Chapter 121: Second Escape

"Aaa…" Lily stirred and opened her eyes. Ouch! My whole body is aching. She tried to look around her but it was too dark to see anything. She sat upright and tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness. Where is this place? Not the Disillusion Box again. She shuddered at the thought of being held captives at the same box that she was trapped a few years back. She touched the ground and knocked it. It's wood, a different material. It's not the box. Lily tried to stand up but she did not seem to have the energy to do so. "James?" She whispered out in the darkness and tried to move around. "James, are you there?"

"Lily?"

"James?" Lily was relief to hear the familiar voice. But her instincts told her to be careful. She was at an unknown place and that voice might not belong to James.

"Lily?" Another familiar male voice was heard, and it did not belong to James.

"Sirius?" Lily moved towards Sirius' voice that sounded closer to her. "Sirius, is that you?"

"Where are we?" Sirius asked. "I can't see a thing."

"Neither can I. Where are you?" James whispered louder this time. "Wait a minute. Lumos." James lit up a blue flame with his palm, brightening the entire area.

"James." Lily moved towards James and Sirius direction.

"Stef, are you alright?" Remus, who was lying next to Stefanie sat upright immediately and started shaking her.

"Stef!" Lily rushed towards her best friend. "What happened?" She looked at Remus worriedly. One of her best friend is lying in front of her unconscious.

"Let's not bother with what happened? Let's think about how're we getting out of here?" James spoke rationally.

"It's full moon within twenty hours." Remus said grimly. "That's all the time we have." All of them looked at one another in horror.

"Where is this place? Not the Disillusion Box, I hope." James lifted his right hand where the blue flame burnt brightly to check their surroundings. The five of them stayed closed together in case of any danger lurking around them.

"I don't think so. It's not supposed to look like this inside." Lily looked around. Instead of a smooth surface, the floor felt like it was made of wood. "We're in a house."

They looked around, eyeing the area. It was rather run-down, with spider webs all over the place.

"There're no windows. Are we underground?" Remus looked up, trying to search for a door.

"If we're in a house, there must be a door to get out of here." Sirius pointed out.

"Wait a minute, how did we end up here?" Lily asked.

"Lils, are you crazy? Voldemort captured us, of course." James looked at Lily in disbelief.

"Never mind." Lily looked around her, but felt that she was being watched. "I know. Let's get Stef up." Lily had swept her hand over Stefanie several times before she stirred a little.

"Ouch. Aahhh…" Stefanie blinked and saw four pair eyes looking at her in concern. "Oh. Erm… what happened?" Remus helped her upright.

"I was at St Mungo with Nadine. Oh! Nadine!" Stefanie jolted in realization.

"I'm sure she's fine. It's us that are not fine." Remus broke the news to her gently. "We're held captive by Voldemort."

"Oh. Let's think of something so we can get out of here." Stefanie said whatever popped up in her mind.

"Yeah, we're trying to find a way too." Sirius told her.

"I'm sure we can get out. But how?" Lily looked at her surroundings again. There were old and broken tables and chairs. Cobwebs filled out every nook and corner of the room. It looked like no one had entered here in years.

Stefanie closed her eyes and entered their thoughts. It's me. I think Voldemort is watching us somewhere up there but I can't be sure. I don't want to risk and enter his thoughts. The others looked at one another, sharing the same expression and turned to Stefanie in silence. We can get out of here. I know we can. And I think the only way is for us to use all our possible powers. We're left with less than eighteen hours before full moon. And I think Voldemort wanted to trap us here so Remus can turn all of us into werewolves. Remus looked at his friends in terror.

"No. No." He shook his head in determination. "I can't."

Don't worry. That won't happen. We'll be out by then.

Alright. Then what do you think we should do now? James spoke in his thoughts. He was not sure if the rest heard him, but at least he could only be sure that Stefanie heard him.

Our wands are not with us now and James is the only one who can perform wandless magic. We can try to apparate out of here but I strongly believe that there are anti-apparating spells around. Sirius and I can try to use those broken tables and chairs and hit the ceiling; hopefully can create a hole where we can crawl out.

I think I can travel back time to see how we ended up here. Remus spoke in his thoughts.

But Remus, you look really bad and I don't think it's a good idea. Lily said in deep concern for her friend.

I agree with Lils. You shouldn't waste too much of your energy now. Besides Sirius and I can't transform tomorrow. If Voldemort caught us, we'll be sent to Azkaban before he does. James told his usually clear-headed friend.

Alright. I shall just stay here. But be careful. Remus sighed in defeat. He knew they were right. But the idea that he could not do anything to help seemed to make him feel more useless than he already was.

Wait a minute. James shouted in his thoughts. The rest of them turned to stare at him in surprised and puzzled look. I can teleport. His friends, besides Lily, raised their brows in surprise.

Since when?Sirius asked immediately. How could you hide such a brilliant power from your best friend?

I only knew about it yesterday actually. So it's still rather weak. James admitted. I didn't know before that either.

Let's talk about more serious matters on hand. Remus reminded them.

