Author's Notes:
Here's Chapter 145 for you!
Love, DW
P.S. Enjoy x
On Saturday morning, the day after the Department for Educational Standard's inspections, Sophie and Elizabeth sit in the Ravenclaw common room, watching all the older students rushing about. At breakfast, Headmistress McGonagall announced all students with permission would be allowed to visit Hogsmeade that afternoon. There would be a picnic on the school grounds for all students without permission or who wish to remain at school.
Elizabeth had been busy with excitement as she flew around the Great Hall, ensuring all members of their study group would be hanging out together at the picnic. Then, she dragged Sophie and Lucile to their dormitory to choose the perfect outfit for their first official Hogwarts social event. However, Sophie soon received an owl from Hermione and Draco, discreetly inviting her to their rooms for lunch and games, which she had eagerly accepted.
As midday approaches, Sophie and Elizabeth sit in the common room, watching the older students preparing for their unexpectedly fun day ahead in the village of Hogsmeade. Elizabeth huffs as Lawrence Knoll and his friends walk past, laughing as they leave.
"It's so unfair. Why can't we go to Hogsmeade?" Elizabeth complains.
"We're only first years. Would your parents let you go down Diagon Alley by yourself?" Sophie asks.
"That's beside the point. Hogsmeade is much smaller than Diagon Alley, and professors are always around chaperoning the trip. It's not like we're going to get ourselves into trouble."
"I don't see what the fuss is about. I'd only be interested in the bookshop and the Three Broomsticks," Sophie admits after listening to the older students plan their trip and explain the different shops to the first-year students.
Elizabeth sighs, "At least we have this picnic event, and we're sure to have fun with the study group."
Sophie glances around to ensure there aren't any eavesdroppers, then tells her friend, "I won't be going. Hermione invited me for lunch in her rooms."
"Now you're leaving me too!" Elizabeth complains.
"Hey, no one is leaving you. You've got plenty of other friends stuck at Hogwarts today; you don't need me there," Sophie tells her. She doesn't mention that Elizabeth is only annoyed because the boy she has a crush on is going to Hogsmeade, and she won't be able to stare at him across the common room or library all day.
Elizabeth looks down at her twiddling fingers, embarrassed, "Sorry, you're right. Have fun with them, and I'll tell you everything you missed tonight."
"After I've helped you study for that Muggle Studies exam on remote controls," Sophie reminds her.
Elizabeth rolls her eyes. "Yes, and I'll remind the others too."
"Meet you in the library at four o'clock, okay?"
"Okay."
As Sophie leaves the Ravenclaw common room, dressed in her best t-shirt and jeans, she descends the moving staircases to the ground floor, where she takes the secret staircase they had found during the scavenger hunt to the staff quarters. Professor Parkinson had caught Sophie trying to sneak through but had allowed them, just this once, to pass through. No doubt, she had told Hermione and Draco, as they had requested that she take this route down to their rooms, so she wouldn't be seen by rogue students hanging around the dungeons. Sophie's glad her cousins take seriously her need to remain anonymous at Hogwarts.
Peering around the door, Sophie checks no other professors are walking the staff quarters corridor before sprinting towards Hermione and Draco's door. She repeatedly knocks until they answer.
"Whoa, what's the rush, Sophie?" Draco asks upon opening the door.
Sophie quickly slams the door shut behind her. "I didn't want to be seen," she admits.
"All the other professors know you're Hermione's cousin. They've known for years, and they wouldn't have batted an eye at seeing you down here," Draco informs.
"Oh, none of them has mentioned it," Sophie says.
"We told them that you didn't want anyone to know, so I'm glad to hear they've not mentioned it," Draco states. "I must keep reminding Filius as he's very excited to have you at Hogwarts. He tells me you keep impressing him in class."
"Charms class is one of my favourites." Sophie blushes, before adding, "After potions and transfiguration, of course."
Draco laughs, "Of course."
"Where's Hermione?" Sophie asks as they enter the living space.
"She's down in the kitchens getting our lunch. She'll probably take a while as she likes talking to the house-elves."
Sophie sits on the couch, her eyes curiously scanning the furnishings of their room. "You've got a nice room. It reminds me of the office at your house."
Draco nods. "We duplicated our furniture from home and brought it here. Our home away from home."
"That's cool. I wish I could have brought my bed from home here," Sophie admits.
"You don't like your bed?"
"This might be weird, but it's too comfortable. I'm used to my firmer mattress at home."
"That makes sense," Draco nods. "We also duplicated our mattress and brought it here." He nods towards the door to their bedroom.
Sophie smiles. "Where's Scorpius?" She wonders if the toddler is through the bedroom door, perhaps napping.
"He's spending a few hours at the Burrow. Molly loves it when her house is full of children," he explains. "And we know how much you like it when your space is not full of children," Draco adds teasingly.
Sophie rolls her eyes. "I do like Scorpius," she assures, then frowns. "Have you told anyone about the baby yet?"
Draco shakes his head. "We only told your family and Headmistress McGonagall, as it will affect the school year when we go on parental leave," he explains. "Why do you ask? Have you told anyone?"
