Twin Blades: Part Two.
*****
Fred lay against the bank of snow, scanning the muggle binoculars accross the forest. "You okay, Harry?"
"Fine, except that I'm about to freeze something off if I don't move." Harry quietly shifted, moving a section of his cloak so that it shielded a vital organ from the cold of the snow. "Much better. See anything yet?"
The red head shook his head, then shivered as a howl went through the air. "Not yet." He handed over the field glasses over to Harry, who took his turn at scanning.
"Not a bloody thing. I wonder if Ron and George are having better luck."
"Probably not. It's probably as quiet as a church mouse over their end."
"Lucky." Harry paused and twiddled the nobs, bringing a trail into better focus. "Yes! I think we may have a lead." Harry pushed himself off the snow, his boots crunching in the snow echoed by Fred. He kneeled down, pulling his wand out to iluminate the area better. "Deffinately Hermione's boots, accompanied by flat soles. From the looks of it, the two others are tall but lanky."
Fred looked down. "How are you able to tell? It looks like just a bunch of foot prints."
"It turns out that the lady that had been taking care of me when I was a child is a witch. I stayed with her over the summer when the Dursleys went to south africa or somewhere like that. She has a bunch of books on survival skills and tracking."
"Oh." Fred took out his own wand, looking down the path. "They're going deep into the forest. Let's keep our wands ready. Remus is out there somewhere, and I don't want to be ill prepared."
"How did you know?" Harry asked, putting the binoculars in the small rucksack he carried.
"I guessed. He was always ill on the full moon."
Harry's jaw dropped. "How the hell do you manage to be a prankster and still sound like Hermione?" He stood, still looking at Fred oddly.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, that's almost exactly how Hermione figured it out, as well."
"Then I have no clue. She's a hell of a whole lot smarter than me." Fred started off, taking care to keep his wand steady.
*Scene Change*
Hermione growled as Draco tied her up. "Little bastard," she spat as he wrenched her arm painfully behind her back.
"Didn't your mother teach you manners?"
"Yes, but my uncles taught me how to defend my self, if need be."
"You certainly aren't what you are at school, today."
"And you certainly don't pay attention! When Viktor died, I made a promise to him. He wanted the world to see the real me. Not even I saw the real me, until after his last rites." Hermione looked away, her eyes bright in the silvery moonlight.
Draco sighed, pulling out his handkerchief. "Granger, you're going to kill yourself if you don't quit crying. It's too cold." He gently held it to her nose. "Now blow." He raised his voice a few decibals as his father glanced his way. "We wouldn't want you to meet your new master sick, now would we?" he asked over the sound of her blowing her nose.
"Bastard." She glared up at him, and he sighed.
"Do you want to get out of this or not?" he whispered, kneeling close. "Because right now, I'm the only help you have."
"Damn you, Malfoy." She glared at him, but knew he was right. She just had to trust him. "If I die, you're the first one I'm haunting."
He nodded, smirking. "Don't worry, you won't die."
"Draco. I'm going to bed to get some rest. Keep an eye on our little guest and make sure that the Vixen doesn't try anything." Lucius walked into his tent, mumbling under his breath about something.
Draco relaxed. "You're so lucky I'm a good liar."
"That doesn't help me trust you."
"You're going to have to." Draco looked at her flatly. "Look, mudblood. I've had enough of killing. I've allready had to, twice. I wretched both times."
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "You'd make a good actor, you know."
"Will you bloody-" He paused, making sure that his father really was sleeping. "Will you bloody believe me? The first person I had to kill was Narcissa. The second a little girl who just wandered into our headquarters." He looked down, and she noticed his tears fall.
"You're serious, aren't you?" She asked it softly, but in the sudden quiet of the night, it sounded loud to him.
"As serious as this bloody war. Oh, Hermione, will I ever be able to forgive myself? She was barely older than five, and she was looking for her brother. She said I looked like him. My father used that blind trust children have against her." He sobbed onto her shoulder. "Though in some ways it's more mercifull to kill some one in the back. She died oblivious to the fact that she died."
Hermione offered what little comfort her bound form could, then looked up as a brindled gold on red feather landed in his hair. "Uh, Draco you might wanna look up."
