Author's Note: My humble apologies if nothing on the Dragon Riders and the Flesh, Blood, Bone, and Heart incantations makes sense. I came up with all of it on a whim!
Flesh, Blood, Bone, Heart
'We are ready, then?'
'Yes.'
'Very well. Do what you must with him, then take his mangled corpse and place it where Dumbeldore can see it.'
'Very well, Master.'
* * *
With little more than a headache and a dulled memory, Harry awoke once again to find himself at an unfamiliar location.
'Not my day.' he mumbled, scratching his nose on his extended arm. 'Not my month.' he reminded steadily. 'Merry Christmas Harry.' He looked up and around, there was no window. No hope of contacting Sirius.
The cell, or room, or wherever the hell he was, was chilled to the point where had he had enough light he might have seen his breath floating and dissipating into the vast emptiness of the room. Shivering, he bit his lip to keep his teeth from chattering. At that moment the door opened, sending an ungodly amount of bright light into the forgiving darkness, making Harry wince.
'We meet again, Harry.' came an annoying voice from the past.
'Hello, Peter.' he stated sarcastically. 'How good it is to see you again. How's the hand?'
Peter gestured and lifted up a silvery hand, a substitute for the real one he had sacrificed to Voldemort so many years ago.
'Fabulous. And your arm?'
'It healed.' Harry smiled at the casual note this conversation took on.
'The master wishes to see you now.'
'Does he?' Peter nodded. 'You can tell the master to kiss my ass.'
'I'll relay the message to him.' Peter charmed the shackles to unclamp, and as they did so, Harry rubbed his swollen wrists. 'Keep moving Potter. One move and I'll blast you.'
'With what? A tickling charm?' Harry chided. Peter pretended not to be annoyed, but was in truth very bad at it.
'Do you wish to find out?'
Sighing, Harry found he didn't really have the energy for the duel. Amazing how that changed his whole mood. My I'm either arrogant or finally being beaten down. He mused as they trailed down the halls.
'Your Master sure could use to hire a House Elf or two.' Harry remarked.
Peter prodded his back with his wand. With a sigh he allowed himself to be herded by the no good snot that had betrayed his parents to the very man he was about to come face to face to. All the while, all Harry could do was hum a Christmas tune.
* * *
Hermione knocked on the door of Grimmauld Place out of manic frustration alone. Sirius answered the door, a smile, of all things, on his face.
'Hello, Hermione!' he greeted. 'You're back soon!'
'Recent circumstances have brought me back to what matters.' sighed, allowing her baggage to fall with a loud clunk on the floor. 'I've heard. Everything. Sirius if there's anything I can-' Sirius held a hand up to silence her.
'You needn't worry, Hermione.' He helped her carry her baggage upstairs.
'Where are the others?'
'Downstairs. The Ministry. Sleeping still.'
'Who on earth could be sleeping at this time.'
'Ron.'
'Only him?'
Sirius nodded, a smile on his face. 'I'm sure Mrs. Weasley wouldn't mind if you went to wake him.'
She did. Hermione bolted into Ron's room, slightly banged at the empty bed on the other side, but otherwise only flustered that Ron was not yet up. She didn't speak a word, only jumped on his bed, shaking him violently.
'Er-my-oh-knee?' he grumbled, rubbing his eyes and desperately trying to straighten his hair. 'What? Wait, when did you come?'
'Just a few minutes ago! Why are you sleeping?'
'Cause I ain't got nothin' better to do!'
'Use proper English!' she retorted. 'Get up! I've got some leads and I want to talk to you! Meet me in the study!'
She left, leaving the door wide open. Ginny was standing in the hall just before the open door. She looked after Hermione for a while before turning to Ron.
'What was that all about?'
'She's got LEADS!' Ron cried, falling over whilst struggling to get on a sock.
'Where is she going?'
'STUDY!'
Ginny flew down the stairs, leaving her mangled brother in his room to dress.
* * *
'I looked up all I could on Dragon Riders!' Hermione started straight away. Fred and George had joined her, why Ron wasn't sure. They all sat as Hermione shuffled around to each of them, handing them scraps of parchment and what looked like pages torn from books. Ron smiled at her efforts and sudden lack of respect for literature. 'There are nine in all. Each of them riding a rather small beast that is shaped much like a dragon. It's hard to say, no one has every gotten close to one of the ruddy things! Anyway, raising them takes a great deal of power, time, patience, skill, and sacrifice.'
'What kind of sacrifice?'
'Human sacrifice.' Everyone shuddered save for Hermione who was too caught up in her work. 'One sacrifice to raise one Rider.'
'So he basically had to kill nine Death Eaters to get these guys here?' Ron asked.
'No.' Hermione stated. 'No not quite. The sacrifices do not have to be willing sacrifices. He could easily kidnap someone from the streets and spill their blood, and that would suffice to raise the Riders.'
'So anyone?' Ron repeated, swallowing hard.
'Yes. Getting rid of them is another story. You need one sacrifice for one Rider again, but these must be willing sacrifices. He could not simply toss anyone in there.'
'So how is he going to get rid of them?' Ginny asked.
'I don't know.' Hermione whispered. 'Who would willing give up their life to cast these creatures back into the abyss from which they were originally imprisoned?'
None answered.
'But what about Harry? If he wanted Harry this bad, he's got to have more planned than just killing him?' Ron asked.
'My thoughts exactly.' Hermione spoke, shifting through some haphazardly written notes she'd taken before her arrival. 'My thought is that Voldemort has something else planned, other than just killing Harry.'
'Like what?' Fred perked up from the boring lecture.
'Like perhaps taking his powers firsthand, then killing him later.'
All Weasley's were aware of what was happening now.
'Can he do that?' George asked.
'I'm afraid so.' Hermione replied. 'And once the transfer is complete, he who gives over his power will die. For not only does he give his magical power and skill, but the very force that is his life.'
'Very dramatic, Hermione.' Fred smiled.
'I'm quoting you dolt!' she spat. 'The moment Harry gives over his powers, he'll die.'
'You're making it sound as if Harry has to be willing to do so.' Ron stated with a raised eyebrow.
'In a sense.'
'Well then what do we have to worry about?' Fred, George, and Ron sighed simultaneously.
'She said in a sense!' Ginny pointed out to them. 'Meaning there is more to it than that.'
Ron looked up at his friend. 'Hermione?'
'If Harry refuses the transfer of power, he will die anyway.'
'How? That doesn't make sense?' George stated.
'Because the fusion needs a certain piece of each individual before it can be complete and whole. A sacrifice of flesh, blood, bone, and heart.'
'Heart?' Ron swallowed hard.
'Yes. The hearts of the two individuals are magically retrieved and placed side by side. The incantations are made, and the transfusion begins. If Harry denies the fusion, he will die because the heart will not be able to live without the connection to either his body or the magical fusion to the other living heart.'
'So the incantations, the spell, or whatever, would have to start-'
'The moment the hearts are released from the bodies.'
'And when would this need to take place?'
'On a full moon.'
Ron suddenly felt a surge of panic go through him. Remus was out tonight due to his lycanthropic disease.
'We're too late. Voldemort will try it tonight.' Ron hissed. 'We've lost.'
'No, we haven't.' Hermione came up.
'How can you say that?' Ginny looked up at her.
'Because, I know where he is.'
