The Heirs of Dreams

Chapter Ten

It was not until he reached a familiar corridor he had visited so many times in his sleep that he realized why this all felt so familiar. He looked down to his forearm and realized his arm had begun to bleed again, the potion wearing off just as it had in his dream and the dull pain returning along with it. He looked to his right and saw Zora pacing impatiently on the rug in the green velvet room. He looked to his left and saw Ginny crying on the marble floor, her arms and legs chained.

He closed his eyes and pushed his mind further. He wanted so badly to go to his left and to get Ginny as far away form this as possible. But at the same time he felt he needed to get to Zora first. Perhaps she knew something he didn't? He opened his eyes again and looked to his left. He caught a flash of hooded creatures gliding towards him. He looked to his right and saw himself and Zora running to Ron and Draco. Without any further delay, he ran to his right.

**

Zora kneeled helplessly on the rug. She didn't know what else to do but sit here and wait for something to happen. The rush of excitement she tried her hardest not to acknowledge was still running through her veins. She was actually feeling pleased that she had killed Draco and she hated Voldemort even more for this feeling. She liked it too much.

At the same time as her excitement of killing was the overwhelming human end she had been given upon her death. She could not get the image of his eyes from her mind. The sound of the sword piercing his side would not leave her ears. She could even detect his smell on her somehow. A knock sounded at the door and the latch was undone.

"How are you feeling?" the familiar cold tone sounded in her ears.

Her body involuntarily shuddered at the sound and her face turned to disgust.

"I'm fine," she lied as she kept her eyes on the Persian rug beneath her.

"You lie, child. You're energized, you're excited, you're happy for the first time in your life, admit it! You've finally done what you were born to do," Voldemort said with an undeniable smile in his voice.

"He's still alive," she said as strongly as she could although she did not know if he was or not.

"Yes," Voldemort said disappointedly, "but he will die soon. It should not bother you. . . . I knew you were the stronger of the two, despite your upbringing. I suppose there truly is a bit of me in you somewhere."

"I beg to differ. . . . I'm nothing like you," she replied as she rose to sit on the green rug beneath her.

He only laughed. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, careful not to draw blood and give his affect on her away. His laugh had no joy in it but was instead filled with anger and hate. The sound brought a surge of emotions to her eyes.

"You amuse me, child," he said as his laughter diminished.

"My name is Zora," she replied harshly as she finally looked up at him.

"Your name has no importance to me. . . . I did not give it to you," he sneered.

"And you have no power over me as a price. I'm not like your damned spider or—or like Draco," she added sadly.

"No, you're not. I did not plan you this way exactly. . . but I like surprises, lucky for you. You will be a nice addition to our family," Voldemort said as he turned towards the door.

"Are you deaf or something?! We went over this! I'm not joining you! I'd rather die first!"

"You already did that. . . and look where it got you. You cannot deny your destiny, child. Besides, soon you will not have much of a choice."

With that he opened the door to the bedroom and began to exit. Zora became filled to the brim with so many emotions that she could no longer stand it. She rose from the rug and lunged violently at Voldemort. The door was closed before she reached him, but she gave it her all none the less. Just before she was to collide with the wood, she opened her eyes and thought quickly. She threw her hands in front of her and stopped herself. It took even longer for her to realize that she was floating. She had never made contact with the wood and a protective light was streaming from the palms of her hands, filling all the space that separated her body from the door. She would have smiled, she would have laughed, she would have jumped with joy to have her powers back. But she didn't. She pushed herself back upright and commenced to pace worriedly on the green rug beneath her bare feet.

The sound of the door being unlatched once more filled her ears and the same chills ran down her spine at the thought of hearing that voice once again.

"Zora?" the familiar voice called from the doorway. "Are you in here?"

"Harry!" she exclaimed as she ran towards him. "Harry, we have to get out of here."

She did not take a moment to explain or to make any attempt at being comforted for her tears. She was already out of the room and running as fast as possible down the empty corridors. She did not take a moment to wonder why the halls were so empty until she reached Ron who was gently lying Draco on the marble floor.

"Pick him back up, we have to find a way out of here," she said immediately. She turned to see if Harry had managed to keep up with her.

"What happened to him?" Harry asked as he clutched his chest and attempted to regain his normal breathing patterns.

"No time to explain!" Zora replied as she bent down and pulled at Draco's arm. "We need to leave now."

"Oh no you don't!" Ron exclaimed. "We're not going anywhere without Ginny!"

"Ginny?" Zora asked as her heart skipped a beat. She glared angrily at Draco and felt her sympathy pass away for a moment and she dropped him roughly back to the ground. "What the hell is Ginny doing here and why didn't you tell me before?"

"You didn't ask," he replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Well, I'm asking now. . . where the fuck is she?" Zora went on crossly as she reached at Draco's waist. She removed the dragon dagger she gave him for their birthday and held the deadly knife in her hand.

"Dungeons," Draco replied reluctantly, "but I don't suggest going after her."

"What?" Ron burst. Zora was worried for a moment that he would rip Draco's head off and placed a hand on his arm, making him ease back a step.

