Legacy

Chapter 10

You think your days are uneventful

And no one ever thinks about you

She goes her own way

She goes her own way

You think your days are ordinary

And no one ever thinks about you

But we're all the same

And she can hardly breathe without you

She has no time, Keane

**************************

Sun afternoon

As Harry approached the entrance to the castle, he met up with Aurelia on her way out.

"Where are you going?" he asked curiously.

She looked exhausted. "I need to get out of here for a while," she said, "so I'm going to run home and see if the bankers have... taken care of some business for me."

She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear; it was obvious she had left her house in a hurry that morning. Her hair was pulled back into a clip in the back of her head, and she had no makeup on. In the morning light, it made her look younger rather than older.

Harry's brows furrowed. "What kind of business?" he asked. Then it hit him. "You mean the ransom?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "I just want to make sure its ready, if we need it."

"Why didn't you say something to me? I... I should be helping with that," he said, agitated. Why hadn't he thought about this? "I don't know how much I could get my hands on immediately, but I have..."

She shook her head. "Its okay, my family has enough," she said. "Its just not all liquid right now, I had to shift some investments, but its there, in case," she said, her voice quivering, "in case we need it."

Harry put his hand on her shoulder, rubbed it gently with his thumb.

"I've been afraid before," he said. "I mean, I thought I knew what fear was. But this... I know now what you were worried about, why you were worried about protecting him."

Aurelia had tears in her eyes when she looked up at Harry. He held her by the shoulders. She looked so scared. If this was agony for him, it must be killing her.

"He's all I have, Harry," she said, finally breaking down. Tears ran down her cheeks, and she allowed Harry to pull her close to him, and she let herself cry on his shoulder for a few minutes.

"I will do anything it takes to bring him back safe. I am never going to let him out of my sight again," he promised. "He'll be okay," he heard himself saying, "he's going to be back soon. It's all going to be okay."

She took a couple deep breaths, pulled away from him, and shivered. It was cold this morning, and Harry could see her breath come out in little puffs. He had been outside for a while, and was getting cold, too.

"Let me go with you, at least," he said.

"No, I'll be back soon. I need to be alone for a little while, but thank you," she said, gratefully. He looked worried. "Sometimes I just need to be alone," she repeated.

He shook his head. "Are you sure you don't want me to contact Gringotts and get some of..."

"No," she said, interrupting him. "Hermione suggested that it would be better to avoid Gringotts, if we could help it. I'm transferring the money from other Wizarding banks on the Continent."

"Well, come back soon," he said. "Hopefully when Ron returns, he'll have some information."

She nodded sadly, and walked away, to the Apparition point. Harry watched her disappear, then turned and walked inside the castle.

When he walked into the Entrance Hall, he spotted Neville, who was walking down the stairs into the Great Hall. Harry had been meaning to speak privately with Neville for weeks, but as always seemed the case with him and his good intentions, things got in the way.

"Hello, Harry," said Neville, as Harry caught up with him.

"Hi Neville," he replied. "Um - I've been meaning to talk to you, and-" Harry mumbled, "I'm ashamed to be doing this so late, and under these damned circumstances." Neville looked at him curiously. "What I mean is, I wanted to thank you, Neville, for taking care of my son. I know you looked after him, like a father, and you have my gratitude."

As this was the first time Harry had spoken aloud of Renato's paternity to him, Neville felt relieved, like a weight had been lifted off his narrow shoulders. Although they had not been especially close after their Hogwarts days, Neville had been frustrated knowing that Harry's son was growing up without him. It had been a constant source of irritation in his marriage, as well.

"Harry," Neville began, turning red faced, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, really sorry. I should have, damned be whatever those women wanted. I should have said something to you," he said, "and I hope you'll forgive me."

Harry smiled. "I understand, Nev, and its okay. I'm not upset about that. All that is behind us. Now, I know, and once we get them back, I'm going to be there for him."

