I don't own anything in the Harry Potter universe.
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Harry raced through the castle, followed closely by Ron, Ginny and Neville. After sensing that Hermione was leaving the castle, and that she was terrified, he had quickly sent mental word to the others, telling them to follow. Luna was sent to find Professor McGonagall and fill her in on the situation.
As they ran—using different shortcuts—Harry began to grow more and more concerned. He could still sense Hermione’s location, but could not sense her mind anymore. That probably meant she was Stunned or unconscious. They rounded a corner and sprinted down the final set of stairs, Ron and Neville directly behind Harry, with Ginny, who was shorter than the boys, a bit further back.
When they reached the ground floor, they all stopped so quickly in surprise that Ginny ran headlong into Neville. Standing next to one of the suits of armour beside the front doors was Hermione, looking rather disheveled, her cheeks blazing red. Viktor Krum was pinned against a far wall by one of the Weasley twins; Harry couldn’t tell which one, but one had his wand drawn, while the other held him in place.
Krum, also a brilliant shade of red, attempted to speak. “George, I did not--”
Fred cut him off with a growl. “I’m Fred, you sodding oaf.” He slammed Krum into the wall. “Just because we had a couple of Firewhiskys a couple of years ago, doesn’t mean we’re friends. What the bloody hell do you think you were doing with her!?”
“What is this rubbish?” George turned and was now yelling at Hermione, “Where do you get off snogging old Vicky here when you’re supposed to be engaged to our brother?”
“She WHAT!” Ron yelled, in absolute disbelief, stepping past Harry towards Hermione and George.
“He said I was snogging Viktor, Ron,” Hermione shouted back, to everyone’s surprise. She seemed to have regained her composure as she continued, “He’s three times the man you are, and I decided that it was time I spent some quality time with him.” She looked longingly over at Krum, who was beginning to turn a deeper red than before, rivaling any of the Weasleys in shade.
“I don’t know vat she is talking about,” he mumbled. “I jus come in see door and she grabs me and kisses me. There is nothing I can do.” Fred, apparently unimpressed with this answer, attempted to lift Viktor further off the ground.
“Don’t say that, Viktor,” Hermione purred. “I know you have always wanted to be with me. Now is your chance.” She pulled the diamond engagement ring from her hand and tossed it to Ron.
Ron had paled considerably at this point and didn’t seem to have any response to the situation. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.
Harry watched in utter confusion. His eyes told him that he was seeing Hermione in front of him, but he knew she could never act this way. She wouldn’t treat Ron like this, nor would she have been so careless as to let the twins see her.
He focused his mind again on Hermione, trying to figure out what she was playing at. He was astonished to find that he could not connect with the girl in front of him. Despite what his eyes told him, this person was not Hermione Granger. He could tell that Hermione, though still unconscious, was not on the school grounds any longer, but moving towards Hogsmeade. He raised his wand and pointed it at the fake Hermione’s chest, preparing to ask who she really was.
“Petrificus Totalus!” Ginny shouted from beside him. “It’s not Hermione.”
All eyes shot to Ginny, as Hermione fell face first to the floor, unable to move. “She’s an impostor,” Ginny answered the stunned expressions now focused on her.
Harry was the first to speak. “We need to go; the real Hermione is being taken to Hogsmeade.” He then ran out the door, followed by Ron, who was too stunned to speak; Neville, who was very puzzled about the exchange he had just witnessed; and Ginny. Fred, George and Krum stayed in the doorway, unsure about what to do.
How did you know? Harry thought to Ginny
The ring was wrong! Ginny thought back. Harry smiled in spite of his desperation to help his friend.
The evening sky was already very pale as the four teens ran along the grounds. The sun was setting, providing an eerie twilight. As they raced for the front gate, Harry continued to reach out for Hermione’s mind. He could not make a connection, but he could still manage to track her. Suddenly, he changed directions and started running towards the Whomping Willow. “They’re in the Shrieking Shack,” he yelled as they ran.
