"Blah" Talking
'Blah' Thinking
"Blah" Parseltongue/Notes/Different languages
Blah Dreams/Flashbacks/Anything and Everything else
"Oh, yeah, because let me tell you how much sense that makes!" Eleanor retorted to Seamus. The older boy rolled his eyes, and waved his arms about as he defended his idea. Dean walked on his other side, a smile playing on his lips.
Ginny, Luna, and Neville were a few shops behind Eleanor, Seamus, and Dean, chatting happily back and forth. Luna was staring dreamily about them, holding Ginny's hand while Ginny and Neville were enthusiastically discussing something out of the magazine in Neville's hand. The six were having a grand time, all happy to be back in each other's company after the break.
They were heading back to Hogwarts when the front of a store exploded outwards. Seconds later a body was thrown out onto the street, blood dribbling out of the mouth. A man in black robes calmly walked out of what remained of the doorframe, pulling on a white mask almost absentmindedly. He looked up then, as if someone had called his name, and casually flung a curse at the group of people just standing there frozen in shock and fear.
It was chaos immediately – it seemed as if Death Eaters poured into Hogsmeade out of thin air and they all immediately started firing off curses. A few brave shoppers fought back, but the vast majority fled for their lives. Ginny and Luna dodged and ran through the crowd with ease due to their size and speed.
"We have to get the third and fourth years out of danger!" Luna said to Ginny, hoping the other girl heard her over the noise. Ginny nodded, grabbing the hands of two Ravenclaw third years that were huddled close by.
"I'm taking them to Zonko's! Cover me!" Ginny said fiercely, dashing forward while shoving the students in front of her. Luna ran after her, wand out. Just as Ginny wrenched the door to Zonko's open, a spell flew toward them. Luna shoved one of the third years closer to Ginny and got hit in the shoulder for her trouble. She whirled around, wand out, and fired a bone breaking spell at the nearest Death Eater. Their legs folded up underneath them, the knees bending the wrong way.
Luna could sense Seamus and Dean's mental signals coming closer, so she lingered by the door hoping to see them. In seconds, the two boys came into sight with five Gryffindor students and three younger children – possibly lived in Hogsmeade.
"Dean! Over here!" Luna said loud enough to get his attention, hoping that it wouldn't attract someone else's. Luna and Dean herded the children into the store with minimal fuss while Seamus tried to make sure they hadn't caught been caught in a Death Eater's sight. Luckily, the Death Eaters were preoccupied with some brave Hogsmeade adults and the destruction of the town.
"Does your shoulder hurt, young lady?" The Zonko's shop keeper asked Luna as she and Dean came inside. Luna titled her head as she answered.
"Not as much as I thought a broken bone would hurt." She pointed her wand at her shoulder and tapped it. Pain flared as it snapped back in place. She swayed briefly as her vision grayed. Dean urged her to sit.
"Stay here. Dean, come with me. Luna, try to contact Harry." Ginny commanded before leaving the shop. Luna tried to conjure offense to being ordered around, but couldn't mange it. Her shoulder hurt more than it did a few minutes ago. She vaguely wondered if perhaps she didn't cast her spell correctly.
She took a few deep breathes, trying to think through the pain. She didn't have her school bag with her, meaning she didn't have her parchment to get a message out. She looked around the shop, noticing the cowering children and adults throughout.
'A Crumple-Horned Snorkack would never just huddle in a corner with their babies. They'd defend them to the death, leaving them in a safe place. But humans don't do that. Odd.' Luna thought as she forced herself to her feet.
'So, humans cower with children when they know they can do nothing. You can do something, you can get Harry. Think, Luna. How can you get Harry?' She had no way of getting word to Harry, but maybe she could attract attention from Hogwarts.
'C'mon Luna, you're in a joke shop; there's got to be something useful here.'
Ginny dodged a killing curse as she heard Neville enchant a plant to do his will. A bush nearby roared to life, grabbing the Death Eater that just tried to kill her and flung them into a nearby building. They didn't get up.
Ginny lunged behind the bush as Neville directed it to shield a father and his son. The spell that was heading toward them hit the bush and leaves and wood splintered as the father shot a thankful look at Neville.
"No offense, but that bush isn't exactly inconspicuous!" Ginny said to Neville as the bush fell to the ground unmoving.
"I noticed!" He retorted back as he dragged her away, closer to Honeydukes. While they were running they fired off shields to keep from getting hit. Even so, eventually they had to stop running to turn and fight.
"Why, if it isn't little Neville!" A shrill voice sounded. A giggle followed that statement as a Death Eater danced into their sights. She didn't wear a mask and had long black hair. She held a vague resemblance to Sirius, but her eyes held a madness that Ginny had never seen in Sirius' eyes.
