?"

"Yes, o'course pr'fssor," Hagrid nodded quickly, before quietly exiting the office.

"Mr. Potter," Minerva went on then, "Please explain…why did I have to allow guards into my school for murders which we know you did not commit?"

Harry wasted no time, and as quickly as possible, told them everything. Everything that happened from the moment he'd left the school until the moment he'd entered this office. The vrid, the talk with Thurston, escaping with Draco, meeting with Hermione and how he was separated from both of them before arriving here and making it to the office.

"I'm sorry Ron," Harry said immediately when he'd finished, seeing his friend had gone pale after he'd told of where he left Hermione. "I didn't want to leave her…"

Ron nodded faintly, but didn't look comforted in the least.

"It was only two of them…right?" he asked quietly. "You're positive it was only two?"

"That's right," Harry nodded. "Only two."

"She'll be fine," Ron nodded weakly, sounding as if he were trying to convince himself of this fact, and looking down at the floor. Harry wished he could say something more to help his friend feel better…but he had doubts, himself…

"What about the vrid?" Sirius spoke up then. "Do you still have it?"

"Right here," Harry replied, sliding the tiny object out of his pocket and holding it up. "Though I have no idea how to get it to someone that will be able to help," he said, letting Sirius examine it before taking it back, and slipping it again into his pocket.

"Well at least we have proof…we'll get both your and Dumbledore's names cleared in no time," Sirius stated evenly. "We'll also need to get someone to Nabakza soon. Thurston will more than likely want Dumbledore out of the way, and I doubt he'll wait long to do it."

"So what do we do first?" Ron asked.

"We also have to find a safe place for you, Harry, it's dangerous for you to stay at the school," Minerva said quickly, looking at him, regretfully. "There are too many people here looking you…and while we'll do whatever it takes to keep them from you…I can't refuse them entry."

"But he didn't do anything," Sirius said quickly.

"He is accused of murder, Sirius. If we try to refuse the entry of the ministry guards, we will only be asking for worse. They will force their way in if they believe we're hiding Harry, and there will be quite a few more than there are now."

Sirius opened his mouth to argue, but Harry spoke up first.

"It's alright Sirius…I wasn't planning on staying anyway. I have to look for Mel…I just wanted to make sure Hadley was kept safe…" he trailed off, glancing towards the clock, surprised to see almost an hour had passed since he arrived.

"Does anyone else feel Mr. Hagrid has been gone for far too long?" Snape asked then, his voice grim and even.

"Something's happened," Harry said with dreaded certainty. "We have to get down there!"

"No, you wait here," Sirius said, immediately, receiving a look of utter exasperation from his godson, but before Harry could argue, he rushed on. "It will be much harder to help Hadley if we have to worry about watching after you as well…please just do as I'm asking."

"Do you honestly think this office is any safer than the rest of the school at this point?" Harry asked stiffly.

Sirius only stared evenly back at Harry, who finally gave in…if only to keep his godfather from locking him up somewhere else.

"Fine, I'll stay…but if you're taking too long, I'm coming after you," he said determinedly. "I'll tell you that right now."

Sirius made no reply to this, but the look in his eyes clearly showed he believed that would not be happening, before crossing to the door, where Snape was already waiting. Ron followed, promising Harry they wouldn't be long, leaving only Minerva behind, to wait with.

"You're not going as well?" Harry asked, somewhat glad to not have been left alone.

"Someone has to make sure you don't get yourself into trouble again," Minerva replied with a smirk.

Under different circumstances, Harry might have laughed at that statement, but right now, he was feeling only tension and worry.

"You haven't heard from Troy, by any chance, have you?" Harry asked hopefully, but McGonagall only shook her head faintly.

"Nothing yet," she replied seriously, "but he said it could take a while, so until then…no news is good news."

Harry nodded, not entirely agreeing in this particular case, but feeling it was pointless to worry about it just yet. Lowering himself into a chair, he thought back over the last few hours. It had been a very long night…and the end didn't seem to be in sight.

As he was going over everything in his mind, however, Harry sat forward in his seat with a jolt, suddenly remembering the incident just after he found Hadley and Devon.

"Minerva," he began urgently, "earlier this evening, when I was first coming to see you, I saw something, but I couldn't make it out clearly…only that it was a large, bright silver light…it flew through the walls near the Gryffindor Tower…nearly knocked me over."

McGonagall looked at him, her brow furrowed in confusion, before speaking.

"You mean it was attacking you?"

"No, nothing like that," Harry said immediately. "Well, I don't think so, anyway. I think it was just passing through. Do you have any idea what it could have been?"

McGonagall shook her head faintly; looking very worried over the news Harry was giving her.

"Not with only that to go on, I'm afraid I don't…" she began, when another voice suddenly cut her off.

"I, however, can answer that question for you."

Harry's blood turned to ice as he immediately recognized the new voice. He thrust his hand into his robes for the wand, only to feel it slip past his fingers, up over the chair, and into the waiting hand of Adrik Lestrange.

"Please forgive my intrusion," Adrik said politely, as Harry jumped from his seat and spun around, seeing the death eater slipping the wand into his pocket "I couldn't help but overhear your discussion…and thought I might shed some light on the subject…" he trailed off, looking in Minerva's direction and nodding. Harry started to turn, wondering why the head mistress had done nothing yet to attack Adrik, as he'd seen the death eater take only his wand, but the sight that met his eyes caused his stomach to flip.

It was no longer Minerva standing near the desk; it was a shapeshifter. Harry followed the dark-robed being, as it crossed the office slowly. Adrik whispered to it briefly, before it nodded, and left the office.

"Where is Minerva?" Harry asked sharply, his eyes flashing. "What have you done with her?"

"She's perfectly alright," Adrik said quickly, "She and the other professors are all safe and sound in the dungeons. I and several of my comrades had to come straight here, you see, after your escape from the ministry…and as none of your friends even knew you were gone yet…nor did they know of our arrival…it was rather easy to round them all up. Your godfather and that Weasley fellow will be joining them shortly…the other shapeshifter will see that they're led into an ambush, leaving you without anyone left to call on for help…"

"Other shapeshifter…what do you…?"

"That wasn't the real Severus Snape you were speaking with only moments ago…couldn't you tell?"

"And Hagrid?" Harry asked stiffly, realizing now, that Snape had been acting odd…and that he'd also been the one to point out how long Hagrid was taking, which was why everyone had left him alone with McGonagall. "Was he a shapeshifter too?"

"No, that was indeed him, the stupid oaf…he helped you escape from the guards…though he's now taken care of as well…" he trailed off, grinning.

"You've been watching me this whole time?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Since you reached the stairway, yes," Adrik grinned.

"How did you get in?" Harry asked crisply, wondering how the death eaters managed to surprise all of the other professors.

"Through your office," Adrik replied pleasantly, finally stepping slowly into the room, his crookedly, sewn-shut eyelids falling directly on Harry. He came to a halt on the opposite side of the chair, and remained there, before continuing. "That information you gave Thurston was most helpful, I do thank you for it."

"Why?" Harry asked quietly. "Why bring my friends into this? This doesn't concern them."

"Harry, the most important thing to remember in any battle is that it's never good to leave enemies alive," Adrik said slowly, pausing for a brief moment, as a look of horror spread over Harry's face, and continuing. "Besides, I'm sure they wouldn't simply hand you over to me…and I can't have them disrupting all my careful planning, now can I?" he chuckled, as if he'd said something quite funny, before going on. "We knew you'd end up back here soon enough…if the guards in Hogsmeade didn't catch you first, anyway. But you made it, just as I expected you would," he grinned, looking almost proud for a moment, before continuing on. "Ah look, I've gotten us far off topic, haven't I? I believe you were asking about the silver light, correct?"

Harry just glared at him, unmoving…he wondered, at the mention of Hogsmeade, what had become of Draco and Hermione, but he didn't want to say anything in front of Adrik. In the event they'd managed to escape, he didn't want to bring this to the death eater's attention and risk him sending someone after them.

"Gone quiet have you?" Adrik asked tauntingly, when Harry made no reply. "Well then, I'll just explain it to you, while we wait. You see…whenever two ghosts clash…and I mean physically clash, they merge in a sense…becoming exactly what you witnessed in the hallway near the Gryffindor tower. A ball of energy. It remains that way, until the fight is over…during this time, however, they have no control over their movements, and that is what you witnessed in the hall, when it nearly collided with you."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, confused. "None of the ghosts here fight like that…"

"This is true," Adrik smiled, darkly. "But one of the ghosts involved isn't from here…" he trailed off, reaching into his pockets and extracting a small vile. He smirked at it, looking satisfied, before tossing it perfectly to Harry.

Reacting instantly, Harry easily caught the vile, and began examining it warily. It looked to be filled with some sort of gray, smoky matter…

"What is it?" he asked at last, not entirely sure he wanted to know.

"The correct question would be, 'who was it?'" Adrik sneered. "And the answer is, the Bloody Baron. Careful not to spill any…he stains…" he trailed off, chuckling to himself.

Harry's eyes widened in horror and his jaw dropped at once.

"What did you do to him?" he asked, feeling suddenly sickened.

"I had no part in what was done, unfortunately," Adrik said with a hint of disappointment. "Though I would've loved to have seen it happen. He's been terminated," he explained, "as close as one gets to killing a ghost, though they cannot die, obviously…but that one will never again be snooping around where he isn't wanted now, will he…he's lost his human form, permanently."

"How…?" Harry whispered. "Who was he fighting with?"

"An old friend of yours," Adrik grinned darkly. "He's here somewhere…aren't you, Peter?"

Harry felt his breath catch in his throat upon hearing the name.

"You…you can't mean…" he stammered, hesitantly.

"Come on then, Pettigrew, show yourself," Adrik prompted, a hint of impatience in his tone.

Harry had no voice left to express his complete and utter surprise, as the reluctant form of Wormtail appeared just behind Adrik. The balding, thickset ghost was keeping his eyes on the floor, not daring to look in Harry's direction, and suddenly it was all clear. This was who had been hiding in his office…and spying on him all year. Harry could feel a burning anger building up within him.

"What's the matter Pettigrew?" Adrik asked, tauntingly and it was completely obvious to Harry just by hearing the death eater's tone, how deeply he loathed Wormtail. It was probably the only thing he and Harry agreed on. "Frightened of Mr. Potter, are you? He isn't even armed…"

Wormtail remained ever silent, and Harry finally was able to pry his eyes away from the ghost and back to the vile in his hands.

"It doesn't make sense," he said evenly, finding his voice again. "How could Wormtail defeat the Bloody Baron?" he asked, thinking the feeble ghost would never have been able to defeat such a powerful ghost…he doubted even the Grey Lady would have trouble in a fight with Peter.

"Oh, you're quite right," Adrik replied gleefully. "He was losing terribly. It was only by chance that another of our spies happened to see what was happening…and came to his aid…" he trailed off, chuckling snidely, before speaking again, with harsh insistence. "Now go, Peter, make yourself useful. Tell the others we've been waiting."

Harry watched for a long moment as Wormtail glared hatefully at Adrik, but didn't speak a word against him. Instead, he turned silently in the air, and floated towards the door, vanishing from sight before he even reached it.

"Good," Adrik muttered as soon as Peter was gone, not having so much as turned his head away from Harry's the entire time, before another smile touched his lips. "Not much longer Potter."

"Who's coming?" Harry asked quickly.

"You'll see when they get here," Adrik said evenly.

