Chapter Fifty Seven
"What?" Harry said, starting to walk back down the row, "Are you sure?"
"Well you're the only Harry Potter I know." William said with a shrug, unable to take his eyes off the orb.
"But why?" Harry said, he had to crane his neck to see the small and very dust orb.
"S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter." Harry said, reading the spidery writing on the yellowed label.
"It's dated just over sixteen years ago." Cho said, joining them, "You weren't even born."
Harry nodded and reached out his hand to take it, he just wanted to get a better look, maybe try and work out what it was.
"Harry!" Draco said, pulling him round, "What do you think you're doing?"
"It's got my name on it!" Harry said, needing to know what it could be.
"What if it hurts you? What if this is the trap?" Daphne asked, agreeing with Draco that Harry should just leave it well alone.
"Then you guys can carry me out." Harry smirked, trying to make light of it.
"And if it's a portkey? It wouldn't be the first time!" Pansy pointed out.
Harry drew his hand back. He blinked as images of the graveyard flashed through his head, "You're right. Oh my gods, I can't believe I almost did that."
Draco smirked and ran a hand through his hair, "No harm done. Aren't you glad you have us to think for you?"
"Do you want one of us to grab it? To see?" Ginny asked.
Harry shook his head, "No. Best left alone I think. It looks like it's been there for years anyway."
There was a rustle of movement behind them. They all spun round and raised their wands.
Harry felt his heart begin to race as Bellatrix smiled at them, her wand tip perched on her hip, causally leant against the shelves. She looked as though she had been leaning there for a while watching them. Harry knew that couldn't of been the case, not for more than a minute anyway, but it left him rather unnerved.
"Aww, I was hoping you were going to save me a job." She sighed, "But you know what they say, never send a half blood to do a job, they'll only do it half as well as a full blood."
Harry rolled his eyes, "How original."
"Hello nephew darling." Bellatrix said, smiling nastily towards Draco, "mind moving out the way while I grab that?"
"Go…" Draco bit his tongue to stop himself spitting out an insult at her.
Bellatrix smiled and tilted her head, "Oh I see. How about I give you this?" She raised her free hand and showed a small ruby swan charm.
"That's mine!" Pansy hissed, stepping forward to grab it.
"Excuse me!" Bellatrix said, jerking her hand back, "I seem to be the one holding it, you should be more careful with your things."
"You stole it!" Pansy snapped.
"Really I thought you lost it…" Bellatrix said innocently, "Being silly in the forest."
"It was you?" Pansy said stepping back, "You sent the HinkyPunk into the forest?"
Bellatrix placed a finger to her lips, "Shhh…"
"Why?" William demanded. He could still remember how afraid Pansy had been that day, and how upset she'd been to have lost her great great aunt's charm.
Bellatrix shrugged, "I needed to know what you knew, where the Dark Lord was."
"We didn't know." Harry said.
"I know that now. But you… you destroyed the diary…" Bellatrix looked like she was going to throw up.
Harry shrugged and smiled, "Yeah… can't really say I'm sorry about that."
Bellatrix shook her head, "You will learn, Potter. So, let me past for the orb and you can have this back."
"No." Pansy spat, it wasn't worth letting Bellatrix past, no matter how much she wanted the charm back.
Bellatrix smiled and dropped the charm and went to stand on it, Pansy reached down to stop her, Bellatrix spun passed Pansy, reaching for the orb. Harry didn't know what it was, he didn't know if it was important he just knew that whatever it was, Bellatrix didn't want it for herself, she wanted it for Voldemort and he couldn't let that happen.
Harry jumped up and snatched it off the shelves and took a step back. He knew he'd made a mistake when Bellatrix's grin widened. The air was filled with soft footsteps as at least a dozen, if not more, black shapes stepped from the shadows. Their faces hidden with intricate masks and black hoods, showing only a strip of their eyes.
"Thank you Harry." Bellatrix smirked, "I couldn't of gotten that myself, only those named could of but I knew you'd want to protect it at all costs."
"I don't suppose putting it back would stop you picking it up again?" Harry asked, his heart sinking.
