Let the Rain Come Down
Chapter Twelve
"I'm a boy, no I'm a man. You can't take me and throw me away..."
The day dawned bright and clear, the kind of morning one usually associates with a day when something out of the ordinary happens. I woke up to the clashing of that blasted bell, and I remember thinking, "Who the hell invented bells, I wish I could stuff them right now." Nonetheless, I rose out of bed, and proceeded to my usual morning routine, the one that I had grown to hate over the past two weeks. All of us fellow cabin mates stumbled into our lines, and as I walked to my usual place, I remembered. Today was the day the plan would unfold. Hermione and I, along with the others would finally be able to set ourselves and the rest of the camp free. Speaking of the devil, she soon came up beside me, and lightly touched my shoulder, and flashed a rare grin. She had remembered what today was also.
It was so odd for me still to hold a decent conversation with her. Ever since that night, after she told me what happened to her, we had developed some sort of trust thing. I deeply respected her for overcoming that monstrous night, and there were times when I would look over at her, and wonder how she lived through it all. It made me hate Voldemort all the more, seeing how much pain she suffered because of that night. I remember just holding her while she was crying, rocking her back and forth, and knowing for the first time, what it was like to truly comfort someone. After that, she trusted me a whole lot more. We actually became friends, talking when we could about our pasts, about Hogwarts, about family. I found myself becoming more and more comfortable around her, like I had with Potter and Weasley.
I smiled back, and we continued on our way out of the cabin, and up to the mess hall. Once there, Hermione and I met up with Liam, Tierney, Niamh, and Ceara. We all sat in silence, but inside, I knew all of us were exploding with anxiety. The plan that would soon come into action was a dangerous and tricky one. The master's dinner was set for later that evening, after we were to have had ours, and all the prisoners that weren't part of the household staff would be in their cabins. We hadn't told anyone except the girl who would put the poison in the cups, and the boy who knew where the wands were. I had apparated to Hogwarts, and told Dumbledore of our plan. He had immediately given me portkey objects and told me how to activate them. He mentioned setting up housing for all of those who would escape. He was beyond ecstatic that a whole camp of prisoners was going to be freed. When I got back, we put a portkey in each cabin, so that once the deatheaters were dead, each person could escape from their own cabin at the same time.
Everything was ready to go, we just had to get through the day, and wait for dinner to be served. To say that we were nervous was an understatement. Hermione was a wreck, but I knew she was anxious to leave. Who wouldn't be? The breakfast bell rang again, signaling the beginning of our torture for the day. I swore to myself that I would never ever buy a clock or anything, for that matter, that had bells on it. We marched out to the fields in our lines, and I remember looking around, thanking the gods that this would be the last day for me, for all of these people to have to walk this path. I remember that as I worked that day, I got a little emotional, because of the experience I'd had there. The two weeks that I was there had changed me even more than before. The people there had taught me how to have hope by the way they carried on, day after day, in the name of their loved ones. I remember thinking of how, after we got back to Hogwarts, these people would eventually heal and go on with their lives, and I would miss their fellowship, for I had talked to many of them in the past weeks. God, I was going soft.
After a while of hauling rocks, I paused to look up at the sun. It had barely moved since the last time I had checked its position. Just to try my patience, this day would be the slowest day of my life. I tried instead to fill my head with plans for when we escaped. How would Dumbledore find room to fit all these people at Hogwarts? What of the kids who were old enough to attend the school? I imagined the looks on the faces of the infamous trio when they were reunited once again. And most of all, I imagined what it would feel like to take a long, hot bath.
Of course, all of that imagining that day did nothing for me. I was still stuck with hauling in the furiously hot sun. Sometimes I wondered whether a deatheater had placed a curse on the sun to make it especially hot on the prisoners. Finally, the bell clanged again, meaning my last day of torture was over, and we could all go eat. If ever there was a moment when anxiety was running high among those behind the plan, this was it. Aguila was about to burst at the seams with excitement, and I had to shoot her a dark look to remind her where she was.
While eating the slop they tried to pass off as food, the girl who worked in the Master's household came to our table to finalize the plan. She was to poor the poison in all of the cups of both the Master's family, overseers, and if there were any, guests. The remaining poison would be dumped evenly into all pitchers used for serving. The poison would work slightly slow, taking about eight minutes to start its work. The girl would wait until the poison worked on all of its victims before returning to the kitchen. All of the overseers and deatheaters were to be at this dinner, so all of them would be taken care of. If there were any who escaped the poison, they would face me and my wand- and no one, save three people could match me in dueling. The girl left the table as unnoticed as a mouse, and the six of us were left in silence. We all stared around us at all of the people, and the building, not talking to each other. It was like a repeat of that morning. We were too nervous. Well, at least I was.
Our silence was interrupted when the boy who was taking care of the wands rushed to the table and sat down in a huff. He came up so quickly on us that the girls jumped, their startled faces confused. It took the boy a few moments to catch his breath before he could spit out what he had to tell us.
"I've just heard- the Master is having a guest tonight after all. Mr. Malfoy-" At this, my attention was completely focused on this boy, no more than two years younger than I, who was taking large gasps in between his explanation. The boy noticed my sudden vested interest, and paused a moment before continuing.
