Hello everyone!
It has been a while. I think I'm ready to wrap this story up. Next chapter should be the last one.
Thanks to everyone who still reads this story, I hope you are having fun. Do you have any particular requests for the finale? Something that shouldn't be missing? Something you absolutely don't want happening? I am open to suggestions and requests! As always, comments and private messages are welcome!
XoXo
Réveil brutal
[Rough awakening]
There is chaos around them, there is noise, blood. A lot of it.
Maya is somehow aware but she can't quite tell how much of it is hers.
Breathebreathebreathe breathe!
She is screaming frantically in her head. Her ears are muffled and all she can hear is her own wheezing while the air squeezes its way into her lungs. Out again.
Breathebreathebre…
Because if she stopped thinking about it, maybe she'll stop doing it too. Because she is tired and everything hurts. Every inch of her skin burns, bleeds or stings. Her eyes dart around, only to see more horror and destruction.
Sweat is dripping down her neck soaking the collar of her tore shirt and she uses her good arm to wipe her forehead from sweat, refusing, once her arm comes back to her side, to notice that it is bloodier than it was before, that all she has managed to do, is probably smudge more of that blood on her own face.
Je ne peux pas mourir. Je ne peux pas. Respirer. Respirer. [I can't die. I can't. Breathe. Breathe.]
The thing before her screams. Rotten teeth. Blood. More blood. Maya makes a guttural sound when her legs stops abruptly. Maybe she screams, then her magic flows out, violent, sudden, led by her sheer panic more than by real intention. It sends the creature crashing against a desk with a chilling sound.
Maya's spells and jinxes only manage to push away the bodies for a little bit, but they keep coming back, more and more, there's no end to this madness, and each spell takes Maya immense effort and energy. What are these creatures? Why are they attacking?
The air scratches its way down to her lungs painfully with each rancid air intake. The stench of blood and corpses is nauseating, the girls are dirty with mud and blood, they both stumble across the entrance hall, sliding over the fluids covering the stone floor, yelling every once in a while in order to locate one another in the mess, dodging the rotten corpses that are lashing out at them from every fucking angle.
What has happened in here? Where is Draco? Gellert? Part of Maya refuses to look for their faces among the bodies.
Not Draco. No. Can't be. BreathebreatheBREATHE.
If he died, she would know, she should be able to feel it under the skin, deep inside her bones, wouldn't she? Perhaps she repeats that to herself only so as not to lose hope. She cannot lose hope. There are still too many things to do, to say, too many kisses to share.
Somewhere, in the maze of her mind, are flashing images of her wedding gown, of the future they had planned and a new feeling, more similar to rage than anything else, bubbles at the pit of her stomach.
Respirer. Respirer Respirer. [Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.]
"DOWN" shouts Granger, Maya reacts by inertia, crouching to dodge the Gryffindor spell just in time, but in doing so, her bare foot ends up in a deep pool of thick blood and she slips. Maya lands on one knee and stretches her arm against the nearby wall to avoid her head from smashing into it.
She does not hear it, for the pain is deafening, but a desperate cry leaves her lungs empty, when the collision with the stone wall reverberates in her broken bone shaking her guts. Pain surges through her like an electric shock. Maya folds forward and throws up.
"LAURENT!" Granger is shouting, "HELP! SOMEONE! HELP US!"
"Just go… just go" Maya tries to speak, but her voice is feeble and hoarse and she can't get up. She coughs some more, spits ungracefully and wipes her mouth cautiously with her good arm.
"DIFFINDO!" screams Granger, the horde of bodies gets pushed backwards, and the girl is by Maya's side. Hermione is pale and wet with sweat, her clothes and hair are stained with blood and her hands tremble around the wand, around Maya.
Maya envies her determination not to succumb, she wonders what is the force pushing her from within, secretly, she wonders why does that weird girl even care so much that she lives, that she gets back to her family.
"Laurent! You have to get up, you have to! We're close! The Aurors will be here soon! I promise, I beg of you, just a little more… just… please, please." Granger's prayer becomes a mash of words and then hushed nonsenses, pushed through all of her panting and spitting as she struggles to pull Maya up on her feet.
"Granger, just run… go… find help."
"Shut up, we're getting out of here. We'll find the floo, we'll find something!"
"Just… I'm tired, I'm so tired."
"COME ON!" Granger's scream is filled with visceral despair, it shakes her ribcage and reverberates through Maya's side. The Gryffindor clenches her teeth and throws a couple of curses over her shoulder, while dragging Maya for a couple steps toward the next corridor.
The bodies are marching behind them, a relentless wall of blood, flesh and bones. Maya can feel them closing the distance but just can't bring herself to react anymore. Her body is slowly but surely shutting down and her mind is blacking out.
Granger keeps dragging them both, screaming random spells. Most of them come out wrong, her tongue slips between her rattling teeth, but the Gryffindor doesn't give up.
For a handful of seconds, Maya imagines that the girl would like to stop and correct her spells, if only, to demonstrate to an invisible audience that she is perfectly capable of performing them correctly. It seems like something Granger could do. What a silly thought.
A large room with desks along the walls appears before them. The smell hits them immediately. It has gotten stronger. Blood and dark magic. Granger gags and stops abruptly under the threshold of the large entrance arch.
"Fuck… fuck!" she huffs taking a few steps backwards, it doesn't take long for Maya to understand the reason of her cussing.
A pile of bodies in the middle of the room has started shaking and rattling as soon as they have stepped in. The sight is unsettling to say the least and the two girls can only stare in horror for a couple more seconds, hypnotized by the creepy disentangling of limbs and heads. The sound coming from the pile makes the hair on the nape of their neck stand straight and it leaves a trail of goosebumps on Maya's legs.
Granger rests Maya's back against the nearest wall, freeing her hands just in time for the new attack.
