Evanesco

Evanesco

Chapter 2

In Which Harry Gets His First Boat Ride

When he came to, his first thought was that everything hurt. His second thought wasn't so much a thought as an onrush of memory. Groaning, he tried to move but failed miserably. His hands were tied behind his back with either rope or thick cord, and there were similar bindings on his knees and ankles. He was gagged, his glasses had completely disappeared, and he was wearing a blindfold.

He could hardly remember what light looked like.

His face felt crusty as though mud had dried on it. Or blood, he though ruefully. His chest felt sticky and everything about him seemed very unclean. When he sniffed, all his other senses were confused. The smell was a mixture of dirty water, blood, copper, rust, old fish and unwashed boy. It was then he noticed that his right side was not only numb where he'd been lying on it, but very wet. He was lying in a puddle. Oh, perfect.

"Harry?"

He would have jumped if he'd been able to move an inch. "Mmph?" he asked.

"Harry, you're awake!"

Harry wanted to yell; "Neville, you're alive!" but couldn't. So he settled for: "Mm, mmphahmumpha."

"Hang on a minute, I'll try and get my hands on that blindfold." Harry heard scuffling beside him, and next minute felt something tug at the cloth around his eyes. "Bastards. They sure put this on tight. Hang on a second."

Harry suppressed a wince as Neville's fingers caught in his hair but didn't call out. "Aha!" The other boy said in triumph as the blindfold came off.

It was dark. Very dark. He couldn't see Neville as he was behind him. "Mmpha?"

"Right -sorry." Neville fumbled with the knot of the gag in the darkness, accompanied by swearing that Harry wouldn't have thought him capable of before now. "Damnit!" he exclaimed finally. "Sorry Harry, it won't come off. I'll have to try ripping it."

It was a very painful process - Neville's hands were quite obviously tied behind his back as well and he couldn't see what he was doing, let alone get a proper grip on the cloth. He kept missing and tugging out chunks of hair or pulling Harry's head back to splash in the deeper side of the puddle. Finally the strip tore and Harry was able to breath through his mouth again. He wished he could use his fingers to pinch his nose.

"Thanks," he said, trying out his voice.

"You're welcome," said Neville. "Are you ok? You've been out for hours."

"Feels like days. Where are we?"

"In the hold on a boat."

"What?" Harry gasped. He'd never even seen the sea, let alone ever been on a boat big enough to have a hold. He'd sailed across Hogwarts Lake in a tiny rowing boat that moved on its own, but that was his only claim to seafaring. "On the ocean?"

"I guess so. I didn't really get a good look when they transferred me from the trunk to the boat."

"The trunk?" Harry's head was spinning, for some reason.

"Yes. They had this magical trunk - you know, those rare ones that have different insides? I was in one and you were in another one and they drove a van down to the docks. I saw it."

"And you were conscious the whole time?"

"Yes. I don't think they thought about knocking me out once they'd tied me up. They didn't even gag me like you." There was a pause during which Harry couldn't think of anything else to say. "I was too scared to say anything to them, anyway."

Harry felt a horrible rush of guilt. "Neville - I'm so sorry..."

"What for?"

"What for? For this! For being kidnapped, cursed, tied up, locked in a trunk and shoved on a boat, what do you think I meant?"

"I'm not nearly as scared as I was back in the trunk. At least you're awake. And none of that stuff was really your fault, you know."

Harry wasn't really listening. "Why you?" he asked, though he wasn't really asking Neville. "Why you? Why not Ron or Hermione or Lupin -" Yet another terrifying thought entered his mind. "Oh no..."

"What? Did something happen to Professor Lupin?"

"It might have. Or to one of the others. I've had Aurors watching me at Privet Drive ever since last summer. Those Death Eaters must have killed at least one to get you anywhere near me..." Suddenly there were a lot more questions Harry wanted to ask Neville, but Neville seemed to read his mind.

"It was the Imperius Curse," he said, quietly. "They knocked me out with this blue smoky stuff, and the next thing I knew I was being shoved into your back garden in the pouring rain, and one of them had his wand on me. He told me to throw rocks at your window to get you to come down, and I wouldn't and..." he trailed off.

"But you fought it," Harry reminded him. "You wouldn't hit me - you told me it was a trick - that was you, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," said Neville glumly. "But I still hit you, once."

"Neville," said Harry excitedly. "You fought the Imperius Curse. Do you have any idea how hard that is? Remember when Moo - when Crouch put the curse on us in our fourth year and no one could fight it? Barty Crouch couldn't even fight that curse!"

"You fought it."

