Harry Potter and the Book of Shadows

Blood Dowsing

To the trio's astonishment, Ginny was already in the Room of Requirement. Her shocked expression echoed theirs as Harry closed the door.

Still in the grip of urgency, Harry didn't notice the awkward and slightly angry look she shot him when he said, "Oh good, you're here. We need all the help we can get."

"What is it now?" Her icy tone caught them all off guard.

Ron gave her an odd look. "Harry thought we needed to go back to what You-Know-Who was going to do when-" he paused and corrected himself. "-if he finds the Book first."

This explanation was also news to Hermione, whom they boys had not told why they had rushed off to the secret room. "I thought we decided he wanted to be the next Guardian," she said. "To be Immortal through the soul-bind."

"But we know it's an incomplete bind," Harry said, resuming his pacing. "If Dunn was right and that kind of bind created vampires, we know he can still be killed. Natural death is still sort of put off, but vampires can die."

"But Voldemort doesn't know that," Hermione said. "He still might think the Book is they key to Immortality."

Shaking his head, Harry replied, "He's been looking for Dunn's historian friend, and he has the fragment. He'll figure out he needs a Protector to become immortal or face the slow death of the incomplete bind. I still think there's more to this than what we know. There might be spells in the Book that if nothing else, will help him take over everything if he does manage to become the next Guardian."

Ron frowned. "But who would bind with him anyway? I mean, we sort of thought maybe Wormtail..." He shuddered at the memory of his once-pet. "...or Malfoy might be able to do it, but still..."

"You can force it," Ginny said quietly.

"What?" Harry stopped pacing to face her.

She avoided his gaze. "Remember when we were looking up soul-binds? I found that spell that creates the same sort of bind. The one they found by accident when they were researching natural binds. There's a spell- you can force it."

The trio exchanged glances. Harry had forgotten about the spell. Before anyone could counter, she went on with rising vehemence, "Or maybe he thinks that after he kills you he can rip your soul out and use it to patch up the rift from the Book. Maybe that's why he wanted all those Dementors- they can suck out souls."

The trio stared at her in disbelief. She crossed her arms and glared at the floor.

Having an inkling of why she would direct such a pointedly acerbic tirade at him, Harry was glad when Ron asked if she was feeling all right first. A huff and a 'fine' was Ginny's only reply. Ron didn't push and Hermione pressed her lips together, probably thinking another time would be better to find out where that had come from. Harry hoped she wouldn't get the chance.

He shoved aside the new terrifying theories. "Let's go back to finding the Book and the Guardian. Should we assume you need the Guardian there to have the Book passed?"

Hermione glanced hopefully at one of the empty bookshelves but unsurprisingly, no help appeared. "Since no one knows how the Book is passed, I would think you probably need the current Guardian there to perform some kind of spell or ritual to pass it on. Maybe the Protector, too if they had found theirs."

"So You-Know-Who would need to find not only the Book, but the Guardian, too," Ron surmised. "Those notes only said how to find the Book, though."

"If it was tracking by Blood of the Betrayed, then I suppose it would find both," Hermione said. "If it's lighting up points based on strength, the Guardian should light up almost as strong as the Book since they're linked, right?"

For a second, Harry felt a wave of relief. Now they were getting somewhere. "I think Hermione's right. Dowsing should be able to find them both at once." His stomach clenched again. Undoubtedly, Voldemort knew the same thing and was probably already on his way to one or the other. Or both.

"So did it work?" Ginny asked suddenly, looking pointedly at Harry and frowning. If he was still worried they wouldn't find the Book first, she doubted it.

Harry looked blankly back. "Did what work?"

"Using the Blood of the Betrayed on the map."

Harry wondered how Ginny had known Dumbledore had tried and failed once already. Had one of her brothers told her what had happened at the last Order meeting? "No, it didn't. At least not with what Dumbledore tried. Farrington said the source had to be pure, so I bet that was why-"

"What do you mean, pure?" Hermione interrupted.

"From a virgin," Harry said, flushing. "Since Dumbledore didn't know where they'd gotten it-"

Ginny leapt up. "Then what do you mean, 'didn't know where they'd gotten it?' Didn't you tell them it was mine?" The trio stared at her. Plopping back down, she huffed. "I knew it wouldn't work anyway."

"Ginny, what are you talking about?" Ron asked.

Glaring at the floor she muttered, "Doesn't matter now. Didn't work. Sorry, Harry." She shrugged. "You were wrong."

Harry had a sudden sinking feeling. "What do you mean I was wrong?"

Gritting her teeth, Ginny hissed, "You said I might be able to give Blood of the Betrayed because of..." She glanced at Ron and Hermione. "...because of what happened my second year. But you were wrong, it didn't count." Her glare dared them to think it might be for the other reason.

"When did I say I thought you might be able to give it?" Thinking about it now, Harry thought it was a brilliant idea, but he was pretty sure it wasn't his.

Fury raced over Ginny's features, igniting a slow burn in her eyes. She pinned Harry with a glare. "Fine, I get it. You don't think any conversations we've ever had are important enough to remember. Let's just look for the Blood some other place, then."

Ron and Hermione looked from Harry to Ginny and back. Harry had no more idea what was going on than they and so couldn't illuminate the situation.

"Ginny, what are you talking about?" Harry asked desperately.

