1975

Chapter XVI: Return to the Sunlit Lands

"I still can't believe you didn't tell us," Julian said, as they climbed up another set of stairs. "It would have been so useful!"

"I only found out about it this year. And you don't cross Edmund... usually."

"You'll cross him for me, though, I'm flattered."

"Well, under the circumstances, we do need somewhere to weather the storm," he said, colouring a bit at the remark. To tell the truth, he wasn't quite sure why he was going back on his promise to his brother. Perhaps to get back at him for wanting to marry Catherine Black....

"Kenneth, do you think I'm unjust?"

"Unjust? Of course not!"

"Frank Longbottom called me unjust."

"The bastard!"

"There's no fault in being a bastard, Ken," said Julian drily.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "But Frank Longbottom... well, he'll make a perfect Auror for Crouch."

Julian nodded. "I'm tired of him. He begins charming and ends with threatening to send you to Azkaban."

"Like I said. Perfect Auror." Kenneth waved his hand to a door Julian had never seen before. "Here we are. The Room of Requirement."

The door opened onto an odd sight.

Professor Vindictus Viridian was standing at a table covered by all manner of interesting devices. He was not dressed in robes but in a Muggle cardigan and trousers. Before Julian and Kenneth had a chance to fully take in the scene, however, the look on his face had turned from surprise to anger.

"Avery! Tierney! Fifty points from Slytherin each."

"But Professor...." began Kenneth.

"That's a Muggle gun!" said Julian.

"I'm surprised a pureblood would recognize it," said Viridian, shoving the pistol into a holster.

Prudence suggested flight, but Julian wanted to know.

"I thought you were a pureblood, sir."

Viridian scowled at her. "No, Tierney. I am not the result of several hundred years of incestuous in-breeding."

"Your parents!"

"Bernard and Margaret O'Reilly of Lewisham," said Viridian sharply. "Not a drop of magical blood in them, and they were poor at that. But they were married and they brought up seven children. Unfortunately, when I was eight, I showed signs of magic and was taken away by Aulus Viridian to be the son he never had. But my blood is not filthy pure, thank God. Now, I'll be off."

"Where?"

"Back to my world, Tierney. To wait for that day when the Muggles finally have power over magic. Perhaps then, there'll be witch burnings again. I think I could die in peace, having seen your father burnt at the stake."

"Do you think I'd object?" cried Julian.

Viridian stopped his packing.

"It's not fair be hating me on account of a father who hates me," spat out Julian.

Viridian seemed taken aback. "I do not hate any of my students, Miss Tierney. If I do find any of them unpleasant, it might possibly be related to their behaviour and performance in my classes."

"You're not packing to hide away either," continued Julian. "You're packing," she glanced at the objects on the table, "to fight. Alone, because you're an idiot!"

A smile appeared on Viridian's face. "Alone, because no one will come with me, Tierney. Your friends walked into Voldemort's hands, and I will track them, possibly rescue them, hopefully kill some Death Eaters, and most probably die. Would you join me?"

"Well, if it's for them, we'd have to, Julian," said Kenneth, looking pale. "It's part of the oath."

Viridian began to laugh.

"Yes," said Julian. "You're right." She turned to Viridian. "Would you take us, though?"

Viridian stared at her.

"A little of the way," he finally said. "The Forbidden Forest will be safer for some company."

"Doesn't Dumbledore...." Kenneth began.

"The Headmaster has given them up for lost. He wouldn't approve."

"We're on a secret mission then!"

"I warn you," said Viridian, slinging the knapsack over his shoulder. "Any chattering and you'll wish you never met me."

"Already do," Kenneth mumbled to Julian.

"What was that?" demanded Viridian.

"Nothing."

* * * * *

From a window slit in the owlery, Edmund saw Viridian, Kenneth, and Julian setting off towards the Forest.

"Hello?"

"What, Edmund?" asked Frank, who was tying a letter to his parents to his owl's leg.

"Come and look."

Finishing, Frank went over to the window. His brow furrowed. "The Forest?"

"How fast can we run down there, do you think?"

Frank bit his lip. "No," he said. "I run down there. You run for back-up. If this is one of Viridian's punishments, he's gone too far."

"Right," said Edmund.

* * * * *

"A very strong will," Voldemort told Macnair. "Time and training could make her the victor over the strongest Imperius."

Alison was lying quietly in Mordred's arms, after having had that curse tested on her, skinning her knees in on a rock in the process of resistance.

"She would be an accomplished enemy," Voldemort continued. "If she lives, there is much to be lost."

"Or won, my Lord," said Severus softly.

Voldemort turned to him. "Won? Jigger, explain to him why Howard cannot be a servant to this cause."

"She's a Mudblood," said Jigger stiffly.

"A Mudblood may still have her uses," said Severus. "I had never heard, my Lord, that you neglected anything that might prove useful.

Mordred held Alison tightly to him.

"Your grandmother, Jigger, was a Mudblood, was she not?" asked Voldemort unperturbed.

"No, my Lord. She was a foreign orphan."

"That is your family's story, of course," said Voldemort. "It stretches belief." He turned to Alison. "What is your story? Where do you come from?"

At the sound of his voice, Alison pushed Mordred away from her and stood up.

"I'm from London, my Lord. My father is a Muggle politician."

"James Howard was offered the post of Muggle-Magic liaison," said Voldemort, "and refused it. Why?"

For a second, Alison's lip seemed ready to curl itself into a scornful smile. But her face composed itself, and she answered evenly, "It did not further his ambitions."

"Look into my eyes," Voldemort directed her.

She did so.

"Do you love your father?"

"No," said Alison.

Voldemort began to laugh. A soft laughter, edged with steel. "You're not lying," he said. "Well done. Sit down."

It seemed she had passed a test of some sort. Sitting down by Severus's side, she kept her eyes fixed on the hooded figure of the Dark Lord.

"Do you three know what this place is?" asked Voldemort.

"No, my Lord," said Mordred.

"This is the entrance to the Underworld. The Muggles built this fort a very long time ago to guard against what lies beneath here. They were assisted by Merlin, it is said. They failed. Monsters continued to come up from the depths of the earth, from time to time. Until the dwarves built there gate here over a thousand years ago. Since then, the way has been barred to all living creatures."

"But you have been there, my Lord?" asked Alison.

"Yes. I have walked where no man before dared walk. I have seen what no man was meant to see. I have learnt what no man had yet conceived of. Tell me what you know of the Underworld."

"There are many caves beneath Britain. They are the original homes of the dwarves and the goblins, as well as many beasts. Gringotts is a part of these caves. They are, for the most part, dangerous and inaccessible," Alison recited this information in the clipped tones of Professor Binns.

"Well taught," said Voldemort. "They are perilous beyond your imagination, and yet you feel in yourself a hunger to explore these hidden caverns and taste that forbidden knowledge."

