The Source of Magic

Chapter 10 ~ The Hostage

It was surprising how quickly things settled down between Ron and Hermione. In little more than two weeks, things were pretty much back to normal. Harry was relieved he didn't have to pretend to be angry with them anymore. It was great to be able to act naturally with his friends. Ron and Hermione seemed to be going out of their way to be polite to each other. Obviously that wasn't going to last, but at least they were trying to get their friendship back on track.

Hermione decided there was no need for her to find another boyfriend to deflect suspicion that she and Harry were still secretly together. Their pretended fling had lasted less than a week, and it was obvious to all that it was business as usual with the trio. And anyway, Hermione knew that simply being best friends with Harry was enough to make her a target -- and Ron, too, for that matter. Pretending to have a boyfriend wasn't going to change that. But the truth of the matter was she simply didn't have time for a boyfriend. There was a batch of Wolfsbane Potion on the brew, which needed constant attention, two out of every four weeks; and there were times when she was able to sit in on Harry's sessions with Jason; there were her Head Girl responsibilities; but most of all, there was a massive amount of work to get through before the NEWTs at the end of the year. There was no time for romance this year, she decided; and anyway, maybe in another year or two Ron might actually grow up a bit and stop being such an immature prat.

Harry was sitting at breakfast one morning between Ron and Hermione, when the usual breakfast din was suddenly interrupted by a loud crash. Harry looked around for the source of the noise. He saw Hermione staring in horror towards the back of the hall. "Oh my," she said.

Following her gaze, Harry saw that the enormous oak doors at the entrance to the Great Hall had been smashed and lay shattered on the floor. An enormous head protruded through the doorway. It was followed by the rest of the enormous body, bent over double as it squeezed itself, with difficulty, through the large double doorway. Finally, the enormous figure straightened itself to its full sixteen feet. "Hadrig?" it boomed, looking stupidly around the Great Hall.

"It's Grawp!" said Harry. "Why do you think he burst into the Great Hall like that?"

"Look!" gasped Hermione. "There's something in his arms. It looks like he's carrying someone."

Hagrid stomped down the hall towards his giant brother with Professor McGonagall hard on his heels. Grawp stood motionless for a few moments. He was cradling someone in his arms, the way a little girl might cradle a doll. He began trying to sooth it, making a low crooning noise and patting it gently. But it would not be soothed. From the sound of the shrieks and cries it was a woman. "Put me down you loathsome, foul beast! You great monstrous moron! Help me! Help me! Someone help me!" she shrieked.

"Oh no," groaned Hermione. "You know what Grawp's done? He's rescued Umbridge from the Forbidden Forest and brought her back to Hogwarts. And ... oh dear ... it looks like he's become rather fond of her. Obviously he doesn't understand a word she says, or he would have given her to the centaurs by now."

Hagrid had now reached Grawp and was trying unsuccessfully to persuade him to hand Umbridge over to him. She was covered in bruises and scratches and looked the worse for wear after several weeks wandering about in the Forbidden Forest. Eventually, McGonagall caught Grawp's eye, and he quaked beneath her fierce gaze as she motioned for him to pass his charge to Hagrid. Reluctantly, he handed Umbridge to his brother, giving her a final, gentle pat.

"Take her to the Hospital Wing, Hagrid, and ask Poppy to check her over," said McGonagall briskly.

"No!" shrieked Umbridge. "I refuse to stay one minute more at Hogwarts. I don't need to go to the Hospital Wing; it's just a scratch or two. I insist on returning to the Ministry -- immediately!"

