Chapter 28 – Of Fear and Bravery
Harry felt a tug somewhere in the back of his brain, forcing him to open his eyes. His head ached as he blinked through the gloom. As his surroundings started to come into view, he realized his body was tied tight. The silvery cord prickled his skin painfully every time he tried to resist it.
"Hey mate, you alright?"
A sense of relief washed over Harry as he recognized Ron's voice. He saw him and the girl in the opposite corner, her eyes wide and terrified.
Malfoy was with them, muttering to himself. "Imprison me in my own house…how dare they?"
Draco looked darkly from Harry to Ron. Ron Weasley was eyeing this man with intense dislike even though he didn't remember him and they were, by the looks of it, in trouble together.
The sight of Draco Malfoy enraged Harry and suddenly he felt that this was all his fault. "You'll pay for this, Malfoy, I swear to you!" Harry roared, almost leaping from the floor. He hissed as the silver chords dug into his skin once more. "I helped you. So many times we've helped you! We saved you from the Room of Requirement, nearly dying in the process. Instead of throwing you and your entire family into Azkaban I let you walk!"
"My mother saved your life!"
"Yes she did! But you didn't, and neither did your father! He dedicated his whole life to trying and eradicating innocent people and torturing others for his amusement. And then, big surprise, his own blood-lust and cruelty turned against him in the form of Voldemort treating even his own like they were dirt! And after all of that, after all those times you've been proven that maybe you're not going to get far by being evil, here we are. Imprisoned in your bloody cellar. Again. Who's going to torture us now that Auntie Bella's long gone, huh? Your girlfriend perhaps? Oh right, she can't, because she's already been tortured by the cronies you were too stupid to trust in the first place!"
Draco lunged from the sofa within less than a second in Harry's direction. He didn't get far, however, the silver rope twining around him all the more fiercely as he struggled.
"Stop…" gasped Harry, his eyes widening slightly. "Malfoy, you stupid idiot, just stop fighting it!"
Draco listened and went still. Breathing heavily, almost wheezing, the ropes loosened their grip and he could turn around to lie on his back. Chelsea was watching the whole scene in silence, shuddering at hearing the words 'cruelty' and 'torture'.
"As you may have noticed," rasped Draco, looking to the ceiling, "I am here with you, not much better off."
"You brought us here…"
"I brought you here! I didn't know Weasley and his new Mudblood would be joining the party too!"
"Hey!" yelled Ron, who didn't need to remember anything to know that a word like that didn't mean anything good.
"I wanted to tell you everything," Draco said quietly, and there was a shade of shame in his voice. "I just never…I didn't know how…" He struggled with himself to find the right words, staring wide eyed into the darkness of the cellar. As if the guilt had suddenly overwhelmed him, he snapped back into reality with anger and hurt in his voice. "Years ago, you might have thought that you did us a huge grand favour by absolving us from going to Azkaban, but you didn't, not really. There was no escaping the taint that you've left us with!"
"Are you trying to tell me," Harry said with a bitter laugh, "that you'd rather have me put you into Azkaban then?"
"No!" Draco spat. Slowly, making sure he wouldn't get strangled by the magical ropes again, he heaved himself up and leaned back against the wall. He blew a strand of blond hair from his face and looked to the floor. "At least now I don't. We were angry, we had been on the wrong side of the battle for so long we just didn't know any better. There was nothing left to us. We were disgraced, looked down upon. We lost families and-"
"You killed my brother!"
Harry watched with admiration the restraint on Ron's part in this moment. He knew that Ron wanted nothing more than to lay his hands on Malfoy right there and then and wouldn't care twice about the silvery barbed wire ropes, but Chelsea was still tied with him. Malfoy's face didn't betray much regret or sadness still. It amazed Harry to realize that even if Malfoy would never be truly evil, he would always be selfish, the tragedies and hardships of other people incomprehensible to him.
"Only you and your lot can still make yourselves out to be the victims after all the damage you've done," Harry said quietly after a while.
"We were kids, Potter, okay?" Draco said weakly, and Harry could hear a note of desperation in his voice. "Look, you're locked here with me the same as I am, it's not like you can run anywhere. The only reason why they still haven't carried out their plan is because they're searching for the dust. At least I've succeeded in taking that away from them in time…"
Harry glanced toward the ceiling and could hear noise and commotion from upstairs. It sounded like furniture being knocked over and rummaged through. "They'll try to implant false memories of killing you into my brain to make sure the Aurors don't wring the truth of me. So you have to stop hating and blaming me for a second so we can act fast."
"As much as I hate to say it, I agree with him," said Ron. A heavy silence followed, only filled by the heavy uncomfortable breathing.
"This is mental, mental. Shit, what is happening?" Chelsea spoke for the first time, and Harry wasn't sure if she sounded more terrified or angry. "Goddammit Ron, what the hell?"
