Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.
Author's Note: Well, here's another chapter! Thank you to all who reviewed the last one! Goodness, my muses for this story just took hold, and I haven't been able to work on anything else! Maybe it's finally out of my system for a bit... Here it is, chapter 10...
Heart's Desire
Chapter 10
-----Hermione's Point of View-----
This most definitely was not a good idea. To start out with, it was absolutely freezing. Then, I had to ride a broom. Honestly. And, since Harry didn't really trust anyone with his Firebolt, I was stuck riding the much faster broom, Firebolt Unleashed. This really wasn't fair. Of course, I could quit whining to myself about unimportant things and think about the fact that we were quite likely to get hexed out of the air if we didn't do this right, but reality sucks at the moment, so I don't think I'll think about that.
Harry was scanning the ground as best he could. "Just how many magical things are there around here?" he asked Severus, who only shrugged. So Harry was using the charm to see magical auras. And Severus was probably in shock. "Just who is that?" Harry said, almost to himself.
"What do you mean?" I asked, flying up beside him.
"There's an aura down there that's too weak to be Voldemort's, but it's too strong to be Voldemort's from this time. I don't think it's a magical creature; they usually have a more earthy tone. I'm going to get a closer look." He disillusioned himself as he said this, and I could hear him pulling out his Invisibility Cloak. "Wait here. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"You're going to get yourself killed!" I hissed in the direction of the spot where his voice had last come from. I saw Severus nod out of the corner of my eye.
"Unlikely," Harry responded. "Unless I've been severely underestimating the Voldemort of this time. Of course, it might still not work, as he hasn't marked me yet. How about you figure that out until I get back?" I could hear him swoop downward. We waited nervously for about five minutes.
"It's someone I've never even heard of before," Harry said as he took off the cloak and the spell. "Someone named Bernard Taylor."
"I've heard of him," I said, my eyes going wide. "He was second in command during Voldemort's first reign. Some people think he was the one actually in charge, and that Tom Riddle was just used as a figurehead. Most of them think he was actually Grindlewald, and that Dumbledore didn't kill him like everyone thought. Whoever he was, it took four members of the Order of the Phoenix to bring him down and kill him."
"When did that happen?" Harry asked. For all the emotion he showed, he could have been asking about the weather.
"Right before Voldemort started a series of stupid battles, that always ended with him losing, the last of which resulted in his downfall."
"So, is that man more muscle than Voldemort realized, or he was he more of an advisor? Or possibly even both?" Harry asked thoughtfully. He was watching the blurs of color only he could see again. "Shit," he said suddenly. "They apparated."
"I wonder where," I said. At that moment, the galleon in my pocket burned. The same one that Harry had given us as a DA signal, and that the six of us still used to call for help. "I guess that answers that question."
Harry was digging in the pockets of his robe. Suddenly, he pulled out what looked like an ordinary mirror. "Ronald Weasley," he said clearly, ignoring Severus's look of shock.
"About time," I heard Ron say.
"Just how many are there?" Harry asked, ignoring the comment.
"Enough that we'd feel more comfortable if you were here," Ron answered. There was the sound of an explosion.
"Can you get them out of there?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer.
"We can get four of them out," Ron responded. He was, of course, referring to the safe-stones we had. They could only transport two people at a time, and we didn't like to use them, because it took so much power to make them that it would leave all six of us exhausted.
"'Mione, you and Sev fly to Hogwarts. I'll go over to help. Ron, step back so I can see the room."
"Harry, mate, there are Anti-Apparition charms," Ron said as if speaking to a two-year-old.
"Ron, mate, I've got to know where your at so I can get through with the coin," Harry replied in much the same tone.
"Right," I heard Ron mutter. Apparently he moved, because Harry soon turned to me.
"'Mione, you know what to do. Can I have your stone?" I nodded, digging into my pocket. "Ron, I'm coming."
"Alright. Hurry," Ron said before closing the connection.
"You know what to do," Harry said to me. He disappeared, signifying that he had changed to his animagus form. With a soft pop, he disappeared.
