Chapter 19
Two arduous weeks of sleeping in barns, and sometimes the wide open left the Companions haggard and tired. They had searched no less than ten ruins, and had one more to search before they returned for a short period to Hogwarts to re-supply. Harry and Ron were sipping tea, the last of that provision, and nibbling on cheese as they looked over a crudely drawn map.
"If I were a betting man, I'd say it'd be on the coast." Harry said after studying the map they had, and comparing it with a muggle map of the area. He finished his tea and glared at the map. "I don't know why, but I get the feeling that he's on the coastline, or close to a large body of water, like at Hogwarts."
Ron shrugged. "I trust your instincts Harry; you have a definite link to Voldemort, and your hunches count more than vague sighting references."
They traced the route they would fly that night on the brooms. "Cloud cover is going to work for us tonight," Harry looked again at the grey clouds looming overhead, "nothing will see us tonight."
They broke up their small camp, and waited for nightfall. The small group took to talking at night, keeping the subject light. Tonight they were talking about the color they'd paint their house in Hogsmeade. Harry had insisted on traveling into the town close by and getting food. They ate a nice meal of Chinese take away; Harry was talking to Ron, Cho and Justin about Quidditch. This is right Harry thought this is the way it should be.
As the sun set, they packed the last of their items, and mounted their brooms. When the sun set finally, the ten pushed off the ground, and shot up to just under the clouds. They stayed near to each other, and kept watch for the town near the next set of ruins. Well, perhaps there's a nice hostel we can sleep in beds tonight. Harry thought idly he raised his hand over his head, and let his fingers slip through the moist clouds, and small smile played on his lips. Dudley will never know something as simple and yet exhilarating as this. I almost pity him. The errant thought fled from him as rapidly as it came to him, and he concentrated again on the task ahead of him.
He felt Ginny come up alongside him. "I thought I was the only one who did that." She was smiling at him.
"Do what?" he looked at her and smiled.
"Run your fingers through the clouds. It's such a wonderful feeling, like we are closer to the world than the muggles ever could be. We fly exposed to the elements, and they cower in their planes." She looked over at him and grabbed his hand in hers. "I much prefer our way of life, it's not as fraught with the complexities that they seem to have."
"Yet here we are protecting them by risking our lives." He pointed to a small cluster of lights below, a small village slid beneath them. "They don't know who Riddle is, they don't know real evil, and that is what I am fighting to protect. That and to make sure that the only world that gave a damn about me is kept just the way it is."
They held hands and let the miles travel in silence. Shortly the village Harry was looking for came into view. He motioned for them to follow him to a small copse of wood just outside of the lights of the city. They hurriedly transfigured their robes into long winter coats, and shrunk their brooms into their packs.
The town was small, quaint and quiet. Harry liked it already. Hermione had rehearsed their cover story; they were archeology students from a small university in Kent studying the ruins in Wales. It was the perfect cover for them to snoop and have bulging rucksacks full of odd gear. No one paid them any attention, and let them be about their business.
They found the hostel easily, and Harry asked to rent five rooms, the manager was more than helpful, giving them bedding and towels. He inquired about the length of their stay, Hermione said they would be staying three days, and paid the man upfront for the rooms. They then asked for a place to eat, and were given directions to a small restaurant just a block away.
The restaurant was easy to find, and when they got there the waitress looked at them oddly for a minute, and went to the back room. Shortly a small, but burly man came forward. He looked at each of them and his eyes lit on Harry, his gaze was steady, but it flicked up and took in Harry's scar. "Mr. Potter." A smile spread over his face, "it is a complete honor, and my son was in Ravenclaw. I can't thank you enough for returning him to us." His hand energetically pumped Harry's. "Tonight you dine as my guests." He fled to the kitchens, and a half hour later, Harry was eating dishes that rivaled the Hogwarts house elves.
After dinner a young man came out of the back, Harry recognized him as one of the students from the raid on the Malfoy mansion. Harry stood, and shook the young man's hand. "I – I can't thank you enough Mr…"
"It's just Harry." He smiled what he hoped was a warm and encouraging smile.
