Headquarters was filling up fast.

Harry peered out around the corner, only to be yanked back by Daphne. They were standing very close together in a concealed nook near the door to the meeting room. People had begun flowing in about twenty minutes before.

"We're not supposed to be here, remember," she murmured. "Not yet, anyways."

Harry rolled his eyes. "We're under an invisibility cloak. What harm could it do just taking a look?" the fact that Daphne had an invisibility cloak was one Harry had discovered only the previous day.

There's one in the Order of the Phoenix who can see through invisibility cloaks," Daphne admonished quietly. "You can't assume that none of these people can."

Harry reddened. He had though he'd been getting better in the past week at thinking less like a Gryffindor. Everyone present at Headquarters was still teaching him lessons on not being so obtuse. Not many of the lessons were administered as kindly as Daphne's.

There was no question that he was improving in other areas, however. The Dark Lord's individual tutelage was causing his dueling ability to increase in leaps and bounds, although the individual attention that he was getting, seven hours a day, had him constantly exhausted, both magically and physically.

As a teacher, the Dark Lord was unpredictable. His basic teaching style tended toward a casual ruthlessness; he would set a goal and Harry would have to keep working to achieve it until he had, no matter how exhausted or hurt he became. If he faltered, he would have to start again, regardless of the reason. Daphne had joined them for two days, learning several new spells alongside him, and the Dark Lord had used the same sort of approach on her.

Harry had not truly failed at anything yet, but he feared the consequences that would result when he did; the Dark Lord was not above causing pain when he could not achieve the goal soon enough.

In truth, though, Harry was happy; though he collapsed in exhaustion every night, it was a good kind of exhaustion, buoyed up by the constant use of Dark magic all day. The Dark Lord's knowledge of Dark magic was unrivalled, Harry learned; he had taken several years after school to travel and learn all sorts of obscure Dark magic all over the globe. Harry knew he couldn't possibly yet learn some of the spells that had been described to him.

And today was the first formal Death Eater meeting that he would be present for. The main purpose, he knew, would be to introduce him. Most of the Death Eaters knew, in a sort of disbelieving way, that the Boy-Who-Lived had not been kidnapped against his will; somehow the word had gotten out. Harry supposed that with every Hogwarts student who had used Dark magic being able to sniff out the fact that he was using it too, it was no wonder that the word had gotten out.

But he had to be presented. It made it…official.

He had been worried at first that word would get out to those who were not Death Eaters, but Daphne explained that every Marked Death Eater was under an oath of secrecy, and every unmarked recruit was under penalty of death should they allow any secret out.

The meeting room was on the bottom floor, a vast, wood-paneled room that reminded Harry of a muggle theatre, with a stage and rows of seats rising. The room was windowless, with torches on the walls to illuminate the rows of seats.

There were some faces that Harry recognized, but the bulk of the group was entirely new to him. He knew the Dark Lord had been recruiting in other countries for the most part, but to hear it and to see the mix of people filing into the theatre, all clad in black, were two different things.

Harry himself was wearing a flowing, well-fitted black robe and cloak. His mask was set firmly on his face, fitting the bumps and creases of his skin perfectly. A weak sticking charm he had been shown this morning was keeping it easily on his face.

Daphne nudged him out of his thoughts. "They're going to start soon. I'd better get to my seat."

"Your seat?" asked Harry, glancing around the corner again.

"We young ones have our own row," she said, smirking. "You'll recognize most of us. I have to be there. It's Blaise's first meeting."

Harry felt a surge of jealousy as Daphne ducked out from under the cloak. So she had managed to convince him, had she? He leaned casually on the wall as people flowed past him, not seeing him. The talk swelled.

A tide of silence began to move around the room as the Dark Lord swept past Harry's spot, his red-tinted eyes passing over him and meeting his eyes. A slight jerk of his head indicated that Harry should follow.

The silence made its way around the room as the Dark Lord marched onto the stage, looking around at the black-clad group. Many had their masks on.

"The time is near."

An air of anticipation grew in the room as he began to speak.

"Our forces swell, well able to meet whatever the opposition can raise to fight. The last month has been marked with victories, from raids to information to the event—" he smiled, showing white teeth. "—that I am sure you have all heard about.

"Sometimes, of course, something entirely unexpected happens, changing our entire course. Far more than changing our course, this occurrence, this choice by the individual concerned, will change the course of those whom we face, as well."

