"Take the elf and leave. Now." Bill whispered to his parents who reluctantly did so. "Accio broomsticks" he said and several broomsticks hovered over their heads. The sight of broomsticks flying above in the air, alarmed the Death Eaters. Rookwood was the first to move, he aimed his wand at Harry who jumped out of the way quickly.
Battle erupted once more. Harry mounted his broomstick with Ron who was unable to ride his own broomstick with a burnt hand. Hermione looked like she was in a trance as she mounted Lupin's broomstick, clutching his shoulders for support.
Lucius Malfoy stood fixed in his place for too long. Unable to realize what just happened to his wife. He scanned the room looking for Draco until his eyes fell on him, lying in a pool of his own blood. He darted towards his son, sighing audibly in relief when he saw him breathing. He dragged him to a far corner of the room and started casting one spell after the other, trying to stop the flow of blood.
"Avada Kedavra" Bellatrix roared, pointing her wand at Hermione. Lupin instantly flew them away from the spell's direction. "Let's go." he ordered loudly. Harry and Ron flew through the holed wall.
"Fiendfyre" Lupin said, pointing his wand at the group of Death Eaters who stood beneath him. A huge blast of fire covered the room, forcing the Death Eaters to take cover while he flew away.
Bellatrix summoned her own broomstick and followed them without hesitation. Tonks pointed her wand at her, sending a bolt of fire that only burnt the rear of her broomstick. Bill waved his wand at the Manor's door, opening it while Fleur covered their back. Macnair kept aiming one spell after the other at them until one of his spells hit Fleur. Her high-pitched cry echoed in the Manor as stark white ray came out of Macnair's wand, cutting the back of her knee deeply.
Tonks scanned the room briefly. Bellatrix was chasing the others. Travers was nowhere to be seen. Macnair and Rookwood were cornering Ginny.
"Confundo" Tonks said, pointing her wand at the men, "Ginny, let's go." she urged the younger witch who summoned her broomstick and hopped on it.
Tonks was about to fly out of the Manor when she caught a glimpse of the other house elf. Hiding behind a chair unable to move, he was afraid of being seen by Lucius Malfoy who finally managed to put an end to Draco's blood flow and was trying to heal the wound.
She hovered above the house elf and bent down, reaching for the elf, she pulled him up onto the broomstick and flew out of the Manor. Ginny was about to fly through the same door Bill just flew through but it was suddenly slammed in her face. She looked back to find Rookwood pointing his wand at her. She waved her wand at the nearest window and -with great skill- maneuvered herself through the narrow window.
Flying above the manor, she headed to a near forest, only a few miles away from the Manor. She walked aimlessly, searching for the others.
"I thought she was right behind me!" she heard Tonks's voice say. Ginny followed the direction of the voice until she found everybody else gathered.
"Ginny!" Molly Weasly cried with relief, hugging her daughter tightly. "Where were you?" she asked.
"I was..held back" Ginny explained, "I'm alright." she assured, looking at Harry who was gaping at her with impossibly wide eyes.
"Alright, let's leave." Arthur Weasly urged, his hand resting at Ginny's back in what started as a pat.
They divided themselves again into two groups. Arthur, Molly, Tonks and Bill carrying Fleur went back first. Lupin accompanied the rest as they apparated back to their house.
"What did you do with Bellatrix?" Ginny asked as they settled inside the house.
"It took us so long to finally lose her." Harry replied, "We had to literally fly around her in circles until Hermione was able to knock her off her broomstick.
"She's dead?" Ginny sounded so hopeful.
"We don't know, but falling off that height leaves very little other options." Lupin replied before diverting his attention back to healing Fleur's leg. The young witch switched back to her native tongue as she mumbled some words from between agonized whimpers.
Mrs. Weasly and Tonks were trying to heal Ron's hand. Tonks tried several potions Mad-Eye Moody had prepared for them before, but none of them seemed powerful enough to fully heal the burn.
"What happened to Malfoy?" Lupin asked suddenly as if he just remembered the boy.
"He's got a nasty cut on his back but I think he survived. I saw Lucius healing him when I was leaving" Tonks informed, stealing a glance in Hermione's direction. She was sitting silently on one of the couches, her trousers were cut at her knee and covered in blood but she didn't seem to notice.
It was only when Harry asked for the cup for the fourth time that she noticed he was talking to her. She found the cup in her bag after a long search and gave it to him idly. The different whimpers of pain coming from several people in the room, provided appropriate background noise for the ominous thoughts that crowded Hermione's mind. In desperate need of fresh air and space, Hermione headed outside.
Why did she have to be so hesitant in casting a spell herself? Why did every spell she had ever learned have to evade her mind when she needed one? If she was fast enough, Ron wouldn't have had to do it himself. And what about Draco? The voice inside Hermione's head started evoking darker thoughts. The wound on his back looked so deep, it slashed his whole back. What if he was never able to walk again? What if, unlike Tonks's assumption, he didn't survive at all?
