Twilight

Twilight

L.S. Song

Chapter Twenty - The Duel and the Veela

"MULTIPLICUS SERPENSORTIA!" Harry roared.

Giant cobras flew out of his wand. Attack the boy. Try and free the girl.

"FLIPENDO!"

Harry ducked, just in time. A table smashed into the wall and cracked. Voldemort wouldn't be very happy about that.

The watch and Fortuna always bouncing jets of light off him gave him too much self-confidence.

Draco Malfoy was sharper than Harry would like to admit.

Snakes slithered to Hermione's crystal.

C'mon, c'mon, Harry thought.

Ducking a stunning spell, he hollered, "What's the matter, Malfoy? Scared to kill me? Afraid your precious little snake of a master will punish you?"

"CRUCIO!" spat Malfoy.

Harry rolled away and laughed.

"STELLARTICA LUMARE!"

Bright white light filled the room.

Malfoy didn't even flinch.

Damn, stupid move, Potter. The guy doesn't even have real eyes!

"IMPEDIMENTA!"

"PROTEGO!"

"STUPEFY!"

"PROTEGO!"

Harry smirked at Malfoy who was fuming.

"CRUCIO!"

The spell hit Harry just as he yelled, "TORRENTORIA FLAMARE!"

As Harry writhed on the floor in pain, yelling out, giant black clouds rose above Malfoy, spitting fireballs down at his face.

He jumped nimbly away from most of them, but a fireball smacked straight into his face. Draco let out an inhuman roar of agony, his hands holding the side of his face.

When he let go again, Harry saw that skin had been burnt straight off. He could see the bleeding flesh, in a place, the skull itself.

"Emmendo! FRECTUPENDUS!"

Harry jumped away from the gutting charm used on fish to remove their insides.

"STUPEFY!"

A close miss. Harry was getting tired from all the dodging, he didn't have the energy to cast any more spells.

"INCENDIO!" shouted Draco.

As Harry rolled aside, the hem of his robes catching fire, he saw a chance. Draco was busy observing Harry's robe being burnt, a sick smile on his face. Evidentially he thought Harry would soon be burning up.

"SKELEDESTRUCTO!"

It hit one of Draco's feet.

Another yell of pain.

But he still stood on his one good foot.

"FLIPENDO!" Harry gasped, with one hand still beating the fire out on his robes.

Draco was sent flying.

Harry extinguished the fire.

By then Draco got up, his eyes glinting dangerously.

Harry wasn't one to attack an opponent when they were down, so he raised his wand, ready to counterattack whatever Draco was about to throw at him.

He didn't anticipate Draco moving to shoot a spell at Hermione.

Harry blinked. A second later, Hermione's crystal flew open.

She awoke with a yell.

"HERMIONE! WATCH OUT!" Harry hollered.

"Oh hello Harry. Draco dear, what are we doing here?"

What was wrong with her? Harry thought to himself.

"HERMIONE! This is RIDDLE MANSION! He's... URGH!"

Harry let out a shout of disbelief as Hermione walked over to Draco, and held his hand tightly. She pressed her body tight up to Draco's.

What was going on?

Draco had a devilishly twisted smile on his face.

Not good.

He slowly realized. Draco had confounded Hermione, given her a love potion or something.

"Hermione. Come here. He's on the other side. It's me, Harry."

"I know perfect well who you are, thanks."

Hermione's eyes... they weren't brown anymore.

They were... an amethyst color. Harry had never seen anyone with that color eye, besides for a lady he saw on TV, advertising for contact lens.

But why put contact lens on?

He was puzzled.

Draco held Hermione closer to him, and she giggled before starting to kiss him.

A sight that Harry never dreamed he'd see, or even hear of.

"EWWW!" Harry yelled, unable to control himself.

Anything that snogged Malfoy had four legs, was incurably ugly, or else was inanimate and didn't have a mind of its own.

Last time he checked, Hermione was none of those things.

"Hermione... what are you doing..."

His voice had become weakened.

"Crystallize," Draco said.

Hermione was once engulfed in the crystal again.

What on earth just happened?

