Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Final Raid
Minsy appeared on the other side of the metal gate two seconds after Hermione touched it with her wand.
"Miss! Welcome!"
She helped her through, escorting her down the stone path. The doors of the manor opened wide as they approached.
"It's been a long time since Miss visited," the elf commented as they entered the hall.
Hermione pursed her lips.
"I know."
"Masters are away, but they'll be back soon," Minsy added, staring up at her. "Will Miss be staying for dinner with us?"
Hermione smiled sadly. Narcissa had written several times asking her to join her for tea and she had ignored her owls.
She was still hurt by what Lucius had said, but Narcissa was not to blame. Draco's mother hadn't stopped supporting her since the first day she'd walked into that manor.
"Yes," she agreed with a sigh. "I'd be delighted to stay."
Minsy's smile widened.
"Mistress will be so pleased. She's always talking about Miss."
The elf snapped her fingers and disappeared with a pop. Hermione looked away down one of the corridors, biting her bottom lip in thought.
She needed to see him, just once.
The lamps flickered on, illuminating the corridor as she made her way down it until she stopped before the library doors.
It was still as impressive as she remembered it. Hermione ignored the hundreds of books she was looking forward to reading and climbed up the spiral staircase, walking over to one of the bookshelves on the wall.
She placed her palm on a red book, which lit up. The shelf clicked and moved down, sinking into the floor and revealing the secret entrance.
Hermione descended the stairs with her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She had never visited that place alone before.
The greenish light from the torches illuminated the square room of the Pensieve. She walked over to Draco's shelf, brushing the vials filled with memories with her forefinger.
A small smile spread across her face as she read the label on one of them and picked it up, walking over to the stone Pensieve as she uncapped it.
The silver thread fell into the water, turning into black smoke. Hermione plunged her face into it and her feet left solid ground.
She closed her eyes and when she opened them again she was on Malfoy Manor grounds. Hermione gasped as something rushed past her and her hand flew to her chest, but there was nothing there when she turned around.
She heard laughter in the distance.
"Found you!"
Five white peacocks came out of a hedge, flying towards her. Even though they couldn't touch her Hermione stepped away and saw a green dot fly over the hedge, pausing a few feet above her.
Her heartbeat quickened. It was Draco, but much younger. He probably was six or seven years old and he was riding a silver broom. He shouted, launching himself at the birds again, who fled in all directions in terror.
"You can't escape!"
Hermione couldn't help but smile as she heard his childish laughter again.
"Draco! You're going to hurt yourself!"
Narcissa was leaning out of one of the windows with a frown on her face. Draco flew to her with a big grin on his face and his blond locks blowing in the wind.
He still didn't comb them back.
"Did you see that, Mother? I'm getting faster and faster."
Narcissa sighed, rolling her eyes as she shook her head.
"Someday you'll be the Slytherin's Seeker," she reached out a hand and Draco grabbed it, pulling him through the window as he landed beside her. "But you're still too young for that. Go take a shower, Minsy and Dobby are preparing dinner."
Hermione felt a knot in her stomach at the elf's name. She shook her head and looked up, leaving the memory and returning to the Pensieve Room.
She touched the surface of the water with the tip of her wand and the black smoke concentrated around it, turning into a silver thread as she pulled up. Hermione put the memory back in the vial and set it down, blinking to hold back her tears.
She missed Draco so much that she wanted to see him, if only through his memories.
Her gaze drifted up to those vials he had asked her not to touch.
He hadn't kept his promise not to leave her alone. She could break another one too.
Hermione stood on her tiptoes, reading the labels until one made her hold her breath.
She had always wanted to know what had happened that night after the Quidditch final before she, Harry and Ron had crossed paths with Draco in the forest.
Hermione clutched the vial between her fingers, turning back to the Pensieve.
Seeing what had happened from Draco's perspective would solve some of her doubts about Lucius.
She poured the new memory into the Pensieve and, after a heavy sigh, plunged her face into the water.
