Thank you all so much for reviewing! I don't have much to say here except to brace yourselves. Enjoy!

Chapter 48

Ron hadn't spoken to Harry for the remainder of the day. Harry had shared his blankets with everyone when they went to sleep but Ron hadn't accepted one. The next morning, they shared the provisions they had on them. Harry noticed that the Gryffindors had found some as well and was happy to trade some nuts for some berries. Then they decided to travel north to try and get out of the forest. But after several hours of travelling, Harry felt more and more anxious about the fact that none of the Gryffindors was talking to him. Not even Ron had said a word since the previous day and was fastidiously avoiding Harry's gaze.

Not because he was mad at his best friend. Harry knew that for certain. But there was something keeping his mind occupied and Harry knew exactly what that might be.

Molly Weasley.

The Weasley matriarch, as strong and brave as she was, had told Ron just how proud she was of him. A sentiment Harry was still secretly jealous of. But what had happened after was nothing to be proud of, Harry realised. And he wondered if he had been in Ron's shoes if he would have broken. A part of him thought he might have.

The other four Gryffindors didn't meet his gaze either. They sometimes whispered among themselves but quieted down every time Harry strained to try and catch what they were saying. It made it only the more obvious that they were talking about him. But how could Harry fault them for that? They were worried, and understandably so. Voldemort had taken a loved one away from all of them. Harry was the only one who didn't have to worry about a helpless prisoner, no matter how much he cared about Mrs Weasley and Bill.

Severus is there as well, though.

Thoughts of Severus were enough to occupy Harry's mind for a while as well. The death eater in disguise may not be a prisoner but Harry couldn't help but worry for his safety. The man hadn't known about this plan. Not really. He would've warned Harry if he had. The other option was too inconceivable to consider and Harry was not about to question his loyalties. No, the ones behind this had been Voldemort and Umbridge. Harry had yet to find out if she was a Death Eater or simply a lacky but, either way, she would pay when he got out of here. And he would get out.

Harry sighed when Neville stomped on another group of twigs which snapped loudly underneath his shoes. The Gryffindor squad ploughed through the forest as if they were a bunch of hippogryphs. Harry had tried casting a silencing charm a couple of times but that didn't prove to be as useful while on the move. Besides, it made Harry unable to hear potential enemies as well.

They had been walking for hours and were yet to find a single sign of life. Harry thought they might be going in circles but Ron refused to let Harry lead them. Harry was starting to contemplate forcing them to listen to him when he felt Severus' presence in his mind, the soothing calm numbing his frayed nerves.

You have to get away from them.

Harry frowned.

They're my friends. I trust them with my life.

Your trust is misplaced. Soon, they will turn on you.

Severus, I know the way you think but I can't do that. I'm not abandoning them. Especially not after what happened.

It would be kinder if you did.

Harry blinked, wondering what Snape meant by that. What was Voldemort planning?

What do you mean?

I don't have long. Just get away.

Severus left Harry's mind before he got a reply. Harry stopped walking automatically as he wondered about the Potion Master's words. Would staying here endanger his friends? Would it really endanger him? He glanced at Ron who was still moving forward, angrily shoving aside the branches that obstructed his path. He was already suffering and Harry didn't want to add to that. On the other hand, he didn't stand much of a chance alone.

They can't help me anyway. Not if I want their family to be safe.

"Harry." Neville, who made up the rear of the small group, had stopped and was now watching Harry intently. "Is everything alright?"

Harry gulped and shook his head. "I can't stay here," he said quietly. "I can't be forcing you to help me. Your family –"

"They would be proud to be helping you out," Neville said importantly. "I know that my parents would never want me to give in to what Voldemort wants. No matter what he threatens us with."

Harry frowned and looked at Neville. The boy's parents had already suffered so much in the first war. It was entirely unfair that they would have to suffer even more. And for what cause? Harry still didn't know what Voldemort hoped to achieve with all of this. If only Severus would be able to tell him more.

Harry sighed and locked eyes with Neville. "The others might not agree," he said. "You saw what happened back there. I can't put Ron through that again. Or anyone else for that matter."

Neville chuckled softly. "You may be the leader of the DA, Harry, but out here you can't tell us what to do. We make our own path."

"Oy!" Ron yelled when he realised that some of the group weren't following. Harry cringed at the loud noise. "What are you waiting for? We don't have all day!"

"Sorry!" Neville yelled back. Harry simply held up a hand in apology. Not that keeping quiet would help very much at that point, but still. As Harry and Neville sauntered back over to the rest of the group, Harry heard more twigs snapping. Only these had not been broken by any of the Gryffindors.