"Laurent, what the hell are these…? ARGH GET IT OFF ME. CONFRINGO!" Hermione yells as one of the creatures wraps its decomposing hands around her wrists screaming ominously and pulling her toward the central pile.
Maya tries to step into action but her legs won't move, her arms won't respond. The scene before her eyes is increasingly darkening into oblivion. She feels her heartbeat slow down, the flow of air cuts in her throat, even the constant hum of her magic stops, considerably lowering the noise around her.
One of the 'things' reaches Maya, it is drooling and its empty eye sockets drip with some disgusting goo. A shriek leaves Maya's lips when rotten hands wrap around her throat and before she can do anything about it, she falls to the ground. Other corpses join her fall, tackling her to the hard stone, crushing her painfully against the cold marble. Her ribs tighten around her lungs.
Over. It's over.
"Laisse-moi! Aidez-moi! S'il vous plaît, n'importe qui, aidez-moi!" she screams as loud as she can, because giving up, dying under that pile of filthy corpses, is such an absurd option that Maya can't resign herself just yet.
Then suddenly, when all Maya can see are body parts, blood and teeth, all the chaos, all the screaming, everything just stops.
It takes her fogged brain a moment to understand that the bodies have dropped dead, that they won't start moving again. Maya sobs her horror, her relief, her utter revulsion at the wet dead flesh brushing against the bare skin of her legs.
Her eyes close and she sobs louder. Relief. Pain. Hope. Pain. Pain. Hope.
"WHERE IS SHE?" He roars the words, his voice thunders in the now silent room.
That's all it takes really. His voice. His desperate scream and Maya's eyes snap wide open.
"MALFOY! THANK GOD! SOMEWHERE, DOWN THERE, UNDER THE PILE! I'M OK! I SAID I'M FINE! GO! RIDDLE IS NOT TOO FAR BEHIND!" Granger screams back, judging by the fatigue in her voice, she must be fighting her way back up from under a pile of bodies herself.
Maya's magic crackles loudly and the inanimate bodies crushing her on the ground get thrown away, they land with chilling bone-cracking sounds around her, revealing her exact location to the desperate boy running through the bloody room.
Air suddenly flows back into her lungs and she swallows it greedily, as if someone could cut her supplies any time now. Maya fights to pin herself up on her good arm, shaking her aching head to get rid of the dark spots blinding her.
"MAYA!" His voice works like a summon, like a spell, it almost physically pulls her eyes in his direction and she finally sees him.
Time stops for a moment, a moment that she will later think was too short.
Is he really there? Is this just another hallucination? A dream? Is this just Maya trying to cope with pain once more?
Maya has dreamed of seeing Draco so often, so vividly, that now that he is there, alive and running towards her, she finds it hard to believe her own eyes. She keeps staring at him in awe, praying that this is not just another dream, because if this were another delusion of her tired mind, she could die of a broken heart once and for all.
Her dry lips part, her voice climbs up her throat, but the most precious word in her vocabulary comes out as little more than a sigh, her voice is low and hoarse, barely audible.
"Draco."
"Maya!" her breath hitches and her eyes widen when he call her name a second time.
Maya's heart does that thing where she can't tell if it's going to give her a stroke or if it's just picking up momentum to pump life back into her system. Draco takes the time Maya's heart needs to decide whether she'll live or not, to cover the distance that separates them.
She painfully notices how his face twists in an expression of pain at the sight of her injuries. Maya will never forget that expression. Mentally she adds it to her precious collection of things she knows about Draco.
There is no hesitation in him. Before she can even think of calling his name again, he closes the distance and drops to his knees. His arms wrap around Maya and it is silly, but it's just when he finally touches her, that Maya lets herself believe he is actually there.
It is when his heat proves him to be made of something other than the matter of dreams, that Maya lets out a relieved breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Oh." It's all she can articulate because her cry strangles the words in her throat. His heart beats wildly against her, like a small bird trying to escape its cage. Maya sobs and sighs. She would like to hold him tight, tighter. She would like to be able to stop time and caress his hair tenderly, she would like to take her sweet time and drown in the gray sea of his eyes.
She would like to kiss every inch of Draco she can reach, to promise him that the pain is over. You found me. You've come for me. You've been so good. So good. She would like to make it all better when he starts sobbing against her. She would like to reassure him and tell him that the nightmare is over and that from now on, everything will be beautiful, everything will be perfect for them. She would but she can't.
Overwhelmed by the whole situation Maya just lets herself be hugged for a while longer.
If there was a way to stop time, even just for a few seconds, Maya would stop it right now.
Time is cruel though, and it resumes its flow almost immediately, angering Maya slightly because, Merlin knows, they deserve that moment for themselves, they deserve some respite. Instead, time flows, unaware of men's pains, of her pain. It resumes its course, perhaps even a little faster, as if to catch up with the seconds they have managed to steal. Before Maya is ready or willing, she is forced to lose focus on Draco because the surrounding reality cuts in forcefully.
The world has not stopped revolving around them, as she had wished would happen upon their reunion.
Granger is screaming of how James Potter Patronus had let them know that Harry is safe and with The Order, that they have the horcrux, that Aurors are on their way to Nurmengard, that Lily Potter and Ronald Weasley have been left behind, that they need help, that Grindelwald, he has to go, has to go NOW. Dumbledore is scheming and scanning the prison with his magic, shouting that it's time to go, to run before Aurors and Hit Wizards get there before Riddle can get to either Maya or Gellert.
Riddle. That name makes her shiver violently in Draco's arms. She hates that it affects her so much.
Riddle is still a pressing threat just as Grindelwald doesn't stop being the heaviest presence in the room. Like a black hole, he is sucking away all the air around them with that intense gaze of his. Maya knows his focus is on her and she will soon have to deal with him.
