A/N- Keep those reviews coming guys! Most of the characters belong to J.K., and the lyrics belong to the brilliant Sarah McLachlan.
Reunion
Chapter Five
Come Home
--
That night, Harry and Draco arrived with Ron and Ginny at the apparating spot, a clearing in a forest, for their team. They were early, and the spot was deserted.
Harry turned to face them, suddenly a little nervous with trying to convince them to help with this mission that he knew next to nothing about. Some part of him didn't even want to tell them. But he also knew that he and Lara most likely couldn't accomplish this by themselves…even if he was Harry Potter. Facing Voldemort by himself had been the riskiest thing he'd ever done, and it had worked…once. Now there two enemies, and Harry felt, at the least, his friends had the right to know where he was going.
"Hey guys-I need to tell you something." He said hesitantly.
They all stopped, looking at him curiously.
"I'm going to be leaving for awhile. I was just contacted by a woman named Lara who told me that Bellatrix Lestrange has discovered a way of tapping into the Dark Magic that enables her to bring people back from the dead. And last night, we think she brought back Lucius Malfoy."
Harry looked at the fleeting terror on Draco's face, quickly replaced by smug indifference.
"Oh, hooray. It'll be just swell to see Old Dad again." Draco said, smiling slightly but his heart pounding strangely fast.
"It gets worse. Together, they're going to make some kind of weapon, that, if harnessed, could kill every Muggle and Muggle-born in existence. They're calling it "The Purging."
Harry's words were met with utter silence for a long moment.
"Rather convenient that this Lara person happens to know all these details, don't you think?" Hermione's familiar voice suddenly cut through the air.
"What are you doing here so early?" Harry said, slightly startled.
"Finished my press conference early. Figured I'd drop by." She said, leaning against a tree.
"Did you hear everything?"
"Yes. And it sounds to me like you're being set up, Harry."
"You always think that." Ron rolled his eyes.
"Oh, forgive me, Ron. Remind me of a time I jumped to the wrong conclusions." She looked at him, her eyes sparking slightly.
"You thought Sirius hexed that broom he sent to Harry!" Ron couldn't help blurting out.
At the mention of Sirius, Harry's face fell slightly. Hermione ignored Ron, walking over to Harry.
"Look, Harry, I'm just saying it's a little too easy to assume that she really wants your help. You don't know her, none of us know her, and many people still want to kill you. Odds are…" Her voice trailed off, leading them all to the obvious conclusion.
"As much as it pains me to say this, she has a point." Draco agreed.
"But, just to play devil's advocate here, what if she's telling the truth and we don't do anything?" Ginny pointed out.
"We?" Draco looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"I thought about that, Gin. I just think it's too big of a possible threat not to take a risk." Harry said, glad someone was on his side.
"Harry's right." Ginny looked around.
"So what? Are you asking us to just go traipsing around Europe with you and some complete stranger on the off chance we find the craziest woman to ever walk the planet and Daddy Dearest?" Draco said.
"Well, when you put it like THAT…" Harry said, knowing he was losing them quickly.
"I'm sure this girl has leads, or she wouldn't have shown up." Ginny said.
Everyone was quiet for a moment, considering.
"What about the team?" Draco brought up.
"Sorry, mate. People are more important than Quidditch." Harry shrugged.
"I'm not convinced." Draco crossed his arms, but it was obvious he was kidding.
"I'm telling the team tonight that I have to leave for awhile. And I need to know who's coming with me. Come on, guys…in or out?" Harry looked at all of them seriously.
"I'm in." Ginny said immediately.
Draco looked at her with an expression of indignation.
"Come on, Draco, you can't let your father get away with this." She appealed.
Draco rolled his eyes.
"Fine, I'll play." He relented, surprising all of them.
"Really, Draco? You'll come?" Harry said, obviously impressed.
"Yeah, sure."
Harry looked at Ron next.
"Ron?"
"Of course." Ron said, as if it wasn't even a question.
Hermione was the only one who hadn't said anything either way. She was staring off into space, her brow furrowed slightly.
"Hermione? Care to share your thoughts with the whole class?" Ron looked over at her.
"Harry, if a ministerial candidate just suddenly disappears, don't you think that would draw too much attention to this?"
"Hermione, you don't have to make excuses. Just say you're not coming if you're not." Harry said.
