Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to the wondrous mind of J.K.Rowling. I am simply borrowing them.
A/N: Hey guys, another one down from the original set of chapters. A few more to go and then we touch on brand new material.
Harry Potter and the Shards of Voldmort's Soul
Chapter 7: Fractured Alliances
"HARRY!" Ginny cried out and leapt off the bed to race to his side. He lay crumpled on the floor in the center of the tangle of bodies. A shape in black robes loomed up before her blocking her way to Harry. The person seemed unsteady on their feet, obviously disoriented as they started to wobble back and forth before falling in to her, knocking her to the ground with a loud thump. She winced at the pain in her back as she tried to squirm from under the person on top of her. From the weight, she knew the person was male and the feel of him indicated that he was not too heavyset. His head was positioned uncomfortably on her breasts and he seemed to try and struggle to get up which only resulted in his pushing harder in to her chest. She pushed at his shoulders trying to move him when he looked up at her. Through the cowl of his hood she could now see his pale white face and shock of blond hair.
"Malfoy," she gasped in shock.
"Hello Weaslette, glad I could drop in," he said slyly with a weak grin, looking down at her quivering chest. She blushed and pushed at him harder to get from under him when she heard a familiar growl.
"Oi Malfoy," Ron yelled from above them pulling Malfoy roughly off of her allowing her to move aside. "Get off my sister," he said before promptly punching him in the face. Malfoy grunted in pain and clutched his now bleeding nose.
"That's it Weasel, you're mine," Malfoy threatened and leapt in to Ron's chest knocking him to the floor.
Ginny backed away from the squabbling boys, completely ignoring them and went to Harry's side, pulling him to a seated position, nursing his head in her lap. He was unconscious, but still breathing; his skin seemed cold and clammy and his face was pale. She looked at his helpless form, her eyes filled with tears. She couldn't loose him, not now. She heard a rustle of wings and Hope landed on her shoulder and crooned softly in her ear. She nodded in understanding. Harry had selflessly given his strength to rescue them from the Death Eaters. So brave, she thought. She looked back at the group. She could see Hermione trying to hold back Ron from beating up on Malfoy and Malfoy was struggling in his mother's arms, trying to get back at Ron. In the corner, she saw Harry's Aunt and Uncle, holding each other tightly, both of their faces white and shaking with fear. She pulled out Harry's wand and thrust it at Ron and Malfoy, shouting, "Immobulus." Both boys were frozen stiff in mid-motion.
"Now, can someone tell me what the hell is going on or do I have to curse you all first?" she yelled at them pointedly. Hermione, still gripping her wand arm which was now caked with dried blood, looked over at her friend's fierce expression and knew that she meant business.
"Gin, we were attacked at the Dursleys. Death Eaters and Dementors attacked us and Harry…," Hermione started to explain.
"Harry used his strength to help Hope transport you here to me because that was the first place that Harry could think of. That much I know, Hope told me. Now what are Malfoy and his mother doing here," she said looking at them warily. Narcissa sniffed indignantly staring at her haughtily, but Ginny was not fazed.
"They are on the run from the Death Eaters and turned away from Voldemort. Harry….well, Harry trusts them," Hermione said.
"Of course he does. Ok, Hermione go and Floo to Headquarters. Mum and Dad are there right now; bring them back here along with Moody and Remus," she ordered. Hermione nodded and rushed out the door. Ginny then flicked Harry's wand at her desk and said, "Accio quill and parchment." A large feather quill and brown parchment flew to her hands and Ginny penned a quick note to the Headmistress. She turned to Hope.
"Hope, can you take this to Minerva McGonagall?" she whispered. Hope squawked indignantly and gave what almost appeared to be a tiny nod. She snapped up the note with her golden beak and leapt in to the air flashing out of sight in a puff of fire. Ginny looked back at the two boys, who were still immobilized, but noticed that Draco was dripping blood freely down his nose. "I will let you go if you promise to behave yourselves. By Merlin, you two just fought Death Eaters together you would think that you could get past your petty squabbling. Finite Incantatum!"
Ron and Malfoy both fell to the floor in a heap. Picking themselves up, they both wore sheepish expressions and pointedly looked away from each other. Malfoy pulled out a white handkerchief from his robes which he immediately applied to his bleeding nose. Shaking her head, Ginny turned to Narcissa.
