Something to Remember

Chapter 18 Intervention

**

Harry and Draco once again led the way outside of the cave, their only source of light coming from the six ignited wands they held in their hands. None of them spoke much except Hermione and Ginny, who spoke animatedly. They seemed to be laughing and crying at the same time. Girls were strange in that fashion.

Draco, though joyful they had acquired the book, was especially cautious on their exit. It was in his nature to act that way. While the others remained happy and vulnerable, he kept his guard up. Harry stood by his side, though Draco knew Harry was only following his lead. Draco had a better sense of direction.

"Why did you lot come here? What's that book for?" Ginny asked, sounding very curious.

"Uh ..." Harry began awkwardly, lost for words.

"Hermione will explain," Draco assured quickly, sounding quite amused. The entire night had been so complicated with or without Ginny, and he certainly did not want to be the one having to explain all of it.

Amazingly, Hermione and Ginny actually returned to their animated conversation, except now they were speaking in specified, discreet whispers that, given the rather suspicious change in tone, sounded almost conspiratorial-like.

'Girls,' thought Harry privately, taking to a sudden roll of eye. But notwithstanding, merely, "... What a long night it has been," remained, nonetheless, all that Harry actually said ... And how plain and obvious, how beyond feeble, was this try to make forced conversation received. He was immediately faced by five unaffectedly dull, unimpressed glances.

"Yeah," Draco said. While they were still in the cave, he preferred not to speak much. He wanted to remain as careful and guarded as possible, as after all, by now Draco knew they were nearly there. The cave had been quite big, and they had been seeking the exit for some time now, but regardless of their worries, Draco had remembered the area quite well. The hardest part of their little adventure was at last over, and, he'd freely admit, to no one's greater relief than his own! But before he could enjoy a chuckle in pondering this, THEN --

Draco saw the light outside of the cave, finally. "We're there," Draco said exasperatedly, his spirits lifted quite significantly at this point.

"I thought we were lost for a bit, you know," Ginny said, coming off a bit rude in her careless inflection.

"Yes, well, you were wrong," Draco snapped, smirking evilly straight at her.

The six of them exited the cave with joyous expressions. It was dawn. The sudden change to natural light hurt their eyes for a moment, necessarily suffering the adjustment. It was actually quite nice, though, watching the sun rise for a refreshing moment, a harmless culmination as end to a difficult but ultimately successful adventure; and though they would still have to descend to get to the beach, Draco could see the waves crashing awesomely onto shore, a bit harder than before, and it never looked more beautiful to him. No beach-scene had ever felt this tantalizing, this inviting, to Draco before now; the circumstance was opposite from ideal, that was indisputable ... But it somehow looked a bit graceful. The scenery was simply different now. Very much deserted still, no less, but more natural, perhaps, in its aesthetic quality if anything. All six to some relative degree awed, the ruined village they ignored as they proceeded to descend towards the beach.

"You know what today is, don't you?" Harry said, grinning broadly.

"What might that be, Harry?" Ginny asked cheerfully.

"May Day!" Harry exclaimed, and they all laughed happily.

Draco was actually a bit startled by this announcement for a slight moment, for he of course would have certainly never guessed those words would follow Harry's spontaneous prompting; no surprise he'd expected to hear something urgent or anxiety-ridden was (and to the shock of none, notably) yet again ready to crash upon them. Draco himself had completely forgotten that it was the first of May already, to a modest degree bamboozled by it in a way. And even given the exigent circumstances, Draco's first thought, dread-filling, was about how their upcoming O.W.L. examinations were literally now only a short few weeks away! He gulped back painfully, suffering a sudden dry lump in his throat. Shaking it off (or at least trying to), Draco, also spontaneous, swiftly brought to light his own unusual change of subject, except his was a bit more critical. "... I wanted to tell you something," Draco said reluctantly, sounding a bit grave in uncomfortably muttering, "I talked to Celeste."

"Oh," Hermione said, sounding a bit grave herself.

