Harry couldn't take it anymore. He could hear Hermione's screams through the floorboards above them, agonizing in their intensity and duration. Ron was throwing himself desperately- pointlessly- against the door to their dungeon.

"HERMIONE!" he shrieked, over and over again. The other captives- Luna, Ollivander, and Griphook, sat huddled in the corner. Hopeless; that's how their situation looked.

Suddenly, the screams above stopped. He could hear muffled voices overhead and then footsteps. He hoped Hermione was still alive. If she was dead…

With each footstep, nearer and nearer to their prison, Harry's anger and frustration well up in him. By the time the door was opened and Theodore Nott stood gloatingly before them, both Harry and Ron were riled up to a fever pitch.

Without any prior discussion or logical thought, they both charged the door. With a strangled cry of rage, Ron brought down their former classmate with a crushing tackle. Nott didn't get back up. Harry quickly grabbed the wand from between his slack fingers and he and the redhead took off for the main room and towards Hermione.

As another Death Eater unsuspectingly rounded the corner, Harry let off a silent stunner. Stopping only for Ron to grab his wand, they continued on down the corridor. They actually managed to take down a couple more henchmen before the alarm was raised. By that time, they stood just outside the door to their goal. Back to back, they fought off another small group of their enemies and ran through it into the room beyond.

There, standing with a knife to Hermione's throat, stood Bellatrix. For a moment, Harry felt relief in knowing that his best friend was still alive. But as he quickly assessed their situation, he noticed the pained expression on her face, the tear tracks covering her cheeks, and how her clothes were soaked in her blood.

Again, he felt his temper rising.

"Uh uh, baby Potter," crooned Bellatrix, pulling Hermione closer to her. "You're both going to drop your wands to save your precious little mudblood." She ran her tongue up the side of her captive's cheek, and Harry watched as the young brunette flinched.

Reluctantly, he and Ron both raised their hands above their heads in a show of surrender. Ron dropped his wand to the floor, its impact with the floor slightly masked by the sound of many footsteps approaching. Only a second later, Harry made as if to drop his wand, too, but not before letting off a silent spell aimed at the steel-and-glass chandelier above Bella's head.

It fell with a heavy crunch, narrowly missing the madwoman and her hostage, as they dove out of its path. The boys both scooped up their wands again and ran for the front door, Ron grabbing Hermione's hand on the way.

Once outside, they ran blindly away from the house, dodging hexes as best they could and returning fire in the general direction from which they guessed the spells were coming. Cover came in the form of only a few scrawny trees and the trio used them as best they could. They were slowed down by Hermione who was quite unsteady on her feet; really, she was weaving all over the place and Harry suspected the only reason she stayed upright was Ron's strong arms holding onto her. Nevertheless, the Death Eaters were catching up and Harry came to a decision.

"You two, keep going!" he shouted. "I'll stay back and cover you. Keep running until you feel the anti-apparition wards fall and then get to safety." Ron looked back, about to argue but Harry cut him off. "I'll be right behind you the whole time. Meet me at Padfoot's!" he shouted, turning halfway to send another spell over his shoulder. It hit its mark.

They continued their mad dash and Harry knew they had to be getting close to the edge of the wards. He watched as Ron and Hermione disappeared on the other side of a dense copse of trees about 20 feet ahead of him and he let himself breathe a small sigh of relief. Almost there, he thought. We can make it!

Just as soon as the thought crossed his mind, however, he found himself surrounded by three Death Eaters.

"I am going to enjoy this, Potter," smirked Greyback as he took a step nearer. "I have been looking forward to tasting your flesh for years now."

"You can't touch me, Greyback!" Harry responded with a surety he did not feel. "Voldemort wants me alive."

The werewolf hissed at hearing his lord's name spoken. "The Dark Lord," he corrected, "will surely grant me an allowance after all the trouble you have caused here tonight. Or, you could come quietly and I may only take a small bite." He grinned ravenously.

The black-haired teen swallowed. He was not going to go down without a fight, but he didn't see how he could defeat three Death Eaters on his own. I can get two but the third guy will get me for sure. Well, at least Hermione and Ron are safe, he thought. My death won't be for nothing.

He took one last deep breath and shouted, "Expelliarmus! Immobilus!"

"Stupefy!" In that exact same moment, he heard the sound of another spell being cast and the voice could only belong to-

"Ron! You bloody idiot! What are you doing here, I told you to go on ahead! Though, not that I'm not glad that you didn't, mate! Thanks for that!"

"Sure thing, Harry! Couldn't just up and leave you. Let's go, though. The apparition point is just beyond those trees and Hermione is already there waiting for us. Plus, there's already more on the way," he said pointing.

And sure enough, another wave of Death Eaters was already bearing down on them.

They took off, sprinting for all they were worth. Harry could feel the wards slipping away behind them but his heart sank once again as their enemies appeared between them and the place where Ron had left Hermione.

They began to fight anew, more fiercely than ever, but as more and more opponents arrived, Harry knew that if they stayed, they would die. He also knew Hermione wasn't the brightest witch of their age for nothing; she could have already gotten herself to safety. Without another word, he grabbed the back of Ron's shirt and turned on his heel, apparating them both to the doorstep of Grimmauld Place. As soon as they arrived, Ron wrenched himself free of Harry's grasp.

"Bastard! What about Hermione? You left her!" he screamed at Harry. His face was bright red and spittle was flying from his mouth as he yelled. "You fucking left her!"