1996
~Draco~
It took far too long to remove the disgusting bogies from my head, and by the time we'd gone after Potter's friends, they'd vanished.
Strangely, Umbridge still hadn't returned with Potter and Granger, and whatever this weapon of Dumbledore's was. Umbridge should have allowed me to go too, at least then I could have avoided the betrayal and trickery of Scarlett. How dare she take advantage of me, not once, but twice!
"What should we do?" Crabbe asked, looking dumbly around.
"We wait for Umbridge, she can drag their pathetic arses out of the safety of their houses." I spat, furious we'd been thwarted. Umbridge would be disappointed, and she was positively manic today.
"This weapon must be quite dangerous, since she hasn't returned yet." Millicent said.
"Made by that bunch of misfits, I doubt it." I replied moodily, staring out the window. Scarlett had tricked me! When I found her, she'd pay. I'd unleash my voice on her and ruin her relationship with Hunter. I plotted ways to enact my revenge, delighting in how she'd regret messing with me.
"Draco, she's still not back, perhaps something is wrong?" I blinked out of my plotting reverie, noting the forest now cast dark shadows upon the school grounds, the sky darkening. Had it grown that late already?
"Remain here, I'll alert Snape." Striding from the office, I made my way down to the dungeons.
"Come in." Snape's voice penetrated the closed door on my fourth knock. He was seated before a work bench, mixing ingredients in a bowl with a stone pestle. The scent of Oranges filled my nose. He glanced up, before re-concentrating on his task. "And what does Professor Umbridge request now?" He asked in a bored tone.
"Uh well, she's not returned since Potter and Granger and her left to show her some secret weapon Dumbledore instructed them to build in secret." I rushed out, surprised to see Snape's brows rise considerably at my statement.
"And where did Potter and Granger take her to view this, weapon?"
"The forest, Sir."
"And the others, Weasley, Longbottom... Ashwood?"
"They uh, got away. We haven't been able to find them, and think they are hiding out in the houses."
"I see." Snape said, a very slight frown creasing between his brows.
"What should we do?"
"You will do nothing. I'll alert the other professors, and conduct a search. You may return to your house, along with the others."
"I'd like to assist." I insisted.
"You are dismissed, Draco." With an annoyed huff, I left his office, and stalked to the Slytherin common room. The others would figure out I'd abandoned them... eventually. I really didn't care.
~Scarlett~
I turned around, and Max pulled me protectively behind him, as we came face to face with the cruel smile of Lucius Malfoy. Draco's father. Around us, shadows flew about, transforming into dark robed, hooded figures, surrounding us with wand tips pointed; a warning not to make any sudden movements. Ginny let out a small cry as I came to the realisation, we had nowhere to go.
"To me, Potter." Lucius insisted, holding his hand out.
"Where's Sirius!" He demanded instead. Either side of us, the Deatheaters laughed, a harsh female voice cackling above the rest.
"The Dark Lord always knows." She hissed.
"Always." Lucius echoed, and a chill ran down my spine. I pressed back closer to Max.
"You've got him." Harry insisted. They merely smirked at him, and the woman cackled. "He's here, I know he is." Harry added.
"The little baby woke up fwightened, and fort what it dweamed was twoo." The witch taunted in a simpering baby voice, and I felt Max's grip on me tighten.
"I know Sirius is here!" Harry called out, and more Deatheaters laughed, but not as loud or as deranged as the wild haired witch.
"It's time you realised the difference between life and dreams, Potter." Lucius tutted. "Now, give me the prophecy, or we start using wands." He took a step forward.
"Go on then!" Harry challenged, and raised his wand higher, ready to fight. I did the same, my heart slamming against my ribs, my mind telling me to run.
"Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt,." Lucius said coolly, not making a move to strike. Harry laughed.
"Yeah, right!" I give you this, prophecy, is it? And you'll just let us skip off home, will you?"
The words were hardly out of his mouth when the witch, who I now recognised from the Daily Prophet as, Bellatrix Lestrange, shrieked, "Accio prophe-"
"Protego!" Harry bellowed over her, before she had finished her spell, and though the glass sphere slipped to the tips of his fingers he managed to cling on to it.
"Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter!" she laughed gleefully her mad eyes staring through the slits in her hood. "Very well, then..." She rushed forward, wand twirling, only to have an arm thrown out before her.
"I told you, no!" Lucius barked out, his command like a whiplash. "If you smash it..." He trailed off, but Bellatrix seemed to listen, and back off, but by the malicious glint in her eyes, I wondered for how long? What had we done, running off from Hogwarts and into so much danger?
"You need more persuasion?" Bellatrix said, her chest rising and falling rapidly, in what must have been excitement. Harry glared at her. "Very well, take the smallest one." she ordered the Death Eaters beside her. "Let him watch while we torture the little girl. I'll do it." She licked her lips.
