Chapter 47 - Risks and Wrongs
It all seemed to happen so quickly after that. No sooner had the trio decided to go back to Hogwarts, but then as soon as they were packed they apparated back into Hogsmeade for the first time in almost a year. Unbeknownst to them, a caterwauling charm had been placed not just on the Hogwarts grounds to alert snatchers and death eaters to the presence of any unauthorized witches and wizards, but also around the town of Hogsmeade itself. Had they known, they never would have risked it, but as it was, it was too late.
Fortunately, they were already under Harry's invisibility cloak and so went unobserved by the three death eaters who burst out of the Three Broomsticks a moment later, wands drawn. Keeping as quiet as they could and making an effort not to trip over each others' feet, they slowly edged away from the Three Broomsticks and ducked into an alley where there was little chance of anyone accidentally bumping into them while they planned on their next move. So far, things were far from ideal and neither of them had any idea of how to get into Hogwarts at this rate. Everything in the atmosphere was tense and full of anticipation, which gave them all the feeling that a confrontation would be at hand very soon.
Voldemort knew what they had done and, since he was far from being an idiot, he also knew where they were headed and what their next move would be. However, his reaction of panic was also to his disadvantage, as he unknowingly gave a key fact away: that the remaining horcruxes, whatever they might be, were in Hogwarts. Why else would he also be rushing over there to stop them, otherwise?
It was all coming to a head, finally—and they had never been more terrified in their lives.
But still, there was also a sort of grim determination about them, Harry in particular. This day would decide everything, he realized, and they were so close that it was worth it at any cost to keep moving forward. None of them knew what to expect, of course—other than knowing that it was sure to be difficult and dangerous—but there was no turning back now.
The first problem was getting into Hogwarts, and this they discussed in hushed whispers. There were secret passageways, such as in the Shrieking Shack, but chances were that Voldemort had already taken up residence there and so that was out. There was also the One-Eyed Witch passage in Honeydukes, but one look around the corner and the trio saw that the once-popular shop had been boarded up and now looked abandoned—and besides which, that passage led to the D.A.D.A. classroom, which was the last place they wanted to end up. They would try that out as a last resort perhaps, but only if they couldn't think of another way. Right now, what they needed was something discreet, something that would lead them into Hogwarts in a place where they wouldn't be noticed.
Harry wracked his brain trying to think which of the secret passages that Fred and George had told him about would work best, when suddenly a door opened up behind them from the Hog's Head Inn, and out stepped an old wizard who...for all the world looked like a younger reincarnation of Albus Dumbledore. The trio was stunned and could only stand there in silence while the wizard looked around, seemingly at random, and yet Hermione had the keen sense that he could see them.
Turning around, he entered the back of the Hog's Head again, but he left the door open and a slight gesture of his hand made it clear that they were to follow. Had he resembled Dumbledore any less, none of the trio would have trusted him, but, as it was, Hermione had already guessed his identity.
Aberforth Dumbledore.
Soon after that, their luck took a turn for the better as Aberforth introduced them to a new passage—made out of necessity because Snape and the Carrows had blocked off all of the other passages, excepting the one beneath the Whomping Willow, which was being used by Death Eaters to get to and from the Shrieking Shack—inside which they met up with several of their friends and classmates who were now officially putting up a resistance. Among them was everyone they could think to name outside of the Weasleys, who even now were on their way to Hogwarts along with other members of the Order of the Phoenix. By gathering up his forces and heading towards Hogwarts, it was clear now that the war was coming to its most important battle yet.
And it would be the students and teachers of Hogwarts against all of Voldemort's army of death eaters, giants, and worse. No one knew what to expect.
"We've already got the defenses of the school up, but there's not much we can do while Snape's still headmaster," Dean Thomas explained as he led them through a series of passages towards the Gryffindor common room. "The school's still loyal to him, after all, and with him and the Carrows taking over, a lot has changed since you lot have been back."
"Glad to see that you're still alive, Potter," Seamus Finnigan added. "It hasn't been easy round here, but better that you kept away than stuck around. Reckon you'd be dead by now if You-Know-Who got his hands on you earlier, eh?"
