Chapter 36 I am your anchor
Disclaimer: Nothing that you have not heard before!
Warning: for mild language and violence.
The day dawned with the realization that it was time to enact the antidote to the vinculum potion. The thought was terrifying to behold in the minds of both Hermione as well as Ginny. Harry and Draco were tense in their own right as the day could prove to be very stressful. Therefore it was with trepidation that the five of them made their way to the room of requirement at the behest of Severus Snape.
Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape were already present when the teenagers entered the room. A narrow bed much in the style of the ones in the hospital wing adorned the centre of the room. Severus Snape moved to meet them as they entered the room. He had kept out a row of vials ready and the teenagers did not want to know what their uses could be.
"We don't have much time at our disposal. The vinculum potion is ready and I might be summoned at any time. Now who wants to go first?" he asked without any preamble.
Harry looked around and saw the ashen look on Hermione's face. "I will go first Sir" he volunteered quietly. He felt rather than saw Ginny tense beside him as she protested weakly "Harry I don't know if I can do this…please can't we go later?" she pleaded.
Harry looked at her and reached for her hand. Holding her hand he placed it gently on his chest and looked into her eyes. "Gin, I would rather get it over with. Please let's finish this" he said softly. Mesmerised by the determined look in his eyes Ginny nodded mutely.
Harry turned to Snape "what should we do sir?" he asked crisply. Snape held out a vial containing a blood red liquid. "Miss Weasley, this is the vinculum potion. We need to add a drop of your blood to it so that you can counteract the pull from our side. Are you ready?" he asked looking at Ginny who had a rather dazed look.
At Harry's prompt she held out her hand and watched with revulsion as a drop of her blood was added to the potion. Closing her eyes she gulped it down and was relieved when a glass of water was pressed into her hand soon after. The procedure had not even started and she was already at the point where all she wanted was to run away from the room.
" if you would remove your shirt and get onto the bed we can get started on inscribing the anchor" Severus Snape said, his voice reflecting the reluctance and distaste of having to say the words. Harry sighed and moved towards the bed while at the same time removing his robe and shirt. He lay down and took a deep breath to calm himself.
Ginny followed him and her heart started to pound as Snape pressed a small dagger in her hand. "It needs to scar " Severus Snape said, his eyes shadowed with deep regret. Not for the first time he rued the world where children were being forced to go through agonizing circumstances. These were teenagers meant to be happy and stealing kisses and laughs behind the stones not hurt each other to be safe.
Ginny almost dropped the dagger that felt so heavy in her hand and was startled when she felt Harry grip her hand firmly but gently. Her pulse was hammering a beat at her temples and her palms felt sweaty. By God! She could not do this….she felt the panic flare inside her and she felt fear beyond what she had experienced in her life.
She felt a slight tug on her hand as Harry said "Gin look at me" he commanded. "You can do this okay? You are strong... stronger than anyone I know and you love me. That is what is going to save me. I am here and the others are here. You can do this and nothing will happen to me. I will be fine" he stressed as he held her hand with the dagger and guided her to a spot above his breastbone.
"I love you" he said holding her gaze deeply as he applied pressure on her hand and forced the dagger to pierce the skin. "Harry no!" Ginny panicked almost wrenching her hand from his. "I can't do this…I can't do this…oh my God! Harry I can't do this" the words came out hysterical from Ginny as the dagger fell from her hand.
"Ron" Harry called out and Ron understood. He stood behind Ginny and brought the dagger back to her hand. "Gin, we don't have time. If you don't do this Voldemort will take Harry" he whispered. At his words Ginny sought to control herself and wiping her eyes she positioned her hand over Harry's chest again, this time with more determination.
Swiftly she drew the dagger over his breastbone outlining the universal symbol for love. The lines were faint and barely scratched the surface. "Deeper" Snape instructed and with anguish outlining every inch of her face Ginny pressed the blade deeper. Harry grunted with the pain and a fine layer of sweat appeared on his skin. Ron moved to Harry and held out his hand. Harry clasped the outstretched hand in a tight grip as he rode out the pain.
He clenched his fists but did not stop looking at Ginny. He was only vaguely aware of Hermione standing with tears of her own and being supported by Draco. It seemed many minutes before the deed was done. Ginny immediately let the dagger clatter to the floor and collapsed to the floor where she was helped by Ron,
He guided her to the sofa where she sank down with her face in her hands while sobs tore out of her body. Hermione moved to comfort her as Ron helped Harry get out of the bed. Snape pressed a blood replenishing potion in Harry's hands and then followed it with a pain killer. He then efficiently bandaged the wound and let Harry make his way to his girlfriend who had yet to become composed.
