Chapter 19: Through the Storm
"Ginny!" Draco yelled in horror. He tried to grab at the girl's descending form, but all he found between his fists was empty air. What could he do now? But suddenly, Draco remembered his dropped wand—where the bloody hell was it? After a fleeting moment of panicked searching, he cursed at finding it right next to his foot. "Wingardium leviosa!" He yelled, pointing the wand at the flurry of crimson hair before him. And though the spell stopped the now unconscious Ginny from plummeting any closer to the ground, it also stopped Riddle since he had been holding on to Ginny.
Draco moved his wand up and down and side to side, trying to some how shake Riddle off Ginny, but the fact remained—his levitation charm had caught either Ginny or Riddle, though which of the two, neither Draco nor Riddle could tell.
"What now, little Malfoy?" Riddle called up to Draco.
Draco stood his ground, holding his wand steady, but he felt his jaws tighten. It was as though his teeth wanted to tear themselves out of his gums, and when Draco opened his mouth, he cried out slightly as he cut a portion of his bottom lip. Why were his teeth so sharp? He moved a hand to his mouth and ran his fingers across his teeth and a cold wave of fear, or maybe confusion, swept over him. No wonder he'd felt like someone was trying to rip his teeth out of his mouth… his bicuspids had grown over a centimeter each and his other teeth were pointier, too!
He tried to remain impassive, but his eyes were wide open in shock and the longer teeth made it feel like he had extra teeth in his mouth, preventing him from closing it.
"Ah! The transformation is already taking place! In no time at all, you and I shall be kin!" A wicked smile slithered its way across Riddle's face.
"Shut up!" Draco yelled through his teeth.
"There's absolutely nothing you can do about it," Riddle replied as he looked at Ginny. "As long as I'm alive, you're a vampire and as long as I hold onto her, I stay alive."
Draco thought about trying to shake Riddle off of Ginny again, but internally kicked himself for thinking it. What if the spell had actually caught Riddle and he ended up shaking Ginny off? She'd die and it would be his fault… his first kill. He looked back at Riddle, a hideous grin covering the majority of the dark wizard's countenance.
"What now, little Malfoy?" Riddle taunted.
x x x
Ron had finally stopped convulsing and sweating after the serum Snape had made for him had begun working through his body and neutralizing all the Vipertooth venom that had spread through his bloodstream.
Harry gave a sigh of relief and for one of the first times in his life, silently thanked Snape. Maybe he'd send him a bottle of shampoo this Christmas.
"Headmaster," Harry heard Hermione say. "What'll we be doing about Ginny and Draco?" She paused as Dumbledore turned her way. "I mean, I know we're going to save them and all, but do you have a plan or any idea on how we ought to go about that, sir?"
Harry realized he'd been grinning stupidly at his previous thought and quickly wiped the look off his face and internally slapped himself. How could he have been so stupid and ignorant as to forget about Ginny and Malfoy? They were still in grave danger.
"We are not going anywhere, Ms. Granger," Dumbledore said.
"What?" Harry burst out.
Dumbledore pursed his lips slightly. "You, Ms. Granger, and Mr. Weasley are about to be transported back to Hogwarts. In fact, we all are. We're going to the Hogwarts Infirmary."
"Headmaster!" Hermione half yelled in disbelief. "Ginny! And Draco! We can't just leave them here! That's absolutely absurd!"
"An' Ron would boil up ta 'is pink Weasley ears if 'e e'er foun' out we lef' Ginny behin'!" Hagrid wailed.
Snape was about to say something, but Dumbledore spoke first. "I know that, Hagrid, but we'll only be leaving them for a few minutes. Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Potter will stay behind at the infirmary and from there we will decide which of us comes back to the Manor to retrieve Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Weasley. We will also be able to ask the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic to help us find exactly where in the Manor Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Weasley are, therefore saving us much needed time."
Harry eyed Hermione and she did the same to him. The plan made enough sense. It was better to go about this sort of thing in a calm-mannered, sensible way rather than rush into things. Harry remembered what had happened the last time that he'd rushed into something without thinking first. It had cost him the life of the person he loved most.
Finally, both Harry and Hermione nodded. "Okay," Harry said.
"Good. Everyone needs to find a partner." Dumbledore first instructed.
Immediately, Hagrid swooped Ron's limp form into his arms. Hermione was already standing near Dumbledore, so she took a step closer to claim him as her partner as she gave Harry a sympathetic look, for he was stuck with Snape.
"Potter," Snape addressed with a curt nod. It had actually looked more like he'd tried to sniff Harry, but Harry was trying not to think about it.
"Now, everyone gather together," Dumbledore said next. Since he'd said it, everyone moved closer to him. "Clasp your partner's hand and please make certain you do not let go."
Harry cautiously slipped his hand into Snape's. He turned to Hermione and quickly made a face like he was about to be sick. She stifled a giggle and went back to paying attention to Dumbledore.
"While holding onto your partner's hand, use your free hand to hold the hand of another person," Dumbledore continued.
After a little bit of difficulty (Hagrid had to juggle Ron a bit), all six people were connected: Snape, Harry, Hagrid, Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore.
