The Error of My Ways

 "You do not look too pleased to see me, Mudblood," Voldemort's cold voice cut through the panicked silence.

 He took a deliberate step towards her. Percy reacted by pulling her behind him, wand out, trying to somehow shield her.

 "Come now, Professor Weasley, you don't really think I will harm her, do you?"

Percy stood his ground and looked Voldemort straight in the eye and did not waver.

 "I'm warning you...I'm authorized to use the Unforgiveable Curses...I will use them if you try to take her," he said with a determined look in his eyes.

 Voldemort laughed and the sound of it was like breaking glass.

 "What a coincidence. I am authorized to use the Unforgiveable Curses as well...but I think you already knew that," he said, negligently tracing the sign of a lightning bolt in the air with the tip of his wand.

 Hermione felt as if her stomach dropped to the floor. From behind Percy, she was still pointing her wand at the Dark Lord but she questioned what she could hope to accomplish. She felt like she was hiding and she did not like that but she could not move...Percy's grip was too strong.

 "What do you want with me, Voldemort?" she asked in a voice that did not bother to hide her hatred for him.

 An evil smile snaked its way across Voldemort's face and he shook his head in mock disbelief.

 "Tsk Tsk, where are your manners? Is that any way to talk to someone who went through so much...effort...to find you?"

 Hermione could feel Percy shudder involuntarily.

 "You haven't answered my question," she spoke through clenched teeth.

"Neither have you," he pointed out with thick sarcasm.

"How did you get in here?" Percy tried to keep the determination in his voice, as if these were necessary pleasantries before he blasted Voldemort into countless pieces.

Voldemort seemed delighted with the question.

"Ah, now I am glad you asked me that, Professor Weasley. Yes, it is the sort of thing you would want to know, isn't it? You teach History of Magic, do you not? Well, I am sure what I am about to tell you is not written in any textbook you ever read," he sneered at Percy as if his choice of reading material left much to be desired.

"Professor Lupin and..." Hermione suddenly remembered not to mention Professor Snape in his true role, "...Headmaster Dumbledore put safeguards all around Hogwarts. There are perimeter spells everywhere aside from the normal protection spells. You being here is..."

"Impossible?" Voldemort smirked as he sat down on a nearby chair, still pointing his wand carelessly at the young couple, "That, I believe is an excellent example of paradox, don't you agree?"

Percy and Hermione said nothing.

"I see you would rather listen to what I have to tell you. Well, it is true, I should not be here at all. Hogwarts is a most protected place...more safeguards and spells here than anywhere else I can think of. That old fool thinks he thought of everything to protect his students but he forgot one thing...an old bit of Dark Magic that no one really likes to talk about."

Percy was getting annoyed.

"Is there a point to this useless rambling?" he asked acidly.

Voldemort smirked.

"I could kill you right now, Professor Weasley, if I so chose," he actually smiled at the horrified expression on Hermione's face and her sudden clutching at Percy's arm, "But I have not finished my story and I so hate...unfinished business."

"Have you ever heard of the Mortis spell, Professor Weasley?"

Percy looked blank.

"Have you ever heard of the Mortis spell, Mudblood?"

Hermione practically spat at him, "My name is Hermione!"

"Such spirit for one so young. I can see why he desires you. No matter. You are not his to have any longer. The Mortis spell, dear children, is a piece of Dark Magic that is so old that no one, other than myself, knew it existed at all. One of those spells that gets lost in the so-called mists of time."

"What is this Mortis spell?" Percy asked, hoping to delay him further.

"A most frightening piece of magic, my dear Professor. Not nice at all. The sort of thing that someone like yourself would have nightmares over. It involves the voluntary suicide of a devoted follower. As you know, the spirit of a dead person does not leave this plane of existence right away. There is a...how do the muggles put it...a window of opportunity where they are free to wander the earth. The Mortis spell binds a person to this spirit...and enables them, among other things, to pass through any safeguard or perimeter spell. There is a time limitation and we did have to use a preliminary locating spell to find you in order to save a few minutes."

"You mean someone committed suicide so you could hitch a ride to Hogwarts?" Hermione was absolutely stunned and a sudden wave of nausea left her somewhat unsteady.

Voldemort nodded, "In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Who would do such a stupid thing as that?" Percy snapped, trying desperately to keep from falling to his knees in horror.

Voldemort came closer to Percy.

"There are many who join my company willingly and some who require...persuasion. I can be most persuasive, dear Professor."

"I have no doubt of that," Percy replied, moving both himself and Hermione further along the wall, further away from Voldemort, "Too bad it could not have been Lucius Malfoy or Peter Pettigrew or another of your more willing companions."

The Dark Lord merely brushed a piece of lint from his black cloak.

Voldemort's eyes flashed wickedly and he smiled in a way that made Hermione's heart race even faster. It was the smile of someone who knew they were going to inflict great pain on someone...and was going to enjoy it...

"Pettigrew and Malfoy still have a purpose to serve so it would be unwise to lose their...services at such a crucial juncture. But you will be delighted to know that Miss Clearwater did ask me to pass along a message to you before she stabbed herself. What was it? Oh yes, she was sorry that she did not kill you when she had the chance."