"Yes, my Lord?"

"What have you supposed is down there?"

Alison paused, and then began to speak slowly. "I have always imagined underground rivers," she said. "And lakes in which things long thought extinct live sightless...." She trailed off.

"You would not be disappointed. Would you come willing with me into the depths of the world?"

"Yes, I would."

"You are a better wizard than Jigger, Howard."

Jigger's face was nearing purple.

"Listen," continued Voldemort. "There is a good deal for you to learn."

* * * * * * *

"Stop pummeling my portrait, young Slytherin," the Fat Lady of Gryffindor tower ordered Edmund.

"Open up in there!" he yelled unapologetically.

After a long while, the portrait did swing open, revealing a rather menacing Gryffindor seventh year, obviously delegated to deal with the disturber of the peace. "Avery!" he said. "Sod off."

"I've an urgent message for Catherine Black. I'm not joking. Forget silly house rivalries and let me in!"

Edmund's tone of voice seemed effective. "Wait a second," the Gryffindor muttered, shutting the portrait again. He opened it half a minute later. "Right. Come in. It'd better be urgent."

Edmund had never seen the Gryffindor common room before. He noted with disapproval that it looked a warmer place than Slytherin's. He also noted - this with amusement - that everyone was glaring at him.

"We're getting Catherine," said Laura Hardisty. "What do you want, Avery?"

"To ruin our chances at the Quidditch Cup by seriously injuring Cathy," suggested Sirius Black. He was sitting on the back of a sofa, an unpleasant smile on his face.

"What wit, Sirius!" said Edmund pleasantly.

"Wit?" asked Sirius. "I'm only suggesting it'd be a natural follow-up to stealing the Gryffindor Quidditch plans before Christmas."

"What did you say, Sirius?" Catherine was standing at the foot of the staircase staring at Edmund.

"I said, stealing the Gryffindor Quidditch plans," said Sirius, standing up. "Someone must have stolen them, right? Ravenclaw knew exactly where we were coming from."

"They did," said Arvind Patil slowly. "Incredible that."

Edmund laughed. "Gryffindor attempt to avoid any blame for defeat, Sirius?"

But Catherine was staring at him. "Avery, you didn't..." she said slowly.

"Steal plans? Of course not! How could I steal plans?"

"He did, Cathy," said Sirius.

"Well, let's not accuse him of things just because he's a Slytherin," said Laura Hardisty quickly.

"No, we're accusing him of it because he had the opportunity," said Sirius.

"You bastard! You two-faced lying bastard!" shrieked Catherine.

"Wait...." began Edmund.

Catherine slapped Edmund across the face. He stumbled backwards, falling upon the rug.

Sirius applauded.

"Err... Catherine," said Arvind Patil. "Did he steal the plans?"

"He did!" cried Catherine, giving the crumpled Edmund a savage kick.

"Ow! Cathy don't! I've something to tell you!"

"I can't believe I ever trusted you!"

"Let's hang him upside down," said Sirius.

"I don't think...." began Laura Hardisty.

"And practice hexes on him!" shouted Patil.

"Oh for heavens sake," said Edmund, pulling himself up. Catherine kicked him again. "Frank's sent you a message!"

"I bet Longbottom's in on this too, isn't he?" said Catherine. She turned to her brother. "Do what you like to him, but gag him first!"

"Sure thing!" said Sirius.

"Get him!" shouted Tullia Macnair.

"How the hell did you know?" Catherine demanded of Sirius, once Edmund was suspended from the mantelpiece by his heels.

"Know what exactly?" asked Laura Hardisty, looking at the wriggling Edmund with apprehension. "I still don't understand."

"I was in the closet this morning," said Sirius smugly. "It all clicked. He stole the plans off you, didn't he, and then had them replaced later?"

Edmund wriggled still more violently, swaying back and forth.

"THIS IS A LESSON!" boomed Arvind Patil. "NEVER GO NEAR A SLYTHERIN!"

"Even if you've known them since childhood, they can stab you in the back," piped up Peter Pettigrew.

"We'll get in trouble if we damage him!" protested Laura Hardisty, with all the worries of prefectship evident in her voice.

"Just let him hang for a bit then," said Catherine.

"It's over then, Cathy?" asked Sirius eagerly.

"Torturing Avery? It would seem so," his sister replied.

"No, you and him," he said.

Catherine wrinkled her nose.

"You were seeing him?" asked Tullia Macnair, her voice incredulous.

"I'm going to marry him," said Catherine coolly. "Once he's been punished enough."

Edmund stopped wriggling.

Everyone else began to shout.

"Good God, Catherine! Are you serious?"

"What the Hell?"

"But he was just using you!" (From Sirius)

"Then it's your fault too!"

"When's the wedding?"

"Yes, I am serious!" shouted Catherine over the noise. "And you're all giving me a head-ache!"

Cathy, don't!" pleaded Sirius. "You'll regret it. He's an Avery. You should marry someone whose family doesn't think Muggleborns are scum. I... I expected more from you."

"Sirius," said Catherine. "I see no more shame in being an Avery than in being a Black."

The room was quiet now, every student staring at the brother and sister.

"You don't know what you're doing, Cathy," said Sirius desperately. "He's just like them. Is he going to renounce his family? No!"

"You idiot," Catherine hissed. "Of course he won't. Just as you wouldn't renounce ours. Good day." She stormed up the staircase to the girl's dormitory.

Sirius fell on the sofa crying.

* * * * * *

"Eat, Crouch. Eat or we'll make no bones about killing you," said Hopkirk.

"But you are killing me," Barty pointed out in a trembling voice.

"It won't hurt so much if you eat the gruel," said Kelly from across the room. He was examining a dagger closely.

"I don't want to be drugged either!" protested Barty. "Are you a complete nutter? Human sacrifice is something savages do."

"Human sacrifice is something that works, and therefore, many have done it," said Kelly softly. "But I have a special right to undertake this. I can trace my lineage father to son from one of the old priests who performed the triple death."

"Your distant ancestor was an executioner?" asked Barty unbelievingly.

"No," said Kelly. "Executions are just."

"You are a nutter, Kelly," said Hopkirk.

Before Kelly could answer, the door swung open to admit Jigger.

"Are you ready to go?" he demanded.

"Almost," said Hopkirk. "Is everything all right?

"This is all right. But prepare yourself for some odd sights before the night is over. Our Lord has a new favourite."

"Who?"

"A Mudblood."

"The hell?" spat out Hopkirk.

"Come and be baffled. And then bow down to this young woman who is a better wizard than I am. Who is allowed to bring Lucius Malfoy to heel."

"Are you criticizing our Lord, Jigger?" said Kelly sharply.

"Certainly not, Kelly," snapped Jigger. "Have the boy ready in a few minutes."

* * * * * * *

In the dungeons of the castle, by the entrance to the Underworld, Narcissa turned on Lucius Malfoy.

