A/N- QLFC, Practice Round Submission (Keeper)
Hey so this is for the practice round of QLFC season 8 as posted in The Prophet Issue #1. I won't get them done in time to submit them for points, but before tryouts start, I'll be writing three stories, one as Beater 1, one as Chaser 3, and one as the Keeper. Here is my story for the Keeper's prompt:
Main Prompt- There is a list of some of the most beautiful words in the English language. Let the word inspire your story. Your word is Pyrrhic- Successful with heavy losses.
This one went a little over the word count limit, but it's just the practice round, so I don't really care. It's kind of similar to something I've written before, but that's because I love a time travel trope. Sue me.
Warning- Major Character Deaths
Word Count: 3459
"We have to pick a time and place that a majority of us can remember, and it has to be during my fourth year before the third Triwizard task."
Dennis glanced up from his place on the floor and looked at Hermione. "Why can't it be sooner? Why not your third year, like that time all of us had to sleep in the Great Hall when Sirius Black tried to break into the school and get Harry."
"My third year has already been riddled with time irregularities," Granger explicated. "My familiarity with the time turner I used that year is the reason I believe this spell will work, but time is fragile. I fear returning to that time will create paradoxes that can't be fixed. It would be extremely dangerous for an already very dangerous task."
"What about the Goblet of Fire ceremony? We were all there for that," said Cho.
Hermione leaned back in her seat as she thought that over. After a moment, though, she shook her head. "The Great Hall doesn't have the house dining tables up any more. It would be hard to remember exactly where you were sitting at that particular moment. And when we enact the spell, we will need to be feeling similarly as we did back then. I'm afraid the spell won't succeed if we choose the Goblet of Fire ceremony as our destination. We'll need to choose something with a little more leniency when it comes to the range of our individual movements and emotions."
"The Yule Ball."
All eyes in the room were on Neville Longbottom. He had a large scar that marred the side of his face and in the dim light his eyes were a fierce steely blue. He stared down at Granger from his standing position, arms crossed.
Hermione drummed her knuckles thoughtfully on the wooden armrest of her chair. It was a long stretch of silence as Hermione deliberated. But everyone seemed agreeable to wait. She knew her own time travel spell better than anyone, so she would know what would work best.
"I— Yes. Yes, I believe the Yule Ball is our best chance."
"Not all of us were at the Yule Ball, though," piped in an outraged Dennis.
Hermione sighed. "I know," she said, her tone regrettable but resolute.
That was apparently all she needed to say. Dennis deflated and leaned back on his hands, a different form of determination settling behind his eyes. "Well, then I'll just have to make sure that those who were at the Yule Ball will get to the Great Hall in one piece."
A weighted quiet filled the room as the meaning behind Dennis's words settled in their hearts. This was a suicide mission for Dennis. There was no future for him beyond the next night. But there was a future for the Dennis Creevey of 1994. That's who Dennis was fighting for now.
Granger took another deep breath before pulling out a dozen silver chains from her pocket. "Everyone who plans to try the spell has to wear one of these. Ron?"
Weasley took the proffered chain and looped it around his neck without hesitation. He nodded his head once in resolve.
Longbottom stepped up and asked for his own. Granger handed his over easily. Ginny Weasley did the same.
The Patil twins received their own. Then came Dean and Seamus. And then Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, and Michael Corner all accepted theirs. Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell claimed theirs next
George Weasley, his pregnant wife Angelina, and the unborn child's godfather Lee Jordan stood in the back and watched with heavy hearts as one by one, the last remaining members of Dumbledore's Army accepted their missions. The three of them wouldn't be joining in the mission. It was hard to watch the rest of them prepare for death like this.
"Cho?"
Granger held out a chain for the former Ravenclaw seeker. The young woman stared at it for a long moment before shaking her head stiffly. "No. I can't. I can't see him again with all that I know now. I can't take away the innocence of that girl I used to be. I won't do that to her. But I will go and make sure you all make it into your past selves alright. I'll help you do that."
The chain swung gently from Granger's fingertips before she closed her fist around it and gave a curt nod of acceptance. Then she turned to Luna. "Luna."
The blonde smiled airily up at her friend. "I'll go to protect like Dennis, but I didn't attend the ball, Hermione," she explained simply.