His legs froze and he instinctively raised his wand.

"Harry?"

Harry put his index finger to his lips to signal for silence before straining to hear more. He heard the rustling of the trees, the wind whistling between the leaves and the occasional sound of birds calling.

Another snap.

The birds went silent and Harry swallowed thickly. Whatever it was, it was no student. It wasn't human. It sounded… heavier than that.

Snap. Snap. Snap.

No. Those weren't twigs or branches. It was something else. Something familiar from a long time ago. The sound seemed to be coming from all over and Harry got the distinct feeling that they were no longer alone. Whatever it was, it had already seen them.

The sheen of a glistening carapace. A few large, hairy legs.

Huge black eyes.

"RUN!"

Harry bolted from his spot, grabbing Neville's arm as he rushed to join the rest of the group. The clicking and snapping he had heard before was becoming clearer. Closer. And Harry knew what it was. Ron's eyes widened, his sorrow momentarily forgotten as freight took its place. His worst nightmare, Harry knew, was descending upon them.

"Get your wands out!" Neville shouted. He was running with Harry now, no longer needing the motivational pull on his lower arm so Harry let him go. There was hissing and snarling and even more clicking. And then the Acromantula Harry knew was hiding in the shadows leapt, and tried to pin Harry's arm with its pincers. Harry dove to the ground as Neville leapt aside, causing the gargantuan spider to land clumsily behind them. But it soon righted itself at the same time Harry did and crouched down for another assault.

"Incendio!" Harry shouted, aiming his wand at the spider. It screeched as it caught fire but tried to attack nonetheless.

"Harry!" Adam shouted. Harry glanced at them to see that three more of the beasts were now surrounding the other Gryffindors, their sharp mandibles clicking in an almost rhythmic fashion. Ron couldn't possibly get any paler and looked about ready to pass out.

Damn it!

"Incarcerous!" Harry then shouted. The flaming ball of spider was quickly felled, now bound by magical rope. It screeched loudly as its body was consumed by fire but Harry didn't stand idly by to watch it die. Ron needed him.

A few more feet and Harry and Neville re-joined their Gryffindor squad.

"Ron," Harry breathed. "Raise your wand."

But Ron didn't. Instead, he stared at the approaching spiders, big as large dogs, with his mouth half-open. Harry growled and moved to stand in front of his best friend.

I'm going to have a chat with him when this is over. Honestly, he defies Voldemort no problem, but when a spider comes along he's no braver than Vernon.

"Aguamenti!" Lavender yelled and a jet of water sprouted from her wand, dousing one of the spiders with the cold liquid. It didn't do much other than anger the oversized arachnid.

Harry was about to cast another incendio but because of his position shielding Ron, he was now closer to the spiders than the rest of the Gryffindors were. Unfortunately, he couldn't cast again before his left arm was gripped by the sharp pincers of one of the beasts. Harry screamed out in pain, unable to stop himself.

"Reducto!" Neville yelled, stopping another one of them from approaching. Three of its legs were lost in the blast and it made a pitiful sound as it seemed to try and make itself smaller. But that only lasted a moment because it soon jumped again, aiming for Neville's throat.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry shouted, aiming his wand at the spider that was about to maul Neville. His spell struck true and the spider landed on its back, its five remaining legs petrified at odd angles that could make anyone shudder in disgust.

"Argh, get off me, you damn beast!" Harry shouted. He kicked at the spider's belly but that didn't do him much good.

"Protego!" Adam yelled when the last spider tried to attack him. When it bounced back against the shield, he followed it up with a quick Stupefy but missed, stunning an innocent tree in the process.

"Step back, Adam!" Lavender yelled when the spider made to grab his legs. Adam did so and it missed, the spider's mandibles clicking violently in the process. Blood trickled down Harry's arm and he was starting to feel woozy because of the pain. He tried to block it out, aiming his wand at his adversary with every intention to take it out when someone else did it for him.

"Ventus!" Ron yelled. A strong current of wind erupted from his wand and upended the Acromantula away from Harry. It landed on its back, its hairy legs scrambling in the air as they searched for purchase and failed.

Harry hissed when he saw the mangled flesh of his left arm but didn't dwell on it. He angrily cast the cutting curse several times at the downed enemy. The beast was cut to ribbons and soon there was only the slight twitch of a few legs left to imply that this creature had ever been alive.

"Incendio," he then heard Collin shout and soon the last spider went up in flames with a pained screech. The sound went through bone and marrow but Harry couldn't care less. It was over. For now.

