The Boy that Died

To everyone who reads this chapter: remember the golden fanfic rule. Always leave a review. If you can't be bothered to do that, rate it. But remember, more reviews/ratings = more chapters, more quickly.

This time I think I shall dedicate it to my beta-reader! I think she deserves a dedication after all this time.

Explanations and Forgiveness

"Psst! Weasley! WEASLEY!"

Ron jumped and opened his eyes. The face of Draco Malfoy swam into view. Ron groaned and held his head and said "What now? I'm just trying to sleep."

"Yeah and you have been for the last 6 hours!" Draco crawled away and squatted down on his haunches.

Ron sat up and suddenly noticed his surroundings. "Hey! Where are we?"

Draco sighed. "In the deepest darkest dankest lair Voldemort has, probably."

Malfoy was probably right about that, Ron thought. The room they were in looked like it was roughly dug out of the earth, the ceiling dripped water on their heads and the absence of a window made Ron aware of the fact that they were probably underground.

"Oh yeah " said Ron, remembering what had happened in his office. He looked at Draco. "Where's everyone else?" he said, suddenly noticing the absence of his friends.

Draco rubbed his forehead and shrugged. "They weren't here when I woke up. I've been up for a few hours now."

"So what's been happening?"

"You haven't missed much. Someone walked past the door an hour ago though," Draco added in a helpful tone.

"Yeah and that's really useful Malfoy. I was talking about something that could actually help," snarled Ron, his voice dripping with sarcasm. His temper was a bit frayed; the current circumstance didn't help much either.

Draco scowled and turned his head away, looking at the door. Then he stood up and looked around, suddenly in action mode. "There's got to be a way out of here. Just a matter of finding it." He walked over to the door and peered out of the tiny grill in the door.

"I don't think there'll be much there," yelled Ron at Draco's back.

Draco ignored him and continued to stare out of the grill until - "Nothing there," he said finally, "just more passages."

Ron nodded and resisted the urge to say 'I told you so'. Draco turned away from the door and surveyed the room. He stared for so long that even Ron felt inclined to look.

After a good few minutes Draco spoke up. "You know what Weasley I think we're well and truly shitted."

Malfoy had certainly hit the bull's-eye, Ron thought. And looking around Ron saw that he was right. In all his life Ron had never been in a worst situation - he was trapped in Voldemort's hideout with Malfoy for company, his friends trapped as well and with Harry right where Voldemort wanted him.

"We have to think up a plan," Ron said decisively. Draco nodded. "Any ideas?" Draco shook his head and Ron carried on, "I mean, we can't sit here waiting for someone to rescue us, we have to rescue ourselves! I was thinking that we could wait until someone came and then we could run out Sirius did that when he was in Azkaban and our situation's pretty similar so maybe it could " Ron broke off and looked at Draco.

He was nodding but Ron noticed he was looking rather distracted. He leaned forward. "Malfoy? Malfoy, what's wrong?" Draco looked up at Ron and Ron, sensing he was about to say something important, leaned forward in anticipation.

"You know you know last year?" Draco started.

"Yes?"

"Well I-uh. I just wanted to say that that I'm sorry what happened with Ginny and Hermione. I wasn't thinking right that last year. I shouldn't have done that."

Draco stopped and looked at Ron wretchedly. Ron knew he was asking for forgiveness but he was too proud to say it out loud. And although Ron knew that Malfoy was really sorry he found he was still angry with him. He found his voice and said, "I know you're sorry. I just I'm just not ready to forgive you yet, I'm still bitter about everything."

Draco nodded but kept his face down, Ron felt a bit sorry for Draco but he pushed aside those feelings. When had he ever felt sorry for Draco before?

They sat in silence for the next half an hour, each avoiding each other's eyes. Draco because he was ashamed he had just poured out his heart to a complete stranger, and Ron because he was feeling guilty about not forgiving him.

Suddenly a soft padding from outside their door put both men on alert. They stared at the door apprehensively, as the footsteps grew closer and closer. Then a masked face suddenly appeared at the grill, making Draco jump. The bolts clunked as the Death Eater opened the door. He stood there, his face hidden by the hood and stared at both of them. His eyes fixed on Ron and quick as lightening pulled out his wand. It took a few seconds for Draco to react and when he did he yelled and started forwards. But the Death Eater yelled, "Stupefy!" and before Draco had even got halfway to him he fell, heavily on the floor.

