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Summary: Harry seeks out Hermione for advice on his 'plan.'
Chapter 6: Advice and Rescue.
Harry signed off early from work that day, as he needed to talk to Hermione. Even though he had sent the owl to Mrs
Weasley, he couldn't shake the feeling that maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Hermione would be able to help,
even if it wasn't what he wanted to hear. But even if it wasn't what he wanted to hear he knew that just
talking to her would sooth him. He had realised a long time ago, when the war had just started, that he felt more than
just friendship for his bushy haired friend. Now if he could just tell her…
He shook this thought away, assuring himself that when the right time came he would tell her. Tiding his desk, he
grabbed his jacket and made his way to the lift. He felt he owed it to Draco to help him back into the wizarding world.
After all he had been away from nearly three years; it wasn't going to be easy.
Of course the first time had been nothing to do with Harry, but the last ten months were his fault and he needed to
make that up. Draco had been through so much and Harry was partly responsible for that.
As the lift made its way down he thought back to one of the saddest and most important days of the War so far. The day
he finally saw Draco after the first battle…
Harry sat at his desk going through the plan to break into Moorefield, the Prisoner of War camp the Death Eaters
controlled. There had been stealth missions over the last two years to break out various important prisoners needed for
the Order, but today they were going to try and free every prisoner, to break the Camp.
Harry had seen first hand the cruelty applied to prisoners, it had shocked him to his core. This was why he had agreed,
in fact insisted, that he head this operation. A team of Aurors and Order members had been drafted in for the first
attack. They were hoping to infiltrate as far into the prison as possible with out a battle breaking out. If, however,
that wasn't an option, in other words if the Death Eaters sighted them and came in droves, they had the back up of
all the Order, Aurors and magical law enforcement. He knew it wasn't going to be easy in anyway or run smoothly but
they had left this mission for too long, there were certain things worth the danger.
Finishing the plan, he memo-ed the other members of the first attack team, ready to take them through the brief one last time before they set out. They piled into his office in quick succession. The backups had already been notified of their position and were to wait until he called for them. He looked round at the pale yet determined faces. Most, if not all, knew some one who was in Moorefield and all had volunteered for this secret mission.
He went over the mission outlined, pausing briefly at the end, looking at the team.
"This won't be easy, in fact it's going to be bloody difficult, mentally and physically. You will all see things that will shock you. I need to ask you once again that each of you are willing to take this on?"
Every one in the room nodded but no one made a sound, the reaction Harry had been expecting.
"Fine, well let's go then." They filed out to the Auror's portkey section, leaving in twos and threes, transporting to the secret location Harry had set up. He went last, locking eyes with Ron over the paperweight they were using as a portkey. He saw the grim determination in his oldest friend's eyes, knowing his eyes would be mirroring the same look.
"Department of Records and Resources." Harry pushed past the other people in the lift and walked down the heavily carpeted corridor. It still made him laugh that Hermione was basically being paid to be a bookworm. What he would have given to be doing a job he loved…like Quidditch. But he knew this was where he was supposed to, at least until the war was over. The memory came flooding back, reminding him why he had made the right decision to be an Auror.
Harry breathed a deep sigh, they had been fighting hard for over five hours with more and more recruits and backup being called in as the Death Eater's numbers swelled. However they did seem to be getting closer, they had already freed most of the low security prisoners, but there were still those kept deep in the prison.
His friends and colleagues had fought well, some were injured, some would not return from this place. He stopped himself before he could think about this too deeply, calling on his training to help him continue concentrating solely on the job in hand. He's biggest worry was that the Death Eaters would have killed the most high security prisoners when the Order had started their attack. They need to get to them quickly, before the Death Eaters had a chance to do this, if they hadn't already that is…
Looking up he gave an involuntary shiver. The Prison reminded him of Azkaban, although slightly smaller. The Demetors were here, he could feel them, but they did not have sole control, he could feel their annoyance at this too. The building itself was tall and menacing, constructed out of slate, it seemed to be black in the grey misty light. It was like a castle, a medieval building that had been built for this exact purpose in a much less humane time. God only knows the pain and cruelty these people had endured at the hands of these bastards. This paused seemed to spur him on, anger swelling inside.