"Love potion, entrancement charm, imperius curse, and confundus curse. Hopelessly vulnerable... and good for a shag too... may I say, she is good in bed - for a mudblood."

"BASTARD! CRUCIO!" Harry roared.

Draco merely stepped away.

The spell zipped dangerously close to Hermione's crystal.

"Careful, Potter. You try to leave, or you attack me one more time, and your little mudblood dies. Now, drop your wand or she dies now."

How many times had he heard this by now? Countless. He really wished he had his watch now - he had set it so that a portkey would activate merely by him telling it verbally to. He sighed. He'd have to do this the hard way.

"ACCIO CRYSTAL!"

As the crystal came flying towards him, he spun around, and pointing his wand at the doors he yelled "ALOHOMORA!"

Nothing happened.

Malfoy smirked.

"You see, Potter, there is no escape. ACCIO CRYSTAL!"

"PROTEGO!"

Funnily, as the spell was rebounded, a big diamond necklace flew towards Harry from Malfoy.

"Women's jewelry, Malfoy?"

"I'll have you know, that was made from the finest..."

Harry didn't have time for this. Pointing his wand for the floor this time, he yelled, "MAXIMUS REDUCTO!"

A massive hole opened in the floor, and grabbing the crystal containing Hermione, he dropped down to the floor below.

"Potter... you leave this house with her you'll never find a way to free her, from the crystal or the charms... Only I can release her... and bring her back to the way she was before..." he heard Draco's voice come from the floor above.

Damn Malfoy, Harry thought bitterly.

By now, some Death Eaters had come to investigate the source of the racket Harry had caused in blowing a hole through the floor.

Another day then, Malfoy, Harry thought to himself.

It wasn't worth sacrificing himself and Hermione on Malfoy's word.

But could he apparate from such strong wards, and in addition holding a massive crystal in his arms?

He grabbed the crystal, and tried. He'd find a way to free Hermione... if they got out of this place.

"You're bluffing, Malfoy," Harry said out loud.

The words came out at Grimmauld Place.

He really hoped that Malfoy was indeed just bluffing.

***

Malfoy, it transpired, had not been bluffing - or at least so it seemed as day after day passed, everyone unsuccessful in removing Hermione from the crystal. Everyone but Ron, Harry, and Ginny had given up already. McGonagall, Snape, and Moody had taken to reading Voldemort's diary in search of useful information. So far, nothing had come up.

They tried brewing potions, they tried charms, they even tried transfiguring and banishing the crystal - all to no avail.

Harry himself was already getting restless one day, when news came from Moody and Snape, who had taken to controlling what forces the wizarding resistance had to assist the muggles.

Snape had called an emergency meeting of the Order.

"I bring news... the Dark Lord has struck again... at the muggle army headquarters... seventeen Ministry officials were killed... and... one of ours... it was Dung..."

The atmosphere went from tense to grieving in a matter of seconds.

A few people were stuttering, "No...no..."

Fred and George stared at Snape wordlessly, their mouths hanging open. The twins had always liked Mundungus.

Mrs. Weasley was openly crying on Mr. Weasley's shoulder - Harry remembered the blazing row they had the last time Mundungus was in Grimmauld Place.

Ginny stood, tears sliding down her cheeks very visibly.

"Poor Dung..." she whispered.

Harry walked over to her, and hugged her tightly from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. Harry would be strong, he wouldn't cry.

Ginny jerked at first, but relaxed in his arms.

Mundugus' death hit too close home for comfort.

Determination took Harry, as he held Ginny's crying form in his arms.

Voldemort would pay for this. He would pay for all the people he had taken from the world, people that deserved to live.

He would kill him.

Or die trying.

***

On the third day after Mundungus' quiet funeral behind Grimmauld Place, about three weeks after Harry had gone to Riddle Mansion, Harry, Ron, and Ginny finally had a breakthrough.

It had been when all three of them were extremely frustrated, and all of a sudden Fortuna meowed.

A loud noise vibrated from the mysticat, somewhat like a gong.

Harry looked at his pet strangely. Then he turned to the crystal.

Initially, the crystal had started to glow red. Ron had let out a cry of despair and dived towards it, afraid that the glow meant something negative.

