Heir
Unapparent: Chapter 14 - The Spring
Equinox
On
March 21, the entire school was assembled to watch the long-awaited Quidditch
Finals. Each house team was on the
field, waiting their turn to play in the round-robin event. The winner of the final match would go on to
play teams from Durmstrang and Beauxbaton in June.
The
spectator stands were bright as each house proudly sported their team's
colors. Hermione and Ginny both wore
red ribbons in their hair. Dobby had on
his red tea cozy that served as a hat and Winky swam in the maroon-red pullover
that Ron had given to Dobby the year before. Excitement was high as Lee Jordan took his place to commentate. In honor of his house team, he had donned a
pair of fake lion ears.
Madame
Hooch and Viktor Krum were supervising the play. Hufflepuff had lost to Ravenclaw, who had, in turn, lost to
Slytherin. The match was down to
Slytherin and Griffindor. Harry was
having no problem evading their Seeker, as Terrence Higgs was standing in for
Malfoy. Nobody had seen Malfoy, and,
while this bothered Harry, his mind was currently fixed on grabbing the Snitch
before the storm that was brewing broke and drenched them all with cold March
rain.
A
tense Albus Dumbledore watched from the sidelines as Harry Potter made a
magnificent spiral toward the Snitch. He had just emerged from his office with McGonagall and Snape. He turned to Minerva. "You have sent Hermione's egret,
then?"
"Yes,
sir. Bill should be here
immediately…"
Dumbledore
looked up at the curly head of Hermione Granger, who remained blissfully
unaware of her dangerous ancestry. "I only hope it is enough, Minerva…"
"Albus,
we should tell her…"
"Of
course we will, Minerva. There are yet
pieces to be added to the chessboard…"
She
bit her lip and tried to watch the game, but found herself looking up at
Hermione Granger more than the Quidditch field.
In
a brilliant swoop, Harry at last captured the Snitch. "Griffindor wins!" screamed Lee Jordan, beside himself
with the glee of victory. Fans poured
onto the field; a river of scarlet-clad students lifted their champions atop
their shoulders. Hermione and Ginny
were clapping madly, their faces upturned to watch Ron and Harry, still
airborne on their broomsticks.
Suddenly
there was a large clap of thunder and lightening split the sky. At the same instant, a terrible keening rang
through the air. The lake began to roil
as an enormous white dragon flew from its depths, howling and rising into the
storm-streaked sky.
"The
O-Gon-Cho!" cried Neville at Ginny's elbow. "His song always warns of impending disaster!"
The
dragon circled the playing field, spattering the students with icy droplets
from the lake, then it turned in a huge arc and flew south at great speed.
Viktor
Krum ran to Hermione and grabbed her hand. "Come vith me,
Hermyowninny! I must get you to
safety!" he cried, pulling her behind him as he sprinted from the playing
field.
Ron
saw Hermione's curly head being dragged along, then looked over his
shoulder. "Wait!" he
cried. "Harry - quick! Something's wrong - look!" He pointed to the blurred red-robed figure
that zoomed by them on his Firebolt. It
was Viktor Krum!
"Vait! Hermyowninny!" he called
frantically. He had just reached the
fleeing pair as they stepped off Hogwart's soil and disapparated in a flash of
green. The Krum astride his broomstick
lunged and grabbed Hermione's robe and vanished with them, his broomstick
falling with a soft thud onto the ground.
Albus
Dumbledore was not far behind, McGonagall and Snape at his heels. "Albus, they've gone to the Riddle
House - I'm sure of it!" cried the latter.
Dumbledore
nodded. "Follow them!" He then ran toward the zoo, calling as he
did to Hagrid. "Hagrid! Get the students inside the castle - now!"
Hagrid's
enormous size and voice were well suited to the task as he herded the
bewildered students back to Hogwarts.
Harry
turned to Ron. "What can we do? I don't know how to find Riddle House!"
"I
do!" cried Ron, alighting from his broomstick and shouting "Acio Anglia!"
A
sputtering engine sounded, almost as boisterous as the dragon's song, and
within seconds the old turquoise Ford Anglia came racing toward them from the
Forbidden Forest.
Ron
and Harry leapt inside. "Follow
them, Angie!" cried Ron, not even noticing the small spiders crawling
about the car's dashboard, so intent was he on reaching Hermione. Nor did he notice a small figure crouched in
the back seat under an invisibility cloak.
"Angie?"
asked Harry as the car faded into a blur of aqua light.
