The Labyrinth

Warnings: Angst,AU/AR,Crossover,H/C,Language,M/M (slash in later chapters), OOC-ness only to the extent that it fits the movie and plot

Author's note--The title of the movie scene that corresponds with this chapter is "The Junk Lady". I added the other part of the title because there wasn't a good breaking point between the scenes. *squeal* Here we go! We're getting to the CLIMAX!!!

Again, please remember that the dialogue and actions are based on the characters in the movie, while the content is HP. I hope that it's clear what is going on, even if you haven't seen the movie.

Also, in the movie, the Goblin City (here: the Death Eaters' Camp) has what I'd call an extended battle. It would've been too hard to try to replicate each and every alternate scene, so it's a little bit out of order (I don't want to give away too much, but technically in the movie, they walk through the door and don't immediately battle all of the goblins, but here, they do. There is a reason for that, so bear with me, and even though it's a little rearranged, it DOES fit)

Enjoy!

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The Labyrinth

The Junk Lady and the Door to the Death Eaters’ Camp

Harry blinked a few times and then looked at his surroundings. He was reclining on a large pile of garbage, and he had no idea how he got there. There were no signs of Ron, Hermione, or Tonks anywhere.

“What was I doing?” He questioned woozily. He took a few deep breaths, trying to get his bearings back, and looked down at the sphere in his hand. Laying in his palm was a Golden Snitch, and as he looked at it, the wings suddenly sprouted, startling him, and he let go. He watched in amazement as it began flapping wildly, winging its way up and into the night. It was growing dark, and Harry realized he didn’t have his wand anymore, so he’d have to find shelter or a candle before he could go on. The foretold Savior of the Wizarding World pushed himself up resolutely and promptly stumbled before he took one step, colliding with yet another pile of garbage.

“Ow! Get off my back!” A familiar stern voice rang in his ears, but the sound of another person startled him, and he gasped. He righted himself as the other ‘pile’ he used to balance himself began to move. Minerva McGonagall turned around to face the offender who had pushed on all of the treasures strapped to her back. Her expression was one of pinched disapproval, and Harry flushed under the scrutiny. “Why don’t you look where you’re going, young man? Hmmm?”

“I was looking,” Harry replied absently.

“Where WERE you going? Hmmm?” Minerva stared at him with a hard look in her eye.

“I…I don’t remember,” Harry admitted, noticing the sorts of things that made up the junkyard. There were all kinds of parts from dismantled brooms, some of them twisted, charred, or just downright unrecognizable; Harry shuddered, not wanting to imagine what could have caused the brooms to become like that. There were owl cages, broken, rusted, and bent, as well as hundreds of discarded Quidditch uniforms in scarlet, green, yellow, and blue. He even noticed a couple of unused wands lying around, but the junk lady was shooing him along slowly, so he didn’t have time to grab any of them to see if they still worked. Pieces of Wizarding Chess and Exploding Snap games littered the area, as well as half-melted cauldrons. Harry spied the leftover wrappers from assorted Honeydukes chocolates and sweets, chocolate frogs, Ton-Tongue Toffees, and lemon drops, just to name a few.

“You can’t look where you’re going if you don’t KNOW where you’re going. Hmmm?” Minerva saw him looking around, and she tried to keep him moving before anything jogged his memory.

“I was searching for something,” Harry replied. Minerva smiled nastily, but Harry didn’t see it. She pulled something out from her treasure pack.

“Well, look here!” She crowed, thrusting a stuffed animal in the shape of an owl into his hands. “Hmmm?”

“Hedwig?” Harry clutched the owl to his chest, dropping a kiss onto its head, looking at Minerva. “Thank you.”

“That’s what you were looking for, wasn’t it, my dear?” She paused beside a hanging curtain, looking back at him.

“Yes,” Harry’s voice was still unfocused. “I forgot.”

“Now,” she said, pulling back the curtain. “Why don’t you come in here, and see if there’s anything else you like, hmmm?” She began to chuckle as Harry accepted her invitation, stepping into…his dorm room at Hogwarts. He blinked, looking around. Everything was perfect and undisturbed; his bed was neatly made, as were the beds of his dorm mates, even though he was alone in the room. He wandered around a bit, brushing his hand dreamily across Ron’s bed, then over to his trunk, and finally he stopped beside his own bed, looking down at the stuffed owl clutched possessively in his arms. He laid down, pulling the curtains of his four poster bed, and closed his eyes for a moment.