Just one more minute.
Maya carves the thought into her mind, hoping that someone will read it. Maybe Gellert can read her request because he does nothing to intervene.
Draco's smell wraps around Maya bringing a fresh load of tears to prick her eyes and she sobs loudly while all of her aches catch up with her in the end.
"Je suis ici." [I'm here] Draco whispers as if he needs to convince her, or himself.
Draco seems wider than she remembered him to be, taller too. He looks tired, his muscles are tense and corded against her sore ones, his shirt is soaked and he sports a couple of deep cuts and bruises on his arms.
His heat is almost unbearable and he smells like sweat and war, like blood and pain, but he also smells incredibly and Maya breaths in eagerly until she's almost dizzy and overdosing on oxygen.
Finally Maya masters the energy to speak, however, she barely recognizes her own voice, and she surely can't recognize his. Mostly because she has seen him cry only a handful of times in her whole life and he has never spoken much on such occasions.
"Draco! J'avais tellement peur! J'avais tellement peur que je ne te reverrais pas!" [Draco! I was so scared! I was so scared that I wouldn't see you again!]
"Oh, s'il te plait, pardonne-moi ... ma faute ... je n'aurais jamais dû! Oh mon... je ne ... Maya!" [Oh, please forgive me ... my fault ... I should never have! Oh my... I don't ... Maya!]
"Je suis là ... aïe! Bras ... le bras! Draco, le bras!" [I'm here ... ouch! Arm ... arm! Draco, the arm!]
"Oh! OH! Je suis désolé! Quoi?" [Oh! OH! I'm sorry! What?]
"Juste, c'est ok, appuie-toi juste de l'autre côté ... ouais ... comme ça!" [Just, it's ok, just lean on the other side ... yeah ... like that!]
"Je te fais du mal?" [Am I hurting you?] their hug gets clumsy, awkward, perhaps because they are quite conscious of the too many people staring at them, perhaps because now he is barely circling his arms around her, his hands ghosting behind her back, terrified at the idea of hurting her. It takes a moment longer for both to relax, for tears to stop flowing.
He pulls slightly back to level his gaze with hers. His thumb wipes away tears a blood from her cheek. Maya's heart sinks once more into her stomach as Draco smiles faintly. He is still terrified but visibly relieved now that he has touched her, that he has made sure she is real, alive and back into his life.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Maya's belief that all of Draco's smiles were meant for his mother, crumbles.
"Je ne te laisserai plus jamais hors de ma vue." [I will never leave you out of my sight again.] he whispers resting his forehead on hers.
"Je vous ai manqué." [I missed you] she whispers.
"Je t'aime, Maya." [I love you, Maya]
The kiss is brief, his lips are dry and warm against her chapped ones. Her arms shake violently. Maya tries to hold on to consciousness but her vision is progressively darkening.
"Can she walk?" Gellert asks, finally cutting in breaking the illusion of intimacy altogether.
"Pouvez-vous marcher, Maya? Voulez-vous que je vous porte?" [Can you walk, Maya? Do you want me to carry you?] Maya nods, but why is Draco looking so worried? His lips move but she can't hear the sounds and she frowns slightly when he shakes her a little.
The scene is getting blurry. No.
Un peu plus. S'il vous plaît. Juste un petit peu plus. [A bit more. Please. Just a little more.]
Ruhe dich aus, kleines Mädchen. Wir sind hier. [Rest, little girl. We are here.]
Maya's eyelids are suddenly heavy, so heavy, she barely register the moment her grandfather tears her from Draco's arms. Someone is yelling. Bickering. Granger is screaming. Dumbledore's voice thunders but Maya can't make out all of the words.
Where is Riddle?
Her magic… something is wrong.
We have to go!
We can't leave them behind!
He is coming.
Grangerforfucksake…
"We can't leave them!"
Draco isn't usually violent, not with women anyway, but he has to bite the inside of his cheek in order not to kick Granger right now. The witch stands with her feet glued to the floor, she trembles, her huge eyes travel from Gellert, which Draco imagines to be seconds away from adding one more body to the pile, to Maya, who is only half conscious and suspended between Draco and Gellert, to then linger on Draco's hand, the one wrapped around her wrist. She is clearly in shock, but they don't have time for a nervous breakdown.
Draco growl in frustration when, at his second attempt to shake her out of her trance-like state, Hermione remains stubbornly still, with her free hand pointing at the door from which he imagines Riddle is about to appear any minute now.
"Granger, let's go! Now!"
"Ron… Ron… Lily!" She mumbles looking at him with a confused frown.
Draco's heart squeezes up in his throat. Gellert's eyes are digging a hole in his face and Maya needs a healer asap. He is scared, hurting and angry and Granger is still not collaborating.
Feeling a little guilty, but not enough to not do it, he jerks her forward violently. Granger stumbles, her injured hip gives in and she whimpers as she tries to regain her balance leaning on him. It seems to work though, Granger throws him a poisonous scowl, which he pretends not to see, and finally follows through the door.
"Can you walk?" he asks in a guilty whisper, throwing a thousand glances behind his back with every step they take. Gellert walks fast holding Maya from the opposite side of Draco, he groans slightly under the girls weight. It goes unsaid that neither of the two trust the other enough to levitate her. So they both hold on to the little girl and suck it up. Granger is limping furiously to keep up with their quick strides.
"That fucking psycho… he's just mad… mad… and all… and the bodies? Who? What?" mutters Granger under her breath, without really answering his question.
"Je veux aller a la maison." [I want to go home] whispers Maya and both Draco and Gellert turn to glance at her. However, Maya's eyes are still closed and her chin is still bouncing on her chest to the rhythm of their uncoordinated steps. She has never been so weak and small in Draco's eyes. His mouth is so dry that he can barely swallow. Sweat bathes his back and forehead, he feels feverish and slightly hysterical.
