Chapter 70: The approaching war

All the newly-released prisoners found themselves at the Shell Cottage. Dobby had brought them here knowing that it would be a place where his friends would be safe. Hermione hurried to treat Henry, the spell had begun to destroy his body from the inside, the young man was not made to face this kind of magic.

- Are you alright? Is everyone all right? asked the young woman.

- Yes, I must admit you were extremely quick to rescue the damsel in distress that I was, laughed Henry.

- You were perfect, Miss Granger, exclaimed Ollivanders.

The rest of the group could only agree. Luna was beaming at the idea of being out of that cellar, tapping her feet in the water as she smiled. In the distance, Bill, Fleur and Ron came running up to their friends, immediately giving them a hug.

- I'm sorry, I'm so sorry to have abandoned you...

- You're here now, that's all that matters, exclaimed Harry.

Everyone felt happy and lucky to have escaped with their lives. In other places and circumstances, there would probably have been deaths during this confrontation. For the first time in a long time, Hermione was happy with the powers she had acquired. The young woman helped Henry up before he was completely drenched by the waves. The whole group set off towards the cottage, but Henry held his other half by the hand, wanting to have a little chat with her on his own. Noticing this, the rest of the team gave them some privacy.

- What's the matter, Henry? Does anything hurt? I thought I had you completely ...

The witch's sentence was cut short by Henry, who drew her to him and kissed her. After what had just happened, he needed to express what he was feeling with more than just words. Slightly surprised by the young man's initiative, Hermione stood for a few seconds without reacting before kissing him back, remaining in his arms for a few minutes afterwards. They then rejoined the others, their cheeks flushing slightly.

- You still have such a beautiful aura! Luna smiled, looking at Hermione from head to toe.

- Thank you, your words are always such a pleasure to hear. Still, I'm far from perfect morally, you know.

- You know, it's not the things we do without choosing that define us. Look, no one died today, you saved us. That's what we have to remember, isn't it?

Hermione was still fascinated by her fellow Ravenclaw's vision of the world. The few moments she had spent with her had done her good and refreshed her. Harry, Ron and Henry had left them to talk and had taken the opportunity to get some useful information from the other inmates of the manor.

After discussing it for a long time, the trio decided to go to Gringotts to find out what Bellatrix's safe might be hiding. They knew she must be hiding something more than important to have been so worried at the sight of the sword. Hermione would take on the appearance of the Slytherin, Harry would hide under his invisibility cloak and Henry would be slightly aged by the witch's magic to remain unrecognisable. They would be accompanied by Griphook to show them the way. Ron would continue to work for the resistance alongside his family.

Their adventure went almost without a hitch, but it was only once they had the cup that everything went wrong. Griphook slipped away with the sword, locking them in the vault. That didn't stop Hermione for long, but there was still one big problem: the dragon.

- Do you have anything to distract him with, Mione? Henry asked, still marvelling at the creature.

- I was thinking of using it to our advantage, even if my plan is halfway between madness and suicide! she shouted.

Without waiting any longer, she exploded the ceiling and the dragon's chains, which they took as their mount. Once they were far away, they had to decide what to do next. Harry had had a vision of the Ravenclaw's tiara, which was most likely at Hogwarts, as well as the means of destroying the horcruxes: basilisk fangs. So the choice had been made: their next destination would be Hogwarts.

-0-

Storybrooke had been transformed into a training camp. Ruby, Regina and Emma had spared no effort, as had Remus and Sirius, who had improvised themselves as trainers. Everyone was on a war footing and the three women were more pumped up than ever and ready to fight. However, the two wizards wanted to keep the advantage of surprise and had managed to convince them to wait until the last moment before showing themselves to the wizarding world.

The whole town had heard about some teenagers in the forest from rumours on the radio, via discussions between mercenaries. From various spies, they had learned that everyone had fared well and that it was the Death Eaters who bitterly regretted the fight. A touch of pride was felt by everyone in town and this increased their motivation.

- We have new information, the final battle is getting closer and will take place at Hogwarts. Remus explained.

- That's good, I've always wanted to see the school with my own eyes, exclaimed Emma.

Belle then took Sirius in her arms. She knew that a war inevitably meant that there would be deaths on both sides. The librarian wanted to believe that for once she too would have a happy ending, especially after almost losing Sirius the first time.

- You'd better come back, you hear me?

- You know I'd do everything in my power to have the chance of a peaceful future by your side, replied the Englishman.

- Except that it won't just be by my side.

Sirius gave a questioning look. The brunette then took his hand and placed it on her belly. Understanding immediately what she was implying, the wizard kissed her and took her in his arms, vowing to return at all costs. After a few congratulations, the group set off for Hogwarts, more motivated than ever to win this war.

Note : Everything's going well, all I have to do now is write the epilogue (chap 76) and everything will be ready for the next publications!