"Just where did he go?" Severus asked, shocked. Now, granted, that seemed to be his main feeling today, so it wasn't that big of a change.
"I would assume to help Ron and the others. He has a bit of a saving people thing," I shrugged. "Can we keep moving? With the amount of skill I have on a broom, it's only a matter of time until I fall off." Severus nodded somewhat absently.
We flew for what seemed like quite some time, but was really only a few minutes. "Do you have any questions?" I asked hesitantly. Severus looked up, an odd gleam in his eye. It was a gleam I had never seen, but I believe Harry and Ron had some experience with it. It was the same one I get when I have a wealth of information ready for my asking. This was going to be a long trip…
-----Ron's Point of View-----
Crap. We are so royally screwed. I just hope that the Death Eaters pounding on the door mean that Mr. and Mrs. Potter are tied up somewhere, not that they're dead.
Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "'Bout time you got here," I hissed, knowing it was Harry. Ginny, Luna, and Neville knew who I was talking to, but the Marauders probably thought I had finally went insane.
"Get the others out," Harry sent through the link. "Ron, you come with me." I felt him move, and saw Ginny's surprised look as something fell into her hand. It was Hermione's emergency stone.
"Where do you think your parents are?" I asked James, after a prodding from Harry.
"I've no idea," James managed to sputter out, white as a sheet. He was leaning heavily on Sirius who, while acting as a crutch, was also trying to reassure James that yes, his parents would make it. I glanced at James's leg, or what you could see of it through all the blood that was gushing out. He had been hit by one of the first curses the Death Eaters had thrown before we had been herded into this room. I had no idea what the curse was; hopefully Madame Pomfrey did.
"You need to get out of here," Harry said, changing out of his animagus form, successfully startling the Marauders. Ginny, after glancing around, walked over to Remus, who seemed to be the calmest of all the Marauders, and started explaining the stones. He nodded as Harry walked over to the door.
"Can you break the locking spell?" Remus asked. "None of us had any idea what spell was used."
"No wonder. It's a spell that's not exactly on the Hogwarts curriculum," Harry said calmly. "It's a Dark Arts spell. Anyone who touches the door on the side it was locked on loses their magic for a brief period, and it can't be magically unlocked from the other side."
"So how the hell are we supposed to get out?" Sirius questioned. The voices on the other side of the door were apparently grating on his nerves.
"You are going to go with one of them," Harry said, motioning to Neville, Ginny, and Luna. "Ron and I will wait for them to either break the door down or be smart enough to figure out the counter curse."
"We should leave now," Neville said, eyeing the amount of blood James was losing. It must have been a Reducto that hit him. Those things, if they hit in the right places, would kill you. They wouldn't kill you because they had blown apart something major; after all, there are some organs you can live without, or with just one of. However, all the blood veins in the area being simultaneously blown apart did tend to have an adverse effect.
"Good idea," Harry said, listening to the Death Eaters outside get steadily louder.
"Are you all complete idiots?" we heard outside the door. It was Lucius Malfoy. Unfortunately, we couldn't tell which one.
"Get out!" Harry hissed at the others. Remus quickly activated his and disappeared. Ginny and a trembling Pettigrew quickly followed. Neville had to practically stun Sirius before he would leave James, even knowing that Luna would be following them. I hurriedly disillusioned myself, and Harry changed forms just as Malfoy said the counter spell. We made it to either side of the door just as it burst open.
"They aren't here," Malfoy hissed, glaring around the room before turning to glare at the Death Eaters who were still pouring into the room. "You had seven of the people our lord wants the most trapped in a room they weren't supposed to be able to get out of, and yet they got away?" Harry and I glanced at each other. Well, I think we did. We couldn't see each other any more than the Death Eaters could see us.
I wished I had learned to Apparate under wards. Of course, when we were learning how, it seemed useless as Hogwarts was the only place actually under anti-apparition wards constantly; it took supreme power to hold them up, and Death Eaters just didn't have the man power to deal with that in our time. "Lets go back to the senior Potters." The other Death Eaters nodded, following Malfoy back out of the room, just as they had followed him in. There was little more Harry and I could do than follow, stunning the Death Eaters nearest the back of the group.