"How upset was she?" Harry straight-out asked; he obviously knew where Draco was taking it.

"Very upset. She hasn't seen her dad since we last saw him. She had no idea of his Death Eater activity, you know. So for her it's traumatizing to accept how he's suddenly now hidden himself from the rest of human civilization, and under the constant threat of supervision at that. She hates it. She feels terrible all the time about it. And you know I'm not the best at consoling or anything, so I didn't exactly do much to make it better, either ..." Draco admitted uncomfortably, markedly tilting his head off from their attentive, surveying faces.

"She's going through a lot," Hermione agreed quietly.

"Yeah, and she's not at all like her sister. I've talked to her a few times. She's outgoing and kind," Ginny said assuredly. "But it really makes it worse how she doesn't have any experience going through this kind of thing, twisted as that sounds. It was an absolutely terrible shock for Celeste, I'd reckon that for sure. You know what I mean? The poor girl doesn't know when she'll see her father again, and if she does, would it someday be behind a jail cell? That's probably what she's thinking."

Ginny essentially summed it up quite well, Draco thought. He certainly knew what it was like to wonder if a parent would someday end up doing life in a jail cell. It was definitely not a pleasant matter to ponder on, to say the very least. The whole entire thing was just a permanently-damaging fiasco built on conflict which now seemed to, in secondary, extend a more liberal purpose for torturing Celeste. And it was all not fair at all, Celeste, a girl of twelve, losing her father at such a young age, and in this particularly horrid way of all, too! Many people at school were automatically cruel to her now, thinking she came from, and therefore sustained ties to, some rotten Death Eater family origin or what not ...

And of course this was not true, farthest from as a matter of fact: Celeste carried absolutely no guilt, nor ever even the slightest knowledge of for that matter, her now-exposed father's cahoots with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Celeste's father had been the sole Death Eater in her entire family, playing it out as the Dark Lord's helpful clandestine agent. Indeed, in stark contrast, the rest of his family had been normal law-abiding citizens doing their respective part in contribution to the wizarding community; His wife never knew, his children never knew, his parents never knew -- not one among his long list of expanded family members had any knowledge of his treachery. (And likewise, nor did any number of his closest friends for that matter, excepting the ones of course who, too, would turn.) All in all, Zabini's burning love for the Dark Arts took the better of him years and years ago, and because he'd somehow been able to miraculously maintain his necessary secrecy throughout all that length of time, his betrayal was never discovered; and so rightfully be it that now finally exposed, it'd landed him in a big mess involving very possible serious consequences which, it was noteworthy, seemed only to enlarge in their likeliness as more depth into his service to the Dark Lord was uncovered ...

At last they arrived at the beach. The waves crashed onto shore, and Draco actually stopped just to admire the beauty of it. 'I still hope to never come back here,' Draco nonetheless mentally decided, smiling.

And then it came. A terrible, cold laugh. Alerted, Draco immediately turned around and saw the face of someone he had wished to never see again. Bellatrix Lestrange stood in front of them, holding her wand, pointed directly at Susan, who held their oh-so-pivotal book of instructions, their very last source of hope intended specifically for the Heirs' taking only, and which, if damaged or stolen, could never be replaced.

"Fancy seeing you here, Harry Potter," Bellatrix spoke evilly, boldly perked in tone. "Ah, and Draco, the unforgivable traitor."

"How did you find us?" Draco demanded to know.