"I have no idea what on earth you have been up to, Madam Umbridge; and quite frankly, I do not wish to know. I suspect, however, that your current appearance may fall somewhat short of the Ministry's dress code," said McGonagall sardonically. "I insist that you receive a check up from Madam Pomfrey. She will heal your cuts and bruises. Should she find anything more serious, you will be transferred to St Mungo's. Otherwise, you are most welcome to leave. Rest assured that neither I, nor any of the Hogwarts professors or students, wish to detain you here for one moment longer than is necessary," she added with an icy smile.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

On Saturday evening, Harry and Hermione received messages from Jason asking them to come after dinner and to bring Ron and Ginny with them. Ron knew pretty much what Harry had been doing with Jason. Now that they were talking again, Harry and Hermione had brought him up to speed on events, including their Time-Turner trip back to 1977 to retrieve the Horcrux transfigured as a Black Sabbath rock album, and their meeting with seventeen-year-old Lily Evans and Jason Trolove in the Shrieking Shack. But Harry had deliberately kept Ginny in the dark, for her own protection ... plus there were better uses for their limited opportunities together.

They took the secret route to Jason's office, where they found four comfy bean bags awaiting them.

"The reason I called you all here is that we have a bit of a problem. I have just received intelligence of a plan to kidnap a Hogwarts student. The object is to use the student as a hostage to lure Harry to Voldemort's stronghold."

"Who's the student?" asked Harry.

"Ginny."

"Ginny?" asked Ron. "But, Harry and Ginny have split up -- as far as everyone knows, anyway. She's with Neville all the time."

"I don't even know if this plan was the result of information from Hogwarts. If it was, then maybe Neville and Ginny haven't been convincing enough --"

Harry and Ron both snorted disbelievingly. They seemed to agree that Neville and Ginny were more than convincing enough.

"Or perhaps it was the weakness of Act II -- the Ron and Hermione romance -- that gave the plot away," suggested Ginny. "Pansy Parkinson always seems to be looking at Neville and me, and she was keeping an eye on you two, as well," she said, looking at Ron and Hermione. "You weren't very convincing. I don't think she was fooled for a moment. Maybe my plan wasn't such a great idea after all ...."

"This is all speculation," said Jason. "You were probably always going to be a candidate to bait a trap for Harry after being with him last year, Ginny, regardless of what happened this year."

"Did the information about the kidnap plan come from Snape?" asked Harry.

Jason nodded.

"What?" demanded Ginny. "Snape's a Death Eater -- he killed Professor Dumbledore, how can you --"

"It's a little more complicated than that," said Jason, smiling at her. "Perhaps some other time one of the others can tell you all about --"

"No!" exclaimed Harry. "I don't want Ginny getting involved in any of --"

"Well, it looks like I'm already involved!" replied Ginny fiercely.

"Look, I'm sorry, but we really don't have time for this right now," said Jason gently. "You two can sort this out between yourselves ... later."

"When is the kidnapping meant to happen?" asked Ron.

"Some time tomorrow the morning, it seems."

"But, we've got Quidditch practice tomorrow morning," said Ron.

"Which would be the perfect opportunity to snatch Ginny," said Hermione. "The practice will have been booked for weeks; all the other teams will know that you'll be down at the Quidditch pitch."

"Yeah, including Slytherin," said Ron. "But it's not exactly going to be easy to snatch Ginny from the middle of the Gryffindor Quidditch team -- and no one can catch her once she's on her broom."

"Don't be silly," said Ginny. "They wouldn't attempt it during the practice; it would be either before or afterwards."

"Like in the changing room," said Hermione.

"That's right," said Ginny thoughtfully. "We usually all walk down to practice and back again in one or two groups. We change into our Quidditch gear before we go down and take a change of clothes so we can shower and change afterwards. Demelza and I will be alone in the girls changing room; it would be easy enough for someone to sneak in and hide while we're practicing. Then, when we come to take our shower and change, they jump out and stun us."

"I think that's pretty much the plan," mused Jason. "They'll leave Demelza and probably smuggle you out of Hogwarts under an Invisibility Cloak. As soon as you are past the wards, they could use a Portkey or side-by-side Apparation to take you anywhere."

"Why not just use a Portkey in the changing room?" asked Ron.