"You did grow up well, didn't you? My, my, you look strikingly like little, cute Alice!" the woman giggled again, loud, as if what she said was somehow hilarious. "I wonder if you and she sound alike?" And that was all the warning they got before the woman shot the Cruciatus Curse at Neville.
He fell, screaming and writhing on the ground as the woman laughed. Ginny ran forward and bodily tackled the woman to the ground, something she clearly wasn't expecting, but reacted to quickly. The woman's fist collided with Ginny's face as she lost grip of her wand. Ginny drove her own fist down into the woman's pretty face, hearing a crack as her fist connected with the woman's nose. Ginny lunged off the woman, diving for the woman's wand. She snatched it up just as she heard Neville's voice from behind her.
"Ex Somes!" The woman managed to dodge the entrail-expelling curse before apperating away. Neville looked demonic, his face set in an unnatural expression of sheer hate.
"I don't think my brilliant plan will work a second time." Ginny said, hoping that her voice would cause Neville's expression to change. All it did was cause him to turn to her, clearly furious with her.
"What the hell were you thinking? Rushing her like that! You could have been killed!" He shouted at her.
"I wasn't, ok? I just reacted! You were screaming and I had to do something!" She was going to continue when she was hit from behind by something that sent her flying over Neville's head and into Honeyduke's front window.
Her last thought before she lost consciousness was 'Harry's going to kick my ass for arguing in the middle of a battle.'
The gold and black ring on her finger pulsed once, and then she was gone.
Neville, furious that he had let himself get so distracted, flung the entrail-expelling curse at the Death Eater that cursed Ginny. It hit and Neville watched in a strange sort of detached way as the person seemed to explode; bits of organs and blood going everywhere in a burst.
'That should have been Bellatrix Lestrange.' Neville thought as he just stood there as the fighting went on around him. Hate and rage was filling him up, clouding his thoughts. He wanted to kill, he wanted her dead. No, he wanted her, the woman who took his parents from him in the worst way imaginable, to writhe. She would pay, she would scream, and he would laugh.
She would writhe and scream and hurt and hurt and hurt and he would be glad; be glad, be joyously untouchable. He would curse her, curse her and hate her and rip her apart and she would scream…
A body slammed into him, forcing him to the ground. Neville was brought out of his hate-filled haze as his arm raised, a curse on his lips.
"Nev, it's me, it's Dean!" And Neville paused, taking in the face of one of his best friends. As Dean tugged Neville to his feet, he felt sick to his stomach, like he was about to vomit. He had killed someone, and thought about torturing someone, thought about enjoying it.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Neville heard his voice as if he was underwater, filtered and distorted.
"Later, Neville, be sick later! We still have to defend Hogsmeade!" Dean's voice, loud and urgent, rang like a bell in Neville's head. Neville nodded, sharply, pushing all other thoughts to the back of his mind. He had to concentrate on this right now, he could worry about the other things later. Right now, he had a job to do.
"Ginny got hit; I think she crashed through Honeyduke's front window. Where are Luna, Eleanor, and Seamus?"
"I don't know where Eleanor is, we got separated. Luna's holed up in Zonko's, trying to get word back to the castle and Seamus is fighting over by Dervish and Banges. I can't concentrate to try and find Eleanor's mind in all the ruckus." Their brief moment of peace was quickly ruined as some Death Eaters noticed them and fired off curses.
Dean flung a shield up, while Neville threw an enchantment towards the trees, hoping that he could manage to enchant them. He hadn't been able to enchant anything bigger than a bush, but maybe with the added adrenaline…
No, it hadn't work. The spell hit the bark and the tree did nothing. Dean swore and cast the shield charm again. It was holding up, but just barely. Dean's magic was better for attacking than defending.
"Hold it for just a little longer; I'm going to try something." Neville whispered to Dean, stepping a few paces back to give himself room.
Neville took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Harry had taught him the theory behind this; he knew how to do it, and he just needed to power to achieve it. He flung out a string of fire, reaching with his magic to grab it and hold it in place. With his eyes closed, he could feel the heat from the flames and smell the sulfur. He concentrated, folding his magic around the flames. He needed a weapon he could control, something flexible, able to twist around Dean's shield and strike the Death Eaters. He needed a weapon.
"Neville, I can't hold this forever!"
The flames died. Neville cursed before flinging out another string, he knew how to do this, it was just a matter of doing it. He reached with his magic again, willing the flames to bend to him and hold.
They vanished, again.
Eleanor struggled against Warren as he dragged her away from High Street, from the fighting and burning.
"You'll be perfect for my Lord's wishes, dear Eleanor, especially since Potter seems to have a soft spot for you. You should be grateful and humbled, considering this whole affair was designed specifically for you."
Eleanor didn't understand what Warren meant, but she wasn't in any hurry to find out. She kicked her foot back, hard, and dashed away when Warren loosened his grip on her. She had half a mind to turn back and fight him, but her instincts were telling her to run so she listened. They had never failed her before.