"No, of course not," she defends herself. "Why haven't you told your family?"
Draco sighs deeply, "I'm not very close with my mother; she's been rude to Hermione since we married. It only worsened when we told her about Scorpius, so we've decided not to tell her yet."
"And your muggle family?"
Draco grins. "We haven't seen them since we decided to start telling people, but they'll be coming to visit during half-term. We're throwing a Halloween party."
"Oh, I can't come, can I?" Sophie frowns.
"I'm afraid not, but Halloween at Hogwarts is amazing. You wouldn't want to miss it."
Behind them, the door opens as Hermione walks in backwards, a tray in her hands full of sandwiches, vegetable sticks, cakes and a pot of tea. Draco jumps to help his wife carry it to the coffee table.
"Sophie!" Hermione greets her cousin by pulling her into a long, tight hug. "I've been wanting to hug you for weeks."
"I missed you too," Sophie admits with a chuckle since they see each other daily in class and at lunch.
Hermione pulls Sophie onto the couch while Draco returns to his armchair opposite.
"How are you? Are you feeling better? I was so worried when you were off work for nearly a week," Sophie asks.
Hermione shakes her head. "I'm much better, but I want to hear about you. Congratulations on getting into Ravenclaw."
Sophie grins. "Thanks."
"Tell me everything! What are the other Ravenclaws like? Are they being kind to you?"
"Yes, they're fine. You probably already know I made friends with Florian and Gaius on the Hogwarts Express. Then they introduced us to the two other Ravenclaw boys, Leonard and Harrison. They're both great, but for different reasons. Lucile is my other dorm mate, and she's a muggleborn, so we're always talking about home. I don't get on with Nancy and her friends, but they don't pay us much attention, so it's not a big deal," Sophie explains.
"That's great news." Hermione smiles proudly, although there's a hint of sadness in her eyes.
"Did you really have so little faith in my ability to make friends?" Sophie asks.
"I didn't make any friends until Halloween, so I was a little concerned, but you're doing much better than I did," Hermione jokes.
"And you said yourself that you didn't need any more friends than Elizabeth, so we were worried you wouldn't try," Draco reminds her. "We're glad you're stepping out of your comfort zone to welcome new people."
Sophie rolls her eyes. "Have you heard about our study group?"
"No, but it sounds fun," Hermione says.
"After the scavenger hunt, a group of us decided we liked hanging out together, so we came up with the study group as an excuse to meet up after class and hang out. We don't always study; sometimes, we meet in the west courtyard and just talk," Sophie explains.
"Oh, so at the end of potions, when Elizabeth asked Mary if she's wants to study, you're really just hanging out?" Draco comments.
"Most of us are already ahead on reading, so we don't study all the time unless we have homework," Sophie mentions.
Hermione starts pouring cups of tea and plating the food out for the three of them.
"I'm surprised Mary is involved in the study group," Draco says, pleased his plan for house unity is working, especially after what Mary had said that first night.
"I know; Elizabeth had to really convince her to join. Mary said her mother might actually hurt her if she found out about the study group," Sophie tells her cousins, feeling awkward divulging Mary's comment but also worried for her. "Did you know her father is a Death Eater and is in Azkaban?"
Draco swallows hard, awkwardly nodding as he looks down at his plate. He hopes Mary isn't aware that her own head of house testified against her father and sent him to Azkaban.
"She was very open about her parents. I felt guilty about hiding my mother's identity, especially after Florian told everyone his mother is some famous French model," Sophie admits, looking at her cousins for recognition.
"I don't know much about French celebrities," Hermione says, and Draco shrugs.
"Florian would probably like you then. He doesn't get along with his mum."
"You two have that in common, then," Draco comments. "Maybe you could tell Florian. He would understand."
"I don't know," Sophie says noncommittally. "Maybe one day."
Hermione hands her a plate, asking, "Are you enjoying Hogwarts?"
"Yes, I am," Sophie's eyes widen. "It could be better, but I don't want to complain."
"Her bed is too comfortable," Draco chuckles.
"Oh, anything else?" Hermione asks, amused.
"Well, yeah, how come there isn't anywhere for students to hang out? Madam Pince tells us off if we talk too much in the library and it's getting too cold to meet in the courtyard after dinner," Sophie tells them.
"I suppose there really isn't anywhere for students from different houses to social meet," Hermione thinks aloud.
"We can bring it up with Minerva; I'm sure she'll agree to turn a few unused classrooms into common rooms for all students. Anything in the name of house unity," Draco mentions.
Sophie groans, "Is that all you care about? The study group isn't friends to prove your point; we like each other. Most professors keep giving us house points for being friends, which is not helping. It's annoying, and why we avoid the library."
"I guess we have gone a little overboard with the whole thing, but you have to understand that not too many years ago, Slytherin would never have been caught dead studying with another house, so your study group really does stand out from the rest of the students," Draco explains.
"Okay, just stop mentioning house unity," Sophie sighs.
Draco laughs, "Okay, I'll stop."