The tent where the Malfoys were staying was three times the size of the one she had shared with the Weasleys and Harry that weekend. Narcissa was sitting in front of a fireplace, drinking tea and holding her wand in her hand.
Hermione walked over to Draco, who was leaning against the wall a few feet away from her with his arms crossed.
His grey eyes were fixed on the entrance to the tent and he kept squaring his jaw.
The two Malfoys tensed as they heard shouting coming from the distance. Narcissa set the cup aside and stood up, her gaze falling on Draco.
"You have your wand, don't you?"
Draco nodded, pulling it out of his pocket and twisting it in his fingers.
"Keep it in your hand until your father returns."
The two waited in tense silence, gasping as a black-clad figure stepped into the tent. Their wands were raised, ready to cast a spell.
"It's me."
Narcissa sighed in relief as she recognised Lucius' voice. He pulled down his hood and Hermione took a step back when she saw that he was wearing a Death Eater's mask.
Lucius touched it with his wand and the silver mask turned to smoke, disappearing without a trace. He glanced between the two members of his family with a straight face.
"They're here, Cissa. And we need to go to them or they'll start asking questions."
The woman nodded, gripping her wand tighter. She pulled a black cloak from the boot by the fireplace and dropped it over her shoulders, pulling the hood up to hide her face. She then turned to her son, who had not moved an inch.
"Hide, Draco. Go to the forest near the hill and don't come out until it's all over."
Hermione could feel the tension emanating from Draco's body. He uncrossed his arms and took a few steps towards his mother, looking into her eyes. He was already as tall as she was.
"I want to go with you, mother."
Lucius shook his head, pulling his hood back on. Narcissa sighed and stroked her son's cheek.
"It's too dangerous," the woman pointed to the back of the tent with her chin. "Be careful and trust no one."
He didn't seem to agree, but nodded and stepped back. Lucius waved his wand and two silver masks covered his and Narcissa's faces. They both left the tent in silence at a brisk pace.
Hermione followed Draco, who had cut through the fabric of the tent to get out from the back. He repaired the cut with a wave of his wand and glanced one last time at the stadium, which was very close by.
The two of them ran into the forest as fast as their feet would allow. No one could hurt her but Hermione had taken out her wand as well.
She remembered all too well the fear she had felt that night.
Draco hid behind one of the tents that was on fire and, after making sure no one was nearby, ran the last few metres into the forest, sighing as he stood in the trees.
He was gripping his wand so tightly that Hermione could see his white knuckles.
There was an explosion and Draco turned his head, startled. Hermione saw the green light of the spell reflected in his eyes.
Death Eaters were coming towards them.
Draco cursed through his teeth and walked through the forest in the opposite direction, dodging tree roots in the dark.
He was still a minor and couldn't use magic outside of Hogwarts unless his life was in danger.
His shoulders tensed as he heard footsteps and he hid behind a tree trunk, holding his breath.
"It was just a root."
Ron's voice. Draco relaxed his expression as he recognised him and leaned his back against the tree trunk, waiting until they were closer to speak.
"Well, with feet that size, hard not to trip."
Harry stopped abruptly and Ron hissed.
"Fuck off, Malfoy."
Hermione pursed her lips as she saw herself standing next to Ron. A smirk spread across Draco's face.
"Language, Weasley," he watched the three of them, who were panting after how fast they'd been running, and his gaze stopped on the Hermione from the memory. "Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?"
She frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She took a step forward, stopping beside the Ron of the memory, who seemed to be just as angry as he was frightened.
Draco clicked his tongue impatiently.
"They're after Muggles, Granger," both Harry and Ron tensed, but he continued speaking as he glared at the Hermione of memory. "Do you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because, if you do, hang around… They're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh."
Harry clenched his fists angrily.
"Hermione is a witch!"
Draco shrugged, leaning his back against the trunk again. He was pretending to be calm but Hermione could see the sweat on his brow and the trembling of his hands.