Warren cursed behind her, but she concentrated on getting back to High Street. Neville, Dean, and Seamus were the farthest from her, and Luna was with a bunch of other people – perhaps holed up in a store? Eleanor couldn't sense Ginny, which worried her for an unfathomable reason.
"Stupefy!" Eleanor cursed as the spell flew centimeters over her shoulder.
'Thank Merlin Warren can't aim!'
"Protego!" Eleanor pointed the wand at herself as she ran, sighing in relief when a bubble-like shield appeared around her.
She ran faster, willing all her energy to her legs to get her back to High Street – it would be easy to lose Warren in the crowd of fighting and flames. Once his attention was divided on more than just her she could disillusion herself and get to Luna or the boys.
She had just gotten to High Street when Zonko's exploded. On the one hand, a building just exploded, but on the other it was a wonderful distraction. Everyone's gaze was directed at said distraction, so she cast the disillusion spell over herself and ran towards Neville, Dean, and Seamus.
They were all together, fighting against six Death Eaters. She aimed her wand at the back of one and shot off a blasting curse. The Death Eater's spine exploded backwards and they fell to the ground. Eleanor hoped, for their sake, that they were dead. She firmly refused to think on the fact that she had just murdered someone and threw herself into the fight, firing spells off. Since she was disillusioned, it was hard for the remaining five Death Eaters to fight back.
"Eleanor!" Warren's voice sounded from behind her, causing her to sharply turn. A spell slammed into her side and pain seared as her arm was shattered. Her wand flew out of her grip as she staggered sideways, crying out in pain. She threw herself towards Seamus as her disillusion spell faded, wondering if Warren had hit her out of sheer luck or if he had somehow figured out where she was. She wasn't sure which one would've been better.
Seamus fired off something at Warren, she couldn't hear what it was over the sudden ringing in her head as the pain and adrenaline warred for control over her senses. The world tilted abruptly and she suddenly found herself on the ground, Dean and Seamus hovering over her protectively.
She felt like she was in a kaleidoscope, colors blurred together and sound tumbled and changed in her head. Nothing stayed in front of her and nothing made sense. Dean was saying something to her, or at least she thought it was Dean – it was hard to tell from his Picasso like appearance.
"Pretty lights…" She reached for the light shining from his eyes as she spoke, but her hand closed on nothing as the Picasso-Dean crumpled to the ground. Green shards of light ripped out of him and she heard what might have been Seamus' voice rumble something.
The Gryffindor emblem came into sight before the green shards of light ripped it away, and someone was screaming as arms picked her up and held her close. She briefly thought she saw Draco, but he looked distorted and too colorful.
Lucius wrapped his arms around Severus' shoulders, almost purring in pleasure. He hadn't been able to see Severus for months and had even resorted to sleeping with that doll Harry had gifted to him before the school year started.
'I'm getting soft if I'm admitting to sleeping with a doll, even if only to myself.'
Severus sighed as he leaned back into the taller man.
"I have work to do." Severus said. "I'm sure you do as well, Lucius."
Lucius kissed Severus cheek.
"You should be doing your work and I should be doing mine."
Lucius turned Severus' head to give him a proper kiss. He trailed his fingers down to curl in the collar of Severus' shirt. 'Odd to think this was once a really romantic gesture. I can see why it went out of style.'
A flash of red-orange flames caused them to jerk apart. Fawkes appeared in a blaze, parchment held carefully in his beak. Severus took the message from the phoenix and quickly read over it as flames surrounded Fawkes once more.
"Shit, there's an attack going on in Hogsmeade right now!" And both of them were moving quickly through the school, wands out and alert.
"How many?" Lucius asked as they made it to the ground floor.
"Albus didn't say. He only found out about it because Zonko's exploded." They were halfway to the gates, where they would be able to apparate the remaining distance. From where they were they could see smoke rising from the little town.
Fear gripped Lucius' heart in a vice-grip. He did not know where his son was and he hoped with everything in him that Draco wasn't in Hogsmeade. He hoped he was hidden away somewhere in the castle with Harry; hoped he was anywhere but in Hogsmeade. He didn't want to have anything in common with the Weasleys. A shudder passed through him as he thought of them and their dead son. He wouldn't allow that to be him, couldn't allow that to be him. The second he was past the wards, he apparated.
Blood and magic met him. A few yards in front of him, a young girl in Hogwarts robes – younger than Draco – sat on the ground with an alarming amount of blood coming from her arm. Three young boys were in front of her, one trying to talk to her, but they were outnumbered – the three of them against five Death Eaters.
The world slowed down: his legs moved him forward as two killing curses from different sides flew towards the girl, one boy lunged in front of her as the other boy casually stepped forward to intercept the other one. The remaining boy set one of the Death Eaters on fire as the girl started to scream. Lucius swung the girl up into his arms, firing off two curses as he assessed where all the blood was coming from.
