To Dwell on Dreams

Chapter Five -

That Frying Pan And Fire Thing

"Vampires?" said Parvati meekly.

Things were getting better and better as far as Harry was concerned. Yeah, right. Draco pulled open his wreck of a bag and took out a couple of stakes. "Vampires," he clarified, "they patrol the perimeter, useful as they're not likely to take a bribe unless it has a pulse - surely you can smell them?"

"If you mean that illustrious combination of three week old fish and burnt rubber tyres," asked Seamus, "then that would be yes."

"I'd say we have about five minutes, have any of you slayed a vampire before?" Hermione looked at Parvati, who exclaimed in a rather high pitched voice;

"Slayed one? I've never even seen one!"

Draco threw the two girls a stake each, "stake through the heart, sunlight, a little Holy Water - it's like falling off a log."

"Cool," said Seamus as Draco gave him a vial of Holy Water along with an ornate stake (avoiding eye contact though, Harry noticed). "So - we get to be like Buffy?" He was met with blank stares, except Hermione who gave a small grin. "C'mon?" he cried, "Kirsty Swanson, '93 - that movie kicked arse!" Draco raised an eyebrow. "I have got to get some more Muggle friends," said Seamus shaking his head and pocketing the Holy water.

"You're the one that said it," said the blond boy distractedly.

Harry unsheathed his sword. "Decapitation works, right?" Malfoy nodded and reached behind his back over his shoulder to uncover his own sword. Where the Hell did that come from, wondered Harry.

"I only have one crucifix," apologised Draco. It didn't go unnoticed by Harry that it was given to Hermione. Seamus pulled at something around his neck; Harry couldn't see what it was.

"Keep looking, they could be-" But Draco didn't get to finish his sentence.

"Look out! " screamed Parvati as a hideous creature leapt out of the tight foliage behind Draco. He spun at the sound of her voice (on what Harry could only assume to be trained reflexes) and caught the vampire in the torso with the sword. The smell was almost over-powering now, making Harry gag. Draco swung the silver blade in a tremendous arch, severing the vampire's head and turning it instantaneously into dust.

"Spread out!" yelled the blond boy, his eyes shining. He looked alive.

Harry turned on his heals and came face to face with a vampire of his own. Her canine teeth were elongated to a deadly point, her eyes flashed red; she hissed and swiped the air with her clawed nails. Harry dodged just in time and lunged amateurishly with the sword, impaling her just below her shoulder. She screamed with a sound of nails on a chalkboard and Harry heaved the sword out of her. Throwing all his strength into it, he tried to mimic Malfoy and cut it's head off. However, he hadn't had quite as much practice as Draco at the art of vampire slaying, and consequently, the blade became stuck halfway through the creature's neck.

"Ugh!" cried Harry as blood spurted out in all directions, causing the vampire to scream even more and lash out it fury. Harry pulled at the lodged weapon, freed it, and took a second swing. This time his aim was true; the female vampire exploded in a cloud of dust.

He spun round, panting, terrified. He saw the two girls working as a team, using their stakes and only crucifix to corner then attack one vampire, then another. A second vampire charged Harry; this one he was able to defeat far swifter than the last. Somehow he didn't feel his luck would hold.

They were filthy creatures, Harry noticed, rotting in the clothes they were buried in, caked in mud, grime and what suspiciously looked like dried blood. Add the fact they were technically dead and it was no wonder they stank.

A vampire threw himself at Seamus, who in turn flew towards him. The vampire suddenly recoiled, and in such a defenceless state the young Irish boy was able to stake him easily. Harry took a moment to puzzle over that before being tackled round the waste by another foul-smelling beast.

Harry smacked into the forest floor and the vampire clawed at him, trying to bite his neck. Harry yelled and tried to heave him off, but it wasn't working, he was too strong. The odd angle at which Harry's sword had fallen in his hand rendered it useless, no matter how much he twisted and turned. Just as the creature got his fangs within biting distance of Harry's neck, it burst into foul-tasting dust. Harry managed to spit out most of what he'd inhaled. "Thanks Draco," he said, spitting again, and the boy who had come to his rescue helped him up.

The vampires were considerably diminished in numbers now; those snaking through the trees were less and less. Harry even found a moment to break a sizable branch off a nearby Pine and staked a couple more bloodsuckers, choosing to rest the sword and aching right arm for a moment. Draco and Seamus actually worked together at one point to slay a particularly nasty female vamp who looked like she wrestled dragons for a living. The task done though, they turned their backs on one another once more, without even an acknowledging look between them. After a while Harry dared to think they were winning; there seemed to be no more vampires left.

Suddenly there was a pitiful squeal of "don't hurt me!" from behind Harry's back. He spun round to see where the voice came from. Draco was frozen, the blade of his sword mere inches away from the neck of a small boy hidden in the shadows. "Please don't hurt me!" he repeated again.

Harry guessed he was only about five or six years old, and he was blatantly terrified. "I'm not one of them," he called out to Draco who stood so much taller than him, "they took me, from my bed - I w-want my mum." The little boy burst into desperate sobs, and Harry instantly felt a pang of sorrow for him. He didn't even think about the fact the boy was speaking English and not German.

Draco slowly lowered his sword. "You were kidnapped?" he asked the child. He nodded;

"By the monsters - will you find my mum? Please? I - I cant find her and I don't l-like it." He wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his navy blue coat.

"Oh," said Parvati sympathetically, and walked over to the little boy. "Don't worry, we'll help you find your mum, where-"

But before she could finish what she was saying, the boy leaped cat-like out of the shadows and was on Parvati in a flash, knocking her down and tearing at her neck. She screamed, but Draco swung with his sword, decapitating the child before any harm could befoul her.

Parvati lay gasping on the ground, covered in a fine film of softly falling dust. Hermione had dropped her stake; she picked it up again with a trembling hand. "Sneaky bastard," said Draco, wiping the blade of the sword on his cloak, and turned his back to Parvati, scouting off ahead. His face was set.

Seamus ran to Parvati who was shivering on the cold ground. "Are you okay?" he asked, shaken. She nodded.

"I - I just thought he was a little boy?" she stammered, "I thought we'd help him."

"Doesn't always work out like that," said Harry listlessly. Hermione looked at him with wide eyes and gulped silently, but Harry had no more to say, nothing to comfort her.

They helped Parvati to stand before following Draco. Parvati kept a hold of Seamus in her shock; limping where she'd managed to catch her ankle on a tree root and bleeding slightly at the neck. Seamus himself had a nasty gash on his right temple and was staring fixedly ahead. Hermione walked closely beside Harry; she was still fingering the stake. Harry felt pity for them - this was the first time they'd really had to fight in their lives. He got the feeling it wouldn't be their last.