Harry opened his eyes to a tapping noise on his window. He looked around, but he must have taken a nap and pulled his curtains for privacy. He sat up and yawned, rubbing his eyes; Harry pushed his curtains back and observed the quiet room. It was dark out, and there were no signs of his roommates. It must be dinner time right now or else he missed it. He walked over to the window and let Hedwig in. She looked at him piercingly, and he fetched a couple of treats for her. He checked her leg tube, but there was no message inside. He fed her a couple of owl treats, stroking her feathers softly.

“It was just a dream,” he laughed to himself. “I dreamed it all, Hedwig. But it was so real. Let’s go see if I’ve missed dinner, okay?” Hedwig fluttered to his shoulder, nipping at his ear affectionately. Harry walked towards the door, still shaking his head over that crazy nightmare. Malfoy, kidnapped? Yeah, right. Although…Harry felt butterflies erupt in his stomach as he thought of the blonde, and the part of the dream where he and Dra—Malfoy were dancing came back to him. His cock hardened again, much to his chagrin, and he paused in reaching for the doorknob, trying to think unsexy or non-sexy thoughts to make his erection go away.

Snape in St. Mungo’s Bog of Eternal Stench! Being chased by a Blast-Ended Skrewt! McGonagall—

“Better to stay in here, dear. There’s nothing you want out there. Oh no, no, no!” As if on cue, Minerva burst through Harry’s door, still hunched over with junk tied to her back. Harry drew away—mercifully, his erection wilted on sight—but to his horror, he realized that it wasn’t a dream! It was a nightmare, and he was still trapped in it! A movement at his shoulder, and his hands reached up reflexively to catch the stuffed owl that was falling from his shoulder. He clutched her under his chin, seeking comfort and protection.

“Hedwig,” he mumbled nervously. Minerva advanced and took his arm, guiding him to his cabinet, which had been Transfigured into a desk with a mirror. She motioned for him to sit, and he complied, staring at his reflection in the mirror. Minerva toddled away and returned a second later, clutching something.

“Oh, what have we got here?” She held out his Firebolt, and he took it, tucking it into the crook of his elbow. “Oh, your little broom. You like your little Firebolt, don’t you; yes, yes yes! There you go! Oh, and there’s your Golden Snitch sweater! You remember your Christmas present from Mrs. Weasley, don’t you? Yes, yes, yes! What else have we got? What’s this? Let’s have a look!” Minerva was pulling things out of his trunk and other places that Harry couldn’t see, but he was so confused. She would hold something out, and he would take it. She would find something else and give it to him, and before long, he had quite a pile of his things in his lap and draped over his shoulders.

“Oh, it’s your quill box! It’s got all of your school quills and sugar quills! Oh, and here’s your first birthday card from your best mate! You like your best mate; you never wanted it thrown away, did you? There it is, that’s right, that’s right, okay. Now, then, what else? Oh, and here is your DADA book! That was from Sirius; and you loved Sirius, didn’t you. And look at this! You’ve got a wizarding chess set! Oh, here’s a treasure! You’ll want that, won’t you, my dear? Go on, look at it!” Harry had to shift to keep his things from falling, but his breath hitched as Minerva held out his ‘treasure’ with filthy hands.

He took the picture from her, lost in thought and oblivious to everything as he stared at the only picture of his parents he had. His eyes roamed over his father’s face; he had always been told that he looked exactly like his father, but his father was so handsome and confident…Harry was sure that they were just being nice. The same flyaway black hair…except that while James’ seemed to be stylish-messy in this photo, Harry knew his was just ugly-messy. Tears welled up as he looked to Lily Evans Potter. Her red hair was just perfect, and she seemed so happy. Her bright green eyes—the emerald eyes she bequeathed to her only son—laughed up at the man she loved, and he was pulling her close. They were both smiling, and they looked young, vibrant, and in love. They had no idea that their deaths would be because of their son, their only heir, the unworthy baby…