He ran forward towards one of the main doors. A group of Death Eaters were hiding just inside, having successful made fort and were currently defending the prison from this location. Ron followed Harry, each taking up positions either side of the doorway.
Harry looked at Ron and nodded, running into the darkness. He cursed whatever moved, using not only defensive magic but attacking magic, knowing the Death Eaters wouldn't hesitate in trying to kill him. They managed to disarm and restrain several. Harry had just cast the full body bind on a particular violent Death Eater when Ron called out to him; evidently he was having trouble with the last two. Running over he helped Ron over power them and they soon had all the Death Eaters captured and restrained. Harry called in the back-up Aurors.
"Take them out side, and secure them more effectively, then owl the Minister, we need the magical prison department, OK?" the eager yet exhausted youngster nodded, rushing off. Harry quickly made his way round the other troops. Many were bleeding, quite badly but they were getting to their feet or continuing to restrain the enemy. They seemed to have finally over come not only the Death Eaters on the outside but also the prison guards.
Harry took a small watch out of his robes; it was the chief Auror's watch, lent to him, Harry, for this historic day. It look like an ordinary pocket watch, encased in gold, intricate engravings covered this casing. The face, however, revealed the true purpose of this watch. Where the various points of time should have been, symbols glowed different colours. The most important of these symbols right now was the one at the 6 o'clock point, a wand and bone crossed. He moved the big hand from the crest of the Aurors' (the back-up symbol) to the wand and bone. With in seconds witches and wizards in lime green robes began appearing. The healers were here.
Ron took over, directing the healers to various injured soldiers. Harry called out to all the able-bodied Aurors and any left over healers to follow him into the stone prison. The cold hit him straight away, although it wasn't all consuming, meaning the Dementors had fled. The shiver seemed to continue through all those with him. He knew there was a possibility of more Death Eaters inside but they had the upper hand now. He pulled his wand out, directing various groups to different directions, stressing the danger that was still very much a threat.
He made his way with Ron, Seamus and Mark, a junior Auror in training. As they descended a set of stone stairs the air seemed to thin, a stench of rotting food and human waste seemed to encase them, causing Mark to gag. Harry coughed, raising a hand to cover his mouth, as they passed through a doorway into a long corridor lined with doors.
"Right, unlocking charms, be ready for hiding guards and Death Eaters, Call the healers in as you need them, but try and get any still alive outside as soon as possible. Voldermort won't hold off for long so we need to be quick. Mark, Seamus you take the left, Ron and I'll take the right ok?" They split up, rushing to the nearest cell door and performing various charms to unlock them.
Harry faced a wooden door and taking a deep breath, he unlocked it. The putrid smell seemed to intensify. He coughed again making his way further into the cell. It was small, about 7 feet by 6 feet with no light source, other than the now open door. At first he though the cell was empty, until he saw a huddled pile of blankets in the corner shivering. Moving over towards it, a hand outstretch, he was startled as the blankets let out a shill scream, lunging out at him. The dirty figure was pulled violently back to the ground by an invisible force.
"It's okay," Harry started, making his way back towards them.
"Leave me alone, you bastard! I told you I don't know anything." Harry stopped dead, the voice was so familiar, but it couldn't be…
"Lavender?" He croaked. The young woman looked up quickly. Harry noticed with a sick feeling she was chained round the neck.
"Am I Dreaming?" her voice was barely above a whisper, her once glossy hair hanging limply round her face. She began to sob, causing Harry to rush over to her.
"Stay AWAY, Death Eater!!" She screamed, causing Harry to stop abruptly.
"Lavender it's Harry, we've come to get you out of here."
"Liar!" she screamed at him, backing up against the wall, eyes rolling. She was stooping, the chain round her neck preventing her from standing up straight. Harry suddenly realise why she was reacting like this. Death Eaters must have used polijuice potion to impersonate friends and family to prisoners. Bile rose in his throat.