***

It wasn't long before they arrived in a relatively small clearing, ending in a ancient looking stone archway leading into a sort of rock face, and presumably underground. There had been no further sign of the vampires, but sitting calmly under the stones was a beautify groomed, evenly poised, sphinx. "Uh oh," Harry said under his breath.

"Good day to you," said the sphinx, crossing her two front paws as if she was settling down to a good evening's entertainment. "Do you seek entrance to what lies beyond?"

This sphinx looked more or less the same as the one Harry had met in the maze last summer; the face of a woman, with the body of a lion. The only difference was that this sphinx was if anything slightly larger than the last, and her eyes were far darker.

"Er - yeah," said Seamus, before Draco could answer. "I mean - yes...ma'am." He looked at Harry, cocking his eyebrow; Harry got the feeling Seamus was reluctant to give Draco back his leadership role quite so soon after the debacle of the last hour.

Draco sighed, not taking his eyes off the creature. "She is a sphinx, you moron," he said slowly under his breath. "I suggest you not insult her, those claws aren't there just to look pretty."

He stepped forward into front of the others and spread his hands wide; an open gesture of honesty. "We do seek entrance, and if the lady would be so kind as to give us her clue, we would be happy to guess." His face then broke into the most amazing smile, transforming his whole demeanour. Harry couldn't quite believe it was the same Draco.

"We have to answer a riddle?" asked Hermione. Harry nodded.

The sphinx had sat herself up straight; she stared at them all, tilting her head slightly. "You may pass if you answer my riddle," she clarified. "If you answer on your first guess I will let you pass. If you guess incorrectly I will attack. If you choose not to answer, I will let you back silently away; unscathed."

Seamus gulped.

"May we hear the riddle?" asked Draco, an unknown air of charm in his voice.

The sphinx returned his smile, and began her clue:

"In a marble hall

As white as milk

Lined with a skin

As soft as silk

Within a fountain

Crystal clear

A golden apple doth appear

No doors there are

To this stronghold

Yet thieves break in

To steal the gold."

"That's it?" Parvati didn't look too hopeful.

"And this is the only way into You-Know-Who?" said Seamus to Draco.

He made eye contact with the Irish boy for the first real time all night. "Well you can go ring the front doorbell if you want?"

"Gold, and golden apple - does she mean Gringotts maybe?" suggested Harry quietly, looking warily at the creature.

"I thought maybe some sort of temple?" said Parvati, her voice still shaky.

"Maybe Greek - with the marble?"

"Would you keep your voice down," snapped Draco.

"Err - what about the Garden of Eden? With the apple and stealing stuff." Seamus shrugged his shoulders.

"Azkaban?"

"Silk...clothes? India - Far East-"

"Alcatraz?"

"What about the fountain bit-?"

"The white milk bit might mean innocence - that could go with the Garden of Eden thing?"

"No, I think-"

"It's an egg."

Harry and the others stopped talking and turned round. Hermione, who had been silent, now addressed the sphinx. "It's an egg, isn't it?" Harry's breath caught in the back of his throat.

"Er...might we have a discussion before we answer the nice big monster? " cried Seamus in a small voice, no more than a hiss.

Hermione blinked. "I thought everyone knew this one - the golden apple is the yolk, the silk is the shell and 'thieves break in', well that's how you eat the egg isn't it - by breaking it open."

Harry tried to recall the riddle to see if this made sense, but he needn't have. The sphinx smiled graciously and stood up, leaving the way clear for the five of them to walk through.

"That was good," said Draco honestly to Hermione as he went past her, taking the lead. Hermione couldn't help but smile. They traipsed wearily down a flight of stone steps for a good long while; Harry was reminded of his secret tunnel into Hunnydukes and he smiled too. They reached the bottom of the stairs and stared down a sparsely lit stone tunnel; their ball of sunshine had burnt itself out. The walls dripped with water and the floor was uneven in places; a stiff breeze blew against them. Harry lit his wand, the others followed suit.

"This is it now," Draco informed them, "this tunnel will take us where we need to go, we just have to get through all the jinxes and curses and so on-"

"Jinxes?" said Seamus alarmed, catching up with Draco. Unfortunately, the word was barely out of his mouth before a shot of turquoise light basted out of the stone somewhere above them and hit the Irish boy square on the chest.

He slammed into the ground, skidding a good few meters before coming to a halt in a crumpled heap. "Seamus! " screamed Parvati, and ran to him. Draco swore loudly and shook his head. He didn't seem too concerned though.

"I thought that was further on," he muttered as he walked back over to Seamus. Harry and Parvati were helping him up. Although dazed, he didn't appear to be harmed.

"Don't worry Harry," he said smiling, "I'll be fine, bumps and bruises heal with time." A frown appeared on his face as Parvati and Harry let go of him so as he could stand by himself. Draco cocked an eyebrow at him, as if waiting for him to understand something.

"That was quite a hefty blast," Seamus said slowly, looking sideways, concentrating on the words, "I hope that it will be the last." His eyes snapped wide open in shock and he clapped both his hands over his mouth. "Is it me, or do you find, that all I say comes out in rhyme?!" he cried in dismay.

"It's called the Fiddledess curse," explained Draco, actually talking to Seamus without the usual lacing of rancour. "It, as you say, will make everything you say come out in rhyme, but it wont hurt you - I think it's just supposed to annoy you to death."

"I never knew there was a curse, that made a person speak in verse," lamented Seamus, shaking his head as they started walking again. "Not only rhyme - but couplets too - what's a man supposed to do?!"

Hermione tried to hide a giggle behind her hand, which naturally set Parvati off. "Oh - I see - you think it's quaint, I'm here to tell you now it ain't," sulked Seamus.

Harry couldn't help but agree with the two girls though; it was funny to hear Seamus, usually quite blokeish, reciting poetry every time he opened his mouth. Seamus went to say something else, but stopped himself angrily, not wanting to let any more rhymes escape. Harry grinned. "So," he said to Draco, walking beside him, "how long does this thing go on for," indicating the passage-way.

Draco shrugged. "I've never walked it myself, so maybe a couple of miles - I'm not sure." Seamus, again, went to speak, but stopped himself, obviously not wanting to suffer the indignity.

"And it's covered in booby-traps?" Harry carried on oblivious to Seamus. The girls were whispering together, although cold, they were surprisingly relaxed, probably due to the humorous nature of Seamus' curse, and the fact they had defeated both the vampires and the sphinx. Parvati was limping slightly less as well. Harry couldn't help but feel they were only just getting started.