"Draco perhaps we should get on with yours now" Snape called out and it was Hermione's turn to become tense. Harry moved to Draco and laid a hand on his shoulder offering his support as the duo got up to face their ordeal. The two boys clasped hands and Draco made his way to the now once again pristine bed.
Dumbledore who had been watching all this with the twinkle noticeably absent from his eyes spoke for the first time. "I am sorry to say this, but there is one fact that we need to keep in mind. Draco's scar is considerably bigger than Harry's, Severus would that matter in this scenario?" he asked looking at the potions master with sadness written on his countenance.
Snape looked up in alarm as the possibility hit him. "It might have an impact, I am not sure. Perhaps you might need to make a rather big scar I am afraid, just to be on the safe side" he said with clear regret in his eyes. This was his Godson; damn it! and they were talking casually about carving him up. If things were up to him he would gladly kill Voldemort and smile about it.
"What?" Hermione gasped shocked with the new problem. As it is, she was not sure if she could go through with it. She did not have the courage that Ginny did. But to carve Draco up like a turkey…this was unexpected and she blanched at the prospect.
Draco took one look at Hermione and knew that she was on the verge of chickening out. Damn these Gryffindors he cursed and their noble mentality. They would get hurt but not hurt others. It was an alien concept to the Slytherin self preservation. He huffed mentally and decided that it was time to take control as he said "Can I have a private word with Hermione…please?" he requested.
"Make it quick" Snape instructed as Draco moved forward and led Hermione away from the others and was glad that a curtain appeared to give them some privacy. Draco turned to Hermione and "I don't want you to be shocked by what you see in front of everyone. I want you to see my scar now so that you know what to do" he said looking dearly vulnerable as well as strong at the same time. Without giving her a chance to recover from the shocking statement, he proceeded to remove his robe and shirt giving her an unobstructed view of his chest for the first time.
Hermione blushed and bowed her head but Draco gently lifted her chin so that their eyes were at the same level. "If anyone has the right it is you Mione" he said in a whisper as Hermione reluctantly looked at his chest. But on seeing the dreaded letters carved on his chest she could not control the anger and sadness that swept over her. "Oh my God Draco! The monsters…how could they do this to you?" she gasped as the tears gathered in her eyes.
Draco shrugged as Hermione ghosted her hand over each of the letters and followed it with a tender kiss. The feel of her lips on his chest almost made Draco come undone and he relished in the feel of it as he whispered "now you know what you have to do". Hermione looked at him with tears in her eyes as she said "But it is so big…I can't hurt you like this Draco. How will I be different from them?" she cried.
Draco drew her to him and Hermione was distracted for a minute by the smoothness of his skin. He felt warm and his chiselled chest was hard as a rock. She laid her head on his chest and listened to the beat of his heart and heard his words resonate through his chest.
"Sweetheart listen, I know that you love me in your own way and this is not going to change anything. It is only going to bring us closer…okay?. You can do this, you are the bravest person I know and you have to do this. They created the scar to show that they hate me, you are going to create a scar to show that you love me. Look I am not going to say that I am not afraid. I am but I know that I am surrounded by brave people who will fight for me. Will you fight for me…please?" he demanded vehemently as he sealed the words with a searing kiss. Honey brown and molten silver locked in an intense gaze and Hermione felt herself agreeing to the demand.
"I will Draco…I am going to fight for you. I love you and I am not letting any dark lord get to you" she said with fierce determination. Draco smiled at the fire in her eyes "Good. Now that's my Gryffindor. Come let's get back. We have delayed too much" he said and drew aside the curtain. There seemed to be no point in wearing the shirt as he would just have to remove it again.
He held Hermione's hand and led her to the bed where he dropped her hand to sit on the bed. He was aware of Ron and Ginny's shocked expression at the letters carved on his chest and knew that the muted "Merlin!" from Ron was aimed at his scar. Harry however remained quiet as he was not really surprised and Draco made a note of that.
"Draco, it might be a better idea if you lay down on your stomach so that the anchoring scar could be done on your back" Snape said and Draco realized that it was probably because his chest was already filled with another scar. He nodded and lay on his stomach. Snape conjured a small bar in front of Draco and motioned that he could hold onto it if he wanted to.
