LilGinny: you are my 2000th reviewer for this fic!
Lyny: no, you didn't miss anything. And don't worry about the D/G stuff, either. I hate the D/G pairing – I only did a bit of it for fun, but I didn't take it seriously - I'll always remain a H/G shipper.
Arif: no, Aaron won't die. I don't know whether JK will ever tell us about the goat, but I bet that her story of it isn't as funny - or stupid - as mine :) Your Herm/Ron dialogue was really cool, but I cannot insert it into the fic. Don't worry, there will be an explanation why H and G cannot help but conceive. Wait till chapter 36 and you'll get to know. I must repeat: Harry does not have a magical penis (however funny it sounds :)
GinnyPotter387: thank you for sticking up for me. About All you need is love – I think it's an okay D/G fic – the only D/G fic that I read. But I still don't like D and G together. No, people in Hungary do not have a word like 'non' at all, I must have misspelled it, thanks for pointing it out to me!
Jeanine23Dr: you wrote: "only your story is where I think that Draco and Ginny should get together". Hm, sorry, but they won't. Have I really turned you into a Gildy fan? Hurray! Then I have good news: lots of Gildy in story #3! :))
Lupin's Angel: what is Dogma? A movie? You are going to hear the goat story in the final chapter.
Dauphin: thank you for making an exception and reviewing me. I'm glad you like Aberforth, he's one of my favourites. So, you thought that my depiction of Durmstrang was good? Thanks :) And you hate Ron… tut, tut, I like him. But I can't portray him another way… he's just like that. A prat. A lovable prat, though :)
princesswitch: 8 chapters together with this one.
Hermione Weasley: Albus Dumbledore doesn't know about anything that happened at Durmstrang. But you'll see him again in the final chapter and he'll have quite a lot of scenes in the third fic.
MauiGoddess3: it's March in the fic right now.
Rose: I have no idea when book five comes out :(
Kamatazi Yumi: what? You can't help seeing D/H? Uhhh… I can't imagine D/H! Slash is so... yuck. Sorry, but that's my opinion. You are right – the plot of the first fic is much sillier than this one, and the reason is the following: when I started to write that one I only wanted to write about 5-6 chapters in which Harry gets Gin pregnant and Ron is very angry. That would have been the original plot, and that is – I admit – a bit stupid. So it started as a silly little ficlet and turned out to be something longer later. Thanks for suggesting names for the kids, but I already have names for every single kid who is going to be born. You are going to get to know their names in the final chapter.
Nefertiri: the Fred/George/Angie thing will only be mentioned, but it will be settled, of course. The girl who Draco will fall in love with is a canon character, you know her. Okay, I tell you the secret: Hermione is going to have two girls and they will have been born by the end of the fic, but I won't show their birth. One labour-scene was enough in this fic. Herm is three months pregnant now.
zzxm: yes, I guess I'm going to write more H/G fics after this trilogy.
star queen: thanks for the cyberhug :))
K.C. Hunter: no, I haven't seen the pic of Lucius yet, I have no idea what he looks like.
hazel_eyed_fairy: where do I get my inspiration from? Hm… no idea. It just comes, but of course it does not always come. Sometimes I don't write for days, then I write two chapters a day – it depends on my mood. From this September I'm going to take Public Relations classes in the college.
Indigo Ziona: thanks a lot for the encouragement! Yes, David Dursley will be a Hufflepuff, no Slytherin.
thebiggesthpfan: yes, it seems that some of the readers who had stopped reviewing started to review again, and I'm very happy about it!
Haley J.: the kids names are the following: Harry and Ginny's kids are Lily and Daniel. Petunia and Vernon's second son is David, Bill and Fleur's daughter is Yvette. There will be several other kids born in this fic, but don't worry, you won't forget their names, because they will play a major role in the third story.
caroline: I promise you a happy ending.
X-Tow-Naga: who exactly should have written a letter to Albus? I'm a bit confused. Why couldn't they apparate to Azgard? Because it is impossible to apparate out of Durmstrang (just like it is impossible to apparate out of Hogwarts). Why did Anor put those four into a cell connected to an escape tunnel? Well, Anor might know a lot, but – as he will mention in the next chapter – their father had always preferred Aaron, so perhaps Anor hadn't been told about the tunnel while Aaron knew about it.