Take her home. Take her home. You have to take her home. So close. We are so close. She is alive. Alive. Take her home.
The mantra repeats over and over in his head as they make a right into another dark corridor. Dumbledore's footsteps echo in front of them on the way to the exit, towards the nearest apparition point.
They make a left and Gellert stops dead in his track. Draco almost loses his grip on Maya and gasps loudly. Granger walks face first into Draco's back, moaning in pain when her nose collides with his shoulder blades.
"What?" Draco's voice comes out shakier than he has expected, he squats and pulls Maya slightly before standing back up, tightening his grip on her. Then he glances at Granger from over his shoulder. The girl is still rubbing her nose but she shakes her head.
"I'm fine." She whispers. Draco nods.
"Shut up…" whispers Gellert squinting toward the darkness before them. They stand there for seconds that stretches like hours. Granger is pressed against Draco's back, he's not sure if she is shaking or if it's him. Maybe both. They look around nervously.
Draco tries to stretch his senses, every fiber of his being focused on trying to hear the smallest of sounds, to glimpse at the faintest shadow, but for a while longer nothing happens.
"He is in." whispers Gellert after a few more seconds of painful tension, "He is here."
Granger whines softly and scoops even closer to Draco, her free hand tightens so hard around her wand that she must be cutting her skin open with her nails. Draco is torn between wanting to run to Riddle and tear his eyes out of his eye sockets with his bare hands and wanting to escape as far as possible from there before anyone can once again take Maya away from him.
Over my fucking dead body.
His brain hisses at the last thought.
And then the blood freezes in his veins, and he takes a step back, as the others instinctively do, seeking shelter in the darkness of the corridor, when a high-pitched voice resounds from the next room.
"Professor ... it's been a while."
"Tom." Dumbledore's voice is calm and low, "I can't say it's a pleasure, given the circumstances."
"I would like to stay, Professor, but as you may have noticed, we are in a bit of a hurry. Where are they?"
"Tom… tell Severus to let the boy go. Let the woman and the boy go, Tom. Can't you see this has gotten way out of hand?" There is a barked laugh after that, two muffled moans from those Draco imagines to be Lily Potter and Ronald Weasley.
Draco immediately turns to Granger with wide eyes, silently begging her not to freak out. Her lips are parted and she looks horrified but, thank Salazar, she doesn't make a sound, just gulps softly as silent tears roll down her cheeks.
"Let them go?!" another fake laugh, "Why… I'll tell you what. You tell me where the girl and the old man are, and I'll let them live… what do you say?"
"Tom, how can you think you still have leverage? Gellert is out of his cage as you might have noticed… he is not too happy about what you did to the girl…" The silence stretches for a couple of tense seconds. Some twisted satisfaction fills Draco's stomach at the thought of Tom Riddle being torn to pieces by none other than his idol. He turns to Gellert, whose face is unreadable right now and wonders what will be the next move.
"You took him out of his cage? You heard the man, Severus? And I'm the mad one! HA!" laughs Riddle, his laugh turns into a cough and then he hisses, "It doesn't matter… Gellert Grindelwald will do as I say or these two will die."
"Take a look around Tom. Do you really think two more lives would make a difference to Gellert Grindelwald? Believe me, you would be safer with the Ministry. Just turn yourself in. I can stand up to Gellert. I can save you. But you have to let them go. It's over." there's silence. Draco can picture Dumbledore and Riddle walking in a large circle, the way their voices comes and goes suggests they're about to duel, just waiting until tension breaks. Dumbledore is probably considering how to get everyone out of the room alive and well. Tom is probably looking for a way to use everyone else as a shield and make a run for a chance at beating Gellert.
"Oh but MY little girl…" the words hit Draco's brain and he tastes bitter bile crawling up his throat. Gellert pulls slightly on Maya, to get Draco to back away from the door.
"My little, cute and sensitive Maya," coos Riddle pathetically, "She won't like it if her friends die. She didn't like it one bit when I crushed you little mole last night." Again that laugh, there is something red veiling Draco's sight. Blind rage surges from the pit of his soul and he feels his grip on Maya ease and his body move forward.
But before he can lose it completely, Granger's small hands tighten around Draco's arm pulling him violently back… back to sanity.
Draco has to physically shake the rage out of his head, he blinks rapidly and then glance down at Granger, her eyes are glazed with huge tears and she is shaking her head no.
"Don't listen to him." She mouths. He nods.
Can't lose my temper now. Can't. Maya. Have to take her home.
"Tom, Gellert might love that little girl but he will storm in here soon and you won't like it. He won't give a damn about your hostages. He'll snap your neck and theirs if he has to. Just let them go, I will help you. Severus, please, you must know how mental this is…"
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"
Maya makes a weird noise, something between a wheeze and a cough and Draco shakes Hermione off to cover Maya's lips with his hand and silence her. His worried eyes meets with those of Gellert and he watches as the older wizard places his free hand on Maya's forehead. A blue light goes through her body. Gellert's expression morphs into one of concern.
"Maya ist dying. She needs a dokter." Whispers Gellert's voice but for a long minute Draco holds the old man's gaze without grasping the meaning of his words. Dying? The word finally sinks and Draco feels like he has swallowed an anvil. His stomach gets cold and heavy with pure dread.
"It doesn't matter! If Maya won't sacrifice her grandfather for her friends, then Gellert might sacrifice himself for you, professor. What if it was your life the one at stake? Ha! I knew it…"
Gellert's jaw makes a weird clicking noise.
"Tom, I think you've lost sight of your ultimate goal. What is it you are hoping to accomplish? Do you really think that being immortal will gain you anything at all? The world is about to know what you've done. Your home has been raided hours ago. They have the boy, Tom. Do you think any pureblood would want you as a leader knowing you've tortured and killed Purebloods children? Used pure blood for your rituals? If anything, they'll despise you…"
"And why would I care then? I will be able to crush anyone stupid enough to block my path… I'll reign in the end, you'll see!"
