Chapter 29
Draco didn't need to listen to the popping sounds of house-elves, swooshing of wands, curtains, and salves to know that he had woken up in Saint Mungo's. The smell of the sterile clinical environment was sharp enough for any wizard to discern that, and yet he didn't remember why he was there.
As consciousness returned, he was greeted by a pounding and excruciating headache. Every new thought, not that there were many, seemed to compound the beating of his head. He knew, without a doubt, the diadem had been taken. The heaviness of his limbs, the fuzzy memories, and scattered thought process. All were a part of the painful withdrawal symptoms that accompanied time away from the diadem, and it would only get worse.
"Ergh," Draco groaned with the opening of his eyes to the blinding and intense lights. Quickly, He closed them, but it only brought the vivid flashes of... her again, along with the nauseous feeling that came with it, leaving him no choice but to accept the harshness of the fluorescence.
As his eyes watered, there was a pop on the sound of his bed. Draco didn't feel like mustering the strength to look at whatever house-elf had popped up beside him.
"Ahh, is awake. The Healer-in-charge is coming." The house-elf said. Draco could feel the small hands of the house-elf lifting his gown to check on his torso which emitted quite a bit of pain even laying still.
"Where is it?"
"What is it, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Where is the crown, elf." Draco said between his labored breaths and tightened throat.
"Thanks, Crates. I'll take it from here." Someone said as they approached his bed, " , How are you feeling?"
Draco blinked slowly.
"I'm Healer Ollie, the healer-in-charge on this floor, " Ollie replied, " , you were brought in with a deep lower abdomen laceration, dark magic induced. It was a only an hour procedure, but-"
"Where is...the diadem?" Draco interrupted.
"While it was a short procedure, you lost a lot of blood during the closing process. To further complicate things, there were issues we found in the Post. You were emitting high levels of corrupting forces that are associated with dark magic...even after the wound was dealt with. We located and removed...a diadem... that was on your head and it's being examined due to it's unusually high forces being exerted onto you."
"No!" Draco and the healer yelled in unison as Draco attempted to pull himself up from the bed. Draco felt his body snap back forcefully to his bed as pain from all different sources reverberated throughout his body.
"Thank you, Crates," The Healer said as he gave a startled look toward Draco. " You're in no condition yet to move, the removal of all those forces is usually a bit of a shock to the body. You need time to detox. Besides, even if you could, we were told to wait until aurors investigate your origin of injury since it involves dark magic to ensure that whatever happened to you doesn't happen to others. Do you recall anything about your injury?"
"I-"
Draco tried his hardest to remember the events that had left injured, but he could only remember flashes...of a man...the manor. Everything was a bit blurry.
"No." Draco finished angrily. "I can't remember anything."
The healer nodded, "I wouldn't be too worried for now. Temporary memory loss is associated with your kind of exposure. In the meantime, your elf-Doppy- that accompanied you is showing the aurors where your injuries took place and from there they'll be focusing on gathering your parents since you are a minor. Lastly, We've contacted Hogwarts, once you're a bit more stable and everything is settled, you'll be transferred there to finish recovering. I expect it will be late tomorrow. "
Draco didn't bother to move as he stared back at the healer absentmindedly. His only thoughts lingered on the diadem. He had to retrieve it.
"Anything else?"
"Wand?"
"It's at the floor desk where we keep all of our patients' belongings. You'll get it once you're transferred. Just try to rest up. "
"Thanks." Draco said as he turned his head. As much as he longed for rest, he knew the time for rest was long over.
"I should have seen it. I should have..." Blaise trailed off as he plopped roughly on the library couch. "What are you going to do?"
Harry kneeled as he eyed the books on the bottom bookshelf; a cursory glance was given to the spine of each book. "It's not anyone's fault."
Blaise gave a sardonic laugh. "You don't believe that, do you?"
Harry sighed. "I can't believe anything until I find him."
"By yourself?"
"No."
"And If you find him-If it's true?" Blaise asked, urgency in his tone.
Harry ran his hands over the smaller journal, on it were the initials, "P.Z.M 1993-1995." His hands rested on the spine for a moment before he pulled it out, turning slowly toward Blaise, who looked on curiously.
"Then the decision will be left up to the Order, " Harry replied as he held the book. A tightness sat on his chest as turned toward Blaise, "But right now, we have bigger things to worry about."
Blaise titled his head incredulously, "Bigger than the current situation?"
Harry nodded as he tossed the book over to Blaise, who failed to catch it. Blaise begrudgingly bent down to pick up.
"Remodeling?" Blaise asked as he looked through the pages. "Haven't seen this in a while."
It had been the journal they had used to record spells needed to remodel the chamber, everything from changing banner colors to removing and adding entry ways. The amount of hours and research it had taken to fix this place had been what cemented their unusual alliance.
