Disclaimer: JKR owns the Harry Potter universe. I humbly enjoy writing fanfiction for the entertainment that it is!
“Elocutus Ginny,” Harry said into his wand.
“Harry?” came Ginny’s whispered voice from his wand.
“Ginny, I see at least three Dementors and two people not fifty yards in front of you. They’re standing just beyond the clearing- right behind the first row of trees. As far as I can see, there’s no one between them and the south wall of the compound,” Harry warned.
“Richard that, Harry! We can take them. Where’s Ron?” Ginny responded. She paused, listening closely to her wand.
“Harry, what’s the matter? Are you laughing?” she asked.
“It’s not ‘Richard that,’” he chuckled. “It’s ‘Roger,’” he said into the stony silence. “Oh, nevermind, Ginny. I can’t see Ron right now. But I just left him a few minutes ago. I’ll circle back as soon as you cross the front line here. I promised him I’d keep my eyes on you… you know, in case you need anything…” he trailed off sheepishly.
“Harry Potter!” she began. “Oi! Quiet Fang- you want to give us away? … Harry Potter, I’ve got some things that I need to say to you and Ron- but right now I’ve got to get my team across those Dementors and Death Eaters. But you rest assured that when this is all done, we’re going to sit down and have a nice long talk about how I am a grown up, an Auror, and not always in need of a rescue from my brother- or even someone like my brother,” she hissed.
Harry looked at his wand as though it might bite him.
“Ginny,” he said hesitantly.
“Harry, you have your own job to do. Now that I know what’s out there in front of me, I can get on with mine and you with yours,” she said, frustration still evident in her voice.
“Harry, I’m worried about her, too, you know. But she’s Hermione- she’ll be okay. In fact, I’d hate to ever be the one to cross that witch! … and Draco’s with her, according to Dumbledore and Louisa- and you know as well as I do that he loves her and isn’t going to let anything happen to her. All right?” she said, more gently this time.
“You’re right- I just can’t help worrying about her, that’s all… and Ginny, I know you can take care of yourself,” Harry answered, his voice faltering.
“Argh! Go back to Ron, Harry! We’re crossing over right now. Meet you inside!” Ginny hastily retorted.
“Right,” he replied. Harry carefully leaned forward, angling his broomstick to the right. Below him he could see Ginny, Neville, Hagrid and Fang, the boarhound, making their way towards the southern wall of the compound. Except for Fang, each of them was well-equipped for the confrontation with the Dementors and the Deatheaters. Harry knew it. He sighed- things were always a little bit more confusing when Ginny was involved. He made a vow to think about that at the next available opportunity.
He came down silently through the trees, not too far behind Ron’s team. He slid off his broom, quickly sized it down to something that would easily fit into his robe pocket, and then went off to find Ron and the others.
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“Dumbledore, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Louisa said thoughtfully.
“Dear child, no one can See everything,” the old wizard replied affably.
“But I thought you said I was a Seer- that I could learn to See into the future. And I’ve tried the exercises but I can’t See anything about tonight- it’s just a blank,” she pressed.
“Louisa, even Seers who have honed their skills for many years cannot See every event. Sometimes, events haven’t quite worked themselves out. Sometimes, people haven’t yet decided what choices they will make. Events could change drastically based on the choices of a single person. You may be unable to See what’s going to happen tonight because there’s at least one person involved in all of this whose actions are unpredictable,” he explained.
“Oh,” she sighed dejectedly.
“But you have already done so much, Louisa. You could tell that your father found your mother in time. And together they found a way to protect you. You are their child- and not Voldemort’s. That knowledge alone has changed the plan. We know something critical that the Death Eaters do not know. We know that Voldemort cannot be resurrected tonight. You have done your job, Louisa. Now you must trust Harry, Ron, and Ginny and the other members of the Order of the Phoenix to bring your parents back to you.”
Louisa eyed him closely.
“Then why are you here?” she asked shrewdly.
“Louisa Malfoy, you are a sharp young witch. You remind me of another bright student of mine… I’m here to keep you company, of course,” Dumbledore chuckled. When the child said nothing, he added, “and I’m personally keeping watch over you, too.”
“You think they will try to take me again?” she asked, pausing. “Or you think I’ll go to them, don’t you?”
“Louisa, either option is dangerous. Yes, I’m here to make sure that you remain safely with me. Though Voldemort is no longer a danger to you, the Death Eaters are still not to be underestimated. Finding out that you are no longer capable of hosting Voldemort will no doubt make them very angry. I do not wish for you to be the object of that anger,” he clarified.
Louisa trained her gray eyes on the twinkling ones of the older wizard. She nodded her head and resumed the relaxation techniques that he’d taught her. She tried to quell her frustration in an attempt to clear her thoughts. If there was something to See after all, she wanted to be ready.