Harry looked around, trying to find Daphne. She was seated on his far left between Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy. Millicent Bulstrode sat beside him, along with three masked figures Harry couldn't distinguish, and Terry Boot. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"—they believed he was their hero. Well, let them believe for a little longer." The Dark Lord glanced at Harry and nodded slightly. Harry steeled himself and let the Invisibility cloak drop. Gasps filled the room, though he knew that everyone had known what was coming.

"Welcome Harry Potter to our ranks. Welcome him to where he truly belongs."

Headquarters was filling up fast.

Hermione sat at the counter in Grimmauld place's meeting room, her head resting on the wooden surface. This was the sixth such meeting they had had since Harry's kidnap, none of them having come to any result. It had been a little more than a month, and the hopelessness had swelled in her to the point that she no longer cried. She and Ron had been included after both of their protests that Harry mattered to them just as much or more than the Order.

She glanced up dully as Severus Snape wandered in, looking as he always did. He flashed her a sneer before taking his usual seat in the darkest corner. He hadn't produced any useful information for them in the last five meetings, and her hopes for this one were not high.

She glanced to the side at Ron, who was glaring at Snape.

"He's hiding something," the redheaded boy muttered. "He isn't telling us everything. I know it."

Hermione refrained from rolling her eyes. Ron had been very vocal about his apparently intuitive feelings that there was something going on that they didn't know about.

"If there was something more, Dumbledore would know," she repeated, as she had every time Ron had asserted his feelings.

They both moved to the side as Mad-Eye Moody stumped in and took a seat. The meeting room in Grimmauld Place was full to every corner now; there were numerous faces that Hermione had never seen before, and some of the conversations happening in corners were certainly not in English.

"May I have everyone's attention, please?"

The room quieted, not that it had been particularly loud in the first place. The atmosphere became even more subdued as Dumbledore stood, looking somber.

"I have very little to report on our situation with Mr. Potter, I am afraid to say. All I can say is that he still lives."

"What does the Death Eater have to say about it this time?" came a gruff voice from the crowd. Hermione looked for the owner but couldn't see the face in the crowd that occupied the expanded room.

Snape stood, his usual smirk set firmly on his face. "The boy is indeed still alive." Hermione let out a breath. She had watched Dumbledore place a truth ward over the room before the meeting. No lie could be spoken within this room. Hermione didn't know what suspicions he held, but she was glad of the ward. Harry was certainly still alive.

"Any…details resulting from the latest meeting?" Dumbledore asked, studying the Potions Master. Hermione knew that there had been a Death Eater meeting earlier that day, that Snape had been present at.

"The Dark Lord…" Snape looked like he was picking his words carefully. "The Dark Lord presented Potter to the Death Eaters. Everyone at the meeting now knows where the boy resides."

A tide of whispers swept the room, and Ron's head dropped into his hands beside her. Hermione felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. She could just imagine how Malfoy would taunt them now. He had been bad enough for the past month, showing every sign of euphoria over what had happened.

"The Dark Lord gives Potter a great deal of…personal attention." Snape's voice cut across the room and ended the whispers instantly. "He works with the boy for several hours a day. A great deal of Dark Magic is involved, I am told."

This time even Dumbledore standing and calling for attention didn't end the shouting that erupted. Hermione ruthlessly kept the tears from flowing out of her eyes. So Harry was being tortured. It was no more than they could have expected.

"Why hasn't the Death Eater made an effort to do anything other than give us these…details?" came an accented shout from the crowd. "Why has he not bothered to rescue Potter?"

"Are you so eager to lose your only source of information that you would send him into a direct duel against the Dark Lord?" snapped Moody from beside Ron. The crowd dissolved into muttering again.

"Thank you, Alastor," said Dumbledore sharply. "I would like silence, please, while Severus finishes his report."

Snape looked around the room, his expression not changing. "If we are finished doubting my abilities, I would like to announce that I have managed to secure a Portkey, able to transport two people, into the Dark Lord's Headquarters."

"We're going to do what?" Harry asked, almost laughing. The idea was absurdly intriguing.

"It is the same concept as that of wearing the color black for intimidation," the Dark Lord said calmly. Daphne nodded from beside Harry, looking as interested as he felt. "The…light side…loves drama. Therefore, we will give it to them. We will show them what they fear the most, and send their two 'rescuers' back with terrible messages. We will convince them that they must come back after they have delivered the message, and then…they will stay here. As honored guests, of course." He laughed slightly.

