Chapter 16: Of Broken Innocents
It had been a long time since Daphne had lost the will to fight. Her father was the center of her world. He was her person. To have him be executed in such a nauseating way had broken her. Her mother was a nervous wreck since then. Her sister was severely depressed. Daphne chose to stay at Hogwarts because she could communicate with Draco better while both were there, but when he had been forced to stay home by his father, it was yet another blow for her.
While as a Slytherin she had seen many of her classmates give into their dark family tree, she just knew in her heart that Draco wouldn't do that. She knew he hadn't killed Dumbledore. Draco was many things. However, a cruel murderer was not in the list. He actually had a core reaction of disgust, and he would recoil when people talked about that like he deserved a medal. He never brought it up and for someone so boastful, the other Slytherins didn't understand.
Lucius thought his son had killed the headmaster and when he heard the news, he mistook Draco's pale face and shaky hands as a sign of guilt, that he had gone through with it. It was the only time that Lucius ever held his son tightly and told him that he was proud of him and that he had brought honor upon their House. The most twisted part was that Draco told her that he had never felt more dishonorable, more like the scum of the Earth than when Dumbledore begged for his life and his godfather had done the curse in his stead. He made her promise she wouldn't tell anyone, and then he showed her his forearm where the still red dark mark marred his otherwise healthy skin.
As she lay on the cold stone ground of the basement she once played in, she felt the effects of the enchantments Dobby placed on her. She felt nothing and the little guy had numbed her, but she couldn't move. Not that she thought she would have been able to. Once you know what is like to be battered in spirit more than in body, nothing matters anymore. To have the man you grew up considering almost an uncle perpetrate the damage was too shocking. He had not only condoned others and allowed them to hurt her in any way they wanted. He had helped held her down while they did. This was the man she thought would one day be proud of the grandchildren she hoped to bear with Draco. Now, they had probably wrecked her up too much to survive for much longer, let alone for her to ever be able to carry a child.
Her eyes kept blinking tears away. The blanket Dobby covered her with said a lot about his good intentions, but after three rounds of Crucio from the man she thought would be her father-in-law, it felt heavy and trapping instead of comforting as she was sure he intended. If she wasn't numb, her nerves would be on fire from all the material touching her beaten body. What did bring her some peace of mind was that when her dead body was found, if help didn't come before she perished, it wouldn't be exposed to the mortification of her loved ones. She wished she could turn back time and stay with her family. They could all be in Germany now. She could only hope they were safe.
Daphne could hear groans and moans of pain as if they were distant when she knew they were quite nearby. That told her that her consciousness was slipping away. Maybe it was the blood loss or the concussions she was sure she had. She wished to be in her mother's arms. But she consoled herself thinking that she would get to hug her father again in the afterlife. She sent a wish to the universe that if she didn't make it, her family would and that they would avenge her and her father.
Her eyelids fluttered closed as eleven pops, one after the other, had the rescue team appear within the bounds of the manor. Her last thought was that at least her cadaver would be safe from rituals and necromancy and that her family would be able to bury her next to her beloved dad.
Dobby popped them one after the other as fast as he could. Lady Chang gave him an elf tonic that gave him back some juice. He was quite tired. Remus had to clog his nose as did Sirius, the smell was too pungent for their canine sensitivities. Lady Chang helped everyone else clog their noses as well. The smell of death, putrefaction, feces, urine, and despair was too strong.
"Bloody hell!" Sirius exclaimed as they did lumos spells to light up their paths. Otherwise, who knew what they could step on.
"Quick, find those who are hurt the worst! Blood replenishing potion, grand pepper up, and episkeys everywhere," Daiyu handed each person in the rescue team potion kits. "Point me!" her wand pointed towards the corner of the room where he saw bits of blonde hair as Remus did a lumos maxima. She ran to Daphne as she would have run to her daughter had she had a chance.
"Daphne!" Daiyu gasped. Up close, the girl looked like she had been receiving daily beatings for weeks, but she had been here for less than 24 hours. She didn't seem to be breathing. "Sileo cor!" a pink spell hit the girl straight on the chest, and while her whole body jumped off the floor from the electric shock, she still wasn't breathing. "Susan! Quickly, hold her head!"
Susan ran and knelt down. "Merlin! How?"
"I am trying to restart her heart. I need you to hold her head, so it doesn't bang against the floor. Don't worry. It only shocks the heart directly."
"Sileo cor!" Daiyu pushed more magic into her casting and as she checked for a heartbeat, Daphne softly groaned in pain and took a deep breath, "YES! Stay with her. I will check on others."
"Yes, Ma'am. Daphne, it's Susan Bones. It's okay, don't move. Drink this."
The Slytherin couldn't have refused if she wanted to with how weak she currently was. She took small sips with Susan's help. Her eyes remained closed, but she was no longer bleeding. Susan used her free hand to cast episkeys everywhere she could see.
Neville was helping Dudley carry people to a transfigured sofa. People were so hurt and so terrified that they essentially let them move their bodies with no complaints. Sirius and Remus, along with Tony who was currently giving a person their third dose of blood replenishing potions, were patching up everyone they found alive to the best of their abilities. Dobby rushed to the nesting area of the house to see how many elves needed help.
Remus took out his mirror and called Hermione. She picked up immediately.
"We are in. There are too many of us. We don't have a lot of time. We need Kreacher and Maki to help us move the most injured," Remus's face looked so stricken that Hermione just nodded at Kreacher. Maki wasn't back from San Juan yet. "Please send Xeno, we need more wands."
