Draco Falore

Draco Falore - Chapter 4

Unlikely Heroes

Sirius paced by the door to the infirmary. They had already missed their original time of departure by nearly an hour, and there was no sign of Flitwick or the amulet he was fixing. Remus had gone to check on the Charms professor several minutes before, and now they were missing him as well.

‘You know,’ Lee said, taking his mouth off Ginny’s neck to speak, ‘when Lupin opens the door it will knock you down.’

‘No it won’t,’ Sirius said, standing still and doing his best to look properly disgusted with the young couple’s show of affection. The two had long before taken charge of his bed, while he was pacing about. The door opened just as he was attempting to determine whose leg was on his pillow. He leaned back, and the door narrowly missed his nose.

Remus stepped in, huffing like a child being sent to his room.

‘Well?’ Sirius said after regaining his balance. ‘When will the amulet be ready?’

‘I don’t know. Flitwick wouldn’t say.’

‘What’s the delay?’

Remus raised his hands in a desperate gesture. ‘He says that the range is still not long enough, and he needs to put some complicated spells on it to increase the effect.’

Lee untangled himself from Ginny’s robes and got to his feet. ‘Why didn’t he prepare those charms in advance?’ he asked.

‘They wear off very quickly,’ Remus answered. ‘The longer the range they provide, the faster they fade. When he’s done, we will actually have only a few hours to get close enough to Harry. After that, we can only rely on the simpler tracking charms.’

‘And what if Flitwick can’t get it to work?’

‘He’ll just keep increasing the range.’ Remus sighed. ‘If he’s been taken out of the country, that may take days, but eventually, Flitwick will find him. He can track down any living soul on the face of the planet.’

Ginny got up as well. ‘So… If he can’t be found with these spells…’ Her voice quavered.

Sirius fixed her with a pained stare, and Ginny shrunk and hid behind Lee.

‘It will take a few more hours,’ Remus said, his voice low, ‘but he will be traced. I don’t doubt it.’

These words, and the calm tone in which they’d been spoken helped reduce the charge in the air. Sirius turned back to pacing in front of the door, and Lee and Ginny resumed their previous activity as well. In the midst of all, Remus sat down with a book, looking up the connection between enchanted sleep and resurrecting spells.

***

Lucius strutted into the suspension room for unwanted guests, brushing the remains of the ashes from his black silky robes. He hated travelling by Floo, and that was the second time he had to go back and forth to his master that day. The house elves would have to work extra hard on his robes tonight. He hated having to supervise the house elves.

Everything in the room seemed to be in order. Weasley was properly frozen, a mixture a fear and pure stupidity on his face. The Mudblood girl was in a less satisfactory position, sprawled on the floor with her wand clutched to her chest, but she was stunned as well, so that was not necessarily a bad sign. On the bright side, Draco was so busy with his new fiancee, he didn’t even notice his father coming into the room.

Wanting to let Saitaina work her magic, Lucius waited a while. Unfortunately, he had more urgent things to do than to stand there and watch his son act his age. Knowing the type of spells that were in use, he didn’t bother tapping Draco on the shoulder, or calling to him. He just walked to the young couple and broke them apart. Saitaina grunted in discontent, which made Lucius appreciate her professionalism even more. Draco just stood there, his eyes half closed, seeming completely lost.

‘Good job,’ Lucius told Saitaina, before slapping his son back into reality. ‘Draco, we need to talk.’

‘Yes, Father,’ Draco said, holding his cheek, but still seeming dazed. ‘I have them frozen here, just as you ordered.’

‘Very well done,’ Lucius said. ‘You are proving yourself to be worthy. That is why you are going to get an important assignment.’

Draco raised his chin and puffed up his chest. ‘I will do whatever is necessary.’

‘About these two,’ Lucius stalked towards Ron and Hermione. ‘We need to let them go. Too bad, because I would much rather get rid of their nuisance right here and now. Especially this one.’ He lifted Ron’s limp arm and slid up his ragged sleeve. ‘Pitiful traitor,’ he spat. ‘Death is too good for him. I should rip off his arm and present it as a gift to my Lord. That would teach him what it means to bear the Dark Mark.’