"With all the added security in place, no one could get a Portkey in undetected," said Hermione. "Plus, they are very difficult to make."

"I believe the strengthened wards would prevent a Portkey from working," said Jason. "After all, if someone did succeed in making one, they could abduct anyone," he said, looking significantly at Harry.

"So, all I have to do is not get changed after the Quidditch practice tomorrow," said Ginny. "I'll just go straight back to the castle, right?"

"Wrong," said Jason with a smile. "We don't want your abductors leaving empty-handed."

"What?" demanded Harry. "You want to let Voldemort take Ginny hostage -- you must be completely crazy! I'll never agree to it!"

"If Ginny eludes them tomorrow," reasoned Jason, "they'll just come up with a different plan to get her some other time, some other way; and we may not get a warning next time, so we'd be unable to take evasive action."

"Evasive action?" demanded Ron, "What are you talking about? You just said you want to let them take Ginny. What the hell's evasive about that?"

"This," said Jason, morphing into a perfect replica of Ginny.

"Wow!" said Ginny, "You're a Metamorphmagus like Tonks. I've never seen her morph to look exactly like someone else."

"Yes, well, I've been studying you for the past ten minutes," said Jason casually. He was not really a Metamorphmagus. He was, in fact, using a different kind of magic -- but he assumed Harry did not want Ginny to know about all of that. "Those damn freckles of yours are hellishly difficult to get right."

"Err, Jason, do you think you could morph back to yourself?" asked Harry. "I'm finding it confusing having two Ginny's in the room and remembering that one of them is you."

"You better make sure it's really me next time we go off for a snog," said Ginny, giggling. Hermione and Ron snorted, but Harry looked somewhat embarrassed.

Anxious to move the conversation along, he said to Jason, who had reverted to his normal appearance, "So, you're going to come down to Quidditch practice instead of Ginny tomorrow and let them kidnap you instead."

"Hang on!" exclaimed Ron. "That will mess up our whole practice! I've got it all planned out and Ginny needs to be there. Can't you swap with her afterwards?"

"That was the idea," said Jason, "For one thing, I can't fly a broomstick to save my life. So where would be the best place to do the swap?"

"The broom shed," said Ginny thoughtfully. "I'll go in to put my broom away after the practice. Ron, you can ask Demelza to stay back a few minutes to show her a new tactic or give her some advice -- you're never short on that. That will save her getting stunned. Harry, you make sure no one comes into the broom shed until I -- well Jason -- comes out. I presume you'll go in under Harry's Invisibility Cloak, and I'll leave under it, right?"

"Something like that," said Jason. He didn't need an Invisibility Cloak, but Ginny did. "Harry, I'll come back most of the way to Gryffindor Tower with you tonight, so you can give me your Invisibility Cloak. Ginny, I'll accompany you, invisibly, down to Quidditch practice tomorrow, just to be on the safe side -- in case the plan is not quite what we expect. Then, after the practice, you can slip out of the broom shed under the Invisibility Cloak at the same time that I exit, morphed as you. Please come straight up here, to my office, and stay here until I return -- no one must see you."

"Right, but how long will you be? What am I supposed to do in here while I'm waiting?"

"Well, you could bone up on your potion making," said Jason with a cheeky grin. "Or, you could have a book bag prepared on your bed. Hermione can fetch it for Harry to bring down here, along with some lunch. That way you can catch up on your studies ... if the two of you can't think of a better way to pass the time." Hermione and Ginny giggled, Ron looked uncomfortable, and Harry was trying hard to avoid his gaze. "I don't know how long I'll be detained at Voldemort's pleasure. It could be anything from one to maybe five or even ten hours. You may need to bring Ginny dinner as well, Harry."

"Err, would you mind not err ... just materialising directly into here?" asked Harry. "Maybe you could knock first, err ... just in case...."

Ginny giggled, but she was puzzled. "How could you just appear in here? You can't Apparate in Hogwarts. And aren't you worried about being held hostage by Voldemort? How come you're so sure you'll be able to get away unharmed?"