"Are they the other spies?" Harry said quietly.

"Of course they are," Adrik replied as if it were obvious. "Everything is going along as planned…the only thing left is to collect the children, and be on our way."

"The children," Harry repeated darkly. "Would one of them be Hadley?"

"One of them would," Adrik nodded. "She's been giving us a bit of trouble though, that one. We've yet to find her. However, there's only so many places she can hide "he trailed off, smiling wickedly

"You said children," Harry stated icily, "Who else?"

"You'll see."

"What about Mel?" Harry asked finally, forcing calmness into his tone for the question that had been running through his mind since Adrik had first entered the room. "What do you want with her?"

Adrik smiled then, in such a manner that it made Harry's stomach turn.

"Melanie, yes…she is quite important to all of this," Adrik said with what could only be affection in his tone. "I was quite pleased with how well everything turned out…you made it much easier on us, thank you," he said, sounding entirely sincere.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked through clenched teeth, his hands balled into tight fists at his sides.

"It's not my place to say, unfortunately," Adrik sighed, disappointedly. "But perhaps my lord will wish to explain it to you before we part ways."

"Voldemort?" Harry asked, his eyes going wide. "He's here?"

Adrik only smiled in reply, tauntingly.

Harry glanced around instinctively…he had to get out of here…he had to free his friends…and he had to find Mel.

"You may as well just relax, Harry," Adrik's voice broke through his thoughts, and Harry turned to find the death eater's wand pointing directly at him. "There's no way out this time, so you can stop looking for one. In a few moments we'll be on our way…we have much to do, after all…"

"Like what?" Harry spat.

Adrik snickered to himself as if Harry had said something quite funny, before shaking his head, but his wand remained as steady as ever.

"Like giving the vrid in your pocket to Mr. Thurston…and making sure Dumbledore has an unfortunate accident in Nabakza before he can be freed, now that the wonderful announcement all over the news has been heard by all, proving him innocent…and you guilty of the murders. Then, once we've made it look as though you were, regrettably, killed during your escape attempt…we'll bring you back to the Shadow Walkers."

"Why is it so important that you give me to them?" Harry asked, his eyes narrowing in confusion. "Why are you bothering to go through all this trouble…you could kill me yourself right now…" he said warily, somewhat regretting that he had even pointed that fact out.

"Harry I could've killed you over a dozen times throughout the year," Adrik stated impatiently, "starting with the night in the dark forest. I didn't, however, because I needed someone to occupy the cult…and to keep them off of our trail. They want blood, you see, and they're going to take it from whoever stole their Orb. Without it, they're as good as dead…so they'll do the same to the person who did this to them. That was the reason for putting their mark on your wrist…it completed the deception," he stated, proudly.

"Did you also do something to make them believe I was Jared?" Harry asked stiffly.

"No," Adrik stated simply. "You did that yourself."

Harry's brow furrowed in confusion.

"How…?" he asked, uncertainly.

"I was never told exactly how," Adrik said, sounding slightly perturbed over that fact.

"The cult will realize it wasn't me, you know," Harry said, careful not to mention Troy. "Sooner or later, they'll know the truth…and then they'll come after you…"

"Let them try," Adrik replied with a laugh. "After tonight, they'll never be able to track the true thief again…for I assure you, it was not I who went into their village…only someone who is, or who used to be a Shadow Walker can even step into the protective shield they keep over the temple of the Orb…everyone else will die if they try."

"Then who took it?" Harry asked, knowing what Adrik was saying was true. He could still remember the feeling that came over him when Castor had pulled him into the temple for the first time…he had nearly suffocated.

"You'll see," Adrik replied, smirking.

Harry shook his head, sighing, inaudibly, in frustration. He turned away from Adrik, searching the office frantically for anything he might use…but there was nothing. Books, shelves, parchment…harmless, everyday items. Minerva, of course, kept anything dangerous hidden or locked away, and even if Harry knew where any of it was, he doubted he could reach it in time, before Adrik saw him…

How is he seeing me though? he thought suddenly. Harry knew that Adrik could use the eyes of anyone else to see through…but was anyone else in the room?

"Done searching?" Adrik's voice broke through his thoughts, a condescending sneer on his face. "I told you, there's no way out."

Harry didn't reply, and turned quickly to the other side of the office, scanning it intently…but it looked as though he and Adrik were alone…which meant Adrik was only using Harry's eyes. It didn't sound right, but it had to be…there was no one else there. Adrik was seeing only what Harry saw…which meant he only knew where Harry was, by what he was looking at…

Harry turned to glance over the office again, feeling a glimmer of hope, which he used to force down the panic that had been steadily building within him…as Adrik had said, others were coming, he didn't know how much time was left. However, he had to be absolutely certain of his surroundings for this to work, but not be so obvious that Adrik figured out what he was up to.

Looking carefully at the area nearest him, Harry saw only one table between he and the wall to his right, and from there he only had to get around the edge of a large armchair. After that, it was clear all the way up to the door.

Harry continued on looking past the exit from the office, scanning the opposite side of the room, pretending as if he were still searching, and listening as Adrik laughed quietly at his actions.

"You never give up, do you?" the death eater asked, his tone clearly relaying what a waste of time he considered Harry's efforts to be.

Harry didn't reply, and stepped slowly back, away from the chair he was standing near, as Adrik was still directly on the opposite side of it. With one last glance over the route he had to take, Harry looked quickly away, directing his gaze towards his feet, and with sudden determination; it was now or never, he shut his eyes.

For a moment, Harry remained perfectly still, waiting, before finally he began to step slowly to his right, trying to picture how far it would be before he reached the table.

"Aren't you the clever one?" Adrik's voice floated through the air, mixed with amusement and annoyance. Harry made no reply, he just concentrated on keeping his eyes shut, it was harder than he thought.

"Come off it, Harry," Adrik tried again. "If you step outside this room, you're walking into a world of people who'll curse you on sight. The school is filled with guards looking for you. Lilith is here as well…there's no where for you to go."

Again, Harry remained silent, forcing himself to take small steps, and after just over a minute, which felt like ages, he finally felt the edge of the table as his shins brushed against it.

"I can hear you," Adrik whispered, and Harry fought off the urge to open his eyes. It was utterly nerve-racking not knowing where exactly the death eater was…and where his wand was aiming. "How does it feel, Harry? Surrounded in complete darkness, not knowing where anything is? Not knowing who's watching you…I hope you know exactly where you're going…because it won't take much more noise than you're already making for me to find you…"

Harry could feel a light sweat breaking out on his brow, but didn't bother wiping it away. He simply kept his eyes shut firmly, seeing spots swirling against the underside of his eyelids from the pressure, and felt his way around the table.

Upon reaching the wall, Harry quickly moved alongside it, hand over hand, and misjudged the length of space before the chair in his path rushed up to meet him. He winced more from the surprise of the sudden contact rather than in pain, as he rubbed instinctively at his hip, when a sudden noise caused his breath to catch in his throat.

The air in front of Harry's face became hot for a split second, as something rushed by, before it crashed into the wall beside him, and he put a hand up to shield his face, from the bits of the curse that rained back at him. He knew at once what had happened; Adrik had heard him hit the chair, and tried to stun him…he'd missed by less than an inch.

"Stupefy!" the death eater's voice called out again, and this time Harry ducked, as the rush of heat passed by over his head, directly through the space in which he'd been standing. He had to use every last ounce of concentration and strength to stop his eyes from doing what they so badly wanted to do…he couldn't open them. He also couldn't remain where he was, however, as Adrik obviously wasn't going to give up, and continued to attempt to stun him.

Feeling around blindly, Harry took hold of the legs of the chair, and slid only the slightest bit away, staying on his knees until he was past, and praying the curses that continued to zoom by wouldn't hit him. When he could no longer feel the chair nearby, Harry stood up as silently as possible, and remained still as the curses finally stopped.

"I know you're still there," Adrik said finally, now sounding entirely impatient. "I didn't hear you fall…"

Breathing quickly, his heart racing in his chest, Harry inched forward in the direction he hoped the door would be. The seconds ticked by slowly; and Harry knew Adrik's silence could only mean the death eater was now concentrating only on finding him by any noise he might make, and that thought was enough to send a chill down his spine. But no sooner had the thought gone through his head then his fingers brushed the wall, and he only had to take two steps to his left, before his hand found the door.

Pausing for a moment, fighting the urge to simply wrench it open and try to run, as the moment his eyes opened this game would end, Harry lifted his right hand back towards the wall he'd just passed, feeling around cautiously. There was a shelf nearby, he remembered, just before the door, and it wasn't long before his fingers nearly knocked over what felt like a small, glass figurine of some sort.

Grasping the item tightly, Harry turned and threw it, hard, back in the direction he'd come from, hoping Adrik would assume he hadn't made it as far as the door yet. The moment the sound of the breaking glass touched his ears, Adrik's voice followed, and Harry didn't waste any time. He opened the door and slipped out into the cool stairway, but didn't feel any relief. He knew Adrik would realize immediately that he'd sent his curse off in the wrong direction…and while it may take a moment for him to find the door…it would not be impossible for the death eater to follow.

Opening his eyes at long last, Harry barely waited for his vision to focus on the dim stairway before starting down. He raced to the backside of the gargoyle statue and watched it swing aside, fearing that at any second he would hear the sound of the office door opening, though he never did. The moment the statue was out of his way, he flew into the hallway, and straight into the path of Oren Alcott.

For a brief moment that seemed to slow down as it happened, the two stared in shock, neither having expected to run into the other at that moment. Harry saw at once that Oren had a student with him, and he was surprised to see Devon standing at the death eater's side his eyes wide with alarm, but as Oren's hand suddenly plunged into his robes, Harry felt time rushing back to him. He wasn't going to let it happen this time, and having no wand or anything else to defend himself with, Harry did the only thing he could.

Drawing his right arm up and back in one fluid motion, he swung out hard, and caught a very shocked Oren on the left side of his jaw, knocking him off balance. The death eater staggered to the side, but Harry could see he'd managed to hold onto his wand, which was now grasped tightly in the man's right hand. Lunging forward, Harry tried to reach for it, but Oren was ready for that, and pulled the wand out of reach, just as the gargoyle statue began sliding open once more. Harry felt a wave of panic wash over him. Adrik had made it downstairs quicker than he'd expected…and closing his eyes wouldn't work this time, as there were other people around.

Having no time left, Harry did the only thing he could think of. He saw Oren straightening himself back up again, but didn't give him time to do anything more, as he reached out and took hold of the man's arm. Oren immediately started to pull away, as Adrik finally stepped out of the stairway. The gargoyle slowly began to slide shut again, and Harry didn't waste any time. Stepping back towards Adrik, Harry swung Oren around and knocked him into the blind death eater, sending both wizards sprawling into the stairway once more…seconds before the statue finally finished closing.

Breathing quickly, knowing it would barely take them half a minute to get out again, Harry turned, took hold of a very shocked looking Devon by the arm, and started to run.

"What's going on?" Devon asked after they'd made it down the first long corridor, sounding out of breath as Harry half pulled him along, forcing him to keep up.

"We have to get downstairs," Harry said at once, looking around wildly before continuing through the hall. He didn't want to bring Devon with him, but obviously Adrik wanted the boy for something, and Harry didn't feel safe leaving him someplace to wait. "I'll explain everything later."

