Chapter Text
Harry felt Greyback's long, yellow, claw-like finger nails digging into his scalp as he seized a tight fistful of his hair. "Grab hold, and make it tight. I'll do Potter!" Harry heard him snap at his comrades, motioning towards Harry's two closest friends and additional acquaintances.
"On three! One... two... three!" They disapparated, pulling the haul of prisoners with them, Harry struggled against Greyback's hold, but his attempts were in vain: Ron and Hermione were pressed against him as that uncomfortable feeling overtook him, his breath being held as if his lungs had ceased to exist - all the while his scar seared increasingly painful still.
The prisoners were thrown into one another as they landed in an unfamiliar country lane. Harry's eyes took a moment to adjust, still puffy from Hermione's attempt of concealing his identity from the Snatchers. He saw a pair of wrought iron gates at the foot of what seemed to be an elongated driveway.
Harry felt a small sliver of relief pass through him. The worst is yet to happen; Voldemort was yet to return home. Harry knew that this meant that the dark wizard had not yet been notified of his capture - though Harry knew that already; none of his captors were real Death Eaters - just their lackeys.
The feeling of relief was quickly washed away when one of the snatchers strode towards the gate, shaking them. Harry's location was sure to quickly be known to Voldemort once they had come into contact with the real Death Eaters, those with the Dark Mark - an instantaneous connection to him.
"How do we get in? They're locked, Greyback, I can’t - blimey!" The snatcher retracted his hands in fright.
The iron was contorting in strange ways, twisting itself out of the connective furls and instead into a frightening face, the voice that came from it was clanging, echoing: "State your purpose!" It commanded.
"We've got Potter!" Greyback replied triumphantly "We've captured Harry Potter!"
The gates swung open instantly, the men marching all of the prisoners through with their heads held high, some of them grinning. Greyback seemed the most pleased, he almost had a skip in his step as he led his troops to victory, their prize in tow.
Harry stumbled as he was dragged to his feet by the gnarly looking man, staggering along sideways as the weight and orientation of the other four prisoners threw off his ability to remain upright.
As he was dragged along, he waited for the powerful surge from his scar that would tell him that Voldemort had been informed, the immense emotion the dark wizard would feel (and share with Harry, possibly unknowingly) when he learned that the object of his deepest desires was so close within reach. It didn't come. This made Harry somehow even more uneasy.
Harry was still fighting off the visions that were increasingly threatening to invade his vision, his concentration - the man that Voldemort had set out to find and had succeeded in doing so.
He felt his scar throb with anger as Voldemort and the unknown man argued, clouding his mind and sight with the unwelcome vision. He wrenched his mind back to his own present as all of the prisoners were dragged over the gravel, nearing the manor behind the iron gates.
The doors opened and light illuminated the small crowd of people. "What is this?" A woman's cold voice rang from the doorway. "We're here to see He Who Must Not Be Named!" Replied Greyback's raspy voice.
"And you are?"
"You know me!" The werewolf seethed, resentment tinging his tone, "Fenrir Greyback! We've caught Harry Potter!" Harry was dragged into the forefront, wincing at the light as the other prisoners were forced to shuffle in turn.
"I know 'e's swollen, ma'am, but its 'im!" Scabor piped up. "And this 'ere, see, the girl? The Mudblood who's been travelling around with 'im, Ma'am. Theres no doubt its 'im and we've got 'is wand as well! 'Ere, ma'am -"
Harry saw Narcissa Malfoy inspecting his swollen face. Scabor thrust Harry's second hand wand at her. She raised her eyebrows speculatively. "Bring them in." She commanded.
Harry and the others were dragged and shoved along broad stone steps and into a long hallway lined with several portraits. They all watched with curious speculation.
"Follow me." Narcissa commanded again, leading them all across the hall. "My son, Draco, is home for his Easter holidays. If that is Harry Potter, he will know."
Harry felt a sense of dread at her words, having to see Malfoy in this state was bad enough, but the thought of Malfoy looking down at them with his shit-eating grin, confirming their identity and practically sealing their fate, sentencing them all to die, almost made Harry wish that Greyback had just torn his face off when he had the chance.
Harry knew that his hatred for Malfoy was a silly thing to focus on at the moment, what with their impending deaths and all, but he couldn't help it. Harry almost wished that Narcissa had just taken Greyback's word for it and called Voldemort herself, just so he didn't have to look at Malfoy's smug face.
The drawing room they were dragged and shunted down into dazzled after the darkness that shrouded them outside, even with eyes practically swollen shut Harry could still make out the expansive proportions of the room. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, more portraits hung against the deep purple walls.
Two tall figures rose from chairs in front of an ornate marble fireplace.
"What is this?" The dreadfully familiar voice of Lucius Malfoy fell on Harry's ears.
Harry bowed his head down and glared at the floor between his knees as both figures approached him. He didn't have to guess who the other approaching figure might've been.