Sophie tells her cousins about her favourite subjects and what she's been learning as they eat their lunch. Hermione enjoys listening to her complain about Muggle Studies since she never took the subject herself. Afterwards, Draco clears the coffee table while Hermione removes the Scrabble box. She had taught him how to play specifically for this afternoon since it is Sophie and David's favourite board game.
"Have you seen my dad recently?" Sophie tries to ask nonchalantly.
"Not since the night you arrived here," Hermione admits. "Have you been writing to him often?"
Sophie chooses her seven-letter tiles. "Yes, I send him a letter once a week, on a Saturday, and he replies on a Sunday. Athena spends the night at home over the weekend."
Draco smiles fondly at the mention of his owl. He misses her, but with him and Hermione being at Hogwarts most of the day, it was unfair to keep her cages up at home or her at Hogwarts when they couldn't spend time with them her.
"My mum told me he's been spending Friday nights at the Leaky Cauldron with Elizabeth and Florian's fathers," Hermione tells her.
"Really? He never mentioned it to me. Are they friends?" Sophie asks, glad he kept his promise about making a friend.
"Probably," Hermione agrees.
As the game begins, they fall into a comfortable silence as they take turns laying words on the board. Hermione keeps score on a scrap piece of parchment.
As a student, Neville loved Hogsmeade weekends. A chance to blow off some steam with his friends and inspect the newest tools in Dogweed and Deathcap, the Herbology shop. As a professor, he hates Hogsmeade weekends. Thankfully, with only one visit per half term, he only has to chaperone once a year. Unless Minerva treats the students with an extra trip for their excellent behaviour and attitude during a Hogwarts inspection. Neville and Aurora Sinistra drew the short straw to chaperone this visit.
Walking through Hogsmeade, Neville stuffs his hands into the pockets of his coat, trying to ignore the groups of students around him who have let the sense of freedom go to their heads and are behaving like idiots. He wonders if he and his friends were ever like these students. They were probably the same, so shouldn't feel so exasperated by their immaturity. Still, he wouldn't be here if he didn't have a newborn son and a pregnant wife at home. He needed the extra galleons in his bank vault since his grandmother had cut him off. Apparently, Hannah wasn't good enough for him as a long-term wife. His grandmother had put up with her for as long as they needed to have their first child, but when Neville introduced his son, Frank Longbottom, to her, she screamed them out of her house. According to his grandmother, Frank was a family name and not to be wasted on an illegitimate once he divorced Hannah. Once he clarified that he would not be divorcing his wife or disowning his newborn son, his grandma told him not to return to his childhood home, leaving Neville without access to his family vault.
His attention is drawn by a new pair of sheers in the window of Dogweed and Deathcap. He couldn't justify the purchase to himself, never mind Hannah, although she wouldn't argue with him. They were good like that; they never argued over money. Behind him, a group of giggling girls run past him as stomping boys chase after them. Neville tries to ignore their harmless fun by wondering if the owner of Dogweed and Deathcap would give him a discount since he's spent a lot of money in their shop, and is a frequent shopper.
As he contemplates entering the shop, he hears a scream from up the street where the groups of girls and boys had been heading and assumes the boys have caught up with the girls. However, before he can turn to check none of the boys are being too rough, he's knocked to the ground by an explosion. The window shatters; glass snows down atop his prone body as his ears begin to ring.
Slowly, Neville makes it to his feet, his wand drawn as he tastes blood in his mouth. In the middle of Hogsmeade, a fog of dust blocks his view from whatever had caused the explosion. Groups of students continue to scream as they hold hands, running down the street towards the safety of Hogwarts. However, Neville can also see the bodies of his students scattered across the ground, silent and still.
Neville doesn't think about the dangers in the fog as he races towards his students. Crouching down, he shakes a few shoulders attempting to awaken the unconscious bodies. He hears a few painful groans behind him as he continues to the centre of Hogsmeade and sighs in relief.
"Professor Longbottom?" a girl croaks.
"Head to the castle!" He orders without turning.
As he approaches the centre of Hogsmeade, he finds the cause of the explosion. Two cloaked and masked figures stand back to back in the centre of Hogsmeade, facing up and down the street with their wands drawn at the ready. Silently, Neville lies on the ground, hiding behind the rubble of the explosion and points his wand towards the Death Eater facing his direction.
"Stupefy," Neville whispers.
The red light strikes the first Death Eater square in his chest, knocking him back into the second Death Eater and sending them both to the ground, unconscious.
Not taking any chances, Neville stalks towards them, his wand pointed as he casts "Incarcarous" over the two figures. Thick ropes shoot from his wand, tying them together tight enough that they wouldn't be able to move should they wake. For good measure, Neville takes their wands, tucking them into his coat pocket so the aurors can confirm it was these two who caused the explosion.
Glancing around, some students are still lying amongst the rubble and others are running towards Hogwarts. He needs to get these Death Eaters out of sight before they cause even more fear in his students. Neville casts "Mobilicorpus" over the two bodies and levitates them into the nearest shop, the Post Office.
