Chapter 10
(Harry)
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all that it entails belong to JK Rowling, except for Miss Leila Mae Potter.
… … … … …
Harry sat slouched on an armchair in the drawing room with Ron and Hermione playing with the snitch Dumbledore had given him. He let the snitch slip through his fingers before quickly catching it as his thoughts focused on the past twenty-four hours. It already seemed like forever ago he, Leila, Ron, and Hermione had been joyously celebrating Bill and Fleur's wedding; and yet here they were only a day later, and he was hiding-out in number twelve Grimmauld place with Hermione and Ron. He was without his sister, his closest companion: the one person whom had always been there with him through everything. Ron and Hermione were great friends, but they could never replace the bond he shared with his sister. They shared a deeper connection than just a commonality of blood; it was a connection that Harry couldn't even explain. Harry tensed and lost the snitch at the memory of Draco Malfoy disapparating with his sister into the dark of the night; but Hermione gently placed her hand on his shoulder causing Harry to face her. With her free hand, Hermione shoved a goblet toward Harry.
"Here, drink this," Hermione suggested.
"I don't want another Calming Draught, Hermione," Harry muttered.
"Harry, I certainly think that the given circumstances qualify as traumatic. It's perfectly acceptable to…" Hermione gently pleaded.
"I don't want it. I don't want to dull my nerves because it's my fault she's gone!" Harry shouted.
Harry quickly stood-up and swatted at the goblet of Calming Draught Hermione held out to him. His hand knocked the goblet from her hand and onto the dusty carpeting causing the liquid to seep into the threads of the carpeting and the goblet to roll onto the filthy hardwood flooring. Hermione gasped and moved to the floor in attempts to clean-up the mess. Harry stood before Hermione slightly shaking while pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. He didn't even notice Ron walk over from the sofa and warmly wrap his arms around Hermione, who now had tears slipping from her eyes.
"Harry, there's no reason to take all the blame on this one," Ron said.
"Leila was right there in front of me and I let him take her," Harry argued.
"It's just as much mine and Hermione's fault then too; we were right there with you, mate," Ron said.
"You don't understand she's my sister," Harry scoffed.
"Ron and I miss Leila just as much as you do," Hermione whimpered through her tears.
Harry looked at Hermione with disbelief in his eyes. How could she possibly fathom what he was going through? Leila had been there with him through so much before he even knew Ron or Hermione; especially Dursley drama. Yet, Leila was his responsibility and as her older brother he had failed her last night. Harry looked once more between Ron and Hermione and shook his head before exiting the drawing room. Harry stormed past the wailing portrait of Sirius' mother and stomped up the stairs until he reached the room that had once belonged to Sirius. He had entered this room for the first time earlier today and had found it disheveled and in disarray; but knowing that this room was once a safe haven to his godfather brought him some much needed comfort. Harry flung the door open walking across the scattered mess on the floor until he reached the bed. It was hard to believe that only hours before he had discovered a partial letter from his mother and a torn photograph. Harry sat rigidly on the bed with his eyes closed tightly dwelling on the events of the past twenty-four hours.
~*Flashback to the wedding.*~
Harry was sitting at a table with Elphias Doge whom he had entered in a conversation with about Dumbledore, while Ron's Auntie Muriel would chirp in her poisonous perspective on the former headmaster. He was grateful when an out-of-breath Hermione joined their table, because his former conversation came to a screeching halt. Hermione rubbed her feet and attempted to draw him into a new conversation while Harry scanned the dance floor.
"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked in a low voice for only him to hear.
"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Harry responded.
"Leila's with Fred on that old swing. She's fine," Hermione whispered.
"Good for her," Harry shrugged.
"You're not very good at hiding the over-protective brother bit. Besides, you know Fred, he's a good guy," Hermione said.
"I know he is;but it's not him it's her. It's just that earlier this summer…" Harry sighed.