"Mrs. Malfoy, welcome to our home. My parents will be home soon and then we can all freshen up and get something to eat," Ginny said politely.
"Thank you child; I know this has been all so sudden and uncomfortable. I am sure that we will have everything sorted soon and we can be on our way," Narcissa said politely, if a little stiffly. Ginny said nothing, not knowing what else to say. She looked back down at Harry who was still unconscious, but breathing steadily none the less. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at her brother staring down at her in concern.
"What happened, Ron?" she said weakly. He shivered briefly as he relived the terrifying night they had just experienced.
"It was scary Gin. There was about a hundred Dementors circling overhead and a dozen Death Eaters firing at us, including Greyback. Hermione got hurt and I ….I," Ron said struggling to continue but overcome with emotion. Ginny understood and knew that Ron was shaken up about Hermione and knew how much her brother cared for her friend.
"It's ok Ron, I understand," she said calmingly, truly understanding his predicament. If the same had happened with Harry, she couldn't guess how she would have reacted either.
She heard a rustle followed by the sound of many stomping feet coming up the stairs. Hermione burst through in to the room, leading Mr. and Mrs. Weasley with Alastar Moody and Remus Lupin close behind them. Soon Ron was enveloped in a deep hug while Mr. Weasley and Remus checked Harry over. Moody just stood silently and watched the Malfoys, his magical eye spinning madly. Molly released her son who quickly moved to stand next to Hermione and turned to face her house guests.
"Narcissa, I understand that you and your son helped protect Ron, Harry and the others. I thank you for your help, I am in your dept for helping to save their lives," Molly said earnestly.
Moody scowled and growled out, "Probably led the Death Eaters right to them if you ask me."
Narcissa looked him straight in the eyes and replied, "Do not speak of what you do not know. We came to Potter knowing that he was our last chance at life. We did not know what would become of us only knowing that if he had not helped us, we would surely be dead right about now. As for your thanks Molly, none are needed. We were only doing what was right and it was in our own best interests to help. Obviously, there is much to discuss and I am sure that you intend to interrogate us. But in the mean time, you have wounded children here who need your attention more than I. As a token of our good faith, our wands are yours. Draco, hand over your wand." Draco looked up at his mother and nodded.
Silently they both handed over their wands which Moody promptly received. Molly simply stared at Narcissa, shocked by her response and even more shocked at her gesture of good will. Turning away, she looked over to Harry who was surrounded by Remus, Arthur with Ginny cradling him in her lap. Harry looked so pale, but also content. Who wouldn't be sleeping in the arms of your loved one, she thought. She had been waiting for a long time for Harry to finally realize the woman that Ginny was becoming and at last her dream had come true. But, she knew that there had been some problems. Ginny had come home so distraught and upset. She was worried when her daughter shut herself in her room refusing to talk to anyone. She hoped that whatever was wrong between them that they could work out. It would tear her heart to see a wedge driven in to their family.
"How is he?" she asked the two men.
"I'm not sure Molly," Arthur responded grimly.
"Ginny told us that Harry had been drained magically by giving his life essence to his phoenix Hope," Remus explained clearly not truly believing the story himself.
"She is still a young Phoenix and very distraught that Harry had to help in this manner," Ginny told them. The adults looked at Ginny incredulously, but said nothing. "She went to fetch McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey. I hope they get here soon."
"All we can do now is continue to wait for Madam Pomfrey to arrive," Remus said. He looked around and suddenly realized that Draco and his mother were in the room being guarded by Moody.
"What's the deal with the Malfoys? What are they doing here" Remus asked.
"Not now, all will be explained later. Moody is watching them at the moment," Molly replied with a nervous glance at Narcissa who was standing protectively in front of Draco. Leaving Arthur and Remus to their vigilant watch over Harry and Ginny, Molly went over to Ron who was talking harshly with a stern-faced Hermione.
"Mione, you're hurt. We should get you fixed up," Ron pressed her, but she shook her head.
"No Ron. I told you, I'm not leaving until Harry wakes up," she replied stubbornly.
"What's going on here?" Molly inquired. Ron turned to her mother with a pleading look and motioned with his head towards Hermione, who was clutching her arm, her clothes covered in blood.
