𝗨𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗗 ━ Golden Trio Era

━chapter 29

Chapter 29
━━━━━━━━ ✥ ━━━━━━━━

"VOLDEMORT'S GOT ADHARA!"

"What?"

"How d'you—?"

"Saw it, just now — when I fell asleep during the exam!"

Harry's ears started ringing as rambling explanations spilled from his mouth. He wasn't paying much attention to his words, only that he was explaining the situation to his friends and their whitening faces. Millie was grabbing Ron's forearm, hard.

"It's my fault."

"Millie, no—"

"Yes, it is, Mione! I saw she wasn't there this morning, and I left anyway! I should've looked for her!"

"We don't know that she's actually gone, yet!"

"Harry says he saw her," reminded Ron. "He said You-Know-Who was torturing her, that he—" he gulped.

"That nothing!" Hermione looked frantic, her hair in more of a wild state than it has been all week. Harry could tell that the news was stressing her out. "Adhara can't just be gone! We are in Hogwarts, you can't disappear from Hogwarts!"

"Not unless someone has access to the floo," thought Millie out loud. She was making direct eye contact with Hermione, her hold still on Ron.

She turned to Harry. "Where did you say Adhara was being held captive?"

Harry held her gaze, a clear understanding being exchanged between the two. Harry knew at that moment that Millie was ready to do whatever it took to bring Adhara back.

And Harry was, too.

"The Department of Mysteries."

━━━

Hermione wasn't convinced.

"Adz wouldn't just skip her History OWL."

And that was a good point, but Hermione still continued.

"Check the map. We can see if she's really not in the castle." Part of her just didn't want to believe that her best friend's life was in danger. Part of her really really hoped this was all just a bad dream.

"Voldemort is torturing her as we speak!"

"And if you're wrong, Harry," emphasised Hermione, "then you'll be falling directly into You-Know-Who's trap. You'll be putting yourself at risk, and everything that the Order has been working for will be for nothing, your mother's sacrifice would be for nothing."

Harry closed his mouth, though he was still glaring at her.

"Let's check the map first, Harry. And if she's not there, I promise I'll be the first to reach the Ministry."

━━━

In the courtyard, under a tree, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Millie huddled around the Marauder's Map. Harry's hands were trembling as he held up the map.

"It...it's impossible. She can't have just — just disappeared—"

"She isn't here, Hermione!" shouted Harry. His voice was harsh, and so was his gaze. "Now, do you believe me?"

Hermione couldn't take her eyes off the map, so Ron snatched it from Harry's grasp and folded it up. There was no point in staring at it any further.