Spoilers: Order of the Phoenix
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Ezmerelda: once again, you were right. You indeed guessed correctly as for Firene's allies!
The Great Hall had been rearranged especially for the occasion. The four House tables had been pushed against the walls and right now, Hermione was standing in front of the Head Table. Silently, Viktor and Severus came by her side, as the last time they had faced Voldemort. She put the Death Eater ring on the table and took a knife in her right hand. She briefly glanced up, straight into Terry's brown eyes, and he smiled encouragingly at her. She pierced her hand and let a few drops of blood fall on the ring, which vibrated slightly on the table. As in repetition of the last time, it glowed black, but this time, it remained on the table.
Hermione had a tight smile.
"He knows," she said simply.
Then she raised her arms and concentrated. Severus could feel the surge of power running through her and it seemed that her silhouette was slightly shimmering. Then they all heard a loud bang and Albus looked surprised, frowning while looking at Hermione.
"The anti-Apparating wards are down."
Her words proved to be true as the popping sounds of people Apparating in the Great Hall were heard all around. Voldemort appeared first, slightly smiling. Severus looked toward Ginny and saw that her body had stiffened, yet there was a strange glow in her eyes. Then Death Eaters took their place by Voldemort's side and some of them didn't even have their silver mask. Lucius Malfoy stood mask-less by Voldemort's right hand-side, Draco next to him.
Suddenly, Vincent and Gregory appeared next to Hermione and the leash was once again fixed at her collar. Gregory tugged her forward, until she was only a foot away from Voldemort.
"So, beloved, you called me," he said softly.
She raised her chin proudly.
"I called you so we would define who is the Child and who is the Fraud."
He shook his head, still smiling.
"Who cares, beloved? Come to me and we will be together until the end, so powerful that nobody would ever be able to defeat us!"
There was hatred in Draco and Lucius's eyes at those words, but Hermione didn't notice. She was focused on Voldemort solely.
"And do you really think I would be interested in such a bargain? I have already more power than I will ever use and even before I became the Child, I was already more powerful than Draco!"
Curiously, Voldemort didn't seem vexed by her statement. Severus had noticed that the Dark Lord showed patience toward Hermione, no matter how insulting she was.
"So you want a contest, beloved? And Hogwarts will be the judge? I guess that you already warned it against me, didn't you? I would have been disappointed if you hadn't, beloved," he said, with something akin to affection showing in his voice.
Ginny growled lowly from her place, her eyes intent on Voldemort. Nobody took notice of it. The Dark Lord made a careless move with his hand and stone slabs from the floor suddenly rose in the air around Terry. Hermione's eyes flashed in anger and she turned her attention to the stones, so they would go back to their place. Voldemort was already moving stones elsewhere.
They continued their little game for quite a while, none of them willing to concede they were of equal strength. Then Voldemort seemed to find something more amusing.
"Oh, you warned the portraits not to open to me! And the students are hiding in their respective towers, just like cattle at the slaughterhouse. And you, my sweet, are a Gryffindor, so your first loyalties would be to them. Hmm, let me remember… The Gryffindor guardian portrait would be the Fat Lady, wouldn't it? Open to me!"
"NO!" shouted Hermione. "Don't open to him! You have to protect the students!"
Severus tensed, nervous about the issue of the duel… and blacked out totally, his vision suddenly surrounded by leaves and trees.
All he could see was a blur of forest and the rumbles of galloping hooves behind him.
"I apologise," said Firene's voice in his head. "It took me time to find mine allies."
Severus could see everything through Firene's eyes and he wondered if the unicorn knew the exact effect of the spell he had cast to communicate with him. It would take no toll on him, really! Right now, Voldemort could kill him and he couldn't do anything about it!
Then, suddenly, the whole herd of centaurs stood in front of him and he stopped. A proud centaur with a chestnut body, his high cheek-boned face framed by long black hair, stepped forward.
"Mars is bright tonight," said the centaur as a greeting, his voice deep and rumbling in his chest.
"Where does it shine brighter, Magorian?" asked Firene quietly.
"Hogwarts."
"We have to go there."
"We centaurs are observers of the events, Firene. We do not intervene. Firenze did and was banned."