"Ok, Harry. Thanks again, I…" his eyes started to fill.
Harry held up his hand, "Its ok, you don't have to talk about it. You are safe now, and if all goes well, you'll be safe for good soon." He sat back down, and invited the young man to join them. "You know Cho Chang, and Justin Finch-Fletchley I assume?" The boy nodded. "Then, this is Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Lisa Turpin, Susan bones, Hanna Abbot, Dean Thomas, and Ginny Weasley."
"Wow, you are going to fight You-Know-Who?" his eyes widened, and suddenly he blushed, "erm, I'm Jason Voorhees. I am, er was in second year."
"You'll be in third year next year Jason." In that instant Jason saw the hero they had all come to rely on, and his eye's widened even more. He could almost see the magic flow from Harry Potter.
Ginny touched Harry's arm and he heard her whisper "Harry dear, you are glowing."
Harry blushed, and concentrated on calming down. He smiled a bit shakily at Jason. "Er, sorry about that Jason. I – well, I sometimes forget I'm not in the Wizardling world."
Jason suppressed a laugh, but no one else at the table seemed to be able or willing to even try. Harry glared at them and chuckled himself once he thought over what he'd said.
"I'm sorry to cut this short, but we need rest, we have a lot of work to do." Harry placed a friendly hand on Jason's shoulder. "Try not to worry."
They thanked Jason's father and left only after promising to eat there every night they were in town. Jason's father would hear nothing of payment, insisting that the return of his only son was repayment enough.
When they reached their hostel, the man who had checked them in was gone, and a young woman was there. She looked up and smiled at them. "Good night Mr. Potter, good dreams."
They had almost reached their rooms when Harry stopped a cold chill fled down his spine. They had been talking when they entered the hostel, and it just now registered to Harry what the night clerk had said. His eyes narrowed, and he reached for his wand. "Something is wrong." He hissed. The others followed his suit and drew their wands.
"What's wrong Harry?" Ron asked in a whisper.
"She knew me. She said 'Good night Mr. Potter'."
"So? She could have talked to the other man, and he told them who we were and that we were returning here after dinner." Ron suddenly was feeling the implausibility of the statement even as he said it.
They moved slowly and quietly to the room assigned to Ginny and Harry. Harry pressed his ear to the door, and waited. No sound emanated from the room. He readied himself, carefully slid the key into the lock, and slowly turned it. He felt the door latch give, and he slid back behind the jamb, and flung the door open. He heard the "Avada Cadavera" and saw twin greenish lights slam into the opposing wall.
He stuck his wand around the corner. "Expeleramus" he heard the satisfying thud of a body hitting the wall, and the pop of a disapparation. They walked into the room half-expecting to hear the other doors opening. They quickly surveyed the room, and saw his and Ginny's packs had been rifled through, and her potions were now a mess having been crushed on the floor. The man on the ground was masked in true death eater fashion.
Harry lifted the mask, and was completely unsurprised to find Draco Malfoy's face. "Like father like son." Harry gave Malfoy a full-body bind, and searched him. Malfoy woke up halfway through, and glared at Harry.
"Nice of you to join us Draco." Ron said handing a vial to Harry.
Harry took the vial, and opened it "Do you know what this is Draco? I'll tell you regardless. It's going to dampen your magic; you won't be able to cast so much as a light." He poured the contents of the vial over Malfoy. "There now. Finite Incantum."
Malfoy stood before them, on slightly shaky knees. "Now what Potter? Care to finish off the Malfoy family?"
"Don't tempt me Draco, or I just might." Harry took Malfoy's wand into his hands and studied it for a moment. Suddenly in a rush of adrenaline and anger Malfoy's wand shattered. Brushing bits of wood off his cloak. "Now then Draco, let's talk about a few things. Let's catch up on old times, and old friends." Harry sat on the edge of the bed, and motioned for Draco to sit in a chair opposite him.
"I won't tell you a god damned thing Potter." Draco snarled out.
Hermione placed a small crystal vial of a clear liquid on the table in front of him. "Yes Draco, you will tell us anything we ask."
Harry locked eyes with Malfoy, "Talk to me Draco, I don't want to force the serum down your throat, I will, but I don't want to."