And yet, many comments like these aside, no one asked them just why they had come back right now. It was clear enough that they would need all the help they could get, and more than a few of the students looked scared out of their wits to be a part of this at all. Neville Longbottom was absent for some reason, but when Ron asked the only answer he got was that Neville was up in the Astronomy Tower with Luna Lovegood and Professor Trelawney, doing research on something or other. Hermione could only hope that they had made some headway into figuring out what another horcrux might be, as Luna had mentioned that she'd look into it when she had last left them.
And Draco...well, now wasn't the time to bring up Draco to anyone, as Hermione was certain that no one would respond kindly a mention to the young Malfoy or even believe it if she told them that he was on their side. She doubted that they would believe it even if Harry himself told them that Draco had saved his life. It was no wonder that he was absent from this group of students, and yet...she just had to know about him, why he hadn't come back to them when he said he would. Something had happened, she was certain of it, and now that they were in Hogwarts...
"What else has been going on?" Hermione asked, keeping her eyes forward as they followed Seamus and Dean through the tunnels. "Other than with Snape and the Carrows, I mean."
Of everyone present, it was only Harry who understood what she meant, and so he pressed the question forward.
"I noticed there are no Slytherins here, Dean," he said.
Dean snorted. "Yeah right, Harry. Those snakes practically are death eaters already. They'll probably be fighting on the other side when it comes right down to it."
Hermione winced, even as she acknowledge that it was likely true. Harry, though, wasn't so sure.
"This is their school too," he said, his voice carrying authority that no one else among their classmates could match. "And not all of them are recruits to his cause, no more than all of their parents are death eaters. I'm not saying there's not a rotten lot among them, but still—"
"You haven't been around this past year, Harry," Seamus repeated. "With what Malfoy and his gang have been up to..." He shuddered. "It's gruesome. And een if not every Slytherin is on their level, you can depend on it: they're the real deal as far as death eaters go, and all of them would just as soon hex us to save themselves as they would help us defend the school. No use talking about them."
Hermione shuddered, unable to help herself as she soon in Seamus's words. It was true, it was all of it true, and no doubt everyone there knew more about Draco's actions firsthand since they had been there to witness them—maybe even feel them if Draco had to use magic against them. But still, now he...he was...
"Think we'll be expecting trouble from Malfoy and his lot as well then?" Harry asked, causing Hermione to glance sharply at him. But the look he gave her in response was all the assurance she needed to confirm that he was only trying to get to the bottom of where Draco was and what he was doing. If right now, it turned out that he had lied to them and was really working against them this entire time—though neither Hermione nor Harry really believed that—then at least they knew before hand. And if not, well then at least they knew that something had gone wrong, and it was better to be prepared for even the worst news than to have it hit you all at once.
It was a while before Seamus answered, and even then, he sounded more like he suspected something rather than was unsure. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Malfoy or his cronies around for the past few days. Has anyone?"
The question was met with the negative, after which Dean added, "He's probably just lying in wait for the right moment or something. Maybe they even went to join up with You-Know-Who's army coming into Hogwarts."
"That doesn't make any sense though," one of the Ravenclaws in the back pointed out. "If they were going to fight, wouldn't they wait somewhere in the school and ambush us that way?"
"Not much of an ambush needed when Snape's got control of the school," Dean muttered, clenching his fists.
"He's called an assembly, by the way," a Hufflepuff mentioned. "If there's ever a time to find out what's going on, it'll be in an hour."
"An assembly? In the Great Hall?" Ron asked.
"It's just the distraction we need," Seamus said. "The Order of the Phoenix is on their way here right now and should be there by the time he finishes." He glanced at Harry. "We think he's going to tell us to surrender, make sure we let You-Know-Who's army in without a fight."
Harry nodded grimly. "Sounds as good a time as any," he said. Hermione looked over at him and saw what he intended by this: almost a year after it happened, to finally confront Dumbledore's murderer.
As for herself, her own thoughts were elsewhere: that no one seemed to know where Draco was or could account for his actions. Had he made it back to Hogwarts at all, or was he...?
In any case though, she and Ron and Harry would have to make it down to the Chamber of Secrets firsthand and see if anything had happened there. Maybe there was an offhand chance they could secure the basilisk venom that way, if there was any left. Or...no, was that taking too much of a chance, now that time was on the essence? Could they risk it?