"REING OVER WHAT!?" Dumbledore's voice thunders in the silence of the prison, the old wizard's frustration explodes. Apparently Riddle is too far gone for any type of reasoning.
Draco has sweat dripping in large drops off his temples now. Granger's heart is thumping loudly against his side. Gellert's jaw is set to tight that if he had any teeth left, he would have chipped them by now. Draco can see that the old wizard's brain is working fast, he'd pay to know what he is thinking, what the next move is. Why isn't he intervening? Can't he just kill Riddle?
"WHAT DO YOU CARE, YOU WILL BE DEAD AND GONE, OLD MAN!"
Perhaps because after Riddle's insane cry the silence seems even more tense, perhaps because his nerves are already past being worn out, Draco almost gags out loud when he hears the sound of footsteps from behind them.
Instinctively, Draco rotates dragging Granger behind his back, he entrusts her with his half of Maya's weight, and pulls out his wand to point it towards the approaching noises.
For a moment nothing happens, then Draco hears Gellert snort and mutter something along the lines of 'It waz about time, fucking Bullerei' [Slang for police officer, often derogatory].
A moment later Draco is pointing his wand at a small army of Aurors and Hit Wizards, their badges flashing brightly even in the darkness of the fortress. They walk silently in the shadows, creeping along the walls, many of them have their wands on Grindelwald, leading the group are Lucius, Gabriel, James Potter and Sirius Black. Draco's heart makes a small leap into his chest.
"Father?" Draco whispers as tears prick his eyes and he almost sobs out loud in relief, his legs wobble under his weight as his tension slightly melts in the sense of security he feels when he spots his fathers. Lucius Malfoy and Gabriel Laurent are the least Draco would have thought able of making him feel safe.
His father's large hand rises and he presses a long finger on his lips. Shhh. He mouths.
Draco nods.
Lucius' eyes linger on Maya's unconscious body for a moment, then they dart to Gellert, who is gingerly ignoring them all, focusing on the ongoing conversation in the next room instead. Lucius gestures for Granger to let go of Maya and walk back to him, towards the Aurors.
The girl leaves her spot to Draco, slowly sliding Maya back into his free arm, then she obliges throwing one last glance at Draco before limping toward Lucius and the others.
James Potter hugs her briefly, he murmurs something in Granger's ear. Draco watches as Granger nods, squeezing her little hands in Potter's shirt. The wizard then ties what looks like a small piece of cloth to her arm. The next second Granger vanishes into thin air.
Portkeys.
Draco would like to howl in relief. They're safe. He tries to pull Maya away from Grindelwald in order to hand her to Lucius next.
He pulls but Gellert doesn't let go. Draco gives him a murderous glare but the old man ignores it to turn in Lucius and Gabriel's direction instead. His skeletal arm is still firmly and threateningly wrapped around Maya. Draco's heart skips a couple of beats and he opens and closes his mouth confused and outraged by this waste of precious time.
"The wand, Lucius." Orders Gellert stretching his free hand toward the men. A couple of young Aurors, standing right behind Sirius Black, take a quick step back tightening their grasp on their wands.
There's a moment of hesitation.
"Unbelievable." Draco mouths agape. This… this is what Gellert was waiting for. He knew they'd come. It was about time. The words ring back into Draco's ears.
"Let go of the girl." Hisses James Potter.
"Lucius, the wand. She is dying." A weird sound comes from Draco's throat at those words and he stops breathing at once.
His eyes glue to Maya looking for the rising and falling of her chest, which is there, is definitely there, she is breathing. She is breathing. What is that old man jabbering about? Is she breathing though? Draco's head feels light and empty, his breath is getting raggedy and uneven.
"Maya?" he whispers with a note of despair in his tone.
She is fine. She is fine. Sheisfine.
"Give it to him." Says Gabriel nudging Lucius in the ribs.
"You won't apparate with her. She needs a healer, Gellert." Says Lucius searching for something in his pocket; as much as he tries to make it sound like an order, the sentence is veiled in dread and sounds more like a plead than anything else. Gellert smirks in the dim light but doesn't say a word, he simply stretches his hand a little further.
Of course, with the Elder Wand Gellert wouldn't have restrictions, he could just apparate away with Maya and let them all rot in there. That, Draco hadn't considered up until now. His grip on Maya becomes tighter, if Gellert intends to leave with her, there is no way he is letting go.
"TOM! IT'S OVER!"
"KILL THE BOY SEVERUS!"
"Tom" comes a third voice, "Maybe we should consider…"
"KILL HIM OR I'LL KILL THEM BOTH MYSELF!"
"ALBUS!" Lily Potter screams, James Potter takes a couple of steps forward, his face a mask of horror.
"FINE THEN!" Come Riddle's mad scream, "AVADA…"
"NO!" Dumbledore screams. There is a loud explosion, and the duel in the next room begins. Everyone briefly glance at the nearby door. They don't have more time to waste.
Gellert's smirk disappear in a threatening expression. Lucius throws the wand at him.
The moment Grindelwald's long fingers wrap around the Elder Wand there is a loud crack and a bright flashing light. Draco squeezes his eyes shut and curls himself against Maya. He hears Gellert whisper something into the girl's ear and then, suddenly, Draco is left with Maya's whole weight and Gellert vanishes into thin air.
Everything after that happens so fast that Draco barely register it. The Aurors are running past them and toward the next room. Sirius Black slaps Draco multiple times while someone else fastens something around Draco's neck. A familiar feeling starts pulling at his navel.
"HOLD HER TIGHT BOY. DON'T LET GO!" barks Black before rushing past him.
