Chapter 7: Take Me Instead

"That tricky little bleedster! Is there no one we can trust?" Ron fumed, as the quartet Apparated back into the woods. They had just come from an impulsive meeting with Xenophilius Lovegood, and nearly been captured by Death Eaters in the process.

Harry shrugged, stalking through the clearing to begin re-creating their campsite. All at once, a leering man in a dirty overcoat rose up out of the leaves.

"Well, what do we have here, lads?"

Instinctively, Harry threw his body wider to shield Hermione and Rose.

"Hermione..." Ron's voice was low. "Take Rosie and run!"

Harry sent a Stunning Curse into the intruder's face and the four took off running. "SNATCH 'EM!" the injured leader bellowed.

A group of Snatchers gave chase, twigs snapping and curses flying as the Golden Trio and their charge pelted through the trees. But no matter what spells the four threw back behind them, the pursuers gained. Finally, out of options, Hermione spun around with Rosie in her arms and surprised Harry with a Stinging Jinx, to conceal his face and identity.

Ron barreled into the ring of Snatchers. "Get your hands off them!" He coughed, as someone's fist rammed into his gut.

"Let him go!" Hermione begged, as hands grabbed for her. "No... NO! Rosie!"

"Your boyfriend and little brat will die quickly unless you shut it!" the lead Snatcher threatened. Curious, he held a crying Rose to the light. It was obvious the little girl's presence confused him. "Well, now... playing house in the woods, are we? This one will be my favorite, I reckon..." Hermione's blood ran cold.

"You touch her, I swear to Merlin..." Ron growled.

"What do we do with them, Scabior?" a thug asked the Snatcher holding Rose.

Scabior sneered. "Take 'em all to Malfoy Manor!"

Bellatrix Lestrange was deeply puzzled by the sight that had just spilled into the Malfoy's drawing room with little warning. A ginger, a Mudblood, a young man who may or may not be Harry Potter, and a whimpering toddler.

And in their possession was... no, it couldn't be...

"Where did you get that sword?" Bellatrix demanded, her one eye twitching in fear.

"It was in her bag when we found them," Scaboir gestured to Hermione. "Reckon it's mine now."

There was a vicious snap as a taut rope spurted from the end of Bellatrix's wand, curling around Scabior's neck like a whip. Yelping in fright, Rose buried her face into her mother's jeans, whilst all the Snatchers save one - the werewolf Fenrir Greyback - fled the mansion in terror.

Bellatrix prowled over to the cache of prisoners. Though her voice was relaxed, almost conversational, Harry sensed that the Death Eater was holding off a barely concealed panic.

"Where did you get this sword?"

Hermione visibly gulped. Her mouth clenched shut. Harry and Ron secretly eyed each other.

"We found it," Rose's voice broke the silence.

"Hush, little rosebud," Hermione whispered desperately. Too late. Bellatrix's eyes gleamed, and she bent before Rosie, her smile disturbingly sweet, her timbre smooth as honey. Only the honey was laced with poison and arsenic.

"And where did the pretty little rosebud find the sword? In my fault at Gringotts?"

"No, Bellatrix," Rose answered honestly, her gaze even. "In the woods."

Bellatrix flinched in disbelief. "You dare address me by name? You filthy MUDBLOOD SPAWN!" Flying into a rage, she flung the teenagers back towards Greyback, even as she roughly dragged a terrified and simpering Rose towards the center of the room.

"Put Mummy and Daddy and Ugly-Face in the cellar! Auntie Bellatrix is going to have a little chat with this one!"

"NOOOOOO!" Hermione wailed. "You can have me, keep me!"

"MUMMMY!" Rose screamed.

The tears streamed down Hermione's cheeks. "I love you, Rosie! Da-Da loves you, baby! Think of our song, ok? Good night, my someone, good night, my love..." She broke down, weeping, as she thrashed in Greyback's grip. Eyes darting everywhere, her eyes fell on a cool pair of eyes. "Draco... help us, Draco!" Her pleas had come to that.

But Draco could only stare back at her, unfeeling. Yet his gaze seemed to betray the slightest hint of... fear? And then he was gone, as Greyback forced the Golden Trio down into the cellar.

"Reckon she'll give me the little one as a snack when she's done?" Greyback practically purred in Ron's ear. "I'd say I'd get a bite or two, wouldn't you, Ginger?"

Hermione and Harry could feel Ron shaking. Tied together, the three were thrown roughly into the cellar, the barred door clanging with damning finality behind them. No sooner had the sound faded away than Hermione heard Rose scream.

"She's torturing her, Ron! We've got to do something! We've got to do something NOW!" Hermione screeched hysterically.

"ROSIE!" Ron completely lost it, struggling fruitlessly against his ropes. "ROSIE!"

"Ron, shut up... AHHHH!" Harry yelled as, still tied together, Ron's struggling knocked all three of them over. Then, quite suddenly, a fourth voice wafted almost dreamily through the darkness.

"Ron, hold still -"

"Luna?!"

"Yes, it's me! Here, Dean, help me. Just... let me get... this nail..." Luna desperately filed away at the ropes with an old nail. It seemed to take forever, but the bonds were finally cut free. The moment he was loose, Ron was running all over the cellar, digging at the walls looking for a hidden door, rattling the barred entrance. Harry dug through Hermione's beaded bag furiously, trying in vain to use magic with his broken wand - the one that had broken in the skirmish with Nagini. Hermione was screaming Rosie's name, tears streaming down her face and into her mouth so that she choked. Harry nearly cut his hand on the shard of mirror, the one where he had thought he had seen Dumbledore's eye.