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's gasp main general, bigger gasp Lucius Malfoy, biggest one yet is visiting tonight."
The boy took the next few moments to stop his hyperventilating, while I took the information in. That imbecile was going to be here today, this evening. What if he saw me? What if he recognized me? Before I went into full panic mode, I reminded myself that he would be drugged along with the rest of the deatheaters. I decided that on my way back to the cabin after dinner, I'd rub a little extra dirt on my face, just in case.
"Do you know what this means?!?" exclaimed Liam. "Not only will we escape right under the noses of the master and the overseers, but one of the most powerful deatheaters too!"
I looked over at Aguila. She shot me a look akin to sympathy and understanding. She knew, somehow, the mixed feelings I was experiencing. When it all came down to it, this was just one more complication to overcome. We talked to the boy, now that he was breathing normally, and made sure he knew what to do. His part of the mission was to wait in the kitchen until the girl with the poison came back from the dining room, and then he was to get the trunk of wands and bring it to the doorway of the kitchens. Aguila, Liam, Niamh, Ceara, and Tierney would find their wands, close the trunk, and carry it to Tierney's cabin. At that time, Aguila and I would gather the camp together, tell them of our plan, and direct them to their own cabins. The other four would help them flock, and Aguila and I would go behind and make sure there was no one left behind. Once at Hogwarts, After everyone had been taken care of, their wands would be returned to them. There were so many possibilities of failure with this plan, but it had to work.
Soon after the boy left our table, the bell for the end of our dinner time rang. The six of us stood up, passing looks of anxiety and encouragement to each other. We knew what we each had to do, and we calmly walked to our places in line. Soon we were marching outside into the night, and I watched as those who were to staff the Master's dinner broke from the lines to head to the main house. As we passed the main house, I almost stumbled while I was craning my neck to see inside. The sky was already dark, and it was easy to see the sitting room of the house, as it was lighted with the most expensive chandeliers. I balled my fists when I recognized the tall, blonde man sitting to the right of Master Campbell.
"You!"
I was broken from my staring session by the overseer who was escorting us to the cabins. I was startled to find he was yelling at me.
"You, boy, come here."
My life flashed before my eyes. Somehow, I figured that our plan was found out, and I was discovered. Thank the gods, for once I was wrong.
"We're short on kitchen duty. Report to them at once." He proceeded to pick out a few others. To my surprise, he also picked Aguila. What luck! We didn't have to worry about sneaking to the kitchens to wait for the plan to start. We would already be there. Aguila quickly caught up with me, as we followed the others to the kitchens. We both exchanged smiles, both completely amazed to find that we would soon execute the greatest muggleborn escape in the wizarding world's history.
Once inside the kitchens, we began scrubbing pots, pans, dishes, and whatever other odds and ends the death eaters thought we should clean. As we walked inside, my attention immediately went to the trays of food ready to be served to the dinner party. As I washed dishes, I watched out of the corner of my as the mousy girl discreetly slipped the poison into all the pitchers. It was a large vial, and the poison would mix well with the wine. I nodded and smiled to the girl just as she exited the kitchens with her first batch of trays. The wine would be served as the food was set before them, so it was a matter of ten to fifteen minutes before showtime. There were no deatheaters left to watch us in the kitchens, nor outside watching over the cabins, because the monitor that followed the positions of the prisoners' bracelets was placed in the dining room with all of them. If there were any problems showing on the screens, deatheater overseers would be dispatched to take care of it. Only they would never make it, for they would be fast asleep.
Those minutes after the girl left were the longest minutes of my life up to that point. Anxiety, doubt in the success of the plan, and nervousness wracked my mind. I must have scrubbed the same plate many times, and I noticed Aguila was suffering from the same situation as I. Just when I was thinking of worst case scenarios, the girl burst through the kitchen doors.
"They're taken care of."
Aguila and I nodded to her in silent thanks, as the boy headed up the back stairs to retrieve the wand trunk. While we waited for him, I decided to take a look in the dining room. As I walked in, I was bombarded with an orchestra of snores. The head of every deatheater in the room was on the table, each of them sound asleep. Some were slumped on the floor, others fallen out of their chairs. I looked for the one I hated most. I found him near the head of the table. How fitting. No matter how hard he tried, he could never make it to the top. I walked over to his limp form, and took the dagger from his boot. I knew where he kept every weapon hidden on his body- a mistake he would wish he'd never made. I made ready to erase his existence then and there, but I felt a touch on my arm. I hadn't even heard her come in.
"Don't. Not here, not now. There will be a time when you will exact your vengeance on him as he deserves. This is too quick a death for him."
She spoke softly, as though someone were listening. And she was right. Lucius deserved something more psychologically painful, and he would get it. I lowered the dagger, wiped it with a napkin, and put it back in its sheath. I followed Aguila out of the dining room, and back into the kitchens. Just as we entered, the boy came clunking down the back stairway with a large trunk. His face was red with strain. He set it down, quite proud of himself. We thanked him before sending him to start helping the other four round up the campers. We had three hours before the poison would wear off. We had to be out of there in time.