Where else then? Destroying the horcruxes was still there priority, never mind that Harry obviously wanted revenge on Snape. While he was holding the assembly then, could she...?
By now they had arrived in the Gryffindor common room, and slowly but surely Hermione was forming a plan. It might be dangerous, granted, but it was the best one she had and with Snape for sure going to be in the Great Hall within an hour, it was the best chance she was ever going to get to put it into action.
So, while their classmates went about preparing themselves and also finding Hogwarts robes for the trio so that they could blend in better, Hermione pulled Harry and Ron to the side and explained what she had in mind.
"Blood hell! That's mental!" Ron breathed.
Hermione nodded, for once agreeing with him. "But it's the only sure thing right now," she whispered. "If Draco wasn't able to get the basilisk venom, then we have to assume that there wasn't any."
"Hermione—" Ron said, looking about to suggest an alternative that (of course) had been building up in him, but Hermione wasn't about to consider it—not yet. Right now, she needed her mind to be clear, and second-guessing either Draco or herself was the last thing she needed.
Cutting him off, she said, "We know that the most likely place for the sword to be is in the headmaster's office, right? With Snape out of the way, now's the best time to go and get it." She gestured down to her bag, slung over her shoulder. "I've also got the cup, so it should be quick once I do find it."
"Destroying a horcrux is not bloody easy, 'Mione!" Ron hissed. "I should know!"
Hermione frowned. "Any better ideas, Ronald Weasley? Because if so, go on! I'm all ears!"
Ron ran a hand through his hair. "Well, no, but..."
Hermione turned towards Harry, who looked more inclined to listen without questioning her. "There will be protective spells put up around the office, but all I need is time. Even if I can't get in, with everyone busy, what's the worst that can happen?"
It was exactly the wrong question to ask, as any number of things could go wrong, but neither of them was willing to dwell on that. For now...much as he hated the thought of sending Hermione off alone and risking her very life for all he knew, he had no better ideas. Grimly, he gave a nod.
"I should go too," Ron offered, but both Harry and Hermione shut down that idea right away.
"Someone needs to be there to let in the members of the Order," Harry said. "Seamus mentioned that there will be a roll call so that everyone's accounted for at the meeting. It has to be either me or you there at the tunnel entrance. Besides which, that'll mean your family too, Ron. You'll finally get to see them again." And of course, Ron couldn't resist the temptation for that, even while his heart went out to Hermione who, despite everything they had gone through and what he had promised in giving her distance, he still loved deeply. After this war was over...maybe he would try again one more time, even though she had told him that it was useless. Maybe...
"You can't expect Hermione to go up to Snape's office alone," he insisted. "Suppose someone's guarding it?"
"I don't think Snape trusts anyone enough to do that," Harry said firmly. "There'll be protective spells, but.." And here, he turned to Hermione again. "Are you sure that you want to do this?"
"Not at all, but I'm sure I can handle it," Hermione promised.
Just then, someone called Ron over once they found a set of robes long enough to fit him, which fortunately left Harry and Hermione alone for a moment so he could ask his next question:
"And you'll come right back after...?"
Hermione bit her lip, knowing what he meant and yet unable to lie to him and give the logical answer that they both wanted to hear. The truth was less flattering.
"I will destroy the horcrux first, that's certain. And if I can't get into Snape's office and get the sword then...then there's one more place I have to go before coming back."
Neither of them needed to say what the place was or the reason behind it—they both just knew.
"Hermione..." Harry's brow furrowed. "If he made it back—"
"He'll be there if he did," Hermione acknowledged, much as it pained her to note that it was a big if. And if not, then he was likely...
"I hope you find him," Harry sighed, seeing that there was no dissuading her. "Just be careful, alright?"
Hermione knew that he wasn't just talking about coming back alive. "I will," she promised.
It was hard to tell how much time had passed, because the Room of Requirement had no windows, but Draco would have guessed that somewhere around one or two days must have gone by since he was first dragged in here. To his credit, he remained comparatively calm as he took in his situation, even going so far as to give Crabbe and Goyle credit for being...well, more than he thought they'd ever amount to. Clearly, under the tutorage of Amycus Carrow, they had thrived, Crabbe in particular. Draco wasn't sure that he could ever forget the nasty vehemence on his former friend's face when he hurled the worst curses he could think of at him, sort of the three unforgivable ones, of course.