"Figured
she needed a name of her own," muttered Ron, focusing intently on steering
the Ford. "Fred and George fixed
her so she could apparate with someone inside; they've been using her to
apparate all over England, collecting stuff for their business. God, Harry, I hope we're not too late…"
Lord
Voldemort, who had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Hermione Granger, was
taken aback when not one but two Viktor Krums apparated before him,
pulling the young witch between them in opposite directions. "Curse it, Igor, can't you do anything
right?" he asked irritably as the polyjuice potion wore off. Hermione found herself holding the hand of
Igor Karkaroff, whose protests were cut short by the deadly words "Avada
Kedavra." He dropped limply to the
ground. Hermione threw herself into the
real Krum's arms. Tragically, his fate
was to be no different as Voldemort repeated the hideous curse. Viktor slipped lifeless from her arms, near
the spot where another Tri-Wizard champion, Cedric Diggory, had fallen less
than a year before.
"Viktor!"
screamed Hermione in horror, but she was given no time to mourn. Masked Death Eaters were everywhere, by the
score. They surrounded her, grabbing
her with rough hands, tearing her robes and dragging her into the cemetery. Dear God, she thought, some of them
are women! How can they stand by
and let this monster do this?
She
was hauled to the site of shallow open grave, flanked by two headstones. One was a tall elaborate marble piece that
read "Tom Riddle". The other,
a low stone of plain granite, said "Frank Bryce". Before they pushed her against it, she saw
the name on the central stone: Hermione Granger. Screaming, she tried desperately to break
free, to flee, but arms with the strength of iron spun her about and lashed her
to the stone with magical cords.
Voldemort
loomed before her, a towering skeletal creature whose black robes billowed in
the stormy gale. He was carrying a gnarled walking stick. "Ah, my own Hermione. May I be the first to congratulate
you!"
In
pain and terror, Hermione could barely speak. "For what?" she whispered hoarsely.
"Why,
for ensuring my everlasting existence with your own, my sweet! With your last breath of life I shall claim
my long-sought immortality! How
fitting, on this first true day of Springtide. The Spring Equinox. The days and nights are now equal in length
and energy is building as the days become warmer with promise. And such promise, my dear!"
His
words made no sense. The gravestone was
chilling her to the bone as she tried to think, to stall until… Until
what? Who could follow her? "You killed Viktor…" she said with
genuine hatred, glaring into the red slits that beheld her.
"Yes. He dared to defile my heir. I will not permit such impudence!"
Hermione
thought the wind was playing tricks; it sounded like he said heir… At
that moment, a Death Eater stepped forward and pulled her mask away to reveal
the hideous face of…
"Rita
Skeeter!" suddenly Hermione found her voice. "You horrible woman!"
Rita
shook her head and turned to Voldemort. "It seems the stupid little girl has grown into a foolish little
slut, my lord."
Voldemort's
face became so terrible Hermione had to close her eyes. With one spidery hand, he reached out and
grabbed Rita Skeeter by the throat. Too
late did she realize her mistake. There
was a loud bang and a black beetle scampered frantically past the
gravestone. Hermione opened her eyes
into Voldemort's evil red slits; he was grinding his heel on the remains of the
unfortunate Rita Skeeter. "You
see? I will not permit anyone to
slander my beloved."
Hermione
strained at the ropes. Where was her
wand? She swallowed hard when she saw
it before her, in Voldemort's spidery fingers. With barely any effort, he snapped it in two.
Malice
mingled with lust in his eyes as he tore her camisole as easily as he had
destroyed her wand. He ran a dreadful
white hand across her naked breast. It
was colder than the tombstone and filled her with revulsion. He toyed with the
glittering sapphire at her throat. "What a pity, that I shall not be able to have you as my own before
I dispatch you from this plane, my sweetest girl…" with these words, he
bent his horrible face to hers and kissed her deeply. He tasted of ashes, of decay. Hermione felt nauseous.
As
he broke the kiss, she glared at him with renewed hatred and spat directly into
the dark lord's bright red eye.
Gasps
were heard among the startled Death Eaters. Lord Voldemort simply threw back his fearsome head and laughed. "You are truly my spawn, beloved. Full of fire, you are! Soon that fire shall course through my
veins, as surely as it will flow from yours!"
A
cringing Death Eater approached, bearing an ugly silver dagger. Hermione did not need to see his face to
know the dumpy form of Wormtail. Would
that they had killed him when they had the chance!
The
wind whipped the bows of a large yew tree, beyond which she could detect the
dim outline of an old manor house on a hill. A sudden bolt of lightening illuminated a darkened old church. Hermione Granger began to pray.
Voldemort
took the knife almost tenderly, then traced her cheek with his long
fingers. "Farewell, most
beloved." Then, in a loud and
terrible voice, he cried, "Blood and final breath of my heir, you will
grant me eternal life!"
The
knife slashed through the air, aimed directly at Hermione's heart.
"NO!!"