While the others were busy gathering the camp, Agu-Hermione and I searched through the trunk for her wand. An "Ah ha" signaled that the long lost wand had found its owner. Hermione's eyes watered as she held up her wand. It was like she'd found a long lost sister or something. She sat in silence, waving it around, trying it out to make sure it still worked for her. I pulled out my wand from its hiding place, and placed a floating charm on the trunk. We walked out to the clearing behind the kitchens, and I charmed some torches to burn so that the prisoners could see us, and we could see them. By then, much of the camp had gathered, and most of them were talking to each other in confusion. They didn't understand how they could all be gathered without being caught.
Before long, as Hermione and I stood alone in the clearing before the crowd of prisoners, Liam, Ceara, Niamh, and Tierney showed up on the outskirts of the crowd and gave us a thumbs up. The whole camp was there. We were ready to start the second to last phase of the plan. I glanced over at Hermione, and she at me. Then she took a deep breath, as the attention of the entire camp of muggleborns was on the two of us.
"I know you all are wondering how we are all here without being zapped to pieces. We have good news. Last night was your last night here. We have crippled the deatheaters for a few short hours. In that time, we will all escape. Arrangements have been made for us to be transported to the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We ask that you all return to your cabins in an orderly fashion-" At this, dozens started to break from the crowd. The faces on all of them were stunned.
"Wait, not at this moment. Hear me out, so that this plan will succeed. This is your- our only chance of escape, and one mistake made by one person will ruin it for all of us. Stay where you are for the moment. Once I am done explaining, I want each of you to go back to your assigned cabins, and wait for one of the six of us to come to your cabin. You will all gather around a portkey that will take you to Hogwarts. There, you will receive guidance from the Headmaster. On your way to the cabins, please do not talk, don't dally around. We ALL escape tonight, and we ALL escape together. Now, please, quickly and quietly, go back to your cabins."
Hermione's instructions were understood by all, and the entire camp marched out to their cabins, not in their usual lines, but in order anyway. They followed her instructions to each point. No one talked in fear of not being able to escape. I was surprised that there were no disagreements, no outburst or questions. The campers were too tired to protest, too anxious to escape. I walked with some of the members of my cabin, as Hermione followed behind. There were sixteen cabins, and the three of us boys would make multiple trips to escort the cabins. The last trip would be made by Hermione and I, along with whatever stragglers we found.
"How did you all do this?" asked one of the men in my cabin.
"Pure luck and brilliant minds," I replied. I glanced at Hermione who stood along the far wall of the cabin, and smiled. She would wait there for me to return from the first load of soon to be ex prisoners. I picked up the portkey, a small, disfigured brick.
"Okay, everyone, gather round the brick. If you aren't able to reach it, hold onto someone who can, and so on. Hold on tight." I nodded to Hermione, and whispered the spell that activated the portkey. Immediately, I felt the pull at my navel, and the familiar nauseous feeling of traveling through space. In an instant, we arrived with a small fwump! on a bed of leaves. We were on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. Just beyond the thin line of trees, I saw the castle of Hogwarts looming in the distance.
"Lumos!" I lit my wand and motioned for the members of my cabin to follow me. We quietly exited the trees, and I saw four other shadowy groups following suit down the edge of the forest. We started running up the hill as quickly as possible, and soon made it to the courtyard of the castle. My jaw dropped in shock. Filling up the courtyard were many quickly built cabin-tents, temporary housing for the refugees. They were built in a large circle around a clearing at the center. I headed for that clearing. Since my group was the first to make it, I was greeted by Dumbledore.
"I see that yours and Ms. Granger's plan is working so far, so well?" The professor smiled. I smiled back.
"Yes, Professor. The groups are beginning to arrive. Ag-Hermione and I will head the last group. Here's the first of them." I motioned to the group of shocked refugees standing in awe behind me. They were free, and to see the happiness in their faces was more than enough for me. I felt as though I had finally done something to be proud of. This first group that had made it to the courtyard stood rooted to the ground, looking around at freedom. Some were smiling, and others started weeping. Some of Hogwarts' staff came out to help sort each of them. The injured and sick ones were taken immediately to the hospital wing in the castle. The rest were put in a line to have their bracelets removed. It was a simple spell, one that removed the magic contained in the bracelet, vanquished that magic, and unclasped the bracelet from its grip around the person's wrist.
I nodded to Dumbledore as I headed back towards the forest to apparate back to the camp. Just as I left, the other groups were making their way up to the courtyard. I nodded at them as I passed, and sprinted back to the tree line. I wanted this over with. I wanted everyone out of harm's way as soon as possible. I made it to the point of apparition safety, and disappeared. I landed inaudibly back to the cabin where Hermione was waiting.
"Well?!?!" She was very anxious, as you can imagine.
"They're safe. We need to get to the others. Go get the trunk of wands, and guide it to cabin 12- that's Tierney's next cabin." As an afterthought, I added,"Please."