Right.They got out from their mind-conversation. James sat on one side of the floor leaning against a rickety table trying to teleport out of the room. Sirius and Stefanie saw down at a distant not too far from James and tried to use their eyes and mind to move the things around the room. Lily and Remus sat slightly away from them, watching them closely as well as keeping a lookout for any dangers. They exchanged an eye contact in silence and then continued watching their friends in action.

X

"This is Riddle's old house." Dumbledore said as the four apparated some distance away from a fine looking manor. It stood on a hill overlooking the village of Little Hangleton.

"This meant that Tom Riddle must be Voldemort." Moody deduced; based on the various evidences he had from work.

"I believe so." Plains nodded. "It is not a good sign." She shook her head and closed her eyes.

"Why would you say that?" Dumbledore asked, looking for any traces of giveaways from Plains' expression.

"Voldemort wanted all the fame and power to control over the whole magical community. The only people who could stop him were the reincarnation of his fellows who held equal powers with him. So he tried to recruit them to join him. Last time was only James and Lily, and now, the rest of them. Arabella is safe because she had lost her magical abilities and no threat to him now." Plains explained what she knew to them but at the same time trying not to reveal too much.

"So that means by turning them into werewolves, he will have a higher power over them." McGonagall concluded.

"That's right. Since he can't get all of them to join him, he had to get rid of them. But it will not happen. They can't get killed so easily. But because Remus is a werewolf, and if he bites the rest of them, it makes everything simpler for him." Plains explained further. I can't reveal too much. Or the course of future will change.

"Sarah, I believe you know how we can defeat Voldemort." Dumbledore commented.

"Yes, I've seen it." Plains nodded. "But I've also seen the changes because certain things that were meant to happen did not happen. And hence, the course of history had altered."

"What did you mean by that?" McGonagall asked. Although it was not the most appropriate time to have a discussion outside Voldemort's hideout, they believed that Plains was doing the things she deemed thought was right.

"All of them had the power to change Destiny." Plains said affirmatively.

"Now, that's beyond me. Do explain." Moody spoke up.

"There was many things through the course of their lives should have happen, but they prevented it and hence the present changed because of the altered history. I believed that the seven of them has the ability to control destiny, not only for themselves, but also for the whole magical community. Let me just give the example the last time Voldemort captured James and Lily. I'm sure you all could remember that event." Plains said further. Two years ago, Voldemort had captured Lily and James and kept them in the Disillusion Box and Arabella had lost her powers trying to save them. The three of them nodded in silent. "Obviously we all know that James and Lily can't possibly die then because you all had seen their son in the future. But if you all didn't know, they would have been trapped till this day." Plains enlightened them. "That was the first time they defied the Dark Lord. And it had alerted him that this group of youngsters was not as easy to deal with as he originally thought. Hence, this time he intended to capture all five of them." The three of them gasped slightly in surprised. "And the most important thing is, trust no one for there is a traitor among us." Plains turned to look at the large manor, which emitted an evil aura around the whole place.

"Who?" McGonagall asked. "We picked each and every one in the Order with much care."

"I'm in no position to reveal this news." Plains looked away. "For if I divulge something I shouldn't, a worse future awaits us."

"Alright, I think that's enough for time being." Dumbledore spoke suddenly. The skies above darkened as if a storm was brewing. "It's time we go in."

X

"There is not a single trace of sunlight coming." Lily murmured to Remus who was sitting beside her. They had been trapped in the dark room for nearly four hours and nothing had happened. James was still trying to apparate or teleport, or simply just to get out of the room. Stefanie and Sirius had tried to use their various powers to remove the wooden planks above them without making too much sound.

"How far underground do you think we are?" Remus asked, as he looked squinted above him.

"For all you know we might be in the dungeons of this horrible house." Lily muttered. "What house can Voldemort hide us anyway?"

"His house?" Remus muttered lamely. They were trapped, at least time only two of them were.

"His house." Lily looked up. "Then who is Voldemort? What kind of people will call themselves Voldemort?"

"I don't know. Sounds like a Slytherin name." Remus shrugged, although he remained alert at the surroundings.

"V-O-L-D-E-M-O-R-T." Lily spelled out and wrote out the name on the floor. James had already placed blue flames at various spots in the room to increase visibility. "Mort means death in Latin. Then Volde, what does Volde means?"

"Flight from death." Remus whispered knowingly. "His name means flight from death. V-O-L is a short form for Latin volatus which meant flight."

"Oh. Thanks." Lily mumbled. "Do you think we can find his actual name from this word?"

"Are you trying to trace who he is?" Remus frowned slightly. How can Lily be thinking something like this at this kind of timing?

"He must have been someone prominent before. He had so many Deatheaters under him. In fact most of them are from Slytherin. So he is probably a Hogwarts graduate. But how long ago, I don't know." Lily tried to rearrange the name. "D-O-O-M." She wrote down on the dusty floor.

"You don't honestly think there's a person named Doom, right?" Remus mumbled in disbelief.

"Dumbledore once said that this Voldemort person might have studied in Hogwarts before based on the fact that majority of the Deatheaters were Slytherins. If he could recruit so many fellow students, he must have been someone outstanding when he was in school." Lily spoke in a soft voice that only Remus could hear so that she would not disturb the three of them.

