Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter; it belongs to JK Rowling, etc etc.

Authors Note: So sorry about the delay with this chapter. You would not believe the weekend I have had. Anyway, here it is, in all its short glory. I'll get back to longer chapters with the next chapter. Again, sorry for any typos and shit I might have missed. Thanks for reading!

Ron was playing wizards chess with Neville when Ginny entered the Gryffindor common room, accompanied by a sombre looking Hermione Granger. The two girls settled themselves into the comfy seats by the fire. Intrigued, Ron excused himself and made his way over to his sister. Neville watched him go, debated following, and then slinked off to his dormitory.

One look at their faces and Ron knew something was wrong. 'What's wrong?'

Ginny shook her head minutely, gestured at Hermione and then got up and led him away from the obviously devastated girl.

'What's wrong?' Ron repeated.

'Harry has been captured by You-Know-Who,' Ginny said, matter of fact.

'What?' Ron very nearly shouted. He looked over at Hermione sympathetically, and then back at Ginny. 'Well, what are we doing about it? Have the Order, you know, any leads or something?'

'Professor Dumbledore is looking into it,' she said, 'but they think he was taken by a spy within the Ministry. It doesn't look good.'

Ron sighed, glanced at Hermione again. 'Is… is she okay?'

'She's upset, obviously,' Ginny said. 'They've had some… well… I suppose it's private, but she feels really guilty that… you know.'

'Not really,' Ron said, 'but I get the gist. Should I say something to her? Try and help… somehow…'

'How? What would you say?'

'I really don't know,' Ron said, wringing his hands. 'I just feel like I need to do something. I feel so useless.'

'Tell me about it,' Ginny agreed. 'Could you sit with her? You don't have to say anything, I just don't think she should be alone right now, and I really want to go talk to Draco. Please, Ron?'

'Yeah, sure,' Ron said, already making his way over. Ginny left the common room as Ron took her empty seat. Hermione glanced up at him. He gave her a shaky smile. 'Hi,' he tried lamely.

Hermione went back to her internal musings, staring at her lap.

'Ginny will be back,' Ron said, 'she just went to…' He trailed off, really not knowing what he was doing. He was never good at this stuff. 'Sorry, I'll be quiet. If you… you know… need anything, let me know.' Hermione said something, but it was so low he couldn't make it out. 'Sorry?'

'He's dead,' she said, still quietly, but he heard her this time, 'I know it. I feel it. He's dead, and we fought, and he thinks I…'

'Hey,' Ron said, interrupting, 'that's not true. I've seen how he looks at you. Anyone with eyes can tell that he really loves you. He knows. And besides, he's not dead. Not that guy. Trust me, I know Harry Potter. It's a bastard, but nothing can take that guy down. He'll be back, smirking that damn smirk of his, and all the world will be in awe - just like always.'

Hermione smiled, a little sadly. 'You really think so?'

'I do,' Ron said.

'You like him really, don't you?' Hermione asked, still in that quiet tone of voice.

'What? No way, he's a prick,' Ron argued. Hermione gave him a look. 'Ah, fine! Yeah, a little, but don't tell anyone, okay?'

'I won't,' Hermione said. After a few seconds went by, she asked, 'How come you pretend to hate him?'

'Because,' Ron began, thinking it over. 'Because I did. I hated him for betraying us and becoming a Slytherin - for choosing Draco Malfoy over us. For being so damn great that everyone else is overlooked. Even when everyone thinks he's evil, he still gets all the attention, all the admiration. All you girls fawn over him like he's the greatest thing, but he's not. He's just like everyone else. Worse, even.'

'That he is,' Hermione agreed. 'But even so,' and she smiled, 'he's Harry Potter, right? The Boy-Who-Lived - our Hero.'

'Yeah,' Ron said, and smiled. 'The bastard.'

Severus Snape took another step back, his greasy hair whipped about his face by some unseen force. His eyes flashed with fear, his mouth agape. A large crack appeared in the wall behind Harry Potter. Stone blocks rose from the floor.

'What are you doing?' Snape roared angrily.

Harry continued to grin. He turned his eyes up to his magical shackles.

The first thing Professor Oniki had taught him about his siphon was how to release it. Essentially, before he could fully understand the mechanics of closing his siphon, he had to learn how it was released, and why. In a manner of speaking, this gave him the ability to manipulate it. It was limited, very limited, but if he could manage it, then he could free himself. At least, that was his hope.

It was a long shot, and dangerous - very dangerous.

Probably too dangerous.

But he had to try.

He focused his eyes on his chains, focused his mind - focused.

Come on, he willed.

Snape pressed his wand against Harry's throat. 'Stop!' the traitorous wizard hissed. Harry turned his attention to the wand thrust into his jugular. 'Stop it! Whatever you're doing, stop it! Stop it right n - argh!' An electrical surge ran into Snape and numbed his hand, making him cry out and drop his wand.

Harry saw an opening and took it. Using the wall, he pushed off with his bare feet and kicked Snape in the head, sending the wizard flat on his back. His fallen wand was at Harry's feet. He used his toes to grab it.

He closed his eyes, willing it to work. 'Abeo Serpens!' Harry opened his eyes and looked at his magical bonds again. It hadn't worked. 'Abeo Serpens!' Right before his eyes, the magical chains morphed, squirmed, and then slithered down his arms, releasing him with simultaneous hisses.

