They all looked intrigued as Harry began to relay the vision and to his friend's horror, revealed the location… Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; causing the other two members of the Golden Trio to swear and protest loudly.
-EVIL LINE BREAK-
Yeah, I know. I have a plan for the Battle *Evil grin*
Hermione sat there, looking in complete shock after the revelation of the last Horcruxes. Anna had frowned softly, got out of the water and grabbed her duffel bag from the silver beaded bag and was currently routing around in it and bringing out various weapons, including a sawn off shotgun and what appeared to be shotgun rounds which she carefully checked and before pulling out a flask and beckoning Harry forward while dripping wet on the ground.
"I don't think the one at Hogwarts is the last one, Harry." She told them all, the dragon waking up and 'watching' them. Harry looked slightly confused as she unclasped the lid and splashed his scar with the contents within. Immediately, his scar felt like it was on fire as he bent forward and held it while he hissed and what looked like steam came from the wetted skin. Anna looked saddened when they all looked at her, Ron and Hermione bringing out their wands to aim at her as they came froward to help their friend as they shouted why she'd done this. It was chaotic enough that neither heard the dragon stand and then wings flapping before a completely new, croaky voice joined the fray and shouted, "Stop!"
Anna stood there, looking at the woman who'd appeared as the three teenagers turned. She had greyed hair, was skinny, but not starved and was looking around blindly as if she had not seen the sun in quite a while. The woman stayed where she was stood but turned her head to Harry as he stood again and sniffed the air before growling, "Demons."
"Not quite, O dragon." Anna replied, coming forward, "Rather, I was testing a theory of mine. That theory turned out to be correct."
The woman seemed to then turn her attention to Anna as her face scrunched up slightly and frowned, "And you are not human either. I have been around for many a century and I have never come across the likes of you… You feel…"
The woman tapered off before she was focusing on the three teenagers by Anna and a slight smile came before, "You three will have caused a great hullaballoo in the Wizarding world by stealing that goblet."
"We need it." Hermione managed to squeak as the woman hummed. The disguise was wearing off now as Anna laid a hand on Hermione's shoulder and squeezed gently, only to be shrugged off as the woman nodded gently.
"I'm aware of that. So, how are you going to destroy the Horcrux within?"
"We…" Harry seemed to stutter, just surprised by the woman, who a few minutes before had been a fully grown Ukranian Ironbelly.
"We're not destroying the item." Anna spoke up, stepping forward with the hip flask held up as she held out a hand for the goblet, "We will however be destroying the soul trapped within it."
The three teenagers looked to Anna as she said this. Each held a look of confusion before Harry handed the goblet over before she was pouring water into the cup where it smoked quite heavily when the water touched the metal. Anna's brows furrowed as she emptied the goblet and replaced the stopper on the flask, which she hid away in the folds of her jacket.
"The last place we need to go is Hogwarts, Anna." Ron spoke up, confused as to why the goblet had smoke. Anna was looking distracted as she nodded and looked to them all, one at a time.
"But not tonight." Was her answer, "We need to plan before we can appear at the school…"
…
The next few hours passed before Anna was stepping out of the tent to keep look out. The three teenagers were huddled together asleep on the sofa, blankets and pillows wrapped around and underneath them.
Looking around as she walked around the interior of the warding, she sensed the draconic woman coming up behind her and turned, saying, "We're not keeping you here. You can leave anytime you want."
"I know." Came the answer, the woman looking at her, but also through her. It seemed that she was unable to see in the dark after many years in the bowels of the Bank. "That doesn't exactly mean I want to."
"How do you mean?" Anna raised her eyebrows to the dragon, hoping her tone alone conveyed the message as the dragon walked forward and past her, going to the edge of the warding, stopping and stood there while she replied, "You set me free. I was just another part of the security measure in Gringotts but the Bellatrix imposter cast her curse upon my chains. It could have been aimed at myself but no, you all trusted that I would not harm you when we landed. That, and I'm unable to see properly. In the dark, at least."
"We needed a way to escape." Anna approached her, watching as she nodded slightly, "Believe it or not, it was either disapparate, which I hate to begin with or get captured and searched. And I'm not one for giving up any of my secrets."
"And yet, you have."
"Oh?"
"They seem to trust you. Yet you haven't told them the truth about that goblet or the soul within."
"I can't." Anna was beside the woman now and looking out over the lake they currently resided by, "That goblet, and Harry hold a piece of a darkened soul. A demon in the making."
"I'm aware of the human that Wizards call You-Know-Who. I was not aware he had made a pact."
"Maybe, maybe not but Heaven and Hell aren't exactly the best of friends. Our eternal war carries on even now. I may have become dissatisfied and Fallen and therefore running from Michael but I regained my Grace and I can hear the battles, feel the darkness that lies within Harry Potter and the goblet of Helga Hufflepuff."
"The boy? Does he know what you did was a Hunter test?"
"Quite possibly. He and the other two met the Winchesters before we left for the bank then earlier this year Harry and Hermione met Bobby Singer, another Hunter and father figure to both Dean and Sam."
"And they still live? Hunters have been known to be quite ruthless and there are rumours of the Winchester family."
"Yeah, the kids are still alive. But I know You-Know-Who won't be soon." Anna sounded so sure of herself that the draconic woman looked to her almost surprised as the angel looked to her companion, adding, "I need to do something.. Get them all go Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or the neighbouring village. Keep them out of sight of everyone; you know yourself that they're Wanted."
"And if they ask where you went?"
Anna seemed to pause then before a determined smile came onto her face, replying with, "Tell them I've gone to some of their allies."
With that and the tell-tale sound of Feathers being rustled, the angel disappeared, leaving the dragon alone. Only for a splash to echo through the night and startle her into 'looking' out over the lake and frown before feeling her way back to the campsite and settling down for the remainder of the night.
The night soon turned into dawn as Hermione emerged to gather water and spotted her still sat there, statue-esque with her eyes closed in a trance.
"Good morning." Her voice sounded more human with an accent as Hermione jumped back slightly. This reaction resulted in soft laughter as the woman got up from her position and smiled, "You do not have to be afraid. That was the one luxury I had in the bank. Being able to scare the employees in this form while they looked for my dragon form."
Hermione was stunned to hear her talk so freely that she even surprised herself with the next words, "And you enjoyed that?"
"Not so much these days. I'm blind in the dark for so long that I can't see the reaction but I can still hear. I heard you coming out of the tent." Was the answer, "You're going to the school today, aren't you?"
"I don't know myself. We've spent the entire year running from the Dark Forces that we had to skip our last year." Hermione answered, looking around. The woman was looking at her steadily but no sign of Anna anywhere as she then asked, "Where's Anna? We better be going soon and I don't know if she knows the way."
"To Hogwarts?" Hermione 'mmhmm'ed' at the question bringing about a chortle as the woman shook her head, "Never underestimate Angels. I'm sure she's told you this time and again but angels are warriors of God himself. When they're not fighting demons, they watch. Sometime in her past, Anna will have seen Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry... In any case, she went to some of your allies."