Hermione looked at him sympathetically and then glanced quickly over her shoulder before scooting her chair closer to Harry's chair. She cleared her throat and adjusted her red dress before leaning her body closer to his.
"What exactly happened? You never specifically mentioned anything in your letters," Hermione whispered.
"Merlin, I don't even know where to begin but Leila was in such a dark place, Hermione. At least when Cedric died I could somewhat understand what she was going through; but with this I just don't know the right thing to say to her," Harry said.
"So you think that she's trying to suppress all her feelings with a commitment to Fred?" Hermione questioned.
"I don't know what's going through her head which makes it harder to take care of her. She's my little sister and my responsibility…" Harry began.
His speech to Hermione was left unfinished because at that very moment something that looked like a giant and silver orb hovered over the dance floor. After a second look he noticed that the object in question was a lynx Patronus and not an orb. Harry looked to Hermione, whose hand covered her gaping mouth when suddenly the Patronus began to speak in Kingsley Shacklebolt's bass voice,
"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming. They are coming."
Harry and Hermione immediately responded by standing up and drawing their wands. The guests began to panic and were quickly running or vanishing. All the protections and enchantments made to the Burrow had been broken because Death Eaters were quickly appearing and the marquee began to go up in flames. Harry and Hermione scanned the crowd for Leila and Ron as curses whirred over their heads. Hermione's expression was tense as Ron quickly sprinted over to them barely dodging a Death Eater's spell. Ron took hold of Hermione's arms and stared at Harry with his eyes wide.
"Harry, you're you!" Ron shouted.
"Of course I'm…" Harry began.
Harry glanced down at his body. The scar on his hand was no longer masked and his dress robes were no longer too tight. His hand instantly flew to his forehead where his all-too-familiar lightning-bolt scar blemished his forehead. The Polyjuice Potion had worn off and he was no longer disguised as an unknown Weasley cousin. After muttering his sister's name, Harry took off in a sprint for the old swing where she last been spotted with Fred Weasley. Hermione and Ron ran after Harry, but Harry was too focused on his sister to wait for them. As Harry ran he could see his sister running back toward the marquee with Fred by her side; so for a brief moment, he stopped to catch his breath and to allow for Ron and Hermione to reach him. He thought his sister to be in safe hands and he could afford a moment to breathe properly. Harry, Ron, and Hermione started running again, when suddenly Leila and Fred stopped. In that moment, Harry spotted Draco Malfoy chasing toward his sister with his wand drawn. As Leila panicked to draw her own wand, Harry shot a hex at Malfoy which the blonde-haired boy quickly deflected. Malfoy's powerful shield caused Harry, Ron, and Hermione to crash onto the grass and in those few seconds it took for them to get back on their feet Malfoy had cursed Leila and disapparated with her.
~*End of flashback.*~
Harry jumped off the bed and began to kick the mess on the floor causing debris to fly everywhere. It was all his fault. He knew something was wrong; he could just feel that something was not right. If he hadn't stopped to catch his breath, Leila wouldn't be with Malfoy. Hell, he hadn't even expected Malfoy to pull a stunt like that especially after that night on the Astronomy Tower. Harry once more collapsed onto the bed with his hands raking through his hair, trying to hold back the tears that frustrated him. He shouldn't have allowed Leila to sneak off with Fred; he should have kept her by his side all night. If only he would have listened to what his gut what trying to tell him, he wouldn't be in this mess and Leila wouldn't be in the hands of Lord Voldemort. He knew Leila was in a fragile state right now and she could only be expected to crumble to the pressure of Voldemort. A gentle knock came at the door and when Harry looked up he found Hermione standing outside the door with another goblet. She attempted to offer him a smile, one which he didn't even try to return.
"Can I come in?" Hermione asked.
"If you must," Harry mumbled.
Hermione was just over the threshold when Harry spoke again.
"But you need to leave that outside," Harry commanded.
