Author's Note: Walking dead bodies are nasty, so I've bumped up the rating.
oOoOoOo
The Bodyguard
Chapter 20: The Shrieking Shack
The Shrieking Shack was well alight by the time Harry and his friends arrived. Flames leaped from the boarded up windows. Smoke billowed into the cloudy, midday sky. A beam fell and showers of sparks spiralled upwards. The wind wafted the smell of burning meat and Harry gagged. Were they too late to save the Slytherins?
The Order Apparated noisily around the Shack.
Moody appeared next to Harry, and looked up at the blaze with both eyes. "The Shack is going to collapse!"
"There are five people trapped in there!" cried Harry, lunging frantically at the burning ruin. Moody grabbed his arm, and Harry struggled. "Let me go, Moody! I'll be okay. I'm using a Flame-Freezing Charm."
"It won't help you if the roof falls in on your head-" Moody began, but then he stopped and stared. Harry felt the hand clutching his arm tighten painfully. He looked in the same direction as Moody, and gasped.
Not all the Inferi had entered the Shrieking Shack chasing Draco's Patronus. Stiff-legged, scarecrow-like figures were scattered over the hillside. All were stumbling towards the nearest living person. Threads and bursts of flame flickered into life, as the Order defended themselves against the deathly horde.
A ghastly shape, wearing the rags of what had once been a business suit, limped towards the knot of Order members containing Harry. The Infernus lifted its head, and Harry saw its dead, glazed eyes. There were gaping wounds on its face, but no blood came from them.
Lupin sent out a slender thread of flame from his wand, and the Infernus scrambled away. Then the werewolf stared anxiously at the Shrieking Shack. "I can't see the Slytherins," he said, in his hoarse voice.
"Could anyone still be alive in there?" gasped Hermione and Ron wrapped an arm around her.
Harry stared into the flames, but he gave a start when he heard a familiar, drawling voice behind him.
"My friends are on the top floor!"
Harry turned with difficulty. Moody was still hanging onto his arm. "Draco, what are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay in the Headquarters!"
"That was stupid, Harry," said Draco defiantly. "I had to come. They're MY friends. Crabbe and Goyle won't listen to you."
"I don't want you here. What if you see your mother?"
"This is MY decision, Harry. I've already lost Mother. I don't want to lose anyone else!" Draco pointed to a top floor window, from which white steam poured. "My friends are up there. They're using Aguamenti against the fire."
"Then they're wasting their time. Aguamenti won't put out a fire this big," growled Moody. "Draco, can your friends Apparate?"
"Only Nott can. I know he won't leave the others to die, " said Draco. The glow from the fire lent a weird pink tinge to his pale face and hair.
Moody's real eye narrowed. "Then we Side-Along them out of there. Any volunteers? Yes, Harry, I know YOU want to help..."
oOoOoOo
Inside the Shrieking Shack, it was burning hot. Even with his Flame-freezing Charm, Harry could feel his clothes scorching, and the clouds of smoke and steam were so thick that he could barely see past the rippling edge of his Bubble Head Charm. He crouched down to see better. The floorboards creaked, and he guessed that their supports were nearly burned through. He couldn't see the Slytherins, but he could see evidence that they had lived in the Shack for some time. There were squashy, purple sleeping bags on the floor, a pile of Daily Prophets, and a bag of apples leaning up against the wall. But everything was sodden and steaming.
"Aguamenti!" came a shout from up ahead, and a burst of steam rose up. Harry could hear coughing and he followed the sound. Five shapes appeared, huddled together in the corner, with a sixth, pale shape bending over them. Harry stared. The sixth shape was Draco.
"The Order's here to rescue you," Draco was saying. He reached out an arm, and pulled a weedy, rabbity-looking boy to his feet. Harry had seen the boy around Hogwarts and realised that it must be Theodore Nott.
Theodore couldn't speak. He was coughing and his eyes were red and streaming from the smoke. Tonks appeared through the smoke, took Theodore's arm and, with a crack, they both vanished.
