To NCDSbookworm: 200 points; I'm sure others have noticed, but you're the first one to mention it. I hated the Crucible, but I thought it would be cool if used parts of the names.
To all reviewers: Thanks for making my re-entry as smooth as possible. I'm glad you all enjoyed that chapter. I had some people comment that they thought that is was sweet that Ron and Hermione were engaged, but that they were too young. Usually the big argument against young marriages is that kids are flighty and they probably haven't found the right person. But in this story, no matter how long they wait, they're not going to find new relationships. Considering that they are bonded, I don't think they could get rid of each other if they wanted to. I can guarantee that the wedding will take place during this story. But not yet...
After hearing Harry's gasp, Hermione tore her eyes away from Ron and looked in his direction. Harry was slumped over and he was holding his forehead in his hands. He seemed to be in a lot of pain.
"Harry, are you OK?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.
Harry managed to nod slightly through the pain. Putting on a brave face fro the rest of us as always, Hermione thought.
Ginny looked to Hermione with worry stamped on her face. "He said Voldemort is here."
"What?!" Ron asked loudly. Without waiting for an answer, he ran to the doorway and glanced down the hallway. Hermione could feel Ron through the bond. He was almost desperate to protect the rest of the group. Because of the Sentinel bond he had with Hermione, he had become extraordinarily powerful, and he vowed to use it to keep his friends safe. "They're not to this hallway yet." Ron said over his shoulder to the others.
Hermione's brain was racing. She turned to Harry, who seemed to be recovering. "You said that your scar hurts whenever Voldemort is feeling particularly angry, right."
Harry nodded, not trusting himself to think.
Hermione continued. "I bet he's at the entrance. I bet he saw what Ron did to that steel door and he's right pissed about it."
Ginny looked over at Ron. "What did you do?"
Ron waved the question away. He seemed almost embarrassed about his new strength. He looked at Hermione. "That's the only way in and out! If Voldemort is there..."
"We're trapped." Hermione said, not needing the bond to know what Ron had been thinking.
Harry pushed himself to his feet and shook his head. "The pain's gone." He ran his fingers through his hair and straightened his glasses. Within moments, he looked like the pain had never come. "We need to get out of here."
A fairly obvious statement, but coming from Harry, it seemed to have more meaning. They had always followed Harry. By rights, Hermione should have been that group's leader for years, being the most intelligent and the quickest thinker. And now Ron with his new powers; he could have easily led them. But they both would follow Harry to Hell and back. He just had that effect on people. And he always got them through the worst.
Harry scanned the room quickly and seemed to come to a decision. "First thing: we get out of this room. If Voldemort comes with any force at all, we don't want to be pinned in this room."
Hermione knew that Harry had hit the nail right on the head and said, "Let's go, then."
Harry smiled and motioned vaguely towards Hermione. "I was giving you the opportunity to get your shirt on."
Hermione looked down and gasped. She hadn't noticed that she wasn't wearing a shirt, but now that Harry had pointed it out, tit was painfully obvious. She dove behind one of the school desks covered herself with her arms. "Why didn't you say something earlier!" she shrilly asked no one in particular.
"My head was hurting." Harry said defensively.
"I didn't even think about it." Ginny said.
"It wasn't bothering me." Ron stated happily from the doorway. "In fact, I think it's a good look for you."
Hermione threw Ron a look that should have melted him to the floor, but all he did was wink outrageously.
(That's enough!) Hermione sent with mock severity.
Ron shrugged and went over to her shirt. He picked it up and walked it over to her. (It's got blood on it. Maybe you shouldn't wear it.) he sent with another wink.
Hermione shook her head in exasperation. But then she thought back to the hug that she and Ron had shared moments earlier and remembered how good it had felt. If a HUG had felt that good then...
She shook her head violently. Now was definitely not the time to think about that.
She threw on her shirt quickly, mainly to cover the goose bumps that had sprouted on her arms.
***
As soon as Hermione had gotten her shirt buttoned and straightened, Harry led them out of the room.
"Which way is the entrance?" he asked Ron and Hermione.
"That way." Hermione said, gesturing down a long hallway. "But if Voldemort is here, we can't go that way."