Despite the harsh words, Lucius let go of Ron and then turned his back to him. ‘You will see these two very soon,’ he told Draco. ‘You are going to Hogwarts on our Master’s bidding. You are to spy on their preparations for our coming attack, and you are to report your findings directly to the Dark Lord. You will send a discrete copy to me as well.’

‘Go to Hogwarts?’ Draco said, appalled.

‘It is too soon,’ Saitaina cut in. ‘We cannot be apart for more than a day, or my work will be in vain.’

‘You will have to start over when he’s back, then,’ Lucius said. His eyes flared dangerously at her. He looked at Draco again, and his expression softened. ‘You are the only option we have. You have to go there and convince those Muggle-lovers you’re one of them again. You’ll say you were under Imperius and finally managed to escape.’

‘That won’t work, Father. We were trained to fight the Imperius Curse, and the there are people at Hogwarts know I did pretty well.’ Draco looked in Ron’s and Hermione’s direction.

‘That damn Crouch,’ Lucius muttered. Then, he turned his gaze the same direction as his son, a wide smile spreading on his lips. ‘There may be a better way to convince them you’re on their side,’ he said. ‘These two may actually work for us for a change.’

***

Harry listened to the footsteps as they faded away. These weren’t the heavy footsteps he would have expected the Dark Lord to have. They were lithe, and rhythmic. The steps of someone who practiced dancing on graves.

Several moments of silence had passed before Harry dared push on the door of the wardrobe. He hoped that the fire was still lit in the grate. He meant to sneak out and use his Floo Powder to make a not-very-graceful, but effective escape. The problem with his plan was immediately obvious. The door wouldn’t give way.

Harry tried to push it again, and eventually leaned against it with all his weight, but it wouldn’t open. He kicked it once, but it made so much noise that he stopped immediately. His head hurt, or more accurately, his scar hurt. It wasn’t a splitting pain like the one he woke up with, but it was very persistent, and none of the relieving spells Harry tried had worked. The proximity to his greatest enemy was taking more out of him than ever before.

This was a new situation for Harry. In the last year, there hadn’t been a single door he couldn’t open with a wave of his hand, or a mutter of a word in the more persistent cases. Now, he knew there was no point in even trying to use his wand. He felt weak, and tired, and completely out of magic. He didn’t know what having magic felt like. It was something he grew up with. Now that it was missing, he was well aware of its absence. Worse, he was well aware of the implications of its absence. He was locked in a dark wardrobe that felt smby the minute, unable to get out, and certainly not in the right place to call for help. He could almost feel the spiders from his old cupboard under the stairs climbing up his arms and his legs.

Completely hopeless, he sank to the floor and waited, wondering what would come first, his magic or Voldemort.

***

Four people jumped to their feet as the door to the infirmary opened. Ron and Hermione, standing at the door were not who they had expected, but they all seemed very excited nonetheless.

‘What happened?’ Sirius was the first to attack them with questions. ‘Did you go to Malfoy Manor? Did you find Draco?’

‘Are you all right?’ Ginny asked, referring to their torn clothes and torn skins underneath.

‘We’re fine,’ Ron waved his sister off. ‘Absolutely terrific.’

Hermione sat silently on one of the beds and allowed Remus to clean her up. She didn’t even flinch as the disinfectant touched her wounds. It was as if Remus was treating someone else, and she was miles away… still at Malfoy Manor. She closed her eyes tight as the last images from the fight at the Manor streamed into her head.

‘Did I hurt you?’ Remus asked, alarmed by her sudden motion.

Hermione shook her head. ‘The place was swarming with Death Eaters,’ she said. ‘Draco’s father wasn’t there, or at least that’s what Draco believed.’