Hermione nodded her head solemnly and was just about to move on when Luna spoke again.
"Draco went to the ball, though."
Draco's gaze snapped to the girl seated beside him. He'd been watching the proceedings as if he were merely a fly on the wall and not a participating member of their resistance. It had been a long and strange journey that found him amongst these former enemies, and even though he'd spent over a year hiding with them all in the last safe house of the long dead Order of the Phoenix, he still didn't feel like part of the team.
He certainly had no preconceived notions that he would be deemed worthy of a spot on this mission of Granger's. Nor did he want to be considered for the job.
"Luna," Draco hissed. "No."
Luna stared big, guileless eyes up at him. How could she look at him like that after all that she had been though and all that she knew about him? It still bothered him that she considered Draco of all people to be her friend. He both hated her for it and loved her for being the greatest person he'd ever met.
He glanced at Granger and Weasley. "No, it's… it's okay." He held up his hands palms forward, making a placating gesture as if the remaining two thirds of the Golden Trio would force the chain around his neck. "I'm good not attempting this untested spell of yours, Granger. Promise."
Draco found this plan to be completely idiotic. Only Hermione Granger could up with something so unbelievably mad and ridiculous. He knew everyone thought he was just looking out for himself, but in reality, he'd stopped caring about his own life a long time ago. He was afraid for everyone else now. He was afraid for Granger and Weasley and Longbottom and girl- Weasley.
Draco glanced back to the blonde sitting beside him. He was afraid for Luna Lovegood.
"I'll go to Hogwarts, though."
His voice rang out in the small conference room, clear as a bell. He had half a mind to take it back in the odd silence that followed his announcement, but Luna looked up at him with a delighted grin on her face. Her eyes were like twin moons.
His lips curved up in a semblance of a smile. He faced Ron and Hermione again. "I'm a good distraction. So, who's ready for a suicide mission?"
The mission had been divided into five teams of three. Nobody was certain which entrances to the school were being guarded by Death Eaters, so they had to try them all. Each of the teams had at least two members who would be attempting to return to the past. Padma and Parvati were going with Cho by sneaking through the Shrieking Shack. Dean and Seamus went with Dennis across the lake. Corner, Boot, and Goldstein were attempting to floo into Ravenclaw Tower. Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet were flying in by broomstick. Ron, Hermione, and Luna were going through the secret passageway under the school that connected to Honeydukes.
Draco went with Neville and Ginny through the portrait hole of the late Ariana Dumbledore in the Hog's Head.
"This explains so much," Draco said after they crawled their way through the long, dark tunnel and into the Room of Requirement.
"What's that?" asked Ginny.
"I tried so hard to get into the Room of Hidden Things that year. But of course I couldn't, because you all were hiding in here."
"Why were you trying to get into the room?" Neville asked, as he and Ginny snuck their way out the door into a deserted corridor.
"Borgin's half of the cabinet was placed in the Manor, so His followers could easily get to and from Hogwarts to meet with Him," Draco explained, trying to sound nonchalant.
"And you were one of his followers, so of course you'd want to report in," finished Neville.
Draco sighed. "Actually, my parents were trapped in their own home. I just wanted to check in on them from time to time. But it was good that you kept the room occupied. That was smart."
"Neville's very smart," Ginny stated without a single ounce of insincerity.
"Yeah, I'm starting to get that."
It was a long, silent trek as the three of them traversed their way down each floor of Hogwarts on their way to the Great Hall. The school was unnervingly quiet, but Draco knew the place was crawling with Death Eaters. This was was where the Dark Lord had taken up residence after the Battle and the three former schoolmates were sure to be running into someone soon. They would certainly find someone in the Great Hall if they made it that far. Voldemort was rumored to hold his war councils in that room now that school no longer ran.
As far as Draco was concerned, their only hope for this mission to succeed was to be completely underestimated by the Dark Lord and his followers. While the Dark Lord didn't have many faults, one was definitely underestimating those he deemed less powerful than himself. So there was a chance of success, as slim as it may be.
But of course, things never did run smooth.
Longbottom went down first. There was a flash of green light and that was the end of one of the bravest men Draco had ever known.