"Then who are the possibilities?" Remus asked, slightly amused at the way Lily analyzed a name.

"Phineas Nigellus. I don't think it's him, I mean he's supposed to have – well, passed away a long time ago." Lily said as he thought. "The next person I can think of is the Slytherin's last Head Boy in 1940s, Tom Riddle or something like that. I don't quite remember." She tried to think a little further about what she remembered.

"Tom… hmm…" Remus looked at the name Voldemort written on the dusty floor. "T-O-M. Well, You can find the name Tom inside this word though."

"That's strange. What about Riddle?"

"I don't know. What's his middle name?" Remus was trying to figure out Voldemort true identity.

"Mar-something. It's quite a unique name actually." Lily searched through her memory.

"Marcus?" Remus suggested helpfully. He was still keeping an eye at the three of them but now he was trying to solve the mystery of Voldemort too.

"Marve, no, Marvo – Marvolo, I think." Lily said. "Tom Marvolo Riddle."

"Well, well, well." A high-pitch voice echoed in the dimly lit room. All five of them stopped whatever they were doing and stood upright. They were looking around them and huddled close to one another.

"So the mudblood and werewolf solved Voldemort's identity." Voldemort's voice sounded very close but yet none of them could see him.

"So did Dumbledore." The familiar voice of their Headmaster was heard.

"Professor." James exclaimed. They had never felt happier to hear Dumbledore's voice than today. For several more minutes, there was silence.

"What do you think happened?" Lily whispered. The silence was really peculiar.

"Do you think Dumbledore and Voldemort are having a wizard duel?" Sirius asked, although he kept his voice down, it was filled with ecstasy.

"If it is, there should be some noise at least. It sounded like there's no one up there." Remus said thoughtfully. He, like the rest of his friends, was looking around them for any traces of movement.

"No silencing charm or whatsoever. I think there's no one around." James had cast some reversal charms but had no effect on the surroundings.

"They should be around here?" After what felt like hours, a female voice was heard.

"Yes, they are down there." Another male voice replied.

"I must be paranoid. I thought I heard Moody's voice." Sirius mumbled to himself.

"Actually I thought I heard Moody's voice too." Remus admitted.

"You two must be in love with Moody." Stefanie said teasingly, although she was not feeling too well herself, managed to lighten the tension around.

BBBOOOOMMMMM! Suddenly there was an explosion above them.

"AAAHHHHH!" The five of them jumped and fell against one another in fright.

"Reparo." James put on his spectacles again. "What the hell was that?" Although it was relatively dark, they managed to see a humongous hole caused by the explosion.

"Someone is here to rescue us." Sirius exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"Are you sure it's not caused by Voldemort during the wizard duel or something?" Remus asked suspiciously.

"Of course not. Are you kids coming up or what?" The male voice said in an impatient tone.

"How are we getting up-" Lily was about to ask before she realized that question sounded rather bimbotic. "Let's apparate up." With several cracking sounds, they reappeared again about ten meters higher than where they stood previously.

"Professor?" Lily and Stefanie caught sight of Professor McGonagall and Professor Plains.

X

"It's time to be on your guard now." Helen Potter advised. The five of them had been rescued from Voldemort's hideout two hours ago and were now safely in Potter's Manor. It was already morning by the time they came back and had to owl their respective bosses about their absence from work.

"There will be a third time." Sarah Plains said calmly. "It's not the end yet."

"Mother, what else will happen?" Arabella asked anxiously.

"Someone had made a prophecy some time ago. This prophecy will cause far more than death and betrayal." Plains looked like she wanted to inform the rest about the prophecy, but at the same time, she was holding back.

"Do you think you can reveal it?" Professor McGonagall requested although she knew what the answer was.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..." Plains closed her eyes and recited what she could remember.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sirius asked quizzically. The six eighteen-year-olds shared the same puzzled look.

"It means the person with the power to defeat Voldemort has yet to appear, according to the prophecy that would be made in the future." Dumbledore concluded. The rest of them exchanged a dreading look.

"This person will be born to the pair who defied him three times. Who could it be?" McGonagall queried.

"The person is Harry Potter." Remus spoke out knowingly. Some of those in the room gasped in surprised.

"As in the former Minster?" Moody questioned, frowning slightly at the outburst of his trainee auror.

"No, as in James and Lily's son." Dumbledore answered for Remus. At that point, Lily turned red with embarrassment.

Oh Merlin. Lily felt that all the eyes in the room were staring at her. She swallowed her saliva with a loud glup. That was so embarrassing. She could feel her face turning as red as her hair.

"Hey." James, who was sitting beside her, nudged her arm. "You okay?"

"Ya, I'm fine." Lily mustered her most genuine smile and looked up. She noticed that James was a little flushed as well but he seemed to be ignoring that.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" James asked bluntly. Lily's face turned even redder than before, and shot James the horrified look.

"Make Harry as soon as possible." Sirius blurted out. Everyone turned and stared at Sirius. Lily and James shot him a killer look while the others seemed to be amused by that solution. "Hey, I'm just speaking the truth." He said defensively.