Harry's finger pointed to the goblet in Hermione's hand, which without a doubt contained another Calming Draught. He'd taken that blasted potion already today and he didn't like how it soothed his senses. He wanted to feel the guilt imposed upon himself by his recklessness with his sister. He deserved to feel this pain. Hermione sighed and set the goblet down on the dresser in a compromise; she always was the one to find a compromise. Hermione tip-toed across the even more disheveled room and sat on the edge of the bed with Harry. She began to reach out a hand to him; but quickly withdrew it because she was unsure how Harry would respond to the gesture. Instead, she folded her hands in her lap and stared at the all; leaving a silence between the two friends. Harry looked at Hermione, who appeared to be biting her bottom lip, mulling over the right thing to say.
"Where's Ron?" Harry asked.
"He's in the drawing room still. He didn't think that this job was quite his cup of tea," Hermione sighed.
"I'm not some job that you and Ron have to do," Harry hissed.
"I didn't mean it like that; I'm sorry, that was poorly phrased. Ron just didn't think he'd be any good at trying to talk to you about this," Hermione apologized.
"Because he obviously can't relate to having sister issues," Harry said sarcastically.
"Harry, that's not it," Hermione sighed.
"I need to come up with a plan to save my sister. If you two won't help me…" Harry began.
"It's not that we don't want to save Leila, it's just that we can't. I've already explained this to you," Hermione interrupted.
With a scowl on his face Harry coldly turned his back to Hermione. He examined the Muggle women that Sirius had plastered to his wall, attempting to understand Hermione's reasons. She had tried to explain them while they were on the run in the Muggle world; but the reason didn't sit well with him.
~*Flashback to Luchino Caffe.*~
Harry sat in a Muggle establishment called Luchino Caffe with Ron and Hermione. His thoughts wandered to his sister, trying to come-up with some sort of rescue plan for her. He needed to figure out where Malfoy had taken her and then how to get her back safely. Harry tapped the table nervously as an awkward silence hung around them, because neither Hermione nor Ron were sure what to talk about; so they sat their together in silence with mugs of cappuccino. Hermione, who was sitting beside Ron, looked at Harry and slightly jumped when Ron tried to converse with her.
"You know, we're not that far from the Leaky Cauldron; we could just…" Ron began.
"That's out of the question, Ron," Hermione interrupted.
"Blimey, settle down; I didn't mean to stay there, but to find out what's going on," Ron responded.
"It's too dangerous and we already know what's going on. Voldemort has taken over the Ministry, what else do we need to know?" Hermione retorted.
"Where Malfoy's taken Leila," Harry muttered.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"You heard me, we need to know where Malfoy's taken Leila so that we can get her back," Harry answered.
Hermione's lips thinned as Harry's fists clenched. Ron glanced between the two as the tension thickened.
"We can't go looking for her," Hermione said slowly.
"She's my sister! What do you mean we can't go looking for her?" Harry hissed.
"We already have one mission to complete," Hermione said.
"Mate, we'd have no idea where to even begin to look for her," Ron added.
"I can't believe what I'm hearing right now," Harry scoffed.
"Harry, I made Leila a promise," Hermione sighed.
"What sort of promise?" Harry asked.
"She made me promise to protect you from Malfoy. She had a dream that Voldemort ordered Draco to capture you; and it looks like she was onto something. If you go after her, you'd walk right into his trap," Hermione argued.
The bell on the door rang and Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked to the opening door. Two workmen entered through the door; giving Harry a sense that he had seen these men before. The men walked straight to the counter not making eye contact with the trio.
"I can't just leave her," Harry hissed.
"And as Ron already pointed out, we have no idea where to look for her. We need to keep focused," Hermione said.
"How about we get going then, the sooner we get this done the better. Hermione have you got Muggle money to pay for this?" Ron said.