Neville nodded his head. "He's a great boy, Harry. Always reminded me of you, in little ways."

Harry felt his heart ache. He suddenly realized that Neville was probably the only person who had really known young Harry and young Renato.

"Really?" asked Harry, fishing for details. "You think so?"

Neville chuckled to himself, "Yep. Watching him fly, it was always so natural for him. Looks just like you did on a broom. And stubborn, oh, when he lifts his chin, like you did when your mind was set on something. Pure Potter."

Harry felt himself smile a little at that remark.

Neville continued. "But it was the way he loves his friends that did me in." He smiled at Harry, who looked mystified. "I never had a friendship like that, you know. Someone who I would do anything for, who would do anything for me." Neville shrugged. "My own fault, I kept away from people. But then I saw your son and my son, and then Weasley's son, forming that kind of friendship, forging those bonds like you and Ron and Hermione had," Neville stopped, his voice shaking, "well, best I can explain it is that he loves like you did, Harry. He loves his friends with all he's got."

Harry listened, his heart breaking as Neville talked. Had it been only two days since he had seen Renato? It felt like weeks.

"As long as they are together, I know they'll be okay," said Neville, with certainty in his voice.

"They'll be back soon," Harry whispered to himself.

Neville nodded. "Never thought I'd be hoping to see Malfoy," he said, anxiously, "but I hope he comes back with some good news."

They walked into the Great Hall together, and found Ginny, Hermione, and Luna sitting at one of the House tables. They looked up when they saw Harry and Neville.

"Ladies," Neville said as they sat down. "Perhaps we should all try and get some fresh air while we are waiting. We've been in this stuffy castle since yesterday, and I know Luna could do with a short walk, stretch her legs. You, too, Hermione," he added, eyes glancing down at her abdomen.

Ginny nodded. "I was just telling her that. You've got to relax a little," she added. "I am speaking to you not just as someone who loves you, but as a healer. You need to eat, you need to walk, and you need to sleep."

Hermione glared at her, and then looked over at Harry. He nodded. She lifted an eyebrow, and shrugged.

"Have you been over to see the other children?" Harry asked.

She shook her head. "Not yet, I need to go see them."

"That's a great idea," Ginny said. "Let's go check on them. It will do you good to get out of here for a few minutes."

"But what if Ron comes back with news?"

"It will take him a little bit of time," said Harry. "And you know we won't do anything without you being here."

Hermione put up her hands in surrender. "Okay, I will go," she agreed, "once Ron gets back. I don't want both of us to be gone at the same time, just in case... in case we get some news."

Neville stood up, held his hand out to Luna. "Let's go for a walk outside, dear." She nodded, and together they left the hall.

Hermione turned to Harry. "Has Ron talked to you about any of this? Is he okay?" she asked him.

"He's afraid, Hermione. Not much else I can tell you," he admitted.

Hermione sat chewing on a thumbnail. "I've never seen him so scared, Harry. He won't talk to me. He's worried about Jack, and he's worried about the baby, and he's worried about was this is going to do to his investigation."

"He's worried about you, too," Ginny added, putting her arm around Hermione, who smiled back at her.

"I'm not sure what to do," said Hermione. "I'm really afraid he's going to try something, talk you into going off and doing something on your own. Promise me that you two won't do that," she said, pleading.

He took her hand in his. "I promise. This is too important for us to be gambling with," he said. "We are going to get them back," he added, repeating it for what seemed like the millionth time that day.

****************************

Harry spent the next couple of hours working with Minerva and Severus. They wanted to re-examine the wards surrounding the castle, and around Gryffindor Tower in particular. It was apparent that they needed strengthening, and as Harry was the resident expert in the field of dark magic, Minerva wanted his advice and assistance. She also wanted to help get his mind off the situation, even temporarily, in case he felt the need to go do something rash. Harry recognized what she was doing, and was grateful for the task.