"Yeah well, I've had lots of practice with that stuff," Harry said, and then as an afterthought he added; "although apparently not enough."

Neville sighed. "Did you get any of them?"

Harry didn't need to ask what he meant. "I got Malfoy with a bone-breaking curse in his arm, and one of them smashed into a trolley covered in lego."

Neville sniggered. "Hang on - Lucius Malfoy? Isn't he supposed to be in prison?"

If Harry had been able to see Neville, he would have stared at him. "Haven't you been reading the Daily Prophet?"

Neville shook his head. "Gran says it's nothing but rubbish. I thought you thought so too."

"Well, it mostly is, but reading between the idle gossip there are usually facts. And it told the truth about Lucius Malfoy. He escaped days ago, with loads of others. Anyway I didn't mean him, I meant Draco Malfoy."

"Draco Malfoy?"

"Yep. Perfect little Death Eater, he is."

"Well then, I'm glad you broke his arm."

Harry wanted to say that he was as well, but found that he wasn't. He couldn't be glad - not after he had seen what enjoyment of other people's pain could do to someone. He shuddered at the thought of becoming another Voldemort. "Do you know what's ironic?" he said instead. "Even if we do get out of this alive, I'm going to be arrested for Illegal Use of Underage Magic."

"But they'll let you off, won't they?" Neville asked. "I mean, I'm pretty sure this counts as an emergency."

"I was attacked by Dementors last year and Fudge put me on trial for using the Patronus charm," Harry reminded him.

"Well, that was before Fudge found out about Voldemort, wasn't it?" Neville pointed out.

"Knowing Fudge, it probably won't make that much difference," Harry said gruffly, but he knew Neville had a point. Fudge was too scared of Voldemort and Dumbledore to attack Harry now.

There was a loud banging noise from somewhere above them. "Uh oh," Neville said. Harry was suddenly struck by the change in Neville. He hadn't really considered it last year, but the Neville he had known in his first year would never have come with him to the Ministry of Magic to rescue Sirius, and would probably have died of fright by now. Harry wondered what had happened to make him change so much.

"Where do you think they're taking us?" Neville asked.

Harry didn't know. He'd never been abroad in his life, not even one step in the sea. It was common knowledge to anyone who'd read 'Hogwarts, a History' (or had Hermione to lecture them on it) that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was located somewhere in central Scotland, but that was as far as Harry's travelling record went. "Voldemort must have some camp set up in Northern France or somewhere," he suggested, somewhat lamely. "Just over the border so he can get back easily."

"Makes sense," said Neville. "The entire Ministry is looking for him back home." He continued with a report of what he knew about Fudge's search, but Harry already knew and anyway, he'd stopped listening after the words 'back home'. No more complaining to Ron and Hermione that he was the only one who had never been abroad. Harry liked to know where he was, and right now he could be anywhere from the English Channel to the Black Sea.

"I don't like this," he said. "Why aren't there any guards or anything?"

"Can't go far on a boat," Neville said, in a tone that said he'd worked that one out while Harry had been unconscious. Thump. Thump. Thump. Someone was moving around on deck.

"Neville?"

"Yeah?"

"What sort of a boat is this?"

"Not sure. It's big enough to fit about ten of them and the two of us, I guess."

"No chance of swimming back to shore?"

"Can you swim?"

"No," Harry admitted.

"Me neither."

"Oh." Harry knew his plans were insane. They were just the only ones he had at the moment. And what was it about Neville? Who did he remind Harry of? "Only one thing to do, in that case."

"What?"

"HEY! DOWN HERE!!" Harry yelled at the top of his voice, which turned out to be dry and scratchy. Almost immediately a door at the top of a ladder opened, letting in daylight. Harry winced and scrunched up his eyes.

"What is it?" the Death Eater snapped. Harry didn't recognise a voice.

"Look, where the hell are we?"

"That's for me to know, and you to find out," said the man in a childish voice. "Now shut up until we get to the other side." He left, slamming the trap door behind him.

"Brilliant," said Harry.

"Harry! Are you mad? I'm surprised he didn't just stun you again!"

"Me too, quite frankly. Well, he was completely unhelpful. The only thing I'm sure of it that they want to keep us alive."

"That's comforting," said Neville. "Look, could you not do that again? I can see why You-Know-Who would want to keep YOU alive, but I can hardly see why I'm necessary. How do we know they won't just kill me to shut you up?"

The thought hadn't even occurred to Harry, and it was so terrifying that once again he could think of nothing to say. "What?" said Neville, sounding quite sincere. "I've read about stuff that happened fifteen years ago. You-Know-Who's done worse."