"Hermione and Ron are joining us."
Blaise shot up from behind the pages of the book, "Are you mad? What could we possibly need their help with?"
"Because they want to help," Harry snapped.
Blaise was unmoved, "When have you needed help?"
"Always." Harry said as he gestured to the room around him. "I just didn't realize it until recently, Blaise."
Blaise placed the book adjacent to him as he studied Harry from head to toe.
"Your closest person to a friend might have betrayed you, and you're thinking of adding two people you barely know? You couldn't possibly expect me to think this is normal?"
"This isn't normal, but-" Harry started. His mind raced with panic. What was he thinking? Blaise could be right and this could end up as disastrous as everything else. What if he had made yet another mistake? Yet, amongst the panic, he could hear the words of comfort from Dumbledore, Blaise, and Daphne. He had to try something new. "Listen, Blaise-"
"I'm trying but you're not making this easy."
"I thought It was okay." Harry finished. He had never felt so out of his element. "Treating you and Draco like resources. I was wrong. You. Draco. You two are my best friends, and I wouldn't have made it this far without you both. I'm sorry for not telling you that sooner, and I want you to know that It's going to be different now."
As he finished, there was a high pitched shriek that only Blaise and Harry could hear. An unrecognized presence in the chamber.
"Looks like our friends have arrived." Blaise said, his face searching Harry.
Harry waved his hands as the shriek stopped, "This war isn't about me. It's about us. All of us have a stake here, and I see that now." Harry made his way toward the entrance of the library, followed by Blaise who stood next to him. Harry stared at the approaching figures, "It's not about power, it's about unity."
"You sound mad," Blaise whispered," But I stand with you, Harry. "
Harry could feel the knot in his stomach grow tighter as Daphne became visible with Hermione and Ron. His eyes slowly wandered from Daphne to the two behind her as they both took in the details of the Chamber.
Harry felt Blaise's hand clasp his shoulder.
"For the record, I despise this."
"I know you would."
"This is incredible!" Hermione said to Harry as they approached the entrance of the library.
"Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets." Harry said as he parted from Blaise to allow the group entrance into the library, "Right this way."
Harry felt a warm hand brush against his forearm, the turn of his head found him staring at Daphne, whose eyes lit up happily. "You're doing the right thing," She whispered before moving with the group.
Harry took a deep breath and walked into the library. It was strange seeing so many others in a place he had considered a sanctuary, even stranger knowing that Draco wasn't here with them. For a moment, His gaze fell over the spot where Tracy had died before turning back to the group. Daphne and Hermione had made themselves comfortable in the chairs, Blaise stood next to Harry, and Ron stood in the center of the group, facing Harry.
"Is this where she..." Ron asked.
"Yes." Harry replied, solemnly, "This is where she died."
Ron stared at Harry, "I want answers. Now."
"Ron!" Hermione said, jumping up to restrain him.
"It's okay." Harry said as he stared at Ron, "Do you know what a Horcrux is?"
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, how can I assist you?" Crates asked next to Draco.
"Pain." Draco replied as rubbed the spot of his bandages. Although there was pain, there was nothing that could replace the emptiness in his mind that could only be filled by the presence of the diadem. He had to retrieve it.
"Let me see?" The elf asked as it ran his hands under the gown to examine it, unaware that Draco had cocked his right arm back.
As the elf pulled in closer, Draco brought the full force of his right fist against Crates' face. The left hand quickly grabbed Crates' robe to prevent him from flying back as blood oozed out of the house-elf 's nose and onto Draco.
Before the house-elf could finish, Draco cocked his arm back once more and punched Crates' again. Blood splattered against Draco's face and gown as the house-elf fell unconscious.
"Sorry." Draco whispered as he let the house-elf fall against the hard floor. He would need to act quick, especially since he didn't know where the crown was.
With a hardy groan, he hobbled out of his bed, grabbing the edge of his mat. For a moment, he felt the extreme urge to vomit which was made worse by the foreign feeling of being his body; like he had taken a polyjuice potion.
Finally, he moved beyond his curtains and out into the quiet and spacious corridor. Each step highlighted a certain soreness his body had been hiding in its horizontal position, but none of it could compete with the urgency of retrieving the crown.
The end of the corridor was a circular desk, behind it, a receptionist was going through a stack of clipboards, unaware of the approaching Draco.
"Help." Draco begged, falling to the ground. "Please. I need help."
"Crates!" The reception shrieked. Draco could hear the stack of clipboards fall to the floor as the receptionist ran from behind the counter toward Draco. "Let me help you up and then I'll grab Ollie!"
Draco felt her hand come behind him to help him up, but as she went to pick him, Draco threw his head back, connecting with the softness of her face.
"Errgh" She said as she flew back.