As it turned out, several of the wards around the castle were compromised. Just like Malfoy had said, a simple, low level dark spell would have been undetected amidst the hustle of a school. The castle had also been open that Saturday, as students and staff made the journey to and from the train station, and the protection that usually permitted the castle to sense intruders was lowered, just a little.

After fifteen years of relative peace, the castle simply wasn't looking for enemies anymore.

Harry, Hermione, and Ginny helped Snape and Minerva set up additional fortifications around the perimeter of the school and its grounds. Together they brainstormed ideas for further protecting Hogwarts in the future.

It was after noon when Ron returned. Harry had just sat down to have a sandwich in his rooms when Ron found him. He tossed a pile of parchment on Harry's desk.

"Kingsley suspects something," said Ron, as he sat down. He tapped the table with his wand, and a plate full of the same sandwiches and a bottle of Butterbeer appeared in front of him. "He found me in the Archives. I don't think I was able to fool him completely," he said, taking a long drink from his bottle. "I told him I was looking for some information from an old case, but," Ron chuckled, "I was knee deep into our Bulgaria files. It doesn't take much to put two and two together, right?"

He took a bite from his sandwich as Hermione and Ginny walked in.

Ron looked at Hermione. "You alright?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

She smiled at him, nodded her head. Ginny and Harry looked at each other, grinned. Ron and Hermione's complete dependence on each other was one of the few constants in their lives. Harry hoped it would always be that way.

"Did you find anything?" asked Ginny.

Ron shook his head. "Nothing we didn't already know. Karkaroff has a home, friends, contacts in Bulgaria, probably a few other countries through his Quidditch contacts. It's possible they were heading there, but I'm not sure."

"That's the obvious place, though," Harry pointed out.

Ron tapped the table with his finger. "It's only obvious if you know that he's the one behind it all. My money says that in the end, it will look like it was all Bagman's work. Karkaroff's dodgy," he said. "He's wormed his way out of situations like this before, leaving someone else holding the bag, so to speak," he said.

"Still, someone should go check it out, just in case," Harry suggested.

Hermione shook her head. "Ron's right, it's too obvious. I'm willing to bet that he's nowhere near Bulgaria." She looked over at Ron. "It's got to be Bagman, then. He's the one we need to find."

"Bagman's almost as bad. He's so slippery, nothing sticks. He's all over the place, has contacts and friends everywhere." Ron pointed over at the pile of papers on Harry's desk. "I've gotten a list of all his addresses in the last three years, close friends, bankers and other people who lend him money. Maybe we can find something in there," Ron said hopefully.

Looking at papers, Harry thought scornfully. As Hermione and Ginny walked over to the desk and began spreading the pieces of parchment around, Harry cleared off the table, sat back down, and scowled.

"I'm about ready to just pick up a broom and go looking for them myself," Harry said quietly when Ron glanced over at him. "Anything to feel productive, like I'm doing something," he said, conveniently forgetting everything he had promised Hermione that morning. "This sitting here waiting for Malfoy to bring us information is killing me."

Ron tapped his long fingers on the table again. "You think we should go talk to Rogers?" he asked quietly, his eyes on his sister, who was watching them.

"I don't know, I don't think he'd tell us anything that Malfoy hasn't already. But I can't sit here too much longer," said Harry, determined.

Ron looked thoughtfully at Harry. "Maybe we should let some of the old Order in on this, some more help."

Harry looked doubtful. He knew that as good as his friends were, there was a risk letting too many people know about the kidnapping. He didn't know who was in Bagman's pocket.

Ron saw the twisted expression on Harry's face and nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Best if we keep it low key."

Several hours later, Harry and Ron were sitting in the Staff Room, the parchments that Ron had brought from the Ministry spread out on several tables in an feeble attempt at organization. Ginny and Hermione had gone to the Burrow to check on the younger kids and update Molly and Arthur about the situation.

Surely, Harry thought, as he waded through what felt like the hundredth map of Europe, both Wizarding and Muggle, political and physical, something in here might give him a hint of where Karkaroff or Bagman might be hiding, might be taking their boys.