He looked puzzled at her, then did as was told. "A gryffin? Here? Your lands are truly blessed, Hermione." He pulled the feather out of his hair, looking up at the creature in reverence. "Thank you, proud one, for letting me lie around you."
"Don't get to cocky, boy. Twasn't my choice. There are greater powers out here than you may think." The gryffin landed, a talon slicing through the bonds on Hermione's wrists. "There's basilisk near, and you're the only one who can stop him."
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, worried.
"Deffinately."
*Scene Change*
Harry stopped, along with Fred. "There's a basilisk around. I can feel it."
Fred gripped his wand tighter. "Are you sure?"
"Very."
"Try calling to it, and see if it's seen anything."
Harry nodded. 'Where are you?' he asked in Parseltongue.
The redhead shuddered slightly, but didn't let fear overtake him. He watched as his companion shivvered. "What did it say."
"He's after a young man. And that young man happens to be Draco."
*Scene Change*
Hermione screamed, long and loud, as the shadow of the basilisk fell into the camp. She quickly screwed her eyes tight, praying that they wouldn't be forced open. She remembered the last time.
"Granger! Calm down!" Draco ordered, taking his wand out. He didn't let her know that he was immune to basilisks. He flinched slighty as he turned around intime to see his father petrified and bitten. "Yo, slime ball! Over here!" He shouted.
"Draco, what are you doing?"
"Stay here, and keep your eyes closed!" He yelled, running away and leading the basilsk. He ran by the tent, mere inches from being bitten himself, and grabbed his fathers sword. To Lucius it was merely another piece of sharp- edged art, but to Draco it was the difference between life and death. The first thing he did, he got rid of the eyes.
"Ew. Draco, if you're going to decapitate, maim, or shed blood otherwise, try not to get it on me. This stuff's slimy and nasty and smelly."
"Trying, Hermione!" He sighed, and now that the eyes were taken care of, did a complex maneuver that sliced the creature in half. He was mildly surprised when a lock of silver-brown fur went flying as well. "Hullo Moony. Becareful, he's still deadly." There was a sound of hissing. "Corection, she."
"You mean this basilisk was a she?" Hermione asked.
"Yep, and was about to give birth. Wolf, you better look away."
Moony growled, but shut his eyes tightly before the creature could catch his eye. Unfortunately, the baby basilisk was quick enough to get a bite in before being skewered at the end of Draco's sword. He yelped, jumping back and whimpering.
"What in the bloody hell?" Harry asked, jumping over the last rise in time to see Moony get bit.
"Harry! Finally you show up!" Hermione grinned, seeing him. "Fred?"
"'Lo Hermione. Mind explaining why this greasy git's saving your arse?" The stocy teen answered, glaring at Draco.
"He was the only hope I had, Fred." She turned with enough time left to see Moony collapse. "Oh shit."
"What happened to Remus?" Fred asked, rushing to their side. He kneeled next to Hermione, who was kneeling next to the large wolf. (Think Nago, Moro, and Okotanushi from Mononoke-hime)
"He's been bitten." Hermione withdrew a small dagger from her boot, making a cut along her wrist. "Sorry to do this Fred, but you're the closest and I need to act fast."
"Ow!" He gently winced as she made a cut along his arm as well.
She muttered words in Romanian, letting her his blood mix with hers, and drip onto the tongue of the wolf. "Welcome back, Moony." She grinned as the wolf righted himself, then shook his head.
He gave her a look that asked 'what happened?'.
"You were bitten by a newborn basilisk. You're so very lucky I know spells that would heal a wolf, and even luckier that you're tamer than most." He growled, and she giggled. "Not that you're tame, Remus."
He gave her a questioning look, then swiped at her and pressed his paw against her chest. 'That prove how tame I am?' he seemed to ask.
"Remus, one, that's not comfortable," she wheezed. "Two, I can't breathe." She laughed when he moved his paw with a sigh, then lay down and put his head on her lap.
Harry sighed. "Let's make camp here."
*****
::Grin:: I'll get into better details later as to how Hermione and Fred connected. And yes, it has to do with her spell.