"I've dreamt this. . . once Zora and Ron died, once Harry died, once I died and once we all got out. . . that was the one when we left without her," Draco explained quickly.

"Well," Zora said with deep thought, "we really can't just leave her."

Zora was worried—more so than she was used to. Draco never dreamt incorrectly. He was taught to dig into his mind and find the truth hidden there. He was always right in his dreams. She didn't want to lose anyone more than she had to but at the same time felt a nagging feeling that they had to at least try.

"Ron," she said finally, "come with me. . . we're at least going to try. If something happens. We'll turn back immediately and meet up with you all then."

"You'll regret it," Draco warned.

"And if we don't I'll regret that too. If I have to regret something, I'll regret trying," Zora replied.

She looked to Ron. He seemed pleased and relieved, but still incredibly pale. She gave him a small smile, the most she could manage to muster at the time, and started running towards the dungeons as she held the beautiful dagger in her hand. She was pulled only through a memory locked inside one of the many dreams she had forgotten as soon as the sun hit her open eyes. She was turning down halls she recognized and at the same time had never seen before. She was gazing upon shields and paintings she had admired in a youth she had never experienced. She knew passwords and she knew passageways. What she did not know was why the halls were so blessedly empty.

**

Harry kept his eyes on his two friends until they had turned a sharp corner and were gone. He looked awkwardly back at Draco. He looked so pale and helpless lying on the marble floor as he was. Harry walked until he was just a few feet away and sat, having no desire to get closer to the person who got them into this mess in the first place.

"Why is Ginny here?" Harry asked, the first of many questions burdening his mind.

"That I will not answer," Draco replied sternly.

"Well then, why are you so weak?" Harry asked crossly.

"That is a fair question—remember our duel? Of course you do, it was only a few minutes ago. Well, Zora did what you could not," Draco said as he removed his hand from his side, revealing a spot of blood on his white shirt. "Actually, I made her. I don't think she's realized it yet. Anyway, the demons surrounding us needed descendant blood from a fatal wound. Zora and I are obvious, and you are an extremely distant one, but still related. The slash at your arm was nothing life threatening, but disarming. . . you were excused. First kill is a big honor in the family, I knew he would understand. Zora was next, I didn't expect that really, but we fought forever until I decided to just let it happen. Weasley gave me some awful tasting stuff that closed the wound and stopped the bleeding, hurts like hell though. . . but not too badly. The demons have their blood and no one cares about anything else right now. "

"Is that why the halls are empty?" Harry continued.

Draco looked intently at Harry for a long moment before he replied.

"No."

"Why then?"

"Some things I cannot say," Draco replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Alright," Harry said as he started to think, "why are you helping us? Aren't you supposed to be—with Voldemort?"

"It's all her I guess," Draco continued with deep thought, "I know I don't really love her, or at least part of me knows. But still I feel I love her, and when you love someone, you'll do anything for them. She likes you, she's your friend. Because of that, I will treat you as one. If she hated you, I would hate you for that reason alone. No matter how much I want to tell you all to sod off. . . to leave that red haired tart to waste in the cell and to lead Weasley to a dragon pit. No matter how much I want that, I won't do it only because it's not what she wants."

Harry just listened as Draco went on. He was cold in his tone, but there was feeling in his words that Harry could not place. It did not look or sound like love although that's what Draco was saying it was. It was something more or possibly something less, but it certainly was no love that Harry had ever heard of.

"And after all this?"

"What? Voldemort? I'll be disowned for sure, but it's worth it. She'll smile when it's over. . . . I'll make her smile for once, I can never do that it seems. But if she smiles, it will be worth it. Of course I'll go to Hogwarts, stay for the Holidays and probably go straight to some job or further school to keep a place to stay, but I'll worry about that later," Draco went on, almost absently.

"Well," Harry began awkwardly, "I meant after tonight—will you still be on our side?"

"Things are not always as they seem, Potter; things are going to happen. I know that for sure. I don't know how this is all going to end, but I do know one thing. We are messing with dark magic and its not all lollipops and wonderful things from here. It's vengeful, it's dangerous. This isn't messing around or a game—it's serious. It's not over yet, Potter. It's only just begun."

Harry was reminded of his dreams and the boy emerging from the marble. He racked his brain but found nothing else he wished to know at that time. His thoughts turned to Zora and Ron and Ginny and remained with them the remainder of time he sat.

**

Zora stood before the door and unlocked the latch. She was perfectly still for a moment with her hand wrapped around the dragon handled dagger, wondering why it was this easy. She clutched the dagger hilt tighter and tighter as she pushed the door open. She could sense Ron at her side and knew he wanted to rush in. Perhaps it was his experience as simply being Harry's friend that kept him cautiously as bay.

"If anything comes at us, just turn and run and tell the others to leave, understand?"

Ron gave an affirmative nod although she knew he would not simply turn and run. It was not in Ron's nature to leave someone in harm's way. He would rush at the obstacle, he would try to get to his sister and get Zora away from danger. The affirmation only comforted Zora for a moment, but it was enough to get her to step into the room.