At four o clock, Draco and Aurelia arrived together. Ron watched as Harry's jaw tensed and his fingers curled around a sheet of parchment, making a fist, but did not say anything. Ron turned his gaze over to the couple making their way to the empty chairs by the fire.

They were engaged in deep conversation. Aurelia looked up once, and smiled at Harry and Ron, nodding her head slightly as Draco continued talking. Harry stood up slowly and walked over to join them.

"No, I don't accept that," she was saying. "It has been disproved so many times, I can't even count. Just the people here in this castle today demonstrate the fallacy of your ideas. Hermione, Minerva, even Harry over there," she said, glancing up at him. He smiled back at her, maybe a little too brightly because of Draco's proximity.

Draco sighed dramatically. "Again, you miss my point completely. I'm not discounting their abilities, or ability to contribute to our way of life. I just want to protect my community," he said. "It's the same as your Muggle charities trying to protect some endangered animal from extinction. If we aren't careful, it could all be gone in two hundred years."

She snorted. "You are being alarmist and incendiary. You have no proof, and are exaggerating, as always."

"Quite the debate going on," Harry said.

"Draco feels sorry for me, being here alone," she said. "He is keeping me company, trying to get my mind off of things, when he should just go home," she added forcefully.

"Nonsense," Draco replied. "I am here because I am expecting more information. Getting to spend time with you is an extra bonus," he said, with affection. "A chance to try and persuade you to renounce those Muggle trappings you inflict on yourself."

"If you consider my cellular phone and Mercedes Benz as trappings, then yes, Draco, I am wholly bound to the evil Muggles," said Aurelia, a smile creeping on her lips. She turned back to Harry. "He and I have argued for years about my family's Muggle interests... what is the word you used? Opportunistic?" she said.

"Not necessarily a bad word," he said, grinning back at her. "But on the whole, a waste of time, living with them, and you know it. They don't need you, and you don't need them," Draco added. "You should spend your time, and effort, making our world better." He looked up, saw Ron staring at him, and said, "Weasley, find anything interesting?"

"Got some information about Karkaroff's most recent activities that we know about, his known contacts, and places he might be staying. It was much harder to track down Bagman," Ron snorted. "For someone as well known as he is, he keeps his private life quiet. A house in London, some land in Wales, a little money in the bank."

He stood up, stretched his arms over his head. "That's what clued us, the Aurors, into looking at his activities. He's been living larger than he should."

"Scandalous," smirked Draco. "Come up with anything else useful?"

"A couple of things," Ron said darkly, torn between wanting to respond to the retort with a few choice words of his own and needing to ask Malfoy for another favour. "Harry and I have been concentrating on Bagman and his whereabouts."

Draco nodded his head in agreement. "That's smart. Karkaroff is not going to take them anywhere near his place."

"My thoughts exactly," Ron agreed.

Draco looked at Ron like he had just been insulted. He opened his mouth to respond to that, but was shushed by Aurelia. "Ron, please continue," she said.

"Bagman has been everywhere, and has loose connections with people all over the world. That is the bad news. However, we have a good idea where Bagman is not," he said, pointing at the maps, little patches glowing red and blue. "That leaves us about a dozen locales he has been spotted for significant amounts of time in the last couple of years. If we could narrow that down to two or three, we could..."

"You could go investigate more thoroughly," finished Draco. "A good plan, Weasley," he said, raising his eyebrows, and grinning as Ron's jaw tightened. Draco walked over to the table with the largest map. "Let's make a list of where he might be, and who might be housing him. I can make some inquiries this afternoon," he offered.

"I'd be grateful," said Harry.

"Thank you, Draco," added Aurelia.

Malfoy held her gaze for a second, then turned to Ron and Harry. "Glad to help," he said quietly. "We're going to get your boys back," he said solemnly.