"Spiders," Ron said, his voice quivering awfully. "There are spiders everywhere."

Harry sank to his knees, clutching the wrist of his left arm tightly as if that would stop the pain.

I really hate those spiders.

"I really hate those spiders," Ron said frightfully as he sat down next to Harry with a tired plop. Harry chuckled. Great minds and all that.

Ron gasped. "Your arm," he said. "It's injured."

"Oh, is it?" Harry deadpanned. "I didn't even notice."

"Crap," Neville said as he too kneeled next to his friends. "This is bad. I only know the spells to treat minor injuries. Nothing like this, though."

"I'll manage," Harry said.

"Don't be ridiculous," Neville huffed and Harry wondered when exactly the scared, cowed boy had become someone overflowing with valour and leadership. It was odd to say but the boy seemed to flourish in the face of adversity. "I just need to find some dittany."

"Aren't those spiders venomous?" Ron asked, his voice unnaturally high.

"Yes," Harry replied. "But the venom won't kill me. It will only weaken me for a while."

"That's fine since you won't be moving with that injury anyway," Neville said easily.

Harry shook his head. "We can't stay here," he argued.

Neville actually snorted. "Stop being difficult," he said. "We'll go and find some dittany and you'll be right as rain before you know it."

"It's not safe," Harry said. "I'll be fine without it."

"Look around you, Harry," Neville said. "No one is safe. Not until we get out of here."

Harry had nothing to say to that. He knew Neville was right so he ended up nodding his consent. "Let me help you look, at least."

Ron rolled his eyes. "You just said that you'd be weakened for a while," he argued. "So don't be daft and rest. Here, let's get you seated underneath a tree." Ron lifted Harry's uninjured arm and shimmied his shoulder underneath.

"I can walk!" Harry said, knowing that he sounded like a petulant brat.

"I know you can," Ron said easily, still helping Harry to the tree where he'd be at least a little more out of sight. The two spiders that had been on fire were slowly starting to burn out and Harry suddenly realised how daft it had been to set fire to them in the middle of a forest. Ron sat down next to him as the others disappeared into the woods. Neville's stride was quick and confident but the other three seemed reluctant to go. Harry bit his lip thinking about what that could mean but tried to divert his attention to Ron.

At least he's talking to me again.

"Do you think there's more of those?" Ron asked.

Probably.

"I don't know," Harry said, not wanting to scare Ron unnecessarily.

"This is a strange forest," Ron sighed. "I'm not sure it's entirely natural."

As Harry glanced around him, he could understand what made Ron say that. The darkness that hung thickly underneath the tree canopy was suffocating and felt eerie. Almost constantly, there were loud noises to startle every one of the trespassers and not once had Harry found some sunlight to light his way. The only way to see that the night turned into day was when the deep black turned into a visible grey. Dark and dreary without end. In the end, he just nodded.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but I wish I was studying for my O.W.L.'s right now," Ron sighed. "I probably wasn't going to do all that well but anything beats sitting here getting eaten by spiders."

"No one's going to get eaten by spiders," Harry said soothingly. His limbs were starting to feel heavier and his head lolled slightly to the side. He could move if he wanted to but it would take him great effort.

"Says the one whose arm was nearly bitten off," Ron pointed out.

Touché

"It's kicking in, isn't it?" Ron then asked. "How long will it last?"

"I'm not exactly an expert on the matter," Harry said, sounding somewhat drunk. "Why don't you ask Hagrid?"

"He's not here, remember?" Ron said, bringing his knees up. "At least, I don't think so."

"No," Harry agreed. "But I did see a runespoor."

"I know you did," Ron said placatingly. "Did you have a nice chat with it?"

"It talked to itself more than it did to me," Harry said easily.

"They'll do that, won't they?" Ron said knowingly. "Narcissistic creatures, those runespoor."

"I hope I see it again," Harry said dreamily. He could feel his eyelids become heavier. "The middle head was very nice."

"Harry?" Ron asked. "Harry, don't fall asleep. Harry!"

But Harry couldn't help it. His eyelids were far too heavy. His mind too muddled. Trying to drown out the urgent tone of Ron's voice, he found solace in the darkness. The pain of his arm was no more.

He was angry. No, he was furious. He was ready to tear people's intestines out just to throttle them with them. His lip twitched as he surveyed the scene around him.