"It's just…I'm a high-profile person, and I'm concluding you want this under the radar. So if I come, it would only-"
"SO DON'T COME." Ron said, cutting her off.
Hermione bit her lip, looking down at her feet.
"I mean, don't do us any favors." Ron said angrily.
Harry decided he needed to intervene quickly.
"Hermione, look. I'd feel better if you came. We all would, even Ron and even Draco. You're ten times smarter than probably our knowledge combined, I trust you, and I know you'd be a real asset to this."
"Harry, there's no proof to back up any of this." Hermione said somewhat feebly.
Harry looked at her with disbelief.
"Ron's right. You're not the same person anymore. The Hermione I knew would be there in a second, no questions asked. But if you can sleep at night knowing you turned this down, that's fine. Just leave. Go back to the life you settled for." Harry said, his voice harsher than Hermione had ever heard it.
"I'm sorry." Was all she said, and she walked back through the trees and out of sight.
There was long, weighted silence.
"Next time, on Passions…" Draco said, in a cheesy announcer voice, breaking the tension slightly.
But Ginny didn't laugh. She simply got up, and followed Hermione.
"Gin, don't. It's no use." Ron said, defeated.
"Let me handle this." She practically growled, stomping after Hermione.
"Ooh, you're kinda sexy when you're angry." Draco called after her.
Ron looked at him, shocked.
"Don't call my sister sexy." Ron sputtered, indignant.
"Why not?" Draco crossed his arms.
"Because it's…wrong?" Ron offered.
"Well, if that's wrong, I don't want to be right." Draco smiled wider, remembering how fun it was to provoke Ron.
"Harry, do you know what he's babbling about?" Ron looked over at Harry.
"Seldom, if ever." Harry replied, desperately wanting to change the subject.
Draco noticed.
"Weasel, don't have a seizure. I was just kidding. The thought of touching your little sister makes me want to take a scalding hot shower." Draco said dismissively.
"Is he telling the truth?" Ron looked over at Harry.
"I dunno." Harry shrugged, fidgeting slightly.
"So, Weasley-how's Granger in the sack?" Draco said, finally deciding on the most abrupt subject change possible.
Ron rolled his eyes, ignoring him.
Harry couldn't help but laugh slightly.
"What are you laughing at, Potter? You always wondered too, didn't you?" Draco said, delighted.
"Maybe a little." Harry shrugged.
"Harry!" Ron said, looking affronted.
"Come on, Ron, you spend THAT much time with someone of the opposite sex, the thought crosses your mind. But I don't know-she always seemed a little too much like my sister."
"Whatever. I don't care. Fantasize away, she is fortunately not my girlfriend anymore." Ron shrugged flippantly, just as more Quidditch players began to arrive at the spot.
They quickly broke the good-humored mood of the trio when the rest of the Quidditch team arrived, their eyes wide with shock.
"Harry!" The youngest player, a new girl recruit from Hogwarts, ran up to him, her eyes red-rimmed and bloodshot.
"Elizabeth, what's wrong? What is it?" Harry said, his smile fading immediately.
"It's Eric Langly. He's dead!"
--
Ginny cut through the forest as though she was carrying a bushwhacker, easily catching up to Hermione.
"Hermione! Stop!" She yelled, still bristling with anger.
"What?" Hermione spun around, equally angry with defensiveness.
"Okay, why don't you enlighten me, because I'm really curious."
"WHAT?"
"Why do you have to be such a raging bitch?"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. You seem to have some sort of compulsion for being like, this evil creature, and I'm just wondering why."
"I am not a…raging bitch."
"Uh, yeah, you are."
"Look, just because I don't want your brother anymore doesn't mean you have any right to hate me."
"But, you see, the trouble is, you DO want him."
"Well, just because your family loyalty leads you to believe that doesn't mean its true."
"I don't care if he's my brother or some homeless guy off the street. Anyone in the same room with you two can tell you still want each other, and all this seething hatred and emotional crap is just a front to prevent actually working anything out."
"What do you know about it?"
"More than you think, Hermione! I've known Ron a hell of a lot longer than you have, and your feelings are much more transparent than you seem to believe."
"Fine, I'll play along. Did you plan on arriving at a point during this little diatribe?" Hermione crossed her arms.