"Lavender, do you remember the DA?" Lavender looked quickly up at him, nodding slightly after a few minutes. "Do you remember Hermione's patronus?" again she nodded. "It was an otter." She stared at him for a few minutes but she stop struggling. She flinched slightly when Harry brought his wand level with her neck to free the chain, but didn't say anything. He took her hand and led her gentle form the cell.
She squinted in the light, her eyes red and swollen. Harry noticed how dangerously thin she had become, as he grabbed
her round the waist when she stumbled. It was obvious she hadn't walked from along time, as she was relying heavy
on Harry to support her.
Ron's face looked shocked as he saw Lavender, but he didn't say anything, as Harry handed Lavender over to a
nearby healer. Turning to Ron, he tried to keep the deep emotions he was feeling out of his voice.
"Any one else alive?" Ron nodded.
"Two in those cells, one in the cell over there," he said, pointing the cells out. "Four dead though, three from injuries but one….well, one hung himself." Ron's voice was barely audible now. Harry nodded, not daring to speak, they should have come sooner, they could have save this people.
"Come on" he said to Ron, turning to leave. As he did he noticed a slightly discoloured slab at the end of the corridor. He didn't know why this caught his attention but he was drawn to it. It was slightly smaller than the other stones, leaving a small gap running all the way round.
"Harry. Mate, what are you doing?!" Ron had come up behind him, laying a hand on his shoulder.
"I don't know yet, hang on…" Harry reached into his robes, pulling out the old knife Sirius had given him years ago. He'd managed to get it fixed after the incident in the Department of Mysteries, all those years ago. Running the blade round the edges, he leant back as blue light shone form the gap.
"Ron it's a trapdoor! It must be if they had to lock it! Help me move it." Pushing his fingers into the gaps he began to pull, heaving and groaning at the weight of the stone. Ron tapped him on the shoulder, raising an eyebrow when Harry looked at him as he pointed his wand at the stone and said clearly "Wingardium Leviosa."
Harry's mouth twitched at his own stupidity, moving out of the way as Ron levitated the stone from its hole. He moved back to the hole now gaping in the floor. It was pitch black; he actually thought it might be bottomless until he was right at the edge, where he saw a square of light on a dirt floor. It was only about five foot deep.
"It's just a cellar Harry. Come on, let's go."
"Hang on Ron!" Harry leaned into the hole whispering "Lumos", as he shined the beam of light around he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Moving the light back it shone over a dirty bloody foot.
"Christ, Ron, someone's down there!" He sat on the floor, moving his feet to dangle into the blackness.
"Harry, are you mad? What if it's a Death Eater?!" Ron was gazing incredulously at him.
"Look, who ever it is, they're injured, we can't just leave them!" he moved further into the hole, bracing himself on the edge.
"Fine, I'll cover your" Ron sighed, sounding defeated. Harry lowered himself into the hole, slightly surprised when his feet hit ground so soon, his head and shoulders were still out of the hole.
'Merlin,' he thought, struck by horror, 'who ever was down here wouldn't be able to stand up, unless they were incredible short!" kneeling down he disappeared into the pit.
His wand shone erratically beams around as he stumbled unsteadily round, trying to get his bearings. Finally he could stand (kneel more like) in a defensive position, ready to take on any thing. Something had crunched under his feet before; shining the beam down he saw the cracked skeleton of a small animal. He shined the light above him, seeing the dirt ceiling a couple of inch above him. Twisting round he saw that the walls were the same stone used above in the cells.
'Hang on,' he though, 'this cell can't be more than five feet squared! Not only could a person not stand in here, but they wouldn't be able to lie down flat!' he stared to feel the claustrophobia he had been fighting off every since he had entered this pit, it was Aunt Petunia's fault for shutting him in the cupboard under the stairs as those years ago.
As he shined the light into the corner of the cell he finally saw what he's been looking for. A man was lying down, his back pressed against the wall. His chest was raising and falling in very shallow breaths.
