"Hello, Potter," Bellatrix said as Harry was pushed to his knees.

"Let me and my friends go," Harry stated. He was trying to block out all the memories from when he was kidnapped.

"The Dark Lord has been awaiting your visit," Bellatrix replied.

"Fine. Let Ron and Hermione go. They have nothing to do with this," Harry glared.

"They have everything to do with this, just like you," Bellatrix stated. Harry stared at her. "What do you know about the Horcruxes?"

"Nothing," Harry said.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix cried. Harry screamed as the pain coursed through his body. "You know the prophecy, Potter. What is it?"

"No. I'm not telling," Harry answered, his breathing coming in gasps. He screamed again as he was hit with a cutting curse on his back. Harry felt the blood flowing out of the fresh cut and tears going down his cheeks.

"Oh my God. They're torturing him. This is what happened to him when he was kidnapped," Hermione gasped as she and Ron listened to Harry scream.

"He'll be okay. We'll be okay," Ron told her. She was sitting in front of him, leaning back on his chest, his arms wrapped around her.

"You don't know that," she whispered.

"Yes, I do. We're going to make it. We will," Ron kissed her head.

"They might kill him," Hermione said. "It's been ten minutes and he's screamed almost the whole time."

"They won't kill him. They'll hand Harry to Voldemort to prove they're loyal."

"We have to do something. We have to get out of here and destroy the other Horcruxes."

"I know. Me, you, and Harry will get out of here. We'll get everyone out of here. We'll finish this. We'll end the war."

"Hi, Seth," Remus said. He had managed to get Seth to be allowed into an interrogation room. Now, Remus was sitting across from Seth.

"Hi, Remus," Seth's voice was so hoarse, it was barely audible.

"I'd ask you how you're doing but that'd be a really stupid question," Remus smiled.

"It would be," Seth nodded. Remus heard the smile in Seth's voice but no smile appeared.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you. Sirius and I had evidence that would have helped, but it was too late," Remus sighed.

"You tried, Remus, that's what counts. I know you tried," Seth replied. "When's the hearing that determines the date?"

"Tuesday. Three days," Remus answered.

"I see," Seth nodded. Remus looked away. Azkaban had taken away the Seth he knew. The Seth he knew wasn't in there anymore.

"Time to go," Damian Sanders entered the room. Seth stood.

"Goodbye, Remus."

"Bye, Seth," Remus watched as Sanders lead Seth from the room. He switched his gaze to the table.

"Moony?" Sirius said quietly.

"Hi, Sirius," Remus said without looking at him.

"Are you okay? That's probably a stupid question but still," Sirius stated, sitting across from him.

"I'm all right, I guess," Remus sighed. "What's that?" he pointed to a folded piece of paper in Sirius' hands.

"It's today's paper. Thought you should see it," Sirius replied.

"Why?"

"The press got word of Seth being sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss," Sirius pushed the paper to Remus.

Seth Ledger Sentenced to Dementor's Kiss!
Seth Ledger, previously employed in the Department For the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, has been sentenced to receive the dreaded Dementor's Kiss for his attack on Head of department, Remus .J. Lupin. On the coming Tuesday, there is a hearing being held to determine the date that Mr. Ledger's sentence will be carried out. Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Nymphadora Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebolt are all permitted to attend this hearing. They are also permitted to view the Kiss.

Remus pushed the paper aside. He was getting extremely sick of the reporters and the Daily Prophet.

"Remus? Maybe you should go sleep for a bit. It's almost nine. I know that's not real late, but you should try sleep," Sirius suggested.

"Maybe," Remus nodded but made no move to get up and leave.

"Remus, you need to sleep. You haven't slept in days."

"Neither have you."

"I know and Tonks will probably kill me for it," Sirius agreed. "Come on, Remus. It'll calm you down."

"I am calm."

"On the outside, maybe. On the inside, not even close," Sirius crossed his arms.

