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Captive at Number 12	By : CeliaEquus Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 32439 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I have no claim on the Harry Potter franchise, and am making no money from any of my fan fiction.

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“Someone said the Dark Lord’s name?” Yaxley asked, entering Malfoy Manor. He was surprised to see that Bellatrix wasn’t there; no doubt she was with their master. Pettigrew greeted him, with Narcissa and the Draco in the background. Surely the school holidays were over?

“They are in the cellar, along with the blonde girl,” Pettigrew said, leading him through the manor.

“The Dark Lord wished to give you another chance after what happened at the Ministry,” Narcissa said. “Draco is here to identify them, if it is safe enough.”

“And you want me to make sure that it’s safe enough,” Yaxley said. “How magnanimous you are, Narcissa.”

“Please,” she said, placing a hand on his arm. “We are all family.”

As he followed Pettigrew to the cellar, her words prompted a memory to surface: one of his conversations with Hermione.

“I envy you for something,” she said, between bites of lasagne.

“Is that so?” He was only half-listening, contemplating something that had happened at work that day.

“Yes. I envy you your family.”

Now he was paying attention.

“I thought that you hated them,” he said.

“But you have so many cousins,” she said. “And I don’t hate all of them. You’re related to the Weasleys, aren’t you? And Sirius and Tonks?”

“Distantly,” he muttered.

“I haven’t got any cousins,” she said, now only playing with her food. “That was why I only had to erase my parents’ memories. They were only children, just like me, and my grandparents are all dead. I disapprove of the fact that you all marry your cousins – no matter how distant – as in-breeding leads to birth defects. But your family is vast, and… and I envy that. And there are so many more viable organs should someone need a kidney.”

He almost chuckled at her last remark. But Pettigrew was now unlocking the door to the cellar. Once inside, they closed it to cut off speedy escape.

The Lovegood child was kneeling by the two boys lying on the floor, wearing some beaded bag hung over her shoulder. She was stroking their hair and looking off into the distance. Her attention drifted over to the Death Eaters when the door clicked shut behind them.

One of the boys had bright red hair and the other had messy, black hair. Yaxley knew immediately who they were, even though it had been more than five months since their last encounter, according to his calculations.

Had it really only been five months since he first took Hermione?

“Hello,” Luna said. She began to shake the two boys, ignoring the wands being aimed at them. “Wake up, boys.”

“So tired,” the redhead grumbled, pushing himself off the floor. The black-haired boy mirrored his actions. Then they realised where they were and shot to their feet. Despite the scratches on his face, the second boy had an unmistakable scar on his forehead. They scowled at both men, but seemed to relax a little when the girl took a hold of their elbows.

“We have visitors,” she said. Yaxley bit his tongue to stop himself from laughing.

“It’s them, all right,” Pettigrew said. “I’ll call the Dark Lord…”

“Narcissa wishes Draco to see for himself,” Yaxley said, keeping an eye on the cowering little man. “Did you attend school with these two boys?”

“No…”

“Then wait for Draco. And… I wish to check for myself.” He began to move forward. It had occurred to him as he entered that they knew about Hermione, and – if the elf had indeed spoken to them – about their arrangement. He also knew that he couldn’t let these boys die. He could never face Hermione again if he did nothing to save them.

Just when had his values changed? And… why did find himself not giving a damn?

“Were their wands confiscated?” he asked Pettigrew.

“Yes, yes, they were,” he said, shuffling in place. “They’ll be at the Ministry by now.”

“Where’s Hermione?” Harry asked. “We know that she was with you.”

“Dobby told us…” Ron began, but Yaxley noticed that Pettigrew was backing towards the door.

“You know where the Mudblood is?” he said. “Then I should tell the Dark Lord…”

Without blinking an eye, Yaxley killed him. After the green light faded he Levitated Pettigrew’s body to a dark corner and retrieved the wand before turning to the prisoners.

“Your friend is safe,” he said softly. However, before he could continue they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He rolled Pettigrew’s replacement wand along the floor towards the boys, placed a finger against his lips to tell them to shut up, and then hid in the shadows behind the door. It opened, and he was relieved to see that it was Draco, not Narcissa, who stepped into the room and shut the door.

“Potter,” he sneered. Before he could move, Ron leapt at him, distracting the blond enough for Harry to grab the wand unnoticed. Then he Disarmed and Stunned Draco and handed it to his friend.

“Well, Pettigrew was your rat for years,” he said, bending over to pick up Draco’s wand. Then he squinted into the darkness. “Yaxley? If you’ve hurt her…”

“I told you, your friend is safe,” he said, stepping into the light. “I can take you to see her; all three of you, if you wish.”

“Why the hell should we trust you?” Ron asked. “Unless Dobby was lying.”