Percy lowered his wand in complete disbelief. Hermione was left stunned.

"I don't believe you," Percy muttered hoarsely.

"You don't have to believe me...I won't be offended."

"I don't believe you...she would not sell herself to you."

"Percy..." Hermione was clutching at his arm, trying to bring him back from the dangerous waters he was treading into.

"Sell herself? She was hardly that valuable really. No, she offered to prove her loyalty to me and she did and she will always hold a special place in my thoughts."

Hermione could feel Percy's increasing unsteadiness on his feet.

"Percy," she suddenly spoke up, "She didn't deserve you...don't let yourself get caught up in these mind games. Voldemort is trying to distract us."

But Percy was not responding.

"You know you must come with me now," Voldemort turned to face Hermione.

"I will never go with you!" she screamed.

"You will or your paramour will certainly perish," Voldemort pointed his wand directly at Percy's heart.

Something in Percy snapped.

"You can't have her! I won't let you take her!" he shouted as he lunged at the dark figure, letting go of Hermione....

"Expelliarmus!" Voldemort shouted. Percy was thrown backward and hit the wall hard. He slumped to the ground, blood oozing from a cut on the side of his head. Hermione rushed over to him. He waved her off and, although he was momentarily dazed, he quickly got back on his feet, wand ready. He opened his mouth to recite a spell...

"Crucio," Voldemort said quietly.

Percy had never known there could be pain like this...like dying while living. He screamed as he felt a thousand white-hot knives seemingly flay the living flesh from his bones. He fell to the ground in agony as he felt every pore in his skin explode and every bone in his body seem to break. Some part of him was telling him to get up but his body would not cooperate. He just felt the pain. There was nothing but the pain.

Hermione could not get near Percy as he lay thrashing on the floor. She felt like crying as she saw the sheer look of torture on his face. There was nothing she could do...no counter-spell that could stop this madness. She felt nauseated and completely useless.

And Voldemort just stood there watching...waiting...

And then she realized what he was waiting for and her blood turned ice cold. Then she took a deep breath and turned to Voldemort who was watching her with some interest...like a spider looking at a particularly tasty fly.

"I will go with you if you release him," she said quietly with tears in her eyes.

"No, Hermione..." Percy's voice sounded muffled, as if the strain of talking was almost too much for him.

"Release him and I will go with you," she repeated.

"Hermione...please..."

"I said release him now!" she shouted.

Voldemort smiled and casually ended the spell.

Percy immediately stopped thrashing and simply sat there on the floor, twitching occasionally. He turned his bleary eyes to Hermione and she saw an expression that was somewhere beyond panic.

"No," he said weakly, his body still in shock from the Cruciatus curse.

Hermione looked at him and felt as if someone had put hot coals in her heart.

"I have no choice, Percy. He'll kill you if I don't go with him."

"She's right, you know," Voldemort interrupted, "Come, my dear, my time grows short and Miss Clearwater has an appointment with the hereafter."

Percy grabbed Hermione's hand. He looked up at her...at her eyes that were full of tears and an expression of utter dread and bitter resignation.

"I would rather..."

"Don't say it," she covered his mouth with her hand.

"I'll find you."

A thin smile appeared on her face.

"I'm counting on it."

Percy released her hand and watched as she walked over to Voldemort.

"Goodbye, Professor Weasley," he said as he swooped his cloak over Hermione and they both disappeared.

Percy stared at the empty space where they had been and clenched his fists in complete frustration. He felt a sharp pain in one hand and, upon opening it, discovered the ring he had given to Hermione. He stared at it for a moment, unbelieving, and then he did something he could not ever remember doing before...

...he cried.

Sirius Black probably knew the layout of the Hogwarts grounds better than anyone else...with the possible exception of Hagrid and the Weasley twins. In his animagus form, he was able to see things and hear things and smell things that he would otherwise miss in his human form. As he patrolled the outside of the castle, he checked each perimeter spell, each safeguard to ensure that it was functioning as it should.

"Snape has made me paranoid," he thought to himself in exasperation.

It still struck him as odd that he and his former foe had been working together these past couple of years. As he checked a Dark Magic detection spell cleverly hidden in a statue of a hamadryard, he remembered the event which had unexpectedly changed his feelings towards the enigmatic Potions Master

 Sirius shook his head. They were on the same side now, just as Dumbledore had said and they had managed to put aside their differences. It had been difficult and he suspected that Remus was closer to being Snape's friend than he was but he was trying and he knew that the effort was mutual.

Suddenly, his dog senses started tingling. He sensed something...was it Dark Magic?

"It has the stench of death," he thought in horror. He took off at full speed and reached the entrance closest to the Great Hall. Professor Lupin and Professor Snape were there, checking one of the perimeter spells. He raced up to them and immediately changed into his human form.

Professor Snape blanched when he saw Black's expression.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Something is wrong but none of the spells have gone off. We need to find Hermione and Percy right away."

Professor Lupin furled his brow, "Percy took Hermione somewhere but I don't know where..."

"The Marauders' Map, Remus," Professor Snape snapped at his colleague, "Where is it?"