"We don't really have a choice, do we?" Harry snapped. "It won't be hard for Voldemort to find us. If we hide, we'll just put ourselves in a worse position."
"What are you suggesting, Harry?" Ron asked with a strange look on his face. "Because if you're talking about what I think you are...you can fucking forget it. No way."
"He wants me!" Harry yelled. "He won't give you a second thought if he has me."
"Harry, no-" Ginny began, but Harry talked right over her.
"We run towards them." he said. "They'll see me and try and take me down. You guys will at least have a chance to get away."
"Nope." Ron said sharply. "Think of something else, Harry, 'cause that plan sucks. We didn't risk our ass so that you would die, now."
Harry shook his head slowly. He loved his friends so much. It made leaving them so much harder. "That's the way it's gotta be." he said and began slowly walking in the direction of the entrance, in the direction of Voldemort.
Ron stepped forward. "I'll stop you, Harry."
Harry stopped. There was a time when Ron might not have been able to follow through with that declaration, but those days were long over. Ron could stop him, but he wouldn't. "No you won't, Ron. Think about Hermione. It's your duty to protect her. You need to protect her."
Hermione stepped forward. She didn't look happy. "That's not fair, Harry! Don't use that against him!"
But the damage was done. Ron was looking at Hermione, and Harry could almost see his brain working. On one hand, Ron could lose everything he loved, including his own life. On the other hand, he would be losing his best friend. Not an easy choice, but Harry knew Ron was strong enough to make the right one.
Harry hated using his friend's love for each other against them, but if it helped keep them and Ginny alive, he would do it.
Ron looked Harry in the eyes and nodded slowly. "You were supposed to be my Best Man, Harry."
Harry felt a lump grow in his throat, and he tried to speak. It probably would have along the lines of 'I love you, Ron.' or 'You're the best friend I've ever had', but it wouldn't come out. Instead, Harry threw his arms around Ron and hugged him tightly. Ron hugged him back.
Harry moved on to Hermione. By this time, he had recovered his voice. "Take care of him, Hermione."
Hermione nodded, tears running down her face.
Harry turned to Ginny last. By this time, she was almost doubled over in tears.
"Don't cry, Dot."
"I can't help it. I want to stay with you."
Harry pulled her into a tight embrace. Over her shoulder, Harry looked over at Ron and gave him a meaningful look. Ron nodded slightly. Good, Harry thought, Ron understands. In case Ginny tried to stay behind with Harry, Ron would stop her.
Harry kissed Ginny lightly on the cheek and broke their hug. He gave all of his friends one last look and began to run down the hallway, away from them.
Ron had recently attained superhuman speed, but Harry had always prided himself on his ability to push the ground behind him. Within seconds, Harry was at full stride. He could feel the blood pump through his body and the endorphins empowering his run.
Harry heard the Death Eaters before he saw them. The most blood-curdling scream echoed down the hallways of the Bourbon Street Academy. Harry couldn't imagine what could a man scream like that. But within seconds, he had his answer.
Down the hallway, Harry could see Voldemort standing over Headmaster Campion, the man who ran the BSA. Voldemort obviously wasn't happy about Harry escape and was now taking it out on Campion. A horrid, yellow bar of light was shooting out of Voldemort's wand and had settled on Campion's stomach. There was blood everywhere, and Harry felt slightly sorry for the horrible man.
Voldemort had brought several of his cronies along. Harry could have sworn that he saw Lucius Malfoy's pale-blonde hair in the mass of blacks and tans.
The first sight of Voldemort in almost two years didn't shock Harry like he thought it would. Maybe it was the fact that Harry knew he was going to die, but Voldemort seemed less frightening than usual. In fact, with spit shooting out his mouth in rage, Voldemort seemed almost comical. The idea that Voldemort was anything but frightening was funny to Harry.
Again, maybe it was the fact the Harry was about to die, but by the time he came into the Death Eater's sights, he was laughing. Even in his own ears, the laughter seemed frenzied and hysterical.
When the Death Eater's heard this laughter, they looked up, expecting to see a raving lunatic charging at them. So, a look of universal bewilderment crossed their face when they saw that it was just a boy. Their puzzled looks made Harry laugh even harder.