“I was perhaps… a bit crude in my terms when I spoke to the house elf,” Yaxley admitted. He walked over to Pettigrew’s body. Never was he so grateful for his thorough education at Hogwarts and beyond. He squatted down beside the corpse and pulled out one of his own hairs. “Pay attention to this. It’s a damn useful spell. A bit Dark, but then so is Polyjuice Potion, and this is much quicker. The only problem is that it is permanent. Very popular in times of war, when used in cases such as this.” He placed the hair on Pettigrew’s forehead and waved his wand in circles over it while he spoke the incantation.

“Accipere genitor et mutatio perpetuo corpus,” he whispered, over and over, until Pettigrew’s body had completely changed to look like his. He Levitated the body closer to the door, bearing in mind that Draco wouldn’t have seen it when he entered.

“What are you doing?” Ron asked.

“I think he’s faking his death, Ronald,” Luna said. She looked at the Death Eater with big eyes. “Is it to do with Hermione?”

“I believe that Pettigrew was an Animagus?” Yaxley said, avoiding her question.

“Yes,” Harry said. “He was a rat.”

“Was that his form as well?”

Harry snorted. “Yeah.”

“Very well.”

He blasted one of the rats scurrying around in the corner. They only came into the cellar to avoid bad weather, but they were unpleasant companions for the captives. However, they had finally served a useful purpose.

“Now let’s get out of here,” he said.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Ron said, raising his hands. “What is this all about?”

“You shouldn’t have informed the Dark Lord so soon!” That was Narcissa.

“Where is Draco?” Lucius asked.

“Come on!” Yaxley hissed. He held out his arm. “Grab on, and I’ll prove that she’s alive. He will be here soon.”

Luna immediately held onto his wrist. It was the sound of footsteps approaching that prompted the boys to hold onto Yaxley, who then Disapparated with them.

Hermione had fallen asleep, snuggled under the covers with only her head showing. Her breathing was loud enough for her three friends to hear from the doorway. Luna still went forward and checked on her, before reporting back to the boys that she was all right. All this was conducted while Hermione slept soundly, her emotions having exhausted her enough for one day.

Much as Yaxley wanted to curl up and sleep with her – something he had never done before – he didn’t want her to get a terrible shock when she woke up. So he conjured a cot and lay down on that.

In the morning he awoke early, Vanished the cot and then went back to his manor, where he swore his house elf to secrecy about his supposed death. There, the elf gave him a copy of the newspaper, which he perused during an earlier-than-usual breakfast. He wanted to get back before Hermione woke up so that he could explain that her friends really were there, and that it wasn’t some horrible trick.

The Lovegood child was making breakfast when he got back. He had left the paper on the table in the hallway, just in case the boys wanted to read it.

“Have you already eaten, sir?” she asked, smiling pleasantly. It made him uncomfortable that she was being friendly.

“Yes, I have,” he said. “I’m sure the others will be hungry, though. Usually Hermione cooks…”

“You like her, don’t you?”

“…What?”

“It’s in your aura when you speak about her,” she said. “Around your heart.” She tilted her head. “So you don’t just like her.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered.

Harry and Ron were changing their clothes when Hermione woke up. Not knowing that anything was different, she padded down the stairs, pausing when she saw the paper on the table. She picked it up, hoping that Yaxley had left it for her, even if that meant that he was gone again.

It felt like a kick to the gut.

PETTIGREW, YAXLEY FOUND DEAD

She read all about how Harry, Luna and Ron had been prisoners, and were suspected to be responsible for the deaths of the two men and the Stunning of Draco Malfoy. But it was that one phrase that ran through her mind… ‘Yaxley found dead’, ‘Yaxley found dead’, ‘Yaxley found dead’…

“Oh gods,” she whispered, dropping the paper. Then she heard footsteps behind her, and turned, half-hoping to see him. Instead…

“Hermione!” Ron and Harry shouted, and they jumped down the last few steps. She shrank back, causing them to stop in their tracks.

“I-identify yourselves,” she said, trying to stay calm.

“Um,” Ron said, and he pulled the beaded bag out from behind his back. “You threw this at us while Yaxley had his wand at your throat.”

She couldn’t help it; a tear fell down her cheek. “And you… you…”

“Luna’s here, too,” Harry said.

“You killed him!” she shouted, clutching her chest. “You k-killed him!”

“We didn’t kill Pettigrew,” Ron said, but she wasn’t listening.

“How could you kill him like that? He kept me safe! He… he… The Light is about saving, not murdering! I c-can’t believe it. He can’t be dead,” she said softly.

She turned her back on them, hugging herself. If she really was pregnant…

Then she heard someone clear his throat, and knew who it was.