They reached the stairs and after checking for guards…and anything else…Harry stepped forward onto the platform, taking Devon with him. They'd only made it down one flight, and had just begun on the next, however, when Harry heard an all too familiar groaning creak, and realized with dawning horror that the stairway had begun to move.

Unable to go back the way they'd come as they'd surely run into Adrik and Oren…and no longer able to take a direct route to the dungeon area, Harry and Devon made their way quickly down the rest of the stairway they were on, and stepped out onto the fourth floor.

After checking the hallway, the two of them started up the corridor, coming up to Harry's quarters on the left. He thought suddenly of his invisibility cloak…and the marauder's map. It ended up being a good thing that they'd been forced onto this floor after all.

"I just have to stop here for a second, Devon," Harry said hastily, coming to his office door. "There's something I-" he cut off suddenly as a bolt of light smashed into the wall between them, and they both looked up.

"Run!" Harry yelled, seeing two guards coming up the hall they'd just been through. Grabbing the boy's hand and forgetting about the items, as they now had no time, the two raced up the corridor, barely managing to dodge two more stunning spells before turning the corner at the end.

"Do you have your wand?" Harry asked hurriedly, looking eagerly down at the small boy.

"No…that man…he took it!" Devon said, worriedly.

Harry cursed under his breath as they passed the portrait of the fat lady in a blur, before skidding to an abrupt halt. Two more guards had stepped out from around the far corner, blocking their path.

Spinning around frantically, Harry felt his stomach flip…they were both unarmed, and trapped in the corridor, between the four guards who were closing in on them.

"Now what?" Devon whispered, glancing up and down the hallway, warily.

Harry looked at him, regretfully, before looking up at the nearer set of guards.

"Please, you have to listen to me," he began, imploringly. "All of the students are in danger! We have to get them out…the professors are locked in the dungeons and there are death eaters in the school!"

The guards made no reply, but a few of them snickered quietly.

"I swear I'm telling the truth," Harry said, trying not to panic as they grew closer, their wands all trained on him. "I won't try to run…I'll go wherever you want…just please help me save them first!"

"You'll go wherever we want either way," one of the guards spoke then, tightening the grip on his wand before steadying it on his target.

"Are you even listening?" Harry asked angrily. "There are death eaters here…in the school! All of the children are in danger!" he cried, feeling a growing sense of hopelessness filling him; he had no way out…and they didn't seem to believe him…

As the second set of guards reached him, triumphant sneers on their faces, Harry opened his mouth again, not willing to stop trying, when suddenly he heard two very familiar voices fill the air.

Glancing behind him just in time to see the first two guards' faces go slack, Harry watched them fall to the floor, and couldn't help but smile as he now saw Hermione and Ginny standing in the hall, near the portrait of the fat lady, wands out and ready. They had stunned the two men closer to them, and quickly shifted their aim towards the ones still standing.

Harry watched apprehensively, as the two guards shifted the aim of their own wands, but the witches had a head start, already having called out their spells. In seconds, the hall was littered with the still forms of the four guards.

"Harry, are you alright?" Ginny cried as she and Hermione raced across to him.

"I'm fine," Harry nodded gratefully. "Thank you."

"Where are the others?" Hermione asked hastily. "Have you found anyone?"

"Everyone's locked in the dungeons," Harry stated gravely. "Adrik, Oren, and Lilith are here…and so is Voldemort."

"Voldemort," Hermione repeated, her eyes widening. "But…?"

"We don't have time now," Harry said abruptly, looking towards Devon who had been standing in the same spot the whole time, remaining utterly silent as he looked on. "Adrik was after Devon," Harry continued, nodding towards the young boy. "He's after Hadley as well…we have to find her…and we have to free the others…they have all the professors…and Sirius and Ron."

Both girls' eyes went wide at hearing this, but Ginny was the first to speak, her eyes becoming almost steely with determination.

"We have to go then, right now," she said fiercely.

"Ginny," Harry began. "You shouldn't…"

"I'm coming Harry," Ginny said with a stubborn resolve. "Ron is my brother…and you need more than just one person with a wand. Give me detention, I don't care…you won't change my mind."

Harry looked at her for a brief moment, torn on what to do…

"Alright then," he said quietly. "Just swear you won't get hurt…" he trailed off, letting a tiny smile cross his face. "Or maybe I will give you detention," he joked, though inside, he was still worried.

Ginny started to smile, and opened her mouth to reply, when a sudden gasp from Hermione drew their attention to her.

"Skeins," she whispered fearfully, looking down past the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Ginny's eyes widened in fear as she followed Hermione's gaze, and let out a small, terrified cry. She'd never seen one until now. There were three of them, slinking quickly down the hall, their black, spider-like legs protruding from their back, and their white eyes gleaming in the dim hallway.

"Run," Harry managed to get out as he back-stepped down the hall, grabbing Devon as he went. The poor boy had to be in some form of shock…he wasn't speaking any longer…and his eyes were fixed on the large creatures.

Hermione and Ginny didn't need to be told twice as they quickly moved further up the hall as well, before finally turning and setting off into a dead run. The four of them made it to the corner as the Skeins were quickly closing the gap between them, when Hermione spun around abruptly, twirling her wand expertly through the air, and creating a temporary barrier only seconds before the Skeins reached them. The three spider-creatures slammed determinedly into the blockade, looking positively enraged as they repeatedly attempted to bring it down, but it did no good. They would have to wait it out, or find another way around.

"Good thinking," Harry grinned with relief.

"That'll give us a few minutes at least," Hermione said warily as they continued quickly down the corridor. "Let's just find the others…"

Harry looked at her for a long moment, the worry she felt for their friends, Ron especially, was etched on every line of her face, and he knew exactly how she felt.

"How did you get away?" he asked after a minute, as they kept up their hurried pace.

"In Hogsmeade, you mean?" she asked quickly, and he nodded. "The guards left…" she shrugged in confusion, her eyes narrowing. "I don't know what happened. I was dodging spells one minute, and the next, I saw them going back into the village…like they were called away or something. They just gave up. I'm assuming now it's because they were sent here…to the school, for you."

"What about Draco?" Harry asked. "Did you see what happened to him?"

Hermione shook her head slowly.

"I don't know," she said quietly. "I went back a little ways into the village…but I didn't see him anywhere…and I didn't know what was happening here, so finally I just left…" she trailed off, a hint of guilt in her eyes.

"I'm sure he's fine," Harry said then, wanting to reassure her, but now worried for Draco as well. He'd known they were going to the school…why wouldn't he come as well? If all the guards had been called off…

"I looked for nearly an hour though…and when I couldn't find him, I went back to the shops," Hermione continued quickly. "I figured you must've used the path through Honeydukes…and decided that was probably a better idea, since the Shrieking Shack would only bring me to the front of the school…and when I finally made it inside, Ginny was the first person I saw."

"We were told to stay in the common room," Ginny added quickly. "McGonagall told all the houses they weren't to leave their dorms, no matter what…the only reason I was even out was because no one could find Devon," she said with a quick glance in the young boy's direction. "I was checking the hall, since he likes to sit there sometimes…and then Hermione came out from behind that old witch statue."

"And then you showed up," Hermione continued, looking at Harry. "I had only just started to speak with Ginny, when we heard someone yelling…and we ducked out of sight. You came running around the corner with Devon…and then those guards cornered you…"

"And now here we are," Harry finished grimly, but glad to see they were finally at the hall that would lead them to the dungeon area…and wondering how they'd made it this far without running into anyone else.

"Should we check the Slytherin dorms?" Ginny asked quietly, looking around nervously, as if she expected an attack at any second. "See if Hadley's there?"

"I doubt she is," Harry replied, "or Adrik would've found her by now…" he trailed off, still wondering why he hadn't seen either Adrik or Oren since the fight outside the head office. He knew that he couldn't possibly have had more than a half a minute's head start on them at best…

"Let's get the others out first," Hermione said quickly. "With more of us looking, we have a better chance of finding her."

"Right," Harry nodded faintly, but becoming increasingly uncomfortable with each passing second. Why had no one stopped them yet? If all of their friends were down here…wouldn't there be guards? It seemed too easy…but what choice did they have except to go? Harry knew the others felt the same as he, he could tell by the looks on their faces, but on the same note, he knew they would outright refuse the notion of leaving their friends in the dungeons…and there was no time to get any help from outside the school…this was the only way.

They walked in silence, past the potions classroom, past Snape's quarters and office, past several rooms used strictly for storage…moving deeper and deeper into the cold, dark dungeons.

Harry remembered the route well, having been through the same path less than a year before with the entity, Saaneeraa…so when they came to a locked gate in the middle of the hall, he knew something was wrong. This hadn't been there last time.

Coming to an abrupt stop, Harry opened his mouth to warn his friends…this wasn't right…when suddenly the hall was lit up. The small group split in half, Ginny and Hermione ducking near the wall on the left, and Harry pulling Devon down towards the wall on the right, crouching and trying to stay out of the line of fire. There were at least four guards at the end of the hallway, sending curse after curse down the corridor towards the trapped friends.

Ginny and Hermione wasted no time, immediately returning fire, while Harry could do nothing to help. He watched the battle tensely while trying to shield Devon from the attack, keeping the small boy behind him…and therefore didn't see it, when the young Gryffindor slowly rose to his feet.

Hermione and Ginny had each managed to stun one of the guards, making things even, when a new voice filled the air.

"Stupefy!"

Harry glanced over his shoulder, horrified to hear the voice coming from behind him, and saw Devon standing there, a wand in his hand, pointed towards Ginny and Hermione…only now, Hermione was unconscious on the floor. Before anyone could make a move, Devon repeated the spell, and Ginny slumped to the floor beside her friend.

"Devon!" Harry cried, managing to make his voice work through the shock of what he was seeing. "What…what are you…?" he stammered, realizing the curses that the remaining guards had been firing were no longer coming. He glanced up the hall, seeing the two men walking calmly towards him, wands out, before he looked back to Devon.

"So Oren took your wand, did he?" Harry asked darkly.

"Obviously, I lied," Devon replied simply, wearing a smile like Harry had never seen on him before. "I had to though…didn't want to give my wand to you, now did I?"

"Which means you're one of the spies," Harry said, bitterly. Here he'd been, trying to protect the boy…and all the while, he was simply bringing one of Voldemort's spies right along with him…

"I don't know if I'd call it that," Devon said casually, grinning as the two guards reached them at last.

"Well, guess we should be on our way then, ey?" the small boy spoke again; looking far more confident than Harry had ever known him to be. "Everyone will be waiting…"

Harry didn't need to ask who he was referring to…and could do nothing but watch as one of the guards lifted the still forms of Hermione and Ginny into the air. Devon raised his wand then, tilting it slightly, and in the next second, Harry's wrists were bound tightly behind him. The second guard grabbed him by the arm before he could even try to fight against the bonds, and forced him forward roughly, as the awkward group made their way back up the hall. They stopped momentarily near the two unconscious guards and Devon woke them quickly, before assigning them orders.

"Go down to the cells," he began evenly. "Bring his godfather and his friend with the red hair," he said gesturing to Harry, "and meet us upstairs."

"Why?" Harry asked angrily, wondering how it was that Devon had such control over the ministry guards. "My friends have nothing to do with this…"

"Okay," Devon replied nodding, as though Harry had just informed him of the weather. Glaring darkly at the back of the young boy's head as he was pulled along through the corridors, Harry finally felt the despair, which had been threatening to seep in all night, at last beginning to succeed. They were captured…and outnumbered.