Granger, if I get killed for this, I hope you live with the guilt forever. Draco's words echoed in her head. Not only was she going to live with the guilt, but it would eventually kill her. Hermione groaned loudly.
"Hermione are you alright?" Tonks's voice sounded genuinely worried. Hermione nearly jumped in surprise, startled by the hand placed on her arm.
"Yes..yes.." Hermione mumbeled.
"You look pale, too pale." Tonks noted, "And your knee is bleeding!" she remarked with surprise.
"It's not grave." Hermione dismissed with a shrug. Her mind too busy to register the pain in her knee.
"Sit down." Tonks ordered with a finality that allowed Hermione no argument.
"The battle went better than expected, don't you think?" Tonks asked as she pointed her wand at Hermione's knee and muttered something under her breath.
Hermione nodded in response, exhaling sharply when she felt sharp stabs of pain as the wound started stitching itself.
"Do you feel like talking?" Tonks asked as she sat on the ground next to Hermione.
"Not really." Hermione admitted.
"Well, I do. So, do you feel like listening?" Tonks pursued.
"Yes." Hermione couldn't help but smile at the witch who seemed to maintain her cheerful nature despite everything.
"You know, Remus and I haven't exactly been all rainbows and butterflies. I had to spend quite a while to come to terms with his rejection." Tonks admitted, "At first, I thought he didn't love me. Not the best feeling to have, I tell you." she grimaced.
"I'm pretty sure he does." Hermione said.
"Yes I know that now. But it took him so much time to let me know that. I didn't understand what was his point in complicating things so much. I still don't, to be honest. Things are a lot more simple from where I stand. I love him, he loves me then there was no reason we shouldn't be together." Tonks explained, waving her hand in the air in frustration. "But he was being his typical self. Worrying and thinking too much for his and my own good." she huffed with a disapproving twist of her mouth.
"Some things need to be given much thought." Hermione contradicted.
"Well, love doesn't. Applying too much logic to love, spoils it." Tonks insisted, "He kept saying things about him being too poor, too old and too dangerous for me. And I hated hearing this! I mean..why would it matter for me how rich or poor he was?" Tonks frowned, unable till this very moment to understand Remus's logic.
"Then he used to make jokes about how Sirius would be flipping mad if he knew Remus was dating his cousin." Tonks giggled. "The dangerous part, however, I did agree with him about at first. It was only when I stayed with him during a full moon that I realized he wasn't as dangerous as he made it sound. Not for me at least." she confided.
"One time, he was trying to convince me of how hopeless he was and he said something about how even the ministry keeps Werewolves hanging between Beast Division and Being Division. And I thought..really, Remus? You actually expect me to abide by ministry classifications in my love life?" Tonks quipped. Her remark earning her a wholehearted laugh from Hermione.
"Anyway, it was a long journey. Not a pleasant one most of the time. But the destination was worth it. So, you see, you have very little control over who you fall in love with." Tonks said. "Look around you, Ginny loves a boy who's dealing with death as an everyday routine. Everybody expected Bill and I to end up together but instead I fell in love with the last person they expected. And then Fleur...she's a Veela for the love of Merlin! She could have almost any man she wants. But she fell for Bill, despite his...accident. She left back the safety of her home, her own family and threw herself into a war she could easily avoid, just to be with him." she went on enthusiastically.
"But what I'm really trying to say is, Hermione. I do know what it feels like to be in love with somebody who doesn't want to be loved." Tonks finally reached the point behind her long talk.
"I don't think..you're..getting this right. I don't..I mean..Draco and I, we're not..." Hermione was finding it hard to phrase her words properly.
"I didn't even mention Draco's name.." Tonks said with a poorly hidden smile.
"Oh..I thought that..you know.." Hermione stammered, color flooding her cheeks.
"It's alright, Hermione. I just..felt like talking." Tonks interrupted Hermione's excuse, placing her hand over the girl's shoulder.
Hermione could hear Tonks talking enthusiastically about her duel with Bellatrix but her mind was elsewhere. She didn't like feeling helpless and trapped in the house. She needed to find a way to see Draco. To at least make sure he survived. It was the sensible thing to do of course. The same thing she'd do for anybody else in his place. Natural human compassion, nothing more.
She only needed to think of a way around the protective wards of the Malfoy Manor. And the fact that Voldemort was probably back there by now, with a handful of Death Eaters...or more. Hermione swallowed hard at the memory of the last time she wandered around the Manor. There was one way into the Manor and as unpleasant the thought was, Hermione needed to pay Narcissa Malfoy a visit.
A/N: To kill or not to kill, that was the question. I had to fight a very strong urge to kill an Order member or two during this battle but then I decided it was too early in the morning to kill anybody. Just thought I'd let you guys know how kind-hearted I really am. \(U_U)/
