It had taken hours for Snape's spell to wear off enough for Harry to make it out of his office. His stomach growled fiercely, the hunger becoming physical pain. He was fuming still, despite the time he'd spent mulling on the floor.
Using the wall for support, Harry made it out of the dungeons. His legs were stiff. Trying to occupy his mind, Harry tried to think of a different way to get back at Snape for every painful step he took. Even with all the stairs separating him from Gryffindor tower, Harry doubted he'd run out.
He was just about to embark on his journey up the grand stairs when he realised he could hear shouts from outside. Screams. He paused, one foot on the stairs, to listen. Yes, definitely screams. And not all of them sounded human. Harry wondered briefly about going out to investigate, but his cloak was up in the dorms and there was no way he was coming all the way back down. He suspected it was well past curfew.
Another yell and a loud crash. He'd just go and take a peek out of the doors, see what was happening . The heavy front doors swung easily, already unlocked. Harry had to shield his eyes. Compared to the dim entrance hall, the world outside was ablaze.
The forbidden forest. It was on fire. Harry slipped out of the door without realising, then stood and stared. Smoke plumed high into the air. Flames licked upwards, twenty feet off the ground. Even from here Harry could feel the heat radiating off it.
It was like Harry was in two places at once. He knew he was stood outside staring at the forest but in his head he was back in the room of requirement. He was with Draco, madly trying to flee the living flames around them. He could feel their burn, sense their malicious joy as they chased the two small humans trapped in their midst.
His heart was beating wildly. He struggled to breath. The smoke, it must be filling his lungs. He could feel the panic crashing around him.
A figure came silhouetted out of the flames. It was headed straight for Harry, and fast. Harry stumbled backwards and collided with the wooden door behind him. All rational thought left him as his knees gave way.
He put his head in his hands and tried desperately to breathe.
"Harry Potter?" The voice was lush and deep but Harry didn't have enough air in his lungs to respond. "Harry Potter? You need to breathe. Breathe. You're ok, you're safe." Harry raised his trembling head to see a set of hooves. Craning his neck back further he saw a man. A centaur.
"Let's get you inside." The centaur offered Harry a hand to help him. Shakily, Harry got to his feet.
Back inside the dimness of the entrance hall, Harry was finally able to get his breathing back under control.
"What the hell happened out there?" Even in the darkness, Harry could see the sadness on the centaur's face.
"Terrible things Mr Potter. The Dark Lord is more than himself, and he found a way into the grounds tonight."
"Lord Voldemort was here?" Harry was surprised. Normally when Voldemort was that close he could feel it in his scar. He hadn't felt anything, no flashes of pain or images from the other man's head. Had he been so busy fuming with Snape that it had somehow blocked it out?
"Yes, and no. The headmaster asked me to fetch the potions master, could you guide me Mr Potter?" At the thought of going back down to Snape's lair Harry felt himself pale. He hoped the centaur didn't notice.
"Um sure, this way. Do you mean that it was Bellatrix Lestrange? And who are you, if you don't mind me asking." The centaur definitely seemed shocked by the name.
"I believe that was her name once. Now, less so. I am Orion. You know a lot, for one so young."
"What was she doing here?" Harry descended the steps into the dungeons. The centaur seemed to manage just fine with the stairs, trotting along behind him.
"Causing chaos and misery. I believe that the Dark Lord fears the future, especially those who can see it. He sought to eradicate us, and maybe he was right."
"Right? How can that be right?"
"The future is a dangerous thing Mr Potter. You'd do well to fear it, the same as he. There is little joy to be had in the years to come, why experience your suffering twice. There are many reasons we keep to ourselves Mr Potter."
Harry felt some dark dread seize his stomach. The centaur's words were foreboding. They reached the bottom of the steps in silence. Harry led Orion to Snape's door and gestured.
"These are his rooms." The centaur inclined his head politely in thanks then knocked loudly. It echoed through the stone corridors. After a few moments muffle noises were heard. A very irritable looking Snape yanked open the door. He looked shocked to see the tall centaur on his doorstep. It was the most expression Harry had ever seen on the other man's face.
"Centaur. What brings you to my doorstep?"
"The headmaster sent me. Your healing potions are required at the outskirts of the forbidden forest."
"The forest?" Orion nodded curtly then turned and left. Only then did Snape notice Harry.
"I'd rather thought I'd seen the last of you Potter."
"I think you'll need burn potions. Lots of them." Harry left too, as quickly as he could. He needed to get out of these dingy dungeons to somewhere he could think.
.
.
Draco woke up in a cold sweat. He'd had bad dreams. Terrible dreams. They had seemed so vivid.
He'd dreamed of the night in the room of requirement again, at least at first. He could feel the flaming monsters licking at his heels, he could feel the fear and panic. But when he'd flown out of the room he'd kept going. The world outside was ablaze.