She nodded, and as we left the cabin, she headed back toward the kitchens. I headed to next cabin to prepare them for their departure. I repeated the same process as the first group, hastily dropping them off at the clearing of the courtyard. By that time, other cabins were already being sorted and de-braceleted. I headed back to the camp, and successfully delivered two more cabin loads of refugees. In between each load, I caught brief glances of Hermione rushing between cabins to check for stragglers. On my third trip to the courtyard, I almost bowled over Harry as I was heading back to the forest.
"Where's Hermione?" He asked, in a rush.
"She and I will be with the last group out of there. She wanted to be the last to leave, to make sure everyone made it."
Mumble, mumble, was his reply, so I shook my head and continued toward the forest. Great. Her best friends were here, and they were going to cause a commotion when she arrived. I pushed myself through the crowd and went back to the camp. Soon, we were down to the last and smallest cabin load. All the other cabins had been emptied, but Hermione and I did a quick run- thru of the grounds, and the house. Hermione took a detour into the dining room. She stopped beside one of the overseers. She took a moment, pulled back her arm, and punched him as hard as she could. She didn't even flinch. The poison was so powerful, he wouldn't feel the pain until he woke up, and by then, I figured that his eye would be swollen shut. Hermione walked calmly out of the room, passing me, without a word. "Are you quite done?" I asked. She paused and turned around. First she looked at me, then back into the room, and shook her head. She then strode past me again, back into the room, and proceeded to punch another guard, once again, without flinching. I ahook my head in amazement as she passed me one last time out the door. "Now, I am satisfied." I laughed to myself and followed her out the door of the house, and to last cabin.
We finally made it to the cabin, but, once again, Hermione paused. She took a moment to look around the camp, and I saw no tears escaper her eyes. She closed them, took a deep breath, and entered the cabin. Inside, there were about twelve prisoners left. The portkey was a small shoelace. I held one end, as Hermione held the other. The others crowded around, and touched part of the shoelace.
"This is it. No more torture, everyone." I mumbled the words of the spell, and away we went.
(Thought I was gonna end it, didn't ya;P)
We arrived back in the tree line, and I helped pick up some of the others off the ground, including Hermione. In the moonlight, I could see the smile on her face stretching from ear to ear. Before I could turn, to lead them out, Ag- Hermione jumped at me, and gave me the biggest hug I'd ever had in my life. I was truly fearing for the existence of my air supply, when she let go. As much as her happiness was contagious, it was more than enough human contact than I'd wanted. I shook my head and began to lead the last of the refugees out of the forest, and up to the courtyard. Hermione was to be the caboose, but what ended up happening was altogether different. She started running so fast, that she zoomed by me, and I admit, I was left in the dust. So I fell back to behind the last person. We made it to the top of the hill, and, together, for Hermione waited for us to catch up, we entered the courtyard.
It was nearing chaos. The lines for de-braceleting, and wand retrieving were intermingled, and the ones who had been through both lines were milling about, looking for friends. It was like being stuck in the middle of a busy street in a large city. I directed the cabin to either of the lines, and then turned back to Hermione. She stood still where she was. Her gaze was fixed upon the lighted castle walls, and the courtyard filled with smiling people. This was her dream come true, and to see her expression, to feel the range of emotions just by standing next to her was an unreal experience. She was radiating relief, and her smile never faltered. This is why I did all of it, I thought to myself. To see this from her. That's why.
I had to shake her a bit to remind her that the moment was real, and she was free. "Would you like to be rid of that bracelet?" I asked. She nodded after a moment, still in a daze. I muttered the words for the release spell, and soon the bracelet came off, and I threw it in the pile of them beside us. She broke out of her daze soon after, and turned to me.
"Thank you, Br- Draco. I owe you my life, as well as the rest of these people here. We would have never escaped without all that you did. Thank you so much." This followed by another breath extinguishing hug. Once I regained my precious air, I answered.
"I wasn't the only one that saved them. You were the one with the plan. Consider your debt repaid, as you also saved all of these people's lives. We should go find Professor Dumbledore, he'll want to see you." She nodded, and we turned to look for him, but we were stopped by a loud shout. Two actually.
"HERMIONE!!!!!!!!"
Behind us, Harry and Ron came running, shouting and waving frantically. I turned to Hermione to find her face completely white as a ghost's.
A/N The end this time, I promise. Immediately ducks the overly rotten fruit and veggies that have been rotting for over seven months now. I know, I know, bad Soronume. I claim disability though. Several, now that we come down to it. First, I diagnosed myself with UAWBS- "Unusually Awful Writer's Block Syndrome. And the there was that bout of MTLMWTMHS- My Teachers Loaded Me With Too Much Homework Syndrome. But now, that is all over. Guess why? Not only is it summer, but now, I am officially a college student. Yes, ladies and...ladies (I apologize if there are any actual gents out there, but I'm beginning to believe that d/h ships being read by guys is like me believing in santa) well, anyhoo, Yes, I am a college student!!! Woohoo. So, yeah, I've got a whole summer to work on this story. I'm hoping to get at least four more chapters out, if not more. Thank you for all of your reviews, I'm glad that some people are still humoring me. Next chapter: Hermione's reaction to Harry, Ron, and Dumbledore, as well as freedom. Have a great Fourth of July to all you Amreicans!