Lawrence Knoll had planned on spending only a short time in Hogsmeade. He had a lot of homework to finish over the weekend but needed more ink. It would be quicker and easier for him to make the trip into the village than to send an order form out. Also, some of the seventh-years had pitched in to buy the first-years some sweets from Honeydukes since they had lost all their to the Hufflepuffs during the first weekend.
As Lawrence exits the sweet shop, his satchel bag heavy with an assortment of sweets, the explosion knocks him to the ground. Breathlessly, he rolls over, listening to the screams of his fellow students as they begin stampeding towards the castle for safety. He remains still until he sees flashes of red spells in his periphery.
Contrary to popular belief, he's not an idiot. He isn't going to hang around to fight Death Eaters. However, that doesn't make him a coward. From years of Quidditch, he's athletic, so he stumbles to his feet and begins to run back to the castle for help. Lawrence quickly catches up with and overtakes the younger students who had run past him moments ago.
"Come on, keep running!" He calls out encouragement as he races ahead. The other students still cry and scream as they run, but at least they're running away from the danger.
After dropping the Death Eaters' bodies in the middle of the floor, Neville realises that the Post Office is too quiet. There are usually two members of staff working on any given day.
"Hello!" Neville calls out, but no one answers. "Of course, no one is answering; they probably think you're a Death Eater, idiot," he mutters as he lifts the countertop up to check the stockroom and owl room. "I'm not a Death Eater," he announces as he walks into each room, but there really isn't anyone around. "Cowards!" he shouts, assuming they apparated to their safety when the explosion went off.
As he angrily stomps back into the main room, preparing to go back outside to help the students still lying in the rubble, he hears the crack of apparition.
"Shit, it's not over."
Neville runs out into the street, glancing down the road and then up towards the mountains, where he sees red flashes flying between two people. Breaking into a sprint towards the ongoing fight, Neville thinks that the worst-case scenario is one of his students is fighting a Death Eater, so he forces his legs to run faster, hoping he can reach them before the flashing of spells stops.
Lawrence could've run faster. He could've very well been through the gates of Hogwarts and on the castle grounds by now. But he couldn't bring himself to leave behind the group of scared, younger students. They're outside the village of Hogsmeade, halfway along the path to Hogwarts, when they hear the crack of apparition and a figure appears only twenty metres before them, blocking their way to safety.
Lawrence's wand is already in his hand, pointing at the masked Death Eater before them, not that they seem too bothered.
"Little children, scattering like mice!" The Death Eater cackles, twirling his wand around his fingers. "Oh, how I love to see you run!"
"What's the matter with you?" Lawrence asks, concerned for the safety of the students behind him.
"A lot of things," the Death Eater sighs. "This is the first hob I've been able to hold down. The torture really speaks to me."
The students behind begin to back away with shocked screams or gasps.
"Ah ah ah, little ones, there will be none of that," the Death Eater says, wagging their wand like a disapproving finger.
"You're actually mad, aren't you?" Lawrence states, trying to come up with a plan.
"You would be, too, if you spent two decades rotting in Azkaban," the Death Eater agrees.
"Who are you?" Lawrence can feel a sense of dread rising up from his stomach.
"Well, the new Dark Lord likes to call me Scisco, and I like it too. It sounds nice, doesn't it? Scisco," the Death Eater explains.
Lawrence reaches out behind him with his free hand, and a small hand reaches out to him. "On the count of three, run back to Hogsmeade and hide in the shops," Lawrence whispers to them. "Do you understand?"
"I'm getting bored now," Scisco announces, realising that the students are communicating.
The student squeezes his hand, and Lawrence has to take that as an agreement because time is running out.
"One, two, three, protego!" Lawrence casts the shield charm as Scisco directs a flash of red towards him.
He's lucky the Death Eater isn't looking to kill him, at least not yet, as it gives the other students longer to run away. Lawrence can hear their thundering stomps as they race back into Hogsmeade.
Scisco throws spell after spells at him without pause, and Lawrence doesn't know how long he can hold up the shield spell. His best chance for survival is to back up to the treeline and dives into the underbrush behind a tree.
"You're a strong one," Scisco compliments him.
Lawrence doesn't retort; he doesn't have the energy to speak as he slowly backs down the path until the trees enter his periphery, where he halts. He acts like he's struggling to hold the Death Eater back for Scisco's sake.
"Are you losing your hold, boy?" Scisco asks, his tone bored once more. "I hoped you would be able to put up a good fight," he sighs, sending another flash of red towards Lawrence.
The shield spell ripples as his focus weaken. It's now or never. Taking a deep, calming breath, Lawrence counts to three in his head before breaking the spell and diving behind a tree as planned.
"Oh! I didn't take you for a coward," Scisco calls after him, probably trying to emasculate him, but Lawrence isn't an idiot.
He doesn't wait around to be caught and begins crawling through the underbrush deeper into the woods until all he can hear is the beating of his heart in his ears. He lies face down behind the tall grass and weeds to catch his breath. He knows he can't pause for long or risk Scisco finding him, but takes a moment to think of his parents, wanting them to be his last thoughts if he doesn't survive the fight.