"Hermione, you've been injured. Why didn't you say something earlier?" Molly scolded.
"Really Mrs. Weasley, I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that much," Hermione protested.
Molly narrowed her eyes and responded, "Oh really," poking her injured arm.
"OW!" cried out, tears stinging her eyes.
"Come with me dear, we'll fix you right up," Molly said while pulling Hermione to her feet.
"But Mrs. Weasley; I want to be here when Harry wakes up," she pleaded.
"You won't be gone long and he is not going anywhere now come on child."
Ron looked at his mother pulling a still complaining Hermione away and breathed a sigh of relief. He stole a quick glance back and Harry and Ginny and knew that they were in safe hands and turned to follow after his mother.
Ginny sat with Harry still in her lap; gently smoothing the hair from Harry's eyes, she saw the famous scar. With her finger, she traced the outline of his scar with her finger. If only he had not been marked that night by Voldemort, maybe he could have had a normal life. She looked up as her father touched her shoulder.
"Sweetheart, maybe we should move Harry to the bed and try to make him more comfortable," Arthur prompted.
"Would moving him be safe, would he be alright?" she asked fearfully. Arthur wrinkled his nose, perplexed at the thought.
"I'm not sure. Remus, would moving Harry cause him any harm?"
"Honestly Arthur, I am not sure. If he is only magically drained, then I don't think it should be a problem, but what if there is something else. I think it may be safer to wait for Pomfrey," Remus replied. I wonder what is taking her so long if the story about the phoenix were to be true, they should be here by now, Remus thought. But his unspoken thought was soon answered with a flash of burning light followed by the heralding shriek of Hope. Professor McGonagall and Pomfrey stepped out of the rapidly diminishing flames and raced to their side.
"Out of the way, let me see my patient," Pomfrey ordered who immediately began running her wand over Harry's body. Minerva looked around the room to size up the situation and addressed Arthur and Remus.
"What is going on here?" she asked them.
"Honestly Minerva, I think the best thing right now is to ensure Harry's health and then move everyone back to Headquarters where it's safe," Remus explained.
"The Malfoys, back to Headquarters, Remus, are you mad?" Minerva snapped waspishly.
"The majority of the wards are probably down by now Minerva, so we don't need to reveal anything to them. If we take them in by Portkey, then they won't know the location. Besides, once we're there, we can secure them from escape and find out what's really going on." Wordlessly, she nodded and turned back to Pomfrey who was busy moving her glowing wand up and down her patient.
"What's the word Poppy?" McGonagall asked.
"He is weak and his aura is very faint. I think a very strong strengthening solution would help, but the only thing he really needs is a lot of rest. He is magically drained and his body needs a lot of rest," she said while pulling out a phial of greenish-blue liquid. "Hold up his head please Miss. Weasley," Poppy instructed which Ginny complied with immediately, but before they could force the liquid down Harry's throat, Hope started trilling loudly. She leapt from the dresser and flew down to Ginny's shoulder and began singing notes of song again. Ginny seemed to be listening intently and then nodded.
"Madam Pomfrey, Hope wants to add her tears to the potion," Ginny said. Pomfrey looked at the Phoenix strangely before nodding her head.
"Is that safe Poppy," Remus asked quickly.
"Yes, Phoenix tears are a natural healer and adding them to the solution may help greatly," she replied. She propped out the stopper on the potion bottle and bent it towards Hope's head. Slowly, Hope cried three tears which sizzled as it entered the potion. Pomfrey swirled the potion softly then bent it towards Harry. Prying open his mouth with her fingers, she gently poured the liquid in to his mouth while massaging his throat to make sure that he swallowed it. Immediately, his complexion seemed to return to a normal hue and his skin warmed up considerably. But to Ginny's disappointment, he still did not wake up.
"I'm afraid it's only a matter of time now, but I think the potion definitely helped. It's safe to move him now, but no Floo travel or Portkeys until he wakes up. These forms of transportation use up a tiny portion of our magic and right now, he doesn't have a lot of that left. Until he wakes up, Mr. Potter will have to remain here. I will leave you another five bottles of the strengthening solution. He is take one every day, morning preferably. If Hope here is willing to shed some more tears, I believe that it would be of a great assistance to his full recovery." Hope crooned softly at this and seemed to nod her head in agreement. "When he wakes up, he will be very hungry, feed him light foods only, nothing too heavy. Also, he must not use his magic too strenuously until he regains his full strength or he might risk a relapse. If he hasn't woken up in three days, call me back, otherwise, let me know when he wakes. Is that understood?" They all nodded their agreement and Pomfrey started rummaging in her bag for the other potion bottles.