As he went forward, the crystal exploded.

But the Hermione that came out wasn't the one that had gone after Harry in Riddle Mansion.

This was the Hermione that had been under Malfoy's spells.

Ron, who had, bless him, been overwhelmed with joy at seeing his best friend and his girlfriend awake again, jumped and pulled her into a kiss.

This wasn't a good idea.

Hermione had whipped out her wand and growled, "Touch me again, Weasley, and I'll kill you."

She spat on the floor and walked out, leaving a very shocked Ron and Ginny in the room, and a very determined Harry right behind her.

Walking out of the room, she never noticed the black silhouette behind her, until a voice said calmly, "Stupefy."

"She's under spells, I told you two..." said Harry, to Ginny and Ron who had just come out of the room after him.

"Never mind that, how do we stop it?"

"I don't know... we wait for Snape... we need some Veritaserum... she would have to tell us what Malfoy put on her and we can find counterspells..."

"Snape won't be back for a few days!" exclaimed Ginny.

"No one else knows how to brew it besides..."

"Hermione," both Ron and Ginny finished for him.

"Oh! I have an idea!" exclaimed Ginny.

"What?"

"Use legilimency!"

"On who?" asked Ron.

"Hermione, you troll! Harry can find out how to brew Veritaserum from Hermione's memories..."

"Or I could just find out what she knows using Legilimency?" smirked Harry.

"Shut up, Potter."

But by then, Harry had already bent over Hermione's scantily clad body, and muttered, "Ennervate."

"Petrificus Totalus," said Ron.

Hermione's body went stiff again, but her eyes still open.

"Legilimens!"

Harry sunk into Hermione's memories. It was fragmented, unclear, but it was enough.

Hermione crept slowly through the door, only to feel a strong arm bind her by the neck almost immediately.

"Ahh... what do we have here? A little mudblood... why what are you doing here? Looking for something? Someone maybe?"

Hermione was determined not to let Harry down.

She stuttered, "I... I came to try and defeat Lord Voldemort!"

The unrecognized voice laughed.

She shuddered as she felt hands feel her in places she most definitely did not want to be touched.

"Who... who are you?"

"Why... don't you remember me? I remember you... my mudblood."

It was a voice from a long time ago.

Hermione remembered.

It was Draco Malfoy.

The memory changed again.

In bed.

Next to Draco Malfoy.

Been there for an hour.

Harry shuddered. The mental image was disgusting.

Had to get to Harry...

"Come here, Granger... you know I think we could get to know each other better after all... you are good for a mudblood you know?"

She had slapped him.

And then her world was dominated. Shook apart.

All she knew was him. And it wasn't the 'him' she wanted to think about. Blonde hair replaced red, a sneer replaced a smile, cold grey eyes replaced warm blue ones.

Everything else was merely a passing blur.

Must tell Harry... watch gone... no protection... no way out...

Another memory.

Knife. Blood. Pain...

And everything went blank.

"It was Malfoy."

"We know that, haven't you found out anything useful?"

"Yes... exactly what Malfoy said... a love potion, a confundus curse, an imperius curse, entrancement charm... but there was something else."

"What?"

"Something dark..."

"WHAT?"

"He did some blood magic."

"What does that mean?"

"Draco Malfoy... he put blood in... I think it was Veela blood..."

"So?" said Ron.

"Don't you ever pay attention in class, Ron?" scolded Ginny, apparently taking up Hermione's role.

"What class, Ginny?"

Harry had cringed slightly, but Ginny went on, unabashed.

"Veela blood spreads through your body like a virus... if you drink it, or get it into a wound, it stays in your body until it multiplies to a certain extent - until a person reaches his or her limit in holding extra magical cells."

"So?" Ron repeated. "So I have a gorgeous looking girlfriend, what's the problem?"

"Veela can cast very complicated love charms... the problem is they're very weak to love charms themselves too."

"So are you saying Draco Malfoy... are you saying that Hermione's in love with MALFOY?"

"More and more each day."

