Harry Potter and the Amulet of the Moon

Chapter 14

Azkaban

Harry exchanged a startled glance with Ron. "How?" asked Harry in disbelief. "They were supposed to be staying at Grimmauld Place!"

"They hadn't quite gotten there yet," said Bill. "The last thing I heard was that Mum was getting them ready to make the move, but it was taking a while. She thought they were well-hidden enough at Muriel's that there was no danger."

"So what happened?" asked Ron, agitation and concern clear on his face.

"I'm not sure; I just heard about it after it happened. But I have a guess. A few weeks ago, Fred was over, and he said that he thought it might be worth a try to contact Percy, get him on our side. That it would be clear to him by now that You-Know-Who really was back, and that he was essentially working for him by remaining where he was. I told him I wouldn't do it, that it was too dangerous. I'd guess that he decided to do it anyway. He meets Percy quietly, Percy agrees to visit the house, Percy was unknowingly under observation by Dark wizards, and they found out where the Weasleys were. However it happened, they're in Azkaban now, including Percy."

Ron turned to Harry, who knew what his friend would say before he said it. "Harry, we've got to get them out of there."

Malfoy scoffed. "Oh, bust prisoners out of Azkaban? No problem! Just that it's never been done successfully. I don't think even the Auror Leader can pull that off."

Ron stared at Malfoy. "No one's ever been able to kill dementors before, either."

Malfoy's jaw dropped. "You can kill dementors?" gasped Lupin. "How?"

Before Harry could answer, Malfoy exploded in anger. "Damn you, Potter! You said you told me everything you could do, but you kept this from me!"

Defensively, Harry found himself raising his voice. "You asked what my Auror Leader powers were. This isn't an Auror Leader power. It's just a spell."

"Same thing--"

"It is not the same thing--"

"You knew I would want to know!"

Harry's mystification was clear on his face. "Why would you want to know?"

Malfoy threw up his hands in frustration. "Idiot! My parents are in Azkaban!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?"

Malfoy's face had the 'how can you be so stupid' look. "It's common knowledge! It was in the Prophet the day after it happened, for Merlin's sake!"

"We aren't from here, remember? And when we mentioned your parents, you got really angry, and said it wasn't to be talked about!"

Highly frustrated, Malfoy close his eyes for a few seconds. "What did you think happened to them?"

"Killed, or tortured into insanity."

"It never entered your mind that they might have been put into Azkaban?"

Harry shrugged. "The way you were being about it, the... intensity, I guess, of your attitude, made me think it was something they weren't going to be able to come back from."

"And you wouldn't have an... intense feeling if your parents were thrown into Azkaban because of something you did? Weasley here looks pretty intense to me!"

"He just found out," Harry pointed out. "I don't know what to say, Malfoy. It just didn't enter my mind. Maybe that means I'm stupid, but it's just a fact."

Heatedly, Malfoy pressed him, "And if you had thought of it, would you have told me that you might have a way to rescue them?"

That's the question, isn't it, thought Harry. The fact was that he thought Malfoy's parents more than deserved to be in Azkaban, just not for the reasons they'd been put there. But he knew he had to be very careful what he said to Malfoy, and he hoped that Ron wouldn't say something in the heat of the moment about it being inappropriate to consider the rescue of his family and the rescue of Malfoy's parents to be equivalent. The thought gave him an idea.

He turned to Ron. "Go to the Room of Requirement, get Neville, and bring him here. Of course, make sure there's someone to hold the room open."

Ron nodded, got up, and left the room. Harry turned to Malfoy. "To be honest, Malfoy, I'm not sure. I think I would have told you, because I'd know you'd want to know. I might have even agreed to try to go get them. But you need to know that this spell isn't simple, and it isn't fast. You don't just point it at a dementor and it dies. I don't even know for sure that we can do this, and if we do, it'll be highly risky. We could easily fail."

Malfoy was still angry. "I think you're lying, Potter. I don't think you'd have been willing to--"

"Draco," interrupted Blackstone. "The Auror Leader is telling you the truth, as he sees it. He admitted he does not know what he would have said. Your emotion, understandably, is interfering with your judgment."

"You mean the Auror Leader never lies?" Malfoy challenged Blackstone.

"No, I do not mean that," replied Blackstone calmly. "But he does not lie to those with whom he is conducting operations, to his allies. If he were the kind to do that, he would fail the test. You know that."

Malfoy turned away in frustration, now unable to take his anger out on Harry. "Why Longbottom?"

Harry explained the nature of the spell. Wide-eyed, Malfoy turned to him again. "You mean, I won't even be able to do the spell?"

"Not without three people with whom you have mutual implicit trust, no."

"Great," Malfoy muttered. "I'm going anyway, though."

"Nothing's been decided yet," Harry pointed out. Malfoy and Hermione wore equally surprised expressions. Harry sighed. "You know I want to, Hermione. You know I don't want the Weasleys to spend one more minute in there than they have to. But we're not going unless there's a plan, and a reasonable chance of success." To Hermione, he added, "You remember, the last time I ran off with no plan, it didn't work out so well. I'm not going to do the same thing again."

Ron and Neville walked in. "So, when are we going?" asked Ron. Neville nodded in agreement, as Harry realized that Neville, his girlfriend in a terrible place, was no less eager to go.

"As I was saying, we're going to have a plan first. And we're not going to do it this switch. The next one, at the earliest."

"Why?" asked Ron in disbelief, looking as if he'd been betrayed.

Kingsley spoke. "I'd do the same thing, Ron. At the switch, you'll be able to talk to your George and Ginny, who'll be on the island with you. You can get information, see their memories in the Pensieve. That information will be incredibly important. We can form the general plan here, today, but when you see that, you can make the plan much more specific. That'll increase your chances of success."

"And my family is just supposed to suffer in the meantime?"

"Better to suffer for four days and have a good chance of rescue, rather than one day, and have a poor chance," countered Kingsley.

"Do you have any idea how bad it is in there--"

"Ron!" exclaimed Harry, his tone one of a reprimand.

Ron looked to Hermione questioningly. "Before the Merlin first ceremony," she reminded him.

Ron winced slightly, then looked at Kingsley. "Sorry."

"If you're referring to what I think you are," said Kingsley warily, "that's not known by many people."

"Your counterpart told us," explained Harry. "There was a reason."

"I have to wonder what else he's told you," said Kingsley unhappily. "But yes, I know that very well. A few days is bad, but can be recovered from. We'll only have one chance at this. The fact that your spell needs four people, and can only do one dementor at a time, isn't good. It's not hard to imagine that you could be overwhelmed. You'll have to plan this carefully."

Harry nodded. "Tell us the tactical situation regarding Azkaban."