They reached the tree and Ginny quickly transformed. In her cat form, she was easily able to avoid the flailing limbs of the tree and push the small knob at its base, rendering it immobile. She transformed back, and the four went down into the secret passage leading to the Shrieking Shack.
By the time they reached the trapdoor leading into the hallway of the old house, they were all out of breath. Ron tried to continue on, but Harry held him back. “She’s okay for now; we need to know what we are going up against.”
Ron relaxed slightly, understanding the logic of Harry’s words.
Attempting to recover from the long run, they edged closer to the trapdoor. They could hear voices from above.
“How do you know they will come?” spoke a deep male voice Harry didn’t recognize. “We don’t even know if they have realized the Mudblood’s missing.”
“They’ll come.” Harry stiffened as he heard that voice. It was all he could do to keep himself from barging in. Snape was just on the other side of the trapdoor. “Come along, Macnair, if I know Potter, he and his little band of stooges will be coming to the front door any moment now. I’m sure our little stand-in has been discovered by now and has told them where we have taken the Mudblood.”
“Lucius will be so excited to see Potter and Weasley again,” Macnair grunted.
“Indeed,” Snape replied, as their footsteps moved away from the trapdoor towards the front of the house.
Harry turned to the others. “Okay, here’s the plan. Ron and I will go in and distract Snape and his friends. Neville, you and Ginny get Hermione; revive her if you can, and get yourselves back to the castle. As soon as you’re safe, Ron and I will Apparate into Hogsmeade and try to get to Honeydukes and use that secret passage to get back to the school.”
“Why not just Apparate to the front gates?” Neville asked nervously.
“They’d be expecting us to do that. If we go to Honeydukes, we may be able to slip back without them being able to follow us,” Ron explained as Harry nodded in agreement. They always seemed to be on the exact same wavelength in times of stress.
Ginny looked like she was about to protest when Harry quietly turned and started to open the trapdoor. He poked his head up just enough to see what was around him. He could see in the front room a small group of four Death Eaters watching out the window. All were hooded and cloaked, with their backs to Harry, so he could not make out who was who.
“Muffliato,” Harry muttered. One Death Eater straightened slightly, as if seeing something in the distance as he looked out the window, but then moved back into his previous position. Harry raised the trapdoor and quietly moved out, followed by Ron. Ginny and Neville started to move through the door and walk quietly up the stairs.
By this time, moonlight was beginning to filter through the windows, providing meagre light for those in the house. Harry ducked behind the stairs as Ron moved around a corner. They fired Stunners at the same time, as Ginny and Neville raced up to the second floor. Two cloaked figures fell without realizing they were in danger.
The other two Death Eaters turned quickly, each raising a shield and deflecting the Stunners aimed at them. “It’s about time, Potter,” yelled Lucius Malfoy. “Is your friend Weasley with you? I have a debt to repay to that blood traitor.”
Ron fired another Stunner at him, but Malfoy easily blocked it. He fired a Cutting Curse of his own as Ron ducked back behind the wall.
Harry locked eyes with the other Death Eater and immediately felt the sledgehammer effect of Snape trying to break into his mind. Harry’s walls were immediately up as he fought to keep his former professor out of his head. He was vaguely aware of the duel taking place between Ron and Malfoy senior, but he couldn’t afford to shift his focus from protecting himself against Snape’s mental assault. He felt the pressure building in his mind as blow after blow came from the former Potions master.
After what felt like hours, but was in truth only seconds, a scream broke the concentration of both men. Malfoy stumbled back and collapsed onto the floor, clutching his stomach and moaning. There was a loud thud above them and all three looked up.
A howl made Harry’s skin turn clammy. “Greyback’s upstairs,” Harry said, dread washing over him, but unsure of what to do. Before he could move, however, there were several loud thuds from upstairs, the sound of furniture breaking, another loud howl and the roar of a bear. Then, just as Harry was about to make a break for the second floor, the body of a werewolf crashed down the staircase, followed closely by a large black bear. The werewolf landed a few feet beyond Harry. Neville, in bear form, moving more quickly than Harry could have imagined, was on top of the wolf, slashing and biting.
