The Book of Morgan Le Fey

Chapter Thirty-Two: Stealth and Capture

They started up the hill, with Ron bringing up the rear; it was a bizarre sight to his eyes: in the dark they were all difficult to see, looking like nothing but spectral silver outlines.

They crept up the hill, Ron's eyes were darting in all directions. Their pace was slow; there was no moon, it was incredibly dark, but Bill forbade the use of the lit wand tips. Several times one of them would stumble or step on a tree branch and crack it, and they would stop and drop to their knees, but after several minutes, they reached the back of a huge, dilapidated mansion. There was light inside; green, sickly light. They were in a massive, overgrown garden. Ron noticed that it was overflowing with flowers and blooms; somehow this struck him as perverse, grotesque, that such beautiful flowers would be growing behind the house of the most evil wizard who had ever lived.

Bill was scanning the windows of the house carefully, standing behind a tree. Ron crept up behind him; there were dark shapes moving back and forth from window to window. Dark, hooded shapes. Death Eaters. They looked like they were patrolling the corridors and rooms of the house, but there were only about a half dozen of them.

'Back here,' Bill whispered, 'behind this wall.' An outlined hand beckoned them behind the stone wall. They gathered around him, crouched down.

'Okay,' he whispered. 'I count six Death Eaters in the back; there's going to be more but let's concentrate on those for now. We Stun them, bind them, move them out of sight out quietly, and grab their robes and hoods.'

'Good idea,' said Ron, even as his heart raced with fear. We are all mad. We're about to go into a house with hundred death eaters and the most evil Dark Wizard of all time. We are all bloody mad.

'Now listen, all of you,' Bill was saying. 'No heroics, get me? Keep things as quiet as you can. First priority is finding Luna and Eddie and getting the hell out of there.'

Several silvery lines moved, and Ron took this to mean that everyone was nodding in agreement.

'Let's move,' said Bill. 'Slowly. Mind your steps, and don't talk. I'm going out first. Harry, you next, then Ron, then Hermione, Susan, Ginny, and Neville, you bring up the rear. When I go, Harry, count to three, say "I'm going," and then move. The rest of you, do the same. Now, I'm going.' Ron peered over Harry's shoulder to see the transparent outline of Bill creeping slowly behind the stone wall and toward the back door of the house.

'One, two, three,' Harry muttered. 'I'm going.' Harry's shorter, skinnier outline was now moving up the garden path toward the back door.

'One, two, three,' Ron whispered. 'I'm going.' He crept up the same path Harry took, his eyes darting from the path ahead to the ground just in front of his feet.

A few minutes later all seven of them were at the back door. Three outlines--Ron couldn't tell to whom they belonged--were to the right of the door. He, Bill, and the other two stood to the left of the door. Just then a Death Eater appeared. The seven of them froze, melting into their surroundings.

Ron's eyes moved slowly to the Death Eater, who was peering out the window of the back door into the garden. He was hooded but unmasked; the man was tall, broad and had the kind of build that suggested extreme muscularity in youth but was just turning to fat in middle age. Ron recognized the mean, ugly features at once: it was Vincent Crabbe's father.

The Death Eater Crabbe stood by the door for a moment, peering outside. He was standing in what looked like the kitchen. He gave a short grunt and moved to the left, through a swinging door and out of sight.

'Hold it,' Bill whispered to them. They waited another whole minute, then Ron saw the outline of a wand move to the doorknob and Bill's voice whisper 'Alohomora.'

The lock disengaged with a soft click, but the silence and darkness were so complete that the sound made them all, except Bill, jump just slightly.

Bill pulled open the door with agonizing slowness; it creaked and they froze again, waiting for another Death Eater to appear or for Crabbe to return, but nobody came.

'Follow me, quietly,' Bill whispered. Ron saw Bill's outline slip inside; Harry was next--or at least it looked like Harry. Ron followed, and in a few moments everyone was crowded inside. Someone--Hermione, perhaps--slowly closed the door.

They froze again (Ron was amazed how they all did the same things at the same time without saying a word to each other) and waited for another Death Eater to appear. After another minute, none did.

