There was silence in the room as Harry met the bright blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore.

“No, Harry.”

“But, Professor, I know where they are, I’ve been there! We could get the students and Professor Sinistra out right now, before anyone else is hurt!” The emerald eyes pleaded, the guilt of other deaths simmering in them.

“We would lose too many, Harry, if we attempted to storm Voldemort’s stronghold without a plan in place, and you are not ready yet for a head to head confrontation,” the Headmaster told him quietly.

Harry dropped his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to think of a way to help the hostages. He wasn’t aware of Remus’ presence beside him until his godfather put a hand on his arm in silent support. He hated this waiting game, hated the pain and agony the captives were surely facing, all the while, hating the fate of the prophecy made before he’d been born.

“So, what? We just wait?” Harry raged at the three older wizards, pulling out of Remus’ grasp. “Obliviate this idiot, hide the portkey, and wait until I get a vision of Death Eaters having a great time torturing and killing some poor muggles, so that we will know they are divided and distracted?”

Albus Dumbledore looked at him shrewdly. “Yes, Harry, exactly! A brilliant plan, my boy, and exactly what we will need to do.”

Harry’s anger deflated as rapidly as a balloon with a hole in it. The thought of sitting and waiting grated on him, but he also knew Dumbledore was right. He tried not to feel defeated, and he tried not to think of what the captives were going through at that time.

“Alright, Professor, what is it you need me to do?”

The Headmaster walked over to stand by Harry, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I realize what we are doing to those children and Professor Sinistra, Harry, but it will do them no good if we attempt to retrieve them and fail. We cannot even take the chance of informing their parents of the situation, as word might get back to the wrong ears. I will take custody of this portkey and inform Kingsley of the situation. Severus and I can take care of Mister Goyle, and get him back to the Hufflepuff common room without suspicion. Remus will escort you back to your dorm, Harry,” Dumbledore cast him a stern look over his half-moon spectacles “and you will not go out again without the proper escort, please.”

Harry nodded; shoulders slumped as he felt the weight of the Prophecy bear down on him, wondering how many more would die before he was ready to fight the evil wizard. Walking over to the prone figure on the floor, he stood looking down at him, wanting nothing more than to kick the imposter viciously. The chocolate box sparkled as his foot stopped beside it, and the temptation to grab it welled up in him.

“Harry, step back from the box.” Snape’s voice was softly spoken, but an order never the less.

Glancing up, Harry took a several steps back, coming to a stop next to Remus. The Headmaster watched Snape over the top of his glasses. The Potions Master’s eyes were fixed on the floor, watching the chocolate frog box carefully. Harry glanced down as well, but the box looked the same to him, except that it was no longer sparkling.

“Professor! The box, it seems to glow only when I am near it.”

Snape nodded, and motioned with his hand for Harry to step near the box again, and watched as it glowed again, as Harry carefully put his foot next to it.
“It appears to be keyed to Harry’s magical signature, Severus” Dumbledore acknowledged, and the tall wizard nodded his head. “That does complicate things a bit.”

Taking a step back, Harry looked from one face to the other; both men seemed lost in thought. “What does that mean, Professor?”

Albus Dumbledore looked at him grimly, his face seemed suddenly older, the lines deeper. “It means that it can only be activated by your touch, Harry, and no one else’s. It means that you will have to go on the rescue mission for the captives alone, when the time comes.”
---------------------------------

The rest of the Easter holidays drug on for Harry and his friends, and not even the gift parcel of chocolate eggs from Mrs. Weasley could lighten the mood. The DA was back to practicing as usual, but under the watchful eyes of Remus, Snape, Moody, and the Headmaster, three of the polyjuiced students in attendance. Harry was very careful not to come into contact with any of the imposters, having now identified all of them. During his private lessons with Professor Snape and his guardian, they discussed defenses and possible action plans on how they would rescue the hostages. Remus called these talks of strategy as ‘brain-storming’, and Harry at least felt like he was contributing ideas when the two older men allowed him to speak his mind.

“What if we have other people put their fingers on the box before I touch it, do you think it would transport all of us?” Harry asked during one of their training sessions.