Tears of humiliation threatened but pride made her blink them back. Figuring Harry had gotten over his initial shock of learning her secret enough to be repulsed by it, Ginny figured he was trying to tell her she was no longer welcome by forcing her to relive their embarrassing encounter in front of her brother and Hermione. Summoning every bit of courage she had, she stood with her back straight and chin raised high. He might want to hurt her, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing how much.

"You asked me to 'donate' Blood of the Betrayed this afternoon and I did. You never even said 'thank you'. You just ran off to find Dumbledore, and it sound like you never even told him I was the one who gave it to you. Not that it matters since it didn't work, but thanks anyway."

They all stared.

"What?" Blinking, her words sunk in and a sudden dread filled every corner of Harry's mind. "Ginny, I went to Hogsmeade right from the Order meeting. I haven't been in the castle all day."

"But you asked me!" she practically shouted, then paled. "If it wasn't you..."

"Oh, no." Hermione's hand flew to her mouth. "Who else would have known?"

Ron looked confusedly around the room. "Wait, so Ginny thinks Harry asked her to give Blood of the Betrayed but he says he didn't so it had to be someone..." he trailed off.

Blanching, he said, "Malfoy."

"What?" Ginny exclaimed.

"Much as I loathe the slimy little git," Ron said, hating him more than ever, "he's good at Potions. As good as Hermione. He'd be able to make Polyjuice."

"That takes a month!" Harry exclaimed. "Unless he's had it ready for a while, just in case he needed it."

Hermione swayed a bit. "He wouldn't even need that." All eyes turned to her. "Polyjuice isn't the only way to fake someone else's appearance. There are glamour charms and the Doppelganger Charm, all seventh year level of course, but it's all right there in the texts..."

"I gave Blood of the Betrayed to Malfoy?" Ginny's voice was small and sick.

Forgetting any awkward feelings he might have had, Harry went to her, held her by the shoulders, and looked her in the eyes. "It's not your fault. They would have found a way eventually."

"How did he even know you'd need it to find the Book?" Ron asked.

Eyes gone suddenly wide, Hermione sat down on an armchair with a thump. "That little weasel!"

"What?" Ron looked at her.

"Weasel," Hermione repeated as if in a daze. "Ferret, actually. I bet he figured out how to do it. Do you remember Moody, the fake Moody, transfigured him in our fourth year? That's the hardest part, you know- doing it the first time. But after you figure out your best form, it's just practice."

"Are you saying Malfoy is an Animagus?" Ginny asked, stunned. "A ferret?"

Harry remembered a flash of white as they'd left Dunn's office the night he'd told them about the Book and the Protector. He'd thought it had been a trick of the light or one of the numerous mice that had escaped various Hagrid lessons and Christmas crackers over the years. It must have been Draco. That was how Voldemort had discovered what Dunn knew about the Book- and now they had the right kind of Blood to go after it. "She's right. That's how they found out about Dunn."

Ron spat out a loud expletive. "He must have overheard us in the corridor after class."

"What do we do now?" Hermione looked to Harry.

Ginny pulled away from Harry and marched toward a table that had suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. A yellowed map of the world appeared on top of it. "We find it first."

"Ginny! What are you-" Harry exclaimed as she picked up a gold-handled knife that lay next to the map.

Ron's 'No!' was lost in Hermione's strangled gasp as Ginny gripped the blade in her left hand and the handle in her right, pulling the metal swiftly across her palm. Dark red blood splashed onto the map and Harry winced.

Pulling her wand out of the pocket of her robes with her uncut hand, Ginny looked to Harry in expectation. Knowing she wouldn't let anyone treat the dripping gash across her left hand until it was done, he told her the spell that had been in Dunn's notes.

Waving her wand over the map in a large, clockwise circle, she repeated the phrase three times, then once again backwards. Harry had to admire her calm. The red smear that had oozed across the parchment suddenly seemed to spring into a life of its own. Small round beads broke off of the main pool to roll in glistening droplets across the map's surface. They settled in various places on the map, some tiny pinpricks of deep crimson, some glistening in bright scarlet dots of color. However, there were several places on the world map where the blood beaded in a deep, dark red that somehow seemed to glow with an unearthly sort of light.

Ignoring the map for a moment, Harry reached for Ginny's wrist. "You didn't have to-"

"I did." She tried to pull away, but he held on.

Her brows knit in worry, Hermione mumbled a quick spell to mend the wound in Ginny's hand. Once it was no longer bleeding, Harry reluctantly let her go. Knowing it was not the time to try to mend the rift between them, Harry turned back to the map.

Examining the deep crimson glowing spots of blood, Harry spoke, as if to himself, "I'd say these," he pointed to one of the dark shimmering beads in the Carpathian Mountains, one in the middle of the United States, one in South Africa, and oddly enough, two in Scotland, "look like they might be the Book or the Guardian."

Hermione moved closer to the map, a pensive and fascinated look crossing her face. "This is amazing."

Ron squinted at the dots. "That's five. Wouldn't there be at most three- the Book, the Guardian, and the Protector?"

Harry had been trying to ignore the numerous other tiny dots that covered the map. There were far more than he'd thought there would be. Seeing the distribution of the specks, he was reminded of the population maps Persephone had shown them when she'd found out the Dementor breeding. Harry briefly wondered if the Blood picked up Blood of the Betrayed in non-humans and Muggles as well.