Draco turned abruptly, pinning the women to the ground, and bringing his two hands roughly around her throat.
"I'm…sorry,"Draco whispered, tears falling from his face as he squeezed. The receptionist flayed for a moment, punching against Draco's torso.
"Aagh," Draco yelled as the pain jolted throughout his body. Draco felt tears roll down his face as the receptionist finally loss consciousness. Draco rolled over to the side, wheezing as the pain settled for a moment, subsiding for an intense and throbbing ache. He had no time to wait.
"Diadem." He whispered to himself. With a heavy grunt, he lifted himself back to his feet. Slowly, he found his way behind the counter where a few cupboards sat above the floor. He traced his name, "Mat #4 Malfoy, Draco," and grabbed the hawthorn wand that sat atop of his robe.
"My sister had one of the seven, and that one is currently running the ministry of magic?" Ron asked, finding a seat as he stared off into the abyss, "You can't expect me to believe that. You sound downright crazy!"
"I don't expect you to believe anything," Harry replied. He looked at each of their faces as they came to terms with information Harry had never shared with anyone but the Dumbledore's. Everyone looked overwhelmed. "But it's the truth."
Ron continued to search the room for an answer, "How could she even get something like that?"
"I don't know, but I wish I did."
"Harry, you said there were seven? How many are there now?" Hermione asked, her eyes following Harry's.
"We believe there are three left. A diadem, the diary, and Nagini."
"The diadem has been lost for centuries. No one has seen it." Blaise mused, arms crossed.
"The diadem has to be around here then? Why else would the diary horcrux be here?" Hermione asked, seeking confirmation from Harry. "They must know at this point that their horcruxes are dwindling?"
"No. Voldemort-" Harry stopped as several in the room jumped at the mention of the name. "-Hasn't noticed, mostly because he's too arrogant."
"Then why would this horcrux be here then?" Hermione asked.
"Isn't it obvious...to destroy the ministry," Blaise said scornfully, "While else would you station the entirety of its forces here."
"Blaise, be nice." Daphne said sternly, "Two things can be true, and knowing, you-know-who, I'd imagine it's both."
"Maybe, but I don't think Riddle has made any inclinations of caring about the location of the other horcruxes," Harry said.
"Still. Don't you think it could still lead us to others?" Hermione said, "I have a plan where-"
"No. You're here for three reasons." Harry said as held up one finger, "Number one, for your protection. You've been seen by an elite member, and now you know information that puts you in danger. That means that Hermione, Ron, and Daphne, you will no longer be able to sleep in your dorms. You will sleep here. You will live here, and you will stay together. Hermione and Ron, wherever you go, you will go together. Daphne and Blaise, same with you. No one travels alone."
"I don't like it, but it makes sense." Ron replied as he gazed around the chamber, "The real question is if this place- this chamber- is safe? Doesn't this horcrux know about it?"
"This is the safest place in Hogwarts." Blaise replied, coolly, "The original entrance has been deactivated, and this place is covered with protective and preventive measures. No one gets in here that we don't know about."
"Blaise is right. We're safe here, and you three will be too." Harry said as held up two fingers, "Number two, to prepare Hogwarts. Whatever Tom Riddle is here for, we have to assume the worst, and the worst is that he plans to kill everyone in this castle. You'll be helping to ensure that if he does attack, we can prevent as many casualties as possible."
There was silence in the room as Harry held up three fingers.
"Lastly, to prepare yourself. None of us know what is coming, but we know something is. As of today, you're no longer students. You're soldiers, and whether you've realized it or not, it's time to come to terms with it. You need to be training, and getting an understanding of what it is like to be in life and death situations. Today is easy, but tomorrow won't be." Harry said he let his hand down, "Any questions."
"I'm with you." Blaise said as he leaned back against his chair.
"Same." Daphne replied.
"I'm ready to help in any way I can." Hermione said.
"I have some more questions, but for the most part, I'm in," Ron said.
"Alright then," Harry chuckled as he looked at the group, "Looks like we have an army now."
Post-Chapter Thoughts:
As always, thanks for Reading!
Sorry, this took so long. In all honesty, this chapter had to be rewritten multiple times before I was comfortable with releasing it. I felt like it didn't mesh as well with C30 and C31, so certain aspects were rewritten and/or moved toward later chapters.
On the bright-side, C30 will be an awesome chapter coming relatively soon :)
Lastly, I have some Big News: I posted a New HP Story called: "The Sons of Voldemort"
- It covers the cliche of Voldemort stealing Harry and Neville at birth, but I wanted to add my own take to it. The pairing is Harry/Hermione. It's an AU(obviously). I think it will utilize a lot of the characters that aren't included in this fic, like Sirius, so check it out.
For those worried, my priority will be on finishing DA first.
Next Chapter: Crossover Episode