Ron grabbed Ginny's arm, pulling her into the centre of our circle, and we closed in around her, blocking her from the Deatheaters. Harry pivoted so he was right in front of her, the prophecy held up to his chest.
"You'll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us." He told Bellatrix. "I don't think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?" She did not move, merely stared at him, the tip of her tongue again licking her lips, much like a snake sensing its prey.
"So, what kind of prophecy are we talking about?" Harry asked with an unexpected casualness.
"He's stalling for time." Max murmured so softly against my ear, I knew no one else heard.
"Any plan?" I murmured back, hoping the still hooded Deatheaters staring at us couldn't hear us, as Harry and Bellatrix kept talking.
"Not yet." His voice came out as a defeated sigh.
"Voldemort?" Harry said clearly, snapping my attention back to his conversation. "Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle, or has he been telling you lot he's pure-blood?"
Belatrix's face contorted in fury. "Stupif-"
"No!" Lucius deflected the streak of red light from her wand, and I jolted sideways, jostling Ginny as the spell crashed into the glass orbs on a shelf closest to Max, Luna and I. The glass smashed at our feet, and two shimmering ghost-like whisps rose from the shattered orbs.
"At the solstice, will come anew." The ghost of a bearded old man whispered, before disappearing into the darkness.
"Beware a daughter of darkness." The second said, voice low and trembling. "And none will come after." A woman with long straight hair vanished too.
"He dared. He dares!" Bellatrix shrieked, lips curled back revealing jagged teeth. "He stands there, filthy half-blood!" I could nearly laugh at her, for Harry had just pointed out Voldemort was also a half-blood, but I didn't have a death wish.
"Wait until we've got the prophecy." Lucius cut over her ranting.
"You haven't told me what's so special about this prophecy I'm supposed to be handing over." Harry said, once again stalling for time.
"Do not play games with us, Potter."
"I'm not playing games."
"Dumbledore never told you the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?" Lucius sneered, and we all looked in his direction.
"I... What?" said Harry. "What about my scar?"
"What?" Whispered Hermione, voice urgent.
"Can this be?" Lucius said, sounding delighted, and some of the still masked Death Eaters laughed again. "Dumbledore never told you?" Harry shook his head. "Well, this explains why you didn't come earlier, Potter, the Dark Lord wondered why-"
I felt a nudge of a foot against my leg. Ginny. "When he says 'now', smash shelves". She whispered quickly while Lucius kept talking. I quickly repeated the message to Max, who told, Luna.
"Now!" Harry yelled, and I whipped my wand about, crying out, "reducto", along with the others. Light shot from our circle, and around us, shelves of orbs exploded, hundreds of voices calling out in the cacophony as ghost-like figures filled the air.
"Run!" Harry commanded, and I felt Max's grip on my hand before we were pelting down one of the rows. There was cries of rage and spells shooting about us; the shelves now toppling over.
"This way!" I gasped, pulling Max sideways and down another row, narrowly missing a hex shot our way, sending a stupify behind me. We raced down another row, turned, and raced down another, my heart was pounding in my chest.
"Stop and listen." Max urged, hauling me to halt. We caught our breaths, gasping in air. No one was chasing us.
"Concealment charm." I whispered, knowing Max was better at charms than me. He cast one over both of us. "What do we do now?"
"Unsure. We need to get out. All of us." I let out a groan, realising we could have all escaped while we'd been huddled together. "What is it?"
"My necklace, it's a portkey. If I'd only thought of it sooner, we'd be safe. We need to find the others, group up again, then I can activate it."
"And if we can't?" He whispered.
"I... I don't know."
"Where does it go?"
"My home."
"What if you go, and get help?"
"I wouldn't know where to go. I'm not able to get into the order headquarters on my own. Are you?" Max shook his head.
"No, but we need to get a message out."
"We could cast a patronus, warn the order." I suggested, hoping the current fear and uncertainty by the danger we were in wouldn't stop either of us.
"Okay." Max murmured, re-grabbing my hand, and drawing in a calming breath. "You cast." He turned to me, tilted up my chin, and kissed me. When he pulled away, I used the moment of familiarity, of safety, of emotional rush, to set the silvery raven free. She flapped before us, glowing in the darkness.
"Find my dad, tell him; "Help, trapped by Deatheaters in Department of Mysteries. Harry has prophecy." With a wave of my wand, my raven streaked through the rows, and away.
"Someone's sent out a warning!" I heard a deep male voice call out. "Find them!"
"Run!" Max urged, and we took off in the opposite direction, trying to keep away from the sounds of wandfire.