"SON, SAVE HER." Lucius words are still ringing in his ears when Draco's knees hit the carpet. He leans back slightly. Maya is still pressed against him, she's warm and still unmoving, he hasn't let go. He hasn't let go. She is here.
Maya?
Draco releases a sharp breath.
Someone is screaming. Draco blinks trying to focus on his surroundings. The first thing he sees are Granger's molten gold eyes. They are filled with tears. This is such a déjà vu. The infirmary. The day Maya was kidnapped. No. She is here. This is different.
Then there are hands, hands pulling him. No… pushing him.
"Let go…"
"Let me go."
"Let go, Draco, it's safe here! She is not breathing!"
What does it mean? She's not breathing. Who? Draco's magic surges through him in waves, it pushes the hands around him away. He has to blink six more times before he can finally focus on the faces.
Narcissa is frantic. Leonie is a mask of tears and snot. Molly Weasley is trying to pull Maya out of his arms. Maya. She is pale... so pale. Her body is so still. There's blood everywhere. She is covered in blood. Her face is bruised so badly he barely recognizes her.
"DRACO, SHE IS DYING!"
Fuck.
He lets go of the little body in his arms reluctantly, as soon as he does, Maya gets replaced by something warm, something heavy that tackles him to the ground and away from Maya. Granger and Harry Potter are holding him back.
"Mon bébé! Ma pauvre petite fille!" [My baby! My poor baby girl!]
"Oh god… oh god!" Granger is sobbing above him.
"What is going on? WHAT IS GOING ON? MOM! MOTHER! Est... Est-elle vivante? EST-ELLE VIVANTE!? GET OFF ME! MAYA!" [Is… is she alive? IS SHE ALIVE!?] Draco is frantic, he spits and drools, tears are flooding his face, he can't breathe. He tries to wriggle free from the Gryffindors grasp unsuccessfully and growls in frustration. His heart is thumping hard against his ribcage. Potter is crying, Granger is crying. Everyone is screaming. People are throwing pieces of cloth around the room, an old wizard is now leaning on Maya, next to Narcissa.
"Get the bag, give me that… the small vial… COME ON!"
"Dittany"
"Skele-Gro"
"I need blood replenishing potion! Where is the red wand?!"
"Respirer. Respirer. Mon bébé. Respirer! MAYA!" [Breathe. Breathe. My baby. Breathe! Maya!]
"I CAN'T FIND HER PULSE!" Someone yells hysterically and Draco feels sick. His shoulders hit the floor, Potter ease his grip on him and gives him a worried glance.
"Malfoy? Mate? Stay with me! Molly? Molly come here! I think Malfoy is about to…"
She is alive. She is alive. She must be. We are so close.
Draco's ears are muffled. His face feels cold. So cold.
And then everything fades to black.
The air in the room is damp, it smells rancid, sweaty and it smells like fear. This time though, Tom is not quite sure whether his own fear is mixing with that of the people slowly sliding through the door. His vision blurs and he has to blink multiple times to keep his mind clear.
It's over. I failed.
No… kill them all. You can kill them all. Bite. Kill. Rip. Gut.
His voice hisses within his head, alien to him, as if coming from a whole different entity. Why is he even here? This was such a stupid idea. He should have fled. Retreat and regroup. Something is driving him. A force within is stirring his anger and his temper, using his raging unstable moods against his better judgement.
Tom's forehead is slick with sweat, his tongue darts out like that of a snake, moistening the little that is left of his upper lip. He feels different, looks different. He can tell from the horror painted on Dumbledore's face.
"Tom… it's over. You're under arrest. Lower the wand." Lower the wand. Yes. He might just do that. He may even be able to use his charm and avoid the Dementor's kiss. He might spend some time in Azkaban, then go begging Dumbledore… get the old geezer to feel pity for him. Persuade him to let him go. Fool the whole world and hit when they least expect it. He can still win this. It might just take a little bit longer.
No. Not enough. Too weak. Coward. Kill.
"Severus… let go of Ronald Weasley." Dumbledore's voice is slightly choked with hope. Tom's head snaps to Snape. The man's usually impassive face is twisted into a grimace of pain and fear.
Snape glances around, there must be no less than a hundred wands pointed at them. Tom snickers at the thought that there could be a thousand and no-one would dare fire a spell until both him and Snape hold on to their hostages.
Suckers.
The voice laughs and Tom adjusts his hold around Lily Potter's neck. The woman is positively combusting in rage between his arms, but she is unarmed and it doesn't matter how many times she tries to get the Aurors to kill him regardless of her life, they won't. It's not the Ministry policy to sacrifice hostages for the Greater Good.
Aurors continue to pour into the room, there seems to be no end to them. Snape licks his lips and Tom feels anger boiling in the bottom of his stomach because Snape looks at everyone but him. As if the choice was his. He is a subordinate. He will obey Tom. He has to.
Kill him too. Tear his head off his stupid neck.
Tom shakes his head, confused by the sudden primitive need to scream. His arm wraps even tighter around the woman's neck. Potter coughs and wriggle a little against him.
Why can't Tom manage anger anymore? He is just so angry. Angry. All the time. Thirsty. Thirsty for a power that he wouldn't even know how to describe. He feels split. Empty. Needy. There is something he needs, but what?
"Tom, just lower the wand. Let them go. Severus, please!" Severus takes a shaky breath.
"IF SNAPE RELEASES THE BOY, I WILL SNAP HER FUCKING NECK!"
Tom's eyes travel around the room nervously. His wand sinks deeper into Lily's neck. A man in the crowd growls. Tom can smell his fear, he laughs, although there is little to laugh about. His laugh is metallic and cold. He likes the effect is has on the Aurors.
The man growling in the crowd looks at him with the same stubborn ad fierce expression Tom has seen on his son. Must be Potter. Must be.
