Good evening! I want to try to get this chapter up ASAP. I think I've hit all review replies save Anon-thank you for your fabulous review! I love all your thoughtful comments. Yeah, an account makes it easier to reply to you with more specifics without artificially inflating my story word count. FTR, I will freely admit I have not edited this as well as required, so I humbly beg forgiveness for any mistakes. Right now my eyelids are drooping but I really wanted to post it tonight. Thank you all so much for the reviews and favorites! You are the best!
Multiple, muffled cracks of Apparition revealed the bifurcated teams that had been chosen for the simultaneous attacks on one of the larger 'reeducation' centers and the Malfoy Manor dungeons. Arthur Weasley looked at Kingsley and Remus, who both nodded. Kingsley, Tonks, Arthur, Ron, Harry, and George would attack the center, and Draco would bring in Remus, Minerva, and Bill to rescue Neville.
"Right. We will take out the guards housing the prisoners, and distribute any wands we can find before attempting to disrupt any of their 'classes' in session." Arthur's voice was firm and no-nonsense.
"Our goal is to give Remus and crew at least fifteen minutes to get Neville out," Kingsley said in his ponderous voice. "After that, it is advisable to portkey out again unless we have a decisive victory in hand—in which case, Tonks or myself will let you know we can continue."
"What is that prat going to be doing with himself then while Remus & crew are risking their necks to get Neville out?" Ron said, gesturing to Draco.
"More than you, Weasel," Draco said with narrowed eyes, his fists clenching when Ron took a threatening step toward him.
"Draco is going to be instrumental in getting us inside the Manor, and helping us get down to the dungeons quickly," Remus said, laying a friendly hand on Draco's shoulder. "Now, everyone gather around your portkeys. They're timed to activate in a minute."
A line of dented cups, brass and pewter, waited for them. Two keys, one brass, one pewter, were alongside for those four destined for Malfoy Manor. Everyone was getting portkey coins to use to return, just in case they were separated from their partner.
"Everyone, good luck," Arthur said, grabbing a brass cup with George, who winked at his brother before whirling into nothingness. Harry and Ron grabbed the pewter cup, then both were pulled through their navels and into a swirl of light and dark until they landed with two thumps on the grass outside of Malfoy Manor. They had barely exchanged a small grin when Remus hauled them both to their feet, Draco alongside and eyeing them with a look of cold disgust.
"What are you two doing here? You were supposed to be at the reeducation center! What have you done?" Remus hissed angrily. Ron shook off Remus' hold and shrugged as Harry said,
"We took a cup like we were supposed to, Remus! I don't know why we're here instead."
Draco rolled his eyes but Remus wasn't paying him the slightest attention, his fingers going to the coin in his pocket. "There's nothing for it, we'll have to leave it for another day—"
"Look, Remus," Harry interrupted quickly before Ron could open his big mouth, "We're here, we understand what we're doing. We've got to get Neville, while we have the chance. He might not last any longer in there, and we don't know how long it will be before Draco will be able to get through again."
Remus seemed to consider that for a bit, then he turned his wand on both of them. "There will be no distractions or side trips, do you understand? This is far too dangerous to risk your adolescent fantasies. There is a reason that Minerva and Bill were supposed to be here—they are both far more discreet and adept at curse breaking than either of you. Stay close to me or Draco, and for Godric's sake focus on helping poor Neville."
"Understood," Ron said gravely, exchanging a somber glance with Harry. When they came up with this hare-brained scheme, they had both agreed that getting Neville out was the first priority. They wouldn't jeopardize all of the Order's hard work just to try to get to Hermione. After that, however, they would take an opportunity if it presented itself.
"We'll be discreet," Harry said. He caught Draco's eye—clearly Malfoy had no illusions as to what they intended. However, he slipped through the wards silently, making his way to the family mausoleum where he would open a passageway that was usually not covered by any but the most basic of wards on the property due to its age.
"Don't engage in direct combat with any Death Eater we may encounter. We want to Stun and immobilize them, and prevent an alarm from being raised. With any luck there won't be many of them about after the attack has commenced on the reeducation center."
Remus' recitation was pointless as they had heard the plan a thousand times at Order meetings. It, however, kept him from upbraiding them regarding their presence, which was certainly not accidental. They crouched and waited for the stone monolith to open, the entry point. After a few minutes had passed, there was a rumbling sound that Remus quickly silenced, and Draco appeared in the passageway.