Chapter Twelve
"I'm a boy, no I'm a man. You can't take me and throw me away..."
The day dawned bright and clear, the kind of morning one usually associates with a day when something out of the ordinary happens. I woke up to the clashing of that blasted bell, and I remember thinking, "Who the hell invented bells, I wish I could stuff them right now." Nonetheless, I rose out of bed, and proceeded to my usual morning routine, the one that I had grown to hate over the past two weeks. All of us fellow cabin mates stumbled into our lines, and as I walked to my usual place, I remembered. Today was the day the plan would unfold. Hermione and I, along with the others would finally be able to set ourselves and the rest of the camp free. Speaking of the devil, she soon came up beside me, and lightly touched my shoulder, and flashed a rare grin. She had remembered what today was also.
It was so odd for me still to hold a decent conversation with her. Ever since that night, after she told me what happened to her, we had developed some sort of trust thing. I deeply respected her for overcoming that monstrous night, and there were times when I would look over at her, and wonder how she lived through it all. It made me hate Voldemort all the more, seeing how much pain she suffered because of that night. I remember just holding her while she was crying, rocking her back and forth, and knowing for the first time, what it was like to truly comfort someone. After that, she trusted me a whole lot more. We actually became friends, talking when we could about our pasts, about Hogwarts, about family. I found myself becoming more and more comfortable around her, like I had with Potter and Weasley.
I smiled back, and we continued on our way out of the cabin, and up to the mess hall. Once there, Hermione and I met up with Liam, Tierney, Niamh, and Ceara. We all sat in silence, but inside, I knew all of us were exploding with anxiety. The plan that would soon come into action was a dangerous and tricky one. The master's dinner was set for later that evening, after we were to have had ours, and all the prisoners that weren't part of the household staff would be in their cabins. We hadn't told anyone except the girl who would put the poison in the cups, and the boy who knew where the wands were. I had apparated to Hogwarts, and told Dumbledore of our plan. He had immediately given me portkey objects and told me how to activate them. He mentioned setting up housing for all of those who would escape. He was beyond ecstatic that a whole camp of prisoners was going to be freed. When I got back, we put a portkey in each cabin, so that once the deatheaters were dead, each person could escape from their own cabin at the same time.
Everything was ready to go, we just had to get through the day, and wait for dinner to be served. To say that we were nervous was an understatement. Hermione was a wreck, but I knew she was anxious to leave. Who wouldn't be? The breakfast bell rang again, signaling the beginning of our torture for the day. I swore to myself that I would never ever buy a clock or anything, for that matter, that had bells on it. We marched out to the fields in our lines, and I remember looking around, thanking the gods that this would be the last day for me, for all of these people to have to walk this path. I remember that as I worked that day, I got a little emotional, because of the experience I'd had there. The two weeks that I was there had changed me even more than before. The people there had taught me how to have hope by the way they carried on, day after day, in the name of their loved ones. I remember thinking of how, after we got back to Hogwarts, these people would eventually heal and go on with their lives, and I would miss their fellowship, for I had talked to many of them in the past weeks. God, I was going soft.
After a while of hauling rocks, I paused to look up at the sun. It had barely moved since the last time I had checked its position. Just to try my patience, this day would be the slowest day of my life. I tried instead to fill my head with plans for when we escaped. How would Dumbledore find room to fit all these people at Hogwarts? What of the kids who were old enough to attend the school? I imagined the looks on the faces of the infamous trio when they were reunited once again. And most of all, I imagined what it would feel like to take a long, hot bath.
Of course, all of that imagining that day did nothing for me. I was still stuck with hauling in the furiously hot sun. Sometimes I wondered whether a deatheater had placed a curse on the sun to make it especially hot on the prisoners. Finally, the bell clanged again, meaning my last day of torture was over, and we could all go eat. If ever there was a moment when anxiety was running high among those behind the plan, this was it. Aguila was about to burst at the seams with excitement, and I had to shoot her a dark look to remind her where she was.
While eating the slop they tried to pass off as food, the girl who worked in the Master's household came to our table to finalize the plan. She was to poor the poison in all of the cups of both the Master's family, overseers, and if there were any, guests. The remaining poison would be dumped evenly into all pitchers used for serving. The poison would work slightly slow, taking about eight minutes to start its work. The girl would wait until the poison worked on all of its victims before returning to the kitchen. All of the overseers and deatheaters were to be at this dinner, so all of them would be taken care of. If there were any who escaped the poison, they would face me and my wand- and no one, save three people could match me in dueling. The girl left the table as unnoticed as a mouse, and the six of us were left in silence. We all stared around us at all of the people, and the building, not talking to each other. It was like a repeat of that morning. We were too nervous. Well, at least I was.
Our silence was interrupted when the boy who was taking care of the wands rushed to the table and sat down in a huff. He came up so quickly on us that the girls jumped, their startled faces confused. It took the boy a few moments to catch his breath before he could spit out what he had to tell us.
"I've just heard- the Master is having a guest tonight after all. Mr. Malfoy-" At this, my attention was completely focused on this boy, no more than two years younger than I, who was taking large gasps in between his explanation. The boy noticed my sudden vested interest, and paused a moment before continuing.
