The girl screamed through the darkness; her lungs felt as if they were about to burst as they filled with the emptiness of the void. She tumbled uncontrollably and quickly became dizzy from the loss of equilibrium. Time no longer had relevance, leaving her confused.
She reached into the endless darkness until her hand briefly brushed against something.
"Mummy," she cried out, the image of her mother's body falling to the floor remained burned in her mind.
"BEN!" she screamed, "Annie! Jerry!" she yelled out with no reply. The darkness engulfed her senses. Time passed, reality seemed shrouded in mystery. She realized she was no longer falling, but kneeling.
"Mummy… Help me," she called out again before finally slumping to the icy stone floor. The only sound she heard was the echoes of her sobbing from the walls of the dark chamber. Arty sat there, confused for what seemed to be days; and now, her grief was compounded with the ache of hunger.
A dull thud nearby snapped her mind from the fog, "Who's there?" she screamed.
The low moan nearby guided her in the total darkness as she cautiously slid her hand across the floor, until she felt something different from the stone floor.
"Ben?" She called excitedly, but only heard a low moan of obvious pain. She crawled to Ben's side, and felt what seemed like rubble.
"A-A-Arty?" he whispered.
"I-I'm afraid, I can't see anything," she said.
"I can't see anything either, it's dark in here. Are you ok?" he asked.
"I don't know," she whimpered, "I hurt all over."
Ben moved closer to her voice and now he could feel her near his side. He tried to reach out to her. "I can't move my arm, it hurts," forcing his voice to sound strained
"W-W-Where are we?" she asked. Ben pulled himself as close to her as he could and put an arm around her.
"I wish I knew. We may be miles from where we started, I felt like we were falling for hours," he said.
"Ben?" she said softly, "I'm scared," and laid her head on his shoulder. "I saw my mum, she was…" Arty stopped and started weeping.
"Your mum will be ok, we'll find out what happened first off," Ben said to comfort the girl.
"Do you think we're dead?" she whispered.
"I don't think so, but we are together. Have you seen Annie or Jerry?" he asked.
She shook her head, and then answered 'no' when she realized he wouldn't be able to see her. They sat in silence for several minutes; he shifted his weight to pull a sharp stone fragment from under him, and felt something poke his side.
"I wish I could see again," Arty mumbled.
Ben reached to his side and realized what they both had forgotten, "My wand!" he blurted out and pulled the thin shaft from his pocket.
"Lumos," he said and held up his wand. The rays illuminated the chamber, causing them both to squint as their eyes grew accustomed to the light. "See, it was just dark in here," he said.
The two children looked about the chamber; it was the same Chamber they were in before they escaped into the Arch, except this room remained as if was abandoned nearly sixteen years before. Gashes and craters in the stone pillars stood witness to an ancient battle; a dark patch on the floor was all that remained of a dried pool of blood. Several stone benches were shattered, and left in disrepair.
"What happened in here?" Ben asked.
Arty sat silently and stared at the spot where her mother fell, that spot remained clean of debris or stains. Ben leaned closer to her and could see the streaks on her cheeks.
"Come on, we need to get out of here," Ben said and tried to stand, deliberately allowing his leg to buckle under his weight, almost pulling her down as well.
"Can you stand? I want to get home," she asked, and wiped her cheeks.
"Yes, I think so." He leaned on her as they both stood, forcing her to support him.
His wand's light began to fade, but remained strong enough to point to the doors. Ben held his left arm cautiously as they hobbled up the steps.
"How bad is your arm?" she asked at the top of the steps.
"It hurts, but I don't think it's broken. My leg feels a bit worse," he said.
Arty looked at him as he tried to hide his pain, and then she glanced back to the spot she last saw her mum, "I have to find my mum," Arty mumbled, her voice cracked on her last word.
Ben nodded and replied, "I promise, we'll find out what happened." He put an arm around her to offer a different kind of support, and gave her a tender kiss on her cheek.