Ron stared at Draco's still figure lying on the floor and turned quickly to the cloaked man. But before he could do anything a fist had slammed into his face.

*

"Sirius. Sirius! Wake up!" Sirius blinked. He groaned and clutched his head. It felt like a herd of elephants had trampled over it in the night. Hermione's concerned face swum into view. She sighed. "Thank goodness you're okay. You've been out for hours."

Sirius shook his head slightly, as if trying to clear a mist in it. He could remember going up to Harry's room there was a note from Lucius and Harry was missing ... Sirius forehead creased with concentration as he tried to remember what happened next. Then then Voldemort was there Harry was with him and then and then he remembered being very tired all of a sudden.

"Harry!" Sirius yelled all of a sudden, "What happened? Did he really betray us?"

Hermione's face changed quickly from relief to guilt. "Yeah. Yeah he did I just feel so terrible. Draco was right; we shouldn't have forced him into anything. Harry'll never trust us now."

Sirius felt sad all of a sudden. It was mostly his fault. He looked upwards, trying to blink back tears. It was then that he noticed the ceiling, it was made from black carved rock and was dripping wet. Sirius looked around in surprise.

"Where are we? Where are the others?"

Hermione looked around nervously, as if she was checking for something. "I think those Death Eaters took us here, I've no idea where it is. I've been awake for hours, you've only just woken up and they chucked Ron in a while ago. He's still out cold. I think they took Draco but I've no idea where Ginny is. I hope she got away." Sirius noticed she didn't mention anything about Harry.

He sat up shakily. He could see now that they were in a dark room, quite large, but no windows. Sirius could feel soft earth beneath his hands. A large wooden door marked the entrance, he could see a bit of the outside world through a tiny window in the door, but it wasn't any different out there to inside here. Steel bolts shut the door tightly and Sirius could see there wasn't any hope in getting out that way.

Just behind Hermione lay a prone figure with bright red hair. "Ron?" Ron didn't answer.

"It's no good trying to wake him," said Hermione, "I've tried that already. But he shouldn't really be unconscious for this long, it might be dangerous," she looked over worriedly at Ron. "I hope he'll be alright "

Sirius patted her on the shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. "He'll be fine, don't you worry.

"Oh Sirius," said Hermione, shrugging off his hand. "We've made a mess of this, haven't we?"

Sirius couldn't answer. He just stared blankly at her. But they had really. They hadn't convinced Harry he was the Boy Who Lived, and now they had let him get captured by Voldemort. He was Harry's godfather, he was meant to look after him, to look out for him. And now look what he had done. He had been so intent on getting back his Harry that he hadn't even noticed what he was doing to the real Harry.

Sirius stood up wearily and wandered over to Ron. He sat down next to him and pulled him up into a sitting position. "Ron?" No answer. "Ron?" said Sirius, a little louder this time. No answer again. Sirius frowned and shook him slightly. Ron's head lolled and his mouth opened slightly. Sirius set him down with a sigh.

"I don't think he'll wake up anytime soon. Give me your cloak Hermione, he's freezing." Hermione handed over her cloak and Sirius spread it over Ron. Then, as a second thought he took off his cloak as well and put it over Ron.

"What should we do?" Hermione whispered. "Just try and keep Ron warm I suppose, it's a pity we don't have our wands on us, we could revive him. But maybe we'll think of a plan while we're in here." Even to himself he didn't sound very sure.

Hermione said nothing, but Sirius saw her glance nervously at the door. He knew what she was thinking, he as wondering it as well. What would happen when they came?

*

Ginny was trying desperately to remain calm. It's okay, she told herself, Voldemort has Harry and everyone else but it's okay. She remembered what had happened just yesterday. Voldemort had been in the office with Harry, Harry had she wasn't even going to think about that. Ron had told her to run for help and she had. It was a Ministry building so there wasn't much problem in finding anyone.

But when they had got there there was no-one. No Harry, no Hermione, no Ron, no Sirius, no Draco not even Voldemort was there. The Ministry people had done a thorough search of the room but they had found no trace of any Apparating. Not that you could Apparate in a Ministry building anyway. Nothing was left, no sign that Voldemort had even been there. The only thing they had found was sprinklings of sleeping powder about the office. This had lead Ginny to imagine some horrible conclusions.