"Yes, actually. I don't think that anything between you and Ron should prevent you from helping Harry. You can lie to yourself and say that's not what it's about, but it is. You don't want to go, because you don't want to have to face up to the person you've become. But, sooner or later, you're going to have to, Hermione, and Harry needs you. We all need you. Your parents need you. The entire Muggle world and every Muggle born in the wizardering world needs you. I don't think you can just turn your back on that."
Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but for once in her life, could think of nothing to say.
"GINNY!" Draco came barreling into the clearing, for once his face not twisted with bemusement.
"What is it?" Ginny turned to him, alarmed.
"Eric Langly. He's dead." Draco said, not even acknowledging Hermione.
"What? How?"
"He was Muggle-born, Gin."
"It's already started." Ginny finished that thought dolefully.
"Right. Harry's talking to the team now. We leave 6 o'clock tomorrow morning from the hotel."
"For where?"
"London. Eric's family lives there, Harry thinks he should tell them personally.. It's also the site of many recent Muggle disappearances, according to Lara. She just apparated over here with the news. Also, we're going to stop by Hogwarts- see if Dumbledore has the faintest clue where we should start." Suddenly, Draco looked over at Hermione as if just noticing her.
"Oh, feel free to move along, Granger. None of this concerns you."
Hermione didn't say anything, but complied, walking off through the trees.
Ginny and Draco both glared after her, but then returned to their conversation.
"They sent me to come get you-everyone's pretty shaken up."
"Understandably."
"Come on."
He took her by the arm, leading her back to the clearing.
--
"Did it work?" Bellatrix purred, spread out on the red leather couch.
Lucius looked over at her from the enchanted scroll of every Muggle and Muggle Born name. It was a weapon practically dripping with Dark Magic-a nail soaked in pure blood had to be hammed through the name, and they'd die. It was enticingly simple. They had chosen Eric Langly because he was close enough to Potter as to worry him, but not as close as that miserable Granger girl. They didn't want to use up the Ace in their sleeve that quickly. She could wait…for later.
"It's difficult to say. I'm sure the reports will come out tomorrow if he's dead. If not-" Lucius wiped his bloody finger with a piece of cloth.
"If NOT? Bite your tongue!" Bellatrix cut him off.
"Do it for me." Lucius smiled.
She complied.
--
The next morning dawned, foggy and gray. How fitting.
Harry and Ron sat outside the hotel on one of the benches.
"Where's everyone else?"
Harry shrugged.
As if on cue, Draco came out the front door, looking impeccable as ever.
"Ahh, lovely morning." He said, practically collapsing next to them.
"You seem cheerful." Harry looked at him suspiciously.
"Aren't I always?" Draco grinned cheekily back.
Just then, Ginny walked out the front door.
"Morning, all. Ready for evil-vanquishing?" She said, leaning against the wall next to the bench.
"Aren't I always?" Harry smiled.
"And that, in comedy, is referred to as a 'call-back'." Draco pointed out.
Lara walked up then, as usual clothed in dark colors, her long, black hair flying around her face.
"Harry. Thank you for bringing help."
"Sure. Everyone, this is Lara. Lara, this is Ron-"
"Hullo."
"-Draco."
"Verrry nice to meet you. Your attractiveness rivals my own…almost." Draco grinned audaciously.
"Thank you." Lara looked a little confused.
"Ignore him. He's mentally disturbed. I'm Ginny Weasley." Ginny grinned, shaking her hand.
"Nice to meet you." Lara looked relieved to see another girl.
"All right, yes, yes, we're through with the meet and greet, let's get going." Draco interrupted.
"Where to first?" Ginny asked, pulling her rather unruly hair into a messy bun.
"Hogwarts? Talk to Dumbledore?" Harry suggested.
"So, we apparate?" Ron said.
"You can't apparate into or out of the Hogwarts' grounds." Hermione suddenly approached the group.
"What are you doing here?" Harry said a bit more spitefully than he meant to.
"I'm coming. I thought about it, Ginny, and you were right. Last night, I took care of everything and I'm coming."
"What do you mean, took care of everything?" Ginny looked at her curiously.
"Don't worry about it. Are we going or not?" Hermione said, looking at Harry.
"Yeah. Yeah, sure. Thanks for coming, Hermione." Harry said, and he really meant it.
"I knew you'd come around eventually." Draco said, shoving into their little friend-bonding moment.
"I'm Lara, by the way." Lara said to Hermione.
Hermione looked at her somewhat appraisingly.
