Author's note: Thanks very much to Ridxwan again for reviewing, and also to the anonymous reviewer! I'm glad to know the story is going well for you both, and hopefully for the others, too. We're approaching the - uhm - let's just say, the *shocker* of this story, which will lead to the eventual climax a few chapters down the road. I think it will now be revealed in the very next chapter, according to my estimates. Our heroes after that have a very difficult time in their hands. There's your "preview"! (grin).
Please tell me what you think about this chapter by leaving a review (as usual, I think it's a little lousy and still needs to be improved). You keep me guessing when you're not reviewing (hehe).
Chapter 14
Reunion of Friends
Harry could barely open his eyes because the rope that bounded him had absorbed most of his strength. He had expected to pass out already after being bound for a long time but the spell seemed to have reached its apex, as if it was not meant to be powerful enough to entirely put anyone to sleep. He was still conscious and he could still think well, but still the power of the rope prevented him from doing anything to at least try to escape.
He opened his heavy eyelids as he lay full down on the snow-covered but grassy hollow, and through the gaps between the grasses he could blurrily make out three people approaching him. Soon, he felt being pulled up to his feet. Being too weak to move, the gravity was simply too overwhelming for him to even resist. He could only move his eyes around to see what was going on the Death Eaters dragged him towards the thick line of trees tens of yards away.
"This turned out to be easy after all," laughed one Death Eater. "I thought we were still stuck in this stinking place for four more weeks…good work on that spell, Dwight."
"Yeah, it'll be good to be back on friendly ground," replied Dwight. "The Dark Lord will surely honor us after this - I can smell it! I can't wait to see Bill's green face when we get back to You-Know-What. But I should have used the Cruciatus Curse first - I really miss doing that…"
"We're way ahead of schedule," said the third, with a noticeable worry by the sound of his voice. "We still have about a little more than ten minutes to go until the portal opens in the middle of the hollow. Let's hide under those trees while we wait…"
"Look at the bright side - we've been working our arses off for months just to get Harry Potter," Dwight said. "What's ten more minutes?"
For Harry, ten more minutes meant more time for time for him to think of something to escape. Or it was ten more minutes being bounded this energy-draining rope than what was necessary - he felt like he was constantly at the verge to vomit but he could never throw it up.
"Eight minutes," said a Death Eater.
"Look, two students on broomsticks!" Dwight said, pointing up towards the hollow. "D'you think they'd spot us, Jake?"
"Not in a couple dozen feet," replied the Death Eater named Jake confidently. "They'll be gone in minute."
With a ray of hope of being found and rescued, Harry tried to see who they were talking about. How lucky would he be to have a chance of someone searching for him flying overhead, he thought. His vision was still slightly blurry, but he could make out the two students who were slowly flying in circles up in the bright grey sky. They look fuzzy because of his vision, but he swore one of them had unmistakable bright red hair.
"Could it be Ron?" he prayed.
He hoped he was right, but Harry didn't know how to call him down - he tried to yell, but no voice came out of him. For a few moments, the Death Eaters kept their silence, looking up at the students on the broomsticks intently while Harry behind them desperately thought of a way to seize his only hope for rescue's attention.
Harry then remembered how. After all the time they had not spoken to each other, he almost entirely forgot he shared something with Ron, a gift that even Hermione could not understand but wanted to possess, too.
Harry closed his eyes, and still hoping it was really Ron up there looking for him and that he had put aside his hatred towards him to save his friend, he concentrated deeply.
Ron, if you can hear me, I can see you from here…at the edge of a hollow… Harry thought hard, hoping he still had the power of telepathy with him.
H-Harry? Is that you? Which hollow? I can see too many from here.
Encouraged by the result of his efforts, Harry opened his heavy eyelids again and frantically looked for something to describe for Ron.
"Why aren't they leaving?" growled a Death Eater.
"What're you worried about, Jim?" laughed Jake. "Don't tell me two wet-nosed Hogwarts pupils can take on three Death Eaters like us? Even one of them is a Mudblood!"
With Jake's description of the other, Harry knew the other student was Hermione. He would have cried on the spot feeling happy - it was as if it was the long-sought for reunion he had wished for after Ron had distanced himself from the trio, but Harry knew this was not a good time to celebrate yet. Then, like another miracle, Harry saw a small herd of deer get out of the forest to graze at the hollow. They were so brown it was impossible to spot them from straight above.
"The hollow with the deers, Ron! The hollow with the deers!" Harry cried out inside his mind.
"I see them! Hang on, Harry, we're coming!" Ron said, and Harry saw Ron and Hermione descend quickly and settled in the middle of the hollow. Harry knew that wasn't a good move.
"Damn! How did they see us??? Let's show them who's boss!" barked Dwight. "Jake, stay with Potter while we deal with those nosy little kids!"
"Ron! Watch out! They're coming out to get you! Get out of there and find some cover!"
"Hermione, Harry said they're coming out for us!" Ron urgently told Hermione.