"Help us!" he pleaded. "My goddaughter is being tortured, help us, damnit!" There was no response.

Ron was now trying to Disapparate without a wand.

Then, Harry remembered. Fishing out the Deluminator, he sent balls of light into the air. With no lanterns or other light sources to go to, the balls of light simply hovered there, suspended. Harry finally got a good look at their prison.

Luna Lovegood and Dean Thomas were both there, as well as a much older man, whom Harry recognized right away as Mr. Ollivander. From up above, there was the shriek of Bellatrix trying to get whatever information she could out of the little girl.

"You are lying, spawn of a Mudblood slut, and I know it! Tell the truth! Tell the truth!"

"We found it... we found it... PLEASE!" Rose screamed.

"CRUCIO!"

Dean looked somewhere between horrified and murderously enraged. "Is that Rosie?"

Hermione was on all fours, her body heaving with sobs.

"Ron, what the bloody hell were you thinking, bringing her here?" Dean was roaring himself hoarse at Ron now.

"We didn't have a chance to get her to safety, so don't lecture me on being a good parent, Dean! Not now!"

"You may no longer be a parent unless -"

There was a sudden CRACK!

"DOB-" Harry had to punch Ron in the arm to keep him from shouting. The little house-elf bowed.

"Dobby has come to save Harry Potter!"

"Brilliant!" Harry crowed, and he rapidly came up with a plan. "Dobby, can you take Dean, Luna, Mr. Ollivander and Hermione to -"

"Shell Cottage on the outskirts of Tinworth!" Ron interrupted. Harry gave him a look. "Trust me."

But Hermione was shaking her head. "No. I'm staying with you!"

"Like hell you are!" Ron snarled. "I'm getting our daughter back!"

"No, we're getting our daughter back," Hermione got to her feet. Standing on tiptoe, she kissed Ron's lips lightly. "If we die tonight, we die together, with our little Rosebud. I truly, deeply love you and our baby, and before we die, I want you to know."

At last, Ron nodded. Harry signaled to Dobby, and with a loud CRACK, he and the other three prisoners Disapparated.

There was a pause in the torture upstairs. "WHAT WAS THAT?" Lucius Malfoy bellowed. "No, send Wormtail! Make him go and check!"

Harry threw together a plan within seconds. Less than seconds. "Ron, he opens the door, kill the lights. We're gonna have to jump him!"

Ron and Hermione nodded. The Trio flanked either side of the door as they heard Wormtail approach. There was a creak of metal as the door opened...

And everything went black. Wormtail was thrown to the floor as the three young wizards got the drop on him. Harry beat with his fists blindly, Ron was sitting on the little man, hands locked around his throat. Wormtail's body twitched, flailed violently, but after several minutes, it unexpectedly lay still.

Ron and Harry locked gazes, the former's hands still glued to the Death Eater's throat.

"You killed him!" Harry gawped.

"By accident," Ron shrugged. Free, the trio advanced up the stairs. Reaching the edge of the drawing room on all fours, Hermione nearly retched at the sight before them.

Having not gotten what she wanted out of Rose, Bellatrix was progressively losing her shit. Again and again, she sent the Cruciatus Curse at the little girl, but though she screamed in agony, Rose refused to even tear her gaze away from the evil witch, or otherwise give in.

At last, Bellatrix halted, looking almost... shaken that she was being shown up by a two-and-a-half year old toddler. "I think... we can dispose of the little brat. Greyback, take her if you want her."

"NOOOOOOOO!" Ron charged into the drawing room, his friends hot on his heels. Harry dove wildly and collided with Greyback. Seizing several wands that clattered to the side of their bodies, Harry pointed all three at the werewolf and bellowed "STUPEFY!"

Greyback was lifted clear off his feet with a yelp and slammed into a window, the panes shuddering dangerously as his body dropped out of sight behind a couch. Harry flipped two wands to Ron and Hermione, and they began dueling the Malfoys.

"DROP YOUR WANDS!" Everyone froze. Bellatrix, her eyes wild and desperate, was clean on the other side of the room, supporting Rose with all her weight and a knife at the little child's throat. "I said drop them! Or we'll see how filthy her blood really is!"

"No..." Hermione whispered. "Please..."

"All right!" Harry snarled, and threw down the wand, putting his hands up to shoulder-height. Reluctantly, Ron and Hermione followed suit.

"Good! Draco, pick them up! Your death approaches, Harry Potter! The Dark Lord will be pleased!"

Then, all hell broke loose once again.

The chandelier directly above Bellatrix started to crash down on her. With a wail, Bellatrix threw Rose away from her; diving forward, Hermione caught her daughter in her arms. In the confusion, Harry darted forward to subdue Draco, who practically threw the captured wands back at him.

Dobby appeared by the fugitives' sides; with a snap of his fingers, he actually disarmed Narcissa Malfoy.

"You dirty little monkey!" bawled Bellatrix, sounding every bit like a whiny little bitch. "How dare you defy your masters!"

"Dobby has no master! Dobby is a free elf, and Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and his friends!"

The Disapparation began almost in slow motion. There was a flash of silver just across Harry's vision as Bellatrix flung something forward desperately. It turned over and over and then -

With a sucking sound, the little band disappeared into thin air.