Harry started panicking now; he could see no way out, and as his fear mounted it became easier for him to block out the visions from Voldemorts mind, and his earlier thoughts on his rivalry with Malfoy seemed petty now.
"They say they've got Potter," Narcissa stated coldly. "Draco, come here."
Harry continued to glare at the ground as Malfoy came into view beside his mother, but Harry could picture the smug look on his face, looking down on Harry and laughing his drawling laugh.
"Well, boy?" Greyback rasped
The werewolf grasped Harrys chin and forced him to look up, tearing his glare from the floor. Harry still avoided looking at Malfoy, instead staring between the tall boy and his mother. He was now facing a mirror positioned next to the fireplace, and through his swollen eyes he saw his own reflection for the first time since leaving number 12 Grimmauld place.
His face was swollen, shiny and pink, every one of his features distorted by Hermione's good natured jinx. His black, messy hair reached his shoulders and there was a dark shadow covering his jaw. If he had not known he was looking into a mirror he would have wondered who had stolen his glasses. The shred of hope that appeared from his drastically changed appearance was quickly chased away when Malfoy was prompted. He still had his scar, after all.
"Well, Draco?" Lucius pressed his son. He sounded almost excited. "Is it? Is it Harry Potter?" Harry braced himself for Malfoy's drawling reply.
"I can't - I can't be sure" to Harrys surprise, Malfoy sounded hesitant, maybe even nervous. Harry risked a glance up at his former classmate and found that he was avoiding looking at Harry just as much as Harry was avoiding looking at him.
He actually seemed to be avoiding looking at any of the captured, almost as if he were guilty. Harry narrowed his eyes a fraction at the boy, and noticed that he had grown almost as much as Harry. New lines had carved themselves into his face as though he had aged 10 years, and dark circles were very prominent under his eyes.
"But look at him carefully, look! Come closer!" Malfoy finally looked at Harry, albeit reluctantly. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second. Harry looked back at the wall quickly, for Malfoy's eyes looked haunted, like he had fought in a year long war and only just come out of the other end of it.
"Draco, if we are the ones who hand Potter over to the Dark Lord, everything will be forgiv-"
"Now, we wont be forgetting who actually caught him, I hope, Mr Malfoy?" Greyback interrupted menacingly.
"Of course not, of course not!" Lucius waved him off impatiently, still sounding excited, as if he were a kid who'd just won a fairground game.
Harry wondered what Lucius Malfoy was about to say; forgiven for what? His thoughts were interrupted when Lucius wrenched Harrys chin up again, now approaching the boy himself to scrutinise his face.
The man was looking so closely that Harry was forced to look back at the man, and he could now see the usually languid, pale face in sharp detail even through his swollen eyes.
Lucius's eyes followed the swollen contours of the boy's face, his eyes falling in his scar for a few seconds before he finally seemed satisfied and released him.
"What did you do to him?" Lucius asked Greyback. "How did he get in this state?" The man didn't sound concerned in the slightest for the boy, merely inquisitive.
"That wasn't us."
"Looks like a stinging jinx to me." Lucius said casually, as if talking about the weather
His eyes fell again on the scar donning Harry's forehead.
"Theres something there." He mumbled matter-of-factly "It could be a scar... stretched tight... Draco, come here, look properly! What do you think?" Lucius dragged his son over to look at Harry closely, and they now had no choice but to look at each other.
Harry noticed now how alike Draco and his father looked, though Draco winced reluctantly while Lucius practically jumped for joy.
Harry tried to summon up his best glare at the boy before him, but he just couldn't conjure one up. The Draco Malfoy from Hogwarts who had broken Harry's nose, opened a passage for the Death Eaters to storm the school and threatened to perform the unforgivable curse on Dumbledore seemed to have been replaced by another, identical looking boy.
Only, his replacement was fighting the urge to run from the responsibility of sentencing Harry to his death.
Harry was reminded of the time he had peered through the crack in the bathroom door, only to see Draco in tears, scared and tortured in the mirror.
"I don't know." He said, retreating from his father's insistence and joining his mother a few feet away instead.
"We had better be certain, Lucius" his mother called to her husband in her cold, clear voice. "Completely sure that it is Potter before we summon the Dark Lord... they say this is his," she was inspecting the black thorn wand thrust at her by Scabor "but it does not resemble Ollivander's description... if we are mistaken, if we call the Dark Lord here for mere Mudbloods or Blood Traitors... remember what he did to Rowle and Dolohov? What he wants to do to us already for your- our mistakes... This would surely be what would tip him over that edge."
Lucius stiffened at her words, and Harry seemed now, to understand Draco Malfoy's hesitation and nervousness. The haunted look in his eyes. Lucius's excitement. The Malfoys were clearly not very high ranking on the Death Eater scale at the moment, maybe since Harry's escape at the ministry had led to Lucius Malfoy's capture and imprisonment in Azkaban.
