Chapter Thirty Eight
"Gosh I am sorry!" Xenophilius gasped as the pile of cans clattered to the ground causing Harry, Hermione and Draco to jump out of the bed, wands drawn, "Luna does tend to leave things in a bit of a mess. I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to let you know it's all written."
Harry rubbed his eyes and read the article over Hermione's shoulder. It was good, perfect in fact. Managing to make it sound like Hermione really could be the true heir of Slytherin.
"This is brilliant, thank you." Draco said.
Xenophilius took back the article, "Why, thank you! I'll see you down stairs in a few minutes, Luna's best dresses and robes are in the purple wardrobe, on the left. You pick what you think is best to make you look 'Slytherin'."
Hermione climbed slowly from the bed and stretched out her back before pulling open the brightly painted wardrobe. She flicked through the dresses before choosing a full skirted green dress, covered in dark green embroidered flowers and leaves.
Harry helped lace her up, Draco was in the dog house for musing how Luna would looking the dress, managing to make it sound like Hermione looked awful in it.
It didn't take them long to get Hermione dressed and put on a little make-up, once again borrowed from Luna. For someone who very rarely wore make up she had an awful lot of it.
Hermione finished putting on her dark purple, almost black lipstick and pulled on her boots, thankfully the dress was long enough to cover her feet.
It took them a good half an hour to fight Hermione's hair however, into some sort of neat enough up do. Draco and Harry changed into the neatest robes they had, both pairs being Draco's somewhat unsurprisingly.
"I don't want to take the photos anywhere they'll know it was you." Hermione said, looking over the instantly recognisable garden.
"There's a small stream not far from here." Xenophilius said, "We could go there. Or even better, apparate somewhere big. London, maybe?"
Harry chewed his lip. It was a risk but they would be able to say one of a thousand random people had taken the photos and Xenophilius had simply bought them, as many papers did.
"Let's go." Harry said.
Draco and Hermione looked stunned at him; they weren't sure it was worth such a huge risk, giving one another worried looks. It would only take one Ministry loyal witch or wizard to see them and they'd be running for their lives… again.
"It's getting dark," Harry pointed out, "London will be all lit up. Besides, it's too late for people to be going to or from work. We have to give it a go."
Begrudgingly Hermione and Draco agreed, linking hands and apparating into a small side street. Xenophilius snapped away as they darted from street to street, hiding behind statues and looking in windows. It couldn't have taken them more than twenty minutes to get the large stack of photographs but it felt like forever.
Every time someone walked towards them or dug their hands into their pockets the four of them froze, wondering if they were under what felt like an inevitable attack.
Harry was incredibly glad to sink into the sofa back at the Lovegood home. They'd changed out of their robes as soon as they got back, it was far easier to move quickly in jeans and t-shirts, as well as more comfortable.
Hermione washed her face and carefully put the dress back where they'd found it, already missing the heavy fabric. It reminded her of wearing her red dress, something that always made her feel better.
Xenophilius had popped out soon after they got back, returning half an hour later with four huge portions of fish and chips, covered in salt and vinegar.
"I even got mushy peas." he said proudly, handing out four mix matched plates and glasses, "I found this stuff in the little corner shop next to the fish and chip shop. It's called 'coke'. Luna loves it. This is our treat meal, although Luna always has chicken nuggets rather than fish… she loves the fish batter though…"
Hermione gave Xenophilius's hand a tight squeeze as he looked sadly at a chip, "She's all right. You've got to hold onto that."
Xenophilius nodded, "When I got the letter, I wondered if I had been doing the right thing, printing all the support for you in the Quibbler when it put my Luna in danger… but Pandora would have been horrified if I had stopped, she loved writing…"
"I wish we could of met her." Draco said, far more gently than he normally would of, "I'm very fond of Luna. It would have been nice to know her mother."
"I can't lose her." Xenophilius said, a sob threatening to break free from inside his chest, "I know it sounds pathetic but after everything and everyone else I've had to lose… I can't lose her."
"You wont." Harry said firmly, turning back to his fish and chips. The meal gave him something to focus on, "We'll make sure of it."
Harry, Hermione and Draco slept in Luna's bed again. Xenophilius offered them the chairs and sofa so they could spread out a little more, he'd even said that they were welcome to sleep in his own bed but the three of them like snuggling up, feeling the warmth that came with another person being so close. They'd gotten very used to being around one another all the time.
Xenophilius worked through the night so that the new edition of the Quibbler would be ready to publish that afternoon rather than having to wait. The articles that should of come out that month would be pushed back to February.
