- Room of Requirement, 13th of May 1995 -
"Reducto!" Hermione yelled as she aimed her wand at Harry.
The Boy Who Lived jumped out of the way in the nick of time and almost landed into Draco's silent Stupefy. Harry rolled backwards instead and hid behind one of the giant rocks that the Room had provided for their training session.
All three teens were panting heavily and catching their breaths. The whole year they had been training intensely, trying to prepare Harry for whatever was waiting at the end of the Tournament. For what lay beyond the maze. After all, this was the only reason why Harry was participating. To see what trap Voldemort and his cronies had laid for him.
Hermione's consciousness drifted to the back of Draco's mind, trying to catch his attention as Harry was rapidly firing spells at both of them. Thanks to their connection, and the increase in both Hermione's and Draco's core after he became Lord Malfoy, they were nearly unstoppable. Only Luna had managed to beat the duo because she could of course predict their every move.
Amelia and Sirius were severely impressed when they too came to train and improve the teens' agility, stamina, and magical power. They had even mentioned how all three of their magical cores were larger than they should have been considering their ages. Who knew what the limits of their powers would be once they reached magical maturity?
"Any suggestions ?" Draco asked Hermione as he levitated and hurled one of the rocks at Harry, making the Potter heir run away to a better hiding spot.
" We need a distraction, " the brunette answered.
When Draco glanced over at her he could see the calculating look on her face. He could only hope that her training so much now would prepare her better for whatever the future held in store for them. That she would not die like she had the last time. Even if it was unfair to expect a nearly sixteen-year-old girl to have to think about a war looming overhead.
" You are better at disillusioning yourself. Go for Harry when he least expects it. I will hold him off ," Hermione stated, having come up with a plan.
They nodded at one another, and before Draco disillusioned himself he saw that she closed her eyes in concentration. All he had to do now was wait for her signal.
She whispered an 'avis' and a hoard of tiny birds flew after Harry angrily.
The Boy Who Lived waved his wand, red magic spilling out of it and stunning half of the birds. It wasn't enough though, since he had to duck behind another rock to avoid the rest of the birds. Some managed to get to him and knocked off his glasses. He scrambled on the floor, trying to find them before either Hermione or Draco would notice. Harry didn't know that both of them had already.
" Permanent sticking charm for his glasses, perhaps? Or a trip to an eye healer so he doesn't need them anymore? " Hermione wondered as Draco crept up on Harry who was still unaware of his presence nearby.
The raven-haired boy got hit between his shoulder blades right as he finally found his glasses and was ready to fight again. With a flick of her wand, Hermione cast a cushioning charm underneath Harry so he wouldn't faceplant straight into the floor.
"I swear this isn't fair," Harry grumbled as Draco revived him. "Do you know how difficult it is duelling you two when you don't even need to communicate?"
"Did you hear something, Mione?" Draco asked, ignoring Harry. The blond turned around in a circle and held his hand close to his ear, acting as if he was trying to figure out where any potential sounds were coming from.
"All I hear is excuses," Hermione quipped. She smirked at Draco as she helped Harry to stand up. "You should ask Sirius to teach you a proper sticking charm," she advised. "Losing your glasses in the middle of battle isn't ideal."
Harry nodded in response and Draco handed him a towel so he could wipe the sweat and grime off his face. Hermione passed out a few bottles of water and they all settled on one of the couches the Room provided, the battlefield behind them disappearing as they walked away from it. They were in desperate need of a break.
"We wouldn't have beaten you if we were on our own," Draco told his best friend earnestly. "Your magical core and the power you can draw from it is out of this world for someone your age, Harry."
"Draco is right," Hermione agreed. "I've felt my own core expand a little now that I'm the Heiress to an ancient house, but you are Lord Slytherin, Harry. And Heir to house Peverell and Potter. But even so, your status can only do so much. Your core cannot expand beyond the magical power you were born with, it just comes sooner to you than most others. Don't underestimate yourself and your capabilities. Sirius said himself that he and your father were never this skilled at Defense when they were your age. Not even Professor Lupin was, and he achieved his mastery when he was merely nineteen."
They talked for a little longer and Hermione added a list of offensive and defensive spells in her never-ending notebook. She'd started summarising everything they'd learnt so far, and everything they still needed to learn at the beginning of the year. A shorter overview of healing spells had also made its way into her book, as well as some magic that could be considered dark that Draco had found in the Malfoy library. Harry had even asked Sirona for some tips on parselmagic when he and Luna went to visit her a few weeks ago.
Sirius and Amelia joined the three of them in the Room soon after. They often visited on Saturday afternoons to help them train, considering none of the Hogwarts professors were allowed to help the champions practise for the Tournament. Molly Weasley had been more than happy to babysit the twins on these occasions.
