Purpose

~ Chapter 34: Slipping Away ~

Out in the castle grounds...

Fenix stared at the Forest calmly. Her Elementals had taken the opportunity to set up several traps in the Forest to keep the Death Eaters out of their hair while they deal with the giants. They let out deep breaths, slightly panting at the midnight exertion. The leader of the giants, Golgomath, let out a terrible roar of anger as the body of students took on a defensive position from inside the ruined section of the castle.

: Remus, Sirius, we might have to kill the giants. Especially the biggest one. Dumbledore had tried to negotiate but he was forced to use magic, :

Aberforth's thought echoed in their minds.

"Isn't that going to stink?" Ginny asked doubtfully.

"No help for it." Sirius shrugged. He looked around. "So how do we kill a giant?" he repeated the question via mindspeech to the other group behind the castle walls.

: Keep hitting them with spells-- :

Aberforth's voice was cut off as a huge pile of rocks came tumbling down, caused by the massive blow of Golgomath's cudgel. The Dumbledore brothers stared impassively at the exploding bits of rocks as it impacted against the shield, sending the projectiles soaring through the air. Some large splinters of the rock hurtled toward the giants. One fell dead when a sharp fragment pierced through the face, penetrating through the immense skull. : Until they fall dead, I guess, : Aberforth continued.

**********

The Death Eaters ran deeper and deeper into the Forest and to their dismay, some happened to get stuck on vines that suddenly began to coil tightly about them. Some fell into invisible pits; their screams were cut off as they disappeared, only to reappear before a band of centaurs, crossbows ready and drawn. The Greater Nymphs that lived in the Dark Forest had tipped the centaurs off and prodded them a little to get them to act, hence they were ready for action. Voldemort looked at his followers in disdain. He was lucky he had taken precautions not to bring the more important members of his followers. He looked around for Lucius-- he could not afford to lose the Malfoy, because next to Snape, the pale-haired man was the strongest in wizardry and whose intelligence was much higher than most of his followers. Lucius was deftly dissecting the vines that held Rabastan Lestrange hostage with a new wand that Voldemort had given him.

Death screams rang out from somewhere; Voldemort traced the death energy to find six of his Death Eaters bleeding their life away and the centaurs quickly galloped away at the instant they felt his presence. He let the energy of their deaths flow into him. Lucius was about to voice out a recommendation then chilled as he watched the inhumane expression on Voldemort's face. The Dark Lord's eyes were closed, enjoying the huge volumes of energy as he felt his followers struggle to keep their hold on life.

The Dark Lord opened his eyes to gaze directly into Lucius's pale gray eye, looking at him in fear. Yes...Lucius...fear me... There were thoughts flashing through his mind as he watched the pale Lucius, licking his lips almost seductively. "Gather the rest here. We'll watch how Dumbledore deals with the giants."

"What do you intend to do, Master?" Lucius maintained a calm, even curious tone although he was trembling inside with fear, and something else as Voldemort gazed at him. Voldemort's long hair fell over his eyes, covering half of his face. He was laughing softly.

"We'll watch... for now."

**********

Four giants were down, being the weakest and easiest of the ten giants to slay. The concentrated Stunning Charm by the School's Army worked too well on them. Golgomath was angered; both by the successful attacks of the students and that Voldemort and his followers had not come to aid them. McGonagall was swearing, much to the amusement of the Headmaster as the giant evaded a large stone that had come flying toward him, landing on another giant's head with a sickening crash. There were five more giants to go.

: What is his armor made up of? :

Snape asked in irritation, as he watched the huge giant beneath the protection of their shield.

: From the looks of it, it must be from the hide of a Graphorn, :

Aberforth answered.

: Spells won't work then, :

Snape's mindvoice was filled with annoyance.

: You're stating the obvious, :

Sirius replied, purely out of habit.

: Shut up, :

the Potions Master snapped.

: I think I know how to stop the big one. Just distract him long enough so I could find his heart, :

Fenix volunteered. Remus the werewolf watched her for a moment but did not speak. Commands were issued via mindspeech and repeated twice as the army concentrated on hitting Golgomath with everything they had.