"The Dark Lord is no fool, Draco. He found his mistake in eliminating the wrong person soon after it was committed. Upon realizing his error, the Dark Lord immediately knew the Heirs were at Hogwarts. Knowing the threat, we've had guard here for a long time, just waiting... Listening, actually, as a matter of surety ... Yes, that's all we've had to let ourselves do ... Await the minutest sound on bare animal instinct of your invading life; now at last the tactic officially has proved itself to be a tremendous marvel of Mother Nature's, so you see! Just look, you have fallen perfectly into our diligently-upheld entrapment! Yes, need never doubt the immeasurable potential of the Dark Lord's power, children, for in doing so you have made yourselves foolish ... We were long-prepared and ready for battle at but the very millisecond of your arrival." Bellatrix spoke these words as if they contained meanings utmost profound, spun together each in a clever, confident, captivating-like speech filled with her own self-admiration; every word which she was articulating forth at them hinged entirely on the conviction of her mind's set belief in that quintessential portrait of Voldemort as perfect and superior to all living creatures ... A growingly obsolete image truthfully, at least Draco would say, but which no less heartily rested statically at the viewpoint of his followers, most especially the Death Eaters, needless to say: he the all-praiseworthy Dark Lord; he the greatest sorcerer in all wizarding history; he the alone entitled, RIGHTFUL reign of all existence; he the standalone, unarguable ULTIMATE among all geniuses ...

"We're not giving you the book no matter what!" Susan said back in heated rejection, hostilely sniping for a nerve in her indignation, and sounding braver than she had all night.

Undeterred, Bellatrix let out a mirthless, harshly uncontained laugh. "I had the pleasure in watching your family die. Maybe I'll allow you to see them again!" Bellatrix Lestrange spoke again with an emphatic expression of grandstanding urgency in her speech's dark, terrible tone, and then it was but a half-moment before she then without hesitancy pointed her wand directly at a now fearful-looking, shock-stricken Susan, readying for direct strike. "Avada --"

"NOO! EXPELLIARMUS!" screamed Terry right at Bellatrix; and then, like it were by total miracle, he somehow blocked the spell from bulldogging head-on at Susan, shattering the curse's unfailingly fatal repercussions. Yes, amazingly so, Terry had successfully stopped the Killing Curse!

"Run!" Harry cried out, though croakily; his yells were progressively growing more out-of-breath. Moving fast, unimpeded, Harry and Draco nevertheless led the rear this time. Bellatrix sent spell after spell, missing every time, to their absolute immense luck.

"You can only run so far!" Bellatrix did not sound worried or upset. And in a moment, Draco understood why.

Five Death Eaters had blindsided them all at once. Standing threateningly side-by-side right at their immediate face just as they attempted to run up the hill, it was as if they'd suddenly burst from nowhere upon their eyes. Draco recognized them all. But the only one he had faced in battle before was Zabini, standing tall, and looking evilly at them. Draco froze in terror.

How would they escape?

"Hand over the book, Bones," Zabini demanded.

"You're surrounded," said another Death Eater.

Susan stood firm and headstrong, her confident refusal no less asserted. "No. Never."

"Hand it over, and you live," Zabini stressed intimidatingly.

Draco sent a stunning spell at Zabini, which missed by less than an inch, initiating them into battle.

The six of them began battling the Death Eaters, but within minutes Terry was already unconscious on the ground, bleeding badly, though luckily not fatally. Susan was now crawling on the floor, barely able to stay conscious, though never letting go of the book. Ginny now faced two Death Eaters on her own...

'Ginny,' Draco thought abruptly, as he blocked the Cruciatus Curse inches from hitting Susan. 'She has the cloak!' he suddenly realized to himself. "Accio book!" bellowed Draco. The book flew out of Susan's hand into Draco's. "Ginny, get over here!" Draco took a second to glance at Harry and Hermione, whom were now facing Bellatrix Lestrange along with two other Death Eaters. Ginny, dodging spells by the two she faced, eventually took enough care and cover that she soon capably made a dodge-filled scramble across ways and successfully went to Draco.

Luckily regrouped, the two wasted no time to continue battling their enemies side-by-side, now advantaging their new cooperative combat approach. At a timely moment, Draco whispered to her while sending stunning spells at Zabini and the others,"Take the book, hide under the cloak, and run!"

Ginny did as she was told. Effectively, this distracted the Death Eaters from their concurrent duels with the others to head for her, putting themselves unintentionally in a rather vulnerable state.