"Pansy," said Harry, leaning over and holding out his hand. The Slytherin girl looked at him distrustfully, then took his hand. Her face was scrunched up and streaked with soot, making her look more like a pug than ever. She tried to speak but could only make a rasping noise. Harry concentrated on the outside of the Shack. With a sensation like pushing through a tight, rubber tube, he Disapparated, dragging Pansy with him. Wordlessly, he deposited her in front of Hermione and Ron, and reappeared in the Shack.
He was just in time to see Moody, pulling Blaise to his feet, then with a crack, both Disapparated. Harry glimpsed, out of the corner of his eye, a pale figure behind him. He assumed that it was Draco, but then, through the smoke, he saw Draco in front of him, his face twisted into a rictus of horror. Harry turned quickly.
With a dragging gait that somehow carried her very fast, the Inferius of Narcissa Malfoy appeared out of the smoke. Her rich, embroidered green robes were torn and on fire, and her once beautiful face was slack and grey. With an unholy strength she hadn't possessed in life, she grabbed Harry and bore him backwards until he hit the creaking wall. He struggled, and she snapped at him with her rotting mouth. Her hands scrabbled at his throat. She was so close he couldn't use his wand.
"Incendio!" came a shout, and a gout of flame shot past Harry's head. Narcissa's mouth gaped so widely in mindless terror, that he caught a glimpse of her blackened tongue. She stumbled backwards and turned around to face her attacker. Harry could see the charred, blonde hair streaming down her back as she raised her arms and charged murderously...
...at her son.
But Draco was ready. There was a stony, determined look on his face, and he was almost unrecognisable as the cowardly, little boy he had been at Hogwarts. He shouted a spell that Harry couldn't quite make out above the roaring of the flames, and Narcissa Malfoy disappeared, Transfigured into a shining, silver ring. Draco took the ring and slipped it on his finger, his expression unreadable.
Harry stared at him, panting.
Crabbe and Goyle coughed and moaned.
With a couple of ear-splitting cracks, Tonks and Moody reappeared. Crabbe and Goyle got to their feet with their backs pressed to the wall, cringing in the presence of the Order, and staring at Draco as if waiting for his command. Harry thought they looked more like trained gorillas than ever. They were certainly gorilla-sized.
"Do what the Order say. Go with them!" shouted Draco to Crabbe and Goyle. He twisted the new ring on his finger.
Moody grabbed Goyle's arm. "Merlin! You're a big lump. How is anyone supposed to Side-Along with you?" he growled.
Tonks stared at Crabbe. She was more polite than Moody, but her conclusion was the same. "I can't take him," she stated. "He's too heavy."
The floor lurched and everyone staggered. Harry made an instant decision. "We'll have to run them out of here," he shouted, hitting first Crabbe, then Goyle with Flame-Freezing Charms, and Bubble Head Charms. He could hear Moody arguing, but couldn't quite make out the words.
"It's no good, Moody. The floor's about to go and we can't Disapparate with Crabbe and Goyle. We'll have to run, while the stairs are still there. I'll take Goyle, Tonks can take Crabbe. You and Draco Disapparate," he ordered. But when he turned around, it was Draco who had taken Crabbe's arm. A bolt of fear ran through Harry's stomach. The thought of Draco risking his life was absolutely terrifying. "Let Tonks take him, Draco. She's had more training."
"Don't be stupid, Harry. Crabbe won't go with her."
The floor shifted again and Harry realised there wasn't enough time to argue. "Follow me, Draco. If a beam falls, hit it with Impedimenta or a Shield Charm!" he said. He pulled on Goyle's arm, and Goyle resisted. It was like dragging a boulder.
"Goyle, go with Harry," ordered Draco.
Goyle stared at stupidly at Draco, then nodded. Harry pulled on Goyle's arm and this time he followed.