Dumbledore began his incantation, but Harry wasn't paying attention to him. Ron had started to stir! He's going to be okay!
Then Ron finally opened his eyes, and looked around in shock until a single thought settled in his mind. "Ginny!" He yelled. "Where's Ginny?" He tried to struggle out of Hagrid's arms.
Harry saw Hermione glance at Dumbledore; the Headmaster's eyes were still closed and he was deep in concentration.
The next events played out in a blur. "What's going on? Where's Ginny?" Ron yelled. Hermione tried to shush him, but then Ron jumped out of Hagrid's arms.
"Ron!" Hermione cried, instinctively letting go of Dumbledore's hand. "You can't leave the circle—" Hermione stopped herself. She'd left the circle!
Realizing this, Harry tried to let go of Snape's hand, but before he could, there was a flash of white light, and they were gone.
x x x
"Hermio—!" The floor muffled the rest of his friend's name. Harry picked himself up and looked around—he was in the Hogwarts Infirmary…and Ron and Hermione weren't! "Ron! Hermione!" Harry whirled around and the only person he saw was Snape. "Professor! Everyone! They're gone! What happened?"
"I think you know what happened, Potter," Snape said in a rather annoyed tone.
Harry mouthed wordlessly, completely out of breath and panicked.
"Your halfwit friend," Snape said. This apparently wasn't enough explanation for Harry, so Snape restated. "Ronald Weasley broke the connection, and his little girlfriend decided to go chase after him."
"Then what about Hagrid and—wait a minute! She is not his girlfriend!" Harry shouted.
Snape sneered. "Mr. Potter, I beg you to stay on topic."
Harry gritted his teeth. "Well, we've got to go back! We have to! Maybe we can get a Port Key or—no! We could Floo back to Malfoy Manor! I've got to go back and save Ron and Hermione!" Harry said more to himself than to Snape.
"You are not going anywhere! Not by Floo, Port Key, apparition—" Snape watched a suspicious look cross Harry's face, "—or by broomstick!"
Harry's mouth dropped open. "But we can't just stay here and wait! I've got to go get them! They're in Malfoy Manor, Professor! And what about Headmaster Dumbledore? And Hagrid? They're in Malfoy Manor!" Harry yelled, stressing their current locations.
"I've been to Malfoy Manor before, too, Mr. Potter."
"And?" Harry asked, throwing his arms up. "What does that matter at a time like this?"
Snape furrowed his eyebrows. "You can't always play hero, Potter! If you'd just use the brain in your head once in a while, things would get done much quicker, you'd know that I could handle the Malfoy Manor situation better than you ever could, and Sirius Black would still be alive."
At that, Harry's eyes were plates on his face. He was shocked that of all people, Snape had been the one to bring up the topic so blatantly. He began backing away, trying to find something to grab hold of to steady himself.
"It's your fault he's dead, Potter. I blame you more than I blame Lestrange! She was brought up to kill—she did her job well! And even after considering your living circumstances, you were not brought up to be stupid. At the moment I'm not quite sure what you were brought up to be, but stupid is not it and just to assuage your hopes, you surely were not brought up to be the hero either."
Harry felt sick to his stomach. He closed his eyes tightly, but it was as if Snape's words were burned to the backs of his eyelids; they shone like the letters that had been emitted from Tom Riddle's wand down in the Chamber of Secrets during his second year at Hogwarts. "Just shut up!" Harry stuttered. "Stop it—I'm sorry, okay?"
Snape crossed his arms and walked closer to Harry. He stopped short of him and looked around. When Harry looked up at him with watery eyes, Snape shrugged. "You're sorry? You're sorry now? That's brilliant, Potter, but do you see anything happening?" Harry looked down as a single teardrop rolled down his cheek. "No," Snape answered for him. "No, nothing is happening, and that's because sorry doesn't fix everything. 'Sorry' means weakness, and though I despise your cocky, arrogant, and big-headed self, I know weakness is not something you seek. To repent for something you have caused—something you have done, you must do more."
Harry finally looked up voluntarily. Snape, the professor, was almost making sense now. For the longest time, he'd been thinking about how he would deal with Sirius' death, but he'd never done anything about it. His voice came out as a croak at first, but it cleared as he spoke. "What do you suggest I do, Professor?"
Snape narrowed his eyes and looked over his nose at Harry. "Nothing." Harry couldn't hide the look of shock on his face. Snape scoffed at Harry. "I thought something had actually penetrated through all that hair on your head, but I guess I was wrong."
"But Professor! You just explained that I need to take action in order to repent for—for Sirius' death!" Harry gasped. That had been one of the first times since his fifth year that he had actually spoken Sirius' name aloud. He remembered how the name used to roll off his tongue. This time, it did just that, though it rolled off his tongue with barbed wire strung around it. He looked to Snape for assistance. It was so odd looking to Snape for assistance of all things, but if he'd done it before during his fifth year, then Sir—
"This is not your battle, Potter," Snape interrupted his thoughts. "You will do everyone the most help by staying out of the way. You are not the hero in this story."