The Ministry people were still in there now, searching for more clues. They had shut the area off and put red tape everywhere, (Ginny thought only Muggle police did that). Absently she wondered what Ron would have done in this situation.

Suddenly she heard him say loudly in her head Tell Dumbledore. He sounded so clear that Ginny actually looked around the room in surprise, expecting to see him standing right beside her. But he wasn't, he was trapped somewhere in Voldemort's lair.

Ron was right though. She should have told Dumbledore long ago, he would fix this mess out - he always did. Ginny looked into Ron's office, with all the Ministry people walking around with their wands and red tape everywhere, and turned away. She walked swiftly down the corridor and into Draco's office.

She opened the door and peeked in. No one was there. Smiling gratefully Ginny went up to the desk and grabbed parchment and quill. She sat down and sucked on the end of the quill, wondering what to write. Then she put the quill on the paper and started writing.

Dear Dumbledore,

It's me, Ginny. I'm in need of some help. You may have heard about the attack on the Ministry building, but then again you may not have, the Ministry is still shushing everything up.

A few weeks ago Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Draco and I found out something. We should have told you earlier but we were too excited. We found Harry; but he was different. He wasn't an adult, he was still 14, and he didn't remember anything. I suppose we were a bit too harsh with him because Voldemort found him and Harry came with him willingly. He believed that we were his enemies and Voldemort was just trying to help him, I think they must have put him under the Imperius curse or something.

Anyway, yesterday morning we went up to check on him. He wasn't there but there was this note from Lucius. It basically said that we couldn't hide anything from Voldemort, and that Harry had left with him willingly. We ran downstairs and found Voldemort, Harry and three Death Eaters in Ron's office. I ran off to get help so I don't know what happened but when I came back there was no one there. The Ministry have been round but they haven't been any help.

I desperately need your help in getting Harry and the others back before it's too late. If you can help me, then please owl.

Ginny

She put down the quill and looked over the letter. That would do, Ginny was sure this would work; Dumbledore had never denied help before.

*

Voldemort circled Harry, hissing and murmuring things in his ear. Harry wasn't listening, his mind a blank. He just stared at the wall opposite and tried to concentrate on its fascinating pattern. There was no one else in the room except that evil-looking man, Voldemort. Ron had told him about Voldemort, how he had tried to kill him as a baby and how he had been after him for the rest of his life. Harry didn't really remember anything from his past life but there were two scenes that kept on replaying in his mind. He remembered standing in front of a mirror beside a man with a turban. He remembered being tied to a gravestone with a group of men in masks surrounding him. He didn't remember doing any of this. More was slowly coming to him but for now he could only remember those two memories, so he kept on thinking them over and over, trying to figure out what they meant.

The more he thought about it, the more likely it was that he was 'Harry Potter'. He wondered what the other Harry would have done in this situation. But then, he remembered, if he was Harry Potter then that was just himself.

Harry moved slightly and a twinge of pain shot up his back. He winced. The ropes that bound him into the chair were digging into his skin and Harry was sure that it was cutting off the blood-supply.

Voldemort was speaking directly to him now. Harry raised his head and looked out through dull eyes. He tried to clear his head and focus on what the other man was saying.

" I can tell that you don't recognise me. You look at me and shake in fear yet once you stood proud and dared to defy me. I have surpassed myself; this worked better than I dared to hope."

"Who are you?" Harry managed to say.

"I? I am Lord Voldemort. The most powerful wizard in the world. Feared by all, stopped by none except you."

Harry said nothing. He wet his chapped lips nervously and tried not to meet Voldemort's eyes. But Voldemort kept on staring at Harry, as though seeing through his very soul.

"You remember the graveyard, don't you?" Harry said nothing. "You remember being tied to the gravestone, when I put the Cruciatus curse on you. Don't you?" Harry still said nothing, "DON'T YOU!" Voldemort yelled.

Harry didn't know what the Cruciatus curse was but he nodded anyway. He didn't think it was very wise to disagree with this man. Voldemort continued to stare.

"But you are still not yourself. Anyone can see that. But you soon will be. And I do not intend to wait that long, if you regain your memory then you may escape me yet."

There was something about Voldemort's voice that was familiar to Harry; he seemed to remember him from somewhere.

"That dream I had. Did-did you put that in my head?"

