The Last Horcrux

The Cauldron

Dudley burst the lock on Blaise's cage with a confringo charm.They helped him out of the dank cell. He was weak and he stank. He stumbled up the creaky wooden stairs with Dudley and Riot holding him up. He looked at the torture devices scattered about and sank to the ground.

"Any idea where they might have taken Draco?" asked Dudley.

Blaise shook his head. "No. Mr Malfoy seemed.....excited. He was babbling something about Draco's destiny, about......his blood and how pure it was, about how much the Dark Lord would value it, what an honor Draco was about to receive." Blaise shrugged. "He seemed a bit crazed, to tell you the truth. I couldn't figure out what he was on about."

"The Horcrux," whispered Amanda.

"What?" said Balise.

"There's another Horcrux," Amanda said. "They're planning to bring Voldemort back. It sounds like..... like maybe Draco's dad wants to use his blood for the spell. Like they used Harry's blood last time, remember?" she looked over at Dudley meaningfully. "You've heard the stories," she said. "You know what I'm talking about."

Dudley did know. It was part of their family lore, a tale told round the fire on cozy evenings at Spinner's End. Thinking about those times made his yearning for Draco rise to a fever pitch. They had to find him! Where was he?

He turned to Celia and Marco who were still with them, their outlines blurry, their figures slightly transparent. "Where else can we look for Draco?" he pleaded with them. "Any ideas at all?"

Celia and Marco looked at each other.

"Perhaps the cloud maze," said Marco. "It's a good place for concealment And they were working on something in there the other day. I thought it was just basic repairs, but maybe...."

"Let's go," said Dudley.

They made their way out of the House of Horrors and through the nearly deserted paths of the circus. It must be close to morning, Dudley thought. He looked up at the dark sky. There was no sign of the moon. A flicker of lightning illuminated the masses of dense heavy clouds.

The circus seemed more forlorn than ever. There were more cats than people about. The few remaining circus goers hurried from tent to tent, desperately trying to see one more attraction before closing time. The tinny harmonium music played on, ominously. Above them the electric lights buzzed and flickered.

They entered the cloud maze and were immediately surrounded by mist. "Stay together," Dudley hissed. But this proved impossible. Billows of vapor enfolded them and Dudley soon found himself wandering alone, peering through the dense fog. The pathways twisted and turned, lifting him ever higher into the mass of clouds. He had to jump as one pathway ended abruptly and another one appeared several feet below him. He hated this place. He felt as if the clouds were closing in on him, choking him. Where was Draco? They weren't getting anywhere! "Accio Draco!" he cried in desperation. It didn't work. He laid his wand flat in his palm and tried the direction spell. "Invenire Draco," he whispered, but that didn't work either. His wand lay flat and unmoving in his hand. He felt panic rising. He couldn't breathe in all this bloody mist. Another pathway swung in front of him and nearly hit him in the head. He had to get out of here!

Suddenly, the lights went out and the world was thrust into darkness. The harmonium wound down, like an old fashioned record at slow speed and then ground to a halt. Everything was very still.

"Lumos," Dudley whispered. In the light of his wand he saw that the clouds of vapor all around them were dissipating fast. He saw a pathway a few feet below him and jumped. Instead of the mist holding him up, as he had expected, he landed hard and painfully, twisting his ankle.