"What about the Mudblood, then?" Growled Greyback, clearly growing tired. Harry was nearly thrown on his side as the snatchers forced the prisoners to swivel around again, so that Hermione was now in the centre for identification.
"Wait," Narcissa piped up again sharply. "Yes - yes, she was in Madam Malkin's with Potter! I saw her picture in the Prophet! Look, Draco, isn't it the Granger girl?" Narcissa now sounded as excited as Lucius.
"I... maybe... yeah." Malfoy still sounded hesitant, but could no longer feign ignorance when his own parents were able to identify an unaltered Hermione.
"But then, thats the Weasley boy!" Shouted Lucius, walking around the circle of prisoners to look at Ron, also unaltered. "It's them, Potter's friends - Draco look at him, isn't it Arthur Weasley's son, what's his name-?"
"Yeah," said Draco again, quietly, his back to the prisoners, completely eclipsing his fathers excited tone with his own defeated one. "It could be."
The drawing room door opened behind them and a woman spoke from it, the sound of her voice gave Harry a fresh surge of fear.
"What's this? What's happened, Cissy?" Bellatrix Lestrange addressed her sister, Narcissa, slowly walking around the prisoners, stopping right by Harry and staring down at Hermione through her heavily lidded eyes.
"But surely," she said quietly, "this is the Mudblood girl? Granger, was it?"
"Yes, yes, it's Granger!" Cried Lucius, his excitement reaching an all time high from someone else confirming their theory "and beside her, we think, Potter! Potter and his friends caught at last!"
"Potter?" Shrieked Bellatrix, backing away for a better look at the other prisoners. "Are you sure? Well, then, the Dark Lord must be informed at once!" She hastily lifted her left sleeve, revealing the dark mark that Harry had been dreading since he had landed before the wrought iron gates out front, he knew that she was about to touch it with her wand, summoning her beloved master.
"I was about to call him!" Shouted Lucius, seizing her wrist and wrenching it out of her easy reach, preventing her from touching the mark. "I shall summon him, Bella, Potter has been bought to my house, and it is therefore upon my authority-"
"Your authority?" She sneered, attempting to wrench her wrist from his grasp, "You lost your authority when you lost your wand, Lucius! How dare you! Take your hands off me!" She spat back at him with outrage.
"This is nothing to do with you, you did not capture the boy-"
"Begging your pardon Mr Malfoy,” Greyback interjected with distain, "but it is us that caught Potter, and it is us that will be claiming the gold-”
"Gold!" Laughed Bellatrix, still attempting to free herself from her brother-in-law's grip, her free hand groping around in her robes for her wand. "Take your gold, filthy scavenger!" She said with disgust, her tone laced with venom. "What do I want with gold? I seek only the honour of his- of-"
She had stopped struggling, her sentence dying in her throat, her dark eyes fixed on something out of Harry's sight. Finding triumph in her ceasing resistance, Lucius threw her hand from him and ripped away his own sleeve before turning back towards his wife and son.
"Draco, bring me your wand!" He barked back to them, making him flinch and look between his father and the prisoners hesitantly.
"STOP!" Bellatrix shrieked. "Do not! We shall perish if the Dark Lord comes now!" Lucius froze, his hand held behind him expectantly as he waited for Draco to bring him a wand. Bellatrix marched out of Harry's field of view.
"What is that?" He heard her demand.
"Sword." Grunted an out-of-sight Snatcher.
"Give it to me" Bellatrix demanded
"It’s not yorn, Missus, its mine, I reckon I found it" the snatcher replied, sounding like a child who were protecting a toy. Harry would have found it funny if it wasn't for the dire situation.
There was a flash of red light accompanied with a bang and Harry knew that the protesting Snatcher had been stunned for his defiance. There was a roar of anger from his allies and Scabior drew his wand. "What d'you think you're playing at woman?" He demanded.
"Stupefy," she screamed "Stupefy!"
They could not resist her power, even though there were four of them against one of her; she was a witch with remarkable skill and little conscience. They all fell where they had stood, excluding Greyback, who had been forced into a kneeling position, his arms outstretched in front of him, bracing himself on the ground.
Harry saw, from the corner of his eye, Lestrange bearing down upon the werewolf, the sword of Gryffindor gripped tightly in her hand, as if she were afraid of dropping or misplacing it, her face pale and expression grim.
"Where did you get this sword?" She whispered to Greyback, a hint of fear in her tone, pulling his wand from his grip, disarming him, however pointlessly.
"How dare you?" He snarled up at her, speech being the only action he could do as he was forced to look up at her. He bared his sharp teeth at her. "Release me, woman!"
"Where did you find this sword?" She repeated again with the patience of a worn out mother addressing a misbehaving child. She waved the sword in front of him almost threateningly. "Snape sent it to my vault in Gringotts!"
"It was in their tent!" Greyback growled back "Release me, I say!"