Her shoulder blade was sticking out of her skin, and a fountain of blood was flowing freely from the grotesque wound. To try and bind it now might cause more damage than good; after all, Lucius wasn't a medi-wizard by any stretch. He rolled out of the way as a whip of flames set the remaining Death Eaters in front of him on fire. The remaining boy who had protected the girl in Lucius' arms looked demonic as he raced into the fighting, fire coiled around him.
"Lucius, give her to me before she bleeds to death." Minerva said as she reached for the girl. He easily handed her off, noticing that behind him Poppy had already set up a temporary area guarded by a few Order members, and that the battle seemed to be moving further up High Street.
The Dark Mark shot up into the sky, causing Lucius to move quickly, sprinting up the street as the fighting abruptly ended as Death Eaters everywhere appearated away. He skid to a stop next to his cousin, Sirius.
"Shit, we missed all the fun." Sirius pouted and Lucius flinched away at the striking resemblance he had to Bellatrix – both in appearance and attitude.
"Cousin, you disturb me." Lucius said as he assessed the damage done to Hogsmeade – a few stores were burnt to the ground, a few more still on fire, people were helping the wounded, and there were corpses littering the street. He didn't see his son among the unmoving children which calmed his heart.
Albus stood outside the Hogs Head. The bar was in good shape and most likely he was coaxing the hidden people out, telling them the danger had passed. He caught sight of Severus, staring down at the street. Fear gripped his heart as he moved quickly to his lover's side.
It was a child, but it wasn't his child, and for that Lucius felt a sick sense of relief. The child couldn't be more than 13, so this must have been their first Hogsmeade trip.
"I wonder how many children will have to be sacrificed to this madman before the end." Severus whispered, mostly to himself. "Have you seen Draco?"
"No."
"Good. Our son will not be lost to this." It always made Lucius feel better to hear Severus refer to Draco as theirs. Lucius touched Severus' arm gently.
"Poppy might need your assistance."
Severus nodded, turning sharply to go offer his aide. Lucius spoke an identification charm over the dead body, watching as the child's name shimmered above his crown. He reached into his pocket for a spare quill and something that could be transfigured into a card to write the child's name on. He wrote the boy's name in flowing script, being careful to write it slowly and legibly. He placed the card between the boy's lips to show respect for the dead and moved on.
After identifying four more bodies, he found himself beside Sirius again. The other man was talking to the boy that Lucius had seen walk off with flames coiled tightly around him. Lucius had forgotten about him until then, but looking at him properly it was easy to tell the boy was Neville Longbottom.
"I saw her go in here though! She was blasted through the window. Oh Merlin, where is she? She- she…" Longbottom coked on his words, tears flowing down his face. "It was my-my fault! She – we were arguing… oh no, where is she?" Sirius pulled the boy closer as he descended into hysteria. Lucius wondered if Sirius was always this good at soothing hysterical children or if it came from being Harry's guardian. As creepy as the child was, he probably pulled off hysterical very well.
Sirius looked up at Lucius, mouthing 'Ginny Weasley is missing' to Lucius above the boy's head.
'Of course it would be another Weasley. How many children do they have to lose?'
She couldn't see.
"I wasn't, ok? I just reacted! You were screaming and I had to do something!"
Roots were under her knees and it was so dark she couldn't even make out the ground.
She was airborne suddenly, and then glass was shattering and biting into her.
'That's right… Hogsmeade was under attack…'
"Ginny, are you alright?" Luna's hand came into her vision and relief flowed through Ginny. 'Thank Merlin, Luna is alright.' Ginny thought as she grabbed Luna's hand and pulled herself up. Luna's hand was cold.
"Yes, what about Hogsmeade?"
"I'm so glad you're alright." Luna said, letting go of her hand to hug her.
"I'm glad you're alright too." Ginny rested her forehead against Luna's, closing her eyes. 'I wonder if Neville is okay. Did help come?'
"We should prob-" Ginny was cut off as Luna pressed their lips together softly. 'Why is she so cold? How long was I out for?'
Luna stepped forward, causing Ginny to stumble back and trip on a tree root. Her back hit the ground and Luna's elbow collided with her stomach, winding her briefly.
"Alright?" Ginny wheezed out. Luna smiled down at her, nodding. Buttons popped as Luna ripped her shirt open.
"What are -? " And her words were swept away as Luna pressed kisses down her chest and fire sparked down her spine and raced through her blood. And a very important question occurred to her: why the hell was she in a forest with Luna when the last thing she remembered was the attack on Hogsmeade?
"You're… not Luna." Ginny said, not sure why she was so sure that this woman wasn't Luna. Not-Luna sat up abruptly, straddling Ginny as she blinked down at her. Not-Luna smiled in a distinctly Not-Luna way and Ginny realized she was still burning inside.
