A/N: So, so sorry about the late update! Our wifi got disconnected and we didn't get it fixed until today! Thank you all for being so patient though! I appreciate it. To reward you, you get a super long chapter! Yay! Thanks again, guys!
Tallyho!
Chapter 21:
Narcissa Malfoy was sitting in the living room, reading the book Hermione gave her for Christmas when four teenagers popped into the room. Noticing their haggard and soaking wet appearance, she immediately started a fire in the fireplace and approached them.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Griphook bloody betrayed us is what happened!" Ron exclaimed.
Before Narcissa could ask what Ron meant, she heard Hermione cry. "Harry!" the brunette said. "Harry, breathe! Don't let him in!" Harry had collapsed to the ground, one hand clutching his forehead as he grunted in pain.
"What's happening?" Narcissa asked concerned.
"Harry's got a strange connection to the Dark Lord. He can see inside his head sometimes and see what he sees." Ron explained. Narcissa took a sharp intake of breath and crouched down on the other side of Harry and rubbed his back soothingly as the young Gryffindor fought with his thoughts. After what felt like forever, Harry stopped grunting and his breathing slowed back to a normal level. He kept his eyes closed but they were no longer strained. When he finally did open his eyes, Narcissa let out a sigh of relief and helped him to his feet. She led him to the couch while Hermione ran to the kitchen to get him a glass of water.
"What did you see, Harry?" Ron asked. He merely shook his head, not ready to share what he had seen just yet. He gratefully took the glass from Hermione when she returned.
Narcissa looked to her son and the redhead. "What happened at the bank?"
While the boys explained what happened, Hermione ran upstairs to change out of her soaked clothes. She quickly changed into jeans, a t-shirt, and a denim jacket and threw on some dry socks and shoes before braiding her wet hair into a loose braid. She threw some extra necessities into her bag before going back downstairs.
When she returned to the living room, Harry looked much better while Draco and Ron looked like they were about to explode. "I swear I could kill that goblin." Draco said darkly.
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, Malfoy, but that won't be happening anytime soon." Harry said, the first time he had spoken since the lake.
"What are you talking about?" the blonde asked.
"Griphook's dead."
Hermione stopped short. "What?"
"He knows. Voldemort knows we're hunting horcruxes. He knows we broke into Gringotts and that we have the cup. He went on a rampage and killed many people, Griphook included."
"What happened to the sword? The little cretin had it when we last saw him." Draco asked ignoring the disapproving look Hermione was giving him.
Harry shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't see it."
"Well that's great. That was our only chance of destroying the bloody thing and now it's gone!" Ron said exasperated.
"We'll figure something else out. Push comes to shove, we'll use Fiendfyre again. But there's more." The three looked at him expectantly. "He's heading to Hogwarts. Now. He intends to destroy the school."
"Then we need to get there before he does." Hermione said. "Go and change as quickly as possible. The sooner we get to the school, the better."
Immediately all four went upstairs to their respective rooms to change. Hermione was shuffling through the drawers in the room getting more and more frantic by the minute. "Where the hell did I put that damn thing?"
"What are you looking for?" Draco asked as he pulled a shirt over his head.
"The darkness powder Fred and George gave me for Christmas! It might come in handy."
Draco thought for a moment before going into her bedside table drawer. He moved a couple of her books aside and saw it hiding at the bottom of the drawer. "Found it."
"Oh thank God!" she cried, relieved. Before she could take it out of his hands, though, he placed both of his hands on her shoulders. She looked at him with fearful eyes.
"Hey, I know you're scared, and I am too. But I believe in you. You can do this. You're the smartest witch in our year and I know that you're going to come out of this stronger than ever."
She wiped away a tear that had escaped. "What about you?"
He gave her a small smile and a quick peck on her lips. "I will do everything in my power to be standing next to you when this is all over. Proud and unashamed of my incredibly brilliant girlfriend who helped save the world."
She gave him a sad smile as she laughed nervously. She pulled him in for a hug for reassurance and he kissed her temple. She pulled away, wiped any stray tears from her eyes, stuffed the powder into her bag, grabbed Draco's hand and they walked downstairs to meet Harry and Ron.
As they got the living room, they noticed that Narcissa was standing with them. "Mum, what are you doing?" Draco asked.
"I'm coming with you." she said, simply.
His eyes widened. "Mum, no."
"Yes. Draco, if the Dark Lord is going to Hogwarts, your father should surely be with him. I'm going to see if I can change his views and get him to come to our side."