“Perhaps, Harry, however the principal theory would prevail that it is keyed to you only.” Professor Snape had replied, a thoughtful look on his face. “It is also likely that the protective fields around the mansion have been set up to alert everyone when you are there.”

“But you don’t know that for sure, right?” Harry pressed, “the portkey might just take all of us straight into the mansion.”

“Right into a dungeon cell, no doubt, Harry” Remus shot at him. “I don’t like the idea of putting you in that kind of danger, again!”

Harry had looked at him with weary eyes. “It’s not like we have any choice in the matter, Remus.”

School started again as the spring weather turned sunny and warm. The Potions Master gave out detentions often to Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny for implied infractions, so that they could help him pour over the Marauders Map searching for any additional imposters. As the month of April went by, there were six students and one teacher missing, replaced by either known Death Eaters or former students. Harry dreaded each day that passed, the fate of the kidnapped students and teacher weighing on his mind. He debated trying to reach out and see if he could push his way into Voldemort’s mind, but quickly disregarded the idea when he remembered the pain he’d experienced in the past whenever he had any contact with the evil wizard.

The last day of April was unsettled with clouds and drizzle intermixed with periods of clearing, the breezes cold from the north. Harry sat in the windowsill of the dormitory next to his bed that night, watching the stars as they peaked out between the clouds. He smiled faintly as he remembered that night six and a half years ago, when he sat here for the first time savoring the feeling of home that Hogwarts had brought him. The three-quarter moon broke from behind a cloud and washed the landscape in moonlight. Harry leaned his head against the glass and watched the play of the moonlight on the grass below.

The Dark Mark soared over the cottages near the edge of the paved road, illuminating the grotesque scene of rape and torture below. As he watched in cruel delight, a circle of black robed, white masked figures stood around three of their own kind taking their pleasure on a muggle family, the wife and two teenage daughters the main attraction. The man of the house, magically bound, screamed silently as he was hit with curses and forced to watch the hideous acts. Looking down through crimson eyes at a young boy already lying still on the dirt at the side of the cottage, his neck at an unnatural angle, his blood staining the ground, he laughed coldly.

Harry screamed in agony, his forehead cleaved in two, and fell out of the window seat hard on to the floor, retching. Ron was there at his side, a potion vial at his lips as soon as he opened his eyes, the pain searing through his head blinding him. Feeling pressure on his watch, the next thing Harry knew the Headmaster and Remus were beside them, as he still struggled to get his breathing under control. Everyone else in the dorm was up and quietly getting dressed, they all realized what Harry’s dream meant. Somehow, Harry found himself lying back on his bed, and in a choked voice, he relayed the details of what he’d seen.

“All right, Harry, let’s get moving,” Albus Dumbledore told him “we will meet down in the Great Hall in ten minutes.”

The members of the DA, the Auror squad from the Shrieking Shack, members of the Order of the Phoenix, and the Heads of House gathered in the Great Hall. The DA was staying to help Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick round up the Polyjuice imposters, and keep Hogwarts safe. Professor Snape, Remus, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Neville were going to use the portkey, which Dumbledore believe would take them to a prison cell in the basement of the old Riddle estate near Little Hangleton. If the wards would let them through, they were going to try and rescue the prisoners before Voldemort and the Death Eaters could Apparate back,

Professor Dumbledore gathered the smaller group around the Gryffindor table. “Do you still have the galleons that Hermione charmed last year for the DA meetings?”

Everyone found theirs and laid them on the table, watching as the Headmaster waved his wand over them. The coins glowed gold and then blue, before they were instructed to pick them up again. Dumbledore looked at each of them, his bright blue eyes coming to rest on Harry.

“I have made your coins emergency portkeys, as well as placed a locating charm on them. If anything happens, and you are not able to get through the wards, or become separated, press a finger to the galleon and it will take you directly to the hospital wing.” His voice was serious and the twinkle absent from his eyes. “You are to go in, get the students and leave before the Voldemort can Apparate back, which leaves you very little time. The rest of us will be outside the house, creating a diversion.”