"W-where? How many?" Hermione asked, dropping her broomstick. She anxiously looked around, her wand extended pointlessly at the ready. The first curse flew between them, missing Ron by a couple of inches and he ducked. Hermione hit the ground and tried to look where the curse had come from. The startled deer galloped around the hollow in panic and fled back to the forest.
"From there!" Hermione pointed as another curse zoomed from the forest towards them, almost hitting Ron again if he didn't fall down sideways to avoid it. "You all right, Ron?" she yelled.
"Yeah! C'mon - let's make a run for it to the forest!" Ron grunted, standing back up. He grabbed Hermione by the arm and pulled her up. "Run to the side!"
Hermione conjured a series of Shield Charms to at least give her and Ron some sort of protection while they ran for cover to the trees, but she knew it was too weak to rely on. A well concentrated curse shattered it, hitting her at the left shoulder. She fell down and shrieked in pain.
Ron had gone a few feet ahead of her. When he felt that Hermione's hand had slipped off his grip, he got back to her, lifted her up from the ground, and supported her as she resumed running in a slight limp.
"Just a little more toward the trees!" Ron panted, shielding Hermione from more curses with his body. More poorly-lead and aimed curses whizzed dangerously close behind them. Ron shot a few of his own while running full out, but they could not penetrate the thick spot of trees that the Death Eaters have naturally used to their advantage. Each of them stumbled a few times, rendering them dangerously stationary for a few brief seconds each time they fought to regain their footing. At last, they had reached the edge of the hollow and quickly took cover behind a large tree. The last curse had bounced off it and the Death Eaters had stopped shooting.
"You all right, Hermione?" Ron gasped, wiping his sweaty brow with his sleeve.
"My shoulder's just a little sore, but I can take it," she winced, resting her head on the trunk and closing her eyes to take back her breathing.
"C'mon, Harry still needs our help and we might lose them in the forest," Ron said. "And watch out for ambushes!"
Hermione nodded obediently at him. "Let's follow the edge of this hollow," she said, slightly weaker. "They're only a few yards from where we are…"
Cautiously but as quickly as they could, they moved at a crouch towards the place where the curses came from earlier. But when they got within yards of it, the curses came zooming back. Ron and Hermione instinctively hid behind the trees again for cover.
"Hermione, let's advance one after the other - once I get behind a tree you dart out as fast as you can to another one - repeat until we get within fifty feet and we'll talk about our next move again. I go first…" instructed Ron. Without waiting for her answer, he jumped out of his hiding place, exchanging fire with the Death Eaters.
As soon Ron had successfully reached another tree and dove behind it for cover, Hermione popped out next to gain more ground, wand blazing, and bracing for but praying against the possibility she'd be hit. As she expected, the curses concentrated on her again, but she had safely reached and hunkered down on a natural trench. She was now severely bruised where sharp twigs have ripped her clothing, but she was ever so determined to get to Harry quickly.
Hermione sensed they were getting nearer to the Death Eaters, because she could see one of their heads peeking out behind the roots within a few meters and hearing their voices. Frenetically thinking of another good spell to use, she spotted a scared rabbit straying at the crossfire; she then decided to use the poor creature for a while.
"Sorry, Bugs, but we need your help," she whimpered after deciding on what to do. "Laconifirs!"
The rabbit stopped abruptly under Hermione's spell and she hopped it to the spot where she last saw the Death Eater hide his head. The rabbit leaped and disappeared over a thick root, and she heard a scream from behind it. The rabbit had sunk its sharp nails deep on the Death Eater's face! The Death Eater stood up in panic straight from cover and yelled in pain as he tried desperately to remove the rabbit from his bloody cheek.
Hermione quickly took advantage of his vulnerable state and bellowed, "Lartigo!" A thin electrifying whip shot out of her wand and clasped the Death Eater's leg, electrocuting him and sending him to the ground, rendering him unconscious, and letting go of the rabbit.
Infuriated with Hermione's excellent marksmanship, the remaining Death Eaters began using even more powerful curses because the tree she used for cover now shook very violently when the spells slammed on it. They seemed to be venting their ire on Hermione now because were concentrating their fire on her. The tree was subjected to a series of barrages that it threatened to fall on down her any second. Hermione could not leave her spot without exposing herself to danger and she held her head with both hands and screamed beneath the violence of it. Worse, the tree was barely giving her enough cover and concealment.
Ron could not get out of his hiding spot more than twenty feet away to help her evacuate. He decided he had to do something, quick! In a desperate move to draw the Death Eater's fire away from Hermione, Ron popped out from behind his tree and bravely advanced towards the Death Eaters, much to Hermione's horror and surprise. She had not seen him take on something like this that threatened his life.
Shortly she heard Ron yell in pain as a curse had hit him squarely on his chest when he charged. Ron fell and slumped to the ground heavily, and he ceased to move.
"RON!!!" Hermione screamed. Disregarding her relative safety by getting out of cover, she ran towards Ron to check on him. "Ron, speak to me!" she wailed, but Ron's eyes looked on blankly ahead, and he looked lifeless. "RON!!! P-please don't be dead!"
When she tried to reach for his wrist to feel his pulse, she heard running footsteps from behind her. It was too late for her to react.
