Was and Will Be

CHAPTER 8

IT IS NEVER ENOUGH

Part Two - Proof of Sin

A/N: I had to REALLY cut the chapter short… about 15 pages that were meant for this chapter were moved to WWB9 because, as you've seen, it was already a teeny bit too long, lol.

***

Finally, the day had come. The previous night, none could sleep and they stayed up—together. They went through everything they'd learned in the past months and talked about things none would've, given a different situation. Each spoke about their fears and hopes, about what they'd expect from life if they survived the quest they were adventuring themselves on.

The four heirs and the Protector had been dreading and eagerly waiting for this day; in which the fate of the world would be defined, as Draco very kindly loved to remind them. It was April the eighteenth, and the second solstice of the year would take place later that day and would last for two and a half days in which they had to free the Power of Shikeon so Voldemort or anyone wouldn't take it like Salazar Slytherin had done such a long time ago.

'So, this is it, huh?' Ginny commented in a moment in which they all fell silent. She had, of course, got permission from Dumbledore to skip that week of school, and she'd trained like mad during that time.

Hermione was deeply in thought and didn't quite notice what Ginny had said; all of a sudden, she focused on her friends and furrowed her brow. 'There is still something that we are missing…' she mused.

Their attention was torn from Ginny's question at Hermione's abrupt statement. The four looked at her expectantly and Hermione shook her head. 'I can't help but feel there is still one thing we're missing but I can't put my finger on it,' she declared. Inside her head were a series of blurry images; the only ones that were constant were one of the Order meetings they had snuck in and Ron's presence in the Crypt that day… she knew there was a relationship there and it was of vital importance, but had no idea whatsoever what that relationship was.

Draco looked thoughtful for a moment and then smirked at her. 'Maybe the assurance of survival? I don't know?' he commented sarcastically.

'Shut up, Malfoy! We don't need your witty tongue right now,' Neville snapped with a frown.

Draco continued his trail of thought, decidedly ignoring the boy's words. 'The moment of truth, which door will you choose?' Draco chanted, amused.

Ginny rolled her eyes. 'Look, I haven't slept in all night; the chances are that I won't close my eyes at all, so excuse me if I am not a ray of sunshine at the moment,' Ginny snapped.

'Don't forget that the fate of the world is basically resting on our shoulders and it'll be pretty much decided in the next seventy two hours,' he provided.

'Gee, thanks very much for easing the pressure, Malfoy,' Neville said rather angrily and put an arm around Ginny, whose face had paled even more if that was possible.

She rested her head on his chest for a moment and then pulled back, quickly wiping her eyes. 'You know what? Sod off, Malfoy. You and your stupid comments!' she said and stood, walking to the other side of the room and placing a hand on the mantelpiece, above which an old muggle hour clock ticked the seconds and chimed the hours. She stayed silent, staring at the time: four in the morning.

'And you say you like the girl, right?'

'Shut up! Not my fault that she's such a crybaby,' Draco responded annoyed in Harry's head.

'Right, way to go Don Juan. I still have no idea how you got Hermione to be with you'

'You would be surprised…' he retorted and sighed, quickly glancing at Hermione, who seemed to be deeply in thought.

Harry noticed Draco's eyes travel to Hermione and then to Ginny and he sighed too. This was so complicated… Loving one, wanting to love the other and a lingering and fractioned love between all of them.

Finally, Hermione snapped out of it when the silence pieced her ears. She stood and went to Ginny. 'Look, this is nonsense. We should be sticking together, not fighting. We can't break up before we do whatever it is we must do. Draco, apologise'

He was taken aback for a moment and frowned. 'Malfoys do not apologise to immature babies,' he replied sulkily and shrugged his shoulders. 'And, we don't take orders from anyone," he added airily.

Ginny turned around and looked at him for a moment, advancing slowly towards the silvery-blond boy. He was sitting on the couch, staring as her hips moved with cadence. When she was in front of him, her eyes blazed fury; a volcano about to erupt.

She walked in silence to his side and looked down at him. Without further ado, she slapped him hard across the cheek. 'Don't ever say that again, Malfoy. You have absolutely no idea, no idea of what you're talking about,' she said heatedly and took a deep breath.