Draco nodded, "yeah, all sorts of things. In fact," he drew his sword, "there might be something coming up ahead, if memory serves." He squinted into the gloom; "we've just had a spell, so-"

But once more, they were caught out again. The ground suddenly gave way underneath both Draco and Harry and they tumbled into a deep pit. "Stratifus!" yelled Harry and a glowing net shot out of his wand, catching the two boys just in time. He looked through the loops in the net to see a cluster of metal spikes of various lengths poking out of the floor. Draco swore again and held his sword high above his head so as not to sever any of the netting holding them precariously in place.

"Harry!" cried Hermione, and her face, along with Parvati's and Seamus' appeared at the top of the pit. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," replied Harry, "no worries."

"Oh, crikey, good thinking Harry," said Seamus, looking at the net. He then made a rather pained face, as if trying not to speak, but eventually gave in; "you could have ended up chop suey." He then wrinkled his nose with distaste.

Parvati gave him a look, "that wasn't a very good rhyme Seamus," she said in a disapproving voice. Seamus raised his eyebrows pointedly, and gave her a look which clearly stated that he would rather not be rhyming at all, thank you very much. Harry smiled to himself and started thinking of a way he and Draco could get back up the pit, which was a good few meters straight up, without hurting themselves any more.

Parvati thought of it for them though. "Wingardium Leviosa!" she cried, and the two boys came shooting out of the pit and landed haphazardly on the other side of the path.

"Cheers," managed Draco though gritted teeth, and picked himself up quickly, brushing dust off his already filthy clothes. Harry didn't see the point in that, but didn't say anything to him either. The two boys carried the other three over the pit using the rather wonky but effective levitating spell.

They carried on walking, apprehensive of what they would face next. Seamus said to Draco; " so what other traps are there here." And once more had a moment or two of personal strife before succumbing to the rest of the rhyme; "just so I know what I'm to fear." He rolled his eyes in despair, and Harry did actually feel quite sorry for him.

"C'mon Draco," he called out to the blond boy ahead when he ignored him, "do please tell, surely there's a counter-spell?"

"Oh yeah," said Draco nonchalantly, half turning around as he walked, "I'm just having trouble remembering it, that's all," he added with a sly grin.

"What!" yelled Seamus, "that's not fair! This is more annoying than I can bare!" He rounded on Draco; "if I keep talking, then you'll see, just how evil I can be. I could go on for hours, maybe until you're pushing flowers." He folded his arms.

Draco rolled his eyes; "you're going to annoy me to death?"

"You did say it yourself," pointed out Harry.

Draco shook his head, "I promise Finnigan, as soon as I remember it, I'll give you the counter-curse." Seamus looked daggers at Draco, convinced he was letting him hang on purpose, but kept himself from saying anything.

"So - you know what's coming next?" Harry asked Draco.

"Not exactly."

Parvati stopped talking with Hermione, overhearing what Draco had said. "What do you mean 'not exactly'? I thought you knew it all - I thought you were guiding us through!"

Draco gave her a tired half look before continuing on up ahead. "These things change all the time - I know what it all looked like when I left - but that was three weeks ago."

"Oh God!" said Parvati in a disgusted voice, and snatched angrily at a cobweb around her head. .

"Well actually, it makes perfect sense," reasoned Hermione, "it prevents anyone doing exactly what we're trying to do - using an insider to get in. Well, tries to at least."

"Exactly," said Draco again.

Parvati dropped back, not wanting to walk with Hermione after she had defended Draco, and talked quietly with a sulky expression on her face to Seamus who nodded occasionally. Hermione seamed quite content to walk by herself though. She was examining the wand Harry had given her with gloved fingers and studying the rock in the wall from time to time.

Harry fell in step next to Draco and once again found himself marvelling at just how different this boy was to the one he'd grown up with. Firstly, he appeared to have joined a cause which not only rebelled against the most powerful wizard in the world, and Malfoy always loved those with the power, but it also fought for the good of the common man. As far as Harry knew, all Malfoy thought the common man was good for was wiping the soles of his boots on. Harry thought it maybe came down to the fact that this Draco seemed capable of a broader way of thinking. And capable of change.

"Draco," said Harry, "can I ask you something?"

"If you must Potter," he replied whilst looking carefully at one of the torch brackets. When he seemed happy he moved on. Harry followed.

"Well firstly," he started, "why do you still call me Potter when you've specifically asked me to call you Draco?"

Draco looked at him as they walked. "Are you ashamed of your name, your family?"

"No," said Harry, quite indignant, "of course not."

"Well there you go then. Next question."

Harry took a moment to think about that, then proceeded with his original question. "When we were at my house before, when you realised who Hermione was - I mean, y'know, that she's Muggle born - you attacked her."

"Yes," said Draco evenly.

"Well, now it seems like...well - like in the forest back there; you gave her the crucifix, and you talked quite highly of her to Parvati. It just seems a little contradictory."

Draco looked at the hilt of his sword. After a moment he said, "my father..." But Harry would have to wait for his answer, as they were interrupted by a blood-curdling scream.

***

The boys spun on their heals, swords drawn. Seamus and Hermione had done the same. They were met with Parvati being held at the neck by a vampire.

"Crap!" shouted Draco. "How the Hell-?"

"Air's blowing down-wind," said Hermione in a jagged voice. The vampire grinned.

"Malfffoy," the creature hissed, baring it's vile pointed teeth and pulled Parvati just and inch or two closer - just enough to make her gasp in fright, tears edging at her eyes.

"Please," she whispered to them, to the vampire. Her chest shook back a sob once more.

Draco lifted his sword and bared his own teeth. "You're out-numbered beast," he spat out, "let her go." The vampire shook his head and grinned even more. He took a step back and Parvati whimpered again. Draco looked them up and down, calculating, planning.

But Harry was watching Hermione.

She was moving ever so slowly, lifting her hand towards Seamus. When the vampire stepped back, she was able to move her hand all the way to his coat pocket in one movement without anyone noticing. Anyone but Harry that was.

She slipped her hand in the pocket and carefully retracted something; Harry couldn't make it out. "What the Hell do you think you'll accomplish here?" demanded Draco. "If you bite her - I'll kill you quicker than you can blink and there'll still be four of us going down this tunnel." Parvati didn't look too keen on this plan. "Or," offered Draco, "you can back off and no one need ever know you were here - get it?"

But the vampire shook it's head. "Punnissshed," was all it managed, but it's meaning was pretty clear. This was not going to end nicely.

Harry glanced back at Hermione. She had her hands behind her back so Harry had a good view, and seemed to be gently unscrewing something.

