My Soul Mate

Chapter Twenty Seven - The Dogs of War...

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Oh saathiya,

Ayi jo teri yaad, dilne ki dilse baat,

Liya tera naam, phir meheki shaam.

Yaadon ne teri ye kya kiya?

Dil chura liya, saathiya, dil chura liya.

Aankhon ne dekhe, phir se wahi manzar,

Jo ho gaye the ek pal mein hi gum.

Yaadoin mein kho ke, kyon aisa lagaa bas,

Ke agaye ho, baho main tum.

Tanha hai tere bin, mushkil he yeh din.

Liya tera naam, phir meheki shaam.

Yaadon ne teri ye hya kiya?

Dil chura liya, saathiya, dil chura liya.

Yeh tanhayi aur yeh bechani,

Jeete jeete na le jayein jaan.

Bas chup reheke aur sab kuch seheke,

Jeena hai hame ab yahan.

Toota hai tera saath, yaadein hai mere saath.

Liya tera naam, phir meheki shaam.

Yaadon ne teri ye hya kiya?

Dil chura liya, saathiya, dil chura liya.

-

My soul mate,

When I remembered you, my heart talked with you.

I spoke your name and the evening brightened,

What have your memories done?

You stole my heart, soul mate, stole my heart.

My eyes saw those same hopes again,

Those that had vanished in a second,

Lost in your thoughts, I felt as if,

You are in my arms.

I am so lonely without you, the day is so long.

I spoke your name and the evening brightened,

What have your memories done?

You stole my heart, soul mate, stole my heart.

This loneliness and this impatience,

Will kill me living,

Keeping quiet and tolerating things,

I am staying now.

You are not with me, but the memories are.

I spoke your name and the evening brightened,

What have your memories done?

You stole my heart, soul mate, stole my heart.

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Part One:

Hermione twisted and turned on the hard and cold stone floor helplessly. She could neither move nor speak. She could not even see. She knew her limbs were bound, her mouth Silenced and her eyes blindfolded.

The cloth obscuring her vision was damp since Hermione had been crying her eyes out for the past few hours in the cold dungeon. She knew everything. When Draco had gone away, Voldemort had come, stunned her and then obviously took her away.

Hermione knew she was kidnapped. Kidnapped by the Dark Lord.

Even though Hermione was aware of the dirty plan Voldemort had devised to kill Harry and Draco, Hermione was shocked that he had succeeded. The Order had been so damn tight on them and still it had failed.

Bellatrix Lestrange had revived Hermione in that dungeon. But it hadn't helped. Hermione couldn't get away because she was bound tightly. Bella had said that it was worse than staying Stunned.

"If you would be Stunned, Mudblood," she had told Hermione, "then how will you suffer? Stay conscious."

Hermione had to agree on that point. Staying conscious was worse. Hermione couldn't help but comprehend what would happen to her. Or worse, Draco, Harry and the others.

Hermione knew that Draco and Harry would come for her. At any cost. And that troubled her more. She wished that they would do nothing in an impulse or uproar. That would lead to the death of all three of them.

Silently, hoping against hope, she wished she Draco and Harry would never come. But a small part of wanted them, at least Draco, to come and free her, take her away. And Harry needed to kill Voldemort.

She knew that both of them had to come.

Hermione had been away from Draco only for a few hours but she was already missing him. His support. His words. His touch. Everything.

She had only one wish. The next time she would open her eyes, she would see Draco in front of her. So that she could say sorry and be in his arms again.

She just wanted to be back with him. Nothing else.

Suddenly, Hermione heard light footfalls fall on the dungeon floor. Hermione froze. It could be either Bellatrix Lestrange or none other than Lord Voldemort himself.

It was the latter.

The footfalls neared her and then suddenly stopped. But Hermione had no misconception - they must have stopped right in front of her.

Hermione heard a low hissing voice and the she felt her blindfold coming off.

She opened her eyes and blinked for a few times and looked straight into a pair of scarlet eyes with slits for pupils like cats.

Lord Voldemort. The Dark Lord.

"Well, good evening, Mudblood," he said pleasantly. "I hope you are comfortable here, being the perfectly warm host that I usually tend to be."

He chuckled at his own irony. Hermione stared at the ground, not daring to look at Voldemort's eyes. Her own breath had caught in her chest and she didn't know. She was rigid with fear.

"I know that you know what my plan is all about," Voldemort went on casually. "Because Harry Potter saw that dream, didn't he?"

In spite of herself, Hermione's head shot up in surprise. How did he know?

"And I also know what you are thinking right now, Mudblood. I know everything because one of the damned Order's members turned against you all and accepted my Lordship."

Hermione opened her mouth in shock. In spite of all the measures Dumbledore had taken to ensure loyalty, someone managed to fool him? That was sickening.

"So I am sorry, Miss Granger, if I had left you alone with no company in this place," said Voldemort in a mock-apologetic voice. "I had to prepare for the upcoming funerals now, had I not to?"

Hermione gasped in horror. But only no sound came out.

Voldemort noticed it and then performed the counter-curse on her, as though wanting to hear her helpless and fearful sounds.

"As I was saying," he went on, "I wanted to give you the choice of burial ground. You would want them to have proper burials, wouldn't you?"

Hermione swallowed but didn't answer. Instead, she asked, "Wh-where am I?"

"Still in Africa," replied Voldemort. "Still near the Ethiopian Highlands." He chortled. "Funny, isn't it? The boys will find you all over the world before they can even think that I haven't moved at all. That's what I believe in; outwit the outwitted. Anyway, we shall patiently wait for the boys to come. And I'm sorry to leave you alone here again, but I have a pet snake. Would you like her company?"

He laughed and didn't wait for Hermione respond. He laughed coldly and hideously. His flat nose had their nostrils flaring up against the leathery white skin. And then, he went away.

Hermione had never seen Voldemort before in her life. But now that she did, she had only one word for him.

Satan.

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"Here we are," said Draco, sweeping down onto the ground. He landed smoothly and dismounted from his broom, coming out of the Invisibility Cloak. Harry followed suit.

They had landed into nowhere. All around them was nothing but just stretches of purple moors all around.

"Where are we, Malfoy?" Harry asked, looking around. "Wiltshire?"

"Of course," said Draco, running his hands through his disheveled hair.

"Then where is your manor?"

"This way," indicated Draco to the southeast and started walking. Harry followed close behind him. He supposed that like Hogwarts, the Malfoy Manor was hidden too.

"I hope you haven't forgotten about the plan, Potter," Draco said. It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"No, I haven't. But I just thought of something, Malfoy. There are detectors in your house to detect Gryffindors. Well, if I go inside your manor, won't they buzz off?"

"As long as you are close to a Malfoy or at least a Slytherin, then no, they wouldn't buzz off."

"Then I can go to get the Furnaco Powder!" said Harry triumphantly.

"No you can't," said Draco firmly. "By the time we reach the place where it is kept, you will surely have surely spoiled something. And the place where is kept is restricted to Malfoys only, anyway."

"Oh."

"Right. So I'll leave you in my room and I'll get the Furnaco Powder."

"But wouldn't you be seen? You must having hundreds of servants in your manor?"

