Unbroken

Thursday Night, Week 2 (2)

Harry POV

"There's still time for you two to back out, you don't have to do this," I tell my two compatriots, Kingsley and Minerva, as we stand in front of the entrance to Little Hangleton Graveyard. I know exactly where the prisoners are being kept because it's the same house where the Dark Tosser stayed in during my fourth year. It is also the only building left standing in the massive yard.

Nothing much has changed from the last time I was here seven years ago except for the massive overgrowth of vines and bushes. I'm taken back to the maze I fought my way out of in fourth year to get here but quickly bat it back. Last time I was here, the Dark Tosser rose to life and subjected my world to years of misery. Safe to say, I hate this place.

"We're with you to the end of the line, Harry," Kingsley affirms with Minerva echoing his sentiment wordlessly.

Stiffly, I nod at them before blasting the wrought iron gate of the graveyard open to grant us entry. We step through and are immediately greeted with a sense of uneasiness as we try to maneuver our way through the maze of shrubbery and vines. I barely have time to react before a vine tries to lash at me and ensnare me. I roll out of the way and send a quick cutting curse at it, killing it.

"The vines are enchanted, keep your head up," I order my makeshift team.

Coaxing my way through the area has gotten a lot more difficult now that I have to deal with the overgrowth but it's the least of my worries. If Dolohov is as smart as I know him to be, there's likely to be a veritable army of men ready to kill me and my team on my way to Hermione.

I round the corner and freeze instantly once I catch sight of three men pissing about and doing nothing. I know they haven't yet seen me because of the darkness of the night coupled with my auror robes so I signal to Kingsley and Minerva, who are right next to me, to send their stunners at them.

"Shack take left, Minnie take right, I have middle," I say to them before all three of our wands send out a flash of red that hits the men square in their chests. They drop like flies without a sound.

We take our time in creeping over to them until I get to their bodies and steal their wands away. Noticing Minnie's and Kingsley's looks, I tell them, "Hermione and the rest of them don't have their wands."

"Come on," I beckon them in a whisper as we stalk through the maze. The vines prove to be a problem but don't do nearly enough to impede our progress save for me constantly having to cast cutting curses. At this rate, having only just recovered from Monday's attack, I know I'm teetering on the brink of magical exhaustion.

"Harry, perhaps I should take the lead," Kingsley orders rather than tells me, noticing my tired look. I don't want to give in but there's little I can do to stop him.

With Kingsley now ahead of us, I keep pace with Minerva as she prowls about the area like a lioness on the hunt. I don't stop the grin that's threatening to come on my face because I know she's almost as motivated as I am to get to Hermione. If there's one thing about Minerva McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house, she'll do anything to protect her cubs. Especially when it comes to her favorite cub.

We amble through the yard and take several death eaters down, me collecting their wands along the way, while battling the enchanted vines before we catch sight of something beyond unexpected amidst a haze of grey mist. "What the hell are inferi doing here?" I whisper.

It was a widely known fact that Snakeface was skilled in the art of necromancy, particularly when it came to animating inferi but he wasn't here. Dolohov was most certainly pulling out all of the stops and he most likely learnt the art from the man himself. With no other path but forward, we have to fight our way through the inferi and that would be enough to alert the rest of these bastards to our presence.