"Hurry now, I don't think you'll get as much time as you'd like," Draco said in a rush. "Saw Jugson out in the gardens, you'll have to take him down before we can get into the house."
"Good, Draco," Remus said, passing the boy quickly, wand outstretched. "You two, keep an eye on the perimeter."
They moved quickly through the garden, half running in order to save time. Remus took Jugson down with only one spell fired off by the Death Eater, a quick Immobulus charm tying his Stupefied form to a chair on the stone palazzo that swept along the back of the house.
"This way," Draco mouthed, slipping through a French door into a room that appeared to be some type of study. They encountered another Death Eater in the hallway, whom Ron Stunned with precision, flicking the man into a closet and locking the door. The spiral stairs to the dungeons were dark and slightly damp, a testament to the age of the manor itself and exactly how deep they were venturing, the spiral tight and close in a manner suited to a medieval castle.
At the bottom of the stairs is where they ran into a bit of trouble. A group of three Death Eaters were walking along the corridor, which was instantly filled with the flashes of spells being shot back and forth. Draco pressed himself close to the wall to avoid being hit as Remus, Ron, and Harry traded spells with the faceless wizards.
"We haven't time for this!" Remus shouted, and Harry redoubled his efforts to take down the wizard he was dueling with, throwing a series of hexes rapidly. The Death Eater deflected them, but the Stunner he chased it with caught the wizard dead on as Remus' opponent fell with a thud, and they were able to turn their attention to the remaining one, who was now greatly outnumbered. He went down relatively quickly, and Ron set to work seeing that the three were properly incarcerated in a cell of their own.
"Go on, I've got this," he said, nodding after Draco, who was gesturing for them to hurry up.
"Quickly, it will be one of these," Draco hissed, and Harry followed Remus to peek in cell doors as rapidly as possible down one corridor as Remus and Draco checked the other. It was the fifth tiny window that he peeked through that showed the face he wanted to see.
"Neville!" Harry said quietly, shooting red sparks at Remus, who was a couple of doors further down the hall on the opposite side. The door lock wouldn't open with the first couple of spells he and Remus tried, and Draco muttered under his breath and stepped forward.
"Cut me," he insisted, holding out his hand for Harry. "Do it now!"
Harry didn't hesitate, drawing a thin Seco across Draco's palm, which the blond boy instantly pressed to the door handle. It clicked and opened, letting them see the full extent of Neville's injuries for the first time.
"Bloody hell," Harry said, rushing toward his friend. "Oy, Neville, we're here to get you out, mate!"
The boy cringed in terror and Remus quickly Stunned him, helping Harry catch him before he slid to the floor.
"He's traumatized, Harry. It will take time for him to recognize his friends again."
Malfoy watched them, perhaps a bit more pallid after seeing the state of Longbottom. He was checking the corridor while he silently bit on the inside of his cheek. "We need to go!" he hissed, and Remus urged Harry to help him up with Neville between them.
"Draco," Remus said, and Draco took his place, supporting Neville on one side while Harry was on the other. "Wand ready, Harry," he called over his shoulder, and they made their way down the corridor as quickly as possible. When they got to where they had left Ron, he was nowhere in sight.
"Fuck," Remus swore under his breath, then pinned Harry with a stare. "Harry, what did you and Ron plan to do?"
The expression on Remus' face was stern and fearful all at once. Harry found he couldn't bring himself to lie to him about it. "He was going to try to find Hermione."
"Damn it! Draco, take Neville," Remus said, pulling Harry out from Neville's side and leaving Draco to stagger briefly under the additional weight. "Take my portkey, and leave at once. I'm going to try to save Weasley from his own folly."
Draco's eyes widened and he began to say something, but Harry couldn't hear him as Remus pulled him up the stairs with a yelp, the blue flash of the portkey registering in the rapidly disappearing twists of the staircase as Remus was moving them so fast that he nearly tripped on the stone.
"If we live to see the end of this Harry, I am going to turn you both into caged birds for months, after I'm done tearing strips from your hides," Remus hissed. "Be prepared for anything!"
Ron made his way back upstairs without issue, the three Death Eaters Stupefied and secured under a locking charm that Bill had taught him. That wasn't all he had been working on with Bill, though, and Ron put those new skills to work, training his wand to find the area with the highest wards. If Voldemort had bound Hermione to himself, it stood to reason that he would keep her close, and therefore he was fairly confident she would be somewhere in the more residential part of the manor. A set of double doors with heavy wards seemed promising, and he set to work, grateful to have a brother who was a skilled curse breaker.