He was scared out of his wits.
"Have it your own way, Potter. If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are."
"You watch your mouth!"
The Hermione from the memory grabbed Ron, who looked like he was about to pounce on Draco.
"Nevermind, Ron."
Draco still held his wand in his left hand. He fiddled with it between his fingers, looking over his shoulder as another explosion was heard and a burst of light illuminated the small clearing they were in.
"Scare easily, don't they? I suppose your daddy told you all to hide? What's he up to? Trying to rescue the Muggles?"
Harry gritted his teeth, taking a step forward, and the Hermione from the memory held him back from coming any closer.
"Where are your parents? Out there wearing masks, are they?"
Draco arched an eyebrow.
"Well… If they were, I wouldn't be likely to tell you, would I, Potter?"
She pulled her two friends back, trying to move in the opposite direction to where Draco was.
"Oh, come on. Let's go and find the others."
Draco looked at her one last time.
"Keep that big bushy head down, Granger."
The three of them disappeared into the trees and Draco didn't move until he stopped hearing their steps, moving after them and looking back every few seconds.
"Bloody Potter," he hissed angrily, shaking his head and kicking a root.
Hermione caught her breath as she returned to the Pensieve Room. She rested both hands on the edge, trying to take a deep breath and calm herself.
Draco's parents had been among the Death Eaters who had attacked the Muggle family, though not by choice. They had been forced to join them.
And Draco had stopped Harry, Ron and her from walking further into danger by cutting them off in those woods.
Hermione sighed, picking up the memory and leaving it where it was.
She climbed the stairs, watching as the bookshelf covered the wall where the secret entrance was again.
She wiped her tears away and looked at herself in a mirror, fixing her eye makeup.
She couldn't let Narcissa see her like this.
A few hours later, Hermione emerged from the flames of the fireplace at Grimmauld Place. Ginny squealed with delight at the sight of her.
"Hermione!" she ran to hug her, helping her out of her coat. "Have you read today's Prophet?"
She snorted, rolling her eyes.
"You know I stopped reading it a long time ago."
"You need to see this," her friend insisted, picking up the newspaper on the sofa and holding it out to her. "Lockart is out of St. Mungo's! And he's announced he's going to write a book about his years in hospital."
"What?" Hermione looked down and saw her old professor's face on the first page, smiling as he waved to his fans. "Has he been discharged?"
"He's regained his memories," Ginny explained, opening the front page and pointing to the interview Rita Skeeter had done with Lockart. "The healers don't know how it happened, but he can remember almost everything."
"Really?" Hermione clutched the paper in her hands, reading the first few paragraphs. "I can't believe it."
No one whose memory had been magically erased could just get it back. It was impossible.
Ginny nodded, looking over her shoulder.
"I'm going to help Harry with dinner."
She disappeared down the corridor that led to the kitchen, leaving Hermione alone. She leaned her hip on the tea table as she read, looking up at the sound of her best friend's voice.
"How are you?"
Harry wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead, and she set the paper aside to hug him back.
"I'm okay."
He pulled away a little, putting his glasses on properly as his green eyes scanned her face.
"You're still sad."
"You would be too if you didn't know where Ginny was."
Harry twisted his lips.
"I don't think it's a good idea for you to participate in the raid tomorrow, Hermione."
She shook her head, crossing her arms.
"I can do it, Harry. I want to."
"Can you concentrate?" her friend asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't want anything to happen to you because you're distracted."
Hermione narrowed her eyes. After so many months of threats and the attacks Pansy, Greg and herself had suffered, she wasn't about to let those Liberators go unpunished for their crimes.
They were murderers. And she was the best at using protective spells.
"I won't leave your side," she said in a firm voice.
Harry nodded and Hermione relaxed. She knew he trusted her.
"All right," he agreed, smiling again and putting an arm around her shoulders. "Let's go eat. We need strength for tomorrow."