It had been an unfair fight at the beginning though, all of Crabbe's training aside. Draco was a far better wizard and he would have been just one spell away from knocking Crabbe unconscious and then making his getaway, had Goyle not steeped in with nasty hexes of his own, thereby forcing Draco to start focusing more on his defenses. It was Pansy's surprising and sudden jump into the attack that had really cinched it though, three wizards against one. Hardly a fair fight, no matter how good anyone was. In fact, Draco couldn't think of anyone doing well against those odds, except maybe for Severus or the Dark Lord himself. In any case, it was Draco's fault for letting his guard down as far as Pansy was concerned, and that was why he now found himself, for all intents and purposes, being held prisoner in the Room of Requirement.
The first thing they had done was take Draco's wand away from him, after which they had put up a protective charm against him that, yes, kept him trapped short of actually tying him up. He could walk maybe three paces in either direction, but could not use any magic inside the "box" of sorts without receiving a nasty stinging hex in return. This automatic prison saved Crabbe and Goyle and Pansy the trouble of guarding him too closely, though the former two delighted in saying nasty things about him and his family while he was powerless to do anything about it. Draco would have accio'd his wand had it been nearby, but early on Pansy had hidden it somewhere deep within the room, and when Draco had tried to summon his wand nonverbally the first time, all he was rewarded with was a sharp stinging hex and still it hadn't come. Draco could only guess at where it was, given that it was immune to his summons.
Draco didn't bother talking to or even acknowledging them, in part because his silence both angered and scared them most of all. Crabbe and Goyle were idiots, but even they knew that they would be no match for Draco alone. More than anything, it had been luck and the shock of his friends turning against him openly that had gotten him in this position in the first place—it would not happen again, once Draco got out. And besides which, they should have good reason to be scared, because for all their brave talk about Draco's father being "finished" and his family being in disgrace, he was still a more powerful wizard and a better death eater than they could ever be. And if the Dark Lord himself didn't start asking questions soon, then Headmaster Snape certainly would.
Even now, it was only the fact that Draco was usually so absent from school that kept anyone from noticing that he was gone. Their time was running out, though.
That being said, even though they had him in custody, it was clear that none of them knew what to do with him. They had suspicions about him, true, but they had no way of proving anything. And besides which, once they had attacked him, there was no going back: retaliation was a very serious possibility. So, for now, keeping him prisoner here was only a temporary situation, and they knew it too. Short of actually killing Draco—which he knew they didn't have the guts to do—there was no course of action open to them.
Even if the war wasn't going to arrive right on their doorstep later that night, they should still have cause to be afraid, in other words.
As it neared the time of Snape's assembly, Crabbe and Goyle made themselves scarce, leaving only Pansy to guard Draco since, as they mentioned, her absence wasn't as likely to be noted since she wasn't as high up on the hierarchy as they were. Just what that meant, Draco didn't bother to puzzle out, though Pansy looked mad enough at the situation that he half expected her to hex one of them just on principle.
When she only stood by, Draco guessed that maybe she didn't have as much guts as she'd always pretended, and so Crabbe and Goyle went off on their merry way.
Leaving him and Pansy alone.
If ever there was a time to try and escape, this was it.
"Pansy..."
She whirled on him, looking as angry as he'd ever seen her, even though her eyes were wide and full of other things as well—fear, hurt, hesitation, and disbelief.
"Whatever you're going to say, save it, Draco," she hissed. "Gregory and Vincent were right about you. What you've been doing...you're not really one of us, not anymore."
This was speculation, Draco thought, as there was no way that any of them could know what he'd been doing. And he wasn't about to let them trick him into a confession, either.
Crossing his arms and managing to look haughty and superior despite being trapped, he said, "Is that what you want to believe, Pansy?" he challenged. "I bet it's easier than the truth for you."
"What truth?" she asked, tightening the grip on her wand.
Draco shrugged, looking indifferent.
"WHAT TRUTH?!" Pansy repeated, looking quite mad for a moment that...funnily enough, Draco was almost reminded of his aunt. How uncanny.
"That none of you will ever reach me," Draco supplied at last, lifting up his chin. "You'd rather think that I—that my entire family is done, but they never will be. You think your lies will have any effect on me? Do you think they'll have any effect at all other than making you feel better about yourself—about how weak you all are?"