Voldemort laughed. "Yes. It is a discovery I am most proud of. You see, it allows me to manipulate people's dreams easily and bend them to my will. Of course it does have some side-effects, that first part was not meant to happen."

Then the wizard raised his wand and Harry, anxious to ask another question before Voldemort killed him, raised his voice.

"How come everyone has grown-up but I haven't?"

Voldemort's arm stopped in midair and he looked down at Harry searchingly. "Yes I I suppose it won't do any harm. But this is the last question you may answer, don't even think about crossing me again."

Harry continued to watch, torn between wariness and curiosity.

"It was just after the Triwizard Tournament that I realised I was doing something wrong. You had escaped me yet again. I had been wrong to underestimate you those 10 years ago. The protection that your mother had given you was still flowing strong in your veins. It worked in ways even I could not explain. I realised I could never kill you. So I did the next best thing. I sent you out of the way for a while. And you see how well it has worked! The Wizarding World is in disarray, no one knows who to trust, I practically run the show! See how the world flounders without their precious Harry Potter to protect them!" Voldemort stopped; his arms had been waving madly about during the last few seconds. He looked at Harry seriously now.

"But it would have been too much to even hope of snatching you away from Hogwarts. Everyone would be more alert than ever after the Triwizard Tournament. So I did something even Dumbledore would not suspect. I used the Muto Tempus spell. It is a very dark and dangerous spell, I had never used it before - but desperate times call for desperate measures. It allowed me to travel back in time and alter the future. It was simple; I stunned my past self then played out the little drama almost exactly as it had been, with one exception.

"At the end I placed a spell on you as you touched the Cup. It may have sounded like the killing curse but it was very different. You returned to Hogwarts seemingly dead, no one ever suspected that you might not be. I used one of my most loyal Death Eaters to return you to me and then I revived you. I sent you forwards 10 years simple when you know how and then I waited.

"10 years passed uneventfully, I gained control of the Ministry, raised the death count up into the thousands, and then you appeared. I had been on constant alert that year and when I received word about you I apparated immediately. Funnily enough you had appeared in an orphanage! It was all over very quickly, you didn't see me coming. The orphanage staff and you all had their memories altered. And then I left you there, there was no need to leave someone on guard, what threat could you pose to me?"

Voldemort smirked. Harry was in a state of shock; his mind could hardly process what he had just been told. Memory charms? Time-travel?

"Wh-wh-why ?" Harry stuttered.

"SHUT UP!" cried Voldemort and pointed his wand at Harry. Harry winced as pain flooded his body "I am not a patient man Harry Potter. It is foolish to ask too many questions," said Voldemort in a calmer voice. "I think I've probably told you more than you needed to know. Sweet dreams." Voldemort lifted his wand and muttered an incantation and Harry slumped down in the chair.

*

"Ah yes. Thought you could help your precious Harry could you? Lucius informs me that you were most concerned about him. Is that right?" Voldemort sneered.

Draco said nothing; he just stared at the ground. He didn't want to look up, to see that face. Years ago he would have died to have a chance to see Voldemort, but now he would rather be anywhere else but here.

"I thought you used to hate him. You used to be worst enemies at Hogwarts, that all changed in 4th year though. Did your father not teach you well enough?"

Still Draco said nothing. Suddenly a hand reached out of nowhere and slapped him hard on the face, almost a punch. Draco gasped and looked up. Voldemort's face was full of grim satisfaction. Draco touched his cheek gingerly and found his hand came away wet. His cheek was bleeding.

"Why did you betray me Draco?" Voldemort's voice contained a hint of sadness, so subtle that Draco almost missed it. "I would have given you anything, you could have been at my right-hand. Tell me, why did you give it all up?" Voldemort was expecting an answer but Draco didn't give him one. Voldemort looked at him and when he realised Draco wasn't going to talk his face contorted into fury. "Fine, if you won't talk now, you will soon."

As if obeying some silent order the Death Eater that was in the room walked over to the door. He opened it and let in two Death Eaters dragging behind them Harry. He was unconscious, his glasses broken, a large bruise forming over his eye. Draco swallowed; this was going to be hard. He didn't think he would be able to hold up long if the wand was pointing at Harry, instead of him.

"Leave us," said Voldemort.

The three Death Eaters bowed very low before retreating backwards. Harry was left lying on the floor. Draco made a halfhearted attempt to reach him but a look from Voldemort stopped him. Voldemort walked up to Harry, pointed a wand at him and whispered, "Enervate".