By the time Harry reached the first Death Eater, he hadn't even considered using his wand. Harry hit the man at full speed. He threw out a punch and felt the man's nose crunch under his knuckles. The man fell to the floor with a grunt and Harry moved on to the next one.
Order returned to the Death Eaters slowly. Harry had used the element of surprise and it was taking longer for these men to get their heads back. And it didn't help that Harry was fighting with brutal efficiency.
"It's Potter!" Voldemort's scream rang from to the right of Harry. "Don't kill him! Just bring him down!"
At this point, the Death Eaters had recovered and were now converging on Harry. Harry knew that his life was over. But he wasn't going to go down easily. Harry began to bite, gouge, scratch and scrape. The Death Eaters were not used to such fighting, but they soon were able to subdue him.
One Death Eater kicked him in the temple hard enough for everything to go black for a few moments. Everything came back into focus when one of the Death Eaters yelled. "There are more of them!"
Harry opened his eyes and saw Ron barreling his way through the Death Eaters. Hermione and Ginny followed him closely, running through the gaps that he was creating.
Several of the Death Eaters holding Harry began to loosen their grips to go after the others when Voldemort scream, "Forget them! We have the one we want!"
The grips on Harry tightened again and Harry saw Ron, Hermione and Ginny disappear down the tunnel. It's been fun guys, Harry thought.
"Bring him to me!" Voldemort's dry voice rang out through the tunnel.
Harry was half-dragged, half-carried towards Voldemort. He wasn't fighting anymore. Now that his friends were safe, all of the energy had left his body. The Death Eaters threw Harry down in front of Voldemort.
"Well, Mr. Potter, how are we today?" Voldemort asked in a mocking tone.
"Just fine, Mr. Riddle, how are you?" Harry answered in the same tone.
Voldemort's eyes opened in anger. "My name is Voldemort! Tom Riddle died years ago."
Harry couldn't help but smile. "I know. I killed him."
Voldemort's hand came out of nowhere. His fist struck Harry's face and Harry saw spots. "You killed a mere shadow of what I was, of what I am!" Spit shot out his mouth in anger. "Now you will feel the real power of what I am. And you no longer have your mother here to protect you. Avada Kedav-"
A figure shot out of the darkness, and a full foot of steel erupted from Voldemort's stomach. He screamed in agony and turned to the new arrival.
Harry saw who it was and gasped. Susan Posenjak stood resolute, facing Voldemort.
Voldemort sneered down at the teen-age girl. "Foolish...girl...Do...you...think...a...weapon...of steel...could kill...Voldemort."
The grips on Harry loosened as the Death Eaters looked at their master with uncertainty. They had always thought they were on the winning side, but seeing you leader impaled on a sword can change your perspective.
Harry recognized the sword. He was the one who had brought it here. The rubies on the handle shone brightly as Voldemort's blood ran over them. But it didn't seem to have injured Voldemort as much as it should have, but the man was definitely in pain.
Susan saw this and screamed. "Run, Harry. Get out of here."
Harry had other ideas. He held up his wand and screamed. "Accio sword."
The Sword of Gryffindor ripped out of Voldemort's back and flew into Harry's hand. THAT hurt the Dark Lord.
Harry raised the sword over his head, prepared to finish the Dark Lord off for good, when strong hands grabbed him and lifted him off the ground. Harry thrashed and fought against these hands, but they were like steel. The person holding Harry began running down the tunnel, away from the Death Eaters, who barely noticed in their attention of Voldemort.
"Stop it!" the owner of the hands screamed and Harry recognized the voice as Ron's.
"Ron! We have to go back! Voldemort's down. I can finish him!" Harry screamed.
Ron shook his head grimly. "He won't die that way. He'll just move to another body!" He kept running down the tunnel.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort's voice could be heard from down the tunnel.
Harry braced himself, preparing to be struck by the spell that would steal his life.
But it never came. Instead, Harry heard Susan grunt and fall to the floor. Voldemort had killed her.
"No!" Harry screamed as Ron carried him down the dark tunnel.
Ron's long strides soon brought them back to entrance of the compound. The sun was blazing, even through Harry's tear-filled eyes.
I hated that chapter. It was Hell to write. I rewrote the entire thing because I thought it sucked. And now it still sucks. Susan's gone, but she went out with a bang. The excitement is over, but I'm not done yet.