"Hermione Granger. Pleasure."
"Likewise."
Ginny clapped her hands together.
"Well, the gang's all here. Let's get this show on the road and-"
"Keep saying metaphors?" Draco smiled at Ginny.
"Can I have my inspirational moment, please?" She grinned back at him.
"Carry on." Draco put up his hands in mock surrender.
"Actually, Harry, you're far better at this than me. Go on- inspire us."
Harry opened his mouth to speak, but it was far too early for inspirational speeches.
"I…got nothing."
"Have nothing." Hermione corrected him instinctively.
They all looked at her, annoyed.
"I don't know why I do that." She said somewhat sheepishly.
"Superiority complex?" Ron offered.
Hermione took a deep breath, but did not reply.
"Ah, this should be fun." Draco looked between the two of them.
"Let's GO. We'll apparate nearby…you said the school was called Hogwarts?" Lara cut them off, impatient and confused.
"Yeah." Harry nodded.
"It'll be good to be back at Hogwarts." Ginny commented nostalgically.
They all nodded in agreement.
"Aww…group hug, everyone!" Draco said sarcastically.
"No thanks, Malfoy."
"Oh, Ron, why are you so afraid of your love for me?" Draco looked genuinely hurt, but then he started to laugh uncontrollably.
"At least you amuse yourself." Ginny looked over at him, grinning.
Harry looked around.
"Hey, guys? Maybe we should take this a little more seriously. I mean, Eric died last night. This is real. It's not a joke."
They all looked slightly guilty from the reprimand.
"You're right, Harry. Sorry." Ron said.
And they walked the rest of the way to the clearing in silence, all lost in their own thoughts.
Hermione heart thudded in her throat as she walked beside them. What was she thinking? Turning her back on everything she'd worked so hard for? Had she lost her mind? Or had she somehow, finally, seen things clearly?
She honestly had no idea. And that was a rather foreign feeling to Hermione Granger.
--
You've been gone so long
All that you know has been shuffled aside
As you bask in the glow of the beautiful strangers
Who whisper your name
Do they fill up the emptiness?
Larger than life is your fiction
In a universe made up of one
You have been drifting for so long
I know you don't want to come down
Somewhere below you, there's people who love you
And they're ready for you to come home
--
A/N- Review!
Reunion
Chapter Five
Come Home
--
That night, Harry and Draco arrived with Ron and Ginny at the apparating spot, a clearing in a forest, for their team. They were early, and the spot was deserted.
Harry turned to face them, suddenly a little nervous with trying to convince them to help with this mission that he knew next to nothing about. Some part of him didn't even want to tell them. But he also knew that he and Lara most likely couldn't accomplish this by themselves…even if he was Harry Potter. Facing Voldemort by himself had been the riskiest thing he'd ever done, and it had worked…once. Now there two enemies, and Harry felt, at the least, his friends had the right to know where he was going.
"Hey guys-I need to tell you something." He said hesitantly.
They all stopped, looking at him curiously.
"I'm going to be leaving for awhile. I was just contacted by a woman named Lara who told me that Bellatrix Lestrange has discovered a way of tapping into the Dark Magic that enables her to bring people back from the dead. And last night, we think she brought back Lucius Malfoy."
Harry looked at the fleeting terror on Draco's face, quickly replaced by smug indifference.
"Oh, hooray. It'll be just swell to see Old Dad again." Draco said, smiling slightly but his heart pounding strangely fast.
"It gets worse. Together, they're going to make some kind of weapon, that, if harnessed, could kill every Muggle and Muggle-born in existence. They're calling it "The Purging."
Harry's words were met with utter silence for a long moment.
"Rather convenient that this Lara person happens to know all these details, don't you think?" Hermione's familiar voice suddenly cut through the air.
"What are you doing here so early?" Harry said, slightly startled.
"Finished my press conference early. Figured I'd drop by." She said, leaning against a tree.
"Did you hear everything?"
"Yes. And it sounds to me like you're being set up, Harry."
"You always think that." Ron rolled his eyes.
"Oh, forgive me, Ron. Remind me of a time I jumped to the wrong conclusions." She looked at him, her eyes sparking slightly.
"You thought Sirius hexed that broom he sent to Harry!" Ron couldn't help blurting out.
At the mention of Sirius, Harry's face fell slightly. Hermione ignored Ron, walking over to Harry.