Twenty-three of his loyal death eaters had started this ritual on Voldemort's side. They had taken their places on the stone platform around the monolith. But now, only twenty-one remained. The runes and crevices were filled with the blood of the forest's current invaders, and the monolith was slathered with the thick, red substance. Already he could sense the weakness that oozed from his weaker followers as they stood rigidly, facing the pillar in a circle. He would love to strike one of them down right now to abate the anger coiling inside of him but he needed the ritual to succeed. First, Yaxley had dared to die without his permission and now Travers had joined him, the ungrateful wretch. And his other followers were starting to look tired and weak. Voldemort snorted.

"Severus," he hissed, turning to face his loyal Potions Master as he brewed. The concoction in his cauldron was bubbling intensely, the steam emanating from it reeking of cloves and bubotuber pus. "How much longer?"

"Half an hour, my lord," Severus replied without missing a beat. "I'll get started on the next batch right after."

"See to it that you do," Voldemort growled. "I need them all to stay on their feet for as long as possible. Should they falter too soon, you will take their place."

"It is my greatest honour to serve you however you wish, my lord," Severus said evenly, his tone never wavering. Voldemort smirked. A follower as loyal as Severus Snape was hard to come by. He would never allow him to partake in a ritual as dangerous as this one. He had no one else that could make the potions he so desperately needed. No, there would be no disembowelling this one either.

The pathetic whimpering further away reminded Voldemort of his prisoners. Slowly, he turned his head to look at them, a grin splitting his face open when he saw the fear and pain in their eyes. There was no greater compliment to his power than that. They knew who he was and feared him for it. They knew that they could do nothing.

Lazily, he walked over to the ones with the flaming hair, his feet never making a sound as they shifted on the forest floor. Nagini slithered faithfully behind him, her tongue tasting the damp earth. His cold eyes met those of Molly Weasley. She was awake again, leaning against her son as if trying to keep herself balanced. Harry smirked. He imagined the loss of a limb could tilt one significantly off-kilter.

"How are you feeling, Molly?" he asked, his voice almost soothing.

The Weasley matriarch merely narrowed her eyes at him. Voldemort liked that spunk. That raw courage. But he would soon get rid of it.

"Leave her alone," the younger Weasley growled, wrapping a protective arm around his mother.

"I can't do that, Bill," Voldemort said, feeling a twinge of anger. "You see, your younger brother has once again disobeyed me. He doesn't seem to appreciate the rules I set for everyone." He shook his head in dismay. "He clearly wasn't raised right."

"Good," Molly spat, her voice filled with hate. Voldemort couldn't care less. "I hope that he defies you until the very end."

"Do you?" Voldemort asked teasingly. He now kneeled, his wand loose in his hand as he looked the Weasleys in the eyes. "You realise that his defiance means your pain. And, of course, eventually his own death."

"Over my dead body," Molly snarled.

"What limb would you be able to miss the most, Bill?" Voldemort asked, choosing to ignore Molly for now. "An arm or a leg? As a curse-breaker, I imagine you'd rather miss the leg, wouldn't you? And I am quite merciful to those who ask. So –" Harry smiled widely. "What will it be? Shall I take your wand arm? Or do you have a request for me?"

"Please don't," Molly said before Bill could reply, her voice certain but tinged with fear. "Take from me what you will but leave my son alone."

Much to Voldemort's delight, Bill covered his mother's mouth with his hand, holding tight so she wouldn't be able to utter another word. The struggling woman wasn't able to break free.

"A leg," Bill said through clenched teeth. "Please take my leg as punishment."

Tears flowed freely from Molly's eyes as she looked at Bill pleadingly, but the young Weasley kept his stern gaze on Voldemort. It was something the powerful wizard could appreciate, this bravery. If only this family of purebloods had not ended up becoming the muggle-lovers they now are. He would have liked to add these fighters to his arsenal.

"Very well," Voldemort said. "I will grant you your wish, being the merciful lord that I am. I will take your leg."

Molly's muffled cry barely made it through Bill's hand, clenched around her mouth but Harry could still revel in its glory. He then looked to Molly's left, where Frank and Alice Longbottom sat, smiling serenely as they watched the death eaters perform their duty. There was no fun to be had with them. Their minds had long since been broken. But they could still feel pain. And they could still scream. At least the Longbottom boy would still realise that he was being punished. Picking dittany to heal his nemesis might be even more appalling than the Weasley's rescue had been. But it was only his first transgression so maybe he could be just a bit milder for him.

Voldemort laughed, his anger already forgotten. He longed to see what the children would do next.

Harry awoke with a start to see Neville tending to his arm with the dittany he found. He was a bit confused about the fact that he had gotten another vision. Those usually came to him at night. He supposed that losing consciousness like that was what caused his shields to collapse. He gritted his teeth as he remembered what he saw.