"You said you weren't a Death Eater!" she snapped.

"I had plenty of reason to lie," he said wearily.

"You're so valued that the Dark Lord allows a Mudblood Hogwarts student to torture you."

"One plays the hand one is dealt, Narcissa," protested Malfoy.

"No, one nicks the other players' cards."

He smiled a little. "How would you do that? Your chances of ever going home are dwindling."

"The Dark Lord said you could keep me," Narcissa pointed out.

"That's a fate worst than death."

"No fate's worth than death."

"Clever girl," he said appreciatively, taking a seat on a heap of rubble.

"Did you think I wasn't?"

"With your ridiculously sheltered upbringing..."

"Sheltered? The Crouch household?"

"What do you want, Narcissa?" he asked.

"To be mistress of my own household. Preferably not at the whim of an insane dark wizard."

"Visionary, Narcissa."

Narcissa laughed. It was a dangerous situation she was in, but the balance of power was swiftly shifting from Malfoy to her. No matter that he was a Death Eater some years older than her, she had him at her mercy.

"Aren't you afraid he'll hear you?" she said.

Malfoy was quiet.

"What is this place?" she continued. "And where does this passage lead?"

"The Underworld."

"Oh," said Narcissa, peering into the gloom. "Have you been there?"

"My father's sister was married to a wizard who could not let well alone. He took me down there once."

"And?"

"It's dark," said Malfoy. "The dwarves see in the dark."

"Were they friendly?"

"Everyone was friendly to Roland Wilkes. Until he was murdered by giants. I would not go down there."

"And the Dark Lord?"

"Possibly, Narcissa."

"Why are Alison Howard and the others here?" asked Narcissa, changing tack.

"I sent them here."

"You sent them to rescue Barty?"

"They're very talented. She's very talented. You saw that."

"You thought Barty would be here then?"

Malfoy shook his head. "I thought the dwarves might know. Jigger has been in touch with them, I've heard. Or rather, it would seem, my Lord has been."

"What was it that you said of the wizard who'd kill Barty?" Narcissa pursed her lips. "Hmmm... I really can't remember."

"Narcissa, it's not worth arguing with me. This is not something I can drop because it doesn't suit my fancy. I am sorry about Barty. I am sorry."

"Tell his mother that."

"Only if I may also tell her that she should not have married a blood-traitor," replied Malfoy coldly.

Narcissa stared at him, and then slapped him across the face.

He instinctively reached for his wand. Then he stopped, his face flushed.

"Go on," said Narcissa. "Show your superiority by torturing a defenseless woman."

He put back the wand. "Reflex," he muttered.

"What now, Malfoy?"

"Shut up," said Malfoy curtly, and strode across the room. "WAKE UP, MUG!" he shouted.

The giant did, knocking over a pile of rocks in the process of stretching, and almost stepping on Malfoy, who dodged him nimbly.

"I brought them here, Lucius," said Mug cheerfully.

"You did," said Malfoy testily. "Time to go now."

"Where to?"

"Wherever you like."

"Can you give me a Portkey then?"

"Yes."

"You're angry, Lucius," observed Mug.

Narcissa laughed.

"You wouldn't like to rip apart an annoying little girl, would you?" asked Malfoy.

Not very much," said Mug.

"Damn. Well, go thank you for everything." He tapped a rock with his wand, and held it there half a minute, his eyes tightly screwed. "There you are."

"Don't be too upset, Lucius," said Mug.

Malfoy didn't reply. Mug heaved a gargantuan sigh, before putting his hand to the stone, and vanishing.

"He likes you," said Narcissa. "You really shouldn't tick off your only friend."

"I did tell you to shut up."

"Where has all your icy self-control gone?" asked Narcissa sweetly. "You don't perform very well under pressure, do you?"

"I could give you to the goblins as a slave, like they did Jorkins," said Malfoy with an air of thoughtfulness.

"What?" she demanded.

"Oh yes. That's the way to take revenge on a person. Death's much too easy. Send them down to the mines to live the rest of their life in misery. The goblins down there are nasty folk. Not civilized bankers. I'm sure Walter Jorkins is regretting having ever crossed Nott and Macnair."

"Your Lord lets you settle personal vendettas then?"

"He does," said Malfoy. "Some of his followers find that his chief attraction, to trample their enemies beneath their feet."

"That could possibly get a little out of hand," said Narcissa lightly.

"Possibly," said Malfoy. "In large part it's an illusion on the part of Our Lord. He allows a few select acts of revenge to whet their appetite." He frowned. "I will have to bind you to secrecy, won't I?"

"Will you?"

"The contract will be upon pain of living death."

"Dark magic then," said Narcissa flatly. "I thought you were charming once."

"I'm glad to hear it. Have you heard of demon corpses? Spirits inhabit the bodies of Muggles buried without dignity. There are quite a few about here. They can take you to live with them. I'm going to call one up for you."

"Malfoy!"

"You'll do as I tell you, or you'll be handed over to them."

She said nothing. A second ago, she had thought she had power in this relationship. Reality was a cruel surprise.

"I could have whatever I wished from you now."

"You could," she said faintly.

"I've not interest in binding you to me by magic," said Malfoy briskly. "I'd have to be very desperate to keep a woman against her will. It'd be unpleasant. I'd much prefer someone who likes me. So, I'll take one thing only from you."

He walked over to her. "Hold on to me while I do the summoning, and you'll be all right." Then pulling her towards him, he kissed her softly, his lips brushing hers. "There," he said. "That's all."

* * * * *

"Trail's lost," Moody announced to Crouch.

"How can it be lost?" demanded Dawlish. "How can a giant leave no mark?"

"They have their own magic," said Crouch. "But he can't keep it up permanently. Fan out in pairs."

"We're looking at a huge area here, Barty," said Moody. "The chances are very slim."

"In pairs," repeated Crouch. Moody nodded and the Aurors set out across the moor. Crouch sat down on a rock, his gaze apparently intent on the horizon.

"Did you expect to find them?" asked Florence, who was sitting on the ground a little ways from him.

"No, Miss Jorkins. Any other questions?"

"I'm sorry," said Florence.

"You're sorry and yet everything you've done this year has aided His cause. You've even corrupted my wife's god-daughter."

"God-daughter?"

"Julian Tierney."

Florence stared at him, and then said levelly, "Would it be uncivil to ask how and your wife have been present in Julian's life?"

Crouch's hand on his wand tensed. "Her mother is a very selfish woman," he said curtly. "She's deprived her daughter of a good many things."

Florence fell silent.

"If anyone can find a giant's track, Alastor Moody can," said Persephone suddenly, her hands absently twisting a piece of heather.

"Persephone!" snapped Crouch. "Why are you telling me this? Are you trying to comfort me?"

Persephone looked up. "Yes sir," she said. Her eyes were full of tears.