"But my life consists of more than one story thus far and surely has more stories to come. I will be a hero," Harry said. "Someday," he then added.
Snape almost smirked. "Very well," he said, satisfied for some reason. "I believe it would be the Headmaster's wish that you rest, now that you're here."
Harry nodded and warily stuck out his hand to shake Snape's. He'd nearly waited for a full minute before Snape finally placed his hand in Harry's.
"I'm so glad you're not in my House."
Harry furrowed his brows and turned away, letting go of Snape's hand. "So am I," he muttered, taking his shirt off and fumbling with the buttons on the polyester pajamas provided by the Infirmary.
As soon as everything was set, Madame Pomfrey administered a mild sleeping potion to Harry. It tasted like sauerkraut, but he drank it all the same. However, as he was drinking the potion, he caught Snape staring at him. Even without his glasses and even as his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, he could tell Snape was staring at him. With one last swig, Harry downed the contents of the cup and just as he glanced back at Snape, his heart jumped. Matted, long black hair, defined jaw, black ensemble. It reminded him so much of…
Harry never got to finish the thought, however, because the sleeping potion had gone into effect and the cup lay forgotten in his open hand.
It was the first time in a long time he'd slept the whole night through.
x x x
Draco helplessly stared down at Ginny, and since Tom was holding onto her, he was forced to stare at him, too. He ran his fingers through his hair. What now? He thought desperately.
But Riddle suddenly interrupted Draco's thoughts. "I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner." Draco looked down at the sinister grin across Riddle's face. "You were always such a miserable child. So quiet—always holed up in your room," he trailed off. "But I can't have a miserable vampire on my hands. And for this reason, I've found you a little playmate!"
Draco's stomach lurched. There was only one other person here!
Draco yelled out. "Ginny! Damn you, Weasley! Wake up!" He watched on in horror as Riddle's gaze left him and instead, focused on Ginny's neck. The dark wizard opened his mouth, revealing two rows of sharp and lethal vampire fangs.
Damn you, Weasley, Draco thought to himself.
Just as Riddle's teeth touched down on Ginny's throat, Draco released both Ginny and Riddle from his levitation charm.
He would've watched the two plummet to the ground, except Draco had done the stupidest thing imaginable at that same moment.
Draco had jumped out the window.
x x x
Ron was panicked a moment ago, but now he could only stare at the space that Harry had been just milliseconds before. He wasn't panicked anymore… now he was confused and panicked. "Hermione! Everyone's disappeared! Why are we still here? Where are they?" He asked, flashing a pair of worried eyes at his friend.
Hermione glared at Ron, her hands placed firmly on her hips. She reminded Ron of his mum. "We are still here and not at the Hogwarts Infirmary like everyone else because you let go of Hagrid's hand during Dumbledore's incantation, and I, being equally stupid for once, just had to leave the circle to come after you! It's your fault we're still here!"
"What?" Ron asked, flabbergasted. "You mean we were all going to get whooshed away to Hogwarts while Ginny was still here? In Malfoy Manor? How totally not sensible! And how was I supposed to know we were in some incantating apparition circle?" Ron hollered. "I'm glad I left the circle. And it's your own stupid fault that you came after me." He turned away from her and crossed his arms over his chest.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron! I hope you haven't forgotten Malfoy is still here, too! We have to rescue him, too!"
"I know he's still here," Ron retorted. "But he lives here. How brave of us to come all this way to 'save' him by taking him away from his own house!" He'd turned back around now and was scowling at Hermione.
"Ron! You know quite well that Malfoy isn't safe anymore in his own home and that's why we've come for both Malfoy and Ginny. So would you please stop talking now? We need to get back to Hogwarts."
Ron mouthed wordlessly. "You go on and on about saving people, but you still want to leave Ginny behind and—"
"Ginny and Malfoy!" Hermione corrected.
"Fine! You want to leave Ginny and Malfoy behind? You just want to frolic back to Hogwarts now?"
"If you'd been conscious to hear Dumbledore's initial plan, we were to return to the Hogwarts Infirmary where we would regain our strength, consult Aurors about Ginny and Draco's exact locations—"
"Draco?" Ron spat out. "What? Are you going to marry him now? A Gryffindor marrying a Slytherin? Since when have you been on a first-name basis with him? Exactly how long was I knocked out?" He scoffed.
"Ron! Would you just shut up?" Hermione screamed. She was so frustrated it looked as though her hair was standing on end.
"I'll do whatever I want, not what you want," Ron sniffed with nothing else to say.
There was an odd silence.
"Thank you," Hermione said, satisfied. "Anyway, we need to find a way back to Hogwarts."
"No, we need to find Ginny." Ron saw Hermione's lips twitch and he threw up his hands. "Ginny and Malfoy! Jeez! We need to find them both before we do anything, and I don't care what you say."
Ron watched Hermione think to herself for a minute before she finally said, "Fine."
Shocked, Ron questioned her. "What? You don't want to go back to Hogwarts anymore?"