"What is that Invisibility Cloak for, Potter?"

"I am not trusting you with it! It's precious."

"Oh, if anything happens to it," said Draco irritably, "I'll buy you five more, Potter."

"No way. This is my dad's only possession left with me."

"Come on, Potter. What can happen to it? I am not running away with it. And by the way, why need I to do so? My dad must have kept loads of them."

Draco knew that how much it meant to Harry, that Invisibility Cloak. Hermione had told him earlier about that. And Draco knew how much would a vestige of a long lost loved one would mean. At that thought, Draco remembered the Emancipation Potion parchment that his uncle had left in Africa.

"Shit!" he swore softly.

He had forgotten the vellum piece back in the house.

Draco made it a point to remember and collect the parchment once everything had settled down. He walked on.

After five minutes, Harry said, "Malfoy, where is your blasted manor?"

"There," pointed Draco.

Harry followed Draco's finger and found himself looking at a huge white and blue building about two hundred yards away. It was exactly of ancient architecture, with large, iron gates in the front and two huge pillars supporting the roof of the lavish entrance with white marble steps. The building stretched for acres on both sides. As they neared, Harry saw a beautiful fountain of four beautiful marble angels with pots in their hands, through which water flowed out. The water changed its color regularly. The moonlight shone brilliantly on all the marble figurines, making them stand out. There were beautiful gardens on either sides and some of the plants that were blooming were out of season.

Harry was deeply impressed but he wasn't going to show that to Draco. Instead, he snapped at him, "Didn't your father find any better place to build his manor? Did it have to be this horrendous place?"

"Number one, my father didn't build it. My ancient ancestors did. Number two, this place isn't horrendous but rather peaceful and calm."

"And dead deserted."

"Number three, we are entering through the back gate."

Harry wasn't silenced. "Then why do we have to walk so much? Why can't we fly?"

"Because we are in the Malfoy grounds and during this time, all the detectors are extremely sensitive. No suspicious entries."

"Humph!"

"Now come on," said Draco, stopping, "we need to get covered with the Invisibility Cloak."

Grumpily, Harry threw the cloak over himself and Draco. They walked on till they were right in front of the iron gates. The gates were designed in the Victorian style.

"What now?" asked Harry.

"Shsh..." whispered Draco. "Don't talk too loudly. The detectors will catch us."

"I don't know why but I feel as though I am trying to get into the Pentagon stealthily."

"Pardon?"

"Forget it."

Draco shrugged and ignored Harry. He craned his neck to see if any of the guards were watching over that area. One was. He was a tall and broad man pacing a room just above the roofed entrance.

"Why don't we go in?" asked Harry impatiently.

"We can't go in just now," replied Draco, "a guard of the watch is out."

"Great!"

"Shut up and wait for a few minutes."

It was five minutes before the guard went away.

"All right," said Draco in hushed tones, "we can go in now."

He stretched one of his hands out of the cloak and lightly touched the stone cold iron gates. They opened up easily and smoothly without any creaking sounds that Harry thought that the heavy iron would have made.

He and Draco stepped in and the gates closed by themselves.

"Now we can freely walk across the threshold and right into my room," said Draco. He checked the time. It was almost ten o' clock. "Mother must have gone to bed by now. Only problem is we need to sneak into the building first."

"We'll manage," said Harry, since he had a lot of experience with sneaking. "But Malfoy, how come there aren't anymore blocks in our way?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that when someone with Malfoy blood is out here, nothing happens?" said Draco huffily.

"Okay, fine then."

"Now keep that big fat mouth shut and follow me."

Harry scowled and let himself be followed by Draco. They reached the entrance door that was made up of rich ebony and had an elegant silver, hoods stretched cobra for a knob.

"Right now," whispered Draco, making sure that the coast was clear. "Let's go in."

He turned the knob. The snakes eyes glowed green for a moment and then the door swung open noiselessly too. He and Harry walked in. Harry tried not to gasp.

They walked straight into the Main Hall, which was dimly lit. The hall was about the size of the Great Hall in Hogwarts itself. Rows of ebony plush chair were kept all around the circular hall. The floor was made of light yellow marble and had a high shine. Harry was sure if the place would have been better lit, he could have seen his reflection on the floor. A huge and antique crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling with many smaller ones lining the circular place. In front of them was an extravagant staircase with rich red velvet carpet. It was about three metres wide and made of ebony, with two marble nymphs as the posts. The staircase was divided into two in two opposite directions and after completing a serpentine twist, they met at the first landing. A single spiraling staircase lead to the many further landings.

"Stop gawking and follow me, Potter," said Draco smugly. "My room, unfortunately is on the third landing."

Harry nodded. Both he and Draco rushed upwards to the third landing. The third landing had many rooms. On the very right hand side was a door which said 'Living Room'. On the very left, another door had plaque saying 'Cellar'. Harry didn't know what that meant, but it surely made clear that Draco must be drinking. On the second right had was another room, with a door that said, 'Bedroom' and then another one said 'Study Room.' The other side of the corridor had two more rooms also, one for 'Library' and one as 'Entertainment.' Both the walls had brass stands with red cloth tied from end to end and the floor was carpeted in deep red too. The walls also had beautiful paintings and murals on them and all of them were moving.

Draco steered Harry into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. He pulled out the Invisibility Cloak off himself and Harry. He took his wand out and muttered some strange words that Harry didn't recognize. But he obviously was inactivating the sensors in his room.

"All right," he said, "you stay here, Potter. I'll be back in maximum twenty minutes. Don't touch anything. Nothing at all. Is it clear?"

"Why will I lay my hands on the hideous objects your room must be having? In fact, I'll never touch anything that is yours."

Draco allowed a sly grin to come up on his tense face. "Then keep your hands off Hermione too," he said and vanished before Harry had time react.

Harry scowled into the dark angrily. He knew Draco was doing everything on purpose, to annoy him. Harry balled his palms in fists. "Bloody bastard," he spat to the deserted room.

Harry turned around to have a look at Draco's bedroom. Even though it was dark, illuminated only by slanting rays the moon, Harry could see that Draco's bedroom was larger than the sixth year boys' dormitory back in Hogwarts, in the Gryffindor Tower. The floor was made up of impeccably white marble glinting in the places where moonlight fell. The ceiling was painted off-white. It was of a dome shaped ceiling with pillars in each corner arched into the roof. The architecture was completely of the Victorian style. The bed, so large that five men could sleep on it, was made of ebony too and a silver silk bed cover hung almost to the floor. Victorian paintings and curtains (rusty colored ones) adorned the walls, painted white too.

Another queer, yet obvious thing that Harry noticed that there were many serpentine antiques as decorations in Draco's bedroom. They were all of all kinds, colors and shapes. The knobs of all the doors that he had seen so far had serpentine knobs too. The bed lamps in the room had steel snakes coiling on the stands. Harry noticed two other rooms in, one saying 'Washroom' and another 'Dressing Room'.

Harry didn't sit down on the green plush armchairs. He just moved about and examined things for the next fifteen minutes before Draco appeared. Harry was impressed by the interior decoration, but he was more interested in looking for devious things that he could show to Hermione and poison her mind towards Draco.

