Harry glared at Malfoy as he was led forcibly down the hallway.
“I really must give you credit Potter,” Malfoy was saying. “Before now, I thought that Dumbledore was the most insufferable ‘goody-two-shoes’ on Earth. You’ve proved me wrong.”
“Shut up, Malfoy,” Harry said, shaking with rage. He had to keep calm. The Death Eaters that had his arms tightened their grips so that he felt his bones bending under their pressure. When he thought they would finally snap, he was shoved roughly into a tiny, windowless room. Harry looked around. If he had thought the room he was previously in was bad, he had been wrong. This room was the very symbol of pain. He wondered what could ever possess Dumbledore to allow such a room. There were deadly looking devices hanging from the ceiling and sitting on the shelves. Torture devices obviously from hundreds of years ago piled inside the corners.
“You may leave us,” Malfoy said stiffly to the other Death Eaters. They grunted, sounding very much like Crabbe and Goyle, two of Harry’s disgusting, Slytherin classmates. Harry couldn’t help but shiver as they shut the door loudly behind them, enclosing Harry inside this room. He knew he would most likely die here.
“Do you like the furnishings?” Malfoy asked casually, walking over to one side of the room and picking up a very small, rusty looking object. It looked very old, but on the end there was a large point, obviously recently sharpened and stained a slight, sickening red. Harry closed his eyes, trying desperately to calm himself. Malfoy saw this and smiled, throwing the object down. He walked over to another very large object. It was a bed, but looked like it would be very uncomfortable; there were large needles sticking up from the fluffy looking mattress. Harry glared.
“You’re disgusting,” Harry said. He was sweating terribly. The room was sweltering. Malfoy laughed, also sporting beads of sweat.
“We’ll see what you say about me when we’re finished. I guarantee, not only will you beg to tell me the Prophesy, but if I asked you to lick my ass you will do so, the whole time telling me about my greatness.”
“You can fantasize, Malfoy. You should have learned by now, I would die a thousand deaths before I told you the Prophesy. Do you take me for an idiot? Do you think that I believe that after I’m done giving you your Prophesy, you’ll give me a Girl-Scout badge and send me on my way?” Harry said, leaning against a wall. Malfoy laughed at this.
“Oh, well I guess I’ll have to tell Voldemort to put away the Scout cookies,” he said, wiping sweat off his drenched face.
“Where the hell are we, anyways?” Harry asked, his heart beating harder than ever.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know? You’ve been here many times, if Draco tells me correctly,” Malfoy said smiling. Harry’s face was impatient, waiting for Malfoy to explain. “You’re in the Room of Requirement, idiot boy.”
“Fun,” Harry muttered.
“I thought so,” Malfoy said, smiling widely. After Malfoy looked fit to burst in the heat, as Harry was, he took off his shirt. His bare torso was exposed, and he threw his shirt aside.
“No wonder Narcissa always looks so bitchy,” Harry said, grimacing at Malfoy’s exposed chest. Harry felt the need to get as many insults in as possible, before the torturing began. Malfoy snarled, moving towards Harry with his hands outstretched, forgetting his wand completely. “Poor woman," Harry was saying. "I don't know what I'd do if I had to look at you everyday. I might be sick I guess..." Malfoy snarled terribly, ripping out his wand.
“CRUCIO! CRUCIO! CRUCIO!” he yelled ferociously. Harry dropped onto the ground, his agony complete. Razor blades peeled across his entire body, flames licked his brain, lightening bolts struck his heart, and his scar burned with the power of ten thousand suns. All that filled that room for the next ten minutes was Harry’s agonized screams. He was sure that everybody in the entire world could here his pain.
Suddenly Malfoy lifted the spell, and Harry was left feeling like he had never felt before. He looked longingly at the torture instruments. He wished Malfoy would use one of those, instead of the curse that would most likely addle his brains. Malfoy seemed to realize that risk, and looked at Harry slightly apprehensively.
“Are you still stable, Potter?” he asked moving forward. Harry opened his mouth to talk, but blood spilled out, as if his insides had turned to liquid. He vomited blood all over the floor as Malfoy looked on in disgust. “Tell me the Prophesy Potter,” he said. Harry said something, but it was so quiet Malfoy couldn’t hear. “What?” he asked, eagerly. Harry whispered again, but Malfoy still couldn’t hear. He got close, Harry beckoned him closer. Malfoy’s eyes were alight. Finally, Potter was going to cave in!
“Malfoy...” Harry muttered, and Malfoy dropped to his side grinning excitedly.
“Yes, Potter. That’s right. What?!” he yelled frantically. Harry leaned up slightly, wiping the blood off of his mouth. He put his mouth right next to Malfoy’s ear.
“Can I have my Girl Scout badge?” Harry rasped, smiling sloppily. Malfoy roared in outrage.