She felt a raspy hand grasp her neck and it lifted her back painfully away from Ron. She didn't know where the enraged Death Eater had come from and he threw her hard against a trunk of a tree, pinning her still by the neck. She was rapidly losing breath; she tried to point her wand at him, but he wrested and threw it away from her. Teeth gritting, Hermione fought, kicked, scratched, and struggled to wrench off from his grip. She glanced at the jet black murderous eyes beneath the mask of the frightening Death Eater.
"Prepare to die now, Mudblood!" growled the livid Death Eater; he pointed the tip of his wand on Hermione's temple. Hermione closed her eyes in scared anticipation to die like the Death Eater had threatened, but seconds had past and no curse had been muttered. Bewildered, she opened her eyes and she saw the Death Eater again - he didn't feel menacing anymore. In fact, there was terror drawn in his eyes as he looked beyond her back. Hermione didn't understand why.
"Run for it!!!" the Death Eater screamed, and he let go of Hermione's neck. She fell down to the ground and coughed for air. Looking around while she regained her breathing, she watched the Death Eaters running and yelling away in panic, one of them carrying their unconscious comrade. They disappeared deep in the Forbidden Forest.
Hermione didn't think of finding out what they had fled from because she remembered Harry at once. She ran to the spot where she thought he was, and with a breath of relief, she saw him lying down on the ground, bound but still breathing. She ran over to him and removed the rope magically.
"Harry! You okay?" she breathed, helping Harry lie down upright.
Harry stared at her and nodded weakly.
"Thank goodness! You wait here for a minute - I got to check on Ron, okay? He's hurt bad!"
"Okay," croaked Harry.
Hermione again ran back to Ron's spot - soon she stopped dead on her tracks when she saw Dumbledore walking towards her and already carrying an unconscious Ron on his arms.
"Miss Granger, Ron's alive, but please help me bring the boys to the hospital wing immediately!" Dumbledore said calmly. "We must not stay a second too long here - I reckon there might be more of them."
Hermione nodded gratefully at him, and she felt relieved for the first time that she didn't have to deal with the Death Eaters alone anymore now that Dumbledore had come just in time scare them off, saving her from possible death. She quickly ran back to where she had dropped the broomsticks she got from Madam Hooch's broom shed earlier. She scooped them up and doubled back, fortunately finding Harry's Firebolt along the way, too.
Since she wasn't strong enough to lift Harry on her own back to Hogwarts, she strapped him securely on a conjured stretcher mounted on his Firebolt.
"Very good thinking. Ready to go now, Hermione?" asked Dumbledore, and Hermione nodded. Dumbledore slung Ron over his shoulders and got on Ron's broomstick.
Shortly, a portal opened in the middle of the hollow and a few people poured out of it, but Dumbledore and Hermione were already at a safe distance escaping towards Hogwarts they didn't see the portal.
-o0o-
"Harry's stirring," Hermione breathed excitedly in the hospital wing. Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey quickly walked beside Harry's bed. Ron, meanwhile, tried to get off his bed to see how Harry was.
Madam Pomfrey flashed a light and checked on Harry's eyes. Harry found the light too intense for him after being out cold for a long time and avoided staring at it, much to Madam Pomfrey's delight.
"He's not blind, thank goodness," she breathed. "Victims of the spell like the one used on Harry usually only see blackness for the rest of their lives."
"Harry, you okay?" Hermione asked him, brushing his messy hair gently with her hand. She wore a sling around her left arm.
"I am now," Harry said happily but still significantly weak. "I thought they had me back there - thanks to you…hey, where's Ron?"
"I'm right here, mate," winced Ron, walking slowly towards Harry's bedside. He had a bandage wrapped around his chest, and he looked weak. "I'm glad you're back - Look, Harry, I'm sorry for everything…" he added meekly.
"No, forget it, Ron," Harry said gently.
"I didn't try to save you just to make it up to you…"
"You don't have to prove anything," Harry grinned with effort. "But thanks for trying to save me - I knew we could still count on you…"
"I'm very sorry for all the things I've said to you and Hermione…"
"I said forget it…"
"I don't blame you for hating me a lot - I've been an ungrateful and humongous prat. If you don't want me back, I can understand…"
"Ron!" Harry and Hermione bellowed together, and Ron fell quiet.
"I said it's okay," Harry assured and smiled again. "Forget it. I'm really glad we're back as a trio again…aren't we?"
"Me, too," Hermione added. "We missed you, Ron."
Ron inhaled deeply and let out a happy gush of air out of his lungs. "Yeah…yeah, thanks to both of you for having me back," he said, looking at both Harry and Hermione cheerfully. "You two are the best - you've always been! How about it?" He extended his hand, which Harry and Hermione took. Then they went into a group hug. Dumbledore looked on at the three friends with extreme satisfaction.
Hermione, meanwhile, was obviously overjoyed that they were at peace again with Ron that she laughed and had become teary eyed.