"Well, it's nice to know I was right about the appearance would allow me to put that on you." She pointed to a pinprick of a mark that was centered between her breasts. It looked similar to a mark that is made when one held the quill above the parchment, thinking about what to write, and a single drop falls.
"What is it?" Ginny asked coldly. There were all sorts of poisons that started with simple marks like that one, and even more dark spells and curses.
"Your newest birthmark. It means you are the heir to the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna and all her powers." Not-Luna smiled down at Ginny, a proud gleam in her eyes.
"That's nice and all… but I'm a Weasley. We're a British pureblood family. We have absolutely no ties to Russia!" Ginny was going to go on, but Not-Luna interrupted her swiftly.
"Your family has no background whatsoever before Septimus Weasley. Anastasia ran from the revolt in Russia. Rasputin gave her one last spell before they parted ways and –. " Not-Luna was cut off by Ginny.
"I don't CARE what Anastasia did or did not do, it has nothing to do with me! I saw her picture in Russia recently; she had strawberry-blonde hair! We Weasleys are all red, RED, not strawberry-blonde! We have a sleeping Guide for heaven's sake! I'm not related to a Grand Duchess; you're crazy!" Ginny shouted, trying to roll the woman on top of her off. Not-Luna didn't budge. Ginny felt the fire that was in her body boil and she writhed in pain; Not-Luna moaned above her and Ginny forced herself to stop moving. The fire simmered down, once more becoming a tame heat just below the surface.
"You have her eyes – the shape, not just the color – and her nose. And of course you all have red hair, if you hadn't interrupted me I was getting there. Now, Rasputin gave Anastasia one last spell before they parted ways – this was after she was forced to watch her sisters murdered before her eyes and watch Rasputin kill the soldiers who would have killed her – and she ran to the island of Britain. Once she was here, she arranged for the Goblins to move only her money from the branch in Russia to a new account here and traded her diamond embedded robes for more money and legal documentation of a new identity. She changed her name to a man's name – Septimus. Somehow she settled on a last name of "Weasley" and permanently changed her hair color to a vibrant red with a potion. To ensure that no one would ever make a connection between who she was now and who she had been, she decided to change a vital part of herself to make it impossible for anyone to make a connection – she changed her gender with magic." Not-Luna paused here, looking like the cat that caught the canary and got to keep their milk. Ginny was not impressed.
"Septimus Weasley is my grandfather. My parents say that there hasn't been a Weasley in generations –" She was going to go on, but Not-Luna clamped a hand down on her mouth.
"You've never even met your grandfather. He died before you were born, was murdered to be more exact. Your father had two brothers, one of whom had four sons. You never met those children, as they were all murdered along with their parents by the same people. Your uncle Bilius died after seeing a Grim. Anastasia's magic made 13 children male and then came you. The fourteenth child, the grandchild of Anastasia – and you are her heir." Not-Luna removed her hand from Ginny's mouth.
Ginny was still not impressed.
"Fine. Say I believe your story about Anastasia becoming my grandfather. Then answer this: How did she impregnate Cedrella, my grandmother?" Ginny was smug – she knew she had Not-Luna here.
"I said she changed her gender, Ginny, not faked it. You live in a world where men can get pregnant. Why in the world is it so difficult for you to believe that a woman can become a man, in every way possible? Your insides are easy to change if you know how to do it." Not-Luna brought up a good point – she knew magical men could become pregnant if the circumstances are right, so why was it so shocking that magical people can change their bodies in other ways? If a person can become an animal at will, why can't they also become the opposite gender, complete with all the quirks?
This explanation also explained some things that Ginny had always wondered about her family – why were they poor if they were an old family? What happened to all the money? Why hadn't she ever read of anything the Weasleys had done in history, especially when the other pureblood families sometimes had whole books dedicated to their contributions in history? Why didn't she know where her family's Guide was buried? Her mother always talked about cousins of hers, aunts, and even her grandparents – but Ginny had never heard her father mention anyone in his family beyond his parents and brothers. Probably because he didn't know any of them, because they were all murdered during the revolt in Russia or died there, not knowing that Anastasia had survived.
'But why does any of that matter to me, right now? That's all well and good, but it doesn't do anything for me at this moment - not when there's a war going on.'
"What does that have to do with me? Yay, I'm the heir to the Grand Duchess, but why are you telling me this? I have more important things to worry about then my bloodline!" Ginny pushed Not-Luna, trying to sit up. Not-Luna didn't budge.
"Weren't you listening? You have received her powers – her legacy. Rasputin gave her one last spell; it was used to enslave the ultimate protector for her. Rasputin loved her very much; she was the princess of his heart. He loved her more than his own life, more than his own soul, and he desperately wanted to protect hers." Ginny wasn't sure she was liking where this was going. She took a deep breath.
And was shocked she could see her breath when she exhaled. She was warm, perfectly warm in fact, but upon inspection she realized that the grass was wilting and that Not-Luna's lips were turning blue.