"Maki will bring him to you and get in position as soon as possible."
"Thank you. I hope the Infirmary is ready."
"It is. Remus, is Daphne-?"
"She's alive. Barely. I have to go."
Hermione rushed upstairs. "Draco, Daphne is alive."
"What? Who told you?"
"Remus."
"What were his exact words, Granger?"
"She's alive. Barely. I have to go," Hermione repeated.
"FUCK. If she doesn't make it-"
"Shut up, Malfoy. We don't have the luxury of being pessimistic. She will be brought here, and we will do our best to get her better. Stop thinking of hypotheticals and focus on not reopening your injuries. If you do that again, I swear I will tie you up the muggle way so good that you will only be able to blink. Got it?" Hermione narrowed her eyes and turned to walk away. Draco's hand wrapped around her wrist to keep her from leaving.
"Granger?" Even his tone was apologetic.
She turned to face him and crossed her arms, shaking his hand off her wrist, "What?"
"I am really sorry for the things I said before. I wasn't in a good place. I am not stupid, and I understand that I am not the only one struggling here. I don't even deserve your civility and you have all been welcoming and have helped me and my loved ones," Draco was blushing. Something told Hermione the blonde had never apologized formally to anyone ever before. She didn't reply so he kept going. "If you want us to leave, we will. I just ask that you give us until Daphne and my mom can travel. I realize that it was sheer dumb luck that Potter hasn't kicked me out already."
"It wasn't luck. Luna asked him to give you a second chance. Malfoy, Harry may have many flaws that you rejoice in tormenting him for, but he is loyal to a fault. You must understand that there are no lengths he isn't willing to go to for the people he loves, for his family. Harry has always cared for Luna. She has been kind to him, and she has never asked for anything in return for her kindness and support."
"I see. I appreciate her. Truly. I never thought I could possibly gain a friend here," Draco said. In a whisper he added, "or a sister" on a whisper.
"As I see it, you have made more than one friend here," Hermione walked away with a smirk, over her shoulder she added, "That was a good attempt for a first real apology, I appreciate that. Just don't let it happen again. I may be tempted to forget you are injured," she said jokingly.
"Thank you," Draco smiled.
"See to it that you apologize to Harry as well. He may say I am the queen of the castle or whatever, but this is his home. You are here on his dime, not mine. Harry is a great friend, and he is easier to get along with than you think. All he wants is respect. As the scion of a Noble House, I believe you can understand that," Hermione said closing the door behind her.
"I do. Fuck me. Now I must grovel to Potter,"
Andromeda smacked the back of his head, "Serves you right. Your father may not have thought it important to teach you this, but I do. Repeat after me: You shall NEVER bite the hand that feeds and protects you."
Draco rolled his eyes at his aunt.
"I do not hear you," she prompted.
"You shall NEVER bite the hand that feeds and protects you."
"Had you been raised to be scion Black, you would know that. Before Toujurs Pur, the first motto of The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black was 'Fidelitatem ad illos fideles,' [give loyalty to those loyal] and when we decided to get involved in warfare it turned to 'Fidelitatem familiae,' [loyalty to the family] because our ancestors quickly decided that we could only trust each other."
"He is sort of my cousin, right? Harry?"
"Yes."
"Bloody hell."
"Just remember that Daphne will need you strong when you want to bust your leg further."
Draco nodded, but he knew it was easier said than done.
"Those of you who can stand, we need you to travel via Portkey. It will take you to a secluded part in San Juan, Puerto Rico where an elf called Maki will move you to a secure location," Sirius held one injured woman up.
"How c-can we trust you?" a young man said, fear all over his countenance.
"I swear on my magic that Harry Potter sent me to get you out," Sirius took out Hermione's wand and did the oath. Magic accepted the oath.
The young man who asked the question jumped into Sirius' arms, "I knew he wouldn't leave us here to die!"
"He wouldn't. Come on, hold on to the portkey. Maki the elf will pick you up. Stay hidden and ask for an identity oath. Quickly!" Sirius demanded.
"I will be there as soon as I can," Remus nodded.
Sirius activated the portkey and 8 people left. They had moved to grab it as soon as he did the oath.
Daiyu looked around. No prisoner here had wands, but they had to be somewhere. "Accio wands!" About a dozen wands flew her way. "YES!"
Kreacher popped in holding up two elves, the three of them were covered in blood and soot. "The second portkey! We need to leave NOW! They are coming!"
"Kreacher, take as many as you can," Remus ordered summoning the portkey from Kreacher's pocket as his hands were busy. "Do you think they can travel through portkey?
"If they are held. They are too weak," Kreacher replied hurriedly. Kreacher vanished with the two he was holding and another one that the elves he was holding managed to hold on to them.
Some of the remaining injured humans grabbed the elves and held them against their bodies as if they were toddlers. The only true humanity showed to them during their captivity was from the little creatures who sneaked them in food and water from their own storage when they could. They wouldn't leave the elves to die in this house of horrors. Daiyu quickly did a sticking charm so the elves wouldn't fall off. Explosions and screaming started sounding outside.
"Susan, we need to hold Daphne up!"
Susan pulled her friend up and hugged the witch tightly by the waist. They were chest to chest. Daiyu wrapped her arms around both from Daphne's back, did a sticking charm, took her own portkey, and activated it. "Remus! Sirius! Kids! Let's go!" she urged them to hold the rope in her hand.
"No, go with them. I will stay and help your husband and son," Remus ran towards the stairs that led to the main floor. Sirius hot on his heels.
