Chapter Thirty-Seven: Prowess

Draco's hands gripped Ginny's shoulders tightly, almost digging his nails into her skin to keep her still. Harry and the twins seemed frozen by fear, something Ginny was almost outraged by. The only person able to get to Fenrir was Hermione, and she looked like the best person to do it. Hermione stood impressively, stepping around Harry and staring at Fenrir with a radiating sort of power. Just as Fenrir prepared himself, with a sickening look of pleasure played across his face, to deal with Lupin as he might like, Hermione had her wand pointed directly at the back of his head.

"Let him go, you sorry excuse for a human," she boomed.

Fenrir's smile grew wider, his back still facing her. Ginny saw an unmistakable flicker of hunger in his eyes as he let his hold on Lupin relax. Draco's grasp seemed to tighten even more on Ginny as Fenrir let Lupin go altogether, letting him fall to the ground as if he had been paralyzed by fear. His eyes flashed as he turned around to face Hermione, a sly look on his wolfish face.

He laughed, "Silly children, always thinking they know what's best. Who are you to decide what makes a human?"

Hermione looked absolutely disgusted. "I'm no child. . . sorry to disappoint you."

Fenrir snarled slightly, moving forward a bit. No one else moved, Harry looking at Lupin with concern and Fred watching Fenrir. George looked at Hermione, his hand on his pocket now. About time . . . Ginny thought, watching them all move in a similar fashion. Ginny's hand was itching to reach for her own wand, but she knew that it wasn't necessary.

Just as Fenrir reached out to grab Hermione by her hair, his fingers grazing a few strands, Fred let out a vicious yell. George and Harry both followed him as they all let out separate hexes, the words blending together as their voices rang against the stone walls. Ginny closed her eyes against the bright flashes of light, leaning against Draco slightly. As her ears stopped ringing and the air cooled, Ginny opened her eyes once more.

Fenrir lay on the floor, his legs spread at odd angles and his arms folded underneath him. His eyes were open wide, his mouth twitching slightly as he drew in shallow breaths. Lupin sat on the floor, slightly horrified, watching Fenrir.

"Oh!" Hermione said suddenly, running to Lupin. She crouched down, lifting him up the best she could. "Are you all right, professor?"

Lupin nodded weakly. "Just a bit of a shock, really. Old memories . . . more than you need to know, I think."

He turned to Fenrir, pulling his wand out and binding him. He walked over to the Lestranges, dragging Fenrir behind him with his wand. He bound Fenrir to them, then turned around, walking casually to Harry. Ginny let go of Draco, him releasing her as well. Everyone made their way to Harry. Lupin turned to him.

"Before you start sending people off, we need to take care of this area," he said. Lupin spoke to the twins, "You two should take that group to another room and lock them in. Get their wands and keep them on you, also."

As they were told, the twins went to the unconscious group and hoisted them up. Hermione, always willing to help, went over and got their wands, pocketing them and putting her arms out to help the twins carry the group. Slowly, they made their way out of the room.

"All right then, Ginny," Lupin said, turning to her. "I suppose that you'll want to remain here, right?"

Ginny looked at Draco, then turned back and nodded. "Yes, I think so. We can always come and find you . . ."

"I think that you should stay here," Harry said. He looked so much older to Ginny. "Wait here as long as you can, and if you feel up to it, try and find Ron and Bill."

"Harry, I'm not going to stay away from you."

He looked taken aback. Ginny stepped toward him a bit, placing her hand on his arm in a delicate way. She looked at him directly, wanting to shout at him when he looked away.

"Just stay here . . ." Harry said. "This is not your battle."

Ginny took her hand from his arm. "You know what, if you want to think of it that way, go right ahead. I'm tired of trying to support you and be there for you. What good is being a friend or anything else when you're dealing with someone as hot-headed as you are being right now? You go ahead and fight your battle. Forget about everyone else who's ever been wronged by Voldemort and fight your stupid battle."

Harry looked up at her finally, shocked. No one else said a word as he turned and left the room. Ginny glared after him, turning herself and returning to Draco. Lupin sighed slightly, then walked over to Ginny, placing a fatherly hand on her shoulder.

"Don't let him get to you," he said. "Just come when you two have sorted things out, all right? I don't see why any harm would come to you."

"He just thinks that Voldemort would be stupid enough to come after people he cares about. Why would he take us when Harry is so close?"

Lupin looked slightly surprised by Ginny's words. "Well, I don't know myself, but . . . it's only natural for Harry to be scared for you. He's lost so much already."

Ginny bit her lip. "Well, that's all fine, but it still doesn't give him the right to—"

"It gives him enough right to think he can, Ginny. He knows he can't do it alone, but he likes to think he can, which is a right none of us can take from him."

"He's not . . ." Ginny didn't want to finish that thought.

Lupin smiled slightly, "No one really thinks that they are strong until faced with a task like this. I think he probably has thought your thoughts more than you have, and I'm sure he's more worried than anyone else about what will happen. For now, I think it's best if we all just believe in him."