"Well, I do want to go back, but I've been thinking of spells, charms, and enchantments and can't seem to think of anything powerful enough to get us past the Manor's tight security and all the way back to Hogwarts. It'd be easier if we weren't in range of the Manor's security, but I have no idea how far the spells and charms around the Manor extend out, so it would be a grand waste of time to go scouting the outskirts of the Manor with only half our strength. So since we can't exactly find a way back, might as well make our time useful by finding Ginny and Malfoy." Ron only stared at her. "So lead the way, Diviner."
"What're you going on about?" Ron asked, baffled at how Hermione had addressed him.
"Well, you're a Diviner," Hermione said matter-of-factly.
"I know, you already told me," Ron rolled his eyes.
Hermione bit her bottom lip. "Don't you remember your vision? You were yelling and screaming, throwing your arms and legs about, and shaking all over the place. And the only thing you'd keep shouting was Ginny's name."
Ron felt as though all his organs had come detached and had dropped to the bottom of his stomach. Ginny! He couldn't remember having had any visions at all! However, he hid his concern and worry from Hermione. "Er… oh! Those visions!" Ron exclaimed, laughing nervously. "Why didn't you say you meant those visions?"
Hermione smiled a bit uncertainly. "So, you kind of remember where we ought to go to look for Ginny?"
"Yeah!" Ron said, as if it was quite clear in his mind.
"Okay," Hermione sounded a bit more certain now. "Lead the way, Diviner." She smiled at him.
Ron gave her a squeamish grin before proceeding down the corridor.
He had absolutely no idea where he was going.
x x x
Though Draco's airtime only lasted about five seconds, he felt everything happen in slow motion.
The moment his feet had left the stability of his room, he felt the rain outside hit the nape of his neck and slowly begin to dampen his hair, his shirt, then the skin under his shirt. Though it was rather humid outside, the terror of the whole situation had him feeling bitingly cold.
Draco stretched out his arms and extended his fingers, letting his wand fall to the ground in doing so. He yelled as he approached the figures of Tom and Ginny. Riddle's eyes bugged out; it seemed he had just realized that he was falling to the ground. Draco knew Riddle would try to put Ginny's body between his body and the ground, so as soon as Draco had a firm grip on Riddle's shirt, he grabbed Ginny and flung her on top of him.
The three people landed on the ground in a sandwich with Tom on the bottom, then Draco, then Ginny.
Draco could only hear the thundering of rain from overhead, growing ever louder. His head spun as he rolled Ginny's body off his back. She was still unconscious, but looked fine otherwise. And as he turned to look at Riddle, he realized why he was so dizzy. Draco's right leg was bent in an abnormal fashion; it was broken. Other than that, he could feel a large bruise on his elbow, but when he caught sight of Riddle, his injuries were nothing compared to the dark wizard's. Riddle's eyes were closed and he almost looked as though he was in a peaceful slumber, save the rivers of blood gushing out of his cracked skull.
A wave of relief swept over Draco. He tried to ignore the wave of nausea that accompanied it. I killed Tom Riddle? Draco thought in disbelief. He would've liked to give a mad sort of laugh at that, but his head hurt too much to do such a thing now and besides, no one conscious was around to see him in his glory.
He looked up at the rain. This is really bad for my hair, he thought to himself. When he looked down, he spotted his wand sticking out erect from a muddy mound of dirt near a tree just out of reach. He slid over to it, his bones screaming in agony as he did so, and pulled the wand out, wiping it clean on his soggy robes. He pocketed the wand and slid closer to the tree until he was propped up in a sitting position against it. Then he bent towards Ginny, caught hold of her shoulder and slowly pulled her next to him. The rain wasn't so bad under the tree.
Draco ran his fingers through his hair, too tired to worry about his dirty fingernails. At least the worst of it's all over, he thought to himself. He looked over at Riddle again—how he lay sprawled on the ground on his back. Before, he had tried to avoid looking at Riddle's face, but curiosity got the best of him. Draco directed his gaze to Tom's face, and when he did, Draco got the shock of his life.
Riddle's eyes had suddenly snapped open.
Author's Note: I know, I know, it took long enough for me to get this chapter up, but I had an uninvited guest… writer's block! But since I finally got chapter 19 up, it means the uninvited guest has left! Yay! And in doing so, I leave you with yet another cliffhanger…kind of. But be glad! My initial plan was to just leave you with Draco (and Tom and Ginny) in midair! At least they're on the ground now! XD Also, the scene between Snape and Harry MAY seem uncanon to some of you, but honestly, it's my sort of canon. I believe Snape is a good guy, even though he's rather mean to Harry & co., so I had to have that little excerpt in there with Snape being the wise one that helps Harry out. So after reading that scene, it means Harry's kinda out for the rest of the fic. My plan is to end everything by chapter 20, so one more to go! It's been phun!
Chapter 20: Like I said, this will be the last chapter of DINB, so everything will be resolved. Er… enough said? ;
Lastly, thanks again to all my wonderful reviewers! Fic writers thrive on reviews and reviewers, and I'm proud to say that mine are the best: bigreader, Eiko, Jonah, Trinity, Spinn, Lisa, PrincessGreenleaf66, Caroline, and crazyfire89.