"Those would be very good questions to ask Harry, while you're waiting for me to return, but I shall leave that for the two of you to settle between yourselves. Hand me your wand please."

Ginny gave it to him reluctantly. "They'll probably break it," she said anxiously.

"Almost certainly," said Jason, taking his own, and looking back and forth between them until it looked exactly like Ginny's, which he handed back to her.

"But they'll break yours," said Ginny.

"Not to worry," said Jason carelessly. "I can always get another one."

Harry was almost certain that Jason's wand was just a piece of wood, like the one Lupin had given him.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

Ginny's abduction from the girls changing room had presumably gone to plan. By the time Demelza got there, Ginny was gone, apparently forgetting her change bag, which Demelza thoughtfully returned to her dorm for her. Since Ginny was in the habit of sneaking off, it didn't occur to Demelza, or anyone else, that she was missing. Harry suspected that Ron had earned himself a place on Voldemort's hit list for making them practice an hour extra and keeping him waiting for his hostage.

It was soon after dinner when they heard a knock on the door. "Err, come in," said Harry.

Ginny entered and immediately morphed back into Jason. Looking around he noticed Hermione and Ron were there as well. "What's with the welcoming committee?" he asked, throwing himself down in the heavy leather chair behind his desk and putting his feet up.

He really did not look much like a Hogwarts professor, thought Hermione. "Well, I came down after dinner to make a start on the next batch of Wolfsbane Potion, and Ron was already here. He said he wanted to make sure Ginny and Harry were OK."

"You mean he wanted to stop us snogging!" said Ginny irately.

"Crikey, you've been at it all afternoon," complained Ron. "Enough's enough!"

"Yeah, well, I don't remember enough ever being enough last year when you and Lavender were permanently joined at the mouth!" retorted Ginny angrily. "And anyway, we weren't snogging all the time. I persuaded Harry that since Voldemort decided to abduct me, there was no point in trying to protect me by hiding everything. So he's been bringing me up to date about everything, including his training and you," added Ginny, giving Jason an appraising look. "So there's no need to send me back to the Gryffindor common room while you tell the others what happened."

"Good," said Jason, smiling, as he began recounting his adventures....

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

Before entering the changing room, morphed to look like Ginny Weasley, he'd projected a magical map and spotted Pansy Parkinson hiding in one of the toilet cubicles. When she snuck out under an Invisibility Cloak, he surreptitiously deflected her hex and pretended to be stunned, but he let her put the Mobilicorpus spell on him. Pansy threw a second Invisibility Cloak over Ginny and then levitated her out of the changing room and down to the Hogwarts Gates. There was no one about. "Draco, Draco," she cooed in a sickly, saccharine voice.

Draco Malfoy emerged from behind a nearby tree. Pansy removed both Invisibility Cloaks and smiled smugly at him. He was dressed in dark wizarding robes. "Well Draco dear, here she is, just like you asked. I hope you appreciate all the risk and effort I've gone to," she said ingratiatingly.

"What the hell took you so long, Parkinson?" grumbled Draco, "I've been waiting for over an hour. I was sure you'd stuffed up -- I almost left."

Pansy was clearly miffed. "Draco, it's not very nice of you to talk to me like that after everything I've done for you. It's hardly my fault if that idiot Weasley -- who, in case you haven't heard, has taken over as Gryffindor Quidditch captain -- decided to keep them practicing forever. You could show a little gratitude. I've taken a lot of risks for you, Draco. It was really --"

"Shut up!" snapped Draco impatiently. "You're taking risks right now, standing there blabbering, when someone could come along. Just levitate her over the gates to me, will you?"

"Won't the wards stop her?" asked Pansy anxiously.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Of course not, you stupid idiot! She's a Hogwarts' student, remember? The wards only stop people who aren't supposed to be at the school -- like me! And they stop them from getting in -- not out. Parkinson, if someone gave you a brain, it would be lonely. Now get on with it!"