She turned to better face him and returned his kiss with a hug, "Thanks Ben, I feel a little better. Can we try my home first?"
"Of course we'll try your home, can we find Aunt Luna first for my leg? St. Mungo's is nearby, your mum may be there," he offered.
She reluctantly nodded and they climbed the remaining steps to the heavy oak doors. Ben hobbled on one foot while she pushed on the doors.
The left side swung open freely, into an abandoned hallway. The scattered debris showed little evidence any human had been in the area in a long time. The darkness of the corridors mirrored the chamber. Neither of the two young teenagers noticed the slight disturbances in the dust on the floor.
Ben's stiff leg proved to slow them down some but the shattered doors to the lift further curbed their spirits.
"What the bloody hell happened? This place looks as if it's been abandoned for years," Ben commented.
"No…" she cried into Ben's shoulder, "what's happening to us?"
"Arty, please, I need you to be able to focus on us, I can't walk very well, and I'm afraid the stairs are our only choice," Ben pleaded. "You have to be strong."
She blinked her tears free, and nodded again, "Ben, I'm sorry, I'm not good enough…"
"Bugger that, you're a Malfoy and a Weasley. You can do anything you have a mind to do," he said. He leaned on her shoulder and guided her to the stairwell doors, and began the climb.
"I don't think anyone's been here in a very long time," Ben commented inside the stairwell. Several piles of papers lay on the floor nearby; other miscellaneous debris scattered the floor.
Together they hobbled up the stairs to the Atrium, finding it equally abandoned. They moved as quickly as they could past the security desk, ignoring the old and yellowed copy of the Daily Prophet, and finally out the main door.
The outside Muggle world mirrored the desolation of the interior of the Ministry of Magic. The streets were deserted and litter strewn. The surrounding buildings appeared as if ravaged by a war; windows were missing, and gaping holes in the structures left little room to wonder if they were occupied.
Arty froze at the curb; her chin began to quiver again. "Ben, the world is dead, mum's dead, dad's dead…" she sobbed.
He pulled her to his shoulder, "It can't be, there's bound to be someone here," he said, but his voice lacked the confidence to convince her.
"No, it's useless," she screamed and bolted up the street leaving him alone.
"Arty, STOP!" he yelled. He watched her disappear from sight.
Ben stood for a moment and planned his course of action. He abandoned the guise of his injuries to quickly run back inside the Ministry and searched briefly, until he found his goal, the visitor's broom closet. He grabbed the only intact broom in the cupboard, and ran back out side, quickly mounted it, and after kicking off the ground he flew up the street and around the corner. He quickly caught her jogging down the street.
"Arty, stop!" he repeated from the air.
She froze and stared up to where he flew as he descended to hover next to her and offered a hand before he realized she would never be able to hold on.
"Arty, please, get on, we can both fly on this one," he pleaded.
She shook her head, "No, go away," she screamed and started to run again.
Ben held her by the arm and pulled her onto the broom. "Shh, we'll be home soon, just calm down, ok?" he said and forced her on the broom. Once off the ground, she resigned herself to Ben's flying, but never stopped crying.
They flew north, near large twin lakes, past several rows of deserted houses into a forest and landed on the other edge of the woods. In the distance, a series of small fires and small groups of people were visible.
"Look, there in the distance. There's a column of smoke," Ben said excitedly.
"A fire?" she asked and looked up at the first sign of hope.
"It's hard to tell, we should be there in a few moments," he said. He thought back to another time he flew to a column of smoke looking for help, "We should land near there and walk, in case there's trouble."
She nodded and snuggled into him for the next several minutes in the air. They found a small clearing and landed without being seen.
"We need to leave the broom here and come back for it later," Ben said. He dismounted and helped her from the hovering broom, then quickly hid it in the brush. "We have to be careful, they may be Muggles," he said.