Also thanks to: Liger Zero Schneider, Bucky, Aimee, Black Ice, Houou, VeRyWiLdWiTcH, notebook girl, Katie Bell, Cloudzi, 2Coolio, Princess Ginny, Lana Riddle, tina, Elfangor19, C-chan/Sailor Capricorn, Magisch Machen, Melee, Child of the Universe, goldenstar555, Lady Python, Eclectus, NuttyBuddy, xenocide, twinkle-toes, starheart, Whit2005, PrincezzShortie, Novalee, baybee, Lavendar Brown, blaubaerin, apple-pie, Slytherin Angel
Chapter 32 And the blind shall see"Mr. Malfoy!" McGonagall gasped. "Ginny! Dennis!" she clutched at her chest, feeling close to getting a heart attack.
Ginny exited the corridor that had a secret entrance into the dungeons and ran up to Minerva, who closed her into her arms.
At the same time Mileta also flung herself onto Viktor's neck.
"Oh, Ginny… you're here, you've come to save us!" Minerva sobbed. "And you too, Mr. Creevey!"
Ginny looked over the shoulder of Minerva and saw Hermione standing up from a cot – she looked terribly pale and seemed barely able to stand upright.
"Hermione!" Ginny stepped to her, gathering her into an embrace. "Oh, Hermione…" tears started flowing down her cheeks. "Thanks God you're all right! But… Herm… Harry… Harry's dead…He has been killed… by that Anor or who." Ginny sniffed.
"Yes, I know. We saw him collapse into the snow." Hermione sniffed. "Oh, poor Harry… I don't understand why they had to kill him. Wasn't taking his magic powers enough for them?…"
"What?" Ginny gasped. "They took his powers? How?"
"That Tatyana…" Hermione sighed. "Implemented a very cruel charm on him… she deprived him of his powers to wake up her evil lover from an eternal sleep. She took his powers by…" her voice trailed off.
"By what?" Ginny asked.
"It's… it's not the right moment to tell you, I guess." Hermione shook her head, but Ginny was resolute.
"By what?" she repeated her question.
"By… making him sleep with her."
"So… that's why she did it!" Ginny shouted with trembling lips. "I'm going to take revenge for his death! I'm going to kill that guy… or that… that… Tatyana!"
"No, my friend. Tatyana's mine! I'm going to kill her!" Hermione replied.
"Kill her, Granger?" Draco's mocking voice came from behind her. "You don't look strong enough to walk, let alone kill!"
"Malfoy?!?" she crossed her arms. "What are you doing here?"
"Well… let's say I'm keeping an eye on my debtor." he glanced at Ginny.
"I'm not in your debt anymore, Malfoy!" she retorted. "We haven't found Harry and we never will!"
"What debt? What are you talking about?" Hermione looked from one to the other, confused.
"Long story." Ginny sighed. "I'll tell you later. Now we've got to get you out of here."
"And what about the others? The students? The teachers?" Minerva interjected.
"We'll see to that later." Malfoy said. "First we want to know that you're safe. Go back the way we've come in." he pointed at the secret door that stood ajar.
"No way! I'm helping you rescue the others!" Hermione protested.
"You shouldn't. I suggest you walk back to the sled." Ginny said.
"The sled?" Aberforth's face lit up. "You've come here on the sled? But… who drove it?"
"Your assistant, Piotr." Mileta said, pointing at the old man, who was standing at the background, not getting involved in the hugging.
"My… assistant?" Aberforth raised an eyebrow. "The name of my assistant who takes care of my reindeers is really Piotr, but it's definitely not him. I have never seen this man before."
"NEVER???" Draco gasped. "But he said he was your assistant!"
"He lied, then." Dumbledore shrugged, turning to Piotr. "Who are you, old man?"
"Old?" Piotr's voice sounded amused. "That's a bit rich, coming from you. You aren't twenty yourself."
"It's not about age…" Aberforth said, then noticed Aaron standing behind 'Piotr'. "You!" he shouted. "You… damned…"
"No!" Malfoy stood between Aaron and Dumbledore, before the latter could stifle the former. "He's not the guy who kidnapped you all. He's the twin of that guy and he's on our side."
"Is he?" Aberforth gave Aaron a rather dubious look.
"Shh!" Guillaume suddenly sent up red sparks.
"What?" everyone asked.
"Someone's coming." he said. "Don't you hear?"
As they all fell silent, they heard footsteps coming from outside. Rather heavy footsteps…
Suddenly the door opened and Madame Maxime entered, closing the door behind herself.
"Olympe!" Krum, Hermione, Minerva and Aberforth jumped up from the benches they had been sitting on.
"I - 'ave - brought - you - food." the half-giantess said, her voice devoid of any kind of emotion. Even her face seemed to be strange – it was somehow… stony. She wasn't blinking – her face resembled that of someone who had been petrified, with the exception that her mouth could move.