As soon as Pansy had levitated Ginny over the top of the gate, Draco took control of her with his own wand. "Now get the hell out of here! Put your Invisibility Cloak back on and go back to the castle -- now!"

Pansy was in tears, but she did as he demanded. "Well, bye then, Draco," she said thickly, as she threw one of the Invisibility Cloaks over herself. "And please answer my owls. You know how much I miss you --"

But she stopped, because as soon as Draco had levitated Ginny down beside him, he took hold of one of her arms, and Disapparated away with her, without so much as a thank you or goodbye.

They Apparated to Wiltshire, arriving outside the gates of Malfoy Mansion. Draco briefly deactivated the wards to float Ginny through the gates and up a long, tree-lined avenue to the front door of the mansion. Once inside, he steered her along a wide, wood-panelled hallway, illuminated by elegant gas-lamps and then down a handsome stairway, which led to some rather less-ornate stone steps which descended to a dark, damp passageway. Draco reached into his robes and removed a ring of large brass keys. He turned one of the keys in a lock and swung open a heavy door to reveal a small, window-less cell. Depositing Ginny on a low ledge against one wall, Draco waved his wand, attaching her arms and legs to manacles that were fixed to the wall with heavy chains. Then he stepped back towards the door and Ennervated her. Ginny opened her eyes and looked around in apparent confusion.

"Welcome to Malfoy Mansion," sneered Draco. "You should feel greatly honoured. We don't make a habit of inviting impoverished riff-raff and other lowly scum -- like Weasleys -- here. It lowers the whole tone of the place," said Draco arrogantly, brushing an imaginary speck of dirt from his robes. Ginny sat up on the ledge and glared back at Draco.

"Potter's little blood-traitor girlfriend," said Draco mockingly. "Pansy wasn't fooled by your pretence of splitting up with Potter. She says hero Potter will come and rescue you, although I have no idea what he sees in gutter garbage like you, Weasley. Hmm ... maybe I should find out. We have a little time on our hands," he said menacingly, as he moved towards her, grinning evilly.

Jason glared at Draco. He had decided the best way to maintain his disguise was to keep silent. He wasn't sure how convincing an impersonation he could do of Ginny's voice, and he might say something that would give the game away. He really didn't like the direction things were taking. He knew he could always stun Draco or simply dematerialise away, but that would defeat the whole purpose of the exercise.

"Father won't mind if I have a little fun with you, before we take you to --"

"I most certainly will mind, Draco," said Lucius Malfoy, entering the cell and looking coldly down his arrogant nose at Ginny. "The Dark Lord has not forgotten your failure to carry out his orders to kill Dumbledore. You are very lucky Snape was there to finish him off ... otherwise you would probably be dead. My position with the Dark Lord is not much better -- he has not yet forgiven me for the debacle in the Department of Mysteries, despite the vast amounts of gold I regularly give to that incompetent Fudge to keep the Ministry from meddling in our Master's affairs."

"How much have you given the fool?" asked Draco, concerned that the family fortune he would one day inherit was being seriously depleted.

"I have a standing order in place at Gringotts for a vault-to-vault transfer of ten thousand galleons on the first of every month. Keeping Fudge sweet is my personal responsibility. There are, of course, lesser Ministry officials to keep compliant as well, but Parkinson and some of the other wealthy supporters take care of them. The arrangement is not, however, without some personal benefits. As you are well aware, I have a number of business interests which contravene various Ministry regulations regarding such things as the importation and possession of illegal objects, staff working conditions, the use of indentured labour, creature exploitation, sex slaves, and the like. Fudge makes sure the relevant Ministry departments stay well away from my enterprises, which enables me to more than offset his monthly bribe," said Lucius smugly.