The next day Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in the entrance hall of Grimmauld Place. He kept pacing back and forth nervously.
The flames changed to green and Blaise appeared among them, taking a step forward. He glanced sideways at Hermione and moved forward until he was in front of Harry, giving him a curt nod.
"I'm ready, Potter."
He relaxed his stance and tossed the invisible cloak he held in his hand to his two friends. Hermione and Ron caught it, hiding under it. Harry uncapped a flask and took a large sip, grimacing as he swallowed.
His body changed shape and his hair lightened, transforming into a Muggle.
"Ready?" he asked, checking that his friends' feet couldn't be seen under the cloak.
"Yes, Harry. We're ready."
"Silence your shoes," he added quietly.
He stepped through the flames and Blaise soon followed.
Hermione took hold of Ron's arm and they both entered the fireplace, appearing shortly after by the entrance to a pub.
Harry and Blaise were waiting for them by the door. Hermione touched Harry's arm to let him know they were there and he nodded, stepping outside.
They both walked down the main street of the village as Hermione and Ron followed close behind with their wands raised.
The Aurors should be in position by now, but before they attacked they had to make sure all the leaders of the movement were at the meeting.
They wouldn't have another chance.
A young girl was waiting for them at the corner of the square.
"Dudley," she greeted Harry with a nod and then turned to Blaise. "You're just in time. The meeting is about to start."
Hermione knew Harry had obliviated that girl and forced her to continue to cooperate with them.
The girl turned around, heading towards the outskirts of the village. They all followed her until they came to a house that appeared to be an old manor.
She opened the front door and stepped aside. Harry smiled.
"Thank you, Diane."
"John and the others are waiting for you," she added, pointing to the stairs.
They both nodded and Hermione pulled Ron along, sneaking into the house before Blaise could enter.
The door closed behind them and the girl stood outside, watching the perimeter.
The stairs leading down to the basement were so dark that Hermione feared she might trip over the edge of the cloak and fall. She felt so grateful when Harry lit his wand and pressed closer to Ron, listening to Blaise's footsteps behind her.
The circular room was lit by candles that hovered above the single table in the centre. About twenty people dressed in white were spread out around them, several of them wearing masks that covered their faces.
"Welcome," one of the masked men greeted them, pointing to the hangers where more cloaks lay. "Now that Dudley and Dominique are here, we can go over our final blow."
Harry and Blaise grabbed a cloak and put them on, approaching the corner where the leaders were.
Hermione and Ron followed Blaise as they had agreed, sticking to the wall to prevent anyone from bumping into them and discovering them.
One of the leaders pulled out a large roll of parchment, spreading it out on the table.
"This is a map of the Quidditch stadium where the final will be," he muttered, looking around to see that he had caught the attention of all his followers. "On that day, we will destroy the purebloods forever."
"It's what they deserve," hissed another of the mask-wearers, pounding the table. "That scum has to die."
Hermione gasped, earning a nudge from Ron.
That voice was all too familiar.
"Three days before, we'll be setting the bombs we're finishing making," he continued, pointing to the stands of the huge stadium. "As they are Muggle artefacts, Aurors won't be able to detect them when they check the stadium's security."
Hermione blanched.
Bombs?
"In two weeks I'll have a list of all the purebloods attending and the seats they'll occupy," the other added with his arms crossed. "Then we'll decide where to place the bombs."
Everyone nodded, moving closer to the table to look down at the map.
"Each of you will need to carry your wands and one of these guns hidden in your clothes," commented another leader, opening his briefcase on the corner of the table. "If you see any purebloods still alive after the explosion, don't hesitate to shoot."
Inside were over twenty guns like the ones they had used to attack Hermione. She grabbed Ron's hand as she felt him shaking with rage, squeezing it.
There was nothing they could do yet. They needed to find out what they had planned first to stop it from happening.
The leader set the open suitcase on the table, averting his gaze to one of the unmasked ones.