He kind of expected Pansy to hex him for that—if the positions were reversed, he certainly would have. But instead, her face crumbled and her expression went from angry to hurt just like that. For months at a time, despite thinking that any liking she may have had for him in the past had faded, Draco was now faced with the realization that he was completely wrong: Pansy Parkinson did still have feelings for him, thereby making her far more sensitive and human than he or anyone else had ever given her credit for. In a way, it was almost worse than if she would have just gone ahead and hexed him.
"That's...that's not true, Draco," she said, sounding so feeble that Draco finally realized how the war had taken its toll, on good and bad wizards alike. Pansy sounded so tired, so done with everything, that Draco almost felt compassion for her. Almost. She had still hexed him and was the reason that he was in here, after all.
"This isn't about your family or even about the Dark Lord anymore," she confessed, lowering her wand and looking desperately at him. "This is just about you as far as I'm concerned. You can't lie to me about it, Draco, I've seen what's happening to you. You're...you're not yourself anymore, not at all the person we've known and grown up with. You...I once thought you..." But here she hesitated, and it was just as well because she would only have embarrassed both of them by going further on that train of thought. Draco had tolerated her affections for him, true, but Pansy would be hard-pressed to say that he'd ever returned them.
Maybe that was what hurt her the most: knowing that she'd never had a chance.
"Just stop pretending, Draco," she went on, turning away from having that discussion now—not that it would have been any use. "Just be honest with me and tell me the truth of what's happening. I know that you're not proud of your family, not even of yourself. You think I haven't noticed how you look after every time you've hexed or cursed someone? You're good at hiding it, but I—"
"That's enough already Pansy," Draco sighed. "You seem to think you know a lot about me all of a sudden."
"I do, Draco," Pansy said, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I've always been watching you. I know you don't want to do these things, don't want to be one of us anymore. I know I said as much once to you earlier last year, but...well, I've been thinking...if maybe you aren't right."
"'Right?'" Draco echoed.
Pansy nodded. "Yes. Right about not wanting thing, about...about hating it and knowing that it's not who you are. It's...it's too much, Draco, all of this! We're not Death Eaters, not really!" And she looked almost frantic, whispering the last part.
And if only Draco hadn't caught sight of the tip of her wand glowing as she moved closer to him, a sure sign that she was working magic likely to coax an answer out of him or record what he was saying, he would almost have believed her. She was a good actress, but not careful enough.
Guess I finally know who my real friends are, Draco thought, stepping forward. Fortunately, he was a better actor, good enough to pull a better job than Pansy had.
"I won't say you're right," he said, hesitatingly moving further back from her instead of towards her. He needed her to be in range, needed to have her off-guard so that he could get her wand. For that though, he needed to draw her closer, to a weak spot near the corners of his four-sided prison, just close enough to get what he needed.
"But if you were, then what would happen next?" He gestured around them hopelessly. "What happens after this?"
Pansy's eyes brightened and, despite her putting on an act for the most part with regards to being regretful and whatnot, this much was at least true: even after all this, she truly wouldn't mind taking Draco back. Somehow, she was the only one who actually might, and it was only too bad that Draco wasn't about to reach for that lifeline.
"I'd let you out and we'd run away, Draco," she answered quite easily. "Together. Vincent and Gregory won't be back until the Headmaster's assembly is over, and the Dark Lord's army is on their way right now. We could run, just the two of us, and wait until it's over. We don't need to be a part of it, not anymore."
Right. Which likely meant that Pansy would lead them right towards the army and hand Draco over at the first opportunity. It would be much better if she had proof to present to the Dark Lord that he was a traitor—and agreeing to run away with her right now was plentiful proof—but even just the suspicion of such would be enough for the Dark Lord to torture if not kill him. All of it was a trap, of this Draco was certain—and he was never more regretful than in knowing that, if only it had been Pansy instead of Hermione that he had fallen for, he might have saved her too.
But then, since it had been Hermione that had saved him, that had given him a reason and something to believe in to keep fighting, maybe he and Pansy would only have fallen together instead of the other way around.
"What about my family?" Draco asked, trying to act like how Pansy would expect him to rather than agree to her terms right away.