"I believe in him, I always have," Ginny said. "I just don't want him to get in over his head."

Lupin sighed. "None of us can help that. I have to go now, but you stay here for a little while, all right? I doubt we'll be running into Voldemort for some time . . . you won't miss anything."

Ginny smiled at him, hugging him tightly. Lupin laughed a bit, letting her go and leaving. She turned to Draco just as Hermione came back into the room.

"They wanted me to stay with you," Hermione said. "The twins headed off further into the dungeons. Did Harry and Lupin head out already?"

"Just left," Ginny replied.

Hermione nodded slowly, walking to them. She went over to Narcissa, who was still in her bindings on the floor. As Hermione released her, Draco came over, lifting her up. Ginny noticed that she looked so fragile, which was nothing like she usually did. The few times Ginny had seen Narcissa Malfoy, she was always tall and haughty. Her nose was always stuck in the air, her hair perfect, her clothes immaculate. Now, as she stood, all Ginny saw was a wilted woman in her long and tattered nightgown, hair tangled and dirty.

"Are you all right, mother?" Draco asked softly.

Narcissa nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. I just need a moment to get used to standing on my own."

Draco let go of her, letting her stand with her own strength. Hermione looked concerned as she watched Narcissa sway slightly, her thin frame shaking. Ginny took her cloak off, handing it to Draco. He draped it over his mother's bare shoulders. She stopped shaking.

"Thank you, Miss Weasley," she said quietly. "Thank you very much."

Ginny smiled softly, a warm feeling moving through her despite the cold. Though she didn't know what to say, she knew the gesture would be enough. She looked to Draco. His bright gray eyes were soft and shining, a trait she had not seen them exhibit for some time. His hair, tousled and dirty, fell over his pale face as he walked to her. His hand pushed it back slightly as he stood in front of her, his other hand touching her face softly.

"I missed you," he said.

Ginny smiled. "I missed you too."

She leaned forward, kissing him on the cheek, then leaning back. She looked around him at Hermione, who was standing still and looking mildly uncomfortable.

"Sorry," Ginny mumbled, putting a little more space between herself and Draco. She felt herself turn red.

Hermione laughed slightly, "It's all right."

Ginny gasped slightly. "Oh, before I forget about them . . . do you know where Ron and Bill are?"

Draco nodded, "I was just about to say something about that. Before we were brought down here, we ran into them upstairs. Bellatrix took them down a smaller hallway, just as you come down the stairs here, and I think she locked them in one of the rooms."

"Were they the ones who tipped them off about Snape?" Ginny asked tentatively.

"Yes, I think so," Draco said. "We can go get them, then head to look for Harry."

Hermione cleared her throat slightly, trying to get his attention. "Ah, Draco?"

"Yes?"

"I think that I should go. I know how much Ginny wants to find Harry, and I think it's a waste for us all to go together."

"That sounds good to me." Ginny turned to Draco. "Do you mind?"

Draco shook his head. "No, that's fine. It'll save us time anyway. You just need to head out this door and back to the stairs, then turn down the narrow hallway to the right of the landing. They should be in the first room, as she wasn't gone for long."

Hermione nodded. "Anything else I need to know?"

"Only that their wands are on Augustin . . ."

Ginny looked down at Augustin's dead body with a look of disgust. Hermione sighed deeply, pointing her wand at the body and summoning the boy's wands from it. Ginny hadn't even thought of that.

"You two stay out of sight, all right?" Hermione said. "I should expect I won't be too far behind you."

Ginny gave Hermione a hug. "We'll be fine."

As Hermione started for the door, Narcissa called out to stop her. Everyone turned to her in shock.

"I think I should go with you," Narcissa said. "You shouldn't be going off alone at a time like this and I don't want to stay here alone either."

"You should come with us, mother," Draco said, looking worried.

Narcissa shook her head. "No, you two need to go now. I don't want to be anywhere near Voldemort right now, and I want to find Severus. It's best this way."

"If that's what you want," Draco said, still slightly skeptical. He took the wand he had in his hand an pointed it at Augustin's body, retrieving two more wands from it. He tossed one to Narcissa. "You'll be needing this."

Throwing the other to the floor, Draco put his own in his pocket. He noticed Ginny looking at him oddly.

"Who's wand was that?"

Draco smiled slyly. "It was Augustin's. It fell out of his cloak when he got to you. I would've killed him myself if Harry hadn't been in the way the entire time."

Ginny felt a chill go through her as she took one last glance at Augustin's frozen face. She looked back up at Draco, who had been surveying her intensely. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sorry, still not used to being back with you," he said. Clearing his throat, he turned to his mother. "We'll just be leaving now, then . . ."

Narcissa smiled knowingly and left the room with Hermione. Draco and Ginny waited a moment before leaving themselves, turning in the opposite direction.