taking control

Chapter 21: A Test of Loyalty

A/N: I just wanted to give a quick thank you to all those who have left me reviews or otherwise shown me your support. I really appreciate it. I also want to give a thank you to Christine for her work on the chapter. Without further ado, I give you...

Chapter 21: A Test of Loyalty

Harry's eyes widened in shock. "Remus," he began, his voice a whisper, when a loud bang reverberated through the hospital. Tonks and Ben immediately rushed back into the hallway.

"It sounded like it came from upstairs," Ben briskly stated.

Harry nodded his agreement. "Come on. Let's go." He glanced briefly at Remus, who gave him a fractional nod as if to say, 'I'll keep quiet for now, but we will be discussing this later.'

Harry once again followed behind the two Aurors as they led the way to the staircase. He jogged alongside Remus but pushed the matter of his revealed identity out of his mind. There would be time to worry about it later. For now, they had to concentrate on the matter at hand. Harry trailed behind Tonks as they ascended the stairs. It was not the main staircase that Harry had taken earlier but another one separated from the hallway by a door.

As they reached the next landing, Ben stuck his head out the door and looked both ways. As he retreated back into the stairwell he said, "Nothing. Let's try the next floor."

Harry had positioned himself such that he ended up first in line up the stairs this time. He sprinted up two steps at a time and paused as he reached the door. With a glance back to make sure everyone was ready, he wrenched it open and stuck his head out. He saw nothing but heard a commotion coming from his left. He turned back to the others and whispered, "Sounds like there's something coming from around the bend." His eyes glanced momentarily to each of their faces before he turned back, opened the door fully, and walked out. As he approached the bend in the hall, he stepped lightly on his toes to avoid making a sound.

Peering around the corner, Harry saw a couple scattered bodies in the corridor. There were a few cloaked figures moving about carefully, going into this room or that. He could see the illumination of different spells in some of the rooms and then saw a head peek out from the far end of the hall. It was not masked, but Harry could not make out any of its features from that distance. He ducked back and quickly explained what he had seen to the others.

Just as he finished his description, a voice called out, "Drop your wands, or else the boy dies."

Harry would recognise that drawl anywhere. "Malfoy," he muttered. Ben moved to peek around the corner to see what was going on, but Harry reached out to stop him. "No, wait," he whispered. "I've got an Invisibility Cloak."

The man hesitated a moment before nodding. Harry took several steps back and pulled out his trunk. Taking out the cloak, he shrunk and stuffed the trunk back into his pocket and turned to the others. He held up a finger, donned the cloak, and then stepped back around the corner. He quickly surveyed the scene before stepping back around the corner and lowering his hood. "There are seven of them in the hall, but it looks like there is activity in some of the rooms. They've got a man with red hair bound on the ground in the hall with their wands all levelled on him."

Harry's stomach was clenched in both fear and anger. What he neglected to tell them was that he was all but positive it was a Weasley, but he was too far away to distinguish which one. He forced down the feeling knowing it would not help in the current situation.

"Every second you hesitate brings the boy closer to his death," Malfoy's voice again rang out.

"They don't know we're here," Harry quickly explained. "They're all facing the other way. I'll sneak up behind them and try to free the man before they kill him."