Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Author's Note: Yey another chapter! I'm so excited. This chapter is based on Far Away by Nickelback. I'm sure most people have heard the song before and I totally love the song! SO do leave reviews at the end coz i like reviews. Enjoy!
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I opened my eyes and saw that it was still quite dark outside. I looked at my watch and sighed. I got up from my bed and took a long bath, soaking myself with lavender bubbles. Things had gone quite well the previous night. As soon as we told Mr and Mrs Weasley, Fred and George and Bill and Fleur, everyone was silent until Mrs Weasley shrieked in glee. She hugged me so tight and I felt like I couldn't breathe. Fred and George were quite happy knowing that I have moved on.
But deep inside of me, I couldn't find the happiness that Mrs Weasley expressed. I made the decision to tell the Weasleys but I felt like I had made the wrong decision. But it did make things easier on the side that Charlie and I won't have to hide anymore. I could hold his hand when I want to and sit much closer to him around the Weasleys without being worried.
I had the whole night to think about a few things and I finally decided. It had been four years and it was time to let go. Charlie was so good to me and I know it was unfair for him in so many ways. I decided that Charlie was my safest bet. I knew that he would take good care of me and I was looking forward to a meaningful relationship with him.
About forty minutes later, I got out of the tub and wipe myself dry. I put on the best robe that I have and braided my hair. Charlie and I were representing Gringotts for the Wizard's Annual Conference. Bolderash had us prepared for this conference and I was excited.
Charlie would be meeting me at Gringotts as we left some confidential documents in a vault for safe keeping. I made my way slowly to Leaky Cauldron and stepped into Diagon Alley a few minutes later. I saw Charlie as soon as I approached Gringotts. He looked so handsome in a black robe and his bright hair was combed neatly. He kissed me on my cheek when I reached him and we made our way in to retrieve the documents. As soon as we had everything in the bag, Charlie and I apparated to the Ministry of Magic in Italy as arranged by Bolderash.
I wasn't surprised at the noise level as wizards of all nations walked pass Charlie and me. French, Spanish, Swahili, Mandarin, Malay, Swedish; everything could be heard. My heart was fluttering excitedly. Charlie and I were arranged to meet the England team for lunch before the conference start. I could hardly wait.
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Pansy put on her black leather pants and zipped up her black trenchcoat. She put on her black boots and placed her wand tightly in her coat pocket. She tied her long blond hair up into a ponytail. She looked at her room mate and nudged her to wake up.
"I'm going. Harry and Draco should be waiting for me already." Pansy said.
Her room mate stirred and groaned. "Actually I got to wake up too. I have a mission with…"
"Pansy!" They heard a knock on the door and rolled their eyes.
"Alright I'm coming. I'll see you later Ginny."
"Alright."
Pansy opened the door to a disgruntled Harry. "Draco's waiting for us at the lobby." They both made their way quickly to the lobby and met Draco. They had a vehicle waiting to drive them to the air base that serves the Consensio Academy.
"Masks?" Draco asked as soon as they got into the car.
"Checked." Both Harry and Pansy chorused.
"Wand?"
"Checked."
"Chosen weapon?"
"Checked." Harry said as he showed Draco his Samurai sword.
"Checked." Pansy said and showed Draco her bow and arrows.
As soon as they reached the air base, Draco, Harry and Pansy were guarded to the airplane that was due to take them to Ministro Magia. As the plane lifted, the three of them fell into comfortable silence. Draco and Pansy drifted of to sleep but Harry remained awake. His green eyes looked out the window, staring at the white fluffy clouds beneath him.
He missed his adopted family. The Weasleys had taken him in like he was their own. Bill and Charlie were like big brothers to him. Fred and George were the best brothers anyone could have. He especially missed the girl he left four years ago.
Hermione's honey brown eyes appeared behind his eyes as soon as he closes his. He could still remember her beautiful face that was so worried for him. His eyes remained fixed on the clouds but his mind drifted off to that day when Hermione and Ron decided to run away from school and search for the remaining Hocruxes.
"We will help you." Hermione said. Harry was about to protest but Hermione stopped him. "Harry, please."
Harry looked up at Hermione and Ron and sighed. He nodded his head. "We'll go tomorrow." Hermione and Ron smiled at him and they talked in the common room for hours. They sat on the couch beside the fireplace and talked about the happy moments they had at Hogwarts and never about what would happen the next day. Two hours later, Ron fell asleep beside Hermione. Harry and Hermione kept on talking. She took his hand and entwined his fingers with hers. She laid her head on his right shoulder.