She nodded and grabbed his hand. She followed him as they approached the small groups of people. The aroma of cooking sausages and laughter drifted to them; the grumbles of hunger from their stomachs urged them closer, causing them to discard caution.
The groups surrounding the small fires were oddly dressed, all in similar uniforms. Ben noticed this detail first and froze, pulling Arty to a stop. "Shh, they seem to be soldiers camped out," he said.
She shook her head, "No, we need to find my mum, she can help us," Arty mumbled.
Ben held her, "She can't help us…"
"You there, in the brush, who's there?" a voice bellowed, alerting the others.
The smaller group closest to them mobilized quickly. Their well rehearsed actions displayed caution, but showed concern for the couple. Ben and Arty tried to retreat to the woods where the broom lay hidden. But the advancing militia cut off their escape.
"Ben, no…" she screamed and fell to her knees; the sound of a girl's cry halted the attack.
"You there, don't be afraid," the voice called out again.
"S-Stay b-back, I can d-defend myself," Ben called out, kneeling at Arty's side and quickly pulling his wand free, Arty latched to his other arm and cowered at his side.
" Easy there, mate. We're no threat, you can put down that twig and join us if you have a mind to," another voice called out.
Ben could see the soldiers for the first time; each had the same uniform and markings, a khaki blouse and green trousers. Some had a scarf tied around their necks and no one was older than a seventh year at Hogwarts.
"W-Who are you?" Ben asked, and lowered his wand.
"My name's Dave, I'm the one of the senior leaders here. Are you two okay? Your girlfriend looks troubled," one of the boys said.
"She's not my…" Ben began when Arty buried her face into his shoulder.
"It's not real, make them go away, Ben," she whimpered.
"It's ok, I don't think they know who we are," Ben whispered to Arty.
"This way, if you two are hungry," another boy offered.
"So, how did you and your girl get lost out here?" one boy asked in idle conversation.
"Steve, bring a blanket, this one seems to be in shock," Dave called to one of his people.
"W-Who are you?" Ben repeated.
"We're the 'Dragons', on a training weekend with the 'Doves', 'Centaurs' and 'cobras'" Dave replied.
"Centaurs?" Arty asked lifting her head from Ben's shoulder. "is Firenze here?"
"Pardon? No one's here by that name. Hurry with that blanket," Dave called out again. This time two more boys in the same outfits joined them, one had a large blanket, the other carried a canteen.
"Here, have a drink, it will help," the other boy said.
"Dragons?" Ben asked. "Hungarian Horntails or Norwegian Ridgebacks?" he inquired.
"Don't have a clue what those are, we are just the Dragons," Dave replied. He assisted Ben in pulling Arty to her feet, but Ben held on to her. Once to their feet, Dave and the others guided them to the fire set in the middle of a group of tents.
"Here, have my spot," one boy offered to Arty. Ben nodded and set the girl in the spot near the warming fire. The boy pulled a tin plate from a box, and ladled a generous amount of thick, warm stew on the plate.
"I don't understand. Who are you people?" Ben asked again.
"We're members of the New Order of Scouts, reformed after the liberation fifteen years ago. Our leader, Mr. M., is off in the main building, he should be back in a moment," the boy that shared his stew answered.
"Mr. M. helped rebuild the order when he was a lad himself; he found an old manual in his grand's things. We've been using it since," Dave added and turned to one of the boys, "Hitchens go fetch him, tell him we've found a coupla' strays."
Arty held the plate in her lap and stared into the fire, and mumbled to herself.
"So, what happened to her," Dave asked.
"We were seeing our uncle off on a journey to find my mum and dad, when we where attacked. Her mum was hurt badly, we escaped with my sister and her boyfriend, but we were separated. Arty's been mumbling since we found our way here," Ben said as he gently stroked her hair. "My name's Ben."
"Where did this happen? Maybe we can go help her," one of the other boys asked.
"No, we've been wandering for hours, but if I can get Arty home, my aunt should be able to help," Ben replied.