Harry leaned back and looked at Snape, who stood swathed in his black robes in the corner of the mirrored room. The Potions master had come later than they expected. Apparently the Order had bickered for a significant amount of time over their apparent opportunity. "Who are they sending?" the fountain in the middle of the room was in the shape of a phoenix. This was a shape Harry realized was almost constantly present.

"The werewolf and the metamorphmagus," replied Snape calmly. "I believe that I have adequately prepared them expect…drama, as you say, Master." He inclined his head. "Only this morning did I inform them that you presented Potter to your legions." Harry raised an eyebrow. That had happened three weeks ago. If he had needed any other proof that the Order had no other sources of information, this was it.

"Will we have to teach you how to act, Potter?" asked Daphne, nudging him. "The werewolf is technically a Dark creature. He'll be able to smell the Dark magic on you. You'd better be ready to tell him it's been used on you, not by you."

"I think I'll be fine," said Harry, smiling grimly. So Lupin and Tonks were coming to 'rescue him' for his 'own good'. Deceiving them would be a simple matter. The past week and a half had changed him more than he was willing to admit. He no longer felt the sort of allegiance that he had used to toward his friends.

It was easier, now, to think of Remus, of Tonks, even of Ron and Hermione, as the enemy. If they were prepared to ignore the kind of decay that the Wizarding World was going through, they deserved to be punished for it.

"They will come tomorrow. Be prepared." The Dark Lord nodded, and Harry knew he and Daphne were dismissed. They both bowed and left the room quickly.

Daphne grabbed his hand as they moved down the marble staircase quickly. "My room. We're meeting there."

"Who?" asked Harry, though he had an unpleasant feeling that he knew who she was talking about. As they turned the corner, he realized that he was right.

"Potter."

"Malfoy," he replied levelly, looking the blond boy in the eye and refusing to be intimidated. From what Daphne had told him, Draco Malfoy also bore the snake tattoo.

"So," Malfoy began, swaggering toward them, "You changed your mind, did you? Decided golden wasn't the best color after all?"

Harry shrugged. "I made a choice, same as you." He met Malfoy's eyes, challenging him. Daphne moved away slightly.

"And you think you're all that, now that you're his apprentice, don't you. Have some kind of special skill, do you? I doubt it."

Harry raised an eyebrow, keeping an eye on Malfoy's wand hand. He was therefore not taken by surprise when Malfoy drew his wand and non-verbally shot a blue curse at him. Harry identified the curse as a rather weak one and instantly raised the wandless, wordless shield he had been working on. He quickly drew his wand and used it to maintain the shield. Malfoy blinked and cast a strong disarming charm which reached through Harry's shield and pulled the wand out of his hand.

"Penalum," Harry spat as Malfoy looked victorious, holding his wand. The mild pain curse caused Malfoy to drop both his own wand and Harry's and clutch at his stomach. Harry maintained the curse as he walked forward and picked up both wands. He held it until Malfoy raised both his hands in a gesture of submission.

He ended the curse and offered Malfoy's wand back. The blond stood up and took the wand. Harry watched him warily. So did Daphne. At that moment Harry realized that Blaise Zabini, Millicent Bulstrode, Terry Boot and Pansy Parkinson had appeared from around the corner and were also watching. Every portrait on the wall was also studying the two of them.

Malfoy slowly reached out his hand and offered it to Harry. Harry stared at it, reminded forcibly of that moment nearly six years before. He wondered what would have happened if he had made a different choice then.

Harry took the hand and shook it, looking into Malfoy's cold blue eyes and nodding slightly.

"We can all make choices," said the blond seriously. "You made the right one."

Harry nodded. "I did, didn't I."

As they let go, Daphne walked forward and leaned against Harry. "How are things at Hogwarts, Draco?" the atmosphere in the hall relaxed as they all entered Daphne's room.

"You're bloody lucky that you're here," muttered Malfoy, taking a seat. "Maybe I should pretend to kidnap someone so I can stay here instead of in that mess they call a school. Aurors all over the place, watching everything we do…the old man gave them a list. They know exactly who we are, and they're watching."

"All of us except Boot, there," said Millicent, rolling her eyes. "If they're not in Slytherin, they aren't worth watching." She jerked her head at Harry. "Case in point, here." Harry grinned slightly. It was true.