They ran through the smoke, towards the stairs. It wasn't the first time Harry had run through the Shrieking Shack. He could remember chasing Ron and Sirius Black, so he vaguely knew the layout, but he'd never run for the front door before. The stairs creaked beneath his feet, and even louder, beneath Goyle's feet. Goyle didn't say a word. He clutched painfully at Harry's upper arm, with a hand like a hairy ham. The flames grew fiercer, the further down the stairs they ran. Harry waited, in a tickling inferno, for Draco and Crabbe to catch up.
There was a rumble from above, as the ceiling fell. Harry raised his wand. "Protego!" he shouted. The falling wood shattered and flaming pieces rained harmlessly around them. Goyle stared, a gormless and astonished look on his face. "This way!" Harry yelled, and led the way down to the next floor and then the next.
The ground floor was full of hideous, smouldering, human shapes, but to Harry's vast relief, none of them were moving. Harry and Goyle picked their way through the fallen Inferi, followed closely by Draco and Crabbe. The front door and windows were all smashed and splintered from when the Inferi had broken in. There was a thunderous crashing noise from above and the floor shook.
Harry could barely make out Draco's face through the smoke, but he heard him shout. "The Shrieking Shack is collapsing!"
"Go! Take Crabbe and Goyle. Get out! I'll cover you!" Harry shouted. He gave Goyle a push, and watched the three Slytherins run past him, towards the splintered gap where the front door had been. The ceiling split open above their heads, and Harry saw that the collapsing floor above was nothing but fire. He ran for the door himself, shooting an Impedimenta spell above his head, and feeling it catch and throw aside a pile of burning floorboards. He felt a rush of hot air and dodged a falling roof tile. Then he was through the door. There was a general crashing, thundering roar behind him, and the Shrieking Shack collapsed like a burning house of cards. But no living people were inside...
Draco steered Crabbe and Goyle towards the other Slytherins on the hillside, and Harry followed, catching a glimpse of Draco's soot-stained face, as he checked over his shoulder to see if Harry was all right.
Harry nodded grimly at his boyfriend. He could feel sweat cutting trails through the soot on his face and he removed the protective spells from himself and Crabbe and Goyle.
Theodore, Pansy and Blaise were sitting on the hillside, still coughing. Order members surrounded them and Tonks had her wand out and was treating their injuries. Ron and Hermione waved excitedly at Harry from the middle of the group, and he waved back.
"How are you all?" Draco crouched down and asked his friends. Crabbe and Goyle collapsed on the ground beside him, gasping like fish out of water.
"Malfoy's mother ... made into ring," Goyle told the other Slytherins, who peered at Goyle, then at the ring on Draco's hand.
"Malfoy, you Transfigured your mother?" croaked Theodore. The smoke, and perhaps concern, had altered his voice.
"I did," said Draco quietly. Crabbe and Goyle were nodding.
"Malfoy, we're so sorry," rasped Blaise.
Draco gave a stiff shrug.
"In answer to your question, the lady with the pink hair here says we're all suffering from smoke inhalation, but she can fix it," said Theodore. He lifted his chin to let Tonks treat him, and he stared at Draco with concern. Tonks lifted her wand away and moved to the other Slytherins. "The important question is - how are YOU, Malfoy?" asked Theodore, in a much healthier voice.
"I'm-" Draco couldn't complete his sentence. He twisted the new ring on his finger and was obviously fighting the urge to break down.
Harry crouched down beside Draco, seeing the faces of the Slytherins light up with sympathy for their white-blond leader. Pansy patted Draco on the shoulder. "There, there. We're here! We're so sorry!"
Draco lost the battle against his grief. His face crumpled and he let out a sob that shook his whole frame. He bowed his head.
"Oh, man," said Blaise. For once, he wasn't looking haughty. He rubbed Draco's back. "I haven't seen you cry since you were five!"
"I couldn't save her. My own mother and I couldn't save her," sobbed Draco. Tears streamed down his soot-streaked face. He held up the ring, adding bitterly. "This was the one thing I could do for her."