'All right,' said Bill in a muffled voice. 'We'll cover more ground if we split up. Harry, you, Ron, Hermione and Susan go through that door and look around upstairs. Neville, Ginny and me will cover this level. Stay quiet, move slow. No arguments, no exceptions.'

Nobody said a word but Ron caught the outline of five other heads nodding.

'''Mione,' he whispered, suddenly needing to know where she was.

'I'm right here,' she said, and he suddenly felt her grip his hand. He looked down and saw nothing but the kitchen floor-it was odd, feeling her hand in his but not seeing it.

'Let's go,' said Bill. 'If you run into Death Eaters, take them out quietly. Don't raise the alarm unless absolutely necessary, all right? Hopefully the Ministry will get our message soon and Kingsley will bring reinforcements.'

They all nodded again, and Ron heard Harry say, 'Come on.'

Four pearly outlines of people moved off to the right, toward a closed door that led...somewhere. Ron turned to see three outlines moving to the left and through the swinging door.

Harry tried the knob, and it turned with a muffled click. He pushed the door open inch by inch. Ron didn't like all this stealth stuff--the slow movement was torture on his muscles, which were tensed and ready to fight or fly.

They moved through the door and found themselves in a dining room. It was huge and grand and a massive chandelier hung from the high ceiling. In the center of the room was a long, long wooden table, surrounded by antique- looking, expensive dining chairs. Flush against the opposite wall was a huge china cabinet that was only partially full. To the left was a large double threshold leading into what was clearly a formal living room. They started toward it but then froze suddenly. Three Death Eaters were in there, two of them sitting on a long settee and another in a matching chair. Their backs were to them. They were unhooded and unmasked. Their sleeves were all rolled up, revealing the Dark Marks tattooed on their forearms. Ron had never seen these three before. They were smoking cigarettes, drinking some kind of amber liquid from glass tumblers and playing some sort of card game. A fire was crackling in the fireplace. The scene was both normal and entirely bizarre to Ron. He supposed he ought to have realized it, but he never suspected that Death Eaters did anything but kiss Voldemort's shoes and fetch him things, go on patrol and plunder and pillage. These three men could have been--but for the black wizard robes and the marks on their forearms--Muggles sitting in a pub somewhere.

Harry's outlined head turned to them and he whispered, 'We're taking them out.' They nodded. Harry crept slowly along the path between the dining table and--Ron saw it for the first time--an enormous sideboard that was placed against the wall opposite the china cabinet. Its surface was bare but for an old tapestry runner.

Ron looked down and saw the thin outline of feet and the slight depressions made in the Oriental rug as they moved into the living room. The three Death Eaters didn't turn, didn't look up from their cards. They were laughing, joking, placing bets.

They moved closer. Ron's heart was pounding so loudly in his ears that he was sure any second the Death Eaters would all look up and realize he and the others were there. But they didn't look up. As Ron got closer to them he noticed they looked to be rather well into their cups, tipsy from whatever it was they were drinking.

'Pour me another, Rufus,' said one Death Eater, a slight, pale man with dark brown hair and gray eyes.

'Don't you think you've had enough?' said the second Death Eater, presumably the man called Rufus. He was slurring his words just a bit.

'Can't never have too much,' said the pale man. Rufus poured him some more of the drink from a huge crystal decanter--it looked like fire whisky to Ron. The pour was sloppy and some of the whisky sloshed onto the rug and onto the pale man's hand, but he didn't seem to care. He raised his glass and said 'Cheersh, mates,' and downed the whisky in one.

'Letsh play, dammit,' said the third Death Eater, a big, broad shouldered man Ron recognized at once as Crabbe. His words were slurring as well. 'Whosh turn ish it?'

'Mine,' said Rufus. He studied the cards on the table and the ones in his hand.

Harry crept forward, and Ron followed. He felt Hermione grip his hand again. They were getting very close to the Death Eaters now. It was just as well they were drunk and preoccupied. Taking them out shouldn't be too hard...

'Whatsh that?' said Crabbe suddenly, looking up and dropping his cards onto the floor.

'What?' said Rufus impatiently.

'Didn't you hear the floor creak?' said Crabbe irritably.

'I didn't hear nuffin',' said Rufus. 'You're drunk, Crabbe. You're hearing fings.'