She flicked her wand and the werewolf sprang to his feet, but decided it too risky to approach her. He prowled behind an armchair, his filthy, outgrown nails clutching its back.
"Draco, move this scum outside," Bellatrix commanded, motioning to the unconscious men. "If you haven't got the guts to finish them, just leave them in the courtyard for me."
"Don't you dare speak to Draco like-" Narcissa argued furiously, but Bellatrix screamed, "Be quiet! The situation is graver than you can possibly imagine Cissy! We have a very serious problem!"
Malfoy ignored the quarrel between his mother and aunt, seeming grateful for the chance to leave the room. He passed the prisoners, avoiding looking at any of them as he gathered up the Snatchers, each one floating into the air with a wave of his wand. Then he left wordlessly, each prisoner floating after him, presumably into the courtyard.
Bellatrix stood, panting lightly, looking down at the sword and examining its hilt. She turned to look at the silent prisoners. "If it is indeed potter, he must not be harmed," she muttered, mostly to herself it seemed. "The Dark Lord wishes to dispose of Potter himself... but if he finds out that... I must... I must know..." She muttered further before turning to her sister.
"The prisoners must be placed in the cellar, while I think of what to do!" She barked.
"This is my house, Bella, you don't give orders in my-" Narcissa argued "DO IT! You have no idea the danger we are in!" Interrupted Bellatrix with a shriek; she looked frightening, her wand burning a hole into the carpet as a thin stream of fire issued from the end of it.
Malfoy returned, seemingly having chosen to just remove the unconscious Snatchers and not 'finish them off' as Bellatrix had requested. He moved silently through the room, his eyes on the floor still as he found his place next to his mother. No one acknowledged his return, either.
Narcissa hesitated before addressing the only remaining Snatcher, Greyback. "Take those prisoners down to the cellar, Greyback."
"Wait." Bellatrix added sharply. "All except..." She regarded every prisoner one by one "except for the Mudblood" Her eyes had settled on Hermione, and Harry felt a sense of dread rise from the pit of his stomach as the group was thrown into chaos, Ron and Harry struggling against the bindings as Greyback approached.
"No!" Shouted Ron "You can have me! Keep me!"
Bellatrix hit him across the face, the resounding slap echoing across the room as silence fell upon all the other prisoners.
"If she dies under questioning, I'll take you next" she snapped, and out of the corner of Harry's eye, he saw Draco flinch "Blood traitor is next to Mudblood in my book. Take them downstairs, Greyback, and make sure they are secure, but do nothing more to them - yet."
She threw Greyback's wand back to him, then took a short silver knife from her robes. She cut the ropes binding Hermione to the other prisoners, then dragged her by the hair into the middle of the room while Greyback forced the rest of them to another door and into a dark passageway, Ron still struggling against him and shouting for Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of Malfoy as he was dragged out, his expression looking grave.
Greyback held his wand out in front of him, projecting an invisible and irresistible force, pushing them all further down the corridor. "Reckon she'll let me have a bit of the girl when she finished with her?" Greyback taunted as he pressed them further into the corridor "I'd say I'll get a bite or two, wouldn't you, ginger?"
Harry could feel Ron shaking next to him, mirroring him as they were forced down a flight of stairs, still tied back to back and in danger of toppling down them all from one wrong move. Harry almost felt grateful for Greyback's tight hold on them, for he was sure that without it at least one of them would have fallen and broken their necks.
At the bottom there was a very heavy door, which Greyback unlocked with a tap of his wand, before pushing them all into a dank and dingy room, shrouded in complete darkness. The echoing clang of the cellar door had not died away before there was a terrible, drawn out, ear-splitting scream from directly above them.
"HERMIONE!" Ron cried, beginning to writhe and struggle against the ropes holding them all together, making Harry stagger "HERMIONE"
"Be quiet!" Harry tried to hush him "Shut up, Ron, we ned to work out a way-" He was interrupted by Ron bellowing Hermione's name a few more times, apparently not even having heard Harry's protests. "We need a plan, stop yelling - we need to get these ropes off-"
"Harry?" Harry was interrupted again by a whisper from the darkness "Ron? Is that you?"
Ron had stopped shouting now, there was a sound of movement close by them, then Harry saw the outline of a small figure moving closer. "Harry? Ron?" The voice asked again.
"Luna?"
"Yes, it's me! Oh, no, I didn't want you to be caught!" Luna's familiar voice floated towards them "Luna, can you help us get these ropes off?" Harry asked.
"Oh, yes, I expect so... theres an old nail we use if we need to break anything... just a moment..." Hermione screamed again from overhead, and they could hear Bellatrix screaming too, but her words were inaudible over Rons repeated screaming having started up again.
"Mr Ollivander?" Harry could hear Luna saying. "Mr Ollivander, have you got the nail? If you just move over a bit... I think it was beside the water jug..." she had returned to the new arrivals within seconds. "You'll need to stay still" she advised them all.