Mystic ~_~ Tired face :-D
*****
Fred lay against the bank of snow, scanning the muggle binoculars accross the forest. "You okay, Harry?"
"Fine, except that I'm about to freeze something off if I don't move." Harry quietly shifted, moving a section of his cloak so that it shielded a vital organ from the cold of the snow. "Much better. See anything yet?"
The red head shook his head, then shivered as a howl went through the air. "Not yet." He handed over the field glasses over to Harry, who took his turn at scanning.
"Not a bloody thing. I wonder if Ron and George are having better luck."
"Probably not. It's probably as quiet as a church mouse over their end."
"Lucky." Harry paused and twiddled the nobs, bringing a trail into better focus. "Yes! I think we may have a lead." Harry pushed himself off the snow, his boots crunching in the snow echoed by Fred. He kneeled down, pulling his wand out to iluminate the area better. "Deffinately Hermione's boots, accompanied by flat soles. From the looks of it, the two others are tall but lanky."
Fred looked down. "How are you able to tell? It looks like just a bunch of foot prints."
"It turns out that the lady that had been taking care of me when I was a child is a witch. I stayed with her over the summer when the Dursleys went to south africa or somewhere like that. She has a bunch of books on survival skills and tracking."
"Oh." Fred took out his own wand, looking down the path. "They're going deep into the forest. Let's keep our wands ready. Remus is out there somewhere, and I don't want to be ill prepared."
"How did you know?" Harry asked, putting the binoculars in the small rucksack he carried.
"I guessed. He was always ill on the full moon."
Harry's jaw dropped. "How the hell do you manage to be a prankster and still sound like Hermione?" He stood, still looking at Fred oddly.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, that's almost exactly how Hermione figured it out, as well."
"Then I have no clue. She's a hell of a whole lot smarter than me." Fred started off, taking care to keep his wand steady.
*Scene Change*
Hermione growled as Draco tied her up. "Little bastard," she spat as he wrenched her arm painfully behind her back.
"Didn't your mother teach you manners?"
"Yes, but my uncles taught me how to defend my self, if need be."
"You certainly aren't what you are at school, today."
"And you certainly don't pay attention! When Viktor died, I made a promise to him. He wanted the world to see the real me. Not even I saw the real me, until after his last rites." Hermione looked away, her eyes bright in the silvery moonlight.
Draco sighed, pulling out his handkerchief. "Granger, you're going to kill yourself if you don't quit crying. It's too cold." He gently held it to her nose. "Now blow." He raised his voice a few decibals as his father glanced his way. "We wouldn't want you to meet your new master sick, now would we?" he asked over the sound of her blowing her nose.
"Bastard." She glared up at him, and he sighed.
"Do you want to get out of this or not?" he whispered, kneeling close. "Because right now, I'm the only help you have."
"Damn you, Malfoy." She glared at him, but knew he was right. She just had to trust him. "If I die, you're the first one I'm haunting."
He nodded, smirking. "Don't worry, you won't die."
"Draco. I'm going to bed to get some rest. Keep an eye on our little guest and make sure that the Vixen doesn't try anything." Lucius walked into his tent, mumbling under his breath about something.
Draco relaxed. "You're so lucky I'm a good liar."
"That doesn't help me trust you."
"You're going to have to." Draco looked at her flatly. "Look, mudblood. I've had enough of killing. I've allready had to, twice. I wretched both times."
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "You'd make a good actor, you know."
"Will you bloody-" He paused, making sure that his father really was sleeping. "Will you bloody believe me? The first person I had to kill was Narcissa. The second a little girl who just wandered into our headquarters." He looked down, and she noticed his tears fall.
"You're serious, aren't you?" She asked it softly, but in the sudden quiet of the night, it sounded loud to him.
"As serious as this bloody war. Oh, Hermione, will I ever be able to forgive myself? She was barely older than five, and she was looking for her brother. She said I looked like him. My father used that blind trust children have against her." He sobbed onto her shoulder. "Though in some ways it's more mercifull to kill some one in the back. She died oblivious to the fact that she died."
Hermione offered what little comfort her bound form could, then looked up as a brindled gold on red feather landed in his hair. "Uh, Draco you might wanna look up."