"First of all, it's fairly far out at sea, maybe fifty miles," said Kingsley. "Most of the shore is rocky, but there are a few small areas that are more like a beach, pebbles rather than sand. The island is roughly circular, with a diameter of half a mile. The prison, which is within a roughly square-shaped tower, has only about sixty cells. It would be more crowded than usual right now. Cells are right next to each other, about six rows of ten. The bars aren't as close to each other as in Muggle prisons, but enough to stop a human getting through."

"But not a dog," Harry recalled.

"Exactly."

"So it's the cells, not the walls, that stop people from getting out? I mean, Sirius was able to get past the walls somehow."

"There are gaps," agreed Kingsley. "But it's not even the cells, really. It's what the dementors do to you. There might be up to six people in one cell, and with clear minds, they might be able to work together to escape. Even so, of course, where would they go? But since their minds are so muddled, they can't make a reasonable try at escape. They're suffering what Muggles would describe as clinical depression. Worse, in a way."

"I understand. Okay, the first question is how we get out there--"

"Harry," interrupted Kingsley, "are you talking about releasing just the Weasleys and the Malfoys?"

"I hadn't gotten that far," Harry admitted. "Why?"

"Because you're talking about killing all of the dementors, right? Well, suppose you do. You can't just take the Weasleys and Malfoys, whoever else you know isn't a criminal, and then leave. You have to take them all. Because with no dementors there, there's no one to give the remaining prisoners food and water. They'd die within days--"

"They must have a normal way to get food onto the island," pointed out Hermione. "It would just have to be distributed by humans instead of dementors."

"And can we be sure that the Ministry will continue sending those supplies, after the dementors are gone? They might consider it a security risk. Nobody would want to be the one to do it, and people might starve in the meantime. There's a saying in shops, both wizard and Muggle: You broke it, you bought it. If we destroy the system at Azkaban, we become morally responsible for what happens afterwards."

Harry sighed. "Okay. So, we fly out there, set up a Portkey, and let everybody out? Where do we put them?"

"It's a good question," Kingsley agreed. "Also, some of the prisoners may be, not to put too fine a point on it, insane. They may not come with you even if you open the cell door and tell them to come, and it may be difficult to coerce them. So we may have problems with that, too."

"First, let's think about the tactical operation," said Harry. "Flying and putting the Portkey up works, right?"

"There aren't many other possibilities, but yes. Dementors aren't that fast, you can outfly them. Of course, you have to land to do the spell--"

"Why can't we do the spell from the air?" pointed out Ron.

"No," said Harry firmly. "You and I could, but Hermione and Neville aren't experienced fliers, and there's a big element of risk in the air. It has to be on the ground."

"We'd be willing to take the chance," said Neville, whose face reflected that he couldn't disagree with Harry tactically, and felt ashamed that his lack of ability limited the type of operation available.

"I'm not, Neville," responded Harry. "Only if it was an absolute last resort would I consider it, and I think it can work from the ground. We just have to work out what we'll do if we're under attack from a hundred dementors at once. That's the key thing."

After a short pause in which no one spoke, Harry resumed. "Okay. What I'd say right now is that we need to do some serious thinking about this. Nobody's ever tried this, but the reason they haven't tried it is because there was never this possibility of killing dementors before. It's a completely new tactical situation, and there could be ideas we wouldn't normally think of that could really help us. We need to have everyone throw out ideas, and see what happens."

"It seems to me," said Hermione, "that our plans would depend on how many people are doing this. The more, the better."

"I'd think," said Neville, "that there'd be no shortage of volunteers, especially when they find out who was taken. We might get twenty or thirty--all of us on the island, and most or all of the DA members not on the island."

Harry turned to Luna. "You should stay behind, be my eyes and ears--"

"You don't need eyes and ears back here," she said, with an unusually stern expression. "You don't want me to come because of the danger. I've told you not to think of me as a girlfriend in this situation. This is like when you didn't want Ginny coming with you for Horcrux-hunting. It wasn't fair to her, and it wouldn't be fair to me. I'm going with you. Besides, you need me."

He frowned, confused. "Why you especially?"

Hermione understood. "As backup."

Luna nodded. "If one of the four of you is incapacitated, I can step in. At least, I think I can." She looked at the others expectantly.

As her boyfriend, he didn't want her along, but as Auror Leader, he could definitely see the point. He turned to Ron, Hermione, and Neville. "You know what the spell involves. You have to totally trust the person, with your life, and feel close to them. You need to be completely honest--don't worry about her feelings, or mine--because if it doesn't work, we could all die. Are you 100% confident that this spell will work with Luna substituting for any one of us?"

To Harry's mild surprise, none of them even hesitated; all nodded or said 'yes.'

"Okay, then. Now, before we start with the ideas, I did want to find out what's happening with our Hogwarts operation from yesterday." He looked at Kingsley and Blackstone.

"The short answer," said Kingsley, "is that You-Know-Who is responding aggressively. This morning's Prophet, under his influence... well, here's the headline." He handed Harry a paper containing two large, bold headlines: Sabotage at Prophet, Chaos at Hogwarts.

"To save you the time of reading it, it's a full-throated hatchet job. Enemies of the government take over the Prophet to spread misinformation aimed at discrediting educators, children put at risk by reckless activists who infiltrated Hogwarts. The most important thing is that they said that two students, a third and a fourth-year Slytherin, went missing in the 'chaos.' We know that's not true, since we deactivated the Portkeys before we left the park. We assume that they found two Slytherins who didn't go--they gave the names, both are children of Ministry workers, maybe under pressure not to contradict the official account. It's obviously a propaganda offensive, trying to put us on the defensive."

"Personally, I regard this as a highly favorable development," said Blackstone. "Only the ignorant will believe this, and it represents further overreach on the part of the Dark Lord. I have been getting unofficial reports, as has Mr. Shacklebolt, that as you intended, children have been telling their parents about the use of the Cruciatus Curse. Parents have been talking to each other. It is too soon for a consensus to have formed, but the desired effect is occurring."

"But won't some people believe this?" asked Ron.

"Yes, I did refer to those who are ignorant," replied Blackstone. "They can be found in any country. They are useful for forming mobs, if the government desires, but lack any other real use. Those with any degree of knowledge and power understand that the more politically sensitive a story is, the less it can be believed. A story about Quidditch has credibility; a story about the Ministry does not."

"Why does the Prophet try to please the Ministry?" asked Harry.

Blackstone turned to Harry. "Because it benefits the publisher and the reporters of the Prophet to do so. They socialize with the rich and powerful, are wined, dined, given gifts, and treated to tidbits of political gossip, which of course must never be printed. They are made to feel part of the power structure. Printing a politically unappealing truth would cause the politicians to shun them, removing their favored status. Some younger reporters are idealistic, and try to report the truth; they are not allowed to write political stories until they have a true understanding of the situation."