Draco once again nodded and reached out to clasp the bar tightly. He then turned to Hermione and gave her an encouraging smile. Hermione's face had frozen in terror as she also went through the same potion that Ginny had and now held the dagger in her hand. Draco felt relieved to see that Harry had stepped up to Hermione and gently laid a hand on her shoulder.
" , please remember that you need to make a big scar" Snape said his voice coming out hoarse. He then walked to the sofa and sat heavily "Albus please take over, I do not want to see this" he said his eyes reflecting the anguish pooled in them.
Dumbledore moved forward and gripped Draco's shoulder lightly to let him know that all was set and looked at Hermione to check her readiness. Hermione found that her feet were frozen and she stood dazed "Please …we need you to be strong. We know that the situation is taxing but you have the strength to meet it. Draco needs your strength my dear," Dumbledore encouraged.
"Mione, you can do this come on" Harry whispered in her ear as he guided her hand to Draco's back. "Mione what's your scar?" he asked and Hermione looked at him with haunted eyes.. "I don't know….Harry oh my God! I don't know…I don't know" she mumbled her voice breaking with tears and hysteria. "Shh…Mione …it's ok. what do you feel about Draco?" Harry asked her softly as he leaned forward so that she could rest against him.
"I love him…I think..Harry I love him" by now the tears were flowing in earnest and she was close to a breakdown "Write it down Mione….that's your scar. That's your strength, your secret" Harry commanded hating himself for the role he was playing but the situation demanded it. The prospect of failure was far more terrifying. That would be a death warrant for Draco for sure.
Hermione looked at Harry with traumatized eyes and was jolted into action when Draco said firmly "Do it Mione…now. I am not that fragile..I will be alright. Do it…Harry help her" he commanded. Harry nodded and reached forward to hold Hermione's hand in a firm grip. He then guided her hand so that the tip of the blade now rested on Draco's back. He felt Draco flinch and quickly drew the blade down in a straight line with a fair amount of pressure.
He felt sick as he watched the cut well with blood but consoled himself with the fact that it would soon be treated. He then guided her hand a little away to carve out the next words…By the time the next word was inscribed, Draco's head was bowed in between his hands and his knuckles gleamed white on the bar that he grasped with a tight grip.
His whole body was bathed in sweat and small grunts of pain had begun to escape him as his mind grappled with the flashbacks from his time with Avery Rookwood.
He told himself that this was different and this would save him but the searing pain made the whole thing rather difficult.
For his part, Harry felt his fortitude being stretched to the limit as he guided Hermione once again to the next few letters. He was thankful for the fact that Hermione had regained some of her fierce determination back and was now more in control of what she was doing. He was merely her moral support, as the situation was rather nerve wracking.
He realized that Ron had fallen silent and was affected by what was happening even as Ginny moved forward to stand beside Draco. She threaded her hand through Draco's hair seeking to offer comfort in whatever way she could. All of them were suffering, Draco and Hermione most of all. Hermione had done her part through her tears and Harry was very proud of both the girls for their strength.
His heart also clenched for the pain that the blond Slytherin had been forced to bear, much more than what he himself had been subjected to. The light haired boy had faced much more than what anyone had to be subjected to and Harry knew what was to come would be worse.
Harry had never felt gladder than when the ordeal was over and he finally allowed Hermione to step back. Hermione immediately dropped the dagger and turned to find solace in Harry's chest. Her hand had fisted in his shirt as sobs wracked her body. Harry held her as a brother would and gently ran a hand over her head in a soothing motion. He led her to the sofa much as Ginny had been and let her cry herself out.
Draco's back was a bloody mess by now and everyone could see that he was weakened when he slowly let go of the bar and struggled to sit up. Ron rushed forward and helped the dizzy Slytherin as Severus Snape quickly administered the blood replenishing potion as well as the strengthening potion. He then quickly wound bandages over the wound and was in the process of doing the final bind when he felt the burn in his left hand.
"Damn it! He is calling….I have to go. Albus tend to the kids and hold the fort. Harry, Draco be ready for the next assault. You have been brave but the real test comes. Stay strong, Stay safe" he said quickly as he walked out of the room. He could not deny the gnawing fear that ate at him and he prayed that whatever these kids had gone through would bear fruit …
Author notes: I am very sorry for the long delay but then my other fanfic had taken a bit of my time. It became a tussle between Harry and Draco and I am glad to say that I am now finding the balance between both the fics! However I will not stop saying that nice words do the trick and so please read and review. .