"Ginny!" Draco yelled in horror. He tried to grab at the girl's descending form, but all he found between his fists was empty air. What could he do now? But suddenly, Draco remembered his dropped wand—where the bloody hell was it? After a fleeting moment of panicked searching, he cursed at finding it right next to his foot. "Wingardium leviosa!" He yelled, pointing the wand at the flurry of crimson hair before him. And though the spell stopped the now unconscious Ginny from plummeting any closer to the ground, it also stopped Riddle since he had been holding on to Ginny.
Draco moved his wand up and down and side to side, trying to some how shake Riddle off Ginny, but the fact remained—his levitation charm had caught either Ginny or Riddle, though which of the two, neither Draco nor Riddle could tell.
"What now, little Malfoy?" Riddle called up to Draco.
Draco stood his ground, holding his wand steady, but he felt his jaws tighten. It was as though his teeth wanted to tear themselves out of his gums, and when Draco opened his mouth, he cried out slightly as he cut a portion of his bottom lip. Why were his teeth so sharp? He moved a hand to his mouth and ran his fingers across his teeth and a cold wave of fear, or maybe confusion, swept over him. No wonder he'd felt like someone was trying to rip his teeth out of his mouth… his bicuspids had grown over a centimeter each and his other teeth were pointier, too!
He tried to remain impassive, but his eyes were wide open in shock and the longer teeth made it feel like he had extra teeth in his mouth, preventing him from closing it.
"Ah! The transformation is already taking place! In no time at all, you and I shall be kin!" A wicked smile slithered its way across Riddle's face.
"Shut up!" Draco yelled through his teeth.
"There's absolutely nothing you can do about it," Riddle replied as he looked at Ginny. "As long as I'm alive, you're a vampire and as long as I hold onto her, I stay alive."
Draco thought about trying to shake Riddle off of Ginny again, but internally kicked himself for thinking it. What if the spell had actually caught Riddle and he ended up shaking Ginny off? She'd die and it would be his fault… his first kill. He looked back at Riddle, a hideous grin covering the majority of the dark wizard's countenance.
"What now, little Malfoy?" Riddle taunted.
Ron had finally stopped convulsing and sweating after the serum Snape had made for him had begun working through his body and neutralizing all the Vipertooth venom that had spread through his bloodstream.
Harry gave a sigh of relief and for one of the first times in his life, silently thanked Snape. Maybe he'd send him a bottle of shampoo this Christmas.
"Headmaster," Harry heard Hermione say. "What'll we be doing about Ginny and Draco?" She paused as Dumbledore turned her way. "I mean, I know we're going to save them and all, but do you have a plan or any idea on how we ought to go about that, sir?"
Harry realized he'd been grinning stupidly at his previous thought and quickly wiped the look off his face and internally slapped himself. How could he have been so stupid and ignorant as to forget about Ginny and Malfoy? They were still in grave danger.
"We are not going anywhere, Ms. Granger," Dumbledore said.
"What?" Harry burst out.
Dumbledore pursed his lips slightly. "You, Ms. Granger, and Mr. Weasley are about to be transported back to Hogwarts. In fact, we all are. We're going to the Hogwarts Infirmary."
"Headmaster!" Hermione half yelled in disbelief. "Ginny! And Draco! We can't just leave them here! That's absolutely absurd!"
"An' Ron would boil up ta 'is pink Weasley ears if 'e e'er foun' out we lef' Ginny behin'!" Hagrid wailed.
Snape was about to say something, but Dumbledore spoke first. "I know that, Hagrid, but we'll only be leaving them for a few minutes. Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Potter will stay behind at the infirmary and from there we will decide which of us comes back to the Manor to retrieve Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Weasley. We will also be able to ask the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic to help us find exactly where in the Manor Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Weasley are, therefore saving us much needed time."
Harry eyed Hermione and she did the same to him. The plan made enough sense. It was better to go about this sort of thing in a calm-mannered, sensible way rather than rush into things. Harry remembered what had happened the last time that he'd rushed into something without thinking first. It had cost him the life of the person he loved most.
Finally, both Harry and Hermione nodded. "Okay," Harry said.
"Good. Everyone needs to find a partner." Dumbledore first instructed.
Immediately, Hagrid swooped Ron's limp form into his arms. Hermione was already standing near Dumbledore, so she took a step closer to claim him as her partner as she gave Harry a sympathetic look, for he was stuck with Snape.
"Potter," Snape addressed with a curt nod. It had actually looked more like he'd tried to sniff Harry, but Harry was trying not to think about it.
"Now, everyone gather together," Dumbledore said next. Since he'd said it, everyone moved closer to him. "Clasp your partner's hand and please make certain you do not let go."
Harry cautiously slipped his hand into Snape's. He turned to Hermione and quickly made a face like he was about to be sick. She stifled a giggle and went back to paying attention to Dumbledore.
"While holding onto your partner's hand, use your free hand to hold the hand of another person," Dumbledore continued.
After a little bit of difficulty (Hagrid had to juggle Ron a bit), all six people were connected: Snape, Harry, Hagrid, Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore.