But unfortunately, or rather fortunately, he didn't manage to. Draco arrived and they were soon whisking themselves to the island next to Azkaban.

"I hope you didn't touch any of those expensive artifacts, Potter," said Draco, his face shadowy in the shadowy dark and his disheveled blonde hair glimmering when he crossed the moonlight patches. "They are more valuable than your life."

"I told you that I am not interested," said Harry through clenched jaws.

"Good boy. And now will you please come with me over to the fire place?"

Harry didn't answer but noisily stalked towards the bronze fireplace. Draco smirked and came up to him, pulling a velvet black pouch from his robes. He pointed his wand to the furnace and said, "Incendio!"

Immediately, merry yellow flames of fire lit up in the fireplace. Draco pocketed his wand and opened the pouch. He took a pinch of shimmering blue powder (which Harry at first sight mistaken it as copper sulphate) and threw it into the lit fireplace. The flames grew higher and turned a turquoise blue, illuminating the whole room.

"What do we have to do now?" asked Harry.

"Say that place's name," murmured Draco. "But hold on ... I don't remember the name!"

"Curse you!" exclaimed Harry, annoyed. "What now?"

"I ... I ... don't know," muttered Draco, looking away. He strained his memory to remember the place's name but he couldn't.

"Great," said Harry sarcastically. "Now why don't we drink Butterbeer and sleep? Let Hermione hang out with Voldemort!"

"Shut up!" hissed Draco. "I am trying to remember, all right? It's the Drew Headquarters or something. No, wait, it's Brew Headquarters."

"Screw Headquarters?" prompted Harry.

"Yeah," said Draco absent-mindedly. After he realized what Harry had meant, he said indignantly, "No way! It's the Drew Headquarters, I think."

"You sure?"

"Almost."

Harry scowled again. "Then you go first, Malfoy. If it's all safe, then I'll come."

"Very clever of you, Potter. If I reach in the wrong place, you'll get caught here and the whole plan will be dumped."

"If I reach in the wrong place, then will you please kill Voldemort for me?" asked Harry in a mock-sweet voice.

"Sure."

"Bosh! I am not going first."

"Fine, I am sure that it's the Drew Headquarters and I'm going. I'll take the Furnaco Powder with me and save Hermione alone."

"No! Wait ... all right, I'll go first."

Draco smirked. "Right then," he said, pointing to the fireplace. "Step in and say clearly, 'The Drew Headquarters'."

Scowling still fiercely, Harry stepped into the fireplace. The flames licked his body but did no harm to it. It was almost the same as Floo Powder, and since Harry didn't like traveling by the latter, he didn't think that using the former would be any better. But the queasy feeling he had in the pit of his stomach was due to apprehension. Pure and simple.

Closing his eyes after taking out his round glasses, Harry said "The Drew Headquarters."

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In a whirl of bluish-green flames, Harry found himself coming out of the fireplace in a well-lit office. He was wrong. Traveling by Furnaco Powder was loads better from traveling by Floo Powder. Harry wasn't covered in soot for one and he had reached the office in the blink of an eye.

But the only problem was that he didn't know if he was in the correct place or not.

A moment later, Draco stepped out of the fireplace behind him with his Firebolt. He looked around and gave a sigh of relief.

"Merlin! We are in the right place."

"How d'you know?" asked Harry.

"You're so dim, Potter. I had come to visit my father, remember? I've told you this three times."

Harry did feel a bit sheepish, but he didn't show that. "I'm a little tense, all right? Anyway, lead the way out of here before anyone comes. I wonder why no one is here."

"I guess that they're in the main room," said Draco thoughtfully. "There must be some chaos surely, after the recent events."

He was right. When he and Harry came out of the office, they found about twenty men outside, near the billowing waves of the sea. There were about four small ships there. Two were already going, with more men inside it. Another ship reached the shore on another side. The sea looked beautiful and gleamed dimly in the moonlight.

Harry looked forwards and saw the fortress of Azkaban, the Wizarding Gaol.

And the sight wasn't pleasant.

It was exactly as Draco had described it. A low, one storied building (though hexagonal or not, Harry couldn't make out) stood on the small island with towering pillars rising over it. Everything there was pitch black. Blacker than shadows and the night. Harry felt a wave of nausea hit him on the thought that he would be going inside it.

"Quick," hissed Draco. "Put on the Invisibility Cloak."

Harry draped it over him and was going to do so on Draco too, when Draco barked, "Not on me, moron. I am not going!"

Harry felt sheepish again.

Draco slipped him his broom from under the Invisibility Cloak. "Right," he said, a bit nervous, which could also be due to talking to thin air. "You fly straight, Potter and don't fall into the sea. The Ministry has poisoned the water after Black had escaped. You could get paralyzed temporarily. Anyway, fly till you reach the fort. Don't leave the broom lying anywhere after you mount down. It's expensive and anyway, it'll raise suspicion. Go to the place where people will be flooding. Find Morretti and make sure that you get time to talk to him alone. I don't know how you're going to manage it, but you have to. Get all the information you can and fly back."

"All right, but another problem," said Harry, taking in Draco's instructions. "D'you think that Morretti will tell me everything simply if I ask him?"

"Use the Truth Spell, you idiot," said Draco impatiently. When Harry didn't answer for a long time, he added, "Hex Morretti with 'Veritas', okay? V-E-R-I-T-A-S, Veritas. Now, see that bushes there?"

He pointed towards an area of tall bushes.

Harry nodded. After realizing that Draco couldn't see him, he said, "Yes."

"I'll be hiding there," went on Draco. "After that, I'll plan the rest. Now go. And a minute ... well, good luck, since this is for Hermione."

"I don't need your good wishes, Malfoy," said Harry casually and mounted his broom. With a faint whooshing sound, he flew off.

Draco shook his head slightly and ran in the shadows to hide behind the bushes.

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Veiled by the Invisibility Cloak, Harry flew on Draco's Firebolt towards Azkaban, a million thoughts swimming in his mind. He now knew that how handful a Pensieve could be. He was tense and nervous. He could never believe that he was going to one of the most hideous places in the world voluntarily. Though that didn't worry him that much. He had been to several such places before, thanks to Voldemort. And he was going to Azkaban due to Voldemort once again. Blast him!

Harry's main anxiety was Morretti. It would be difficult to get hold of him, let alone question him. Harry wasn't sure he would manage to use the Truth Spell either.

One thing he was thankful for was Morretti being the only prisoner in the goal, since all the Death Eaters were killed. This meant that the Ministry would guard that place only, but it also minimized the possibilities of Harry communicating with Morretti. Harry had no idea how he would manage to do it, but as Draco had said, he had to.

For a break, Harry looked around. The full moon was shining brightly in the cloudless sky and the chilly winter winds were blowing. But Harry was quite warm; on the way to Wiltshire, Draco had performed a Warming Spell, in consideration the long distances they would have to travel in the open air. Harry was inwardly grateful.

He saw the sea disturbed by the westerlies. Harry was yet again grateful that there was no snowfall. He then remembered that he could ward off the snow by magic. It wasn't anything new - it was the Muggle in him since he had regular contact with that world. It happened sometimes with Hermione also.