Draco raised his sword again but knew it was futile - any blow would hit Parvati. "God damn it!" he cried in frustration. The beast hissed furiously at the mention of The Lord Almighty and tightened his claws around Parvati's already sore and bleeding neck.

Seamus took a sharp intake of breath and stepped forward; the vampire seemed unconcerned.

Hermione had finished unscrewing and moved the object in her hands; a bottle. Something registered in Harry's memory, but before he could place it precisely, Hermione moved quick as a flash, bringing the bottle out and spraying its contents all over the creature's face.

Instantly it let go of Parvati, who, relatively speaking unscathed, fell into Seamus' arms. The vampire though was clawing at it's steaming, bleeding face; screaming and crying to the darkness. As Harry watched the flesh on it's hands, face and even some of it's torso fizzed and dissolved away. Within a few moments it crumpled to the floor; dust.

"Oh...God," spluttered Hermione, almost gagging. "That's - yuck." She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and looked quite green.

Parvati was still shaking in Seamus' arms. They both turned and looked at her. "Thank you," whispered Parvati, her wide eyes revealing her sincerity.

"What the Hell did you do?" asked Seamus, and didn't even flinch as the follow-up rhyme ensued. ("Coz it was ingenious of you.")

"Holy Water," said Draco, picking up the bottle Hermione had dropped from her hands. "I never even thought."

Seamus' hand flew to his pocket only to find it empty. Hermione managed though shuddery breaths; "I remembered you didn't use it in the forest." She then promptly turned to her left and threw up, leaning onto the wall for support.

Harry helped her up. "I'm so sorry you had to get involved in this," he said softly.

Hermione looked back at him, a determined look in her brown eyes. "I didn't have to do anything," she replied resolutely, and stood up by her own accord. Harry smiled at her, gave her shoulders a quick squeeze, then went back to Draco who was still holding the empty bottle.

He held it up for Harry to see. "Respect," he said simply.

"Sorry?" said Harry.

"Your question earlier - about Granger - it comes down to respect." He dropped the bottle into his damaged bag and closed it once more. "My father had me memorise her file almost as thoroughly as yours - she's the most powerful witch to be born in a great many years - and I was taught to despise that." He shrugged his shoulders. "But she has the power - the brains, ingenuity, whatever - and when it comes down to it - you have to respect that. Besides," he continued, "it's a lot easier to hate someone when you've never seen their face - heard their voice." He turned his head just so he could see Hermione - also being aided by Seamus now.

Harry could feel his mouth was hanging slightly open; he closed it. You mean you're not just working on blind prejudice? was what he wanted to ask - but he held his tongue. Instead he settled for the fact that this Draco really was different to the one he knew, and thought it best to embrace it - chances were it was a fragile thing and the selfish, spineless Draco he knew and loathed wouldn't be very far below the surface if pushed to come out.

They walked in silence for a while. They encountered a Quintaped which Harry blasted with the stunning spell he'd learnt last summer and Hermione solved yet another puzzle (involving dice, a jar of frogspawn and a spoon amongst other things), but for the main part they remained quiet. Until...

"Aha!" cried Draco; "Turtufies Lockmentus Catuln!" He waved his wand in a sort of wonky figure of eight and aimed a jet of purple light at Seamus. The spell smacked into him, knocking him back a couple of feet.

"Hey - watch it!" cried the Irish boy. He took a moment to realise that was all he said.

"You're welcome," said Draco silkily, a half grin on his face.

The grin didn't last long.

"No - take me instead! Not Harry!" Harry grabbed at his chest and slammed into the tunnel wall.

"Kill the spare..."

"Harry!" cried Parvati, "what's wr-"

But at that moment Draco too went deathly white and hit the wall, hands at his temples. "Oh God..." he whispered.

"You could have told me - we could have both put our names in the Goblet...You see Harry - you're just like me - we even look something alike...You'd be great in Slytherin - it's all here...He's been recaptured by the Ministry - there's nothing we can do Harry...Lily, take Harry and go - just GO!"

Harry was physically reeling from the sudden flood of his worst memories. Draco gasped back tears and pulled at his hair; "I'm sorry - so sorry," he whimpered.

"What's happening," cried Hermione, "it's so cold-"

"Dementors," moaned Seamus, "I don't know how many-"

"Too many," said Draco through gritted teeth.

Harry took some deep breaths to steady himself. He'd fought Dementors before, he knew what to do. He pulled out his wand. "Think of a happy memory," he called out to the rest of the group.

"What!" snapped Draco.

"The happiest you can," called out Harry, "and then say Expecto Patronum." He raised his wand. He could feel them coming, the voices in his head were getting louder; he pushed them away.

Draco, confused, pulled out his wand. He squeezed his eyes shut in a physical act of concentration and started muttering "Expecto Patronum, Expecto Patronum," over and over.

"Stay behind me," Harry instructed Hermione; she hadn't even been able to get Sarah's wand out, she was on the verge of tears, as was Seamus. Parvati had managed to get her wand out and was barely whispering the spell between gasps.

Harry turned back round.

There they were. Gliding smoothly, silently towards them, ghostly and horrifying. Harry squeezed his hand around his wand and thought desperately - but no happy thoughts would come. Ron was dead - gone, unless he went home, where Sirius was condemned to death and he would have to leave his family forever. He was going to die in a miserable damp tunnel standing beside the person he had spent the last four years hating for everything vile he represented, for the hours of merciless taunting, for his spiteful schemes and manipulations, for simply being who he was - and he was sure Malfoy felt exactly the same.

But this wasn't Malfoy.

Harry looked at the blond boy beside him, standing resolute between the demons and the other three; willing to die for his cause. He pushed back his tattered bag and started saying the spell louder.

Harry found his thought.

He turned to the Dementors and shouted "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" at the top of his lungs. The familiar and reassuring figure of Prongs exploded from his wand and charged the Dementors.

Draco did the same - a great dragon filled the enclosed space of the tunnel and swooped at the creatures. Encouraged, Parvati coaxed a beautiful though faint unicorn from her wand-tip; Seamus and Hermione even managed wisps of smoke of their own, though it didn't matter as the Dementors were already fleeing - seemingly slipping into the wall; dissolving into nothingness along with the ghostly Patronus'.

Almost instantly Harry felt better. He lent on his knees for a moment, then reached into his own bag and found what he was looking for; a couple of chocolate frogs. Breaking them up, he handed them out, saving some for himself. "It'll make you feel better," he assured them when they were reluctant to eat it, and, thinking of Lupin's words on the train two years ago, added, "it's not poisoned, I promise."

Seamus nibbled an edge then gave a week smile. "I do feel better," he admitted. Harry nodded in agreement and lent against the wall.