"Please tell my godson we'll be home as soon as we can!" Sirius yelled over the explosions. He hastily applied several glamours.
Lady Chang vanished with the remaining people and elves using the remaining portkeys. They vanished as all hell broke loose upstairs.
[Simultaneously at the other end of the basement]
Anthony and Neville approached a hunched figure in the basement. Anthony kept trying to get its attention. He thought it was a child, but Neville didn't think a child could smell like that. When Anthony placed his hand on the form's apparent shoulder, the blanket covering the body was thrown off and a strong goblin decked Tony on the jaw, dislocating it.
"Whoa! We are not here to hurt you!" Neville almost didn't catch Tony.
"All humans have EVER done is HURT me!" the goblin roared. "Don't touch me!"
"Listen, I am really sorry this happened to you. Queen Anord helped us get here to help everyone being held captive so if you don't trust us, you are not trusting your queen and I don't have to tell you why that is a bad idea!" Neville said in a warning tone.
"My Queen sent you?"
"Yes, Harry Potter spoke to her directly."
The goblin looked at the teens looking for deceit but found only honesty, "Fine, I will go with you."
"We will find a way to get you to your queen. I promise!" Neville said as he ripped off his sleeve and wrapped it around Tony's head to hold his jaw in place. Tony groaned through his teeth.
"Remus! Sirius! Kids! Let's go!" Lady Chang called them.
"Coming!" Neville pulled Tony up and lifted the goblin in his arms much to the goblin's shock and dismay. He was a warrior, not a child. When the goblin said this, Neville grinned. "Then don't pout like a child, warrior."
Any indignant reply didn't come as the three reached Lady Chang and the Portkey swept them away.
Lady Chang and Susan struggled to stay standing with Daphne when they landed. Travel by portkey was never smooth and international Portkeys were worse. The House had made Harry aware that he could add people to the wards so they could apparate in and out of the island. He added Sirius, Remus, Tonks, himself, and Hermione. He knew he could trust the rest of the Tonks and the Changs, but the more people he added, the riskier it was for them to be invaded. Harry and Hermione had decided that they would be relatively safe in the Caribbean as a whole.
Maki had them help her bring people to the island after the first trip. This made things move faster. The designated spot the twins provided was in a very secluded area of a beach, Cueva del Indio. It was a pretty touristy place during the daytime, but at night it was empty because it was dark and dangerous. However, it was a perfect place to appear because the landing spot was in a depression with tall rock walls around. Several injured people complained as they fell with the landing. Lady Chang and Susan found arms behind them holding them up.
"Shhhh," Hermione motioned to everyone. "I made wards to keep non-magicals away, but we have to go now."
"Who is strong enough to side-apparate?" Harry asked looking around. Several hands went up. Despite how tired and battered they all looked; a glimmer of hope appeared in their eyes when they saw him. It humbled him. It energized him. Each of those pairs of eyes depended on him. He would end this. He had to.
"We can only take one each," Hermione reminded Harry. The wards were altered so apparition would have them land on the beach for tonight. It was a precaution. They were paranoid and wanted to protect the integrity of the house and the people in it at all costs.
"Maki, take Daphne and Lady Chang first," Harry ordered. He would have asked the elf to be careful, but it would have been pointless because Maki was looking at the young woman that she knew horrified. How could someone have brutalized her in such a way? Maki asked Lady Chang to hug Daphne and she encircled both women's legs vanishing straight away. Harry motioned for Hermione to go. She hugged Susan fiercely. "I am so glad you are here! Come on." Harry waited as Hermione went and came back. They agreed the injured couldn't stay alone. Harry had gone over to Neville and given him a boa constrictor hug. They needed no words now.
Hermione appeared, barely holding back tears. "Go, Harry."
Harry vanished with Neville and Hermione began counting the injured while they all waited.
In the infirmary, Healer Tonks had to take a second to breathe so she could calm herself. When Daiyu appeared next to her with Daphne, the girl looked dead. Draco had insisted to be moved back to the infirmary, and Andromeda agreed provided that he didn't leave his bed. Luna was with him, holding his hand. She didn't mind that he was squeezing hard enough to cut circulation. He needed that to stay grounded. When he saw Daphne, Luna had to physically push him down to the bed.
"Let go of me, Luna!" Draco yelled. He didn't see much, but what he saw terrified him. It was all red and purple.
"NO! She needs help and you need to stay here. You will only ruin your leg and make your aunt work slower!"
"Luna! PLEASE!"
"NO! I will push my fingers into your wounds if you don't stay in bed!" Luna whisper-shouted placing her hand on top of his freshly bandaged leg.
"You wouldn't!" Draco replied, but he looked down and her fingers were curling, ready to push into the extremely tender flesh.
"Don't make me do it because I will," Luna stared him down. Her expression left no doubt that she would act on it.
"Fine," He conceded and craned his neck to try to see but his aunt had closed the privacy curtains around her and added silencing wards. Inside those wards, Daphne was screaming in a way that wasn't even human anymore. It sounded like merpeople did while above water. She didn't even think she could scream anymore, but pain is too primal for there not to be a reaction or for it to be controlled. Tonks went into the wards and cursed under her breath. Malfoy deserved death, a slow, torturous death.
"I have to put her under! It's too much for her brain. Her core is too unstable," Andromeda said waving her wand. Daphne, who had been kicking and trying to put herself in a fetal position, finally went limp. Andromeda began running diagnostics as Tonks cut off the scraps of dirty and bloody clothes she still had on. She had no underwear on, and Tonks had to stop and take a deep breath so she wouldn't burst into tears. This poor girl had been brutalized with a vengeance and by many. It was the only thing that explained the state of her body. Andromeda's frown grew deeper as she did diagnostic spells.