"It's no good," said Crouch. His face was drawn. He closed his eyes after a few seconds. "Thank you."

"Did you care when it was my father whom the Death Eaters killed?" asked Florence. "At all?"

"Yes! I did!" cried Persephone.

"Hardly," said Crouch, opening his eyes. "It's a terrible thing to die at the hands of You-Know-Who but don't ask me to miss him. That's the harsh reality of life, Miss Jorkins. One misses one's only son more than a political enemy."

Florence looked hurt. "I miss your son," she said quietly. "And poor Narcissa. And I feel sorry for you."

Crouch did not answer.

* * * * * *

A few more Death Eaters Apparated into the courtyard of the fortress. They were mostly silent, unseen under their hoods. An uneasy laugh was heard, but it was quickly swallowed up in the oppressive atmosphere. In a corner of the yard, watched wonderingly by the Death Eaters, Alison, Mordred, and Severus sat listening to Voldemort.

"Death defrauds a wizard of his rightful estate," the Dark Lord pronounced to them. "Unlike animals and Muggles, the wizard has power over the world about him in all things but this. Unless, of course, one happens to be a close friend of Nicholas Flamel's. Your Headmaster reaps much from that friendship."

There was a thud behind them. "Here at last," Alison heard Macnair say. She turned to see Thomas Kelly holding Barty Jr. by the shoulder. Barty was shivering, his now dirty pale blue tunic too thin to keep out the chill. He seemed disoriented a few seconds and then he began to plead for his life.

"If you kill me, my father will put you in Azkaban!" he shrieked. "You can't do this! Please!" Hopkirk stepped forward and put his hand over Barty's mouth.

"Just gag him, Kelly," he said.

"And tie hi," said Macnair stepping forward.

"It must be done properly," said Voldemort. "Kelly."

"Make him kneel," said Kelly. His face was pale and he wasn't looking at Barty.

"This is what we're here for," Alison whispered to Mordred and Severus. "Ready?"

You're not going to...." Faltered Mordred.

"Leave the kid to die? You two go down to the Underworld Entrance. I'll be down with Crouch in a few seconds. Wands at the ready, ok?"

"Alison," began Severus.

"I don't change my purpose."

"We'll cause a distraction," Severus said firmly. "Wait for it."

"We have no time," she hissed.

"We have plenty of time. The Triple Death isn't a short ceremony. Wait."

Alison nodded.

Severus gave her a grim smile in return, and quietly began to edge his way to the ruined arch, Mordred following. Alison walked towards the circle, taking her place on its edge, across from the Dark Lord. Barty recognized her and gave her an agonized look. She did not move.

"I need water," said Kelly hoarsely. "Must be done at a place where earth and water meet."

Voldemort turned and touched the crumbling wall behind him with his wand, causing a fountain to spring from the rock. Alison gasped at this display of power.

"The real wizard does not rely on incantations," Voldemort told her.

"I see, my Lord," said Alison.

"Will you begin then, Kelly?" asked Voldemort.

"Yes, my Lord," said Kelly, sounding as though he had been shocked out of deep reverie. "You have everything, have you, Jigger?"

"Club, dagger, and rope," said Jigger.

Barty began to struggle violently against Hopkirk.

"Good," said Kelly faintly. "Keep him kneeling there. I'll begin. There's a good many things I have to say first."

"Begin," said Voldemort.

Kelly launched into a language of which Alison had no knowledge. It was obviously Old Magic, though. Not a simple mechanism to obtain a result, but an intervention into the realm of other powers. It was long and Kelly's confidence seemed to build in the saying of it, his voice becoming stronger and clearer.

Barty's tunic had been unbuttoned at the collar and Kelly pulled back his head to expose his throat, tracing with a finger the path the blade would take. Then he turned to Jigger and requested the dagger.

The wall behind them seemed to explode in a cloud of smoke.

"Revelo Amiculum Invisum," Alison muttered, and lunged for Barty, slamming her body into Hopkirk's.

"Lestrange and Snape! Find them!" cried Macnair. In the dark choking smoke, nothing could now be seen, but she felt Hopkirk let go of Barty and move for his wand. She pulled Barty underneath the cloak, and clutching him to her, began to run for the entrance. They tripped almost immediately, but were up again in a second.

"Keep going," she muttered, the cloak sliding off them as they went through the archway. "We're almost there." She turned and hurled an Impediamenta jinx into the smoke behind them.

Clambering down the stairs, they collided with Mordred at the foot of the stairs.

"Run!" shouted Alison.

"Your wand," cried Mordred, running along with her and Barty. In a few seconds, they caught up with Severus who was ahead of them. "You need your wand!"

"Why?"

That question did not require an answer.

The room they'd just entered was full of the light of green flames. Lucius Malfoy was standing by one wall, his hand on Narcissa's waist, blood on her bare-arm. Standing before them was a creature Alison had seen only in her Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook. A demon-corpse, a moor-stalker, a body once human but now inhabited by an evil spirit. Still decaying after all these years. It turned at their entrance and let go a groan that shook the walls about them. It rushed after them as they sprinted for the dark entrance to the Underworld.

"Mearcstapa!" The cry came from the darkness ahead.

"The Mearcstapa has come to you!" cried Severus.

A few seconds later they were pushing their way through a press of dwarves rushing up the tunnel.

Once past them, Alison heaved a sigh. "We got through!"

"Not yet!" hissed back Severus. "Run!"

Still running, Alison pointed her wand at Barty's gag and ripped it off with a severing charm.

"What about Narcissa?" Barty gasped.

"She won't be dying in the next five minutes," said Mordred. "Unlike us!"

There was an explosion behind them, throwing Alison off her balance, and then yells.

"They're fighting back there," said Alison, pulling herself up again.

"That demon-corpse was a stroke of luck," said Mordred. "Oh hell, which way?"

They stared down two dark corridors, and paused, until they heard the clamour coming up the right-hand passage.

"The other way," said Alison quickly, and they plunged into the left hand tunnel. "It's going down," she said, after a few seconds. "We need to go down."

"We need to go down more than slightly," said Mordred. "We want..."

"Will this do?" asked Alison, as they came to a pit and the end of the tunnel. At its lip was a winch and pulley from which hang what looked like a rowboat. "In," she ordered.

"They could cut the rope while we're going down," Barty informed them, as they piled into the swaying contraption. No one replied to that.

"Hold on," warned Mordred, pulling down upon the lever in the wall.

The journey down was too slow to allay their fears of pursuit, and too fast to allay their fears of falling to a rocky death. Their conveyance swung back and forth alarmingly, almost pitching Mordred head long into the chasm at one point. But reaching solid ground, they sprang out.

"Infernus!" cried Barty, his wand directed at their transport. It burst into instant flames which ran all the way up the rope until they were just a small spark in the darkness above. Ashes blew about, all that was left of the contraption.