"Doest thou think that he will stop at the human race? For him, thou art nothing but a disgusting half-breed who should die! He will know no rest until both our races are wiped from this world!"
"When the time comes, we will fight. Until then, we wait and watch."
"It will be too late by then."
"Then the stars will tell us that we have outlived our time."
"My daughter is there, Magorian! I will not lose her because of thy fatalism!"
"No young of thine is at Hogwarts, Firene."
"My daughter is there! Two children of mine are at Hogwarts and my duty is to protect them. I call on the favour thou owest me. If thou and thine come with me and mine tonight, thou wilt be freed of any engagement thou hast toward me."
Magorian looked at him in surprise and waited a long time before asking:
"Doest thou realise what thou meanest?"
"I do," replied Firene with quiet confidence. "Doest thou accept?"
Slowly, Magorian nodded. Behind him, a wild-looking centaur, younger than Magorian, grumbled in protestation.
"We have nothing to do with the humans. They think themselves superior to us!"
"Quiet, Bane!" snapped Magorian. "We centaurs honour our word and I just gave mine to Firene. Do you wish thus to deny me and make me a perjurer?"
"This I will not," said Bane reluctantly, shaking his black-haired head. "I understand we have to honour our word given to the unicorns, but not in favour of humans."
"I go there, Bane, to save one with my blood in her veins and her soul mate," said Firene calmly. "The evil of tonight threatens them and I gave them my word that I would stand by their side against him."
"Blood of thy blood? Unicorn blood free from curses and doom is over there?"
"I told thee my daughter was there. I told thee I had two children of mine in this castle thou so reprovest of."
"Forgive mine incredulity. I didn't know that thou hast shared blood with them. Then indeed, they belong to thy people."
Only moments after, the centaurs and unicorns were gathered around the two leaders and thunderous rumbles of hooves were heading toward Hogwarts. With some difficulties, Severus snapped out of the vision and Firene apologised when he released the hold he had on the wizard.
Voldemort and Hermione were still facing each other. The Dark Lord was still smiling – an infuriating smile, in Severus's opinion – while Hermione was impassive, her collar shining strangely. Vincent and Gregory were still by her sides, looking like two bodyguards, and Severus wondered if they were protecting her or keeping her trapped where she stood.
He was quite content to remain a passive spectator until the moment Voldemort would unleash his Death Eaters, but someone had decided otherwise. He felt an unwanted presence make itself known in his mind and inwardly hissed at it.
"You abandoned me earlier, now get lost! I don't need you and you decided that I was unworthy!" he screamed to the conscience sharing his mind.
"This is no more your concern. I need a body and yours will have to do," replied Salazar's voice, full of contempt.
The air between Hermione and Voldemort was crackling with tension when the attention was diverted from them by a newcomer.
"TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE!" boomed a voice.
Students scattered away as Severus strode forward, his face set to a thunderous expression.
"How dare you speak to me like this, Snape? On your knees and beg for my forgiveness!" hissed Voldemort.
"I am Salazar Slytherin and my blood runs in your veins. With a mere flick of my hand," he added, actually moving his hand, "I can make your blood boil in your body…"
Voldemort's face twisted in agony as he fought to remain on his feet.
"Salazar, this is enough," said a feminine voice. "This is between him and me now."
"Rowena, dear, he hurt you."
"I have other plans for him, but first, we have to let Hogwarts choose its true Master. Hogwarts will decide who's the Fraud and who's the Heir."
She gestured to Viktor, who came by Severus's side and forced him to step back. Painfully, Severus fought for gaining his control back over Salazar, feeling furious with the Slytherin Founder.
"Ah, beloved," purred Voldemort, while catching his breath. "Always the reasonable one…"
Hermione's face showed the inner struggle she was having and then, in a long hiss, the young witch won the possession of her body over the Founder's spirit:
"Enough with your lies! I'm tired of you Slytherins uttering empty words of love. Give me a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff anytime instead of you devious snakes."
Voldemort laughed softly.
"Did Severus upset you, love?"