"We've got to find the others, Olympe!" Krum said, grabbing her hand. He was thoroughly surprised when she simply flung her enormous arm, making him fly through the room and bump into the opposite wall.
That was when her eyes fell on the open secret door that they didn't have time to lock before she entered. "What – iz – zis?" she raised a huge, finely shaped eyebrow.
"This… er… looks like a door." Aberforth shrugged.
"Someone – 'as – opened – a secret - passage." Olympe said. "Our – master – 'as – to – know – and – I – must – see – to – zat – zat – you – do – not – escape." she raised her wand, but wasn't quick enough.
"Stupefy!" someone shouted from a corner – that seemed to be empty.
Madame Maxime fell onto the ground, unconscious.
"Whew, good that you have brought this cloak, old man." Draco smiled at Piotr as he, the champions, Ginny and Aaron disentangled themselves from the cloak. "Who knows, you could even prove to be useful, after all."
"I never knew that Harry's cloak could hide so many people at once." Ginny sighed. "I really never knew."
"Hey, no time to go all mushy on a cloak just because it belonged to your late hubby." Draco said, grabbing the unconscious Maxime's wand, handing it to Krum. "We've got to free the others."
"But… what 'appened to 'er?" Guillaumed asked, pointing at his headmistress. "She wasn't behaving nohrmal."
"I think she must have been bewitched. By Imperio or something." Hermione said.
"We've got to get out of here." Draco said, pointing his wand at the door. "Alohomora!"
They all exited the cell. The corridor was deserted.
"Which way now?" Ginny turned to Aaron.
"Upstairs."
* * * * *
Hermione had been given a strengthening charm by Krum, so that she could not only walk but run as well if needed. However, they didn't need to run at all for quite a long time.
They were climbing stairs, walking down corridors, but they didn't meet anyone for a while. Although they carefully looked around on every corner and walked with their eyes and ears open to notice anything suspicious, they couldn't help losing their caution from time to time, since their attention was again and again engaged by the beauty of Azgard. The whole castle seemed to have been made of ice, still it wasn't cold at all. Aaron explained that the walls had been imbued with a very old magic that kept warmth inside the building, but made the walls resistant to melting. Even the chandeliers were made of ice – and they never melted, in spite of the hundreds of lit candles on them.
The floor of the corridors was also pure ice, reflecting their figures like a polished mirror, but it wasn't slippery at all, and had pretty patterns in it, making it look like tile floor.
Dennis wished he had brought his brother's camera to be able to take photos of this place.
Guillaume had to admit that Beauxbatons – however elegant it was – couldn't even hold a candle to this marvellous building.
Wherever the members of the small group looked, they saw ice, snow and ice again. They were appalled to see how many ways ice could be used: long blocks of ice could serve as banisters and pillars, very thin pieces of ice could function as window-panes, and snowflakes – if arranged in the proper pattern – could make the most charming curtains ever. Ginny was awed by the sight and kept touching things to see whether they were just illusions. She grabbed a curtain, felt how silky it was, but it did not melt in her hands. "Incredible!" she whispered. "You've got to teach me the charm to make snow become cloth, Aaron."
"First wait to see whether we can leave this castle alive." Draco remarked as they turned left on a corner.
"Oh, shut…" Ginny began, when Malfoy suddenly pressed his index-finger to his mouth.
"What?" Hermione whispered, peering over Malfoy's shoulder.
There were three people pacing the corridor – they were students: Malcolm Baddock and Eleanor Branstone from Hogwarts, along with a Durmstrang student.
"But they're our people!" Dennis reasoned.
"They might be, but we thought the same about Olympe." Aberforth replied. "These people might also be bewitched… I think they are. Look at their faces!"
"Glassy eyes, expressionless features… you're right." McGonagall nodded.
"Minerva!" Dumbledore beamed. "This was the first time you've agreed with me on something! When we get back to Durmstrang, we've got to celebrate it!"
"Oh, hold your tongue!" the elderly witch scowled at him.
"What do we do now?" Ginny asked. "Attack them?"
"Well… I think we should stu…" Draco began, but couldn't finish the sentence, because Guillaume had accidentally walked into an ice-sculpture, knocking it over.
BANG.
Malcolm, Eleanor and the third student looked in the direction of the noise and spotted the sprawling blonde guy.
"The - intruders – are – already - on – the – fifth – floor - the – master – has – to – know." Malcolm said in a monotonous voice, advancing on the French boy who had finally managed to stand up.