'Ginny! Why—' Hermione started and quieted down at Ginny's glare. She searched for Draco's expression and was even more dumbstruck when he hadn't even flinched.

He blinked slowly and looked away for an instant, his icy grey eyes never changing. A moment later, he gracefully took his hand to his injured cheek, which was growing redder. He looked unperturbed; the only way of knowing that this had indeed hurt or even hit him was if you saw past the unemotional, cold spheres.

'I'm going to go out for a walk, it's almost dawn,' she announced and walked out of the room followed by the other four's disbelieving eyes.

'You really made it, congratulations,' Neville said harshly and went back to the book he'd left a few hours ago.

Hermione looked at Harry, ushering him to say something, and he looked back at her helplessly. She exhaled and closed her eyes for a moment, then threw Harry a dagger glare and finally turned to Draco. 'That was uncalled for,' she stated flatly. 'I'll go make some breakfast,' Hermione finished and walked out of the room. She would've loved to slam the door, but that would've woke the grown ups, and she didn't really want to deal with any of them, so she closed it carefully.

When the brunette closed the door, Neville let out the breath he'd been holding and put his book down again. 'Harry, what are we doing?' he asked his friend.

He turned and sighed. 'I really have no idea. We're bloody falling to pieces'

'And you don't help at all,' Neville said to Draco.

He turned to the Gryffindor and his eyes betrayed nothing… as usual. 'She's the one crumbling under the pressure, not me. Someone's got to crack her out of it'

'And you thought you were going to be the one to put her out of her misery? Oh, quit the rubbish!'

'Worked, didn't it? That's how you make a strong opponent, crushing—'

'I bet you that's a Malfoy family treat'

Draco narrowed his eyes at Neville. Harry just watched the whole argument, not really wanting to get involved and take sides with any of them unless it was unavoidable and necessary. 'No, as a matter of fact it's a Professor Snape treat,' Draco replied calmly.

'Just as bad,' Neville dismissed.

Harry rolled his eyes and let out a breath. 'All right, that's enough, you two. This is pointless and stupid. Hermione's right, we're supposed to save the world.' He chuckled at this last part and then continued. 'And we cannot do it if we keep fighting. Pressure can do nasty things, but we can't let it affect us; not that much at least,' he finished and searched for a response form the other two.

Neville nodded. 'You're right, Harry. I'm sorry. I just—it's Ginny, you know? And the fact that this git here upsets her is troubling.' He stopped for a moment and shot a glare at Malfoy, tearing his eyes from him a second later to focus solely on Harry. 'Not to mention that I have a slight feeling that—'

'Don't—finish that sentence. The first thing we need is trust. He might save your life not too long from now, all right?'

'All right.' Neville had to do an evident effort but he reached out his hand to Draco, saying nothing. At first, he wouldn't take it; he just glared.

'Bloody take his damn hand! Work with me here, please'

'I don't want to! He's a git!'

'Malfoy!'

'Fine!' he snapped in Harry's mind and finally took Neville's hand.

The other boy smiled slightly at Malfoy and took a sip from his coffee, going back to his book.

'I can't believe you made me do that! He's reading Moby Dick, for crying out loud!'

'Shut up, Malfoy,' Harry replied mentally and chuckled. He really hadn't noticed how much Draco meant for him until that moment. He looked at the other boy with fondness and a small smile on his lips. He was definitely one of a kind.

Draco noticed Harry's green eyes firmly placed on him and he frowned, smiling. 'What you looking at?' he asked and raised an eyebrow.

'Just the terrible act you've just put'

'Oh, shut up Potter!' he retorted and rolled his eyes, laughing inwardly at this weird thing that had changed his life in such a short period of time. A year and a half ago, he would've killed the boy, and now… now he was pretty sure he would kill for the boy.

'There's still one more thing though—' Neville looked up from his book again at the other two.

'What do you want, Longbottom?'

'Watch it,' he stated and then continued. 'We're good now, but—'

'The girls,' Harry complemented.

Draco sighed and sagged. 'I'll deal with Miss flame-hair; you go for Miss know-it-all.' He told Harry and stood, stretching.