"We don't have that much to do, though," said Pansy. "I mean, if the Aurors are busy watching us do nothing, all the better. They'll be distracted when the Master actually chooses to do something."

"It's boring, though," said Malfoy.

"Trust me, you'll want to be there for the next week or so," said Daphne, smiling and exchanging glances with Harry. "Watch the little Phoenixes. They're going to be a bit…agitated."

"Why?" asked Terry, looking from Harry to Daphne. "What are you two doing?"

"You know the rules," said Daphne. "No telling until after it's over." She glanced at Harry. "I'm sure Harry will save you a pensieve memory of the event."

Draco sat back. "Some kind of…rescue attempt? Is that what it is? Weasley's been on about how he's going to come here and plow through every Death Eater to rescue you, and how if only Dumbledore would let him…" Harry snorted a laugh. The was just like Ron.

"It's something like that, yes," said Daphne, winking at Harry. "It's going to be…interesting."

"At least we're doingsomething," said Hermione, watching Ron.

"Yeah…" said Ron, sighing. "I keep thinking there's a catch, though. If Snape could get a Portkey, why didn't he get it earlier? And why only for two people at a time?"

Hermione shrugged. She had asked herself all these questions already. "We have to try, though. This is our only chance."

"I just wish our only chance wasn't Snape," Ron muttered. "I mean, Remus and Tonks are fine, but…" he sighed.

"We have to get to Transfiguration," said Hermione gently, taking his hand. "We can't do anything right now. We have to wait for this to play out."

"Wait for what to play out, Granger?" came a familiar drawl from behind them. Ron smoothly drew his wand and turned, glaring at Malfoy.

"None of your business, Death Eater scum," he snapped, glaring. Malfoy looked entirely unperturbed by the wand in his face.

"I think you'll find that a lot of things are my business," he said, sauntering backwards. "A lot of things you don't expect."

Ron opened his mouth, but Hermione put a hand on his arm as Terry Boot appeared around the corner.

"Er…what's going on?" he asked hesitantly.

"Nothing, Terry," said Hermione, smiling reassuringly at him. She had always had a soft spot for the shy boy. "Ron, put the wand away." Malfoy was still grinning at them disconcertingly.

As they left, Hermione thought she heard Terry greet Malfoy, but she dismissed it. Terry wasn't the sort to consort with known Death Eaters.

Tonks paced back and forth restlessly. The Portkey would activate in four minutes. That meant four more minutes of extreme nervousness before they touched the small metal piece and whirled away to an enemy's headquarters.

"Sit down, Tonks," said Snape irritably.

She flashed a glare at the greasy man and continued to pace.

"Perhaps we should go through the plan once more," Remus suggested gently.

Snape sighed. "Do so, if it makes you feel better."

"We will arrive in the main room of the Headquarters. The cell Harry is kept in is directly across from the door, down one set of stairs, second on the left. Severus will enter through the floo at the same time as us and distract Lord Voldemort as we go down."

"I will be unable to do so for long, Lupin," said Snape sharply. "Ten minutes at the most."

"There will be two guards on the stairway, two at the entrance to the cell, and one inside the cell with Harry," continued Remus, ignoring Snape. "We have the invisibility cloak, so we should be able to get past the first two, subdue the second two..."

"The Dark Lord is the only one who holds the key to the door," said Snape. "How are you proposing to enter?"

"Tonks will change into something small enough to get through the bars on the cell door. I'll stand guard while she gets rid of the shackles and gets Harry out."

"We have to get him all the way up the stairs and out the door before we can Portkey him out," Tonks continued in a singsong voice. They had gone over the plan countless times already. She was more jittery than she had been before her final test for an Auror's license.

Remus glanced at his watch. "Twelve seconds."

Tonks reached out and put a finger on the misshapen lump of metal that Snape had provided for them.

Severus watched as the two whirled away. It was a shame that they could not yet capture or kill these two, but the point of the entire operation was to have someone more powerful, more pivotal in the Order, follow after the two reported back. Snape had hopes that their report would force Dumbledore's hand and possibly even cause the old man himself to come.

He walked leisurely over to the fire and Flooed through the fireplace and into the dark entrance. Remus and Tonks were under the invisibility cloak already. Severus looked around.

"Right here," came the werewolf's whisper from beside him. Severus jerked his head toward the door and felt a breath of air pass him as the two moved away. He made his way slowly through the door opposite, nodding at Mulciber and Dolohov, who were on 'guard duty'.