"Fine. I'll try to sleep," Remus sighed, defeated.

"Good," Sirius stood. Remus got up and followed Sirius out of the room. They were silent as they walked to Remus' department.

"Who am I going to get to fill Seth's position?" Remus said as they entered his office.

"You'll get someone, Moony."

"I doubt it. Seth was the best," Remus sighed and lay down.

Sirius looked at him sadly. "I know, Remus, I know." He closed the door and breathed deeply. He put his hands in his pockets and slowly made his way to his office. He hated seeing what Seth's sentence was doing to Remus. It was just like when Lily and James had been killed.

"Heard Remus talked to Seth. Is he okay?" Kingsley appeared beside him.

"I don't think so. Azkaban has destroyed the Seth that Remus knew. This is like when James and Lily were murdered. It's horrible," Sirius answered. "I don't know what to do. How to help." Kingsley sighed and nodded, looking at him.

"Harry? Are you all right? Harry, please talk to us," Hermione said. Five minutes earlier, Harry had been brought back to the cell, covered in blood and shaking. He sat in a corner, pulled his knees to his chest, and wrapped his arms around them. Hermione and Ron had sat around him.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" Ron asked. Hermione was ripping a piece off her sweater.

"I'm cleaning off this blood."

"You have got to stop shredding all your sweaters."

"Keep talking to him. He's in shock," she said and began cleaning the blood off her friend.

"Come on, mate. It's me. Ron. Harry, come on," Ron said.

"Harry?" another voice said. Hermione and Ron turned their heads. Ginny was standing and staring at them. She walked towards them. She knelt beside Ron, in front of Harry. "Harry? Harry, talk to me," she said quietly. When he didn't respond, she lightly touched his hand. "Harry?" she repeated.

"Ginny?" Harry spoke.

"Hey. It's me," Ginny smiled. They watched as Harry's eyes slid over them then landed on Ginny.

"Ginny," Harry repeated. He opened his arms and hugged her.

"Thank God," Ginny sighed.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. I guess," Harry nodded.

"Ron, come over here with me," Hermione said as Harry and Ginny stared at each other.

"Why?" Ron frowned.

"Just come on," she grabbed his hand and dragged him over to Luna where they sat down.

"I've missed you. Everyone has," Ginny said.

"Yeah. I've missed everyone too. We still have quite a ways to go. We won't be home for a while," Harry replied.

"It's hard for everyone. Not knowing if the three of you are okay. Or alive."

"We're definitely alive. We've had close calls, but we've made it."

"But not knowing is hard. It's hard being here too. All I think about is death. I try not to, but I do," Ginny answered.

"How did you get here?" Harry asked.

"I was in Diagon Alley the day the Death Eaters attacked and destroyed it. Mum, Dad, and Bill had to go to the Ministry so I went with Fred and George to the shop. Death Eaters attacked. Fred and George told me to go to the cellar with them, but I heard Snape and he was talking about the three of you. I ran out into the street. I was going to fight, even though I can't do magic. A spell hit me in the back then I was stunned. I woke up here, unable to do magic," Ginny explained.

"When?"

"It was two days after the wedding," Ginny said. "I was alone here for some time. Then Lavender was brought in. her home was attacked. Her father was killed, she was captured, her mother took off. Then Ron came like a day after her or something. I swear, we didn't let go of each other for hours. Then Luna came, then you two right after."

"Have they tortured all of you?"

"Not Luna, but she just got here, so it doesn't count. Otherwise, yeah. All of us. Ron's gotten it more. Lavender's only been tortured about three times. I lost count for me and Ron," Ginny nodded.

"My God," Harry breathed. They were silent for a few minutes, just looking at each other. "So what's been happening in the world?"

"I don't know much, but here. These should help," Ginny looked through the bars to make sure no one was coming, then pulled out about four folded Daily Prophets from her pockets.

"How did you get these?" Harry glanced at them. Some of the dates were a few days old, but there was one from the previous day and from that day.