The astronomy professor walks the halls with her hair perfectly coiffed, not a crease in her pencil skirt or a loose thread in her robes. Yet as Neville approaches her by the mountains, her hair is stuck out at odd ends, her robe hangs from a shoulder, and there's a rip up the side of her skirt. Still, he watches as she tirelessly keeps the Death Eater at the end of her wand, away from the main street of Hogsmeade and her students.
As the Death Eater gives up on wand waving and sprints towards Aurora, she screams, "Stupefy", hitting them in the chest.
The Death Eater's body flips in the air before striking a tree trunk with a horrifying snap. Neville's eyes cast up to where a weakened branch hangs loosely from the trunk. However, Aurora's terrifying scream draws his attention to the body slumped at the tree's base, their head pressed against their chest at an unnatural angle. Aurora's hands cover her mouth as she steps towards what she has done.
"Aurora!" Neville shouts, racing towards her. He grabs her shoulders and turns her back to the body before losing her to her guilt.
"I-I just-I've never-," she mumbles.
"Snap out of it, Auror." He shakes her shoulders. "The students are still in danger."
Aurora nods, tucking her loose strands of hair behind her ears.
"Come on, I heard more of them apparating in. We need to find them." Neville takes her hand and guides the professor towards the Post Office.
Neville forewarns Aurora about the two unconscious Death Eaters inside when they arrive. He instructs her to guard them while he attempts to find any more that had apparated into Hogsmeade.
"We need help," Aurora cries.
Neville nods nervously. Aurora was in no position to send her patronus back to Hogwarts. Yet, he had never been able to produce a corporeal patronus. Harry had spent hours working coaching him during their fifth year, but all he could manage was a bright cloud-like mist. Closing his eyes, Neville thinks it's at least worth a try, so he can tell the aurors that he attempted to send for help when they arrive to arrest the Death Eaters. He takes a deep breath, feeling his confidence and happiness from the last few years grow into a warmth inside his chest. Neville waves his wand when the moment feels right, casting "Expecto Patronum."
The silvery vapour expels from his wand as usual. However, it then begins to twirl around like a slow tornado before surprisingly taking the form of a toad. A toad identical to his first friend, Trevor. Neville doesn't have time to reflect on the fact he just produced a corporeal patronus for the first time. Instead, he crouches to speak to the toad before him and sends him hopping rapidly towards Hogwarts.
Just as Neville and Aurora are trying to decide their next course of action, they hear the stomping and screaming of a large group of people approaching them.
Neville peers out, watching as their students run right back into the danger of Hogsmeade.
"What are you doing?" Neville shouts, stepping into the street. "Go back! Get to Hogwarts!" He orders.
"Death Eater!" A few students shout back at him as they begin rushing into shops to hide.
Neville turns to Aurora, silently conversing that she should stay to guard the two unconscious Death Eaters, and he will give chase after this new one. They nod once as Neville races from the shop and up the street towards Hogwarts. He wonders why the Death Eater hadn't chased after the students. Did they have some ulterior motive for attacking Hogsmeade? Was this attack just a distraction so they could actually attack Hogwarts? Neville shakes the thoughts from his head as he keeps running, the adrenaline coursing through his body pushing him faster than he's ever run before.
"Let me check the dictionary," Hermione sighs, walking over to their bookshelves.
Sophie smirks at Draco, confident that the word she just laid on the scrabble board is correct. Draco turns to watch his wife, waiting for her to tell him he is right.
As she flicks through the pages of the dictionary, she locks eyes with her husband. "Are you proud? Arguing with an eleven-year-old over the spelling of a word."
"It's not a word; it's two words," Draco crosses his arms. "It'll be a teaching opportunity for Sophie."
"For you, maybe." Sophie grins.
"Here we go," Hermione scans the page.
Suddenly, Sophie screams, "What is that?" as she scrambles over the back of the couch.
Hermione drops the dictionary as she takes the form of the corporeal patronus, "Whose is that?"
Draco stands, crouching to inspect the toad, when it begins to speak in the voice of Neville Longbottom.
"Death Eater attack in Hogsmeade. Come immediately. Students in danger."
Draco stands, feeling a shiver down his spine.
Hermione grabs his hand before he can move. "Draco?" Her voice is questioning what he will do, but there's only one thing he can do, and she knows that. They are professors, and it is their job to protect their students.
"Send for Harry," Draco orders as he runs into their bedroom, pulling on his boots and cloak.
Sophie hides behind the couch, watching her cousins kiss goodbye before Draco uses his fireplace to floo to The Three Broomsticks.
"What's happening?" Sophie asks, her voice small and scared.
"There's been an attack, but you're safe here," Hermione assures her, although she's distractedly searching for her wand. Upon finding it, she takes a deep breath before casting "Expecto Patronum".
Sophie watches in awe as an otter slithers from her cousin's wand.
Hermione bends down to speak to her otter. "Go to Harry Potter. Harry, there are Death Eaters in Hogsmeade. Bring help."
The otter walks in a circle as though trying to find a comfortable spot to sleep in before leaping across the floor and through the wall.
"That is so cool," Sophie mutters.