'Oh Merlin, no. No, no, no!' She thought to herself as the fire warmed her from the inside and Not-Luna grinded down on her, moaning in a way that Ginny would love to hear the real Luna moan.
A cloaked figure swept into her vision and even though she wasn't cold, she knew what it was. Even without hearing Tom's voice slithering its way inside her head, telling her she was an expendable child and all his other lies, she knew it was a Dementor.
"That is your ultimate protector. The head of the group enslaved to protect you and yours. Rasputin wanted to protect Anastasia... and now he wants to protect you." Not-Luna whispered in her ear, grinding herself down against Ginny again, moaning in delight. Ginny felt the fire wash through her, making her feel as she did when she was with Luna.
Not-Luna kissed her again and Ginny wished it was really Luna, wished it was really Luna moving against her, and not someone just taking her appearance. Her world went white and then silver and for a time she knew no more.
Draco adored the Library of Alexandria. It was huge and stuffed with all sorts of ancient scrolls and books. Scholars came from all around the world to read, to learn, and to communicate ideas. He'd only been to the library once before with his mother. He was young then, no more than eight or nine, and even then it had fascinated him. The dusty smell of the parchment, the tingle of the magic vibrating through the air, the ideas that existed preserved forever all in one place. The Library was a magical place in all senses of the word – even if half of its texts had gone up in flames.
"There was only so much time to move the materials, only so many people and only so many places to hide the texts. Thus, only a little above half was saved." Harry's sudden voice made Draco jump. Harry giggled behind him.
"Stay out of my head." Draco muttered, only half serious.
"Make me." Harry kissed Draco's check. The skirts of the fluffy dress Harry was wearing brushed against him as Harry moved past him. Harry was wearing a blue dress with the skirts fluffed out and trailing the ground. His hair was down and dyed brown, with bangs covering the lightning scar. Harry was all dressed up because he was going to do something that no one had ever attempted before: steal from the Library of Alexandria.
The Library was a circular building, made of stone and stained glass windows. The center had desks and chairs for studying and people milled around carrying books or scrolls and tall, imposing stone shelves stuffed with books and scrolls lined the walls. There were no guards inside, mostly because they weren't needed. In between the shelves, engraved on the ground, were all sorts of enchantments to prevent theft or copying charms. No one had ever actually attempted to steal from the library, but the enchantments were there as added insurance.
'And here I am with Harry, planning to steal quite a few volumes.'
Harry giggled ahead of him and a few people turned to look at him, and then took another look. Draco smiled to himself – he knew Harry was attractive; he could very easily pull off either gender considering his androgynous looks. Dress him in female clothes and he looks like a girl, dress him in male clothes and he looks like a guy. So, it hardly bothered him when complete strangers looked in Harry's direction. What bothered him much more was when it was someone they knew.
Harry hummed softly as he looked amongst the books. They were looking for three old books – a text on one of the first Magicks of Heaven rituals, a history book written by Aelia Peverall, and a book about something called 'Erus'. Harry wouldn't tell him what 'Erus' was, but he had looked on edge and even slightly scared. Whatever this 'Erus' was, it wasn't pretty.
"You want to what?" Draco asked. Harry stared at him briefly before repeating his plans.
"I want to borrow some texts from the Library of Alexandria the next Hogsmeade visit. And I want you to come with me." Harry said again.
"Why do you need me?"
"Why wouldn't I need you?"Harry tilted his head in confusion.
"Because I no doubt don't know all the fancy ways to steal ancient texts from one of the greatest libraries still standing?"Draco countered. Harry sighed.
"I told you, I'm borrowing them, not stealing. Look, I just want you to come with me, is that so much to ask? I need to get these texts so I can give them to the Order. I should have done this ages ago, but I was just… I never did and I should have."Harry said quietly, looking at his feet.
"What are you 'borrowing'?" Draco asked, sitting down on the chair in his bedroom. The two were talking in Draco's rooms, because here they were alone.
"A textbook on a Magicks of Heaven ritual that Merlin created, a text about the current times – it's a history book now – and a compilation of… what Erus is." Harry glanced up at Draco quickly, searched his face for something, and returned his gaze to the ground.
"Erus?"
"Draco? We're going now." Harry's voice broke him out of his memory. Draco nodded, grabbing his hand and turning to leave. He was sure they wouldn't get far; sure they'd probably get violently thrashed the second they were out the threshold.
The sun shone merrily down on them as they stepped out onto the streets of Alexandria. Being a port city, the temperature wasn't unbearably hot as Egypt is often stereotyped as being and indeed it was rather cool out.
"How did you do that?" Draco demanded once they were behind closed doors in a hotel room halfway across the city. Draco reached into his pocket, pulling a shrunken truck out, and resizing it once it was on the ground.