Or what he made her believe for a while. She took his word for it, and only now began to realise how foolish that was. Draco was alive, and all Hermione could feel was confused. She had thought she’d be angry, offended, upset. She had even told Harry that Draco would wish he were dead. But as she saw him…

He wasn’t dressed in a full Death Eater’s uniform, but his Graphorn-hide trousers and his jet-black silky robes didn’t leave much room for doubt. And she knew exactly what his clothes were made of. She had gotten a good feel of them.

Hermione covered her face with her hands. She was so ashamed of herself. She hadn’t seen the boy in over a year. She was seriously involved with someone else, and not just someone, but Harry, who she dearly loved. Yet, she kissed him. She didn’t want to, but she had to find out if it was really him. Had she known that he was alive, she never would have… not with Harry… She loved Harry too much to hurt him like this…

And Draco.

She didn’t even know if he was the Draco she had once loved, although his kisses were just as intoxicating. For all she knew, he could be a real Death Eater. Like father, like son. They had both tried to kill her together that fateful night he had disappeared. The look he had in his eyes made no difference. It didn’t matter then, and it wasn’t relevant now. A man should be judged by his actions.

Then again, his latest actions did suggest that he wanted to be on the right side. Was his decision final this time? Could she forgive him? Could Harry forgive her? More so, could she forgive herself? And most important of all - was a dark wizard who had already betrayed her once worth the effort? That is, if he was still alive, which was doubtful the last time she saw him. Losing him all over again…

‘So you found Draco Malfoy?’ Sirius asked, sitting down next to her.

Hermione ignored him and kept her eyes closed. ‘They wanted to kill us. Draco was ordered to kill us.’

‘But you’re not dead.’ Remus’ hand stopped in mid-air.

Hermione shook her head again, and finally looked at him. She seemed detached, even a bit surprised at what she saw. As if she had expected to still be at

Malfoy Manor. ‘Draco refused the order.’

‘And?’ Sirius pressed.

‘And…’ Hermione began but trailed off. She shivered, then took a deep breath and started over. ‘And they tortured him.’ Her voice was high-pitched and shaky. She was trying to put a stop to events that had already taken place. ‘They thought it was hilarious, the way he twitched under their curses. They… they took turns in hurting him. It was a sort of competition. See who makes him scream the loudest.’

With a fatherly instinct, Sirius took Hermione in his arms, brushing Remus and his cotton cloth away. ‘How did you get here?’ he asked softly.

‘We took off when the Death Eaters were busy with Draco.’

‘We tried to fight them, first,’ Ron intervened. ‘But they were too many.’

Hermione made a small snorting sound. ‘We just took off and left Draco there,’ she said harshly.

‘I’m sure he’ll be all right,’ Sirius said. ‘Remus, wasn’t there something you told me you wanted to discuss with Hermione?’

‘Huh?’ Remus said, frowning in question. Then, his eyes lit up. ‘Oh, yeah, right. Something completely unrelated to Malfoy.’ He turned to Hermione. ‘I wanted to get your opinion on enchanted sleep. I think I know why the Death Eaters took Harry with them and didn’t kill him on the spot.’

Hermione’s head perked up, and she followed Remus with her gaze as he walked to the other side of the room and came back with a thick book.

‘You see,’ Remus said, pointing to the middle of the open page. ‘It says here that there is nothing that can block the Avada Kedavra curse, but you can get protection against it if you are under any kind of magically induced sleep. Not something you’d want to use as a constant defence, but good for specific events. It mentions the Sleeping Beauty spell, the Cinderella Syndrome, and… look here… Enchanted Sleep.’

Ron sat down by Remus, looking very pale. Hermione wondered if his injuries were worse than they originally appeared, but Ginny was with him, and she wanted to check Remus’ theory.

Remus showed Hermione the exact quote, and then lifted the tome to his eyes again. ‘This book even gives an example of one time where this effect was used on purpose:’

‘It appears that there was a magical war in the medieval kingdom of Lauffer. The uprising army led by the evil witch Thera was defeated after a fierce battle that reached the very steps of the crown chair. Unfortunately, Thera kidnapped the only princess of the kingdom. Apparently, she took Polyjuice Potion and tempted the princess to go with her, pretending to be a harmless old woman.’