Hermione smiles thinly as she nods. "You can stay here as long as you need."
Sophie sits back down on the couch. She's never seen a Death Eater before or experienced an attack by them, but she knew this situation was serious. She can see clearly on Hermione's face how worried she is for her husband and the older students of Hogwarts.
"I'll stay until Draco returns," she promises.
Hermione smiles, knowing what Sophie's doing, and appreciates the company.
Stepping out of the fireplace into The Three Broomsticks, Draco can sense something dreadfully wrong has occurred. The usually lively pub is silent; upturned tables and chairs are scattered across the wooden floor, along with colourful glass from the shattered stainedstained windows. As he begins to stalk towards the door, ready to see the destruction made to the main street of Hogsmeade, he hears a whimper behind one of the upturned tables.
Quietly, he walks towards the table and peers over to find a group of students huddled together, crying. One of them looks up as his shadow appears on the wall before them. She screams until recognition dawns on her face.
"Professor Malfoy," she sighs, and the younger students she is protecting look up with fear and hope.
"Are you all okay?" He asks, noticing the glass in their hair. They all nod. "Do you know how to use the floo network?" Again, they all nod. "Use Madame Rosmerta's floo powder to go to my room at Hogwarts, okay? Hermione is waiting."
The group keeps a tight hold of each other's hands as they rush towards the fireplace. As soon as they've all disappeared, Draco returns to the pub's front door, which is hanging by a single hinge. Draco pulls the handle and the whole door comes away from the doorway. Gently, he props the door against the entrance wall.
Stepping out into the street, Draco sees a massive crater ten metres away, surrounded by a pile of rubble and a few bodies of his students. Anger ignites a flame in his blood as he risks being out in the open to run towards the nearest students. Kneeling beside them, he points his wand at their chest and casts, "Rennervate!"
While he waits, he looks at their face, recognising her as one of the seventh year Ravenclaws. With a jerk, the prefect jolts up coughing as she scans her environment. When her fearful eyes land on Draco, she scuttles away.
"It's okay; you're okay, Alannis," he assures her.
Alannis nods, then glances down at her friends' bodies surrounding her and cries, "Are they- they're not- please?" She begins shaking the shoulders of a girl lying on her stomach.
"I haven't tried waking them yet. Do you know the reviving spell?" Draco asks.
Alannis shakes her head. "That's a seventh-year spell."
"You're in your seventh year," he reminds her.
"It's September!" She frowns.
"Okay, I'll cast the spell, but I need to find Professors Longbottom and Sinistra. Once those who wake up can walk, take them to the Three Broomsticks and floo to my rooms at Hogwarts, okay?" Draco instructs.
Alannis nods in agreement, so Draco spends two minutes pointing his wand at the chests of ten students, casting the reviving spell in the hopes that he can save them. He doesn't wait around, instead jogging down the street towards the road to Hogwarts. He's glad not to see any more bodies and hopes the ones he has already seen are the result of the explosion, not any spell or curse from the Death Eaters. A concussion can be treated, but Madam Pomfrey can't do anything for the Killing Curse.
"Stop right there!"
Draco halts, his hand clasping his wand, ready to raise it in the attack.
"Turn to face me," the recognisable voice orders, although there's no force in her voice, just fear.
"Aurora?" Draco asks. "It's Draco," he adds when she pauses.
"Please help!" Aurora steps out of the Post Office, beckoning him into the shop.
Draco follows her inside, surprised to find her guarding two unconscious Death Eaters.
"Did you do that?" He asks.
"No, that would be Neville's doing," she admits. "Although, I did get a third," she says with a shiver. "I think I killed them," she cries, trying to wipe her face before he can see.
"It's alright, Aurora. You won't get into trouble for killing a Death Eater." Draco tries to assure her with a pat on her shoulder.
But she frowns at his words. "I've never killed anything before."
"I'm sorry, Aurora. You acted to protect our students. You're a hero," Draco states, walking towards the two figures, still masked. "Let's see who we have here." He removes the first mask to find an auburn-haired, freckled woman he doesn't recognise, so he moves on to the following figure. As he lifts the mask, he replaces it and jumps to his feet. "Aurora, we must guard them. We can't let this one go anywhere," he gestures to the tall man on the ground.
Aurora whimpers, "Neville went after a fourth Death Eater. Students came running back into Hogsmeade from the road. They said a Death Eater was blocking their path to the castle."
Draco nods, not surprised by their tactics of blocking the students' path to safety.
"Where are the students?" He asks as he hasn't been able to see or hear any as he walks the streets.
"Hiding in the shops."
"I've left the floo network to my rooms at Hogwarts open; tell the students to floo there. Hermione is there to guide them," Draco explains as he prepares to run after Neville and this fourth Death Eater. Until the thought comes to the forefront of his mind. "How many Death Eaters apparated in?"
"I don't know. Neville fought these initial two, then said he heard others arrive. He didn't specify," Aurora explains.
"You can't leave these two. The students are safe if hidden; the aurors should be here soon. I'm going to help Neville," he informs her, then sets off towards Hogwarts, hoping to find Neville and the Death Eater fighting somewhere along the way.