Malfoy spat at Harry. "Do your worst Potter."
Harry stood swiftly and before anyone could stop him had backhanded Malfoy. He grabbed the vial, unstoppered it, and was going to force the contents down Draco's throat vial and all. Ron and Justin managed to pull him back. Malfoy was nursing a split lip. Instinctively Ginny reached out with a wad of gauze. "STOP GINNY!" the words rolled like thunder. Everyone's eyes shifted to Harry in almost fear. "Malfoy start talking you slimy bastard or I'll kill you." The aura was back, the golden eddies of power surrounded him freely this time. It was easy, and it was power, raw and unchecked.
Before he could stop himself, Malfoy had opened his mouth and the words just came out. He told them all of the plans Voldemort had had for them, the plot and how they had managed to draw the students and staff from the castle. How easy it had been to lay traps for them at every turn.
Harry simply glared at Malfoy, and Draco kept talking. He detailed every student's current location, and welfare. There was a cache of them in this very village, the passwords to get into the building, and how many Death eaters were there.
"Thank you Draco." Harry lifted his wand then, "I'm so sorry it had to end this way." The words were on the tip of his tongue, just two words, and Malfoy would be out of his life for good. "Avada Cad…" He choked. He couldn't even get rid of Malfoy.
"Avada Cadavera" the green beam hit Malfoy in the chest. Harry's head whipped around to see Dean's wand still pointing at Malfoy's body. He was shaking, sweat beading on his forehead.
The aura faded from Harry. He walked over to Dean placed a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Are you ok Dean?"
Dean shook his head no and ran to the toilet to be sick. "As soon as he's done and cleaned up, we leave for the warehouse." Ginny went to Harry and held him; they saw Hanna enter the toilet where Dean could still be heard.
Fifteen minutes later they were outside what appeared to be an abandon warehouse. The plan Ron had outlined to Harry seemed sound enough on the walk here, now, however there seemed to be gaping big holes in it. Nothing for it now. He raised his wand, and heard the others doing the same; their cloaks were shifting patterns of grey and black as the slid from shadow to shadow.
For a brief instant, they thought there had been someone standing guard at the doors, but it had turned out to be a trick of the shadows. Or had it, Harry mulled looking hard at a spot just beyond where he had thought he had seen the image. There it is again. Yeah, someone with a cloak just like ours.
Harry motioned for them to all get down, and huddle to whisper to one another. The tops of their heads were touching, as Harry outlined their plan. None of them liked it, Harry had suggested he slip behind the building they were in front of and then remove his cloak to draw attention to himself. This would then allow the rest of them a good shot at stunning the guard.
Harry heard Cho's voice "It's far too dangerous for you Harry, someone else should go. We can't be without a leader."
"I can't ask anyone to risk themselves."
"Perhaps, Harry, you don't have to." Was her reply, "perhaps someone has already volunteered?"
Harry's head twisted to see a shadowy flitting between the buildings. "There's nothing for it now but to take advantage of it." He noted grimly. 'Dammit, what in the hell does she think she's doing?' Harry watched Susan's retreating form. When she was in position, he gave the word for them to move.
Susan dropped the cloak that had kept her hidden from view and whistled, diving behind a box as she did so. The death eater sent out a curse that struck the crates harmlessly. Harry was still trying to get a good indicator of the man's position, when his head came into view Harry struck then a brilliant red beam striking the man's head. Ginny and Hermione ran to the crates while the rest searched the body of the death eater.
Ron heard Harry under his breath, "They aren't real people, they aren't real people…." He'd heard Harry using the same technique for a long time, he truly felt sorry for Harry, and he had gotten over the killing that night in Malfoy Mansion. That anyone would use Imperious to cause fourteen year old girls to perform such acts had driven any thought of humanity out of him for these monsters. Harry was different though, and as strong and powerful as he was, he still saw it as killing a person.