"What a pity," I recognized Wormtail's voice saying as Harry and I slipped into the dining room, leaving 10 stunned and bound Death Eaters behind us. "You're going to be tortured and killed, all for a grandson you'll never meet." Realization as to just who was speaking dawned across the Potters' faces.
"Weren't you just upstairs?" Mr. Potter asked, trying to stall for time.
"That was my younger self," Wormtail said, falling for the ploy. Unfortunately, Malfoy didn't.
"That is none of their concern, now is it? We'll have plenty of time to taunt them with just what will happen without them Crucio!" Two voices filled the air, screaming themselves hoarse while the Death Eaters laughed appreciatively.
"Are you ready?" Harry asked through the link. I nodded before realizing he couldn't see me.
"Yes," I answered.
"Alright. On the count of three, start casting spells, but stay invisible. Keep moving so they can't pinpoint your location. I'm going to change back. 1...2...3!"
"Stupefy!" I whispered, hitting the nearest Death Eater. Harry and I worked our way through the back eight, stunning and binding them, leaving only Wormtail and Malfoy.
"Take off the charm," Harry said, still communicating through the link. Pettigrew was just lifting his wand to throw yet another curse at the now bloody prisoners when we were able to intervene.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Some leaders you are," Harry smirked. Both Death Eaters froze. "Not only did you not notice when you entered with only half your army, you didn't notice when the rest of it was taken down. I'm tempted to send a note to Voldemort outlining your failures of the night. It would save me a lot of time."
"Crucio!" Malfoy snarled. The red light sped at Harry, hitting him full in the chest.
"Um…ow?" Harry smirked. This, for obvious reasons, made Lucius furious. He shot another, more harmful, curse at Harry, who quickly put up a shield. The duel was on.
Lucius was losing. Badly. Wormtail, seeing his chance during his duel with me, shot a Reducto curse at Harry's back. It hit, and Harry dropped like a bag of bricks. Lucius, seeing his opportunity, fled. Pettigrew wasn't that smart. He cast a binding spell on both of us. I was immediately on the floor beside Harry.
"The Dark Lord will be so pleased," he practically purred. I could feel Harry roll his eyes. Meanwhile, I was working on the ropes. My wand had been dropped, and had rolled away, so I had to do it wandlessly. That took quite a bit of concentration from any of us but Harry, who had been trained in wandless magic extensively, not just enough to escape without a wand.
"On the count of three, send them to Hogwarts," Harry sent through the link. "Then come back over here and help me. I can barely sit up straight, much less stand." I nodded, glancing at the part of Harry's back that had been hit. It was only the mounds of protections that he had practically ingrained into his skin that saved him. "1...2...3!" I dove across the room as Harry stunned Pettigrew, who had been about to snap our wands. As I was explaining the stone, he transformed Pettigrew into a rat, and then placed him in an Unbreakable glass cage. After he was in the cage, he transfigured it so it was like a glass covering. By the time he was done, he had what, for all purposes, what a rat shaped figurine. Of course, it wouldn't last long, as we couldn't transport three people with the stone, no matter what shape they were in, but it would be a nice present for Voldemort. The Potters disappeared as Harry finished. He was growing paler by the minute. Grabbing his arm, I activated the stone. The next instant, we were in the Hogwarts infirmary.
Ginny, Luna, Mrs. Potter, and Madame Pomfrey all gasped. Harry managed a weak smile before passing out. Madame Pomfrey luckily caught him in a levitating charm before he hit the ground, and placed him in a nearby bed.
"This is…odd, for lack of a better word," Madame Pomfrey said, studying the read-out of the spells Harry had been put under.
"Always reassuring to hear from a fully-trained mediwitch," Ginny remarked. "What, exactly, is odd?"
"This chart can't be right," Madame Pomfrey said, mostly to herself. "There's the Reducto Curse, which I expected. But, according to this, he was held under at least two Cruciartuses, for at least two minutes, and then there's a spell I have never seen before."