The fort was nearing. Harry was level with half of the tall towers of the building. Harry noticed that there were only two windows in each of the towers. That obviously meant that there were only two cells in each tower. Harry shuddered. It must have been dead gloomy in that place. Poor Sirius, he thought, to have spent twelve years in this horrendous place.

Harry wouldn't have been surprised if bats and vampires flew out of the windows as in a typical horror movie.

After twenty minutes, Harry swooped down on the Firebolt. There were countless towers but they were in circles all around and in whichever tower Morretti was, was certainly not within the range of Harry's sight. There were about ten metres of land surrounding the fortress. Smoothly, Harry landed on the ground and pulling himself to a halt. The part where Harry had landed was completely isolated. Magically attaching the broomstick to himself (after reducing its size), Harry ran towards the other end. He suspected that the entrance would be on the other side.

It was. A door was left open and firelight was coming from it. Two guards were standing at the entrance. Making sure he was well hidden, Harry neared the door. He almost stopped breathing when he entered Azkaban, fearing of getting caught by the Ministry guards.

The walls around him were stony and the path was narrow, only wide enough for five people to pass at a time. The pathway was illuminated by fire burning from conical torches fixed to the walls. The place had an eerie silence and a restless atmosphere within it. Harry didn't like it.

Slowly, so that his footfalls wouldn't make sound, Harry walked forwards. After walking for a few yards, Harry reached a fork. But fortunately, he wasn't lost.

There were signboards at each path. On the right, it said 'Cells' and on the left it said 'Managing Departments'.

Even though he was expected to go towards 'Cells', Harry went towards the 'Managing Departments' path. He knew he would get lost in between fifty towers and a hundred cells. By that time, Voldemort would have half-tortured Hermione to death already. It would be easier if followed any official going to the cells.

Taking a deep breath, Harry walked into the 'Managing Departments'. It took him five minutes to reach the departments. And contrary to the desert Harry had come from; the departments were filled with people and were bursting with energy.

Harry had no time to pay attention a bloke calling, "Stewart, get me the papers to filled with Morretti's bio right now!" or "Where the hell are the keys to the meeting room, Danny?" or "I am so sorry I spilled the coffee on you, ma'am!"

Harry stood on his toe tips to look for someone who would be going to Morretti's cell. In a minute, a lady in lime green robes and a Negro man about forty in black robes walked towards the path Harry was, deep in conversation. Harry stood aside and tried to listen what they were talking about.

"Now, now, Mrs. Turner, what is the pandemonium all about?" the Negro asked, keeping up with the lady, who was obviously Mrs. Turner.

"I don't know myself, Mr. Beth," replied Mrs. Turner impatiently, waving her hand. "The Head of the Department of Conviction got an owl from the Minister that some Travis Morretti needed to be put in prison here."

They crossed Harry unsuspectingly and entered the pathway through which Harry had come and Harry followed them eager to hear more.

"Travis Morretti?" said Mr. Beth confused. "He doesn't work for the Ministry, does he?"

"No, he doesn't."

"But what had he done? Is he a Death Eater?"

"I don't know what he had done, but our sensors here didn't detect the Dark Mark on him."

"The Minister didn't say anything else?"

"No, and that is confusing. He ordered us to put him here and heal him - he is badly hurt. In fact, he was unconscious when we brought him here five hours ago. Anyway, Fudge told, I mean, the Minister told that we make sure he was fine before midnight tonight, because then Albus Dumbledore will be coming to question him."

"That's strange. I hope it isn't anything serious."

"No, Mr. Beth, it is something serious because everything's so panicky and there is utter chaos."

Harry saw that they were nearing the fork. Harry hoped that Mrs. Turner and Mr. Beth would go to the cells.

When they reached the fork, Mr. Beth said, "Well, I'll see to the officials coming from the Seyene Island. See you around."

"Surely," said Mrs. Turner.

Mr. Beth turned left and walked out of the fort. Mrs. Turner made her way towards the cells. Harry almost sighed in relief, but closed his mouth before Mrs. Turner noticed anything.

Mrs. Turner walked through twisting passages, which were all dimly lit and met several people on her way, sometimes asking if they had completed their jobs or asking if anything was wrong or asking if they knew anything more or sometimes just said a hello.

But Harry patiently waited and walked behind until she took him to the tower where Morretti was, which took about fifteen minutes. Harry was quite surprised that there were only three people in the tower. Two who seemed to be guards and one who had a label on his robe saying 'Medi-wizard'.

Mrs. Turner walked towards the Medi-wizard. "There you are, Mr. Ryan," she said. "I have been looking for you everywhere."

"I was taking care of Morretti," said the Medi-wizard. "How can I be of assistance, Miss...?"

"Mrs. Turner."

"Right. How can I help you, Mrs. Turner?"

"I am the secretary of the Department of the Azkaban Management and I learned that you are in charge of the convicted?"

"Yes, I am," said Mr. Ryan. "The man has been badly hurt. He can't see properly, he says he's so dizzy. He has just started talking. I wonder who did this to him."

"I am so sorry but I have no idea, Mr. Ryan. But I have to send a report to the Minister about Morretti's condition. I need you to come down and write about his present situation and sign it."

"Sure."

"This way, please."

Mrs. Turner led Mr. Ryan away. Only the two guards were left. Harry needed to distract them long enough so that he can talk to Morretti. So after a few minutes, so that Mrs. Turner and Mr. Ryan had walked away quite a large distance, Harry pulled out his wand and walked backwards few steps and muttered, "Reducto!" to the staircase of the tower.

As the stone staircase blew up, it made a loud exploding sound. It sounded louder in the pin-drop silence. The guards looked at each other in alarm and rushed to the staircase.

"Merlin!" said one of them. "What the heck is it, Reggie?"

"I don't know. I think someone is here for Morretti. Sam, rush down and get the officials. I'll stay here to see if anybody tries anything and I'll have a good look around."

"Okay."

Hurried footfalls ran down the staircase. Harry peaked down and saw the other guard, Reggie walking examining the explosion. He aimed his wand at Reggie and Stunned him.

Harry turned back to Morretti's cell. He had fifteen minutes or so before anyone turned up. He didn't bother looking at the lock of the cell. He looked directly into the cell and found Morretti lying on a low bed, groaning. The cell was small, smelly and dusty. Pointing his wand at Morretti, Harry said clearly and stressfully, "Veritas!"

Morretti groaned out in pain again.

Harry ignored his anguish and then said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

He levitated Morretti towards himself and asked hurriedly, testing if he had performed the Truth Spell properly. "What is your name?"

Unable to control himself, Morretti choked out, "Travis ... Antonio Morretti."

"Do you have contact with Voldemort?"

"Yes."

"You know where Hermione Granger is?"

"Yes,"

"Where is she?"

"Twenty-five miles ... south of the Ethi-opian Highlands ... Africa."

"What plan does he have?"

"He will wait for Harry Potter ... and Draco Malfoy to come for ... Granger. Then he ... will kill ... them all."

"Nothing more?"

"Nothing more."

