Yellow Badger [3]// Harry Potter // Draco Malfoy

He's Back

Chapter Twenty-Nine: He's Back

I couldn't scream and I tumbled through the air, I could see the approaching ground and I didn't look soft. Closing my eyes to avoid looking at my cause of death, the air was ripped from my lungs as I was forcefully stopped. Opening my eyes, I was thankful for the quick spell-casting as we hovered above the rocky terrain before dropping harshly onto the ground. Rolling onto my back, I looked up to see how far we had fallen and I physically felt sick at the height.
"Department of Mysteries. They got that bit right, didn't they?" Ron said as he brushed down his trousers.
"I think that was the Room of Doors," Ginny said, stretching out her shoulders.
I rocked myself forward to get some momentum to get myself up off the floor, brushing the remnants of lost prophecies from my clothes and shaking my hair out of any stones.
In the middle of our landing site, there was an empty archway and nothing surrounding it but the rocks we stood on and the twelve specifically placed boulders.
"The voices." Harry said cautiously, walking towards it," Can you tell what they're saying?"
"Harry, it's a dodgy-looking archway in an equally dodgy place," I spoke, picking my wand up from the floor," Sirius isn't here. Can we go now?"
Luna walked behind him with awe on her face. "I hear them too."
Hermione looked worried as she stood next to me. The six of us behind Harry looked confused as we all saw an empty stone archway in a place it didn't naturally form or belong.
"Harry, it's just an empty archway. Let's get out of here," she pleaded," Please, Harry."
It was as if he couldn't hear us, but from above, there was the echo of bangs and explosions. I gripped someone's sleeve as the sounds got louder and the atmosphere changed. It was getting colder.
Harry turned to us, but his attention was to something way above our heads.
"Get behind me!" Harry shouted, raising his wand.

Black smoke rained down on us. It filled my senses as I tried to fight against it. All I could see was smoke and the feeling of someone grabbing at me. My arm made contact with someone, my fist hitting something leather. Two arms grabbed me, taking me into the black smoke.
A forearm was pressing against my throat, and the tip of a wand jabbed against my ribs. Long hair tickled the side of my neck as I tried to fight against him, but he pulled my head back and it made me want to collapse. His hair was longer than I remember from the trial. His face had a recent burn covering his eye and part of his nose and ended just before a recently trimmed beard.
"Hello, Princess." A deep voice whispered in my ear," Remember me?"
"Rodolphus." I let out a breath, then put on a brave face," See, Prison doesn't come with a dental plan."
He pressed his forearm tighter against my neck as he knocked me down to my knees.

Next to me, Neville was being held by Bellatrix, her wand pressed into his cheek, and his eyes darted over to me. Using his free hand, he made the ok sign, and I nodded back. Still standing near the archway, Harry stood with the Prophecy in his hands and Mr Malfoy walked slowly as he was approaching his prey.
"Did you believe, or were you truly naïve enough to think, that children stood a chance against us? I'll make this simple for you, Potter." Mr Malfoy spoke slowly as he circled the younger boy," Give me the prophecy now or watch your friends die"
Harry paused, looking at us all. I tried to pull away from Rodolphus, but a sharp backhand around the face and his hand clenching around the cut in my shoulder had me almost crying out in pain. I was tired, physically and mentally and kneeling here in front of these people - well, today was a good enough day to die.
"Don't give it to him, Harry," Neville shouted, risking his life.
Bellatrix scolded him, her wand at his throat, "Shush."
It was just like mum and dad all over again.

Harry could see all of us, could see Hermione crying and the goodbye Ginny and Ron had made on the other sides of the archway. Then he did the unthinkable. He passed Mr Malfoy the Prophecy, and the bright blue glow from the orb diminished until it was just dark. A white light appeared from behind, white smoke rolled back until a man in a brown pin-strip suit and pocket watch stood proudly with a perfectly barbered moustache.