"Harry," she sniffed, squeezing his hand, "You know, I thought we already lost you to Voldemort. I knew there was something wrong with the Snitch - I was about to go after you myself, but Ron stopped me and asked what was wrong. I told him what I thought was happening and he said you needed our help. We raided Madam Hooch's broomstick cupboard together - when the Snitch had returned and you weren't back…" she then trailed off and cried, but stopped when Harry took her hand and kissed it.
"Boundless loyalty from your best friends is one of the most wonderful things," Dumbledore chuckled, "after love, of course."
"Professor Dumbledore," Harry said, startled at the first sight of him. "I'm so sorry I goofed…"
"No need to apologize, Harry," Dumbledore chuckled. "It wasn't your fault…I reckon you had no choice but to catch the Snitch before the other team did or else Miss Johnson would have ripped your head off."
"It's me who's going to rip her head off, sir," growled Hermione. "She was the Quidditch Captain, and she should have known Snitches aren't supposed to get out of the pitch - the referee will declare the game suspended if it does. I didn't really hear what she said to Harry, but I saw her egging him on to chase after the Snitch. If she hadn't…"
"Calm down, Hermione," interrupted Dumbledore, smiling. "Please calm down. Angelina, I think, can be easily forgiven. She didn't have a single clue about the plot at all. With her innate desire to stay ahead of the race for Gryffindor, she did what captains had to do and pushed Harry to keep going after the after Snitch." He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I'm just thankful we have Harry back again alive. We must watch out for the future, though we must also learn from our past mistakes and do better than to fall into more traps."
"Professor Russelpunk is an accessory, Headmaster," said Harry. "He's probably Voldemort's asset here along with the Death Eaters…"
"Hermione already told me about that, Harry. I will have a word with him soon - when I think it's safe to do so…"
"Then why can't we have him arrested, Headmaster?" demanded Hermione. "We saw him doing something to the Snitch inside the ball room…"
"Not until we're certain he did cause the Snitch to act the way it did today," Dumbledore sighed, "and not until we have more incriminating evidence against him. We can't just bring him in to the Ministry - knowing Fudge, he will dismiss it without question and his wizards won't do anything unless he approves of it. He just refuses to buy anything that would suggest Lord Voldemort is out to get Harry, much more believe that he's even back. I'll investigate Russelpunk, I promise you, and you must trust me on this. At the same time as a precaution, I must also ask you not go near him except for your Defence Against the Dark Arts class."
Harry, Hermione, and Ron nodded, but with extreme disappointment.
"Hermione, you're hurt!" Harry said when he finally noticed her sling.
"This'll come off tonight," she replied, feeling happy knowing Harry was concerned of her. She sat beside him on the hospital bed. "Despite what happened, I'm so glad you're safe again, Harry. Professor Dumbledore's been right all along - now that we know Voldemort's really after you, we must be extra careful this. I'll be always at your side, Harry…"
"Ditto," added Ron. "Only if that bloody two-man rule is history, I think…Hermione proved to be a better protector for you than I am so I think you're better off with her than with me for a while."
"No, I'm not," Hermione laughed slightly. "Look what happened to Harry…even if you sometimes don't make sense with your ideas, Ron, I think he would've been safer with you…" she then went quiet and bowed her head. Ron didn't take offense with what Hermione had said - he knew that was a good sign that he's back to normal terms with her and Harry.
"Hermione, are you blaming yourself with what happened to me?" Harry said quietly.
Hermione stared at Harry, pursed her lips, and new tears fell down on her cheeks. She couldn't talk any further and she merely nodded to answer his question. Harry didn't know what to say, but fortunately Dumbledore spoke for him.
"No one is to be blamed for what happened to Harry today, Hermione," Dumbledore told her gently, and she looked at him, still teary eyed. "Sometimes even the most powerful and wisest wizards do fall to all kinds of traps and deceit from their evil foes. We're all not immune to that, but the least we can do to correct it is to pro-act and deal with the results of our mistakes head on with the best of our abilities, and to learn from that experience. You and Ron did just that today. You were not losers at all - you've all emerged as wiser wizards. You three have constantly exceeded my expectations for years, and that's why I'm again extremely proud and impressed with what you've done today."
"Well, well, well," Cornelius Fudge interrupted as he entered the hospital wing with Horace Whipple, Seymour, and Dinky. "I see a bunch of injured students today." He stared at Hermione with her many cuts, bruises, and the prominent sling she was wearing, then at Harry and Ron. "That doesn't look like the usual class accident, does it? I've been hearing rumors they got into a fight outside Hogwarts with outsiders. Would you care to explain what's going on around here, or are you losing control of your students' safety and welfare now, Albus? They're not supposed to end up in the Forbidden Forest at the first place…"
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes at Fudge. Though Fudge did his best not to look unfazed by it, he shook ever so slightly it was noticeable.
"Oh, that's not true at all, Cornelius," Dumbledore said calmly, his facial expression relaxing a little. "We already have too many security wizards sent by you to make sure that never happens, don't we?"
"What's that supposed to mean, Albus?" Fudge shot back.