"Mum, he's beyond help."
Narcissa shook her head. "No one's ever beyond help, sweetheart."
Draco's breath caught in his throat as he realized she was referring to him. Draco was lost, alone, and desperate. He was spiraling down a dark hole with no end and no way out. And then, suddenly, out of that darkness came a light. A light so bright, it lit up his world of darkness completely. That light brought him back to life and showed him what it meant to love and be loved. He looked at Hermione, his light, and squeezed her hand as he understood why his mother was so determined to save his father. He'd seen the same look in Hermione's eyes when he met her at the cafe all those months ago.
Looking back to his mother, he nodded. "Fine."
"We're going to apparate to Hogsmeade since the school is probably blocked." Harry said.
They all nodded as they all grabbed each other's hands and apparated out of the house into the heart of the war.
The second they apparated into Hogsmeade, a loud alarm sounded off alerting snatchers and Death Eaters of their presence. "Run!" Harry said. They all took off to find a place to hide. They ended up behind a set of fallen over tables underneath a patio where a restaurant used to reside. They tried to breathe as quietly as possible as the snatchers got closer to them. Just as Hermione sensed a presence next to the table she was hiding behind, the alarm sounded off again and the snatchers took off in a different direction screaming Harry's name.
Hermione let out a sigh of relief before grabbing Draco's hand and taking off with Ron, Harry, and Narcissa to find a way into the school. They ran down an alley but found it to be a dead end. Harry was about to turn around and run in the other direction but a voice stopped him.
"In here, Potter!"
Harry turned to the voice to find a tall man with a large gray beard and dark eyes staring at him from a tavern door. He didn't question the man as he ran inside the building, Hermione, Ron, Draco, and Narcissa following close behind. They followed a small hallway into a small living room with a table lit by a couple of candles and a large portrait of a young girl with sweet brown eyes. Hermione and Ron looked at each other as soon as they got into the room.
"Did you see-" Ron asked.
"I know; Dumbledore." Hermione replied.
Right on cue, the older man who had rescued them walked into the room and looked directly at Harry. "You're a fool for coming here, Potter."
Before Harry could retort, a small noise was made behind him. He turned around to find a small house elf with a long scarf and a knitted hat on his head. His large eyes grew bigger as he looked at the person standing in front of him. "Dobby?" Harry asked.
"Harry Potter!" Dobby said hugging Harry's legs. "It is a pleasure to see Mr. Potter again! And Miss Hermione and Mr. Ron! How wonderful it is to see you again!" Dobby's smile quickly faded, however, as his eyes set on his former masters: Draco and Narcissa. His eyes showed fear at first, but quickly changed to confusion as he saw Hermione embrace Draco and he didn't push her away. If anything, Draco seemed to welcome her touch and wrapped a protective arm around her. His brows furrowed and he looked at Harry who shook his head. "Long story. Shortened version is Malfoy and Narcissa are fighting for our side." He looked back to the old man. "We need to get into Hogwarts."
The old man scoffed. Harry furrowed his brows but Hermione interrupted him as he began to speak. "You're Aberforth. Dumbledore's brother." It wasn't a question.
The old man looked at her and nodded. He looked back to Harry. "What the hell are you doing here, Potter? You have any idea how dangerous it is for you to be here?"
"We need to get into the school. We know how to defeat the Dark Lord. Your brother, he told me how." Harry explained.
Aberforth scoffed. "'Defeat the Dark Lord.' Haven't you figured it out yet? You're fighting a losing battle. He can't be defeated! Turn around and run while you can!"
"No! I will not let other people die while they try to protect me! We know how to defeat Voldemort! Dumbledore showed me how. We just need to get access to the school."
"Don't you get it Potter? My brother sent you on a goose chase! He was so wrapped up in defeating the Dark Lord that he didn't care who got thrown in the crossfire. That includes you!"
"That's not true," Hermione defended. "Dumbledore loved Harry!"
"That's the problem, Ms. Granger." Aberforth said, looking at her with sad eyes. "Bad things happen to the people that my brother loves and the people that love him." His eyes darkened as he looked back at Harry. "You only know what you want to know about my brother, Potter. You don't know the real story."
Harry glared at him. "What real story?"
Aberforth sighed and shook his head. "Sit down, Potter. You want to know the truth, I'll give you the truth."