"Stupefy!" Harry hit one of the Death Eaters just in time. Five stood, and they all sprung towards Ginny, or where they thought she was. "Impedimenta! Run, Ginny, run!"

Thankfully, it was not long before they could no longer hear Ginny's fading footsteps anywhere near them. Enjoying a slight bit of relief as she noticed this, Hermione, who was now suffering from a bleeding lip as well as a terribly sore and twisted leg, shot another Death Eater down. Four remained. Without Ginny, the battle had now come down to a 'four-against-four' dueling match. So, despite her absence, this meant they still were at least tied fairly, which Draco was grateful for. Spells continued to shoot back and forth, most quite deadly in nature. The leftover Death Eaters were very good at blocking, much better than any of them were unfortunately.

And Draco was hit by Zabini. As if ten stones had hit him at once, Draco fell. He was still conscious, but only just. He felt as if the whole world was shaking. He thought of Hermione and Harry and the others. He had to get back up, he had to help them. But how? Evermore distantly, he heard screams and battle ... Exhaustion seemed to be spontaneously overwhelming him ... But no! He could not fall asleep ... No, he had to get up, somehow, right? Someway ... 'Don't sleep', Draco definitely heard these words cry astonishingly out somewhere remote of him, though from exactly whom, his now not even half-conscious mind could not piece together: those were the only two words Draco could faintly make out, nothing more ... And then again they were cried out, but by perhaps someone different this time, he thought he reckoned. No way to be sure though, as after all, the words clearly came from distant-like voices ... 'Don't sleep' ... 'Sleep ...'

Ah, yes. He could hear the word echo in his brain: Sleep. Sleep ... Yes, that was exactly what Draco wanted to do.

**

Meanwhile, nonetheless -- now only Zabini stood. Harry and Hermione only remained standing. A fierce battle, this was proving! They had lost Draco already a moment ago; he'd just been hexed badly before falling down to the ground, useless and unconscious. Hermione kept reassuring herself it was not fatal, though still worried as ever. And for Merlin's sake, where had Ginny run off to?!

Harry aimed his wand at Zabini, as did Hermione. He looked particularly fierce and sinister even all by himself. It was truly disturbing, encountering the father of Blaze and Celeste Zabini and finding a fully-unraveled, unmerciful cold-blooded murderer. Granted, Hermione had never been friends with Blaze but still, it certainly astounded. How could such a terrible man raise such good people? It was sickening ...

And Hermione thought of the unconscious Terry, and of Hannah, barely staying conscious. And Draco, dear Draco, who would have fought to the death for them. He had struggled to stay awake for them. How would they get through it all? Hermione refused to think about it, could not handle trying to fathom an idea that somehow seemed incomprehensible. Then, "... STUPEFY!" managed to scream Hermione with livid passion, but Zabini blocked it.

"Foolish girl," Zabini muttered.

And Hermione had an idea. "Why are you a Death Eater, Zabini? Do you know the amount of heartache you cause to Celeste?!" she probed.

He did not speak immediately. "Do not speak to me of things you do not understand!" he screamed in rage.

"You don't understand. Your daughters weep for you and you repay them by being a murderer," Harry hissed at him.

Zabini eyed Harry closely and terribly. It didn't matter though. Hermione took her chances. "Petrificus Totalus!" Right away Zabini completely stiffened, his arms and legs snapped together, and then finally he hit the ground very hard; left completely incapable of further motor movement, only his eyes were moving, just ajar though, and with a (for now) deadlocked gaze grievous of brutal shock and terrible defeat.

"Draco!" Hermione then said in a gasp, and she ran over to his body. It was worse than she expected. She couldn't believe her eyes. Blood was seeping down his forehead, and he was completely unconscious. A terrible chill went through her body as she quickly went in to feel for a pulse. Sensing a feeble pulse and letting out a long-held breath, Hermione silently prayed, 'He's going to be okay', if only really to soothe herself. Only time could actually tell, though ...