Dumbledore began his incantation, but Harry wasn't paying attention to him. Ron had started to stir! He's going to be okay!
Then Ron finally opened his eyes, and looked around in shock until a single thought settled in his mind. "Ginny!" He yelled. "Where's Ginny?" He tried to struggle out of Hagrid's arms.
Harry saw Hermione glance at Dumbledore; the Headmaster's eyes were still closed and he was deep in concentration.
The next events played out in a blur. "What's going on? Where's Ginny?" Ron yelled. Hermione tried to shush him, but then Ron jumped out of Hagrid's arms.
"Ron!" Hermione cried, instinctively letting go of Dumbledore's hand. "You can't leave the circle—" Hermione stopped herself. She'd left the circle!
Realizing this, Harry tried to let go of Snape's hand, but before he could, there was a flash of white light, and they were gone.
"Hermio—!" The floor muffled the rest of his friend's name. Harry picked himself up and looked around—he was in the Hogwarts Infirmary…and Ron and Hermione weren't! "Ron! Hermione!" Harry whirled around and the only person he saw was Snape. "Professor! Everyone! They're gone! What happened?"
"I think you know what happened, Potter," Snape said in a rather annoyed tone.
Harry mouthed wordlessly, completely out of breath and panicked.
"Your halfwit friend," Snape said. This apparently wasn't enough explanation for Harry, so Snape restated. "Ronald Weasley broke the connection, and his little girlfriend decided to go chase after him."
"Then what about Hagrid and—wait a minute! She is not his girlfriend!" Harry shouted.
Snape sneered. "Mr. Potter, I beg you to stay on topic."
Harry gritted his teeth. "Well, we've got to go back! We have to! Maybe we can get a Port Key or—no! We could Floo back to Malfoy Manor! I've got to go back and save Ron and Hermione!" Harry said more to himself than to Snape.
"You are not going anywhere! Not by Floo, Port Key, apparition—" Snape watched a suspicious look cross Harry's face, "—or by broomstick!"
Harry's mouth dropped open. "But we can't just stay here and wait! I've got to go get them! They're in Malfoy Manor, Professor! And what about Headmaster Dumbledore? And Hagrid? They're in Malfoy Manor!" Harry yelled, stressing their current locations.
"I've been to Malfoy Manor before, too, Mr. Potter."
"And?" Harry asked, throwing his arms up. "What does that matter at a time like this?"
Snape furrowed his eyebrows. "You can't always play hero, Potter! If you'd just use the brain in your head once in a while, things would get done much quicker, you'd know that I could handle the Malfoy Manor situation better than you ever could, and Sirius Black would still be alive."
At that, Harry's eyes were plates on his face. He was shocked that of all people, Snape had been the one to bring up the topic so blatantly. He began backing away, trying to find something to grab hold of to steady himself.
"It's your fault he's dead, Potter. I blame you more than I blame Lestrange! She was brought up to kill—she did her job well! And even after considering your living circumstances, you were not brought up to be stupid. At the moment I'm not quite sure what you were brought up to be, but stupid is not it and just to assuage your hopes, you surely were not brought up to be the hero either."
Harry felt sick to his stomach. He closed his eyes tightly, but it was as if Snape's words were burned to the backs of his eyelids; they shone like the letters that had been emitted from Tom Riddle's wand down in the Chamber of Secrets during his second year at Hogwarts. "Just shut up!" Harry stuttered. "Stop it—I'm sorry, okay?"
Snape crossed his arms and walked closer to Harry. He stopped short of him and looked around. When Harry looked up at him with watery eyes, Snape shrugged. "You're sorry? You're sorry now? That's brilliant, Potter, but do you see anything happening?" Harry looked down as a single teardrop rolled down his cheek. "No," Snape answered for him. "No, nothing is happening, and that's because sorry doesn't fix everything. 'Sorry' means weakness, and though I despise your cocky, arrogant, and big-headed self, I know weakness is not something you seek. To repent for something you have caused—something you have done, you must do more."
Harry finally looked up voluntarily. Snape, the professor, was almost making sense now. For the longest time, he'd been thinking about how he would deal with Sirius' death, but he'd never done anything about it. His voice came out as a croak at first, but it cleared as he spoke. "What do you suggest I do, Professor?"
Snape narrowed his eyes and looked over his nose at Harry. "Nothing." Harry couldn't hide the look of shock on his face. Snape scoffed at Harry. "I thought something had actually penetrated through all that hair on your head, but I guess I was wrong."
"But Professor! You just explained that I need to take action in order to repent for—for Sirius' death!" Harry gasped. That had been one of the first times since his fifth year that he had actually spoken Sirius' name aloud. He remembered how the name used to roll off his tongue. This time, it did just that, though it rolled off his tongue with barbed wire strung around it. He looked to Snape for assistance. It was so odd looking to Snape for assistance of all things, but if he'd done it before during his fifth year, then Sir—
"This is not your battle, Potter," Snape interrupted his thoughts. "You will do everyone the most help by staying out of the way. You are not the hero in this story."