The other Gryffindors had returned as well and were now sitting around Harry as they waited for Neville's plant to take effect.

"No," Harry groaned. He tried to sit up and noticed that the venom had nearly run its course. "No, stop helping me."

"Sit still, Harry," Neville mumbled. "It's almost over."

Tears fell from Harry's eyes as he glanced between Ron and Neville.

"What happened?" Ron asked. "Was it him? Did you see anything?"

"Yes," Harry said, ignoring the confused murmurs coming from the three that were out of the loop. Neville was too busy tending to Harry's wound to say anything. "He was angry at you."

Ron paled and clenched his jaw. "What did he do?"

"Nothing yet," Harry said. "But…" he trailed off, not wanting to say more. "Neville stop. You shouldn't be doing this. It will-"

Smoke erupted from his arm as the wound healed itself a bit. It now looked a few days old and felt a lot better. "Damn it," Harry muttered.

Neville shot him a strange look. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Do you have a fever? Are you delirious?"

"We need to get out of here," Harry said.

What's the point? They're not the ones he's coming after. It's their families.

But Harry really didn't want them to see. He wanted to be able to stop at least that. He was dreading another one of Voldemort's holograms because they might as well break his friends. Frantically, he tried to get Ron and Neville to understand that they needed to go but they merely forced him to stay down.

And then it happened. This time, there was no hologram. With an anti-climactic puff of smoke, two boxes appeared right next to the Gryffindor group. One was rectangular and very large whereas the second one was rather small and square-shaped. They were wrapped in red paper and adorned with big golden bows. A tag hung on each one.

"What're those?" Lavender asked, her curious voice quivering with fright.

"Don't open them," Harry pleaded, realising that his voice was trembling. "Please, just leave them. Let's get out of here."

"You know what's in there," Ron said. He glanced at Harry and gasped when he saw his fearful expression. He clenched his jaw again as he looked at the boxes. He reached out.

"Stop!" Harry shouted.

"I'm just going to read the tags," Ron snapped. He was angry, Harry knew. But he would be much angrier once he saw what was inside.

Ron read the tag tied to the large box and swallowed. "It says: To Ron. From Bill."

That cruel bastard. That monster!

Ron then checked the tag on the smaller box and frowned before glancing at Neville.

"What does it say?" Neville prompted.

"To Neville," Ron said softly. "From mum and dad."

Neville's gaze darkened considerably as his attention was now fully drawn to the small box. Ron started tugging at the ribbon of his.

"You don't have to open it," Harry said, hoping against all hope that Ron would listen. "That's what he wants."

"Yeah, well, it's what I want too!" Ron yelled. "I want to know what 's in there but you're sure as hell not going to tell me, are you?!"

I can't.

Harry shook his head. "You know what it will be," he said. "You don't need to see it."

"Yes I do," Ron said grimly before undoing the ribbon entirely. He tore off the paper with one violent jerk to reveal a plain cardboard box. The undersides of it were moist and coloured red.

"Oh no," Lavender gasped, covering her mouth with both of her hands.

Ron found his resolve and opened the box. He stared into it for a couple of moments before speaking. "I see," he said bitterly before closing the box again and wrapping the ribbon around it to keep it shut. He cast a furious glare in Harry's direction before turning away, hugging the moist box to himself.

"Harry," Neville said after he watched Ron's unboxing. "What's in mine?"

"I don't know," Harry said honestly. "I really don't. But… it's probably something similar."

Neville nodded and seemed to hesitate for a moment before opening his box as well. His eyes widened in shock when he saw what was inside. For a long moment, he seemed unable to speak but then he got up and kicked a tree in anger, screaming as he did so. Whether it was in anger or pain, Harry didn't know. It was probably both. From his vantage point, he couldn't see what was inside the box but he got up from where he was sitting and went over to close it up again. But then he saw it.

Two hands of different sizes clasped together. Both of them wore a wedding ring.

A/N: I'd like to make something clear right here. Yes, Voldemort has gruesomely maimed his hostages two chapters in a row now. But I promise that this is not supposed to be such a frequent occurrence. I can't promise that it won't happen again but I do promise that he'll lay off for a while. This needed to happen for a very good reason and while violence will continue to be the general theme of this arc, the hostages will be left alone for now. I just wanted to make that clear before you all think I'm merely writing a slaughter-fest.

On that note, I would still love to get your feedback. Please let me know what you thought and I'll see you on Friday.