"Harry Potter here," Dumbledore explained, "was lured by three unknown Death Eaters by rigging the Snitch to take him far from Hogwarts. They almost kidnapped him for Lord Voldemort, if not for the gallant efforts of Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley to save him. I'm very certain those three wizards were part of your own contingent, as I have pointed out to you before…"
Fudge rolled his eyes and looked as if he thought Dumbledore was making up more stories about the return of Voldemort.
"Ha! Another likely story from you, old man," he laughed. "Death Eaters from the Ministry - how preposterous! You're truly getting more senile as I've suspected all along. In the first place, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is history, and there are absolutely no Death Eaters alive today to speak of, much less near around Hogwarts."
Whipple and the rest of the wizards murmured in agreement.
"What happened today was the Hogwarts Snitch had malfunctioned." Fudge pressed on. "Potter chased after it - and you sure got a good excuse to whip up this cock and bull story…how convenient. Now I challenge you - did you identify the three wizards who were the so called Death Eaters, hmm? Potter? Granger?"
"I didn't see their faces, sir," Harry replied, "They had their Death Eater masks on, but they had the name of Dwight, Jake, and…sorry, I forgot the last one…"
"Ho!" Fudge guffawed. "The usual excuse - Death Eater masks…overused."
"And we don't have wizards named Dwight and Jake in our roster," said Whipple.
"There you go!" Fudge said triumphantly.
"Then they must be using aliases," Dumbledore suggested.
"Yes, so Whipple, Seymour, and I are the Weird Sisters," Fudge snorted, but stopped abruptly after realizing he called himself something unpleasant. "Oh, make that Burton, not me…" Fudge referred to Seymour's partner who Harry had called `Dinky' ever since.
"But we saw them, Minister," Hermione then said, peeved about Fudge's hard headedness. "We fought them - and we almost got killed!"
"I didn't ask you a question, girl!" Fudge snapped at her. He paused for a second while he stared at her. "But now that you mentioned it, you have quite a fertile imagination to tell such stories, too, like your crazy Headmaster here. You, miss, should be lucky I'm not in a bad mood today. Otherwise, what you said was enough to send you to Azkaban for suggesting You-Know-Who's active with his Death Eaters. I suggest you read the emergency law if you have time."
Hermione went red on her face; Harry tugged on her sleeve to calm her down.
"You have testimony coming from your honorary member of the Ministry of Magic, Cornelius," Dumbledore said. "Shouldn't you take what she says seriously? After all, you personally signed her certificate early this term."
Fudge took another scathing look at her, and said, "Then I revoke it!"
Hermione's certificate at the head of her bed back at the Gryffindor tower burst into flames at the same time, making Lavender Brown splash a pitcher full of water on it in panic.
"I don't really need it, sir," Hermione countered, feeling extremely insulted.
"One more word from you like that, girl, and you're going to Azkaban!" Fudge threatened. Hermione moved and sat on another bed, and folded her arms defiantly. Dumbledore winked at her to tell her to keep her cool from now own.
"I see power has intoxicated you many times over, Cornelius," said Dumbledore coolly. "I'm so disappointed with you - I had high hopes for you…"
"I don't owe you my job, Albus," growled Fudge. "And it's none of your business how I do it, nor you can tell me what I do. I'll be personally overseeing the running of this school for a few more days, Albus. I'll be watching you very closely and pray I don't find anything on you that will cause your dismissal or suspension."
"Of course, Cornelius, do anything you want as usual," Dumbledore said, bowing his head curtly. "That's what you really wanted all along, didn't you? And may I know who's helming the Ministry of Magic when you're here in Hogwarts?" asked serenely. "Let me guess…Lucius, perhaps?"
Fudge's face turned purple, but he didn't say anything else further and whipped around to walk out of the hospital wing. "Whipple, Seymour, Burton…" he called. In a few seconds, they were gone, and Dumbledore slammed the hospital doors loudly with his flick of his wand and turned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione with a huge smile.
"Harry," he said, turning serious again, "I got to go and meet with the faculty. I'm very sorry I cannot be at your side all the time as much as I want to, so must ask you to be even more vigilant around you - and that includes you Ron, and Hermione. Don't keep Harry off from your sight as much as possible, but at the same time remember not to get caught being a trio. I don't want you to give them an excuse to separate anyone of you from Harry. I'm betting my own Pheonix they planned for this rule to be enforced because they know of you three. Do I have your word?"
Ron and Hermione nodded at him; Dumbledore then took his leave. They all looked at each other next, knowing very well that their situation had not improved at all and that they were still in extreme danger.
Harry frowned. "I can't believe he's leaving us all over again after what happened! Do you really think Dumbledore will closely watch Russelpunk like he said?"
"If he said so," Hermione replied, "then there's nothing we can do but trust him. He's never failed us before, right?"
"Yeah, I know, but he hasn't really lent us a hand directly, either."
"But you heard what Dumbledore said, right?" said Hermione. "He told us we had exceeded all of his expectations. That means he trusts we could look after and protect ourselves - I think we're not little kids anymore and we don't need constant attention from him…"
"What if we don't get lucky next time?" Harry ranted. "Do we really need to take ourselves that far and then he acts too late? I think he's too overconfident. I just wish he could just kill Voldemort for everybody for once, and then we'll all have peace…"
Ron murmured in agreement.