'All right. If you hear screams or things breaking, we may need dear ol' Protector,' Harry joked and winked at Neville, standing from the floor, where he'd been sitting and laying most of the night.

He laughed, but there was still this lingering sensation that he wasn't at all part of their little group. He shrugged that away to avoid any further problem; he would be following Salazar's advice and see things his way.

The two walked out and went in different directions, to look for their present quests. Harry went down to the kitchen and Draco went out of Grimmauld Place; if he knew Ginny at all; he'd find her there for sure.

***

As he'd thought, Ginny was in the park near Grimmauld Place. When she was upset -Draco had noticed- she liked to go to the park and sit on the swings. He sighed as she didn't notice his presence, so he walked to where she was, coming from behind.

'Don't—Malfoy. Don't even think of trying to pull the I'm-nice stunt on me'

Draco flinched and heaved a sigh. 'Back to square one…' he muttered and took one more step closer to her. 'Why am I suddenly Malfoy for you, not sweet-bum Draco?' he asked, trying to put a lighter note on the subject.

Ginny rolled her eyes, not yet looking at him. 'Just leave me alone, will you?'

'And how did you ever know it was me?' he asked curiously.

'First, I know you… and I know Harry. And second, your walking…' she trailed off.

'I'm sorry, my what?' Draco asked puzzled.

'Your walking,' she started, turning around. 'You have this weird retarded sort of walking'

'Weird what? Retarded? Excuse me, Miss grace. But it is not my fault that you were never taught how a proper pureblood must glide… not walk, glide. Right, you never—' He bit back the last part of his comment, not even wanting to imagine what Harry would do to him if Ginny returned more upset than she'd left.

'Never what?' she asked dangerously, her eyes narrowed.

'Never—nothing, really,' he said with a shrug.

'Right, do I look that stupid to you?'

'You really want me to answer that?'

'Oh, shut it! You prick!' she told him and turned around again, watching as the sun rose in a pink and blue aura that seemed to announce that this was the most magical time in the year… for the second time that year. She sighed at the rising sun while the cool morning air blew softly, making her red hair fly slightly, and she shuddered at the mystical air… almost frighteningly mystical.

Draco took a couple more steps and closed the distance between the two. He took off his cloak and put it around Ginny's shoulders. 'I think you need it more…' he told her as an explanation and sat on the swing next to her.

Ginny closed her eyes and Draco watched as her chest rose and fell evenly, slowly, as if she was grasping for breath. He frowned and studied her profile more closely. One of the first rays of sunlight hit the streets mercilessly; reaching her face. It made her hair look slightly golden and a twinkle caught the boy's eye. Soon enough, he realised it was a trail of salty tear that sparkled like a drop of stardust on her fair skin. He put a hand on her leg. 'Hey… what's the matter?' he asked softly.

Ginny took a hand to her cheek, quickly brushing the tears away, and she turned to him with a smile and over-bright chocolate brown eyes that seemed to let out an aura as the sun passed her delicate profile. 'Nothing… it's just—a little bit overwhelming,' she said honestly.

Draco smiled back at her gently. It wasn't the classical Malfoy sneer, or an amused smirk; it was a genuine smile at the tender and even fragile shape of her. 'Yeah, I know…'

'How would you know? You're always unperturbed, Draco. I don't know how you do it!'

He chuckled. 'You would be surprised at how much like my father I am'

'That's not true!' she exclaimed, putting a hand on his cheek. 'Draco, you're nothing like your father, you're not!'

'Thanks, Gin. But I know better. I was taught that way…' he said and trailed off, looking idly at the east. Even if it was an almost unnoticeable change, Ginny was sure she saw a melancholic flash pass his cold eyes… they almost—they almost seemed warm. He shook his head and focused on the red-head girl. 'What?' he asked, returning to the laid back attitude.

Ginny shook her head rather sadly. 'Nothing, Dra. It's nothing'

He frowned and smirked. 'What did you just call me?'

She looked taken aback. 'What did I call you?' she asked back.

'I think you just called me Dra. What got into you?' he asked and laughed a little.

'I did not!'

'You did so!'

'All right, maybe I did. Does it bother you?'