"Mom, can I clean her?"
"No. Let me, I will need you and your dad to help with the others."
Tonks blinked tears away but nodded as she read the results of the diagnostic spells: grade 3 concussion (2x), rib contusion (x3), broken rib (x1), femoral-acetabular impingement (x2), hip labral tear (2x), lacerations to the back (17x), ecchymosis (73x), muscle tears (13x), myocardial infarction (1x), blood and liquids: extremely low, magical core damage: 35%. She was about to say something to her mother, but another pop had her leaving to help.
"Do NOT lift heavy!" her mother warned her.
"I know, mom," Tonks got out of the privacy curtain.
Hermione counted the people they had brought to the island 18. When they got to Puerto Rico, the first thing she did was count heads and compare it to the list of names she could remember seeing or hearing in the background of her call with Neville. Andromeda asked Hermione to roll call just to make sure everyone was conscious as the Healer and her husband walked around the room administering first aid and classifying the patients while they could take care of more serious injuries.
They needed more healing hands. Tonks looked ready to pass out. Harry looked over Dudley as Hermione healed a gash on his arm with dittany.
"I'm fine, Harry. Thank you, Hermione."
"Tonks, please go to bed!" Andromeda was freaking out as she read her daughter's core. She had been helping people left and right for a while and she was swaying on her feet. Her baby needed to feed from her core. "I can't deal with all this and your stubbornness right now."
"But mom, you need help!"
"I got her, Healer Tonks," Dudley went to Tonks and pulled her arm away from a patient slowly. "You heard your mother. Shift's over, Nymphadora, come on," he pushed her wand arm down and it fell with little resistance. Dudley lifted the Auror up and carried her to her room much to her protest that he would bust his back and that he should never call her that again. He felt good being useful and something about a woman being pregnant made him a bit more protective and patient. It also helped that her husband was a werewolf and that Dudley was convinced Lupin could rip his head off and not break a sweat.
"Everyone, I will be calling your names. Please say 'here' just so I know we didn't leave anyone behind!"
"Susan Bones," Hermione said.
The teen who was doing her own healing spells answered a loud, "Here!"
"Neville Longbottom," Harry continued, looking around.
"Here, mate. Fucking glad to be here!" Neville raised his bloodied hand. He knew he had at least two broken fingers, and Merlin knew what else, but he didn't care. He could have died. Harry smiled as a speeding Luna that came out of nowhere bypassed him.
"Neville!" Luna's smell filled his nostrils, and he didn't even complain about the pain of the collision or the subsequent fall.
"Anthony Goldstein," Hemione said.
"He's here, but he can't speak because his jaw was dislocated," Chyou replied to him as she held him and caressed his back in soothing motions. She side-eyed the goblin next to Tony. Hermione gave a small nod. She understood what happened.
"Colin Creevey," Harry asked looking around.
"H-Here!"
Harry summoned more blankets wandlessly. Even here with the much warmer temperatures, Colin was shaking like a leaf. He took the blankets and started passing them around.
"Hannah Abbott?"
"Mmphh," the teen was on the floor and could barely groan. Her face was covered by a cloak that had a hood that was obscuring her face.
Hermione rushed to her and pushed the hood back. "Hannah! Oh God!"
Someone had very clearly stomped on Hannah's face. Her nose was visibly broken, bleeding, and a dirty imprint of a man's boot was across her face, diagonally. To everyone's horror, her lips were sewn shut.
"Ted! We need help here!" Hermione kissed Hannah's head. "They will fucking pay for this, Hannah. I swear to you."
Hannah's eyes were haunted and swollen, but she nodded at Hermione. She believed her classmate. Ted rushed to them, and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from screaming profanities. "Ms. Abbott, can you move your tongue?"
Hannah nodded.
"So, they didn't stitch it too?"
She shook her head no.
"Solve filium," Ted whispered. "Please, don't try to open your mouth. My wife needs to make sure there is no muscle or nerve damage. All I did was vanish the threads. Fixing any more severe damage is beyond my skills, sweetheart, I am sorry."
Hannah's eyes closed, making tears fall. She nodded slowly. Just the thread being gone felt better.
Harry fell to his knees next to Hannah "I am so sorry, Hannah."
The teen lifted her bandaged hand and placed it on Harry's cheek. She shook her head and pulled Harry closer. He hugged her lightly. This girl had been his classmate since they were children and she had been tortured for this cause. She had refused to give them anything useful and this is how she was repaid. Her eyes told him everything he needed to know. He finally understood. This wasn't just his fight. No one would put up with this for him alone, "This should have never happened to any of you. They all need to die. They need to be exterminated from the world. It's the only way."
Hannah's head rested on his shoulder. Hermione stood up. She knew Harry wouldn't move until Andromeda saw to Hannah.
"Creevey brothers," Hermione looked around.
"Brother. T-They g-got my D-Dennis," Colin could barely stand up.
Hermione gasped and hugged the kid. "I am so sorry, Colin."
Chyou took over for Hermione as Colin finally had a chance to break down in her arms, "Ernie Macmillan?"
He groaned. "H-Here. I need a b-blood rep- rep-"
Chyou jumped toward him with one uncapped vial as Healer Tonks came out to place Hannah in a bed, Susan was allowed to be there for her.
"That's not going to cut it," a hooded student said approaching and handing him another. Ernie drank them greedily and his entire demeanor changed. He might just make it to see another day.
