Hermione gasped. Harry was speechless. He had never even dreamed that this would happen.
"Ow!" he gasped, the piece of parchment fluttering to the floor as his hands flew up to his infamous scar.
The pain hit him all at once.
"Harry! Are you OK?" Hermione asked, her hands on his shoulders.
"My scar," he managed to get out before the pain took over completely.
No. Not this time. Try to fight the pain, he thought forcibly to himself, even though all he wanted to do was collapse. He inhaled sharply and fought to keep his breakfast down as a wave of nausea swept over him. He dropped to his knees and forced himself to take deep breaths, his head pounding.
"Harry." her voice seemed so distant, even though she was right next to him. Harry closed his eyes and
tried to distract his mind from the pain. After a few seconds, it slowly subsided, and he was able to open his eyes and
stand up shakily on his feet again.
"Voldemort's nearby," he said, blinking several times to clear his head.
"Do you know where?" McGonagall asked in a worried tone. Harry shook his head.
"Sorry to interrupt, Professor," an oily voice came from the doorway, causing all three heads to turn.
"What is it, Argus?" McGonagall asked.
"I found this Daily Prophet on the stairs on the second floor. Just wondering if it was yours," he replied, surveying Harry and Hermione with his beady eyes.
"No, Argus. Its not mine," McGonagall answered, sighing. Suddenly, Harry noticed the paper give off a strange glow for a second before returning to its faded self.
"I-its mine, Mr. Filch," Harry said quickly. "I must've dropped it going down to breakfast." Filch didn't respond, only scowled at Harry. Harry silently prayed Filch would believe him.
"REALLY, Potter?" he asked at last, raising the paper to his face and examining it closely, as if trying to find something extraordinary with it.
"Really, sir," Harry replied in a sense of urgency. If his idea was correct.
At last, Filch handed the tattered paper over to Harry. Then, with a last glance, he left.
"Professor," Harry asked, examining the paper, "how do you know if an object's a Portkey?"
"Well, the people who place Portkeys at their locations usually inform the citizens nearby," she answered. "Like last year for the Quidditch World Cup."
"No, I mean, what if no one knew it was a Portkey, but it still was? Is there any way to find out if it is?" he asked, prodding the roll with his finger.
"Well, not that I know of. But Professor Dumbledore might," McGonagall said. "I'll go ask him. You wait here, Potter. Ms. Granger, stay with him." She hurried to the door.
"Harry, do you think this is a Portkey?" Hermione asked, lightly running her fingers over the faded letters on the newspaper. Without warning, Harry felt the familiar jerk behind his navel, and felt himself being pulled forward by the newspaper. Hermione's shoulder bumped against his own painfully as they traveled forward to their unknown location.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ouch!" Hermione landed with a thud next to Harry. They lay there for a moment, collecting their thoughts. Then, Hermione turned to Harry.
"Yep, I think its definitely a Portkey, Hermione," Harry managed to get out.
"Any idea where we are?" she asked.
"Not the slightest," he replied. Slowly standing up, he extended a hand to Hermione, who gratefully took it. Once she was up, Harry took the time to examine his surroundings. The sky was a stormy gray, rain threatening to spill at any moment. A strong breeze whipped around them. Somewhere nearby, waves crashed against the shore in angst.
As they walked, the ground beneath them was rocky and rough, inclining uphill. Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and drew close to him.
"I don't like this place at all," she said softly.
"Me neither," Harry replied. He glanced over the side of the path and saw the waves he had heard. Not one living person could be seen.
"Whoa," he muttered.
"That's creepy," Hermione said, who had followed Harry's gaze.
"This whole place is creepy," he answered, glancing back up the hill. Unfortunately, he couldn't see anything past the stretch of rocky ground.
"We're on some sort of cliff surrounded by the sea," Hermione observed. "I hope Ron's OK," she added.
"Me too," Harry answered. They ascended the rest of the hill in silence, occasionally looking around them in search of a change. There was none.
After what seemed like an eternity, the ground seemed to level out. Harry and Hermione stopped, slightly gasping for breath.
"Hermione, look!" Harry whispered, pointing up to the top of the hill, which leveled out to a dangerously jutting cliff. They both hid behind a lone, dying bush nearby and watched.
The circle of hooded people seemed to shift restlessly together, their heads staying bent and their hands clasped in front of them. In the blink of an eye, a tall figure appeared in front of the mass of black, hood drawn up over its head.
"My men," the cold, high voice boomed over the crashing of the waves.
"Ah!" Harry whispered, clutching his scar once more. Through the pain, he opened his eyes and looked at the tall figure.
"Is that Voldemort, Harry?" Hermione whispered, fear evident in her voice. Harry could only nod. His eyes were fixed on the display up ahead as his scar throbbed dully.
"Tonight, we gather to induct a new member into our clan. A member who will provide most useful to our plans," Voldemort announced. "Bring him, Wormtail," he ordered to a hunched-over form standing next to him.