"But the most important thing is to redeem ourselves in the eyes of our Master and make the name of Malfoy first amongst his followers. That, Draco, is far more important than gold. I congratulate you on the successful abduction of Potter's little girlfriend. I hope you showed proper appreciation to Pansy Parkinson -- your mother tells me she quite dotes on you. It was Pansy who alerted you to Potter's continuing attachment; and although you devised the plan, she executed the most difficult part. It would be most impolitic of you to offend her, Draco. Her father carries a great deal of influence with the Dark Lord -- more than I do at the moment -- although, hopefully, that is about to change. I absolutely insist that Miss Weasley be handed to the Master untouched. Do I make myself absolutely clear, Draco?"

"Yes, Father. But, maybe afterwards --"

"That is up to the Master to decide. Should he wish to reward you with this blood-traitor gutter filth as a plaything, you may have your fun with her then. But we should not presume to know his intentions. He may offer to exchange her for Potter. You know how that conceited fool Potter loves to play the hero. He is stupid enough to agree to it, and if it is a binding magical promise, then she must be returned unharmed."

"But what about everything she has just heard?"

"Obviously she will be memory-charmed to remember nothing from the moment she entered the Quidditch changing rooms -- including being here in Malfoy Mansion. Have you taken her wand, Draco?"

"Not yet, Father," mumbled Draco, who had overlooked it.

"Well, take it and destroy it. Then leave her."

"Yes Father. How much longer must we wait?"

"I do not know. The Dark Lord is aware that we have her. As you know, his security precautions are such that we cannot go to him until he chooses. I am expecting one of his servants to arrive soon with a Portkey. Ensure you are ready and correctly attired to appear in his presence, Draco."

"Yes Father, of course," said Draco obediently as his father turned and left the cell.

Ginny had taken her wand from the inside pocket of her Quidditch robes and held it across the palm of her hand defiantly. There could be no mistake that she was surrendering it rather than attempting to use it. But mostly, it was to deny Draco the excuse of feeling her up while he searched for it. Draco was no longer a concern; it was clear he would not disobey his father.

Draco snatched the wand from her outstretched hand and snapped it in two before striding haughtily from the cell; slamming and locking the door behind him.

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

Ginny did not have long to wait. Voldemort was eager to take possession of his prize, and he preferred not to entrust her safekeeping to the Malfoys -- or anyone else for that matter. He wasn't the trusting type. The key turned in the lock, and the door was pulled open to reveal Draco Malfoy, resplendent in his black Death Eater robes and mask. He flicked his wand at Ginny's manacles, and they fell from her arms and legs. He stepped backwards out of the cell, keeping his wand trained on her.

"Out here, Weasley, and hurry up about it," he barked, attempting to hide his nerves, which were on edge at the prospect of appearing before his Master. Draco forced Ginny to walk in front of him as he marched her along the damp passageway and up the rough stone steps and then continuing up the polished wooden stairway.

Lucius Malfoy, also dressed in his Death Eater robes and wearing the traditional mask, stood in the wood-panelled hallway, drumming his fingers impatiently on a small table positioned against the hallway wall. A large, dark green, metal ring about the size and shape of a circular doorknocker lay upon the table. Upon closer examination, it resembled a snake coiled and twisted around itself, holding its tail in its mouth. Lucius also pointed his wand at Ginny. Despite his haughty demeanour, he, too, was clearly apprehensive about appearing before his Master. "Take hold of the Portkey," he snapped at her, as he and Draco reached for it with their free hands.

The Portkey deposited them outside a very high, stone wall in a rather bleak location that might have been on an isolated English moor, or perhaps a remote part of northern Scotland, or even one of the larger offshore islands. It was windswept and cold under the harsh grey sky. They stood before a huge wooden gate next to an old gatekeeper's lodge, which was built into the enormous wall. Four Dementors swept over the wall and hovered high above them. Lucius aimed his wand at an enormous brass knocker attached to the gate. It made no sound, but presumably alerted those within. After several minutes, a dozen more Dementors appeared above the wall, and a small door, built into the gate, opened inwards. Four Death Eaters in robes and masks emerged with wands drawn.