Harry looked over the pictures Xenophilius had chosen and reread the article. Hermione looked stunning in the green dress as her hair whipped around her face and she held tightly to the scram sax. It didn't look posed, but like someone had just snapped the picture on their way home from work.
Most witches and wizards wouldn't suspect her wandering around in such fine robes, they rarely bothered to learn how muggles dressed.
They ate several thick slices of hot buttered toast each and gratefully took the fresh bread that Xenophilius offered them, wishing that he could do more to help them.
"I shall see you soon, Harry." Xenophilius said, giving them all a tight hug, "Send for me when the battle comes wont you?"
Harry felt a tight knot in his stomach, threatening to make him throw up all of that lovely toast at the thought of the battle to come, "Yeah… yeah of course. If you want me to."
Xenophilius nodded, "I want to help."
He waved them goodbye, and they left just outside the broken gate with a pop, revelling in the fact they were one step closer to the next Horcrux.
Corvus was happier than he could say to be back at school. He'd be 'honoured' with permission to return home for Christmas. They'd had a huge Christmas dinner with Voldemort himself sitting at the head of their groaning table.
Corvus, however, had spent the entire holiday wishing it could be over and he could be back at school. No matter how ignored or hated he happened to be there, he could at least relax more than he could knowing Voldemort was under the same roof he was.
Gemini and Rodolphus on the other hand had loved their holiday. Gemini had been allowed to sit next to Voldemort for Christmas eve, with only her parents between them. She'd blushed and giggled for the entire meal, constantly leaning forward so she could get a better look at him.
Much of the talk had been about introducing more arranged marriages, just while people got used to the new way of things. Rodolphus had been promised a pretty, young blonde- even if they had to dye her hair to get it that way. His father was spitting feathers with jealousy.
Corvus had seen Thomas on the train platform and wanted to go and talk to him then but there had been too many people around, and Gemini had kept a painfully tight grip on his arm every time he even looked over to Thomas.
He needed to speak to him though. He'd managed to get Luna out some how and now there was someone else who needed saving. He didn't know what Thomas would be able to do but it was worth a try.
Corvus had been watching Thomas since they got back and finally saw him alone enough to drag him into the nearest bathroom.
"Of all the times I thought about you dragging me into a bathroom and locking the door it wasn't like this." Thomas muttered under his breath.
"What?" Corvus asked, very confused.
"Nothing." Thomas snapped, feeling rather embarrassed and still rather cross at Thomas after their last meeting, "What do you want?"
"I need your help." Corvus said quickly, his eyes flicking towards the door on every other word.
Thomas let out a rough laugh, "You need my help? And yet where were you when we needed your help? Just a few words, that's all you needed to say!"
Corvus couldn't stop the red hot tears from dripping down his cheeks, "I know and I am really sorry. There's no excuse, I know that. But I just… it's like someone had frozen me, like a spell. I can't move, I can't feel. All I feel is fear and panic and… I truly am so sorry."
Thomas looked over the boy in front of him and sighed, he'd never been able to be angry at Corvus, not since he'd actually gotten to know him. He could remember listening in on his parents saying how awful the Lestranges were, and how their children couldn't be any better.
They might have been right about Gemini and Rodolphus, but not about Corvus.
Corvus was sweet, and kind and loving. He was just currently scared of everything.
The normal pull inside Thomas to hug Corvus and hold him tight, safe from the horrors of his life flared up again. Thomas didn't fight the feeling and pulled him into his arms, hugging him tightly.
"It's OK." Thomas promised him, "I'm not going to say everything is all forgiven, because I don't think that's true. But me and you? We're OK."
Corvus felt a fresh burst of tears fall down his face, soaking into Thomas's shirt; this time from relief.
"What is it you need help with?" Thomas asked after a few minutes, letting Corvus go and leaning heavily against a sink.
"Another rescue mission." Corvus said, barely above a whisper.
"Someone else's kids are getting taken? Gees, come up with a new plan people! It failed dismally last time." Thomas smirked. From what Neville had told him it hadn't been too difficult to get Luna out the school to safety so it shouldn't be difficult to do the same again, the teachers had no idea what had happened after all.
Corvus shook his head, "No… it's Ollivander, the wand maker. He's already at my house."
Thomas's face fell, "He's already at Lestrange Manor?"
Corvus nodded, "I don't know how long he's been there for, a while I think… maybe. You see, I used to go up to the attic to hide, and I was going to go up over the holiday only to find it warded which was weird because I knew Luna hadn't made it to the house."
"So how do you know it's Ollivander?" Thomas asked, not doubting Corvus but needing to know all the facts.