The room was silent as Aberforth finished his story. Hermione was biting her nail and holding back tears. Her hand was on Narcissa's shoulder who was holding on to her hand for both their comfort. Draco and Ron were silent as they contemplated everything that had been said while Dobby sat silently next to Harry who was feeling a variety of emotions from anger, heartbreak, and confusion.
"You see why I think you should run?" Aberforth said quietly.
Harry was silent. Then he shook his head and stood up. "No. No, I won't run."
"Damn it, boy! Stop being so stubborn and do the smart thing! Get out of here!"
"The smart thing isn't the same thing as the right thing! I will go to my grave trying to protect everyone I can. If I can end this war, I will do everything in my power to do so!"
"It's a suicide mission!"
"So be it!"
The room fell back into silence at Harry's last words. Hermione took in a sharp breath and Narcissa strengthened her grip on her hand. Ron looked shocked while Draco kept his stoic facade while he wanted to scream at Harry. Don't be stupid, Potter! he wanted to yell, but stayed silent instead. Dobby gripped Harry's arm and looked up at him scared but Harry didn't look away from Aberforth.
The elder gentleman sighed and dropped his head. "You're a good kid, Potter." he said, lifting his head. "For your sake, I hope you do succeed. And I hope you survive." He looked to the girl in the portrait. "You know what to do." She nodded and walked off into the unknown.
"Where did you send her?" Hermione asked.
"You'll find out soon enough." He said, standing up and beginning to walk out of the room.
"That's Ariana, right?" Hermione said. "Your sister."
Aberforth nodded. He looked at Harry one more time before looking to Dobby. "You going with them?" The elf nodded. "Very well. Be careful out there," he said as he walked out of the room. It was unclear who he was directing that warning to.
As soon as Aberforth was gone, Hermione rounded her gaze on Harry. "Did you have to be so hard on him? He did save our lives after all."
Harry said nothing as he got distracted by the portrait. The other four turned their attention to the portrait. "She's coming back." Ron said.
"Who's that with her?" Draco asked.
As if to answer his question, the portrait swung open to reveal a doorway. And in that doorway was none other than Neville Longbottom. "Neville!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Hi guys!" Neville said with a grin on his face that fell immediately as he laid eyes on Draco. "Malfoy? What the hell are you doing here?"
"I can explain," Hermione started but then shook her head. "No, there's too much. Let me sum it up: Draco came to me last summer asking for help to get away from the Dark Lord. In the process, we managed to rescue his mother and now both of them are working for the Order. They're on our side, Neville, I promise."
Neville looked to Harry and Ron who nodded in agreement with Hermione. Neville shook his head and smiled at Narcissa and Draco. "Welcome to the Light."
Draco smirked at Neville who nodded his head into the passage behind him. "Come on then. Oh hey Abe, do me a favor and call in backup will you? Something tells me we'll need it."
Aberforth had walked back into the room as the five piled into the passageway and nodded at Neville's request. Then the portrait door closed and they were in darkness until Neville, Ron, and Narcissa held up their wands which were lit to show their path.
While Neville led them through the passageway which would lead them to a secret entrance to the school, he brought them up on everything they had missed while they had been gone. He updated them on how everyone had found refuge in the Room of Requirement and was living there now since the rest of the school was miserable. They even had a door that led to the kitchens so they had access to food and the room was impenetrable as long as someone was always in the room. He also brought them up to date on Snape's rule as Headmaster and the Carrows and their teaching methods and how they punished anyone who stood up to them. They all made the connection to Ginny's story as to why she didn't want to expand on the Carrows; they were abusing students and she didn't want to share that. Hermione saw Harry's fist clench at the thought of someone hurting his girlfriend.
Finally, the tunnel came to a dead end as they approached another doorway. Neville pushed it open and everyone was temporarily blinded by the light coming from the other side of the door. Neville stuck his head through the doorway.
"Hey guys! I've got a surprise for you!" he said.
"It's not more of Abe's cooking is it?" a familiar Irish voice said. "'Cause I don't think we can take anymore of it."
Neville chuckled. "No, it's much better." He then jumped down from the doorway to make room for everyone else. Harry was the first to stick his head out.
"Harry!" many people called as they saw him. He smiled and jumped down to greet everyone as Ron and Dobby followed close behind. Hermione turned to Draco and Narcissa. "Stay close to me. Everyone else won't be as forgiving as Neville."