Crabbe paused for a moment and peered around the room. Ron was frozen and felt his heart race with fear. He didn't even blink, so afraid was he that the slightest hint of movement would give them away to the Death Eaters. Crabbe looked around again--his eyes darting rather drunkenly-and then he turned back to the game.

'You're right, Rufush,' he slurred. 'Thish here fire-whishkey's shtrong shtuff.'

'The shtronger the better, eh?' said the pale, slight man, laughing out loud.

'Shut it, Nott!' said Rufus. 'You want the boss to catch us again?'

'Right,' said Nott, trying to look very serious all of a sudden and only succeeding in looking drunker.

Their attentions turned back to their game. Harry moved sideways, slowly coming behind the couch. Ron saw him motion with his wand at them; he felt, rather than saw, Susan move carefully behind Crabbe's chair. Ron felt Hermione let go of his hand as Ron moved next to Harry.

Ron saw the outline of Harry's wand pointed at the pale man called Nott; the tip was almost touching him between the shoulder blades. Ron raised his own wand behind Rufus. He saw Hermione and Susan both raise their wands at Crabbe--Crabbe was so big it might take two spells to take him out.

Harry held up his left outlined hand and Ron, Susan and Hermione could make out the gestures of 'one, two--' And then Harry's outline gave a sharp nod of his head.

As one, the four of them hissed 'STUPEFY!' Jets of light shot from their wand tips and hit the three Death Eaters point blank. The three of them slumped over in their seats, stunned.

In the next second Ron let out a horrified gasp. Nott had been holding the bottle of fire whisky, and now the bottle was plummeting toward the floor, where it would shatter...

'Wingardium Leviosa!' Susan hissed, catching the bottle with her Levitation Charm and floating it back to the table, where it landed with a very soft clink.

'Good one,' Harry whispered. 'Maybe we should stow these idiots out of the way.'

They moved faster now, but still carefully enough to keep quiet. They stripped off the Death Eater's robes, picked up their abandoned hoods from the coffee table, then used the Incarcerous Charm to bind the three Death Eaters with invisible ropes and gags. Hermione spotted a large armoire. She performed an Shrinking Spell on the Death Eaters so that they could fit inside, and the four of them levitated the stunned Death Eaters to the inside of the armoire, stuffing them unceremoniously within the cabinet.

'I can't believe you can do a Shrinking Spell on people,' Ron whispered, impressed.

'Shh,' Hermione whispered. She then sealed the door shut with a flick of her wand as she muttered 'Colloportus.'

'Good work,' said Harry softly. 'Hermione, Susan, Ron, put those on. We can grab another robe on our way upstairs.' The three of them quickly put on robes, but then had to change when it became clear that Ron's robe--which had belonged to Nott--was far too small for him. Ron wound up with Crabbe's robe; Hermione with Rufus's, and Susan--the smallest in their group--with Nott's. They pulled on the masks and put up the hoods. The effect was unnerving, to say the least. Ron really didn't like dressing up as a Death Eater. He pulled the hood low over his head; if anyone had seen his face up close behind the mask all they'd see were dark empty spaces where eyes should be. Better not to give other Death Eaters that opportunity. Hermione and Susan followed his lead and pulled their own hoods low over their foreheads.

They exited the living room, Ron leading the way this time, with Harry at the back. They immediately were met with a fourth Death Eater.

'So, taking your patrolling seriously at last, are ye Crabbe?' said a voice with a thick Scottish brogue. Ron recognized him as '. Ron cleared his throat and gave a low grunt.

'Yeah,' he said, hoping he sounded convincingly like Crabbe.

'Good,' said ', clapping Ron on the back so hard his hood nearly slipped. Ron shot a hand up and caught it just in time.

'Relax, Crabbe,' said ' jovially. 'I know who ye are, ye don't have to keep yer hood up in the house.'

'I like to,' Ron grunted.

'Ye sound funny,' said ', suddenly looking suspicious. 'Ye have a cold?'

'A bit, yeah,' said Ron, his heart racing so fast he thought it might explode inside his chest. Just then he felt movement next to him; Harry.