Great smoke blooms filled the sky, billowing up from the forest below. The warmth was tangible even from where he was. The smoke was filling his lungs and he couldn't breathe. Harry. He had to find Harry.
The waking was almost worse than the dream. Draco immediately heaved up stomach acid, his empty stomach loudly complaining. Something was wrong at Hogwarts. Draco knew it wasn't a dream, it had been too real.
And there was nothing he could fucking do because he was stuck in this fucking house. Draco hurled the bedside lamp into the wall opposite with a yell.
Despite the luxuries of Grimmauld Place, it was turning out to be a worse prison than his cold tower room had been. At least there he had had Harry.
A sudden need to do something filled Draco. He needed to take his mind off what may or may not be happening in Hogwarts. Draco got up and pulled on one of the silk dressing gowns he'd found in the wardrobe. On his way down the stairs he glared back at all of the elf heads on the walls.
In the kitchen he found a pleasant surprise. A fresh loaf, a wedge of cheese and a jar of pickle sat on the table. Kreacher was nowhere to be seen, but Draco barely noticed. He was so preoccupied with the thought of food.
He tore off the heel of the bread and wolfed it down plain. His stomach rumbled back happily. He quickly rummaged through the draws and found a knife. He sliced the bread this time, and then layered it with a thick bit of cheese and a mound of pickle. It was heavenly. He paused again, this time to get himself a glass of water, before making another.
After the second slice he realised he really ought to slow it down. It had been four days since his last substantial meal; his stomach probably wouldn't take kindly to too much at once. He gulped down some more water then decided to clean the knife. He brushed the crumbs off the table too.
The meal had bought a new found gratitude for the house elf. Draco suspected he would have gone mad within the next day without it – probably would have grilled Kreacher over the fire in desperation.
That thought made Draco seize up. No, he didn't want to think about anything to do with fire. He needed to keep his mind off that not-nightmare. Instead, Draco grabbed a bit of curled parchment off the side. Using a battered quill and some half dry ink, he wrote Thank you and let it on the table.
He'd go read. That should keep his mind busy.
He started back up the stairs. He'd just reached the first floor landing when he realised he could smell smoke. His precious meal threatened to make a sudden reappearance. This couldn't be happening.
Draco forced himself on. He needed to find out what was happening. He couldn't hear any fire, and the smoke was not enough to be visible. It was just an acrid tinge to the air. He pushed open the door to the tapestry room.
The putrid smell was definitely stronger here, and there was a slight haze about the room. It took Draco a moment however to spot the source.
A new black hole had appeared on the tapestry. The descendant of Narcissa Malfoy and Lucius Malfoy was nothing more than a singe marring the wall.
.
.
Hermione was dosing in a chair in the common room. A cold plate of food sat on the table beside her, waiting for Harry. The embers of a fire crackled away merrily, turning green with a burst of flame.
"Hermione! Psst! Hermione!" The sleeping girl in the chair stirred but did not wake. "Oi, Ninny! Wake up!" The fire said a little louder. This time an eyelid fluttered open.
"Viktor?" At once Hermione seemed wide awake. She climbed out of her chair and fell to her knees before the fire. "What are you doing here?"
"Replying to your letter. I did not think it vise to respond by owl, it vould have been intercepted." Hermione smiled. It felt so good to actually know he was safe. She'd been telling herself not to worry and not entirely succeeding.
"How are you? What happened? Are you going to be alright?"
"Hermione! Calm down my love. I am fine. I am still travelling vith the team and I think I'll be safe with them for now. In the darkness that night I doubt I would have been recognised." Krum took a resigned sigh. He'd been trying not to dwell on the events of the night he'd helped Draco escape. It probably beat the Tri-wizard challenges in terms of most traumatic experience. He was being hunted down by the notorious Deatheaters after all.
"We vere about halfway through our journey vhen the Deatheaters caught up with us." Hermione let out a high pitched squeak and covered her mouth with her hand. Before she could interrupt, Krum forced himself on. "They vere only after Draco really, and trying to capture not kill thank Merlin. Ve only had the one wand between the two of us. It vas not easy, but ve managed to deal. Draco got hit by one of my curses after a Deatheater had pulled him off the broom. I healed it vhen we got to Harry's house."
"Oh Viktor! I'm so sorry I've gotten you involved in this mess."
"I got into the mess when I fell in love with you, not because I helped Draco. And I vouldn't change that for the world."
"I wish you were here." Hermione said in a small voice. Even with Harry around, it was getting terribly lonely in the castle. It had lost the homely feeling it had once had.
"We vill be together soon skŭpa, I promise. I do not think my future lies in quidditch anymore. Just the other day I heard my team mates talking about Lord Voldemort as if he vere doing right. I cannot stand by while that happens. I must go, before I'm caught. I love you."
"I love you too Viktor." Hermione lent forwards and pressed her lips to Krums', feeling the soft warmth of the floo fire as she did so. When she leant back he had gone.