Harry turned toward the voice. "A-Angelina?"
Angelina Johnson pulled back the hood, "Hey, pretty boy," she smiled despite the pain. "I am so glad to see you alive and well."
Harry smiled back and hugged her tight. This surprised her but she returned the hug without a word.
"When did you go back?" Harry asked. Luna had told them that Angelina left Hogwarts and went to work with the twins after she was punched one time too many by the Carrows for standing up to their horrible mistreatment of younger kids.
"To Hogwarts? The twins told me that you would need back up to move precious cargo. They are still with Professor Lupin, I believe," Angelina replied.
"Did you see Michael Corner?" Harry asked Neville looking down at his list again.
"Yes, he left via floo, so did Nigel Wolpert, Romilda Vane, Luca Caruso, and Maisy Reynolds," Neville replied with a grimace as Luna healed his deeper wounds with dittany.
"Ginny Weasley?" Hermione asked, looking around.
"She's home," Susan replied. "Many are in The Burrow. Dean, Padma, Parvati, Seamus, Wayne, Lee, Terry and Sue should be there. They left using the cabinet before we had to flee."
"Thank you, Susan," Hermione smiled.
"Justin Finch-Fletchley?" Harry asked, looking down at the list he had.
"Mphhh," Justin tried to reply.
Angelina approached him. "Oh dear!"
Justin had the same sewing Hannah did, but in his case, it had been a botched job and whoever did it had tightened the thread as much as possible, cutting through muscle and tendons alike, giving Justin a grotesque look. Harry gasped and took a step back so Angelina could look.
"Don't try to open your mouth."
"Ted!"
The wizard rushed to them, "Not another one! I am so sorry kid, can you walk?"
"Mhmm."
"Good, come with me," Ted helped him walk away.
"Lavender Brown?"
"Here, barely," the blonde replied, holding on to the foot of the bed next to her.
Hermione turned toward her. "Thank God you are alive!" Hermione hugged her gently.
"I am glad to see you too, Hermione... I... Can I ask? Did he really go dark? I... I saw him earlier. I tried to talk to him, but he sent an unforgivable curse my way... An unforgivable!"
Hermione sighed, "I am so sorry, Lavender. Please believe me when I say that I erased his memories for everyone's safety."
"I do. It just sucks. I really did love him."
"I know, but you deserve better," Hermione gave her a sad smile and went back to pacing the room, "Oliver Rivers? Katie Bell?"
"D-Didn't make it," Neville whispered with a grimace. "Neither did Roger Malone."
"Fuck... Okay. I will go see about fixing you all something to eat," Hermione left the room before she could burst into tears. Harry saw her leaving, but he needed more information, so he stayed.
"Everyone, please tell me everything you know, okay? I will go around to each and every one of you and take notes. We need to make sense of this to determine our next steps."
People murmured their assent.
Behind her curtain, Narcissa cried in earnest for the first time in years. All those kids, their families, their friends. They were all very hurt. Her dear Daphne, the young woman Draco loved, was extremely hurt, and it was all due to her husband's penchant for mixing in with the wrong crowd and for her inability to provide a life for herself and her son away from him. In the next bed, Draco was praying to Merlin, to Circe, to Morgana so they would spare Daphne. Andromeda had her sedated. Her core was too unstable for any mending.
Hermione paced as she cooked some spaghetti sauce. They needed food that would be easily multipliable. Cooking wasn't Hermione's forte, but she was really good at making pasta. Her mom- Hermione's stomach squeezed painfully. She took a deep breath. Her mom had bought them lessons and they had learned together when they visited Tuscany. Were her parents okay? She could only hope what she did was enough. People seemed to think, for some strange reason, that Hermione had done what she did to her parents without any doubts in her heart. She felt guilty, unethical, immoral, and worst of all, she had no way of knowing if her actions had really saved them or just slowed down their inevitable deaths. Seeing the mess above, students that had been tortured, beaten, brutalized, raped, and God knew what else, was a wake-up call that made her feel supremely stupid.
Hermione Granger, supposed brightest witch of her age, had wiped her parents' memories and with it their knowledge of magic which could save their lives from Death Eaters' attacks or at the very least give them a fighting or a fleeing chance. She was so scared and concerned for them that she just thought of taking them as far away from danger. She didn't think beyond that. The Wilkins could be dead, and she had no way of knowing if they were. She should have been smarter. She should have thought of the future. But it was so hard to even imagine a future with the situation being as precarious as it was. She could barely think straight about the next few hours. Seeing the people that she grew up with fleeing persecution and the horrors of war, so hurt, and so scarred, didn't leave room for much else in her mind. She knew cortisol was impairing her ability to think properly but there was nothing she could do.
"Mione," Harry whispered.
Hermione jumped and turned around with a knife tightly gripped in her wand hand. She let out a shaky breath when she saw it was Harry and she placed the knife down. Harry pulled her in for a silent hug as he took over the stirring of the huge saucepan that was currently coming to a boil. He added the fresh basil she had chopped, mixed it in, and turned off the burner. Hermione didn't feel strong enough to cry anymore. It was all so dreary. If she started crying now, she wouldn't stop. She didn't have time to cry. A small voice in the back of her mind, that sounded a lot like her mother whispered, "You should schedule some time to cry, love." Hermione could have bawled but there were hungry, hurt people waiting. She felt herself pushing Harry away slowly.
"There is not a lot we can do for them, but we can feed them and try to heal them."
"We will," Harry nodded. He pulled out a calming draught. "Half and half?"