*

Some thing was pulling Harry away from the darkness and towards the light. It was a few seconds before he realised where he was. He opened his eyes and stared out. The left lens in his glasses was smashed but Harry could make out two figures, Voldemort and Draco. Voldemort was standing over him holding a wand, Draco was sitting a few feet away, his hands tied behind him.

"Ah yes Harry Potter, so glad you could join us. I have been having a few words with Draco here. He is, uh having a bit of trouble telling me exactly what he needed you for. I was hoping you could help change his mind. STAND UP!" Voldemort said sharply and Harry jumped. He stood up a bit unsteadily, his legs didn't feel like they could support him, Voldemort pointed his wand directly at Harry's heart. Harry stared apprehensively at it, he hadn't been told much about wands, but by now he had a fair idea of what they could do.

"Now Draco. Are you certain you don't want to tell me what you wanted Harry Potter for?" Voldemort said, not bothering to hide a sneer.

Harry looked at Draco who was staring at him funny, his eyes out of focus. Then, still staring at Harry he nodded slowly, as though uncertain.

Voldemort's eyes narrowed in fury and he whispered dangerously, "Fine then CRUCIO!"

Something shot out of Voldemort's wand and hit Harry directly in the heart. It felt as though someone had pushed a dagger in his chest and was twisting it inside. Someone was screaming. His body was filled with pain, Harry couldn't stand, he was going to pass out, the pain was too much and then, as quickly as it had come, the pain was gone. The screaming had stopped and Harry realised that the scream had been coming from him. Harry fell to his knees, weak and shaking.

"Are you going to tell me anything yet Draco?" said Voldemort. Draco looked at Harry and for a moment their eyes met. Very slightly Harry shook his head. For the first time he understood what was at stake here.

"No," said Draco firmly.

Voldemort looked slightly surprised by this and he seemed at a loss what to do. But then he regained his composure and said "Not even now?" and pointed his wand at Harry. "Culter crucio!"

But Harry was ready for him this time, he closed his eyes and sealed his lips shut, determined not to show weakness again. But nothing happened. Harry opened his eyes cautiously, there was no pain, he couldn't feel anything. He looked up at Voldemort, whose eyes were full of malicious triumph. Suddenly Harry felt a stabbing pain in his right arm. He looked down and saw, to his horror, a dagger jammed in the crook of his arm and when Harry looked at his elbow he could see the point of the blade sticking out. All thoughts of not showing weakness quickly went out of the window. Harry yelled and tried to pull it out, but it was immovable. Then, very slowly and deliberately the dagger sliced up his arm, still with Harry holding onto it. A trickle of blood slid down onto the floor. White-faced, Harry looked away and concentrated on blocking out the pain.

It's not real, he told himself, it's not real, it's not real

"Stop it!" yelled Draco.

Voldemort lifted his wand and looked at Draco. "Are you ready to tell me " he looked down at the lifeless figure on the floor. "He's fainted weakling," he spat.

"Take him away!" Voldemort ordered and a Death Eater emerged from the shadows. Draco hadn't even known he was there. As the man's face became visible Draco gasped. "P-professor Snape?" Snape avoided his eyes and continued to drag Harry out of the room.

When the door clanged shut Voldemort turned to Draco. "I sense you are not ready to tell me anything yet. But you will soon it's only a matter of time." Then, with a swish of his cloak Voldemort vanished.

*

Ginny was slouching on the chair with her shoes up on the desk, idly tapping it with a pen. She sighed and looked out of the window. It had only been a day since she had sent off the letter to Dumbledore but she was still impatient to hear from him.

The Ministry people had left a few hours ago after finding nothing and Ginny had offered to take over Ron and Draco's job until they came back. During the few short hours she had been here, Ginny had deduced that they did nothing. She had had no owls, no appointments and when she had gone to ask the secretary if there was anything to do, she had stared at Ginny like she was mad.

Ginny looked at the window again and was rewarded with a glimpse of a vague silhouette. An owl. Ginny ran over to the window and flung it open. Her owl swooped in and landed on Ginny's outstretched arm.

"Arrow!" Ginny cried, overjoyed to finally see him. Arrow pecked her on the finger and held out a foot. There was a letter and a small bottle attached to it. Ginny unfolded the parchment and began to read.