Harry didn't wait for anything else. He rushed down the staircases and out of Azkaban to see Draco.

____________________________________________________________________________

Draco sat behind the bushes impatiently. Harry had been gone for nearly an hour and he hadn't come back. Was he caught? Or was he unable to get information from Morretti?

Draco didn't know. He just prayed that everything went well.

Things went well with Harry, but not with him. After about half an hour Harry had gone, three men had come towards where Draco was hiding. Draco had panicked and he turned around to see if there were any place for him to hide.

There were none.

So Draco had no other way but to jump into the sea. In spite of the sea water being poisonous.

Inside the sea was terrible. Draco created a bubble-head on himself to allow himself to breathe but he didn't know how to ward the water off. All that he knew would cause a lot of attraction and was thus not favorable for him to use. So Draco had to bear with the sharp stinging of the water.

It was five minutes before the men went away. Draco dragged himself out of the water with great difficulty and lay on the muddy ground, not able to move. After a few moments, his legs and hands went numb and stung even more when the night air hit them.

Draco knew he was temporarily paralyzed.

But fortunately, on his last visit, Draco had learnt that for the proper effect of the poison to take on one, one would have to stay in it for at least fifteen minutes. After that, they would be paralyzed for six hours straight. Draco on the other hand, had been in the waters only for five minutes. Though he was paralyzed, he knew should recover with a couple of hours or so.

Unable to move, Draco lay on the ground with the bubble-head still on him. He hoped Harry returned soon.

Harry came back after ten more minutes.

When Harry saw Draco on the ground with a bubble-head, he couldn't help but snigger. He pulled down the Firebolt on the ground smoothly again and sat himself next to Draco, whose head looked twice as large and queerly stretched.

Draco's Death Eater instincts picked on Harry's presence. "You back, Potter?" he said softly.

"Yeah," said Harry, quite amazed at how Draco knew it. But if he asked him that, Draco would start gloating and Harry had heard enough to last him a lifetime.

He missed out the one of the few gloats that he ever heard from Draco Malfoy again in his life.

"Why did you fancy a bubble-head, Malfoy?" he asked him sarcastically. "You don't look handsome anymore."

"I had to," snapped Draco, still as a statue. "Some people came here and I went into the sea. And why do you care if I look handsome anymore or not? I am not gay, mind you."

Harry snorted. But after a moment he said, "Hey! You went into the sea? Then you must be paralyzed!"

"I went in only for five minutes, Scarhead, so don't be too excited. I'll be all right after two hours approximately."

"But that's cheerful too!"

"Shut up! And take this bloody bubble off my head!"

"What if I won't?"

"Then after I become mobile again, I'll strangle you."

"I would be gone by then. I've got all the information I wanted and I'll kill Voldemort, get Hermione. I'll save the world and I'll become more famous. Hermione will be awed and she'll fall for me. I'll marry her and have five children and one day, I'll become the greatest Quidditch Seeker in the world."

"Oh yay!" said Draco sarcastically. "Will you invite me to your wedding?"

"No I won't. I'll bury you alive now and here. What shall I write on your grave? Here lies Draco Lucius Malfoy, buried with a bubble on his head?"

"What crap!" barked Draco, annoyed. "Take this bubble off my head now!"

"All right..."

Draco felt the bubble on his head pop. "Good grief!" he said. "Do I look handsome back again, Potter?"

"Yuck! No way!"

"Very funny. Anyway, what information did you get from Morretti?"

"He told me that Hermione is twenty-five miles south of the Ethiopian Highlands and that Voldemort is doing as to what he had planned and I had seen in my dream back in Grimmauld Place."

"Oh. Well, we can't do anything for two hours."

"Might be, but we can't stay here."

"I know. Well ... I guess we will have to Apparate," said Draco thoughtfully. "Do you know how to Apparate, Potter?"

"Yes, I do. Dumbledore taught me."

"All right, so you know that we can't Apparate directly where Hermione is, since, we can Apparate to place we know well. So where do we go now?"

"I don't know, but Malfoy, I suggest we halt for the night," said Harry. "We would become too tired and then neither can we get Hermione nor can we fight Voldemort."

After a long time, Draco answered, "Might be ... but where do we go? We can't stay here. We can't go to Africa. We can't go to Hogwarts. We can't go to my manor."

"I guess we will have to stay here then," said Harry. "Under the cloak."

"What! Are you telling me to sleep with you? No way!"

"I am none the too interested. But at least for two hours, we will have to stay here. Then we can both go and find some place beyond this island to stay for the night."

"All right," said Draco. "Now cover me with your cloak, Potter, but don't get too near, I tell you."

"Oh shut up, will you?"

"If you do too."

"All right, you numb boy, both of us to make peace for two hours."

"Whole night."

And they sat there, covered in the Invisibility Cloak for the next two hours. Two hours later, they walked back of the island and found a small wood and spent the night there.

And without saying goodnight to each other. ____________________________________________________________________________

Part Two:

Draco and Harry Apparated to northeastern Africa the next morning at about seven in o' clock in the morning. Even though it might sound funny, but both of them had spent rather a peaceful night together, after hours of continuous drama. Though that could also be due to depression, anxiety and exhaustion.

But after they had woken up, the first thing that they had said was, "Ew! Did I have to see you face as the first thing this morning?"

Naturally, they were back to bickering and producing snide remarks about each other every now and then. They had Apparated right in front of Alexander Malfoy's house. Since Harry had never seen that place before, he was unable to Apparate there and thus had to cling on to Draco when Draco Apparated. He immediately withdrew after they reached their destination.

"What is this place?" Harry asked, looking at the house curiously. "And why is a house here? Malfoy, you didn't get us into a habitation, did you?"

"Course not," said Draco, running a hand and trying to settle his blonde bangs that hadn't been gelled for two days. "This is the place where Hermione and I had come."

"When? Recently or when you had kidnapped her?"

Draco shot Harry a glare. "Both the times," he answered tightlipped.

Harry smirked at him. "I never knew you could manage with such small houses, Malfoy."

Draco glared at Harry again. But he got back at him. "I wouldn't mind going even to Weasley's hut as long as Hermione would be with me."

This time, Harry glared at Draco and Draco smirked back.

"Anyway," said Draco nonchalantly, "why don't we start flying south?"

Harry looked up at the sky. The sun wasn't visible from behind the tall and dense treetops and the shadows of the trees were spread all over. He looked back at Draco and saw him biting his lower lip, his brows furrowed. It seemed that he had spotted the same problem too: they didn't know which were the north and consequently, the south.

"What shall we do know?" asked Draco.

"I have a way," said Harry. He pulled his wand out and said, "Point Me!"

His wand tip turned towards the north.

Draco looked at Harry's wand with a slightly amused expression. "Is that a Directing Spell you did just now?"

"I don't know for sure. Hermione had done something with my wand so that whenever I would say 'Point Me!'; it would point to the north. I had used it back in my fourth year during the third task of the Triwizard Tournament."

"Hermione did it?"

"Yeah,"

For one moment, Draco looked slightly faraway and sad, and Harry didn't know what to tell him.

"Well then," he said uneasily, "why don't we fly in the opposite direction of my wand? That would lead us to the south."