"So remember that one time when I said most of my life and past was pretty boring mundane stuff? Turns out I was wrong about that," Ron said in an amused tone that Harry found to be a bit too inappropriate for the situation.
Chelsea probably agreed because she shoved her elbow in his back.
Malfoy's eyes were fixed on the ceiling, following the sounds of movement as well. Harry's instincts were telling him they were running out of time, and he only hoped that his message had reached Ginny.
When Hermione and George arrived at the Burrow, the situation was frantic. They found Ginny being sick in the toilet with Molly tending to her. Arthur and Bill were sitting at the table, going quickly over what their course of action was going to be. Hermione sat down next to them and seconds later she began helping them with the plan.
She felt in her element putting bits and pieces of information she received together. In a very short space of time, they had a whole outline of the grounds around Malfoy Manor. Arthur and a few other Aurors were supposed to Apparate near the back entrance. Having had inspected the house so many times before, he was the most experienced in penetrating through its protection. Bill and Percy were to try and find the entrance.
Arthur sat at the table, massaging his temples, going through the points of the plan again.
"Gin, how do you even know they're at the Manor again?" he asked as Ginny and Molly emerged from the bathroom, Ginny wiping her forehead and looking extremely pale.
Ginny pulled out a gold coin from her pocket and showed it to everyone. Understanding seemed to dawn on George, but nobody else. "We used these when Harry was giving us Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. Hermione charmed them in a way that enabled us to send secret messages to each other. Harry and I keep one on us at all times in case of emergency." Her voice had an odd quality to it, hollow and scared. "Are we ready to go?" she said impatiently, striding to grab her cloak but even as she took a few steps forward she seemed to get dizzy again.
Percy grabbed her before she fell to the floor and lowered her to sit in an armchair where she struggled to catch her breath.
"Ginny!" Molly wailed, conjuring a glass of water and handing it to her. "You're not going anywhere and you know why."
"Mum, don't give me this again," Ginny retorted, though very breathlessly. "I'm not a child anymore, not that it ever stopped me before!"
"Ginny, you're-"
"I don't care!" she cried, standing up and gripping the end of the chair for support. "You can't stop me! They have Ron again, and now they've also got Harry! Harry, my family, who saved us all so many times before and now you're telling me I can't go and help him when he needs me!"
"Mum, why can't she go-" George started to ask, but Molly lifted up a hand to silence him. Even if he was a grown man, he didn't need telling twice. Molly was only looking at Ginny still.
"If you love Harry, then be responsible and protect his family. Putting yourself in danger in this state would be nothing short of selfish!"
Ginny's eyes were flashing with anger and desperation, but she bit her lip and looked down at her stomach, placing her hands on top. Hermione understood before everyone else.
Standing up from the table, she walked over to Ginny and took her hands in hers. "I'll go. I'll help."
"Absolutely not!" It seemed like all the Weasleys shouted at once.
"Hermione, we lost you once, we'll not let it happen again," Molly said softly.
"It would be unwise, considering…erm, your magical problem." Arthur went red in the face as he said it, but he believed her safety was more important than sensitivity right now.
Ginny was the only one who didn't seem to protest. Instead she was looking at Hermione, tears running down her face. She didn't feel it would be right to stay behind while Hermione would go risk her life, basically helpless without her magical ability. But somehow the knowledge that Hermione would be there, like she had always been when Ron and Harry and she got in trouble, was the only thing that gave her the slightest feeling of peace.
Everyone was staring at the pair of them, holding their breath.
"Ginny," Bill broke in, because time was slipping away. "You mentioned they've taken a Muggle girl as well."
Hermione spun around to look at Bill and then back at Ginny, who immediately looked away. "Yes, his friend, Chelsea…he, he went to see her. To explain, and say goodbye I guess," she added hastily, noticing the sad look on Hermione's face.
"We need to act fast then," George said, rolling up his sleeves. "More innocent bystanders, the more 'selfless saviour' Harry gets, which isn't always safe for him."
"Agreed. Let's go then," Ginny said.
"For the last time, Ginevra," hissed Molly. "Arthur, your daughter is pregnant with your grandchild and she wants to go off and duel, say something!"
Everything within The Burrow came to a standstill. Ginny sank back into her chair and covered her eyes with her palm, knowing her battle was now definitely lost. Hermione stepped back with an awkward smile as all the Weasley men swarmed around their daughter and sister, offering a mixture of congratulations and forbidding her from setting a foot out of The Burrow.
Moments later they were almost ready to go. Arthur, Bill and Percy went first. George was to take Hermione shortly after, with the promise of not getting too close to the action if they could help it. Ginny stood at the door resentfully, hardly acknowledging the rest as they were leaving the house one by one.
Only when Hermione was leaving, Ginny quickly grabbed her hand.
"Here, you left this at the house," she said, giving Hermione her wand. "Just in case," she added, as Hermione took the wand from her and put it into her pocket with a doubtful look. Yet there was something about Ginny's trust and confidence in her that filled her with strength. Hermione nodded her head in thanks and hugged Ginny quickly before hurrying away.