"What is it, Potter? Did you think taking your boy back would solve the problem?" Tom laughs, the room is immersed in silence, despite the crowd, "I'm afraid not. Here we are again. Will it be you Potter? Are you the one who will bring me Grindelwald here... and the girl? Come on… you don't want your wife will pay the ultimate price..." Tom grins.
"Riddle we have your horcrux. We have your Death Eaters. We have all kind of evidence against you. Just lower your wands, and come with us, both of you."
"YOUR WIFE'S LIFE, POTTER! THINK ABOUT IT!"
"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! HE HAS TORTURED HARRY, JAMES!" The woman shouts trying to break free, she wriggles wildly, but then gives up with a grunt, when Tom tightens his grip around her neck.
"Lily!" Potter shouts from the crowd, the hands of his fellow Aurors stretch before him to hold him in place.
Tom laughs wildly.
"What? What? Did you want to hit me? Yes? I suggest you bring Gellert here, I'm warning you..."
"Riddle, release the hostages and come away with us, you're making things worse for yourself." growls a tall wizard. His features are oddly familiar. Bellatrix. A Black? Must be.
"I'll show you worse…CRUCIO"
"NO!"
The woman writhes in Tom's arms. Behind him Snape reluctantly imitates the spell and the boy too, writhes in the grip of his torturer. The crowd screams. Aurors cling to each other. They clench their teeth. They bite their lips. Someone snarls and insults them. Nobody moves though. The monster within Tom finds it extremely amusing and he barks a laugh at the horror surrounding him.
"Tom! Stop!" Yells Dumbledore.
The spells stop simultaneously and the only sound in the room for a while is that of the hostages, catching up their breaths. The boy in Snape's grasp sobs loudly.
"Where the fuck has Grindelwald vanished to?" The man that must be a Black roars from the front line.
"Oh are you finally ready to see reason?"
"Let me teach you somezing, boy, they aren't famous for compromising viz terrorists. I know, from personal experience…" The crowd splits and Gellert Grindelwald himself strolls calmly into the room.
Yesss. .
The voice hisses but Tom can't help his heart from slightly accelerating in what he would like to define anticipation but knows is actually fear. The most dangerous man of all times swaggers toward him under the shocked glance of many.
Grindelwald stops standing next to Dumbledore and Tom licks his lips nervously.
"See? It wasn't that hard." He snickers but the silence around them is thick and Grindelwald's odd eyes are burning a hole in his face.
"So… I gather you vanted my attention…?"
"More like your blood, old man."
"I'd vatch my mouth if I vere you, boy."
"Where is the girl?"
"Oh… ze girl. Maya ist not here anymore. I'm afraid you lost your leverage on me beforehand." Grindelwald widens his arms in a theatrical gesture. The crowd is hanging from his lips now.
"Horcrux mh? I've always wondered about those. Fascinating items, but I have never been stupid enough to try one myzelf. Tell me, hov does it feel?"
Hell. It feels like fucking hell. It's eating me up alive.
"I'm sure it will feel perfectly fine, once I'll be done with your blood. Which I believe you're about to offer since we're still talking."
Gellert smiles a toothless smile, but Tom catches the threat gleaming behind his mismatched irises.
"Tom, release the hostages." Cuts in Dumbledore, "He won't hurt you if you do."
"Don't make promises you kan't keep, Albus." Laughs Gellert.
Tom growls.
"You see, Tom, can I call you Tom? Tom, the only reazon I haven't snapped your neck yet, is that I still have something to gain from all this. Aside for my freedom, of courz. Vhat? Did you think I'd kill him and walk back into my cage?" Gellert gives Dumbledore an amused grin but the other wizard stays silent and simply shakes his head in disbelief.
"This… this little stunt you're pulling, won't get you anywhere. Come with me, Grindelwald. Come willingly or look at me killing these two. I will take care of little Maya. I'll make her my most precious of all… my gem. Yes. You'll see." Tom spits the words but his voice falters just like his belief that he can complete what he has started.
What am I doing? Yes. The blood. I need it, yes ... I need blood ... the girl ... the power ... how did we get here?
He shakes his head and blinks multiple times.
Gellert's face loses its composure for just a fraction of a second, but it is enough to send a long shiver down Tom's spine.
The Aurors around them are breathing as if sharing the same pair of lungs. The room is still, but the stillness is chaotic, as if barely still containing the storm that is about to crush them all.
"Du bist es nicht wert, ihren Namen zu sagen." [You're not worthy of saying her name.] Whatever he said needs no translation when Grindelwald's magic whips the air crackling loud. He is seething with rage.
"Tom, I bet you don't efen know vhat you're doing anymore. Let's pretend, for a moment here, that I care about your hostages… vhy would I give you my blood? Do you hear how ridikulous it sounds? Efen if I did, are you sure you would know what to do with it?"
Tom's head is buzzing, he cracks his neck, licks his lips. Anger. Anger is stirring within him like a storm. Blinding him. This old fool is talking to him like you would talk to a child, pretending he has control when in fact, Tom has the upper hand, or does he?
The unforgivable is on his lips but he forces it back into his throat and glares at the man before him.
"I'll continue your work! I'll succeed where you have failed… I will…"
"My work? Do you even ear youzelf? I am a bloody genius Tom. You on ze other hand… You made all of ze possible mistakes you could make."
"Said the one who has been locked in here for ages!"
"I made myself somezing worth thousands of your horcruxes, Tom. I ensured myself a lineage. Maya you see… she is already my little horcrux but not the filthy type you are thinking of. If she wanted to continue my work, she could and she wouldn't need my help to do so. You have seen her power, Tom. It is somezing you will never be able to top, you are pathetic, nothing in comparison. I hold no interest in helping you wiz this madness. I will kill you Tom Riddle, do not fool yourself into thinking you'll walk out of here today."