Hermione nodded to Ron's question which was an attempt to diffuse the tension. Harry looked to the out-of-place workmen, who were reaching for their wands. Harry instantly drew his and yelled for Ron and Hermione to get down. They instantly fell to the floor as the spell aimed for them shattered a glass window. Harry popped-up from the floor and shot spell at one of the men, causing him to slump to the floor. The battle between the trio and the final Death Eater raged on. Harry was soon knocked to the floor by one of the Death Eater's curses; he tried to stand, but he felt as if he was something was pressing him to the floor. Hermione screamed a Petrificus Totalus spell at the Death Eater, causing him to thump to the floor. Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he stood-up and examined the damage as the waitress walked back in with a look of confusion on her face.
"Go. Leave," Hermione commanded.
The waitress did as she was told and Harry commanded Hermione and Ron to lock the door and get the lights, respectively. Ron pulled his Deluminator out of his pocket and clicked it, so that the orbs of light went flying into it. Hermione locked the doors magically; while Harry slowly walked over the broken glass and china to where the Death Eaters lay. Ron and Hermione soon joined him behind the counter, looking at their attackers.
"This one is Rowle. He was on the Astronomy Tower the night Snape killed Dumbledore," Harry said.
Ron walked over to the other crumpled Death Eater and kicked at the man's leg.
"This is Dolohov. I recognize him from the wanted posters," Ron sneered.
"Never mind what they're called! How did they find us?" Hermione questioned with panic in her voice.
"First, we need to figure out what to do with them. Kill them? They'd kill us," Ron whispered.
"If we kill them, they'll know we were here. But maybe we could torture them for information on Leila's whereabouts and then wipe their memories," Harry suggested.
"No, Dark magic leaves traces. We need to stay discreet as possible so that we don't give ourselves away," Hermione whispered.
Harry looked to Hermione who stood back a few feet with her arms folded across her chest. He knew that she was right; but he didn't want to admit the truth to her statement. He badly wanted to use the Cruciatus Curse on those Death Eaters so that they would divulge Leila's whereabouts. For a few moments, his anger and rage bubbled-over within him; but this soon led to a calmer clarity. Harry hoped that Hermione had some sort of plan forming; because he was about to lose his first chance at rescuing his sister.
~*End of flashback.*~
"I don't care what yours and Leila's reasons were, I need to find her," Harry said.
"And what happens when you find Voldemort waiting for you? You can't destroy him. The whole point of destroying the Horcruxes is to make him mortal again. We need to destroy them before facing him," Hermione said.
"I've gotten away from him before, so I'll do it again," Harry argued.
"Harry, this is a part of his plan!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Of course it's part of his plan Hermione! That bastard took my sister!" Harry shouted.
"Because he knows that you'll go after her and try to play the hero! He can predict your next move!" Hermione shouted back.
"Then it looks like he knows me well because I'm going after her!" Harry scoffed.
"Harry, we need to think logically about this. It's another trap and in case you don't remember the last time…the last time you lost Sirius," Hermione faltered.
"I'm not going to let him take any more from me than he already has," Harry yelled.
Harry jumped off the bed and started to walk away but he stubbed his toe on a mystery object. He cursed under his breath while Hermione looked at him sympathetically. He knew Hermione felt sorry for him, so he refused to turn and look at her. Instead he worked hard to keep his emotions in check. His body slightly quivered but he refused to look weak. He tightly clenched his fists as Hermione walked over to where he stood. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder while Harry just stood there.
"I can't lose her too," Harry sighed.
"You won't," Hermione whispered.
"You don't know that," Harry said.
"I don't have any facts or statistics to give you; but I do have hope. Sometimes, all the book knowledge doesn't mean anything unless you can learn to see that glimmer of hope," Hermione answered.
"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" Harry asked.
"Shut up, Harry," Hermione giggled.
"So I suppose we can get rid of all those books you're lugging around in that beaded bag of yours?" Harry smiled.
"Harry, you know what I mean," Hermione laughed.
Hermione playfully smacked him as Ron entered the room with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. Ron looked at Hermione, who blushed under his gaze and took a step away from Harry. Ron cleared his throat before speaking.