"The Dark Lord brought him out." Corvus whispered as all the colour drained from his face, trying to force himself not to get lost in the horrible memory, "I wasn't allowed at the meeting, but I saw them dragging him down the stairs and… I overheard the meeting. They were talking about wands and something about making a wand from Elder, I think, and making a wand more powerful than any other… Ollivander was screaming and…"
Thomas pulled him back into a hug, feeling Corvus relax into his arms and his heartbeat slow back down to normal.
"I'm sorry." Corvus mumbled, trying to wipe the sound of the screams from his mind and failing.
"You don't have to say sorry for that." Thomas assured him, "Never."
"Will you be able to help?" Corvus asked.
Thomas shrugged, "Honestly? I don't know. This is going to be a lot more complicated than simply getting someone out before they're caught but I'll try."
Corvus nodded, wishing this moment, filled with hope and comfort didn't have to end, but they couldn't stay locked in the bathroom forever.
Corvus sadly pulled away from his friend and unlocked the door.
"I really missed you." Thomas blurted out, "Promise we won't fight again?"
"Pinky promise." Corvus smiled, vanishing back down the corridor.
Thomas wasted no time in finding his bother. Neville was with Daphne teaching a few second years blocking spells in the Come and Go room.
Thomas wondered if it was worth interrupting, but an extra half an hour wasn't going to make that much of a difference and the training was of the up most importance so he settled at on of the tables and worked on his Potions homework.
"What can I do for you, little bro?" Neville asked, taking a long drink from his water bottle, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a towel.
"I talked to Corvus." Thomas said quickly.
Neville's face hardened and he let out a grunt of disapproval.
"Yeah, yeah I know." Thomas said, waving his hand dismissively, "But he said that Ollivander is trapped at Lestrange Manor and we need to get him out."
"Oh do we?" Daphne said, raising her eyebrow. She'd never been a huge fan of Ollivander; he was always slightly creepy, a power hungry energy always leaking from him.
Thomas let out a loud huff, "Yes we do! They were hurting him, forcing him to make a wand more powerful than any other."
"The power comes from the wizard." Neville pointed out, "No wand is more powerful than any another, it's just not the way it works."
Thomas threw his hands up in the air, "Fine! Just let him rot there there. Apart from anything else where are we going to get new wands from if he dies, huh?"
"Calm down." Neville smiled, "We're not saying we're not going to help but are we sure we can trust Corvus?"
"He told us about Luna." Thomas pointed out, crossing his arms forcefully.
"Yes but that was before he just stood there while Alecto punished us and did nothing to help us." Neville countered.
Daphne sighed and shook her head, "Can we take that risk?"
Neville sighed and shook his head, slumping his shoulders, "No. Of course not."
"I'll tell Harry this evening." Daphne said, retying her hair that was threatening to escape its scrunchy.
"Thanks for letting us know." Neville said, smiling at his brother and giving him a tight hug, "Stay safe, OK?"
"You mean stay away from Corvus?" Thomas smirked.
"No." Neville said, a little too quickly, "I mean stay safe, but being around Corvus isn't safe."
Thomas nodded, planning on ignoring the suggestion to stay away from Corvus but glad that he'd been able to pass on the message, "I'll see you at dinner?"
Neville nodded and finished packing away the training things.
Daphne left the dinning Hall quickly with a napkin filled with roast chicken and roast potatoes, claiming she was really getting into her History of Magic essay and didn't want to lose the muse. Umbridge had been so flattered it was her lesson Daphne was enjoying so much she'd let her go without another word.
Daphne, however, had already finished her essay. Instead she locked herself in the dorm and called Harry, Draco and Hermione on the mirror.
"Sorry is this a bad time?" Daphne asked, nibbling at a potato.
There was a lot of shouting and swearing going on in the background from Harry and Draco as Hermione smiled tightly at her through the mirror.
"No, no we're all fine." Hermione laughed, "We just sort of… well we're camping at the edge of a river and it flooded over from all the rain last night and today so our bathroom is a tiny bit flooded. Harry and Draco are just trying to fix it rather than moving on early. How are you?"
"I'm fine." Daphne shrugged, "I'm not massively happy to be back at school as I'm sure you can understand but I'm enjoying being back training people, more than I thought I would be."
"Well that's good." Hermione smiled.
"I actually have a bit of a job for you." Daphne said.
"What's the job?" Hermione asked.
"Break into Lestrange Manor and rescue Ollivander before he can make the most powerful wand ever made." Daphne said quickly.
Hermione's face fell, as did Harry and Draco's who had just poked their heads into the room.
"You've got to be kidding!" Harry sighed.