'As long as you only do it in private…'

'Whatever,' she said and chuckled in amusement, falling silent again.

Draco put a gentle hand on her cheek and smiled sweetly; the first smile like that Ginny had ever seen… at least in him. 'It'll all be all right, you'll see,' he said reassuringly.

Ginny nodded and leaning her head on the back of his soft hand, she spoke. 'I hope…' she said in almost a whisper.

'It will…' he assured once again and kissed her forehead tenderly, letting his lips rest there for a moment or two. He pulled back and offered his hand. 'Ready to go back and get some breakfast?' he asked.

She took it and smiled. 'Definitely, I'm starving'

***

The fresh air of April blew more furiously as the afternoon advanced. That had lunch and the respective session on cries and hugs and "take care"s. Mrs. Weasley had, in Draco's opinion, nearly "cried herself to dehydration" and while Tonks wanted to go with them, Moody had given the five of them a quick session of DADA and the usual "constant vigilance" lesson.

Lupin seemed reluctant on letting them go, but knew deep inside that he had no choice, and with a look at each of them; he gave the teenagers his silent vow of confidence. Mr. Weasley, in his side, had his accustomed calm demeanour, but there was a mix of fear, hope and resignation in the words he gave the heirs and the Protector.

'The past condemns us and gives us hope. What you are about to do today will write your names in the books for the future if it goes either way. Your choices are the ones that will grant you a way out or a curse for us all,' Dumbledore said to Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Draco and Neville with twinkling yet tired eyes when all the grown ups were done with their good wishes and farewells.

Draco snorted a little. 'Gee, thanks for the burden-lifting, Headmaster…' he commented sarcastically.

'Draco! Not the time, not the place!' Hermione scolded angrily.

'What? It's the truth!'

'And it is also true that the fate of the world is in today's mission, Draco, you said it yourself! I don't see why he should be all nice about it,' Ginny complemented Hermione's protest.

'Fine! But still, it's not something I like to be reminded'

'No shit Sherlock,' Harry said moodily to his friend.

'Are we starting again?' Neville whined to the other two boys.

All of this argument was going on between just the five of them; idle to absolutely everyone and everything around. Dumbledore studied the interaction and smiled at his former pupils. 'The bond is sealed…' he commented contently.

All of them stopped the arguing and looked at the old wizard, bewildered. A moment later they looked at each other and shrugged with amusement, not really understanding what those words meant. Hermione, however, travelled each of her friends' face and smiled at her former professor and all-time master, nodding with satisfaction.

Harry noticed and raised his eyebrow at her as if she were mental. At this, Hermione had an imminent flashback to those looks Ron gave her and didn't know if to cry or smile.

Then it hit her, there had been something bothering her the whole previous night, and now that she remembered Ron and the second reason they had been there that day. It all made sense now, what had been nagging at her was now so clear and she almost broke down and cried at the realisation. 'Oh, Bloody Merlin!' she exclaimed horrified.

All the people of the room flinched and turned abruptly to her. 'What is it, Mione?' Harry asked quickly.

'The Prism of Odeon! We don't have it!'

They all gasped and a veil of defeat fell upon them. Harry looked up at the Headmaster, appalled and ashamed. 'We can't do—'

Dumbledore interrupted Harry raising a hand to stop him. 'Harry, don't panic,' he said in a calm voice.

'How do you expect us to be—'

'Miss Weasley!' Professor McGonagall, who had been pretty much quiet all afternoon, spoke tersely and Ginny obliged.

'What are we supposed to—'

'How are we to open the bloody thing if we don't have the blasted key?!' Draco finally finished all of their sentences and the five looked at the grown ups, who didn't seemed distressed at all.

A moment later, Luna entered the room, almost gliding though the polished wood floor with a peaceful smile on her lips and the dreamy look still on her pale blue eyes. She was holding little Daniel, who seemed to have just woken from his nap.

Harry and the rest followed her with their eyes, completely disorientated. 'I told you Ronald would always be with you…' Luna started and her eyes flashed sadness and fondness at the same time. 'I found this when—at his service, when I was talking to him.'