Ginny and Hermione found Susan lying behind the crates, one hand stuffed in her mouth tears running from her eyes. Her left leg was bent in an odd way, and blood was running freely from a gash in her upper arm. Hermione pressed gauze against the cut while Ginny cast a spell on her leg, causing it to straighten and reform. "It'll be a few minutes until that sets Susan," she then drew her wand over the cut, closing it "it's going to hurt like hell in a moment, and I have nothing left for pain relief."
Susan nodded, and Ginny cast a silencing charm around them, Susan screamed from the pain, Ginny held her through it. When the worst had passed Susan smiled weakly and said "Next time, leave it broken," she managed to get out between gasps.
"You need another scream?" Ginny asked her voice full of sympathy.
"No, I'll be ok. How long 'til I can walk?"
"Ten minutes or so."
"Then you should all go on without me. I'll be here when you get back."
Hermione handed Susan her cloak back. "Stay warm Susan, we'll be back shortly." She stopped and picked up a bottle casting a quick charm on it. "Break the bottle, and you'll be taken to the Weasleys. You'll be safe there."
Ginny and Hermione returned to the others, and explained the situation. Lisa looked as if she was being torn in two. "Lisa, stay with Susan. No one stays anywhere alone." Lisa's eyes brimmed with her gratitude as she bolted for her lover's side.
"Ok then, let's go." Harry announced opening the door slightly.
The inside was dark, but apparently not by design, two wizards were arguing as to why the lighting had gone out, and were busy lighting candles. Harry saw in the middle of the room a large cage apparently intended to be used on a very large animal packed with students.
"By my best guess Harry, that's the lot of them" Ron said indicating the students in the cage "or if not it's the last of them still alive."
Harry simply nodded and they broke into teams. The only people here other than the students were the two attempting to recover light in the warehouse, the two death eaters didn't even know what hit them. Their bodies fell as Harry and Ginny reached the cage. Harry saw they had been mistreated, they were still wearing the same clothing as the day they had been taken from Hogwarts, they were filthy, and very underfed.
It shocked almost all present to see the bars melt like water to the ground. The students stood cowering. Harry brought up his wand and in a moment a massive gold and red phoenix provided more light than they had had in a while.
Ron began preparing them to be transported back to Hogwarts, Ginny took the first load with Hermione, Ron returned then for each group after until all were accounted for. Finally, the remaining Companions left the warehouse to get Lisa and Susan. As they set the watch to return to Hogwarts, Harry watched the phoenix rise through the roof, and unfurl its wings in triumph.
They landed in the Great Hall, and Harry once again took control of the students, making sure they were well fed, and then sent to their houses with the new passwords they were told to clean up and get some sleep. Tomorrow they'd be sent home to their families.
That night Harry relaxed. The worst was over, in three days they'd free the staff. By then Ginny would be restocked on healing balms and potions. Lisa let Harry know Susan was going to be alright, she was just still in a bit of shock over the break. Apparently her shoe had caught on a nail, and her full weight had fallen on the femur of her leg, snapping it.
He was still furious with her over the rash decision, but honestly he couldn't blame her, after all, hadn't he contemplated the same thing? He wrestled with his dilemma for a while, but still hadn't come to a solution when Susan and Lisa sat in front of him.
"Harry, I – I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." Susan was looking at the ground.
He studied her and Lisa a moment, choosing his words carefully. "Susan, why did you choose to do that? You don't honestly believe you are expendable do you?"
"But what do I do that someone else doesn't already do as good if not better?" Her eyes were locked on his now, no embarrassment showing, just frustration.
He thought about it. "It's not true Susan, you are just as talented as the rest of us, and we simply haven't exploited what you are best at yet."
Susan smiled at him warmly. "No Harry, I'm important, I understand that, but I'm also interchangeable around here. I help a lot, but I don't do anything unique."
Harry was at a loss, he honestly couldn't think of a single thing that Susan was uniquely able to do any better than any of the others. He smiled at her and said simply "Susan, if you can't see what makes you unique, then you are blind to the obvious." He had figured it out finally. "You are able to fill in for anyone. Simply put, if any one of us were unable to continue on with their work, you could fill in for them. See, in your own way, you are unique and a very valuable member of the team."
Susan was a bit shocked by the revelation that what she viewed as a weakness Harry saw for the strength it truly was.