"I had that one with me when I was captured," she pointed to the oldest of the papers. "The others I nicked. Death Eaters patrol down here sometimes. Once, that Summer Watts was patrolling. She had a bag and when she was leaving, these two fell out. I took them," she continued. "Today's paper I got from Snape."

"Snape? Severus Snape? Death Eater Severus Snape?" Harry gaped.

"The one and only. Apparently, Bellatrix told him to give it to us. Lavender was moaning and crying. They thought the paper would shut her up. It didn't, but I got to read," Ginny nodded.

"Wow," Harry smiled. His smile faded as he seemed to realize something. "Where're our bags?"

"Death Eaters have them."

"Perfect. They let us keep our wands but the bags they take."

"That's because we can't do magic. That stupid spell they put on us."

Harry got a look of being in deep thought on his face. "I wonder-" he trailed off. He shakily got to his feet, Ginny helping him, and walked over to Ron and Hermione. "Over here." He led them to a corner away from everyone.

"What's up, mate?" Ron asked.

"Hermione, do you know the counter curse to the spell stopping our magic?" Harry asked.

"I think so. Why?" Hermione nodded.

Harry looked to Ron. "Do you remember that shield I've been learning? Tego texi tectum."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Do you remember the book saying anything about it being able to be used as a block?"

"Kind of. We only skimmed over it. Why? What's going on?" Ron frowned.

"I'm breaking this spell," Harry said. Ron and Hermione stared at him.

"Hey, where's Remus?" Tonks asked, standing in Sirius' doorway.

"Last I saw, he was in his office trying to sleep," Sirius said.

"Well, he's not there."

"Okay. Maybe he went out for lunch or something," Sirius shrugged.

"It's quarter after seven in the morning," Tonks raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Well, I don't know. He's probably walking around. He can't exactly sleep all day," he shrugged again.

"No, that's you," Tonks grinned.

"Hey!" Sirius glared. "Why do you want to know where Remus is anyways?"

"I wanted to make sure he's okay. I heard he was talking with Seth."

"Yeah."

"How was he? Remus?"

"This is killing him. Azkaban has destroyed the Seth we all knew. I'm surprised he hasn't gone mad yet. Most do within seven to fourteen days."

"I've never fully understood why you didn't go mad."

"I knew I was innocent. I knew the real traitor was still out there. I also thought about Harry and Remus a lot," Sirius explained.

"I see," Tonks nodded. She noticed a look place itself on her cousin's face. "What's wrong? You got a funny look on your face."

"Ah, hell. I think I know where Remus is," Sirius groaned. He stood and grabbed his cloak. "I'll be back soon." Tonks frowned after him as he walked swiftly outside.

Sirius pretty much ran to the house and threw the door open. He went straight to the basement. There was a sofa in the basement for some strange reason. It was never used. Sirius walked down the stairs and groaned when he turned the corner. Remus was half-lying on the sofa and a half-drunk bottle of Firewhiskey in his hand. Sirius looked at the floor. Three empty bottles were lying there.

Sirius rubbed his face tiredly. "Hell, Remus. We've got to stop having Firewhiskey in this place," he muttered. He walked to the sofa and sat at Remus' feet. "How long have you been here, Moony?"

"Hour or so."

"You've drunk three and a half bottles in an hour?" Sirius said. Remus shrugged. "This isn't you! You don't get drunk!"

"Who cares? It doesn't matter," Remus took a large drink, leaving less than a quarter left.

"It does matter and I care! You've completely changed! You don't eat! You don't sleep! You barely talk! Now you're getting drunk in the basement at seven-thirty in the morning!" Sirius shouted.

"I don't care."

Sirius snatched the bottle away as Remus went to finish it. "Well, I do, so deal. I'm not letting you do this. It's not you."

"Sirius, give it back," Remus reached for the bottle.

"No."

"Sirius, I need it," Remus reached again.