Lucius was required to identify himself by responding to a number of challenges issued by one of the Death Eaters. When he was satisfied that Lucius was indeed who he claimed to be, he lowered his wand and shook his hand. Lucius handed the Portkey to another of the Death Eaters before they entered the grounds through the small door, which was locked, bolted, and warded behind them. The Dementors were dismissed and floated away as the party made its way up a long, bleak cobblestone driveway towards the foreboding castle, which loomed large before them. Ginny had a Death Eater on either side and two behind her, all with their wands pointing at her. The Malfoys followed.

At the castle gate they were met by Bellatrix Lestrange who dismissed the four Death Eaters and greeted her brother-in-law and nephew coldly and impersonally. Her loyalty was above all, to her Master, and Lucius and Draco had both failed him. If they succeeded in restoring themselves to his good graces with this hostage, she would take her lead from him and afford them due respect, but that was yet to be seen. With her wand pointing at Ginny, she marched her down a long sconce-lit hallway, followed by Lucius and Draco. She stopped at a door, which she opened with a flick of her wand and prodded Ginny to enter. It was a small, bare, windowless room with grey stone walls. "Face the wall, arms above your head, hands on the wall," she barked harshly, frisking Ginny meticulously from head to foot. After the physical search, she passed her wand up and down Ginny's front, back and sides. Obviously she was using a spell to detect concealed objects.

"Draco already destroyed her wand," said Lucius, sounding somewhat affronted.

"And did he search her thoroughly to check she didn't have another one hidden? Or perhaps some other weapon? Did he check for concealed objects, such as Polyjuice Potion?" demanded Bellatrix icily.

Lucius looked towards Draco, raising an eyebrow questioningly behind Bellatrix's back. Draco would not meet his eye; he looked down guiltily at his feet. Lucius turned a withering glare on him but remained silent.

"How long ago was she taken?" demanded Bellatrix, turning around to face them.

Lucius looked at Draco, nodding to indicate he should answer. Draco removed a golden pocket watch on a chain, and after studying it he replied nervously, "I took her from Hogwarts thirty-five minutes ago. Pansy probably stunned her ten minutes before than. Err ... it was all meant to happen a hour earlier, but that fool, Ron Weasley kept the Quidditch --"

"Spare the excuses, Draco. Fortunately for you, the Dark Lord was not aware of precisely when she was expected -- we do not usually trouble him with such trifling details -- so no apology for the delay will be required. I must discount the time prior to your taking possession of her, as we cannot verify what occurred in that period. Our Master is very attentive to matters of personal security, as you are well aware. Therefore, we need to allow another thirty minutes to elapse before she appears before him -- just in case Polyjuice Potion was used."

Bellatrix conjured a stool for Ginny to sit on and manacles to chain her to the wall, and then led Lucius and Draco from the room, locking the door behind them. "You may go, if you wish. I can tell the Dark Lord you had business elsewhere," said Bellatrix teasingly, knowing full well that Lucius Malfoy would not miss the opportunity of personally presenting his prize to their Master, no matter how long he had to wait.

"Thank you, Bellatrix," replied Lucius coldly, "we will wait in the library. Come Draco."

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~

It was almost an hour before the Master was ready to receive the Malfoys and their hostage. Bellatrix removed Ginny's shackles and led her from the small room. Lucius and Draco Malfoy were waiting impatiently outside and walked on either side of her, behind Bellatrix.

As they entered the grand hall, the Dark Lord was sitting majestically on a large throne-like chair, with several Death Eaters standing on either side of him and others forming a guard along each wall. He looked haughty and bored. "Approach with the prisoner," he ordered. Bellatrix stepped to one side to allow the Malfoys to proceed, holding Ginny between them. When they were about twenty feet from him, they released her and fell to their knees, then prostrated themselves full length on the cold stone floor.

