I do not own Harry Potter!
Chapter V: Dumbledore & Dementors
"This is not happening!" Hermione groaned, resting her face in her hands. "How do we fix this?"
"What do you mean, how do we fix it? There's nothing to fix." Draco narrowed his eyes at her, confused. "I can use the Elder Wand to defeat him."
Harry noticed Draco evaded using Voldemort's name.
"It's not in the prophecy that you kill Voldemort." Hermione was shaking her head. "Harry has to do it, Harry has to become the Master of the Elder Wand."
"Well then all he has to do is defeat me." Draco leaned back in his chair. He didn't like the prospect of being beaten by Potter – even if was a simple Expelliarmus.
"I'm sorry?" Hermione stated blankly. Draco rolled his eyes.
"Really, I thought you were supposed to be the greatest witch of your generation?" Draco smirked. Hermione childishly stuck her tongue out and pointedly looked away.
"He's right. He just needs to be holding the Elder Wand and I can simply disarm him!" Harry said excitedly, having to restrain himself from bouncing in his seat from excitement.
"Dumbledore's grave is probably very guarded." Ron pointed out.
"Even if we claimed the Elder Wand, we still have to locate and destroy four remaining Horcruxes." Hermione reminded them. Harry groaned.
"We don't even know what or where they are!" Harry felt exasperated all of a sudden, his previous excitement extinguished immediately, like someone had stamped on it.
"We'll figure it out and find them, I promise Harry." Hermione smiled, her lips wavering as she placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. He struggled to smile back.
"Okay, so we're going to Dumbledore's grave today then?"
"This is really risky. His tomb is by the Great Lake." Harry pointed out.
"Harry, we've done riskier things. Like almost being eaten by a giant snake." Hermione said, and Harry shuddered involuntarily.
"Point taken. We're going to need to get ready." Harry said as he stood up, discarded his empty mug in the sink and headed upstairs. Ron yawned and followed him, leaving Hermione and Draco sitting at the table.
Hermione glanced up at Draco.
"Are you okay?" She whispered.
"I'm fine. Really." Draco said, clenching his jaw. There was a pregnant pause and Hermione sighed.
"Well, I'm going to get ready too." Hermione awkwardly got up from the table and left the kitchen.
Draco was a bag of nerves. They were going to Dumbledore's tomb today, the man he had nearly killed. The man who he had seen killed, by none other than his own Godfather. And now he would be stealing from him. Well, not exactly, Draco contradicted himself. If I am the true Master of the Elder Wand, it's not stealing. Sighing, Draco stood up and went upstairs to get ready too.
Xxx
Hermione spent a ridiculous half an hour making sure they knew what to do, and that she had everything in her magical bag. They had planned to go when it was dark, so they had to wait the entire day nervously waiting.
"Hermione, we've been through this five hundred times already, can we just go and get this over with?" Harry pleaded, making for the front door.
"Okay, yeah, sorry." Hermione fiddled with her bag strap. Harry turned around and suddenly hugged her.
"I know you're scared, Hermione. It will be fine, I promise." Harry whispered in her ear, giving her a friendly kiss on the cheek before moving away and opening the front door.
"Thanks Harry." She whispered as they all stepped outside.
"Okay, so we know where we are disapparating too, yes?"
"Yes, the edge of the Forbidden Forest."
"Wait!" Ron shouted. Draco rolled his eyes.
"Something you don't get, again?"
"Shove off, Malfoy." Ron spat at him. "No, I was going to say we should go in pairs."
"Good idea." Harry said. "Okay, Ron and Malfoy-"
"I'm not going with him!" Ron said childishly, folding his arms.
"I'll go with him then." Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron.
"No, you're coming with me, Hermione." Harry said, forcefully, grabbing Hermione's wrist.
"I don't want to go with Malfoy!" Ron stomped his foot. Hermione and Harry stared bewildered at Ron's stupid behaviour.
"Ron, he won't do anything, he made the vow."
"I don't care."
"FINE!" Harry shouted, stomping over to Draco. "I'll go with Malfoy, Hermione you go with Ron."
Hermione nodded and took Ron's hand, Harry grabbed Draco's shoulder and simultaneously they disapparated to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
All four of them apparated at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and immediately drew their wands. There was no one guarding the edge of the forest, and Hermione let out a breath of relief.
"We should cast the Disillusionment charm." Hermione whispered, as she cast it on herself. She felt the familiar feel of cold trickling down her back. The other three boys followed suit.
"Okay, we need to get through the forest to the edge of the lake." Harry said as they all started forwards, but then he stopped, frowning. "Can you feel that?"
The horrible feeling of suddenly being very cold to the core of their bodies was overwhelming them, and almost as if the penny dropped at the same time, all four of them looked up through the trees. Hundreds of Dementors were hovering above their heads and then, just as the foursome had spotted them, the Dementors spotted them and catapulted forwards.