They all stared at her, still not understanding what she was talking about and rather taken aback by her saying she had talked to Ron on the day of his funeral. Luna, however, was oblivious to this and she continued her tale. 'Daniel, give it to your godfather,' she told the baby and he blinked at his mother, turning to Harry afterwards.

The five leaned in, to see what the little two-month old Weasley had between his hands, and gasped when seeing the small red rock he was using as playtoy. Hermione immediately looked up at Dumbledore, anger flashing in her eyes. 'Why, in the nine hells didn't you tell us about this!' she cried.

Dumbledore regarded her calmly. 'You had to see for yourselves…' he just answered. As much as she wanted to hit the old man, Hermione could see where he was going and closed her eyes, swallowing her annoyance at the grown-ups and at herself.

'Apparently, he got it that day, and wouldn't let go until I found it…' Luna said with a dreamy smile.

'Uhm… I don't think—' but she stopped when Harry put a hand in front of her, Hermione just sighed and said nothing.

'Well, Daniel took good care of it, and now you have to be careful, all right?' Luna told the others and put the prism in Harry's hand. 'He's with you,' she whispered, Harry only nodded, not able to articulate a word. 'And bring the toy back, Daniel will be missing it,' Luna finished and winked at them all.

She walked to each of them, placing a kiss on both their cheeks. 'Good luck, my friends, you're not alone, remember that please,' she pleaded with a sweet smile. She looked down at her red and blond haired baby, kissing his forehead lovingly.

After a moment of "taking in", Harry was the first one to react, closing his hand hard and pulling it against his chest, feeling the edges of the small rock piercing his skin mercilessly, as to not forget what they had to do and what it had cost them all.

Hermione then took a step to Harry and placed a hand on his cheek, tenderness in her big brown eyes. Leaning forward, she planted a quick kiss on Harry's lips; leaving him absolutely dumbstruck. 'I am ready,' she informed the rest with renewed energy. They all goggled at the girl and then brushed the awkward situation away

'Can I—'

'I have no bloody idea, so don't'

'Lucky bastard'

'Shut up, Malfoy! And let's go already'

'Sure! If we're going to die, let's get it over with, right?'

'Uhm… yeah'

'Definitely off his rocket…'

Harry shook his head and took his attention from Draco to the rest in the room, who were all staring at the two boys with puzzled expressions. 'Er—sorry bout that,' he said turning a shade of red.

They all let the uncomfortable situation slip again and offered the five teenagers encouraging smiles. 'You must go now; your portkey will leave in only a moment. You should be clear for your entire journey, according to my sources,' Dumbledore informed the five with twinkling and worried clear blue eyes; all at the same time.

'Do you have everything you need? I packed a few snacks, just in case,' Mrs. Weasley added with a sniff.

Harry and Ginny had to laugh at this. 'Thanks mum, that will be great,' she said gently.

'Right. We will definitely want—'

'Don't—even try it… please,' Harry warned in Draco's head.

He was a bit taken aback but he passed it smoothly and didn't finish his sentence. Apparently, no one noticed anything; no one but Ginny, who was shooting death glares at the blond boy. He only smiled back charmingly, as if nothing had happened, and she huffed soundly.

'Yes, Mrs. Weasley, we have it all,' Neville answered the question after no one else had.

'We won't let you down, I promise…' Hermione assured with a smile as she threw her bag over her shoulder and started towards the Entrance Hall of Grimmauld Place, where they were to take the portkey to Rome.

After another round of hugs and encouraging words, they all finally made it to the big, cavernous room and touched the silver jewellery box. As the box activated, the heirs and their protector looked up at the same time to the people standing on the other side of the room and smiled.

'I hope we don't'—' Hermione muttered more to herself before the room started spinning and vanished.

***

Once again, they were there… only that there was one missing. They were expecting the Symbio to show up, and the three dreaded the moment in which they would see their friend Salazar Slytherin once more, but as an enemy until they performed the spell and gave him the potion… if they managed to do so.

The wind blew across the desert zone harshly… the whistles only predicted loneliness… and pain. It was as if the ground was made of dry wood and the air whipped it cruelly, with touchless fingers angrily ripping the surface.

Helga pulled the neck of her thin wool cloak higher up her neck in hopes of protecting herself for what was to come. A few steps away from her stood Rowena, who looked at the bleeding horizon with calm contemplativeness; everything was inside her and it would stay there… or at least she trusted she could keep her composure.