**********

Voldemort waited. His followers had regrouped, some were looking very haggard after they has gotten rid of the Bluebell flames. Lucius waited for Voldemort's instruction. He saw the small figure of the Fire Master moving a little away from the general commotion. Voldemort smiled with satisfaction.

**********

Fenix focused her attention on Golgomath's back, standing at least thirty feet away from the giant. She was awfully close to the Forest and she took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. She concentrated on the giant and used her Sight, trying to find the giant's heart. She bit off a curse. The armor that the giant was wearing was interfering with her Vision. Work from the ground up then... She knew she was making herself vulnerable to attack but had strictly warned the students to remain with their divisions. Better me than them.

**********

Voldemort had sent three of his people to strike at the Fire Master and he watched in anticipation for the right time to set his spell on her.

**********

Fenix was nearing her goal. Just a few more seconds... Her neck prickled as she felt three Death Eaters closing in behind her. Instantly, she called up for her sword and swung it rapidly, disemboweling one man. Damn them! Then she Saw a pulsating source and gave a sigh of relief and placed the last bit of her energy to stopping it. Quite suddenly, she felt a pain in her chest and found that she could not move. Her right hand that was clutching at the pommel of her sword suddenly went limp and the ancient weapon dropped soundlessly onto the ground. She felt herself struggling to breathe, and felt her head spinning from the lack of air. Still, her heart was being squeezed. Can't give up now... She ignored the immense pain, her eyes only seeing the life energy of the people before her. She targeted her strength at Golgomath's heart and she clenched the huge arteries. The giant gasped, going down to one knee and clutched his chest, struggling to breathe. His heart stopped and the giant toppled to his side with a loud crash.

**********

"Now," Voldemort commanded. He and Lucius Apparated to where the Fire Master was standing immobile. She was paralyzed and her face scrunched up in pain. A maniacal grin began spread onto his face and he instructed Lucius to pick her sword up.

Fenix knew what the Dark Lord had planned. He had cast a spell on her so that it would be impossible for her to retrieve her sword back. And somehow he knew that since neither physical objects nor spells could hit her, her sword had a high chance of damaging her in some way, since her sword was a part of her. Voldemort stood so he was gazing directly into her eyes. His face showed a little disappointment as he took his time to read her eyes. He seethed with frustration as he felt no fear coming from her. Her unique pair of silver eyes only bore defiance and contempt for the Dark Lord.

He started to laugh as Lucius maneuvered to face her and in one swift move, the one-eyed wizard thrust the sword right into her abdomen, plunging the graceful blade down to the hilt. Fenix did not scream, and her eyes did not show any signs of fear. Her pain however, traveled down in waves through the minds of those who had grown close to her. A howl emerged from Remus and he collapsed on his paws, as he felt Fenix's presence in his mind growing weaker.

Two more giants went down after Golgomath's downfall. Her 'family' broke off from their positions and sprinted down toward where she had fallen on her side. Voldemort's followers had reappeared behind their leader and quickly aimed Stunning Spells on the advancing group. Dean and Neville went down, and half of the Defenders rushed toward their fallen friends. Harry's eyes were focused solely on Lucius Malfoy, ignoring Voldemort completely that he did not see that a Cruciatus Curse was rushing toward him.

"Expelliarmus!"

Harry screamed, his green eyes darkening, waving his wand at Lucius. Suddenly, Draco knocked him down. The Slytherin collapsed, screaming in pain as he intercepted the Cruciatus Curse. Harry got up to his feet, ignoring Draco and Voldemort, then rushed at Malfoy, knocking the older man off his feet. Harry knew he would not be able to use any of the Unforgivable Curses for he did not have what it takes to make the curses function the way they should, but he was capable of doing some intense damage to Lucius's kidney. He balled his fingers into a fist and hit Draco's father with all his strength. The wizard doubled up in pain. A volley of silver arrows shot out of the darkness-- some struck the remaining giants while some began methodically putting down Voldemort's followers. The unexpected ray of arrows stopped. The grounds were silent, except for the whimpering of Remus, laying his muzzle on Fenix's cheek, and the vibrations of the fallen giants where the deathly arrows had struck solidly.