To all reviewers: Thanks for making my re-entry as smooth as possible. I'm glad you all enjoyed that chapter. I had some people comment that they thought that is was sweet that Ron and Hermione were engaged, but that they were too young. Usually the big argument against young marriages is that kids are flighty and they probably haven't found the right person. But in this story, no matter how long they wait, they're not going to find new relationships. Considering that they are bonded, I don't think they could get rid of each other if they wanted to. I can guarantee that the wedding will take place during this story. But not yet...
After hearing Harry's gasp, Hermione tore her eyes away from Ron and looked in his direction. Harry was slumped over and he was holding his forehead in his hands. He seemed to be in a lot of pain.
"Harry, are you OK?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.
Harry managed to nod slightly through the pain. Putting on a brave face fro the rest of us as always, Hermione thought.
Ginny looked to Hermione with worry stamped on her face. "He said Voldemort is here."
"What?!" Ron asked loudly. Without waiting for an answer, he ran to the doorway and glanced down the hallway. Hermione could feel Ron through the bond. He was almost desperate to protect the rest of the group. Because of the Sentinel bond he had with Hermione, he had become extraordinarily powerful, and he vowed to use it to keep his friends safe. "They're not to this hallway yet." Ron said over his shoulder to the others.
Hermione's brain was racing. She turned to Harry, who seemed to be recovering. "You said that your scar hurts whenever Voldemort is feeling particularly angry, right."
Harry nodded, not trusting himself to think.
Hermione continued. "I bet he's at the entrance. I bet he saw what Ron did to that steel door and he's right pissed about it."
Ginny looked over at Ron. "What did you do?"
Ron waved the question away. He seemed almost embarrassed about his new strength. He looked at Hermione. "That's the only way in and out! If Voldemort is there..."
"We're trapped." Hermione said, not needing the bond to know what Ron had been thinking.
Harry pushed himself to his feet and shook his head. "The pain's gone." He ran his fingers through his hair and straightened his glasses. Within moments, he looked like the pain had never come. "We need to get out of here."
A fairly obvious statement, but coming from Harry, it seemed to have more meaning. They had always followed Harry. By rights, Hermione should have been that group's leader for years, being the most intelligent and the quickest thinker. And now Ron with his new powers; he could have easily led them. But they both would follow Harry to Hell and back. He just had that effect on people. And he always got them through the worst.
Harry scanned the room quickly and seemed to come to a decision. "First thing: we get out of this room. If Voldemort comes with any force at all, we don't want to be pinned in this room."
Hermione knew that Harry had hit the nail right on the head and said, "Let's go, then."
Harry smiled and motioned vaguely towards Hermione. "I was giving you the opportunity to get your shirt on."
Hermione looked down and gasped. She hadn't noticed that she wasn't wearing a shirt, but now that Harry had pointed it out, tit was painfully obvious. She dove behind one of the school desks covered herself with her arms. "Why didn't you say something earlier!" she shrilly asked no one in particular.
"My head was hurting." Harry said defensively.
"I didn't even think about it." Ginny said.
"It wasn't bothering me." Ron stated happily from the doorway. "In fact, I think it's a good look for you."
Hermione threw Ron a look that should have melted him to the floor, but all he did was wink outrageously.
(That's enough!) Hermione sent with mock severity.
Ron shrugged and went over to her shirt. He picked it up and walked it over to her. (It's got blood on it. Maybe you shouldn't wear it.) he sent with another wink.
Hermione shook her head in exasperation. But then she thought back to the hug that she and Ron had shared moments earlier and remembered how good it had felt. If a HUG had felt that good then...
She shook her head violently. Now was definitely not the time to think about that.
She threw on her shirt quickly, mainly to cover the goose bumps that had sprouted on her arms.
***
As soon as Hermione had gotten her shirt buttoned and straightened, Harry led them out of the room.
"Which way is the entrance?" he asked Ron and Hermione.
"That way." Hermione said, gesturing down a long hallway. "But if Voldemort is here, we can't go that way."
"We don't really have a choice, do we?" Harry snapped. "It won't be hard for Voldemort to find us. If we hide, we'll just put ourselves in a worse position."