Harry was unable to fire a spell at the wolf, for fear of hitting Neville, and he wasn’t sure if the spell would do anything anyway. The battle between the two mammoth beasts continued until finally the werewolf caught Neville in the side with his claw. The bear yelped in pain and staggered back. The wolf seized his advantage and sank his teeth into Neville’s exposed shoulder. The bear let out a great growl, raised up on his hind legs, and with a mighty thrust, launched the werewolf down the hall. It landed with a thud, rolled over, and was then back on its feet.
Harry fired a Stunner at the werewolf; the spell merely bounced off, but had the effect of fixing the wolf’s attention squarely on him and it took a step forward towards its new prey.
Another loud growl, and the werewolf, seemingly having no desire to get into another battle with the bear and risk being mauled a second time, managed to escape out through a side window. Neville made to follow, but Harry stopped him with a shout.
“Impressive, Potter,” Snape sneered. “Not only do you seem to have learned to keep your mind closed, but you also have learned to keep your stupid friends in line. Most impressive indeed.”
“You’ll find I’m full of surprises… sir,” Harry said as he wordlessly fired a Stunner at Snape, who was barely able to block it, but did not return the fire. Harry fired again—a Bludgeoning Curse this time—and again Snape blocked it with difficulty, but did not fire back.
“Why won’t you fight me!” Harry shouted.
“Not today, Potter!” Snape yelled, and then clutched Malfoy by the shoulder and Apparated away.
“ARGGGGH!” Harry screamed in frustration as Snape disappeared. He walked to the spot where only a moment before Snape and Malfoy had been located. He was seething as he looked at the empty floor. His anger soon gave way to curiosity as he noticed for the first time, sitting on the table beside the front window, a vial of silvery liquid. From his previous experiences with Dumbledore’s Pensieve, he could tell it looked like someone’s memories. Moving swiftly, he picked up the vial and stuffed it into his pocket, just as the front door exploded open. Moody and Aberforth Dumbledore, along with many other members of the Order, had arrived.
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Two hours later, Harry sat in the Hospital Wing waiting for two of his friends to awake. Hermione was lying in one of the beds, seemingly asleep. Madam Pomfrey had been in to see her, and after an extensive examination, decided that Hermione had been given a Sleeping Potion, very much akin to Pomfrey’s own Dreamless Sleep brew. She would wake up in a few hours none the worse for wear.
Neville was a different case. He had transformed back into his normal self, but then immediately passed out from the blood loss he had endured in his battle with Greyback. After several vials of Blood Replenishing Potion, the colour had returned to Neville’s face and he seemed to be resting comfortably. Madam Pomfrey had been concerned about the fact that it had been a werewolf that had bitten Neville, but after consulting several sources, decided that since he had been in his Animagus form when bitten, he should not suffer any ill effects.
Ron sat next to Hermione’s bed, holding her hand and gently running his fingers through her hair. There was a thin scar running down Ron’s right forearm where he had been hit with a Cutting Curse during his duel with Malfoy.
Parvati sat next to Neville’s bed reading, with Luna on the opposite side. Both young ladies looked pale from concern and neither looked the other in the eye.
Harry and Ginny sat on chairs opposite of Ron. Ginny seemed to be dozing while Harry tried to make sense of what had just happened. He was thinking about the tactical mistake Snape had made, in not expecting them to use the secret passage. He knew it was there and yet he had expected them to come from Hogsmeade. Why not cover the passage, just in case?
The doors to the Hospital Wing opened and Professor McGonagall walked in, along with Moody and Abe Dumbledore. She looked kindly at the teens in the room and then moved to Harry’s side. She looked as if she was about to speak when Hermione started to stir.
“Where…what happened?” she asked groggily, then understanding and fear filled her eyes as she realized what she last remembered.
Ron was quickly up and by her side, gently stroking her back. “It’s all right. You’re safe.” She looked at him and then around the room and visibly relaxed.
McGonagall looked at Hermione. “What happened, dear?”