Taking a closer look, Harry decided the ones in the States and Africa might not be quite the same as the other three he'd pointed out, glistening more darkly than the others. Looking at some of the other beads around them and on other parts of the map, he decided they weren't quite the same size or shimmering shade of scarlet as the slightly larger, darker dots in Romania and Scotland.

"Those three, then." He pointed.

"Only one way to find out," Ron said, laying two new maps next to the world map. Before they could even wonder if Ginny would have to cut herself again, the beads from the world map rolled onto the new maps and settled once again.

Uncertain how they would even begin to investigate the now larger glowing dot in Romania, Harry focused on the various dots scattered across the map of the UK. "Let's start with these two."

Again new maps appeared, narrowing the range. As they focused in several more times, the excess dots rolling off the increasingly localized maps to pool on the original world map, out of the way.

When they'd gotten to a map that showed town names along with the dots, Hermione paused. "We should mark where we are in relation so we know which way to go to find it."

Harry almost opened his mouth to express his surprise that Hermione had so willingly launched herself into the search, but realized it would be both foolish and insulting. She may have always been their voice of reason, true, but she had never hesitated when the time had come before.

"Wait," Ron interrupted. "Hogwarts is unplottable. A spell won't mark us here."

Knowing he was right, Harry frowned. "Can you flag Hogsmeade instead? It's close enough."

With Hermione's spell, a bright blue dot appeared on the map, right next to two of the glowing crimson beads. They all stared.

"If Harry was right, and we're following the right drops..." Ron began.

"The Book is in Hogsmeade," Ginny finished.

Hermione leaned closer to the table. "Not necessarily. Say these are the right dots. It could be they're the dots for the Guardian and the Protector and that other dot in Romania is the Book." Before anyone could comment she went on, "Or, the Book is here at Hogwarts but because it's unplottable, the Blood settled as close by as possible. Or-"

"Okay, we get it," Ron cut her off. "So we might have an idea of where the Book is now, but how do we go from this," he gestured at the map, "to actually finding it? Was that anywhere in Dunn's notes?"

Harry had hidden the notes he'd kept deep in the chaos inside his trunk. Racking his brain, he tried to remember what they'd said. "No, I don't think it had anything other than the dowsing spell." His eyes widened as a sudden thought came to him. "But Hogwarts isn't completely unplottable."

Hermione threw him an exasperated look. "Of course it is, the spells in place to protect-"

"No, it's not," Harry interrupted. "The Marauder's Map. It's got every room in Hogwarts on it."

They all blinked in surprise.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ron broke the silence. "Go get it!"

"Right." Harry jumped up and rushed out the door.

Hurrying through the hallways, Harry wondered how close Voldemort was to the Book. Surely with Ginny's unwitting donation, they'd at least narrowed their search as he and his friends had done. Cursing himself that they should have dowsed a map of Hogsmeade first, he halted when someone called his name.

Stopping in surprise, Harry was disconcerted to see Pansy Parkinson making her way toward him from the opposite end of the hallway. Had Malfoy known Ginny would realize he hadn't been the real Harry? Why would he send Pansy, of all people, after them? She wasn't an exceptional witch, and certainly not much of a match for him. Warily, he watched her approach.

Her face was blotchy and red as she drew closer, her bloodshot eyes giving away the obvious fact she'd been crying. Suspicious, Harry mentally began running through counter-attack spells.

She thrust her hand out toward him and Harry instinctively jumped back, his hand closing around his wand.

"Take it," she said, her voice hoarse from crying.

Taken aback, Harry managed to utter, "What?"

"Take it," she repeated, continuing to hold out a small glass bottle.

Confused and still apprehensive, Harry made no move to do so. "Why? What is it?"

For a moment, Pansy looked just as confused. She glanced down at her proffered hand and shrugged. "I don't know. Draco never said."

That set alarm bells ringing through Harry's head. "Then why would I want it?"

A cynical smile appeared on Pansy's face and she sniffed through her snub nose in a sad snort of laughter. "You're right. Why would you? You were never stupid enough to trust him. Doesn't matter. I'll just toss it off one of the towers, then. Maybe throw it in the lake."

With a shrug, she turned. Not knowing what to make of the whole odd exchange, Harry stopped her. "Wait. Let me see."

As she held out the small glass vial again, he saw a few drops of a thick, dark liquid swirling at the bottom. Narrowing his eyes, Harry asked, "Did he tell you to give it to me?"

Pansy let out a short bark of laughter then sniffed again, swiping at her nose with the sleeve of her other arm. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course not."

She fought the wave of anguish that washed over her as she remembered the harsh words he'd said after she'd taken the vial from him, expressing her delight that he'd trusted her with something so obviously precious to him. If only she hadn't said what was in her heart out loud. "He wanted me to keep it safe until he asked for it again."

"So you're giving it to me?" Harry asked slowly, completely lost.

After she'd taken the little bottle from Draco, promising to guard it with her life, she'd told him how happy she was they were together. How thrilled she was he trusted her so completely. How she loved him. He'd laughed at her.

Laughed!

When she'd reacted with stunned tears, he'd sneered at her weakness. Mocked her foolish expectations for any sort of future with him. Even if he'd wanted to, he wouldn't have kept her after Hogwarts, he'd said in that disdainful voice. Pure blood families like his arranged matches well in advance, and not between families with so-so blood and connections like hers. He only tolerated her to pass the time while he was in school. In fact, he'd said offhandedly, his father had been nagging him to get rid of her for months. He had more important concerns.