Standing in the top of the hill, ahead of the girls was Godric. His head panned the surface looking for any signs of a trap. If only things had been different… if only he'd listened to him, maybe all this wouldn't have happened but right now, he was pretty sure he would've liked his memory wiped from him friend, and that the three could do this without him. But then again, there were so many things they had shared he wasn't sure he'd even be Godric Gryffindor had it not be for Salazar.

'It's time, get you wands and ready your weapons,' he told his wife and his former brothers'.

The two nodded with hesitation, none was too sure of they could take the now almost-almighty Symbio-Salazar, but there was no other choice from where they stood. They had started the chest with Salazar and there was no way they could seal the Power of Shikeon if the didn't have the Symbio and Salazar's blood.

The three raised their wands in the air, forming a triangle, and started chanting a spell that gave a reflex of all their power into the air. Knowing the Symbio, he would never satiate his power hunger, and the summed power of the three more powerful wizards of their time would definitely attract its attention.

The pink glow started going from end to end of the triangle and finally made a spiral in the middle of the triangle that swirled faster. A moment later, cold air reached their robes and brushed their hair, and they knew he was there.

The Symbio stopped short when seeing the three wizards and was shocked for a second, then he put his cool and controlling position up again. 'Well, well, well. See what we have there,' it said while gliding around the three founders, who had immediately shut the spell off. 'Didn't you get enough last time I almost killed you?' the Symbio asked with a smirk.

Godric placed himself if front of the two witches. As powerful as the girls were, they were no Warlocks, so he was their strongest defence. "Symbio, always a displeasure to see you again," he said, following his every move with amber eyes.

'You know I can see through you. You know I know how you feel'

Godric narrowed his eyes and his grip on his sword was almost painful; but he held it back to not spoil the whole plan. 'We just want Salazar. You would do good if you just let us do what we must willingly,' he offered diplomatically.

'Right, I will step aside so your weak friend can come out and let you take all this power from me,' he repeated their very plans with a smirk. 'I would do it gladly, but there is only one problem,' he stopped a moment, 'your petty friend is dead. Dry from life as an old piece of wood'

'You are lying!' Godric yelled a little louder than he'd intended'

'Oh, does the warlock love his warlock friend?' the Symbio asked in a mock voice.

'You have no idea…' he muttered tried reaching his friend's mind. An almost imperceptible buzz was returned and Godric sighed in relieve when knowing that his comrade wasn't totally dead inside the bastard.

'Get out of the way or we'll hurt you!' Rowena demanded.

The Symbio turned to her with a death glare. 'You, the former lover, a simple witch will hurt me? Ha! That's one I'd like to hear'

'We're warning you, Symbio. We don't want to hurt Salazar,' Helga stepped up, determined.

'Shut up! You filthy half-blood!' The Symbio yelled and with a wave of his hand made the woman fly ten meters and hit the ground; just to hurt the dying man inside this body.

'Sala—! You're a monster!' Rowena screamed as she ran to tend to her friend.

'Impedimenta Maxima!' Godric bellowed as soon as the two girls were gone. He didn't want to fight his best friend, the person that had once been the most important thing in his life. But this was not his friend and he had to get that through his head.

The hex hit the Symbio and it fell backwards, rigid because of the strength of the spell. A moment later, you could hear a weak Finite, and the Symbio was standing once more. 'Amenda!'

Godric barely had time to avoid the curse, and he wondered why the Symbio hadn't used a crueler spell. With satisfaction, he realised how strong his friend was. 'Flama ignite!' A ball of fire shot from Godric's hand to his opponent.

With a bare wave of his hand, the being brushed the immense ball from hitting spot and laughed. 'You can do better than that. This is not a duel in your little school, in case you didn't notice'

Time passed in which the two duelled fiercely; hitting the other and getting hit numerous times. Of course, Godric was the most affected because his magic, as powerful as it was, it couldn't match the magic of Mother Earth.

Finally, Rowena couldn't stand just watching her husband being killed, so she stood and she used a curse she had sworn not to ever use: the Cruciatus. Helga took her chance as well and reinforced the surprise attack with a Binding Spell.