Ron was scribbling names and cities on a sheet of paper, offered it to Malfoy. "Is this enough? Do you want to look at some of this, maybe take..."

Draco held out his hand. "No, this is plenty. Can't look like I know too much, right?" he said. He gave them all a quick nod of his head, and walked out of the room.

****************************

Dinner was quiet that evening. Emotions were running high again, the activities of the afternoon giving way to the despair that comes from not having enough to do, nothing to occupy their thoughts. Once more, Aurelia went home, not giving in when Harry followed her out to the door, pleaded with her to stay there with them. "I'm okay," she said, walking out of the castle.

Harry turned around to see Luna watching him. "She shouldn't be alone," he said to her.

Luna looked at him with her round blue eyes, sad now. "No," she said wistfully, "no, she shouldn't be alone."

Luna turned around, walking back to the Hall where Neville was sitting and waiting patiently for her. She was sad thinking of her dear friend, making her way back to her house. She understood why Aurelia couldn't stay here. Was Harry really so blind, still?

Ginny was thinking the same thing as Harry entered the Hall, and sat down next to her. His thoughts were clearly written on his face. He didn't understand why she left. Didn't she want to be here with them, in case of any developments? Why would she rather be alone at a time like this? Didn't she want her friends around her?

Oh Harry, Ginny thought. She still loves you, and you just don't get it. He didn't see how her loneliness was amplified by the situation, how Aurelia looked at the other couples with a bitter look in her eyes. Harry didn't notice how her eyes followed him whenever he moved.

But Ginny noticed.

Out of some sense of sympathy, Ginny had refrained from being overly demonstrative with Harry around Aurelia. While every fibre of her being wanted to throw her arms around him and comfort him, claim him as her own, she knew that the other woman was already desolate. To affix herself to Harry's side seemed insensitive. Beside, Ron and Hermione needed her, too.

But now she wondered if that was a good idea, physically distancing herself from him.

As if reading her thoughts, Harry put one arm around her shoulder, and she slid in closer to him, her head leaning into his chest. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

She felt him nod. "I think we might be close," he said. "Maybe know something tomorrow, if Malfoy..." he yawned, "if Malfoy can get us a lead."

She stood up, took him by his hands, and pulled him to his feet. "Let's go," she said. "Ron, Hermione, you coming?"

Hermione shook her head. "We've got another room for tonight," she said. "Thanks for putting us up last night."

"You sure?" Harry said. "It's no trouble, really."

Ron stood up, "No, Harry, we need to be alone, too. We'll see you in the morning."

Harry and Ginny said goodnight to everyone, and made their way to their rooms in silence. Once they were behind their closed doors, Ginny pulled Harry close to her, and held him as he let out all the emotions he had been bottling up all day.

************************************

That night in London, another person was letting go her emotions.

These had been the worst days of her life. It wasn't possible that she could live without her son. The idea that she didn't know where he was haunted her every moment. Throw in being back at Hogwarts with Harry and his horde, and it was a living nightmare.

It could be worse, she told herself. He was being good to her, trying his best to take care of her. He didn't want her to be alone. Ha, she thought, she'd been alone so long now, it was all she knew. Well, not completely alone. She had Renato.

She turned down her bed, and paused to look at the photograph in a silver frame next to her bed. It was Renato and herself, sitting casually in her parent's garden last summer.

"Imago," she whispered. The photo changed, went out of focus for a moment, then coalesced as a different picture. This one was older. Her dorm mate Lisa, thinking she would like it, had given it to her the week before school ended. It was supposed to be a picture of Lisa and Padma, but whoever had taken it had been bumped off centre, and only the waving arms of the girls were visible. In the background, though, to the right, were Aurelia and Harry, sitting at a table across from each other, reading. Harry would look up every few seconds to look at Aurelia. When she lifted her eyes from her text, he would look down, and pretend to be reading again.