"No, you don't," Sirius said firmly. Remus slumped back. Sirius sighed. "Moony, I know this is hard. I know it's reminding you of the night James and Lily were killed and I was arrested. When that happened, you had no one to help you except Michelle but she then killed herself. This time you have people to help you and we will. We won't let you drink until you pass out."

"He's not coming back, is he?" Remus asked quietly.

"Who?"

"Seth."

"No, he's not. I'm sorry, Moony," Sirius shook his head.

Remus put his face in his hands. "This can't be happening. None of this."

"I hate to say it, but it is happening. I know it's sheer torture but it's happening," Sirius nodded slowly.

"God," Remus groaned.

"Come on, Remus. I'll make you some coffee. We'll stay here for a bit," Sirius stood up.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Remus said as he, too, stood.

"I don't care. Kingsley and Tonks will handle things. Luke Cameron is handling things for you. He temporarily took over for Seth until you find someone new," Sirius replied. They walked to the kitchen. Remus sat and Sirius made coffee.

"Everything's happened so fast and it's still moving."

"It's war."

"You can't break the spell, Harry. It can only be broken by magic which we can't do because of the spell," Hermione said. She, Ron, Harry, and Ginny were sitting in a corner together, quietly discussing Harry's plan.

"I know that," Harry nodded.

"Then you also know your plan is impossible," Hermione added.

"That's where you're wrong. Have our six years of adventure taught you nothing?" Harry smiled. Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "Nothing's impossible, Hermione."

"But-"

"Try not to think about it logically. There's not a logical explanation for everything. You should know that after everything we've done and seen and lived through," Harry replied. Hermione didn't respond.

"What exactly is the plan anyways?" Ron asked.

"It'll probably take a while but I'm going to use the block from that shield spell on my mind. With time, I'll be able to push the spell from my mind and I'll be able to do magic fully. Then Hermione will give me the counter curse, I'll lift the spell on everyone, then I'll get us all out of here," Harry explained.

"Will it work?" Ron wondered.

"I'm hoping."

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up," Ginny intercepted and looked at Harry. "You can do wandless magic?"

"Oh, right. You didn't know that," Harry said.

"Nu uh," Ginny shook her head.

"Well then. Yes, I can do wandless magic," Harry nodded.

"Since when?"

"A year. Summer before sixth year."

"What's the date anyways?" Ron suddenly asked.

"It's September sixth," Ginny answered.

"That means school started five days ago. How many do you think went back? How many of our friends?" Hermione said. No one said anything.

"I just thought of something. You usually have your Communicator in your pocket. Why not call someone to help us?" Ginny looked at Harry.

"Three reasons. One, we don't have a clue as to where we are. Two, it's extremely dangerous. And three, I don't have it," Harry replied.

"What do you mean you don't have it?" Ginny frowned.

"Exactly that. I don't have it," Harry said.

"Why not? You always have it on you."

"I left it with Remus and Sirius. I told them it was too dangerous to talk to anyone. I told them I'd come back for it." Harry looked to the floor, his voice quieting at the end. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny looked at him sadly. "I might not make it back though."

"Harry, we will make it back. You'll make it back to them," Hermione said.

Harry looked at her through shining eyes. He didn't say anything. He tried to believe her words, he really tried, but he couldn't. He couldn't believe the words she spoke.

Hermione suddenly spoke again, making Harry start a little. "Harry, do you remember what Luna's father told us?"

"About what?"

"The goblet."

"Yeah. Something about it being in a vault. So what?"

"Vault! A vault! Come on, Harry, think. Think."

Harry frowned, not understanding. Then after a couple minutes, his eyes lit up. "Gringotts," he whispered.

She nodded. "It's in a vault at Gringotts."

"We're also in Gringotts. We're farther underground than the vaults. We're in the wizard bank," Harry replied.

A/N: Note that this story was written long before Severus Snape was ever my favourite character.