Hermione worriedly grabs her wand when their fireplace lights up, indicating an imminent arrival. She walks forward, keeping Sophie behind her just in case.
"What's happening?" Sophie asks, peering around the side of Hermione as somebody steps out of the fireplace.
"Jessica!"
The third-year Hufflepuff student bursts into tears, running towards her professor and wrapping her arms around her. "It was so loud! My ears were ringing, but we had to be silent."
"You're safe now," Hermione assures her student, rubbing her back. "Are you injured?"
"No," she shakes her head. "We were in The Three Broomsticks and hid behind a table. Then Professor Malfoy came and told us to floo here."
Hermione nods her head just as the fireplace lights up again.
"I expect I'm going to get a lot of students coming here." She breaks the comforting hug and levitates their couch, armchairs and coffee table into their bedroom. "Sophie, I'm going to need you to take a note to the Headmistress' office." Hermione begins scribbling upon the piece of scrap parchment they had been using to keep score of scrabble.
Sophie nods, having memorised the map of the school they had been given their first night after being sorted into Ravenclaw.
"The password is Shakespeare," Hermione informs her.
"Shakespeare?" Sophie frowns.
"Yes, now go. If you see any professors on the way, tell them to come to me immediately."
Sophie hesitates, the folded piece of parchment clutched in her hand. "Will Draco be okay?"
Hermione turns to the fireplace as a fifth-year student steps out, a small cut above her eyebrow. Jessica runs to her sister, hugging her tight.
"I told you we'd get through this, didn't I?" Melissa tells her sister.
"Hermione!" Sophie calls.
"Sophie, don't worry about Draco? It's dangerous, but he is an experienced wizard. Now go!" She urges, using her wand to open the door.
Sophie nods in agreement, running off from Hermione's room and up the secret staircase to the main floor. From there, she runs at full speed along the corridors to the foyer, where she climbs the moving staircases, pushing past students who had stayed behind.
Unfortunately for Sophie, one of those students happens to be Tobias Broadmoor, a fifth-year Slytherin prefect and brother to Gaius, one of Sophie's best friends. She and Tobias had a few altercations in the past month, and now he had a reason to punish her.
"No running in the corridors, Miss Adair. Ten points from Ravenclaw." Tobias calls after her, but she doesn't stop. "And another ten points for refusal to follow instructions."
Sophie ignores him. There are more important things in the world than Hogwarts' point system.
When she reaches the gargoyle on the seventh floor, Sophie shouts, "Shakespeare, Shakespeare!" The gargoyle staircase rises painfully slowly to the top of the headmistress' tower, where Sophie barges into the office without knocking.
Headmistress McGonagall is sitting at her desk, reading over correspondence from the Ministry of Magic. Her door bursts open, and Sophie Adair races in.
"Miss Adair, what is the meaning of this?" McGonagall stands, peering over her desk and down to where the small first-year stands, waving a piece of parchment towards her.
Sophie walks up a couple of steps to where the Headmistress' desk resides and hands over the note before collapsing in an armchair before the desk.
McGonagall opens the parchment and quickly reads Hermione's neat handwriting. She gasps when she comprehends the words, dropping the note and grabbing her wand.
"We must leave at once, Miss Adair," McGonagall states, guiding Sophie from her office.
"Where am I going?"
"To the Great Hall," her Headmistress says, grasping Sophie's shoulder as they stride through the castle.
As Draco runs up the street towards Hogwarts, he listens out for the sound of fighting, and as he reaches the outskirts of Hogsmeade, he sees flashes of red through the trees. Breaking out into a sprint through the woods, Draco almost has to leap to not trip over the tightly tangled underbrush. The hanging branches of the dense trees scratch his face and arms as he keeps running until he reaches the fenced-off fields surrounding the Shrieking Shack. In the middle of the field is Neville and a masked Death Eater throwing spells at each other twenty metres apart.
Casting the disillusionment charm on himself, Draco climbs over the fence, stalking towards the Death Eater. He needs to wait for the perfect moment to strike. The disillusionment charm will break when Draco casts his next spell. Once he's in position, forming a triangle with Neville and the Death Eater, he waits for Neville to raise his wand in attack. Then Draco casts, "Expelliarmus!"
Draco's disillusionment charm breaks as the words leave his mouth. As the Death Eater loses his wand, their attention is drawn to Draco just long enough for Neville to stupefy him so forcefully, his body flies back ten metres before landing on his back.
"You came," Neville releases a laboured breath as he collapses.
"Of course." Draco rushes to his colleague's side. "Our children were in danger."
Neville lets out a sudden cry. "I couldn't protect them all. I tried, but I was too late."
"What are you talking about?" Draco asks, crouching down to make reassuring eye contact with Neville.
"That Ravenclaw boy." He gestures towards the fence.
Draco can see somebody propped up against a fence pole.
"What happened?" Draco stands up.
"They happened. They were blocking the path to Hogwarts, and he fought back to give the younger students enough time to escape into Hogsmeade. He's dead." Neville shudders.