Harry remained silent as they moved through the halls, dimly aware that they were heading back towards the head office. He tried to think…to stay aware…there had to be a way out of this…but if there was, he couldn't see it…

As they reached the stone gargoyle, Harry wasn't entirely surprised to hear Devon give the correct password, and watched blankly as the statue slid aside. They ascended the steps quickly, and entered the office to find it was quite occupied. Harry noticed Adrik, Oren and Lilith first…along with four Skeins perched near the windows. Huddled nearer to the desk were a group of ministry guards…but one of them Harry recognized immediately, and he felt his blood run cold.

"Lucius," Harry whispered in shock, seeing the death eater grinning widely back at him.

"You didn't think I'd miss this, did you Potter?" Lucius drawled as he crossed to where Harry stood, pulling him away from the guard holding him and dragging him forward. "Here, join your friend while we wait," he said icily, bringing Harry around a long seat and pushing him roughly onto it.

Harry struggled to sit up, realizing immediately there was someone next to him, and glanced over. He felt another wave of despair, however, as he recognized Draco Malfoy's tired form. The young wizard looked far paler than was normal…and there was a deep gash on the left side of his head, where a thick patch of his hair was soaked in blood. He blinked slowly, gazing at Harry through unfocused eyes.

"Draco…are you alright?" Harry asked anxiously, knowing what the answer was, but powerless to do anything that could help the injured wizard.

"He'll be fine," Lucius said offhandedly. "Besides, you should be more worried about yourself right now."

Harry made no reply, and looked away from the icy stare, taking in the room's other occupants. Nearly everyone was wearing ministry robes…Lucius included, which probably meant that none of them were actual ministry guards, but rather death eaters in disguise. That's why the ones in the hall hadn't cared when he tried to warn them…he was warning them about themselves. He wondered, briefly, exactly how many of them had been let out of Azkaban…

Continuing to look around, he saw Hermione and Ginny had been laid carelessly onto the other long seat; their hands had been bound as well, though they had yet to awaken. Adrik, Oren and Lilith were by the hearth, speaking in hushed tones…with Devon.

This explained the knowledge…and the skill the young boy had exhibited…as well as why he was so anxious to hide it. Harry had indeed found it odd that an eleven-year-old could perform a near perfect Patronus, but never considered for a moment that Devon might have some hidden agenda…and the reason why not, was simply the house he had been placed into. Surely the Sorting Hat wouldn't place someone so manipulative and conniving into Gryffindor, would it? But apparently this time, it had…

As if feeling someone staring at him, Devon's head slowly turned, and his blue eyes locked with Harry's, before he smiled, a most unpleasant smile for a young boy. Harry shivered involuntarily, but his attention was drawn away quickly, as the door to the office was opened. Sirius and Ron were both forced into the room, their hands tied, as they fought to free themselves from the death eaters' grasps. They were pushed down into chairs just as the others had been; Ron's gaze fell swiftly to Hermione and Ginny's unconscious forms and Sirius immediately looked to Harry.

"Are you alright?" he asked quickly. Harry nodded faintly.

"I'm fine," he replied quietly.

Now that everyone is present and accounted for," Devon's voice broke through and Harry looked towards him at once. He saw the young boy nod towards Ginny and Hermione, before Oren immediately nodded. The death eater stepped towards them at once, and pulled out his wand, waking the two girls quickly, and obviously amused by their initial disorientation…before they quickly realized what was going on.

"Who are you?" Harry spoke up darkly, glaring at Devon and drawing the attention of all in the room. If nothing else, he knew there was no way in the world a group of fully trained death eaters would take orders from an eleven-year-old boy, who was only working for them as a spy…

"You mean you don't know?" Devon asked with a malicious grin, his gaze lingering hatefully upon Harry for a brief moment, before he closed his eyes. Everyone was incredibly still for one long, drawn out minute, when suddenly Devon changed. Not in the way a shapeshifter changed…or even the way of an animagus…he was still Devon, only he was aging, rapidly, right in front of them.

It only lasted several seconds though, and when he opened his eyes once more, Harry felt his breath catch in his throat, his heartbeat echoing blaringly through his ears…suddenly it was horrifyingly clear why Devon had looked so familiar to him on that first night at the sorting ceremony. Where an eleven-year-old Gryffindor had stood moments ago, there was now an eighteen-year-old Slytherin, by the name of Tom Riddle.

"How?" Harry asked in utter shock, his face growing pale as a million questions raced through his mind at once. His friends only looked on in confusion, however, all except for Ginny…who looked positively terrified. Aside from Harry, she was the only one of his friends to have ever seen Tom Riddle as a teenager.

"Yes, I thought you might be surprised," Tom said with a small grin.

"How did you get into Hogwarts?" Harry asked at once. "How did you get your name on the list? How did you get into Gryffindor? How-"

"So many questions, Harry," Tom smiled. "But not really the right ones…"

"Who are you?" Sirius spoke up then, realizing that Harry recognized this boy standing in front of them, but having no idea himself…

"He's Tom Riddle," Harry whispered, never taking his eyes away from his enemy. "Voldemort."

"That's…that's impossible," Hermione said weakly, her eyes wide with shock.

"I assure you, it isn't," Tom replied smoothly.

"You've been in Hogwarts all year?" Ron asked, incredulously.

"I have indeed," Tom grinned.

"Why have you waited so long to show yourself?" Harry spat. "You could've killed me at any time…"

"Maybe you haven't noticed, but I don't want to kill you…it must be done by someone else."

"And what about the crystals?" Harry asked, sharply. "If you're not the one to…"

"I'm very much aware of that fact, thank you," Tom said hastily. "I kill you, I have control over the crystals…but if someone else kills you…" he trailed off, smirking. Several of the death eaters snickered quietly at this, and Harry could feel his blood begin to boil as he narrowed his eyes.

"Where's Mel?" he asked evenly.

"Closer than you think."

"And what do you want with her?" Harry continued, icily. He couldn't understand why Voldemort would want the powers to pass to the unborn child. "I swear if you hurt her…"

"Don't worry yourself about her right now," Tom stated lightly. "I need her alive until the baby is born…which will be sooner than she expects…"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, unable to conceal his dread.

Tom smirked in amusement at Harry's reaction, clearly enjoying the young wizard's discomfort…and fear.

"Let me tell you a story," Tom said then, moving away from his most loyal death eaters and moving around to the desk. He pulled out McGonagall's chair, and lowered himself into the seat, before folding his hands in front of him, and resting his blue eyes on Harry. "It truly is a sad tale, I should warn you…but it all comes together in the end, you'll see."

Harry remained silent, and Tom continued quickly.

"Many years ago, there was a young man named Jared Graham, who was horribly betrayed by the woman he loved. She threatened to leave him forever, feeling he was only using her…which of course, he was. She had abilities that he did not…and since they were very young, had always been able to pick up on magic faster than he. He needed her…and a part of him did love her…"

"I've heard this story before," Harry interrupted stiffly. "And if Jared loved Victoria then why would he kill her?"

"Because of their children," Tom said quickly, looking suddenly angry. "Jared had to be sure the children were raised properly…and if it had been left to Victoria, she would have taken them from him forever, turned them against him…and he would be left entirely alone. So he had to kill her…and once her ashes were scattered, he took his son and his daughter…and went far away…allowing only his most loyal friends to know of his location."

"Jared's plan failed then, didn't it?" Harry asked pointedly. "His son, Leto, hated him…and his daughter, Jessica, married a muggle. His family left him."

Tom gazed stonily at Harry, his eyes flashing…while Sirius and the others looked at him questioningly…he hadn't gotten the chance to tell them what he'd found out from Hadley, and they didn't know how he knew what he knew.

"Leto was rather ungrateful for the gifts his father offered him, yes," Tom said crisply. "But he loved Jared, most certainly, and hated it when his father was absent for long periods of time. Jared only did what was necessary to gain more power, however…and Leto didn't understand that…"

"Or Leto knew his father was a lying murderer who'd killed his mother," Harry said icily. "Why would Jared care about his children after all? If he was so power hungry, why keep them around…unless he planned on using them as well."

Tom's face contorted in such fury then, staring hatefully at Harry, as he slowly rose from behind the desk, and raised his wand.

"Crucio!"

In a searing flash of pain, Harry found himself writhing against his seat, screaming from the torment as he slid to the floor, feeling as if he were being pressed against hundreds of white-hot coals, his eyes rolling madly in his head…and then it stopped.

Harry lay, breathing heavily, anguished tears stinging his eyes and a racking cough in his lungs, as he slowly lifted his gaze, staring at Tom through blurry vision. Why did he seem so fiercely protective over Jared? Granted, it was his grandfather…but what had Jared ever done for him? The sounds of those around him started to return then, and Harry heard his godfather's angry voice, as though it were far away. He was dimly aware that Draco was on the floor beside him, when they were both abruptly wrenched to their feet, and tossed back onto the long couch.

"Don't interrupt me again," Tom said crisply, his wand still trained on Harry, before he slowly lowered himself back into his seat. "You have no idea what you're talking about, and I'd advise you not to jump to any conclusions. Jared loved his family, Victoria included…but he was never as strong as they were…and therefore had to work harder. You see, Victoria had been an heir of the great Salazar Slytherin…an unfair advantage, certainly…but one Jared never minded until she tried to leave him…he couldn't chance she might use it against him one day, he knew he could never beat her in a fair duel…so he simply waited one night until she was asleep…"

"He sounds like a coward," Sirius spat angrily then, and Tom looked sharply towards the wizard. Seeing that the dark haired Slytherin was fingering his wand, Harry spoke up quickly, wanting to take the focus away from Sirius.

"So what happened when Leto left?" he asked hurriedly. "Why wouldn't Jared stop him like he did Victoria?"

"Because it was Leto's hatred that enabled Jared to join into a most powerful group, who called themselves the Cult of Shadows. For all the rest of the world knew, Victoria's death was unexpected and heartbreaking to Jared…and now his son had left him. Jessica didn't factor in; as barely anyone knew of her existence…most would even assume she belonged to the Lestranges, as they had raised her from the time she was one. Jared would have, of course, but he was never around…so he watched his daughter grow from a far."

"Why would Jared want to join the cult?" Harry asked, truly curious.

"Surely you must have seen, as you've encountered them several times, how powerful they are?" Tom asked quickly. "Our magic has no affect on them…and it's all due to the Orb. No one knows who created it, or how…but its power is greater than almost any other known to the wizarding world…with one exception."

Harry opened his mouth to ask what one, but Tom rushed on hastily, not giving him the chance.

"The plan worked…Jared was accepted, and even respected for a long time amongst the cult. He was one of them…a Shadow Walker…but they didn't care for his frequent visits to the upper side. The cult does not associate with the wizarding world, not without reason…and after a time, they unfortunately figured out, that Jared was not with them to have a new family…but rather for the power." Tom paused for a moment, an icy gleam in his eyes. "They forced him out," he continued darkly. "Told him that if he ever came back into their world, they would see him dead…but the worst came, when they stripped away the powers they, themselves had bestowed upon him…he was back to being an ordinary wizard…like everyone else…and he swore he would have his revenge."

"Well he never got it, did he? Sirius asked stiffly, and Harry held his breath, sure that Riddle would lash out at his godfather, but the young looking Slytherin only smiled.