"What on Earth were they?" asked Hermione between shallow breaths.

"Dementors," said Seamus for the second time, "they suck the happiness right out of you - even suck your soul out through your mouth if you get too close." He grimaced and spat on the floor. "Just vile - I've never actually met one before."

"That was why it was so hard to come up with a happy though then?" asked Parvati. Harry nodded. "I mean - I was trying - really - but it was like trying hold onto water or something - slipping through my fingers." She thought a moment. "In the end, all I came up with was the kittens mine and Padma's cat just had - Padma's my sister," she added to Hermione, who was still looking ill. "I guess that's kinda pathetic."

Harry shook his head. "It's whatever works, and you did really well."

"You did amazing," interrupted Seamus, looking at Harry.

"Yeah - what was you happy thought?" asked Parvati.

Harry looked at the floor and ran his index finger gently over where his scar should have been. "Hope," he said simply.

"Hope?"

"Yeah - it's just that," he turned to face Seamus and Parvati; Hermione watched from where she was leaning against the tunnel wall. "There's this thing I heard once: 'There's no such thing as false hope - only hope.' I just thought of something that reminded me of that, that's all."

"Oh," said Seamus and looked at Parvati, who gave a small shrug.

Harry looked over to where Draco was standing. He wasn't paying them any attention, only looking at his wand thoughtfully, breathing deeply and slowly. "Was that your first Patronus?" asked Harry.

Draco nodded. "Y'know - I thought, in fact no - I'm pretty sure my father told me - that once they came after you, that was it - you were dead. I heard these things in my head..."

"Yeah, me too," said Harry, cutting him off. He though that Draco probably had just as many demons as himself and that the others would probably be better off not hearing them. "It was damn impressive though - that dragon."

"What was your memory?" asked Parvati, a little timidly. Draco didn't seem to notice it though. A smile curled around the edge of his lips and his gaze fell somewhere off to the right.

"My thirteenth birthday - my mother took me to Venice. We watched this opera and had dinner in a restaurant by the water; it was fantastic. Just me and her, talking about the singing and things - the restaurant was old and vibrant and I could smell the air coming off the canals. And I realised - no one was watching us, no one was scared of us or following our orders. There was no politics or agendas - and I just remember thinking - it was like...it was freedom." He smiled at Harry. "No one can take that moment away from me - ever. Not even my father."

He smiled to himself, pushed off the wall and started walking again. Harry and the others followed; he noticed the tunnel seemed to be getting wider.

"How did you know then?"

"Sorry?" Harry turned to look at Seamus.

"How did you know what to do - the counter-spell?" The Irish boy pushed some of his long (and now quite dirty) hair out of his eyes and looked at Harry inquisitively. "You seem really good at all this stuff?"

"Oh - er," said Harry, "well - my dad's friend - Remus Lupin - he's taught me loads of Defence Against the Dark Arts stuff..." It was close enough to the truth.

"You are really good," repeated Parvati.

"Uh - well, he's a really good teacher." He turned back round again hoping they would stop questioning; he didn't like lying anymore than he had to. Luckily they did.

It was quiet for a while, and Harry started thinking about what lay ahead. He had so many awful memories, the Dementors had shown him that much, he didn't want to add to them. How was he going to rescue his sister as well as everything else? How would he live through it? The responsibility was starting to get to him, bubbling up through his throat almost. Hermione must have sensed he was troubled; she came and walked by him, taking his arm with a soft smile.

A moment later Draco made them jump with a sharp intake of breath. He grabbed his forearm, just above the wrist and said; "we're getting closer."

"How can you tell," said Hermione concerned, looking round. Draco stopped and faced her. He rolled up his sleeve and showed a throbbing tattoo of a black skull eating a snake. The Dark Mark.

It wasn't the only thing Harry saw though; in the dim torch-light he could see several scars - deep slashes across the length of his arm. Draco, sensing Harry's gaze, snatched the material back down again. "It burns when he's close - or mad - or y'know - both."

"He?"

"The Dark Lord," he elaborated, not looking at her.

"Why do you call him that?" Draco turned to look at Seamus. "'The Dark Lord' - why not call him by his real name?"

"Why do you call him 'You-Know-Who?'" responded Draco in slightly mocking tones.

"Er," said Seamus, "well, coz I guess we're-"

"Afraid?" supplied Draco.

"Uh - yeah."

"Yeah." Draco shook his head in something like disgust.

"Harry calls him Voldemort," offered Hermione, making everyone else but Harry visibly wince.

"Actually, his real name's Tom Riddle," said Harry, but no one heard.

"Why'd you say his name?!" demanded Parvati, her mouth open, hands on her hips.

"What?" cried Hermione.

"It's just tempting fate, alright?" snapped Draco.

It was Seamus' turn to shake his head in disgust. "He's your leader, it's pretty crap you can't even say his name-"

"I thought I made it clear he's not my leader anymore," cried Draco. "God - you think we were any less afraid - coz we were meant to be on the same side? Get real! He's killed just as many of his own followers as he has enemies - only he makes it last longer for us." Harry saw Draco's eyes were bright, his hands clenching the air. "You still don't get it - do you? It's about respect. I respect he's got more power than - anyone - and, I mean - God, have you even thought about it? You think this is some jolly - you kill a couple of vamps, solve some riddles and that's it?! You do know that when - or should I say if - we get out of this Hell Hole, there's going to be a whole load of new crap waiting for us on the other side?" He paused to take a breath through his teeth. Harry noticed the two girls had edged around the three boys when the fighting had started and he couldn't really see them now. Before he could get a good look though, Draco carried on with his rant.

"Have you even thought about it? At all? We could die. And that's not the worst of it." He stepped right up to Seamus, a special kind of hate blazing from his eyes; Seamus didn't look much happier himself. "How old's your sister Finnigan; seven, eight?"

Seamus' eyes went wide with shock - so did Harry's. He was almost certain Seamus didn't have a sister, well, not in his world anyway. Seamus set his jaw. "Six," he corrected. Harry got the feeling Seamus wasn't liking where this was going.

"Well, you think about her when you're in the crap up there, coz you may die, but he'll track her down and-"

"SHUT UP!" yelled Seamus. He'd gone white as a sheet. "You think you can scare me you slimy, pansy-arsed-"

"Me?" sneered Draco, half turning away. "Please - my arse is not pansy, and you're one to talk - you're so far in the closet you're finding Christmas presents."

Harry had to gasp at that one. "You-!" yelled Seamus and lunged at Draco. Draco went to defend himself, but Harry shoved his arms between them.