"Rough day?" Sirius asked as he looked at the cuts and bruises that were slowly healing on his godson's face and arms.
"I'm fine," Harry shrugged. "I almost got them too, if Hermione didn't pull another N.E.W.T. spell out of her a-" the brunette looked at him sternly, daring him to continue that sentence. "Her arsenal," Harry finished sheepishly. Draco grinned at Harry.
"You should be having fun and playing quidditch instead of training as if you are preparing to join the Auror Academy," Amelia sighed as she hugged Harry close to her, smiling at Hermione and Draco in greeting.
"Has the D.M.L.E. figured out yet who put Harry's name in the cup?" Draco wondered. Amelia had started working again in January and had sent multiple aurors to spy on potential death eaters across England, Scotland, and Albania. So far, they had had no success.
Amelia shook her head. "No, we haven't. This is why Sirius and I thought we should teach the three of you about anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards. Unless there are strong leylines in the vicinity, the perimeter usually isn't that wide and should be easy to outrun. We want you three to be able to detect portkeys and wards that can prevent you from getting out of a pickle. You never know what trap they will be sending you into, Harry," the red-haired witch specified.
The rest of the afternoon the three Slytherins learnt everything they could about portkeys and apparition. They focused mainly on the portkeys, and anti-portkey wards since none of them were of age yet and could therefore not apparate. If only they knew.
Draco knew all of this magic already, but he managed to nod at the appropriate moments and even acted as if he was struggling to cast a Portus charm.
"You three should also start to check your letters and your food," Sirius stated. "After what happened to Mione… And now that the third task is nearing… Potions and curses can be easily added to your meals. Be careful. All of you."
Hermione added the spell to her ever-growing list, and all three of them were able to cast it after a few tries.
Once they were done for the day, Sirius smiled at all three of them. "I am impressed by how much you have improved these past few months. You make each other better. You push each other to be your best selves. I'm so proud. And I'm sure your father would be too, Harry."
The Marauder then turned to Hermione. "You, little kitten, are just like Lily. She was always prepared, had a tendency to overthink, and used her book smarts and quick thinking to keep the rest of us out of trouble."
"And you," Sirius continued as he took Harry's shoulder in a friendly gesture. "You have shown that you're both a powerful and compassionate wizard. Don't think Remus hasn't noticed you've been teaching some of the younger Slytherins Defense. The first and second years are outdoing the other three Houses."
"Cousin," Sirius nodded to Draco last. "Amelia, love. What is it you always say about Draco?"
The Director rolled her eyes at her husband, before addressing the blond teen in front of her. "Please take this as a compliment, dear. You have the mind of a soldier. I've seen how you try to strategise and look for an escape route whenever you enter a room. I've also noticed you've been holding back when training with the others. Your wand flow is absolutely beautiful. Have you been attempting to improve your cast sequence?"
Draco sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he nodded. He'd never really managed to string spells together. He'd just started practising it this year. Linking spells and wand movements together in such a way that the casting speed increased was quite difficult.
The conversation soon shifted to whatever dangers lay behind the maze, and how the Dark Lord was planning to return. Was he planning on using a Horcrux? But what could any potential other Horcruxes be? The goblins and Amelia's team had been stuck on these issues for a while now.
"What about the snake Harry sometimes sees in his nightmares?" Hermione mused.
"That's certainly a possibility," Amelia agreed. "The goblins also assume that Voldemort has used more heirlooms, not just Hufflepuff's Cup and Slytherin's Locket. Perhaps even one in the Gaunt line, even though we haven't found much in that regard. If there is an estate left under the Gaunt name, You-Know-Who has probably managed to hide it from the ministry records."
"The sword of Gryffindor is out of the question," Sirius supplied. "Minerva and I have discussed it at length and we've investigated the sword already. Perhaps there are some other heirlooms?"
"Luna's mentioned the lost diadem of Ravenclaw once," Harry piped up. "She told me she found it one night while looking for some of her things that the other Ravenclaws had hidden."
Draco noticed Hermione frowning at that. "Do you know how valuable that heirloom is, Harry? I can't believe Luna happened upon it here at Hogwarts and told no one she'd found it," she said, utterly confused.
"What did Luna say exactly ?" Draco wondered. "We all know Luna has a way with words."
Harry shrugged, having difficulty remembering. "She didn't say much. In fact, she immediately started telling me some bedtime story about a crown hidden by a ghost covered in his lover's blood and that it was stashed away in a room of things. I thought she just got distracted and I honestly don't remember half of the story."
Hermione gasped. "Hidden in a room of things? By a ghost covered in his lover's blood?" Draco could see her mind race, making the connections all of them were obviously lacking. "She's talking about the Room of Requirement and the Bloody Baron who used to be in love with Ravenclaw's daughter! The house elves don't just call this the 'Come and Go Room'. They also call it 'The Room of Hidden Things'!" the witch excitedly explained as she looked up to the ceiling, a look of concentration on her face. "We can find out right now if my theory is correct or not!"