"They can see us even though we are invisible?" Ron gaped.
"They can sense our fear Ronald!" Hermione scolded. Ron should know that, was he being deliberately stupid? "We need to stop being scared."
"Easier said then done." Ron muttered as he eyed the Dementors looming overhead.
Suddenly four of them swooped down, two of them right in Hermione's face. She tried not to scream as they suddenly started sucking the life force from her. She felt her legs buckle but someone caught her before she hit the ground.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry bellowed, a burst of brilliant white light illuminated the forest, and like a shield, the Dementors bounced off the light, floating away from Harry's stag.
Harry staggered, the white light extinguishing and they were bathed in darkness again. Harry cast a Lumos. He breathed in and out and looked up at Hermione. Draco had caught her before she had fell down and she made no attempt to ever stand up right again. She groaned as Draco pushed her upwards.
"You okay?" He asked her and Hermione nodded.
"Blimey Harry, what happy memory did you have?" Ron asked.
"Ginny." Harry panted, wiping his brow. "When we were together at the Burrow before all this.." Hermione smiled at him.
"Can we not reminisce right now, I'm pretty sure Potter's impressive light show has alerted the Death Eaters." Draco said as he started to make his way through the forest.
The golden trio followed him, their eyes darting this way and that, looking for any sign of an enemy attack.
Hermione was growing even more scared as they trecked through the forest. She'd been in the Forbidden Forest lots of times but she still felt terrified. Maybe it was seeing her old headmaster again that was getting her so frightened. Suddenly someone grabbed her wrist and Hermione very nearly hexed them to death before Draco whispered in her ear.
"Stay very still." Hermione froze.
At least ten Death Eaters popped out from behind trees, casting numerous Lumos' as they searched.
"I swear Avery, I bloody saw something!" Hermione felt Draco's hand squeeze her wrist to almost bone crushing point at the sound of Dolohov's voice.
"It was probably a centaur, disgusting creatures." It was Hermione's turn to feel her blood boil.
"No, I saw a Patronus. Potter's Patronus."
The four teenagers all stared at each other as a dreaded all familiar feeling of heat trickled down their back. The Disillusionment charm had been lifted – by the Death Eaters. There was a moments pause, and Draco felt like time had stopped as Avery and Dolohov raised their heads and spotted them.
"Run!" Harry shouted as he grabbed hold of Ron and dragged him through the forest. Draco still had a hold of Hermione's wrist and started dragging her through the forest too, running as fast as his legs would carry him.
The Death Eaters rained curse after curse towards them, and Hermione had to think frantically through the haze in her mind of the right protection spell. Hermione's heart was beating so fast in her ribcage and her legs were beginning to throb. The only thing allowing her to carry on was Draco's urging and strong hand around her wrist.
She could see Draco firing dark curses towards the Death Eaters, and she ignored the twisting feeling in her gut. Harry had managed to bring down Avery, but that still left nine determined Death Eaters.
"Malfoy!" Hermione screamed without thinking, noticing as a dark curse brushed across the top of his shoulder, ripping it open. Draco didn't even flinch and carried on throwing curses at them. Hermione focused her wand at Draco's shoulder and whispered; "Episkey" She watched with satisfaction as the wound closed up before returning her focus on the four Death Eaters advancing towards them. She couldn't even see Ron and Harry any more.
"Sectumsempra!" Draco yelled. Successfully the dark curse sliced through Dolohov. Screaming he fell to the forest floor, blood pouring out of his torso. Hermione focused her wand on another Death Eater and yelled; "Stupefy!"
"Stupefy? Really, Granger?" Draco tutted disapprovingly, and fired Sectumsempra again at another Death Eater.
"It worked didn't it!" Hermione yelled back, before firing another Stupify the exact same time Draco cast a third Sectumsempra. The remaining Death Eater was sent faulting back, dead immediately.
"We need to find Harry." Hermione said, casting a Lumos and scanning the forest for the boy who lived. She spotted him and pulled Draco with her as she ran towards them. Harry and Ron turned around, wands at the ready, but faltered when they spotted Hermione.
"That's definitely you, isn't it Mione?" Ron said and Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Yes, Ronald."
Draco and Harry smirked. That was definitely Hermione.
"We need to find Dumbledore's tomb." Hermione said.
"We've found it." Harry pointed across the lake at a little island surrounded by trees. "It's over there."
Hermione let out a frustrated sigh.
"How are we meant to get over there? Swim?" Draco asked, eyeing the black waters of the Lake.
Hermione suddenly shrieked and rootled around in her bag, her arm getting lost up to her shoulder. Draco raised his eyebrows at her.
