AN: Apologies for the delay – life has been a little challenging Please review – It warms my heart when you review!
Chapter 32 The Greatest Treasures Are Those Invisible To The Eye But Found By The Heart - Maryanne Williamson
Kreacher began pacing in the dark closet wondering if perhaps he should have stayed in the shadows and watched over Master Sirius's girl. He felt a pull to her, some sense of duty written within the very fabric of his DNA. Kreacher knew that Mistress Walburga and Master Orion had disowned Master Sirius, but he was still a youngling in Kreacher's eyes, he still had so much to learn. The more thought that Kreacher put into it the worse he felt and the faster he paced. Until he knew exactly what he needed to do, with a snap of his fingers Kreacher disapparated from the closet and seconds later reappeared in the basement of Grimauld place, his appearance apparently going unnoticed.
Fleur and Harry stared at each other, but where Harry was in a state of panic, Fleur appeared completely calm.
"We have to go now Professor McGonagall!" Harry screamed at her desperately.
Ginny reached out and grasped Harry's arm as he made his way out of his cell. Fleur looked at him with understanding, she felt the same desperation, whatever had happened to Hermione, it had almost cost her life, but Fleur took consolation in the fact that she could still feel Hermione's essence connected to her through the bond the two shared.
"MR POTTER!" Professor McGonagall yelled with more authority than was probably necessary but it was enough to stop Harry in his tracks, "You will be remaining here, on account of your...condition," she explained kindly while indicating the body that he was wearing.
"The rest of us will execute a well planned rescue attempt." The Professor told him with a pointed glare, "If there is still time?" she added quietly and looked at Fleur who nodded.
Harry opened his mouth to protest, but Ginny pulled him to her and whispered reassurances in his ear, before slipping out the cell and sealing him in. Harry looked at Ginny before frustratingly slamming his hand against the cell door. It tore him apart to know that his best friend needed him and he could not help her, all he could do was sit in his cell and watch as the rest of the house sprang into action. Ginny rested her eyes on his for a moment, he nodded, responding to her silent plea for reassurance and then she was gone.
Harry sat on his bunk and stared across to the other cell and its occupant who, despite being bound and silenced used Harry's own face to mock him. Harry let the silent mocking get under his skin for a second before dismissing it and laying on his bunk and staring at the ceiling, making a mental note to get Kreacher to paint it with something interesting, perhaps enchant it like the great hall in Hogwarts, lest he ever be imprisoned in his own home again.
Harry turned to try and see the door at the top of the stairs as he heard it open and the sounds of Dumbledore's army being mobilised floated down to him. Luna blocked his line of sight as she descended the stairs smiling serenely at him.
"I am to stay with you Harry," she stated happily.
Harry considered his friend who still bore the evidence of having recently being in a duel and nodded, "Thank you Luna." He answered genuinely.
Luna flashed a smile at Harry and conjured a stool and table outside the bars of his cell and then to Harry's utter astonishment she began to deal cards for a game of exploding snap. Harry stared at Luna incredulously.
"It might be some time before they are back, and when they are things might be a bit chaotic, so I thought we could take five minutes to relax a bit and distract us from where we both so desperately want to be helping." Luna explained as she flipped the top card over and waited for Harry to collect his own pile of cards.
Hermione was floating and it was one of the single most bizarre sensations she had ever felt. She smiled as she realised her body was gone, she could not feel a thing other than the fact that she was floating. The logical young witch tried to open her eyes, she wasn't sure what was happening to her but she wanted to find out. Hermione was finally able to open her eyes ever so slightly but all she could make out was a very bright light.
'I must be dead,' she thought to herself and with that thought she could feel relief sweep through her, 'it was finally over.' Hermione allowed herself to relish the relief and the feeling of floating as she accepted the fact that she was dead and on her journey to the next great adventure. She could hear something, could not quite make it out but she could hear it and she took great comfort in it as she focussed on the soothing sounds that fluttered to her ears, trying to make her muddled brain recognise why they were so comforting. Hermione could almost grasp what the sounds were, where they came from, she could graze the source with the fingertips of her mind, but it was maddeningly out of reach.