"I do believe it is most appropriate to cut off access to certain points in the dungeons," Voldemort said. "The time required for the house elves to map the many passageways is too long to consider as a viable option, and until I have the time myself to map them and ward any unsealed entrances, I want to be sure that no weak points remain for exploitation."
The Dark Lord's face was contemplative, and Severus observed the warm glow of the castle's wards beneath his hand as he touched the dank stone wall. Severus' position as Headmaster gave him far more privileges than most knew, but the Dark Lord was one of the few, and perhaps the only one, who possessed more. It was likely due to his descent from Salazar Slytherin himself. Severus wondered if Potter would possess the same privileges as a descendent of Ignotius Peverell, but chose to keep that bit of musing private. If the Dark Lord was not concerned about it, it was best to keep his thoughts to himself for the time being.
"There is the question of the ancillary buildings as well: the greenhouses, the Quidditch pitch and changing rooms, the gamekeeper's cottage…" he observed. "The levels of warding for all of them vary greatly, and it would be wise to standardize the approach to such facilities which, while not directly a part of the castle itself, are nonetheless a frequently occupied part of the school."
"Indeed," Lord Voldemort agreed, removing his hand from the wall and turning to face him. "I appreciate that you are in a difficult position, Severus, attempting to find qualified teaching staff while encouraging the anxious parents of wizarding Britain to allow their children to return to school this fall. Transitions in power are often messy and fraught with anxiety, but I do believe you are projecting the right mix of calm and authority. It is very commendable."
Severus thought that a published amnesty would do far more for his practical problems that empty commendations, but this, too, was a thought best kept to himself. At least the Dark Lord was thinking favorably about his efforts, which boded well as regards the amnesty. He would deal with the problem of stubbornness on the part of Minerva, Filius, and the others later, when he had the enticement of legal pardon to offer them.
"Thank you my lord. Now, as regards the specific wards to be placed—"
Lord Voldemort's attention was broken by a sudden tingling, a blurry tilting of his vision briefly that could mean only one thing.
"Hermione," the Dark Lord breathed suddenly, then vanished with a crack of Apparition that was so loud it sounded like thunder. Severus was momentarily stunned, but quickly decided to follow the Dark Lord back to Malfoy Manor. Whatever was going on, it was not good. He sincerely hoped the Order weren't doing something abjectly insane.
Hermione was ensconced in the study, perusing a Herbology text for clues regarding the different subspecies of fungi. It was one of the things she had felt was often neglected in potion making, a level of attention to detail as regards the classifications of herbs that was common within Herbology but rarely crossed in the study of Potions. She was fairly confident that the outcomes of the potion would vary with the subspecies. It only made sense that if it was different enough to engender a new classification, it would have slightly different magical properties. She was in the middle of composing her notes when she felt a shiver of magic.
"What was that?" she said, looking at Nagini. The snake had obviously felt it too, because she raised her head and began uncoiling herself from the fireplace hearth.
"Nagini—" Hermione began, when suddenly the doors burst open and there, on the threshold, stood none other than Ron Weasley.
"Hermione!" he cried, and made to enter the room. Nagini hissed and drew herself up, however, drawing Ron's attention. "We'll get you out of here!" he shouted just as Nagini launched herself for her first attack.
"Ron, no!" Hermione shouted as the first spell left his wand, making contact with Nagini who hissed and arched away from the brief spurt of flame.
"Yeah, can't take the heat can you," Ron taunted, his eyes flicking once to check on Hermione, who had paled considerably. She looked different somehow, but he hadn't time to consider it as more than being incarcerated and bound to He Who Must Not Be Named. He sidestepped another pounce from the snake and slashed again with his wand, opening another charred and bloody cut on the serpent.
"Ron, stop! Please, stop!" Hermione cried, backing away from him and the ricocheting magic echoing from his spells and Nagini herself as the snake tried to protect her. She was closer to the fireplace now, away from the door and putting as much distance between herself and Ron as possible. It wasn't enough, and she could feel her aura responding involuntarily, causing her to shudder in pain.