"But my life consists of more than one story thus far and surely has more stories to come. I will be a hero," Harry said. "Someday," he then added.
Snape almost smirked. "Very well," he said, satisfied for some reason. "I believe it would be the Headmaster's wish that you rest, now that you're here."
Harry nodded and warily stuck out his hand to shake Snape's. He'd nearly waited for a full minute before Snape finally placed his hand in Harry's.
"I'm so glad you're not in my House."
Harry furrowed his brows and turned away, letting go of Snape's hand. "So am I," he muttered, taking his shirt off and fumbling with the buttons on the polyester pajamas provided by the Infirmary.
As soon as everything was set, Madame Pomfrey administered a mild sleeping potion to Harry. It tasted like sauerkraut, but he drank it all the same. However, as he was drinking the potion, he caught Snape staring at him. Even without his glasses and even as his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, he could tell Snape was staring at him. With one last swig, Harry downed the contents of the cup and just as he glanced back at Snape, his heart jumped. Matted, long black hair, defined jaw, black ensemble. It reminded him so much of…
Harry never got to finish the thought, however, because the sleeping potion had gone into effect and the cup lay forgotten in his open hand.
It was the first time in a long time he'd slept the whole night through.
Draco helplessly stared down at Ginny, and since Tom was holding onto her, he was forced to stare at him, too. He ran his fingers through his hair. What now? He thought desperately.
But Riddle suddenly interrupted Draco's thoughts. "I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner." Draco looked down at the sinister grin across Riddle's face. "You were always such a miserable child. So quiet—always holed up in your room," he trailed off. "But I can't have a miserable vampire on my hands. And for this reason, I've found you a little playmate!"
Draco's stomach lurched. There was only one other person here!
Draco yelled out. "Ginny! Damn you, Weasley! Wake up!" He watched on in horror as Riddle's gaze left him and instead, focused on Ginny's neck. The dark wizard opened his mouth, revealing two rows of sharp and lethal vampire fangs.
Damn you, Weasley, Draco thought to himself.
Just as Riddle's teeth touched down on Ginny's throat, Draco released both Ginny and Riddle from his levitation charm.
He would've watched the two plummet to the ground, except Draco had done the stupidest thing imaginable at that same moment.
Draco had jumped out the window.
Ron was panicked a moment ago, but now he could only stare at the space that Harry had been just milliseconds before. He wasn't panicked anymore… now he was confused and panicked. "Hermione! Everyone's disappeared! Why are we still here? Where are they?" He asked, flashing a pair of worried eyes at his friend.
Hermione glared at Ron, her hands placed firmly on her hips. She reminded Ron of his mum. "We are still here and not at the Hogwarts Infirmary like everyone else because you let go of Hagrid's hand during Dumbledore's incantation, and I, being equally stupid for once, just had to leave the circle to come after you! It's your fault we're still here!"
"What?" Ron asked, flabbergasted. "You mean we were all going to get whooshed away to Hogwarts while Ginny was still here? In Malfoy Manor? How totally not sensible! And how was I supposed to know we were in some incantating apparition circle?" Ron hollered. "I'm glad I left the circle. And it's your own stupid fault that you came after me." He turned away from her and crossed his arms over his chest.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron! I hope you haven't forgotten Malfoy is still here, too! We have to rescue him, too!"
"I know he's still here," Ron retorted. "But he lives here. How brave of us to come all this way to 'save' him by taking him away from his own house!" He'd turned back around now and was scowling at Hermione.
"Ron! You know quite well that Malfoy isn't safe anymore in his own home and that's why we've come for both Malfoy and Ginny. So would you please stop talking now? We need to get back to Hogwarts."
Ron mouthed wordlessly. "You go on and on about saving people, but you still want to leave Ginny behind and—"
"Ginny and Malfoy!" Hermione corrected.
"Fine! You want to leave Ginny and Malfoy behind? You just want to frolic back to Hogwarts now?"
"If you'd been conscious to hear Dumbledore's initial plan, we were to return to the Hogwarts Infirmary where we would regain our strength, consult Aurors about Ginny and Draco's exact locations—"
"Draco?" Ron spat out. "What? Are you going to marry him now? A Gryffindor marrying a Slytherin? Since when have you been on a first-name basis with him? Exactly how long was I knocked out?" He scoffed.
"Ron! Would you just shut up?" Hermione screamed. She was so frustrated it looked as though her hair was standing on end.
"I'll do whatever I want, not what you want," Ron sniffed with nothing else to say.
There was an odd silence.
"Thank you," Hermione said, satisfied. "Anyway, we need to find a way back to Hogwarts."
"No, we need to find Ginny." Ron saw Hermione's lips twitch and he threw up his hands. "Ginny and Malfoy! Jeez! We need to find them both before we do anything, and I don't care what you say."
Ron watched Hermione think to herself for a minute before she finally said, "Fine."
Shocked, Ron questioned her. "What? You don't want to go back to Hogwarts anymore?"