Now that the giants were no longer their concern, the Army of Hogwarts began to advance out of the castle to meet Voldemort. Dumbledore's quiet voice echoed menacingly. "Is the final confrontation to be now, Voldemort?" The Headmaster calmly rested his hand on Harry's shoulder, and the teachers screened the boy totally from the Dark Lord's eyes. Suddenly remembering what had happened a few minutes ago, Harry quickly went over to Draco, who was supported by Warrington. He was surprised when the Slytherin prefect began to struggle to get to his feet. His friend cursed when his palm burned and the area about Draco began to heat up dangerously.

: Professor! :

Harry's mindvoice pierced Snape's deranged mind-- the man was looking at the sword and the blood in horror, and Harry slowly backed away from the Slytherin. The Potions Master's head snapped to focus on Draco, whose eyes bore a strange resemblance to the Fire Master's; his eyes were gleaming with dark emerald fire. The group of students parted instantly-- they had to, because Draco was burning like a smithy totally gone out of control.

"You have no idea what you just did," Draco said in a quiet voice, totally devoid of emotions. Rabastan Lestrange growled at him and shot off the Killing Curse toward the boy so fast that it was impossible for anyone to shield the boy. Miraculously, Draco kept moving-- the Curse seemed to be totally useless as the Slytherin prefect went out of control. The young man's eyes fixed on the man that had been his father for fifteen years. "Even if she still lives, I'll personally be your enemy for as long as you live. Not Snape. Not Harry." He broke off the eye contact with Lucius Malfoy to stare bravely at the Dark Lord.

Voldemort could not believe at the tremendous power that was emitting out of the Fire Master's body as the Fire Master bled to death. He gave a malicious smile as he sought to take control of the life source that was wasting away, to be taken into the Earth. But he was blocked and he narrowed his eyes dangerously. Draco had saw through it all and the words that came out of his mouth confirmed it. "Do you think I will just watch while you steal her away? I think not. Huh... you don't deserve what she's giving away freely."

The Dark Lord was subjected to the most powerful burning inferno for the first time in his life, and felt his robes disintegrating away to dust. Some of his Death Eaters were incinerated and his eyes sought for the incapacitated Lucius, then grabbed his henchman and Apparated out. Macnair, Lestrange and those who were still much intact-- although all were suffering from severe burns-- followed their Master's example.

The fire died from Draco as he regained his control. He stumbled towards the fallen Fire Master, tilting her face to look into her still-open eyes directly. There was nothing in them, though she was breathing but rather shallowly. Draco ignored the pain that was beginning to consume him-- the effects of the Cruciatus curse were taking its toll on him. A detached part of him heard Ginny falling down on her knees and began vomiting after she looked at the amount of blood spilled and the sword sticking out of Fenix's back. He heard and felt the hooves of horses coming from the direction of the Forest. I have no strength left to call her back... : Harry. : His mindvoice faltered uncertainly, but Harry did knelt beside him, ignoring the galloping of hooves, looking at the Slytherin expectantly. Professor Sprout and Professor McGonagall restored Dean and Neville and motioned the two boys to stay seated; their eyes scanning the Forest warily. Hermione was clutching at Ron's shirt, struggling not to cry as she watched Fenix's face began to turn into a deathly white.

Draco did not know how to ask him but Harry linked his mind with the Slytherin easily and he looked at Harry gratefully. Sirius joined in the meld, as well as Snape and the werewolf. : Fenix? : Only Draco's voice could be heard. He closed his eyes to search for the unconscious Fire Master. He finally found her calmly leaning against a tree trunk, her silver eyes smiling at him. : Come back. : She remained smiling at Draco but did not move away from her tree. : Are you going to leave me now? : he asked her desperately. Her expression changed and her eyes turned melancholy. She turned her head to her right and Draco saw a beckoning bright blue flame flickering in the distant between the trees. He felt Remus's despair as they felt her yearning to go to the light. Draco felt grief choking him down. Taking the strength of the people that had merged with him, Draco selfishly darted forward to grab the small form of the Fire Master in his arms, holding her tightly. : I'm not letting you go. We're not giving you up, : he said firmly, feeling his tears streaking his face slowly. : Never. We love you too much to do that. :

Something changed. The air that had been still began to show signs of activity. Autumn leaves began to drift towards them. They heard singing from somewhere in the woods. A horn blew. Dumbledore stared at the band calmly but was shocked to find that they were not centaurs. A familiar figure riding on a black steed, followed by two of his bodyguards on chestnut-colored stallions approached them. The leader and his two riders dismounted and their horses stood still. The leader inclined his head politely to the Headmaster and knelt at Fenix's side. His palm hovered at Fenix's sword and his two riders gently pushed Snape and Sirius away from her and echoed their leader's gesture.