She stared at the two kids, just a couple years older than their son. They looked so young, it hurt to watch as they shyly smiled at each other. "Imago," she said again, sounding weary, and the photo with Renato returned.

Aurelia lay down on her bed and cried herself to sleep.

**************************************

Mon morning

The ceiling of the Great Hall on Monday morning was sunny and bright. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were finishing breakfast when Neville walked in, with Luna and Aurelia close behind. Everyone said "Good morning" quietly to each other, and looked around the room. What was the plan for today?

"Harry and I found some places that we think Bagman might be hiding. Malfoy is trying to narrow the list down for us, but he thinks it will take a couple more hours." Ron looked around at the group. "I think we should split up and start looking, see if we can find where he is." Ron scratched his nose, and cleared his throat. "If we can find Bagman..."

"We'll find the boys," Luna finished for him. She nodded at Neville. "I can't sit here and do nothing another day. I want to go look."

"Are you sure that's a wise idea?" said a voice at the door. Draco walked in, tossing his cloak onto an empty table, and joined the group. "They will know if you are asking too many questions. Do you want to run that risk?"

Hermione ran her hands through her hair. "He's right," she said quietly. "We have to be careful."

"Malfoy," Harry said. "Any news?"

"Soon," said Draco. "We'll have narrowed the list down in a few hours."

Minerva walked in briskly. "I'm glad to see everyone is here," she said. "We've had another letter," she said, her hands holding a scroll. "This was delivered a few minutes ago," she said, passing the scroll to Harry.

Harry opened the scroll, read it, and looked up at Hermione, then Aurelia. He cleared his throat before reading.

We require evidence that the charges our friends are being dropped. An article in the Daily Prophet tomorrow will suffice.

Five million galleons. Gringotts vault 1414. By the end of the day.

The boys are alive, but they miss their families. Do you miss them?

Aurelia took the letter, read it again, and then passed it to Neville. "I need to go," she said.

"Aurelia," said Hermione, warily.

"You can't," said Ron.

Aurelia turned to Harry. He looked back at her, his eyes full of uncertainty. "Ron's right, he said sadly. "I don't think we should do it... just yet."

Draco walked over to her side. "We need one more day, Aurelia. That's all."

She looked at Draco, then back at Harry. "Please, just let me pay them," she begged quietly to him.

"We can't, Lia, it's..." he started to talk, but he couldn't finish.

Aurelia burst into tears and walked out of the Hall.

Harry watched her leave. He understood exactly what she was feeling. Maybe, if they paid the money, they might get Renato released. It would be a sign of good faith. But deep down, he knew Ron was right. None of the boys would be released until all the demands were met. It would be like throwing the five million galleons away.

Harry knew he had to explain this to her, and he stood up to follow her, as did Draco.

"Let me go talk to her," Malfoy said, walking quickly out of the room.

Harry scowled, watching him follow her. This wasn't right. He knew there was some trick behind this. Despite the past few days, no matter what happened, he still couldn't trust Malfoy.

He didn't want Malfoy to be the one to comfort her.

Harry paced the room for a minute, then walked to the door.

Hermione cleared her throat. Harry paused in the doorway, and looked back at her. She glared at him. Ginny was looking at the floor, her eyes not meeting Harry's.

Biting his lip, Harry walked out the door.

He found them sitting outside the Entrance, on the same bench that he had spoken to Renato just two weeks ago. Aurelia was crying, and Draco had his arm around her, letting her lean against his shoulder.

"Can I talk to you, please? Privately?" said Harry.

"Potter, leave her alone, she doesn't need this right now."

"Malfoy, I'm sure you don't have any clue what she ..."

"Stop," she said, standing up. "Stop, please. Draco, I'm okay, I'll be inside in a moment, thank you," she said, smiling politely at him.

Draco did not return the smile. He looked angry, as he turned toward Harry, and walked back into the castle.

Aurelia turned to face Harry. "Yes," she said, sadly.

Harry didn't say anything.

Aurelia sighed. "Harry, what did you..."