“And here’s Bouncy Ferret. You’ll want him, right? There you go,” Minerva’s gravelly voice shook Harry out of his reverie, and he blinked, sniffling a little and wiping away the two tears that had dropped down his cheeks. He looked in the mirror to see the junk lady putting a stuffed ferret on his shoulder, patting it, and turning to find something else. He stared at the ferret, and a slow smile spread across his face. He remembered that Fred and George had given him that as a gag gift a year or two after Moody had turned Malfoy into a ferret as punishment. As an inside joke, he dubbed it ‘Bouncy’, and he, Ron, and Hermione had driven the blonde absolutely batty by giggling about it whenever he was around. Harry didn’t think he had ever seen the spoiled brat so furious as when he was left out of something.

“Oh, yes! Oh, yes! Here’s your little dragon for you, hmmm?” Minerva piled a green stuffed dragon on his other shoulder. Something chimed in his memory…something he was supposed to be doing…and he narrowed his eyes at the dragon, trying desperately to remember.

“There was something I was looking for,” he half-whispered. It was just on the tip of his tongue! Minerva froze in horror.

“Ah, don’t talk nonsense!” She admonished, looking around wildly for anything and everything else. “It’s all here! Everything in the world that you’ve ever cared about is right here! Here’s your Quidditch uniform!” She pulled out his scarlet robe and dumped it across his lap. Harry’s bangs were falling into his eyes, and he gave his head a quick toss. He stared at the mirror at the lightning bolt scar on his forehead that had been covered by his inky tresses.

“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…And the Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have the power the Dark Lord knows not…” Harry recited poignantly, not exactly sure where his words were coming from, but they meant something to him and seemed connected to the scar.

“What’s the matter, my dear? Don’t you like your things?” Minerva’s lip curled as Harry began reciting the Prophecy, and she knew she had to do something quickly.


“It’s all junk,” he replied in a wondering voice.

“Huh?” Minerva was really scared now. She picked up the Golden Egg, Harry’s only souvenir from his victory at the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The Tri-Wizard Cup went into Hogwarts’ trophy case, alongside a picture of Cedric Diggory at Harry’s insistence. Harry didn’t even keep the prize money, but he completed the First Task, which was to get the Golden Egg, and then it assisted him in the Second Task. It was the only thing that didn’t remind him point-blank that it was his fault Cedric was dead, and he kept it in his trunk. “Well, what about this? This is not junk! Hmmm?”

She wagged the Golden Egg at him, and he took it from her, staring at it. The memory of being hoisted up on his friends’ shoulders right after he won it, while he held it up triumphantly as they all cheered for him, came to his mind. He remembered looking up in elation…and seeing Draco Malfoy standing at the banister of the upstairs landing, staring down at him with a mixture of hatred, awe, repulsion, and respect. Harry was too distracted at the time, but now, in his memory, he examined Draco’s face more closely. He hadn’t let the snarky blonde’s anger dampen his mood, but now he wondered if he was mistaken. Maybe, in the heat of the moment, he misinterpreted Draco’s facial expression, because, in his memory, Draco looked more sad and lonely than anything else. There was a stark contrast between the Slytherin Prince, dressed in black and standing alone—an outsider—looking down into Harry’s merry world where everyone was celebrating with him. Draco wasn’t a part of Harry’s victory party, but as Harry’s mind’s eye stared at the blonde, he looked as if he wanted to be. Harry’s heart went out to Draco, and all he wanted to do was take his rival in his arms and hold him and protect him and kiss away all of his fears…

“Yes, it is!” Harry cried, jumping to his feet and throwing everything up in the air. He cast off everything that Minerva had been piling on him, and he took the Golden Egg in his hand and smashed the mirror with it, crying, “I have to save Draco!”

He barely heard Minerva’s whine of failure because the very ground began to shake, and the illusion that was his bedroom began to come apart. Just above the mirror, the wall and ceiling broke apart, and dirt began pouring into the room as the stone walls rattled their way apart. He didn’t look back as he climbed onto his Untransfigured cabinet and began to claw his way out from underground. If he had looked back, he would have seen the other beds slowly become dirtier and the sheets twisted, tore, and became ragged. The room came apart, and Harry fought all the more just to get out of there, and then he heard Ron and Tonks.