Hermione nodded. Their next shipment wouldn't come for another 24 hours. They couldn't have a full vial each. They were still expecting more hurt people who could need one.
The pasta was already on separate plates. They began serving the bolognese sauce and slowly, they took them up to the Infirmary in small trays for those who could not move but wanted to eat. Chyou and Luna had walked those who had been patched up enough down to the dining room so that the infirmary kept some space available for their missing people.
It had been an hour since the first injured people came. Harry took deep breaths as he worked to try and calm himself down. Sirius, Remus, Jing, Longwei, Kreacher, and Dobby should have been back by now and Professor McGonagall was still unaccounted for. If they were imprisoned, or heaven forbid, killed, Harry doubted their resistance would hold for much longer. A pop outside the infirmary had him running out.
"Sirius!" Harry barely managed to catch him as Remus fell to his knees and then down to the ground, unconscious. Behind them, an equally knocked out Jing was being carried by his son who looked ready to collapse. "HELP!"
Neville and Dudley, who had been picking up the remaining dirty dishes, ran to the door, and together they managed to pull the men inside and onto awaiting clean beds. Hermione ran upstairs. She had been doing dishes mostly to keep herself busy because she was about to start crawling up the walls.
"Bloody hell!" Ted exclaimed as he ran to Remus. His abdomen had been torn apart by what looked like claws. A hastily applied first aid spell had managed to keep his fascia mostly closed, but the cuts had grazed it. His left clavicle had been broken but fortunately, the bone stayed under the skin. Many cuts were bleeding all over his body. Andromeda was working as fast as she could healing the cuts. It took twice as many applications of Episkeys when the patient was a werewolf. She didn't even want to imagine what happened. For something to cut a werewolf, it had to have either been another werewolf or very nasty dark spells.
"Ted, please do the cuts so I can work on the abdomen! Hermione, where's your wand? Help him!" Andromeda said as she waved her wand in desperation over her son-in-law's midsection.
Dudley palmed Sirius's pockets, but Hermione's wand wasn't there. "I can't find it!"
Hermione paled. She instantly felt weaker and unprotected. Was this what Harry had been feeling all this time?
"Accio Hermione's wand!" Ted exclaimed. Nothing happened.
Longwei groaned. "It was blasted away from his hand in an explosion. I am sorry, fuck!"
Neville looked around. Everyone looked exhausted. The students downstairs were also exhausted, but they had wands. He ran out to bring people who wanted to help. He came back with Susan and Angelina. They joined Ted casting Episkeys. Daiyu was healing her husband and son with strange liquids and powders that the teens had never seen before, but they seemed to be very effective.
"Where's Dobby?" Hermione asked looking around. Harry looked at her, torn. He was currently holding Sirius' uninjured hand as his godfather, who had just regained consciousness, groaned into the pillow from the pain of horrible burns all over. He wanted to check on Dobby.
"He had to take Kreacher to their room. They are pretty banged up," Longwei replied.
"Stay," Hermione nodded at Harry. "I will go check on them," Hermione began walking away.
"Don't you dare give them any magic, Hermione. Remember what I told you!" Healer Tonks warned her.
"I know."
"Luna, please come with me," Hermione tapped her shoulder. Luna followed her without asking any questions. As they reached the door to the elves' room, Hermione took her hand, "Luna, would you find sharing magic straight from your core with someone who isn't human disgusting or disgraceful or wrong? If that magic can help them heal?"
"Not at all, Hermione. But I am not a powerful witch like you," Luna replied with a dreamy look.
"You are more powerful than you think. Please help me help the elves," Hermione begged with tearful eyes.
"Of course!"
Hermione knocked, "Kreacher, Dobby, can I come in?"
A weak voice replied yes, so, she pushed the door open. Her heart stopped for a couple of seconds. How were the elves alive? And just how many were there?
Luna gasped behind her. "Hermione... we will need more people."
"I know."
Some of the wizards and witches outside adamantly refused to share their core with an elf. Hermione had no energy to fight with them and in any case, the idea behind sharing magic was that it was voluntary. Others, particularly first-generation magical teens, who were very grateful to the elves, had no problem. Out of those who were strong enough and willing to share their energy, only three had enough control of their cores to manage pushing that energy to someone else at will. There were now twelve elves in the bedroom.
Hermione had been shocked at seeing what Kreacher had done to their bedroom. Instead of the human-sized bed, there were 10 nests in a single line to the left and the same on the other side of the room. Kreacher had somehow made a second floor of sorts. Above there were potions. There were also herbs and seaweed hanging to dry from the ceiling. Kreacher was very weak, but he refused to allow Hermione to share her core which she was willing to do even against Andromeda's orders.
Harry came down as soon as Sirius was sedated and stable. He could tell Dobby was very hurt. He found both Dobby and Kreacher hanging by a thread. Hermione was desolate. Luna was helping two elves simultaneously. Harry smiled with pride. Luna was a tough cookie. Her heart remained as giving as it had always been even after everything she had been through. Hermione was holding both Kreacher's and Dobby's hands. Harry stepped in toward her and placed his hands on top of the elves' small hands.
"Tell me what to do," Harry asked.
"Just find your core and once you have grasped it, push energy wishing for them to heal. Push with your mind and with your heart. Once they are full, they will glow and start to levitate off the nests," Hermione said.
"Okay, I will try my best," Harry smiled. His hand was large enough that he could hold both the elves' and Hermione's hands at the same time. He closed his eyes and squeezed the hands in his. Hermione was about to tell him to place his hands on their chests, but suddenly, she felt a burst of energy that left her unable to speak, to think, to do anything, but to feel its power and its ascent from her hands to the rest of her like a tsunami. All she could do was open her eyes.