Obviously, since she still had the bottle.

His arrogance hadn't allowed him to consider she'd turn against him after his cruel dismissal. She figured he'd honestly thought she'd still want to help him. Or even try to win him back. Who was the foolish one now? she'd thought harshly.

"Not that you care, but I'm done being his-" she broke off, willing herself not to start crying again. She sniffed. "I just thought it would be funny if you ended up with it. If you don't want it, I'll just get rid of it."

Thinking she was attempting to trick him into taking the vial, Harry had been using Legilimency while they talked. Gently, he took the bottle from her. "I'll take it."

She handed it over easily. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Does it matter?" Harry asked.

"I suppose not." She turned to leave.

Pansy had only gone a few steps when Harry said, "You deserve better anyway."

She paused but didn't turn around. Still, Harry thought she walked a bit taller as she resumed her way back down the hall. He wasn't sure it was true, but it had seemed like the right thing to say.

Reminding himself of where he had been going and why, he ran the rest of the way to Gryffindor Tower. He found the map and, thinking on it for a second, unearthed Dunn's notes as well. He made it back to the Room of Requirement without running into anyone else.

As soon as he'd come through the door, Ron cleared a spot for the Marauder's Map on the table.

"Oh, you've brought the notes as well," Hermione said. "Good idea."

She took them and started scanning them as Ron spread the Marauder's Map out. Just as Ginny was poised to cast the dowsing spell again, she noticed the vial in Harry's hand.

"Where did you get that?" she exclaimed.

Harry had forgotten he'd been holding it. He recounted his strange encounter with Pansy on his way to the dorms.

"But that's..." Ginny hesitated. When they looked to her expectantly, she continued, "That's the blood I gave Malfoy this morning. Why would he give it to Pansy? I thought he'd have given it to You-Know-Who."

"That's a good point," Hermione replied. "Are you sure this is the same bottle?"

Ginny examined it closely. "Yes. There was more in it before, though."

"Well, I don't suppose you need much," Ron suggested. "Even just a few drops would be all right since you're looking for the brightest dots anyhow. Maybe we got all those other ones because we had extra."

"But why would Malfoy keep any of it?" Harry asked.

Hermione considered. "I suppose he could have given Voldemort the minimum and then if they needed more later, he could easily get a bit. He'd know the Harry trick wouldn't work twice."

Ron gave her a look. "So you're saying Malfoy was trying to outthink You-Know-Who?" He shook his head. "Maybe he's not as smart as we thought he was."

"Or he's smarter," Ginny broke in. "Not a bad idea to have a backup, to be able to produce something like that at the drop of a hat."

Taking the vial back, Harry snorted. "Not that it matters. We have it now."

"At least Pansy finally came to her senses," Hermione murmured.

The feeling of triumph was short-lived as they remembered Voldemort did have at least a small sample, and could very well be on his way to the Book. They turned their attention back to the maps.

"Is there a map of Hogsmeade, too?" Harry asked as Ginny performed the spell again. "Just in case-"

The blood had rolled in its glistening crimson droplets onto the map of Hogwarts, halting Harry's question. To their astonishment, several drops had settled over the tiny mobile dots moving along the parchment. Not surprisingly, the dot marked Ginevra Weasley now had a bright red bead on top of it, but there were several others. Some were students Harry didn't recognize, but near the bottom of the map a large, deep burgundy colored dot sat fatly on top of the stationary dot labeled 'Severus Snape'.

"That's..." Ron started.

"Unexpected?" Ginny supplied.

"Maybe not," Harry said, thinking of the various horrible memories he'd seen in his Occlumency lessons. "But never mind that. Do you see anything that looked like the three dots on the last map?"

They all leaned closer.

Turning her head and squinting, Ginny said, "Well, Snape's does, kinda. But it's not as bright. It doesn't have that shimmery look to it that the other ones did."

"Wait, what about those?" Ron pointed to two glittering scarlet dots next to the statue of the one-eyed witch. "Those look just like the other ones. But there are no names under them."

"Then it might be the Book!" Hermione exclaimed breathlessly.

Harry knew that was a passage to Hogsmeade. "Or we wasted our time getting this map. That's one of the secret ways to Hogsmeade. Where's the map of the town?"

Shuffling parchments around, Ron produced the smallish map of the wizarding village. "Here."

The two sparkling dots quickly rolled off the map of Hogwarts and onto the map of Hogsmeade. No other beads followed. The crimson droplets came to rest on a small square marked 'The Shrieking Shack'.

"There are two," Hermione whispered.

"In the Shrieking Shack," Ron added.

"I thought no one lived there." Ginny frowned. "Lupin was the only one who used the house."

Hermione stared at the map. "Yeah, but that was how many years ago? Maybe if the Guardian knew Voldemort was after the Book, they moved it."

"Moved it closer?" Ron exclaimed.

Hermione didn't seem to have an answer for that. Neither did Harry. "Those are very interesting questions, but right now all that matters is the Guardian might very well have brought the Book here and hidden it in the Shrieking Shack. They might be there right now." Harry felt a sick drop in his stomach. "Or they're there because Voldemort found them both and wanted to be close to me when he took over the Book."