"Pack it in!" he snapped. Seamus was fuming, Draco gave him a look of disdain. Just as Harry let go of the two of them he heard a - well he could only think it was a splashing noise.

"Is it just me," said Parvati, "or have we found a whole lotta-"

"Water?" finished Hermione.

"What?" cried Draco, spinning round to face them. "Get out!" He ran to the two girls and yanked them out of the water. Harry and Seamus followed and saw that they had indeed got themselves almost knee-deep in a body of water. Harry couldn't blame them though - though torch light seemed to have all but disappeared up a head; he couldn't see a thing.

"What the Hell were you thinking?" cried Draco, more to himself than anyone else. He then dropped to the ground, and, crouching, flung Hermione's coat open and started running his hands down her legs.

"Draco!" squealed Hermione in a high pitched voice and jumped. Her tights had even ripped in a number of places, meaning Draco was perhaps getting even more too close for comfort. He, however, ignored her, and simply spun around and did the same thing to Parvati. She had trousers on though, so was slightly less bothered. Only slightly.

"Get off!" she yelled and aimed a swift kick at his head. He dodged and stood up, oozing agitation.

"Did you not see the big old lake - or feel it even?!" he cried, pointing out in front of them.

Parvati put her hands on her hips and looked daggers at him. "No, actually - my whole body's so numb - I couldn't tell the difference!"

Draco ran his hand through his hair, and his tone softened. "It's full of Grindylows - they'll latch onto you and pull you under - they're like...overgrown leaches or something."

Harry looked back out over the lake. He indicated to Hermione with a nod; "See the lights bobbing over there." She nodded. "That's them."

"Well - how do we get over it?" asked Parvati, a little agitated herself. She was shivering and hugging herself.

"Simple," said Seamus scathingly, "we can just use Malfoy as a floatation device - he won't notice a thing."

Draco turned and jabbed Seamus in the shoulder. "Why don't we just use your big head - it's filled with enough hot air!"

"Enough!" yelled Parvati, and the two boys stopped to look at her. "I am just sick of this - I am so cold now it's painful - which doesn't really matter since I'm cut and bruised all over from being attacked by vampires - twice! I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm limping and every which way I turn there's some river beast of giant spider thing trying to kill me - and I can't take you bickering like old ladies anymore!"

She took a slow breath in and everyone stared at her, Harry himself a little afraid. "Now we are going to get through this like adults, right?"

Seamus and Draco looked at one another. "Yeah," said Draco.

"Whatever," said Seamus.

"And try and remember this is about Sarah - not you?" She pointed a finger at both of them; Seamus looked guilty.

"Sorry Harry," he said, "it won't happen again." That's what you said the last time, thought Harry, but he didn't say anything. They were all overly stressed.

"So - how deep is it?" asked Hermione to Draco, easing the tension slightly.

Draco pulled out his wand and said, "Lumos." Holding the wand high he looked out over the water and shook his head. "It goes on for quite a while - it's probably pretty deep."

"Oh," said Hermione and looked at the floor. "It's just - I can't swim - thought you should know."

"We can't swim it anyway - they'd be all over us," replied Draco. Hermione looked a little less uncomfortable.

"What about using a bubble-head charm," suggested Harry. He was thinking of the second task - he knew they didn't have and Gillyweed, but the charm might work.

But Draco shook his head again. "They'd still pull us under - it's not worth it." He squinted into the gloom. "Could we climb on the walls somehow?" he wondered out loud.

Harry looked doubtfully at the walls. "There's nothing to hold onto is there - unless we had some sort of suction cups - but I don't think that's going to work."

Draco sighed. "No, you're right." Parvati gave another shiver. They seemed to be stuck.

Harry looked at his watch; 4:30. When the Hell had that happened?

"Oh - God!" cried Draco petulantly, "I am not going to be beaten by an over-grown puddle!" He even stamped his foot.

"You knew this was here - didn't you ever think about how to get over it?" demanded Seamus.

Draco narrowed his eyes at him. "I was rather more concerned with not getting caught and subsequently skinned alive thank you very much."

"Can't we fly over it again - like the pit with the spikes in?" asked Hermione. Draco explained it was too far; it wouldn't work.

Harry was becoming more and more frozen standing still for so long; he didn't know how Hermione was doing in her skirt. He rubbed his gloved hands together and blew on them. His breath came out like wisps of smoke, curling around his fingers.

"Got it!" cried Seamus suddenly. He went and knelt down by the waters edge. "Transpirta Glacon!" he said pointing his wand into the depths. All of a sudden, from where the spell had hit the water, icy fingers started spreading out in all directions, accompanied by a rather unsettling cracking noise. In no time, the entire lake was covered in a thick sheet of ice, just like the Great Lake in winter time at Hogwarts when people would go skating. Seamus stood up and gingerly put his foot on the ice. When it held he put his full wait on it and carefully took another step forwards; there was a slight groaning sound, but aside from that it seemed sturdy enough. He turned and grinned at the others. "Not bad, huh?"

"Wow," said Hermione and gently stepped into the slippery ice herself. Harry was very impressed, and told Seamus so. Seamus turned to Draco.

"What do you think then Malfoy?" he taunted.

Draco clenched his jaw but kept perfect eye-contact with Seamus. "As if it wasn't cold enough in here?" he said scathingly and strode onto the ice, keeping an even balance much Seamus' disgust.

Seamus turned and looked at Parvati, who was still shivering and rubbing her hands together. Upon realising this was probably not the most encouraging sign to be giving to an increasingly agitated Seamus, she stopped, shoved her hands in her pockets and gave an over the top smile, before lowering her eyes and scuttling onto the ice.

The five of them made slow but steady progress over the icy lake. Harry kept his wand illuminated, lighting the way. Shadows, little and large were moving underneath them disconcertingly. Harry began to wonder just what else was swimming in the water below. Parvati had half a tune on her lips; parts of lyrics escaped every once in a while echoing in the silence as she looked around nervously. Harry felt she was coaxing herself across, anticipating the next lot of devilment to jump out at them.

A fair way across, Harry spotted a hand of a Grindylow sticking out through the ice making rude gestures at them as they passed. Harry pointed this out to Hermione, who acted mildly shocked, and then promptly slipped head over heals with Harry only just catching her in time. "Thanks," she said, a little abashed, and carried on walking carefully.

Harry noticed Seamus pulling distractedly at his earring. He himself found he was holding onto the hilt of Gryffindor's sword every so often, reassuring himself it was still there. They were getting twitchy; it had been too quiet for too long now.

"God finally," said Draco after another ten or so minutes of slipping and sliding over the lake. He held his wand higher and the others could see; the edge of the water was only about a Quidditch pitch away.