"I'll just take these to Molly and check in on Mr. Weasley and Miss. Granger," she said and walked out of the room, pointedly ignoring the Malfoys.
"I think I will take the Dursleys here down to the kitchen for tea. It might help calm them," McGonagall said turning away from them to lead Petunia and Vernon out of the room.
"Let's get him to my bed," Ginny told them. Remus nodded and pulled out his tattered looking wand giving it a wave over Harry's sleeping body. Harry silently rose in to the air and gently Remus led him towards Ginny's bed with his wand. Hope leapt to the air and flew to the base of Ginny's bed while Ginny got to her feet. She pulled out the covers while Remus softly lowered Harry to the comfortable mattress.
"He needs a change of clothes," Ginny said while pulling off his ratty trainers.
"I think Remus can change him Ginny. Go and fetch some of Ron's clothes for him," Arthur instructed hesitantly. Looking up at her father's expression, she obeyed without question, knowing that this was not the time for arguments. She returned a few minutes later with a pair Ron's pajamas and handed them to Remus.
"Alright everyone, out," Remus ordered. "Arthur. Why don't you take the Malfoys down to the kitchen and make them a cup of tea or something?" Arthur nodded and led them out of the room. Turning back to Harry, he saw Ginny gently pulling his glasses off of his face and folded them neatly on her nightstand next to his wand. She bent her head towards him and kissed him gently on his lips. Looking up at Remus, her eyes were full of tears.
"Don't worry Ginny; he is going to be fine. Trust me," he soothed. She nodded; pulling on her housecoat, she quickly left the room without a second glance and went downstairs to the kitchen where she was met with loud voices.
She entered the kitchen and found Moody and McGonagall talking fiercely with Draco and his mother. Ron was shouting from the sidelines with Hermione holding him back and her mother remonstrating him. Her father was standing behind her mother, not really doing much of anything. Furious, she stepped forward in to the den of shouting.
"How can we trust you, when you let the Death Eaters in to Hogwarts in the first place? You put a number of students, your fellow classmates at risk. How can we trust you now? For all we know, you could be lying about not leading the Death Eaters to Harry," McGonagall shouted her face red with anger.
"Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater," Mad-Eye croaked out.
"I told you before, I did not lead those Death Eaters to Harry and I am not lying now. This pin shows you that an Order member trusted me," Draco yelled.
"Bah, we trusted an Order member too and look where that miserable turn-coat led us; to Dumbledore's death," Moody retorted.
"It was a mistake coming to you in the first place. We came here looking for Gryffindor's strength and courage and find only lost sheep," Narcissa snarled.
"Never trust a Slytherin," Ron cried out shaking his fist at them pulling against Hermione's grip.
"Ron, quiet now, you're not helping," Molly snapped.
"That's right Weasel, be a good boy and play dead, literally," Draco sneered. Molly turned to Draco, a dreadful look in her eye.
"Listen to me you little snake, no one talks to my son that way," Molly scolded.
"Molly, please," Arthur soothed, trying to calm her.
"You are talking to my son Weasley, have a care and show some respect," Narcissa fumed.
"Now see here, respect is earned, not freely given, Malfoy," Arthur interjected.
"QUIET ALL OF YOU!"
They all stopped talking to look over at Ginny, whose eyes were blazing. Ginny stomped in to the center of the room, her hair flying wildly as she turned around giving everyone a dirty look.
"I can not believe that you all dare to call yourselves adults. You should all be ashamed of yourselves. How can we possibly win against Voldemort if…" she began, but trailed off as several people winced at the mention of his name. "Great Merlin, it is just a name, like Minerva or Draco or Molly. Here stands the core of the Light forces and here you all stand quivering in fear from a name. Fear of the name only causes fear of the thing itself; isn't that what you always say Hermione?" Hermione nodded silently. "Did you ever see Dumbledore call him by the title You-Know-Who?" she questioned them and received a series of sheepish expressions shaking their heads. "If we can't get past our prejudices and petty squabbling, then we will never be able to defeat Voldemort. You all need to grow up." With that being said, she turned in a huff and stomped out of the kitchen brushing past Remus who was now standing in the doorway.