"So what do we do?" Ron asked. All eyes turned to Harry.

Harry fought a surge of panic. Attempting to organize his thoughts, he looked to Hermione. "Find McGonagall. Tell her what we know." Looking to Ron next, he said, "Floo to Number Twelve. Lupin should be there. If he's not, come back and find McGonagall and Hermione. Get word out to the Order."

"What are you going to do?" Ron asked.

Straightening, Harry replied, "I'm going to the Shrieking Shack."

"Alone?" Hermione asked, worriedly.

"No." Ginny moved toward Harry. "I'm going with you."

"Ginny, no!" Ron exclaimed. "You're staying-"

"Here?" she countered defensively. "Not on your life."

Ron's eyes narrowed. "If Harry's right, it might be on your life. Which I won't watch you throw away."

"It's not your decision!" Ginny shouted, her eyes bright and furious. "Thanks for the vote of confidence!"

"It's not like that!" Ron blustered. "Even if you were better than....than..."

"Harry?" Ginny hissed just as Hermione supplied, "Dumbledore?"

Red-faced, Ron exclaimed, "Whoever! I can't let you just wander into harm's way."

Ginny straightened her shoulders and said quietly, "It's not for you to decide."

Knowing her secret, Harry thought he understood why she felt the need to confront Voldemort. As foolish as he thought that idea was, it was not his decision, either. In any case, they all knew Ginny could be quite obstinate and would eventually do as she pleased. At least if he knew where she was, Harry supposed he could figure out a way to keep her out of danger. He hoped.

Nodding he said, "Fine, we'll keep together." Seeing Ron's incredulous look, he hastily added, "We're not charging in with wands blazing, Ron. We'll check it out and see what's going on. It may be there's just someone hiding out. Even if Voldemort or one of the Death Eaters is holding the Guardian captive, we're not stupid enough to take them on ourselves. We'll check it out and come back. We're not looking for a fight."

Ron seemed somewhat placated, but Harry remembered how many times he hadn't been looking for a fight.

Dobby had been pacing the kitchen floor since his return from his day in Hogsmeade. Though the other house-elves had since come to accept his odd status as a free yet working elf, they were still wary of him and so gave him a wide berth when he displayed strange behavior. Winky had asked if he was all right, but when Dobby had refused to answer, she'd given up and returned to her list of duties for the day.

None of them noticed the wand clutched in Dobby's hands.

Though he knew no wizard or witch would willingly give up their wand, Dobby and the other house-elves had occasionally found one lost in the hallways during the chaos that was the change of classes. Tween had even found one by the lake one day when she'd been sent out to check on the Giant Squid. The occasional stray wand was not completely unheard of. In those cases, house-elves were told to find the rightful owner and replace it unobtrusively or barring that, return it to the Headmaster.

The clip of this wand identified its owner immediately to Dobby and he had attempted to return it. However, the Assistant Caretaker had not been in her office all day and he had begun to worry. Surely she had simply gone down to Hogsmeade as many of the students had, dropping it on the path as she went, or perhaps she had gone to visit friends elsewhere. Dobby knew she often left to check on the former Dark Arts professor whom Dobby had admired, and in either case, a lost wand was not truly to be fretted over.

Still, there was a bit of cloth caught in the silver scroll clip and Dobby had a horrible feeling he couldn't shake. He'd waited patiently for her to return, but every passing moment made him more concerned. Something was wrong. He'd have given the wand to the Headmaster, but he was no longer allowed to speak to Harry Potter or any of his friends. And Harry Potter had many friends at Hogwarts.

Just as Dobby was going to pass the wand to another house-elf in the hopes they would convey the urgency he felt, Dobby had a brilliant idea. There was one other who would heed Dobby's concern for his mistress and who could never, ever be considered a friend of Harry Potter. With a renewed urgency, he raced for the dungeons.

Voices drifted in and out of hearing as she slowly came to consciousness. Opening her eyes was a mistake, as the room whirled and tipped at crazy angles. Persephone was glad she was already on the floor, though the dull ache that was spreading through her body quickly dampened her enthusiasm for awareness. A wave of panic hit, brought forth from long-suppressed memories of the other time she'd awoken in a strange place. In both instances she had known who had taken her, in neither was she sure why. It hadn't ended well the first time and she saw no reason for this time to be any different.

Willing her mind to clear, Persephone lay still and closed her eyes, focusing on the voices.

"...didn't expect you to be here!" It was a squeaky sort of voice, one obviously used to cringing and quick reversal of words.

"That still does not explain what you are doing here." Lucius Malfoy's voice was not unexpected.

In the hallway outside the room Persephone was in, Lucius Malfoy glared down at Peter Pettigrew. Though the smaller man cowered slightly under the icy stare, his voice grew a bit more confident.

"The Dark Lord himself sent me."

"To what end?" Lucius' voice betrayed his surprise.

Wormtail nervously looked around. "That's... that's not your concern."

Lucius grabbed the front of Wormtail's robes. "I'm making it my concern."

A surprised squeak escaped, but Wormtail refused to answer. In an uncharacteristic show of spine, he asked, "Why are you here?"

Eyes narrowed, Lucius released the smaller wizard. A smirk appeared as he debated telling Wormtail of the prize he had captured. Deciding it was of no consequence to tell him, Lucius said, "I managed to secure a source of the Blood. In fact, I was on my way to extracting a sample when you arrived so unexpectedly."