"Bow to the Dark Lord!" barked Bellatrix, rushing forward to prod Ginny in the back with her wand. "Bow, or feel the pain of the Cruciatus Curse, insolent brat!"

"Silence, Bellatrix! Return to your place," hissed the Dark Lord coldly. Bellatrix retreated obediently. "You may rise," he said carelessly to the Malfoys. "So, Lucius, you think this bit of bait will bring me the Potter boy?" he sneered.

Lucius Malfoy rose to his feet, suppressing the instinct to brush off his expensive robes -- it would not be a good look. "My Lord," he said bowing his head. "I have it on good authority that Potter is very fond of the girl. He and his friends engaged in an amateurish deception designed to give the impression that this was not the case. Obviously, their intention was to ensure that she would not be used to draw him into a trap. I am sure my Lord is well aware how much Potter loves to play the hero. There can --"

"Yes, yes, Lucius, I know more about his fetid little mind than I would wish. If you recall, I have taken steps to block the mental link between us -- ever since the unfortunate events at the Department of Mysteries...."

Lucius Malfoy bowed his head uneasily at the reference to his botched attempt at obtaining the prophecy.

"Let us hope you do not disappoint me again, Lucius," he said ominously. "What kind of trap did you have in mind for this scrap of bait?" he asked, gesturing coldly towards Ginny.

"I would not presume to tell my Lord how best --"

"So you have no ideas, Lucius. Never mind, I have a plan. Parchment and quill!" he demanded, glancing towards the nearest Death Eater on his right, who immediately handed them to him. He began to write while everyone in the hall looked on in obsequious silence. When he had finished, he read:

"Harry Potter,

I am holding Ginny Weasley captive. The price of her freedom is yourself.

I swear a binding Wizard's Oath that she will be released, unharmed, if you come to me immediately and alone.

This evening, go to the Hog's Head and ask the bartender for a package bearing the initials GLV. Inside you will find a Portkey to bring you to me.

Affixed to this parchment you will find a lock of her hair -- as proof that I have her. If you do not come to save her, you will receive another message tomorrow -- along with one of her fingers, the next day a hand, then a foot, and so on. Come quickly, while there is still something left to rescue.

Lord Voldemort."

A soft murmur of admiration ran around the hall as the Dark Lord sat gloating. "Lucius, ask Dolohov for a Portkey for Potter, and arrange for its immediate delivery to the Hog's Head, understood?"

"Yes, my Lord, certainly. But why the initials GLV?"

"Guest of Lord Voldemort," he replied snidely, to the required murmurs of appreciation. "Bellatrix, dispatch the message to Potter with the lock of hair," he said, waving the parchment at her.

"Immediately, my Lord," she replied rushing forward and accepting it with a reverential bow. "And it will be my pleasure to remove her finger and any other parts you may require, my Lord, if you will permit me that honour," she said, bowing again and licking her lips hungrily.

"Unless I have been deceived," he replied, looking ominously at Lucius Malfoy, "that will be unnecessary. Take her to the dungeons."

Bellatrix bowed once more before backing away from her Master and leading Ginny out of the hall. Instead of returning her to the room where she had previously been held, Bellatrix marched her down several flights of stone stairs to the dungeons. She forced Ginny to walk in front, prodding her with her wand, stopping to unlock several heavy doors for them to pass through. Finally, Bellatrix threw open a heavy iron door and pushed Ginny into a dark, dank cell. She waved her wand to light the single sconce and manacled the prisoner to the wall with short chains that did not permit her to lie or even sit on the floor.

"My Master said you would be unharmed. He did not say you would be comfortable," she cackled evilly. Drawing a dagger from her robes she cut off a lock of red hair; then holding the dagger menacingly an inch or two from Ginny's face, she said, "I hope your little Potter boy does not come too soon. I hope he will need a little convincing," she said, running the flat side of the dagger menacingly along Ginny's cheek, cackling madly, before extinguishing the sconce and leaving the cell in total darkness.