The two nodded before following Hermione out of the hole. As soon as their feet hit the ground, the room became dead silent. Hermione stood in front of Narcissa and Draco, her hand on her wand in her pocket, in case anyone tried to attack. Instead they all just stared at them dumbfounded. Harry and Ron saw the diversion in the attention and quickly joined Hermione in guarding the two Slytherins from any attacks that may be directed towards them.
Finally, Seamus spoke. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he spat to Draco.
"I'm here to help." the Slytherin explained.
Seamus scoffed. "Bullshit!"
"Seamus, he's telling the truth." Harry defended. "Malfoy came to Hermione asking for help to get him and Narcissa away from the Dark Lord. In return, he's been working with Order. He's on our side, Seamus."
Seamus seemed unconvinced. He looked to Neville. "You believe him?"
He nodded. "I trust Harry, Ron, and Hermione. If they trust them, I trust them."
Seamus glared back at Draco. "How do we know that you're not going to trick us and give us all over to the Dark Lord?"
"You don't." Draco admitted. Hermione looked at him confused. "I have nothing to prove to you that I've switched sides. I have no good credit with anyone here because of the things I've done. I can only tell you this: I am on your side and I will fight for your side. Because your side is my side now. Whether you choose to believe me or not is up to you."
Seamus contemplated what Draco said but before he could respond, a door on the far side of the room opened as Ginny came running in. When she caught site of the group, her eyes filled with relief. "Harry!"
"Ginny!" he said as he caught the redhead as she ran into Harry's arms. Ron looked irritated that his sister had ignored him but dropped the look as Hermione elbowed him in the ribs. Ginny pulled out of the hug and looked to the two blondes behind her boyfriend. "Malfoy? Mrs. Malfoy? What are you doing here?"
"You knew about this Ginny?" Seamus asked incredulously.
Ginny looked to her fellow Gryffindor. "Yeah, Malfoy's been working for the Order for months." Seamus raised his eyebrows as Ginny confirmed Harry's story. He dropped the topic temporarily but was still suspicious of the two Slytherins.
Harry took the silence as an opportunity to explain why they were there. "We know a way to defeat the Dark Lord," he began. He had everyone's attention now. "I can't explain what exactly it is as there's too much but to sum up we're looking for something that belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. Her diadem. We think it's somewhere, here, in the castle. Does anyone know where?"
Cho Chang looked sad. "Harry, the diadem is a legend. No one's seen it for at least a century."
"That doesn't mean it's not here, Cho." Luna said, standing next to her.
"Any ideas, Luna?" Harry asked.
"You could check with Helena." she suggested.
Everyone's brows furrowed. "Helena? Who the bloody hell is Helena?" Ron asked.
"Helena Ravenclaw, of course," Luna said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Before anyone could respond, a loud boom sounded somewhere far away. Everyone in the room froze as they realized what that sound meant. Suddenly, Harry grunted in pain and grasped at his scar. "Harry, what is it?" Ginny asked. He grunted. "He's coming. They're in the forbidden forest."
Suddenly a deep throaty whisper sounded in the room. Harry Potter, the voice said, I know you are at Hogwarts. I know what you seek. You will be unsuccessful in your quest. Give up now and give yourself to me. I promise everyone will be spared if you do so. If not, there will be large consequences. You have until midnight.
The voice faded away but echoed in the room for at least two more minutes. Hermione's stomach dropped. This was it. She looked to Draco who grabbed her hand in reassurance. She gulped and fought the tears that threatened to come out. Now was not the time for fear; now was the time for strength. It was time for the Gryffindor bravery to come out. The pain subsided in Harry's head and he looked out to the crowd in front of him. His classmates. They all looked terrified and he was too. Then he looked to his girlfriend, then to Hermione and Draco, then to Ron, then lastly to Narcissa who had become another mother figure to him in the last few months. She gave him a small nod and he looked back to his audience.
"Remember what we taught you during D.A. meetings," he said. "I believe in you guys. I know you can do it. It is an honor to know you all and to be able to fight with you." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I need to find McGonagall. Who knows where she is?"
"I'll take you," Ginny volunteered. Harry nodded before looking to everyone else. "Get the youngest out of here and to safety. I'm going to see what McGonagall can do to stall Voldemort." He turned to Hermione, Draco, Ron, and Narcissa. "Meet me in front of the grand staircase in half an hour." They nodded.