Kind of sad, thought Harry, but at least it's good to understand that. "I could always find those kids, if they're at Hogwarts, and produce them publicly," suggested Harry.

"I would not recommend that," said Blackstone. "This is just what they put in the Prophet; you would get nothing done if you spent your time responding to their fabrications. Now, if they turned up dead, their bodies shown publicly, that would be a different matter. The point is that it is actions that should be responded to, not words. The false Prophet--please forgive the unintentional pun, as I loathe puns--would have been useless without the Hogwarts side of the operation. To the extent possible, every operation should deal the Dark Lord's side some kind of real blow, with impact, even if it is only the removal of some operatives, as was the case when they followed me."

Harry was about to speak, but Malfoy beat him to it. "Mr. Blackstone, just out of curiosity, how would you evaluate the Azkaban operation we're going to do, in terms of its impact in the fight against the Dark Lord?"

Blackstone sounded a little surprised, though his face gave no indication. "It is an interesting question, Draco. I understand that you and Leader Potter would be determined that this operation occur even if its impact was negative, but the question should be considered." He paused and thought for a few seconds. "I would say that it will have a positive impact, its largest strength deriving from something you would consider incidental: the destruction of the dementors. The Dark Lord and his allies will be shocked that this is possible, and they will wonder what else you have up your sleeve that they are not aware of.

"In this vein, if I may make a recommendation that is somewhat in contradiction to that of Auror Shacklebolt... I would suggest the following: that rather than allow everyone to escape, when the dementors have fled or been killed, you and your people conduct an inventory of the prison. Visit every cell, get the names of the individuals, write them down. Those who you are sure are there for political reasons, feel free to release. But there are some genuine criminals in Azkaban, and dozens of them turning up in wizarding society will provide your opposition an enormous--and true--public relations argument. 'Look at these people, they released murderers and other dangerous criminals!' There is no secure place to put them. Leave the Portkey, and inform the Ministry that the prisoners must now be provisioned without the supervision of the dementors. Having done this, if the prisoners starve and perish, it will be the Ministry's responsibility, not yours."

Harry didn't care for the tone of the last sentence, as if it hardly mattered whether the prisoners died or not, but he knew he had to ignore it. "Kingsley, what do you think?"

"I admit I'd been thinking of releasing the prisoners into wizarding society as a tactical thing, dumping a huge problem into their laps. But the gentleman has a good point about how it would look. What he said is worth consideration."

"Another thing I feel worthy of consideration," added Blackstone, "is the political environment after the mission is accomplished. There will be some awe in the political world that a way has been found to kill dementors, and as I have said, the Dark wizards would be on the defensive. Assuming political reaction from the Azkaban operation is positive, it is possible that the time would be ripe to play our trump card: The Auror Leader could announce himself, give a speech in Diagon Alley or the Ministry Atrium, and say that he and the Aurors will turn their attention to fighting the Dark influence in our society. He could assert personal control over Hogwarts and responsibility for its security; many parents would welcome this, and send their children back. He might even persuade the Council to change Ministers. My point is that under the right circumstances, the power of such a move would be at its highest."

As soon as Blackstone's intent had become clear, Harry had been thinking furiously about his answer. He felt strongly that he didn't want to announce himself, but he himself was not sure of the reason. After Blackstone finished speaking, all eyes turned to Harry. Trying not to betray any expression, he just nodded. "I'll think about that, if everything goes okay with Azkaban. So, let's get back to that. Tactical ideas. What's the best way to do this?"

* * * * *

The meeting broke up after an hour; a general plan had been decided, with final details to be worked out pending further information from Ginny and George after the switch. Harry shuddered every time he imagined what they, and the Weasleys, were going through at that moment. At least for George and Ginny, he thought, there was the knowledge that they'd be back on the island after a certain amount of time. The other Weasleys had no such luxury, and might very well believe that they'd be there for the rest of their lives, condemned to a slow descent into madness. The knowledge redoubled his determination to get them out of there--quickly, but more importantly, without fail--and to kill or permanently drive off their tormentors.

He saw Malfoy and Blackstone head out of the cave and slowly walk into the area of sparse trees and shrubbery nearby, farther and farther from the cave. He knew he shouldn't, but he decided to try to listen as he sat on the ground against the large trunk of a long-fallen tree. Ron came out to talk to Harry, but Harry put him off, saying he just needed some quiet right then. Ron wordlessly returned to the cave, and only then did it occur to Harry to wonder whether Ron had needed to talk about his family situation.

Ten minutes later, Harry finally heard something. "This should be okay," said Malfoy. "I just don't want Potter overhearing. He's got special hearing, but we're a few hundred meters away from the cave by now. I'd think that should be enough."

"What did you wish to talk to me about, Draco?"

"A few things, sir, but the main one is about my father. I want to rescue him, of course, but I'm also concerned about how he'll react to me. He ended up in Azkaban because I betrayed the Dark Lord. I'd be very surprised if he wasn't tortured before it happened, and who knows, maybe my mother as well." Harry could hear the pain in Malfoy's voice. "I mean, I know I did the right thing, and I know you said before that it wasn't my fault. The question is, will he see it that way?"

"I can understand why this troubles you," said Blackstone gently. "I simply cannot know the answer to your question. He may very well blame you, or he may blame himself for placing you in such a position. In a way, it will be a test of character for him. It is to be hoped that he will realize his mistake, and understand that he should blame no one but himself. If he blames you, it will be a matter of his failure to take responsibility for his own actions."

"But I'm his son. Isn't a son supposed to be loyal to his father, right or wrong? The bottom line is, I didn't do what he needed me to do."

"Listen to me carefully, Draco; this is very important. What he 'needed you to do' was kill, and as I said, killing does not come easily. Of course, I feel that it should not be done at all, and it should most definitely not be imposed on another, never mind someone so young.

"I dislike saying this, because I still have affection for your father, for the man I hoped he would become, and may yet become. But the effect he had on you is not unlike that of a man who accumulates a large debt, and willingly or not, passes on the responsibility for that debt to his son. By following the Dark Lord, he placed himself in thrall, and by extension, his family as well.

"I say this not to criticize or blame him, but to make a point. You must not feel responsible for being unable to pay your father's debts; such a thing should never be expected of a son, not to mention such a psychically crushing debt. I have said this before, both to you and to your father, but I say it again: Power is desirable, but violence in achieving it is not necessary. It is possible to gain power by violence, but such a means is crude, and not worthy of an intelligent and sophisticated person. Violence degrades society, and makes it unpleasant to live in, and unsatisfying to rule.