Harry put a comforting arm around Draco's shoulders, pulled him close and looked at the silver ring. "Draco, it's beautiful," he said. The ring was decorated with flowers resembling small daffodils made of white diamonds, with emerald leaves. Only a very powerful wizard could have Transfigured such a ring, Harry knew.
"The flowers are narcissus," said Draco, in response to Harry's unspoken question. "Mother was named after them. Harry, I can't believe she's gone." He put both hands over his face and wept. Harry pulled him into his arms and rocked him, aware of the way the Slytherins' jaws dropped open when they saw the two school rivals embracing. But Harry didn't care what they thought.
Harry let Draco cry out his grief against his shoulder, and watched the Shrieking Shack burn. Soon, it was little more than a charred shell against the cloudy, afternoon sky.
Lupin watched the conflagration with a contemplative look on his face and Harry wondered how he felt about seeing his old refuge burn.
There were flashes of fire around the hillside, as the Order destroyed the last of the Inferi.
"Thanks for saving us," said Theodore quietly. The other Slytherins nodded.
"You're welcome," said Harry. He gave Draco a squeeze.
"So, you and Malfoy are together now?" Theodore asked.
Harry nodded. Draco was no longer sobbing, but his whole body trembled. Harry stroked his back and nuzzled his ear tenderly.
"Wow! I never thought you two would ever make up," said Pansy. She looked a little jealous that Draco was crying on Harry's shoulder instead of hers and tried to get Draco's attention. "I like what you're wearing, Malfoy. Aren't they Muggle clothes? Genies?"
"Jeans," corrected Harry. Draco sniffled.
"I like them, Malfoy. Nice and tight around your arse!" said Blaise bracingly. He sounded blatantly gay, and Harry wondered why he hadn't noticed Blaise's sexual preference at Hogwarts; he put it down to the way he usually paid Slytherins as little attention as possible.
Theodore chuckled. "I never thought I'd hear you say that about Muggle clothes, Zabini."
"Ring in the changes, Nott. We don't have to be seen to be hating Muggles anymore. Not now that we're with the Order of the Phoenix. I always thought tight jeans were sexy on a guy," said Blaise philosophically.
Harry felt a stab of jealousy. He didn't like the way Blaise was looking at his boyfriend.
Suddenly, Draco tensed and cried out in agony. He pulled away from Harry, and yanked his left sleeve down. The hideous Dark Mark on his left forearm had burned black. "The Dark Lord is calling me," said Draco in horrified disbelief, clutching his arm.
"Don't go to him!" urged Ron. "He Who Must Not Be Named will murder you!" Hermione nodded.
A few stray tears ran down Draco's face, and he wiped them forcefully away. "The Dark Lord ordered Mother's death, and he STILL dares to call me to his side?" he wondered aloud, in a shaking voice. His grief and bewilderment were rapidly turning to rage.
"I expect it's the way Protean Charm in the Dark Mark works," said Hermione timidly. "V-Voldemort can only summon everyone at once."
The Slytherins flinched when Hermione said the name. But they nearly fell over when Draco clenched his fists and screamed:
"I'LL KILL VOLDEMORT!"
It was the first time Draco had spoken the hated name without choking, let alone screamed it to the skies.
"Don't say the name, Malfoy," groaned Blaise, holding his hands over his ears.
"How do you plan to kill him?" asked Harry seriously. He put his hands on Draco's shoulders and looked him in the face.
Draco was shaking and pale, but there was a ferocious determination in his pale eyes. "Voldemort wants to tell me where he is? Fine! I'll go there and use Avada Kedavra on him. He won't know what hit him."
"If you kill the Dark Lord, the Death Eaters with him will kill you, Malfoy," warned Theodore.
"I DON'T CARE!" shouted Draco and everyone winced. His eyes were wide and watery, and Harry thought that his grief must have temporarily unhinged him. "AT LEAST VOLDEMORT WON'T BE ABLE TO KILL AGAIN! HE WON'T MAKE ANYONE ELSE FEEL THE WAY I DO NOW! I HAVE TO KILL HIM!"