Remus stopped his reading and raised his eyes from the book. ‘Not very cautious, their princess,’ he commented before continuing with his summary.

‘Anyway, it seems that Thera wasn’t worried about using her hostage to get out of the castle. She made a big fuss about killing the princess and avenging… er… whatever she thought she needed to avenge.’

‘Those bad people repeat the same mistakes,’ Remus commented again. ‘She blabbed for so long that the Princess’ personal protector managed to get close enough to hex her. But instead of putting a curse on Thera, she chose to put a protective spell on the princess. She later explained that she knew she wouldn’t last in a duel with Thera, and then the princess would be in mortal danger again. She prepared the Sleeping Beauty spell, and waited until Thera began enchanting the killing curse. Then, she used her prepared spell a fraction of a second before the Avada Kedavra hit the princess.’

‘Clever move!’ Hermione cheered, and then glared at Ron, who choked and sputtered.

‘Not that clever,’ Remus said. ‘She didn’t take into account the amount of magic that was left in the air after the battle. The princess was saved, but the spell not only affected her - it knocked out every single person in the castle; anyone who could break it included. The book says here something about dancing tea-mugs, but I didn’t quite get it. Doesn’t seem relevant. Anyway, it took exactly one hundred years before someone came by who was smart enough to kiss the princess and break the curse.’

Hermione creased her nose. ‘Maybe he was the only one rude enough to kiss an unconscious girl.’ She frowned as Ron, who had only just seemed to recover from his last coughing attack, choked once more. ‘Is he all right?’ she asked Ginny.

Ginny shrugged in return as Ron waved his hand to mark that he was fine.

Hermione took the book from Remus’ hands. ‘Then Harry is safe,’ she said quietly, as if the very mention of the idea would shatter it.

‘He cannot be killed using magical means,’ Remus said, squirming.

Hermione blanched as she understood the true meaning of his answer. ‘He can stibe killed with a simple Muggle sword,’ she said, nearly crying.

‘Well, those Death Eaters aren’t known for their love of Muggle artefacts.’ Remus tried to sound encouraging.

‘Voldemort has been known to use a knife before, and so has Pettigrew. He even used it on Harry once.’

‘Harry is no threat to them in his condition,’ Sirius said bitterly. ‘And I think they know it. He will be safe for a while, but I would like to go find him.’ He got up and heaved the door open.

Professor Flitwick, who was just about to open it was hauled inside and thrown against the opposite door. He got up and brushed himself off. Then, he checked the amulet he was carrying, and sighed in relief. When he was sure nothing was broken, he glared at Sirius.

Sirius just smiled at him, exposing two lines of perfectly white teeth. ‘Finally,’ he said.

***

Hurrying feet ran past by Harry’s wardrobe, followed by more urgent steps, and then excited shouts. The Death Eaters had found out that he was not in his cell. One squad after the other they rushed by him, each time making him hold his breath in fear of being flushed out like a rat from a garbage bin, and each time missing him out of sheer luck. Bad luck for them, good for him.

When the commotion of the search finally dimmed with distance, Harry realised that he was feeling much better. He wasn’t back to himself, not by a long shot, but he was strong enough to open the door with his wand and a simple ‘Alohomora’.

Harry didn’t realise how long he’d spent in the wardrobe. He knew he dozed off for a while, and then followed the moves of the Death Eaters, but he was still surprised at the morning light that streamed into the room. To his great delight, the fire in the grate was still lit. Harry took out his Floo powder pouch while walking briskly to it, and was ready to toss the one portion he had into it with his last stride.

The fire didn’t change its colour. It didn’t soar up, or feel any less burning.

To make sure, Harry put his hand in the flames, and immediately retracted it. The healing spell he tried to use didn’t work on his burn. He nearly crumpled to the floor in his despair, but was brought back to reality by two Death Eaters who stepped into the room.