He looked puzzled at her, then did as was told. "A gryffin? Here? Your lands are truly blessed, Hermione." He pulled the feather out of his hair, looking up at the creature in reverence. "Thank you, proud one, for letting me lie around you."
"Don't get to cocky, boy. Twasn't my choice. There are greater powers out here than you may think." The gryffin landed, a talon slicing through the bonds on Hermione's wrists. "There's basilisk near, and you're the only one who can stop him."
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, worried.
"Deffinately."
*Scene Change*
Harry stopped, along with Fred. "There's a basilisk around. I can feel it."
Fred gripped his wand tighter. "Are you sure?"
"Very."
"Try calling to it, and see if it's seen anything."
Harry nodded. 'Where are you?' he asked in Parseltongue.
The redhead shuddered slightly, but didn't let fear overtake him. He watched as his companion shivvered. "What did it say."
"He's after a young man. And that young man happens to be Draco."
*Scene Change*
Hermione screamed, long and loud, as the shadow of the basilisk fell into the camp. She quickly screwed her eyes tight, praying that they wouldn't be forced open. She remembered the last time.
"Granger! Calm down!" Draco ordered, taking his wand out. He didn't let her know that he was immune to basilisks. He flinched slighty as he turned around intime to see his father petrified and bitten. "Yo, slime ball! Over here!" He shouted.
"Draco, what are you doing?"
"Stay here, and keep your eyes closed!" He yelled, running away and leading the basilsk. He ran by the tent, mere inches from being bitten himself, and grabbed his fathers sword. To Lucius it was merely another piece of sharp- edged art, but to Draco it was the difference between life and death. The first thing he did, he got rid of the eyes.
"Ew. Draco, if you're going to decapitate, maim, or shed blood otherwise, try not to get it on me. This stuff's slimy and nasty and smelly."
"Trying, Hermione!" He sighed, and now that the eyes were taken care of, did a complex maneuver that sliced the creature in half. He was mildly surprised when a lock of silver-brown fur went flying as well. "Hullo Moony. Becareful, he's still deadly." There was a sound of hissing. "Corection, she."
"You mean this basilisk was a she?" Hermione asked.
"Yep, and was about to give birth. Wolf, you better look away."
Moony growled, but shut his eyes tightly before the creature could catch his eye. Unfortunately, the baby basilisk was quick enough to get a bite in before being skewered at the end of Draco's sword. He yelped, jumping back and whimpering.
"What in the bloody hell?" Harry asked, jumping over the last rise in time to see Moony get bit.
"Harry! Finally you show up!" Hermione grinned, seeing him. "Fred?"
"'Lo Hermione. Mind explaining why this greasy git's saving your arse?" The stocy teen answered, glaring at Draco.
"He was the only hope I had, Fred." She turned with enough time left to see Moony collapse. "Oh shit."
"What happened to Remus?" Fred asked, rushing to their side. He kneeled next to Hermione, who was kneeling next to the large wolf. (Think Nago, Moro, and Okotanushi from Mononoke-hime)
"He's been bitten." Hermione withdrew a small dagger from her boot, making a cut along her wrist. "Sorry to do this Fred, but you're the closest and I need to act fast."
"Ow!" He gently winced as she made a cut along his arm as well.
She muttered words in Romanian, letting her his blood mix with hers, and drip onto the tongue of the wolf. "Welcome back, Moony." She grinned as the wolf righted himself, then shook his head.
He gave her a look that asked 'what happened?'.
"You were bitten by a newborn basilisk. You're so very lucky I know spells that would heal a wolf, and even luckier that you're tamer than most." He growled, and she giggled. "Not that you're tame, Remus."
He gave her a questioning look, then swiped at her and pressed his paw against her chest. 'That prove how tame I am?' he seemed to ask.
"Remus, one, that's not comfortable," she wheezed. "Two, I can't breathe." She laughed when he moved his paw with a sigh, then lay down and put his head on her lap.
Harry sighed. "Let's make camp here."
*****
::Grin:: I'll get into better details later as to how Hermione and Fred connected. And yes, it has to do with her spell.
Mystic ~_~ Tired face :-D