Harry could feel her digging at the ropes tough fibres to work the knots free. From above them, they heard Bellatrix's demanding shout "I'm going to ask you again! Where did you find this sword? Where?"
"We found it - we found it - PLEASE!" Hermione screamed again, causing Ron to struggle once more - harder than ever, causing the rusty nail to slip, almost cutting Harry's wrist. "Ron, please stay still!" Luna begged "I can't see what I’m doing-"
"My pocket!" Ron declared suddenly "In my pocket, theres a Deluminator, and it’s full of light!"
A few seconds later, there was a click and several luminescent spheres that had been sucked from the lamps in the tent flew up into the cellar; unable to rejoin their original sources they just floated around, like miniature suns, illuminating the entirety of the cellar.
Harry watched Luna, her eyes looking even more gigantic in her pale face, and the motionless figure of Ollivander the wand maker, curled up in the corner.
Craning his head round, he could make out their fellow prisoners: Dean and Griphook the goblin, who seemed to be barely clinging into conciseness, kept standing only by the ropes binding him to his fellow human prisoners.
"Oh, thats much easier. Thanks Ron. " Luna chimed as she continued hacking at their bindings. "Hello, Dean!"
Bellatrix's voice came booming from upstairs. "You are lying, filthy Mudblood, and I know it! You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth! Tell the truth!" Another terrible scream pierced through the air.
"HERMIONE!" Ron screamed again
"What else did you take? What else have you got? Tell me the truth or, I swear, I shall run you through with this knife!"
"There!"
Harry felt the ropes fall from his wrists, and all of the prisoners fell away from each other, massaging their wrists and rolling their shoulders. All except Griphook and Ron, who began running around the small room, inspecting the ceiling and walls for a way out, a way upstairs.
Dean thanked Luna, standing shivering with his face bruised and bloody, but Griphook sank to the floor looking groggy and disoriented, his swollen face littered with welts.
Ron was attempting to Disapperate without a wand. "There's no way out, Ron." Luna said grimly, watching Ron's efforts. "The cellar is completely escape proof. I tried, at first. Mr Ollivander has been here for a long time, he's tried everything."
Hermione's scream pierced through the air again; the sound shot through Harry like a bullet. Barely conscious of the burning pain searing his scar now, he too began scoring the walls and ceiling of the cellar, looking for a way up, knowing that it was useless.
"What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME! CRUCIO!" Hermione's screams ripped through the air, as if there were no ceiling or walls separating them from her. Ron was half sobbing as he desperately pounded at the walls surrounding them, like he hoped that if he hit hard enough the walls would come down altogether.
Feeling a similar wash of desperation, Harry groped around in the pouch tied around his neck that Hagrid had gifted him. He pulled out the snitch left to him by Dumbledoor and shook it fruitlessly, hoping for something - anything. Nothing happened, of course. He poured out all of the contents of the pouch in front of him, waving the broken halves of his phoenix wand - nothing happened yet again, not even a crackle of magic.
A flash of blue caught his attention from the broken mirror fragment on the floor, just like it had back in his room at number 4 Privet Drive. Dumbledoor's eye was staring up at him, however impossibly. "Help us!" He yelled at it in mad desperation. "We're in the cellars at Malfoy Manor, help us!"
The eye blinked once and then disappeared. Harry couldn't be sure that he really saw it, maybe he really was just going mad with desperation. Dumbledore was dead, after all. He inspected the mirror fragment still, tilting it this way and that, but saw nothing except himself, or the walls of the cellar reflected back at him, depending on which way he tilted it.
Upstairs, Hermione's screaming was worse than ever, and Ron was still calling her name desperately, not ceasing his search for an exit even though he was inspecting the same area of wall for probably the 7th time.
"How did you get into my vault?" Bellatrix demanded, screeching above them "Did that dirty little goblin in the cellar help you?"
"We only met him tonight!" Hermione sobbed back at her "We've never been inside your vault... it isn't even the real sword! It's a copy! Just a copy!"
"A copy?" Shrieked Bellatrix disbelievingly "Oh, a likely story!"
"But we can find out easily!" Rang Lucius Malfoy's voice "Draco! Fetch the goblin, he can tell us whether the sword is real or not!"
Everyone froze and Ron had finally ceased his search. Harry dashed across to the goblin that was hunched on the floor.
"Griphook," he whispered down at the goblin "You must tell them that the sword is a fake, they mustn't know it’s the real one, Griphook, please-"
Footsteps echoed down the stone steps leading down to the cellar, and everyone stopped to listen. Draco Malfoy's voice came through the door, small and shaking "Stand back. Line up against the back wall. Don't try anything, or I'll kill you!" His threat didn't sound very threatening, but Harry concluded that if he needed to, he probably would. Plus, it's not like they could do much, wandless.