"Oh I'm GLAD you didn't kill him Harry, cause now I'm going to rip him limb from limb, rip out his heart, revive him, and do it all over again!" shouted Ron, kicking an antique chair. It splintered against the wall, legs torn apart.

"What do we do about Hermione?"

Ron's voice turned stony.

"Keep her under the curse. Don't want her running back to Malfoy with all of our secrets, do we?"

"How could you say that Ron?"

"She's not herself. I don't understand why she wasn't strong enough to fight, for us, for me. I would've never succumbed had I been in her situation."

His voice was still stony, unemotional.

"She failed me, she failed us. I don't understand why. I would do anything, give anything for her. Why didn't she do the same for me? I love her, but does she not love me?"

His voice started breaking. Harry felt it not wise to point out that Hermione probably did try to fight against Malfoy's curses, and it wasn't her fault she was like this, it was his for forgetting his watch.

"Why should I live when the woman I love won't even fight for me anymore? What is the purpose?"

His voice turned to a whisper.

"Why should I fight Voldemort when I have nothing to look forward to if the day we win comes?"

Harry was amazed. He had never known Ron could speak with such charisma.

More amazing still, Ron's words had done the trick.

Hermione broke all of the curses.

For him.

She sprung up.

Her eyes were still amethyst colored, but it could not be clearer that Ron was the only one occupying the orbs of light. All sources of Draco Malfoy's curses were gone.

"For us, Ron," she whispered.

"Hermione?"

She ran into his arms.

Looking taken aback for just one second, Ron returned her embrace.

"I love you," Ron whispered.

"I love you more."

"Impossible."

"Get a room, you two!" called Harry, laughing merrily.

Ginny had tears of joy in her eyes. She smacked Harry on the arm playfully and then burst into laughter too, hugging each one of them, and running out of the room, howling.

As Ginny left the room, the three long-time friends looked at each other with fondness. They engulfed each other in a group hug.

They did not need words to convey their happiness at getting Hermione back.

She knew.

"Thanks," said Harry to Hermione. "Thanks for coming after me to Riddle Mansion... it meant a lot to me..."

"Couldn't have stopped me," replied Hermione.

They smiled.

Ron and Hermione then shared whispered words, and Ron also started smiling.

In the midst of all the war, three friends had found the value of their friendship yet again, after being reminded what it would be like without one of them there. Harry finally didn't feel like he was a third wheel anymore.

This was a moment of friendship, the hug purely platonic, even between Ron and Hermione.

Even Ginny's presence had not quite made it to such a level of fluid understanding that these three had for each other. They went through every adventure together. They understood each other as if they were an extension of each other.

In a sense, they really were.

They were the three companions... no...

They were the Trio.

They would gladly die for each other, and each one of them knew it.

They smiled at each other as they broke apart.

***

It was two days since Hermione was released from the crystal, and she was going over useful information she had retrieved from Draco's mind, in a partial Order meeting. In the two days she had been up and about, the changes the Veela blood had caused were becoming more and more apparent. Her eyes grew slightly larger, her hair gone straight. All in all, she was becoming unrecognizable as the girl that once had large front teeth, untamable hair, and a nose buried in books the whole day long, although she still read as much as she did before. It looked like she was going to become full veela anytime soon. Harry and Ginny greatly enjoyed the sport of teasing Ron, waving their hands in front of his eyes that had always seemed to glaze when looking at Hermione. She, Hermione, had enjoyed the attention, but was starting to get slightly frustrated with him, as he wasn't able to string two words together when talking to her.

"When Draco had be under the imperius curse, I could also delve into his mind, although of course I couldn't control him... I found out that there is a way into Riddle Mansion other than the foolish way in, the front doors."

Hermione waved her wand around, and a miniature image of Riddle Mansion appeared in the air, 3D and rotating slowly on the spot.

She waved her wand, and arrows flew past.

Harry understood first. The foundations of the mansion.

"Pure marble," Hermione said. "The purpose of this is to give the Mansion a solid foundation and stability against the hurricanes around La Havre. We can penetrate like so..."

With another wave of her wand, and complicated squiggles, Harry saw that it led straight into the furthest down Dungeon.

"From there, strike teams can be sent to assassinate Draco... I mean Voldemort."