Ron was too busy now with Nagini to pay attention to Hermione. The snake had grown more dangerous from the two cuts he'd managed to inflict with Bill's little variant of Fiendfyre, one which was far more localized and worked beautifully in curse breaking. Nagini was darting at him almost more quickly than he could dodge, displaying an astonishing level of agility for such a large reptile. One chair and then another were splintered, a candelabra clattering to the floor as the snake worked to keep him away from her. He landed more cuts, but the snake would not quit, keeping itself between him and Hermione.
"Hermione, edge past! I have a portkey!" he shouted, his wand slashing the snake again.
"Ron, stop, please," Hermione whispered, the color leeching from her face as her magic swayed wildly, her knees buckling beneath her as her head pounded with pain.
Remus and Harry pelted down the corridor, drawn by the sound of Ron's voice and the smacks of furniture being tossed and splintered by what sounded like a large body. They reached the doors just as a loud rumble shook the foundations of the house.
"Ron!" Harry yelled as the entirety of the room came into view. He and Remus stopped at the sight of Hermione cringing away from them all, time slowing down as fast spinning streaks of black smoke formed seamlessly next to her—Lord Voldemort.
"We have to get out of here Harry!" Remus shouted as he cast a curse at Voldemort while Harry threw one at the snake. "Ron, let's go!"
Voldemort's gaze swept quickly, taking in Nagini striking at Ron again, blood dripping from her body; two of the boy's allies shuddering to a halt in the doorway, one of them Harry Potter; Hermione, on her knees, pain etched on her face. He touched his wife, focused on shielding her from the vicious outlay of magics around her. Her aura was fluctuating uncontrollably, and that had to be taken care of immediately. He absentmindedly flicked away the curse that one of them sent his way, turning his head to the left to see who had cast it: the werewolf. Note taken.
"Faes hi takēm kātha," he crooned softly, caressing her cheek as he felt her instinctive response to his magic stabilizing hers.
"Tom, please don't hurt them," Hermione begged, her face pallid, a torrent of emotions running through her as her aura stabilized. For a brief moment he saw all of her pain, fear, worry, anger, care writ large across her mind in her vulnerability. He felt her magic soothe itself, crashing against his and then ebbing, relaxing back into a depressed but stable state. That immediate concern dropped like the pin from a grenade, and he allowed the red hot rage that had fueled his Apparition to take over, the baseline required to keep her steady and shielded a minute drain compared to the incendiary fury that burned in him.
"Reducto!"
There was a vicious satisfaction to audibly casting it, the liquid flow of his magic dizzy with completion as their bond sang between them. A sob fell from Hermione's lips as she clasped his hand to her forehead, even the echo of their bonding magic powerful enough for her to feel it sing like the wind over her psyche. She cursed herself for insisting on the protection vow, its power amplifying Tom's natural compulsion to seek retribution for her pain.
The curse blasted the two in the doorway back through the wall of the corridor, eliciting a grunt of pain from Remus and causing Harry to see stars.
"Please," she said again, but he was too lost in his rage to hear her, his wand flashing toward Ron now. She could feel how murderously angry he was, and she knew what he was going to do before he did it, the words from the Maleficium dancing across her mind as if she had just read them. "Oh God…Ron, get out!"
"You," Voldemort said, blocking Ron's next curse from hitting Nagini, who dropped limply back, dragging herself toward Hermione. His wand flashed and Ron Weasley found in one split second why no one had ever beaten Lord Voldemort in a duel. He managed to parry two spells before the third hit him, the deep gash which opened from collarbone to hip debilitating.
"Ron!"
Voldemort's next curse was blocked by Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived to be an incredible pain in his arse. No longer, he thought viciously, turning his wand to the brat while the redhead gasped in pain and tried to remain on his feet, staggering toward the door and the hope of his friend.
Potter was somewhat more adept at parrying him, but Voldemort's clean, pure anger fueled his casting in a way he had rarely experienced. They had hurt his wife, and they would pay. The flow of blood from Harry Potter was viciously satisfying. He was cutting Potter down to size easily when a third wand joined in—the werewolf. Voldemort's eyes narrowed and he dealt with that one, too, although he was a bit restricted by the need to keep in contact with Hermione, keeping her hand clasped in his as she pulled herself up to her feet, unsteady even with her husband's thorough shielding.
"Please stop! Harry, Remus, get out!" Hermione tried again, her gaze switching between her friends and her very angry husband. Nagini placed her head on her feet, the snake's blood soaking her robes and her eyes flickering dully as the spells whirled around the room. Hermione looked down and blanched. "Nagini!"