Suddenly the room was in complete commotion. Ginny and Harry took off with the rest of the room following close behind. Dobby bowed to the remaining four before running out of the room to help the other House Elves escape. Narcissa turned to Draco, Hermione, and Ron. "You three stay safe, okay? I have to do something."
"What? Mum, what are you doing?" Draco asked, suddenly very scared for his mother.
"I'm going to find your dad. See if I can turn him around."
"Mum, that's dangerous! Please, don't! Stay with us!"
His mother placed her hands on his shoulders. "I promise I will stay safe. But I made a vow to your father and I will not let that vow die when he needs me most. I have to try to help him." She kissed his forehead. "I'll see you soon, okay?" And before he could respond, she ran out of the room to find Lucius. Draco looked to Ron and Hermione trying to steady his breathing. He was scared but knew that he had some big problems of his own.
"What do we do?" he asked.
"We need to find a way to destroy the cup." Hermione said.
"Hold on," Ron said, "the basilisk fang. Harry destroyed the diary with it, second year. And the sword was covered in basilisk venom because Harry stabbed that blasted snake with the sword." Hermione and Draco looked at him confused. "Don't you get it?" Ron asked, getting excited. "Basilisk venom! We can use that to destroy the horcrux!"
Hermione's eyes lit up. "Ron, that's brilliant!"
The redhead smiled but it was short lived as another boom sounded off. "We should get going!" Hermione said before running out of the room with Ron and Draco following close behind. As they exited the room, all they saw was chaos. People were running around in every direction and a couple people screamed in fear. Before they could run off in a particular direction, Draco heard a familiar voice. "Draco!"
He turned around to find Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, and Pansy Parkinson running towards him. "Blaise! Theo!" Draco yelled. "Pansy!"
The four Slytherins embraced as they were reunited. Blaise pulled back and looked at his best friend. "We thought you were dead! How- what are you doing here?"
Draco shook his head. "It's a long story. I'll tell you later."
Blaise nodded and grabbed Draco's hand and tried to pull him away. "Pansy, Theo, and I were on our way out of here. The entrance to Hogsmeade is clear. If we leave now, we can get out of here, come on!"
"No, Blaise, I can't!" Draco said pulling his arm out of Blaise's grip.
The three looked at him dumbfounded. "What do you mean you can't?" Pansy asked.
Draco took a step back towards Ron and Hermione. "I'm fighting with the Order. I know it sounds crazy but it's part of that long story. Either way, I'm not running. The Order needs me and I won't back down now when they've done so much to help me." He paused as he looked to Hermione who was nervously looking around her but stayed close to Draco in case she needed to pull him away. He looked back to his two friends. "Fight with us."
"What?" they asked.
"I'm serious. I know it's dangerous and scary but we were always good at fighting together. We're a team, we always have been. You can run away if you want or you can help put Slytherin house into a positive light and fight with us. Your choice."
The trio looked at each other and seemed to have a silent conversation. Blaise sighed and shook his head before pulling his wand out of his pocket. "I must be out of my mind. I'm in."
Theo pulled out his wand. "Me too."
Pansy pulled out hers and rolling her eyes. "Well there's no way in hell I'm letting you three throw yourselves into the fire without me to drag you back out. I'm in too."
Draco smiled at his three friends in relief. Then he heard Hermione exclaim. He turned around to find the rest of the Weasley clan (including Percy and Charlie) pouring out of the Room of Requirement along with Kingsley, a couple of aurors he didn't recognize and Tonks and Remus. "Dora! What the hell are you doing here?" Draco asked as he ran to his cousin.
"You didn't think I'd let you have all the fun did you?" she replied cheekily.
"But what about Teddy?"
"He's safe at home with my mum."
Draco shook his head. "You shouldn't be here, Dora."
"None of us should. And yet, here we are." Another boom sounded off on the castle, this time much louder and much closer. "I'll see you around, Drake! I need to see where I can help!"
"Dora, wait!" He said, grabbing her arm. She turned to her cousin and was surprised when he pulled her in for a hug but returned the gesture. "Be careful, okay?" he said. She nodded and smiled. "You too." Then she ran off with Lupin by her side and immediately the rest of the Order dispersed in different directions leaving just the four Slytherins and the two Gryffindors. Hermione looked at her watch.
"Shit! We've got to meet Harry!" She grabbed Draco's hand and ignored Blaise, Theo, and Pansy's confused expressions. "Stay close to us!" she commanded before running off with Draco right beside her. Ron and the Slytherins followed close behind, the latter three trying to comprehend what exactly had happened with Draco. They came to a halt in front of the grand staircase and saw Harry running towards them.