The two stood very still, like a gazelle regarding its predator just before the chase. Harry knew that the minute he tried to use a spell, any spell, they would know he wasn’t as much of a threat to them as they were used to. He raised his wand at them and slowly walked to the door on the other side of the room.

The Death Eaters exchanged worried looks as Harry reached for the doorknob, and then, as one, their wands shot colourful blazes (one purple, and one turquoise). They seemed extremely surprised when Harry ducked both jets of fire. They’d expected him to take the hits without ever noticing them. Like he always did. They were even more amazed when Harry’s reaction was a feeble stunning spell that only got one of them, and didn’t even completely immobilise him.

Their puzzled expressions quickly changed into wide smiles and they broke into a run. Harry didn’t hesitate another moment. He opened the door with a swing and dashed out. The Death Eaters standing in the hall outside were so astonished at the sight that it took them a few seconds to recover and join their friends in the chase.

***

Draco lay on the large four-poster in his chambers, knowing it was the last time he would do that for a while. He couldn’t make up his mind whether he’d miss it or not. He opened his eyes as the door opened without a warning knock. Some things he wouldn’t miss.

‘Hello, Saitaina,’ he said.

‘Hello, my love.’

‘Oh, knock it off, witch. We’re alone here. I will marry you because that is the wish of the Dark Lord, but I will not pretend to like it. Not behind closed doors, anyway.’

‘You don’t seem to mind snogging with me,’ Saitaina said. She tried to look offended, but failed. Still, the cute pout fit her beautiful face, and Draco couldn’t help but smile.

‘I came to kiss you goodbye,’ she continued, encouraged.

Draco sat bolt upright. ‘Don’t!’ he said. ‘I only cooperate because of that potion you use, and I do believe I’m beginning to develop an immunity to it.’

‘Impossible, dear,’ Saitaina said, smiling. She walked to the bed and sat beside him. Then, she took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply, making sure her hair brushed his face on the way.

Draco tried to hold his breath. He knew that the more he inhaled of her intoxicating fumes, the less control he’d have of his actions. But he couldn’t even control this simple act. He took deep breaths, relishing her wonderful smell. There was nothing in the world quite like that smell. Sweeter than honey, sharper than poisonous fangs, and just as lethal. It smelled better than food to a starving man, and more full of life than rain to one stuck in the desert. There was only one thing that could compete with it… one girl…

Holding that thought, Draco pushed Saitaina away, breaking the prolonged kiss. Once the spell was broken, he realised he had his hands up her shirt, and hurriedly pulled them out.

Saitaina stood up, red with rage. ‘It’s that Mudblood, isn’t it?’ she demanded.

Draco didn’t say a thing. He was quietly celebrating his victory. He was also still giddy from the kiss.

‘I can’t believe you’re still thinking about her after what she put you through this afternoon! Look at you. You’re a mess! You didn’t need to be tortured like that. This could have lasted less than a minute if she had the brains to listen to you and get away.’

Saitaina did have a point. Although he had five experienced wizards to help him after Ron and Hermione had left, he was still bruised and untidy. His chest was the area that sustained most of the damage, as Death Eaters usually aim for the chest. He had left his robes torn and open on purpose, to appear genuine when he finally got to Hogwarts. Those didn’t worry him. It was the red mark on his jaw that he didn’t like at all. But he knew it would heal. Even the mirror had told him so.

To be perfectly honest, Draco didn’t think they’d use real curses on him for the charade. But apparently, his father had decided to go to extremes to make sure it seemed like a real attack. Draco also suspected that his father’s friends enjoyed their part of the show. His father had probably agreed with him, because several members of the group were severely punished after Hermione and Ron finally escaped. ‘She meant well,’ Draco whispered. ‘She didn’t want to leave me.’

‘She’s a stupid, weak Mudblood who wants to nail herself a Malfoy.’

‘She isn’t stupid. Far from it.’

‘She bought your act, didn’t she?’ Draco bit his lip, and Saitaina went on. ‘You will see. The minute you get to Hogwarts, she will be all over you, telling everyone how you’ve changed. She’s gullible; stupid. She doesn’t have half of what you’re leaving behind, and you’d better remember it, because you will be coming back after this week is over.