'Accio Sulemine Gloves!' Godric cast just after the shower of spells from the girls.

Taken by surprise, the Symbio fell to the ground, crying in pain. 'Electrificae Stupefacto,' he managed and the three fell to the ground after the purple, lightning-like shock, but the thin cords coming from Helga's wand still wrapped themselves painfully tightly around the Symbio's body.

They got up a moment later and smiled down at the creature, now totally unable to do anything because of the gloves that surrounded both his hands, which Godric had conjured just before being hit by the Electric Shock spell.

Helga kneeled beside him and put a hand on his cheek. 'Oh Salazar, why did you do this to yourself?' she said with tears shining in her eyes. 'Our son is marvellous. Very much like—'

'Shut the bloody hell up, woman!' the Symbio spat with cold eyes.

The blond girl gasped when realising that this worn-off face did not belong to her husband but recovered and stood, wiping her eyes. 'Do it before I kill this one,' she said with a blade's cold edge in her words.

The other two obliged and Rowena produced the potion that had taken her over a month to make. Godric kneeled and took his friend's head in his hands, holding it tight. 'Now, drink this,' said Rowena's soft voice.

'No! No I won't! You shall not—.' The Symbio couldn't finish because of the maroon liquid that filled his mouth. At first he tried to spit it out, but Godric's magically reinforced grip wouldn't let him.

The two stood and watched with eagerness as the eyes of the being blinked without blinking, its skin paled without paling; its whole body convulsed without even moving. And then it blinked… naturally. 'Godric?' Salazar Slytherin asked with a lost and scared expression.

***

The day grew to an end in that part of the world as they reached the bottom of the Crypts, the entrance to the labyrinth they had studied so much in the past months. They had no idea whatsoever what expected them there; they only knew there were Magical Beasts and spells that protected the Treasure Cave.

Harry, Hermione, Draco, Ginny and Neville were now standing in front of a big opening in the dark walls of what used to be the Death Eaters' Headquarters a year ago. They had found it through a combined spell Harry and Draco performed; each could do the "Room Unveiling" spell by themselves, but as the name said it, Room Unveiling, not "All Walls Unveiling". After the golden glow had diminished to an eye-bearable one, they looked past the walls and finally found the Secret Passage.

As the Archway formed, Runes started appearing on top of it. Harry, Ginny and Neville stared at the runes befuddled. Draco and Hermione, however narrowed their eyes, trying to figure out the sentence… or riddle more likely that was depicted in front of them.

'Thy who enter beware'

'Thy, shall find a forgotten…'

'A forgotten… work? Won't?'

'Word, a forgotten word'

'Or shall die in the attempt'

'Gee, how welcoming,' Draco commented.

Hermione huffed in annoyance. 'We're not supposed to enter, remember?' she asked bored.

The other three stared silently at the Slytherin and Ravenclaw heir try and figure out the runes, and Harry regretted so much not having taken that class back at school.

'Full of light, sans a shadow'

'The hour of meadow'

At this, Draco fell silent, looking at Hermione intently. They had read the whole archway, but it was obviously a riddle, and Draco had never liked those… unless it was him using them against others.

Ginny leaned against a wall and crossed her arms over her chest. 'Leave it to the expert,' she said patiently and waited.

Meanwhile, Hermione's brain pieces started rolling, and she thought out loud. 'Full of light, day… heaven… sun… Sans shadow, darkness… night… sun… shadow. Sun without shadow… that's not possible. Hour of meadow… operative word, operative word….hour! Hour of Sun with no Shadow! Of course!' she exclaimed after a long time of rambling and hit her forehead with her palm, turning to face her friends. 'The hour sans shadow of the day… that would be noon!' she told them and engages started clicking… a moment later; the closed archway was a big, welcoming door for them to go through.

Harry let out an excited exclamation and Ginny squeaked with glee. 'Way to go, Mione!' Harry cried out.

Neville jumped in a blink of an eye when seeing the archway opening up and clapped his hands. 'Great work!' he congratulated the girl. 'You were always the bright one…' he added with a wink and started through it.

