Wizards In Winter Chapter 4
A/N: Title is taken from the music by the Trans Siberian Orchestra.
Genera: Romance/Drama Ships: Harry/Hermione Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the characters, settings and the bits of dialogue that is recognizable
Chapter 4: Deadly Adventures
At the vernal or spring equinox, night fell on a cloudless moonlit sky. Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore set out to retrieve one more Horcrux. The air was still and after making their way to the castle gates, the Headmaster side-along apparated them to a rocky cliff by a calm sea. Peering down the cliff, Harry could see no way down, but Dumbledore evidently knew where he was going, for a narrow path appeared in his wand light. In the shimmering moonlight, the waves had Harry entranced by the rugged beauty of the area.
"Tread carefully Mr. Potter, the rocks may be slippery close to the water."
As Harry and Dumbledore worked their way through the cold lapping waves to the entrance of a cave, Harry wondered what sort of protections Voldemort might have added to keep the locket safe. The entrance to the cave opened on a short stretch of narrow mostly rocky hall leading to a blank wall.
The thought that he depended on his headmaster for protection was some comfort, then he remembered Hermione. She'd cast another of her protection spells on him before they left. He felt somehow safer and noticed that he was dry and warm. Albus was just casting the drying charm on himself and was about to do the same for Harry.
"Um, professor, I'm already dry and warm."
"Indeed Mr. Potter? You know that you're not allowed to cast magic outside of school."
"Yes sir, I didn't cast any magic. It's a protection spell that Hermione cast before we left."
"Interesting. We never did have that talk with Ms. Granger, and I was looking forward to that. I've noticed that you don't use glasses anymore, Mr. Potter. More mysteries. Now, let's see what surprises Tom has for us. "Hmm, I feel dark magic has been used here. Well, that was expected," he mused, more to himself than to Harry.
Harry watched as the headmaster waved his hand over the walls of the cave, evidently feeling for a hidden entrance, for the cave ended a few feet from the water entrance. He seemed particularly interested in a section of rock that looked very much like the rest of the cave, when suddenly he jumped back as if burned.
"Nasty! I'll ask you to stand well back, Mr. Potter. Tom has enchanted this small section of wall to grievously harm anyone not expecting the enchantment. I'll have to think about this."
Harry watched as Dumbledore carefully waved his wand over the offending section, muttering softly spells that had no meaning to Harry. The wall glowed an angry red and a spell suddenly shot out of the wall at shoulder height. Harry ducked as the spell ricocheted off a shield Dumbledore had erected around them.
"Beware, Mr. Potter, this is going to be dangerous."
As the headmaster continued to examine the wall, Harry spotted a small glowing spot down near the base of the wall in an almost hidden rockfall.
"Er Professor, I just noticed something. There's a small glowing rock over in the corner," he pointed out.
"Ah, hidden cleverly, very good Mr. Potter. I see your seeker reflexes are indeed well honed. Don't touch it, it may be a trap."
The small rock, about the size of a thumbnail turned out to be very lethal as a green curse blasted forth before they could get close enough to examine it. A corresponding rock on the opposite wall reflected the curse, activating another curse that blasted a large hole in the ceiling where the pair had been standing moments before. The resulting rockfall had barely missed them and Harry shuddered at the thought of being buried alive under tons of rock.
Albus considered the problem and suddenly pointed his wand at the original trap and fired a powerful banishing spell at it. The resulting explosion vaporized the section of wall behind the trigger rock. "And now, I think we've learned a bit of a lesson, Mr. Potter."
"Y-yes sir?"
"Indeed. One cannot be too careful when dealing with an unknown protection. Tom thought himself cleverer than anyone else. He was almost correct, but I've been alive longer than most and have learned a few tricks myself. I think we are safe for the moment and it looks like we can proceed through this hole in the wall. Stay close, Mr. Potter, I wouldn't want to lose you now. Miss Granger would probably have my hide if I did."
As they passed through the hole in the wall, Harry could feel the ambient magic that seemed to be imbued in the walls. It was very dark inside and Albus carefully cast a simple spell that seemed to partially dispel the darkness. A greenish light was seen in the distance across an underground lake.
"I believe what we seek is on that island, Mr. Potter."
"Err, how do we get there, sir? Can you just summon it?"
"I'm afraid not, Tom will have put anti-summoning wards as well as anti-apparation wards. Fortunately I thought to bring two brooms with me." He then reached inside his robes and pulled out a pair of shrunken brooms. Enlarging the brooms, he handed one to Harry. "Follow me, Mr. Potter," he commanded. And stay close, no telling what surprises Tom may have in store."
Gliding over the dark lake, Harry noticed it was unnaturally calm, glasslike even, not a ripple broke it's surface. It was a bit unnerving, really — hypnotic even. Even Dumbledore seemed affected. Harry blinked, trying to keep awake, but it was Increasingly difficult. The pair of wizards slowly started to drift asleep and descend toward the lake.