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“Harry, how’s Ginny?” Ron asked his approaching friend.
“Come on now, Ron- you shouldn’t be worried about her. She’s a fully trained Auror, you know,” Harry admonished. Ron’s eyes grew big in surprise before he noted his friend’s nervousness.
“Who are you foolin’?” Ron laughed.
“Fine- she’s fine. And she told me that she was to give us a ‘talking to’ when all this was over… and she, er-…” Harry trailed off.
“Spit it out- she what?”
“She said I was ‘like a brother.’ What do you think that means?”
But Ron had turned away, looking towards the forthcoming footsteps of Tonks and Lupin.
“Must mean exactly that, mate- you’re one us- just another Weasley brother, I guess- now she’ll never listen to you,” he answered, somewhat absentmindedly.
“What if I don’t want to be just another Weasley brother?” Harry mumbled. At that, Ron turned his head sharply back to Harry.
“Well, if that’s true, it’s high time that you say something,” he grinned, good-naturedly slapping Harry on the back. “Hermione’s been after you for ages to talk to Ginny, you know…” he quieted at the mention of their friend’s name.
“She’ll be okay, Ron. Ginny had to remind me, too. Hermione’s one tough witch. And Draco’s with her. They’ll look after each other- and she “ er- they'll be both fine,” Harry said soothingly.
“The perimeter is fairly well-protected as you saw from above, Harry,” Tonks began. “But Remus and I think that we can get in without too much hassle through the gates just west of our current position. Harry, you said there were only a handful of Death Eaters. That’s got to be our best bet- the Giants would be easier to take out but would also be too noisy. We can’t risk alerting whoever’s inside to our presence,” Tonks strategized.
Lupin nodded at his wife’s assessment. “There are four in front of the gate and then three more just a ways off from them. Undoubtedly, even a surprise attack on the four will bring the other three. We’re outnumbered but we should have enough time before the second group arrives.”
“So we hit the four at the gate and then you two go on ahead and Remus and I will hold off the others. As soon as we can, we’ll come in after you,” Tonks finished. Harry and Ron nodded their heads in agreement.
“Ready?” asked Ron.
“Ready,” replied Harry.
The four silently made their way towards the west gate.
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“Draco? We need to get dressed. They’ll be coming for us any minute now,” Hermione whispered, rousing herself from her new husband’s arms. She crawled around the floor, hunting for her robes. Draco watched her before standing to look for his own.
“She’s safe, isn’t she? I can feel it somehow. I’m not sure that I understand. You asked me if I knew what had to be done- and I didn’t know until right then. But you knew before then, didn’t you?” he asked, slowly pulling on his trousers. The glow between their bodies had nearly faded but there still enough of the faint light to find their clothing.
“Yes, I knew. ‘What was created from malice must be reclaimed with love,’” she intoned. “I found the inscription in another text detailing the history of birth spells. I was never totally sure that it would work- I couldn’t find enough evidence to determine whether or not the relevant ‘malice’ was between the spell castor and the blood parent or between the essence parent and the blood parent. But I knew that we had to try. The only other option was to drain my own blood before they could get it,” she said sharply.
Draco nodded. He had been right to suspect that Hermione was more than willing to die to protect Louisa. He shuddered at the thought and once again thanked whatever deity had led him to her in time.
“But once you were here, I knew that what we had to do was definitely the right thing,” she finished as she buttoned her shirt. She held out her left hand to where the light emanating from her torso could still lightly reflect off her ring. She smiled as she thought about the magical vows that now bound Draco to her for the rest of their lives.
“And the light?” he asked, now walking towards her with her robe in hand. He helped her put on the robe while she thought about his question. He waited until she straightened out the wrinkles of her robe before pulling her into his arms.
“The light- I don’t know about the light,” she murmured, as she leaned into his embrace. “Must have been some kind of effect from the magic,” she said softly. She rested her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her, gently stroking her wild curls.
“Mmmm… I don’t know how I could've not seen you in her before, Hermione. She is definitely your child,” he breathed into the softness of her hair. “You even have the same scent- something like irises,” he said with a light chuckle. “My dear Hermione- my wife…”
She closed her eyes, willing the sweet moment to last. But she knew that it was fleeting. There was work to be done now- not the least of which was to find a way to return safely to their daughter.
“Draco, we need to talk about what’s next,” she voiced, her mounting worry evident in her tone.
She backed up slightly to see his face, though she remained in his arms.
“Harry, Ron, Ginny, and several others from the Order will be outside by now. They’re going to break into the grounds and then meet us at the ceremony. They think that you and Louisa are the ones to be protected. I was to find you and prepare you for the ritual. They were going to find Louisa and then round up the Death Eaters,” he began.
