Following the information they'd prised out of Ollivander, Voldemort and Severus set out to find Harry. The ritual to connect the twin wands was a complex process, and it took the two wizards all day to get a trace on Harry. Thankfully, it looked as though Harry still had his wand on him, or at least that was what Severus and Voldemort were hoping as the lock they had on him placed him nowhere near any known buildings owned by people involved with the Order.
As they worked on getting the trace locked on Harry, Voldemort and Severus also came up with a plan of attack. Even with the wands connection, they knew it likely wouldn't be possible to reach exactly where Harry was being held, so they would have to approach from a distance. With that in mind, the two wizards called in reinforcements. With Lucius up at Hogwarts until the end of the day, they sought help from the Lestrange brothers, Rabastan and Rodolphus, and the Carrow siblings, Alecto and Amycus. Voldemort even earmarked Greyback's help when the time came to go and rescue Harry, hoping that his heightened senses would ensure that they were on the right track.
While Voldemort and Severus worked on establishing a connection between the two wands, the Death Eaters came up with a plan of attack, and once they had a firm fix on Harry, attention turned to the surrounding area and if they had any contacts nearby. Even though Severus wanted to move the second they had a trace on Harry, he knew his father's way was the right way so he contained himself and impatiently waited for the time to move.
"I've got it," Rodolphus suddenly exclaimed.
"Got what?" Voldemort asked.
"A base we can use," Rodolphus replied. "Our father owned a cabin in some woods, about five miles away from where we think Harry is. I don't think he sold it, so we should be able to use it."
"Can the two of you get us there with no problems?" Severus checked with the brothers.
"We should be able to," Rabastan answered with a nod. "I can remember the place, so we shouldn't have any major issues."
"That's settled then, we use the cabin as a base," Voldemort said.
"When do we leave?" Alecto asked, eager to be off and rescue Harry.
"Tonight at six," Voldemort answered. "I want Nott and a couple of Aurors on standby."
"Aurors?" Severus questioned. "Why do we need Aurors?"
"So we can file an official report," Voldemort replied calmly. "No matter what happens, we're going to want an official version that we can publically say happened. If we go in without back-up and get Harry back, questions will be asked about what we've done."
"And this way we can make it look as though Harry was saved via an official Auror investigation," Severus said with an understanding nod. They could also blame any casualties on the kidnappers resisting arrest and the Aurors being forced to use due force.
By the time Voldemort had brought Nott and a couple of his Aurors into the picture, Lucius had arrived from Hogwarts along with Narcissa. He also had Hermione and Draco with him, although Voldemort was adamant that the pair would be remaining behind when they went to save Harry. There was already one member of the family in danger, he didn't want any more put in the firing line.
"Bring him back," Hermione said to Severus, hugging her big brother as he prepared to leave.
"We will," Severus vowed, before saying a quick goodbye to his wife.
Since the Lestrange brothers were the only ones who knew where they were going, apparition not only had to be done in a side-along manner, but it also had to be done in stages. The brothers started with the Carrows, followed by Nott and the Aurors, then Lucius and Greyback, and finally Voldemort and Severus.
The cabin they arrived in clearly hadn't been used for decades and it was a dusty mess, but thankfully they weren't staying long. In fact the group were only in the cabin long enough for Voldemort to activate the spell that connected his wand with Harry's. Thanks to the information they'd gotten out of Ollivander, they'd been able to locate Harry from a distance, but now Voldemort was within striking distance of his grandson, he was able to perform a ritual that linked their wands. The link appeared in the form of a think golden line, twisting out of the end of Voldemort's wand and disappearing into the evening.
"So we follow the golden line?" Rabastan checked.
"We do," Voldemort replied with a nod, before turning to Nott and the Aurors. "You come with us, but you stay out of things until I say otherwise. We're handling this, you're just here to clean up the mess."
"Of course, My Lord," Bernard replied as the two Aurors he'd brought with him also nodded their heads obediently.
"Let's get going," Voldemort said, striding out of the cabin and into the dwindling light of the evening.
Using the connection, the group followed it out of the shallow woods they were located in and out onto a twisting country road. As they moved closer to Harry, the group were all on the alert and Greyback especially was acting as an advanced warning in case there was anyone nearby. As it was, they didn't see or hear anyone as they strode down the country lane until finally a small cottage came into sight in the distance.
"That has to be it," Severus exclaimed. "We're in the middle of nowhere, so Harry has to be inside that house."
"The golden beam is getting stronger," Voldemort said, indicating the light that was coming from his wand. According to Ollivander, the brighter the light the closer the twin wand was. "But let's move carefully Severus. This house is going to be heavily warded, and we don't want to alert Harry's kidnappers until we have to."
Severus nodded his head sharply as he strode purposefully towards the cottage where he was sure his son was being held. By the time they reached the outskirts of the small garden than surrounded the cottage, the wards were clear for everyone to sense. The air was prickling with magic, and they suspected one wrong move could trigger some sort of booby trap.
"Greyback," Voldemort barked, turning to the werewolf. "Is there anyone in the house?"
"It's hard to tell, the wards are very strong," Greyback replied with a frown. "But there's some different scents in the air, someone's been here recently."
"But what about inside the cottage?" Severus pressed. "Is Harry in there?"
"I might be able to tell if people would be quiet," Greyback retorted.
Clenching his teeth, Severus moved away and gave Greyback some space. With the group lapsing into silence, Greyback stalked around the perimeter of the cottage, his ears straining to pick up any noises. After a sweep of the cottage, he'd seen nothing, but he returned with news.
"There's someone in there. But before you ask, I don't know who. I can just hear movement."
"It's Harry," Severus said with confidence. "It has to be."