Dear Ginny,

You must leave here at once. Voldemort's followers are on their way right now, you must not let them get you! They have already put up wards preventing anyone from leaving by Floo powder but with this bottle you should be able to escape. Go to Woodmell Hill and I will meet you there. I have a small army of Aurors with me and we are planning to take Voldemort's hideaway by storm. If we are lucky we will be able to save everyone.

Do not waste anymore time, leave now before it's too late!

Dumbledore

Ginny looked up from the letter and stared at the small bottle. It contained a fairly ordinary blue liquid. Arrow was still sitting on her arm and Ginny shook him off. "Go! Quickly Arrow, get out of here. And don't come back for a few days!" she shouted at the owl's back.

Ginny took the stopper out of the bottle and shook the whole contents into the fire. The flames became blue and started spitting blue sparks at her. Taking a deep breath Ginny stepped into the fire and shouted "Woodmell hill!"

The door burst open and Ginny cast a frightened look towards it. Two masked wizards were standing there. One saw her and yelled, gesturing for its partner. They both ran towards her and then the world spun. Ginny was used to Floo travel and remembered to keep her elbows in and her eyes shut. When the ground reappeared Ginny stumbled but managed to stay standing. She opened her eyes and looked around.

She was not, as she'd expected, in a house. She wasn't even in a fireplace. In fact she seemed to be standing in a field. There were tents scattered everywhere, wizards and witches standing outside them talking. There were about forty wizards standing around chatting. A small wizard with light brown hair caught sight of her and ran over to her. He looked vaguely familiar. He seized her hand and started shaking it, speaking very fast.

"Oh it must be you, Ginny am I right? Dumbledore's here, he's been expecting you and he told us all to tell him when you arrived so that's what I'm doing. Did you have a safe trip? That Floo powder's a death trap I tell you, a death trap. Oh there he is, just over there, shall I just leave you two?"

Ginny nodded dumbly and the wizard left. Dumbledore was facing her and he was trying to hide a small smile. "I believe you've met Colin before? A very good fighter but sometimes gets carried away "

Aha! Knew I'd seen him somewhere, Ginny thought.

"Where are we?' "Woodmell hill. It's only about a mile away from Voldemort's stronghold, it gives us the perfect position to attack."

"So, you're going to help me get back Harry and everyone."

"Of course, I never refuse help. Though I must admit I was rather disappointed when you told me about Harry. You should have asked for my help straight away." He looked down disapprovingly at Ginny and she shuffled her feet.

"Yeah, well we were going to."

"Hmmm anyway, when I received your letter I set about preparing straight away. I already knew where Voldemort's hideout was but I needed a reason and some help before I could do anything. I put together a group of loyal Aurors and camped out about a mile away from Voldemort's base. I need you to find Harry and the others, I will take care of Voldemort."

"Okay"

"But we'll wait until the morning to do anything. Colin will show you to your tent."

Colin emerged from behind Dumbledore where he had, apparently, been hiding all this time. He had a sheepish grin on his face. "It's um this way," he said, gesturing for her to follow him.

Ginny followed Colin past all the tents to the back of the group. She felt a bit foolish and tried to think of something clever to say.

"So, Colin. How did you become an Auror?"

I sound like my mum now, Ginny thought.

Colin, however, looked delighted. "Well, when I left school I didn't really know what to do. My dad had offered me a job in his company but Dumbledore said he wanted me especially. He gave me a job as an Auror and I trained for a couple of years but this is my first assignment!"

"Oh," Ginny didn't really know what to say next but she needn't have worried, for they had reached her tent.

"Here it is," said Colin. "Just tell me if you need anything."

Ginny nodded and stepped inside the tent. Colin followed. As she had expected it was much bigger inside than it was outside. There was a small bed along side the wall, a cooker and a tiny bathroom. The wallpaper was a rather horrible brown colour with little flowers on it. It was furnished in a 1950's style, Ginny decided.

"I designed it myself," said Colin, somewhat proudly.

Ginny stared at him and nodded slowly, as if talking to an idiot.

"I've been thinking," continued Colin. "That if this Auror business doesn't work out, I could become an Interior Designer. You know, go on TV, just like that famous guy out of changing rooms, what's his name, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. Maybe I could grow my hair long like him. Would I look good with long hair?" He ran his fingers through his hair and struck a pose.