'What the--' ' obviously saw something, and he backed away and reached inside his robes for his wand. Harry was way ahead of him. Ron saw the outline of a wand tip lift up and point directly at ''s chest, and Harry hissed, 'Stupefy!' ' slumped to the floor.

'Hurry!' Harry urged. Getting ' tied up and out of the way was a more nerve-racking process now that they were in a hallway; another Death Eater could spot what they were doing at any second.

They stuffed ' unceremoniously in a closet beneath the stairs. Ron heard Harry give a soft, ironic sort of chuckle as Hermione shut the closet door and sealed it. Then Harry pulled on ''s robes and mask.

'Let's undo the Disillusionment Charm, yeah?' Harry suggested. 'Be easier to deal with our wands and see each other.'

They did; Ron felt Hermione tap him on the head and utter the incantation, and warmth seeped into his blood. He did the same for Hermione, and was rather relieved to see her brown eyes appear behind the hood.

'Okay, now we can move a bit faster,' he whispered. 'Let's get upstairs.'

They hurried up the stairs as quietly as they could. At the top was a landing that veered off down a long corridor. There were several doors along each wall.

'Let's check the doors, then,' Harry whispered. The four of them--none of them seemed to want to split up, even if it might have made checking behind the many doors go faster--shuffled up to the first door on the left. Ron put an ear to it.

'I don't hear anything,' he said softly.

'Should--should we open it?' Susan asked.

'Yeah,' said Harry. 'But nice and slow.'

Harry gripped the handle of the door to find it unlocked. Very slowly he turned the knob. Ron held his breath. Voldemort could be behind this very door...

The door opened and they found themselves staring into a dimly lit but utterly empty room.

'Move on,' said Harry, quickly shutting the door.

They continued down the hall, checking doors as they went; the first four revealed nothing but empty rooms lit by nothing more than a few flickering candles. Ron began to feel very uneasy. Luna had to be behind one of these doors. But then so was Voldemort, unless he was downstairs. In which case he might have discovered Bill, Neville and Ginny.

They advanced to the fifth door. Ron tried the knob and found it locked. He aimed his wand--still visible only as a thin outline--at the door and whispered 'Alohomora.' The knob turned with a click.

'Slow,' Harry murmured.

Ron pushed the door open--he held his breath, and his hand was gripping his wand so tightly he was sure his knuckles, had they been visible, would be white.

'Bloody hell,' he whispered, at the sight that greeted them.

Bodies. Half a dozen, perhaps. All very, very dead. They were lined up along the bare wooden floor, and they were oozing...something. Flies buzzed about in the room. The smell nearly knocked Ron over.

Hermione gasped. 'Look! They're wearing lab coats.'

'I don't wanna look,' Ron muttered, trying to not vomit from the smell. He made a gagging noise in his throat and covered his mouth.

'It's those scientists,' she whispered. 'He...he killed them all.'

'We can't help them now,' Harry hissed, 'let's go before Ron pukes.'

Ron shot Harry a dirty look. The others moved past him and Ron pulled the door shut as quickly and as quietly as he could.

They came to the next door. It, too, was locked. Harry volunteered to open it ('in case we see any more bodies; Ron might hurl').

'Bite me, Harry,' Ron whispered.

'Ron!' Hermione hissed.

'Quiet!' Harry snapped, in a whisper, and he performed the unlocking charm and gently pushed the door open.

'Look!' said Hermione. The room was huge and had dozens of large bookshelves. Ron blinked and it came to him. The room in his dream, where he'd seen Luna. This room was like a maze, though--with a lot more bookshelves than he'd remembered in the dream.

'Do you reckon--' Harry mused.

'Yeah,' said Ron at once, and he pushed his way inside and made for a bookshelf.

The others followed suit and chose separate bookshelves; Hermione shut the door behind them. Their eyes raced over the titles on the spines; those books whose spines had faded were pulled from the shelves and opened.

'What are we looking for?' Harry whispered.

'Leather,' said Ron. 'Thick, old...'

'That describes every bloody book here, Ron,' Harry said.

'It whispers,' said Ron.

'What do you mean it whispers?'

'I dunno,' Ron said, curious as to why he said that. He saw Harry shrug.