"You two have been up here a while, so I just wanted to make sure that you two haven't killed each other yet."
"I don't know where you'd get an idea like that, Ronald," Hermione muttered.
"Right, well let's go back downstairs then. I'm starving," Ron said awkwardly.
"Of course you'd be thinking about your stomach right now," Hermione said rolling her eyes.
"I'm not going to apologize for being hungry; so are we going down or not?" Ron asked.
Ron waited for Harry and Hermione to leave the room, before closing the door behind them. They walked downstairs and past a livid portrait of Walburga Black before heading into the kitchen. The kitchen felt so empty compared to the other times he had been here. The other times the Weasleys, Moody, Lupin, Tonks, and Sirius had filled the gloomy room with laughter; while the present atmosphere was one of gloom. Harry and Ron sat at the long table, while Hermione ladled some of the soup she had made into bowls for the three of them.
"Is there any bread to go with the soup?" Ron asked.
Hermione pointed to the loaf on the counter and told him to get it himself. Ron rolled his eyes and grudgingly brought the bread to the table. The three teenagers ate their soup and bread in silence. Hermione kept glancing at Harry during dinner, as if she had more she wanted to say; but couldn't bring herself to do it. They were almost through with supper when Hermione finally worked up the courage to approach Harry.
"Harry, I've been thinking," Hermione began.
"That's nothing new," Ron said sarcastically.
"I've been thinking about our situation with Leila," Hermione said heatedly.
Harry's eyes instantly looked to Hermione. Was she going to give in so that they could go rescue Leila?
"Do you remember that night in the graveyard when you witnessed Voldemort come back to life?" Hermione asked.
"You already know the answer to that question, Hermione," Harry groaned.
"Pettigrew took only your blood to bring him back, correct?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, he stabbed his knife into my forearm and then dropped my blood into the cauldron. I still have the scar if you need to see it," Harry responded.
"Harry you're missing my point," Hermione sighed.
"What exactly is your point in rehashing the past?" Harry asked.
"You really don't get it, do you?" Hermione furthered.
"I certainly don't get it," Ron commented with his mouth full of bread.
Hermione stood up from the table and took a few steps with her back facing her friends. The wheels in her brain were turning and working overtime. The more she thought about it, the more certain that glimmer of hope seemed. Hermione turned to face the boys, who were staring at her in confusion.
"Hermione," Harry called.
"Pettigrew didn't take any of Leila's blood to bring Voldemort back to life," Hermione stated.
"We already went over that," Harry said.
"I even understood that much," Ron commented.
"Don't you see, Pettigrew's mistake is our hope," Hermione smiled.
"I'm still not following her," Ron muttered.
"Harry, Leila told me on that night the three of you dueled and Voldemort used the Cruciatus Curse on you both, right?" Hermione asked.
"More questions, Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Just answer it," Hermione snapped.
"Yeah, it hurt like hell," Harry said.
"But not for Leila. Leila felt more pain from Malfoy's attempt than she did from the most-powerful Dark wizard's," Hermione responded.
"So?" Harry questioned.
"I was in the Black family library earlier today…" Hermione began.
"No surprise there," Ron said sarcastically.
Hermione lunged for the cookbook that was on the counter by the stove and moved to where Ron sat and began swatting him with it. Ron put his hands up in defense; but Harry quickly intervened and pulled the book from Hermione's hands. Hermione slowly backed away from Ron, who was looking at her like she was a lunatic. Harry cautiously set the book onto the table in front of him and watched to make sure Hermione wouldn't lunge for it again. When he was almost certain that she wouldn't he continued.
"Hermione, you were saying?" Harry asked.
"Am I allowed to continue uninterrupted, Ron?" Hermione asked.
"I don't want to be attacked by another book," Ron answered.
"I think I found the ritual used to bring Voldemort back in one of the books," Hermione said.
She glanced around the kitchen for the book.
"Which I apparently, left upstairs," Hermione groaned.