Tom snorts.
"If I die, they die with me and I.." but Tom gets cut mid-sentence.
"Which brings us to the whole reason you're still breathing, Tom." Laughs Grindelwald turning to look for something in the crowd. Someone it turns out.
"Mr. James Potter… would you mind stepping closer?"
There's a turmoil between the Aurors, James Potter looks confused, he tries to come forward when Dumbledore nods in his direction, but other Aurors still hold him in place eyeing Grindelwald suspiciously.
Tom is confused. Confused and even angrier if possible.
"Mr. Potter I need you here, because I need to ask you something."
"Gellert… you're not seriously doing this now…" Mutters Dumbledore.
"Albus, I sure hope you of all people, have figured out the plan by now. Let us get on with it. The sooner the better."
"What plan?! What is he talking about? You're not going to make me believe this was all your big plan to get whatever the hell an old fart like you still hopes to achieve!"
"But you see Tom, it is exactly that."
"YOU PLANNED FOR ME TO KIDNAP YOUR GRANDDAUGHTER THEN? To torture this woman's child?"
Bullshit!
They're just trying to confuse him. The woman in his grip laughs and then coughs when Tom shoves the tip of his wand deeper in her jugular.
"Great move, saying that out loud in front of a bunch of Ministry officials, Riddle, couldn't have asked for a better confession. I'll die knowing you'll pay for what…"
"Shut up, bitch! SPEAK!"
Gellert smiles wickedly as Potter breaks free from the Aurors line. The wizard steps forward and stops next to Dumbledore, right behind Gellert Grindelwald.
"I saw somezing in you, Tom. I saw you had somezing I wanted. I saw you in my great plan but vhen I realized vhat your role was, the deal of pain it would cause... it was too late. You had snatched my kleine [little] Maya from me already. I have to say that it made me think. It made me doubt my power and my knowledge.
Had I made a mistake sending her to you? Had I lost at the game? Had I wasted my time and my own flesh and blood? Was I getting too old to play!? But then, Tom… you started losing your mind and purpose and I saw it again. Clearer this time.
You vere indeed part of my plan. It was just going to be a little rougher. But here, we are. Had Maya died I would have considered the game lost. But gifen the circumstances Tom… I think I'm still winning."
"You didn't send her! I… I met her… I want her… I wanted her! I TOOK HER!" Tom is shaking, on his face is a confused frown but Grindelwald is still grinning. The room is getting impossibly warm and Tom is sweating profusely.
"I don't easily misinterpret the fate, Tom. We… She played you. She played you well and she brough you here, Tom. Everything is falling into place, and I see that I was indeed right, as always."
"YOU'RE WRONG! YOU'RE LYING!"
"Whatever you need to tell yourself, Tom. Now. I'm here to strike a deal."
"Why, the coincidence! I'm here to strike a deal as well…"
"Oh, except I vasn't talking to you this time, Tom." says the old inmate, "I was talking to Mr. Potter here." Gellert starts to suddenly walk towards Tom and immediately Tom begin walking in the opposite direction. The woman stumbles on her feet as he drags her backwards. They start drawing a circle.
"Don't be reckless. There are lives at stake here…" whispers Dumbledore, but Gellert doesn't look at him, fury is now pouring from him and he's not even bothering to put up a calm mask anymore. His odd eyes are diving into red ones and it's about to happen. Tom prepares to strike.
He knows it won't take much longer. He'll kill the woman and try to strike Gellert. Tom keeps repeating the spell mentally, hoping to be able to perform it before getting struck himself. His hand is sweaty and he tightens his grip on the wand.
"Now, Mr. Potter, considering that Tom here, is about to die, the only remaining doubt is: will the woman have to die with him?"
Potter glances at Dumbledore and then back at Gellert when he doesn't find help in the cerulean eyes of his old professor.
"I will offer you a great deal," Grindelwald glances at the dark haired man. The latter nods signaling he is listening, "A deal vith the devil, Mr. Potter." He laughs bitterly.
"I vill save your wife. I vill let her walk away with you tonight if you give me somezing in return…"
"HA! You're mental if you think I wo..."
"Shut up, Tom, keep reviewing your stupid spell in that thick brain of yours. So Mr. Potter what do you say?" Tom's jaw drops.
"What… what do you want from me? What can I possibly have that you would be interested in?" asks Potter, his fellow Aurors tensing and squeezing closer to each other's in the background.
"An old family heirloom of yours AND something your son retrieved tonight, in Tom's home."
"HE'S A CRIMINAL, JAMES, DON'T LISTEN TO THEM!" Yells Lily Potter, "SAVE RON!"
Ron? Oh the boy! Tom catches a glimpse of the red-head. Something about Snape though, feels odd. His eyes are lost in space and Tom's palms starts sweating at the memory of the magic trick Maya had pulled down at the Ministry. Could Snape be already under a spell? The widening wicked grin on Gellert's face confirms his fear but it's too late to buy more time.
"THAT'S IT!" Screams Tom and silence wraps the room, "I'm sick and tired of this game. If you won't give me your blood, I will take it myself, and about this woman… she is as good as dead!" It is now or never.
"Tik Tok Potter!" But Gellert's wand is already whipping the air between them, Tom stupidly wonders if the old wizard has foreseen Potter's reply.
This can't be. This is my plan. It has been all along. It can't be anyone else's. It just can't.
"DEAL!" yells James Potter. Gellert's eyes widen.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Yells Tom.
"NO!" scream Dumbledore, Potter and Snape in a chorus. Snape's voice catches Tom off guard.
Betrayal. Is the last word flashing in Tom's mind as he lets go of the woman and points his wand forward just a second too late.
There is a flash of light, and Tom squeezes his eyes shut.