"Very nice, Crouch," said Mordred, drawing a deep breath. "Not second year curriculum, though, is it?"

"I learnt it from the library," said Barty. "What now?"

"There's a river somewhere down here that'll bring us to Hogwarts," said Alison.

"How do you know that?" Barty asked. Then he added, "Why are you here?"

"We came to rescue you," said Alison. "We'll tell you all about it later."

"You know it's lucky Malfoy had that demon-corpse there," said Mordred reflectively. "We'd never have got past those dwarves otherwise."

"What was he doing to Narcissa?" asked Barty.

"It looked as though he were binding a contract," said Severus.

"What contract?" asked Barty.

"Why should I know, Crouch?"

"I hear water," said Alison.

They continued down the passage, the pale light of their wands failing in the vast darkness ahead.

"When we get out," said Mordred, after a while, "we'll need a great deal of protection from You-Know-Who."

"I won't be going back to Muggle London, I suppose," said Alison lightly.

"You could all come and stay at Ettencross," suggested Barty. "There's loads of room, and we have the best wards in England. It'd be fun having you there."

"I believe your father doesn't much like us," Severus informed Barty.

"And the Lestrange and the Crouches aren't on the best of terms," added Mordred. "Politics."

Barty thought about this. "Yes," he said. "Your father was friends with Ignatius Kelly."

"Right," said Mordred. "That was Kelly's son up there, wasn't it?"

"It was," said Barty. "He hates his father."

"He has every reason to hate his father," said Alison, "but I don't see how he goes from there to making human sacrifices."

"An extreme form of adolescent rebellion," said Mordred. He laughed. It was an improper laugh in the darkness, uneerie and cheerful.

"I hope there is a boat," said Mordred.

"We'll swim if there isn't," said Alison briskly.

"Or conjure up something," said Severus impatiently. "We are wizards."

"Yeah," said Barty. "I think I could manage a raft that'd last half an hour."

Alison turned on him. "May I ask how you were captured, Crouch? Why did you just Avada Kedavra the Death Eaters?"

"I was ambushed," protested Barty.

Alison began to laugh. She stopped short, though, and said, "You're set to be quite a powerful wizard, Crouch."

"I know," said Barty modestly.

Severus glared at this remark. Mordred smiled.

By this time, the sound of water had grown loud in their ears.

"The river," said Alison unnecessarily.

"Does it have a name?" asked Barty.

"Commonly known as the Styx," joked Mordred.

"We'll have to ambush Charon and push him overboard then," said Alison. "But it's called the Gyges."

Barty laughed. "Will we have our own myth?" he asked.

"We'll be forever famous," Mordred assured him. "Loved and feared throughout the world. Children will read of us and tremble."

"Shush," said Severus. "I'd rather not die because you can't shut up."

They went forward in silence until the passage opened into a large cavern and their light caught the rippling dark surface of the underground river.

"You-Know-Who said they've always kept a boat here for exploration," said Alison. "We'll have to look about."

"This isn't right," Mordred said to Severus as they searched the walls for crannies where a boat might b stowed. "This like a great underground port - well, it should be a great port - and there's not a trace of life."

"The rivers' obviously not much used," said Severus.

"Why? Don't the dwarves mine along the river? It'd be easier to send it down river if it goes so far South as You-Know-Who said."

"How much do they mine?" asked Severus. "They are a dying race."

"The river may not be safe," said Mordred.

There was a brief pause.

"We'll keep our eyes open," replied Severus.

"Found the boat!" They heard Barty's and Alison's shouting a little down the shore and joined them in pulling a small boat from the cave and launching it into the water. They were all somewhat soaked when they clambered into the boat and began to drift downstream.

"Severus, Mordred, take the oars," Alison ordered. "I'll charm them to give you more power."

Pulling against the current with the charmed oars was relatively easy if not particularly interesting work. Barty Jr. and Alison took their turns as the boat continued up-river. It was a long while rowing, and for a good half hour, nothing remarkable happened.

Severus was sitting in the prow, his wand extended to light up the way before him, when something seemed to move in the water. Then, nothing. He rubbed his eyes. It moved again, and this time he made out long greenish fronds floating on the surface of the water like seaweed.

He leant forward a little to observe it more closely. The green began to turn to gold as he did. From under it emerged a face. A beautiful face was staring out of the water at him while its golden hair rippled about it. The face's expression was sad, its deep green eyes filled with yearning, eyes that looked directly into his.

The creature, the mermaid, he corrected himself, came further out of the water, displaying her white shoulders and long slender arms, which she held out towards him.

He leant down towards her, and she rose up from the water to meet him, her golden hair falling behind her, her breasts gleaming in the wand-light. She turned her face upwards to his as he bent out of the boat to reach her. But as was doing so, a hand jerked him back. For a moment, he saw a grey eyeless face and long green slimy hair, before the mermaid slid back beneath the water.

"That thing almost had you," said Barty.

"What was it?" asked Alison at the oars.

"A mermaid," said Barty. "A really ugly one."

"It used a glamour," said Severus apologetically.

"That's probably how it lures prey into the water," explained Barty.

"Don't look too closely into the water then," directed Alison.

"I won't," said Severus, though

* * * * * *

"Luck smiles on us," McKinnon announced to Crouch.

"You found the trail?"

"We found the giant."

Crouch allowed himself a thin smile. "Where?"

"In a dell not far from here. Will you come and see?"

Crouch motioned to the others to follow.

Mug was standing at the bottom of the dell watching the encircling Aurors.

"This is your place," Moody was saying to the giant. "We will not come further. Do you understand?"

"I hear what you're saying, Auror," replied Mug. "But keep back and we'll see."

"We are keeping back," Moody replied patiently. "See?"

"I see a bunch of Aurors with wands and some youngsters. Why are they here?"

"They're looking for a lost father," spoke up Crouch. "We are a search party, not an army."

Mug's expression relaxed a little. "And who are you looking for?" he demanded.

"Walter Jorkins and Narcissa and Bartemius Crouch Jr."

"Aaah!" said Mug. "That's your game. I don't know where they are, so you can't make me lead you to them."

"You're in this area. You may have seen something," said Moody.

"Nothing," said Mug.

"We're not enemies," Crouch insisted. "Would we have Hogwarts students with us if we were?"

"Hogwarts? That's where they're from?"

"Yes!" said Crouch testily.

"And looking for young Crouch? Who are they?"

Crouch paused a second before answering. "Florence Jorkins, Evan Rosier, and Roland Wilkes."

"Roland Wilkes!" shouted Mug. Rolly jumped.

"Errr... yes," he ventured looking fearfully towards Crouch.

"You're Roland Wilkes's son?" asked Mug.

"Yes."

"Your father was my friend. A very good friend."

Rolly nodded. "Did you know him a long time?" he asked faintly.

"Twenty-five years," said Mug, his smile broad. "You look a lot like him."

