I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM THAT SERIES BECAUSE THEY ALL BELONG TO JOANNE KATHLEEN (J.K.) ROWLING!

-Chapter Twenty-Four-

Ginny and Astoria were standing at the window, holding James’s feet as he looked through the window.

“What do you see?” Ginny asked her son.

“We’re near some woods. At least, I think so. All I see is trees, but it is dark.” James answered as he stepped down from the woman’s hands.

The three looked at each other. It had been a little more than a week of them not being tied up in their captivity. Ginny and Astoria had to make a couple more letters, but not too many. The three of them were planning on escaping tonight when their kidnappers were sleeping because they were afraid they would get caught in daylight, so they did nothing out of the ordinary.

Now that they were sure that it was almost midnight, all of them were getting ready to escape.

Their plan was to break out by breaking that window. Then they would run until they were able to apparate and then they would be safe. What they were worried about though was getting caught, if there was a spell on the glass, and if there wasn’t a spell on the glass, what if their captors woke up from the sound of glass breaking.

“So the plan still seems to be the same.” Ginny said.

“I don’t know where we are, but surely apparition will be something that could be done somewhere on this property. How else would all of those people get here and how would they get us here.” Astoria said.

James and Ginny nodded.

“The window is dead bolted shut. We’ll have to break it.” James told them.

“Then we’ll risk them hearing the noise.” Ginny said.

“What will we break it with?” Astoria asked.

All of them looked around and the thought hit James first when he looked into the washroom. He quickly walked over there and took the cover off of the toilet. It weighed probably ten to twenty pounds and he was sure that it would be enough to break the glass. He walked back to them and Ginny nodded.

“So, James, if Astoria and I hold you up you can break the glass. Once you do, push the cover through the window and use it to take the glass off the sides of the window so that it will be easier for you to get through. Once the window is broken, push yourself through it. The glass will hurt, but you’ll have to go through.” Ginny told her son.

“ Once I’m out, I’ll help you two.” James said.

All three of them nodded.

“We will have to be quick. James, get out there as fast as you can. When we get out there, we all need to run.” Ginny said.

The three of them got in position. James tried to keep his balance and Ginny and Astoria held his feet to bring him level to the window. After a couple of seconds looking at the window, James sighed and then brought his arms over his head and as hard as he could, hit the window with the toilet cover. All three of them heard the loud sound of glass breaking. It was like a lightening strike that hit somewhere beside your house. Ginny, Astoria, and James quickly moved their heads to protect themselves from the glass. When the glass was broken and after a couple of seconds, James looked back at the window and used the toilet cover to quickly spread the glass from the window.

Already, James had cuts from the glass on his hands and face.

“Hurry James. They’ll investigate now.” Ginny told her son.

With the help of Ginny and Astoria pushing up on his feet, James made it through the window. He grunted in pain from all of the glass that he was setting his legs and hands on, but he made sure to endure the pain so that it wouldn’t happen.

Once James was out, he turned around and placed his arm through the window. He took his mother’s hand and used all of his strength to pull her out through the window. When Ginny was out, both of them helped Astoria.

When all three of them were bloody from kneeling in the broken glass, they could hear the commotion coming from upstairs. Their kidnappers were alert.

“I’ll go with Astoria, James. I promise that I will find you, no matter what happens.” Ginny told her son as she hugged him, “just run straight until you can apparate out of here.

Astoria then looked around and then said, “Wait a minute! This is Profes—.”

“Hurry Astoria. You’re weak, I’m coming with you.” Ginny said as she let go of James.

Instantly, both of them were running in different directions during the dark. James ran left while Ginny and Astoria ran to the right.

As James ran in the dark, he tripped onto the ground so many times from rocks and tree roots. His legs were already screaming in pain from all of the cuts that he had, but he tried to ignore them as he ran around the forest. At many times he did his best to apparate, but every time, he found that he was still running through this forest at night.

“I’ll go over here! Get the dogs!” he heard a voice come from the house, it’s voice echoing through the forest.

“Get the kid! Potter will worry more about the kid!” he heard a woman yell.

Then James heard a horrible yell that had a coarse voice, “NOO!!!!!!”

James looked around him as he ran, trying to distinguish the trees and roots from the ground so that he wouldn’t keep running into them, but in the darkness it was hard. He had to ignore the yell, though he knew that it was his mother. Not to mention, but he had been in captivity for weeks, he was tired and hungry and he hadn’t had a drink of water for days. Dehydration was already starting to set in as he ran.

But his persistence was inspired from his mum. He wanted to go home and so did she, but if she somehow got caught with Astoria, he could try and help the police by helping them find his mum and Scorpius’s.

But he realized his plans were foiled when he felt thick cords wrap around him. James fell to the ground as the cords wrapped themselves around his ankles, arms, and mouth, binding him and gagging him. James hit the ground with a thump and he grunted in pain. He then heard laughter coming from all around him as well as dogs growling.

“I’ve got the kid.” A man shouted.

“Put him out. It’ll be easier.” The woman said before James saw a yellow flash go around him before everything went dark.