Chapter 17

All canon characters belong to JKR.

Thanks to June for her help in doing the beta work.

Chapter 17

Harry smiled, “Good to know I can still keep you on your toes, Draco.”

“Have you found anybody?” asked Draco.

“No,” Harry said, shaking his head. “This place is turning out to be some sort of a maze.” They both heard voices coming from around the corner.

“Quickly,” whispered Draco, “back this way.” He grabbed Harry by the arm, and they both ducked behind the narrow stairway that Draco had just descended from.

“I have him over this way,” they heard Bellatrix say, just as she walked by.

“Where is his son?” they heard Lucius ask.

“Just at the other end of the hall, with my soon-to-be protégé,” answered Bella. Harry and Draco listened as Bella and Lucius continued to walk further down the dimly lit hallway, until their voices disappeared.

“That’s my cue,” said Draco. “I’ll get them out of here. You be careful, Harry, and please, make sure they both…” Draco choked on his words. He loved his father very much, and Severus was dear to him as well. He did not want them to die at the hands of that mad woman.

“Voldemort didn’t kill them, and she won’t either. Don’t worry. Go get the kids, and do as Lucius says. We’ll see you back at Hogwarts.” Harry patted him on the shoulder, and then went off in the direction where he had last heard Lucius’ and Bellatrix’s voices trail off.

Meanwhile, Draco went in the opposite direction. There were many doors along his way, and he looked in every single one. He had begun to lose hope, thinking perhaps Bella had lied to Lucius. But then he reached the second to last door, and found it to be locked. ‘This has to be it,’ he thought.

He tried the most obvious action first, and turned the knob. Nothing. He then felt for wards, which he found to be quite sophisticated. He knocked, wanting to make sure he had the right door, as well as wanting to make sure his sister and Raven were still all right.

“Odette, Raven, are you in there?” he asked quietly.

On the other side of the door, Odette lifted her head from Raven’s chest. They had been gently curled up together, and had fallen asleep. Raven had spent a difficult night. The day before, he had broken a rib when his body hit the wall, from Bellatrix’s spell. His ankle was swollen as well, and had been causing him pain. He had only just fallen asleep as the sun was rising. Odette untangled herself from his arms and moved slowly to the door.

“Draco? Is that you?” Odette asked, hoping it was truly her brother.

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, it’s me. Is Raven there with you?”

“He is, but he’s hurt and in such awful pain. Please, Draco, can you get us out of here?” she pleaded.

Draco looked around him to make sure no one was approaching.

“I’m working on the wards,” he answered. “It might take me a while. Step back, just in case.”

Odette moved away and sat back down next to Raven, who had begun to wake up.

“What’s happening?” Raven asked weakly, barely able to breathe because of his broken rib.

“It’s Draco. He’s come to get us out of here,” she said, caressing his cheek as she held his head to her chest. Raven was struggling for air. “Hang on, love. We shall be home soon.” She kissed his forehead.

After several very long minutes, the door opened slowly. Draco walked inside, the tip of his wand in front of him lighting the way in the slightly dark cell. He saw them huddled in the corner and immediately ran to them. He hugged his sister and kissed her cheek. He looked down at Raven, who had lost consciousness.

“What did she do to him?” Draco asked.

“He was trying to protect me yesterday. That woman cast a spell his way, and he hit the wall very hard. He’s got an awful bruise on his side. I think he has a broken rib, and his ankle might be broken as well.” She looked at her brother with tears in her eyes.

Draco smiled and brushed the hair from her face.

“Don’t worry. Raven Snape comes from very strong stock. He’ll be fine. Let’s get you two out of here.” Draco carefully picked up Raven, trying not to cause him any more pain. Raven moaned and began to stir.

“It’s all right, mate. I’m taking you back to Hogwarts,” Draco assured him.

“Did you come alone?” asked Odette.

Draco shook his head. He then led her out of the cell while carrying Raven, all the while looking around them, making sure they were not being followed.

“No,” Draco said. “Father is here, and so is Harry.”

“And where is Uncle Severus?” Odette asked, wondering why he was not mentioned.

“He is here. Bellatrix captured him this afternoon.” As Draco finished speaking, Raven lifted his head slightly.

“What? We’ve got to help him.” Raven began to struggle to get free from Draco’s grasp, but was too weak.

“Keep still, Raven. Father and Harry will see to him. I came to get you two out of here. Now hush and save your strength.” Draco reached the top of the stairs, and set Raven down in the kitchen. “I need to make sure there is no one about up here. Watch him for a moment,” he said to his sister.

Odette nodded and sat next to Raven, while Draco looked around the house. He knew Bellatrix would be with Lucius, but wondered where Pettigrew had wandered off to. Draco saw a movement out of the corner of his eye, and ran towards it. As he reached a pile of books on the floor, he noticed a rodent tail disappear into the floorboards.

“Damn!” Draco yelled. He ran back to the kitchen and picked up Raven. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

Odette ran to the back door and quickly opened it as Draco followed with Raven in his arms. As they ran towards the forest, Osiris and Crookshanks spotted them.

“Thank the Gods, Draco’s got them,” said Crookshanks.

“Raven looks like he’s been hurt. We should go to him,” Osiris said. He started to ready himself to fly away but was stopped by Crookshanks’ paw.

“No, Draco will take care of him,” Crookshanks reminded him. “We’ve got to stay here. Pettigrew is still about, remember? And we need to make sure nobody else goes in there.”

Osiris looked down at him and nodded. “You’re right. When I get my hands on that rat, I’ll…” Osiris began angrily flapping his wings.

“You’ll what? Choke him to death with your muscular feathers?”

“Oh, right. Well, I’ll think of something.” Forgetting for a moment he had wings, Osiris mentally cursed himself. There was no way he would allow Pettigrew to get away. He knew Lucius and Harry would get Severus out of there, as well as take care of Bellatrix. But Pettigrew belonged to him. Osiris narrowed his eyes as he looked back towards the house. He thought back on his days as a man, his days spent with his cousin Severus during the summer. He remembered all those summer nights spent pouring over books containing all manner of Dark Spells. Yes, Osiris knew just what he would do to Peter Pettigrew.

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I hope you liked this chapter. I'll have more soon.