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's gasp main general, bigger gasp Lucius Malfoy, biggest one yet is visiting tonight."
The boy took the next few moments to stop his hyperventilating, while I took the information in. That imbecile was going to be here today, this evening. What if he saw me? What if he recognized me? Before I went into full panic mode, I reminded myself that he would be drugged along with the rest of the deatheaters. I decided that on my way back to the cabin after dinner, I'd rub a little extra dirt on my face, just in case.
"Do you know what this means?!?" exclaimed Liam. "Not only will we escape right under the noses of the master and the overseers, but one of the most powerful deatheaters too!"
I looked over at Aguila. She shot me a look akin to sympathy and understanding. She knew, somehow, the mixed feelings I was experiencing. When it all came down to it, this was just one more complication to overcome. We talked to the boy, now that he was breathing normally, and made sure he knew what to do. His part of the mission was to wait in the kitchen until the girl with the poison came back from the dining room, and then he was to get the trunk of wands and bring it to the doorway of the kitchens. Aguila, Liam, Niamh, Ceara, and Tierney would find their wands, close the trunk, and carry it to Tierney's cabin. At that time, Aguila and I would gather the camp together, tell them of our plan, and direct them to their own cabins. The other four would help them flock, and Aguila and I would go behind and make sure there was no one left behind. Once at Hogwarts, After everyone had been taken care of, their wands would be returned to them. There were so many possibilities of failure with this plan, but it had to work.
Soon after the boy left our table, the bell for the end of our dinner time rang. The six of us stood up, passing looks of anxiety and encouragement to each other. We knew what we each had to do, and we calmly walked to our places in line. Soon we were marching outside into the night, and I watched as those who were to staff the Master's dinner broke from the lines to head to the main house. As we passed the main house, I almost stumbled while I was craning my neck to see inside. The sky was already dark, and it was easy to see the sitting room of the house, as it was lighted with the most expensive chandeliers. I balled my fists when I recognized the tall, blonde man sitting to the right of Master Campbell.
"You!"
I was broken from my staring session by the overseer who was escorting us to the cabins. I was startled to find he was yelling at me.
"You, boy, come here."
My life flashed before my eyes. Somehow, I figured that our plan was found out, and I was discovered. Thank the gods, for once I was wrong.
"We're short on kitchen duty. Report to them at once." He proceeded to pick out a few others. To my surprise, he also picked Aguila. What luck! We didn't have to worry about sneaking to the kitchens to wait for the plan to start. We would already be there. Aguila quickly caught up with me, as we followed the others to the kitchens. We both exchanged smiles, both completely amazed to find that we would soon execute the greatest muggleborn escape in the wizarding world's history.
Once inside the kitchens, we began scrubbing pots, pans, dishes, and whatever other odds and ends the death eaters thought we should clean. As we walked inside, my attention immediately went to the trays of food ready to be served to the dinner party. As I washed dishes, I watched out of the corner of my as the mousy girl discreetly slipped the poison into all the pitchers. It was a large vial, and the poison would mix well with the wine. I nodded and smiled to the girl just as she exited the kitchens with her first batch of trays. The wine would be served as the food was set before them, so it was a matter of ten to fifteen minutes before showtime. There were no deatheaters left to watch us in the kitchens, nor outside watching over the cabins, because the monitor that followed the positions of the prisoners' bracelets was placed in the dining room with all of them. If there were any problems showing on the screens, deatheater overseers would be dispatched to take care of it. Only they would never make it, for they would be fast asleep.
Those minutes after the girl left were the longest minutes of my life up to that point. Anxiety, doubt in the success of the plan, and nervousness wracked my mind. I must have scrubbed the same plate many times, and I noticed Aguila was suffering from the same situation as I. Just when I was thinking of worst case scenarios, the girl burst through the kitchen doors.
"They're taken care of."
Aguila and I nodded to her in silent thanks, as the boy headed up the back stairs to retrieve the wand trunk. While we waited for him, I decided to take a look in the dining room. As I walked in, I was bombarded with an orchestra of snores. The head of every deatheater in the room was on the table, each of them sound asleep. Some were slumped on the floor, others fallen out of their chairs. I looked for the one I hated most. I found him near the head of the table. How fitting. No matter how hard he tried, he could never make it to the top. I walked over to his limp form, and took the dagger from his boot. I knew where he kept every weapon hidden on his body- a mistake he would wish he'd never made. I made ready to erase his existence then and there, but I felt a touch on my arm. I hadn't even heard her come in.
"Don't. Not here, not now. There will be a time when you will exact your vengeance on him as he deserves. This is too quick a death for him."
She spoke softly, as though someone were listening. And she was right. Lucius deserved something more psychologically painful, and he would get it. I lowered the dagger, wiped it with a napkin, and put it back in its sheath. I followed Aguila out of the dining room, and back into the kitchens. Just as we entered, the boy came clunking down the back stairway with a large trunk. His face was red with strain. He set it down, quite proud of himself. We thanked him before sending him to start helping the other four round up the campers. We had three hours before the poison would wear off. We had to be out of there in time.