The astonishment in Wormtail's eyes filled Lucius with a sense of satisfaction. Blood of the Betrayed was notoriously difficult to obtain, and yet he had what could amount to an endless supply bound in a room only a few feet away. Willingness would not be an object when certain threats were applied, he was sure.

But Wormtail's surprise was not for the reason he expected. "But we already found a sample. It worked quite magnificently."

"Where did you get it?" Lucius hissed, grabbing Wormtail again. His sense of triumph had been utterly destroyed. He'd been sure securing the Blood would win him back to the Dark Lord's favor. He had been precariously placed since the disaster at the Ministry and had actually been surprised at his early release from Azkaban. He had thought the Dark Lord would have left him there after his failure.

Realizing his error too late, Wormtail saw no way to avoid revealing everything. "It was Draco, actually. Managed to get a bit by tricking the Weasley girl."

Pride softened the grip Lucius had on Wormtail's arm. "Of course. Still, that does not explain why you are here." As Wormtail struggled to find a way out of revealing his mission, Lucius' icy glare bored into his eyes. "Unless, you said it worked? Then the Dark Lord knows the location of the Book!" Comprehension flashed over his face, followed quickly by disbelief. "You mean the Book is here?"

Cringing, Wormtail saw no alternative but to nod in confirmation.

"And he sent you to retrieve it?" Lucius added disgustedly.

Pride swelled Wormtail's chest as he wrenched away. "I have always been his most trusted-"

"You have not!" Lucius barked. Regaining his composure, he looked at the smaller man. "Where exactly?"

Uncertainty passed over Wormtail's features. "We could not tell by the map. Only that it was here, in this house."

"Begin searching," Lucius commanded. "I will join you shortly."

As he turned to enter the small room behind him, Wormtail glowered at his retreating back. Hurrying down the steps, he vowed to find the Book first, knowing Lucius would use any opportunity to take the prize and the credit from him.

Persephone forced herself not to tense as Lucius entered the room. Having overheard the whole of their conversation, a sick dread had settled in her stomach. She understood why Lucius had brought her here, but that reason was now moot. That, and Lucius was undoubtedly in a foul mood having been usurped by Wormtail. A sudden, blinding pain forced a cry from her.

"Wake up," Lucius spat. Seeing her eyes open a crack, he aimed another shock of the Cruciatus at her.

Persephone opened her eyes and vainly tried to focus them.

"It would seem," Lucius said as he dragged her roughly into a sitting position, "you are no longer of any use to me."

It was then Persephone noticed her hands and feet were chained into a set of iron bar-and-manacle restraints. Held apart by a solid metal bar by a foot and a half, she couldn't move her arms or legs any closer or further apart. The bar separating her feet was chained to the one between her wrists, then to a solid metal plate bolted into the floor a few feet to her right. Recognizing the contraption meant to restrain someone transforming from human to werewolf and to restrict the movements of the latter, fear raced over her nerves. There was no way for her to defend herself.

The excess henbane from Malfoy's ill-made Sleeping Draught made it difficult for her to focus her eyes, or control her thoughts from escaping. "Looks like you've been replaced. Or was it you were never as close to the inner circle as you believed?"

The backhanded blow sent her hears ringing, but she couldn't help laughing.

"It was undoubtedly only a final warning not to fail again." Lucius hissed, as much to himself as to her.

"I though the last warning was Bellatrix being torn apart. You were the one to find her, were you not?" Persephone gazed up innocently as Lucius' face contorted with rage. She couldn't help but laugh again.

"Did you love her?" she asked mockingly. Smiling cruelly, she added, "Does your wife know?"

The second blow sent her sprawling, her bound hands useless to break her fall. Lucius glanced toward the dying embers of the fire in the grate and the thin trail of ash leading out of it.

He mimicked her cold smile. "Do you remember what happens when a magical fire is left burning too long?"

She had seen the ashwinder, but said nothing.

"I'll find the Book," he said definitively, then smiled grimly at her again. "Unfortunately, I fear there will be very little left of your... humble abode before long."

He swept from the room. An odd whooshing noise sounded from the room above her, telling her the ashwinder's nest of eggs had already ignited. Persephone looked at her bound hands, her mind furiously searching for a way out.

Harry and Ginny cautiously made their way into the entry of the Shrieking Shack. Wands out, they looked around, not sure where to go.

A crash from a room somewhere above them gave them all the direction they needed. Motioning Ginny to be silent, Harry took the lead as they made their way quietly up the stairs. Reaching the hallway landing, they stopped and listened for movement. From a partially closed door to their left, they could make out voices. Creeping closer, they could tell they were arguing.

"Have you found it yet?" Harry, closest to the door, recognized Lucius Malfoy's voice.

"No," Wormtail replied resentfully.

Peeking in the crack of the door, Harry saw Lucius and Wormtail emptying shelves and spilling the contents of drawers, frantically searching for something. Undoubtedly, they were looking for the Book. He was just about to turn and lead Ginny back down the stairs and back to Hogwarts to warn everyone when the sound of breaking wood downstairs, quickly followed by a strange crackling noise and crash from above, stopped him in his tracks. Harry barely had time to get out of the way as the door they stood just outside slammed open. Wands raised, Lucius and Wormtail crowded into the doorway.