Suddenly
one of the Death Eaters burst forward, ripping his mask free and hurling
himself at Voldemort, whose intended blow fell shy of its mark and sliced Hermione
across her ribcage, mere inches from her heart. Outraged, Voldemort slashed out at Draco Malfoy, who fell
backwards and struck his head on the gravestone of Frank Bryce with an open
gash across his cheek. A woman's shrill
scream pierced the night air and Narcissa Malfoy ran to her son, cradling his
bleeding head to her breast. Lucius
Malfoy did not move.
"Malfoy!
Control your whelp!" commanded Voldemort tersely. Narcissa was weeping over her unconscious
son, who lay crumpled in her arms like a broken doll.
Again,
Voldemort turned to Hermione, lifting the knife now smeared with her blood as
well as Draco's.
Before
he could strike, there was a loud bursting noise followed by a huge turquoise
blur that appeared over their heads and crashed headlong into the ornate stone
of Tom Riddle.
"What
madness is this?" shrieked Voldemort, furious at yet another
interruption.
"Oh
God, Ron! It… it's the Riddle
Cemetery…" Harry felt sick, even sicker when he recognized the bleeding
figure strapped half-naked to a granite tombstone.
Ron,
too, saw her. "Hermione!"
he cried in anguish, jumping from the car and running to her, actually knocking
the dark lord unceremoniously onto his skeletal ass in the process. He turned and faced Voldemort, proud and outraged,
resembling the lion on which his house was founded.
Harry
intervened before Voldemort could curse Ron. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size, Voldemort? Or are you still afraid of me?"
Harry
knew his tactic to distract Voldemort had worked by the terrible look that
spread across his evil face. He heard
Ron mutter "finite incantatem" and saw the ropes give way, the
unconscious Hermione falling limply into his arms. Now to get them all out of here alive… The Death Eaters had backed away to avoid the crashing
Anglia. They were now reassembling
cautiously, awaiting the command from their master to attack.
As
Harry braced himself to face his nemesis, Ron cradled Hermione to him,
whispering her name over and over. Tenderly, he moved his hand to cover her wound, which bled copiously
under her soft breast. "Damn it,
Hermione!" he begged, tears streaming down his face. "Don't die, please don't die!" Her breath was coming in gasps. "Come on, Harry!" he prayed
fervently. "Please hurry!"
The
dark lord paid no attention to the touching tableau as he turned his full wrath
upon Harry Potter. "I wish to the
mighty dark powers that it was your blood I needed, you miserable
bastard!" cried Voldemort,
regaining his feet with outrage. He
raised his wand to deliver a fatal curse, then screamed as a sharp pain shot
through his right leg.
Harry
saw her for the flash of a second; Winky, who had stabbed Voldemort in the back
of his leg with a pair of sewing shears, was dragging an invisibility cloak over
to Ron, who scooped her up with Hermione and the three of them vanished.
"Well
done, Winky!" he cried.
"Damn
you!" bellowed Voldemort as he pulled the shears from his leg, then raised
his wand to Harry's chest, crying "Avada Kedavra" in the same instant
Harry shouted "Expelliarmus!"
Harry
knew the minute it happened that their wands had locked in Priori Incantatem.
Harry's
wand issued beam of red light, which raced headlong into Voldemort's green
one. Swiftly a golden beam connected
them and splintered into a web-like dome, which emitted a haunting music. Harry recognized the bead of gold that
flowed between their wands like the mercury on a thermometer before he was able
to muster all his strength and force the bead back to the tip of Voldemort's
wand. Screams of intense pain were
audible just before the parade of Voldemort's dead began. First there was a large, horrible beetle
that Harry recognized as the reporter Rita Skeeter, then a hostile Viktor Krum,
who yanked himself free of Voldemort's wand and rounded upon his killer
furiously, then Igor Karkaroff, who simply looked bewildered, then a grim
Cedric Diggory, and Frank Bryce, the old gardener and Hermione's patronus. Harry expected to see Bertha Jorkins next,
but something very odd happened.
Voldemort's
arm started shaking uncontrollably. Glancing over his shoulder, Harry could see Albus Dumbledore galloping
to them astride a magnificent golden beast. Its head resembled a dragon with a great horn like a unicorn and was
framed with a shining copper mane, its body that of an enormous stag.
Dumbledore was carrying the large pi-his. Snape and McGonagall had also run forward and stood, helpless, on the
outskirts of the dome along with the confused Death Eaters. Overhead, the O-Gon-Sho circled, now silent
and watchful.