Pansy shook her head. "Draco, it's too late for them. Besides which, what do you think your father would do to you if he found out? Wouldn't he be the first to turn you over to the Dark Lord?"
Shows how much you know about my father, Draco thought, though he could hardly blame her for it.
"You're probably right," he admitted, slumping forward as though in defeat. "We need to get out of here."
Pansy's relief wasn't entirely pretend as she stepped forward, close enough for Draco to reach out and touch her, though he didn't look likely to do so anytime soon. "We will, Draco," she breathed.
Then, faster than Pansy could react, Draco did the last thing she might have expected of him: he lunged forward and, taking on the brunt of brutal stinging hexes all over the front of his body and his left arm as he reached for her wand, he grabbed it out of her hand and forced her back.
Though to break through his makeshift prison hurt and Draco even smelt a bit of burning flesh in the process—and not to mention that his robes were singed, but that was neither here nor there. But the main point was that, injured or not, he was free, and he was at an advantage with Pansy's wand in his possession.
"Incarcerous!" Draco said, pointing the wand at Pansy. Ropes appeared and quickly bound the girl together, all the way up to her mouth once she started screaming and lashing out in hatred at Draco. The rage and disbelief in her eyes made it clear that she hadn't thought their confrontation would end this way. Then, as Draco approached her, that expression quickly turned to one of anger and fear, as she clearly knew what Draco was capable of and expected no mercy at his hands.
And, by all accounts, Draco shouldn't have any mercy, and yet he couldn't bring himself to hurt a girl who, nasty as she was, had had feelings for him at one point. It just wasn't something that he was capable of, much less to kill her. And though she might deserve it...he wouldn't do it.
Besides which, even though she might hate and want to betray him now, the fact remained that she was the person who had run after him the longest, wanting to understand him and bring him back into the fold. It hadn't worked, but still. There was humanity there.
Kneeling down in front of her so that they were eye level, Draco decided to tell her at least part of the truth. It wouldn't matter anyway, since the Dark Lord was on his way and all things would be revealed soon enough. Before her fate was decided, Pansy would know at least this much.
"You were right about me," he said calmly, his face and voice as impassive as ever. "And you know, it almost might have been different if only the Dark Lord hadn't ordered me to kill Dumbledore last year. It was then that all of this started. If not for that, then I'd be fighting on your side now. I'd believe that the Dark Lord should win. But, as it is, right now all I want is for the Dark Lord to pay for his crimes. Reckon I'd better help Potter with that, as he should be here soon."
Pansy's eyes widened in shock at Draco's words, but it didn't matter because they didn't stay so for long. Giving her the same stinging hex to the head that she had given him, Draco swiftly knocked her out, and then went towards a nearby cabinet and put her inside. The spell to bind her wouldn't last forever, and Draco intended to have as much of a head start as possible for what he needed to do. The sense that Harry, Hermione, and Weasley would be there soon was only a hunch, but it seemed like a good one—and he'd have to help them when the time came.
He accio'd his own wand to him before snapping Pansy's in half, so that even when she did get free, she wouldn't have anything to attack anyone with. Hopefully she was smart enough to stay out of trouble and not get herself killed, though Draco couldn't say that he cared one way or the other what happened to her.
As far as he was concerned, things were finished between them, and he hoped never to see her again.
Right now, there was only one person he was interested in seeing at all, and he could only hope that she was close by and not in danger.
A/N: I'm a bit surprised at how long the confrontation between Draco and Pansy took in this chapter, as I intended to include other things event-wise as well, but overall I think it's really fitting. Originally, I thought to make it a question of Hermione and Pansy confronting one another, but then I decided that it wouldn't be as impactful to character development as the psychological confrontation between Draco and Pansy. In Rowling's books and in the movies, Pansy's pretty much brushed aside and summed up as being a nasty and hateful girl, and I tried to stay true to that but also to give her a bit more character as actually having affection for Draco. True, as I've made it clear, she would betray him, but in a way it's more her lashing out for him not returning her feelings than her just wanting power for herself. Makes for a more complex character, eh?
Anyway, things are now being set in motion and every chapter you can expect important things to happen. Hope that our beginning of the Battle of Hogwarts is interesting for everyone to read so far, keep on the lookout for more twists in the upcoming chapters!
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