"May I see that?" Dumbledore asked. I jumped, not noticing him before now, although he was probably the only one who could have gotten the Marauders to leave. "Is this possible?" Dumbledore asked, eyes widening. I made a mental note to tell Harry he had surprised Dumbledore. "Has this boy survived the spell I think he has?"
"What's the spell?" I asked tiredly, the excess adrenaline from the attack starting to wear off.
"The Killing Curse," Dumbledore replied, still staring at the chart.
"It worked," Luna breathed.
"We'll have to ask Hermione to make sure," Ginny said, eyes wide.
"She's coming," I said. I had woken up a bit at the news that Harry had survived another Killing Curse.
"How do you know?" Neville asked.
"Because they were flying when I walked to them." I was almost asleep, not aware of what exactly I was saying At least that was going to be my excuse. "Even if they are dating, 'Mione would never fly if she absolutely didn't have to." Uh-oh. I was in for it. I could see the gleam in Ginny's eyes.
"Finally!" she exclaimed. "They've been dancing around each other for a year and a half. 'Bout time they opened their eyes." Mr. and Mrs. Potter, not to mention Madame Pomfrey, were all wide-eyed with shock. Oh right. They still thought they were twins.
"I think we need to explain some things," Neville said. Not wanting to listen or be asked to take part, I fell asleep.
When I woke up, Hermione was back. She and Harry were curled up around each other. Neither had their glamours on. From the hair in my face, neither did I. Hermione was the first to notice I was awake.
"About time you woke up," she said, signaling to the others that I was awake.
"Have you finished your story yet?" I asked.
"Yeah. Did you expect us to wait for you?" Ginny asked, eyebrows raised.
"Yes! That's why I fell asleep! I had to gather my thoughts for the upcoming conversation!" I said, faking outrage. I must have been a pretty good actor, for Mrs. Potter and Madame Pomfrey both looked shocked.
"Too bad, so sad," Ginny shrugged. "Is that why you get such bad grades? Because you have to sleep before you can think? If so, learn to think faster." I laughed, and the others joined in, Mrs. Potter and Madame Pomfrey looking more at ease.
This was how we were supposed to be. We weren't supposed to be practicing to be immune to the Unforgivables. We weren't supposed to have to visit our parents in the closed ward at St. Mungo's. We weren't supposed to live with abusive relatives, or have to move from our childhood homes to safe houses. We weren't supposed to be able to do wandless magic effortlessly, or with minimal effort. We were supposed to act like kids, laughing together, never mind that we were in the hospital wing, or why we were there.
"Severus knows, just so you're forewarned," Hermione said as the laughter died down.
"Did you tell him?" I asked. I really didn't think they had, but I much preferred that to the alternative.
"No. Voldemort figured out who we were while the other was talking, and decided we should be revealed," Harry shrugged. He was about to say more, but was interrupted by Luna.
"Glamours back on!" she exclaimed. "The Marauders are coming!" There was a mad dash for wands, and lots of muttering and waving as the incantations were said, putting the charms back in place. Then there were questions such as "Is my hair the right shade?" and "Did I make my eyes the right color?" A hush fell over the room as a loud crash announced their arrival.
"Gees, Wormtail, keep it down. There's no need to wake the dead," we heard Sirius exclaim jokingly.
"Sorry," Wormtail replied shakily. Harry and Hermione, who were now leaning against opposite ends of the bed, and I shared a glance. Wormtail was most likely already a Death Eaters. Slowly, they pushed the door open and peaking in cautiously.
"James isn't awake yet," Harry said calmly, completely freaking the Marauders out because they thought he was reading a book. "You're more than welcome to come in, though." I saw the Potters shoot a wary glance at the door, no doubt wondering if they could act even remotely the same, knowing what they now did. The Marauders still didn't move very far inside, apparently put off by the number of people, especially adults, in the hospital wing.
"We aren't going to bite; have a seat," Neville offered, cutting Madame Pomfrey off before she had a chance to tell them to get out. She glared slightly, but apparently didn't care as much as she would have liked to let on, for she didn't say anything. They gathered around, and the conversation turned to the upcoming Quidditch match.
Author's Note: How did you like it? Tell me in a review! Again, thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter!