Forsaking Fate

Choosing Sides

Chapter 11

Over the next two days, Hogwarts was in chaos. Many students had died and grieving parents arrived to claim the bodies of their children. Other parents arrived to remove their children from the school they now deemed to be unsafe. Other parents also arrived to remove the kids from the school they now deemed to be unsafe. Wards that had been destroyed in the attack were rebuilt twice as strong.

"We assumed that Voldemort wouldn't dare to attack Hogwarts and became lax in our security," Dumbledore announced one evening. "The new wards are impenetrable. The Death Eaters if they through some miracle make it through the first ring of wards will have to walk all the way from the hills of Hogsmeade to Hogwarts. We will have ample time to prepare to fight back. This is the safest place in the world."

Harry, eager to inform his parents that he was indeed safe, wrote a swift letter that also informed them of the events with Ginny. Not long after, Harry watched a large group of people moving towards Hogwarts with their possessions in tow. At the head of the crowd were the Potters.

"Mum? What's going on?" Harry asked as his parents reached the Entrance Hall.

"Oh Harry, thank Merlin you're alright!" Lily said, hugging her son. "The wards surrounding our neighborhood fell with Hogwarts. We don't have time to rebuild them so the families are moving here."

Nodding, Harry followed silently.

----------

Sitting in the dark as she had been doing for the past forty-eight hours, Destiny watched as a shaky breath filled Draco's form.

"Welcome back," she murmured as his eyes flickered open.

"Where are we?" Draco rasped out.

"Grimmauld Place."

Sitting up suddenly, Draco exclaimed, "The battle!"

"Sh," she soothed, forcing him to lye down, "it's over."

"Who won?"

"Voldemort accomplished what he wanted to and left." Seeing he didn't understand, she continued. "He marked his equal just like the prophecy said he would. Now he can begin to end this war."

Rubbing his head, he turned back to her. "Did anyone die?"

"Yes, Neville Longbottom, Blaise Zabini," at this he looked away, "several Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs."

"Anyone else I know?" he whispered.

"Ginny Weasley."

"Bet Potter didn't take that well."

"No, Destiny admitted, "he announced to the entire school that I'm the monster of death."

"He did what?" Draco snapped.

"Then he goaded me into trying to raise Weasley from the dead."

"Oh, Des," he whispered, taking her hand, "please tell me you didn't."

Pulling her hand away, she confirmed his fear.

"It didn't work and I ended up killing her again. Then I came here."

"You're such an idiot! Did you try to clean up your mess or did you just run away?"

"What do you think?" she snapped. "There was nothing else I could have done! I did try to smooth things over but they were horrified and I'm lucky to not have been burned at the stake or something!"

Pursing his lips, he looked away in order to stop the flow of degrading words that came to his lips. He lay in a dark room painted with maroon walls. Dust had settled many years ago on the decorations and through the years had thickened considerably. Paintings that hung on the walls gave off an eerie feeling as if the occupants were indeed capable of doing harm. The knick knacks on the tables were obviously of a dark nature and the books on the shelves would have been frowned upon by normal society. Facing his friend once more, he asked quietly, "What am I doing here?"

"You were injured; there was a large hole in you. I saved you."

"You saved me?" he inquired, raising an unbelieving eyebrow.

"Well, Stanton saved you?"

"The vampire?"

"Um, yeah."

"So, now I'm a blood sucking parasite?"

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"You really don't have to speak with such distaste," a voice stated liltingly from the dark doorway. Stepping in, Constance smiled. "You need to feed child and then you must return to Hogwarts before anyone realizes that you've gone."

Nodding, Destiny added, "You'll be my eyes and ears."

"You're not coming back?"

"No," Destiny replied curtly.

"While you were out," Constance explained, "The Ministry passed a new law. It says that all Dark Creatures are to be branded with tracking marks so that they'll know when one goes over to the dark side. They seem to thing that Destiny is evil." Eyes drifting lazily to her, she smiled slightly at the dark haired girl.

"So, you can see why I won't be returning. They know what I am and I will die before I allow them to degrade me in such a way," Destiny announced.

"And the rest of your people; what will they do?"

"Our people, Draco," Constance corrected him softly. "You are in danger too."

"They will move and reset up their lives elsewhere."

"They're running away," Draco stated, disgusted.

"They are avoiding the certain death that would come to them if they were caught. They would fight for freedom and humans would die and in turn, so would my people."

"So, you're expecting me to allow myself to be branded like a cow?"

"No, no one knows that you are anything less that human. Just . . . be discrete. If you're discovered, run. Under no circumstances will you allow yourself to be taken alive."

Nodding, Draco agreed.

----------

Returning to Hogwarts through a secret tunnel in Hogsmeade, Draco walked quietly through the relatively empty halls, taking in the large amount of people gathered in the once empty classrooms.

"Malfoy," a voice snapped behind him. "What are you doing outside of your common room?"

Turning back to face the voice, Draco found himself face to face with his cousin Nymphadora Tonks.

"Hello Nymphadora," he drawled, "lovely to see you again."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at him. "I asked you a question."

"I was hungry," came the blonds reply.

"Hungry?" she spluttered in disbelief. "People are dead! Voldemort has attacked- successfully I might add- the only safe place! Everyone is pointing fingers at each other in blame for the security failure and to top it off, sixteen year old boys are surviving the Killing Curse and you're wondering about thinking about your stomach?"

"Yes. . ." he relied slowly. "No one else is thinking about it for me so I figured I best help myself." Hearing her low growling noise, he continued, "Besides, none of this is really any of my business."

"Of course not; I mean, your father is only Voldemort's second-in-command. You have nothing to fear from him."

Merely raising his eyebrow, Draco asked, "So, how did Potter survive?" Rolling her eyes, at him, she stormed off. "Women, I'll never understand them."

Reaching the common room without any further problems, Draco calmly approached Pansy Parkinson.

"How did Potter survive?" he demanded.

Continuing to flip through her magazine, she replied, "They're saying Potter may have the ability to repel and absorb curses. Knocks him for a loop for a little while though."

Blinking, Draco gasped, "He can repel the Unforgivables?"

"Apparently," came her bored reply. "Not sure I believe it though." Leaning forward, she examined a dress robe on the page. "I mean, this is Potter. Since when is he special?"

"Yeah, he's nothing special."

Laughing nervously, Draco headed for his dorm. Shaking his head, he thought, 'It's no wonder I always came out the worse in our fights.'

----------

Sneaking quietly through the deserted corridors of the Ministry of Magic, Destiny ducked behind a statue as an Auror walked by. When the footsteps had faded, she resumed her path. Reaching the door, she nodded for one of her ghosts to enter. Minutes later the spirit returned.

"Well?"

Biting his lip, the ghost reached out and touched her forehead. As the information was passed between them, the blood began to drain rapidly from her face. Fighting the rising bile in her throat, she whispered, "Oh God."

----------

"Concentration camps?" Constance asked doubtfully. "Are you quite sure?"

"Yes," Destiny snapped, running her hand violently through her hair. "The Ministry must have heard about the negotiations with Voldemort. There are maps and everything of it."

"Now what?" Stanton inquired.

"Now? What choice do we have; we have to help destroy the Ministry before it finishes us."

"Voldemort?" Constance breathed out.

Nodding, the Necromancer Queen confirmed.

----------

Sitting in Dumbledore's expanded office, Sirius watched as the Order of the Phoenix members filed in and found seats. Last to enter was the headmaster. Seating himself at the head of the group, he cleared his throat.

"It has been confirmed; Harry Potter is indeed the one from the prophecy."

"No," Lily whispered. Louder, she repeated herself. "No! He's just a little boy! How can you expect him to fight a full-grown wizard?"

Gazing at her sadly, Dumbledore replied, "We will train him. When he goes up against Voldemort, he will know the spells he needs."

Rising angrily to his feet, James snapped, "And what if we refuse to allow you to do this to our child?"

"That is not an option," Dumbledore stated in a quiet voice.

"He is my son and you have no say in it if we refuse to allow you to train him."

"If you fight me on this," the headmaster said sadly, "Harry will be taken from your custody."

Stunned, Sirius gaped at the old man. "Are you insane? This is suicide! You can't expect a sixteen year old boy to go up against the Dark Lord and survive!"

"I'm not asking for his survival. I'm only asking for his success. He will be joining this war in a few years time anyway."

"No!" James shouted, "I won't allow it!"

Calmly, Dumbledore said, "With or without your permission, Harry will fight." Turning to face the rest of the Order, he announced, "I want him ready to fight by this time next year. If it can be done sooner then see that it happens." Gesturing that they were finished, he returned to the Potters. "Do not make this more difficult than it has to be. There is no other alternative."

"He'll die," James whispered.

"Perhaps," the headmaster acknowledged, "but his death will save countless others."

Horrified, Sirius left the room. 'This is not the side I joined,' he thought. 'We have truly become no better than Voldemort.'

----------

From beneath his invisibility cloak, Harry swallowed convulsively. They were going to force him to kill someone. Even though it was a madman, it would still be murder.

When he had snuck into the corner of the headmasters' office, Harry had known it wasn't a good idea. After having been ignored for days though, he believed he had a right to know how he had managed to survive the curse that had killed all others it came in contact with.

'Guess I know now,' he thought bitterly, throwing off the cloak and climbing into bed. Staring thoughtfully at the ceiling, he came to a decision. 'I'm going to do it. For Ginny.'

----------

Walking swiftly through the halls, Sirius stopped the blond haired boy as he passed.

"Draco, tell Destiny to have her trunk packed and be ready to leave by dawn tomorrow."

Walking away before the boy could reply, Draco watched him go. Shrugging, Draco continued on his way. If the man didn't even realize that his daughter had been gone for several days, who was he to inform the man otherwise.

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The next morning, Harry was called to the headmasters' office.

"Have a seat Harry," Dumbledore ordered.

Taking a seat between his already seated parents, he watched the old man quietly.

"I'm sure you're wondering just how you managed to survive that curse several days ago."

"No, Sir. I know how it happened."

Nodding, Dumbledore didn't question how he had come by this knowledge. "And do you agree to be trained to fight?"

"Yes Sir. I want nothing more than the chance to avenge Ginny."

"Very well. You're training will begin in an hour in the Charms room."

Standing Harry glanced over to where his mother now sat crying quietly before turning away.

----------

As James left his rooms after comforting his weeping wife, he turned to see his best friend striding quickly toward him.

"Have you seen Destiny?" he asked anxiously.

Shaking his head, he asked why.

"She was supposed to be in the Slytherin common room waiting for me this morning but when I went to see her, nobody seemed to know where she was."

"I'm sure she's just wondering around the castle," James replied carelessly. "Why don't you check the Astronomy Tower; she's always liked it up there."

As he began to walk away, he was stopped by the desperation in Sirius' voice.

"James, nobody has seen her since the attack."

----------

Sitting at a table across from Voldemort, Destiny attempted to sit still and not fiddle with her feathered quill.

"Have you finished yet?" the snake-man snapped.

Startled, Destiny gripped the quill tighter until it let out a small cracking sound. Drawing a deep breath, she nodded. Pushing the piece of parchment across the table, she spoke.

"This is the list of demands that the Dark Creatures wish to have granted in exchange for our help.

Glancing over the list, he nodded. "There is nothing else you wish to add?"

"If," Correcting herself, she continued. "When you win, I want my own country where I will be in control and you will not interfere. If you agree, we will help you. When this war ends, we will not try to overthrow you providing that we are left in peace according to the contract.

"Nodding, Voldemort hissed, "Agreed."

----------

A search had begun for the missing girl throughout the castle ending with the friends meeting up in the Entrance Hall.

"She's not here Sirius," Julia announced, worry clear in her voice. "I checked with Rosaline and she hasn't seen her either."

"She's not on the map," Remus commented, "and she's not in the Shrieking Shack."

"Not in Hogsmeade either," James finished.

Sighing sadly, Sirius lowered his head. "So, she's left then."

"Left?" Julia gasped. "Where would she go?"

"I don't know. She promised that if it became too dangerous for her to be here that she would leave." Annoyed, he remarked, "I didn't mean on her own though."

Shifting uncomfortably, Remus remained silent. Sometimes knowledge was best kept to ones self.

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Arriving in the charms classroom, Harry was surprised to see Aurors waiting for him.

"Um, hello?" he asked.

"Ah, Harry," Kingsley Shacklebolt smiled. "Glad you could make it."

Nervously, Harry said, "I thought that Professor Flitwick was going to be teaching me."

"Nope," Nymphadora Tonks exclaimed, "You're going to be getting a real Aurors education from those who know."

"Oh," he commented, "lucky me."