"Yeah, I've spotted that."

"And we could use a Distance Spell to know if we have covered twenty-five miles or not."

"Sure," said Draco. He stretched his Firebolt in front him and mounted it. "Come on, Potter."

"You'll be flying again?"

"What did you expect?"

Harry looked slightly put out.

"Stop looking like a chided baby and sit!" snapped Draco.

"All right," said Harry grumpily and sat himself back of Draco.

Draco steered his broom up and they shot upwards and in a few seconds, they were hovering over the treetops, covered with twigs and leaves and scratched in each inch of bare skin.

"Why didn't you do something to ward this off?" asked Harry angrily, taking out the leaves off his hair.

"I had other things on my mind, Potter!"

It took them five minutes to take out the leaves and twigs off their hair and robes. And then, they flew at full speed towards the southern direction. They flew for fifteen minutes. After every five minutes, Harry did a Distance Spell to see how much distance they had discovered. They had traveled only four miles.

"Can't you be faster, Malfoy?" asked Harry impatiently.

"How can I be?" roared Draco through the air rushing into his face. "There are so many trees in the way!"

"Then pull up!"

"We'll be fifty feet up from the ground and if we fall and die, who would get Hermione?"

"Then let me fly!"

"No, don't even think about it!"

Harry sulked and stopped telling Draco anything. It took them an hour and a half to cover twenty-five miles. Draco stopped flying and tried to peer down through the thick covering of the trees.

"Hey, Potter," he said, pointing down, "can you see anything right down?"

"No, I can't," said Harry, pressing his glasses closer to his eyes.

"D'you think that we are in the right place?"

"Well, we used a correct direction Spell, as you call it, and a correct Distance Spell. We must be twenty-five miles south of the Ethiopian Highlands."

"Er ... are you sure you've got the correct information from Morretti?"

"Of course, I have!"

"I don't know, but I just go this feeling..." said Draco. He scratched his head. "Voldemort isn't of the type who gives the information to all..."

Harry gaped at Draco. "Why didn't you tell this to me before, Malfoy?"

"I never gave it a thought," said Draco, looking away from the greenery.

"You're so careless."

"Me? No way!"

"Of course you are," said Harry venomously, "otherwise Hagrid would have been still alive."

Draco stiffened. "Come on, Potter," he said, through clenched jaws, "we can't fight now. Its crucial point. We need to be united. And anyway, I guess Voldemort would have wanted us to find out his whereabouts."

Harry wanted to say more but he knew Draco was correct. Dumbledore would have advised them to be united and Voldemort would have surely wanted them to find him out. So that he could finish them.

"Might be," sighed Harry, "might be you correct. So, why don't we go down and see what's below."

Draco relaxed and nodded. Personally, he was grateful that Harry gave in. He looked down and steered his broom nervously. He slowly went down and landed.

And then, he was sure that Harry had the correct information.

Not that he found Voldemort taking a morning stroll around though.

That area, a circular one with a radius of about forty feet, was cleared of all trees, unlike all the other parts of the tropical forest. Draco and Harry were standing near the edge of the clearing. There weren't any tree any stumps either, meaning that the place was either cleared magically or, it was decades since trees had grown there. The forest floor there on the other hand wasn't damp as usual and muddy, but covered with dry leaves. There weren't any animals in sight either.

This struck Draco as suspicious. He looked at Harry and found his eyebrows raised. Obviously, he was thinking about the same thing.

"What ... what does this mean?" Harry asked him, a lump forming in his throat.

"I-I don't know," said Draco back, feeling increasingly nervous. "Are you sure that you had heard Morretti clearly. I wouldn't want to go back to Hogwarts and face the others empty handed."

"Oh no, you wouldn't live to return, Draco Malfoy," said a cold and smooth voice.

Draco and Harry spun around and found none other than Lord Voldemort standing before them, a few feet away.

Harry and Draco froze. They couldn't believe it. It was Voldemort in front of them. The greatest butcher of the twenty-first century in the wizarding world.

Harry stared at Voldemort, a chill running down his spine. Voldemort hadn't changed since the last time Harry had seen him. He still had white and leathery skin that stretched tightly over his thin and tall frame and bald skull. His fingers were still long and spidery and carelessly twirled his wand. His face still had no lips and two flat holes for nostrils. His eyes were still red and fiery. Harry could almost see the great excited and triumphant hunger in them.

Waiting to kill.

Harry gulped. He couldn't move. Nor could Draco.

"Well, well, well," said Voldemort pleasantly, his nose in the air. "How are you doing, Harry Potter? Long time no see ... and you, Draco Malfoy! What a pleasant surprise! You haven't been to visit me for more than five months! I hope I find you well."

Draco snarled but he was far too used to Voldemort's sarcasm to care. He didn't reply.

"Why is this silence, boys?" went on Voldemort. "Do I scare you?"

Draco and Harry stayed still again.

"I am not used such disappointment," said Voldemort. "I will ask you only once again. Do I scare you?"

They did say a word or moved an inch.

Voldemort clicked his tongue disapprovingly and raised his wand. Harry and Draco flinched. Suddenly, they felt a strong hold on each of their chins, forcing them to nod. They had no other choice but to nod.

"That's better," said Voldemort. "Since the Imperius Curse doesn't work on you both, I had to use this method. Sorry for the inconvenience."

And then, Voldemort laughed. He laughed like a maniac. His laughter made the hair on the back of Harry's neck stand on their end.

"I have to say sorry for so many things," said Voldemort in a mock-guilty voice. "Let me start. Harry Potter, I am sorry for killing your parents. Draco Malfoy I am sorry for killing your uncle."

Draco's mouth opened in shock. Voldemort killed my uncle?

"And then, sorry to both of you: for I am going to kill that Mudblood Hermione Granger and then, both of you."

Draco felt his blood stop flowing in his vessels. His hands went clammy and his heartbeat increased.

Voldemort waved his wand a plush armchair appeared in front him. He sat himself on it nonchalantly. "I have so much to tell you boys," he said in a mock-guilty voice again. "I am sorry your lives will be extended for a while. No matter, I am sure you wouldn't mind, would you?"

When Draco and Harry didn't reply again, Voldemort forcefully made them shake their heads.

"As I was saying, I have some talk in store for you. Why don't you two sit down too?"

Voldemort waved his wand again and two more chairs appeared, one behind Draco and Harry each. Voldemort had to force them to sit down. After they had sat down, Draco and Harry didn't have the feeling in their legs to get up. Or rather, the guts.

"Coming back to my speech," went on Voldemort importantly, as though he was talking about environmental pollution, "where do I start? With my family perhaps. As you know, Albus Dumbledore had captured all my Death Eaters last year except for Bellatrix Lestrange, Avery Nott, Antonio Macnair, Augustus Rookwood and Wormtail. I got two new Death Eaters then, you young man, Malfoy and your friend, Theodore Nott. But you turned on against on me, and then all were killed except Bella. Oh, those days..."

He was silent for a few moments, looking at Draco and Harry accusingly. "Never mind," he continued cheerfully. "I had a plot in my mind and look at me today! I am successful. Isn't that great?"