Bellatrix shook her head, "No, afraid not. I'm free to take it now."
Harry reached around to group his friends closer, they were out numbered by nearly two to one, and the new arrivals were almost certainly more skilled than Harry could of trained his friends.
"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked, as strongly as he could.
"At home I would think? Why? Did you think he would be here?" Bellatrix laughed, "You should be less trusting of your dreams, little boy with an open mind."
"Kreacher said that you were with Sirius!" Harry hissed.
Bellatrix smiled, "But I was. I went there, all wet hair and tears, god that boy could never resist a damsel in distress. Rodolphus was all mean to me… he forced me to lose the baby." she said mockingly.
"How did you even find the house?" Draco asked.
Bellatrix waved her hand dismissively, "It might be hidden, but it still has a postcode. I found the road and house eleven which then skipped to thirteen, I'd been there when I was younger so I knew what the surrounding area looked like. Then I just waited outside and sent my Patronus in, when I knew you'd have been having the dream. Sirius came outside and led me in, and I had tea. It was reasonable considering your filthy mother picked it out. Once Kreacher came upstairs, so confused that you'd contacted him in such a state, I left. I knew I'd been with him long enough, she really is pretty your little sister."
"Stay away from her." Harry said through gritted teeth.
"Ooo she was right, that is your weak spot. When she said it, I wasn't sure. I thought that Sirius would be enough for your little hero fantasy, but the Dark Lord wanted to be sure." Bellatrix said.
"Who?" Hermione asked, trying to remember everything Bellatrix said, since she appeared to be in a talking mood.
"Never you mind." Bellatrix said, the smile leaving her face, "You know I think you have drastically under estimated me Potter, that's not very nice."
Harry knew that she was getting bored, she wanted to get moving.
"You know people are on their way then?" Harry said, playing for time and trying to judge her reactions.
Bellatrix rolled her eyes, "Of course they are. You are all far too… loved. Well I assumed those of you I don't know also are. Now give it to me."
"Oh Daddy loves me quite a bit." Luna said, "So you're right there."
"What is it?" Harry asked, throwing the orb from one hand to another.
"You don't know?" Bellatrix said, flinching every time it left his hand.
"Yes, we're just giving you a pop quiz." Neville said, rolling his eyes overly dramatically back at Bellatrix.
"You know, years and years ago, I was going to torture your parents to death. Did you know that? Well I say death… you can't actually die from the Cruciatus curse, and I happen to be very good at it. Want to see?" Bellatrix said, raising her wand.
"Hurt them and we'll break it!" Hermione said quickly.
Bellatrix lowered her wand, "I really wouldn't advice that, little girl."
"So it's pretty breakable, huh?" Harry said, "Draco, catch."
He chucked the orb over his shoulder where Draco caught it, pretending to drop it a few times.
"Well that was close." Draco smirked.
Bellatrix took several deep breaths, "It's a prophecy. About you, and the Dark Lord…"
Harry felt his interest pick up, this was the prophecy that Dumbledore believed was so important, "Oh? What about?" he tried to say casually, he knew most of it after all but still, there was the bit that no one knew.
"No one knows." Bellatrix said softly, "That's why the Dark Lord wants it. Wouldn't you like to know? Know why you've suffered so much. Know why you had to lose your father, before you even got the chance to know him. Do you even remember him?"
Harry shook his head, "I'm good." he lied. It was possibly the worst lie he'd ever told and Bellatrix snorted a laugh at him.
Harry was, however, holding onto the fact that she didn't seem to know anything about it, so Voldemort hadn't told her; this was interesting.
"Keep tell yourself that Potter. Now, if you'll just hand it over, we can all be on our way." She instructed him, holding her hand out.
Harry looked down at the orb he was holding. It seemed a lot of fuss for something so small. It hadn't even done anything when he picked it up, other than be warmer than he'd been expecting is such a cold room. He was hoping that the Ministry had had some sort of real weapon they could use but it was becoming apparent that all this fuss was over just the prophecy.
"And you promise you'll all just let us go?" Harry asked.
Bellatrix nodded, "Of course. We just came for that, there's no reason to get nasty."