Draco felt more than a little dizzy when the whole room shifted and the five of them suddenly fell flat on their arses. He felt like he was in an antique shop hidden in a corner of Knockturn Alley. There was so much stuff and dust . Merlin, what was this place?
"Honestly, Mione. How do you remember these things?" Draco muttered as he stood up.
"I paid attention when we went to Sir Nicholas' Deathday Party in second year," she stated. "Me and Luna spent a while talking to the Grey Lady. She's Helena Ravenclaw, Rowena's daughter."
Interrupting their conversation, Harry ominously whispered "It's here," reminding the others of his unfortunate status as a Horcrux himself.
Amelia and Sirius quickly cleared a path for them to walk through the thousands upon thousands of objects the Room housed. They all followed Harry, their wands drawn, as he slowly but surely led them to the lost Diadem of Ravenclaw. The fifth Horcrux. Draco couldn't believe how lucky they were. Well. Perhaps they weren't merely lucky. They had Luna on their side after all.
"I think it knows I am one too," Harry murmured as Amelia found some metal container in the heaps of junk so she could safely store the foul piece of magic. The goblins would take care of it, and then another Heirloom would be returned to the School once Voldemort was defeated.
"Magical bonds can be a tricky thing to break," Sirius said. "But once we remove the Horcrux from you, nothing will connect you to that foul piece of magic any longer. Don't be afraid if you want to remove it instead of keeping it in your head. You can always tell us."
"I am scared," Harry admitted. "But not of having the Horcrux stuck in my head. I'm terrified that it will be either him or me. After that dementor attack last year, and hearing Mum scream… Now that I know of the prophecy and the Horcruxes Voldemort has left behind… It's inevitable, isn't it? He will keep coming back, until one of us…"
"It's alright to be frightened, Harry," Hermione answered, hugging him.
"She's right, pup," Sirius exclaimed as he pulled a ring out of his pocket. "But don't think you will be on your own. Take this. It belonged to your dad. We added some tracking and portkey charms on it, so if you are ever in trouble, we will either know how to find you, or you will be able to get out immediately. A whole team of aurors will be ready to follow you if something goes wrong during the third task," Lord Black assured his godson. "I've also added some… Additions and changed the gem to an emerald. Make sure to hide it though, we don't want anyone to know you have such a powerful trinket on you. There's Potter and Black blood trapped in it. After my mother kicked me out of Grimmauld, me and your father spoke a vow to become blood brothers. It should keep you safe in case your own blood magic connected to the Evans family fails."
Harry held his father's ring in his hands as if it were sacred and thanked Sirius and Amelia for such a precious gift before he slipped it on his finger.
"Great aunt Cassiopeia's handiwork?" Draco questioned as he and Hermione observed the ring.
"You know of it?" Sirius sounded surprised.
"I…" What was he supposed to answer? That he'd once made it as a trinket to gift to his wife as a marriage vow? To protect her?
"I dabbled in protection charms and blood magic before. I wanted to see if I could pour my magic into some sort of heirloom to protect those closest to me. My mum, Hermione, Harry…" he admitted. Draco wasn't lying. He had been tinkering with some new jewellery and charms for his friends and family. He just didn't start working on it as recently as he claimed.
"Do you have any prototype?" Sirius questioned, clearly interested in what spells he'd added to his trinkets.
Draco reached into his pocket and had to hide his blush as he handed Sirius an ankle bracelet, this time coloured in silver and emerald green.
"Remarkable rune work, cousin," the Marauder admired as he lifted the bracelet to the shallow light of Amelia's wand. Draco's own blood was shining through one of the charms hanging off of it. "Quite powerful too. Infused with both Malfoy and Black family magic, I presume?"
"Yes. I've been trying to see if I can add them to lordship and ladyship rings," he admitted as the ankle bracelet was passed between the other four wizards and witches. "Mione said she didn't like the way her heiress ring looked, so I assumed some jewellery that was inconspicuous and reminded her of her muggle childhood might be a good replacement."
"That's very considerate of you, Draco," Hermione thanked him as she handed the bracelet back to him. "It means a lot to me that you've been thinking about keeping me safe."
"I can also put some protective Malfoy magic on your ring, Harry," Draco said, trying to dodge Hermione's gaze. She was looking at him so intently that he felt she could see into his soul. "I hadn't started working on anything for you yet, but I could put enchantments on the ring so it becomes stronger."
"That's all good and well," Harry said. "But what about you, mate? Who or what will protect you?"
"The two of us will," Hermione exclaimed confidently, warming his heart.