She saw Ginny immediately with her tangled red hair draped over her face. She was kneeling on the floor with her hands behind her back, probably shackled. She was clearly shaking, but whether it was from fear or the cold air in the room Zora could not be sure. The thin nightgown Ginny was wearing was no help at all she was sure, the dungeon felt as though it was easily below freezing.

Zora eyed to room. There were no present dangers, the room was completely empty. She did not give Ron any sign to enter the room although she knew he was dieing to rush in. She walked slowly over to Ginny.

Her head rose weakly and she gazed through her tangled hair at Zora. Ginny made no attempt at informing Zora of a trap or an ambush awaiting them. She simply sat attentively and watched with wide and active eyes.

Zora bent behind Ginny, still watching out the corner of her eye for something to go awry. She placed the sharp enchanted blade to the metal links behind Ginny's back and easily cut through the thick metal as if it were only butter. She gazed quickly around the room, still waiting. She was satisfied with the test and then carefully sliced the cuffs wrapped around Ginny's delicate pale skin in half. Zora could see the black and blue marks around Ginny's small wrists as Ginny pulled her arms in front of her body.

Zora pulled at Ginny's arms and bolted for the door, Ginny trailing a little behind. She stopped and made sure Ginny was through the doorway before she followed, slamming the door loudly behind them. Ron had his arms around his sister and was crying softly with relief into her hair.

"They just left me in there. . . it felt like days. . . ." She was crying weakly.

"It's almost midnight, but I'm sure it did feel like days," Zora chimed comfortably. "I know you're tired, but we have to get to Harry and Draco now."

Ginny nodded her head and began to walk slowly down the corridor, Zora and Ron following. Zora broke out into a run when she was sure Ginny was strong enough to endure the physical hardship. Zora was clutching at her chest and once again wishing she had her usual strength back. Who knew that she would miss something she resented so much.

Zora turned the corner, greeted by Harry's smile. She easily passed by him although she did not mean it to be rude or insensitive. They had to get out and the sooner the better. She didn't know what it was, but for some unknown reason she knew they had to get out before midnight. She kneeled by Draco's side and replaced the dagger back into its holder. She carefully lifted his left arm over her shoulders and lifted him from the floor.

"I know this isn't a great time—emotional and all—" she said as she strained under supporting Draco's dead weight, "but we really do have to go—now!"

Ron and Harry had their arms wrapped around Ginny. Zora's heart went out to the three. They were tired. They were scared. She needed them more than ever to hold it together. As soon as Harry appeared at the bedroom door, she knew they would get out of here. Now, not having the seeing powers she once did, Zora was losing faith in her friends and unfortunately in herself as well.

She turned with Draco at her side and walked down the corridor. It wasn't until she saw Ron on the other side of Draco that she knew the three had taken up to following her again. She was comforted that at least they still had faith in her. Why should they? Didn't they know it was almost certain she was leading them to their deaths? She had to try though. There was one safe way out that she could recall from some dream eerily similar to this night. . . they just had to make it in time.

**

"Are you all right?" was all Harry could think to say to Ginny. It was awkwardly silent behind Zora, Draco, and Ron.

"I think so," Ginny weakly smiled as she rubbed at her bruised wrists. "Weird isn't it?"

"What?"

"Ron—carrying Draco like that. They hate each other, but look at them now," Ginny replied.

"Yeah, it is weird," Harry replied as he looked at the boys ahead of them. He knew if they did survive this, both Ron and Draco would deny this moment even existed, but now it didn't matter.

"I'm sure you'll explain how you all got here and why this happened to us, just wait until tomorrow, I can't handle it right now."

"It's not too difficult," Harry admitted. "Draco told us you and Zora were missing. . . we came after you. There's more wrapped in it, but that's the gist."

"It's good; she's all right—Zora I mean." Ginny nodded.

"We came for you too, Ginny, not just Zora. You should've seen Ron's face when he saw your room; he was so pale I thought he was going to pass out," Harry said as he remembered the horrific sight of Ron in the doorway.

"What about you're face," he barely heard at his side.

"What'd you say?" he asked afraid he misheard her quiet voice.

"Nothing," she replied with her eyes on the marble floor.

He knew he was not supposed to hear her when she spoke. At any other time, he imagined her cheeks would have turned pink, but she was far too weak to be anything but white.

Harry's head darted up when he noticed Zora drop Draco's arm and start running forward. Harry took her place at Draco's left just before Ron dropped his body to the floor. He helped Ron ease Draco's weak body to the wall and propped him up so he wouldn't fall over.

"No! No!" she shouted as she ran. She hit the end of the corridor and slammed her fists into the shiny white marble. "God dammit! Mother fuckers! Asshole pieces of Goddamn shit!" she continued as she kicked and screamed and plunged her fists into the marble. She stood back once a circle of red appeared on the white marble.

She turned back to the group with defeat written across her face and her wounded hand cupped in her other. She didn't look at any of them, but at the floor.

"We're trapped," she said quietly, "and we're Muggles."