"Well, I do want to go back, but I've been thinking of spells, charms, and enchantments and can't seem to think of anything powerful enough to get us past the Manor's tight security and all the way back to Hogwarts. It'd be easier if we weren't in range of the Manor's security, but I have no idea how far the spells and charms around the Manor extend out, so it would be a grand waste of time to go scouting the outskirts of the Manor with only half our strength. So since we can't exactly find a way back, might as well make our time useful by finding Ginny and Malfoy." Ron only stared at her. "So lead the way, Diviner."
"What're you going on about?" Ron asked, baffled at how Hermione had addressed him.
"Well, you're a Diviner," Hermione said matter-of-factly.
"I know, you already told me," Ron rolled his eyes.
Hermione bit her bottom lip. "Don't you remember your vision? You were yelling and screaming, throwing your arms and legs about, and shaking all over the place. And the only thing you'd keep shouting was Ginny's name."
Ron felt as though all his organs had come detached and had dropped to the bottom of his stomach. Ginny! He couldn't remember having had any visions at all! However, he hid his concern and worry from Hermione. "Er… oh! Those visions!" Ron exclaimed, laughing nervously. "Why didn't you say you meant those visions?"
Hermione smiled a bit uncertainly. "So, you kind of remember where we ought to go to look for Ginny?"
"Yeah!" Ron said, as if it was quite clear in his mind.
"Okay," Hermione sounded a bit more certain now. "Lead the way, Diviner." She smiled at him.
Ron gave her a squeamish grin before proceeding down the corridor.
He had absolutely no idea where he was going.
Though Draco's airtime only lasted about five seconds, he felt everything happen in slow motion.
The moment his feet had left the stability of his room, he felt the rain outside hit the nape of his neck and slowly begin to dampen his hair, his shirt, then the skin under his shirt. Though it was rather humid outside, the terror of the whole situation had him feeling bitingly cold.
Draco stretched out his arms and extended his fingers, letting his wand fall to the ground in doing so. He yelled as he approached the figures of Tom and Ginny. Riddle's eyes bugged out; it seemed he had just realized that he was falling to the ground. Draco knew Riddle would try to put Ginny's body between his body and the ground, so as soon as Draco had a firm grip on Riddle's shirt, he grabbed Ginny and flung her on top of him.
The three people landed on the ground in a sandwich with Tom on the bottom, then Draco, then Ginny.
Draco could only hear the thundering of rain from overhead, growing ever louder. His head spun as he rolled Ginny's body off his back. She was still unconscious, but looked fine otherwise. And as he turned to look at Riddle, he realized why he was so dizzy. Draco's right leg was bent in an abnormal fashion; it was broken. Other than that, he could feel a large bruise on his elbow, but when he caught sight of Riddle, his injuries were nothing compared to the dark wizard's. Riddle's eyes were closed and he almost looked as though he was in a peaceful slumber, save the rivers of blood gushing out of his cracked skull.
A wave of relief swept over Draco. He tried to ignore the wave of nausea that accompanied it. I killed Tom Riddle? Draco thought in disbelief. He would've liked to give a mad sort of laugh at that, but his head hurt too much to do such a thing now and besides, no one conscious was around to see him in his glory.
He looked up at the rain. This is really bad for my hair, he thought to himself. When he looked down, he spotted his wand sticking out erect from a muddy mound of dirt near a tree just out of reach. He slid over to it, his bones screaming in agony as he did so, and pulled the wand out, wiping it clean on his soggy robes. He pocketed the wand and slid closer to the tree until he was propped up in a sitting position against it. Then he bent towards Ginny, caught hold of her shoulder and slowly pulled her next to him. The rain wasn't so bad under the tree.
Draco ran his fingers through his hair, too tired to worry about his dirty fingernails. At least the worst of it's all over, he thought to himself. He looked over at Riddle again—how he lay sprawled on the ground on his back. Before, he had tried to avoid looking at Riddle's face, but curiosity got the best of him. Draco directed his gaze to Tom's face, and when he did, Draco got the shock of his life.
Riddle's eyes had suddenly snapped open.
Author's Note: I know, I know, it took long enough for me to get this chapter up, but I had an uninvited guest… writer's block! But since I finally got chapter 19 up, it means the uninvited guest has left! Yay! And in doing so, I leave you with yet another cliffhanger…kind of. But be glad! My initial plan was to just leave you with Draco (and Tom and Ginny) in midair! At least they're on the ground now! XD Also, the scene between Snape and Harry MAY seem uncanon to some of you, but honestly, it's my sort of canon. I believe Snape is a good guy, even though he's rather mean to Harry & co., so I had to have that little excerpt in there with Snape being the wise one that helps Harry out. So after reading that scene, it means Harry's kinda out for the rest of the fic. My plan is to end everything by chapter 20, so one more to go! It's been phun!
Chapter 20: Like I said, this will be the last chapter of DINB, so everything will be resolved. Er… enough said? ;
Lastly, thanks again to all my wonderful reviewers! Fic writers thrive on reviews and reviewers, and I'm proud to say that mine are the best: bigreader, Eiko, Jonah, Trinity, Spinn, Lisa, PrincessGreenleaf66, Caroline, and crazyfire89.