"You see, a man who has killed finds it difficult to look in the mirror; this is our psyche's way of telling us that murder is wrong. A man who uses violence to achieve power cannot then enjoy it, because his psyche has been... mutilated, let us say; in order to justify what he has done, he has convinced himself that cold-blooded murder is justifiable. A man who believes that will know that only the naked exercise of violent power will prevent the same thing from happening to him, and so he can never rest easy. Your reluctance to kill Dumbledore can be seen as a type of self-preservation. That instinct is there for a reason. If your father blames you for possessing it, then he has placed his self-interest ahead of yours. This may not help you if you face his wrath, but it is the truth.

"I know it may be difficult for you to accept what I say. You may wish to ruminate on it for a time, as it will not be immediately that you meet him. Also, keep in mind that he will have been in the company of dementors for six months, a very long time. He and your mother may not quite be themselves. They will need time to recover."

There was a long silence. "I understand, sir. Thank you. The other question I had was about Potter. You wouldn't have seen this, of course, but when you talked about him announcing himself as Auror Leader, he had a look on his face that said it was the last thing he wanted to do. It seemed to be all he could do to pretend that it didn't bother him. I wondered if you had any idea why that was."

"Yes, I noticed as well, Draco. I have learned to associate changes in the power levels I perceive with emotions, and that he does not want to announce himself was quite clear. As to the reason, I can only guess; it may even be that he himself does not know.

"All I am sure of is that he sees such a thing as being wrong in some way. The reason is either unknown to him, or highly personal; as you noted, he does not wish to share it. If he does know, he believes that it will not be considered a sufficient reason by others, even if he himself finds it so."

"Strange," said Malfoy. "You don't suppose, do you, that it's something weird, like since he's not the Leader in this dimension, that it would be dishonest to claim that he was? Something like that?"

"We really do not have enough information for such speculation; those who know him best would be better equipped to make that judgment."

"I'm worried, sir, because what if the time comes when he needs to do that, and he refuses for whatever reason it is?"

"I am confident, Draco, that if it becomes necessary, he will overcome whatever is troubling him, and do the right thing. Remember what one must endure to become Leader in the first place. In the meantime, I suggest that you try to place yourself in his shoes, and speculate about what his reason is. You will probably not succeed, as it is likely connected to his own unique experiences, but it is valuable as a learning exercise."

Malfoy and Blackstone went on to another subject, and Harry stopped listening. What, he wondered, was the reason? He knew he had to figure it out, because the issue might soon come to a head. But first things first, he thought, as he got up to go talk to Ron.

* * * * *

There would be no operations that day. They focused on preparations for the secondary aspects of the upcoming Azkaban operation: temporary living quarters for those they rescued, what if any announcements to make, how or whether to be sure that the Ministry would take care of those left behind. Harry and the others had reluctantly accepted Blackstone's argument that releasing all of the prisoners would be a disaster. They discussed another problem: that clear-minded prisoners would now have more time and ability to plan and execute escape attempts. Nothing was decided, but Blackstone emphasized Kingsley's point that if they radically changed the system of incarceration, they had some responsibility for what the system became. Harry firmly pointed out that whatever it became, it would be less bad than it was now.

Katie Bell had procured a new supply of fake Galleons, and Hermione went about charming them as she had in fifth year. Angelina then distributed them to all DA members; the timing was fortuitous, as it would be helpful to be able to signal everyone when the time came to go to Azkaban. Before the switch back to the island, Harry did some thinking, then talked to Kingsley about going public as Auror Leader; he was interested to find out whether the two versions of the same man would have the same opinion about the matter. As usual, he made sure to be lying down in advance of the switch.

In the tent, he leaped to his feet and quickly walked outside. Neville was hugging Ginny tightly, and Angelina was holding George. Harry sat, deciding not to speak until George or Ginny was ready to say something. A grim silence prevailed.

Finally, George let go of Angelina and turned toward the others. "You know, it's really something... I know dementors can be killed, and I'm sure there's a rescue operation on--"

"Next switch," confirmed Harry.

"Thought so. But even knowing that, it was very easy to almost give up hope. I swear, even murderers don't belong in that place. No one does."

"I assume you told the other Weasleys that we'd be coming?"

"Yes, but I don't think they believed us. If I could almost give up hope, they definitely could."

"You weren't separated?" asked Ron.

George shook his head. "All in the same cell, and it's not exactly big. There does seem to be a crowding problem. And from the category of 'it's a small world,' you'll never guess who's in the cell next to us."

It was an easy question, as they knew no other people in Azkaban. "The Malfoys."

"Yes, indeed. Their punishment for Draco deciding not to kill. And before this, I'd have gotten some satisfaction out of it. Serves them right, and all that. But now... not so much."

Harry nodded. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to get a Pensieve memory, for the layout and to help plan the attack--"

"I'll do it," said Ginny, just having disengaged from Neville. She walked around the table, heading for the supply tent containing the Pensieve.

"No need to do it right this minute--"

"I'd rather, just so I don't have to think about it," she said over her shoulder. Harry followed her, and the two entered the tent.

Approaching the Pensieve, she took out her wand. "I hope I can somehow get that wand back, I really like it," she muttered as she extracted the silvery threads from her head and deposited them into the Pensieve. When she was finished, she gestured for him to look.

He hadn't planned to do it immediately, but her manner suggested that he should. He put his hand in.

To Harry's surprise, there were bars on three of the four walls of the cell; only the wall opposite the cell entrance was solid. Looking out of the front of the cell, one could see the large tower wall about fifteen meters outside the cells. The moon, three-quarters full, was visible in the sky. This was good, thought Harry, as it gave him a way to know where the Weasleys were as they approached the island tomorrow.

To Harry's surprise, the scene switched. Ginny was sitting up against the back wall, knees bent vertically in front of her, leaning forward so that her head was almost touching her knees. She looked up and saw Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, leaning against the wall that separated the Weasleys from the Malfoys. They appeared to be dozing.

In the memory, Harry saw Ginny's face, and it was a version of her he never thought he would see. Her face was twisted in rage, hatred emanating from her as though it were a physical force. It was very easy to imagine what memories had been going through her mind, probably for hours. Her... violation at the hands of Tom Riddle via his diary, a trauma that would never have happened without Lucius Malfoy. Being used as an instrument, made to put people's lives in jeopardy, then tossed aside when no longer useful... almost killed, her life almost used to bring back the life of her murderer... being forced to relive that, thought Harry, would drive anyone to look as she did.

She moved forward quietly; either no one woke up, or no one bothered to look at her, no doubt lost in their own private hells. She sat near the side of the cell against which the Malfoys rested, and reached into her robe. She untied and pulled out a sash, which some robes contained for various possible uses.

Quietly and methodically, she put one end of the sash through the bar above Lucius Malfoy's head and pulled it through, so that she was holding both ends; she then moved it down. Harry's eyes went wide as he realized what she intended to do. Her eyes revealed her state of mind: it was as if she was experiencing the trauma again, probably over and over again, and this was a way to make it stop. She had to make it stop.