"Or at least Harry's wand," Voldemort muttered, looking down at the glowing golden beam that reached from his wand and snaked its way into the cottage.
"No, it's Harry," Lucius called in excitement, pointing at the house. "Look at the top window."
Following where Lucius was pointing, the group spotted a lone figure at the top window. Even though the windows weren't exactly very clean, they could see enough to see that it was Harry, his face pressed against the window as he looked out at his rescuers. Severus waved at his son, and indicated that they would be with him soon. In return, Harry gave the group a thumbs up before he vanished from the window.
"Let's get to work," Voldemort barked. "Remember, if you're not sure stop. Do not set off an alert, not until we've gotten to Harry. Greyback, let us know if we get company."
"Will do," Greyback promised as he backed off and left the other wizards get to work.
Even though the two Aurors Bernard Nott had brought with him weren't Death Eaters, they were both eager to help and Voldemort was more than happy to have some extra expertise on their side. With the Aurors and Bernard to help, work got underway on dismantling the wards surrounding the cottage. As predicted it was tricky work and within five minutes over half the workers had stopped fearing they were going to trigger a booby trap.
"Stop," Voldemort called ten minutes later. He'd underestimated how strong the wards were, but now he'd seen them he was confident that they wouldn't be able to break them without alerting whoever had taken Harry.
"We're not getting through with stealth, are we?" Lucius asked, joining Voldemort and Severus at the front of the cottage.
"Not unless we've got a few days to spare," Voldemort answered. "Has anyone found anything we night need to know?"
"There's some sort of spell surrounding the cottage meaning magic doesn't work inside," Lucius answered. "I've never seen the spell before, but it looks like it can only be dropped by whoever cast it."
"So once we're in, we've got no magic," Severus said.
"No, but I'd bet we have whoever turns up outnumbered," Lucius answered. "I can't speak for everyone, but I can take care of myself in a physical altercation."
"And we all know Greyback is the physical type," Voldemort chuckled. "I say we use force and break the wards. If we're inside when the opposition turns up, we take them out physically, but if we're still outside we can fight with magic."
Regathering the group, Voldemort quickly filled them in on the change of plan. Making sure everyone was on alert, he lined everyone up in front of the cottage. The plan was to hit the cottage with everything they had, and hope it was enough to break the wards enough for them to enter the cottage. Just as the group raised their wands, Harry's face appeared at the downstairs window and Severus called a quick halt to proceedings.
"We need to get Harry back away from the front of the house," Severus insisted. Since they didn't know just what was going to happen, he didn't want his son to end up hurt by one of his rescuers.
Waving to Harry, Severus gestured for his son to get back. At first Harry didn't move, but with more gesturing he gave his father a nod and disappeared from view. Severus waited for a few minutes, hoping Harry understood his warning, before giving his father and the others the go ahead.
"After three," Voldemort said as the group raised their wands again. "One, two, three."
The second Voldemort finished his countdown, everyone blasted a spell at the cottage. The end result shook the very foundations of the cottage and lights shimmered all around it as various wards and protective spells broke. Not waiting around to see what response their move would get, Voldemort nodded his head and with Severus in the lead the group burst into the cottage.
"Harry," Severus screamed, his eyes traveling over the cottage, noticing various plaster and chunks of brick that had been shaken loose by the onslaught and were lying over the front room.
"Dad," Harry's voice replied, coming from the back of the house.
Severus sprinted through the house, Voldemort and Lucius right behind him. Entering the kitchen they found a shelving unit had come off the wall, and Harry was trapped underneath it. Raising their wands they tried to use magic to free Harry, but they found the anti-magic wards were still in place. Knowing magic wasn't the way to go, Voldemort knelt beside his grandson to check he was okay while Lucius and Severus started to move the shelf.
"Incoming," Greyback's voice suddenly called.
"Go," Lucius said to Voldemort. "We'll make sure Harry is okay."
"All of you go," Harry insisted. "It's just my leg."
"We're not leaving you," Severus insisted. "Father, place someone on the door so they can't get back to Harry."
"Will do," Voldemort replied with a nod as he vanished from the room.
Seconds later, Rodolphus appeared and flashing Severus a reassuring grin, he took up position in the doorway leading into the front room. Although, it wasn't the only protection Voldemort sent for his grandson, as the two Aurors appeared in the back door, ensuring no-one entered the cottage from the back.
"Hurry up, I don't want to miss all the action," Harry muttered.
"I think you've had enough action for the last few days," Severus told his son. "The second you're free, we're out of here."
"You're going to miss the opportunity to have a go at the men who kidnapped me?" Harry questioned. "I thought you would be out for vengeance."
"I am," Severus replied darkly. "I would just rather you didn't see my dark side."
"I'd rather like to show my dark side," Harry replied. "You can't just whisk me out of here, I need my vengeance."
"The boy has a point," Lucius remarked. "In his shoes, I would want revenge."
"Let's see how things stand when he's free," Severus muttered, turning back to the task at hand.
Five minutes later, Harry was free. His left ankle had been broken and he couldn't stand, but with his father and Lucius supporting him, he hobbled into through the front room and out of the cottage. Sadly the drama was already over, and Bill and Charlie were both lying on the road outside of the cottage garden, magically restrained. Harry could see they'd already undergone some damage and both boys were bleeding, but rather unhappily neither of them seemed badly injured.
"Ah Harry," Voldemort said with a grin. "Come and have some fun with these Weasels. I think they deserve to suffer, don't you?"
"I do," Harry agreed with a smirk as he looked down at Bill and Charlie. "It's payback time," He goaded the brothers as he pulled out his wand and prepared to do his worst.