Harry could hear the soft sound of her cries and squeezed her hand gently. "Are you sure you want to do this? Leaving school is not part of your lifetime plan Hermione."
Hermione laughed softly and continued to cry. "Of course I want to do this."
"You know I will never let Ron and you jeopardise your life for mine. So please…when I say leave, Ron and you have to leave and let me do it on my own."
Hermione cried harder as she heard what Harry had just said but she nodded nevertheless. Harry looked over at his two best friends and saw that because of the war, there were turns of events that happened. Ron and Hermione never got together. They never said anything to each other or to him about it. It seemed like there was a silent agreement between them. He knew the reason why; they wanted to be there with him when the day comes.
Harry woke Draco and Pansy up when the pilot announced their arrival. They landed in a secluded area, which was also Consensio Academy's base in Italy. They were immediately driven to Ministro Magia. Swarm of people were walking around the Ministry and the team split to take their places. Harry and Pansy walked together towards their position while Draco walked the opposite direction to take his.
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I sat beside Charlie and took his hand. "I'm so excited."
"Are you serious? A conference is nothing to be excited about. It's boring." Charlie rolled his eyes at me.
I swatted his arm and looked on in front as the Minister of Magic from Italy came to the podium to start his welcome speech. I was surprised that he spoke perfect English. He called for all Ministers of Magic from all over the world to co-operate in the integration of high security on any Dark Art artefacts that are still available in some parts of the world. There were rumours and news that those who were still involved in the Dark Arts were still at large and everyone's co-operation to stop them was the only way.
I soon got distracted as I began to be captivated by the architecture of the meeting hall of Minestro Magia. It was magnificent and there was nothing like this in England. The ceiling holds a huge chandelier that was glittering lightly. The hall was three storeys high and Charlie and I was seated at the first. I looked up in awe at the circular shape of the hall and caught myself getting dizzy. My eyes darted to the left as I saw black cloak on the last storey but it disappeared as fast as it had first appeared. I focused my attention back to the speech and a few seconds later, a scream was heard.
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"Now!" Draco said. Pansy sprinted towards the assailant and caught him by his ankle as he tried getting away. The assailant was also dressed in all black but he had a hood covering his head.
"Expelliarmus!" Pansy shouted and the assailant's wand flew from his hand and Draco caught it in his. "Get up you coward!"
Pansy pulled the assailant around and removed the hood to reveal the person behind it. He had dark eyes, as black as ebony. He had dark circles around them and his skin was white and almost transparent. He smirked and spitted on Pansy face. Pansy disgustedly wiped it off her face and slapped him hard across his left cheek.
"He's not alone. We got to get moving." Harry said. As soon as he said that, the assailant in Pansy's hand laughed.
"You're too late. You're basically screwed." He said. They heard a scream, probably a lady's on the first floor. Harry and Draco peered and saw that two black hooded men were holding two women with wand pointing at everyone who came near them. Another man was standing in front of the two and they were making way to the podium.
"Nobody move!" He shouted. Before he reached the podium, he tried grabbing another woman away from a man's grasp. "Flipendo!" A ball of fire sent the man straight to the wall opposite them and it left him unconscious.
"Charlie!" The women screamed.
The man whom Draco and Harry assumed was the leader took the woman by her neck and pointed his wand at her. "Anyone move and she's dead!"
Harry's breath caught on his throat as he saw the face of the women in the assailant's hand. Her honey brown eyes were full of terror. "Hermione." He whispered.
Draco looked at him and shook his head. "No Harry. Do not let this blind you. We're on a mission!"
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"Please do not harm me." I pleaded.
"Shut up!" The man sneered.
I trembled in horror and looked at Charlie whose head was already bleeding. I was dragged towards the podium where the Minister of Magic for Italy was standing. He was violently pushed aside. The two other men followed suit and stood behind him with their hostages.
"Come out wherever you are! Now! You don't want to see these innocent people dead in my hands. Trust me…you don't want to." He challenged.
I waited for some one to come out wherever he or she was. Everyone remained silent and I could feel the man's arms around my neck getting tighter. He was definitely getting tensed.
"I can wait forever but I'll waste those times killing anyone in my way. I'm so sure Supernus would hate that."
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"That's your cue. Cassidy doesn't like delays."
"Shut the hell up!" Pansy said to the man under their capture. "What should we do?"
"Master Plan Number Two." Harry simply said.
"No!" Both Draco and Pansy countered.
"So you both want to let all these innocent people die?" Harry asked them angrily. "Callide (cleverly cunning) you know better." Pansy cast her eyes down. Draco looked at Harry in the eye.
"It will destroy everything."