"The curse inside the bullets will finish them off in a few minutes," the man explained, grinning mischievously. "And we will be free at last."
"I'm afraid not."
Hermione and Ron raised their wands at the same time as soon as Harry spoke, and Blaise did the same. She pulled Blaise's arm and cast a protego totallum on the three of them just as Harry pointed his wand at the ceiling, causing it to collapse and further confusing the Liberators, who retreated back into the walls.
The dust from the debris made it hard to see clearly.
"I can't apparate!" one of them shouted. "They've trapped us here!"
Spells and curses bounced off the walls incessantly. Two Liberators fell to the floor, hit by Ron and Hermione's spells.
She gasped when she saw that one of them had a gun.
"Ron!"
Blaise lunged at them, knocking them out of the bullet's path.
"Now!" Harry shouted after petrifying one of the Leaders.
Ten Aurors descended through the hole in the ceiling, landing softly with their wands raised.
A Liberator hissed and a beam of green light shot from his wand but the Auror in front of him dodged it.
Were they using the Killing Curse?
Hermione coughed, using her elbows to prop herself up. Ron was at her side, casting spells at all the Liberators nearby, and the Invisibility Cloak had been left lying on the floor.
Something warm was dripping down her face. She wiped at it with her sleeve and her lip trembled at the sight of blood.
She had hit her head when she fell and there was a gash, though it didn't look serious.
An arm curled around her, lifting her off the ground.
"Stay close to me."
Hermione stared into Blaise's dark eyes and nodded.
"Thank you, Blaise."
She strengthened the shield protecting them from the curses, focusing her efforts on defeating the enemies still standing.
The two who had used guns were pinned to the wall with ropes around their arms and legs. The Aurors pinned down the last Liberator and Harry ran to them.
"Are you all okay?"
Hermione nodded but her eyes widened as she saw blood on Blaise's right arm.
"Are you hurt?
He shrugged and Hermione remembered hearing him scream when he'd pushed them away.
"The bullet went out. I'm fine."
"Oh, Blaise," Hermione pushed his shoulders down, forcing him to sit down, and cut his shirt open to expose the wound. "Don't move, it'll only take a moment."
Ron was talking to the other Aurors and checking to make sure there were no more wounded. Harry crouched down next to them, furrowing his brow when he heard the words Hermione was muttering as she ran her wand across Blaise's skin.
"How do you know that spell?"
"It was the one Draco used when I was attacked," she muttered, smiling as she watched the wound close completely. "Don't worry, Harry. I'll stay with Blaise."
He nodded and returned to the corner the Aurors were in. Hermione sat down next to Blaise, leaning her back against the wall and wiping the sweat from her brow.
"Thank you for protecting me."
Blaise laughed softly, shaking his head.
"You saved me with your shield too."
Hermione smiled.
"It looks like we're quite the team."
That made Blaise's grin widen, and his teeth sparkled in the candlelight. He glanced sideways at her, frowning and bringing the tip of his wand to her forehead.
Hermione felt his magic closing the wound on her temple and noticed Blaise's hand holding his wand.
Since when was he left-handed?
She blinked as he pulled away, pointing to the cut on his chin.
"You have cuts, too."
Blaise shook his head, standing up and offering her a hand.
"Let's get the hell out of here first."
Draco appeared in the Granger kitchen, pocketing the coin. Both Muggles gasped as they heard his footsteps and stood up from the sofa.
"Draco," Jane watched him with concern as he approached them, holding his right arm against his chest. "Where have you been? Are you alright?"
He shook his head, running his thumb over the cut on his chin. He should have healed it before he went back to her parents' house, but he didn't want to waste any more time.
He looked at them both and smiled.
"It's time to go home."
I've been wanting to have an excuse to write about the scene in the Goblet of Fire where they meet Draco in the middle of the forest, and I finally got around to it. The dialogue in that memory is the same as in the book.