They began to search, moving quietly but as fast as they could under the circumstances. Ron scanned the shelves frantically, looking for the book. And then he heard it.

Fata Morgana...

'Listen!' he hissed.

Everyone froze for a moment.

'What?' Harry said.

'Don't you hear that?' said Ron.

'Hear what?' said Hermione, sounding exasperated.

Fata Morgana....

'Fata Morgana,' said Ron. He began to move about the room, trying to find the source of the whispering. As he moved to the left, it got louder.

'Fata Morgana is Morgan's Latin name, Ron,' said Hermione, and he could almost hear her rolling her eyes. 'What are you doing?'

He wasn't paying attention to her, or anyone else. He moved further to the left and went behind the farthest bookshelf; the whispers were so loud in his ears they were like shouting. He hesitated.

'Don't you HEAR it?' Ron hissed again. He looked at the other three robed figures and they all shook their heads and shrugged. Why couldn't they hear it? And suddenly Ron knew what Harry must have felt like, in second year, when he was hearing the basilisk where nobody else could. What did it mean, then, that Ron could hear whispers that no one else could hear?

Fata Morgana...

He moved round to the back of the farthest bookshelf and came to an abrupt halt. His eyes widened. Flush with the wall was a large console table, and on top of the table was a large leather book.

Fata Morgana...apertum, apertum...

'Ron?'

He barely heard Hermione's voice; he felt his feet moving toward the book. The whispers got louder, until they become so overlapped that it was one long, continuous, white-noise drone.

'Ron!' Hermione hissed again.

'Found it,' he heard himself say, and he was there, at the table, stretching out his hand over the book.

Apertum...apertum...

He put his hand on the book; it was vibrating and warm to the touch. He had to open it...

'Ron, don't open it!' Hermione hissed, and she grabbed his wrist and jerked his hand away. 'You don't know what it will do.'

'I dreamed about this,' said Ron, and he felt strange. Vague. Distant. The whispering buzzed in his head. 'I have to open it, Hermione...'

'You can't--'

'Shh!' Harry hissed. 'Listen!'

Ron looked up, momentarily snapping out of his daze. Did that mean that Harry could hear the whispers, too?

'What?' Susan whispered, but then they heard it. A moan. Soft, low. Pained.

Ron dragged his eyes from the book and looked past the console table to see a closet door.

'In there,' said Harry, who came up beside Ron. Ron blinked and shook his head. His brain felt fogged.

'Wands up,' Harry said. 'I'm going to open the door.'

He tried the knob; the door was locked. He used the Unlocking Charm and the knob clicked.

'Ready,' he whispered. Ron watched, his eyes feeling a bit heavy, his jaw feeling slack. The whispers were softer now, droning in his head. He realized he ought to raise his wand, just in case.

Harry slowly opened the door, then leapt backward. They found themselves looking in a small closet. A small, crumpled figure was lying on the floor.

Luna.

'Luna,' Hermione breathed. Ron came back to himself slightly when he saw Luna. She was a mess; her clothes were torn and bloody; she was shivering and the sleeves of her school blouse were in tatters, revealing contusions up and down her arms. She had mean gashes on both cheeks, and across her forehead, all of them caked with dried blood. Her hair was tangled and hung in limp, greasy ropes. She was missing a shoe, and her legs, too, were badly bruised.

'My god,' said Harry. 'Luna.'

She looked up and tears came to her eyes. Harry moved toward her to help her up.

'Ron, help me,' Harry hissed, and Ron blinked again and felt himself moving toward Luna.

She looked up at both of them.

'Can you stand?' Harry asked. 'We've got to get you out of here'

'Don't...know...' she choked. 'Hurts.'

Harry looked at Ron. 'I think they used Crucio on her, the bastards.'

Ron swallowed. The whispers had receded in his mind as he focused on the bruised, battered girl huddled on the floor in the closet. But his mind still felt...thick, somehow.

'Let's get you up, Luna,' said Ron, and he bent down low and put an arm round her. She whimpered from the contact, but let Ron gently lift her up.

'I've got her,' said Harry, putting an arm round Luna's waist. 'Hang onto me, Luna. Ron, you bring up the rear.'

Ron stared at Luna for a moment, and nodded. His brain was addled, and he didn't understand why, but nobody else seemed to notice.