“I was walking towards the Entrance Hall to meet Viktor. I opened the door to check and see if he was outside, and I saw…myself standing there. Someone put me in a full Body-Bind Curse and then started carrying me away from the castle. When we reached the front gates, I just knew they were taking me away.” Tears filled her eyes, “I couldn’t move and then they forced a potion down my throat and I woke up here.”
Harry picked up the story from there. “Ron and I had a feeling something was wrong.” Harry looked significantly at Abe. “We went downstairs to look for Hermione and sent Luna to find you, Professor,” he motioned towards McGonagall. “Then we saw Hermione’s impersonator with Viktor Krum.”
“Yeah, and she snogged Vicky, right there in the middle of the Entrance Hall,” Ginny remarked, removing her head from Harry’s shoulder and joining the conversation.
“Oh dear; Ron, I’m so sorry,” Hermione stated, looking to Ron.
“It wasn’t you who did it, so there isn’t anything to be sorry for.” He planted a kiss on her forehead. “You should have seen Fred and George. They had Krum up against the wall and I thought for sure they were going to hex him into next year.” Ron couldn’t help but smile about his older brothers coming to his defense. “What happened to those three anyway?”
Dumbledore stepped forward. “The last time I checked, the three of them were in my bar, having a drink or two to sort out their differences.”
Hermione looked confused. “Why were the twins here?”
“Victory party, Hermione, you know that. They always come for the Gryffindor party,” Ron explained.
“So we figured out it wasn’t really Hermione because of the ring she tossed at Ron. It was a diamond instead of the pearl,” Harry continued. “Ginny hits her with a Body-Bind Curse before we could get any information out of her.” Harry smiled ruefully at Ginny. She blushed but held his gaze.
“So who was the impostor anyway?” Neville asked, sitting gingerly up in his bed. Parvati nearly burst into tears as she threw her arms around him. Luna smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder before moving towards the others.
“That would be Miss Parkinson,” McGonagall stated flatly, although Harry could see the colour in her face rise. “She will be turned over to the Ministry in the morning. Please continue, Mr. Potter.”
“We figured out that they were going to the Shrieking Shack and got there as quickly as we could.” He left out any mention of how they knew it was the Shrieking Shack or how they got there. “We sent Ginny and Neville upstairs to try and get Hermione while Ron and I distracted the Death Eaters.”
Ginny shifted uneasily in her chair. “We saw Hermione in the room, lying on the floor by herself. I tried to revive her, but she wouldn’t move. We could hear you talking downstairs and heard the spells, but we didn’t want to go down in the middle of it all. Then the door slammed open and the werewolf charged in. I don’t know where he came from, but he must have been waiting for someone to come up. That’s when Neville--erm--” Ginny hesitated, not wanting to reveal Neville’s Animagus form.
“It is all right, Miss Weasley. I am aware of how Mr. Longbottom was able to fight off the werewolf,” McGonagall remarked with a tight smile. Harry couldn’t decide if it was a smile of pride in Neville’s accomplishment or frustration over not knowing before this evening.
“What do you mean, was able to fight a werewolf,” Parvati shrieked. Neville placed a hand on hers and patted. Harry saw him mouth the word later to her, but he could tell she did not look pleased.
Ron took over the story. “I got Malfoy with a Bludgeoning Curse, just below the stomach.” The men in the room all seemed to cringe. “Then Neville and the werewolf came tumbling down the stairs.”
Harry told the rest of the story up to the point when the Order arrived.
Dumbledore picked up from that point. “The twins saw you four head for the Whomping Willow and the secret passage underneath it. Yes, Harry, we all know about it. That’s how we knew you were going to the Shrieking Shack. We got there as quickly as we could, but you seemed to have taken care of everything.”
McGonagall seemed to think about the report of the events of the evening for several minutes. She then turned to the others. “Very well, all of you; get to your common rooms before curfew. Miss Granger, we will have to talk about how you taught one of your friends the Animagus transformation without my knowledge… or approval.” Hermione turned white, but Harry noticed a glint of pride in McGonagall’s eyes as she turned to go and thought that Hermione was probably not in trouble, but was going to be congratulated for her accomplishment.