"Look, Harry, I'm just saying it's a little too easy to assume that she really wants your help. You don't know her, none of us know her, and many people still want to kill you. Odds are…" Her voice trailed off, leading them all to the obvious conclusion.
"As much as it pains me to say this, she has a point." Draco agreed.
"But, just to play devil's advocate here, what if she's telling the truth and we don't do anything?" Ginny pointed out.
"We?" Draco looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"I thought about that, Gin. I just think it's too big of a possible threat not to take a risk." Harry said, glad someone was on his side.
"Harry's right." Ginny looked around.
"So what? Are you asking us to just go traipsing around Europe with you and some complete stranger on the off chance we find the craziest woman to ever walk the planet and Daddy Dearest?" Draco said.
"Well, when you put it like THAT…" Harry said, knowing he was losing them quickly.
"I'm sure this girl has leads, or she wouldn't have shown up." Ginny said.
Everyone was quiet for a moment, considering.
"What about the team?" Draco brought up.
"Sorry, mate. People are more important than Quidditch." Harry shrugged.
"I'm not convinced." Draco crossed his arms, but it was obvious he was kidding.
"I'm telling the team tonight that I have to leave for awhile. And I need to know who's coming with me. Come on, guys…in or out?" Harry looked at all of them seriously.
"I'm in." Ginny said immediately.
Draco looked at her with an expression of indignation.
"Come on, Draco, you can't let your father get away with this." She appealed.
Draco rolled his eyes.
"Fine, I'll play." He relented, surprising all of them.
"Really, Draco? You'll come?" Harry said, obviously impressed.
"Yeah, sure."
Harry looked at Ron next.
"Ron?"
"Of course." Ron said, as if it wasn't even a question.
Hermione was the only one who hadn't said anything either way. She was staring off into space, her brow furrowed slightly.
"Hermione? Care to share your thoughts with the whole class?" Ron looked over at her.
"Harry, if a ministerial candidate just suddenly disappears, don't you think that would draw too much attention to this?"
"Hermione, you don't have to make excuses. Just say you're not coming if you're not." Harry said.
"It's just…I'm a high-profile person, and I'm concluding you want this under the radar. So if I come, it would only-"
"SO DON'T COME." Ron said, cutting her off.
Hermione bit her lip, looking down at her feet.
"I mean, don't do us any favors." Ron said angrily.
Harry decided he needed to intervene quickly.
"Hermione, look. I'd feel better if you came. We all would, even Ron and even Draco. You're ten times smarter than probably our knowledge combined, I trust you, and I know you'd be a real asset to this."
"Harry, there's no proof to back up any of this." Hermione said somewhat feebly.
Harry looked at her with disbelief.
"Ron's right. You're not the same person anymore. The Hermione I knew would be there in a second, no questions asked. But if you can sleep at night knowing you turned this down, that's fine. Just leave. Go back to the life you settled for." Harry said, his voice harsher than Hermione had ever heard it.
"I'm sorry." Was all she said, and she walked back through the trees and out of sight.
There was long, weighted silence.
"Next time, on Passions…" Draco said, in a cheesy announcer voice, breaking the tension slightly.
But Ginny didn't laugh. She simply got up, and followed Hermione.
"Gin, don't. It's no use." Ron said, defeated.
"Let me handle this." She practically growled, stomping after Hermione.
"Ooh, you're kinda sexy when you're angry." Draco called after her.
Ron looked at him, shocked.
"Don't call my sister sexy." Ron sputtered, indignant.
"Why not?" Draco crossed his arms.
"Because it's…wrong?" Ron offered.
"Well, if that's wrong, I don't want to be right." Draco smiled wider, remembering how fun it was to provoke Ron.
"Harry, do you know what he's babbling about?" Ron looked over at Harry.
"Seldom, if ever." Harry replied, desperately wanting to change the subject.
Draco noticed.
"Weasel, don't have a seizure. I was just kidding. The thought of touching your little sister makes me want to take a scalding hot shower." Draco said dismissively.
"Is he telling the truth?" Ron looked over at Harry.
"I dunno." Harry shrugged, fidgeting slightly.
"So, Weasley-how's Granger in the sack?" Draco said, finally deciding on the most abrupt subject change possible.
Ron rolled his eyes, ignoring him.
Harry couldn't help but laugh slightly.
"What are you laughing at, Potter? You always wondered too, didn't you?" Draco said, delighted.