"They are here, Master," he said, waiting until the door closed behind him. "Everything is going as planned." He smiled slightly as the Dark Lord laughed.

Tonks looked around as they walked down the stairs, being very careful not to trip. There were two more guards on the door, neither of whom she recognized. They moved slowly closer, and she heard a voice.

"Just…just a drink of water? Please?"

She winced. She would recognize that voice anywhere. Harry's rasping tone sounded hopeless and hoarse.

Remus nudged her. She glanced at him. He was holding up three fingers. Tonks got her wand ready. Two fingers. One…

Stupefy!

Both guards dropped like stones. Remus and Tonks ran toward the door, Tonks shedding the Cloak and making her body as long and skinny as she could. She had only done this twice before, but it was as easy as changing her hair color, though she couldn't stand straight up when she was in this form—she lost most of her muscle control, and her bones became approximately the size of toothpicks. She felt very vulnerable in this state.

When her body was only about one inch thick she began sliding between the bars on the door.

The fifth guard's back was to her, clad in a midnight black robe with blond hair spilling down to her waist. Tonks straightened up as her feet passed through the bars, shrinking back to her regular form at the same time. She cast a quick disillusionment charm on herself and walked around. The guard was undoubtedly the girl that had been described to her as Daphne Greengrass. Currently she had her wand out and pointed at…

Tonks stopped herself from gasping as she stared at Harry. He was still clad in his school clothes, but they had been reduced to dirty rags, ripped to shreds. Through the rips she could see gashes and bruises all over his body. His arms were shackled to the wall on either side of his body. The left side of his face was one enormous, yellow-purple bruise, above his split and cracked lips. One of his legs was bent at an odd angle, as were all of his fingers on his left hand.

Tonks glanced back through the bars on the door, where she could see Remus' disembodied head floating with a horrified expression.

Stupefy!

The Greengrass girl dropped with a thump. Tonks rushed over to Harry, taking care to step on the girl's head. She removed the disillusionment charm. Harry's eyes widened.

"Tonks," he said muttered hoarsely. "What are you…how did you…"

"I'm going to get you out of here," she murmured, casting a spell over shackles to see what spells they had on them. She avoided looking at his maimed face.

"No—Tonks—get out of here…he'll be here soon…any second…" Harry's voice subsided into short gasps. "Get out…"

"No, Harry, Snape is distracting him," said Tonks, trying to understand the complex spells on the shackles. Curse-breaking was not her specialty, and it was hard going.

"You won't be able to get me out," said Harry frantically, spitting blood. "I can feel him, Tonks, he's here. He's coming. Snape…"

"What? What about Snape?" asked Tonks sharply.

"He's been good…he comes here sometimes to give me water, but he couldn't get the chains off…no one can…" Harry gasped. "You won't be able to either, Tonks. He's coming! Get away!"

Tonks shivered. She quickly cast a disillusionment charm on herself but continued to work on the chains.

"Get…away!" Harry spat. Tonks heard footsteps coming down the hall and retreated reluctantly into the corner of the tiny, dark cell. It would require more than her skills to remove the shackles. Bill Weasley could, possibly. If only Remus could get into the cell, or she had a few more hours…

She stood stock still as the door jerked open. She knew Remus wasn't foolish enough to try to fight Voldemort himself. And that was certainly who was entering the room. Tonks went cold with fright as the man walked slowly in. He had been described to her, but that did this…creature…no justice. She shivered. She could do nothing, she knew, as he walked up to Harry, glancing casually down at Greengrass.

"A little…accidental magic?" he asked silkily. "Got a bit angry, did we, Potter? And both the guards outside, too?" Tonks felt a tear course down her cheek as Harry moved his head back as far as it could go to avoid being face-to-face with the monster.

"We can't be having that. No, we certainly cannot." Voldemort 's wand materialized in his hand, and he hissed something. Tonks frowned. Was thatParseltongue?

More wounds began to open all over Harry body. He convulsed slightly with each new cut, his movement limited by the shackles. Tonks heard an audible crack as his arm broke. She wanted to cover her ears.