"I borrowed. The spells are designed to prevent theft… not borrowing. After all, it is a library. You just have to know the spell to put on the books to… 'check them out', as it were. Over time, people have stopped passing on that spell, mostly because the knowledge was deemed too important to just allow out and about, but with someone like me…" Harry trailed off, placing the three rather large texts on a desk. He reached into the truck for his Hogwarts uniform, placing it on the bed.
"Of course." Draco felt like slapping himself – of course someone with Harry's memories would remember how to remove things from the Library, it was probably common knowledge at one point in time among certain circles.
Harry was clearly struggling with getting out of the dress. It looked simple enough, but the zipper in the back had buttons running down the length of it, making it look like it had a button up back as opposed to a zippered one.
Draco stepped up and started undoing the buttons. Harry's arms dropped to his sides. Once all the buttons were undone, Draco unzipped the dress.
"Go sit and I'll take your tights off." Harry giggled and went to sit on the desk. Draco reached up Harry's dress to unroll the tights.
"You don't have to do that you know." Harry whispered. Draco smiled, throwing the tights over his shoulder as he placed a kiss to the side of Harry's right knee.
"This just gives me a good excuse to look up your skirt."
"I wasn't aware you needed an excuse." Harry said gently, smiling at him.
Molly clutched the battered teddy bear to her chest as she sat on Percy's old bed. When the Death Eaters had raided their house, they hadn't actually taken anything, just destroyed some plates and furniture, and set some things on fire. They hadn't even opened Percy's door.
Arthur walked into the kitchen, looking as Molly must have when she got news that her beloved brothers were murdered. Kingsley was practically holding him up and he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.
"Arthur, what is it? Who…" She couldn't finish.
"Maybe we ought to put him to bed. He's… not hurt, but he needs rest." Kingsley said, speaking carefully, almost wearily. They managed to get Arthur upstairs to their bedroom and gently put him to bed. Arthur didn't speak or even acknowledge their presence. They both moved back down to the ground floor, and Kingsley steered her into the sitting room.
"Molly, I need to tell you something. It's important, so I don't want you to interrupt me, okay? Can you do that?" Kingsley spoke to her as she herself had often spoken to her kids when they were much younger. She made an irritated noise at being treated in such a manner, but nodded.
"We went to help France when Death Eaters attacked. You know that. There, Arthur fought a Death Eater and… Molly, there's no easy way to say this. It was Percy. Percy was a Death Eater."
Molly collapsed on a sofa. One of her babies was a Death Eater?
"No…" She remembered when she got a letter home that Percy had gotten into a fight with one of the older Ravenclaws at Hogwarts because they called one of his friends a "mudblood". How in the world had that boy turned into a Death Eater? Why?
"Molly, that's not… There's more." She looked at him in confusion. How could there be more? How much more of a failure of a mother could she be?
Kingsley kneeled in front of her, taking her hands, and Molly started to hyperventilate.
'No… No, no no. No, no, no, nonononononono.'
"He's dead, Molly."
Tears trailed down her face as she clutched the teddy bear closer. Percy had taken all his things with him when he left. There were only a few things left, mostly stuff from his childhood. Old clothes, old books, old drawings, old stuffed animals, old letters from her, old, old, old. He didn't need them when he left… they hadn't been important enough to take.
A bundle of letters was stacked neatly on his desk. She had already looked over them, long before these last two pain filled days. It was every letter she had ever written to him, every little note she had given to him to remind him how much she loved him. They were deemed unimportant by Percy. And now…
And now…
"Molly…" His voice sounded from the doorway. She didn't turn to look at him, just continued to stare at the letters. He moved and put his hand on her shoulder. Something snapped in Molly, and she wrenched herself away from his touch.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She screamed at him, whirling to face him. He jerked back, looking miserable and haunted. He looked like he was in such pain.
"YOU KILLED MY BABY! MURDERER!" She pushed him with everything she had in her and he went crashing to the ground. She could hardly see him, the tears blurred everything.
"GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY BABY'S ROOM!" He went flying out of the room, crashing into the wall. He stood up, looking at her with pain filled eyes. It infuriated her.
Her hand struck his face and he was send back to the ground with the force of her blow. She didn't pause, just descended on him, hitting him wherever she could reach. She hated him, hated him more than anything, she wanted him to hurt. After a few seconds, the strength left her and she buried her face in her hands, sobbing. He stayed still underneath her for a time before finally sitting up to wrap his arms around her. She struggled weakly against him, not wanting to leave the comfort of his arms and hating them at the same time.
"He was my baby too, Molly. He was my baby, too." He sobbed into her hair, broken and hurting. Just like her.
Blaise yawed as he listened to his year mates talk around him.
'Really, just because Draco and the neutral kids are out doesn't mean that they shouldn't put up anti-eavesdropping spells. And they call themselves Slytherins?' Blaise could see that the older years obviously had the same thought-process if their annoyed looks were anything to go by.