"Where's Ginny?" Ron asked as he approached the group.
"With the twins," Harry replied breathlessly. "Where's Dobby and Narcissa?"
"Dobby went to help the other House Elves escape and Narcissa went to find Lucius." Hermione explained. Harry nodded. It was then that he noticed the three new additions to the group. "What?"
"They're with me," Draco explained. Harry didn't question the blonde.
"Right," he said, changing the subject, "McGonagall and the other professors are setting up a shield charm to protect the school and Neville and Seamus are setting up bombs on the bridge. If and when that shield goes down, they're going to blow up the bridge so stay away from that area. Hermione, Ron, go find a way to destroy the cup. Draco, try and get as many people out of here as you can. Set up protection spells too, if you can. I told McGonagall that you were on our side and she's going to spread the word to the other professors so they know not to attack you."
Draco nodded in thanks. "What about you?" Hermione asked.
"I'm going to talk to Helena Ravenclaw." Harry said. "See if she has any information on the diadem." Harry looked behind them and saw Luna running up the stairs. "Stay safe and I'll see you soon! Hey, Luna! Wait up!" He took off running after the blonde Ravenclaw.
Draco and Hermione looked to each other. He pulled her in to give her a kiss. He kissed her passionately, scared that it might be the last one that they shared. He had to hope that he would see her again, alive. He put everything he had into that kiss, making sure she knew how much he cared about her. But just in case... "I love you," he said, as they pulled out of the kiss. If this was the last time they were going to see each other, he wanted those to be the last words he said to her.
"I love you too." she said, squeezing his hand one last time before running off with Ron to the Chamber of Secrets.
Draco looked to Blaise, Theo and Pansy whose jaws had dropped when they saw their best friend kiss Hermione freaking Granger! "It's part of the long story!" Draco yelled frustrated. "I'll explain everything later! Come on!" He took off running towards the Slytherin common room to get any kids hiding in there out. His friends followed closely.
"Draco, I don't understand!" Pansy said. "You and the mudblood? How?"
Draco stopped dead in his tracks and turned to Pansy. "Don't call her that," he said darkly. He looked to the three of them to make sure they all got the message. "Like I said, it's a long story but one thing that you need to understand is if it weren't for her, I'd be dead. She saved me. After all the shit I pulled and said to her, she still found it in her heart to not only forgive me but to love me. Me. Draco bloody Malfoy, the boy who fucked up majorly and didn't deserve a second chance. She gave me one anyway. It's because of her that I'm a member of the Order and that I'm even alive. Remember that the next time you want to call her a mudblood." And with that, he turned on his heel and ran towards the common room.
The three Slytherins looked at each other confused. They shrugged to each other and just decided to make Draco tell them everything when this was all over before running after him to help out where they could.
Meanwhile, Hermione and Ron had found their way back to the Chamber of Secrets. They stood in front of the door that could only be opened by Parseltongue. Lucky for Hermione, Ron knew how to open the door. She looked at her best friend confused as he whispered something in Parseltongue and the door began to unlock. Ron looked to Hermione.
"Harry talks in his sleep," he explained. "Haven't you noticed?"
Hermione chuckled. "No, not really."
The redhead shrugged as he walked into the Chamber. They walked into the large open space and Hermione gasped as she saw the large skeleton of what was once the basilisk that petrified her when she was thirteen. She got a chill as she looked around the room and thought about what happened here but shook it off quickly. Ron walked over to the skeleton and broke off a fang as Hermione pulled the cup out of her bag. She laid it on the ground as Ron walked over to her. He handed her the fang.
"You do it," he said.
She shook her head. "Me? N-no, I can't."
"Yes you can." he encouraged.
Hermione took a deep breath and took the fang into her hand. Ron held down the cup as she raised her arm and swung down to stab the cup. She made a direct hit. The cup spun out of control as a force of wind started to blow towards them. Suddenly a large dark cloud rose out of the cup and suddenly, the face of Voldemort appeared. Hermione screamed as she saw it but it vanished quickly. The cup jumped once and then the wind, the cloud, and the spinning stopped. They looked at the cup and found it bent at multiple angles with a large hole in the middle of it from the fang. It had been destroyed. Only two left. Ron grabbed a couple more basilisk fangs to keep on them before they ran out of the chamber to find Harry.