"He's alive" he called up. Putting his wand down, he moved over to the man, grabbing him under the arms. It was incredibly awkward but eventually Harry had dragged the man, not before he hit his head twice on the low ceiling. Using all his strength he lifted the man up to Ron, who was leaning over the hole.
"Merlin!" He heard Ron gasp as the man was pulled into the light. Ron turned back and grabbed Harry's hand, hauling him out of the pit. It wasn't until that moment that Harry saw the man's face.
The head was shaven, roughly by the looks of it. Large chucks of skin were missing, some cuts look fresh, others infected scabs. But even the deep gash running down his face could hide the identity of this familiar face. His chest was bare, scars and fresh cuts running up and down it, deep welts oozed on his wrists and ankles. His rib cage stuck out in disgusting prominence.
Harry stared open-mouthed at the man, then at Ron. Draco Malfoy was alive, but only just.
Harry found himself at the door to Hermione's office, a lot sooner than he had expected. He knocked, waiting for permission to enter. He heard Hermione call out for him to 'come in.' Even though the office was large, it felt tiny. It was incredibly cluttered, due to the stacks and stacks of ancient books, huge towers leaning haphazardly.
"Oh Harry, what a nice surprise!" she smiled up at him, but it faded at the look of worry on his face. "What is it? Is every thing ok? Is every one ok?" She had gotten to her feet now, a sense of urgency creeping into her voice.
"Calm down Hermione, nothing's happened. Well it has but it's nothing bad." She frowned, gesturing to a chair opposite hers. "Actually, can we go some where else, for Lunch or something? My treat." He wanted to get out of the ministry, to talk to Hermione without worrying who was over hearing. She looked taken aback for a minute.
"Oh, umm, ok, just give me a minute to finish this report." Harry nodded and began walking leisurely round the office. He started reading the titles of the many books she had, smiling when he noticed a particularly battered copy of 'Hogwarts: A History.' She still kept it close.
"…Therefore we can't help your case, so please stop owling the department." Hermione mumbled the last part of her report out loud. "Honestly we've been getting about 5 owls a day from this farmer in Dorset, for months now! I keep telling him he wants the Department for the regulation of Magical Creatures, but he's convinced there's something in the farmer records that says he can have flying pigs!" Harry grinned at her.
"Ready?"
***
They strolled through a muggle park, eating sandwiches they picked up along the way. Harry had already explained to Hermione everything that had happened with Draco. He had also voiced his feelings of guilt about giving Draco the unspeakable mission and not telling Ginny he had known where Draco was.
"But Harry that's ridiculous. Firstly Draco didn't have to take the operation," she said, sitting down on a nearby bench, "and secondly you couldn't tell Ginny, or anyone. It was a binding magical contract, that's the point of an unspeakable contract! None of this is your fault. Okay maybe you shouldn't have put Draco forward for the mission," she carried on quickly before Harry could protest, "but you know he was the best man for the job, so to speak. We've all had to make scarifies for the war, Draco more than most, but he chose to take this path." She put a hand gently on his, squeezing it reassuringly.
"Harry this war isn't your fault, its victims aren't your responsibility." He didn't say anything, but felt a rush of relief. She had spoken the words he had been desperate to hear. It was so difficult to remember that he was only one person, that he couldn't help everyone. But she was right; this war wasn't his fault, however much it felt like it sometimes.
"Ron knows something's up. He's going to kill me when he finds out what I know!" Harry took another bite of his sandwich. Hermione gave a derisive snort.
"Well, Ron's not what you would call 'level-headed'. If you'd tried to explain it, as much as you could considering the contract, he would have flown off the handle. To be honest Harry, it really doesn't have anything to do with him!" It was Harry's turn to snort.
"Yeah, well try telling him take." Hermione though for a moment then smiled evilly.
"No, I'll go one better." She stood up.
"Hermione, what are you up to?" Her smile only broadened.
"Don't' worry, all will be revealed. Come on." Harry tried to call after her, but she had already started striding across the park. He shrugged to himself and followed her.
***
Author's note: Hey please read and review, I would really like some feed back on this chapter, your opinions are always valid! Thanks Azure x