Suddenly there was great crack. "What the Hell was that?" snapped Draco.

Seamus looked down at their feet. "Grindylows with pick-axes?" he suggested. Harry snapped his head down, so did the others, and there were indeed several of the little blighters barring their teeth at them through the misty ice waving misshapen pick-axes. Another great crack appeared beneath them; the Grindylows looked to be very pleased with themselves.

"Uh," said Draco, "running would be a good idea?"

They broke into a dead sprint, the ice breaking up underneath their feet. Parvati tripped and skidded, Seamus caught his foot on a jagged point of ice that protruded suddenly in front of him. Draco pinwheeled his arms, trying to keep his balance. There were too many of them. They weren't going to make it.

The ice beneath Harry's feet seemed to slip out from under him. He shot into the freezing water and was plunged into darkness. He panicked, not knowing even which way was up. Luckily his hands found the solid ice above him - but not the hole he had fallen through. There was movement all around him - ice breaking and water swirling.

And then came the hands. Dozens of little clawing fingers pinching and grasping, pulling him in all directions...but ultimately down. Harry could feel his glasses slipping from his face, something was pulling his wand from his hand. His chest burned, he needed air, and the water was cripplingly cold.

And then, something bigger, all kinds of things, pawing, clamouring to pull him apart. He tried a disarming spell, but just as in the second task last spring, the words had no effect underwater. Suckers were on his arms, tentacles around his waist, screeching voices in his ears.

Harry's vision began to slip away from him, he couldn't focus, think straight. Something grabbed his collar. With a sudden jolt, Harry was yanked up out of the water. Seamus hauled him onto the solid sheet of ice he had managed to perch on, and he shook Harry violently. "Harry!" he yelled, pulling a number of persistent Grindylows off him and flinging them back into the water. Harry's whole world seemed to be swimming still, he couldn't seem to talk, or move. He felt something jam into his chest.

"Pleh!" he gasped as a lungful of water shot out of his mouth. He rolled over and heaved.

"Come on!" cried Seamus, and forced him up. They were running - or in Harry's case stumbling - on a relatively flat surface; but it wasn't lasting. Around them shards of ice were flying in all directions, huge tentacles flailing, they kept sliding at all angles where the Grindylows and God knew what else were hacking at the ice.

Harry could see the shore where the other three were waiting. "Move it!" screamed Parvati; Hermione had her hands pressed against her head and was dancing on tiptoes. Seamus knocked Harry to the ground and they slid cleanly the last couple of meters onto dry land.

Seamus rolled onto his back panting. Draco grabbed Harry underneath his shoulders and hoisted him away from the water's edge. "Are you alright?" he barked, and flinging him down, started checking him all over.

"I'm fine," said Harry waving his hands away. He may have been in shock, but the idea of being felt up by Draco Malfoy was still not appealing, even then. "Draco - I said I'm fine!" he cried. Draco backed up, hands up in the air.

"Sorry," he apologised, "but you really scared us there."

Harry thought he might have concussion. Did Draco just say he was worried about him? Harry rubbed his temples; this just couldn't get any more surreal.

***

They lit a fire a little further ahead from the lake. Harry could hear numerous creatures moaning and cursing in an unearthly way. Well, when his teeth stopped chattering so hard they were threatening to break his head open that was.

"You're going to get hypothermia," worried Hermione out loud as they were taking turns to dry Harry's clothes out. Seamus had a spell to dry Harry out, but they needed root of asphilate to do the same to his clothes (which they didn't have) and then there was the simple fact that they were all now freezing.

The upside was that they were all considerably cleaner though.

After a while by a roaring fire Harry's clothes were getting dryer, but he was having to fight to stay awake, something not helped by the fact that Hermione was dozing quietly on his shoulder.

Seamus was rooting through Harry's bag, looking at the potion ingredients he'd brought with him. He managed to come up with a sort of rudimentary Pepper-Up Potion. It didn't make them smoke at the ears (thankfully) but it did give them a bit of a kick-start.

They gathered their bits and pieces together and trampled out the fire. Once they were walking again, Harry felt slightly more awake, and ever so slightly warmer too. Parvati had unplatted her extremely long hair and given it a good shake in order to dry it, and it now lay damply down her back. Seamus had managed to get himself a nasty graze on his right elbow where the ice had torn the material away, and was nursing it with some cripten leaves Harry's mother had given them, but they weren't really helping.

It wasn't long before they came across a kind of shimmering mist blocking their path. Harry felt almost relieved. "This is fine," he told the others, "it's disorienting, but just keep walking with your eyes closed and you'll be fine." Parvati wasn't keen on walking into some sort of trap with her eyes closed, so Harry said he'd go first with her. Holding hands they stepped into the mist and instantly it felt like the world had turned upside down. Parvati gasped and almost fell over her own feet. "Just keep going," Harry told her, squeezing her hand.

A few moments after he'd said it, they toppled out the other side. "We're through," he called to the others, but he didn't know if they could hear. Sure enough though, Hermione made her way through shortly after, followed by Seamus. They moved further up the tunnel (now quite narrow again) to allow room for Draco to come through.

He did, quite ungracefully, a minute or two later. "Uhg," he uttered upon his arrival and bent over his knees. When he stood up though, he sobered up completely. His eyes flew open in horror and he leapt in one fluid movement past Seamus and Harry. "Look out!" he yelled and managed to grab Hermione, who had wondered up ahead, just in time. Just as he pulled her back a score of spears shot out of the wall on the right, impaling the wall on the left.

Hermione hit the floor with a shriek, almost instantly to be swept up by the other three. Just as Parvati was crying, "are you alright?!" Harry realised Draco had not hit the floor with her. Bent over double, leaning against the wall, the spear on the very edge was embedded in Draco's left thigh.

"Jesus!" cried Harry and flew over to him. "Don't move Draco." Draco looked up at him, all the colour drained from his already pale face. He shuddered out a nod and tried not to gag.

"Is - is that blood?" said Parvati in a weak sort of voice on seeing Draco's leg...and promptly fainted.

"Oh good God," snapped Seamus, and leaving Parvati to Hermione, hurried over to Draco. "Just hold still now," he said to the blond boy; Harry was already using his full weight to prop him up. Seamus pulled out is wand and edged around the back of Draco's leg. After a couple of moments he'd cut through the spear and Draco was able to fall to the ground on his back. Seamus cut the majority of the spear away at the front leaving about a foot sticking out of his leg.

Harry was still holding onto Draco who in turn was almost crushing his hands with a death like grip. There was blood everywhere. "This won't hurt a bit Draco," promised Seamus. He then seemed to think a moment. "Actually, has anyone got any Dandelion Tears?" He was met with silence. "Right, well, this might hurt then."