Ginny looked horrified. Oh my God! He really is gay! "Uh, yeah Colin. I'll-uh speak to you in the morning," she said and started to push him forcefully out of the door.

"Which do you think would suit me better? Layered or-" he was cut off as Ginny slammed the door in his face.

Breathing a sigh of relief Ginny sat down on the bed, and rather cautiously looked around, as though expecting another longhaired Interior Designer to pop out. She cushioned her head on the pillow, curled up, and tried to go to sleep.

*

"Harry? Harry ?" Harry stirred slightly. The person raised its voice now.

"Harry! Harry!"

Harry jumped and opened his eyes. He was staring at the hook-nosed man had seen a few days ago. He tried to move his hands but found he couldn't. They were tied tightly to his feet, forcing him into an extremely awkward position. A gag was stuffed down his throat and Harry had to fight hard not to throw up. He felt as trussed up as a chicken.

With some effort Harry managed to crawl into a sitting position. The man retreated a few feet and stood there, wringing his hands. Harry stared hard at him.

"Mmph a phrum?" he said. Actually, what he had meant to say was: 'who are you?', but he had forgotten about the handkerchief stuffed in his mouth.

The person stared incredulously at him, as though he was seeing a ghost. "Is it-is it really you?"

"Mmph?"

"Vol-the dark lord said he had found you but I didn't believe him. He-he lies about so many things. But-but here you are!" The man laughed shortly but Harry continued to stare. Who was he?

As if answering his question the man said, "Don't you remember me? It's me Professor Snape."

Harry continued to look blank so Snape tried to explain. "I used to teach at Hogwarts. I was the Potions teacher." Harry still looked blank. "Head of Slytherin house?" said Snape, beginning to grow desperate. "I used to go to school with your father."

That got Harry's attention. "Mm phrm a mmph hmmph!" (That's English for: 'what do you know about my father?')

"I can't hear a work you're saying. Here, let me take this off," and Snape reached across and took the gag out of Harry's mouth. Once he was free of it Harry spat angrily to the side.

"As I was saying what do you know about my father?" Harry said, glaring suspiciously at Snape.

"We used to go to Hogwarts together."

"Were you-were you friends?" "No, I was in Slytherin, James couldn't stand me."

"James " Harry tested out the word uncertainly. "Is that my father's name?"

Snape nodded. He opened his mouth and looked like he was about to say something but was interrupted by footsteps from outside. His face took on that familiar scared look. "I-I have to go. I can't let anyone know I've been in here." Quickly, he stood up and half-ran to the door.

"Wait!" called Harry, "what about the gag?"

But Snape had already gone.

*

Ginny woke early. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and wandered over to the tent opening. It was one of those mornings where the sun is very bright and the grass is lovely and wet.

There were a few other wizards around but unfortunately it was Colin spotted Ginny. He ran over to her, looking, as usual, delighted.

"Hi Ginny! I think we're ready, Dumbledore just has to get a few more witches and wizards awake and then we're ready! What has Dumbledore told you to do?"

Ginny was a little less enthusiastic to talk to Colin after last night so she waved him off with a brief smile, said something about important business, then set off to find Dumbledore.

He was on the very outskirts of the tent, talking to a group of young Aurors. His face brightened when he saw her.

"Ginny! So glad you could finally join us! Are you ready?"

Ginny nodded, feeling a little nervous. Dumbledore picked up on her mood and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry," he said. "Everything will be alright."

"Yeah "

Dumbledore looked around. "I think everyone is here. Sonorus," he muttered.

The door burst open and Ginny cast a frightened look towards it. Two masked wizards were standing there. One saw her and yelled, gesturing for its partner. They both ran towards her and then the world spun. Ginny was used to Floo travel and remembered to keep her elbows in and her eyes shut. When the ground reappeared Ginny stumbled but managed to stay standing. She opened her eyes and looked around.

She was not, as she'd expected, in a house. She wasn't even in a fireplace. In fact she seemed to be standing in a field. There were tents scattered everywhere, wizards and witches standing outside them talking. There were about forty wizards standing around chatting. A small wizard with light brown hair caught sight of her and ran over to her. He looked vaguely familiar. He seized her hand and started shaking it, speaking very fast.

"Oh it must be you, Ginny am I right? Dumbledore's here, he's been expecting you and he told us all to tell him when you arrived so that's what I'm doing. Did you have a safe trip? That Floo powder's a death trap I tell you, a death trap. Oh there he is, just over there, shall I just leave you two?"