The
web's phoenix song became stronger. Suddenly, above them appeared a glorious golden bird, arising, as it
were, from the very threads of the web. The bird spread its enormous golden wings above the combatants, continuing
to sing its piercing melody. While the
song encouraged Harry, it seemed to have the opposite effect on Voldemort. With an anguished cry, he broke their
connection and clapped his skeletal hands over his ears. At this moment, the golden figure of Frank
Bryce cried, "Not MY flesh and bone, you demon from
hell!", raised his gnarled stick and stuck Voldemort hard across the
shoulders, knocking him flat. The web
dissolved in a fine golden mist. Albus Dumbledore rode forward on the Ki-lin,
handing the tortoise to McGonagall who swiftly set it upon the ground opposite
him. The dragon and the phoenix closed
ranks, hemming Voldemort in as he struggled to his feet.
Harry
had seen Dumbledore's anger before, with Barty Crouch Junior and Cornelius
Fudge. It was nothing compared to the
powerful presence now revealed, as Dumbledore rose up in his stirrups and spoke
in a voice full of outrage: "You
shall NOT do this thing! I command you, on behalf of your heir - begone from this place and do
not return to it!" There was an
ear-splitting crash as the roof of Riddle House collapsed, leaving the old
manor house in dusty ruins.
Voldemort
shuddered and clutched his sides with great pain. "Damn you!" he cursed as he glared with
sheer hatred at Dumbledore, then at Potter, before vanishing into a green mist.
In
shock, the Death Eaters copied his example, making haste to follow their dark
lord in his defeat. All save Narcissa
Malfoy, who still cradled Draco's limp form to her breast. "Go!" she screamed to Lucius Malfoy,
who hesitated in his pursuit of Voldemort. "Go to him, you bastard! Go to the creature whose life is more important than your own son's!"
With an angry curse, Lucius Malfoy disapparated, leaving his sobbing wife far
behind.
Dumbledore
dismounted, patted the Ki-lin's scaly nose and turned to Snape. "Follow him, my friend. We must not lose our connection!"
With
grim resolve, Snape obeyed.
As
the apparitions faded, Viktor Krum turned to Harry. "Tell my Hermyowninny I vill look after her - alvays!" So saying, he vanished into a golden mist.
"Hermione!"
cried Harry. "Professor, where is
Hermione?"
Albus
Dumbledore, who had been examining the charred spot left by their enemy with
the toe of his dragon-hide boot, looked over to the shattered tombstone of Tom
Riddle. From there, they heard a faint
cry. "Over here, Professor -
quick!"
They
ran to the spot, both grimacing with horror at the stone carved with Hermione's
name. Dumbledore paused and picked up
Frank Bryce's old cane. At that moment,
Ron flung back the invisibility cloak, revealing the wounded Hermione, his
sapphire still sparkling on her throat. Ron moved his hand from her ribcage to reveal the livid gash Voldemort
had inflicted. Blood seeped between his
fingers and he cried out at the sight of it.
"Minerva!"
shouted Dumbledore. Gently he took
Hermione from Ron's frantic grasp. "Bring the boys directly to Poppy's. Don't forget Narcissa."
"But
Albus, the animals…"
Dumbledore
smiled grimly as he lifted the wounded Hermione into his arms. "I believe they can find their way
home, my dear. They will simply follow
their mistress. Perhaps you can take
the Anglia…" Before he disapparated, he aimed his wand at the headstone
bearing Hermione's name and shouted, "Reducto!" The stone crumbled into dust. With a smile of satisfaction, he faded with
a pop of green light.
"Come
on, boys. You heard the
Professor!" said McGonagall sternly. She ushered Narcissa into the back seat with the unconscious Draco, then
slid behind the wheel of the Anglia, looking at its controls with
consternation.
"Here,
let me do it!" cried Ron, shifting her to the side unceremoniously in his
determination to rejoin Hermione. Harry
jumped in the back seat with Winky on his lap and, with a loud bang, the entire
car disapparated in a blaze of turquoise.
The
Anglia left them at the oaken door of Hogwarts before retreating with an
encouraging honk to its beloved Forest. Hagrid was waiting for them, along with a throng of students. "'Ere, luv," he said gently to
Narcissa. "Let me 'ave 'im."
He took the wounded boy from her and strode with hurried steps to the hospital
wing, with Narcissa, Professor McGonagall and the boys in close pursuit.
Arriving
at the hospital, Hagrid laid Draco on an empty bed beside the frighteningly
still Hermione, who was being tended by Madame Pomfrey and Albus
Dumbledore. "It's allright, Poppy
- see to young Malfoy. You've done all
you can here…"
Ron
burst forward with an agonized cry. "But Professor, she… she's so pale!" Hermione Granger was indeed ashen, as if the bloodstained
bandages wrapped around her breast had leeched the very life from her.
Dumbledore
sighed and laid his hand on Ron's shoulder. "An evil knife inflicted this wound, Ron. All we can do now is wait… and pray."
To
be continued…