"Mr. Potter!" Albus yelled. "You must stay awake! Concentrate."
Harry was struggling to stay awake as he drifted in and out of consciousness. The broom was now barely above the water and he could see shapes close to the surface that appeared to be human.
Albus sent a stinging hex at him and he jerked awake just as a pale hand reached up to grab him. Kicking violently, he urged the broom faster and was rewarded when the hand missed his ankle. Finally they reached the small island in the centre of the lake.
"Take care not to touch the water, Mr. Potter, what you saw are Inferi, the animated dead. They would swarm you and eat you as soon as you touched the water."
Harry shuddered at the disgusting thought.
The only thing they saw on the tiny island was a silver cup mounted on a pedestal. The greenish light seemed to surround the cup that was filled with a clear green liquid. In the bottom of the cup could be seen the locket.
"Now, how to get the locket?" Dumbledore wondered aloud. "I dare say reaching in would be hazardous and we know that summoning won't work. Most likely we'll have to empty the cup. Surely it can't be that easy," he noted.
Albus conjured a crystal goblet and dipped it into the cup. To his surprise, the goblet dissolved. "Well, that's not good, very few things affect crystal. A strong potion that I'm not familiar with."
"Perhaps we can fill the goblet with sand to force the liquid out," Harry suggested.
"A worthwhile idea, although I fear that since crystal is another form of sand, that will most likely not work," Albus told him. "Still, I wonder... maybe there is a way," he mused.
It was then that Harry noticed a small glowing rock, much like the rock in the outer cave.
"Um, Professor, there's another one of those rocks like in the other part of the cave. You don't suppose they're as lethal as the other one?" he asked, pointing to the almost hidden spot on the back side of the pedestal.
Albus examined the small pebble carefully. "Yes, I believe this will do nicely. Stand behind me Harry. If this is what I suspect, it will destroy the liquid as soon as it's immersed in the cup. I'm hoping that the cup is as strong as I suspect. Anything strong enough to hold the liquid should be strong enough to withstand the rock. I'll cast a bubblehead charm and shield to protect us."
Carefully, Albus levitated the rock into the cup. There was a strong hissing sound, followed by an explosion and the contents of the cup vanished in a cloud of poisonous steam. Albus released the protections and peered into the cup. At the bottom was a smoking locket that had cracked open. A gathering black mist rose from the locket and with a scream broke free only to dissipate as it reached the edge of the cup. The cup immediately refilled with the potent potion.
"Remarkable," he breathed. "I believe we've disposed of another Horcrux."
"Now, how do we get out of here, Professor? I don't fancy another trip back across that lake!"
"Ah, Mr. Potter, now that I know what the enchantment does, I'll cast a spell to negate that. If you feel sleepy, try to fly higher; that should weaken the curse if my spell isn't strong enough. Tom is a very powerful wizard and I'm not sure how strong I should cast the spell. Too strong and it could damage you, too weak and you'll succumb to the enchantment."
"Um, sir, I think it would be best not to cast the spell, if you don't mind. Err... I already have some protection cast on me."
"Eh? What do you mean, Mr. Potter? What protection is that?"
"Erm, well, Hermione cast quite a few protection spells on me. I'd really rather you didn't interfere with those," Harry replied.
"Indeed? Miss Granger continues to surprise me. Will you allow me to check you? Just to detect what spells she used, nothing more."
Harry panicked. "No! Hermione warned me not to divulge even as much as I've already told you. It's a proprietary family spell. Oops, I wasn't supposed to tell you even that, sir."
"Very well, Mr. Potter, I'll respect her wishes, but I must insist on a long talk with both of you. It seems that I don't know miss Granger as well as I thought."
Harry mounted his broom and the pair rose toward the top of the cave and quickly made for the exit. There was one more surprise awaiting them, however. They had entered the cave on a rising tide and now the entrance was under water.
"I'm afraid we'll have to swim out, Mr. Potter. I hope you remember how from the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament."
"I'll manage, sir," he answered.
The water was just as cold as before, but now they were fully submerged and swimming against a strong rip current. Dumbledore had cast a bubblehead charm on both of them and they eventually made it to the rocks. Harry's charm still held and he was soon dry and warm as they made their way back up to the top of the cliff. Albus was a surprisingly strong swimmer as well as climber and led the way, reaching the top well ahead of Harry. He then side-along apparated them back to the entrance of Hogwarts.
(Earlier in the evening)
Hermione Granger was pacing the Gryffindor common room, worrying about Harry. He had been gone three hours and should have been back by now.
She'd tried to keep an eye on Draco but even with Harry's map it was difficult. The map didn't show the Room of Requirement, so she suspected Draco spent quite a bit of time there. For what purpose, she didn't know, but figured he was up to no good. Deciding to check the room, she left the common room and quickly made her way to the seventh floor corridor. As she approached the Room of Requirement, the door opened. Quickly hiding behind a pillar, she gasped in surprise as a dozen Death Eaters exited the room, led by Draco Malfoy. Then things got very dark as Draco cast something into the air.
'Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder,' she thought. 'I've got to warn the DA.' Quickly pressing the Protean Charmed coin to alert the DA, she carefully followed the dark wizards under Harry's cloak. It was hard to follow the darkness, and twice she thought she'd lost them, only to stumble across the unnatural darkness at the bottom of a staircase. Now would be a good time to see if her Grimoire would help her. Reviewing the list of spells in her mind, she thought of two that would help. The first would dispel the darkness, the second would buy her time until the DA reformed. Spoken in French, she cast "Dissipez l'Obscurité!" then cast "Imposez le Silence Maximum!"
Draco looked around in confusion, the Hand of Glory in his hand but the darkness had suddenly dispersed. He tried to warn the others, but no sound came out. He tried "Finite" but that didn't work either. The Death Eaters, meanwhile figured out that they had been discovered. They also found that they couldn't hear or be heard when they spoke. Many tried to end the spell and found that they couldn't. Draco threw more of the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder around them, but found it too dispersed. Panicking at being discovered, he fled, seeking the Hogwarts gates and the chance to apparate. The Death Eaters, however, didn't care and sought a fight. After all, people were afraid of them and what could students do anyway.
That was their first mistake as the DA began raining spells down on them from several directions. Luna led the charge from a position behind a suit of armour. Animating the armour, she deflected spells meant to hurt her. She send a layered spell at the closest Death Eater and he fell face forward, breaking his nose as his body tried to grow in places not meant to grow. Luna giggled at the effect. A long toe stuck out at an odd angle from his leg, which had tripped him. An extra arm appeared in the middle of his chest which seemed to have a life of its own and began trying to strangle him. Evidently Luna had learned a few tricks outside of the Hogwarts classrooms.
Neville send a blasting curse at another Death Eater and he fell with a large hole in his chest. Four more fell to an assortment of curses by other members of the DA. Hermione was sending a steady barrage of spells (all in French) at the Death Eaters, who seemed incapable of blocking them. Three more fell and the remaining three chose to flee and made it out the front door just as Harry and Albus were walking into the grounds. Sensing something was wrong, the pair spotted the three Death Eaters running towards the gate, and as it happened, straight into Albus' and Harry's combined stunners.
"What's going on Headmaster?" Harry asked. How are Death Eaters able to enter Hogwarts?"
They had missed seeing Draco apparate when he left the grounds, so Dumbledore had no idea how they were able to penetrate the wards.
"I have no idea, Mr. Potter," he mused as he quickly bound the three. "Perhaps the answer is inside."
"Hermione! Merlin, I hope she's safe!" Harry was running towards the main entrance when Albus stopped him.
"Mr. Potter! We don't know the situation inside. We need to be careful."
"But Professor," he cried, "Hermione's in there. I need to see that she's safe."
"Indeed, my boy, but let us proceed carefully. There may be other combatants waiting in ambush."
So, Headmaster and student raced to the front door and carefully opened it. All was quiet so far, so they crept inside. Albus cast a detection spell and determined that the fighting had indeed stopped, but there were many people inside the Great Hall. Opening the door to the Great Hall carefully, Albus was met with a particularly nasty spell that just missed.
A voice inside called, "Hold it, Hermione. I think it's the Headmaster."
"Thank Merlin," she gasped. "Harry? Are you there?"
Harry poked his head around the door to see a scene of chaos. At least six bodies were laid out either bound or at the very least unconscious on the stone floor. Several tables were overturned and there was blood beside the bodies.
"Hermione! Are you alright? What's happened here?"
Hermione practically flew into his arms, shaking heavily as the adrenaline ran out. He hugged her tightly as she finally let go of her emotions and cried on his shoulder.
"I-it's Malfoy," she sniffled, trying valiantly to control her emotions. "He somehow brought Death Eaters into Hogwarts through the Room of Requirement. Where is the git, by the way?"
"No idea, isn't he here?" Harry answered.
A quick check among the DA and Neville stepped forward. "Malfoy ran when he was discovered. You must have just missed him."
Dumbledore took in the scene and after congratulating everyone, wondered where the staff was.
Minerva McGonagall chose that moment to appear. "Albus? What has happened? I heard a racket and came to investigate."
Albus smiled and answered his deputy. "All done, Minerva. It seems as if the students have taken care of a nasty problem. I must contact Madam Bones and see to the arrest of these criminals. Students, please return to your common rooms, we will sort this out in the morning. Miss Granger, I'd like a word with you and Mr. Potter, but in the morning, please.
Setting Hermione down, he nodded to the Headmaster and bid him goodnight. "Come on Hermione, we should talk."
Holding hands, the pair left for the Gryffindor common room and a late evening talk.
(End of chapter)