'Let's go,' Harry whispered.

'Eddie,' Luna moaned.

'What about him?' said Harry. 'Do you know where Eddie is?'

'Eddie...' Luna repeated. 'Hurt...a trap...they set it...'

'I know,' said Harry, nodding. 'But we have to get you out of here. Do you know where Eddie is?'

Luna shook her head, and her face lit up with fear.

'It's okay, it's okay,' said Harry quickly. 'We'll find him. But we have to get out of here.'

Ron watched as Harry slowly started to lead Luna away, with Hermione and Susan following. At that moment, the whispers began again...

Fata Morgana...apertum...

'Ron, bring the book,' Hermione called behind her. But Ron wasn't looking at Hermione. He was staring at the book.

'Got it,' he said, and he stretched out his hand toward the book and placed his hand on it.

Apertum...

Ron's hand gripped the cover.

'The book...' Luna gasped. Her voice sounded far away.

'It's okay, Luna, we're bringing it,' said Hermione.

'No...' she wheezed. 'The book...Ron...don't...open it...'

Hermione gave a gasp. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her turn (at least he thought it was her). Then Harry and Luna and Susan were turning. Ron gently pulled open the book...

'No!' Hermione hissed.

The flash of light was blinding; the whispers rose up like a scream and pierced Ron's skull. He stumbled and fell, landing hard on the floor on his tailbone. The pain of the landing was nothing compared to the pain of the sound in his head. The whispers were gone, and there was only high, shrieking laughter. Laughter that set a chill in his bones.

'Ron, are you okay?' Hermione whispered. Ron blinked and looked up. Hermione was there; he could not see her face for the Death Eater hood, but it was her voice, her scent.

Ron shook his head. 'Fine,' he said.

'What the hell were you doing, Ron?' Harry hissed. 'Get the book and let's get the hell out of there.'

Luna gave a kind of low moan, and Ron looked up at her.

'You shouldn't have done that, Ronald,' she said sadly.

Ron's blood went cold. 'Why not?'

'It's okay,' said Harry. 'Everyone's fine. Let's get out of here.'

'Ron, get up,' said Hermione sharply, and he pulled himself off the floor. 'What were you thinking?' she added, shaking her head. 'We could have been caught!' She closed the book sharply and picked it up, tucking it under her arm.

'Sorry,' said Ron, feeling more and more ridiculous as his head cleared. And more and more scared. His dream. He remembered it all now, because he'd practically lived it just then. What did it mean?

'It's okay,' said Harry. 'Voldemort doesn't know we're hear. I'm paying attention to that.'

'Come on,' said Susan.

'Luna, are you okay to walk?' said Harry. 'Luna?'

But Luna sagged in Harry's arms. She had passed out.

'I've got her,' said Ron.

Harry looked up; Ron couldn't see his eyes, but he was sure there was doubt in them, and Ron didn't blame him. He himself didn't know what he was thinking, going into that weird trance and opening the book when it was obviously so dangerous.

'You sure?' said Harry.

'Yeah,' said Ron. 'I can carry her. I'm stronger than you but you're quicker with spells.'

'Right,' said Harry, and Ron could almost feel his best mate smirk at him. Ron scooped up Luna in his arms; she seemed to weigh almost nothing, and he felt the protrusion of her bones. As he arranged her carefully, he at last saw her palms: each bore a horrible, long gash that had crusted over heavily with blood.

'Let's go!' Hermione hissed. 'We've spent too much time here already.'

Harry moved back to the closed door that led out into the corridor; he pressed his ear against it, then motioned the rest of them forward.

Ron brought up the rear, holding Luna close. If they ran into any Death Eaters it would take some doing to explain why supposedly some of their own rank were carrying Voldemort's prisoner around.

Very carefully, Harry eased the door open, and stuck his head out the door, looking in both directions down the hall. He then gestured with his free hand to come out, and everyone moved slowly and carefully out of the room. Ron held his wand up awkwardly, but Luna was small enough that he could at least make some use of his wand hand, if it came to that. Which he sincerely hoped it did not. His mind fully alert now, he wanted desperately to get out of there. The hell with Eddie, he thought. He's probably in league with Voldemort, anyway.