“I, uh, killed Pettigrew,” Yaxley said, his heart beating faster. “And then a rat. My ‘body’ is really Pettigrew’s…”

He relaxed and smiled when Hermione ran forward and threw her arms around him. Her body shook as she pressed her face into his neck, trying to control her tears. Then he put his arms around her, and all was right with the world.

“Oh, thank Circe,” she whispered, holding him close.

“Your friends aren’t murderers, Hermione,” he said. “You don’t need to worry about their souls anymore.”

She pulled back, dropping to her feet, her hands still on his shoulders.

“Why did you pretend to die?” she asked.

“Don’t we get hugs?” Harry said. She turned around and finally looked pleased to see them.

“O-of course,” she said, walking towards them. “Sorry. I haven’t had any other company for so long that I sort of… forgot.”

“Uh-huh,” Ron said, but he was scowling at Yaxley. Hermione engulfed her two best friends in her arms.

“It’s so good to see you,” she said, tugging them until they were embracing her back. “I was so worried. What happened to you?”

“They said the taboo word,” Yaxley said. “Pity they didn’t report that particular danger on Potterwatch.” She stiffened.

“You know about Potterwatch?” Harry asked. “What about… You-Know-Who?”

“I only know about it because Miss Granger was listening to it one day when I got ho… here. I’ll replace the radio, if you want me to,” he added. She looked at him, but Ron spoke before she could.

“We’ve got one, thanks,” he said. Then he dipped his head to kiss Hermione. She turned her head in time, catching the peck on her cheek.

“Luna!” she exclaimed, seeing the young Ravenclaw. She let go of Ron and Harry quick smart and the two girls embraced.

“It’s in your aura, too,” Luna said, quietly enough so that only a confused Hermione could hear her. In her normal tones, she announced breakfast.

“After all that, I’m starving,” Hermione said. She hooked arms with Luna, glancing up at Yaxley on her way past. He remained expressionless as he stared back, but broke the moment when he turned around and walked down the hall.

“I have affairs that must be seen to, now that I am supposedly deceased,” he said. “I shall return in time for lunch, if I am welcome.”

“Of course,” Hermione said. She looked at Harry. “Oh. I suppose that this is really your house, isn’t it?”

“You’ve lived here more than I have,” he said, shrugging. “Maybe he can help us? If that’s what you’re going to do,” he continued, raising his eyebrows at Yaxley.

“I think it’s safe to say that I’ve defected,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching when he saw Hermione’s bright smile. “Then I will most assuredly return at midday.”

“Okay,” she said. “And thank you for rescuing them. I hope this hasn’t all been a dream. Ow!” She glared at Luna, but then her expression lightened. “I could have pinched myself, you know.”

“Thank me later,” Yaxley said. He tried not to smirk at the way Ron’s face reddened. Served him right for trying to kiss his Hermione.

“I’d like to return to my father,” Luna said. “And Hogwarts. They might be wondering where I am.”

“Of course they are,” Hermione said, patting her hand. “You’ll be able to help us when you go back to Hogwarts. It’s just a matter of getting you there, but we’ll do it. Even if we have to sneak you in.”

“You should tell me about your mission, if I’m supposed to help you,” Luna said. The members of the famous trio looked at each other.

“Have you told him?” Ron asked, jerking his head at Yaxley, who was calmly sipping his drink.

“No, Ron,” Hermione said. “I would never do that. He wasn’t on our side until this morning.”

“Last night, technically,” Yaxley said. “But then, I think I defected quite some time ago, without realising it.” He half-smiled at Hermione before returning to his salad, missing her look of shock.

“So what did Professor Dumbledore tell you to do, Harry?” Luna asked, kicking the boys under the table. “Or did you take an oath not to tell anyone?”

“Uh, right,” Harry said, nudging Ron to stop him from scowling at Yaxley. “Have you ever heard of horcruxes?”

Hermione’s absence had forced the boys to think more than usual, as Ron put it. They worked out that the necklace made them angrier, but that didn’t help them destroy it. So they continued to travel around the countryside, listening to the radio and arguing. Then something big happened.

A Patronus had led them to a frozen lake which held the Sword of Gryffindor, so Harry had retrieved it while Ron looked after the locket. A few nights after that, his emotions in a mess because of the horcrux, Ron had unthinkingly split it in two with the sword, since magic hadn’t worked against it. Miraculously, it succeeded in destroying the horcrux.

“We’ve been thinking about what else could be a horcrux,” Harry said, but Hermione wasn’t paying attention.

“I’ve got it!” she said, thumping her hand on the table. “I know why the sword worked. Do you remember when you destroyed Riddle’s diary in our second year?”

“Yeah.”

“You used a Basilisk fang.”

“I remember it, Hermione,” he said.

“But you killed the Basilisk with the sword, and the sword would have got venom on it, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, the sword was made by a goblin,” she said. “The silver blade will absorb that which makes it stronger; in this case, Basilisk venom.” She sat back, smiling smugly. “That’s why Dumbledore left it to you. It can destroy horcruxes.”