Draco rolled his head away and moaned, squeezing his eyes shut. "Okay," said Seamus, "on the count of three." Parvati (who had woken up again) put her fingers in her ears and turned away. Hermione knelt down and took Draco's other hand. "One," said Seamus, "two..." He grabbed the spear with two hands and pulled with all his might. Draco shot up in a convulsion of pain, then crumpled back down into a foetal position. When he seemed to start breathing a again, a most impressive flow of colourful profanities escaped his mouth. "Three," finished Seamus.

He moved quickly then. Pointing his wand at Draco's thigh, he used a charm to clean the wound. He then asked Harry for the Gunges Moss he'd seen in his bag earlier, and pushed it against the wound front and back, making Draco grit his teeth and moan again. Seamus picked up his wand once more and said "Jinxess Placebes."

Almost instantly Draco relaxed. He opened his eyes and looked around.

"Better?" asked Seamus.

"Much," admitted Draco, but it looked like it cost him. Seamus ripped some of his shirt off underneath his jacket and started to bandage the wound, holding the moss in place. "I bet you enjoyed that, didn't you?"

"Little bit," replied Seamus, half a grin on his face. He knelt back and aimed his wand once more - after a few well chosen words the blood on Draco's leg vanished leaving only some very tattered trouser material behind.

"Er - Draco," said Seamus in a rather bemused voice, looking at the wound he'd just cleaned, "why are you wearing pink underwear?"

Draco, who'd been resting his head against the wall, snapped his eyes open and looked down.

So did everyone else. "Oh," said Harry, not really knowing what to say.

"Ohh," said Parvati, a little breathless.

"Ah," said Draco. Seamus was trying to keep a straight face, but not doing very well at it. "Look - my grandmother," Draco stuttered, "she buys me things - they're expensive - but uh-"

"Pink?" Seamus finished for him.

"Oh she wanted a granddaughter," snapped Draco. He stood up hastily and, pulling out his own wand, shouted "Reparo!" at the trousers, which mended themselves instantly. Face almost the same colour as his boxers, he barked "shall we?" at the rest of them, turned on his heals and began making his way through the remaining spears still sticking out of the wall.

They walked for a while in silence once more. Draco rubbed his forearm a couple of times and told them they had to be nearly there now - maybe one more obstacle to go.

Presently they came to a huge oak door, ornately decorated with snakes apparently eating people. "Nice," said Seamus.

Draco frowned. "I guess this is it." He shrugged his shoulders and, taking a good hold of the knob, pushed. It seemed for a moment as if it wasn't going to budge, but then suddenly it gave way, swinging in violently and knocking Draco to the floor. He brushed his clothes down briefly, then looked up at the others.

But they weren't looking at him. They had all gone deathly still, and there was a soft growling behind him. Harry took a deep breath.

"Hello Fluffy," he said quietly.

***

They were in a great room, high stone arches and huge blazing torches. Fluffy, the three headed dog Harry knew all to well was standing at the other end, which really, all things considered, was not far enough away.

Parvati screamed, Draco leapt to his feet and Seamus tried to pull the door closed behind them again; but it flew out of his hands, slammed shut, and was conveniently stuck once more, locking them in. Fluffy raised his hackles and growled even louder, taking a couple of steps towards them. There were bones all over the floor and a rotten stench filled the air.

"What do we do!" cried Hermione, petrified. Harry thought desperately - they'd used a flute last time - but they didn't have a flute - or a - or a...

"Violin?" wondered Harry out loud. Something was surfacing in his memory. "Hermione!" he cried, "can you sing?"

"What?!" she shrieked.

"Can you sing?" he yelled, "properly, in tune?"

"Yes!" she screamed back.

"Do it!" cried Harry; Fluffy was getting closer, "sing - anything!"

"Er-" she moaned, confused and panicking, "um - er - oh! Uh...'Don't love me for fun girl, let me be the one girl, love me for a reason, let the reason be love.'" As soon as she started, Fluffy stopped in his tracks, his many eyelids drooping. Harry made a motion for her to keep going, so she did. "'Don't love me for fun girl, let me be the one girl,'" Fluffy curled up and started snoring, and they crept round his heads. "'Love me for a reason,'" they eased the door on the other side open, and ("'Let the reason be love,'") slipped through.

"Wow - that was amazing!" cried Parvati once the door was closed again, "I never knew you could sing like that!" Hermione gave a bashful smile, before Seamus cut her off;

"I never knew you liked Boyzone," he said in a disgusted voice. Hermione went slightly pink and muttered something about the first thing that came into her head and that really wasn't the point anyway. Harry just felt glad not to have been eaten.

He looked around. They were still in the tunnel, except, well, you couldn't really call it that any more. The dank rock had been replaced with shining white marble, the torches were ornate with snakes curling round the brackets. Emerald green plush rugs stretched out along the polished floor and fabulous paintings adorned the walls.

Harry felt a sharp pain in his forehead; just where his scar should have been. He gasped and his hand flew to the source of the pain. That wasn't a good sign.

Draco turned round to face them, his face set. Nodding slightly, he said slowly, "this is it," and turning back, strode towards the black door a few meters ahead. He placed his hand on the silver knob and waited for the others to catch up. Harry was going to say something, warn them what his scar hurting meant, when Draco turned his head, and swallowed. "Whatever happens in here," he said through dry lips, "you've got to trust me."

"What?" asked Harry, but he received no answer.

Draco turned the handle and the door swung open easily. He walked swiftly through flanked by the others. Harry was momentarily blinded by the bright light shining into his eyes; he flung his hand up to see just as the others did. Almost as soon as they had done this though, the light softened to normal, and Harry lowered his arm.

They were in a semicircular auditorium, with stone steps extending high up from where they were standing; the middle of the half-moon stone stage. The door slammed behind them, but Harry barely noticed. He was looking out at the scene that lay before him.

There were people in hooded black robes standing on every step, looking down at them, arms folded.

Directly in front of them stood Lord Voldemort. He smiled.

Positioned either side of him were Bartemius Crouch, Lucius Malfoy, Peter Pettigrew, and the woman with the hooded eyelids and black hair that Harry had seen in Dumbledore's Pensive.

Harry couldn't seem to breath properly, he must be in a nightmare. But he felt the pain in his forehead and knew it was real. He tried to find his voice, he had to ask Draco what was happening. But before he could, Lucius Malfoy opened his arms and smiled his cruel smile.

"Draco," he said warmly, "how nice it is to see you."

Draco smiled back and bowed slightly. "Hello father," he replied pleasantly.