Time seemed to freeze as everyone stopped in surprise. Another crack of breaking wood from above distracted them just long enough for Harry to cast a Disarming Spell.

Heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs as Harry's spell caught Wormtail off guard sending him backwards into the room he'd just exited. Lucius swore and aimed a spell in the general direction of Harry, but hit Ginny instead. With a yelp, she was thrown backwards, slamming into a rickety hall table and falling to the ground in a heap.

Harry's Stun spell instantly sped toward Lucius, catching his wand arm, sending his wand spinning back into the room behind him. Malfoy turned and ran back into the room, trying to shut the door behind him.

"Impedementa!" Ginny yelled from the floor, just missing him.

Harry kicked the door just before it slammed shut and barreled into the room, closely followed by Ginny. The door slammed open again behind them, and seeing the look of shock on Lucius' face, Harry turned to see who had entered.

Much to his own shock, Snape stood there, looking livid.

"Stupefy!"

Before Harry could figure out what was going on, Snape was blasted forward. Diving out of the way, Harry saw Hermione just outside the door, one hand over her mouth, eyes wide. Ron ignored her and rushed into the room. There were more crashes and odd popping noises from elsewhere in the house, but Harry was focused on keeping Malfoy and Wormtail where they were.

"Expelliarmus!"

Wormtail's spell hit Hermione and her wand flew across the room, skidding to the wall and under a pair of moth-eaten curtains. She ducked when a flash of green quickly followed. Hunched over, she tried to scramble to where her wand had landed. Shouting for Hermione to be careful, Ron cast his own Stun, just barely missing Lucius.

Snape got up and shoved Ron to the floor behind a couch that was spilling half its stuffing onto the floor. Lucius took the opportunity to aim at Harry, his spell bouncing off the hastily cast Shield Charm Harry produced.

Making his way toward the door, Lucius looked to Wormtail and Snape. "Keep them here. I have to find the Book."

Wormtail made a strange screeching noise, and for a moment, Harry thought he had aimed his wand at the other Death Eater. Lucius backed toward the door, wand raised to defend himself against the various wands aimed all over the room.

He was almost out the door when something smashed into Malfoy from behind, sending him sprawling forward. Harry only saw a flash of movement, a blood-spattered hand ripping the wand from Lucius' hand as he fell. From the corner of his eye, Harry saw Ron nail Wormtail with a Stun spell.

Aiming Lucius' wand at the prone figure lying on the floor, Persephone tossed the broken table leg behind her. Blood ran from the corner of her mouth and was spattered over her clothes. Most of her left cheek and jawbone had turned a nasty shade of purple. Her wrists and hands were covered in blood, and Harry saw the grisly trail on the floor behind her, crimson flowing from gashes in her feet and ankles as well.

Harry opened his mouth too late to warn her. The Stun hit her and sent her flying into the wall across the hallway. The wand went spinning from her hand. Lucius got up and ran for the stairs. Several hastily cast spells exploded into the wall in front of him.

"Wormtail! Take care of them!"

Harry ducked a spell and ran out, yelling behind him as all thoughts of waiting for the Order fled, "I'll go after Malfoy!"

Not waiting for an answer, he ran after Lucius, guessing he was headed to one of the rooms on the first floor to continue his hunt for the Book of Shadows. Harry found him in the shabby library, tossing books off shelves, frantically searching.

"You won't find it!" Harry yelled. He realized it was a pointless thing to say, but nevertheless hoped it would distract Malfoy.

Diving behind a chewed-up armchair, Harry narrowly missed being hit by Lucius' spell. "As though you would know anything about the Book."

"I know more than you think." Harry's Stun bounced off Lucius' Shield Charm.

"Stupefy!"

Another spell shot toward Lucius from the doorway and Harry turned to see Persephone standing there. She smiled with satisfaction at the sound of Malfoy slamming into the bookshelves on the other side of the room.

She dashed toward a bookcase near the doorway and grabbed a book from the bottom shelf. Holding it close, she turned to run, but Lucius caught her in the back with a Stun. She pitched forward, the book falling out of her arms and sliding across the floor toward Harry.

He couldn't believe it. There was no way it could be anything but the Book of Shadows. The soft white cover almost glowed with an inner light. Power radiated from it. Runes seemed to dance along the outline of the cover. He reached for it.

"Accio!"

The book flew out of his reach into Snape's hands.

"Well done, Severus." Lucius stood slowly. "Now give it to me."

Persephone scrambled to her feet and wrenched the book out of Snape's grasp. "No!"

An expression of pure hate stole over Lucius' features and he raised his wand.

"Persephone don't-" Snape grabbed her and tried to pull her out of the way.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A jet of green light shot across the room, hitting the Book that Persephone held in front of her chest. Harry tried to shout, but nothing came out.

The force of the spell slammed them both back into the shelf-lined wall. They crashed to the ground, the book slipping from Persephone's suddenly limp arms, skidding a few feet before stopping. Dark red blood stained the glowing white cover, oozing onto the floor. After a moment that felt like an eternity to Harry, Snape sat up.

"Persephone..." Snape pulled her closer, staring into her open but unblinking eyes. "No!"

Lucius stood over them, glaring disgustedly at the woman on the floor. "I warned you not to get attached."