"After Jared returned to the wizarding world," Tom continued, "he was saddened to learn of his daughter's death…and devastated to learn that her son, was also the son of a filthy, dirty, muggle. Leto's family disregarded the boy as one of their own…leaving him to an orphanage and not caring what happened…"

"Did Jared ever try to help him…you?" Harry asked, thinking it felt strange to hear Riddle speak of himself this way…like he wasn't himself…

"Jared didn't care, absolutely not," Tom said with a tiny grin. "His daughter was dead, his son hated him, and the only grandchild that might actually be taught to love him, was tainted. He sought out his old friends once more, telling them of his failed plans…and together, they disappeared, for years…studying the darkest, most dangerous magic known to man…and some that was not. Jared was always pushing the limit…going further than any of his allies would dare…and that is why he soon grew more powerful than they…more powerful then even Victoria had been. Slytherin blood made no difference anymore…his son was no longer a threat to him, nor were any of his offspring. It was time for his revenge."

Harry watched Tom with confusion, as well as fear…the look in his eyes was one of madness, as he talked about his grandfather… He spoke for only a short while, telling of all Jared had done to the inhabitants of the wizarding world…anyone who he even remotely suspected of standing against him was killed…and in a way, it was even worse than what Voldemort had done. Tom told of Jared's transformation into Grindelwald…one of the world's most feared sorcerers, who didn't show mercy to anyone. Voldemort wanted to spare the purebloods, Grindelwald wanted to spare no one. He hadn't been a genius…he had been insane.

"After all that he'd accomplished, Grindelwald had unfortunately become somewhat overconfident," Tom said, looking almost sad. "And it was because of that, that Albus Dumbledore was able to defeat him…by invoking the power of the magic known as Lunis. He could never have hoped to defeat Grindelwald on his own…but alas, Dumbledore succeeded in defeating one of the greatest sorcerers ever known…" he trailed off, seething in anger, before speaking again, quietly. "It won't happen that way this time though…"

"What?" Harry and several of his friends asked in unison, all sounding equally baffled and surprised.

"Grindelwald's dead," Ginny spoke up meekly. "There can't be any next time…"

"As I recall, most all of the wizarding world assumed Voldemort dead as well," Tom said sharply.

"So Grindelwald's alive?" Ron asked, his eyes wide with shock.

"In a manner of speaking," Tom grinned wickedly, "yes."

"How?" Harry asked, horrified at what he was hearing. "If he's been alive all this time…where has he been hiding? How would no one know? Why hasn't he tried to attack again?"

"Harry," Hermione's voice said quietly, and he glanced towards her, his head still spinning from what the news. "It's him…" she said, looking more scared than he'd ever seen her.

"And the mudblood figures it out again," Tom said snidely. Harry felt his stomach flip…it couldn't be…it was impossible…

"You're…you're…" he stammered, his voice failing him.

"I suppose it was rude of me to skip that, where are my manners?" Tom said, a large grin spreading across his face as he once again rose from his seat. "Let me introduce myself, Harry Potter…my name is Jared Graham."

Harry felt numb. No matter how strange Riddle had been acting…he'd never for even a moment, expected this… All of his friends had gone distinctly pale…and, he noticed, so had a few of the death eaters. The only ones who actually seemed to have no worries over the shocking news, were Adrik, Lilith and Oren.

"If you're Jared…" Harry began hesitantly, "then why do you look like…?"

"My grandson?" Jared finished for him. "Because I am using his body…I don't have one of my own, you see. Albus Dumbledore destroyed it…"

"So you're Voldemort then?" Harry asked.

"No, Tom is Voldemort," Jared smiled, seeing Harry's confusion. "Allow me to explain," he said slowly, coming out from behind the desk and strolling casually to the center of the room. "When I fought with Dumbledore, and he defeated me…my body died…and so I was forced to find a new one…"

"The same way Voldemort did," Harry said quietly. "After he killed my parents…and tried to kill me…"

"No," Jared replied flatly. "When that happened, Tom had as much time as he needed…he could use someone else's body…or he could exist on his own…either way he was weak, and dependant…but alive. As for me, I didn't have that choice. I had only a few moments between the time my body died and the time my mind died, and if I hadn't found a new body immediately, I would have died."

"So your mind just…left your body?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Precisely," Jared nodded. "I needed a plan, after all…in the event of such a tragedy, and that had been it. With all the magic I'd studied, and powers I'd acquired over the years, this was my only protection should the unthinkable happen…and when at last it did, I had to act quickly. I left my body, which was dead for all the wizarding world to see, and found a new one. The only problem was, it had to be someone with whom I shared blood, and they had to be near. It was simply by chance that Tom Riddle happened to be my closest living relative at that time, physically speaking, and I went to him at once. He was eighteen at that time…fresh out of school, and already well versed in the dark arts, as I soon discovered…"

"Did he know you were there?" Harry asked. "You were in his mind, right?"

"He felt my presence at once," Jared nodded, faintly. "If it had worked as I hoped, I would have been able to take immediate control of his mind…pushing his conscious thoughts out of my way…in a sense, becoming him. I would have left soon enough, of course…I don't particularly care for this body after all…as it is half muggle. But the downside, unfortunately, was that I had been too weak when I entered his mind…and as he was quite stronger than I'd anticipated, I could take no real control over him…the only thing I could do, was prevent him from pushing me out. At first, he listened to me…even started to trust me…but soon he grew too confident, too full of himself…and decided he didn't need my help. He was steadily acquiring more power, more followers, there was no doubt about that…and had made a name for himself in much the same way I had."

"So what did you do?" Harry asked, honestly curious.

"I waited," Jared said with the smallest hint of a grin crossing his lips. "I waited through his rise, for the ultimate fall which I knew would surely come. But even in his state of half-life, after his attempt to kill you backfired, I still could not overcome him. I could only feed from his energy, and as he barely had any…it was worse for me. For thirteen terrible years we existed in this manner…living off of other beings, weaker than ever before…" he trailed off, looking angrily down at the floor, before continuing evenly.

"When at last the dark time was over, Tom had managed to bring himself back with renewed strength…and while I, too, felt much stronger, I was still no match for him, and remained a prisoner, trapped in his mind…it seemed all hope was lost, I had resigned myself to that existence…barely a memory in a mudblood's mind… But then something most unexpected happened, only one year ago…a brilliant sliver of hope shone through the darkness…and it came from the last person I would ever have believed it to…" he trailed off, grinning wickedly down at Harry.

Harry only stared at him, confused and shocked, realizing it had to be him, but having no idea what he'd done…

"How?" he asked through a suddenly dry throat. "What did I do?"

"What you always do," Jared said, rolling his eyes. "Anything you have to if it means protecting the ones you love…it really is quite a vulnerable spot for you, I've noticed…but it's too late to change now," he smirked.

"So because I fought Voldemort I helped you?" Harry asked, not understanding.

"Because of the way you fought, actually," Jared replied. "If it had been a simple duel, I would have remained as I was…but you entered his mind, Harry. You entered his mind, and you weakened him terribly…and when that happened, at last…at long last, I had my first opportunity to take control…and I was successful."

Harry's head was spinning. Jared had been living inside Voldemort since he was only eighteen…he'd been alive for all these years, and no one had ever known.

"Is Voldemort dead then?" Harry asked when he found his voice again. "Did you kill him?"

"Are you mad?" Jared laughed. "If I killed him I would lose this body…no matter which of us is in control, it's still his, and if his mind dies, his body dies. No, he's still in here, and quite angry, at that. I'll be leaving soon, however…he can have his tainted blood back…it's really quite revolting in here…"

"Leaving?" Harry asked, suddenly alarmed. "Where will you…?"

"Patience Harry," Jared interrupted, smirking. "We haven't reached that part of the story yet."

Harry felt only cold dread in his gut, and could clearly see this feeling mirrored in the expressions of his friends, but no one interrupted as Jared continued.

"When you entered Tom's mind, I saw an opportunity. There you were, young and unsuspecting…I should have been able to easily switch from his mind to yours…except I found out at once that I could not…you had powers far stronger than my own or Tom's. You never knew I was there, you were too interested in figuring out how to stop Tom…and so my failed attempt went unnoticed. But, you helped me in another way…one that works much better, the way I see it..."

Harry could only stare, speechless, waiting for him to explain.

"It is obvious to me now, that you were not accustomed to using your powers…the crystals. Because of that, your control over them, while they would obey your wishes, was still limited. When you started going back through Tom's memories…back in time, so to speak, he was going through as well, but in a more literal sense. His powers, while he still possessed them, were weakened the further back you went, making it as if he were actually a little boy again, instead of the much-feared wizard he'd become. His powers went backwards…as did his body. You inadvertently gave him the ability to age…or become younger…you altered his mind, as well as his body, because you did not know what you were doing."

"Now, had it been only Tom inhabiting this body, it would have changed everything," Jared said quickly. "You would have turned him into a little boy, who possessed the knowledge of a first-year student, and was a danger to no one…but because I was within him…I at last had my opportunity. The moment you were pulled out, I escaped. I pushed out of the dark depths of my grandson's mind, taking complete control over his body. He was powerless to stop me, having only the magical knowledge of an eleven-year-old to aide him, and I did to him what he had done to me for all those years…trapped him in the back of his mind…his own mind."

"Won't he be able to escape?" Hermione asked quietly. "As he grows stronger…since it's his body…?"

"Not at all," Jared smiled. "As I said, Harry's mind games brought Tom back in time. Once I leave this body, he will have control…but he will be as he was just before I took over."

"You mean…he'll be a little boy?" Ron asked, shocked.

"A little boy with a lot of power…that he will have no idea he possesses…" Jared trailed off, smiling. "The most important thing, however, is that he will not be a threat to me."

"So you have control over his mind and his body…making him look older or younger as you choose?" Harry asked. "And he has no idea about any of this?"

"Exactly," Jared grinned. "He's trapped in a dark space of nothingness…quite afraid, actually…but it won't last much longer…and perhaps I'll even let him live once I've left here…"

"And where do you intend on going?" Harry asked, again feeling anger boiling within him…pushing back his dread and fear.

"We're getting to that," Jared grinned maliciously. "Or are you tired of this story?" he asked, tauntingly.

Harry clenched his teeth and shook his head slowly, sitting tensely on the edge of the long couch.

"Alright," he stated crisply, thinking at least if Jared were here speaking with him…he knew where he was. "What happened then? You had control over Voldemort's body…"

"But I wanted a new body," Jared finished the statement quickly. "I wanted to be free of the tainted blood I'd been forced to live with for so long…I wanted more power…I wanted what I'd felt for those few brief moments, in which your mind and Tom's were joined. It was more power than I'd ever felt before…"

"Then why haven't you just killed me?" Harry asked flatly.

"If I kill you," Jared began slowly, "Your powers go to this body…I'm more than aware of that. The problem with that is, those powers belong to Tom. If I killed you, it would be like opening the door to the prison I've put him in…not exactly what I want, seeing as how it would enable him to regain control of his mind, his body, his powers…and leave me with nothing."

"Then you have no way to get the powers," Harry stated confidently. "If you can't kill me…and you weren't able to take control of my mind when you had the chance…not to mention you've told us you can only enter the mind of someone you share blood with…"

"Harry," Jared said, shaking his head like a father trying not to be too quick with his son. "One thing you might want to remember, is that sometimes the most obvious options are not the ones to choose…"

"After I'd escaped the school…I located my friends…my loyal friends," Jared said pointedly, earning tiny smirks from Adrik, Lilith and Oren, "It was only a small matter of convincing them it was truly me…and as I'd hoped, it was not easy. But I would expect no less of them; they would not accept me until I'd proved myself. Once that was out of the way…I could get started on what I'd been waiting so long to do. Get revenge on those who had been responsible for my downfall…"

"That would be yourself," Sirius spoke up crisply.