Draco gave her one more hurt look and disapparated away without another word. If it were up to him, he would have never come back. Too bad he wasn’t the one who called the shots.

***

A red head peeked into the infirmary. ‘Ginny? Are you here?’

‘George!’ Ginny put down the potion phials she was holding and ran to the door. ‘Fred!’ She called as the door opened wider, revealing another Weasley twin. Then, barely able to speak, she added, ‘Bill?’

Her three brothers stood at the entrance, smiling broadly, until Fred took Ginny’s left hand and raised it. The huge diamond on Ginny’s ring finger glittered like a bright star between her and the other three.

‘Oh, no,’ Fred said, almost crying. ‘Ginny, you didn’t…’

‘Didn’t do what?’ Ginny asked. She pulled her hand from Fred’s grip and tucked it in her pocket. Then, she moved aside to allow her brothers to enter. ‘I’m not pregnant, if that’s what you’re asking.’ Bill spluttered just as he was about to sit on one of the beds. ‘But I am engaged. You may congratulate me now.’

‘Er…Yeah, Ginny,’ George tried. ‘You are too young to get married.’ He sounded like an adult trying to explain stellar motion to a three-year-old.

‘I’m ngetting married yet,’ Ginny said.

The twins seemed relieved, but Bill’s frown only deepened. ‘Then you don’t need that ring,’ he said. ‘Give it to me, and I’ll return it to the store. Lee’s Gringotts account will greatly appreciate this.

‘I am engaged,’ Ginny said, pulling away from her oldest brother.

‘But Ginny, Gin, you said you’re not marrying him. So what’s all this talk about being engaged? You do know what being engaged means?’

‘Yes I do.’ Ginny’s face turned red with insult and anger. Then she smiled wickedly, as if she though of a way to get back at her brothers. ‘Actually, that’s exactly the words I said to Lee. I do. And I intend to repeat them, in a church, in a few years.’

‘A few years?’ Fred said, seeming to relax a bit. ‘How few? Will you finish school first? Will you have your own career? How many children will you have?’

‘Yes, yes, and none yet,’ Ginny said, putting a hand on Fred’s shoulder. ‘Trust your kid sister to make the right choices. You may congratulate me now.’

‘But Ginny, what if you change your mind before then? Remember how much in love you were with Harry? What if he had asked you to marry him then? You’d have said yes, this ring would be his, and where would you be now?’

Ginny blushed again. She actually had no idea what the right answer was. True, she was the one to leave Harry, but it was only because she knew, deep down, that he didn’t really love her. What if she had never broken up with him? Would she still think of Lee as the love of her life? There was no right answer to this question. She wanted to think of herself as someone loyal, who wouldn’t go with another man while she was involved. She also wanted to think that it was fate that brought her and Lee together. They were destined for each other. They were soul mates.

‘Remember how you used to say Harry was your soul mate?’ George added. ‘Things change when you grow up.’

‘They won’t this time. I love Lee. I’m not just in love.’ She raised her voice slightly. ‘You may congratulate me now.’

George kissed her on the cheek and sat back, his mouth screwed in half a smile. Even Bill seemed to accept that he’d been defeated. Only Fred leaned forward, as if he had a great secret to tell Ginny.

‘You know you shouldn’t stay long with your high-school sweetheart,’ he whispered. Then, he couldn’t keep a straight face any longer, and burst into laughter.

Ginny had to join his laugh, and so did the other two. ‘That is an excellent argument,’ she said. ‘By the way, how is Angelina? Isn’t it about time you pop the question to her?’

‘I have,’ Fred mumbled, moving uncomfortably.

‘Congratulations!’ Ginny jumped up and kissed him. ‘So, when’s the wedding. Why didn’t you say anything?’

‘She didn’t agree to marry him,’ George said, holding back his laughter.

‘She thought I was making a joke. Both times.’

‘It would have helped if there was a ring in the box, and not a jumping jack,’ George said.