"There's a door up there." I gasped, after we'd been ducking and weaving around still standing, and fallen shelves for what seemed hours. We raced towards it, only for a shadow to materialise before us, a jet of light streaking towards us. Max hauled us sideways, and I let out a surprised scream, as we careened into a shelf, sending orbs raining down upon us.
Colloportus!" Max yelled, sending a jet of light at the Deatheater. They flew back, slamming hard into the wall as we scrambled to our feet.
"Your bleeding " I gasped, seeing streaks of red on his face.
"Go, go!" Max ignored me, shoving me towards the door. It opened, and we tumbled through, but suddenly, the air to my gasping lungs was cut off, Max letting out a cry as he staggered to the ground, a flash of red flaring against his back.
There was a loud cackle from my left, as a cold hand wrapped about the back of my neck.
"What have we here? Hmm?" The deadly voice of Lucius Malfoy murmured. "Was it you who cast that patronus while the rest of your little friends were trying to fight?
"Failing to fight." Bellatrix snickered, and others laughed. It was now I realised we were back in the room with the large stone pillar entrance at the bottom of the stone auditorium.
Everyone was here, caught by the Deatheaters. I writhed, gasping for air, my body weakening, sight darkening, before suddenly I could breathe again. I took in great shuddering breaths. Seeing a bloodied up, limping Neville.
Where were Hermione, Ginny, and Luna? I glanced about wildly. Lucius had his wand at my throat, but his attention, all the Deatheaters attention, was on Harry, who stood below, right next to the stone archway. Somehow, Max and I had entered the room via a different door than before. My wand I realised, was gone from my grip. No, no, no...
"Potter, your race is run," drawled Lucius Malfoy, voice close to my ear, sending chills of terror down my spine. "Now hand me the prophecy like a good boy."
Harry stared at him, physically shaking now. Hair dishevelled, blood and dirt on his arms, on his face from injuries. "Let... Let the others go, and I'll give it to you." He called up to the Deatheaters desperately. A few laughed.
"You are not in a position to bargain, Potter." said Lucius, his wand pushing harder against my neck. "You see, there are ten of us and only one of you… Or, hasn't Dumbledore ever taught you how to count?"
I had no idea where Max was, and tried to writhe in Lucius Malfoy's grip, to locate him. All I knew was he'd been hurt. I had no wand, but wait, perhaps I didn't need it?
"He's not alone!" Shouted a voice. "He's still got me! "Neville was scrambling down the stone benches towards Harry, what looked like Hermione's wand held fast in his trembling hand. My blood ran possibly colder. Oh Circe, what had happened to Hermione?
While their attention was on Neville, I took a couple deep, calming breaths, and began to sing. Quick as a flash, my voice was extinguished by the wand at my throat.
"Nice try, little songbird." He hissed, while Neville let out three consecutive stupifies, before a large Deatheater grabbed him from behind. Lucius merely tutted as Neville struggled and kicked. I could have tried to struggle, but knew there was no point. I had to hope my patronus had made it to my dad.
"Longbottom?" Bellatrix called out, sashaying her way to where Neville was fighting the Deatheater holding him. Her lips curved up into an evil smile upon her gaunt face.
"Why, I have had the pleasure of meeting your parents, boy."
"I know you have!" Neville roared out, tripling his fight against his now two captors.
"Stun him!" Someone shouted from behind a mask.
"No!" Bellatrix screamed, getting closer to Neville, dark eye's filled with excitement. "Let's see how long Longbottom lasts before he cracks like his parents... Unless... Potter wants to give us the prophecy?"
"Don't give it to them!" Neville shouted at Harry, who seemed unsure what to do now. "Don't give it to them, Harry!" Neville repeated, beside himself, kicking and writhing as Bellatrix drew nearer to him and his captor, her wand raised.
"No, don't! I screamed at the woman, but my words were voiceless as Bellatrix raised her wand.
"Crucio!" Neville screamed, his legs drawing up to his chest so that the Death Eater holding him was momentarily holding him off the ground. The Death Eater dropped him and he fell to the floor, twitching and screaming in agony. Now I writhed and fought against Lucius's grip, trying to get free, to help Neville, help somehow.
"Insolent girl." My head snapped sideways, as something hard connected with my face and my vision blurred, my airway cut off once more, but this time, I felt the golden chain of my pendant cutting into my windpipe. I struggled to breathe, gasping, my hands frantically pawing and grabbing at my throat, my neck, as I was hauled off the ground.
"That was just a taster!" I dimly heard Bellatrix cackle. "Now, Potter, either give us the prophecy, or watch your little friends die the hard way!" There was a moment of stillness as I struggled, and then I was sent falling, the darkening world tilting sideways, the last words I heard from Harry, a defeated, "Take it." The last thing I saw, streaks of magic, and an eruption of red light right in the centre of Lucius Malfoy's chest, before my oxygen starved body hit the stone stairs.