She eased the sash down until it was almost atop Malfoy's head, then she gave it some slack so that it moved down in front of his head. When the sash was level with his neck, she pulled it gently. It was around his throat, and she held both ends in her hands. A chill went down Harry's spine.

Perhaps unconsciously noticing that something was amiss, Malfoy opened his eyes and slowly turned his head in her direction; she reflexively tightened her grip somewhat. The red cloth was now slightly tight around his neck, and it was clear that he could feel it.

He looked at her, and in his eyes, Harry could see the toll that six months in the place had taken. He looked like a shell of a man, surviving on pure instinct, gaunt and hollow-eyed. His eyes met hers, and some life came back into them; he recognized her, saw what her hands held, and understood the situation perfectly. To Harry's surprise, he showed no fear.

She moved her arms into a position of readiness to pull tightly. Malfoy noticed this too, but again, had no overt reaction. He finally spoke, in a hoarse voice, not much above a whisper. "It would be a mercy."

She blinked, and it was as if she had just woken from a dream, the 'normal' Ginny taking over from the dementor-addled version of herself. She gasped, pulled one end of the sash until she held all of it, and rolled over onto the dirty floor of the cell and started to sob.

The memory ended, and Harry took his hand out of the Pensieve. Ginny was looking at him, seeming to gauge his reaction. "I've seen your Auror Leader test," she said, by way of explanation. "I decided on the spur of the moment to show you this, before I lost my nerve. I thought you deserved to see it. You may decide to reconsider whether I should be an Auror, and I wouldn't blame you."

Overcome by compassion, he walked over and hugged her. She returned the embrace, and he said nothing until he let go. "I wouldn't judge anybody by what they did, or thought about doing, under that kind of duress. To say it wouldn't be fair is putting it mildly."

"I have a feeling," she said, "that Draco wouldn't agree with you on that."

He understood that she was referring to the likelihood that after their rescue, the older Malfoy might tell his son what had happened. "If that's true, then it'll only be because Draco has never been up close and personal with a dementor. And I can say what I said, because I have. It seemed like Lucius understood."

"It's strange," she said, "I'm never going to have warm feelings for him, after what he did, but in that one moment when I looked at him, I got the feeling that when we're rescued, he'll be different than he was. I mean that I think he'll join us, do what he can to see Voldemort killed. Partly because he'll hate Voldemort for putting him there, but I got the impression that he now realizes that the stuff he did was wrong."

Harry had seen the same look Ginny had, and hadn't gotten that feeling, but he knew that as the one who had been there, she might well be right. "It wouldn't shock me," he said. "I just hope he remembers it after he's been out of there for a while."

"I'd guess he will," she said. "That place changes you."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, let's go back out there. I'll go over the rescue plan with everyone."

* * * * *

A few hours later, Harry sat in his tent with Luna, Ron, Hermione, and Kingsley. "I wanted to talk to you all about what came up on the other side, about whether I should announce myself. I want to know what you all think about it." He glanced at Hermione, indicating that he wanted to hear from her first.

She hesitated. "It's hard to disagree with what Blackstone said. I know what you've said in the past about the fact that it's you stirring up the Dark wizards really strongly, but if we pull off this rescue and kill the dementors, that's going to stir them up no matter who did it. But doing this puts a lot of pressure on you, so it's really your decision--"

"Hermione, can I interrupt for a minute?" asked Kingsley, who turned to Harry. "We need to lay this out in the open. There are two facets of this decision. One is the practical aspect, which as Hermione said, suggests that if the Azkaban operation succeeds, it should be done. It seems obvious that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

"The second one, and the one that I suspect weighs more heavily on you, is a personal one. The other Harry is in a coma, and you can't talk to him, can't ask him what he thinks. Not that you don't have some idea of what he'd say. It seems highly likely that, from a personal point of view, he would not want you to do this. Now, if a way isn't found to reverse this switching, and you end up living your lives on the other side, it won't be an issue. But if you announce this, and do manage to get back, you'll have changed the other Harry's life in an irrevocable and unpleasant way. You, Harry, have never liked things being expected of you. He would be expected to become Auror Leader. If he took the test and failed, he would be perceived by some as a failure. If he chose not to take the test, he would be seen as not living up to his promise, letting society down. It would be a burden he'd carry all his life. And even if he took it and passed, as was the case with you, maybe that wasn't what he wanted to do with his life.

"So, you're faced with a choice similar to the one I was faced with when I made you take the Auror Leader test. Do what you know the person would want, even if it would cost lives, or do what's best for society, when it places a huge burden on someone you care about. And about this, Harry, I cannot advise you, for obvious reasons. This isn't a decision you need advice on. This is like when you let George go to Australia, one in which you look deep into your soul and make a choice." He looked at Harry expectantly.

Harry was silent; he had realized before the switch that this was the reason he didn't want to go public, and he wanted people's opinions of the situation as a practical matter, which was how the other Kingsley had answered it. Looking around at the somber faces of his three friends, he understood that they agreed with Kingsley.

"Hermione, what do you think is the difference between what I can accomplish over there as Harry Potter, versus as Harry Potter, Auror Leader?"

He could guess the sense of her answer from her expression. "Unfortunately, quite a lot. Not that there aren't a lot of people who respect Harry Potter and would follow him as their leader if asked, but as Auror Leader, you'd have power at the Ministry; you could almost single-handedly put a stop to anti-Muggle-born abuses, and that's just a start." Ron nodded as he listened, suggesting that he'd already considered that angle. "It would be a strong blow against Voldemort, and it would almost definitely save lives.

"Also, it would give anything you did legitimacy, like the Hogwarts operation. You wouldn't be an insurgent; you'd be the officially-sanctioned protector of society. You'd have access to resources--"

"Yes," Harry interrupted, "but does it make it any more likely that Voldemort could be defeated? I mean, that's the real question."

Ron jumped in. "It's not the only question. I mean, we're going to rescue my family, and that has nothing to do with beating Voldemort. Not everything's about that. By doing this, we'd be stopping torture, ending suffering for dozens of people, and stopping a great wrong, the persecution of Muggle-borns. Now believe me, the last thing I want to do is pressure you. I can only imagine how you'd have reacted to this last year, when we were running around the English countryside. But other people are suffering, like my family is. I do think that has to be considered. Sorry," he added with a light shrug.

"No, you're right," said Harry, with a defeated air.

"To answer your question," said Hermione sympathetically, "about defeating Voldemort, I think it makes it substantially more likely. You'd change, in his eyes, from an ordinary 17-year-old who once got lucky to a formidable and powerful adversary, a clear threat to his power. He'd be more desperate to beat you, and that would very likely lead to mistakes on his part. Part of beating him is getting into the same place as him--which isn't easy--and setting up some way to defeat him. I don't know if you could, even with your new dueling skills, take him on head-to-head. Maybe you could. But I think you're going to have to beat him with your mind, not your wand."