"What are you suggesting, Harry?" Ron asked with a strange look on his face. "Because if you're talking about what I think you are...you can fucking forget it. No way."
"He wants me!" Harry yelled. "He won't give you a second thought if he has me."
"Harry, no-" Ginny began, but Harry talked right over her.
"We run towards them." he said. "They'll see me and try and take me down. You guys will at least have a chance to get away."
"Nope." Ron said sharply. "Think of something else, Harry, 'cause that plan sucks. We didn't risk our ass so that you would die, now."
Harry shook his head slowly. He loved his friends so much. It made leaving them so much harder. "That's the way it's gotta be." he said and began slowly walking in the direction of the entrance, in the direction of Voldemort.
Ron stepped forward. "I'll stop you, Harry."
Harry stopped. There was a time when Ron might not have been able to follow through with that declaration, but those days were long over. Ron could stop him, but he wouldn't. "No you won't, Ron. Think about Hermione. It's your duty to protect her. You need to protect her."
Hermione stepped forward. She didn't look happy. "That's not fair, Harry! Don't use that against him!"
But the damage was done. Ron was looking at Hermione, and Harry could almost see his brain working. On one hand, Ron could lose everything he loved, including his own life. On the other hand, he would be losing his best friend. Not an easy choice, but Harry knew Ron was strong enough to make the right one.
Harry hated using his friend's love for each other against them, but if it helped keep them and Ginny alive, he would do it.
Ron looked Harry in the eyes and nodded slowly. "You were supposed to be my Best Man, Harry."
Harry felt a lump grow in his throat, and he tried to speak. It probably would have along the lines of 'I love you, Ron.' or 'You're the best friend I've ever had', but it wouldn't come out. Instead, Harry threw his arms around Ron and hugged him tightly. Ron hugged him back.
Harry moved on to Hermione. By this time, he had recovered his voice. "Take care of him, Hermione."
Hermione nodded, tears running down her face.
Harry turned to Ginny last. By this time, she was almost doubled over in tears.
"Don't cry, Dot."
"I can't help it. I want to stay with you."
Harry pulled her into a tight embrace. Over her shoulder, Harry looked over at Ron and gave him a meaningful look. Ron nodded slightly. Good, Harry thought, Ron understands. In case Ginny tried to stay behind with Harry, Ron would stop her.
Harry kissed Ginny lightly on the cheek and broke their hug. He gave all of his friends one last look and began to run down the hallway, away from them.
Ron had recently attained superhuman speed, but Harry had always prided himself on his ability to push the ground behind him. Within seconds, Harry was at full stride. He could feel the blood pump through his body and the endorphins empowering his run.
Harry heard the Death Eaters before he saw them. The most blood-curdling scream echoed down the hallways of the Bourbon Street Academy. Harry couldn't imagine what could a man scream like that. But within seconds, he had his answer.
Down the hallway, Harry could see Voldemort standing over Headmaster Campion, the man who ran the BSA. Voldemort obviously wasn't happy about Harry escape and was now taking it out on Campion. A horrid, yellow bar of light was shooting out of Voldemort's wand and had settled on Campion's stomach. There was blood everywhere, and Harry felt slightly sorry for the horrible man.
Voldemort had brought several of his cronies along. Harry could have sworn that he saw Lucius Malfoy's pale-blonde hair in the mass of blacks and tans.
The first sight of Voldemort in almost two years didn't shock Harry like he thought it would. Maybe it was the fact that Harry knew he was going to die, but Voldemort seemed less frightening than usual. In fact, with spit shooting out his mouth in rage, Voldemort seemed almost comical. The idea that Voldemort was anything but frightening was funny to Harry.
Again, maybe it was the fact the Harry was about to die, but by the time he came into the Death Eater's sights, he was laughing. Even in his own ears, the laughter seemed frenzied and hysterical.
When the Death Eater's heard this laughter, they looked up, expecting to see a raving lunatic charging at them. So, a look of universal bewilderment crossed their face when they saw that it was just a boy. Their puzzled looks made Harry laugh even harder.
By the time Harry reached the first Death Eater, he hadn't even considered using his wand. Harry hit the man at full speed. He threw out a punch and felt the man's nose crunch under his knuckles. The man fell to the floor with a grunt and Harry moved on to the next one.