Voldemort heard that, and looked down to see his pet struggling for breath. There was only one directly responsible, and by Salazar he would pay.
Remus heard Hermione, although he doubted either Harry or Ron did. He was casting faster than he ever had in his life, and Voldemort was parrying it all, had landed two slicing hexes on Remus' shoulder and hip, and nearly landed too many dark curses for comfort. He didn't know how Ron was still upright and casting, sheer desperation perhaps as blood gushed freely from a wound large enough that Remus was sure the boy would bleed out if they couldn't get him out of there now.
"Harry, your portkey!" Remus said desperately, trying to get close enough to Ron to activate his and remove them both.
Harry couldn't believe this was happening. He was being kept so busy with his wand that he didn't know how he would get to the coin in his pocket. He was doing well just to keep up with what Voldemort was throwing at him, the Protegos taking all of his concentration merely to hold as Voldemort rebuffed everything he sent at him and threw darker and darker spells at him. He was angrier than Harry had ever seen him, the force of the Elder wand more than he had seen at Hogwarts even as he kept hold of Hermione's hand. She looked shaken and depleted, but she clung to Lord Voldemort like he was a lifeline, which disturbed him greatly.
"Fi takím hi ishaeka—"
The hiss of Parseltongue was familiar to Harry but not quite intelligible, the sudden roar of heat from the white hot flames that began to encircle the three of them a more insidious replay of the inferno in the Room of Requirement. The difference this time was that Voldemort was in perfect control of the flames, the snake moving swiftly to surround them while the lion's head roared.
Harry got the shock of a lifetime when Draco Malfoy appeared in the doorframe and sized up the situation in an instant. Malfoy bowled into him, knocking him to the floor and pulling the coin from his pocket with a Seeker's speed, tightly clutching him as it activated and they both whirled away before the Dark Lord's eyes. He ended the Fiendfyre instantly and turned his wand full bore on Remus and Ron just as Remus grabbed Ron's arm and reached for his portkey. It glowed blue as Voldemort hit Ron with a dark purple curse, the scream of pain on his lips pulled with them both as Remus clutched the portkey that pulled them home and away from the enraged Dark Lord.
Voldemort turned back to his wife, who had sunk to her knees, one hand still clasped in his, while the other stroked the top of Nagini's head, tears falling in shiny droplets on the snake's skin. Nagini's yellow eyes were dull and lifeless, the blood sluggishly slowing as her heart stuttered to a stop. Voldemort let out a howl of rage, the pain of Nagini's passing hitting him full force now as he registered the sensation of emptiness, the dull vibration of the yew wand in his pocket. When Severus Snape ran into the room, his shocked eyes beheld the Dark Lord on his knees behind his wife, stroking her hair as the young woman cried above the snake. Blood littered the floor and her robes, but it was the fiery red of the Dark Lord's eyes that compelled attention as his head snapped up to confront the new intruder, the Elder wand pointed straight at his chest for a moment before it slowly lowered. Severus dimly registered the arrival of other Death Eaters behind his shoulder as they halted on a knut. Every eye was riveted on the scene before them. The Dark Lord raised his chin in the manner indicative of a command, and the hush that came over the slightly murmuring Death Eaters was akin to a grave. When he spoke, his tone was lethal, each word spoken slowly.
"Hunt them down. Starting now. Each of you go to a reeducation center. Doubtless one of them is being attacked—when you find it, summon me. GO!"
The last was thundered vehemently, and the Death Eaters scrambled to do his bidding—all save Severus, whom he held back with a flick of his hand. Voldemort stood and Hermione forced herself to her feet.
"Tom, please just let me talk to them, send a message to the Order. They don't understand—"
She was desperate to stop him, but he was still incandescent with rage, the power of it breeching all but the dam keeping it from affecting her aura. Any question as to how the Dark Mark worked evaporated as she felt the shock of magic that skittered through him. He withdrew from her, the sudden weakness of her magic causing her to lean against him. It was either true weakness or blatant manipulation, and he had the patience for neither.
"My mate, now it is you that feels the double-edged sting of my vow," he said calmly, so very calmly, while his fury boiled beneath. "You must swallow the bitter with the sweet."
He touched her pale cheek before turning toward Snape, his countenance appreciably hardened.
"Severus, stay with my wife."
With a silent swirl of smoke, he was gone.