While the others were busy gathering the camp, Agu-Hermione and I searched through the trunk for her wand. An "Ah ha" signaled that the long lost wand had found its owner. Hermione's eyes watered as she held up her wand. It was like she'd found a long lost sister or something. She sat in silence, waving it around, trying it out to make sure it still worked for her. I pulled out my wand from its hiding place, and placed a floating charm on the trunk. We walked out to the clearing behind the kitchens, and I charmed some torches to burn so that the prisoners could see us, and we could see them. By then, much of the camp had gathered, and most of them were talking to each other in confusion. They didn't understand how they could all be gathered without being caught.
Before long, as Hermione and I stood alone in the clearing before the crowd of prisoners, Liam, Ceara, Niamh, and Tierney showed up on the outskirts of the crowd and gave us a thumbs up. The whole camp was there. We were ready to start the second to last phase of the plan. I glanced over at Hermione, and she at me. Then she took a deep breath, as the attention of the entire camp of muggleborns was on the two of us.
"I know you all are wondering how we are all here without being zapped to pieces. We have good news. Last night was your last night here. We have crippled the deatheaters for a few short hours. In that time, we will all escape. Arrangements have been made for us to be transported to the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We ask that you all return to your cabins in an orderly fashion-" At this, dozens started to break from the crowd. The faces on all of them were stunned.
"Wait, not at this moment. Hear me out, so that this plan will succeed. This is your- our only chance of escape, and one mistake made by one person will ruin it for all of us. Stay where you are for the moment. Once I am done explaining, I want each of you to go back to your assigned cabins, and wait for one of the six of us to come to your cabin. You will all gather around a portkey that will take you to Hogwarts. There, you will receive guidance from the Headmaster. On your way to the cabins, please do not talk, don't dally around. We ALL escape tonight, and we ALL escape together. Now, please, quickly and quietly, go back to your cabins."
Hermione's instructions were understood by all, and the entire camp marched out to their cabins, not in their usual lines, but in order anyway. They followed her instructions to each point. No one talked in fear of not being able to escape. I was surprised that there were no disagreements, no outburst or questions. The campers were too tired to protest, too anxious to escape. I walked with some of the members of my cabin, as Hermione followed behind. There were sixteen cabins, and the three of us boys would make multiple trips to escort the cabins. The last trip would be made by Hermione and I, along with whatever stragglers we found.
"How did you all do this?" asked one of the men in my cabin.
"Pure luck and brilliant minds," I replied. I glanced at Hermione who stood along the far wall of the cabin, and smiled. She would wait there for me to return from the first load of soon to be ex prisoners. I picked up the portkey, a small, disfigured brick.
"Okay, everyone, gather round the brick. If you aren't able to reach it, hold onto someone who can, and so on. Hold on tight." I nodded to Hermione, and whispered the spell that activated the portkey. Immediately, I felt the pull at my navel, and the familiar nauseous feeling of traveling through space. In an instant, we arrived with a small fwump! on a bed of leaves. We were on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. Just beyond the thin line of trees, I saw the castle of Hogwarts looming in the distance.
"Lumos!" I lit my wand and motioned for the members of my cabin to follow me. We quietly exited the trees, and I saw four other shadowy groups following suit down the edge of the forest. We started running up the hill as quickly as possible, and soon made it to the courtyard of the castle. My jaw dropped in shock. Filling up the courtyard were many quickly built cabin-tents, temporary housing for the refugees. They were built in a large circle around a clearing at the center. I headed for that clearing. Since my group was the first to make it, I was greeted by Dumbledore.
"I see that yours and Ms. Granger's plan is working so far, so well?" The professor smiled. I smiled back.
"Yes, Professor. The groups are beginning to arrive. Ag-Hermione and I will head the last group. Here's the first of them." I motioned to the group of shocked refugees standing in awe behind me. They were free, and to see the happiness in their faces was more than enough for me. I felt as though I had finally done something to be proud of. This first group that had made it to the courtyard stood rooted to the ground, looking around at freedom. Some were smiling, and others started weeping. Some of Hogwarts' staff came out to help sort each of them. The injured and sick ones were taken immediately to the hospital wing in the castle. The rest were put in a line to have their bracelets removed. It was a simple spell, one that removed the magic contained in the bracelet, vanquished that magic, and unclasped the bracelet from its grip around the person's wrist.
I nodded to Dumbledore as I headed back towards the forest to apparate back to the camp. Just as I left, the other groups were making their way up to the courtyard. I nodded at them as I passed, and sprinted back to the tree line. I wanted this over with. I wanted everyone out of harm's way as soon as possible. I made it to the point of apparition safety, and disappeared. I landed inaudibly back to the cabin where Hermione was waiting.
"Well?!?!" She was very anxious, as you can imagine.
"They're safe. We need to get to the others. Go get the trunk of wands, and guide it to cabin 12- that's Tierney's next cabin." As an afterthought, I added,"Please."