Slowly, Fenix's sword began to vanish and the three quickly wrapped her abdomen with pure Healing energy to stop the bleeding. There were several sharp intakes of breaths as the mounted band parted to admit a tall, striking man in black robes through. He strolled briskly towards the company and motioned the two riders away from Fenix. He spoke in slightly accented English.

"This is something that I must do. I could not allow her to sustain serious damage that might do her and you," the stranger looked at Remus, "harm in the future. She is a woman after all." Only the adults were able to comprehend the meaning behind the stranger's sentence. Fenix suddenly opened her eyes and the first thing she felt was Draco's tears falling onto her face.

: Mineif? How many times have I told you guys to keep him at home? :

Fenix complained weakly to the two riders as she watched the Elven Lord and the stranger before falling into an exhausted sleep.

"Still as mothering as she used to be," the Elven lord muttered. The stranger gave a crooked smile and began Healing her.

Fifteen minutes later, the green energy that was flowing from the stranger and the Elven Lord subsided and the stranger nodded his head in satisfaction. He stood up, looking sternly at Dumbledore and the rest. "Make sure that she gets enough rest and refrain from asking her to do too much. It will take a while before she gets back to her full strength. Be relentless; she can be stubborn as a wild boar sometimes," the stranger said before vanishing.

Mineif stood up and the rest of his band moved closer. Cadriel spoke up. "We should go to where it is protected. It's too unsafe here. We can't do anything about the dead as yet so we'll wait until the sun rises." Nods of agreement from around them. Draco wiped his eyes clear of tears and stood up just as Madam Pomfrey and the Paramedics hurried towards them, bearing stretchers. Cadriel and Sirius carefully lifted the sleeping Fenix up onto a stretcher and the Defenders surrounded the invalid, not trusting to let their guards down. Draco followed after Sirius, quickly moving away from Harry who had opened his mouth to speak to him. Harry sighed and he guided Ginny up to her feet, and saw Dean lumbering slowly to get to her. He turned to look back at the Forest. As if preventing him to entertain more dark thoughts, a couple of the Elven warriors steered him away and he had no choice but to go back towards the castle with the rest of them. The Rearguards and the warriors moved slowly, making sure that their backs were safe for the moment.

**********

Back into the Great Hall...

During the skirmish with the Death Eaters and the giants, Madam Pomfrey had turned a section of the Hall into an infirmary and Dumbledore promised her they would all go into the hospital wing-- crossing their fingers that the supplies were all safe-- in the morning to get all her stuff in the Hall. The Death Eaters still stuck inside the shield was locked inside the antechamber, because Dumbledore was having second thoughts about sending them back to Voldemort. As he had said to his older brother, he felt better if lesser Death Eaters were present by Voldemort's side, and also because of the two Death Eaters who were also the fathers of at least two of their own students. Fenix was sleeping on a pallet, surrounded by three wolves while Sirius and other teachers checked the students for any kind of injuries. Ginny-- after the encounter with the Lethifold and then the nauseating sight of a dying Fenix-- was having a severe case of hysteria. Mineif looked at the young girl in sympathy and after whispering to Dean to get her to lie down, he carefully rested his fingers on her forehead and she fell asleep. During all of these, Harry looked around for Draco to thank him and also to have Snape check him if he was all right, but the Slytherin was not around the Hall. The doors to the Hall were open and he wondered if the Slytherin was still lingering outside.

: He's in the dungeon, :

someone whispered in his mind and Harry frowned. A handsome elf with violet eyes looked directly at him and jerked his head slightly toward the direction of the dungeons. Harry narrowed his eyes speculatively and watched Hermione whisper softly to Ron. His godfather was still checking the rest of the students and Moody was busy in helping Hagrid setting up more pallets for them to sleep. Snape was conversing softly with the person that had provided him sanctuary decades ago. Remus was too preoccupied with his partner to notice anything else. Harry stood up carefully and made his exit as unobtrusively as he could, although he could not hide his movements from the elves who were watching everything calmly.