Harry snorted a laugh, "Now who's lying? NOW!" he shouted.
They all raised their wands, pointing at those surrounding them, "REDUCTO!"
The pathways were suddenly clear as the Death Eaters jumped out of the way of the curses, prophecies shattering over their heads and the shelves swaying dramatically.
Harry grabbed whoever was nearest to him and pulled them into a run, hoping that the others would follow, clutching the prophecy to his chest. It was impossible to count the footsteps, he just had to hope.
"Help me!" Pansy shouted, skidding to a stop.
Harry hurried over to her, and between the ten of them they managed to push one of the shelves over, sending it crashing into the next one and setting off a chain reaction.
There was a loud scream, Harry assumed that a Death Eater hadn't been able to get out of the way before the shelf crashed down on top of them, it had to of hurt and was almost certainly one down, at least another thirteen to go…
They could see the exit, the door they had come through slightly a jar as they all sprinted for it.
"Stupefy!" Hermione shouted over her shoulder as a hand grabbed hold of Harry and quickly let go.
Pansy crashed to the ground next to them and kicked the Death Eater that had grabbed her in the face. He let go immediately, lying still on the floor.
"He twisted my ankle." Pansy winced, struggling to run with them.
William picked her up and chucked her over his shoulder, before starting to run again; breathing heavily under the extra weight.
"Stay together!" Harry shouted, it would be slower but the last thing they needed was to leave someone behind.
He darted down a row and huddled against the shelves as two people ran passed them, they continued to the other end of the row, creeping along as quietly as they good, clinging to the person behind them's robes with their free hand.
"Leave Avery!" Bellatrix barked.
"The little girl got a lucky shot!" a male voice called back, "He's dead, nose has broken into his face." he said, horrified.
"I don't care!" Bellatrix hissed, "He'll be grateful he's dead compared to what the Dark Lord will do to us if we lose that prophecy! Rodolphus, Rabastan you go that way. Crabbe, Jugson go left. Dolohov and Goyle, left. Macnair and Roowood, straight a head and to the left. Mulciber with me!"
Harry and his friends reached the end of their row and slipped quietly down the long path to the far wall. They could see the door they'd come threw, a thin strip of light they needed to aim for.
"I can walk." Pansy whispered, as William shifted, struggling with her weight and having to run at full speed. He would of struggled carrying a bottle of water for this long, let alone a person, even one as small as Pansy.
"It's fine." He whispered back, trying to adjust her position.
Pansy gasped and let out a whispered 'no' as she reached for the prophecy that William had just knocked from the shelf, it slipped passed her fingers and crashed to the ground with a noise that echoed around them.
A ghostly figure stood, about eight inches high, amongst the broken glass, saying a prophecy about a single choice changing the future before vanishing.
William looked horrified as the noise echoed around them, "I..."
"It's fine." Harry tried to assured him, his voice painfully tight, "Run!"
They sprinted once more for the door as the Death Eaters' footsteps grew closer. Harry ducked as several curses were sent their way, crashing into the shelf to stop a red streak that caught his arm, leaving a large, painful burn.
"Fuck!" he said gripping onto the skin just above the burn.
"We have to keep going." Cho said, on the brink of crying but with a fierce determination in her eyes, "Come on!"
Cho and Luna pulled Harry to his feet and dragged him the first few steps towards the door, Bellatrix stepped between them and the door.
"You make everything so difficult!" she hissed, "Give it over!"
"NO!" Harry yelled, the pain coursing through his arm and scar fuelling his anger.
"Grab one!" she said to the Death Eater who was walking up quickly behind them, "Let's see how long the hero Harry Potter can listen to his friends scream…"
"Stupefy!" Draco sent the spell behind them.
The Death Eater easily sent it away, leaving him open for Daphne's spell which hit a second later, stunning the Death Eater, and sending him crumpling to the ground. Bellatrix looked around for back up but she was the only one close and raised her wand.
Ten curses flew at her at once, sending her wand spinning from her hand and her crashing into the nearest set of shelves.
Harry reached the door and flung it open, making sure that everyone one was safe through before slamming it shut.