Ginny and Draco jumped in opposite direction, taking cover as best they could behind suits of armor. They were still one floor above where they were supposed to be and there wasn't a lot of places to conceal oneself on the main staircase. They would have to take out the Death Eater who killed Longbottom, or they'd have to find a secret passageway, or…
"Hey," hissed Ginny.
There hadn't been another spell cast in their direction, which was disheartening. This meant they were being chased by a Death Eater who was perfectly willing to wait them out.
"What?" Draco took a firmer hold of his mother's wand, trying to even out his breathing. It had been a long time since he'd been in any kind of battle.
"Malfoy, look at me."
Draco looked up from his wand, wide-eyed but listening intently. He didn't care if this girl across from him had once been his enemy. If she had a plan, he was all ears.
"You lead the Death Eater to the library. I'll head down to the Great Hall. We good?"
Draco nodded his head, his grip loosening and his heartbeat slowing down. He'd be the best damn distraction this world had ever seen if that's what was needed.
Ginny nodded her head back, held up three fingers, and silently counted down. Three, two, one—
Draco took off down the corridor toward the library, making sure his footsteps echoed tantalizingly off the marble walls so that the Death Eater would follow after him and not Ginny. When he neared the library, he darted into an alcove to catch his breath, and waited to see if he'd been followed. It wasn't a few seconds later that a large man in full Death Eater garb complete with creepy mask, came barreling down the hallway and through the library doors. Draco heaved a sigh of relief—
"Malfoy."
Draco clutched at his chest as he turned around to find he was not alone in the alcove. "Weasley?"
Ron did not look good. He was slumped over the stone windowsill that overlooked the Quidditch Pitch, his face pallid and slightly yellow.
"Shite." Draco stooped down and brushed the man's forehead with the back of his fingertips. Ron was burning up. "Shite," Draco repeated. "What happened? Where's Granger? Where's Luna?"
"Dolohov," Ron coughed out in a one-word explanation. It took him a moment of heavy breathing to get up the energy to continue. "Hermione was brilliant. She— she surrendered and demanded to be taken to You-Know-Who. He's in the Great Hall. Dolohov only needed Hermione, though." Ron swallowed thickly. "He— Luna—"
Ron shook his head and Draco didn't need the man to explain further. He understood. He understood.
"Hermione didn't take that well and demanded that I be spared. Dolohov laughed and shot me with some kind of curse—"
Blood spewed from Ron's mouth and nose.
"Shite! I— I can get you out of here—"
"No." The one word interruption was garbled through the congealed blood in Ron's throat. "No. Tell me, is Ginny okay?"
"Yeah," Draco replied straight away. "Last I saw of her anyway. We split up and I lead the Death Eater who killed Longbo— I lead the Death Eater away so that Ginny could make it down to the Great Hall. She's probably there with everyone else as we speak."
Ron nodded. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared up at Draco. "Here."
It was a torturous process to watch Ron try to extract the time travel chain from around his neck. He held it out and Draco took it.
"Who do you want me to give it to?"
"No." Ron struck a firm pointer finger against Draco's chest. "You," he stated. "Make sure no one ends up going back by themselves. Do you understand?"
"No one's going back by themselves—"
"Make sure!"
Draco swallowed around the lump in his throat. "Okay. I promise. But you don't want me to go back."
Ron raised an eyebrow, which Draco was sure was difficult to do in his current dying state. "Don't tell me what I want, Malfoy. I trust you."
Draco felt like he'd been slapped in the face. "What?"
Ron smiled and there was blood in his teeth. He looked absolutely deranged. "I used to hate you, but now I don't. Miracles happen. So, I believe you have it in you, Malfoy, to complete the mission. Put that bloody chain around your neck and make sure you save everyone. Make sure— make sure you save me."
Draco let out a startled guffaw just as Weasley took his last breath.
It wasn't fair that Ronald Weasley had to have his last conversation with Draco Malfoy. It wasn't fair at all.
It took Draco a long time to leave the safety of the alcove. He felt like a ghost as he glided his way down to the first floor. A few bodies lined the corridor that lead to the Great Hall, and Draco tried not to pay too much attention to them, tried not to recognize them. He met no resistance as he entered the Hall.
Only Voldemort and Granger were present.
"Ah, so the young Malfoy is alive," the Dark Lord hissed. "I'd thought so, but didn't want to waste any of my time finding such a useless thing such as yourself."