"You get the Death Eater; I've got the boy," Draco instructs since Neville is clearly broken up about being unable to save this student.
Draco kneels before the boy and recognises him as one of his students, Lawrence Knoll, a Ravenclaw. He's a good Quidditch player too. To be safe, Draco points his wand at the boy's chest and casts, "Rennervate." Nothing happens. There's no sudden breath or fluttering of eyelids, just an overwhelming absence of life.
Standing back up, Draco mutters, "Mobilicorpus," over Lawrence's body, levitating him onto his back. Carefully, Draco removes his cloak and drapes it over the body. There's no need for him to traumatise his students further by floating the corpse of their classmate down the street of Hogsmeade.
Neville catches up with him, the unconscious and bound body of the Death Eater levitating behind him. They walk down the street into Hogsmeade silently. There's nothing to converse about right now, anyway. As they reach the centre, they see Aurora leading groups of students to The Three Broomsticks, as Draco had instructed her to do so.
"I left the floo network open to my rooms for the students," Draco explains.
Neville nods, walking into the Post Office with his Death Eater and placing him by the other two. He then gets to work casting more binding charms over the three bodies to ensure they cannot move should they awake.
Draco levitates Lawrence in the Post Office but places him away from the Death Eaters. Then he returns to the street to properly take in the damage. Just as he's inspecting the crater, he hears the repeated crack of apparition. Within a split second, his wand is raised and he's in the correct stance for a duel.
"Draco," Harry Potter calls out from behind him.
Feeling able to relax, Draco drops his guard and turns to face the saviour of the wizarding world.
"I've never been so happy to see you," Draco comments, walking towards him. "Did Hermione explain?"
"The message said there was a Death Eater attack, and students were in danger," Harry reiterates.
Draco nods, "I'll take you to Neville. He was chaperoning this Hogsmeade trip. From what I understand, he got three of them."
"Really?"
"Yes, and guess who he got?" Draco asks, grinning widely.
Harry's eyes harden with curiosity as he asks, "Who?"
"He got Yaxley."
"Yaxley's been missing since he showed up at Malfoy Manor," Harry says.
"I know. He's one of the originals. You can send him away for a very long time."
"With your help?" Harry asks.
"I'm done with all that," Draco reminds him. He hasn't testified against a Death Eater since his access to the Archives was retracted.
"This is bigger than our hatred for Shacklebolt. We need someone who knew him from before to help us get the maximum sentence," Harry tells him.
Draco sighs, "I think about it."
Harry nods, accepting that he hasn't declined.
As soon as they reach the Post Office, Draco leaves Harry with Neville. He doesn't want to hang around to hear how the attack went down. Instead, he helps Aurora find the students still hiding throughout Hogsmeade and its shops and takes them to The Three Broomsticks to apparate back to the castle.
However, there's no knowing how many students chose to visit Hogsmeade that afternoon. They amplified their voice and called for the students to come out as it was now safe, but only a few followed their instructions. They would have to be counted back at Hogwarts to know if there are any missing students. Once the last students have stepped through the fireplace, Draco and Aurora share a much-needed hug of reassurance before stepping through themselves.
It's been fifteen minutes since the last group of students stepped through Hermione's fireplace, yet her husband still hasn't returned. She's trying not to think the worse, but nothing else can occupy her mind.
An hour ago, Headmistress McGonagall's voice had been projected throughout the school, calling all staff and students to congregate in the Great Hall, except for Professor Granger, who was to remain in her rooms.
When her fireplace lights up again, Hermione stands before it, hopefully waiting for her husband to step out. Instead, Aurora enters the room looking dishevelled.
"He's right behind me," Aurora assures her.
"Are you alright, Aurora?"
"No!" Aurora answers simply, not sticking around to chat, and vacates her room across the hall.
When Draco steps out of the fireplace into his room, Hermione is in his arms instantly. He feels broken and lost, but he savours the safety of his wife's embrace.
"Are you hurt?" She mutters.
Draco shakes his head.
"How many?"
"Four," he whispers.
Hermione nods, waiting for further information that doesn't come.
"We need to go to the Great Hall," she informs him. "All the students are gathering there with the professors. Minerva counted the students to ensure they all made it back."
Draco shakes his head. "They'll be one short," he mutters.
Hermione breathes sharply. "Who?"
"Lawrence Knoll."
Hermione tightens their embrace. "I'm so sorry."
Draco shakes his head. "He stood between the Death Eater and a group of younger students and fought back long enough for them to reach safety. He should never have been put in that situation, but he did so bravely."
"His family and friends need to know that," Hermione whispers, her head buried against his chest.
"Harry and the Aurors arrived thirty minutes ago. Neville is talking them through the attack. Neville got three of the Death Eaters, and Aurora got the fourth," he explains.
Sighing deeply, Hermione steps out of their embrace, keeping her hands on his chest. "We should head to the Great Hall."
"Then home."
"After we pick up Scorpius," Hermione agrees.
Draco nods, taking her hand in his as they walk from the dungeons to the Great Hall. He locks their fingers together, knowing that he wouldn't let go of her hand soon.
Thank you so much for reading.
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