Jared's icy gaze turned on Sirius and Harry felt his throat tighten.

"So it was Dumbledore you were after then?" Hermione spoke up quickly, looking anxiously at Jared, who began chuckling softly as he turned to face her.

"In part, yes," he nodded faintly. "But for many years before that incident, I had wanted to repay the cult for turning on me…and only after taking control of Tom's body, did that become a reachable goal. I knew they would recognize me immediately, you see…my scent would be quite easily detected…but I knew what I had to do…I had to steal the Orb. By removing it from the temple, the Shadow Walkers would slowly begin to weaken…the younger ones will die first…and soon there will be none left."

"How did you make them think I did it then?" Harry asked, stiffly.

"You did that for me," Jared smiled widely. "When you entered Tom's mind…it was like a mixing of your auras…your essences…you just didn't realize it was happening. Because I have been part of Tom for so long…part of me was transferred to you as well. It wasn't just our blood…or our minds…it was our beings."

Harry's eyes went wide with shock, but Jared only laughed.

"It obviously wasn't enough to make any difference that you would recognize," he said, rolling his eyes. "Or you would have realized part of me was now within you…but it was enough, however, to fool the cult."

"Is that how you got yourself sorted into Gryffindor as well?" Harry asked, darkly.

"Indeed it was," Jared grinned, "Since I was quite aware of the mixing, I had some control over it, in a way…and when I stole the Orb, I made sure they caught your scent mingled with mine…so when they finally found you, they assumed you were me without a second thought. But I needed to make sure while they were hunting you, that they didn't stumble across me as well…"

"Then why come to Hogwarts?" Harry asked. "If we're both in the same place…"

"For the same reason Dumbledore thought it best that you come here," Jared cut him off. "Because here you're surrounded by wizards and witches…both in the school, and near one of the busiest towns in the area. Besides, once I found out you were going to be teaching here, I knew I had to come…it would be the easiest way to keep watch on you, to make sure you played along in my little plan…"

"How did you get in?" Hermione spoke up. "McGonagall sends out all the letters personally…there's no way your name would have been on the list…"

"Quite true," Jared nodded. "Devon Murrt did not exist up until a few months ago…but I needed everyone here to believe otherwise, so I enlisted the help of someone with free access to the school…Marshall Thurston."

"That rotten, no-good, dirty…" Sirius muttered angrily.

"I agree, Mr. Black," Jared laughed. "Marshall is not one to be trusted…but he's no threat to me, so I didn't mind repaying his generous favor. In exchange for him forging Devon's name on the list which McGonagall uses to send out school letters, as well as creating fake files for Devon and smuggling them into the file room…I agreed to help him become head minister. Surely his job was only made easier by the fact that Dumbledore had just resigned as headmaster, placing stress on Minerva, and somewhat of a confused state over the preparations for the new school year…so they didn't notice the slight changes he was making to their paperwork. As acting head minister, he had the access at the time, so it wasn't a problem."

"Who else did he manage to get into the school?" Harry asked. "We know there were three of you…you, Wormtail…who else?"

"You knew there were three of us, did you?" Jared asked, arching an eyebrow, looking mildly impressed. Harry only stared back at him, not bothering to tell him they'd only just found out this information earlier that night. "Devon's toad," Jared said at last. "Les…is not really a toad…" he trailed off, glancing at Oren briefly, and Harry understood at once. Oren was an Animagus…

"Oren wasn't so much for spying on you, as he was a messenger for me," Jared stated quickly. "Wormtail was watching you…he would report back to me, and if I thought it necessary, I would send Oren to Adrik and Lilith, with whatever news there might be."

"That's how they knew where I would be on Halloween, wasn't it?" Harry asked stiffly. "And when I was meeting Ron at the quidditch pitch…"

"Yes, it was imperative we kept close watch on you," Jared smirked. "I had to make sure the cult was following your trail, and not mine…that is why I had Adrik place the mark on your arm. It nearly ruined things, however, when your friends came to the school looking for you that night. You see, Dumbledore is the one wizard I had to be sure to stay away from, as he above anyone else, would recognize me for who I was in an instant. However, Wormtail was able to warn me of his presence…having been in your office when they looked there for you…and notified me immediately. It was easy enough to pretend I'd felt somewhat ill…after all, what child doesn't eat too much on Halloween? I was far from the common room by the time your friends got there…and they left soon after that one," he said nodding towards Ginny, "told them where you were."

"How lucky for you," Harry said, sardonically.

"Wasn't it?" Jared grinned. "It was all working out quite well, besides that and of course, after your near miss with the cult, that could have ruined everything…"

Harry only narrowed his eyes in confusion, as Jared continued quickly.

"In the muggle world, the cult will be able to find you in no time…and when you went there with your girlfriend…that is exactly what happened. Luckily, however, you had the crystals with you at that time…and were able to escape. I didn't count on you being able to use them later, however…when they came for you again at the quidditch pitch…which is why I had Oren steal them…you won't be able to call on them anymore…they are well shielded at the moment…"

"Why would my escaping that first time have been a problem?" Harry asked. "I thought you wanted them to…"

"Because it was too soon," Jared interrupted simply.

Harry glared hatefully at the wizard in front of him…this person who looked like Tom Riddle, and Jared only laughed back at him.

"You really did play along quite well," he said in amusement. "I was most relieved…"

"What about Hadley?" Hermione asked then. "Why were you after her?"

"Ah yes, that annoying, spoiled little girl," Jared said, rolling his eyes. "She is Leto's youngest descendent, of course…I simply planned on sending him a message…by means of her soulless body, after the dementor was through with her. You see, I plan on killing them all, eventually…every traitorous member of my family…"

"But Hadley has nothing to do with any of that!" Harry spat, angrily. "You can't blame her for your son's actions!"

"I don't blame her for them," Jared said simply. "I just hate her…I hate all of them…and I will kill them all, starting with the youngest. It always hurts parents so much more to see one of their children die…then one of their own parents…it makes them vulnerable, weak…"

"What about angry?" Sirius spoke up, crisply. "Enraged? Furious? Ready to kill whoever did this to their child…"

"Yes that's the best part," Jared smiled. "I look forward to witnessing them experience all of those emotions…and ultimately being able to do absolutely nothing to stop me from doing the exact same thing to them…"

"Then why did you never try for Hadley again?" Harry asked quickly. "The only attack on her was in October."

"After Adrik told me of your reaction in the forest, I decided to wait," Jared explained quickly, "it wasn't an urgent matter after all…just something I know I'll enjoy…and I wanted your mind to be on other things…not on figuring out who was after the girl. So as I had hoped, when nothing came of the attack, and enough time had passed, you didn't seem to be thinking much about it anymore…and thankfully, McGonagall wouldn't let you continue with those Patronus lessons during regular class time…"

"Yes, I noticed you were always uncomfortable during those," Harry stated stiffly.

"Of course," Jared laughed. "What eleven-year-old boy knows how to perform a Patronus, let alone being good at casting one? It took all of my concentration just to keep the charm from taking shape any time you made me do it…and I knew I couldn't cast it wrong, for then you'd only want to spend more time on it with me…it's in your nature. Once again, however, it worked out just fine, as you don't hold any distrust for Gryffindors…but you do for Slytherins, which you proved that day during the Ashwinder lesson. It was in your eyes, you blamed Hadley before you gave her a chance to explain…"

"But when she did explain she said she spoke to the snake," Harry said quickly. "She confessed."

"Yes, I know," Jared grinned. "I had actually gone around another way when I watched the two girls head out of the room we were in…I was going to make the snake attack…but Hadley beat me to it, competitive as she is. So I didn't have to interfere…and she was given detention, which is exactly what I needed."

"Why?" Harry asked, "What would you need her to have detention for?"

"It was the only way to assure she was out of her common room on a certain night as I don't have the password to just enter as I wish. Once Wormtail informed me of the night you'd assigned the detention, I had Oren go to Adrik so he could bring the dementors. Oren was also the one to use the Imperius curse on the girl…to make sure she left the school and into the forest. But you saw her…and so plans changed, but not for long. Once we find the girl, her fate will be just as it would have been on that night…"

Harry felt a surge of anger run through him, but it was mingled with faint relief. At least they hadn't found Hadley yet…

"And now you know everything, Harry," Jared grinned.

"Except why you took Mel," Harry quipped darkly, his hands balled into fists behind him as he glared angrily at the dark-haired man.

"You mean you haven't figured out what I need her for yet?" Jared asked, shaking his head in mock disappointment. Harry only stared back at him, hate gleaming in his deep green eyes…he feared he knew exactly what was about to be said…and he didn't want to hear it, but he had to. "Well I suppose I can spare a few more minutes," Jared continued as if he were doing Harry some fantastic favor. "I've already told you, I plan on leaving this mudblood's body," he said with undisguised revulsion, "and in order to take control of the crystals…I need to enter the body of a Psion. Since yours won't work, I've already tried…I'll have to settle for the next one in line…"

"Never!" Harry spat hatefully, "I'll never let you do it!"

"You can't stop me," Jared laughed heartlessly. "And as much as I'd love to let you see it, I can't…there's the small technicality of you needing to be dead first…"

Harry could barely stand the rage broiling inside him any longer, and at last jumped to his feet in anger, only to be grabbed seconds later by two of the death eaters. Apparently whatever uncertainties they might be having, they still knew whose side they were on.

"I'll kill you if you touch them," he said, fiercely, his voice shaking in anger, his heart pounding in his chest as he tried in vain to free his hands. He didn't care about his life right then…all he knew was that Jared was never going to get to his baby.

"Who?" Ron spoke up at last, looking questioningly from Harry to Jared and back. "Who's next in line?"

Harry tore his eyes from Jared's amused face to see the confusion plastered on Ron's.

"You haven't told them, I see," Jared stated cheerfully.

"It's not Mel, is it?" Ginny asked worriedly, seeing the pain and anger in Harry's eyes…and the fear.

"No," Hermione answered her before anyone could speak, realization dawning in her eyes. "It's the baby…isn't it?" she whispered, her gaze locking with Harry's for only seconds before he nodded stiffly, sadly.

Sirius' expression immediately went to one of shock, and rage, as he also, flew from his seat.

"You spineless bast-"

"Now, now, Mr. Black," Jared interrupted as Lucius readily grabbed hold of Sirius. "No need for name calling. Try to see the brighter side of things…you'll all be dying on the same day…so you won't be separated for long…"

As Harry and Sirius were forced back into their seats, Jared paused a moment, before speaking again.

"That was the only part of this plan that was uncertain, to start," he explained quickly. "I knew I needed Mel's child, as Tom had already done that research for me when he finally studied the bloodlines…and until you so graciously took care of the obstacle for me, I was also looking for a suitable father…"
Harry could feel the anger churning in his gut as he heard what Jared was saying. He would have forced someone upon Mel…just to carry out his plan…"

"It could never have been myself, of course," Jared said quickly. "Not with this mudblood body, anyway. But it had to be someone powerful and someone who shared my blood…so, of course, when I heard the news…I was delighted to learn that a Psion would father the next in line. So long as you're dead before the child is born, it will inherit all of the powers…"

"You're mad," Ron said disgustedly, looking horrified at what he was hearing.