"Wow, Neville," Harry choked. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't mention it. I just wouldn't... you know, aggravate them."

Suddenly Harry realised who it was Neville had been reminding him of. His slightly nervous yet practical approach to their problems was almost exactly the way Hagrid would act when giving advice to Harry or his friends. Hagrid was perfectly comfortable around animals of all shapes and sizes, but when it came to people he found it hard to think things through. Neville liked plants, Harry knew, but was uncomfortable around people, and so had to learn about people as he went along. He saw things a different way, just like Hagrid always seemed to do. This peculiar affinity seemed to have grown over their years at Hogwarts, and especially last year when he'd been in the DA and some people had even started to admire him for his improvement in Defence.

"Neville?"

"Yeah?"

Harry thought. He hadn't really worked the conversation through to this point. "Nothing."

Not much was said after that. Harry thought he might have slept - though that seemed impossible as his face was half submerged in water and the glass cuts on his chin were stinging. But whether it was genuine sleep, simple drowsiness or some calm form of panic he had not yet known, he was woken from it by a loud bang somewhere beside them. He swore as the floor beneath him moved and he was tossed sideways, Neville landing on top of him.

"What's happening?" Neville yelled.

"I don't know!"

They could hear shouting from above them. "Have we stopped?" Neville asked, doing his best to roll off Harry. Harry didn't think it would sound very intelligent to say 'I don't know' again, so he didn't answer. They didn't seem to have stopped, though. The floor was still bobbing up and down and making him feel sick. Then there was another, softer bump that only sent them rolling a little way. Harry landed on his face and had to conjure up a lot of effort to roll over before he drowned in bilge-water. Now, instead of bobbing up and down, they seemed to be rocking gently from side to side.

"Do you think we've crashed?" he whispered, having never heard the term 'run aground'.

"If we have, we'll know soon enough," said Neville nervously. "This is the first place water will come up if there's a hole somewhere."

"Maybe one of them will remember to get us out before we sink," Harry said, without much hope. Though as it turned out, they didn't have to wait long before the door above them creaked open and someone came all the way down the ladder, followed by three other someones.

"Who is it?" Harry whispered. "I can't see anything!"

"There's two big men, a smaller man, and Malfoy with his arm in a sling," Neville said, trying to sit up. "What's the matter, Malfoy - get on the wrong side of a Hippogriff again?"

"I hardly think you're in any position to make jokes, Longbottom," Malfoy sneered as the two large men who could only be Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle, came around behind the two boys and started to untie them. Malfoy then looked at Harry, who was squinting up at him.

"Oh dear, Potter," Malfoy chuckled. "Can't you see properly? We can't have that." He held out Harry's glasses. "Here you are. My father fixed them and put an unbreakable charm on them. Honestly, I can't think why you didn't think of that before."

Harry had, but even simple charms had to be renewed after a while, and his must have worn off during the early weeks of summer when he couldn't use his wand. He wasn't going to tell Malfoy that, though, since he seemed to have found a way around the Restriction for the Use of Underage Magic. "Thanks, Malfoy," he said bitterly, taking his glasses and putting them on while Crabbe moved around to untie his knees and ankles. "I don't suppose you're going to give me my wand back, too?"

Malfoy raised his eyebrows to accompany his sneer. "I don't think so, Potter. Believe me, I'd have much rather have you trussed up like chickens all the way there, but unfortunately it would be much harder to move you around if you couldn't walk, or see where you were going."

Harry inwardly rejoiced. Malfoy, without realising it, was an absolute goldmine of information. "Why don't you just keep us in the magic trunks?" Harry asked. "That wasn't a problem before."

"Draco!" the fourth Death Eater snapped. "Shut up and be helpful, or go suck up to Daddy like you usually do."

Harry couldn't quite suppress a snigger. "And you," said the man, kicking Harry in the side. "Say a single word once we get out and you'll be stunned, get it?"

Harry didn't have a chance to answer before Crabbe had shoved his hands under Harry's arms and pulled him upright. Harry hadn't stood for about six hours, and his ankles were sore. Crabbe had to steady him before he could stand by himself. This sign of weakness made Harry angry at himself and his stomach turned, although that might have just been the seasickness rising in his throat now that he was standing.

"If you're going to throw up, do it in here before we go ashore," said the fourth Death Eater sharply. Harry didn't want to, he really didn't, but his knees suddenly felt like jelly and his chin was stiffening. His entire stomach came up on the floor. He could almost hear Malfoy smiling. He heard Neville swear softly and wished he could do the same.