“Young sir! Young sir! Are you alright?”

“Harry?” Ron’s voice sounded closer, and suddenly Harry’s wrists were grabbed by the redhead and the girl with purple hair. They both gave an enormous heave, and Harry broke free of the ground, emerging as if from a small hole in a clearing. They all fell back, relieved to be back together, and gave each other hugs.

“Noble knight, thank goodness! Thou art safe at last!” Tonks cried joyously, hugging both Ron and Harry, then turning to give Helga a goodly squeeze that made the badger grunt in surprise, before turning back to smother Harry in another hug.

“Where are we?” Harry disentangled himself from Tonks, and Ron pulled him up, clapping him on the back.

“Harry’s back!” He crowed joyfully. Harry smiled as he brushed the dirt off of his clothes and out of his hair.

“Harry, look!” Tonks squealed excitedly. “We’re almost there! This is the door to the Death Eaters’ camp!”

“Ron, Auror Tonks, let’s go quickly,” Harry said. “We don’t have much time!” Tonks nodded, suddenly turning businesslike. She brandished her wand and hopped onto her badger.

“Helga, forward!” She commanded, and Helga obeyed, trotting up to the three snoring people who were supposed to be guarding the door. “Open the door!” Harry paled as he and Ron followed without a noise.

“Auror Tonks, we must go quietly!” Harry hissed frantically, looking to the guards, who slept on, oblivious. Vernon Dursley emitted the loudest snore. He was sitting in a chair, leaning back against the wall, with his beefy arms folded, and his eyes closed. The chair looked as if it could break at any moment. On the other side of the door, a rather plain woman with a long, horse-like face was curled up on a matching chair. Petunia Dursley was sitting sideways, with her knees drawn up. Her long skirts flowed out around her, and her head rested on the back of the chair peacefully. She, too, was snoring. To one side, their whale of a son, Dudley, had worked his way off his chair and was laying on his stomach in the dirt, alternating between snoring and coughing as his inhalation brought a little bit of dust into his nose, and he coughed it out.

“Open up! Open up right now!” Tonks was still being loud and waving her wand. Harry felt an inexplicable surge of fear upon seeing these people, and he only knew that he desperately didn’t want them to wake up.

“You’ll wake the guards! Quiet!” Harry whispered, trying to catch hold of her and missing. He kept trying to shush her as she continued to holler.

“Well, let them all wake up!” She proclaimed, ignoring Harry’s “Shhh!” “I shall fight you all to the death!” Harry finally grabbed her by the back of her Auror’s robe and clapped his hand over her mouth.

“Please, Auror Tonks, for my sake, hush!” Harry was near tears with worry.

“But of course,” Tonks said in a quieter voice, suddenly noticing how upset Harry was. “For thee, anything. But I’m a good Auror?” Harry nodded in the affirmative.

“And my hair is still purple?”

“Oh, yes!” His exclamation was soft but keen on assuring her, especially since she had started to listen to him.

“Then I shall fight anyone, anywhere, any place, anytime!” Tonks announced in a voice louder than before, and she waved her wand, accidentally poking Vernon Dursley in his big fat stomach. Harry grabbed her wrist, and they froze as Vernon shifted in his sleep, scratched his belly where Tonks’ wand had touched him, and resumed snoring.

“We all know,” Harry said in a low voice, grabbing Tonks’ head and forcing her to look at him. “Now hush.” Ron, meanwhile, had gone over to the door and pushed it open with ease. Harry let go and walked towards the opening. “Now, quietly.”

“Helga, be quiet now,” Tonks said to her badger reproachfully, as if it had been her making the noise instead of the girl. She mounted, and Helga waddled into the camp behind Ron and Harry. “I don’t see why we have to be so quiet. It’s only a Death Eaters’ camp.”

“I smell trouble,” Harry stopped and looked around. There was a moment of silence, and then all hell broke loose as something snapped. A few Death Eaters came into view, staring at the intruders; they grabbed their wands and began throwing hexes. The trio was forced to run, and while Ron and Harry were able to stay together, they quickly got separated from Tonks and Helga.