Professor Lupin looked at the Potions Master in surprise...the normally calm man was absolutely frantic.

"I would imagine that it is in Harry's room..."

"Then let's go quickly," Professor Snape raced forward in such haste that it took several seconds for the other two men to catch up.

"Butterbeer!" Professor Lupin shouted as they approached the portrait door. They quickly scrambled through and raced to the entrance to the boys' dormitories. Opening the door to the room Harry shared with Ron, Draco and Neville. Professor Snape quickly looked around in case Percy and Hermione were there.

"Accio, Marauders Map!" Professor Snape yelled as the parchment flew to his hands. Sirius quickly brought the map to life.

"Thank goodness, it did not say anything nasty about Snape...he would probably set it on fire for how upset he is," Sirius thought in anxiety.

They pored over it quickly and what they saw made their hearts freeze.

Percy was in the old music room....and he was alone.

"Damn!" Professor Snape yelled as he dropped the map on the floor and raced out of the dormitory.

The three of them retraced their steps and made their way quickly to the ragged curtain. Professor Snape noticed immediately that the locking spell had been destroyed by something powerful and swore under his breath as he pushed the curtain aside and stepped into the room ahead of the others.

"By Merlin's ghost...Percy!" he rushed over to where the younger man sat crying, his body twitching uncontrollably.

"He looks as if he has been hit with the Cruciatus Curse, Severus," Professor Lupin immediately took out some chocolate and handed it to Professor Snape. The Potions Master sat down next to Percy, who had not noticed that anyone had entered the room. Sirius looked around the room and stepped out onto the balcony, looking for something that would tell him where Hermione had gone.

"Percy, take this," Professor Snape held out the chocolate. He flinched when Percy turned to him. That look in his eyes, that expression of pain and loss...it was all too familiar...

"He took her," Percy said in a voice that sounded like that of a child.

"Take the chocolate...then you can tell us what happened," Professor Lupin said gently.

"I can't find any clue about where she might have gone and with whom," Sirius came back into the room looking frustrated and very apprehensive.

Percy ate the chocolate quietly. Although it warmed him and helped to stop the uncontrollable twitching of his body, it did not ease the anxiety he felt.

The sudden sound of footsteps made Professor Snape turn his head. Harry, Ron and Draco ran into the room.

"How on earth..." Sirius yelled.

Harry held out the Marauders Map, "What happened?"

"Where's Hermione?" Draco asked, looking around the room.

Ron did not say anything, he walked over to where his brother sat with Professor Snape and kneeled down.

"We'll find her, Perce," he said firmly.

Percy looked up at his younger brother in gratitude.

"Voldemort used the Mortis Spell to gain access to Hogwarts," he said tiredly.

He proceeded to explain to them everything that had happened and the details of the spell, which had allowed Voldemort to accomplish something they had thought impossible.

Sirius swore under his breath. Professor Lupin looked as if he was carefully considering something. Professor Snape looked as if he was going to throw up. Ron, Harry and Draco simply looked horrified at what Percy was telling them.

"What are we going to do?" Ron asked.

"Where did they take her?" Draco wondered out loud as he paced the room angrily.

Harry saw the ring in Percy's hand.

"Percy, what is that?" he asked suddenly.

Percy looked up at Harry and then down at the ring. He sighed heavily and tried to stand up, with help from Ron and Severus.

"This was the promise ring I gave to Hermione," he said quietly through the lump that was rapidly forming in his throat.

Sirius' eyes lit up for a moment.

"May I have that, Percy? I want to try something."

Percy reluctantly handed over the little treasure to Sirius.

Professor Snape pulled out a small flagon from his robe pocket and handed it to Percy.

"Drink it. It will ease the fatigue and help your body recover from the Curse," he said to the younger man. Without hesitation, Percy downed the contents.

"Thank you," he said, giving the now-empty flagon back to Professor Snape.

"What are you going to do, Sirius?" Draco asked as Sirius began to wave his wand over the ring, which glinted in the palm of his hand.

"I am going to try a little spell that Mad-Eye taught me a long time ago. It's a special spell, used by Aurors when they were trying to find wizards kidnapped by the Death Eaters."

They all watched as Sirius held the tiny object in his hand and waved his wand over it in a clockwise motion. He was muttering something over and over again.

Then, as if in answer to his doubts, the ring began to glow and a white light surrounded it. The white light grew bigger and bigger until it formed a cloud over the ring. Images began to swirl inside the cloud but slowly came into focus. They saw a house, rather old and with a number of broken windows...

"It's the house by the old mill!" Professor Snape shouted, "I know where it is! We can apparate there immediately."

"You can't apparate or disapparate on Hogwarts grounds," Ron mumbled.

Harry looked at his best friend in surprise. Ron had a sad smile on his face.

"Well, somebody had to say it for her," he murmured.

Professor Lupin put a restraining hand on Professor Snape's shoulders.

"Severus, we cannot just rush in there blindly. We need a plan," he said firmly.

"We have to get her back," Percy was now feeling much stronger and standing without assistance.

There was silence for a few moments and then...

"I have an idea."

It was Draco.