She was slightly blinded by the light Harry's body was emanating. His hair was flying up with a wind that wasn't there. His eyes were all white, and his scar was cut open bleeding a mixture of red and black. Dobby was barely still connected to Harry as his body floated. His own eyes were all white as were Kreacher's. Luna approached slowly and pulled the elves' hands away from Harry's grip. Harry didn't even notice the change and he kept pushing healing energy. Hermione was getting all of it now.
The witch felt a strange deep, slow-burning heat in her lower belly that began expanding, and as it did, she felt herself growing stronger than ever before and healthier. There was something inside her that seemed to be resisting. Luna and Neville gasped as did the elves when Hermione began floating off the chair. Harry's hold on her hands tightened, securing her, but she was still hovering over the ground and the wizard's eyes were still all white. She doubted he could see anything or that he was aware of what was going on. Luna grabbed some clean bandages and pressed them against Harry's scar, carefully.
There was a wave of wind that came out of Harry's core that pushed Hermione against the wall and Luna flew backward. Luckily Neville was there to catch her. His jaw hanging from the shock. The elves that could move had thrown themselves down. Harry was pulled with Hermione toward the wall because her hands were glued to his own, or at least they felt that way. Suddenly Harry's arms began to shake, his eyes were no longer white, but bloodshot and teary. He had been in pain since the process started but he just assumed it was what he was supposed to feel. He fell to his knees breaking the connection to Hermione who floated down to her feet and almost to the floor as she felt the weight of the energy inside her anchoring her body.
Hermione could not move, but she could feel the energy moving through her veins, fixing, healing, reversing the damage. The witch had no idea how she could tell that was what was happening, but it was as if her core understood what Harry's magic was doing and it willingly yielded to his influence. Harry drew in a shaky breath and collapsed face down. Luna and Neville ran to Harry. They shared a look. Harry was pale and looked dead. He was drained. Neville lifted him up over his healthy shoulder and rushed to the infirmary. Luna took Hermione's hands. They were very warm and shaking.
"Hermione? Are you there? Can you hear me?"
"L-Luna?"
"Hey, deep breaths now."
Hermione's eyes widened and she looked around fearfully. The elves that were conscious and the teens that were working on the elves were looking at Hermione in shock stillness. "W-Where is Harry? I-Is he okay?"
"I will take you to him. Can you walk?"
Hermione took a step, but her left knee buckled slightly so Luna wrapped her arm around the brunette's waist and began half-pushing, half-pulling her to the second floor.
Upstairs all the patients that needed it were finally sedated and Andromeda was beyond exhausted. Neville banged against the door bringing a Harry who looked like he had been killed several times over. Andromeda turned white as a sheet as she did a diagnostic on Harry.
"What the hell did he do?!"
"Well, we were helping the elves by sharing our magic with them-" Neville began.
"How many did he do?!"
"Two," Neville said with a frown.
"That's impossible. This level of magical exhaustion does not match with that. It makes no sense. These levels put him close to losing his magic permanently! Not even five elves on their deathbeds would take this much power!" Andromeda whisper-shouted.
"He also did Hermione," Neville said in a questioning tone.
Andromeda gasped, "What do you mean by 'did Hermione', Neville?!"
"He took the elves' hands, but Hermione's hands had been holding them first, so, he sort of sandwiched the elves' hands in between his and Hermione's and started pushing energy."
"Do you mean to tell me that he tried to heal Hermione's core AND two elves' cores at the same time!?" Andromeda was aghast. She had never heard of anyone attempting anything like that.
"I don't think he did it purposefully. He probably thought that his magic would only go to the elves..." Neville trailed off. His expression changed and he grew pale, "Wait a minute, what do you mean heal her core? What the hell happened to her core?"
"Where is Hermione?" Andromeda ignored his questions.
"Here!" Luna walked in semi-dragging Hermione.
"Hermione, what did I tell you?! What were you thinking?!" Andromeda snapped.
"I d-didn't do anything. I was going to t-tell him to place his h-hands on their chest, but when his energy c-came inside me there was so much of it, so quickly, and it was so strong that I couldn't move or speak."
Dobby and Kreacher popped in once they healed several elves each with their supercharged cores. They looked stronger and taller than they ever did.
"Is Mistress okay?" Kreacher asked Andromeda
Dobby squeaked, "Is Master going to be okay?"
"Can we returns some magics to Master?" Dobby asked with teary eyes as he looked at Harry's translucent skin.
"No, Dobby. His core is too unstable. Any attempt to influence it could be catastrophic. Hermione, get on this bed, I need to examine you. Please go take care of the other elves, Kreacher, and Dobby. I will try to be there soon."
Hermione got on the bed and just stared at Harry. She had seen him hurt many times, but this was way beyond that. He looked like he was too far gone to come back. "Is he breathing?"
Andromeda turned to Harry and checked him again. His breathing was faint. "What happened to his scar?!"
Luna tapped the healer and showed her the discarded bandages with blood and the black tar-like substance that came out of the lightning bolt scar. "Healer Tonks? While Harry was pushing energy to the three of them, the elves started levitating so I pulled their hands away from his. When his and Hermione's cores connected, his scar split open and oozed this."
Andromeda did several spells and gasped. "Merlin and Morgana help us!"
"What is it?"
"He... He had a Horcrux inside him."
"What?!"
The monitoring spells Andromeda placed on Harry let out an alarming loud pitch. His heart stopped.