"Don't," he finally said.

"Don't what?" she asked, more coldly.

"Don't. Not with... him," Harry answered.

She couldn't believe what he was saying. "I hardly think this is the time for this," she said, annoyed.

"I agree completely," he added, a grumble in his voice.

Aurelia sat down on the bench, eyes glued to Harry's face, which has still not turned to face her properly. "Harry," she said, fuming. "Look at me."

He sat down next to her and looked at her.

She looked into his eyes. She had waited fifteen years for him to show the slightest bit of interest in here, and when he did... no, she told herself. He still wasn't really looking at her. Not really.

"Harry, what are you doing?" she asked, sorrowfully

"I don't want you getting chummy with Draco Malfoy."

God, it wasn't even jealousy, not really. It was some adolescent game they were still playing, like whose dick was longer.

"Harry," she said, dropping her voice. "Harry, do you love me?"

He didn't say anything. He looked at his feet. What was he supposed to tell her? What was he doing out here?

"Answer me," she said. "Don't worry about hurting my feelings, I already know the answer. Do you love me?"

Harry paused a moment before answering. "No, Aurelia. Not like that. I do care for you, but..."

"Please, shut up, then," she said, closing her eyes. "I can't take another Harry Potter 'I care for you but...' speech. Once was enough, thank you." She looked over Harry, who had to decency to look uncomfortable.

"Why are you out here?" she asked.

Harry shrugged. "I don't trust him."

"Well, you don't have to trust him. This isn't about you," she said, exasperated.

"I'm not trying to be unreasonable here," Harry said, "but what if Malfoy just wants to get close to you to, you know, to use this to his advantage, somehow, later?"

She looked at him incredulously, and stood up. The arrogant git.

Harry thought for a moment she was going to hit him.

The thought did cross her mind.

"Harry," called Ron from the front doors.

Aurelia looked at Harry once more, then turned and walked back inside the castle. She quickly walked passed Ron, who noticed the tears in her eyes.

"Harry," said Ron, walking out a few steps, "what game are you playing." He sounded very cross.

Harry leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and put his head down. He was tired of all of this. "Ron, leave it alone, okay?"

"If you don't get inside right now, I'm going to drag you in," Ron said, getting closer now. "Get inside, go sit next to Hermione and Ginny, and leave them alone."

Harry looked up at Ron, standing with one hand on his hip, which told Harry that he meant business.

"Ron," he said, "I just don't want him hurting her. He's using this situation, I know he is."

Ron swallowed. "Not today, Harry," he said gruffly. "This isn't the time for this. Let's just get the boys' back, okay?"

Nodding his head, Harry stood up and followed Ron inside the castle, to the Great Hall where everyone was sitting in small groups talking. They went and sat next to Ginny and Hermione. Luna, Neville and Draco were talking to Snape and McGonagall. Aurelia was nowhere to be seen.

Harry gave Ginny what he thought was an apologetic smile. From her reaction, it didn't work that well. Hermione was ignoring him, as well. Great, Harry thought. Something else to fix later.

The house elves were busy trying to get people to eat some breakfast. Toast, tea, and coffee were offered, and nibbled.

A few minutes later, Aurelia returned. Harry watched as she walked into the Hall, surveyed the room, and walked over to sit next to Luna, who put her arm around her.

At half past ten, Goyle walked in. "Got it," he says, walking over to Draco, smiling.

"Good man," he says. "What's the word?"

"Spain, well, the Pyrenees, Andorra, I think," he said, stumbling over his words. "Its Bagman's place, they are taking them there to wait until the charges against him and Karkaroff are dropped."

"Excellent," Draco said, looking over at Harry. "We can go there, today?"

Harry nodded, sighing with relief. Finally, some action. "Ron, can we get international passes?" he asked. It was tougher crossing national borders than it had been ten years ago.