“YOU! That’s it. I didn’t want to have to resort to this, but you’ve given me no choice, Potter!” he yelled into Harry’s bleary face. He picked Harry’s limp body off the ground by his throat, and threw him to the back of the room. Harry grunted. His insides reeled. Malfoy came over and grabbed Harry again. He dragged him over to the wall, and pointed his wand at him. Harry glared, his eyes red and blood shot. From the ground beside him, Malfoy grabbed a small wooden bracelet and brandished it at Harry.
“Don’t make me use this,” Malfoy said, shaking slightly as he held the bracelet. Harry chuckled brokenly.
“What are you going to do, Malfoy? Give me splinters until I tell you?”
“You stupid boy. Have you now idea what this is? Look!” Malfoy shoved the bracelet in his face. Harry glared at it. It looked to be a perfectly boring looking wooden bracelet. It was also very small, he noticed, fitting only a small child. He looked back at malfoy but then did a double-take. There were inscriptions appearing slowly across its surface, written in slow, chopping green letters.
“Dolor a memoria atqui ferocitor. Aponno a huad animi an salvus” Harry read aloud. He stared in consternation. “Oh, well now I’m terrified,” he said sarcastically. “It’s going to torture me with it’s confusing words.”
“It reads, Potter,” Malfoy said through clenched teeth, apparently annoyed at Harry’s lack of terror. "‘The suffering of memory and spirit. People of no heart are safe.’ This is the bracelet of Poena Sententia.” Harry looked away. He didn’t want to admit it, but the bracelet scared him slightly.
“I think you’ve been watching too much Lord of the Rings,” Harry observed. Malfoy grabbed his wrist, and moved the bracelet easily over his hand. Harry stared. The bracelet grew in size, to go over his wrist and then tightened, cutting off the circulation to his fingers. Harry waited. Nothing happened. Harry laughed slightly. “Looks like it’s broken, Malfoy. Maybe you should...” but whatever he had been about to say, it was interrupted by the most terrible pain he had ever imagined. No, it was beyond that. No words would ever be able to express Harry’s pain. Not if a thousands poets, and a thousand scholars sat down and dedicated their lives to describing pain, all that together would not have been enough. Harry remembered nothing, he knew he would die. He prayed for it.
“Harry Potter!” a small voice squeaked, sounding very upset. “Harry Potter! Please sir, you must wake up!” the voice squeaked. Harry faintly heard the voice, high pitched. He knew that voice. But from where? Then there were many footsteps.
“Harry! Oh, Merlin!” Harry smiled then. This voice was familiar as well. “ Harry, I need you to wake up!” Then he heard somebody sobbing hysterically in the hallway. A young woman. His heart wrenched. He knew that voice too.
“Harry! Oh, Harry! Please wake up! H-Harry, e-everything is going to b-be alright now!” the sobbing voice said, and he felt her dropping to his side. He smiled. He couldn’t quite place the voice, but he knew he loved whoever it was. “Harry, I was so worried. I love you so much.” Harry opened his eyes.
“Ginny... I love you too...” he muttered. He needed to be with Ginny. She was blinking tearily, holding his hand. Her eyes widened when he spoke to her. “Are you...alright?” Ginny was completely silent, and then she let out a slightly insane laugh.
“Am ‘I’ alright?! Harry! You’re the one who has just been tortured! I was so terrified!” she sobbed, laying her head on his chest, looking up into his deep green eyes.
“I would do it again, just to hear you say that you love me again,” Harry said. Ginny let out another sob and pressed her mouth to his.
“I love you, I love you, I love you. I love you with all my heart,” she said, repeating the phrase between kisses. Harry grinned. Then he heard more bustling.
“Lupin! He’s awake!” he heard Sirius say, very relieved. Then he heard more people.
“Harry! Thank god! I was afraid they wouldn’t get here in time!” he heard Hermione’s voice.
“Harry?” was a voice hesitantly from the door. It was Ron.
“It’s alright Ron, he’s awake,” Hermione said. He heard Ron exhale sharply.
“I don’t know what I would have done...” he broke off, coming inside. Harry looked around at all of his friends. Lupin came up then.
“Eat some of this,” Lupin said firmly, closing his eyes in relief as he saw Harry. Harry took some chocolate out of his hand, and ate it. He suddenly felt much better.
“I thought that only worked on Dementors,” Sirius said.
“Chocolate works for everything,” Lupin said with a slight smile. Sirius nodded, with blood-shot eyes. He looked nearly as upset as Ginny. Had he been crying as well?
“What happened? Where’s Malfoy? And the bracelet? And what about Dobby? Are the rest of the Death Eaters around?” Harry asked, wincing. Ginny grasped his hand gingerly, seeing his pain. He saw Tonks rushing up, smiling at his being awake. He frowned as he saw that she was bloodied and bruised rather badly.
