Gwen staggered into the chamber where the two boys waited, wands poised at the still unconscious form of Lucius. She blinked, shook her head and asked: “Where’s Draco?”

“That’s all you have to say?” Harry asked, confused.

“You look like hell.” Graves added, staring at her blatantly. Her robes were torn, her hair disheveled and she didn’t look quite real. He noticed her right hand was clamped firmly over her chest, pressing in as if to keep some pain contained within her breast. The silver ring he had given her still resided on her finger, gleaming in the remnant glow from the fire.

She huffed. “What did you do with him?”

“I saved his life is what I did.” Graves replied, reaching down and removing the invisibility cloak from the fallen boy. “His father was going to kill him.”

Gwen apologized with a simple glance and any anger Graves harbored was wiped away. She knelt once again, her hand still over her chest and did something Graves had never seen her do; she took her wand in her left hand. She concentrated deeply and performed the enervate spell.

Draco stirred weakly and looked up at her. “You.” He said miserably.

She laughed, which caused her some sort of pain. Graves rushed to her side in a nervous state, closely followed by Harry.

“All three of you.” Draco said, averting his eyes. “He didn’t finish the job.” He said of his father, whom he hadn’t noticed lying on the ground some ten feet away from him.

“He wasn’t allowed to.” Graves said with extreme restraint.

Draco understood his meaning. He struggled to get up and noticed his father as he came to a wobbling stand. “Dead?” He asked.

“No.” Harry said quickly with a rough nod.

Draco’s lips hardened into a thin line. He looked down, trying to understand why these people who hated him were trying to help him. “I’m already too late.” He said.

“For what?”

“I know where Dumbeldore is being held. But I’m willing to bet he’s dead now that I’ve been delayed.”

“You would’ve been delayed permanently had we not done anything.” Graves said.

Malfoy glared at him sullenly.

Gwen touched Draco’s arm gently. He looked at her from under his blond brows as if he couldn’t believe her. She had always been kind to him, but this seemed too much. She had been kind enough to convince her boyfriends to protect him? He turned his gaze back to his feet and spoke softly. “The endless tunnel in the middle of the three tunnels at the end of the hall. That is where they last kept Dumbledore.”

Gwen didn’t bother with words, she took off at a run with Harry and Graves following. Draco took one more long look at his father before he too decided to follow them into the endless tunnel.

They ran until their sides ached and there was no more breath to spread amongst them. They ran until the lactic acid burned inside their muscles and their bodies were covered in sweat. They ran down the length of the endless hall and didn’t stop until they had reached the end, no matter how their bodies protested against them.

This passage really did seem endless, but at last they discovered that it was not. There was another trick wall at the end of this hall. It led to a small chamber lit oddly blue by an unidentifiable light source.

In the center of this chamber was a crouching figure, dressed in a familiar robe, white hair creeping all about him in every direction. It was difficult to tell how long he had been kept here, but if the filth about him was any indication Graves would have guessed two to three weeks.

“We’ve got to get him out of here.” Gwen said. No one argued; there was a sense of urgency that her tone of voice only confirmed.

All four of them made light work of lifting the man with their wands and carefully transporting him from the room.

“He’ll be after us.” Draco said under his breath.

“I don’t think so.” Gwen said, which raised everyone’s eyebrows, but no one commented on the subject, now was not the time.

The group trudged on through the snow, Gwen guided them swiftly to the edge of the forest without any of them really realizing she was doing so. She was going to get them as close to the school as possible before she left them to finish some business of her own.

To be Continued in Episode One Hundred and Seven