"You both know that this is the only way." Harry tried to reason. "We were trained for this." Harry stopped and looked at their hostage. He did not want to reveal anything more to their enemy. "Who's Cassidy?"
"Why don't you ask your superior?" The man replied.
"Damn it!" Draco cried angrily.
"But Invictus, Master Plan Two requires Ferox (courageous) and Imperiosus (powerful) to be here." Pansy justified.
"We're here now." Pansy, Harry and Draco turned to the feminine voice and they all sighed in relief. "Supernus send us. I think he knew this was coming."
"Thank Merlin." Ferox said. "So should we get bloody started?"
Harry nodded his head and turned to Pansy and Draco who nodded their heads to him. "What should we do with this one?" Harry asked and pointed to their hostage.
"Leave him to me." Imperiosus said. She took out her wand and pointed it to him.
"What are you going to do?" The man in Pansy's hand asked in fear.
"What I did to all my enemies." Imperiosus said coolly. "Constrictio!" She cursed and their hostage immediately turned rigid. He was lifted into the air and it was as if an invisible string was tying his body up tightly.
"You bitch! This is hurting me!" The hostage complained.
"Of course it's supposed to hurt you dumb ass!"
"You silly bitch!"
"One more thing. Arceo!" The hostage's mouth was suddenly tight-lipped and Imperiosus smiled and giggled in delight. She turned to her team and tied her bright red hair into a high ponytail. She nodded to the rest and they all went into position.
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"I'll keep this one!" He said and kept his wand pointed at my temple. "The rest can go." He told his two companions to let go of their hostage and commanded the rest in the conference hall to leave the place. "If anyone…and I really mean anyone who dares to slip this up to higher authorities, I shall find them and bring them down to their grave. Do you understand me?"
The rest of the people who were in the conference hall immediately nodded their head in fear that he might point his wand at them and did an Avada Kedavra. They all silently and orderly leave the hall.
"No please. Don't leave me here." I begged the last person who left the hall. He looked at me sympathetically and closed the doors behind him.
"Shut up smarty pants!" He ordered.
"Do not harm her Cassidy." The voice echoed.
I feel like screaming my heart out and tell this person who ever he was to just stop beating around the bush and help me get this over and done with.
"So you know my name now?" Cassidy chuckled. "So which one are you? Invictus or Eversor? Two of the most powerful and dangerous Wizards after Voldemort trying their best to protect the damned Supernus. Come out now or I'll curse this lady!"
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"Oh my…is that…" Ginny asked.
"That is her isn't it?" Ferox asked.
"Ron what should we do?" Ginny asked. Ron looked at her sister and back to the girl who was in their enemy's hand. It had been four years since he last saw her and his heart ached at the sight in front of him. Hermione was trying hard not to cry. He knew at a moment like this, she was trying to be calm. That was so Hermione. He looked over at Harry and Draco who was concentrating on their opponent.
"Come on! What are you waiting for?" Cassidy asked. Cassidy was getting restless. His grip on Hermione was getting tighter and Ginny was afraid that he might strangle her. "I'm getting impatient now."
Harry had a good look at Cassidy. His face was old but his body still looked like it was freshly built for a young soldier. He noticed that Cassidy's grip on his wand was strong and firm. His hair was white and long and he spotted a beard on his chin. Harry looked up to his team and they all nodded back at him. He apparated to the first floor, followed by Draco.
"Well well, I am finally face to face with the both of you." Cassidy said in a sickly sweet voice. "It's a pleasure." He slowly placed his wand by his side but his grip remained tight around Hermione's neck.
Harry looked over at Hermione from behind his mask and hoped that she would not notice anything. "Just tell us what you want and let go of the lady Cassidy." Harry said calmly.
"You don't think I'm stupid do you? Invictus?" Cassidy laughed loudly.
"We do not want innocent people to get involved in our business. Just let her go and we deal with each other." Draco said.
"Are you making a deal with me? No one makes a deal with me Eversor. No one. So what if one of you is unconquerable," Cassidy pointed his wand to Harry, "and the other a destroyer?" He then shifted his wand to Draco. "I don't care. I know there are three more of you up there so why don't we all stop pretending and start taking care of business straight away. Huh? I'll make the deal."
When either said anything, Cassidy flicked his wand over at Harry and with one swift move; Harry flicked his wand hand and created a blinding arc to shield him from Cassidy's curse.
"Very good. I'm impressed. They didn't call you Invictus for nothing I see." Cassidy said. Harry and Draco now had their wands pointed at him. "You know what? I can't wait anymore." He pushed Hermione aside and started to throw curses at Draco and Harry. They started a battle and found Cassidy quite strong. Cassidy was then joined by two of his companion and they were now three against two.