Soon after they left, the evening grew quiet once more. Molly was standing behind Ginny, her hand on Ginny's shaking shoulder. She knew more than anyone how much it hurt to stay behind, waiting helplessly while her loved ones were in danger. But someone had to stay, someone had to be ready to put the pieces back together once the fight was over.
Hermione and George Apparated to a quiet wood, not far from where the Malfoy Manor should be located.
They walked on in silence, both of them feeling way too anxious to talk. Hermione didn't even really know what she was doing here and how she could possibly help. She was afraid, of this place and what was possibly to come, yet at the same time she knew she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
This felt like long time coming, an escalation of all the crazy madness. She had started on this journey with Ron and so she had to be there to finish it with him. She couldn't bear to have it any other way. Ever since she met him she knew she had cared for him. That feeling was stronger than ever in this moment, as she and George made their way through the slippery slopes.
It was getting darker. The moisture from the rain still hung in the air. Mists were creeping around them until the gloom became so thick they could hardly see through.
"I don't know where it is!" George said in frustration, spinning around and looking in all directions. He whipped his wand at the crawling mist, but only managed to push it away a few meters until it rolled back around them.
"This way," said Hermione, her voice barely above whisper. She grabbed a hold of George's arm and led him slowly forward. Her legs moved of their own accord, and she knew somewhere deep down, that this was a path her feet head tread upon before.
After moments that felt like hours, the mist parted slightly and revealed an old crumbling gate. The corrugated iron looked like it had folded on itself. Tall brambly weeds concealed most of it. Beyond the gate, however, there was nothing. George approached it but before he could try to step over it, he collided with an invisible wall. It felt as if the very air forced him backwards with the strength of a hurricane.
Hermione understood that there must've been protective enchantments around the place.
George was clutching Ginny' fake golden galleon that still bore Harry's message from hours ago. The next second the letters upon it rearranged themselves as a new message from Arthur Weasley appeared.
"They've broken through!" exclaimed George with a shrewd smile and looked to the sky.
They saw sparks fly high above the clearing and there was a quick bright flash of light that blinded them. Upon opening their eyes, the earth shifted beneath their feet. They heard the rustling of grass and weeds from the vast garden and the next moment the battered old rusty gate started rebuilding itself. The ornate metal shapes sprung back to life and seemed to gleam in the darkness despite the settling rust. Thick fog beyond the gate parted and a beautifully tattered old manor slowly came into view in front of them. Its columns overgrown with ivy seemed to be breathed into life by the surrounding mist.
"Are you ready?" George asked, casting a furtive glance at Hermione.
Hermione stood transfixed, staring up at the house with her eyes a shade darker. She was pale and her lips were quivering even though she wasn't aware of it. Her hand travelled to her right arm and then to her neck. She brushed the skin of her throat absent-mindedly, feeling a distant stab of pain somewhere in the back of her soul.
Sudden understanding dawned on George as he approached Hermione.
"Let me," he whispered softly as he took Hermione's arm and pointed a wand at it. It was crazy to think how they had never even thought of it. "Aparecium."
Hermione touched her neck again, feeling at last the scar left behind by a knife infused by hate and dark magic.
"Aparecium," George said again. There was no pain, but Hermione still gasped as a deep pink scar suddenly appeared on her forearm.
Mudblood
As if painted there by a passing ghost, the word sounded foreign to Hermione, but she felt echoes of old emotions like fear and terror and helplessness that seemed to be connected to this place, and that scar.
She looked at George and for the first time ever really took a long look at his missing ear and the scar it left behind.
There it was, a memento to the fact that the past could not be undone, etched into her skin as well as his. The longer she looked at it, however, her fear was silenced by an old and unresolved anger.
She was here now, in the present, and she no longer needed the lost and longed-for memories as a source of her growing determination. There were images of real things she had experienced. She briefly and in flashes imagined Ron, and the sound of their distant laughter rang in her ears. She imagined Harry, the real Harry who took her to her parents' graves. It was odd that of all the places and moments, here and now was the first time she did not feel lost or unknown to herself. She was Hermione, and she was a witch, and she had to fight.
Be brave, she whispered to herself in her head.
"I'm ready."
Hermione reached into the pocket of her cloak and pulled out her wand.
George nodded his head and together both of them set forward. The gate swung open of its own accord.
Author's Note: Thank you all for reading, the following and reviews of this story make me so happy. Sorry for leaving it a bit cliffhanger-y again, just trying to split the chapters up evenly so it's not a 10K word monster.
I know that the Mudblood scar only happened in the movie, while in the books Bellatrix cut Hermione's neck, but I decided to keep the scar as well. All thoughts and reviews very much appreciated.
PS: If you got the time and are interested, I wrote another Ron/Hermione one-shot called Like an Ocean. It's on my author page and I'd be delighted if you read it.