"Malcolm, Eleanor! It's us!" Dennis jumped forward, grabbing the girl's hand.
"Intruders - dangerous. The – master – has – to – know." Eleanor said without blinking.
"Don't you recognise me?" Dennis shook her. "It's me! The guy who likes Star Wars just as much as you do!"
"Intruders – have – to – be – neutralised." Eleanor raised her wand along with her two companions.
"Stupefy!" called Ginny, Draco and Krum, making the students black out.
Hermione shook her head in disbelief. "Did your brother bewitch everyone he kidnapped, Aaron?"
"It seems so." he nodded. "He knows a lot about Dark Arts. He knows charms I never knew existed… and he's an extremely powerful wizard. Probably the most powerful I have ever known. There was only another wizard whose powers rivalled his – our father, who was a light wizard. That's why Anor killed him… He really has great powers… It's no wonder that he can control so many people at once."
"This is creepy…" Hermione said, looking contemplative. "And what Malcolm said… 'the intruders are already on the fifth floor'… he said it as though he had already known that there were intruders… but how?"
"Have you seen Star Trek, Hermione?" Dennis asked.
"That's some kind of sci-fi, isn't it?" she asked.
"Yeah." Dennis nodded. "And there were the Borg in there. A species that functioned as a huge, combined brain. Every member of the collective shared the thoughts of the others. That's how they communicated."
"You… you don't mean that everyone… every bewitched person in this castle already knows about us?" Hermione gasped.
"I hope I'm wrong." the Hogwarts champion sighed.
"Well, at least we have three more wands." Aberforth pointed out, reaching for Baddock's wand. McGonagall took Eleanor's and Hermione took the wand of the stupefied Durmstrang student.
They set off again.
Soon they arrived at a door that stood half-ajar. Draco and Aaron peered in to see a huge hall that was totally empty – empty, save a small dais with a throne-like chair and one single person sitting in it: professor Zvezda.
"Svetlana!" Guillaume shouted, knocking aside Draco so that he could run into the room.
"Oh, Guillaume!" she cried, jumping up, running in his direction with open arms. "What happened to your face?"
"Tell you later. Oh, Svetlana!" he closed her into his arms. "I thought… I thought zat everyone 'ere… was bewitched. But you're not…"
"No, dear, I'm not." she said with a sweet smile.
"How is that possible?" Hermione frowned as she followed Lochar into the hall. "Why didn't Anor bewitch you, too?"
"How could I know that?" professor Zvezda shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. However, her face revealed something else. There was fear in her eyes… fear, and a hidden plea – a plea saying 'run, as far away as you can!'.
"Stop!" Hermione yelled at the others who just entered the hall. "This is a trap! Run!"
"What?" Krum shouted.
"You heard her, a trap!" Piotr said. "Run!"
"Run? Where?" a deep voiced echoed throughout the hall. In the meantime about a hundred people materialised around the small group, pointing their wands at them. "Why do you want to leave when you can enjoy my hospitality?" the voice cackled as a black-haired woman appeared next to the throne.
"Tatyana!" Hermione hissed.
"Are you surprised, Weasley?" the Potions teacher smirked. "Oh, Aaron. Nice to see you after 1104 years. You haven't changed a thing."
"Natasha!" Aaron spat. "You filthy, low-down bitch!"
"Hey, watch your tongue, little brother!" a man materialised on the throne. A man with the looks of Aaron.
"Anor. We meet again." he breathed.
"Yes, it seems so." his brother shrugged. "And it was due to a mistake I made."
"You made a mistake by being born!"
"Aaron, Aaron, Aaron…" the evil wizard waved. "Not even eleven centuries have been enough to dampen your temper? No, my dear brother, I made a mistake when I only froze you. I should have simply killed you with Avada Kedavra. I wouldn't be having problems with you again." a diabolic smile spread on his otherwise handsome face. "But then again… if I had killed you, you haven't been able to bring me another five servants." he pointed at the three champions and Ginny and Draco.
"Servants?" Aaron frowned. "Why, Anor? Why did you kidnap all these people? What do you intend to do with them?"
"What? I'm planning to gain power over the whole wizarding world, little brother. And my obedient servants will help me. You know, my dear Natasha told me about the events of last eleven centuries… I have been told about all dark wizards: Slytherin, Grindelwald, Voldemort… the latter was quite talented, I have to admit it. He could have been great, you know… but he didn't know how to control people properly. His servants, those… er, what are they called…?"
"Death-eaters." Draco growled.