They moved back down the corridor, toward the stairs, when they heard another sound. More soft moaning, this coming from a door to their right.

Harry turned and shrugged.

'We have to check,' whispered Hermione.

Harry hesitated, then nodded. Ron watched him; he was moving carefully but he wasn't clutching his scar at all.

And suddenly, it hit Ron. Harry hadn't reached up to touch his scar since they'd been inside the house. Far from being comforting to Ron, it was unnerving. Surely Harry would have felt something by now. If Voldemort were here, somewhere in the house, Harry would have felt him, wouldn't he?

Ron felt his heart begin to race. This was too easy. All of it. He'd opened the book, and Luna had told him he shouldn't have done that. Why? He thought back to his dream, as Harry approached the right hand door where the moans were coming from.

The dream, Ron thought. What else was in the dream. Dobby. Dobby was punishing himself, banging his head on the shelf. But that didn't seem to mean anything, really. Did it? Luna. There was something about Luna, in the dream. She'd said almost the exact same thing to him in the dream as she'd said just now, but it was different. She was different.

She wasn't beat up in the dream, he thought. No, that's not it.

But Ron couldn't dwell on the meaning of his dream any further, because Harry was pushing open the door and motioning them to come in. Ron followed quickly, grateful that Luna was small and light, but still feeling his arms start to grow a bit tired.

They entered a candle-lit room which had a massive bed in the center of the room. The moans were louder now, and they were coming from the far side of the bed.

They hurried over and found Eddie Carmichael lying on his side on the floor. He was as battered as Luna.

'Eddie!' Harry hissed.

Eddie's blue-grey eyes flickered open and he looked up.

'Who is it?' he whispered.

'Harry,' said Harry. 'Harry Potter. I'm here with some friends. We're going to get you out. Can you stand?'

'My god,' said Eddie, and he managed to sit up. 'You...you came for us? Luna and me?'

'Yeah,' said Harry, and he extended a hand and helped Eddie up. 'But we have to get out of here now. Can you walk?'

'I can walk,' said Eddie, nodding. He blinked a few times, then shook his head. 'I'm okay. I'm just a bit weak. They haven't fed us anything. How is...Luna!'

'Shh!' Hermione snapped, but Eddie hurried over to Ron.

'She's alive,' said Ron shortly, holding Luna more tightly. 'I've got her.'

'They tortured her,' said Eddie, shaking his head, as he brushed a strand of hair from Luna's eyes. 'They used the Imperius Curse on her, they forced her...'

'We know,' said Harry. 'That's why we have to go now. If we get out now Luna won't be around to finish making that poison. Come on.'

'Okay,' said Eddie.

Harry once again took up the lead, with Susan and Hermione behind him. Eddie moved behind Hermione, hobbling and limping, and Ron brought up the rear once more, and they crept out of the room and back into the corridor, which was, thank Merlin, still empty.

They started toward the stairs, and Ron heard a soft sigh. He looked down and saw Luna stir slightly.

'It's okay,' he whispered, and they started down the stairs.

Luna moaned softly in Ron's arms, once, twice. Her eyes were fluttering. They were nearly home free. Ron just hoped that Ginny, Neville and Bill had already left.

'We're almost there,' Harry hissed. He turned from the staircase to take the route through the living room back to the kitchen. So close.

And then everything happened at once.

At that moment, Luna's eyes opened, and she gave a loud gasp.

'Eddie...' she choked. She became to tremble violently.

Eddie whirled around, his movements suddenly easy and light. His dark eyes flashed as he stared at Luna.

Then Ron heard Harry wince, and saw his arm fly up to his forehead.

'Harry--' said Hermione, her voice tight with fear.

Ron, however, was staring at Eddie, who had shifted his gaze to Ron. The Head Boy's black eyes glittered like cold onyx.

Black eyes.

Ron felt his stomach drop. Eddie's eyes were supposed to be blue-grey, not black. And then Eddie smiled and began to laugh, and it was the laugh Ron had heard in his dreams. Eddie.

'He knows--' Harry began, clutching at his forehead under the Death Eater hood.

'Get the hell out of here now!' Ron yelled. 'Run!'