Draco and Harry forcefully nodded again.

"I am amazed, you know, that you found me out so quickly. Travis Morretti told you, didn't he?"

Draco and Harry nodded again.

"Faithful traitor," sighed Voldemort. "Bella should be back now ... I had sent her to kill Morretti. We wouldn't want anybody interrupting us during this business, would we boys?"

Draco and Harry shook their heads again.

"She would be back within a few minutes. Actually, after killing Morretti, she has to see how your side reacts, what steps they are taking currently. So she was away for the whole night, but I told her to be back before nine o' clock in the morning at least. When she would be back, I'll tell her to fetch Hermione Granger."

The thought of Hermione struck Draco for the first time after seeing Voldemort. He couldn't help and blurted out, "Where is Hermione?"

Harry shot him a warning look, but Draco didn't notice. He was staring at Voldemort hard.

Voldemort smiled. "I am glad that you spoke, Malfoy. Both of you weren't reciprocating to my hospitality. Anyway, don't worry about your little girlfriend. She's fine. I haven't tortured her yet. But I am afraid she hasn't eaten anything since last evening."

Draco let out a sigh of relief. A part of him believed Voldemort.

"And now coming to one of my questions," continued Voldemort, "tell me, Draco Malfoy, how could you love a Mudblood? This is something highly unlikely for a Malfoy to do. Lucius wouldn't have been pleased."

Draco didn't say anything.

"So you have decided not to answer me? Fools," said Voldemort softly. "Speak your last words, go on, I give you the permission ... not interested perhaps? Well, I have to guess my answer then. Granger fulfils your sexual needs, Malfoy, doesn't she? Let's see if that's true. I'll see to that when Bella brings her."

"You bastard!" yelled Draco and got up. He ran towards Voldemort to kill him then and there. He didn't pay attention to Harry yelling behind him, "No, Malfoy!"

Draco ran for a few feet and then he got the biggest shock of his life. It wasn't mental, it was physical.

He dashed into a transparent wall and felt an odd and strong, writhing sensation flowing through him.

Voldemort looked absolutely cool and collected. He chortled when Draco fell back with a cry. "Malfoy, I am so sorry," he said. "Did I forget to tell you about the cage you and Potter are in?"

Draco and Harry furrowed their brows in confusion. They didn't see any cage.

"I know you can't see it," read their minds Voldemort, "but it is there. Only recently, I invented this magical-cum-electrical cage. This is invisible but yet, can be perceived by touch. The shock you got now, Malfoy is called an electric shock. I know you wouldn't understand, but Potter, you do understand, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," said Harry, voluntarily. "But I didn't expect you to take Muggle means."

Voldemort stopped smiling. Without any warning, he hissed "Crucio!" at Harry.

For the fourth time in his life, Harry felt the effect of the Cruciatus Curse. His bones once again were on fire and white hot knives pierced through each inch of his skin. He screamed out in pain as he collapsed onto the ground.

"Let me tell you the magical properties of my cage," said Voldemort sternly. "I can walk through the cage and my spells can cross this barrier, but you can't. And you know what will happen this time, Potter? There will be no Priori Incantatum, because any spell from your wand won't come in contact with me."

Harry gaped at Voldemort in shock. Dumbledore had mentioned about Priori Incantatum and it was one of Harry's weapons against Voldemort. But Harry wasn't prepared for this. His most important advantage was wasted.

Voldemort turned to Draco. "And as for you, Malfoy, don't worry. I would never touch a Mudblood."

Draco bared his teeth, though his face was white. He knew Voldemort was lying; he knew that Voldemort had raped numerous Muggles and Muggle-borns before.

"Ah, Bella! We were waiting for you!"

Draco and Harry turned in surprise and saw Bellatrix Lestrange walking into the clearing, her long black hair swinging behind her and a bemused smile on her beautiful face. She raised her eyebrows at them.

"My Lord," she said, bowing low to Voldemort, "is it what I see?"

"Of course, Bella," said Voldemort. "It is Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy."

"When did they come?"

"Oh, it's been just ten minutes. I was just explaining them about my cage."

Bella smirked at Harry and Draco. "Do you like it, boys?"

She forced Harry and Draco to nod their heads and laughed too.

"Anyway, Bella," said Voldemort, "what news have you got me?"

Bella turned to Voldemort, her hooded eyes smug. "I got Morretti killed, my Lord. I must say, but the security wasn't tight enough to stop me. I couldn't go in, but I used the Imperius Curse on Morretti's cell guard."

"Brilliant," said Voldemort softly. "What about the Ministry?"

"They are in a state of utter chaos, my Lord. Fudge's messed and the Daily prophet is sweeping Azkaban, the Ministry and Hogwarts."

"Ah, yes, Hogwarts. What's going on there?"

"Dumbledore's conducting another Order meeting," said Bella spitefully. "And they're gone berserk because these boys are missing. Complete pandemonium."

"Good, good. Now Bella, why don't you get the Mudblood from the dungeons?"

"As you wish, my Lord."

Bella gave another low bow and disappeared into the woods. Draco and Harry waited with bated breath for Hermione to come. They both wished to see her unscathed.

Five minutes later, Bella came back into the clearing, holding Hermione.

"Hermione!" screamed Draco and Harry together.

Hermione's wrists were bound together and her eyes blindfolded. Her face was pallid and her robes shirt and skirt was dirty. Her hair was messed up. Bella was holding her arms and dragging her roughly into the clearing.

Bella opened her blindfold.

Hermione opened her eyes and blinked for a few times. Harry and Draco were in front of her, both on the ground and sweaty.

"Draco!" she shrieked. "Harry! Go away!"

"Poor Mudblood," said Bella. "They are caged and they are going no where. Nor are you. You three are going to be killed."

Hermione looked at Bella fearfully.

"Throw her into the cage, Bella," ordered Voldemort.

Bella pushed Hermione towards the cage and Hermione fell face forwards into it. Draco scrambled towards her and held her in his arms. Tucking her hair behind her ears, he said, "Are you all right?"

Hermione nodded, enclosing her hands over Draco's. Harry watched them. He wanted to be near Hermione too, but Hermione hadn't given him a look. He felt anger working its way through him.

But Hermione then turned to him and shot him a sad glance. Harry did say anything.

"Don't worry, Malfoy," said Voldemort again, "I haven't scratched your little whore yet. I wanted to do it in full force in front of you."

Draco glared at Voldemort. But dread was clear in his bluish-grey eyes.

"Shall we start, Bella?"

"I am all for it, Master."

Voldemort waved his wand at Harry and Harry felt himself being lifted in the air. He found himself dangling ten feet above the ground.

"Crucio!" hissed Voldemort again.

And the incomprehensible pain shot through Harry's body again. He cried helplessly in the air. Voldemort and Bella laughed maniacally.

"Stop it!" screamed Hermione.

But Voldemort stopped only after two minutes. He dropped Harry painfully on the ground. Hermione got up from the floor and rushed towards Harry, but only to feel herself being lifted into the air.

"Leave her!" yelled Draco.

"Aww, Granger cares for Potter and Malfoy cares for Granger. How sweet! Crucio!"