Snape looked up at him from his place on the floor, eyes wide and scared. Harry looked at the serpents adorning his arms. 'Kill him,' he hissed in Parsletongue. Snape scrambled to his feet and ran as the serpents gave chase.

As stone blocks fell to the floor once again, Harry breathed a sigh of relief, then bent down and picked up Snape's wand. He conjured a plain black rode and threw it on quickly. He tried to Apparate out, but as expected, anti-apparition wards blocked him. He could hear Snape calling for help and knew he didn't have long before the whole place was swarming with Death Eaters. He didn't trust his enemy's wand to work all that well for him. He was lucky it had been able to transfigure his chains.

That being said, he took off at a run, heading right, and away from Snape. He could hear voices behind him, yelling, and feet thundering on cold stone. How quick they gave chase. Ahead, the corridor came to an abrupt turn. He took it.

And found himself on the wrong end of two wands. Swift fired curses flew over his head as he ducked down. 'Abeo feras aqua!' The air shimmered and took form, flowing down the hall as a fierce and violent wave of cold water. One of the Death Eaters Apparated away, but the other wasn't so quick on the draw. He was overwhelmed by the wave of water and sent crashing into the far wall, where the water evaporated back into air. Harry didn't have time to wonder how the other Death Eater had managed to Apparate to safety, as even more were hot on his trail.

He ran again, bare feet slapping stone. It was dark outside, so he couldn't see much as he raced down the corridor. Sparse torches bracketed to the walls illuminated his path periodically, but not enough to offer him much comfort. Moonlight traced the outline of barred windows high up the wall. Harry figured he was probably on the basement level of some manor. He debated lighting his wand with Lumos, but decided against it. The spell would make him more a target than anything.

From the darkness up ahead, Harry could hear even more Death Eaters. He was trapped. He slunk close to the wall and listened. They weren't moving. Guarding something? Probably. Harry crept silently closer - close enough to make out vague shapes in the shadows. He pointed Snape's wand.

Ignoro! Harry silently cast his self-invented Imperceptible Charm and approached the three Death Eaters.

'Any sign of the Blood Traitor?' he asked the nearest one.

'Not yet,' the first responded, looking Harry right in the eye and not recognising him.

'Right then,' Harry said. 'The old hag wants you to patrol the corridors. I'll stand watch here.'

'You sure?' One of the others asked doubtfully.

'Are you questioning me?' Harry threatened angrily, getting up close to him.

The Death Eater blanched. 'No, sir, of course not,' he stammered quickly. He turned to his associates. 'Let's go, come on. Hurry up!'

Harry watched with a smirk as the three Death Eaters left, all three of them under the impression that they had just narrowly avoided offending a wizard of higher stature than themselves. After they rounded the corner and disappeared, Harry turned his attention to the stairs behind him.

He dashed up them and reached a solid oak door. He pushed it open and entered the house proper. This part of the building was nicer, with carpeted floors and satisfactory lighting. He was in another corridor and directly opposite was a set of closed double doors, emblazoned with a golden insignia or crest. It was two snakes, coiled together to form the letter L.

'Lestrange,' Harry figured.

For some reason, he was compelled to enter the room. Something inside drew him, something connected to him, and yet not. He opened the double doors, unknowingly activating an alarm and deactivating his charm at the same time, and closed them behind him. The room was lit with a low light, which caught on the many valuable looking objects on display. A large chandelier glittered in the dark space above. One object in particular caught his attention. Harry approached it, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. It shone as if it was waiting for him.

'Hufflepuff's Cup,' Harry spoke to himself, 'why I'll be damned. Fancy seeing you here.' He gave a low chuckle, which threatened to turn into full on delighted laughter, but he just about held it in. He would laugh later. First, he had to get away - and with the Cup.

'In here!' a harsh voice yelled.

Harry turned towards the doors as they burst open, sending wooden debris flying towards him. Four Death Eaters, led by Bellatrix Lestrange, entered the room. Bellatrix saw the Cup in his hands and her face paled.

'He has the Cup! Get him!' she yelled.

Four Killing Curses flew at him. He made a slashing motion with Snape's wand and a huge wall of stone appeared to block them. The stone blew apart as the first curse hit it, and the rest rendered the rubble into dust, filling the room with thick smog. More curses came at him, but they went wide, very wide. Harry attempted to creep his way out of the room, but one of the Death Eaters suddenly appeared before him. The Death Eater called out in surprise and cast another Killing Curse. Harry levitated one of the many objects into the way and then cast his own spell silently: Stupefy!

The Death Eater crumpled to the floor. Harry knelt next to him and grabbed his wand, snapping it and throwing it aside. He was about to get up and move on when the fog lifted, magically dismissed by a hysterical looking Bellatrix Lestrange.

'Avada Kedavra!' she yelled insanely.

As the green light flew at him, Harry had a sudden idea. He flung Hufflepuff's Cup up and into the path of the curse. Bellatrix gave a shriek of horror. The green light engulfed the Cup and then, with a blinding flash, exploded. The light almost blinded him, but it also glittered against something on the unconscious wizards finger. Harry saw it was a ring, styled like the engraving on the door.

At the same time, he heard Bellatrix give a shriek of agony as whatever protective measures Voldemort had cast on Hufflepuff's Cup attacked her. He cast his eyes up, saw shadowy forms running through the fog, and then quickly grabbed the ring off the wizard's finger and thrust it on his own. As the light dissipated and two Death Eaters came at him, Harry Apparated away.