"Tonks!" she heard Remus' voice directly in her ear, using a spell she recognized as an Auror spell used in espionage, which allowed her to hear him but no one else. "We need to get out of here! There's nothing we can do! Snape says more people are coming!" she could hear the pain in his voice as well, but she knew that what he was saying was correct. She made the change to the long, thin shape once again, feeling the tears streaming down her face and trying to keep from sobbing. It was logical. They had to get out and send someone back who was stronger, better able to break the spells keeping Harry there.

It hurt, nonetheless. They were abandoning Harry in pain. They were abandoning him.

Hermione watched as Dumbledore emerged from the pensieve, looking grave.

"You did the correct thing, Miss Tonks," he said gently to the auror, who had been sobbing ever since she and Remus had gotten back. The werewolf had simply disappeared to an empty room and had not yet re-emerged.

"Who can we send?" asked Moody brusquely. "Who's good enough at breaking wards that they'll be able to remove those chains?"

"Possibly a ruptus charm?" asked Dumbledore quietly. "You are correct. Someone with more power will be required." He wasn't making eye contact with anyone. Hermione exchanged glances with Ron.

What was in that memory?

"Yes, perhaps the ruptus…" the two adults trailed off into a murmured conversation, exiting the meeting room. Hermione glanced at Ron and then led him out of the room as well.

"We have to wait until no one's there, or they'll keep us out of it," said Hermione, knowing this from long experience. "We have to see what's in that pensieve, though."

Ron nodded, looking at her with conviction.

Harry threw off the filthy rags in his room, tossing them into the corner as Daphne watched.

"Nice performance," she said, smiling brightly. " 'Please…water…' very nice. The metamorphmagus was crying in the corner."

Harry looked at her suspiciously. "You were Stunned."

"The master revived me when he walked by," she said. "Of course she didn't notice. I didn't even open my eyes. I could hear her."

The door to Harry's room opened as he finished pulling on his shirt. "Don't get rid of that thing just yet, Potter," said Severus Snape, entering the room without invitation. "We may have some more use for it." Harry glanced at the pile of torn fabric.

"What happened?" asked Daphne. Harry looked at Snape. He had a spreading black eye.

"Miss Tonks got angry because she thought I didn't distract the Master for quite long enough," Snape said, smirking. "A good performance, Mr. Potter." He turned and left quickly. Harry raised his eyebrows.

"It was quite good," said Daphne. Harry turned and realized that she was directly behind him. He leaned down, and their lips met, the magic roaring between them.

Hermione emerged from the pensieve, stumbled over to a chair, and managed to conjure a bucket before she threw up. Ron followed and held her hair back, pale-faced himself.

"We have to go there," he said seriously. Hermione turned to him, wiping her mouth.

"What? How?"

"They're not going to send anyone else for three more days," said Ron. "Harry could be dead by then. We heard the spell they were planning to use. We can do it ourselves. We have to go right away and save him."

Hermione stared at him for a moment, then her expression hardened. "You're right. The Ruptus charm? Let's go find it."

Harry broke away from Daphne with a gasp as he heard the door open again. Was there such a thing as privacy here? Daphne sat up from where they had fallen on the bed, tucking her hair back into place.

"What are you doing here, Draco?" she asked sharply. "They'll miss you at school."

"I used the emergency Portkey," said Draco carelessly.

"What? Why?" Daphne struggled to her feet. Harry remained sitting, staring at Draco. The emergency Portkey, Daphne had told him, was only for the most dire of circumstances.

Draco shrugged. "I thought your latest plan might have been going wrong. I got the general gist from what you told us, and just now I saw Granger and Weasley in the library with a Portkey I could tell was Severus's, looking up the ruptus charm." He smirked. "I think we might be getting some unwanted visitors pretty soon."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I only just got all those glamours off. It'll take me bloody forever to get them right again—"

"Not to mention that you'll have to put that back on again," said Daphne, indicating the pile of rags that had been Harry's school robes. Draco trotted over to the pile and picked it up.

"Youworethis? No wonder Granger was practically in tears, talking about how much you needed rescuing…"

Harry ground his teeth. Couldn't they just leave him alone? At the moment all he really wanted to do was forget that he had had other friends. It hurt to think of them and not feel the familiar affection that he had felt toward them until he had cast his first Dark spell. They were just people to him now, and people that he would rather not have in his life.

"Anyway, the Master sent me to let you two know that you're not doing the same thing. He said since those two aren't any that he wanted, he'd just toss them in a locked room somewhere. Maybe they'll be useful for a hostage exchange or some such thing. Although from the expression on his face, I think he has another use for them."