Ginny stormed up the stairs completely irritated with the way the others were acting. Why they all couldn't get along she didn't understand. She gently pushed the door open to her room and crept inside. Hope looked up at her as she entered and trilled a soft note before bending her head down to continue watching Harry. He looked peaceful as he slept; the lines of worry and stress on his face were gone replaced by a serene sense of peace. She quietly pulled her desk chair to the bed and sat down to join Hope in her watchful vigil over Harry. She had been so fearful when she saw Harry collapse; so scared to see him so weak and helpless. She couldn't envision her life without him and could only hope that he would wake up soon.
In the last week, they let their love fracture and became distant, more due to Harry's irritating nobility, but now she vowed to prove that their love could withstand all trials. She reached out and grabbed his hand giving it a gentle squeeze. There was so much riding on him now, so much pressure that he had to endure. She found it overwhelming just thinking of the stress that Harry put himself under. If only we didn't have to rely so much on him, but she knew that it was inevitable. Harry would eventually face Voldemort and there was nothing that she could do to stop it.
"Oh Harry," she murmured. "I wish so much that I could stop your pain and give you a normal life. But I need you Harry, they need you. They need your guidance; they need your courage, your wisdom. They can't do this without you. I can't do this without you." Hope looked up at her and trilled another soft note which made Ginny smile. Yes, she thought. She knew that she wasn't alone; Harry would always remain devoted to her. Yawning, she realized that she it was extremely late and summoned a blanket with a flick of her wand. Shifting to a more comfortable position, she settled down to continue watching over Harry, at least until sleep took hold.
"You know, that girl's got more sense right now than the lot of us put together," Moody grumbled.
"I agree. It's no wonder that Harry picked her for his mate," Remus added.
"The question now is where do we go from here?" McGonagall asked the group, but no one answered.
"I think what we need now is for everyone to make a leap of faith," Hermione suggested.
"Explain child," Narcissa said abruptly her patience with the lot of them growing very thin.
"Well, you and Draco took a leap of faith by coming to Harry in the first place," Hermione began.
"It could all be lies from a filthy turncoat like Snape did to us for all these years," Moody growled. Narcissa scowled but said nothing.
"While I admit that there are obvious holes in their story, they were willing to swear an oath of loyalty and were willing to surrender their wands. Also, from what we heard from Harry, Dumbledore believed in Draco and Harry trusts them now. Can you really turn away from such faith?" Hermione asked them all, daring them to challenge her.
"What are you suggesting Miss. Granger?" McGonagall asked. Hermione let a grin crease her face in her small victory before proceeding.
"I have done some research on magical contracts and loyalty charms. What I'm suggesting is that we put together an oath for the Malfoys to sign as proof that they are not still working for the Death Eaters. This oath will be absolute and will require that the signor offer up a portion of their magic if they do not adhere to the statutes of the contract." Both Draco and Narcissa were outraged by this and rose to protest, but Hermione raised her hand to stay them.
"I'm not finished yet. I understand that it's not fair that you should be obligated to do this in order to gain our trust; but you must understand our position as well. We have trusted in the past and have been betrayed, we will not trust so easily again." A few members of the Order were nodding their heads in agreement and she couldn't wait to hear their reaction to what she was going to say next.
"However, I am not proposing this agreement for just the Malfoys, I am suggesting that the entire Order sign this agreement as well," she said. The Order members of the group were in an uproar, all of them shouting and yelling at once. Hermione stood there calmly waiting for them to subside while the Malfoys looked on smugly. After a few moments, their cries died down and she was able to continue.
"Professor McGonagall, this should not come as a surprise to you when Harry himself spoke to you of this plan and you yourself indicated that the Order would most likely agree to his wishes. I am surprised by this lack of faith from you all," she said in a condescending tone which clearly indicated her disappointment. The group looked at McGonagall who was slightly sheepish.
"Well, I admit that Potter did mention something of this to me, but nothing to the extent of what you are asking Miss. Granger," the Headmistress replied.