Pansy and Ginny saw that it was their cue and apparated to the first storey to help Harry and Draco.
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I scrambled to hide behind the podium. All I wanted to do was to get out of there and bring Charlie out to safety. He was still lying unconscious about 10 feet away from me. I braced myself and held my wand tight in my hand. I ran towards Charlie and ducked a few curses that were clearly meant for me.
"She's running away! Cormac get her!" I heard Cassidy's commands and ran faster. I was suddenly shielded by a bright green light as soon as I reached Charlie. I looked over at the person who was casting it. He was standing confidently strong and the eyes behind the mask were concentrating hard on holding the shield to protect Charlie and me. As soon as he brought it down, he pointed his wand at the opponent and a blast of fire threw him to the ground. He walked up to Charlie and me.
"Go and get help. Now!" He said.
His blue eyes were full of concern. I nodded and held Charlie. I closed my eyes and apparate to the Wizard hospital in Italy.
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Ron ran back to the chaotic scene and helped his team. He was eager to fight the man that had caused Hermione so much fear. He had never seen her that afraid. He joined Pansy who was battling with four men. She had swapped her wand for her infamous bow and arrow that she handled so effortlessly. She managed to pierce three of them by the time Ron got to her.
"Nice job." He complimented. Pansy nodded curtly and walked past him to help Ginny. He was astounded.
Harry and Draco fought tirelessly against Cassidy who seemed like he was enjoying it. "I guess Supernus never told you about me didn't he?" Cassidy teased.
Harry was getting impatient with the duel. He traded his wand with his sword, knowing that he had better chance killing Cassidy off without magic. His hands and arms were quick and it left Cassidy gasping for breath. He tried to block off with shielding charms but failed. Harry and Draco finally managed to get him to the ground and they both smirked at him.
"I guess you underestimate both of us." Draco said.
"I never underestimate both of you." Cassidy said.
"It's too late." Harry said. He swings his sword and let it pierced through Cassidy's heart.
The remaining enemies quickly apparated when they saw Harry killing Cassidy in front of them.
"Damn it! Where did they go?" Pansy screamed.
"I don't care. I'm sick of this!" Harry said.
"Harry…" Ginny started but was stopped by him.
"Let's go back. I'm tired." He said and walked away before any of his team members could say anything.
"Come on. Let's just go." Draco said knowing that Harry hated talking about anything when their missions were over. He had been working with Harry for three years and knew what he would retreat to after missions. They made their way to the airbase that brought them there. They all remained silent in the airplane. As soon as they reached Consensio Academy's air base, they all made their way to the hospital wing to get treatments except Harry.
"Harry, where are you going?" Ginny asked.
"I'm fine. I'm going back to my room." He retorted.
Ginny was about to approach him but Draco stopped her. "Just let him be. He needs to be alone. We all know what he had gone through today." Draco whispered.
"But.." Ginny protested her fiancé.
"He will come trough." Draco assured.
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Harry removed his cloak and threw his sword on the floor. He carefully lied down on his bed and winced at the pain on his back and neck. He sighed contentedly and closed his eyes.
"Please do not harm me."
Harry grimaced at that memory. He got up from his bed slowly and head to the window where a very light breeze touched his face. His heart constricts at the battle that had just ended about an hour ago. He was angry, disappointed, sad and confused. He heard the door creaked open and he knew who it was.
"Did you know that she told me that she actually dislike dogs?" Harry asked. Ginny joined him at the window.
"No she didn't. Cats were always her favourite anyway." Ginny said and they both laughed a little remembering Crookshanks.
"And do you know that her favourite dessert is chocolate pudding? I always noticed that she had more of that than anything else." Harry said.
"I didn't know that." Ginny said, almost to a whisper.
"The way her mouth becomes a thin line when she's frustrated…I always found it cute." Harry added.
"Really?" Ginny asked.
Harry nodded his head and smiled. "Do you think she's doing well without us?" Harry would like to think whether Hermione was doing well without him but he knew he doesn't need to say that. Ginny would know what he meant.
"You know she's independent…but I don't know Harry. You were always with her aren't you? When Ron couldn't stand her and she needs someone to be with her at the library, you were the one who will be there. When Ron started to squabble with her, you silently took her side. It's always been you."
"Do you think I made her wait? Because…"
"Because why Harry?"
"Because I swear if I had the courage, I would have told her you know? Held on to her longer." Harry silently said. "I missed her. Do you?"
"Of course I miss her."
"It's been too long."
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"Is he going to be ok?" I asked.