Rolly nodded again. "I'm glad to meet you," he managed.

"I'm glad too," said Mug. "Your father always wanted to show you my world, the world wizards don't know, but he died."

"Yeah," said Rolly.

"Why didn't your uncle and your cousin ever bring you to me?"

"My mother didn't allow them," said Rolly. "I'm sorry."

"But now you can do what you like?" Mug said hopefully.

"Almost," said Rolly. "When I'm seventeen. I'll be seventeen in October."

"Ahh! Well then, I hope to see a lot more of you. If I'm still about. These Aurors don't want me about."

"We have no intention of harming you," interjected Crouch.

"We are looking for our friends," said Rolly. "Do you know where they are, Mug?"

"They're with your cousin, Roland. I reckon they're all right."

"With Lucius Malfoy?" asked Rolly.

"Yep. Alison Howard, Severus Snape, Mordred Lestrange, and a girl with blonde hair I don't know the name of. She came with Lucius."

"Narcissa," muttered Crouch.

"And where are they?" asked Rolly.

"I don't think Lucius would want me to tell."

Crouch and Moody looked to Rolly. He swallowed hard, and then walked down the slope into the dell.

"I know things Lucius doesn't," he said. "I know they're in danger. For the sake of my father's friendship, please tell me where they are." He stretched out his hand to the giant.

Mug hesitated, then covered the outstretched hand with his gigantic one. "I'll tell you, Roland. They're at the Black Castle. Do you know where that is?"

"We do," growled Moody.

"Dawlish," directed Crouch. "A portkey for all of us. Mug, thank you for your help. You may go."

He turned to Moody. "I said there'd be some use in them."

"That you did, Barty," replied Moody. "There'll have to be a close eye kept on Wilkes and his giant."

"A close eye kept on all of them, Alastor." He paused. "How would you like Alison Howard as an Auror?"

"Better than an enemy," said Moody.

* * * * *

Frank hesitated a second behind the trunk of a tree, waiting for Viridian, Julian, and Kenneth to cross the clearing. He mentally swore at Edmund. No back-up in sight, and he desperately needed some. This was something out of the ordinary. As far as he could make out, Julian and Kenneth were there of their own free will. She didn't have on her face that sullen defiant look Frank knew so well, anyway.

Viridian stopped in the middle of the clearing. "It's here," he said. "Or so Wilkes told me."

"Wilkes?" asked Julian.

"Your schoolmate's father," said Viridian. "He was always a trifle freer with his discoveries than Malfoy and Riddle would have liked him to be. Especially after the drinks had gone about. He said he'd marked the opening with the Wilkes crest. Well, start looking."

A few minutes passed in searching. Frank still behind the tree, waiting. He did not know for what.

He listened carefully for any movement in the forest. They were alone as far as one could be alone in this Forest, he assured himself. And then, he heard the rattling sucking sound of air being forced through a small opening.

"I've found your cave," he said, stepping out from the trees. "Now, tell me why you're here."

* * * * *

"Except for the mermaid, this has been dull as a History of Magic lesson," said Barty. He was curled up in the stern of the boat, his eyes closed.

"Don't relax yet," said Alison. "Haven't you thought they'll be waiting for us upstream?"

"What?" cried Barty.

"It was You-Know-Who who told us there was an entrance north of Hogwarts. He'll have sent his Death Eaters ahead of us. But we'll trick him by cutting through the goblin borough just downstream of there."

"We will?" asked Barty faintly.

"I hope your hexes are in good order," said Mordred lightly.

"Stealth is our favoured weapon," said Severus. "We have your father's invisibility cloak. We should be able to creep through the caves without any attention."

"We've muffled our oars so they don't hear our approach," said Alison. "So, shush now."

The goblin borough was unmistakable after hours in darkness. The greenish light that began to filter onto the river was almost blinding.

"Do they guard the river?' whispered Barty.

"Further up, yes," Alison whispered back. "But we're getting out now, and walking up the bank here."

They did not get nearly as wet getting out of the boat as they had getting in. They were now afraid of the water, and made every effort to avoid touching it. Alison insisted that they get under the cloak immediately, so as to have some practice moving together without noise, their feet somewhat muffled by charms.

The borough itself was the sort of place Barty would have liked to explore under different circumstances. Unlike the dwarves, the goblins were not naturally subterranean creatures, and they had made up for the lack of life ingeniously. Each hovel was constructed of some phosphorescent material, casting that eerie green light everywhere. They saw a few goblins about, much more menacing here than in the confines of Gringotts, but it must have been night. The goblins generally seemed to be inside.

They climbed up the main path that led ever upward from one cave to the next. They passed side caverns and climbed up long steep stairs. These were especially difficult to navigate in an invisibility cloak, but they managed.

At last, they came to a gate. It was closed and they collapsed against the wall.

"What next?" whispered Mordred.

"We wait for someone to go through the gate," said Alison.

"This gate is never opened," said Severus. "Look at the rust."

They did and their hearts sank.

"It's not too strongly built," said Barty. "I could take it down."

"Without getting the goblins' attention, Crouch?" asked Severus.

"Probably not," Barty admitted. "But what do you propose?"

"To think a little longer," replied Severus.

They all thought a little longer, but nothing came to them.

"We'd use a Reductor curse then?" said Severus finally.

"Yeah," said Barty. "Together we could be through quite quickly."

"Let's do it before someone wanders up here then," said Mordred.

Alison agreed.

"You know," whispered Barty. "We must be within Salazar Slytherin's old Hogwarts boundaries. So we're home in a way."

"Now?" said Severus.

"Now," said Mordred.

They pulled the cloak off and directed their wands at one spot in the iron gate. "Reducto!" For a moment, nothing happened, then the gate began to wobble as though it were made of gelatin rather than iron. Alison breathed deeply as she held her attention on the point before them. The gate was shimmering now. A bony hand took hold of her arm, and an arm encircled her waist, pulling her down.

She tried to shove off the goblin, but it was joined by another. And another. Their wands confiscated, they found themselves slumped back against the gate, pressed upon by a mass of screeching goblins.

"Kaklakken!" one of the goblins was shouting. "Kaklakken taddit!"

"They're saying we're over-worlders," breathed Barty. He screwed up his face. "Nettappen kradditker," he sounded out slowly and clearly.

"Nettappen ladditker," responded another goblin. "Martidden laddit."

"He says we're not enemies, we're slaves," said Barty, and closed his eyes.

Alison felt a cold piece of steel press against her ribs. A memory stirred inside her.

Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.

"Help," she said softly. "I know this is stupid, but help."

And then she resigned herself to her fate, watched the goblins play about with their wands, let them jab and pinch her, and take her handkerchiefs. Finally, the goblins brought ropes to bind them. A goblin motioned for her to put out her hands.

The gate evaporated behind her.