‘That was only the first time,’ Fred defended himself. ‘I gave her a real ring the second time.’

‘Yeah, made of jelly-rubber.’

‘I happened to like that ring.’

Bill took Ginny’s hand and placed it in the crook of his arm. ‘Congratulations,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘Shall we leave these two to sort this out on their own?’

Ginny smiled, and led the way out of the infirmary. On the other side of the door, they could still hear the twins yelling at each other.

‘It was neon green!’

‘But gold is so flashy!’

Bill smiled and moved away from the door. ‘Will you let me buy you a butterbeer? Seems like I’ll be here longer than I expected. You can tell me all about your plans for the future.’

‘Sure,’ Ginny said. ‘But I can’t have any alcohol in my condition.’ Bill paled significantly, and she had to laugh. ‘I’m on infirmary duty today,’ she explained. ‘But you seem to need a drink. Let’s get you something.’

***

All Harry wanted to do was stop to catch his breath, but he couldn’t. The second he stepped out of the Dark Lord’s headquarters, and by now he recognised the building, five more Death Eaters came dashing after him. Under normal circumstances, he’d have hurled his chasers so far back that he could’ve had a decent rest, but that kind of magic wasn’t working for him now. Actually, no kind of magic seemed to be working properly. He felt like he was back in his Fourth year, trying to learn spells for the Triwizard Tournament and not doing very well.

The outcome of that tournament had been disastrous. Harry could see Cedric Diggory’s dead body floating in front of his eyes, as if it was burned into his retinas. Harry shook his head to clear it of the image. He would dwell on this misery later, but thinking of the tournament now, with ten Death Eaters chasing after him and very little of his magic available, was not a good idea.

Harry looked back, which turned out to be a mistake as well. The fraction of a second he’d lost was enough to bring the front Death Eater into curse range. From that moment, running could gain Harry nothing except being caught by surprise from behind. He stopped, faced the advancing Death Eaters, and prayed with all his heart that he still had enough breath in him to chant a decent curse.

[A/N: Here was actually the original ending of the previous chapter. Now, you want to complain about the mild cliffhanger I left you with?]

***

Sirius pushed his broomstick closer to Remus’. ‘How are we doing?’ he asked.

‘Almost there,’ Remus said, checking the amulet Flitwick had worked so hard to set up. ‘We should be right on top of him in a matter of minutes.’

‘I still don’t understand why we couldn’t apparate there. We didn’t have to take Ron and Hermione. We’ve been wasting precious hours.’

It had only started to get dark when they set on their way, but now the night was gone and the first morning light was visible right in front of them. Soon, the sun would come up to blind them.

‘The spells on the amulet aren’t built to cope with space shifting. We would have come near, and then wouldn’t have been able to find what dungeon he was in. The Death Eaters would have become aware of our presence, and would have used Harry as a hostage. Maybe they would have killed him, just to make sure we wouldn’t have him back. NOW do you see why we needed to go by broomsticks?

Sirius rolled his eyes and allowed his broomstick to drift away from Remus.

‘What’s that, down there?’ Ron shouted, pointing ahead.

They were deep in a territory controlled by the Dark forces. In the distance, they could see a castle so big that it was impossible to estimate how far it really was. They had had it in their field of vision for nearly an hour, in which it grew from a tiny dot to the size of a small mountain, and yet, it didn’t seem reachable. But now, there was something new in the scenery. At the foot of the castle, barely visible from this distance, flashed tiny, colourful lights. These were what got Ron’s attention.

‘I don’t know,’ Remus said, ‘but Harry is very close to the centre of it.’

A moment later, they could make out the shape of one wizard doing a very poor job of fighting off nearly a dozen attackers. It was still too far to make out the details, but they were all willing to bet those were a pack of Death Eaters.

‘Is that Harry?’ Ron asked apprehensively.

‘Can’t be,’ Sirius said. ‘He’s under enchanted sleep. Won’t wake up for another five days.’