"What about his relationship with Potter?" Parkinson spat out. Nott rolled his eyes before responding.
"Everyone knows they're friends, but seriously if Potter were to drop dead I doubt it would affect him any. No, we need something else… something to say 'you'll pay for being a traitor'. This would be easy if he had a pet of some sort…" Nott trailed off, looking thoughtful.
"What about Granger?" Crabbe asked. The poor guy probably didn't even understand why they were all out to get Draco; he just did as he was told.
"That would be good! After all, they're obviously more close than Potter and Malfoy are." Parkinson said. Blaise inwardly winced at the abuse of grammar – seriously, who taught this girl how to talk? She was a disgrace to aristocracy.
"I don't want to die. If we go after Granger, Potter will kill us." Goyle said sullenly. Nott seemed to pale a few shades, obviously seeing the other boys' point.
"Look, the Dark Lord is already moving on this. Obviously he has plans for Malfoy. So, why don't you lot just let it go? He'll be dealt with." Blaise said quietly, as if the rest of the common room hadn't been listening in. He had everyone's attention with that declaration, so hopefully this bought Draco some breathing room.
"Hogsmeade is under attack!" A little third year practically screamed as he burst into the common room. Everybody glared at him.
"Kid, we're Slytherins. We do not shout or run or burst into rooms. Further more, the fact that we're here obviously means we were told to stay out of Hogsmeade today. Thus the reason so many of us are here, along with a few Ravenclaws and a handful of Hufflepuffs. Now, if you don't want to see your insides, I'd suggest sleeping somewhere else." Claunsie, a sixth year, snarled out.
For the announcement it would seem as if their whole house was still in the school, which was ridiculous as half the kids in Slytherin actually came from neutral families. Blaise was sure that amongst the dead that Hogsmeade no doubt had there were a fair number of Slytherins.
'I don't care how many of us this war claims, that madman is not laying a hand on Draco. Not between me and Potter.'
Blaise cracked his neck as he stood and walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Parkinson asked suspiciously. Blaise rolled his eyes at her blatant show of emotions.
"Out."
And Blaise walked out of the common room and headed for the deeper parts of the castle. When the school was being built, the dungeons had been the primary area of study and living for the students, or so he had read. It made sense, as there were still unused classrooms and even dorm rooms. The bed frames were little more than broken and dusty wood, but it was still interesting to think of what once was. Back then they separated by Year, but then the other Wizarding School that Hogwarts was competing with collapsed and the student body grew larger – thus the need for a full blown castle.
"I wonder if by the end of this war we'll even need a castle anymore… so many of the new generation is dead or dying…" Blaise muttered to himself.
"The... castle... is... always... needed..." The raspy, gasping voice made Blaise whip around with his arm out. There didn't appear to be anyone…
"Show yourself!" Blaise demanded, hoping that it was just Peeves playing a trick and not anything else, like disgruntled Housemates.
'Then again… where has Peeves been…?'
"Even… if… no… here… needed…" The raspy voice sounded again and it sounded like it was gasping for air and it was coming from… the wall?
"Lumos." Blaise turned his wand to the walls, not sure what he was looking for. "Say something!" He commanded, hoping that maybe the voice would lead him to it.
"Castle… always… needed…" The voice was weaker, but Blaise was close to it, just a few paces down the corridor and…
Peeves.
He looked like he was coming out of the wall and yet attached to it, almost like a stone sculpture than anything else. The normally bright and energetic poltergeist was dull and it seemed as if speaking or moving were too much of a trial for him. His arms were outstretched and from the waist down he was one with the wall.
"What in the world…?" Blaise whispered, not sure what he was looking at.
'What manner of enchantment does something like this?'
"You, boy, what are you doing down here?" The Bloody Baron's sharp voice made Blaise turn sharply, wand still out, on high alert. The ghost glided towards him, mouth set in a scowl, probably ready to reprimand him for being out of bounds. Blaise could tell the moment the ghost saw Peeves – the Baron's eyes widened and a look of urgency settled in.
"Boy, can you defend yourself?" He barked.
"Yes, but what's happened to Peeves?"
"Not any of your concern right now. Stay here; I must go get the Headmaster. He is in Hogsmeade dealing with the current situation. I will return post haste, you must remain here. I hope, for your sake, you can defend yourself. I also hope you will not need to. Stay." And he zoomed through the wall, leaving Blaise alone. He adjusted the grip on his wand.
'Defend myself? Against what?' He thought, the little hairs on his arms and the back of his neck standing up.
"Always… needed…"
Author's Note: ALRIGHT! THIS CHAPTER IS DONE! You have no idea the hell I went thorough to write this. This is officially the beginning of the end and I had to write is very carefully. It sucked. So, it would be AWESOME you guys left me reviews. Even if they're only one word.