"Is that all you wanted?" asked Daphne, glaring at Malfoy. He glanced up in mock surprise, dropping the rags.

"Oh, were you two doing something in here? Sorry. I'll leave you to it." He sauntered out, grinning at them.

Harry sat back, watching Daphne as she stood and locked the door. She turned back with an impish smile. "What was it we were doing, again?"

"I think I have it," murmured Hermione, reading over the spell's description again. It was fairly complex, and she had had to browse the Restricted Section to find it, but she had an intuitive feeling that she would be able to perform it.

"I got Harry's Cloak," said Ron from beside her. "We'll get him out."

"We just touch the Portkey and say 'activate'. Right?" Hermione asked, her nerves fluttering. Ron nodded and threw the cloak over them both.

"Ready?"

She nodded, even though she wasn't.

"Activate!"

They were preparing to leave for supper when a knock came at the door. Harry opened it to find one of the many black-clad men that seemed to occupy the building more or less permanently.

"The Master wants you." He peered around the door at Daphne. "Both of you. Now."

Harry exchanged glances with Daphne, and then broke into a run at the same time she did. Keeping the Dark Lord waiting was not something that was done.

They reached the mirrored room at the top of the building in minutes, out of breath. Harry could see the tall figure of their Master facing away from them.

"They will arrive in a few minutes, Draco tells me," he said without turning around. Harry and Daphne stood still behind him. "Daphne, you will be down in the…cells…to greet them. Go now." Daphne nodded and left quickly.

The Dark Lord turned to face Harry, holding his gaze. Harry refrained from taking a step back.

"I am giving these two prisoners to you, Harry. They have had access to information Severus does not. He tells me that both Granger and Weasley have been spending a great deal of time alone with Dumbledore. Use any means necessary to acquire this information, but for the revelation of who you are. Wear your mask at all times." He nodded and turned away again. "You may go."

Harry took a deep breath and left quietly, walking slowly down the stairs and back to his room to retrieve his black robes and mask. He would have to disguise his voice as well.

Just like that. Just like that he had been given near-unlimited power over his former friends, free to act upon the resentment he felt toward them.

He smiled.

They landed in a dark room. Hermione could barely see anything. This looked very little like the memory they had seen. She could see a faint outline of a door on the far wall, though…

"That way," she whispered, nudging Ron. He nodded, and they moved forward, wands at the ready.

At some point in that walk everything went wrong.

At one moment there was not a single other person in the room, the next second her wand was gone and she was struggling, back-to-back with Ron, and bound tightly with ropes. The cloak was somehow tangled in the ropes, no longer covering them. Ron was shouting at the three black-robed figures that surrounded them, one tossing her wand up and down.

"Where do these two go?" one of them asked in a French accent.

"Down the stairs and third door on the left," another replied. "Right beside where Potter…was." All three laughed loudly at that statement. Hermione gritted her teeth and opened her mouth to scream, only to realize that she had been Silenced.

Somewhere, in that one second, everything had gone wrong. Somehow these people had known that they were coming.

She found herself in a state of shock as they were forced to stand and walk as best they could toward the stairs, the three unrecognizable men laughing the whole way and talking as if nothing had happened. Hermione could feel Ron trembling in rage beside her, and she could see him mouthing obscenities.

When they got down the stairs, a sight even worse confronted them: Daphne Greengrass, leaning casually against the wall and smiling.

"Granger and Weasley," she said, raising her eyebrows in mock surprise. "Welcome. Here to visit your friend? I'm sorry to disappoint you. As you can see, he's not here." She waved a hand expansively at an open door, through which Hermione could see clearly that the cell was empty. Her heart sunk even further, if that was possible.

"Your…host…will be here soon," she said, walking slowly around them as if savoring the sight of the two of them, bound and helpless. She reached out and tweaked Ron's nose, much to his fury. His face reddened even further, if that was possible. "I hope you enjoy our hospitality."

They were thrust into the third room on the left, which was, at least as a small blessing, much more luxurious than the one next door, containing two plain beds, a dresser and a small attached bathroom. All of it was grey. The door slammed and a key turned in the lock. Hermione found that the silencing charm had been removed; she could now hear Ron's shouts.

"Just shut up," she snapped. "We can't do anything about this. It was a stupid idea in the first place. How could we have thought we could come back so soon and just…just rescue Harry?" she felt tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes. "We were so stupid!"