"Maybe a little." Harry shrugged.
"Harry!" Ron said, looking affronted.
"Come on, Ron, you spend THAT much time with someone of the opposite sex, the thought crosses your mind. But I don't know-she always seemed a little too much like my sister."
"Whatever. I don't care. Fantasize away, she is fortunately not my girlfriend anymore." Ron shrugged flippantly, just as more Quidditch players began to arrive at the spot.
They quickly broke the good-humored mood of the trio when the rest of the Quidditch team arrived, their eyes wide with shock.
"Harry!" The youngest player, a new girl recruit from Hogwarts, ran up to him, her eyes red-rimmed and bloodshot.
"Elizabeth, what's wrong? What is it?" Harry said, his smile fading immediately.
"It's Eric Langly. He's dead!"
--
Ginny cut through the forest as though she was carrying a bushwhacker, easily catching up to Hermione.
"Hermione! Stop!" She yelled, still bristling with anger.
"What?" Hermione spun around, equally angry with defensiveness.
"Okay, why don't you enlighten me, because I'm really curious."
"WHAT?"
"Why do you have to be such a raging bitch?"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. You seem to have some sort of compulsion for being like, this evil creature, and I'm just wondering why."
"I am not a…raging bitch."
"Uh, yeah, you are."
"Look, just because I don't want your brother anymore doesn't mean you have any right to hate me."
"But, you see, the trouble is, you DO want him."
"Well, just because your family loyalty leads you to believe that doesn't mean its true."
"I don't care if he's my brother or some homeless guy off the street. Anyone in the same room with you two can tell you still want each other, and all this seething hatred and emotional crap is just a front to prevent actually working anything out."
"What do you know about it?"
"More than you think, Hermione! I've known Ron a hell of a lot longer than you have, and your feelings are much more transparent than you seem to believe."
"Fine, I'll play along. Did you plan on arriving at a point during this little diatribe?" Hermione crossed her arms.
"Yes, actually. I don't think that anything between you and Ron should prevent you from helping Harry. You can lie to yourself and say that's not what it's about, but it is. You don't want to go, because you don't want to have to face up to the person you've become. But, sooner or later, you're going to have to, Hermione, and Harry needs you. We all need you. Your parents need you. The entire Muggle world and every Muggle born in the wizardering world needs you. I don't think you can just turn your back on that."
Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but for once in her life, could think of nothing to say.
"GINNY!" Draco came barreling into the clearing, for once his face not twisted with bemusement.
"What is it?" Ginny turned to him, alarmed.
"Eric Langly. He's dead." Draco said, not even acknowledging Hermione.
"What? How?"
"He was Muggle-born, Gin."
"It's already started." Ginny finished that thought dolefully.
"Right. Harry's talking to the team now. We leave 6 o'clock tomorrow morning from the hotel."
"For where?"
"London. Eric's family lives there, Harry thinks he should tell them personally.. It's also the site of many recent Muggle disappearances, according to Lara. She just apparated over here with the news. Also, we're going to stop by Hogwarts- see if Dumbledore has the faintest clue where we should start." Suddenly, Draco looked over at Hermione as if just noticing her.
"Oh, feel free to move along, Granger. None of this concerns you."
Hermione didn't say anything, but complied, walking off through the trees.
Ginny and Draco both glared after her, but then returned to their conversation.
"They sent me to come get you-everyone's pretty shaken up."
"Understandably."
"Come on."
He took her by the arm, leading her back to the clearing.
--
"Did it work?" Bellatrix purred, spread out on the red leather couch.
Lucius looked over at her from the enchanted scroll of every Muggle and Muggle Born name. It was a weapon practically dripping with Dark Magic-a nail soaked in pure blood had to be hammed through the name, and they'd die. It was enticingly simple. They had chosen Eric Langly because he was close enough to Potter as to worry him, but not as close as that miserable Granger girl. They didn't want to use up the Ace in their sleeve that quickly. She could wait…for later.
"It's difficult to say. I'm sure the reports will come out tomorrow if he's dead. If not-" Lucius wiped his bloody finger with a piece of cloth.
"If NOT? Bite your tongue!" Bellatrix cut him off.
"Do it for me." Lucius smiled.
She complied.
--
The next morning dawned, foggy and gray. How fitting.
Harry and Ron sat outside the hotel on one of the benches.