They all did as they were instructed, lining up beside each other on the wall furthest from the door. As the lock turned, Ron clicked the deluminator again, bestowing darkness upon the room once again. The door flew open and Malfoy marched inside, his wand held out in front of him threateningly.
He kept his eyes on all of the prisoners but never seemed to really look at Harry. Harry noticed in the dim light coming from the stairwell that Malfoy looked pale, almost sick, and afraid. His wand shook in his hand ever so subtly, betraying his fear in that moment.
He quickly seized the goblin by the arm and backed out of the room, dragging Griphook with him, wand still pointing at the others against the wall. If Malfoy noticed that they were no longer bound together, he didn't say anything or give any indication that he cared. Maybe he was just relived that he didn't have to hang around to separate Griphhook from the others, Harry thought.
As soon as the metal door slammed closed, a loud crack echoed inside the cellar. Ron clicked the deluminator, releasing the collected lights once again, revealing Dobby the house elf, who had just apparated before them.
"DOB-" Harry had to shove Ron slightly to stop him from shouting and alerting their captors. Ron paled at his mistake as they all silently listened to the footsteps overhead, listening for hesitation or disturbance that would let them know if they had been alerted to Dobby's arrival. The footsteps marched forward, Malfoy delivering Griphook to Bellatrix and retreating, presumably, back to his mother.
Dobby's enormous, tennis ball shaped eyes were wide and he was trembling from the tips of his pointed ears to the ends of his misshapen toes, clearly petrified to be back in the home of his old masters. "Harry Potter" he squeaked, barely audible even in the resounding silence of the cellar. "Dobby has come to rescue you."
"But how did you-?" An awful scream cut Harry's question short; Hermione was being tortured again. He skipped past anything irrelevant and cut to the essential.
"You can Disapperate out of this cellar?" He asked the elf, who nodded, still terrified. "And you can take humans with you?" Dobby nodded again.
Harry set into action. "Right, Dobby, I want you to grab Luna, Dean and Mr Ollivander and take them to... to the forest, we've set up a campsite in a concealed forest. Cast a concealment spell and come back. Can you do that, Dobby?"
"Of course, Harry Potter." Whimpered the elf, who hurried over to Mr Ollivander, who appeared barely conscious. He took the wand makers hand and then held out the other to Dean and Luna, both of them remained where they stood.
"Harry, we want to help you!" Luna protested, joined by Dean "We can't leave you here"
"Go! Both of you! We'll meet you there. Just stay quiet and hidden, start packing up the tent, were going to have to move anyway."
As Harry spoke, his scar burned worse than ever, and for a moment, Voldemorts vision clouded his own, threatening to take over. He felt the Dark Wizard's fury, but shut it out at the sound of Hermione's deafening scream, returning to his own present.
"Go! We'll follow, just go!" Harry urged at Luna and Dean. They caught the elf's outstretched hand, and there was another loud crack as the elf vanished along with the other three prisoners.
"What was that?" Lucius Malfoy yelled above them "Did you hear that? What was that noise in the cellar?" Harry and Ron looked at each other worriedly, now being the only two left in that room. "Draco - no, call Wormtail! Make him go and check!"
The pair listened as footsteps stormed across the room above them, then there was nothing. No screaming, no arguing, nothing. They knew that everyone was listening out for more noises coming from the cellar.
"We're going to have to try and take him down." Harry whispered to Ron.
They had no choice, the moment that anyone entered the cellar and noticed the absence of three prisoners, the alarm would be sounded and they'd have no chance at escape - especially if they wanted to rescue Hermione.
"Leave the lights on." He added, as footsteps sounded from the stairs descending down into the cellar. They both stationed themselves either side of the door, backing up against the wall.
"Stand back." Came Wormtail's shaky voice "Stand away from the door. I am coming in." The door creaked open, and for a split second Wormtail gazed into the seemingly empty cellar, lit up with the light from the three miniature suns floating around the ceiling.
Harry and Ron wasted no time, launching themselves onto him. Ron grasped Wormtail's wand wielding arm and forced it upwards as Harry slapped his hand over his mouth, muffling his voice.
They struggled silently, Wormtail's wand emitted sparks while Ron struggled to disarm him properly. His silver hand wrapped around Harry's throat and closed, cutting off Harry's air supply. Harry grasped at his wrist, attempting to pry it away from him, but Wormtail just pressed harder.
"What is it, Wormtail?" Called down Lucius Malfoy. "Nothing!" Ron called back in a passable imitation of Wormtail's wheezy voice "All fine!"
Harry could barely breathe now.
"You're going to kill me?" Harry managed to choke out, clawing at the man’s metal fingers "After I saved your life? You owe me, Wormtail!"
The grip on his throat slackened. Harry had not expected it, but he didn't let this chance go to waste. He wrenched himself free, keeping his hand clasped firmly over Wormtail's mouth. He saw the rat-looking man's small, watery eyes widen in shock and fear. He seemed just as surprised by his actions than Harry was, if not more. He struggled even more now, attempting to make up in his apparent small lapse in judgement, however involuntary it may have been.