Arty looked up, "Aunt Luna?" she asked.
Ben nodded.
"Mr. M, our leader just returned," Dave said and pointed across the glen to a slender man dressed much like the boys.
One boy ran off to hurry the man along. He wasn't much older then the boys he led, early twenties, Ben assumed. His hair was long and blond, and he seemed strangely familiar.
"Sir, these are the two we found wandering in the forest. A brother and sister we think, but we can't get much else from them," an older boy offered.
"She's got to be his girlfriend, my sister never clung to my arm like that," one of the boys joked.
The man squatted down to look at Ben and Arty, he too blinked as if he recognized them. "Tell me, son, how did you come to be out here?"
"As I explained to him," Ben said and pointed at Dave, "her mum was attacked, and we ran."
"Well, can you tell me your names? My name is Arthur, I can try and get hold of your parents," Mr. M said.
"My name is Ben Potter and this is my friend Artimesia," Ben replied.
"Potter, that name's familiar. Do you have any family nearby?" he asked.
"My uncle Sirius has a house near Kings Cross, but we live some distance away," Ben replied.
A boy came running across the field where they were first spotted, carrying a strange looking staff, "Sir, Mr. Malfoy, I found something!" he shouted.
Ben's eyes widened, "M-Mr. M-Malfoy?"
Arthur looked at Ben and glanced at the object the boy carried. "I think I need to have a private chat with you and the girl, please follow me," he ordered. "Dave, stay here with the boys."
"Yes sir," Dave replied.
Arthur stood and motioned them to follow, Arty looked up and shook her head, "No, Rudy, I'm going to wait for mum," she said with a vacant stare.
Ben held her close and whispered, "He's not Rudy."
Arthur leaned forward, and gave her a wink, "It's okay, we'll find your mum sweetie."
Arty looked at Ben and shook her head again. Ben leaned forward and pulled her to her feet and held her up. Arthur led them to a tent away from the rest that the boys shared, and pulled the flap open.
"Please step inside, have a seat on the cot," he commanded. Once inside he zipped the tent flap shut, and pulled out a wand. He tapped the canvas once and replaced his wand.
"We can talk freely. You say your name is Potter, tell me, who are your parents?" he asked.
"Harry and Hermione Potter, sir," he replied.
"And this girl, Arty, isn't your sister, is she?"
"No, I never said she was, her name is Artimesia Malfoy," Ben said.
Arthur's commanding stance softened and he knelt to her level. "As much as I figured, Arty, who are your parents?" he asked softly.
She looked into his gray eyes and blinked as if she were looking in a mirror, "Ginevra and Draco Malfoy," she replied.
"Remarkable," Arthur said. He pulled a small chair over and sat facing them. "If you like, I can take you to the Burrow, there may be some familiar faces," he said.
She looked up and let a half smile escape, "Is my mum there? Is she okay?" she asked.
"I think we can find your mother," he said with a warm smile. "Have either of you Apparated with your parents before?"
"I have, with my mum. We left to meet dad at the Minis…." Ben paused.
"I understand far more than you realize. Come, I'll take you both someplace safe." He turned his attention to Arty, "Arty, I'll introduce you to someone I'm certain you will get along with smashingly."
Arthur stood, and held a hand to both children, Ben reluctantly took his hand, and Arty followed Ben's example. Arthur smiled at them, "Ready?" he asked. In an instant the three vanished with a pop.
Ben held Arty as tightly as he held Arthur's arm, all he could see was darkness and the same constant pressure all around his body. The pressure he felt grew with each passing heart-beat, until he couldn't stand any more. He knew Arty was feeling the same thing, but he couldn't help this time.
"Ok, we're here," Arthur finally said. Ben opened his eyes to see the Burrow standing before them.
"It's okay Arty, its Jerry's home," Ben said.
"Jerry? Is Annie here?" she asked hopefully.