"Where's everyone else?"
Harry shrugged.
As if on cue, Draco came out the front door, looking impeccable as ever.
"Ahh, lovely morning." He said, practically collapsing next to them.
"You seem cheerful." Harry looked at him suspiciously.
"Aren't I always?" Draco grinned cheekily back.
Just then, Ginny walked out the front door.
"Morning, all. Ready for evil-vanquishing?" She said, leaning against the wall next to the bench.
"Aren't I always?" Harry smiled.
"And that, in comedy, is referred to as a 'call-back'." Draco pointed out.
Lara walked up then, as usual clothed in dark colors, her long, black hair flying around her face.
"Harry. Thank you for bringing help."
"Sure. Everyone, this is Lara. Lara, this is Ron-"
"Hullo."
"-Draco."
"Verrry nice to meet you. Your attractiveness rivals my own…almost." Draco grinned audaciously.
"Thank you." Lara looked a little confused.
"Ignore him. He's mentally disturbed. I'm Ginny Weasley." Ginny grinned, shaking her hand.
"Nice to meet you." Lara looked relieved to see another girl.
"All right, yes, yes, we're through with the meet and greet, let's get going." Draco interrupted.
"Where to first?" Ginny asked, pulling her rather unruly hair into a messy bun.
"Hogwarts? Talk to Dumbledore?" Harry suggested.
"So, we apparate?" Ron said.
"You can't apparate into or out of the Hogwarts' grounds." Hermione suddenly approached the group.
"What are you doing here?" Harry said a bit more spitefully than he meant to.
"I'm coming. I thought about it, Ginny, and you were right. Last night, I took care of everything and I'm coming."
"What do you mean, took care of everything?" Ginny looked at her curiously.
"Don't worry about it. Are we going or not?" Hermione said, looking at Harry.
"Yeah. Yeah, sure. Thanks for coming, Hermione." Harry said, and he really meant it.
"I knew you'd come around eventually." Draco said, shoving into their little friend-bonding moment.
"I'm Lara, by the way." Lara said to Hermione.
Hermione looked at her somewhat appraisingly.
"Hermione Granger. Pleasure."
"Likewise."
Ginny clapped her hands together.
"Well, the gang's all here. Let's get this show on the road and-"
"Keep saying metaphors?" Draco smiled at Ginny.
"Can I have my inspirational moment, please?" She grinned back at him.
"Carry on." Draco put up his hands in mock surrender.
"Actually, Harry, you're far better at this than me. Go on- inspire us."
Harry opened his mouth to speak, but it was far too early for inspirational speeches.
"I…got nothing."
"Have nothing." Hermione corrected him instinctively.
They all looked at her, annoyed.
"I don't know why I do that." She said somewhat sheepishly.
"Superiority complex?" Ron offered.
Hermione took a deep breath, but did not reply.
"Ah, this should be fun." Draco looked between the two of them.
"Let's GO. We'll apparate nearby…you said the school was called Hogwarts?" Lara cut them off, impatient and confused.
"Yeah." Harry nodded.
"It'll be good to be back at Hogwarts." Ginny commented nostalgically.
They all nodded in agreement.
"Aww…group hug, everyone!" Draco said sarcastically.
"No thanks, Malfoy."
"Oh, Ron, why are you so afraid of your love for me?" Draco looked genuinely hurt, but then he started to laugh uncontrollably.
"At least you amuse yourself." Ginny looked over at him, grinning.
Harry looked around.
"Hey, guys? Maybe we should take this a little more seriously. I mean, Eric died last night. This is real. It's not a joke."
They all looked slightly guilty from the reprimand.
"You're right, Harry. Sorry." Ron said.
And they walked the rest of the way to the clearing in silence, all lost in their own thoughts.
Hermione heart thudded in her throat as she walked beside them. What was she thinking? Turning her back on everything she'd worked so hard for? Had she lost her mind? Or had she somehow, finally, seen things clearly?
She honestly had no idea. And that was a rather foreign feeling to Hermione Granger.
--
You've been gone so long
All that you know has been shuffled aside
As you bask in the glow of the beautiful strangers
Who whisper your name
Do they fill up the emptiness?
Larger than life is your fiction
In a universe made up of one
You have been drifting for so long
I know you don't want to come down
Somewhere below you, there's people who love you
And they're ready for you to come home
--
A/N- Review!