Realisation spread through Hermione like water spreading on a paper towel and with it she felt fear as she recognised the reason the sounds were so soothing. The sounds were Fleur whispering to her in French but that could not be for that would mean that Fleur was dead too and that was something that she simply could not bear.
"Fleur...no," she mumbled and for the first time she could feel a sting in her eyes, she was in her body after all. Hermione focused on the rest of her body, but it was no use it was not there.
Fleur turned to Hermione, brandishing her wand out before her defensively, as she heard her name fall from her lover's lips. She signalled to those around her to stop as she knelt beside Hermione's body that Ginny was levitating beside them. A single tear slowly made its escape from Hermione's eye, swollen so badly that Fleur had to wonder for a moment how the tear had managed to escape. Fleur caught the tear with the edge of her finger and wiped it away as she leaned over her lover's body.
"Ma petite, I am 'ere and you are safe," Fleur whispered to Hermione. She wanted desperately to kiss the young woman before her so that she would know the truth behind her words but there was nowhere on Hermione's face that wasn't cut or bruised and the last thing that she wanted to do was cause her paramour more pain and so she fought the need.
"Safe?" Hermione asked, clearly confused, "dead?" she whispered questioningly.
"Not yet Ma Petite, but you need to stay quiet so we can make our escape oui?" she told the injured witch as she inwardly cursed Hermione's stubborn streak which appeared to be so strong that it had defied the strong dose of draught of living death.
Hermione did not respond to Fleur's question and Fleur took the lack of response as an agreement and she signalled to the others that she was ready to continue. She stood up and leaned against the wall, tentatively peering around the corner hoping with every fibre of her being that the battle sounds that she could hear were not coming from up ahead but elsewhere in the Manor. Instantly Fleur's hopes were dashed as she could see Fred and George furiously battling a group of Death Eaters. She pulled herself back around the corner to look at Neville, Ginny and Andromeda, her grim face telling them all that they needed to know.
Fleur was torn, she knew that the twins needed help but she was loathed to leave Hermione's side, what if she started panicking and alerted the Death Eaters that the rescue attempt was almost complete? She peered back around the corner and saw Fred taking a stinging jinx to his thigh which brought him to his knees, sighing the turned to Neville, he was ready. Fleur raised her eyes to meet Ginny's gaze, the red head held a determined look as she nodded. Without any further encouragement Fleur and Neville threw themselves around the corner and into the fray in the foyer.
Narcissa paced in the library as the faint sounds of battle permeated the great oak door that protected her and fuelled her guilt. 'This is oh so very wrong,' she told herself the guilt almost becoming more than she could bare as her normally strong resolve began to crack. Her sister had clearly lost it, not that she wasn't a complete fruitcake at the best of times, but this whole business over the Granger girl had driven her absolutely bat-shit crazy!
She strode over to the door, intent on throwing the heavy oak to the wall and regaining control of her Manor as it was clear that her spineless husband would not, too afraid to show any sort of character other than that of loyal servant to the snake that would be the downfall of them all. As she reached the door however she faltered, not at thoughts of defying the Dark Lord, the worst he could throw at her was a cruciatus and that had become so much of a habit within these walls that she barely registered it these days. It was the thought of betraying her sister, she had done it once with Andromeda and it tore her apart to such an extent that she never thought she would be whole again, and she might not have been, if not for Draco.
Narcissa doubted her son even realised how his birth had started to heal a wound that had been septic for years, but now she and her family were allowing another child, a girl the same age as Draco become the plaything for her psychotic sister. It was this thought that caused Narcissa to make up her mind, she chuckled at her earlier intentions of boldly striding into the foyer and putting an end to this madness, she wasn't a damned Gryffindor! She was Narcissa Malfoy, Slytherin through and through. With that she silently pulled the door open and slipped out of the library, feeling exhilaration at defying her husband's barked order to stay put and wait for him to return.