Voldemort had Granger bound with invisible ropes. Her eyes were a dark, hateful brown, sharp and deadly if given the chance to act on her detestation of the man in front of her. Granger's eyes flashed to Draco, at the silver chain around his neck. He noticed that her chain was lying uselessly on the floor by her feet.
Shite.
"I was just speaking with the young mudblood about her plan. A book? How mundane. You think there's a book in that poor excuse for a library that can help defeat me?"
Granger's occlumency lessons with Draco this past year were clearly working wonders. At least he did something right. But what did it matter now? They had lost.
"Anyway. I'm done playing with Nagini's food."
Draco flinched, remembering a time not so long ago when he watched that snake devour a Hogwarts teacher on his family's dining room table.
Granger, however, was the perfect picture of calm. She was so bloody brave. He'd thought that about her since the moment they'd met. He used to find that part of her personality grating, but now, he clung to it like a life raft. Nothing got to Hermione Granger. He was certain she was freaking out on the inside, but she'd never let that fear show. She could be facing down a villain in tattered clothes, her thick hair tied up in a bun. Or she could be wearing the lightest of periwinkle chiffon, her dark hair falling in ringlets down her flawless face, facing the annoying looks of her peers. Either way, she presented only a beautiful and unwavering fearlessness. That was just who she was.
"You aren't even worth the effort of killing slowly," said Voldemort lazily. "Avada—"
"Tempiter Memoria!" Hermione yelled.
"—Kedavra."
"Granger!"
Draco's step forward felt lighter as he screamed her name. His ears were blasted with a cacophony of noise, all at once familiar and foreign. The room was brighter, happier. The hands he was looking down at were smaller. He was shorter, his thin frame draped in heavy dress robes.
"Are you alright, boy?"
Draco glanced to his right, startled to see Mad-eye raising a curious eyebrow at him, his artificial eye whirring around as if searching for a problem he hadn't foreseen.
This wasn't actually Mad-eye. This was Barty Crouch Jr. And Draco was at the Yule Ball. He'd made it into his past self.
Shite.
He straightened up and cleared his throat. He hadn't sneered in so long, but the remnants of his past self reminded him that he could. "I'm fine," he said pointedly. He glanced around at all the other people staring at him. "Why is everyone looking at me?"
"Because you yelled Granger's name out like a lunatic," said a snide voice he hand't heard in so very long.
He glanced down at Pansy and raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Did I, now?"
Wait, did that mean…
His gaze shot up to meet Granger's. She was dressed in periwinkle chiffon and was on the arm of Victor Krum. She looked absolutely shocked that Draco was paying attention to her at all. His hope vanished in an instant. He was alone here.
Ron would be so upset that Draco had broken his promise. No one was supposed to go back alone. No one.
Draco cast his gaze around at the others… and there was Ron. A young Ron. A Ron who hated Draco. A Ron who was glaring at him.
And next to Ron was…
Also glaring at him behind a pair of round spectacles was…
"I need— I need some air."
Draco made a hasty retreat.
Draco strode back out through the big oak doors of the Great Hall without looking back. He kept going until he was back in that alcove.
Ten years in the future, Ronald Weasley was lying dead in that alcove. And Draco was the only one who'll ever remember him. He's the only one who'll remember any of them. He'd lost them all. So many died so that… so that Draco could go back in time?! What in the bloody hell was he supposed to do? He was bloody useless! It should be someone else.
Draco knew they had won. He understood this as a fact. They had won. Granger's spell had worked.
But Draco felt like he'd lost anyway. He'd lost everyone that he cared about. In that other timeline, they were all dead. All that work, all that time he spent endearing himself to these people. He'd have to do it all over again if he was going to have any chance of saving them all.
He was so screwed.
Draco glanced at the alcove, at the spot where Ron had bled out at his feet. He took a deep breath.
Weasley was right. No one could do this alone. Draco needed to explain who he was to someone or he'd go mad.
And he knew one person would believe him even if she'd never spoken with him before. Because Luna Lovegood was the greatest person Draco had ever known.
Right now, she was a third year probably stuck in her dorm room while the upper years were at the Yule Ball. Draco started making his way up to Ravenclaw Tower. He needed his best friend back.