Falling backwards, she saw a silver streak above her, saw someone jump over her, and then she was pulled up, and was looking into the face of Frank Longbottom.

"Good thing we heard you," he said. She looked down the tunnel to see the goblins retreating in terror from a great silver bird.

"Let's go!" Vindictus Viridian barked.

"You're all right," said Julian, flinging her arms about Severus. He disentangled himself hurriedly.

"No time to visit, Tierney," ordered Viridian. "That patronus won't keep them occupied forever."

"We came down here but we found this gate," Julian explained, as they ran up the passage. "So we looked for another way in, but there wasn't any. So we were deciding whether to take down the gate, but Professor Viridian and Frank worked a spell that showed us that the gate was charmed by goblins to warn them if it was damaged, so were going to leave, especially when we heard all that goblin hub-bub, but we suddenly heard Alison, so we attacked." Julian finally stopped for a breath.

"You didn't hear me before?" asked Barty.

"No," said Kenneth. "It was odd how distinctly we heard Alison. Trick of the cave, I guess."

"Run harder and stop talking!" yelled Viridan behind them.

"He's been like that the whole time," Kenneth informed Mordred.

"We're almost there!" muttered Julian to Alison. "Do you feel the breeze? Here we are. Just climb up."

Alison climbed the steep crumbling steps, then crawled through the earthen tunnel out of the cave. It was night outside, but not the pitch-dark blackness of the underworld. She took a deep breath before a hand slipped over her mouth, and she was pulled back from the cave entrance. She watched as Julian climbed out after her and was similarly taken.

"Why, it's my dear half-sister," whispered Thomas Kelly, taking a look at Julian, who was struggling to get away from him.

Another Death Eater took Kenneth and then Viridian crawled out of the entrance. But as the Death Eater reached for him, he saw his ambusher. "AMBUSH!" he cried, rolling across the ground and diving behind a bush.

"I have my wand on you Jigger!" he yelled. "Let the girl go."

Alison suddenly found herself free. She ducked, seeing Jigger dodge Viridian's hex and dive towards him. And then she ran. She did not wait to see the Death Eaters drag Viridian back into the clearing. She did not wait to see Jigger hold the wand to Viridian's head and pronounce the words: Avada Kedavra. She did not wait to see Viridian fall to the ground lifeless.

Julian saw. Julian screamed, her half-brother's hand now off her throat.

"Hush, bastard," said Kelly. "That was an easy death."

"You can't escape!" shouted Jigger down the hole. "Goblins on one side, us on the other. Give yourself up to the mercy of our Lord!"

"I defy your Lord!" shouted up Frank. "Make a note of it for your records!"

"Mark me down too!" cried Julian, kicking at Kelly's legs.

"Kill her, Kelly," said Jigger.

"I will," he replied. "Give me a moment." He dragged Julian into the forest.

"Doing it his own way?" asked one of the Death Eaters.

"As long as he does it," answered Jigger distractedly. "We're enough here to deal with them. Hopkirk's gone after Howard?"

"He has. He'll run her down. No one escapes him."

"Good. Stun Avery. His family's not entirely unfriendly to the cause. And then we'll drag these foxes from their hole."

* * * * *

Edmund was still dangling from the mantelpiece, when Gilderoy Lockhart entered the Gyrfindor common room.

"Hullo!" he said. "What's going on?"

"He was stealing our Quidditch plans, Gilderoy," said Arvind Patil comfortably.

"Was he?" asked Lockhart, eyes wide-open. "The Slytherins have been odd lately, haven't they? Those three disappearing and Longbottom running off to the Forbidden Forest, and now this."

"Longbottom went where?" demanded Laura Hardisty.

"The Forbidden Forest," said Lockhart. "I saw him."

"Oh God!" cried Tullia Macnair.

They had Edmund down in half a minute.

"You idiots!" were his first words ungagged. "Frank needed back-up! Go and find Dumbledore!"

* * * * *

Frank manifestly did need back-up, trapped in a hole with certain death on either side. He'd lit fires on the goblin side and set Barty to watching for the goblins' return. He, Mordred, and Severus were holding the entrance.

"We can't do this much longer," he said, after fighting back clouds of poisonous gas from above. "We need to summon help."

"Can you send up a sign through dirt and rock, Longbottom?" asked Severus.

"I'm afraid not," replied Longbottom. "But if we get the chance, what should we send up?"

"The Dark Mark," yelled Barty from the other side of the cave.

"What?" cried Longbottom.

"That'll get attention. We'll have the Aurors in here in seconds."

"Do you know how to conjure the Dark Mark, Crouch?"

"I know the incantation," said Barty. "I read it in my father's files. Morsmordre."

Frank's lip curled. "Well then. I believe I could do it."

"If we were outside," said Severus.

"Send smoke up the tunnel, and I'm going to stick my wand hand out and try," said Frank. "It's the only thing to do."

* * * * *

There was no one about the Black Castle when the Aurors arrived. There were signs of recent activity. A wall that seemed to be recently damaged as well as having crumbled for centuries, footprints all about the place, and above all a horrible smell coming up from the dungeons.

They found the first bodies a little down the passage into the Underworld. Dwarves rent to pieces by some force that tore limb from limb and cracked bone.

"Who goes there?" cried a hoarse voice.

"Friends!" shouted Crouch. "Agents of the Crown. What has happened to the dwarves' guarding of the Underworld?"

"It holds," replied the dwarf, coming closer to them. "The mearcstapa is dealt with. We lost much blood, though, and more dealing with the goblins who took this confusion as a chance to launch their long-planned attack on us. But it holds. You may not come down this way, wizard."

"We will not," said Crouch. "Has any witch or wizard slipped through your barriers?"

"None but one," said the dwarf. "And he is now dying on our lower doorstep. He escaped from the goblins but that was not enough."

"Do you know who he is?" asked Crouch.

"He calls himself Walter Jorkins."

"My father!" cried out Florence.

"Yes," said Crouch. "We'll...." He paused as a tinkling sound came from his pocket watch. "That's a summons to Hogwarts," he said blankly, staring at the watch whose hands were swinging about in unrestrained motion. "Death Eaters," he added.

"Good God," said McKinnon.

"We must go back to the surface, and then we can Apparate," said Crouch. "Or portkey," he added, looking at the Hogwarts students.

"What about my father?" cried Florence.

"I'm sorry," said Crouch. He turned and began to run up the passage.

"Can't you leave someone behind?" pleaded Florence running after him.

"No, it's not worth it," said Crouch. "The dwarves won't let us down there and you don't recover from goblins' wounds. I'll send someone when there's time to see about his body, I promise."

"But he doesn't need to die!" cried Florence.

"Miss Jorkins!" Crouch turned to face her at the entrance of the tunnel. "He's as good as dead already. Others aren't." He Apparated away.

"Florence, lass," said Moody, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You can't go down there. The dwarves guard the Underworld well. And I'm a friend of your father's believe me."