"Y-yes, Master," Wormtail stuttered pathetically as he shuffled away. A tense silence ensued and, a few moments later, Wormtail hurried back, holding a tall, lanky form by one hand. The stranger complied soundlessly and allowed himself to be led to the gathering, where he was placed in front of Lord Voldemort. Then, Wormtail retreated to his previous position.
"Kneel!" Voldemort commanded. Immediately, the figure obeyed by going down on both knees, his hands clasped in front of him. Voldemort raised his hands high, the sleeves falling back to reveal his thin, bony fingers with long fingernails, and slowly lowered his hood.
The bright, red snake-like eyes were visible more than anything else. It drew Hermione's attention and caused her to gasp softly. The bald head, covered in scaly skin, was not as noticeable. The thin slit for a mouth opened once more, and a gray forked tongue was barely visible as he spoke.
"It is time for your induction," he informed the figure. "Are you ready?" The person nodded deeply.
"Crucio!" Voldemort cried, his wand appearing in his hand, pointed at the figure. The mysterious individual fell back, clutching himself in visible pain.
"Oh my god," Hermione whispered, her hands over her mouth. As he fell back on the ground, the hood slipped off. The fiery hair, the freckles.
"RON!" Hermione exclaimed quietly.
"Ssh," Harry whispered, even though he was just as shocked and hurt to see his best friend writhing on the ground in pain, gritting his teeth against the scream that threatened to rip out of him. After a few moments, Ron was finally able to kneel again, shaking all over. He resumed his bowing position, hood forgotten. The circle did not shift.
"No screams," Voldemort said impressively, twirling his wand in one hand. "Not bad."
"Thank you, my Lord," Ron replied, bowing deeply again.
"My LORD?" Harry repeated, confused.
"Voldemort must've put Ron under some sort of controlling spell," Hermione answered, her level of shock continuing to escalate.
"Are you ready for your task?" Voldemort asked, looking down upon Ron in a superior fashion.
"Yes, my Lord," Ron replied.
"Very good. Now, we have some uninvited guests with us tonight," he said. The whole circle of Death Eaters seemed to tense up as one. Harry and Hermione sincerely hoped he was talking about someone in the circle as they watched with a mixture of anxiety and dread.
"And it seems that they would rather remain hidden than come say a friendly hello," the Dark Lord continued. Now, all of the Death Eaters shifted uncomfortably.
"They did manage to arrive on time, however. So I think that they deserve a thank you for that. Wormtail, please go get them. If I'm not mistaken, they're right over there behind that bush."
Harry and Hermione barely had time to blink before they were being led forcefully by Wormtail to the center of activity.
"Let go of me!" Hermione exclaimed, fighting against Wormtail's surprisingly hard grip.
"I don't think so, dear. We're going to have some fun," Wormtail said gleefully in her ear.
"Ugh, get off!" she replied disgustedly. Struggling all the way but not able to do anything about it, both of them were brought to a stop in front of the menacing wizard.
"How delightful of you to join us!" Voldemort exclaimed amusedly.
"What did you do to Ron?" Harry said fiercely.
"Your precious friend is perfectly fine. Take a look for yourself, if you like," Voldemort replied. "Let go of them, Wormtail."
"Yes, sir," Wormtail immediately stepped back, hands clasped again. Harry's hand, ever so slowly, reached inside his sleeve for his wand. As he felt the cool wood against his palm, Voldemort began to speak again, in the voice that sent shivers down Harry's spine.
"I see you found the Portkey properly. Very smart of you. I suppose Ms. Granger figured it out?" he asked.
"Actually, it was the both of us. Now tell us what you did to Ron," Hermione said through gritted teeth. Harry's fingers grasped around the wand and he started to slowly retrieve it with his fingers as the exchange continued.
"No need to get angry, Ms. Granger," Voldemort answered, now smiling slightly. "I assure you, by the time we are done here, everyone, especially me, will be happy. Expelliarmus!" he suddenly pointed his wand at Harry, whose wand, which had been in his palm, went flying smoothly into Voldemort's outstretched hand as Harry went flying and landed hard on his back.
"Ow!" he gasped softly. He heard Hermione call out his name, but didn't bother to respond as the pain shot through him. He lay there for a split second, then forced his eyes open and his body to stand up and walk back over next to Hermione. He tried to hide his wincing.
"Ooh, VERY good, Mr. Potter! A full speedy recovery!" Voldemort commented. Abruptly, he turned to Ron.
"Are you ready for your task?" he asked Ron, who bowed deeply.
"Stand up!" the wizard ordered. Ron stood at once.
"Come closer!" he raised his voice. Ron shuffled close to the tall figure. Voldemort bent down and whispered something in Ron's ear, causing Ron to nod and smirk. When he was done, Voldemort stood erect once more as Ron turned toward them. There was a pause as everyone stood still, Harry and Hermione facing off to their best friend. The wind whistled as the waves crashed.
Ron raised his hand and pointed it at Harry.
"Ron, wait!" Harry yelled.
There was a spilt second of hesitation before Ron cried, "Crucio!"