“Wotcher, Harry. Alright, I see you have a few questions. I don’t think we have time right now, we’re in a bit of a rush,” she said breathlessly.
“We need to make time, Tonks,” Sirius said firmly, much to Harry’s relief. “He has a right to know. You can go back out, how is Shacklebolt?”
“He’s fine. So far we’ve only had a few Death Eaters, but I’ll bet they are just scouts. I’d better get out there, Beauxbaton just arrived, and I’m having some trouble keeping Shacklebolt away from the Veela.” Sirius nodded, and she grabbed a large package before winking at Harry and leaving.
“What are Tonks and Shacklebolt doing?” Harry asked.
“They are keeping watch. Just before we arrived, Voldemort took off. So we expect he went to get his army. This war is going to start any minute, Harry. The House Elves, some Giants and now Beauxbaton are here,” Sirius said quickly, knowing full well that Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Dobby were listening intently while Lupin bustled around, apparently preparing some sort of ammunition.
“How did you know I was here?”
“It was me, Mr. Harry Potter, sir. The other House Elves and I watched you go down to the forest. Then when you came back, I told Fawkes to give you that pensive, as Dumbledore told me I was to do, if he didn’t return,” Dobby piped up, tears filling his large, bulbous eyes. He started crying loudly at the thought of Dumbledore. “He was the only kind master I ever had, sir. He even gave me Christmas presents and...” Sirius cleared his throat loudly, seeing the effect Dobby’s remembrance had on Harry.
“Why don’t you go and make sure the other House-Elves are prepared, Dobby,” Sirius said. Dobby nodded forlornly and with a loud ‘Crack’ was gone. Hermione frowned.
“How did he just do that? You can’t Apparate inside Hogwarts,” she said.
“Well, Dobby didn’t Apparate. House Elves have their own magic, they don’t rely on Wizard magic,” Sirius explained.
“What happened to Malfoy and that bracelet?” Harry asked, looking at his wrist. He saw that there was a large, shiny burn where the bracelet had been. Sirius nodded his head to a corner, and Harry saw Malfoy, lying on the ground, his eyes lolling.
“Dead,” Ron said satisfiedly. Harry nodded. He decided to test out his muscles, and tried to sit up. Ginny helped him, and with great pain, he managed it.
“And the other Death Eaters were killed as well,” Sirius said. Harry nodded. “Harry...” Sirius began, looking slightly uncomfortable.
“Just tell me Sirius,” Harry said, knowing that it was most likely bad news.
“I’m afraid, Voldemort isn’t going to just come out with his army. He thinks that you could possibly be dead. If he thinks that, then he would have no reason to come and fight us,” Sirius said. “He’s watching us, Harry. He wants us to make the first move. We can’t fight him on his grounds, we need him to come to us. Harry...”
“I’m bait,” Harry supplied. Sirius looked down sadly. “I understand. You’re right. He won’t come out unless he see’s reason to bother with us,” Harry said, choking slightly.
“When that’s done, I want you to go back inside the castle,” Sirius said firmly. Harry shook his head.
“Harry...” Ginny pleaded.
“No, we need more than what we’ve got. We need the Centaurs on our side. I need to make sure they didn’t change their minds after...” Harry stopped, and the stood up. His head reeled, and he took a deep breath, trying not to puke.
“Take Fawkes,” Lupin said, who had stopped moving about and was standing with tears in his eyes.
“I’m going with you,” Ginny, Ron and Hermione all said together. Harry shook his head.
“Fawkes will be able to fly faster with just one,” he said firmly.
“No...” Ginny whispered.
“I’ll come back,” Harry said, kissing her softly on the forehead. “I’ll come back.”
“Now or never Harry,” Sirius said, hoarsely. Hermione let out a soft sob. Harry held out his arms, and she came to him. He embraced her softly.
“I’ll be watching that forest, Harry,” she whispered. Harry kissed the top of her head, and pulled her away from him.
“I look foreward to it,” he said, smiling at her. He then turned to Ron, who was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, looking anywhere but at Harry. Hermione moved away, and then Ron spoke.
“Harry...I just want you to know. I couldn’t ask for a better friend. Through all my years at Hogwarts, I knew I could trust you with anything. You’re a true friend, and I’ll be waiting for you when you come back with all of those bloody horses in your wake. You’ll look like something right out of some sappy, drama movie,” he said with a cracked voice.
“I’ll see you in a bit, then,” Harry said, smiling. Ron nodded, and then they embraced in a manly, back-slapping hug. Harry turned to Sirius and Lupin, who were both on the verge of tears.
“It’s time,” Lupin said softly.
A/N: Alright, this chapter was very sad to write. Very dramatic as well. I hope everybody liked it. Thanks to everybody who has reviewed, and I hope you'll keep REVIEWING!!!!!!!