She nodded, and as we left the cabin, she headed back toward the kitchens. I headed to next cabin to prepare them for their departure. I repeated the same process as the first group, hastily dropping them off at the clearing of the courtyard. By that time, other cabins were already being sorted and de-braceleted. I headed back to the camp, and successfully delivered two more cabin loads of refugees. In between each load, I caught brief glances of Hermione rushing between cabins to check for stragglers. On my third trip to the courtyard, I almost bowled over Harry as I was heading back to the forest.
"Where's Hermione?" He asked, in a rush.
"She and I will be with the last group out of there. She wanted to be the last to leave, to make sure everyone made it."
Mumble, mumble, was his reply, so I shook my head and continued toward the forest. Great. Her best friends were here, and they were going to cause a commotion when she arrived. I pushed myself through the crowd and went back to the camp. Soon, we were down to the last and smallest cabin load. All the other cabins had been emptied, but Hermione and I did a quick run- thru of the grounds, and the house. Hermione took a detour into the dining room. She stopped beside one of the overseers. She took a moment, pulled back her arm, and punched him as hard as she could. She didn't even flinch. The poison was so powerful, he wouldn't feel the pain until he woke up, and by then, I figured that his eye would be swollen shut. Hermione walked calmly out of the room, passing me, without a word. "Are you quite done?" I asked. She paused and turned around. First she looked at me, then back into the room, and shook her head. She then strode past me again, back into the room, and proceeded to punch another guard, once again, without flinching. I ahook my head in amazement as she passed me one last time out the door. "Now, I am satisfied." I laughed to myself and followed her out the door of the house, and to last cabin.
We finally made it to the cabin, but, once again, Hermione paused. She took a moment to look around the camp, and I saw no tears escaper her eyes. She closed them, took a deep breath, and entered the cabin. Inside, there were about twelve prisoners left. The portkey was a small shoelace. I held one end, as Hermione held the other. The others crowded around, and touched part of the shoelace.
"This is it. No more torture, everyone." I mumbled the words of the spell, and away we went.
(Thought I was gonna end it, didn't ya;P)
We arrived back in the tree line, and I helped pick up some of the others off the ground, including Hermione. In the moonlight, I could see the smile on her face stretching from ear to ear. Before I could turn, to lead them out, Ag- Hermione jumped at me, and gave me the biggest hug I'd ever had in my life. I was truly fearing for the existence of my air supply, when she let go. As much as her happiness was contagious, it was more than enough human contact than I'd wanted. I shook my head and began to lead the last of the refugees out of the forest, and up to the courtyard. Hermione was to be the caboose, but what ended up happening was altogether different. She started running so fast, that she zoomed by me, and I admit, I was left in the dust. So I fell back to behind the last person. We made it to the top of the hill, and, together, for Hermione waited for us to catch up, we entered the courtyard.
It was nearing chaos. The lines for de-braceleting, and wand retrieving were intermingled, and the ones who had been through both lines were milling about, looking for friends. It was like being stuck in the middle of a busy street in a large city. I directed the cabin to either of the lines, and then turned back to Hermione. She stood still where she was. Her gaze was fixed upon the lighted castle walls, and the courtyard filled with smiling people. This was her dream come true, and to see her expression, to feel the range of emotions just by standing next to her was an unreal experience. She was radiating relief, and her smile never faltered. This is why I did all of it, I thought to myself. To see this from her. That's why.
I had to shake her a bit to remind her that the moment was real, and she was free. "Would you like to be rid of that bracelet?" I asked. She nodded after a moment, still in a daze. I muttered the words for the release spell, and soon the bracelet came off, and I threw it in the pile of them beside us. She broke out of her daze soon after, and turned to me.
"Thank you, Br- Draco. I owe you my life, as well as the rest of these people here. We would have never escaped without all that you did. Thank you so much." This followed by another breath extinguishing hug. Once I regained my precious air, I answered.
"I wasn't the only one that saved them. You were the one with the plan. Consider your debt repaid, as you also saved all of these people's lives. We should go find Professor Dumbledore, he'll want to see you." She nodded, and we turned to look for him, but we were stopped by a loud shout. Two actually.
"HERMIONE!!!!!!!!"
Behind us, Harry and Ron came running, shouting and waving frantically. I turned to Hermione to find her face completely white as a ghost's.
A/N The end this time, I promise. Immediately ducks the overly rotten fruit and veggies that have been rotting for over seven months now. I know, I know, bad Soronume. I claim disability though. Several, now that we come down to it. First, I diagnosed myself with UAWBS- "Unusually Awful Writer's Block Syndrome. And the there was that bout of MTLMWTMHS- My Teachers Loaded Me With Too Much Homework Syndrome. But now, that is all over. Guess why? Not only is it summer, but now, I am officially a college student. Yes, ladies and...ladies (I apologize if there are any actual gents out there, but I'm beginning to believe that d/h ships being read by guys is like me believing in santa) well, anyhoo, Yes, I am a college student!!! Woohoo. So, yeah, I've got a whole summer to work on this story. I'm hoping to get at least four more chapters out, if not more. Thank you for all of your reviews, I'm glad that some people are still humoring me. Next chapter: Hermione's reaction to Harry, Ron, and Dumbledore, as well as freedom. Have a great Fourth of July to all you Amreicans!