“But now things have changed,” she interrupted. “Louisa is safe- Voldemort cannot be resurrected in her- I can feel it- you can feel it. But they don’t know yet.”
“No one does- not the Death Eaters or our side. But how would they have gotten Louisa anyway, Hermione? She’s at Headquarters. Dumbledore himself is guarding her,” he said.
Hermione sighed audibly in relief. “I know we removed the threat but I am glad to hear that he’s watching her. And I don’t know how they could have taken her- there are methods, I’m sure, but I don’t want to think about it- we should get out of here before it even comes to that.”
“So now it’s just catching the Death Eaters and getting out of here. Well, that and dealing with my Mother and Father,” he moaned.
“So Lucius was here earlier! And our friends are outside. Okay, tell me how it’s supposed to go down,” she answered resolutely.
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“There, there, child. Stop moping. He’ll come around,” Narcissa crooned.
Pansy looked back at the elegantly dressed woman who had just recently been licking her hand and making rather crass statements. Well, Lucius had actually been saying those things… She shuddered at the thought. Getting Draco was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do in her life.
Pettigrew worriedly paced around the room. He had fussed over the details of the ritual. He had candles and rocks and various other creepy items strewn about the room in what he had assured them was the correct format. Pansy silently thought that none of that stuff mattered. What counted was having the child, the blood, and the fire. And Draco.
Personally, she could care less about the resurrection of the Dark Lord. What had he ever done for her? But when Lucius had come to her years ago, she’d readily agreed to this scheme. Anything for Draco. Back then, Draco had not been explicitly part of the bargain- not like he had been this go round. When Narcissa- or was it Lucius already? had explained the current iteration of the plan, Pansy had lobbied hard for the prize of marrying Draco. Narcissa’s promises had meant nothing until she’d produced the Annulus Aeternus. Pansy knew that once that ring was on her finger, Draco would be hers for the rest of their lives. What’s more, she thought, is with that ring, he’ll grow to really love me.
Drowning out the harsh chatter between Lucius, Narcissa, and Pettigrew, Pansy let her thoughts return to the moments in the library. As much as it pained her, she had been forced to put Draco under the Body Binding spell. She had to have faith that he would, as Narcissa had promised, come around. But he had been so calmly certain when he’d said that he would never marry her and never give up his child. Just as she’d said, Pansy was prepared to act on his statements. But still, it had been difficult to hear those hateful words.
Collecting his blood assured them that they could indeed summon the child to the ritual. After all, they already had vials of blood from the Granger bitch and the child. It would be relatively easy to combine their blood to bring them all together in the same room. Of course it was Dark Magic- and with Dark Magic comes a price for the Spell Castor. She wondered what would happen when she cast the spell. She allowed herself to grimace slightly- probably just pain, she thought. And any pain is worth getting Draco.
Again, she pictured Draco’s face as he promised that he wouldn’t cooperate with the plan. There had been something in his eyes that had been quite unexpected. He loved the child. Really loved that little girl. Pansy wondered if he would forget the child when Voldemort was resurrected. She hoped the Annulus Aeternus would enable him to move on. She could give him other children. As long as he lets me. This last thought was what was currently troubling her. If he really loved his daughter, he might not forget what was about to happen- and if he didn’t forget, he might also not forgive her for her part in this ritual. If he can’t forgive me, will he ever love me?
Pansy sank down in the chair opposite from where Narcissa was laying. Her future psychotic mother-in-law had obviously stopped badgering Pettigrew. She seemed to be lost in herself again. She was trailing one of her long fingers from behind her ear and then delicately down her throat. Pansy watched with some amount of disgust as the woman’s fingers lightly grazed down the milky white skin of her chest before dipping teasingly into the top of her stylish dress robes. The older woman’s breathes were coming more rapidly now and were punctuated by low animalistic moans that Pansy assumed belonged to Lucius. Though she was admittedly repulsed by the bizarre exhibition, she was also a bit jealous of the two lovers. Clearly, Lucius and Narcissa let nothing- not even death- stand in the way of their love. Pansy felt somewhat surprised by the inspiration that this knowledge gave her.
Who is the Dark Lord to stand in the way of my love? she thought.
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“Something has changed, Dumbledore. There’s something new,” Louisa yelped excitedly.
“Yes?”
“I don’t know what it means but there’s someone else now. Someone who can alter things. She’s… she’s thinking. And she’s going to be the one who can change everything.”
“Do you know who it is, Louisa? Do you know her?” Dumbledore asked, looking closely at the child.
“Yes, she’s familiar but I cannot yet See her,” she said, sighing once again.
A/N:
Elocutus- Latin; to speak out
From University of Notre Dame Latin-English Grammar Guide. Found at http://www.nd.edu/~archives/latgramm.htm