Harry decided to ask the difficult question. "What would you do if you were me?"

She answered quickly, causing Harry to think that she'd considered the question already. "I'd do it. We've all made sacrifices for the sake of doing the right thing, fighting against evil. What we'd be imposing on the other Harry wouldn't be enjoyable, but he could manage. He's got plenty of money, so he could live out his life as he chose, out of the public spotlight. As sacrifices go, having people know you could be the Auror Leader isn't the worst thing in the world. I'd even go so far as to say that being made Auror Leader involuntarily is more of a sacrifice than the one you'd be imposing on him."

Harry glanced at Kingsley, whose minimalist reaction indicated that he agreed with Hermione. "Ron?"

"I'd do it too," said Ron. "But one thing I'd like to do is for me and Hermione to leave a Pensieve message for our counterparts, let them register their complaints or objections before we do it. I know they won't be happy. But we've been through more than they have. We'll let them know how important it is."

They talked for a while longer, but Harry knew that everything important had already been said. Luna stayed afterwards, and they sat on the sofa holding hands. "So," he asked, "what do you think?"

"I think," she said gently, "that you already know that it's the thing to do. We all sympathize with your not wanting to hurt your counterpart, but he's Harry Potter too, just a little younger. You were angry with Kingsley for making you take the Auror Leader test, but eventually you understood, and forgave him. Your other self will understand, too."

He glanced down, and said nothing more. Unpleasant as the situation still was, he found that he appreciated the fact that he knew that she would tell him the truth, even if it wasn't what he wanted to hear.

* * * * *

The next morning, two hours before dawn, standing on a rocky beach on England's east coast were Harry, Malfoy, Kingsley, and Tonks. After the switch, there had been some debate as to who would fly, and who would take the Portkey that Kingsley would set up. Ron and Hermione had wanted to go, but logistically, there was no need for more than four people to make the trip, which would be long and uncomfortable. Two Aurors would go, based on their training and experience; Malfoy would go, mainly because he had loudly insisted on it. Harry wondered how much of Malfoy's fervor for the mission was simply wanting his parents back, and how much was his own feeling of responsibility for their plight. Naturally, he kept such thoughts to himself.

Kingsley set up the Portkey and activated it. "Okay, it's up at this end. First thing I'll do once we get there is set the other side up. Let's go."

All four took off. Kingsley flew ahead with Tonks, while Harry flew a dozen meters behind, and a few meters above, with Malfoy. "Beautiful weather," remarked Malfoy sarcastically as they ascended. It was cold and drizzling, and misty even when not drizzling.

Harry shrugged. "I've flown in worse. And we have magical shields so we don't get soaked. But yeah, blue skies and mild temperatures would be nice."

"So, why isn't everyone flying over?"

Harry remembered that this part of the discussion had taken place on the island. "We thought, I guess the other Kingsley really, that more people flying meant more chance of something going wrong in mid-flight. This is an almost one-hour flight, and I didn't want to think about people like Hermione, Ernie, and a few others who don't have that much broom experience. So, the ones who went had to be those who'd spent a fair amount of time on a broom."

"But are you sure Shacklebolt is going to be able to get the Portkey going before the dementors are on top of us? I mean, if they're swarming around it, it won't be of much use."

Harry nodded. "That was the main problem. We did, of course, consider making this a completely broom-based operation."

"I don't see why it isn't," agreed Malfoy. "More maneuverability, more speed--"

"You mean, you don't know why we didn't do it that way?"

Irritably, Malfoy responded, "Of course I know, I was there at the meeting--"

"You said you didn't see why--"

"It's just an expression. You fall off, you're dead. I understand that. Maybe I should have phrased it more precisely, and said, 'I don't see why you didn't think it was worth the risk.'"

"Speaking as someone who's fallen off a broom because of a dementor, I have a unique perspective--"

"Is this about you, Potter? You're afraid you're going to fall off?" Malfoy's tone strongly implied that Harry was behaving in a cowardly fashion.

Harry bit back the sharp retort that was almost past his lips. "It's about the mission, Malfoy. Kingsley agreed it was the best idea, the safest. All I meant was that I know how easily it can happen. If this mission only included people like me, you, Ron, and the Aurors--experienced fliers--then it might be worth the risk. We're faster than them on brooms, and we could stay out of their way. But to kill them, we need Hermione, Neville, and Luna as backup, and they've never spent much time on brooms. They couldn't maneuver like we can, and I don't fancy risking their lives to gain a tactical advantage. It can be done this way, and with less risk. So, we're doing it."

"You don't have to get all high and mighty about it," retorted Malfoy; Harry only now realized that his last sentence had contained more than a little irritation.

"I just didn't appreciate the suggestion that this is because I'm scared--"

"Well, let's be fair, in third year you were fainting left and right--"

"Goddamnit, Malfoy! I'm responsible for these people's lives, don't you get that? Number one thing is, nobody dies! If somebody dies because I picked a plan that was riskier than it needed to be..." He took a breath to calm himself down. Without turning his head to look at Malfoy, he went on, "If I'm scared of anything, I'm scared of that."

In the silence Harry continued to fix his eyes forward, not wanting to look over to check Malfoy's expression. Doesn't matter what he thinks, thought Harry. He's never going to know what this kind of responsibility feels like.

To Harry's great surprise, he heard a word he thought he would never hear from this Malfoy. "Sorry." Trying not to appear surprised, Harry now looked over; Malfoy's expression wasn't exactly contrite, but showed some understanding of Harry's feelings.

"I know you're trying not to react to my little comments, Potter," Malfoy went on. "Guess that one just hit you the wrong way, and I can see why. At first, I had to stop myself from insulting you and your counterparts every single sentence, it was such a habit. But I suppose enough time has passed that I should be able to put a lid on it. Not fair for you to make Weasley do all the work."

Harry grunted. "He'll appreciate that. Especially now."

"He and I have something in common now, that's for sure," agreed Malfoy. "Anyway, I shouldn't have suggested that you were scared. Obviously, I know better. I suppose I was just curious why you fainted so much back then."

Especially in view of Malfoy's apology, he supposed he should indulge his curiosity. "When they got near me, I saw my parents being killed."

Malfoy let out a low whistle. "I'm surprised you'd have any memories at all from that age."

"I'd never remembered it at all, before then. It must have been buried deep. Anyway, I assume I was fainting because the memory was... unusually traumatic. That was why I went out of my way to learn the Patronus that year."