Ron looked hesitant. "We could, but it might tip them off," he said, frowning. "I'd have to go through official channels, someone might ask questions," he said, looking at Hermione.

She nodded in agreement. "It is the holidays, though, lots of people are travelling. It might not look as suspicious as we think it might," she added.

Draco's head turned around. "The holidays," he said thoughtfully, and looked over at Ron. "I can get them," he said. "Give me an hour, and I'll get passes for," he paused, looking around, "eh, how many people?"

Harry did a quick count around the room. Ron and Hermione, Ginny and himself, Neville and Luna, Aurelia... that was seven.

"Five," said Ron, quickly. Harry looked up - five? Then he understood.

"No, I'm going," Hermione said. She got up, walked over to him. "I am going, I am not staying here alone."

"You're not alone, Gin will stay with you, right?" he asked, his eyes pleading.

"Sure," she said, looking at her brother, then Harry, who smiled at her.

"Ron," Hermione said, in the tone that meant she wasn't kidding.

"Love, it's too much - that kind of long distance flooing isn't good for the baby," he said softly. "You're too upset as it is. Please, stay here and let us know if any information comes in. Someone has to stay here," he said, shrewdly.

She looked over at him, then the rest of them. "I'll stay, but please, be careful." She turned to Draco. "How exactly are you going to get these permits without alerting Ministry officials?"

He smirked. Harry wanted to slap it off his face. "It's all who you know," he said, walking towards the front hall, Goyle following him. "Malfoys can get certain services expedited, shall we say? I'll be back in a few minutes." They left the room.

Half an hour later, they returned. Draco had several envelopes with him.

"You got them?" Ron asked

"Right here, passes for Malfoy and six guests, leaving this morning for a few days of skiing in the Pyrenees Mountains."

"How much did that cost you?" Neville asked.

"Just called in a few favours, nothing at all," said Draco. No one believed him.

"Well, get what you need, people," Ron said brusquely. "Let's meet up here in thirty minutes."

********************************

International travel had never been easy.

Since the last war, wizard travel had become more difficult. It was all about documentation. Who you were, where you were going, what was your business. Apparition between countries was almost impossible.

Luckily, the overworked staff of the Ministry Floo Stations didn't pay much attention to some rich Wizard taking a big group off on a skiing holiday, or that the ski party included some of the most famous wizards in Britain.

Within an hour, they had made it to Andorra la Vella, the nearest city with a Magical community and were looking at Goyle's map to guide them. They made their way north to a beautiful snow covered valley in the mountains.

They found the large stone house easy enough. It was remarkably easy to get close to the house, as well, as there did not seem to be a great deal of protection. Bagman probably thought the isolation of the valley was enough protection.

Ron had brought several pair of ExEars, a modified version of the Extendable Ears made famous by his brothers, and customized by the MLE for Aurors. With these, the group divided up into twos and threes and surrounded the house. After ten minutes of listening, they all met up a few hundred yards behind the house.

"Anyone hear anything?" Ron asked. He and Harry hadn't had any luck.

Luna nodded her head. "They're not here yet," Luna said. Neville was looking around, grimly.

Draco nodded. "Bagman is angry - the van is missing, and they can't contact the men holding the boys. They were supposed to be here this morning."

They heard a 'pop' and saw a man appear outside the house. He walked up to the door, pounded on it, and entered the house.

Goyle whispered to Draco, and left again back toward the house. Everyone stared in the direction of the stone house. After a minute, Ron and Harry looked at each other. "Let's go," Ron said, indicating he wanted to follow Goyle.

Too late. At that moment, Goyle came running back up to the group. "The bloke inside, Hugo, says he was hit on the head. Thinks it was the other man, Ramon, that he must have taken the kids and made off with them on his own. Bagman's furious," he said, panting slightly.

Aurelia shivered, wrapped her cloak tightly around her. Harry looked over at her, then at Ron, Neville, and Draco. They all stared blankly at each other.

"Where are they?" Luna asked. No one had the answer for her.