Hermione's eyes narrowed dangerously and the lights in the Great Hall flickered strangely. Alarmed, Vincent and Gregory stepped back. On the contrary, Severus, Viktor and Harry moved to her side, skilfully pushing the two Slytherins slightly away. Oddly, Terry didn't imitate them; on the contrary, he moved closer to Ginny, who was still observing Voldemort with focused attention.
"So here are your knights in shining armour, my love," said Voldemort with a smirk. "The four Heirs in front of me! I am honoured, truly! But sweet, I see defenders, I see so-called friends, but then, I see you alone. They will defend you against me, but who is there when you are struggling against yourself? They say they are your friends, but they desert you at the first difficulty, but they doubt you, but they are jealous of you. Tell me, Hermione, my sweet, clever, caring Hermione, who understands you truly? Whom can you turn to when you feel lost? Who can truly admire the wondrous qualities of your mind? Who makes you feel like you finally belong? Who loves you for yourself?"
Hermione paled but before she staggered and let Voldemort see that he had hit the target, Severus closed his fingers on her hand, his own hand hidden behind his robes. He squeezed gently, not looking at her, knowing she would rather forget whose fingers were actually giving her a silent encouragement. He knew that she would have preferred his fingers to be Terry's. She squeezed back and straightened imperceptibly.
"Words, words, words! Is it the only thing you can offer me? Are they the only power you truly have? Do you hope to sway me by reminding me that I'm lonely? What do I care, Tom? You are as lonely as I am, but not for the same reason. Can you offer me the love you just spoke about? Can you give me understanding, can you make me feel like I belong? Were you there when I was lost? I know the answer to those questions, do you know them too? Stop being childish and making game of me!"
"Very well, love. I indeed see the Heirs of the four Founders, representing the bloods in your veins. But where is the fifth? I have Nagini with me, we miss the unicorn, dear. For the judgement to be called, we need all the judges. Where is your unicorn?"
Hermione stood in shock, unable to decide if Voldemort was simply toying with her or if he was telling the truth. Indeed, she had not expected him to come with Nagini and the presence of the snake was a good point in the favour of what he had just said.
"He's coming," said Severus calmly.
He felt Hermione slightly relax by his side, though he could also feel her panic at the idea of a unicorn facing such darkness. Voldemort started and glared at Severus.
The door opened violently and a black-bearded and black-bodied centaur walked in, looking wild. Harry chocked back an exclamation, but not before Severus heard him:
"Bane!"
Magorian and Firene came next. Forgetting everything about Voldemort, Hermione ran to the unicorn. Magorian and Bane eyed her with distrust, obviously recognising her. In the background, Firenze shifted uncomfortably, his hooves softly clicking against the floor.
"Firene! What art thou doing here? Doest thou not feel the evil reeking from here? Leave, I beg thee!"
"Nay, daughter. I am here for thee. Mine allies and I are here to stand by thy side, as I promised the Dark One."
Hermione shot a dark look at Severus, who replied with an apologetic smile.
"Magorian, Bane, I thank you for granting the request of my father," she said formally, slightly bowing her head to the centaurs.
"We honour our word," replied Magorian.
Voldemort's sibilant voice behind her suddenly reminded her of the situation:
"So this is true. I had a hard time to believe it, even when my pets told me that the unicorns accepted you when you were pregnant with Snape's child. You belong to the unicorn tribe. How incredible! Draco! You know what to do!"
The blonde Slytherin moved to Hermione, who unconsciously stepped back and found herself with her back almost pressed against Bane's chest. The black centaur glared down at her, but she didn't notice it. Draco stopped in front of her and looked at her silently, as if asking her a question. She extended her hand and tangled her fingers in Firene's mane, while looking back at Draco.
"Draco!" snapped Voldemort. "We have no time to lose in contemplation!"
Slowly, Draco reached, not for Firene, as Severus at first had believed it, but for Hermione and the hand of the blonde Slytherin slipped inside her robes. Severus's fists tightened immediately and he would have been by her side in a flash had she not looked at him, her eyes gently pleading for him to trust her. By his side, Viktor seemed to be as distressed as he was himself.
Draco took his hand out, his fingers closed on a black tusk that had been hidden under Hermione's robes. Even though it seemed that everything was happening in a slow motion to Severus, Draco was actually moving very fast, not allowing Voldemort to react. Draco turned to Firene, a slight apprehension in his grey eyes, holding the narwhal tusk tight against his chest.
