Somnio Salvus DRARRY

Chapter 22

The door swung shut behind Harry with a forbiddingclunk. Lucius glared down at him, squeezing his arm tightly. Harry stared back in silence, breathing fast and gripping his wand. He considered attempting to summon his broomstick. Even if he didn't have time to mount it and fly away, with any luck it would whack Lucius on the back of the head. However, before he could collect his thoughts enough to remember the spell, his captor spoke:

'I might have known.'

Harry raised an eyebrow defiantly but didn't reply. Lucius continued in a low, menacing tone.

'Perhaps you can shed some light on a perplexing matter, Mr Potter. I attempted to rejoin the Dark Lord after an exhausting session of Vita Perpetua duty, only to make a startling discovery.' He gestured to the magic-proofed room with a slight flick of his silver-blond head. 'I found my son unconscious, my comrade insensible, and the Dark Lord...missing. There was no clue to suggest what had happened, but I observed at once that the whole situation positively reeked of Harry Potter...' He paused to fix Harry with an accusing look. 'And here you are.'

Harry narrowed his eyes. From somewhere he managed to summon his voice. 'I don't believe for one second that you don't know where Voldemort is!' he snapped.

Lucius looked startled for a moment, as he usually did when anyone was brazen enough to speak Voldemort's name. Then he leaned forward, sneering into Harry's face. 'The Dark Lord has magical methods at his disposal that a mere schoolboy can't even imagine,' he snarled. 'It was inevitable that he would escape from your pathetic little fracas, no matter what brilliant plan you might think you had concocted.'

'Yes, especially since he had a convenient laundry chute at his disposal!' retorted Harry without thinking. Then he mentally kicked himself. If Lucius really hadn't known where Voldemort was, he did now. He held his breath.

Lucius' face froze. He released his grip on Harry's arm and took a step back, surveying Harry speculatively. His expression was completely unreadable. Harry fingered his wand nervously.

'Sometimes the simplest methods are the most effective, but also the hardest to recognise.' Lucius spoke quietly, his voice no longer threatening, but thoughtful. 'Of course, I suspected that you - with your deceptively cunning little brain - would think of it. That is why, when I undertook the magic-proofing of the second bedchamber, I placed the same wards and glyphs of resistance around the laundry basement, unbeknownst to the Dark Lord.'

Harry's jaw dropped in disbelief. Lucius smoothed his hair pensively. His face was an unreadable mask. 'I was looking forward to impressing the Dark Lord with my foresight. You were to end up imprisoned in a cold, dark basement, still unable to use magic. It seems that my plan...backfired somewhat.'

Harry gulped. 'S...so, Voldemort is down there, trapped...until...'

'Until someone opens the door from the outside, yes.'

Harry released his grip on his wand slightly. If Lucius was going to dispose of him, it seemed unlikely that he would be telling him all this. It just seemed rather hard to believe. 'But Voldemort's so...even with the wards and stuff... surely he can...'

Lucius interrupted him again. 'Even a wizard as powerful as my master has to draw on the Earth's natural magic in order to perform spells. The wards warp and deflect that magic so that it is inaccessible. He is no more capable of magic in that basement than I would be. Or you, for that matter.'

Harry wasn't convinced. 'So how come nobody has ever thought of this before? If Voldemort's power can be reduced to nothing by a few simple wards...'

Lucius looked outraged. 'I never said they were simple, Potter. They were developed through years of painstaking research among the Dark Lord's own servants. Nobody has ever tried to use them against him because none of his enemies have the knowledge to perform them, and none of his followers would want to imprison their master. They were intended for you.'