They started to run away as Eddie laughed and laughed, but in the next moment the whole house came alive with the sounds of loud cracking. Everywhere around them, Death Eaters were Apparating into the room.

More of them appeared behind Eddie. All of them unmasked and smiling at them, holding their wands at them. Standing at the fore was the tall, sleek-haired figure of Lucius Mafloy.

'What's this?' he said wryly, rubbing his chin. 'Some of our brethren taking the lovely Miss Lovegood out for a nighttime frolic in the cemetery?'

He raised his wand and shouted 'Divestio!' In the next instant the hoods, robes and masks covering Ron, Harry, Hermione and Susan fluttered away, as though dissolving from them.

Eddie laughed maniacally, and Ron closed his eyes against the sound. His laugh was that of the sinister, dark-haired witch in the dreams. Was she here, too? She and Eddie had the same eyes. But that was impossible. Eddie Carmichael had blue-grey eyes. They couldn't just change to black...

'Well, well, well, Potter,' Lucius Malfoy sneered. 'Doesn't this look familiar? You have a new friend thrown in the mix, I see'--he indicated Susan--'but how nice of you to drop by.'

Ron, Harry, Hermione and Susan raised their wands, and Malfoy chuckled.

Come, come,' he said, 'do you really think you can take on twenty of us, when you're dragging around that sad sack of a girl and you have such a nasty headache? I think I'll take those, however, just to be safe.'

He raised his own wand and shouted, 'Expelliarmus!' and four wands flew threw the air, to land neatly in the arms of a Death Eater just behind him.

Eddie was still laughing, and Ron whirled on him.

'Carmichael,' Ron spat, his arm around Luna's waist as she clung to him weakly. 'You bloody bastard.' Eddie smiled back at him triumphantly.

'How nice to see you again, Mr. Weasley,' Lucius Malfoy said through an evil smile. 'Loyal sidekick that you are. When are you going to learn that riding on Potter's coattails is not good for your continued good health?'

'Better Harry's coattails than Voldemort's,' Ron growled.

The Death Eaters all hissed at the sound of Voldemort's name. A vein in Malfoy's jaw twitched, but otherwise his face remained impassive.

'And I see the know-it-all Mudblood is here as well,' Malfoy went on, nodding to Hermione. 'Let me guess. You figured it all out. Clever girl. It's a shame such brains and talents are wasted on one so unclean.'

'Talk to Voldemort about being unclean,' Harry snapped, clutching his scar but rising to his feet, holding his wand tightly. 'Or didn't you know your boss is a half-blood?'

The Death Eaters hissed again, and Lucius Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry's chest.

'Do not speak of things which you know nothing about,' Malfoy said slowly.

'It's true!' Harry shouted, clutching his scar and screwing his face up against the pain. 'Oh, did he forget to mention it?'

'Shut up!' Malfoy snapped, his veneer of calm momentarily broken. He raised his wand. 'You will learn quickly enough to hold your tongue. Crucio!'

A jet of light shot from Malfoy's wand and struck Harry in the chest. He screamed and collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain.

'NO!' Ron, Hermione and Susan screamed at once. Susan crashed to the floor beside Harry and reached for him just as Malfoy lifted the curse. Harry lay in a ball on his side, moaning in pain. Susan pulled him up and held him to her; he sank limply against her body. Tears were on her cheeks.

'How sweet,' Malfoy jeered, glowering at Susan, who stared up at him with undisguised loathing. 'Is this your girlfriend, Potter? But...wait. I think I know who you are, my dear. Susan...Bones, is it? I'm well acquainted with your family. Terrible, isn't it, to have lost so many relatives? Tell me, how IS your dear aunt?'

'SHUT UP!' Susan yelled. Harry clutched her like a lifeline and tried to pull himself up.

'Oh dear,' said Malfoy, shaking his head. 'Youth today. So disrespectful of their elders.'

'Go to hell, Malfoy,' Harry grunted. In the next instant he grabbed at his scar, sinking against Susan, who was barely holding him up now.

'Oh, I don't think so, Potter,' said Malfoy. 'No, I think hell is waiting just upstairs, for you and your friends. Including the other three who so foolishly came with you tonight.'