“Come on, Ron!” Harry yelled as they ran through the myriad of tents, dodging hexes. Neither of them had wands, so they were forced to improvise by throwing buckets or chairs at their pursuers. There weren’t very many, and they were able to knock out or maim their pursuers in a relative short amount of time. Helga, at the first sight of Death Eaters, reared in fright, and Tonks fell off. Helga ran off and found a hiding spot. Tonks followed her, trying to get her to come back. Ron and Harry were, by now, the only ones left upright, and they came to rest next to a pair of large metal gates. The gates that led up to the Manor.
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Author's note--AUGH! Okay, I'm quite proud of this chapter and giggly (like from the beginning few chapters) with "the cleverness of me!" I know that there were several who were anxious to know what was going to happen with this scene...AND NOW YOU KNOW! I hope it was everything you thought it would be!!! haha

I know that, if you haven't seen the movie, some of this stuff is quite random. In the movie, the junk lady shows Sarah to a curtain that leads to her bedroom, and Sarah is holding Lancelot while laying on her bed. And she looks around and is like "It was all a dream" and then the junk lady bursts in, scaring her. Then the junk lady tries to distract her with all of her toys and such until Sarah remembers that she has to save Toby.

Here is my take on it: Minerva takes Harry to his dorm room, which he shares, but he's the only one in it. Hedwig is a stuffed animal, and then Harry lays down, and when he "wakes up", he thinks he's dreamed it all. At that point, Hedwig is a real owl again, tapping on his window, since we know Harry doesn't *really* have a stuffed owl.

She's tapping on his window, but there is no message, so he decides to take her to dinner. Then Minerva is back, and Harry realizes that it's not a dream. That's when Hedwig changes back into a stuffed animal and falls from Harry's shoulder, but he catches her.

The different things that Minerva is piling around are all from Harry's world...I think that of all of his possessions, the Cloak and Map get used the most (besides his wand, of course, which is already long gone in the story) which is why I chose not to include them here. The Map itself was already used with Remus, Sirius, Peter, and James, and the Cloak is just used too damn much to be in the labyrinth. haha But Harry's Firebolt...couldn't go without mentioning that! And the rest of the gifts are from Harry's page on the HP Lexicon.

With the exception of 'Bouncy Ferret' and the stuffed dragon. I needed things that reminded Harry of Draco...and I thought 'Bouncy Ferret' was a particularly nice touch. hehehe

Lastly, I want to give a mention to the Golden Egg from the Tri-Wizard Tournament. First of all, again, I have not read the books or watched the movies, so I have no idea if Harry *actually* kept the Golden Egg or not. In the "Labyrinth" movie, the junk lady holds out Sarah's music box as an example of something that's "not junk" because it looks really expensive and delicate and pretty. I remember seeing a brief movie clip of Harry holding the Golden Egg up...and I'm pretty sure Draco was looking down at him from the balconey during that time.

I needed Harry to have it so that Minerva could use it as an example of something expensive/priceless, "not junk"...etc...even though there might be a contradiction between the fact that Cedric Diggory is dead, even though he was one of the House false alarms. *shrug* This is the labyrinth...things aren't always what they seem, and they don't have to make sense. haha

Anyway, I hope that makes sense to you, and I hope you agree. Oh, and I wanted to quickly mention the Dursleys. I know that they hate all things magical, but they needed to have a two-bit part, and I can see where Harry would be afraid of the door to the DE's camp, compounded with the fear he feels at seeing them in particular.

Thanks for sticking with me!

thrnbrooke--Yay, glad you liked! Thanks!

Maizeysugah--Yeah, Hermione is in a tough spot right now. But she IS a Gryffindor, so maybe that'll seep through, eh? haha It's true that giving Harry the peach probably wasn't the best idea, but...he got to dance and kiss Draco, right? That's gotta count for at least a LITTLE bit of something good. Plus, it really made Harry recognize his feelings for the blonde! Thanks for your review!

WeasleyWench--Awww, *hugs* I'm glad that this little hybrid of mine is helping you! I know what you mean about worlds falling apart...I'm trying to rebuild/remember the world I had here in Oklahoma before I left for Ireland. Sometimes I do good, and other times I'm not so confident. But yeah, I live for the moments that seem real. Thanks for reviewing!

This chapter is in the eighth segment of the movie on youtube. Here's the link (again) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg-sC5jTQOQ