"I'm staying!" cried Florence, wrenching away from Moody's hand.

"Don't do anything stupid!" Moody called after her. "Nothing too stupid, that is. I'll be back to explain things to you!"

Florence returned dejectedly to Evan and Rolly.

"Flo!" Rolly greeted her. "This is Ingvi." He motioned to the dwarf beside him. "He knew my father. Ingvi, this if my friend Florence. Her father's Walter Jorkins."

"I'll bring you down to him," said Ingvi. "But he's past any help."

"Thank you," said Florence.

"Your father as really quite popular," Evan muttered to Rolly as they began their descent into the caves.

"I didn't know," replied Rolly. "No one ever told me. I wish they had."

* * * * *

Alison ducked another curse as she splashed into the creek. She had been unable to shake the Death Eater and she now realized that she wouldn't be able to. Neither would she be able to escape his wand for much longer. If she were to live, she'd have to do some quick thinking.

A curse grazes her head and she automatically fell forward into the shallows of the creek, her face turned to one side to allow for breathing. Two things could happen. The Death Eater could make sure his kill by repeating the curse. Then she would die. Or he could assume he'd been successful. She waited, completely unaware of the cold water about her and the pain that ran through her body.

"Well," Hopkirk said, standing over her. "Will you still be the Dark Lord's favourite when we bring him your body, I wonder?" He put away his wand and knelt down to pick her up.

Alison lunged sideway, knocking him into the water. She flung herself on his body, pulling his wand from him before he threw her off. He staggered up to face her only to fall forward into the water at her curse.

She raised the wand again. "Gravo!"

And in case her curse was not strong enough, she held down his head with her hands as well.

He struggled for a while, more and more desperately, but at last all struggle ceased. She still held his head down with all her strength. She had knelt there a long time when the Aurors found her.

* * * * *

Thomas Kelly flung Julian to the ground.

"Kneel," he ordered. "Kneel or I'll kill you."

"Don't!" implored Julian, kneeling.

"Petrificus Cruris!" Her legs froze beneath her.

Kelly entered into the ritual of the Triple Death for the second time that evening. Unlike Alison, Julian understood every word he said.

"No!" she pleaded. "It wasn't my fault! I hate him as much as you do. This isn't the way to get revenge on him, becoming worse than he is."

Kelly paid her no attention, continuing with his invocation.

Julian ceased to plead and began to scream.

* * * * *

"Dad?" cried a weeping Florence. "Dad, can you hear me?"

"Florence," moaned Walter Jorkins. "They got you too?"

"No. I'm all right. I'm here to be with you," Florence assured him. "Why can't you stop the bleeding?" she demanded of Ingvi.

"The goblins have poisoned their spear points so that the wound can never close up. They are very good at these sorts of inventions," explained Ingvi. "Even wizards have no idea how to counteract the venom."

Florence pulled her father into her arms. "Do you want me to tell Mum and Bertha anything?" she asked.

"I can't think," he murmured. "But... tell them I love them. And tell them that the people will overcome."

"Which people, Walter?"

Florence spun her head about to see the owner of the voice. "Mr. Rookwood!"

Augustus Rookwood knelt beside her. "Where's the wound?" he asked.

"In the left side," said Ingvi.

"It doesn't look too bad," pronounced Rookwood.

"But the venom," Florence protested.

"This is as good as any a time to unveil the Department of Mysteries' most successful recent project," said Rookwood, taking a bottle from his robes, and uncorking it. "When the goblins started using this venom a couple of years ago, we immediately set to work on an antidote." He poured it over the wound.

"What are you doing here?" asked Florence.

"My sources told me your father was here, Florence," said Rookwood. "And I have contacts throughout the Underworld. Though I may have to Obliviate you for telling you that," he joked. "Feeling better, Walter?"

"It's not burning any more," said Jorkins.

"Or bleeding," said Ingvi, taking a look at the wound. "Will you provide us with this potion?"

"At a price," said Rookwood. "Feel free to make an appointment at my office in London. The name's Rookwood. Augustus Rookwood."

* * * * * *

Barty Crouch Sr. ran through the forest, his heart pounding. Tonight, he thought, the creatures of the Forbidden Forest feared man. The Forest was swarming with Aurors and hit wizards. If Julian Tierney had not been taken away entirely, she must be nearby, living or dead. And with Alastor Moody at Crouch's side, if the Death Eater who'd taken her was about, his chances of survival were not high.

They stopped a second when they heard a girl's screams. Moody mouthed the anti-Apparation jinx, then quietly moved on towards the source of the noise.

By the stream, they found the Death Eater with his dagger at Julian's throat.

"Kelly!" cried Moody in recognition.

"Not her!" shouted Crouch, as they burst from the forest. "Yourself!"

Horror flooded Kelly's face as he looked into the face of Crouch. His hand jerked as the knife moved to his skin, but under Crouch's eye, he held firm as he cut his throat.

Julian stopped screaming, blood dripping onto her clothes.

Crouch took her into his arms. "You're safe now, Julian," he promised.

* * * * *

Robert McKinnon sat at a table in the Great Hall of Hogwarts taking notes. "So, the mark that went up?" he asked.

"I did that," said Frank.

"Where did you learn it?"

"Barty Crouch Jr. had heard it from his father," said Frank, wondering what Crouch Sr. would think of his son going through his files.

McKinnon nodded. "Pinpointed your location for us," he said. "Thank you... errr..."

"Frank Longbottom."

McKinnon's jaw dropped. Then he gave Frank his hand. "Welcome to the Auror Corps, Longbottom."

"You'd think you'd had enough excitement to last a lifetime," said Persephone, sitting down on the bench beside Frank.

"Are you encouraging me not to be an Auror, Perse?" Frank asked his cousin.

"You wouldn't listen, Frank. All that stubborn Fletcher blood. Anyway, I'm supposed to tell you that everyone is accounted for. Lucius Malfoy wandered into the Ministry with Narcissa Crouch, claiming that he rescued her from the Death Eaters. Florence Jorkins, Evan Rosier, and Roland Wilkes are safe and sound, and even Walter Jorkins is all right. Augustus Rookwood brought him into St. Mungo's half an hour ago."

"Viridian's dead," said Frank.

"He's probably better off that way," said McKinnon. "He was a bitter, bitter man and he had nowhere to go. At least he died a hero. He would have liked that, from all I've heard of him."

Frank nodded.

"Dumbledore's passing about the hot chocolate upstairs," said Persephone. "Shall we go?"

Frank nodded again.

* * * * *

The fifth year Slytherins were a strange bunch, people said. It was rumoured Alison Howard had actually killed a person. Darker whispers alleged that Severus Snape and Mordred Lestrange had somehow driven Professor Viridian to his death.

But they stuck together in the face of these rumours with unlikely consequences.