"Hermione!" It was Ginny. "Harry, go to the others!"

"But Draco!" Harry began, but he was cut off.

"Go!" It was Hermione this time. She was so panicked and confused she had yelled, though she had not intended to. Still, nevertheless Harry made no protest and went to help Susan and Terry. Acting quickly without hesitation, Hermione took off her cloak. She began ripping it in halves and wrapping Draco's wounds in it. If worse came to worst, she still also had a shirt and shorts. She was cold, but she did not care. She only cared for Draco. Quickly thinking of a few emergency first-aid spells, Hermione wasted no time to speak their incantations upon Draco's flailing body. "Draco, my love ..." Hermione said softly, as tears ran down her cheeks. Noticing Ginny's pained gaze, Hermione added hopefully, "Hang in there."

And then Terry and Harry came over. Harry was holding Susan. Terry looked wounded, but he was going to be fine. They both looked horrified at the sight of Hermione and Draco. Hermione was crying terribly as she tried to heal her husband's wounds best she could ... And then she made a decision: Apparition. It was the only possible way. She had read quite a bit about it, and had even tried it once. And now she knew she'd have to do it. It was the only way to save Draco. "I'm going to Apparate back," Hermione announced softly, then repeated herself utmost with confidence. "I'm going to Apparate back."

"Hermione, you can't! You don't have a license!" Harry immediately protested, sounding completely confused, just as Hermione expected. "You don't know how to!"

"I've been practicing, and Harry, it just doesn't matter. I have to save Draco!" Hermione tried to hold in her tears but could not. Her husband's life was at stake. She held his body, and focused harder than ever before. "I'm going. I'll alert Dumbledore and he will come rescue you. If no one comes within the hour, though, go on."

Hermione did not wait for a reply. Focusing harder than ever before in her life on Hogwarts, she closed her eyes. She gripped onto Draco tight. She knew she could do it. She could not mess up this time. Ready or not --

**

"Nowhere in the castle at all?" Sirius was talking to Dumbledore through the headmaster's fireplace, courtesy Floo Powder of course. Dumbledore had just alerted him that Harry, Hermione, Draco, Ginny and others had gone missing and had not returned. He was quite worried indeed.

Dumbledore calmly expressed his concern. "Nowhere at all, Sirius. I feel they have not gone missing on mere meaningless coincidence, however. I have a hunch, a speculation, a notion of thought, but I do not know for sure if I am correct."

"What is it, Professor?" Sirius was terrible at hiding his fear.

But Dumbledore was abruptly cut off, though he would appreciate it very shortly. With clearly great appreciation to the seriousness of the circumstance Madam Pomfrey had just entered, and looking as though something astounding had happened, she urgently exclaimed, "Two of them are back! Oh, Albus, please come! One of them is hurt badly, and the other says they must talk to you right away in order to help the others! Please, Albus!"

Instantly Dumbledore turned sharply receptive. "Lead the way. I'll send for you soon, Sirius, but in the meantime please send immediate word via Owl Post to obvious necessary parties. It is of course crucial most of all that we ensure a safe rendezvous with Lupin and Narcissa."

**

Ginny had used a clever spell and chained the Death Eaters' bodies together. There was no release as she had taken all their wands, and anyway, she would have to be the one to say the counter-curse, which she certainly wouldn't do. The four of them simply waited for the hopeful coming of Dumbledore, or anyone, really, for that matter, who might be able to save them --

It had only been a few minutes since Hermione had left with Draco, their Apparation having seemed successful. Ginny imagined in a few minutes their rescue would come, but it did not stop her from being terribly anxious. She sat with Terry and Harry as Hannah, who was in quite a bit of pain, lied down on the ground uncomfortably. She did not complain at all, but Ginny could tell she was in agony ... Ginny next thought of Draco. The wounds had looked terrible. Hermione had done a lot quickly to help Draco, but was it enough? Would Madam Pomfrey be able to save him? The terrible thought of not seeing Draco again ran through her head, which she just could not bear; the mere concept of it made her shake, as a matter of true fact. Eventually, Ginny allowed Terry to hold her a bit as she tried and struggled to relax in await of rescue ...