Narcissa tip-toed across her hallway and snuck around the corner, heading for the basement but the sight before her stopped her dead in her tracks as she saw Hermione's body floating ahead of the red headed Weasley girl who was following her sister.
"Tell me you are not trying to sneak out of the bloody front door!" Narcissa hissed quietly causing Ginny to throw a protego charm around Hermione and hold her wand poised to strike at Narcissa.
Andromeda spun on her heels her mouth forming a small 'o' of surprise as she saw her younger sister standing before them. Andromeda eyed the wand in Narcissa's hand which was resting at her side and then stepped towards Narcissa.
"Cissy, you look lost," Andromeda told her sibling.
"Dromeda...I," Narcissa started but then pinched her lips together realising that now was not the time, "come," she said and she lightly went back the way she had come.
Andromeda looked at Ginny reassuringly and then followed her young sister through the Manor to the kitchen where startled house elves stopped what they were doing and openly stared at their mistress leading invaders through to the back door.
Narcissa stopped at one of the elves, "Binx, I wonder if you would bring my son here from his room?" she asked the clearly nervous house elf.
Ears flat against his head he nodded once and then with a pop he was gone. Before Andromeda could say anything the elf reappeared with a startled Draco by his side.
"Mother what is going on?" he asked as took in the scene before him, eyes lingering on Hermione's body which was beaten beyond recognition save for her bushy hair.
"Draco, I have failed you as mother," Narcissa began and he went to interrupt her but she held her hand up, "I cannot live this life anymore, the lies, the fear, it wears on me more than you shall ever know." She paused for a minute as she could see the fear flash in her son's eyes.
Andromeda felt a swell of pride in her younger sister knowing what she was sacrificing as she cast her eyes back to Draco, wand ready in case he chose to try and turn them in.
"Draco you are a man now, much sooner than I would have hoped, but life is many things and fair is not one of them. You can come with me and finally start to do what is right, or you can stay with your father and your Aunt. I leave the choice up to you." The blonde told her son, she knew it was a harsh lesson with heavy consequences on either side, but still she held her breath as she awaited her son's decision.
Ginny watched Draco carefully, she felt sorry for him as his world fell apart before him, she could not imagine how she would ever be able to chose between follow her mother or her father. Ginny didn't know how to help her school mate who for so long hand bullied and teased her because of his upbringing so she remained quiet, and ready to strike should he make the wrong choice.
Draco turned to look back at the house that represented everything he knew, he wished he could see his father, speak to him, get some guidance on what he should do. He glanced over to Ginny and Hermione, his stomach clenching at some of the torture he had seen Hermione put through, then his eyes fell to rest on his mother. The one woman in his life he looked up to, she held her resolve when her very house was invaded by bastards and maniacs and even now she had found the courage somewhere within her to admit that she had made a mistake and was now taking steps to fix it.
As Draco's admiration for his mother grew he tried to grasp the situation, there was going to be hell to pay when the dust settled and he did not want to be around for that.
He nodded at his mother then turned to the house elves, "Jah-jah, Binx, I need you to apparate everyone in the room beyond the wards," he said then after a little hesitation he added, "please."
The two named house elves nodded as their ears fell flat against their heads and began to step forward.
"Wait," Ginny shouted as the house elf reached out for her hand, he faltered for a moment, "Draco, how many house elves are in the Manor?" Ginny asked quickly.
Draco frowned, "Seven, do we have time for this Weasley?"
"Can you complete transactions for Malfoy holdings?" Ginny asked.
Andromeda smiled following Ginny's train of thought as she looked at her sister appreciatively.
"Yes, but I hardly think that is relevant at the moment." Draco spat.
"Draco she is right, things will grind to a halt," Narcissa said
Draco looked confusedly from his mother and then back to the red head.