"And we'll have that!" Ron whispered in triumph, snatching Wormtail's wand and leaving him totally powerless as they had recently been. Wormtail's eyes widened in terror, now wandless, helpless. His silver hand gave up trying to find Harry's throat now and instead settled on his own, tightening inexplicably as it had just done to Harry.
"No!"
Harry had now began trying to pry the silver hand from Wormtail's neck, but there was no stopping it. The powerful, silver tool that Voldemort had given his most cowardly servant had turned against it’s own disarmed and defeated owner. Pettigrew was reaping his reward for his apparent moment of hesitation and was now being strangled before their eyes.
"No!"
Ron had also released Wormtail now, and both he and Harry were trying to pry the iron grip of the silver hand from around the throat of the man who had just been trying to kill Harry. It was no use, Wormtail had started to turn blue.
"Relashio!" Cried Ron, pointing Pettigrew's wand at the silver hand, but nothing happened. Wormtail dropped to his knees, and at the same moment, Hermione screamed a dreadful scream from above. Wormtail's eyes rolled back into his head, his face purple now as he gave one final twitch and then remained still.
Harry and Ron exchanged one final glance before leaving Pettigrew's body behind them, running up the stairs and back up to the shadowy passageway that led them back to the drawing room. They quietly crept along it until they reached the door to the room, which had been left ajar, presumably by Wormtail or Malfoy.
They both peered through the gap in the open door, now having a clear view of Bellatrix looking down at Griphook, who was inspecting the sword of Gryffindor clasped in his long fingered hands. Hermione was lain at Bellatrix's feet, barely moving.
"Well?" Bellatrix prompted Griphook impatiently "Is it the true sword?"
Harry held his breath, waiting to hear the goblins response, fighting to ignore the prickling of his scar. "No," Griphook responded "It is a fake."
"Are you certain?" Bellatrix panted "Entirely certain?"
"Yes" the goblin confirmed.
Relief broke across her expression, all tension drained from her body. Harry also noticed Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy relax on the far side of the room, but Draco remained still.
Harry became completely frozen as he looked over at them. Draco Malfoy was staring straight at Harry. He had seen them, knew that he and Ron had escaped, but why had he not alerted anyone? Harry bit his lip and almost jumped out of his skin when the goblin yelped, dropping to his knees after the evil witch had slashed at his face with her wand, creating another gash.
Looking back over at Draco, he had looked away from the door where Harry and Ron stood, now watching his aunt as she kicked aside the goblin with triumph. Maybe Harry had imagined things. Maybe Draco hadn't seen them at all, or maybe he was looking their way but the passageway had been dark enough for them to remain hidden in it’s shadows.
"And now!" Bellatrix declared "We call the Dark Lord!"
Harry felt his scar burst with rage as Lestrange pressed upon the dark mark on her forearm with her wand, much to Lucius' distain.
Harry's true surroundings vanished. He could no longer see Ron or Hermione, nor could he worry about Draco Malfoy now staring straight at both of them again. He was now Voldemort, being in the middle of the task that Harry had been fighting off visions about this whole night. He was enraged at the summons - having warned them, having told them that he is to be summoned for nothing less than Potter. If they were mistaken...
Voldemort’s fury broke as he cursed the man before him, having failed at obtaining the object that he had sought out to retrieve. Voldemort returned to the window, his fury barely contained... they would all suffer if they had called him back for any reason other than to finally end Harry Potter.
"And I think," Harry had been bought back to his own present by Bellatrix's ringing voice "we can dispose of the Mudblood. Greyback, take her if you want her."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Ron had burst into the drawing room, much to Bellatrix's surprise. Almost everyone froze in shock at the sudden outburst from the prisoner they had thought remained locked up in the dungeon. Everyone except Draco Malfoy, it seemed, who was apparently already aware of their presence at the door. Bellatrix pointed her wand at Ron now.
"Expelliarmus!" He yelled, aiming Pettigrew's wand back at her, Bellatrix's wand flew into the air and Harry jumped up and caught it, having sprinted in half a moment later than Ron.
Lucius, Narcissa and Greyback wheeled about; Harry waved Bellatrix's wand at them and cast a stunning spell, hitting Lucius square in the chest causing him to fall motionless on to the hearth.
Both Narcissa and Greyback shot spells at them, and Harry had to roll behind the sofa, narrowly avoiding every one.
"STOP OR SHE DIES!" Harry and Ron heard Bellatrix screech. Panting, Harry peered round the edge of the sofa to see the woman holding up Hermione, holding a small silver knife up to her throat. "Drop your wands" she panted "Drop them! Or we’ll see how filthy her blood truly is!"
They both stood rigid, clutching the wands. Harry straightened up, mentally reeling, trying to come up with a plan of escape without anyone getting more hurt. He couldn't see one.