"Si…it just takes time." The Healer said. I nodded and the Healer left the room.
Charlie was fast asleep. All the check-ups had made him tired. His head was bandaged to prevent further bleeding. I told him to sleep and I said I would wake him up when Mr and Mrs Weasley arrived.
I sat there patiently, holding his hand. But I wasn't concentrating. My mind wandered to the incident two hours ago.
"Just tell us what you want and let go of the lady Cassidy."
"Go and get help. Now!"
I closed my eyes and sighed deeply. The blue eyes, the bright hair…it couldn't be.
"Hermione." I jolted a little and turned to face Mrs Weasley.
"Oh Mrs Weasley, I'm so glad you're here. I told Charlie to go to sleep but I told him I'll wake him up when you arrive." I said quickly.
"Shh…let him be. You should rest too. Fred and George are waiting outside." Mrs Weasley said. I hesitated.
"Go on now." Mr Weasley urged. I nodded and went out of the room. Fred and George saw me and they both scooted at each end of the three-seated sofa so that I could seat in between them. They both put their arm around my shoulders and rubbed them lightly.
"You ok?" Fred asked. I shook my head.
"Tell us." George encouraged. I looked at both of them.
"I don't know how to."
"But you know you want to." Fred said.
I took a deep breath and started. "You know about the so called Mystery Team right? The one that has been appearing on the papers?" Fred and George nodded their head. "Well, they popped by today at the Minestro Magia."
"Wicked." Fred and George chorused.
I rolled my eyes. "Yeh…wicked. That's not the point. I…got a glimpse of them because I was Cassidy's hostage. Don't ask me who's Cassidy cause I don't know." I said when I saw George about to interrupt me. But I found myself not knowing what to say.
"Well go on." Fred said.
"I…it was…I think…"
"What Hermione? Come on just spit it out!" Fred said.
I gave the sternest look I could master and Fred did not even cower. "Well…" I decided to continue. "I think I saw Ron."
"Bloody hell!" George exclaimed.
"And Harry." I continued.
"No way!" Fred shouted.
"Shhhh! This is the hospital for goodness sake." I hissed.
"Hermione you're crazy."
"I'm not! Think about it! Their bodies were not found! They could still be alive." I said, almost pleading for them to understand my rationale.
"Charlie is awake, he wants to see everyone." Mr Weasley's head popped out from behind the door and it stumped Fred and George from saying anything. He looked at us and waited. The three of us had no choice but to get up from our seat and walked into the room. We all talked to Charlie for a while and after ten minutes, Mr and Mrs Weasley together with Fred and George decided to leave. I ignored the glances from Fred and George. I was angry and frustrated. They all left the room and I stayed with Charlie.
"You should go home. I will be fine." Charlie said.
"I want to stay. Can I lie down with you? I'm so tired."
"Of course. Come here." Charlie made a space for me on his bed and I lay down beside him. I leaned my head on his shoulder. I had so many things running through my head but I found myself in a deep sleep as soon as I close my eyes.
A flash of green eyes appeared in front of me and it disappeared in a split of a second. I rubbed my eyes and opened them and saw a dark corridor in front of me. I walked forward, my feet making light noises on the wooden floorboard. A swish of a black cloak appeared a few feet in front of me and I chased for it. I kept on running, making some turns at the sight of the cloak. I found myself chasing for something that I knew nothing about.
"Go get help."
I turned around to the voice and saw a man standing at the end of the corridor. He walked away as soon as I face him. I ran towards him.
"Ron! Wait!" I cried.
"Hermione." I stopped in my tracks and turned to that familiar voice. His face was shadowed and the darkness didn't help. I cautiously walked towards the figure. He didn't walk away. He stayed put. I sighed in relief. I was tired of chasing. "I'm sorry."
"What?" I asked.
"I'm sorry." He said and his figure slowly disappeared into thin air.
"No!" I screamed.
I opened my eyes and beads of sweat wet my forehead. I sat up, careful not to wake Charlie up. I poured myself a glass of water from the jug that was placed on the bedside table. I drank in three gulps and place the glass on the table and lay down back on the bed. I was weird out from the dream. My heart was beating furiously and I found myself unable to sleep. Dawn slowly breaks in about an hour later and I got up to wash my face. I tied my hair up and walked out of the bathroom to see Charlie already sitting up. We smiled at each other. I walked up to him, hoping to start a fresh day.
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REVIEWS PLEASE!
Togashi Hoshi: Well of course stuff will be explained as the story unfolds so do stay tune and read on.
LostGryffindorFoundSlytherin: I'm so glad that you like it. I hope this chapter was exciting enough to make you stay on and keep on reading.