Snape finally looked up, raw hate unlike Harry had ever seen in his eyes. "Just take the Book and get out." He shoved the Book at Lucius and looked back down at Persephone.

With a triumphant smile, Lucius took it, drops of the viscous crimson liquid splattering onto the floor as he did. Harry raised his wand, but Snape's spell hit him before he could cast. Lucius aimed at Harry, whose wand now lay somewhere on other side of the room.

"Leave him!" Snape hissed, not breaking his gaze from Persephone's face.

Holding the Book of Shadows, Lucius merely shrugged and mock-bowed at Harry before Disapparating. Stunned, Harry glanced back to where Snape and Persephone still sat by the wall. Snape seemed to be muttering something, but Harry couldn't hear what as a loud crash sounded from one of the rooms above. The temperature in the room rose sharply. There were frightened shouts from the staircase.

Footsteps thundered through the hallway and suddenly the room was full of people and yelling. Someone dragged Harry to his feet. Wandless, he instinctively swung a fist, stopping short when he realized it was Lupin.

"When did you get here?" Harry asked, bewildered, his hand still in midair. He saw that Tonks was among the others who had rushed in. There was a noisy crackle followed by a loud 'pop', then a resounding crash from above. Everyone ducked as plaster showered down on them.

"Just a few minutes ago. Wormtail got away. Where's Lucius?" Lupin seemed to be checking Harry over.

Someone thrust a wand into Harry's hand and he saw Ginny standing next to him.

"He got away, too." A flaming something fell past the window, landing with a dry crack and shower of sparks. "He-"

"Come on, Harry!" Ginny tried to drag him toward the door. "We have to get out of here! Now!"

Lupin finally caught sight of Snape and Persephone, still on the floor by the wall. "You have to get out of here! The house is on fire!"

The ceiling gave an ominous groan and suddenly an enormous crack appeared in the plaster. Grabbing Ginny, Harry hurried toward the library door, seeing Ron and Hermione running for the front door. Turning, Harry saw Tonks grab the back of Lupin's shirt, hauling him backwards just as a flaming beam of wood crashed through the ceiling, crushing the worn and beaten armchair Harry had been behind moments before.

The sudden heat was intense. Chunks of ceiling fell to the floor and the books strewn over the carpet burst into flame. Thick black smoke billowed into the room.

"Come on!" Harry felt Ginny tugging at him. Coughing, she grabbed both his arms and pulled.

There was a louder groan and Harry was afraid the whole house was about to collapse in on itself. He saw Tonks trying to pull Lupin out the door.

"Severus, come on!" Lupin yelled, his shout quickly becoming a cough as dark smoke filled the room.

"I don't care!" Snape shouted, but he was still looking down at Persephone.

Another large piece of the rooms above crashed into the library, taking half the shelf-lined wall with it. The curtains had caught fire and flames raced across the wall. Harry turned and shoved Ginny through the door as if she hadn't just been trying to drag him through it. Lupin grabbed Tonks around the waist, pulling her out of the way of the chandelier that the ceiling refused to hold on to any longer.

Just as they stumbled out the front door and down the steps, there was an explosion that blew the glass out of every window that was left on the ground floor. Harry threw Ginny to the ground trying to cover her as glass rained down on them. Lupin and Tonks were knocked off their feet.

Just as he'd thought anyone left in the house couldn't possibly still be alive, Harry saw Snape carrying Persephone, just barely making it out the door before the west side of the house fell in on itself. Bright orange flames danced over the small section of roof that remained, winking from broken windows on what remained of the second and third floors. Loud pops and crackles announced bright showers of sparks as the house appeared to consume itself in a fiery blaze.

Collapsed on the ground beside Ginny, Harry's lungs tried to forcefully expel the choking smoke. In the distance he could hear the shouts of the residents of Hogsmeade, who had finally noticed the Shrieking Shack going up in flames.

Glancing to the side, he felt a wave of relief wash over him as he caught sight of Dumbledore striding toward them. But it was not Harry he went to first. Sitting up slightly, Harry saw Snape was on his knees still near the steps of the house, obviously exhausted, but still holding Persephone. Dumbledore came to stand next to him and Snape looked up. They gazed at each other for a long moment.

Harry tried to cry out, desperate to tell him what happened, Lucius Malfoy got away with the Book. He let him take it. He let Malfoy take the Book. All that came out was a hoarse croak. Nevertheless, Dumbledore noticed and hurriedly made his way to Harry's side. Helping him up, he said, "Come with me."

"Sir." Harry coughed violently. "The Book, Lucius Malfoy..."

"In a moment, Harry. We must get somewhere safe first. Remus, you and Tonks get the others to the hospital wing. Quickly! No, leave them." Turning back to Harry, he asked, "Do you still have the matches Arthur Weasley gave you?"

Harry watched Lupin help Ron and Hermione to their feet while Tonks ushered a coughing and protesting Ginny back toward the road to Hogwarts. Harry wanted to yell he was all right, but his lungs still burned when he tried to take a deep breath. By the steps, Snape had finally collapsed next to Persephone, who lay very still.

Somehow his hands had found the book of matches deep in a pocket of his robes. Gently, Dumbledore took them. Before Harry could ask, Dumbledore had removed one and taken Harry's hand. There was a familiar tug behind his navel, then the surreal image of the Shrieking Shack, engulfed in flames, was replaced by the familiar comfort of the kitchen at Number Twelve.