Order returned to the Death Eaters slowly. Harry had used the element of surprise and it was taking longer for these men to get their heads back. And it didn't help that Harry was fighting with brutal efficiency.
"It's Potter!" Voldemort's scream rang from to the right of Harry. "Don't kill him! Just bring him down!"
At this point, the Death Eaters had recovered and were now converging on Harry. Harry knew that his life was over. But he wasn't going to go down easily. Harry began to bite, gouge, scratch and scrape. The Death Eaters were not used to such fighting, but they soon were able to subdue him.
One Death Eater kicked him in the temple hard enough for everything to go black for a few moments. Everything came back into focus when one of the Death Eaters yelled. "There are more of them!"
Harry opened his eyes and saw Ron barreling his way through the Death Eaters. Hermione and Ginny followed him closely, running through the gaps that he was creating.
Several of the Death Eaters holding Harry began to loosen their grips to go after the others when Voldemort scream, "Forget them! We have the one we want!"
The grips on Harry tightened again and Harry saw Ron, Hermione and Ginny disappear down the tunnel. It's been fun guys, Harry thought.
"Bring him to me!" Voldemort's dry voice rang out through the tunnel.
Harry was half-dragged, half-carried towards Voldemort. He wasn't fighting anymore. Now that his friends were safe, all of the energy had left his body. The Death Eaters threw Harry down in front of Voldemort.
"Well, Mr. Potter, how are we today?" Voldemort asked in a mocking tone.
"Just fine, Mr. Riddle, how are you?" Harry answered in the same tone.
Voldemort's eyes opened in anger. "My name is Voldemort! Tom Riddle died years ago."
Harry couldn't help but smile. "I know. I killed him."
Voldemort's hand came out of nowhere. His fist struck Harry's face and Harry saw spots. "You killed a mere shadow of what I was, of what I am!" Spit shot out his mouth in anger. "Now you will feel the real power of what I am. And you no longer have your mother here to protect you. Avada Kedav-"
A figure shot out of the darkness, and a full foot of steel erupted from Voldemort's stomach. He screamed in agony and turned to the new arrival.
Harry saw who it was and gasped. Susan Posenjak stood resolute, facing Voldemort.
Voldemort sneered down at the teen-age girl. "Foolish...girl...Do...you...think...a...weapon...of steel...could kill...Voldemort."
The grips on Harry loosened as the Death Eaters looked at their master with uncertainty. They had always thought they were on the winning side, but seeing you leader impaled on a sword can change your perspective.
Harry recognized the sword. He was the one who had brought it here. The rubies on the handle shone brightly as Voldemort's blood ran over them. But it didn't seem to have injured Voldemort as much as it should have, but the man was definitely in pain.
Susan saw this and screamed. "Run, Harry. Get out of here."
Harry had other ideas. He held up his wand and screamed. "Accio sword."
The Sword of Gryffindor ripped out of Voldemort's back and flew into Harry's hand. THAT hurt the Dark Lord.
Harry raised the sword over his head, prepared to finish the Dark Lord off for good, when strong hands grabbed him and lifted him off the ground. Harry thrashed and fought against these hands, but they were like steel. The person holding Harry began running down the tunnel, away from the Death Eaters, who barely noticed in their attention of Voldemort.
"Stop it!" the owner of the hands screamed and Harry recognized the voice as Ron's.
"Ron! We have to go back! Voldemort's down. I can finish him!" Harry screamed.
Ron shook his head grimly. "He won't die that way. He'll just move to another body!" He kept running down the tunnel.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort's voice could be heard from down the tunnel.
Harry braced himself, preparing to be struck by the spell that would steal his life.
But it never came. Instead, Harry heard Susan grunt and fall to the floor. Voldemort had killed her.
"No!" Harry screamed as Ron carried him down the dark tunnel.
Ron's long strides soon brought them back to entrance of the compound. The sun was blazing, even through Harry's tear-filled eyes.
I hated that chapter. It was Hell to write. I rewrote the entire thing because I thought it sucked. And now it still sucks. Susan's gone, but she went out with a bang. The excitement is over, but I'm not done yet.