Ron gave her a piercing stare, but she stared right back at him.

Somehow, Ron was the one to blush yet again.

Veela powers sure kicking in, Harry thought.

"Excellent, Granger," said Snape. "Do you mind if we store this in Dumbledore's pensieve?"

"Of course not, Professor."

Snape swept out of the room.

God, even Snape is being nice to her, Harry thought.

Ron was still blushing, and looking anywhere but at Hermione's eyes.

Harry had no idea what Ron was so nervous about, when he looked at Hermione, he felt nothing different at all, besides for that he was kind of freaked out by the eye color. The veela powers didn't seem to have any effect on anyone else besides for Ron at all.

He supposed that what Ron felt about Hermione was similar to what he felt about Ginny. But he quickly crossed it out. His and Ginny's relationship definitely wasn't based on lust alone.

He watched her, with semi-detached consciousness, as she curled up on the closest armchair to the fire, although it was now early April, and it wasn't cold at all. She had her eyes closed and she looked totally innocent - so unlike the fiery spirit that she really was when awake.

Harry knew she hated being seen as little, and unable to take care of herself.

He, more than many (perhaps not the Weasley twins who had always gotten their share of hexes when teasing their youngest sister), knew that she was nothing like that at all.

Yes, Ginny was beautiful, but Harry loved her not just for that. He surely didn't just love her for her looks, although they were a massive added bonus. He loved her for her spirit, how fun she was to be with.

Ron didn't seem to care about any spirit nonsense, as he stared hungrily at Hermione, when she was immersed in a book. Ron had a wide grin across his face.

The boy really had a thing for part Veela, thought Harry.

New eyes, same thirst for reading with them.

"Potter," Moody growled.

"Yes?"

"Its time for another visit to the muggles... they just lost another battle... an a big 'un..."

"I'll be there in a minute."

Moody nodded and walked out of the room to find Snape.

Harry leaned over and kissed Ginny, who looked like she had fallen asleep.

But as soon as his lips grazed her cheek, a smile came across her face.

"Cheat," whispered Harry.

"You're the cheat," said Ginny crossly, "That wasn't even a real kiss!"

Harry bent down again, and pulled away at the last second.

"That's all you'll get for now!" he said cheekily, and ducking a slap, he ran out of the room.

***

Harry swept through the battle stricken muggle Headquarters, Moody and Snape behind him.

When they reached the General's office, they were immediately recognized and allowed in by the dozen men guarding the doors.

As Harry stepped in, he saw that it wasn't just the General alone. There were six other people there, one of them Harry recognized as a member of the royal family, and five other people who looked very important.

"Ah, Mr. Potter again. Wonderful to see you."

Snape coughed.

A few weeks ago they had been hopelessly arrogant, now Harry suspected they were fully ready to do whatever he asked of them.

"We've been er... considering your offers from before, and we can safely say that we will provide what you need... and more if you need it..."

Harry glanced at Snape again. The man looked like he was having trouble stopping himself from gloating.

"Okay, General. What do you have to propose?" said Harry, trying to be courteous.

He didn't expect such an answer as was followed.

"Everything we've got."

Harry barely stopped himself from gasping.

"Eight hundred tanks, thirty-five thousand infantry, and the whole of the Royal Air Force."

Harry did gasp then.

"Well, see Mr. Potter, we want this man dead. And we truly believe now that you are the man to do that. A battalion of troops came back from the assault on the Buckingham Palace yesterday, saying they threw grenades and shot at this snake-like man, and even seeing their grenades hit target and their shells zoom towards him, the man still stood, unhurt... You say that you are the one that can defeat him. Let's hope you are. You have our support. Do you have a first target?"

"Yes... Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

The General saluted Harry.

"It shall be done. Call upon us when you feel need."

"Thank you, General... and... I won't let you down."

And so it was that Harry, Snape and Moody apparated out of the Headquarters back to Grimmauld Place feeling a whole lot more optimistic than they did before. The muggles now fought with them.

***

Hundreds of miles away, Lucius Malfoy awoke with a snap.

Miraculously, he remembered.

Everything.

Including who did this to him.

Potter.