"Harry, you're sounding like a spoiled brat," Hermione said, managing to smile.
"Sorry," he whispered, and calming down instantly. "But we can't just sit by here and do nothing. There's still something we can do. We could keep an eye on Russelpunk - I feel he's the most important leak to everything going on around here. He's going to do something else again, maybe tonight - I can smell it."
"But, Harry!" Hermione said severely. "You heard what Dumbledore said - he doesn't want us near him at all except for classes…"
"We can then use the Marauders Map," Ron suggested.
"Oh, yeah. Thanks, Ron," said Harry. "I'm interested what we can find in his office, too. Maybe we could learn what he's hiding from there, or get something to incriminate him…"
"Me, too!" Ron said. "Count me in."
Hermione, however, was slightly hesitant to concur with that idea. "Harry, the Marauders Map, I can agree with. But breaking in his office - I don't know. I have a bad feeling about that."
"What's wrong with you?" Ron said irritably. "Chickening out?"
Hermione threw him a scathing look. "All I'm trying to say, Ronald, is that Harry charging around in Hogwarts after being almost kidnapped to spy on Russelpunk - I think - is the most reckless thing to do at the moment!" She then gazed at Harry, who wore a thwarted look on his face.
"Let's just not get too feisty to be so careless when inside Russelpunk's office, okay?" she said a moment later, and smiled.
-o0o-
Inside the third floor boy's restroom that night beside the row of cubicles Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat around on the cold tile floors watching the Marauder's Map in order to see what Russelpunk was up to tonight. They've been doing this for more than an hour past nine against the curfew rules, hoping to see the DADA teacher do something out of the ordinary again. Hermione wasn't at all optimistic, though, because if she were in Russelpunk's shoes, she'd lie low after that botched attempt to kidnap Harry. But still, they knew Russelpunk most likely didn't have a clue that he was being suspected as an accessory - that is, unless Dumbledore had confronted him already. To fight the boredom of staking out, Hermione entertained herself by shooting affectionate glances at Harry, whose face was only a few inches away from hers. He didn't know Hermione wasn't giving attention to all the dots that crawled endlessly on the Marauder's Map.
Hermione strongly admired Harry's toughness. Harry had been subjected to another attempt that would have led to his death in the hands of Voldemort. Any kid like his age (or even older) who had gone through the same thing would most probably hide under the sheets of his bed for the rest of his life, but not Harry. There was a strong sense of determination drawn on his face and a very strong proactive attitude to help solve this case. It was this that inspired Hermione to press on, and at the same she became even more attracted to Harry.
Harry, meanwhile, was very glad their cold war with Ron was over. Impressively, they did well of forgetting very quickly about their growing hatred towards each other as their war dragged on. It was now as if they had not fought at all. This was the one bright spot they had in weeks where everything seemed to go from bad to worse - it was one less problem to worry about.
"This is silly," whined Ron, which made Hermione snap off from her trance. "It's absolutely pointless to be under the cloak while we're inside this lavatory - I mean, nobody can see us." When he started to remove the cloak, Hermione grappled it with her hands.
"Ron, don't!" she hissed towards Ron's floating head. "What if one of them wizards came in to took a look inside? We'll all be in big trouble!"
Harry murmured in agreement, nodding his head at Ron. Ron, knowing what Hermione said was true, couldn't do anything about it now except roll his eyes and replace the cloak begrudgingly above his head.
"You know, I wish we hadn't asked Dumbledore to investigate Russelpunk just yet," Harry mused. "We might just be staring at the map all night when Russelpunk had gotten too cautious…"
"Pardon me," Hermione replied, looking annoyed, "but I don't agree with that at all. I'm sure Dumbledore knows how to deal with cases like these…"
"He's moving again!" announced Ron. Harry and Hermione dropped their growing argument and eagerly watched the dot labeled as `Russelpunk' move out of the DADA classroom. Several more dots were concentrated in a large room next to the DADA classroom, which Hermione knew was the meeting room for the security wizards where they were currently holding their nightly debriefing. A few other dots labeled with surnames of people Harry thought he never knew but surmised as belonging to patrolling security wizards and some prefects moving about the corridors (Seymour and Burton were among them).
"C'mon, c'mon, do something suspicious!" muttered Harry under his breath.
Russelpunk slowly walked out his classroom and stopped momentarily beside the door of the meeting room, and then moved again to the general direction of Seymour's office. This was what Harry, Ron, and Hermione were waiting for practically the whole night. They had a good feeling the professor was now up to no good again.
"I'm in no doubt he's giving it another try with Seymour's office now," Hermione grinned. "Ready to go, Ron? You don't have to do this, really."
"But I insist!" Ron said hotly.
"Got the other ear with you, Ron?" Harry asked.
Ron held out his hand from under the cloak and made a thumbs-up sign. "I'll be nearby Seymour's door…bye!"
"Be careful," reminded Hermione. "Don't do anything stupid."
Harry and Hermione watched Ron walk briskly towards Seymour's office, which was only a few corridors away. In fact, he was moving a little bit too fast.