"I can't use magic. His core can't take it," the healer panicked.
Hermione jumped off the bed and started CPR. "You don't get to die on me, Harry!"
Luna looked at the teens with horror. Harry couldn't die. It couldn't happen. If Harry died, they would lose the war. They would lose everything. Xenophilius had been interviewing the teens to have something to publish soon but he could feel his daughter was somewhere in distress, so he came to the infirmary. He saw Ms. Granger doing some sort of muggle healing on Mr. Potter who looked ready to die. He heard the word Horcrux and looked at the bandages covered in black goo.
"Harry!" Hermione grunted as she kept doing chest compressions.
Andromeda was freaking out. She really didn't want to shock him with magic... Unless!
"Dudley, hit his chest as hard as you can!" Andromeda exclaimed. The precordial thump was quite medieval and didn't have a high success rate, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
"What?"
"Once! Put your strongest fist like this," Andromeda demonstrated, "With all your strength, you hit him once over the heart, exactly where Hermione is pressing. Out of the way Hermione"
"What if I hurt him?"
"I can heal broken ribs, but he has to be alive for that, damn it! Do it! NOW!" Andromeda yelled.
Neville wrapped his arms around Hermione and ripped her off Harry.
Dudley jumped onto the stretcher and knelt with each of his legs to Harry's sides. He took a deep breath. Harry already looked dead. "Live damn it!" he yelled as he swung down and threw all his strength into hitting Harry's chest.
Harry sat up throwing Dudley off the bed and pulling in a deep breath. His eyes were wide and his whole body shook. "H-Hermione," he whispered, reaching for her as he fell back down. Neville let her go and she held Harry's hand. "I am here, Harry. You are going to be okay. You must..."
Andromeda made sure Harry was really alive by checking him over again. "I need your word that neither of you will use magic for at least 72 hours."
Dudley looked at Harry with relief. He wouldn't have been able to forgive himself if he killed his cousin. There was something that sounded like a phone. "What is that sound?"
"The mirror!" Neville put his hand inside Hermione's pocket and pulled it out.
The broken voice of Minerva McGonagall sounded echoey and weak, "Hermione?"
"Professor!"
"I... I think I am on the island now."
"This island?! How?!"
"Nevermind how!" Hermione kissed Harry's brow. "I will be right back."
"M-Mione, you can a-apparate. I added you to the wards," Harry's head lolled to the side.
Hermione concentrated and vanished appearing a few feet away from Professor McGonagall who was on her knees holding the sword of Gryffindor with a vice grip. Her dress was torn in places and partially burnt. She was covered in gashes and bruises.
"Professor! What did they do to you?" Hermione lifted the professor. "I will side apparate you to the Infirmary."
Andromeda downed a grand pepper up like a shot of tequila as soon as Hermione left. It was her third one of the day. She would be super jittery the next day and insomniac for about a week, but none of it mattered because Minerva McGonagall would NOT die in her Infirmary or under her watch.
A/N: Thank you for reading. I swear the cliff-hanger ends are not on purpose. It just keeps happening. This is almost 9k words and I have to take cut it somewhere. To those of you lovely people who are always leaving sweet and encouraging messages, thank you! Your words always make my day brighter. Seeing the same names pop up in my notifications always makes me smile. To those of you wondering, I do not update more often because a) I am a busy woman, and b) I write long chapters that I have to proofread and edit myself. If there was a typo, a missing space, or something it is all on me. That's just the way I roll. I would love for this to pay the bills, but alas, it does not so I have to keep working my day job which I also love. Thank you all for the birthday wishes and the inspiring words. I am looking into self-publishing original work. I would like to know if you would be interested to read it. Let me know :) I hope to upload again in April but I want to update other stories too so, no promises. Stay safe and healthy wherever you are! xo
Wonderful, loyal readers, stop reading this A/N here. What's next is not for you, my lovelies.
Now for the trolls, the self-centered, entitled people who think they can say horrible things to me on reviews or in my inbox, I am no longer replying, you will be straight up blocked. Stay away from me and my stories. Nobody begged you to read this. You don't get to act offended when a story is rated and summarized appropriately and you choose to ignore both. I don't do 'trigger warnings' because I choose the highest possible rating for this site. If you choose to read and it is too much for your sensibilities, your preferred ships, or your ego, click away. I don't need a justification. I don't want one. I don't need any mean messages calling me horrible names and talking about my stories as if you get to decide what happens all the while disparaging my writing. You kept reading for a reason. No one forced you to go on. You keep coming to my stories for a reason. I will not presume to tell you the reason, but maybe you should think about that. What makes you so uncomfortable with my stories? Why is that? It sounds like a you problem. It is almost always people who do not write at all the ones who are unnecessarily hateful. They believe they are literary critics and sole owners of what makes good writing, but they refuse to write because they are afraid of bullies like them finding their story and treating them like they treat others. I have had people trying to teach me grammar, history, theology, etc. People think they can disguise a hateful comment in a review or a disgusting direct message that, again, no one asked for. They want to tell me how to write my own story, they want another plot, they want other pairings, they want to tell me what canon is and what it isn't and I am tired of it. I am not here to win a writing or a popularity contest. This is not a restaurant for you to order from a menu, and if it were, I would be one of those chefs that does not do substitutions of any kind. You can either eat what is available as it is or you can take your special dietary needs elsewhere. I post my stories here for free to entertain strangers on the internet, not to be harassed. Once again, don't like, don't read. It's in the summary of this story you insisted to read. Rant is over. Bye. -Lux-