"I guess you had more than enough motivation," agreed Malfoy. "Is that why you tried so hard to find a spell to kill them, after you got rid of the Dark Lord?"

"No. It was because Kingsley--my Kingsley, the Minister--wouldn't let the dementors back into Azkaban--"

"Why? Because they allied themselves with the Dark Lord?"

"No. Because even real criminals don't deserve the suffering they inflict."

Malfoy grunted. "You would take an ethical view of it."

Harry looked over. "Have you ever been within a meter of one of them?"

"No."

"Well, if you had... you might take an ethical view of it too."

Malfoy decided not to respond. "Anyway..."

"Anyway, they responded by terrorizing the population, doing some organized attacks. There was no way to stop them, and Kingsley was coming under lots of pressure. What motivated me to look for the spell was the knowledge that Kingsley would eventually lose his position, and a Minister would be put in who would make the same deal as they had before. It was just this... blight on our society that I felt like I had to do something about if I possibly could."

Malfoy shook his head in wonder. "Most people wouldn't actually do anything about it, you know. I guess that's why you're Auror Leader."

Harry was about to point out that it wasn't how he'd become Auror Leader, but then realized that wasn't what Malfoy had meant. "I guess so," he agreed. "Not that I wanted it, but I'm stuck with it, so I might as well do the best I can."

"How did you find the spell, anyway?"

Soon he was telling Malfoy about his time in Japan, to which Malfoy listened interestedly. Almost before Harry knew it, Kingsley was signaling that they were near their destination. Looking ahead, Harry couldn't see it, but he was sure that Kingsley's navigational information wasn't wrong. Then, just as he realized he was flying through a cloud, he came out of it, and saw the island.

There appeared to be nothing exceptional about it, but as he got closer, aided by the moonlight, he saw the one feature he had worried about : almost all of the coasts were rocky, often steep rocks. He had wanted them to be able to retreat into the water if they were in danger of being overcome--that was an important element of the safety of the plan--but that looked like it was going to be difficult. Finally, as they got to within a hundred meters, he saw a tiny, three-meter-wide stretch of beach that was only a little rocky where the water met the land. It would definitely be passable if one looked where one was going, and the moonlight would serve them well.

Harry flew up alongside the Aurors and pointed. "That's the place."

"It would appear so," agreed Kingsley. "How close to that beach do you want the Portkey to be?"

"Close, but not in the way. I mean, not in the path of a retreat from the--"

"I got it," said Kingsley. "I'll double-check with you before I do it, but I know what you want. Let's head down."

They kept their eyes open for dementors as they descended, but nothing appeared. Harry could see the tower surrounding the prison, but no light of any kind emanated from the island. What a grim place, he thought.

They landed on gravelly sand, and Kingsley quickly moved to the spot on which he planned to set up the Portkey: close to the path to the beach, but not in the path of anyone retreating into the water. "Yeah, that's it. Thanks."

The Portkey was a three-meter length of chain. Kingsley threw it to the ground, pointed his wand at it, then picked it up. He disappeared, and the chain fell to the ground. Harry knew, of course, that the others would be waiting.

A few seconds later, Hermione came through, followed by Ron. Harry had debated waiting for everyone to come through before beginning the operation, but with the stretch of beach being so narrow, he had to reconsider how many people he wanted there. If thirty of them were overwhelmed, people would be tripping over each other as they retreated into the water.

Harry made a quick decision. "Tonks, go back. After Neville and Luna come through, no one else should come until we send word. Then you and Kingsley come back."

"Got it," she agreed, and picked up the Portkey and disappeared; a second later, Neville appeared, followed by Luna.

Harry turned to Ron and Hermione. "Okay, now!"

They pointed their wands at the tower wall about thirty meters away. "Reducto!" they intoned as one; their spells came together, and when the spell hit the old wall, a ten-meter-wide section was totally obliterated in a fiery explosion. That'll get their attention, thought Harry.

His Auror-enhanced sight told him that the cells holding the Weasleys and the Malfoys were almost directly in front of them. He felt a sudden panic at the thought that the dementors would suddenly start sucking out prisoners' souls, but there was little they could do about that if it happened. They had to hope the dementors would turn their attention to the invaders.

"Okay, let's get set," Harry said to the others. He, Ron, Hermione, and Neville stood as they had before when ridding their own dimension of dementors, four hands touching in such a way that every person touched all three others.

Tonks and Kingsley returned. "What took you so long?" asked Harry, watching closely for dementors.

"People were complaining about not coming--"

"Draco!" shouted a female voice in the distance. That woman's got amazing eyesight, Harry couldn't help but think.

"Mother!" gasped Malfoy, and Harry could hear real emotion in his voice.

Malfoy dashed forward, running at full speed across the rocky sands and onto the firmer ground. "Malfoy, get back!" shouted Harry, in vain. "Patronuses up," he said to his comrades, then noticed that most already were doing so. Harry briefly thought about running forward, but the whole point of staying near the water was to have a place of retreat, to make sure they weren't surrounded and overcome. If he and the others ran forward, it would jeopardize the mission and all their lives. They had to stay put.

Malfoy had almost reached the point where the wall used to be when he was suddenly intercepted by what looked like a few dozen dementors. Malfoy didn't stop fast enough, and was already weak on his feet as he staggered back, trying to get away. More dementors came in from behind him, and suddenly, he was surrounded by as many as fifty dementors. He went down.

"Damn it," said Harry. "The rest of you, keep your Patronuses here, cover us. You three, let's go."

Hermione's otter, Ron's terrier, and Neville's bear joined Harry's stag as they raced toward the prone Malfoy, lying on his back as his mother screamed in despair. "Capture, or push away?" asked Hermione.

"Capture," responded Harry, knowing it was highly risky, but making the decision intuitively. The dementors hovered above Malfoy, perhaps sucking out his soul as they spoke, all fifty seeming to occupy the same space. Was it possible to kill more than one at a time?

The four Patronuses came in from four directions and surrounded the dementors. "No!!" screamed Narcissa, as Harry assumed by the terror in her voice that she could see her son's soul being torn from his body. This had better work, he thought.

The familiar pyramid shape began to form; Ron, Neville, and Hermione's Patronuses were the three sides, and Harry's was the bottom. Dementors now tried to move, and Harry could hear a lot of groaning sounds as they pressed against the Patronuses, searching for an exit. Harry saw one slip through, and hoped it wasn't the one that had Malfoy's soul. He refocused his efforts on forming the pyramid, willing his Patronus to mesh with the other three.

Even from twenty meters away, the sounds he heard were loud, and he was sure he would never hear them again. Sounds between a groan and a whine emanated from the dementors, and they increased in pitch and frequency. The pyramid was under great stress, but seemed to be holding.