"Take it easy out there - you might trip," Hermione snarled quietly at the Extended Ear, and then Ron's dot went significantly slower. "Over eager, he is," she commented.
Soon, Ron had reached the corridor outside the office ahead of Russelpunk and stopped.
"That's it, Ron," said Harry. "That's a good spot. I'll warn you if I see somebody else coming your way. Russelpunk's just around the corner and you will see him soon."
But Russelpunk didn't turn on the corner and went straight ahead to another section of the wing instead.
"Now, where's he going?" Hermione asked Harry.
Clueless like she was, Harry just shrugged and said, "Do you think we'll send Ron over where he's going, too?"
Hermione nodded instantly.
"Okay, Ron, get to where you saw Russelpunk last and turn right," Harry instructed. "I'll guide you for the next turn."
Ron's dot moved at once and rounded the right corner. Staring back at Russelpunk's dot, it had stopped beside another room Harry knew as McGonagall's office, which Horace Whipple had made his own. Ron had obviously seen Russelpunk get in the room because his dot moved carefully along the walls towards it.
"Now this is interesting," muttered Hermione. "I believe Russelpunk may be trying to break in to offices other than Seymour's all the time, isn't he?"
Harry nodded. He knew that was possible because he had only seen him try to get in Seymour's office that it didn't occur to him it was the only one he was after. What was more interesting was it was Whipple's office right now he was breaking into. What was even more peculiar was that Russelpunk didn't stay long by the door and entered straight in. Harry concentrated too much on Russelpunk's dot that he didn't see Whipple's in the center of the room where McGonagall's desk was located. Worse, Ron had gotten in the ante room, and Harry fumbled with the Extended Ear.
"Ron, get out of there! Whipple's inside!" Good thing Ron didn't resist, and his dot quickly went out the door and stayed out the corridor. Harry blew out a breath; he still wasn't sure if Whipple could see under the cloak yet and he didn't want to find out the hard way.
"Russelpunk's getting in Whipple's office…" Hermione said, scowling. "I'm now sure they're working with each other - and Whipple's a true Death Eater."
"I'm not surprised," Harry replied, still watching the map attentively.
Russelpunk stopped in front of Whipple's dot for few seconds, and walked slowly around him. Harry and Hermione both deduced they were talking.
"Russelpunk's probably taking instructions from Whipple right now!" grunted Harry, his eyes narrowing. "Why, that…that bloody traitor…"
"Shhhhh!!!" Hermione said, glaring at Harry. "Keep it down…"
After a few more minutes, Russelpunk had finally started to move out of Whipple's office. Harry notified Ron of his movement and instructed him again to follow Russelpunk. Soon, the professor had reached Seymour's office and had managed to get in.
"He's in!" Hermione said, surprised. "Looks like he didn't have a hard time unlocking the door this time around. I think Whipple told him how to get in Seymour's office - but why?"
"Let's talk about that later," he said, and then told Ron, "Ron, if you think it's safe, try to see what he's doing inside Seymour's office…"
Ron obeyed, and had gotten in the office. However, Russelpunk looked as if he was finished doing what he wanted to do because he was already on his way out. Russelpunk and Ron' dot was about to converge dangerously.
"Ron, watch out - He's getting out!" Harry exclaimed. Ron had stopped and shunted to the side, and Russelpunk also went stationary. Sweat fell down on Harry's face as he shockingly stared at the map - Russelpunk might have caught Ron!
Harry stood up and tried for the door, and Hermione grabbed his hand and pulled him back. "What do you think you're doing???" she hissed.
"Russelpunk might be killing him right now," Harry panted.
Hermione looked back at map and the two dots stayed where they are and said, "Okay, I'm not afraid of Russelpunk - let's get him!"
Harry and Hermione then walked out of the rest room quickly. They both agreed without talking that they had nothing to lose if they confronted the teacher together. He was a Death Eater posing as a DADA teacher, and they would duel with him if they had to!
It was fortunate they had not encountered any patrolling wizard out the corridors and reached Seymour's office door in a couple of minutes. Harry and Hermione stopped beside the door, and took out their wands.
"Ready for this?" Harry asked, and Hermione nodded at him determinedly.
The moved in quickly. Expecting to blaze away with their wands against Russelpunk, Harry and Hermione froze when they found the office empty. "What the…"
Ron had emerged from under the cloak down on the floor, just inches away from the door. "Harry - Hermione…" he said, surprised at seeing them both.
"Ron, you okay?" Harry said, leaping towards and bending down beside him. "What happened - where's Russelpunk?"
"I tripped and fell down to avoid Russelpunk bumping onto me," said Ron, looking embarrassed.
"Did he see you?" Harry asked.
"Don't worry, he didn't," assured Ron, standing up and rolling the cloak with his arms. "He almost did, though. Stopped and looked around for a long time - but then he hurried out. Sorry, it was too late to see what he was up to inside this office - Hey! what're you two doing here…we're all going to get caught!"
