Chapter Nine: Rescue Mission
Beth awoke early the next morning to the smell of bacon and other succulent aromas wafting through the air. "Mm, what smells so good?" She pulled a blanket around her to keep off the early morning chill and headed toward the kitchen area of the one room hut.
"I'm making bacon, eggs, and I found some of Hagrid's old rock cake in a cupboard. Amazingly enough, it gets softer with age. And better. Here, try some." Harry handed Beth a plate heaped high with eggs, bacon, and a cake that certainly looked like a rock. But, like Harry said, it tasted much better than it looked.
"Dad, what happened to Hagrid? I remember Mum tell me stories about him, but never anything more recent than when she was at school. Do you know where he is or what he's doing?" Beth asked between forkfuls of eggs.
Harry gave a weak smile. "Hagrid was the first person I met in the wizarding world. He was the one who showed me around Diagon Alley and gave me my first glimpse into the life of a wizard. At school, he could always brighten up my day. But you've probably hear all this from Hermione." Harry took a deep breath, then began again. "When Voldemort attacked Hogwarts, the day I `died,' Hagrid was killed. He was not actually a part of the fiasco that occurred that night. He was in the mountains at the time. His younger half-brother, Grawp, had been involved in some inter-tribal wars. Some of the giants were willing to fight on our side, others were firmly for Voldemort. Unfortunately, Hagrid wanted to help Grawp out. But in the end, he was killed, and Grawp as well. It broke Madame Maxime's heart. She and Hagrid had gotten married a few years before Hermione and I, and they had a son, Jacques. He was certainly the biggest baby I have ever seen," Harry smiled, remembering the look on Hagrid's face when Jacques was born. Hagrid couldn't have been any happier.
"Where are they now?" Beth asked, referring to Madame Maxime and Jacques.
"They live in France, where she's from. I haven't heard anything about them recently though." Beth nodded, understanding why his information was not quite up to date. As she took another bite of bacon, she noticed the Marauder's Map, which they had left open on the table last night.
"Dad, I think you should take a look at this," she said, pointing to a dungeon room of the castle. Within it were two dots, Hermione Potter and Sibyll Trelawney. Just outside were even more alarming names, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.
"If Malfoy's cronies are lurking around, you can be sure he's nearby," Harry muttered under his breath.
"We have to save her. We have to go after mum." Without another word, Beth burst out of the hut, not bothering to glance at the map for danger.
"Beth! Wait!" Harry yelled after her. But before he could reach her, another man had grabbed her and held her tight.
"The boy thought you would come," Wormtail sneered, not paying attention to the figure that had just burst out of the hut behind Beth. "I was hoping to prove him wrong, but now I get to present you to my master. How pleased he will be." A split second later, he dropped to the ground.
"Wow! That was amazing!" Beth praised her father's quick body-binding curse.
"Ask your mother to tell you about her experience with that curse sometime. But right now, let's go get her!" Harry and Beth dragged Wormtail into the hut to avoid an awkward scene, should someone happen to look toward the hut.
As Harry and Beth made their way across the grounds, they crept low against the building to avoid wandering eyes. After what seemed like ages to Beth, Harry found the nearest entrance into the castle. Glancing quickly at the map, he didn't see anyone coming toward them. He opened the door slowly and allowed Beth to slip in before him.
Beth's eyes took a moment to adjust from the bright morning sun outside to the dimly lit castle. Walking down the corridor, she could not believe what she was seeing. The exquisite tapestries and majestic portraits she had expected to see were gone, replaced by bare walls of stone and candles that emitted dark, bluish-black flames. Icy wind rushed through the halls, making every hair on Beth's body stand on end. Silently, Harry led the way down to the dungeons. He had a strange nostalgia as they crept along. "Just a little further to the `torture chamber.'" Harry said sarcastically, remembering the horrible classes of Potions under the glaring eye of Professor Snape.
"The what?" Beth asked, not understanding.
"Never mind," replied Harry. He held the map in front of him, glancing at the dots that marched up and down corridors, some closer than he would have liked. "Too bad I don't have the invisibility cloak," he regretted aloud. Beth shared his frustration at leaving the valuable item behind in the hut.
"Just around the corner," Harry whispered, and motioned for Beth to stay back until he had dispensed with Crabbe and Goyle. He faced the old school bullies head on. They both wore expressions of utter disbelief and bewilderment at seeing Harry Potter alive and coming at them with his wand raised. They barely had time to even assess the situation before they were both lying unconscious on the ground, hit by Harry's stupefying spell.
"Well, that's out of the way. Come on Beth," Harry called for his daughter. But instead of seeing her bound around the corner, all full of vim and vinegar to save her mother, a more chilling sight came around.
"Why am I not surprised? It seems you were able to cheat death once. But can you really do it again?" Malfoy's eyes carried a sadistic gleam as he held a struggling Beth against him. She was kicking and screaming like a banshee, but Malfoy seemed oblivious to her struggles. Standing along side him was a boy Harry recognized very well, Sirius.
"Your fight is with me, Malfoy. Let her go!" Harry's mind flashed back to the day, many years ago, when he had failed to save his son from the literal clutches of this very man. Now he stood before him, his loyalty firmly on Malfoy's side. Harry would not make the same mistake twice.
"Very well. Sirius, come keep a hold on your sister." Malfoy then practically tossed Beth into the air and into the grasp of her older brother.
"Hello dear sister," Sirius gave her his perfected sarcastic smile.
"You're no brother of mine."
"It's finally time for us to have that little duel of ours. Shall we?" Malfoy gave Harry his own sarcastic grin.
"Let's end this."
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