The single wizard seemed to have given up trying to fight back, and was just working on absorbing as few of the curses around as was possible.

‘What if his special magical condition made him wake up earlier?’ Hermione asked.

‘I thought of that,’ Sirius said. ‘That’s why I also made sure he had no magic for the same period.’ He looked at the battle that was getting nearer, and then banged his forehead with his fist a few times. ‘I can’t believe I did this to him,’ he muttered, then pushed his broomstick forward, getting as much speed as he could.

The rock Harry was using as a shelter was blasted into a thousand pieces just as the group began its descent. It was obvious that a few of tsharper shreds had stuck to his flesh. Harry rolled on the ground, managing to avoid three curses and getting hit by the fourth.

Sirius didn’t wait until they were all in range. He hurled a curse at one of the Death Eaters who was nearest to Harry. From that distance, his hex didn’t do much damage, but the Death Eater’s attention was taken away from Harry. An immense fight developed while the group was still airborne. One by one, they landed beside Harry, forming a tight ring of fire around him.

Hermione didn’t even try to cast curses from the air. As much as she wanted to help Harry, she knew that flying with one hand was simply one of the things she couldn’t do. If she had tried, she would have crashed, and then the group would have needed to take care of her as well. She wanted them all to worry only about Harry.

It was immediately obvious that Sirius, Remus, and Lee had experience fighting off large groups of Death Eaters. Ron was giving substantial help as well, and Hermione was doing her very best. But there were simply more Dark wizards than they could handle. While they kept most of the Death Eaters busy, some of them could still aim their curses at Harry. And that’s what they did. Hermione’s breath caught in her chest with every curse Sirius and Remus were able to block, and she didn’t start breathing again when they missed.

More Death Eaters came running out of the castle and joined the battle. Hermione wondered why they didn’t apparate out, but the answer was made immediately clear, as one tried, and met Lee’ curse before he was solid enough to respond.

They had not carried a spare broomstick for Harry. They had thought he’d still be under enchanted sleep, unable to fly on his own. By the way he heavily leaned against Sirius while trying to mount his Firebolt, it seemed that in fact, it was the right choice. Hermione looked around, trying to estimate what their best escape route would be. More Death Eaters were steadily streaming out of the castle, and more of them fell victim to the Aurors’ wands as they tried to apparate in surprise. Hermione stared into one spot, which the battle seemed not to have reached. That seemed like a good path to take.

She pointed it out to Sirius, who nodded and directed his broomstick with Harry on top of it in that direction. He then tried to reach the others, to announce their retreat. Hermione followed Harry with her eyes, feeling as if a huge burden was lifted off her chest. And that’s when it happened.

A group of Death Eaters apparated as one right into the quiet spot in the eye of the storm. Harry was so weakened that he wasn’t even able to reverse the course of the broomstick. He did make it stop about fifteen feet from the enemy taking form. Hermione looked back, but the others had their hands full, and did not notice the falling events.

She had never been very good with a broomstick, but she had just mounted one, with the intention of seeing Harry safe and getting away. She realised she couldn’t have both. She never thought she’d fly on an instinct, but in the extreme situation, she surprised even herself. With agility that wouldn’t have shamed even Viktor Krum she kicked off the ground and zoomed forward in an almost horizontal line.

Time seemed to have stopped and race forwards simultaneously. She could see the Death Eaters, not yet solid, but already enough in control of their bodies to raise their wands. She could see Harry slowly turning his head toward her, tiny drops of sweat mixed with blood splashing off his unruly hair. She was well aware of where she was and what she was doing, but had little control over her own motion. She tried to take her wand hand off the handle, but immediately retracted it, as the broomstick began swaying dangerously. She knew there was really only one thing she could do, and she was ready to do it. Harry was the wizarding world’s greatest hope. He was her best friend. Her lover.

She pointed the handle down one foot ahead of Harry. Fourteen feet away from the now solid Death Eaters. Time suddenly returned to normal speed as her feet touched the ground. She didn’t even have a chance to crash properly before six different curses hit her as one.

***