He silently went down the narrow staircase and whispered to his wand, "Lumos." He searched each dungeon carefully. There was someone leaning against a wall and he approached the figure carefully. It was the founder of Slytherin.

"You're lucky he isn't in the common room,"

Salazar whispered, his handsome face was solemn then he gracefully pointed at the door of one dungeon. The ghost gave him another look before he vanished.

"Nox,"

Harry whispered and the light of his wand went out, and he tucked the wand safely back into his pocket. The door to the dungeon opened silently and he saw the Slytherin hunched down on a bench, face covered by his palms. He closed the door back, and the room instantly became immensely dark, which was perfect for him but he sighed as something began emitting a whitish dim light. At least now I won't bump into anything while walking, he thought comfortingly to himself.

He sat down slowly beside Draco, though at a safe distance. He opened his mouth to talk, then felt totally awkward at having to say it aloud. : You better let Snape check you over, : Harry began uneasily. The Slytherin was unusually silent. : And thank you for what you did, both for Fenix and me. :

Draco's shoulders was shaking and he laughed a soft bitter laugh. : I don't mind what I did for Fenix but I am a fool... to bind myself to you by saving you... : he continued laughing and Harry stared at him, suddenly feeling angry. No matter how long he have been with us, he's still a git. He gritted his teeth furiously but kept a tight rein on his temper. : Can you believe it? : Draco was asking him. : I actually love her more than I love my own mother! : The Slytherin gasped, his laughter turning into something more desperate. : You people have make me weak, Harry. : He shamelessly let his tears fall, clutching his sides in despair as he rocked back and forth, overwhelmed by sudden grief. : I'm beginning to care what happens to you. : The last sentence seemed like a blow to Harry's stomach. He could not breathe. He realized that tonight was the first time Draco had ever called him by his name. : Why, Harry? Why must you complicate my life? :

Harry was struck speechless. His mind was in a whirl. Draco was shuddering so greatly with choking sobs that the bench was shaking. The Slytherin suddenly whirled to face him and Harry was stunned, when he caught sight of the Slytherin's silver eyes, streaming tears. I must be going mental. He frowned as he thought silently, he has silver eyes just like Fenix!

: God... how much I hate you. :

Draco's mindvoice was so full of venom, making Harry flinch. At first he thought Draco was referring to the Almighty but that thought evaporated when Draco's anger at the situation flowed into him and knew that the Slytherin was blaming him.

: I didn't ask you to knock me out of the way! :

Harry snapped out, his own green eyes were misting out of sheer anger.

Draco stared at the young man sitting beside him, feeling guilt and horror gnawing at his heart. That's just it, isn't it? I could have turned a blind eye, or just cast a shield over him, but I didn't. He stared at the pair of green eyes, mirroring almost the same amount of anguish that he was feeling. Love him... He began laughing hysterically. I know I'm in a 'puppy love' with Alamanda. His hysterical laugh became more shrill. But I'm beginning to love him? I must be having some kind of breakdown... I care for Four-Eyed Potty? The truth hurt him more deeply than the memory of having his parents branding him as an outcast.

: STUBBORN GIT! :

Harry yelled in his mind, standing up and looked down at Draco furiously. : JUST ADMIT THE TRUTH THAT YOU DO CARE FOR ME LIKE YOU CARE FOR THE REST OF US! : He suddenly froze, feeling a little surprised at his own words. He took a moment to reexamine himself, not really seeing that Draco had got up to his feet. Have I really accepted him into the 'family'? Harry scowled a little and repeated the sentence to himself silently. His heart tightened every time he did that. Flashes of memories of Draco laughing along with them during their meals cropped up suddenly in his mind and he wondered how he had managed to miss it. That sudden knowledge did not repel him as he thought it would. It feels right, he belongs to us now. Harry blinked in confusion, suppressing his own hysteria. He was still deep in thought when he felt arms around him and he returned the hug in relief. : Stop being a git. Let's go back up and let Madam Pomfrey or someone check you. I'm sure that the curse is still lingering and I think you have managed to overtax yourself, : he said conversationally. : By the way, your eyes have turned silver. :

: I know. Salazar told me. :

**********