Crack.

Professor McGonagall and Hagrid appeared. They were saved!

"Are you all right?" Professor McGonagall spoke pressingly; to acquire information from them without delay for sure, but much out also of pure concern, it definitely sounded; if no other signification, there was barely any hint of sternness in her voice, which was very unusual. In fact, that rather said it all.

Hagrid himself looked pretty scared. "Come on, it'll be 'aight, reckon so. Come 'long now, you lot ... We'll have to do Sidelong Apparition, s'pose," Hagrid said decidedly, ending on a bit of a grumpy note. "More are comin' for them Death Eaters."

And then there were more pops, and others appeared ... It was finally over.

**

Draco was still unconscious. Hermione refused to leave his side. Madam Pomfrey said he was in a dangerous condition, but that he was in safe hands. But still, Hermione heard Dumbledore speak of transferring him to St. Mungo's. Hermione was so frightened. She had quickly explained to Dumbledore the situation and he had sent people from the Order to rescue the others. She was grateful for that naturally. They would be arriving soon. Ron was already there with her. As soon as he had found out, he had been there. It made her feel only guiltier for not bringing him, not that they'd had a true choice regardless.

"Hermione, it's going to be all right," Ron said, trying to comfort her.

She wept into his shoulders. She honestly could not bear to speak. Nothing at all would be okay until Draco was fine again. She would not speak again until Draco was awake, happy, and himself again. He had fought so hard to save them ... And then of course, Harry came with Ginny, Terry, and Hannah. They rushed to her side. But she could not speak. Ron explained about Draco. They watched him, all clearly horrified as well ...

But then Hermione realized the job wasn't over. It was never going to end in the cave. They had to continue on. They had to find the base of the Draught of Destruction, and then make it a reality. Of course, everything had been slowed down, but it couldn't stop the job from being done. Even Hermione understood that. And finally, she realized she had to speak. "Harry, oh Harry... Please listen." And she waited for his attention, which took nothing. "You have to go on -- Only you can be the ultimate victor at every stage of this. You know that. So, all things considered, Harry, you MUST get to the base, and then we can make the Draught of Destruction. It's the only way to take him down. Please, if we can make it, things like this won't happen anymore. Please, Harry, go. We're here with Draco. You have to do that."

"I can't leave him here, Hermione." Harry sounded so upset and confused.

"I know, I don't want you to. But you have a duty, Harry ... You have to fulfill it. It is nothing short of imperative. Do you understand me?" And at that Hermione could speak no more, but she lied her head down onto Draco now, allowing her tears to fall onto Draco's wounds.

Of course Hermione was right. Harry knew it. She was right. He did have to go on. Regardless of what anyone said, he had a duty. Draco had said it once. He could not rest until Voldemort was gone. And he had to do it. He would have to trust the others with Draco. It felt terrible to leave his best friend behind, but he had to.

Whether he liked it or not, Hermione was absolutely correct: Harry had to fulfill the duty. He understood that. But that did not make it easy. But he did do as Hermione had wished. He spoke to Dumbledore. He would prepare a portkey to Diagon Alley. He refused to let him go alone however. Sirius was to go along. Sirius had arrived to Hogwarts shortly after he had. Along with him were Lupin and Narcissa, worried sick. He would leave that in the hands of Hermione ... That was HER duty, he was now coherently concluding ... And he, Harry, conversely using this same refreshing logic, had his. And he would fulfill it, that was it: it was his destiny. Plain and simple ...

And so, accepting forward this fully-determined principle -- a 'one-of-a-kind ' in its explicit, sole focus on only his own specified, true destiny -- Harry Potter at last realized that he could not and would not peacefully rest until his all-important destiny was successfully completed.

**