"Say what you like," Jared laughed. "Soon I will be the most powerful being in existence…and you will be dead."

"But…the baby won't be born for months…" Ginny said worriedly, a glimmer of hope in her statement.

"As I said before," Jared began quickly. "That will change. The baby will be born much sooner than expected. As soon as I leave this body, I will enter that of the unborn child. There will be no problem in taking over such an undeveloped mind, of course…and once I have control, I'll simply speed up the birthing process…" he trailed off, grinning. "The crystals will be mine to control, for when the baby is born, I will be reborn…and they will obey the bloodlines."

Harry struggled to keep the panic threatening to consume him down. He had to stop Jared…he had to find Mel…but at the moment, he could see no way out of the current situation. His friends all seemed to have identically hopeless expressions on their faces, while Jared looked down on them, triumph gleaming in his eyes. Harry glanced away towards the death eaters standing near Lucius, and then quickly to Draco, who was still lying, barely conscious, against the cushions of the couch. The blood on his head was mostly dried now, caked sickeningly against his pale skin, and Harry could only hope he wasn't seriously injured from whatever had caused the wound.

Everyone looked up as the door to the office opened then, and two more men in ministry robes stalked quickly across the room, no doubt, more death eaters in disguise. They moved quickly towards Adrik, glancing questioningly at Jared as they did so, and the three conversed in hushed tones. After only a moment, Adrik stepped away from the two men, who turned and silently crossed the office, exiting into the stairway beyond, and began whispering to Jared, who seemed to go slightly pale, but they were near enough to Harry so he caught some of their discussion.

"Then we can't wait any longer," Jared said fiercely, to which Adrik only nodded. "Kill his friends, and then leave him…they'll find him soon enough."

Harry could feel his heart racing in his chest, pulsing fear through his veins. He couldn't let them hurt his friends.

"I have to get downstairs…"

"You can't go alone, Jared," Adrik said quickly. "They'll find you."

Jared seemed to consider this for a moment, before looking immediately to Lilith and Oren.

"We're going," he stated crisply, "now." Then he spun around to face Lucius and the other death eaters. "Get rid of the others, however you want," he said, motioning to Harry's friends. "Make sure he's alive though…he needs to be alive."

Despair and fear were mingling in his gut, but Harry forced it down…he knew why Jared was so frightened all of a sudden. There could only be one reason for his abrupt change in behavior.

"The Shadow Walkers are here, aren't they?" Harry asked quietly, almost tauntingly.

Jared whirled on him angrily, but seemed to bring his emotions under control in an instant, forcing a smile to his face.

"It's possible," he said quickly. "But it won't matter. It will still take them a while to sort out all the scents in this castle…and while I shall be surrounded by others…you, I'm afraid, will be alone in a moment…"

Harry looked worriedly over his friends, all of whom looked at a loss for what to do, but were determinedly trying to free themselves, before looking back to Jared.

"Just let them go, they're not a part of this," he said, trying to mask the desperation in his voice as he twisted his wrists against the cords.

"I've already told you why I can't do that," Jared said, in a mockingly apologetic tone, before looking away from Harry, towards Lucius. "Make sure it is done, I'm counting on you for this."

"Do not worry, my lord," Lucius replied, bowing his head faintly. "I give you my word."

Adrik snickered lightly at that, earning a dark glare from Lucius, but said nothing, as Jared turned away from the death eaters and went to Lilith. He spoke to her for only seconds, before she then went towards the Skeins who were still perched in the windows to the office.

It was less than a minute before the tall spider-like women jumped from their places at once, and swept across the office towards the door, exiting the office silently. Harry stared after them worriedly, wondering what Lilith had told them to do, before Jared's voice snapped his attention back around.

"Let's go," he said stiffly, looking distinctly nervous, "I don't want to wait any longer."

Harry watched as Jared stalked resolutely across the office, Adrik, Lilith and Oren following closely behind. Without so much as a backwards glance towards the captive friends, they exited the room, letting the door shut firmly behind them.

Trying to think, as panic was closing in around him, Harry forced his mind to clear. They were out of time, and only Draco's hands were free…but he was didn't look as if he'd be any help at the moment. There had to be a way out of this…it couldn't end this way…

"It's really a shame we don't get to kill you Potter," Lucius spoke up, a hint of regret in his tone. "I've always wanted to…"

"But you never could manage it, could you?" Sirius asked, tauntingly, glaring as Lucius whirled on him.

"Maybe we should start with you, ey Black?" Lucius sneered hatefully. "I always knew I'd be the one to kill you."

Harry watched in horror as Lucius slowly drew his wand and aimed it at his godfather, who only stared back at the death eater with stony hatred. He felt the dread tightening in his throat, and again pushed himself up off the seat, but before he could take half a step towards Lucius, one of the other death eaters that had remained near him after his last outburst, quickly forced him back down onto the chair.

Lucius snickered tauntingly at Harry's feeble attempt, his eyes gleaming with amusement before he looked around at the other three death eaters.

"Take care of the others," he said briskly. "Leave my son for me…let's do this quickly.

"No!" Harry cried, frantically pulling at his bonds, ready to jump up again…he wasn't going to quit. But his limited movement was causing him to be awkward and slow, and Lucius turned his wand on Harry at once.

Harry felt an invisible force pushing him back into the chair seconds before his legs were bound tightly together.

"Now maybe you'll stay put," Lucius remarked curtly, turning back to Sirius, ignoring Harry as he began to furiously struggle against the cords. He glanced around to see one of the death eaters wrenching Hermione to her feet while another did the same to Ginny, and the third was making his way towards Ron, who was looking helplessly towards his girlfriend and sister. Harry's breath caught in his throat…this was it…

"Petrificus Totalis!" a small, frightened voice cried out through the office. Everyone froze in the split second before Lucius' form went stiff, and fell quickly to the hard floor. Harry looked in shock, seeing Hadley's scared face staring back at him from just near the doorway he knew led to the back rooms of the office. He had no time to wonder how she'd gotten there however, as the other death eaters reacted immediately. One moved towards Lucius, as another started towards Hadley, who backed up slowly towards the door, her eyes wide with fear.

"Hadley," Harry cried anxiously, realizing with horror that she wasn't going to move. "Go, you have to get out!"

But the small girl didn't respond. Her wand was held out protectively in front of her, but she didn't budge as the death eater moved closer, smiling as he realized she would no longer be a problem.

Harry could only watch helplessly, barely noticing as the second death eater passed by in front of him, pointing his wand towards Lucius, when a sudden movement from beside him caught his attention.

Draco's hand shot out, grabbing the death eater's right arm, and before the older man could react, the young wizard swung out instantly with his legs as well, kicking the death eater in the shins and bringing him to his knees, as he plucked the wand from the man's grasp.

"I thought you were hurt," Harry said in relieved amazement as Draco immediately used the wand to release him from the bonds.

"Yeah, I've always been good at faking injuries," Draco said briskly, a look of determination on his face as he swung the wand towards the shocked death eater still near Ron, and disarmed him. He caught the wand in a second, and shoved it towards Harry, who used it to stun the guard at their feet that was staggering back up, before turning on the death eater near Hadley. He had the little girl's right arm grasped tightly in his hand, having taken her wand, and now thrust her in front of him, pointing his own wand at her from behind.

"Let her go," Harry said fiercely, both he and Draco aiming their wands directly at the man.

"Drop your wands," the man replied, briskly, "or I'll kill her."

"Not if we kill you first," Draco said icily, his grey eyes flashing dangerously.

Harry glanced down to see Hadley staring up at him fearfully; faint tears streaked the sides of her face as she whimpered softly, and realized he wasn't going to stop Draco this time…if that's what it came to.

The man only lowered himself so Hadley blocked more of him than before, which wasn't saying much, as she was so small, but it was enough to keep Harry from trying anything; it was too close, they could easily hit Hadley instead.

"You coward," Harry spat under his breath.

"I said drop your wands," the man replied instantly, "No funny stuff…if you try anything, she dies."

What happened next took only seconds, but it seemed much longer as Harry watched it play out.

The flames in the hearth rose up suddenly, and both Harry and Draco glanced to see who was coming, recognizing it as a floo channel in use, but were relieved to see Marzia emerge only seconds later. The death eater took advantage of this, however, as both wizards were momentarily distracted, he shifted his wand in half a second to Lucius' stiff form, releasing him from the body bind.

Marzia saw with obvious urgency, what was happening, as she immediately pulled out her own wand. She aimed at the death eater holding Hadley, who instantly ducked down behind his captive, tightening his grip on the small girl, while Lucius surged to his feet, in the same second that both Harry and Draco whirled on him, the wands of all three facing each other at once.

"Careful," Lucius spat sharply, seeing both Harry and Draco open their mouths. "If I go down, so does that little girl over there," he smiled wickedly, slowly backing away from the two younger wizards.

"If you hurt her, you're done," Harry said evenly. "You realize that, don't you?"

"I don't intend on hurting the poor girl," Lucius grinned sweetly. "So long as you all place your wands on the floor now, everything will work out fine…"

"Not a chance," Draco snapped, and Lucius' eyes flashed with fury.

"You do not speak to me," he spat angrily at his son. "You're not worth the air you breathe!"

Draco only remained silent, a stony expression on his face, but Harry knew his father's words still hurt him, no matter how much time passed, that would always remain the same.

"You're outnumbered," Marzia stated stiffly from where she stood near the hearth. "There's no way for you to win this."

"Is that so?" Lucius laughed, his eyes fixed on Marzia one minute, as he slipped his hand into his pocket.

"Hey!" Draco shouted, seeing what his father was doing but too late, as Lucius quickly flung his hand out and upward. Harry recognized the shape of a wand twirling for a half a second through the air, only seconds before the death eater whom Draco had disarmed caught it tightly. Harry could see, even at the distance he stood, it was Draco's wand.

"Now we're even," Lucius grinned.

"And at a standstill," Sirius spoke up crisply, struggling to free his hands, just as the others were doing.

"I'm afraid not, Black," Lucius sneered, bringing his wand around to point at Sirius' chest.

"No!" Marzia yelled, and Harry felt his breath catch in his throat. Here he was less than five feet from Lucius, and he couldn't do anything…without chancing another of his friends being hurt…

"Careful Potter," Lucius smirked. "If you touch me, the girl dies…"

"I won't let you kill my friends," Harry shot back fiercely, tightening the grip on his wand.

"I don't think you have a choice," Lucius grinned. "You can't save them all, Potter…" he trailed off, whirling back around on Sirius.

"Stupefy!" Draco yelled, and the curse surged forth from his wand. But Lucius had been expecting as much, and had begun to duck before the words even left his son's mouth, hitting his knees as the curse flew by harmlessly overhead. Marzia took immediate advantage of the moment, and stunned the death eater standing near Ron, before quickly freeing the young wizard from his bonds.

"Kill her!" Lucius spat hatefully, nodding at the guard holding Hadley, clearly enraged as he immediately jumped to his feet, and whirled on his son.

"No!" Harry yelled, feeling his stomach turn sickeningly. He raised his wand knowing he had no other choice, but he had no chance at getting in a shot, the man was halfway hidden behind Hadley and a chair…

"You shouldn't have done that," Lucius spat, advancing on Draco, not paying any attention to Harry as he did so. "I wanted to believe you could change…be the man you used to be…"

"You're the one who's not a man anymore, father," Draco shot back shakily, keeping his wand up unsteadily.

"And you're nothing to me now," Lucius shot back, directing his own wand straight at his son's head. "Good bye traitor."