"Yes, death-eaters." Anor nodded. "So, his death-eaters were not all faithful. They were not obedient. Many of them betrayed him, because he didn't know the charm that I know… he didn't know the charm with which you can control huge crowds of people… mould them into a single being… a single being that serves you. Only you."
Hermione looked around at the hundred of kidnapped people pointing their wands at them. "So that's why you kidnapped them." she said. "But I still don't understand something… why didn't you make me, Viktor, Minerva and Aberforth also become your servants? Why shut us into a separate cell?"
"Oh, let me answer this question instead of my beloved Anor." Tatyana spoke up. "I asked him not to mould you into the collective. I wanted you to stay the way you were… call me a psychopath, but I wanted to see you suffer. To see you go crazy in that cell…"
"But… why the four of us?" Hermione asked. "I thought you only hated me."
"That's true, Weasley, you're the only one I hated because you kept thwarting me... Still… I found the relationship of the old man and the old wench rather… interesting." she pointed at Minerva and Aberforth. "I wanted to see them drive each other crazy… and I wanted Krum be together with you… because I knew how much he loved you. I wanted to see him suffer, seeing that you slowly wither away…"
"You're really a psychopath!" Ginny shouted.
"I haven't seen you before." Tatyana smiled sweetly. "Red hair… you must be Harry's little wife."
"His widow, you mean." Ginny's eyes threw fire-bolts at the other woman. "His widow, thanks to you!"
Tatyana knitted her black eyebrows. "I don't know what you are talking about."
"No?" Ginny bellowed. "Then ask him!" she pointed at Anor. "He killed my husband!"
Anor rose from his throne-like chair with clear interest on his face. "What a spirit she has!" he murmured admiringly, slowly descending the steps of the dais. His servants politely gave way to him so that he could walk up to Ginny.
"What a spirit!" he repeated, reaching out to cup Ginny's face. She recoiled, her eyes full of hatred.
Anor gave a side-glance to Aaron. "Cute little thing, isn't she? And remarkable, how much she resembles your wife, Desideria."
Aaron looked away.
"Oh, I have touched a delicate point, haven't I?" Anor cackled. "Don't tell me, brother, that you haven't noticed the resemblance…" he reached out for Ginny again.
"Leave her alone!" a furious voice spoke up. To Ginny's surprise it wasn't Draco - not even Krum or Aberforth.
It was Piotr.
"Oh, I haven't even noticed you here." Anor gave him a belittling smile, taking a step in Ginny's direction. Now their faces were only inches apart. Ginny felt his hot breath on her cheek and saw burning desire in his eyes.
However, the old man must have seen the same, because he stepped to them and pushed Anor's hands away – with quite remarkable power for such an old person.
"Jealous, are you?" Anor gave him a malicious smirk.
"Leave – her – alone!" Piotr shouted, his voice unusually high in volume. "Don't you dare touch her, you filthy scumbag!" Ginny, hearing the voice, looked at the old man with an incredulous expression.
"Why, what will you do if I touch her?" Anor raised an eyebrow. "You cannot prevent it… not anymore. She is mine, if I want so."
The old man lunged at him with a fury never seen before. He knocked the wand out of the evil wizard's hand and knocked him over, his fists falling thick and fast on him. Anor, however, didn't hesitate to act - he threw Piotr off himself and grabbed his wand to strike down at him, when Ginny suddenly flung herself on Anor's neck, sticking her mouth to his.
The onlookers didn't believe their eyes. Draco's hands clenched into fists, Hermione gasped, and Tatyana went as white as a sheet.
"That's more like it." Anor smiled at Ginny when the kiss ended. "See what she did for you?" he looked down at Piotr who was sitting on the floor, cradling a bruised arm. "She kissed me, just to prevent me from killing you… because she finally realised who you are."
"Who?" Hermione frowned.
Anor gave her a gentle smile. "You are all so enchantingly blind." he raised his wand at the old man. "So blind that you don't even recognise your own friend when he's standing next to you." with that, he flipped his wand, making Piotr's hood fell back, revealing his face. His wrinkly face… and a thin, lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.
A/N2: notes to:
- Bucky: you once said that I could no more surprise you – now you can shout 'you didn't surprise me, you didn't surprise me!' I guess there are very few who weren't surprised by the ending of this chapter :)
- Aimee: your suspicion was right, congrats
- blaubaerin: you wrote in a mail that the names Piotr and Potter sounded very similar – it was deliberate, of course, I wondered who'd notice the resemblance, but obviously only you did :)
So, 300 points to Ravenclaw – 100 points each – because you three MUST BE Ravenclaws if you're so clever :))