Ginny nodded dumbly and the wizard left. Dumbledore was facing her and he was trying to hide a small smile. "I believe you've met Colin before? A very good fighter but sometimes gets carried away "

Aha! Knew I'd seen him somewhere, Ginny thought.

"Where are we?' "Woodmell hill. It's only about a mile away from Voldemort's stronghold, it gives us the perfect position to attack."

"So, you're going to help me get back Harry and everyone."

"Of course, I never refuse help. Though I must admit I was rather disappointed when you told me about Harry. You should have asked for my help straight away." He looked down disapprovingly at Ginny and she shuffled her feet.

"Yeah, well we were going to."

"Hmmm anyway, when I received your letter I set about preparing straight away. I already knew where Voldemort's hideout was but I needed a reason and some help before I could do anything. I put together a group of loyal Aurors and camped out about a mile away from Voldemort's base. I need you to find Harry and the others, I will take care of Voldemort."

"Okay"

*

About ½ hour later

"Hey Sirius!"

Sirius turned over to Hermione - she had been looking out of the grill in the door for the last few hours. She gestured frantically for him to come over. "Look," she said. "I think something's going on. There's a lot of people running around outside."

Sirius put his eye to the grill and peered out. He could hear yelling coming from one end of the passage and as he watched, someone ran past the door, brandishing a wand. Sirius quickly backed away.

"I think it's best we stay out of sight," he said to Hermione.

"Why? Someone might rescue us," she protested.

"Yes, but someone might also kill us." Sirius said slowly, as though speaking to an imbecile. "Look, we don't know what's going on outside. These people have wands, and if no one's there to stop them "

Hermione nodded. As another pair of footsteps ran past she walked over to Ron. He was lying comfortably on his back with Hermione and Sirius' cloaks draped over him. Hermione kneeled down beside him and stared at him sadly.

"We might have a chance to escape through all this chaos we could carry Ron between us "

Sirius shook his head. "We still can't get out remember? And what could we do to protect ourselves we don't even have our wands."

Hermione stood up and kicked a clod of dirt with her shoe. She exhaled and said, "We have to do something. We can't just wait for someone to rescue us! How can you sit there just doing nothing?"

Sirius looked up. "Because Hermione, we can't do anything. How many people do you know that have escaped from Voldemort?"

"Harry escaped three times."

Sirius opened his mouth to retort angrily but a knocking interrupted him. He looked at the door and saw, to his amazement, a man peering through the grill, holding a lit wand.

"Hello? Are you prisoners?"

Hermione ran towards the door, practically crying with joy. "Yes! Yes we are! Let us out!"

The man's face disappeared for a moment, they heard a clang as the bold slid out of place and next second, the door opened. Hermione ran out, then paused and came back in.

"Sirius! Help me carry Ron."

Sirius was about to walk over when the man interrupted. "Wait! I can just revive him."

Hermione stepped back to let him pass. The man placed his wand on Ron's forehead and said, "Enervate!"

Nothing happened. The man frowned slightly and tried again.

"Enervate!"

This time there were results. Ron groaned slightly and opened his eyes. "Urgh. Tell me that was all a bad dream."

Hermione helped Ron to his feet and said "Sorry, it's all real."

Ron looked at Sirius and Hermione funnily. "But where's Draco?" he said.

Sirius shrugged and Hermione said, "He wasn't with us."

Someone coughed slightly. Everyone turned to look at their rescuer. He was standing at the door, glancing anxiously down the corridor. He was fidgeting slightly, "I'm sorry but we have to get going, a Death Eater could come around the corner any minute," he said.

The group nodded and walked out, the stranger in lead, holding his wand ahead of him. Hermione walked into step with Ron.

"Ron."

"Yes?"

"I've just realised something."

"What?"

"You said Draco instead of Malfoy."

Ron shrugged in a would-be casual way but Hermione smiled knowingly. She knew the real reason. They walked along in silence for the next couple of minutes but suddenly Ron stopped and made a slight choking noise. Hermione stopped and looked at him quizzically

"Ron, what's " a sudden pressure in her neck made her stop talking. She moved her head ever so slightly to the side and saw Sirius in much the same situation. Their rescuer was nowhere to be seen.

"Don't move a muscle," hissed a harsh voice.