Harry saw the death eater holding Hadley, pinning her arms to her sides as she struggled desperately to free herself.

"Don't come any closer!" he yelled, as Harry and Marzia began closing in from either side. Ron, meanwhile, had gone at once to Hermione's side, freeing her from the bonds and leaving her to do the same to Ginny as he crossed to Sirius.

"If you want to live, you'd best release her," Marzia said crisply, smirking at the fear in the man's eyes. "Because if she dies…"

The man looked terrified, but didn't release his grip on Hadley, instead he lit his wand, his eyes flashing madly as smoke emitted from the now white-hot tip, and raised it towards Hadley's eyes.

"Then I won't kill her," the man laughed, a mixture of nervousness and triumph in his voice as Hadley shrieked in fear, squirming in his grip as tears streamed down her face. "Now get back!" he yelled, glancing from Harry to Marzia.

Draco stared at his father unmoving, knowing full well that Lucius meant to kill him, and wondered if it would really be so bad. He had no one now, after all…no real friends, no family. His mother barely spoke a word to him anymore, and now his father was going to end his life for what Draco had done to him…

Lucius smirked heartlessly, tightening the grip on his wand, his eyes flashing with pure hatred, before speaking.

"Avada-"

He was cut off harshly as a dark blur lunged at him, knocking him to the ground. Draco stepped back in surprise, seeing Sirius Black wrestling with his father, trying to gain control of the wand that Lucius clung to. He quickly snapped back to attention, aiming his own wand down, but the two were moving too quickly, and he couldn't aim properly.

Letting out a furious scream, Lucius finally brought up his knee, ending Sirius' struggle long enough for him to overpower the unarmed wizard. Pushing Sirius to the floor, Lucius scrambled to his feet, not noticing Draco's aim following him, and brought his wand tip around to Sirius' chest, smiling for a brief second as the injured man tried to catch his breath through his violent coughing.

"I told you I'd be the one to kill you, Black," Lucius sneered hatefully.

Sirius tried to scramble to his feet, but he was moving too slow…

"Avada Kedavra!"

There was a searing flash of bright green light, and Harry froze in terror, turning quickly.

Sirius reached out, breathing deeply, and grasped hold of the chair nearest him, pulling himself the rest of the way to his feet, just as Draco's wand slipped from his hand, as he sunk down to the floor, beside his father's lifeless form.

Harry felt his jaw drop in shock, the scene before him barely registering in his mind…but quickly turned his attention back to Hadley as he heard her cries again.

"That's going to be you next," Marzia's voice spoke up evenly, as the death eater looked away from Lucius' body. "Unless you let her go…"

The man seemed to consider for a moment, sweat building up on his brow as he tightened the slick grip on his wand. But after just a moment, realization seemed to dawn in his eyes. Two death eaters were unconscious, and the third was now dead…he had no chance to get out of this…

Slowly, cautiously, he moved the wand away from Hadley, and reluctantly released his grip on her. She wasted no time and ran towards Harry at once, while Marzia disarmed the death eater.

Throwing her arms around Harry's neck as he knelt to meet her, Hadley began to sob loudly.

"It's alright," Harry cooed gently, holding the small girl tightly. "You're safe now."

"I…I'm s-sorry," she stammered unevenly, sniffling softly as she pulled away, looking up at him. "I just…I got s-scared…I c-couldn't shoot again…" she tried to explain.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Harry said gently, smoothing her hair and wiping away the tears still building up in her eyes.

"I…I only came up here to see the headmistress," Hadley continued, her voice still shaking. "I had to tell her…I knew Devon was lying…but I didn't know about what…I tried to tell you…" she trailed off, starting to cry again.

Harry suddenly remembered seeing Hadley in the hallway with Devon…she said she'd needed to speak with him, but he'd been in such a rush to get to McGonagall…he'd brushed her off…

"I'm sorry," Harry said quietly, feeling only guilt. "I should have listened to you."

"It…it's alright," Hadley said quietly. "I started to tell Professor McGonagall…but she made me stop before I could finish telling her…told me to wait back there," she nodded towards the door to the back rooms. "I heard someone come into the office after I got back there…it sounded like a fight, but I was too scared to look…"

"You've been back there this entire time?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Yes," Hadley nodded faintly, and Harry couldn't help but grin. Here the school was filled with death eaters searching for her…and she'd been in the same office with them for over two hours…

"You were very brave to do what you did," Harry spoke up again, seeing the young girl's eyes start to fill up again. "You saved our lives Hadley."

To this Hadley seemed unsure how to reply, as she looked uncertainly up at Harry, who smiled back at her.

"C'mon," he said, getting to his feet slowly and gently taking her hand, "You should sit down…" he trailed off, finally getting a good look around the office. Marzia had stunned the last death eater, and all three had been moved off to the side of the office, tied up in case they woke. Ron, Hermione and Ginny had retrieved the loose wands, while Sirius was sitting awkwardly by Draco, both of them silent.

Harry led Hadley to one of the large chairs, before going to Draco's side and kneeling down.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"Don't lie," Draco shot back stiffly. "I know you're glad…all of you. You've all wanted my father dead at one point or another…but ironically…I was the one to finally kill him."

"Draco," Harry began gently, not sure what he could possibly say to comfort him.

"Look, forget it," Draco said curtly, jumping to his feet as he scooped up his wand. "We have to get downstairs, don't we? I'd wager anything Lilith sent those spider things off to kill the other professors while Jared and the rest continued on to wherever they were going…"

"Wait," Hermione said quickly, as she and the others came up behind Sirius, noticing Draco looked ready to just go. "What about Dumbledore? We have to tell someone…even if Jared isn't sending someone after him, you know Thurston will!"

"She's right," Sirius said quickly, standing as Marzia neared him, letting her slip her arms around him. She looked intensely relieved, and Harry knew why…he felt exactly the same. For a brief, terrifying moment, he'd believed Sirius was dead…

"Then we have to split up," Harry said suddenly, standing as well.

"What? No!" Sirius stated sharply.

"Sirius, we have to," Harry argued determinedly, feeling angry because he knew they didn't have the time…

"Harry's right," Draco said quickly. "We can't get to the professors and Dumbledore if we stay together…"

"And Mel," Harry added pointedly. "I'm not going anywhere until I find Jared…"

"He said he needed to get downstairs," Hermione said quickly. "Harry, you don't think…could Mel be in the school?"

"I don't know," Harry replied curtly, feeling the anxiety churning within him once again. "But I do know Jared's got a head start…and if Mel is here, then I have to get downstairs right now."

"Then we'll all go," Sirius said evenly.

"Sirius, Albus could be dead by then!" Harry said in exasperation, "If he isn't already! You have to be the one to help him…you and Marzia…the warden would never let me in…or any of the rest of us for that matter…"

"We could find Arthur," Marzia spoke up then. "He has authorization for immediate access to Nabakza…and Albus."

Sirius turned to look at her, seeming torn.

"Sirius," Harry began, almost pleading with his eyes as his godfather met his gaze, trying not to burst from impatience…he had to go now.

"Alright," Sirius said at last, looking as if it was the last thing he wanted to say. "Marzia and I will get to Albus…but we're coming straight back here when we're done," he added pointedly.

"Good," Harry grinned weakly, knowing the task before his godfather would more than likely be a difficult one, that wouldn't be over and done with quickly. "See you then." He started to look away, when his eyes quickly fell on Hadley, sitting quietly in the chair he'd left her on, and realized he had another problem.

"We have to get Hadley out of the school," he said suddenly.

"Why?" Draco asked.

"Because…" Harry began urgently, "I'm not…I can't…" he stammered, pausing half a second to calm down, before continuing, his tone grave. "Jared is not going to take my child…I don't care what it takes, I'm going to stop him. But I also don't want this to happen all over again. Hadley's his descendant…if his plan fails…he's going to do whatever it takes to survive."

"He'll try to enter her mind instead," Hermione said, realizing in horror, what Harry was saying.

"Yes," Harry nodded, worriedly.

"Then let's take her to our house," Marzia said at once. "We can get there from this office."

"Good," Harry said, feeling slightly relieved, but still not sure it would be far enough away.

"No, I don't want to go," Hadley said looking suddenly scared, her fingers gripping the arms of the chair. "Can't I stay with you?" she asked Harry, pleadingly.

"I'm sorry," Harry said sincerely, "But it's too dangerous to bring you with us…you'll be safer out of the school…" he trailed off as she shook her head stubbornly.

"No…please," Hadley said in a small voice. "I don't want to be alone…"

"Ginny can go with her," Ron spoke up quickly.

"Hey!" Ginny cried in shock. "You're going to need help downstairs…" she began.

"No Ginny," Harry cut her off, a bit sharper than he'd intended, but didn't stop. "You're not coming downstairs…I was going to have you go back to the common room…but I'd rather not leave Hadley alone."

"But," Ginny began again, ready to argue…and trailing off as she saw the stubborn gaze in Harry's eyes. "Fine," she sighed quietly. But as she crossed to Hadley, she gave the young girl a reassuring smile, taking her by the hand.

"Thank you," Harry said quickly.

"Hermione," Ron began, cautiously. "Maybe you should…"

"Forget it Ron," she cut him off at once. "I'm not staying out of this fight. We're outnumbered as it is…"

"She's got a point, Weasley," Draco smirked, earning a dark glare from Ron.

"C'mon," Hermione said then, turning towards the door. "We're wasting time."

"Wait," Harry said quickly, continuing as his friends looked at him curiously, "I know a faster way down."

After making sure Ginny and Hadley made it safely through the floo network, Harry wished his godfather and Marzia luck…knowing they would need it. Sirius, warned them to be careful, before reluctantly joining his wife at the hearth, and heading off in the swirls of color.

"This way," Harry said quickly, leading the others towards the hidden wall, which slid aside, revealing the kitchen. He paid no attention to his friends' questioning looks, as he walked back through the first room, past several more, and into the sleeping quarters beyond.

Stopping for a moment, Harry looked around, trying to remember which candle it was, before finally spotting the one he was looking for. He went up to it and twisted the bottom of the candleholder, revealing a secret doorway as the wall slid aside before them, into darkness.

"Remus showed me this," Harry explained quickly. "It goes anywhere in the school…it's probably the quickest route to downstairs…we won't have to worry about running into anything…I hope."

The four stepped into the dark hall one at a time, and Hermione lit the wand she was holding first, shining it down the dim corridor.

"Do you know the way?" she asked, realizing there were many passageways branching off the further you went.

Harry was silent for a long moment. He'd only ever used this passage to get to the hospital wing…but when they'd first entered, it had been from beginning of the dungeon area. Finally he looked at Hermione and shrugged faintly.

"Let's find out," he said quickly, before lighting his own wand and starting down the hall.

"That's not exactly very reassuring, Harry," Ron said hesitantly, as he moved to catch up with his friend, Draco and Hermione following closely behind.

"It's better than using the school halls," Harry replied quickly, looking for any signs of familiarity in the tunnel, and praying he was making the right choice.

"Well at least we know our way around the school," Draco spoke up from behind him.

"You can go back that way if you want," Harry said evenly. "If you want to fight your way through the corridors, outnumbered and surrounded…and then should you make it downstairs, you'll be too tired to fight anymore, which means…"

"Alright, alright," Draco cut him off, sounding mildly exasperated, and Harry could almost feel him rolling his eyes. "Just don't get us lost, Potter…"