“That’s great, but we still don’t know what the rest of the horcruxes are,” Ron said. He hadn’t smiled once, throughout the whole meal. Hermione’s grin faded.

“How can you be so defeatist?” she asked. “I mean, you destroyed the locket, and the ring and the diary were also destroyed some time ago. That leaves only four more to find.”

“If we can work out what they are,” he argued.

“Quiet!” Yaxley said. He waited; they stayed silent. “Do you know how to work out whether or not something’s a horcrux, or are you just deducing it based on a few memories and the little that you know about the Dark Lord?”

“The latter,” Hermione said. “Unless there’s a spell to locate a person’s horcrux. But I’ve never come across one.”

“Perhaps a modified version of a Soul-Searching Charm,” he said.

“That could work!” she agreed, eyes alight. “I could do some research… if I could access my books.” She shook her head. “We can talk about that later. I want to know where that Patronus came from, and why someone would leave you the sword. Was it the person who stole it in the first place, or did someone else take it from them? Do we know anyone whose Patronus is a doe?”

“Mine’s a stag,” Harry said, shrugging. “But I didn’t cast it anyway.”

“No,” she said, tapping her chin. “No, but a person’s Patronus is often connected to some part of them, something that inspires strong emotions.”

“What is your Patronus, Mr. Yaxley?” Luna asked. They all turned to him.

If he was the nervous type, he would have squirmed in his seat. Instead, he simply looked back at them, hoping that they’d take the hint and leave him alone. Then it dawned on him that none of them were Slytherins. What did they know about subtlety? They would also be willing to admit weaknesses; he wasn’t. He could conjure a Patronus, yes, but it had never taken a corporeal form; he didn’t have enough good memories, and none of them especially strong.

But they were waiting for an answer. Hermione was waiting for an answer. He withdrew his wand with an inaudible sigh and prepared himself for potential humiliation. What happy memory could he try? His gaze wandered to Hermione, and it hit him.

“Expecto Patronum!” he said, and a silvery shape burst out of his wand. It quickly took the form of a lioness, and began to bound around the table and its inhabitants. He heard a gasp – from Hermione – and inwardly flinched.

“Ah,” Luna said. “I just wondered.”

“Aren’t you a Slytherin?” Harry said, finally tearing his gaze from the Patronus. Yaxley finished the spell and avoided all their eyes.

“I was,” he said. “At school. That was a long time ago.”

“Uh, speaking of houses,” Hermione said, her voice cracking, making her blush, “do we agree that You-Know-Who was going to make horcruxes from objects belonging to the four founders?”

“Yeah,” Ron said, sitting forward. “But probably not Godric Gryffindor. Slytherin’s covered, of course. The locket, the ring.” He ticked things off on his fingers. “The diary, but that was his. So there’s Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and then…” He paused. “Two more? That makes four.”

“Well done, Ron,” Hermione said, rolling her eyes. “We know about Hufflepuff’s artefact, though we don’t know where it is. Luna, do you know of any famous object that belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw?”

“There’s her diadem,” Luna said. “Of course, no one knows where it is. But if You-Know-Who turned it into a horcrux then you just need to work out where he hid it.”

“That’s it?” Ron asked. “A lost… what’s a diadem?”

“It’s like a tiara,” Hermione said.

“Ri-ight. So Ravenclaw didn’t have anything else like that?”

“If you want to find out more about it, you could ask the Grey Lady,” Luna said.

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Harry said. “Dumbledore thought that Nagini might be a horcrux, but can they be living things? I mean, that’s never been done before, right?”

“I could do some more research, but I’ll need my books,” Hermione said. She picked up the bag as she stood. “I’ll be in the library if someone needs me.”

She paused to look at Yaxley, but he was still evading eye contact. Sighing, she left the room.

During the night, Harry really regretted having cheese and crackers before going to bed. He was having strange dreams, memories of Hogwarts. The images were filled with many blurred shapes, differing in size, colour and proximity. He felt like he was reaching for something as he wandered through his dream, but never managed to grasp it.

Voldemort had been angry last night; his fury induced many nightmares, ones which had him waking up and gasping for breath. He had been annoyed about Pettigrew’s death, enraged about Yaxley’s (although he didn’t know that it had been faked), but was even more livid when Malfoy said that it really had been Harry Potter and Ron Weasley in custody. Sleeping had been difficult, needless to say, especially with all the screaming.

So the foggy dream was a bit of a relief, but it was frustrating that he couldn’t see properly. It was like he needed his glasses, but he had never been able to sleep with his glasses on.

He would have to ask Hermione in the morning.

A/N: This is my author note:

See ya!
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Captive at Number 12