"I wish to purchase the 7 house elves for," she rummaged in her pocket and found a sickle and knut, "for one sickle and one knut." She stated proudly.
Draco was about to protest at the stupidity of this forestalling but then the proverbial knut dropped, "I agree," he said as he strode forward offering his hand to Ginny, who took it readily and shook it.
Before their eyes the house elves one by one disappeared from the kitchen, except Jah-jah and Binx who after a nod from Ginny strode forward and apparated the two groups from the kitchen to just beyond the Manor wards, before themselves disappearing.
Andromeda gave Narcissa an apologetic look then flourished her wand, wordlessly casting a spell which shattered every window in the Manor before giving a pointed look at Ginny, who grabbed Hermione and apparated away.
"Cissy, you will forgive me but I cannot take you to where they are just now," Andromeda told her sister.
Narcissa nodded with understanding and then reached over and hugged her sister in understanding, or perhaps it was the beginnings of a long overdue apology, or perhaps it was just relief at the decision she had made. Andromeda took Narcissa's hand as her sister held out her hand to her son who took it readily and she apparated them to her home, where she knew Remus would handle the rest.
At the sound of shattering glass there was a collective sigh of relief from the invading party in Malfoy Manor as the remaining members of Dumbledore's army recognised the signal that Hermione had somehow been freed from her captivity. As soon as they started their retreat there seemed to be a collective sigh of relief coming from the Death Eaters. Neville scoffed at their idiocy as he could tell by the faces of the Death Eaters they thought that they had successfully driven them away without achieving their goal. Neville smiled to himself as he reached back and opened the front door as he was turning to shout the rest he felt Fleur crash into him as she hastily countered a curse, effectively saving his life. He pulled Fleur out of the Manor, the rest of the DA not far behind them, and they ran across Lucius Malfoy's perfectly trimmed lawns slowing down only to avoid the Malfoy peacocks that were milling around the garden.
When Neville skidded to a halt at the whole in the wards that McGonagall and Kreacher were holding open he turned back to check on the progress of the rest. Fleur was right behind him an errant hex seemed to have immobilised her wand arm as she was clumsily holding her wand in her left hand as she hurled hex's in the direction of their pursuers. Fred, George and the last of the DA reached the hole and as everyone climbed through the twins cast a spell that turned the grass before them into a wall of flames, shielding the whole lot of them.
"Mr Weasley and Mr Weasley, excellent wand work!" Minerva told them as they climbed through the hole, "15 points each to Gryffindor!" she exclaimed.
The twins high fived each other and chose not to remind their once Head of House that they no longer went to school at Hogwarts, revelling in the praise. The air was filled with the sound of people apparating as everyone got as far from Malfoy Manor as possible. As Minerva reappeared at the back of Grimauld Place she noticed Fleur determinedly walking towards the house and knew that she would be desperately wanting to see Hermione.
"Fleur," she called after her, "Let me heal you first or she'll panic." Minerva called after the determined veela. Fleur was already through the door and at the foot of the stairs when she realised that Minerva was right. She turned and re-entered the kitchen, nodding at the witch who raised her wand and healed her hexed arm as quickly as she could. Both Minerva and Fleur were deeply relieved to know that Hermione was back safe with them and both of them tried to push any thought of what the witch might have endured to the backs of their minds.
Feeling the pain leave her arm as the appendage was de-hexed Fleur rose and let her feet carry her up the stairs, she stood outside the door to the room where she knew her love lay. A hand on the door knob and her head resting against the door Fleur found that a paralysing fear prevented her from being able to release the catch and step in. She found herself with irrational thoughts of Hermione being too gravely injured, too broken to recover and she swallowed down the lump in her throat as she chastised herself. Hermione was strong, she had been through much and come out of it a beautiful, intelligent and strong woman, and she would come through this too. She had put despair and fear aside, as if they were robes she refused to wear.
Steeling herself she turned the knob and stepped into the room.