"Draco-" Harry began, but he was silenced when Draco grabbed his head in both hands and kissed him passionately.
"I love you, Harry. Goodbye!" said Draco. He glanced at his stunned Slytherin friends. "Love you too." He glanced back at Harry. "Look after my friends, for me," he ordered. Then he glanced at Ron and Hermione, who stood stricken and silent, and gave them a salute. "I'm glad I got a chance to know you both better. Take care of Harry for me!"
"Don't do this, Draco," said Hermione.
"Why not?" asked Draco, getting to his feet. "Shouldn't you be encouraging me? Don't you want Voldemort dead?" The Slytherins gasped and Draco tugged up his sleeve, exposing the Dark Mark. "When I touch my wand to the Mark, I'll instantly Disapparate to Voldemort's side. THEN I'LL KILL HIM!"
"He won't die!" cried Harry, standing up. He knew Draco was doomed if he tried to kill Voldemort. The very thought chilled Harry to the bone.
Draco wheeled around. "You don't think I've got the guts to kill Voldemort? You think it will be just like Dumbledore? That I won't be able to do it?" he shouted. His wand hovered just over the Dark Mark and Harry was terrified his boyfriend was about to vanish forever at any moment. "This will be different, Harry. I LIKED Dumbledore! I could hit Voldemort with Avada Kedavra with no trouble at all!"
Harry made a grab at Draco's wand and tried to wrestle it away. "I believe you, Draco! But I'm telling you that there's no point in even trying! You'll get yourself killed for nothing!"
"What are you talking about?" Draco shouted, trying to push his wand down to the Mark.
Harry wrestled Draco to the ground and pinned his wand arm. "Voldemort can't die!"
"You believe that maniac's boast?" Draco scoffed, fighting back.
"It's true! Avada Kedavra won't work on Voldemort now, any more than it worked on him last time, when I was a baby. He'll get a new body and come back again. Voldemort's immortal!" yelled Harry. He sensed Moody, Tonks and Lupin drawing close and surrounding them both. The Slytherins were being ushered away by the other Order members.
Draco fought on for a moment. Then Harry's words sunk in. His face filled with despair. "Then what's the point of anything? How can we fight him? What can be done to...?" Suddenly his eyes glittered. "The Order's NOT fighting Voldemort directly. They're looking for THINGS!" His eyes widened as realisation stuck. "Those THINGS you're looking for! They give Voldemort his immortality, don't they? That's why you're trying to track them down and destroy them, instead of facing Voldemort directly!"
Harry heard an indrawn breath from the Order members around him.
"Smart kid," growled Moody. Lupin and Tonks nodded.
Harry couldn't see the point of lying. "You're right, Draco," he said quietly.
"Let me help you!" cried Draco, struggling against Harry's grip. "What's the thing that Voldemort keeps at his side? The thing you haven't been able to get?"
"It's Nagini," said Moody. He was staring down at Draco with a thoughtful look in his one living eye.
"Voldemort's pet snake?" asked Draco. He stopped struggling as he considered the difficulties of capturing a magical, poisonous serpent the length of a house. After a pause he asked, "Do you need her dead or alive?"
"Oh, dead's better," growled Moody. "Just as long as we get ALL of her body."
"Stop encouraging him, Moody. It's suicide," snarled Harry.
Draco started to struggle again. "I can do this!" he shouted at the Order. "Get Harry off me and I'll get Nagini for you!"
"Very well," said Moody, and nodded at two of the largest Order members. They came forward.