"Stay here a moment, I'll see if Mrs. Malfoy is home," Arthur said and quickly entered the house.
Arthur left the two at the steps of the familiar house, and once inside called out, "Mum, I need your help," Arthur shouted.
"What's the matter?" Ginny called from the second floor landing.
Arthur walked quickly to the foot of the stairs. "We found two children wandering Epping Forest, a boy and a girl," he said. "She's been looking for her mum since they said they watched her being attacked. She says her name is Artimesia Malfoy, and the boy is Ben Potter, Harry and Hermione Potter's son."
Ginny froze in her tracks, "Harry and Hermione Potter? And this girl's name is Artimesia?"
"He called her Arty," Arthur corrected. "She said her mum and dad were Draco and Ginevra Malfoy, and I swear I had been looking at a younger form of myself as a girl."
"Merlin's beard, you don't think they've come back?" Ginny exclaimed. "Where are the children?"
"On the stoop, waiting. They are expecting Arty's mum," Arthur replied.
Ginny ran down the steps and rushed out the door with hardly a heartbeat's wait. Her son followed.
"Arty? Ben Potter? " Ginny exclaimed as if she knew them all their lives.
Arty looked up at the sound and blinked hard at the sight of the woman standing before her, "M-Mummy?" Arty gasped . She pushed free from Ben's grip and ran toward Ginny.
Ginny stared at the boy and down to the girl wrapped around her waist, "Arty? It's okay, I'm fine," she said softly. Ginny wrapped her arms around the girl and knelt down to look her in the face. "Tell me what happened after you ran off?" she asked.
Ben stood back in amazement to see the woman he watched sacrifice her life to save them, now holding Arty. He turned to Arthur and started his questions when he noticed an apparition behind Arthur.
Their eyes met, Ben's were as wide as a saucers, but the ghost held a finger to her lips to keep him from causing more emotional damage to Arty.
"Mummy, Mummy, we… we were seeing Uncle Ron, Sirius and Remus off to find Uncle Harry, when this man appeared. He said he was a Snake? I didn't understand what he said," Arty started to blurt out.
"Snape," Ben corrected, "his name was Snape."
"Mummy, he said there was two of him, but that's impossible. He was saying something about someone else when…"she stopped and hugged Ginny again. "Oh Mummy, when you were hit in the back with a spell, I was so afraid."
"The man, Snape, was also hit, but we all managed to run into the veil," Ben added, but still stared at the apparition.
"Mummy, I watched you fall, you were badly hurt, all I could see- blood-" Arty managed to say before her voice started to choke from the memory.
"I see," Ginny said, her voice comforted Arty more then any words from Ben had done. "As you can see, you are perfectly safe. But I suspect you've had a bad go of it, I can see in your eyes you haven't slept in a while."
Ben stepped forward, "Go on Arty, I think some sleep would do wonders," he said and lightly kissed the back of her head; Ginny watched his tender treatment of Arty and smiled.
"Yes, come upstairs, I have something that will help you rest," Ginny said softly.
Arty looked to Ginny and nodded, returning the smile, "Ok mum, if you'll stay with me a bit."
The two disappeared up to the bedrooms, leaving Ben, Arthur and Hermione's ghost in silence. Ben stood and stared at the vision of his mother, but a very young version of her.
"Please, Ben I think you need to sit," Arthur said. "You mentioned your parents are Harry and Hermione, do you know exactly where they are?"
Ben shook his head, never taking his eyes off the ghost.
"Do you know exactly where you are right now?" Arthur asked.
Ben shook his head again, not uttering a word.
"This place is my home, and as I understand it, similar to your home, not this building, but this existence. When you passed through the Veil, you passed through a portal to a parallel world: mine. Your parents visited here sixteen years ago, have they told you anything about that experience?" Arthur asked.
Ben shook his head one more time.
The spirit drifted to face Ben, "Hello, my name is Hermione Granger, or at least I was Hermione Granger many years ago. I understand you are Harry and Hermione's son?"