Harry heard many popping sounds; for a second, it sounded very much like when Muggles cooked popcorn, and many kernels were popping at once. Then there were many whooshing sounds, and a fair amount of what looked like ashes fell onto Malfoy. "Draco!" his mother screamed again. Other voices could be heard; clearly, many prisoners were awake and talking.

"Any others?" asked Harry.

"Except for the one that got away, no," said Kingsley. "But I'd be surprised if that was all of them."

"Me too," said Harry. "Okay, let's move forward, carefully. Tonks, go tell the others they can come now."

Ron spoke. "I'm going ahead, let my family out--"

"No!" barked Harry. "That's what got Malfoy almost killed! We don't let anyone out until the dementors are gone, or chased off. Some might try to escape from the island now that they know what we can do. Kingsley, check Malfoy, make sure he's okay."

Kingsley trotted out a little ahead of them and knelt at Malfoy's side. "He's alive," reported Kingsley, "but it's impossible to say for sure about his soul until he's conscious."

Tonks was back, and DA members started appearing and jogging up to where Harry and his party were. "Are there any more?" she asked.

"We don't know," replied Harry. "We're going to have to look around. I want you to talk to the DA people as they come in, make sure no one goes wandering off. We all stay in a group." Tonks turned and started relaying the information to those already there, then moved to the Portkey to make sure newcomers got the word.

From the cells, more noise was coming; shouts, pleas and demands to be let out. Harry knew he had to say something. He turned to the cells. "Attention, everyone," he shouted, trying to be heard over the din. "We can't let anyone out until we know the dementors are gone. After we know that, anyone who's committed no actual crime will be released. And by that I mean, if you're in here because you've committed violence, if you've stolen, if you've harmed anyone, you won't be released. But if you've harmed no one, you'll be released. Now--"

He stopped speaking because the din not only didn't settle down, it increased noticeably. More people were shouting more loudly; Harry heard things like 'I didn't do anything' and 'they made me do it.' He turned to Ron and Hermione. "Well, that was a mistake," he said wryly.

Ron shrugged. "If you'd been in there for any length of time, you might be shouting too."

"I guess," Harry admitted. He turned to address the DA members who'd gone on the mission, all of whom were now on the island. "For the time being, keep your Patronuses close to you. If we push them away, they might leave the island, and we want to--"

In his mind, he heard Luna cry, 'help.' Alarmed, quickly putting a hand up to forestall any questions, he looked upwards to get her view. He could tell that she was running; she turned to look, and over a dozen dementors were following her. How had she gotten away from the group? He knew that she was outside the tower, but on which side?

He looked at Ron, Hermione, and Neville as he took out his broom. "Watch me. When I point, Apparate to where I'm pointing."

Not waiting for their acknowledgment, he kicked off and flew upward. Heart pounding, he had to fly straight up to be able to see all sides of the tower from above. Finally, he saw it: she was already being surrounded by a group of dementors. He saw her fall, and pointed to a spot about ten meters away. He saw them Apparate to the spot, and he did as well.

Desperately worried that they were too late, he linked up with the others, and their Patronuses moved quickly to the spot where the dementors hovered over Luna. "Capture," said Harry unnecessarily as they again formed a pyramid with their Patronuses. Have to make sure none escape, thought Harry.

The pyramid formed, but just as had happened last time, one dementor was able to escape through a crack before the pyramid sealed. Again there was the popping noise, though with fewer pops this time. The lone dementor that had escaped was drifting out to sea, over the rocks.

Harry didn't run to Luna to check her condition; he focused on the dementor that had escaped. Pointing at it, he said, "We can't let it get away, it may have Luna." He looked at Ron. "We mount up and go after it." Turning to Neville and Hermione, he said, "Get brooms from Kingsley and Tonks, and join us. We'll try to use our Patronuses to push it back to the island."

Harry and Ron took off, and it didn't take long to catch up to the lone dementor, now thirty meters off the coast. Thank God they're not that fast, he thought. As they caught up to it, he saw Neville and Hermione approaching. "Bubble-head Charms, in case we fall," he shouted.

Their Patronuses approached the dementor; it tried to escape, but the Patronuses were faster. They boxed it in.

"Look!" shouted Hermione.

Keeping one eye on their quarry, Harry glanced around to see what looked like two dozen dementors converging on their position; they approached mostly from the sides and from above. He knew that tactical common sense demanded that they regroup, maybe try to herd the dementors back toward the island where the DA members could help box them in.

But he knew that he couldn't do it. He realized that the dementor that had escaped the pyramid the first time must have been the one that had sucked Malfoy's soul; it must be that it gave a dementor extra strength, enough to escape what other dementors couldn't. The one they had now must have sucked Luna's soul, but if they regrouped, it would become lost among two dozen others, and could easily escape, never to be found again. He couldn't allow it.

"Get closer in!" he shouted. He and the others moved closer to the trapped dementor as the others closed in; he could already feel the cold and terror they brought. They moved ever closer to the trapped one.

Suddenly, one side of the pyramid slipped; Harry saw Neville lurch on his broom, nearly falling off, unused to using a broom at the same time as using his Patronus in a way that demanded concentration. Righting himself, he moved still closer, as the Patronuses recaptured the dementor inside the pyramid. The approaching dementors were uncomfortably close...

Within a few seconds, they heard one popping sound. "Down!" he shouted, barely holding onto his broom, knowing that the dementors were so close that a few more seconds would have doomed them. They flew straight down; he came out of the dive so close to the water that as he straightened out, he realized that one of his shoes was soaked. He looked around; thankfully, his three friends were still with him. As they headed back to where Luna had fallen, he realized that she was looking through his eyes. He increased the broom's speed, and in under a minute was at her side, the others close behind.

He sat next to her and pulled her into a sitting position. "Are you okay?"

Shaken, she slowly nodded. "I will be. But that was... an experience I really hope never to repeat. It felt like I was dying... only worse. Really, I'd rather die than have that happen again."

He pulled her into a tight hug. He wanted to ask how she'd gotten herself into that situation in the first place, but he knew it could, and should, wait. There would be plenty of time for that later on. They still had things to do.

He let go of her. Holding her arm, still sitting on the ground, he Apparated them to near where Malfoy had fallen. Malfoy was sitting as well, with Kingsley, Tonks, and a few DA members near him.

"I'm glad you got her," said Kingsley.

"What was she doing?" asked Malfoy, still shaken himself.

Harry suddenly realized why Luna had done what she did. "Saving your life."

* * * * *

Chapter 15, Auror Leader: Preparing to announce himself as Auror Leader, Harry must navigate the waters of politics as well as try to maneuver Snape out as headmaster of Hogwarts.

From Chapter 15: "If the governors are unacceptable, given their complicity in allowing torture, then surely the headmaster is even more responsible. Are you planning on taking over as headmaster as well?" asked Snape sardonically.