The adults left, giving the students a chance to say good night. Ron kissed Hermione, a little more passionately than usual, before he bid her farewell. Parvati pecked Neville on the cheek, but still looked displeased about his hiding his ability from her. The rest said good night and they made their way back to the common room.
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Harry lay in his bed, attempting to relax. He was wired from the evening’s events and didn’t feel like sleeping. He closed his mind and began to reach out to his friends. He felt Neville first, sensing a strange mix of pride and apprehension. He seemed to be just about to sleep, so Harry moved on.
Luna was in her common room. She was working on homework, but not really focused on it. She felt sad and lonely. Harry thought about this for a second as he remembered just how isolated she was from the rest of her house. He wondered why the Sorting Hat hadn’t put her in Gryffindor in the first place; she certainly would have fit in well in his house. The loneliness Harry felt from Luna was normal, but the sadness was something that he had never really experienced from her before. He didn’t really know what to make of it.
He moved on to Ron, and was only a little surprised to find that he was not in the common room, where Harry had last seen him, but back in the Hospital Wing. He seemed content and pleased with himself that he managed to get there without being caught. Behave yourself! Harry thought and was pleased to feel the instant tension his words brought to Ron’s mind.
Harry then felt Hermione, and discovered she was in a fitful sleep. He caught snippets of the dream she was having and he didn’t like what he saw: images of werewolves attacking her, and then being taken by Death Eaters. Harry felt the fear rising again in his friend and tried to filter some good thoughts into her mind. After a couple of minutes of him sending fond memories into her mind, she relaxed and was dreaming contentedly about she and Ron at Bill’s wedding. Harry decided it was time to move on.
He felt Ginny and sensed her sleeping contentedly. He caught a few shots of her dreams and was intrigued by what he saw: flashes of him in a tuxedo as she walked down an aisle on her father’s arm. Dancing with him at what was obviously their wedding. Harry broke the connection.
He was surprised by the fact that Ginny dreaming about their future didn’t bother him. He had never really thought much about their future, only that he hoped and prayed they would survive long enough to have one. He decided that he liked, very much, the idea of Ginny dreaming about them.
He was about to nod off when his scar began to prickle. He sat up in his bed, wondering why, since it hadn’t bothered him since the summer. Voldemort must be really angry with someone . He reinforced his mental walls but chose to focus on the mind that seemed to be pushing against them, instead of simply repelling it. He gently reached out to the mind of his enemy, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was going on.
Almost before he realized what was happening, he found himself looking into the faces of Snape and Lucius Malfoy as they stood before the Dark Lord. Harry was seeing through Voldemort’s eyes. He didn’t know if Voldemort knew he was there, but he was going to see all he could see while he could.
“Severus, report,” Voldemort hissed.
“We were unsuccessful, My Lord.” Snape bowed low before his master.
Harry could feel the anger seemingly dripping from Voldemort as he spoke, “And tell me, Lucius, why you have once again failed your master.”
Malfoy kneeled before the Dark Lord. “Master, we were overwhelmed by the Order of the Phoenix.”
“LIAR!” Voldemort shouted and Harry was surprised that he too could sense that Malfoy was lying. “You were defeated by Potter and his little friends, again!!”
Voldemort stood and Harry could feel the Dark Lord’s anger boil over. “Crucio!” Malfoy was struck by the spell and toppled over to his side, screaming in agony. Harry was repulsed by the image of Malfoy writhing in pain.
“Severus, bring the boy in.”
Snape left and returned almost immediately, the screams of Lucius Malfoy still ringing throughout the chamber. Draco Malfoy walked meekly into the room. To Harry, he looked much younger than his seventeen years. He stepped into the room and watched as his father was tortured in front of him.
“You see the price for failure, Draco,” Voldemort spoke, over the screaming.