Ben nodded hesitantly.
"There's much you need to know, if you are here without them then I assume something's happened." She paused for a moment and looked at the boy, "I had hoped to meet you one day, except I expected you to be older."
Ben cleared his throat. "I have an older sister," he managed to say.
"Wonderful, knowing that makes me quite happy," Hermione replied. "When your parents were here, they were troubled, I was happy I could help them."
"What happened?" Ben asked.
"They never told you or your sister any of their past, have they?" the ghost asked. "When I was alive, things here were terrible; there was a war that had raged for years. Your parents' involvement helped end that war. They defeated the one responsible, but there were others that wanted to retain the power they enjoyed."
"You were my mum? How did you die?" Ben asked.
"In your world they faced the same conflicts we faced, only they were successful, but at a price. Your parents tried to overcome that but met with constant failure, but I was able to help them when they needed it most," she said.
"That is a much longer story than you need to know, but I need to know if you saw who attacked the girl's mum?" Arthur questioned.
Ben shook his head, "We never saw them, they attacked from the door while that bloke was talking to my Aunt," Ben said, and scratched his arm, exposing the mark.
"How did you get that mark?" Arthur asked sympathetically.
Ben covered his arm quickly, shook his head, and stood to leave. Hermione drifted in front of him to block his escape.
"Tell us how you came to bear the Dark Mark, it's clear to us it was not by choice," Arthur said.
"T-T-The severer and the silver armed man," Ben stuttered.
"Severer?" Hermione asked.
Ben started to shake from the memory, "The man with Aunt Ginny when she was hurt, he said he did this to keep the silver armed man from hurting me."
"Silver arm? Long blond hair?" Arthur asked Ben quickly.
The ghost drifted to Arthur, "So now we know where he went, do you think he'll return here?" she asked.
"It's possible," they heard from the stairs, "Arthur, you need to get back to your boys before they think something's wrong," Ginny said from the stairs. "She's resting quietly now' ."
"Bugger it, you're right mum. Take care of these two, I'll be home after taps tonight," he said, then stood, and vanished with a pop.
"Mum? You knew that man?" Ben asked.
She smiled and her form began to glow, "I never thought I would hear someone call me 'mum'. That man is Ginny's son, he's a good man, he's taken it upon his shoulders to help rebuild this world, starting with the youth. I suspect this has a lot to do with your parents' influence."
"He's almost as old as Rudy," Ben said.
Ginny walked across the room and took Ben by the hand, and urged him to sit. "Artemisia mentioned some one named Radulphus, is he related to her?"
"Rudy is her older brother, he and Lucia are twins," Ben replied.
Ginny's face paled, "Twins? And Lucia is a girl?" she asked.
Ben nodded, "eight or nine years older I think."
"Ginny? What's wrong?" Hermione asked.
"I never told anyone, I lost a child when Arthur was born, his twin. He had a sister that wasn't expected. The mid-wife in attendance was unable to care for them both. She died only an hour after she was born," Ginny replied. Tears that had welled in her eyes from the painful memory began to roll down her cheeks.
Ben sat next to Ginny, and watched her. She looked almost the same as Arty's mum, but she seemed older.
"What is she like?" Ginny asked softly.
In truth, Ben hardly spent time with either of Arty's older siblings. "She's fun to be with," Ben lied. "They both spent a lot of time with us, mum wanted to have Lucia mind us those times she and dad left for parties, but Aunt Luna stayed with us instead."
"Luna? Luna Lovegood?" Ginny asked.
"Umm, no, Luna Weasley, she and Uncle Ron would bring Jerry over instead," Ben replied. "Jerry is my sister's new boyfriend; they've been together since her birthday in May. That was just before the Severer burned my arm."
"Snape," Ginny corrected, "Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy must have joined forces in your world, but why?"
"Lucius Malfoy? Was that Arty's grandfather?" Ben asked.