"You know what to do," he said crisply.
Firene danced uneasily, taking a step backward, then stilled completely.
"Doest thou understand what thou art asking for, child?" he asked finally.
"I do. Hurry please, this is sheer torture."
Firene nodded slowly, glanced quickly at Hermione and stepped forward, lowering his head at the same time. His horn touched Draco's chest and pierced his heart. The blonde Slytherin took a shaky breath, swallowing back his cry of pain, and murmured, his voice getting weaker with each word:
"Te do sanguinem meum, voluntate, purificationis voluntatis causa, cordis mei sanguinem, potentem et purum."
The blood from his heart ran along the narwhal tusk he was still holding in his slippery fingers, now covered with blood. Hermione was looking at him in horror, as was Magorian, and Bane himself had forgotten to be angered by the fact that she was seeking shelter by him. Everybody else was petrified.
Firene stepped back, his head hanging low, and Draco staggered. Hermione recovered her wits and received him in her arms as he fell backwards.
"Draco, Draco, what did you do…?"
He thrust the tusk covered in blood in her hands and whispered:
"You know what to do with it."
Then he made several gagging sounds, trying to breathe, his grey eyes still staring at her, and his body stilled. Lucius let out an inarticulate sound that snapped everyone out of their trance. Two wizards moved at the same time, trying to reach first Hermione and the still body in her arms.
Severus reached her first, maybe because he had already the will to go to her before even Draco's death. He grabbed the narwhal tusk and swirled around, the tusk pointing forward. Voldemort didn't have the time to stop his momentum and impaled himself on the tusk, falling on the ground as the poison released itself in his blood. It began to react with the stolen unicorn blood running in his veins and the Dark Lord writhed in agony with heartrending cries.
Several Death Eaters moved as if to help him, but suddenly, they found themselves facing the wands of the defenders or looking in the eyes of grim-faced centaurs who had entered the Great Hall without anyone noticing. Magorian nodded as if to approve the actions of his people and reported his attention on Voldemort, the arrow of his bow pointed on the heart of the dark wizard. Ginny was struggling against Terry, who was holding her back, and Nagini was facing two centaurs – Ronan among them – and several unicorns, who were casting distrustful looks toward their lord.
Severus felt Hermione's hand on his pocket, feeling for the vial of the reversing potion he had here. His eyes met hers, questioning, but trusting her. She pointed her wand at his pocket and murmured a charm. From the sonority of it, it probably was the same charm Rowena had used when she had forced Hermione to perform half the blood binding ceremony: a spell to increase the quantity of unicorn blood in the potion. He had no idea why she was doing so. The poison released by the narwhal tusk, magnified by the stolen unicorn blood, should be enough to kill Voldemort, thus making his potion totally useless.
Then Harry and Albus were by his side, Harry's wand in his hand. Albus held the young wizard by the shoulders, standing behind him, lending him strength.
"Now, Harry, seems a good time," said Albus calmly.
They still intended to carry on the plan until the end, even if Voldemort was still screaming in agony – to Ginny's horror and grief. Severus took a quick decision.
"Use my power too, Potter. There is no time to wait now."
Harry nodded and his left hand curled around Severus's wrist. In his head sounded something he had heard Albus say to Voldemort two years before. He had repeated it to Hermione, wondering about its meaning, and she had reminded him of it a few days earlier. In his head, Albus's words were said in Hermione's voice, because Hermione was Harry's memory…
"Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness…"
Hermione had explained it to Harry but only now did he understand the meaning. There was worse than death. There was oblivion. He aimed his wand at Voldemort and shouted:
"OBLIVIATE!"
Te do sanguinem meum, voluntate, purificationis voluntatis causa, cordis mei sanguinem, potentem et purum: supposedly means: I give thee my blood, willingly, for purification purpose, the blood of mine heart, strong and pure (I quite forgot my Latin, so I beg forgiveness for any mistake)
So what? I'm getting quite obsessed with centaurs recently, especially Bane who calls for attention all the time (cf. my story The Battle)... :)