"Don't get sucked in." He smirked, and Harry couldn't help but to smirk either. The bag was beginning to swallow Hermione.
"I found them!" She shouted exuberantly, her voice echoing inside the bag. She removed her arm, pulling out a broomstick before she dived in for the other one.
"Only two?" Ron said, eyeing the broomsticks.
"Well yes, before Malfoy came there was only two of you who flew on broomsticks."
"Not a fan of them, Granger?" Draco's mouth twisted mockingly as he took one of the broomsticks. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Tough luck, hop on."
Hermione eyed the broomstick. She sighed and climbed on the back, Draco having already mounted it. Ron hopped on the back of Harry's broomstick and reluctantly held on to his waist.
"Looking cosy." Draco mocked and Ron held up his middle finger across his shoulder. Draco laughed as he left the ground. He felt with a strange sensation in his stomach that Hermione literally squeezed his torso, holding on for dear life.
"I won't let you fall." Draco said, and Hermione let out a breath of relief.
"You do and I'll hex you into kingdom come." She whispered over his shoulder. Draco smirked and they set off across the lake towards the little island.
"Harry stop!" Hermione called. Harry turned around on the broomstick to face them. "It might be warded." With shaking fingers, Hermione pulled out her wand and muttered incantations against the wards that were indeed surrounding Dumbledore's final resting place. It took her a full frustrating five minutes before every ward was uncealed.
"Okay, that should be it." Hermione pocketed her wand as they sped off to the island again. Harry and Ron touched down, shortly followed by Hermione and Draco.
Hermione still had a hold of Draco's waist, her heart pounding. She really did hate flying.
"You can let go now, Granger." Draco said. Hermione blushed scarlet.
"Oh right yeah." She unwound her arms from Draco's waist and stumbled off the broom.
"I see it, come on." Harry said as they all walked cautiously towards Dumbledore's tomb. They stopped just by it and there was a strange silence.
Harry stared down at the marble white tomb. It had a giant crack down the middle of it and his heart wrenched together. They were too late. Harry removed the remaining pieces of marble and stared down at his old professor.
Harry felt tears prickle his eyes which he ignored angrily. He stared down at the dead form of Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Harry's friend, mentor and guardian. He looked exactly the same, except his eyes were closed, never to open again and fix Harry with that piercing twinkling azure stare that had both petrified and soothed him. Harry's eyes strayed down to Dumbledore's clasped hands and not to his surprise, they held thin air. The Elder Wand was gone.
"Harry." Hermione whispered from his shoulder as she wound her arms around his neck and held onto him tightly. She had tears streaming down her cheeks. Harry held onto her arms and they fell down beside his tomb, Harry resting his head on it, looking up at his old Headmaster. Ron joined them, wrapping his arm around Hermione's waist and leaning his head on her shoulder.
Draco stood back, not wanting to be anywhere near his deceased Headmaster's tomb. He watched as the Golden Trio mourned together and he felt a strange sense of detachment. His heart clenched together at the sight of them, and couldn't shake the guilt he'd felt ever since that night in the Astronomy tower. This was all his fault.
Hermione looked over her shoulder at Draco, her eyes swimming with tears. She looked at him long and hard, and Draco couldn't help but feel she was blaming him. He knew that she should, he could have easily told Dumbledore to run, or faked his death, something. Anything but the real thing.
Hermione sighed and looked away. She had hoped that he would come and sit with them as they mourned the greatest wizard of all time, but he had just stood there; frozen and alone.
"The Elder Wand is in Voldemort's possession and the whole world is doomed." Harry whispered. Hermione held onto him tighter.
"He is not the master, though." Ron replied. Hermione nodded. Harry shifted out of their grasp and looked away from Dumbledore's tomb.
"Maybe all I need to do is Expelliarmus Malfoy over here. With or without the damn wand." Harry said darkly, his voice laced with grief, looking at Draco who had drawn his wand for him.
"Fine." Draco replied.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry cried, Draco's wand jerking out of his hand and flew into Harry's. Draco suddenly felt a strange surge of his magic, and felt like a chunk of it had been cut out. Harry's eyes widened at the strange feeling of a chunk of magic being added to his own, and it surged through his entire body, to his fingers and toes.
"Did it work?" Hermione whispered.
"Yeah, I can feel the Elder Magic." Harry replied, looking down at his fingers.
"Now that's done – can we go back to Shell Cottage?" Ron said, as he hoisted Hermione to her feet.
Harry grabbed Draco's shoulder, as Hermione slipped her hand in his, much to Draco's surprise, and Hermione grabbed Ron's hand. Together, taking one last glance at their deceased Headmaster's tomb, Hermione having the decency to fix the broken marble back over his body, they disapparated back to Shell Cottage.