Harry ignored Ron, and looked around the office for other interesting clues. Seymour's office looked different from what he'd seen from the transom above. It was dark inside - the heavily varnished wooden walls drowned out the light of the few candles that were still lit. It was hard to walk around, too. There were many carton boxes tucked against the walls, but the thing that always stood out was the chest just behind the desk. Harry didn't understand why he felt so strongly drawn by the chest to see what was inside, and perhaps it was the very thing that made it significant. Harry noticed that its latch was broken and Russelpunk didn't bother to fix it back.
He opened it. But, alas! He found it empty - although it was startling to have a strong breeze gushing out from inside the chest. It blew his hair back, and he heard the hair-raising cries of a hundred ghosts.
"N-now, that's scary!" Hermione shuddered a couple of yards behind Harry.
"Looks like Russelpunk took everything," Harry said, shivering, too. "I thought he was going to rig whatever was inside this trunk like what he did back at the Quidditch stadium."
"I think we'll need to take a look at his office, right?" added Ron. "If he took out what was inside the chest, he'll most likely keep it there. I do remember him tucking something inside his robes when he dashed out."
Harry nodded and paused for a moment to blow out some air, feeling letdown from finding nothing tonight. They had spent too much time in the office more than what was necessary just to take Ron out. Closing the chest he said, "What do you reckon was inside this chest, Hermione?"
She didn't answer.
"Ron?"
"H-Harry," Ron said from behind him nervously. "Better take a look at this…"
Harry turned around and almost lost his balance. Seymour and Burton was at the doorway, both staring forebodingly at him, Ron, and Hermione.
-o0o-
The sound of broken glass inside Lucius' den literally rang throughout the entire Malfoy Manor where he had a heated meeting with Campion, Lucius' right hand man. He was extremely furious of the lost chance to wrap up their task by capturing Harry Potter today.
"WHAT??? They had him in their grasp and still they failed to bring him in?" roared Lucius. "And, bloody hell! They couldn't fend off two students, too? Incompetent fools!!!"
"Actually, sir," Campion said slowly, "They almost defeated Potter's friends but…"
"BUT WHAT??? It was only Weasel and the Mudblood!"
"But they said Dumbledore had entered the fray…and you know how daunting he is when his eyes get fiery blue…"
Lucius slammed his cane on his office table too hard it split into two, though deep inside he understood that nobody knew how to deal with Dumbledore head on - even his own master, Lord Voldemort, is said to be scared of him, too.
"That bloody old meddlesome fossil!" he cursed. "What do we do now? What do we do now? Surely Harry Potter will be now more difficult to reach - he knows we're out to get him…"
Campion remained silent. Lucius walked back and forth around his den, desperately looking for a new scheme in his head to accomplish what they had prepared for so long. Those inept Death Eaters who he ordered to do the job in the Forbidden Forest essentially botched the whole operation. He dreaded foremost what the Dark Lord would do to him once he knew he could not deliver Harry Potter to him at all despite his repeated assurances that it was easy.
"What happened to the three Death Eaters?" he asked shortly. "Have there identities been compromised?"
"Not at all, sir," Campion replied. "They've gone back to Hogwarts under Whipple. In my opinion, pulling them out will be highly unadvisable."
Lucius nodded. "You're right, Campion, and it's entirely not their fault if Dumbledore foiled their assignment," he conceded, finally calming down a bit. "The only danger to this operation is when Fudge would realize there are indeed Death Eaters in his ranks. Luckily he's still clueless, I hear. Everyone must ensure their identities remain hidden at all times. Is that understood?"
"By your command, sir."
Lucius nodded and breathed deeply and tried to relax in order to think much better as he stared out of his window, watching the snow fall. Minutes have past and neither Lucius and Campion said anything.
Then bit by bit the ideas came in, until they flooded Lucius brilliant - but evil - imagination. He organized all his thoughts and weighed all the pros and cons of every though he considered. He reached a decision at last.
He turned back to Campion, who looked woefully worried as he sat on the guest chair. "Don't fret - I'll fully disregard what happened - I know what we'll do now," he said, grinning mischievously. "Our people are still in place, so there's still a chance."
Campion sat up straighter on his chair, encouraged by Lucius' leadership skills. His immediate boss had his flaws and not all of his plans worked to the "T". But he knew Lucius very well as a man who could quickly think of excellent ways to correct even the most insurmountable of problems. Lucius, at the moment, was at his element.
"I believe our preparations won't be for naught if we do this right," Lucius declared. "Fudge will be easy to influence, as always. He'll agree to a status quo, plus a special request of mine I'm sure he can't refuse. But we must move quickly and decisively, otherwise we'll never get Potter anymore. Listen to me carefully with my new plan, and after that go and assemble the team - I reckon we need the help of our lovely pets for this one…"
After listening closely to Lucius' detailed instructions, Campion could feel it in his bones that this time they will surely succeed.
-o0o-
Chapter 15 coming soon. I hope this chapter was not a let down especially after last chapter's cliffy, because a few more things still need to happen. Trust me (wink).
New messages from the author will be posted on top of this chapter, so you may want to check it out to know when to expect the next chapter would be coming out. Again, I thank you for reading this story.
-->