"Well, this is all very nice," said the fourth Death Eater, sarcastically. "But we're wasting time. Let's go ashore."

Malfoy hung back to whisper a commentary to Harry as they were half pushed, half tugged through the trap door. "That's Barnabus Travis," he said. "He's renowned for his torture methods. I wouldn't annoy him if I were you."

"Like you're doing, you mean?" Harry spat.

Malfoy said nothing, but wiped his sleeve with a handkerchief in distaste.

Harry must have slept for longer than he had thought because night had once more come around, and even with his glasses on it was hard to see anything on shore. They seemed to be at some sort of dock because Harry could hear water sloshing against the pier. It was also freezing. "You ok?" he whispered to Neville.

"Yes," Neville replied, but his teeth were chattering.

"Shut up!" Travis growled, whacking Harry around the back of the head and glaring at Neville.

"All right," Harry muttered. "All right."

They had to jump the gap between boat and dock, and it gave both boys a split second of freedom. Before they could make any move however, they were quickly grabbed again from behind and forced to march to where a large van was waiting. It was so big it was more like a truck.

"I hate these Muggle modes of transportation," Harry heard someone whisper from behind them. Travis whipped round and glared, but couldn't single out the culprit. Nott leaned out of the driver's window. "Gottem?" he mumbled.

"Of course, Nott," Travis snapped. "Where's Malfoy?"

Nott jerked a thumb in the direction of the passenger seat. Travis lowered his voice considerably. "What about... the other one?" The passenger door slammed, and Lucius Malfoy came around the hood.

"What was that, Barnabus?"

"Nothing, Lucius. Where do you want the boys?"

"There are ropes in the back. Draco, come here." Malfoy drew his son aside and starting talking quietly. Travis snapped his fingers at Crabbe and Goyle, who pushed Harry and Neville to the back of the van while some other random Death Eaters pulled the door open. A silver hand reached out of the darkness and with terrifying strength, pulled Harry up. Harry found himself looking into Wormtail's face. Sirius' one time friend didn't meet Harry's eyes.

"Finally," he snapped at Travis as he hauled Neville up as well. "What took you so long?"

"Trouble with the boat," one of the others sneered. "I still don't see why more of us couldn't have apparated."

Travis rounded on the speaker. "Mulciber! I should have known it was you earlier. One more complaint out of you and I'll report you, hear?"

Mulciber went pale and backed off. The rest of the Death Eaters piled into the van. "Keep your ears open," Harry whispered. "They might say something important."

"I'm surprised you have the capacity to apparate, Pettigrew," Travis sneered.

"Give it a rest, will you?" Wormtail snapped. "You got the better job, believe me. Lucius and Theodore haven't stopped bickering since we left Surrey."

"At least you didn't get stuck with the moron squad and the three brats."

"Three?"

"Have you met that Malfoy kid?"

Wormtail hissed. "Be quiet, he'll hear you. Someone help me with these two."

Harry and Neville soon found themselves tied up again and shoved to the very back of the van - or the front, depending on how you look at it. Travis went out briefly, then came back in, shutting the door behind him. "Master Malfoy is sitting up front with his father," he announced bitterly, before pushing his way through the Death Eaters - who seemed to be making themselves comfortable on the floor - to Wormtail's side.

"What is it, Travis?"

"Just making sure you don't make a mistake, Pettigrew."

"They're not going anywhere, Barnabus," Wormtail pointed out, nodding at the black robed figure who was closing the van doors behind Travis.

"Why are we doing it this way?" Travis suddenly asked Peter. "There are so many better ways we could have done this. What's wrong with Malfoy?"

"Lucius got his orders from the Master," Pettigrew said stiffly.

"Then he's not following them correctly!"

Without warning, Pettigrew's silver hand was suddenly around Travis' throat. "Are you questioning the Master's judgement?"

Travis eyes were wide in shock. "No," he choked, scrabbling against the substance that was not flesh.

"Good," said Wormtail, oblivious to the man's struggling. "Because if you were, I'd have to do a little bit of reporting of my own, understand?"

Travis tried to speak, but all that came out was a strangled gurgle. "What was that?" Wormtail asked, releasing him. Travis slid backwards, nursing his bruised throat.

"I understand," he said.

"Good," Pettigrew said again, turning his gaze on the two boys. Neville's mouth was wide open in horror. "What are you two staring at?"

Harry's hands were tied in front this time, making it easier to move. He touched Neville's knee, and they looked at each other. Somehow they could both tell that the nightmare was only just beginning.