"I said drop them!" Bellatrix screeched again, pressing the blade into the skin on Hermione's throat.
"All right!" Harry shouted back, dropping her wand at his feet as he saw Ron do the same. They both lifted their hands up in surrender.
"Good!" She leered at them "Draco! Do something useful and pick them up!" She snapped, and it was only then that Harry realised that Draco had made no move to attack them once they stormed in. "The Dark Lord is coming, Harry Potter! Your death approaches!"
Harry knew she was right, he felt his scar almost bursting from the pain, and he could feel Voldemort flying through the sky, making his way towards them from mountains far away.
He watched Malfoy as he approached them, quickly gathering up their discarded wands without looking up at either of them. Ron thought about booting him in the head just for kicks as he bent down, but obviously thought better of it. He had to focus on Hermione now.
"Now," Bellatrix spoke softly as Malfoy backed away from the both of them, wands in hand. "Cissy, I think we ought to tie our little heroes up again, while Greyback feasts on the little Mudblood. I am sure the Dark Lord would begrudge you the girl, after what you have bought us tonight." The woman added just to Greyback.
Harry saw Ron stiffen next to him, and silently prayed that he wouldn't do something stupid and get himself killed.
Just as Ron was about to set himself on Greyback, there was a grinding noise from above them, stopping everyone in their tracks. Everyone peered up just in time to see the giant crystal chandelier tremble, and with a creak and an ominous clinking noise, it began to fall.
Bellatrix was the first to move, being directly beneath it. She dropped Hermione and threw herself out of the way with a scream.
The chandelier crashed onto the floor in an explosion of crystal and chain links, falling atop Hermione and the goblin, who still clutched onto the 'imitation' sword of Gryffindor. Shards of crystal flew in all directions, avoiding Harry and Ron who were protected by the sofa they had took refuge behind earlier.
Ron ran to pull Hermione from the pile of glittering wreckage, and Harry took his chance as Draco was stood staring stupidly at the scene unfolding before him. Harry wrestled all three wands out of Malfoy's grip, which was surprisingly easy due to the fact that Malfoy hadn't even been paying attention to what Harry was doing.
He pointed all of them at Greyback, yelling "Stupefy!" The wolf was lifted off his feet by the force of the triple spell and was thrown into the ceiling, then pummelled back into the ground.
Draco stood dumfounded behind Harry, seemingly unaware of what just happened. Harry pocketed two of the wands and pointed one at Malfoy threateningly, deciding that it couldn't hurt to have a hostage. Malfoy put his hands up, finally looking Harry in the eye - properly.
Harry stared back and was surprised to see that Malfoy wasn't glaring at him with hatred as he would have expected - he looked scared, defeated.
"Dobby!" Narcissa screamed, seemingly unaware that her son was being held at wand-point. Bellatrix even froze at her exclamation "You! You dropped the chandelier-?"
The tiny elf trotted into the room, his shaking finger pointing at his old mistress. "You must not hurt Harry Potter" He squeaked bravely.
"Kill him, Cissy!" Bellatrix shrieked before there was another loud crack and Narcissa's wand flew into the air and landed on the other side of the room. Draco flinched as his mother was disarmed, but made no move to help her. There wasn't much he could do, being disarmed himself. Harry bared down on him anyway, backing him further into the wall.
"You dirty little monkey!" Screeched Bellatrix "How dare you take a witches wand, how dare you defy your masters?" She demanded.
"Dobby has no master!" Squealed the elf. "Dobby is a free elf, Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and his friends!"
Harry knew that they had only moments - seconds - before Voldemort was with them; his scar was almost blinding with pain. "Ron! Catch, and GO!" He yelled to Ron, who had a stirring Hermione on his arm. He threw one of the wands to him before bending down and tugging Griphook from under the chandelier. He hoisted the goblin, still clinging to the sword, up over his shoulder before seizing Dobby's hand and spinning on the spot to Disapperate.
He caught one last glimpse of the room before it faded into darkness, one last glimpse of the pale figures that were Narcissa and Draco, standing so far apart, a streak of red that was Ron's hair and a blur of glinting silver as Bellatrix's knife flew across the room to where he was vanishing. The last thing he saw was a blur of pale skin surrounding him, and he guessed that Malfoy had attempted to drag them back, having been the one standing closest to them.
He thought of the campsite they had last inhabited, willing his body to go there as that uncomfortable feeling pressed his lungs into nonexistence.
He felt the bodies of the others that he had bought with him pressed up against him, too. Dobby on his front, Griphook on his back with the sword between them.
But there were too many hands, Harry thought. He could feel Dobby's hand in his own, he could feel Griphook's hands on his chest as his arms wrapped around his neck for stability, but he could feel another set of hands wrapped around his forearm... or maybe it was just one hand? Could it have been Dobby's other hand, guiding him in the right direction? But it felt much too big to belong to a house elf.