Unofficial Portkey Archive

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document.write(''); chapter fourteen: Into the Fire

It was well past midnight when Harry, Ron, Draco, and Ginny apparated onto the front porch of the Dursley home. Unconcerned with the lateness of the hour, Harry reached out and banged on the door as Ron pressed repeatedly on the doorbell in what was probably a most annoying pattern.

The lights switched on upstairs, and there was a great sputtering that could only have come from Vernon. Finally, the door swung open, revealing Vernon in pinstriped pajamas (though the vertical lines did little to slim him) and Petunia in a long flannel nightgown.

" What is the meaning of this?" Vernon demanded, and his eyes narrowed at the sight of Harry. " You..."

" Sorry," Harry snapped, pushing his way into the house. "I don't have time for the verbal abuse tonight." His friends followed after him, apparently not concerned that they hadn't been invited.

Harry cast his gaze over to the fireplace, which had been rather determinedly bricked up. No wonder they hadn't been able to come through the floo network. His anger mounting, Harry looked back to Uncle Vernon, who kept casting his eyes fitfully at the four wands that were drawn and aimed toward him. He gulped audibly.

" Was it too much to ask?" Harry inquired bitterly. " Was it too much to hope that you could just be happy for me? All those years, you never showed the least bit of kindness, but I thought..." He shook his head. "Never mind that now. Where's Hermione?"

" We don't know anything about that." Petunia snapped quickly.

Ron raised an eyebrow. " Funny, 'cuz it sure sounds like you do."

Petunia cast a trembling gaze over the group. As her eyes fell upon Draco, he couldn't resist himself and gave her a roguish wink. Petunia turned bright red and clutched at the collar of her nightgown.

Harry, in the meantime, had been busy looking around the house. It looked...different somehow. It took him a moment to realize that the television was nearly twice the size as it had been, and that the furniture was all new and quite expensive looking.

" You sold me out," Harry realized aloud. His eyes blazed. If they had betrayed him out of hatred, that would mean that they at least thought of their nephew from time to time...But this...they didn't even care enough to hate him.

After two great strides, he was eye to eye with Vernon, who shrunk back despite himself at the glowering look in Harry's eyes. " How much did she pay you? How much did you hold out for to ruin my life?"

" A thousand pounds," Vernon mumbled, unable to meet Harry's gaze.

Harry swallowed. " You should have held out for more. She would have given it, you know, but you were so greedy that you couldn't see that."

Abruptly, he turned and began to move around them. " Where are you going?" Petunia inquired, apparently horrified at the thought of Harry being in her home once more.

Ignoring her, Harry called back to the others, " Ron, come and help me look for clues. Ginny, Draco, you keep an eye on those two."

Ginny glanced quickly at Draco but looked away as soon as their gazes met. Draco let out a derisive laugh and then let his eyes wander around the room in order to distract himself. " Nice place you got here," he commented, " but then, deception and bribery do have a way of providing luxury." His thoughts turned grimly to his father. "I should know."

Absently, he picked up a vase and began to turn it over in his hands. But the thought of Lucius seemed to have unleashed something in his brain, and at the memory of a pained scream from his mother-the last he ever heard from her-he dropped the vase. It shattered into a hundred pieces on the ground.

" Draco!" Ginny said reproachfully. Instinctively, she bent down and began to gather the shards of glass.

From Vernon's standpoint, he had a rather nice peephole down into Ginny's blouse. He grinned, but a single scathing glanced from Draco wiped the expression from his face.

Angry now, Draco grabbed Ginny's arm and pulled her to her feet. " Leave it, Weasley. I'm sure they have a few extra pounds left over to replace it."

A moment later, Harry and Ron reappeared in the living room. Ginny looked at them hopefully. "Anything?"

Ron shook his head. " Not that we could find." He turned a cold gaze to the Dursleys. " Guess we'll just have to do a little interrogating, then..."

Petunia stepped behind her husband's bulk, trembling visibly, and Vernon's face suddenly looked rather green. As Ron raised his wand ominously and began to move toward them, Harry unexpectedly intervened.

" Hold it," he said, looking troubled, " Where's Dudley?"

***

Hermione awoke a few hours later to find that a pair of cotton pajamas and some underwear had been placed in the corner of the room. She hesitated, not wanting to take anything from Kimmy, but it really was uncomfortable in her bathing suit and robe. Sighing, she took the proffered clothes and began to change.

Standing in the midst of the cold, dank cell, Hermione was suddenly overcome with the feeling that someone was watching her. Uneasily, she glanced back toward the doorway.

Dudley.

Hermione quickly covered herself with the robe and watched Dudley warily. He remained silent, merely staring, seeming to be having a great battle in his mind. His fat face was drenched in sweat, and his eyes bored into her, leering and lustful.

Finally, he seemed to come to a decision, and he glanced over his shoulder before stepping into the room, shutting the door behind him.

Hermione suddenly seemed to find her voice. " I'll fight you," she promised him quietly, sincerely. "I'll kick and scream and scratch. I'll kill you if I get the chance-that I promise."

This seemed to deter Dudley, and he stared at her again, occasionally reaching up to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Abruptly, he turned and left the room, leaving a trembling Hermione behind.

" Oh, Harry," she murmured as the tears began to trickle down her cheeks. "Where are you?"

***

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A/N: I PROMISE it's going to get more cheerful soon! Really. Just stick with me!