"Does this have a point?" Harry asked.
"I'll just get to it. There were three key ingredients used to bring him back to life and one of them was blood of the enemy…" Hermione began.
"Forcibly taken, yeah, I remember," Harry said bitterly.
"Pettigrew didn't forcibly take any of Leila's blood," Hermione stated.
"I don't mean to interrupt; but we already covered that before you started whacking me with a book," Ron said.
Hermione shot a dirty look at Ron causing him to put his hands up in a defensive position. Hermione made no move to attack Ron again; instead she leaned over the table so that she was closer to Harry.
"Harry, it's your blood with your mother's blood-protection that flows in Voldemort. Leila's blood with your mother's blood-protection flows safely in her own veins, not in Voldemort's. She's safe," Hermione smiled.
"She's with Death Eaters, how is she safe?" Harry asked.
"Because we both know that Voldemort is too selfish to let anyone else kill Leila and he can't do it himself because your mother's blood-protection still protects her," Hermione responded.
"Are you sure he can't kill her?" Harry whispered.
"Positive and I think this should be reason enough to know that whatever he wants to do with Leila is only his means to trap you," Hermione said.
Harry nodded slowly still taking in everything Hermione had told him. He still didn't like the feeling of leaving Leila at the Dark Lord's expense; but if Hermione's information was accurate, Leila would be somewhat safe.
"Where do we go from here?" Ron asked.
"We wait for Kreacher to return with Mundungus," Hermione said.
"And then?" Ron asked.
"We hunt for Horcruxes; but if we get any solid information and an opportunity we're going to rescue Leila," Harry said.
Hermione exhaled a sigh of relief. She knew that she had at least convinced Harry for now to focus on the Horcruxes. Hermione didn't like her idea any better than Harry; but she had made a promise to Leila to protect Harry. Besides, if Voldemort could become mortal once more they could be rid of him for good. And knowing that Leila couldn't die at the Dark Lord's hands was going to have to be that glimmer of hope. The tension had eased and the trio settled comfortably once again into the drawing room. Hermione played a classical piece on the piano, while Ron sat on a chair watching her; but Harry's scar began to pain him once more. It prickled a little at first but the pain soon grew intolerable as it had last night before his glimpse of Draco Malfoy being used as Voldemort's pawn. He quickly grabbed his toothbrush and once again escaped to the bathroom where he collapsed on the floor.
Harry saw Leila lying on the floor panting for breath as Voldemort walked closer to her with his snake slithering beside him. The Death Eaters surrounded Leila and she looked a mess as Voldemort began to speak to her. He couldn't understand what Voldemort was saying because his words were covered by Leila's cries and screams. He thought he heard something about a second prophecy, but he couldn't be sure. Suddenly, Snape's voice began to speak in a dull soft tone, which Harry couldn't understand; but the last phrases Snape spoke burned into Harry's mind: deliver the Chosen One unrestrained. Right into the hands of he whose existence is his bane. Voldemort began to laugh causing Harry to return to reality.
Harry slowly sat-up, wondering what meant. Had it been true? Was there really another prophecy or was Voldemort trying to confuse Leila? Had this actually happened or was Voldemort trying to trick his own mind? But who was meant by those words Snape had uttered? Was someone truly to deliver him to Voldemort? Was he too much like his father to trust people? These questions plagued Harry; but he had no time to dwell on these thoughts because a knock on the door interrupted them.
"Harry?" Ron called.
"Yes, Ron?" Harry asked.
"Are you almost done in there? I, well, you know need to go," Ron said.
"Just gimme a minute," Harry said.
Harry slowly stood up and walked to the sink. He splashed cold water on his face and dried it with his shirt. He didn't want Hermione on his case for having another vision from Voldemort; because he didn't want to explain this one. He couldn't tell them this one. He was going to keep this information to himself and go along with the plans like nothing had changed; but he was going to watch his back just case the words from Snape proved to be true.