Hermione shrieked in pain in the air and thrashed her hands wildly about. Draco felt tears coming out his eyes as he watched petrified Hermione being tortured above him. Harry felt too weak to do anything, having undergone two such situations only a little while ago. Voldemort and Bella laughed again.

After Voldemort was done, he dropped Hermione to the ground next to Harry. Draco couldn't reach her and comfort her. Voldemort had him in the air.

Draco faced Voldemort impassively.

"Oh, too proud to show your fear," commented Voldemort in mock-appreciative tone. "Let's see how long you stay before you crack. Crucio!"

Draco tried not to shout but the pain was unbearable. After five seconds or so, he bawled out in agony. Voldemort and Bella laughed out again.

Voldemort dropped Draco onto the ground next to Hermione but Draco didn't lie down on it like a lifeless doll. He sat up and pulled Hermione to him again. He hugged her and stroked her hair while she sobbed into his shoulder.

"I am blinded by such love," said Voldemort, pretending to wipe his eyes. "Anyway, Bella, give them the spades."

Draco, Hermione and Harry shot each other confused looks. Spades?

Bella raised her wand and said, "Accio Spades!"

From somewhere in the woods, three shiny spades came zooming in front Bella. Bella dropped them under her feet. She stooped to pick them up and then threw those digging tools into the cage. The spades landed with a loud clanking noise a few feet away from the Draco, Hermione and Harry.

"Now, now, aren't you three wondering why have I given you spades?" asked Voldemort. He grinned psychotically. "This is for you three to dig your own graves."

Hermione gasped in horror. Their graves?

"Now, common, start digging!" ordered Voldemort. None of the three moved. "Well, then, Crucio!"

The Cruciatus curse hit Hermione painfully in the chest and she screamed out loud again. Draco and Harry yelled out together.

"Stop it! Stop it now! We'll do it!"

Voldemort ended the curse. He looked down at the three. "Very good. Then start digging!"

Like a winded rhino, Draco got up from the ground and picked up a spade. He looked at nobody and started digging the ground in pent-up frustration. Harry followed suit. Hermione didn't have the strength to get up; her body ached terribly.

"Well, the Mudblood isn't in a condition to do manual work, my Lord," said Bella. "She would die before digging a grave. Though I have a brilliant suggestion, if you would let me speak."

Voldemort rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What is it, Bella?"

"Why don't we let the Mudblood write for the graves?" connoted Bella.

"An excellent idea! Let the Mudblood engrave writings for the graves!"

Bella's eyes shined malevolently as she waved her wand and three slabs of stone appeared in front of Hermione.

"Now let me dictate what you've got to write," said Voldemort. "Whom will you like to write first about? Yourself, perhaps. Let me se ... hmm ... er, how about 'Here lies Hermione Anne Granger, a Mudblood. She wrote the lines for Draco Lucius Malfoy and Harry James Potter's graves and had the luck of being killed by the Dark Lord.'?"

"Splendid!" cheered Bella.

"Yes, of course," said Voldemort and waved his wand. A long and fine iron pencil-kind thing appeared next to the stone slabs. "Mudblood, get to work."

Hermione looked at Voldemort with a strangely unpleasant feeling in her stomach. That was perhaps the kind of feeling one got from writing on one's own grave. Hermione gave Draco a helpless look and picked up the pencil and started engraving into a stone slab the words Voldemort had just said.

Draco stopped digging for a moment and looked at Hermione, kneeling over a stone slab and scraping on it with shaky hands. He could do nothing to make her situation better.

"Now her grave," said Bella, "can be dug by Malfoy and Potter after they have finished, can't it, Master?"

"Surely, surely."

For the next half an hour, no one spoke. Voldemort was sitting like a king on the armchair and Bella stood next to him, eyeing the Draco, Hermione and Harry in a bored fashion. Draco and Harry kept digging vigorously and Hermione wrote on the stone. Within thirty minutes, Draco and Harry had finished digging one grave each. Hermione had completed writing for herself on one slab.

"Now next we shall write for Malfoy," said Voldemort. "And I have already thought about him. Mudblood, write this. 'Here lies Draco Lucius Malfoy. A treacherous Death Eater and a disgraceful Malfoy. He had the fortune of being killed by the Dark Lord too."

Draco stared determinedly at his own grave as he wiped his sweaty brow. Hermione gulped at Voldemort's inhumane demeanor. But she didn't want to undergo the Cruciatus Curse again, so she obediently started writing for Draco on another stone slab.

"Malfoy, Potter, you both start digging Granger's grave. Now!"

With a dreadful feeling in their hearts, they started digging another grave for the girl each of them loved in between their own graves. They finished it within fifteen minutes and Hermione took hardly anymore time. Her handiwork wasn't perfectly done.

"Now, now, let Potter write for himself," said Voldemort. "Potter you've got a long one, dear. 'Here lies Harry James Potter, finally killed by the Dark Lord. He wasn't as great as the wizarding world thought him to be and he dug his friend's own grave."

Harry shot daggers at Voldemort before he kneeled down next to Hermione and started scraping the pencil on the last stone slab. There was an eerie silence only broken by the sounds Harry made.

After he was done, he sat down next to Hermione. Draco didn't. He stood straight and upright.

"Ah, the time has come children," said Voldemort getting up, "for you to be killed."

"Please," whimpered Hermione, "let us go."

"The morning is fine," said Voldemort poetically, "do you admire the view?"

Bella laughed. "Let you go? The three of you did so much trouble preparing your own graves! How can we let it go waste?"

Voldemort joined in the laughing. After a few moments, he turned to Harry, Draco and Hermione, his white skin shining and his eyes looked excited. "Granger, what is your last wish?"

"Kill me," said Hermione quickly, "kill me but let Draco and Harry go!"

"No!" interrupted Draco, his pale face paler than ever. "Kill me. Let Hermione go."

"No!" said Harry. "I am your enemy. Kill me and let them go."

Voldemort looked at the three amusedly. "Well, well, let's chose. I think I should fulfill Potter's last wish first, right Bella?"

"Of course, my Lord. That's the best thing we can do."

"All right, Potter, get ready to die."

"NO!" screamed Hermione. "LET HIM GO!"

BANG! Thin cords shot from Voldemort's wand and bound up Hermione and Draco tightly. Draco, unable to balance himself, fell to the ground.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Harry's hands snapped to his sides and he lay on the ground, as stiff as a board.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Harry felt himself being lifted straight into the air again. Hermione screamed helplessly on the ground.

"No more wasting of time," hissed Voldemort. He pulled Harry out of the cage and stopped him when he, Harry, was right in front of him, his face an in inch from Voldemort's. Harry stared into those mad, scarlet eyes, which told him that death was waiting for him. Harry knew he had no way out. He would be killed. Finished once and forever. His training was of no use. He couldn't stop Voldemort. Harry could see the black curtain of terrifying power in Voldemort's eyes.

That was the end.

His end.

His world's end.

"Goodbye, Harry Potter," whispered Voldemort. "Avada Kedavra!"

A jet of green light shot from Voldemort's wand and traveled an inch, striking Harry Potter at the base of his throat.