Voldemort lifted his wand and Malfoy senior was released from the spell. He lay on the ground, convulsing from the trauma of the curse. Harry thought Draco looked like he might be sick, but he still tried to keep an arrogant sneer on his face.
“Yes, My Lord,” the younger Malfoy choked out.
“You have no choice, Draco—serve me well or suffer the consequences. You have failed me twice, and while I am understanding to a point, you must see that another failure would have to be punished most sternly.”
Draco blanched. “Ye—yes, My Lord.”
“Good, are you prepared to do ALL that your master commands?” Voldemort was beginning to brim with excitement, and the feeling nauseated Harry.
Draco brightened up somewhat in anticipation of his new assignment. “Of course, whatever my master commands of me.”
Voldemort laced his fingers together, leaning forward, elbows on his knees, studying the face of the young man before him. “Good, Draco, very good. In that case, your master commands you to kill that.” He glanced over to the prone body of Lucius Malfoy in the corner.
“What!?” Draco said in disbelief. “You want me to kill my father? Why?” Draco had reached a level of paleness that left him looking like a ghost.
“YOU DARE QUESTION MY ORDERS?!”
Snape stepped in front of Draco. “Master, if I may, the boy doesn’t have it in him to kill. Certainly not his own--”
“SILENCE, SEVERUS! Draco, you will do as I have commanded you or you will die yourself!”
Draco raised his wand in a trembling hand. He walked slowly over to his father, who did not seem to have the strength to move or defend himself. The wand’s tip shook as Draco continued to tremble.
Harry, through Voldemort’s eyes, watched as the words slowly started to form on Draco lips.
NO, Harry thought, but he heard the voice of Voldemort say the word. Draco’s head snapped towards the Dark Lord.
Harry knew he had gone too far, but something about watching Draco being forced to kill his own father was simply too much. He began to slowly back away from the mind.
“Leave me,” Voldemort snapped, “and take that miserable lump of filth with you.” Snape and Draco dragged Lucius’s body from the room. As they moved, his head lolled from one side to the other, but his eyes were open, and it was clear he knew that Draco had almost killed him.
When they left the room, Voldemort stood. Harry?
Harry was petrified, and what was worse, he couldn’t break contact with Voldemort’s mind. He raised his walls, but he simply could not break the connection.
My, Harry, you have certainly grown strong since our last little meeting. Too bad you are still no match for me.
All at once, Harry was back in the Department of Mysteries, watching as Hermione was struck down, Sirius fell through the veil and Ron was attacked by the brain.
You see, Harry, no matter how powerful you get, I will always be the stronger one; I will always be able to destroy you. The old fool knew that I would be victorious in this war; it is only a matter of time.
Harry could feel the anger and fear growing inside him and he struggled to clamp it down. He was determined to fight and win this battle. He would win, even if it cost him his life, for those that he loved. The image of Ginny entered his mind and Harry had an idea. He focused on the images of Ginny’s dream that he had seen earlier that evening. Her happiness and his as they danced as husband and wife, the joy they felt in each other’s arms and the satisfaction of finally being together. He focused his mind and poured all the joy and happiness he could into the connection he and Voldemort shared.
Suddenly, a searing pain was building in Harry’s mind, but it wasn’t his pain. It was the pain Voldemort was enduring as he was forced to witness the images Harry showed him. The Department of Mysteries faded and they were again in Voldemort’s study. Harry could tell, by the view he had, that Voldemort was on his hands and knees gasping for breath. He kept the images coming and Voldemort convulsed in pain. He retched on the floor.
And that was just a dream. Good bye, Tom. Harry slammed the mental connection closed. The last thing he felt from Voldemort was blind rage, with just a touch of fear.
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A/N: So there you go. Krum isn’t a bad guy after all. Loads of thanks go out to my pre-betas Cableguysmom and Kerrbear and as always, huge thanks to my betas Ginny Guerra and JenC. Thanks ladies. I couldn’t do it with out you.
Up next, Harry finds out the consequences for his actions with Voldemort and we take a trip to Spinner’s End; sort of.