"What I am asking is that you all make a pledge to fight Voldemort and to support the side of Light. Are you all saying that this is something that you can not do?" They were quiet as they understood her point.
"Wait a minute Hermione, what does Harry have to do with all of this? Why should he be suggesting plans for the Order in the first place; he is not of age," Mrs. Weasley demanded.
"Isn't it obvious," Draco snorted though muffled by his blood-stained handkerchief, causing the group to look over at him in surprise at his interruption. "Potter is the one who has to kill him in the end, not any of you. Potter is acting like a leader and has been for the past few years. You've all just been too blind to see it."
"I hate to agree with the Ferret, but Malfoy's right. Hermione, Gin and I have already been meeting with Harry and making plans. We haven't included any of you in it yet because Harry didn't know if he could trust that you all would follow him and not try to interfere with what he must do," Ron told them.
"Why thank you Weasel for the compliment," Draco bowed mockingly.
"Wait a minute, what makes you think that it's Harry's job to finish off Voldemort. He is just a boy," Molly pressed.
"That can be explained by the Prophecy," Hermione said.
"You mean Potter knows the Prophecy? I thought it had been smashed during the fight at the Ministry" Moody demanded.
"Albus told him," Minerva interrupted. "Albus was present when the original prophecy was made and told Harry at the end of his fifth year. He told me that soon all would be made clear, but that it was important that Harry know the truth now. He said that it had been a mistake not to tell him sooner. Albus has always seemed to have incredible insight about the future, I think he knew that in the end, he wasn't going to survive this war and he was preparing Harry to be his successor."
"But he's just a boy," Molly pleaded.
"Molly, that boy has been through more hardship than most adult wizards in their entire lifetime. He has not been just a boy for quite a few years now," Remus said sadly.
"I'm afraid he's right Molly," Arthur told his wife, gripping her shoulders comfortingly.
"Arthur, not you too. Harry is still a child in school. Are you all ready to let a child lead you in to battle?"
"If you want to win, then yes," Draco said coldly.
"Besides, four children and one adult wizard fought off a hundred Dementors and a handful of Death Eaters and survived," Narcissa added.
"Obviously, there's a lot that needs to be discussed with Mr. Potter when he wakes up. It is also obvious that these children here," she pointed to Ron and Hermione, "have information which we do not have and the only way for Harry to let us in on his quest that he and Albus first started is for us to have complete trust in him; a leap of faith if you will," McGonagall explained bringing a smile to Hermione on her last comment. The others nodded briefly waiting for her to continue. "Hermione, I suggest that you prepare your contract. I want you to work with Filius if you don't mind, not that I don't trust your judgment, but he does have a great deal of experience in charms and can offer you assistance." Hermione nodded. "Moody, create a Portkey and take the Malfoys to Headquarters. Show them to a room and ask Kreatcher to make sure they're comfortable and please be explicit in your commands with Kreatcher, he is still very troublesome." Mad-Eye looked like he was about to protest, but the stern look from McGonagall held his tongue and he wordlessly nodded leading the Malfoys out of the room.
"Profressor, where are the Dursleys?" Hermione asked.
"Poppy took them to Headquarters already. They've been put up in a room and she was going to give them both tea with a sleeping agent mixed in. They're out for the night; which is something that we should be doing ourselves. There is nothing more to be done this night. I suggest that we all get some rest. Hermione, I will have Filius stop by tomorrow and you can both get to work. I suggest that when Mr. Potter wakes up and is given a clean bill of health from Poppy that we reassemble." They all nodded and McGonagall Disapperated with a soft pop.
"I should be going too; there are some things that I have to take care of and…uh.. Tonks is meeting me later," Remus said with a blush. "I will be back tomorrow." He too vanished with a pop. Molly turned to Ron and Hermione and prompted pointed her finger upstairs.
"Bed with the two of you. Hermione, you let me know if your arm still hurts, ok?" Molly said.
"Yes, Mrs. Weasley, I will. The pain has stopped now. Thank you very much," Hermione replied, but Molly shushed her and ushered them up the stairs to bed.
A/N: Hello all, I know that it may be asking a lot from some people. But, could you please give me a few reviews to let me know that you like my fic. Thanking you. Ciao