"No, Draco!" shouted Harry. But strong hands were pulling him to his feet, and he watched helplessly as Draco stood up, gave him a trembling smile and lowered the tip of his wand towards the Dark Mark.
oOoOoOo
Author's Note: Review or Draco gets it! Bwahahahahaha! ;-)
Replies to Reviews:
fourth-face-of-the-goddess: You know who had to get rid of Draco's Mum now. Poor Draco! I love the weasel war dance too. magicalwriter: Thanks! I'm writing more! sweetness123: LOL! ;-) Airlady: Thanks, glad you liked the Patroni. (So that's what the plural of Patronus is! ;-) Lily Elizabeth Snape: Hope there was a bit of nail biting fluffiness in this chapter! ;-) Oreo07: Heh, I love cliffhangers! Avalene: Thanks! ;-) Netty: Thanks. Draco really is a ferret person... hyperRme: You spelled Narcissa right. ;-) LuthorCorp: Thank you. I've heard theories about Dumbledore being alive, though Rowling confirms he is dead. But Dumbledore's Patronus was a phoenix. Surely there's no point in having a phoenix Patronus if you cannot rise from the dead? I had technical problems posting the last chapter because it was so long (FF kept eating the last paragraphs) so I'll be forced to keep my chapters a bit shorter from now on. Crowley Black: Thanks heaps! I wonder why Rowling didn't call them zombies? Why invent another word for them? Kit turned Mighty: LOL at the postscripts! Thanks for the review! ;-) Kittendragon: Thanks. HecateDeMort: Thank you! The Earth Mystic: There are so many ways to write zombies. I stuck with the 'no memory' zombie variety, but Rowling may yet prove this wrong. Draco doesn't need to hump Harry's leg in ferret form. He's doing quite well in human form! ;-) xoxSasukexox: Thanks! That's strange about the chapter being messed up. What did it look like? Potter's Wifey: Thank you! NinjaoftheDarkness: Yes, Moody's trunk. Don't go there! ;-) Bishou: Thanks! Hope the exams went OK. GreenEyedCatDragon: Now what's Potterish? When I think Potterish, I think heroic teen with a bad temper, and the social clues of a fruit fly, but that's just my opinion! ;-) miadragonlover: Cliffhangers are supposed to make you keep reading! Hope they work! ;-) Crystal Malfoy: You should see your wish come true! But the Slytherins don't even have to flirt much to get Harry jealous! More about the scar later. Yellowwolf: Awesome review, thank you! Hodemi: Draco's handling his trauma in a way that's traumatizing Harry. ;-( Stefania Mo: You write letters like Snape! Cool! ;-) Evie Glacier Tako: Thanks for the info about changing ratings. More about the Vow and Snape later! NATWEST: Thanks! Harry has a bit of a blind spot where Snape is concerned. Mention him and Harry instantly sees red. But can you blame Harry after what Snape has done? Katharina-B: Thank you. A very thoughtful review. I thought Hermione and Ron must talk about Harry and his temper behind his back like that. I can't say what the Vow does without giving too much away. But it will come out eventually. Draco did make a corporal Patronus faster than Harry, but he was years older than Harry was when he made his first Patronus. Plus he had a particularly happy and recent memory. (I bet you can guess what it was! ;-) Ron's Patronus is a Jack Russell dog. Rowling has said so in interviews. She also said that Veritaserum isn't a fool proof way of testing loyalty. A clever wizard could transfigure the liquid into something else before it reached their stomach, or charm their throat closed. mon-ami-runa: Thanks! Glad you love the cliffy! fei-yen: The Slytherins have survived. This time! Bwahahaha! ;-) Lisa: I feel the urge for another Bwahahahah! ;-) sklfahh: Harry did indeed feel very uncomfortable. Thanks! wizli: I'm groaning at the pun. Death Eater turned Brain Eater. Arrrh! ;-) Interesting comment about fighting fire with fire, dark wizard vs dark wizard. It would certainly comfort Harry! I've popped up the rating because of the zombies. musicalsilence: Thanks. Yes, Harry is VERY hardheaded when it comes to Snape. Emu Alive and Kicking: Spazzy Spike, the underpants weasel war dancer, is adorable. He makes me want to own a ferret. Riku-Rocks: Thanks! Glad you like the letters! GentleWaterSoul: Thanks! ProperT: Thanks! Hermione has her reasons for not discussing the Vow with Harry. Can you guess what they are? ;-)