Harry put his coin back in his pocket as he nodded his head. He looked at the pale, determined faces of his best friends, and offered a silent plea that they all made it back okay. Professor Snape held on to a corner of the chocolate frog box and extended it towards the teenagers. Harry waited until everyone had a finger on the box, before getting the nod from the Headmaster, and pressed his finger to the box. Immediately, the feeling of a hook being jerked his navel, and the rushing of wind told him that the portkey was still active.

The eight of them landed in a heap in the middle of a small dark foul-smelling room, an ominous silence filling the room. Harry managed to extricate himself, and reached down to help the others up. Putting up a hand, Professor Snape moved silently toward the outline of the door. With a wave of his hand, the door creaked ajar and he nudged it open with his foot, slipping quickly through the opening with Remus on his heels. Harry moved to step up behind them, following his guardian silently out the door. Pausing for the briefest moment, the others fell in to step behind him.

The dimly lit hallway had a total of six doors that opened off of it, including the cell they had just left. Feeling a miniscule shift in the magic of the house, Harry knew they had triggered the protective fields, and needed to move fast. As he watched, he saw Snape signal Remus towards the closest door and his guardian swept inside as soon as the door cracked open. Stepping back into the doorway, Remus signaled Luna, who was closest to him, and Harry knew they had found the first of the prisoners. She disappeared into the cell, and Remus closed the door.

A nudge jerked his attention back to the Potions Master, as Ron and Hermione flanked the door as Snape waved it open. Moving up with Neville, they positioned themselves at the next door. Hermione disappeared inside her cell and the door closed, Ron moving to stand at Harry’s side. Harry pushed open the third door at the older wizard’s signal, to find two figures sprawled on the filthy floor. Neville moved to them as he fished his galleon out of his pocket and stowed his wand up his left sleeve. Pressing a finger from each of the thin boys in the tattered rags to the coin in his palm, he activated the portkey as Harry eased the door shut behind them.

As Remus and Ron pushed open the nest door, Harry heard a hiss behind him, and turned in time to see a familiar giant snake slither in to view.

“Nagini” he hissed in parseltongue.

The deadly creature moved to within striking distance of Remus, who had just closed the cell door on Ron. Harry stepped into the pool of dim light in the center of the corridor, ignoring the harsh glare and hand signal from Severus Snape.

“Where is that snake-faced bastard you call a master, Nagini?”

Remus stood absolutely still, as Harry saw Snape move through the shadows near the walls toward them. The snake reared up, her gigantic triangle shaped head turning toward him as she flicked her tongue out, tasting the air.

“You have grown very strong, young one, but you are not dark enough to defeat my Master” the snake hissed at him, rounded on the teen with a speed Harry would not have believed possible.

Harry danced back, drawing the snake away from his godfather. “Your ‘master’ is an evil coward who tortures defenseless muggles and children, Nagini, and I will kill him.”

Lightening quick, Nagini struck, huge fangs bared, but Harry was ready and hit her with the same spell that the Potions Master had used during his second year, instantly incinerating the serpent. As the acrid smell of burn flesh filled the air, sounds of a battle began to filter through the thick stone walls, and Harry could hear the ‘pop’ of Apparation. Quickly backing toward the wall where he’d last seen Professor Snape standing, the room was suddenly filled with black robed Death Eaters, and the flare of spell light lit up the hallway. He came up against Remus on his right and saw Snape’s tall form join them from the left. Keeping their backs to the wall, they trio began firing hexes at the advancing figures. Harry threw a blasting curse to one side with a wave of his hand as he used his wand to cast a stunning spell. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see more black clad figures filling the small space. Turning Harry stunned another Death Eater as he felt Remus stiffen and sag beside him, and dived to wrap an arm around his waist.

“Now!” Snape hissed in his ear, thrusting his galleon in front of Harry.

Grabbing one of Remus’ hands, Harry pressed it into the unconscious man’s hand, as Snape reached around him to press his finger on the edge. Harry felt the familiar tug behind his navel as the Death Eaters screamed with fury, and he caught the flicker of blood-red eyes swing his direction and his head exploded in white-hot pain and everything went black.