Draco only smiled and nodded his head at her in approval. 'You're not half bad…' he said obnoxiously.

Hermione rolled her eyes and laughed. 'You'd be dead without me, accept it…' she retorted proudly and Draco just shrugged in response.

Their entrance was marked by a flash of dim yellow light that made the five of them wince, having accustomed their eyes to the dark halls of the crypt and the corridors of the "manor". None but Draco could help the awe expression that left their lips before they noticed it.

The walls were decorated with carved stones and paintings that depicted humans at war, humans at peace. One of those paintings called to Harry's attention almost immediately, and he approached to examine it more closely. As he ran his hand through the creased surface of the stone, his mind wondered to a thousand years ago, when this all had been built by no others than the founders.

'You feel it too, don't you?' Neville asked from behind.

Harry, without tearing his eyes from the wall, nodded slowly. 'I most certainly do… it's like we've been here before'

'Technically, we have…' Hermione mused, adding herself to the conversation and coming next to Harry to look at that particular picture. 'Fascinating… none of this has been written down,' she thought out loud.

'How is that so? It isn't possible…' Harry responded bewildered.

'Well, we are, after all their reincarnations… or something,' Draco put in lazily, joining the other three.

'So supposedly, we have been here before; that's why we feel like this, I reckon…' Ginny added helpfully, following Draco.

Harry nodded. 'Amazing how things go round, huh?' he asked idly.

While looking at the carving, after what Harry had said, Draco stopped short for a moment. The carvings showed a man with black hair, thin and tall; he even looked like a walking skull with the black robes and pale skin (which he assumed was Slytherin). He was standing on a hill looking down at three more people with a lot of strange and evil-looking creatures behind that seemed to be awaiting orders from him… their master.

At the foot of the hill, there were three people; each in different positions, but they were all looking at the black-haired man in different ways; all painful even to look at. One of the women; a blonde one, looked completely disconsolate at the sight of him; she was kneeling on the floor, with a hand raised towards him. The other woman was standing back, her arms wrapped around her belly, as if to hold herself together with that single embrace; she was just staring at the man with a disbelieving and aggrieved expression.

What was more interesting though, was the man standing down the hill. He was very well-built and had light brown hair. His cloak seemed to be flying around him, and although he had his sword drawn, there was a hesitant expression in his face that could only be taken, like with the other two, by love… torn and destroyed love.

Even though the face and posture of the man on the hill were plain evil, a tiny little detail in his eyes could be noticed despite the walls that deteriorated the painting. The man's eyes were full of sorrow, and yet, he still looked down at them with a somewhat murderous glint on his grey spheres.

With much reluctance and will, Harry managed to fight back that tugging sensation and tore his eyes from the terrible sight in front of him; from the two he assumed to be Godric and Salazar. He turned to Draco and stared at him for a moment, seemingly calm and contemplative while looking at the painting. Encountered feelings took over him; betrayal, sadness, love… despair. He shook his head and came back to reality, focusing on his friends… his present time friends, towards whom he felt responsible to some point. 'Let's go,' he ordered.

'It is so sad! Did you notice how Helga was looking at Slytherin?' Ginny asked, idle to what Harry had just said and he was pretty sure he heard her voice about to break.

'Rowena seemed—destroyed,' Hermione added slowly, still not able to look away.

'Leave the man alone! He's not a monster,' Draco defended angrily.

'Guys! We have to go!' Harry said louder, pulling Hermione by the hand and away from the huge image. Each had connected with their portrayed homologues in such way that if you looked at them, you could feel the channelled situation of the founders.

Hermione, Ginny and Draco flinched at Harry's voice raising and turned to him. He sighed in relief and nodded. 'We don't have much time,' he said softly.

Neville pushed himself from the wall he'd been leaning in and joined the other four. 'The sooner, the better,' he said bitterly and started to walk in the lead. The heirs watched as he moved ahead of them, wondering why he had spoken like that.

Ginny finally understood and closed her eyes heavily. 'He feels left out,' she translated with a sympathetic sigh and hurried to catch up with him, closely followed by Hermione.

Draco started to trail after the girls, when Harry stopped him, putting a hand on his upper arm. 'What happened?' he asked concerned.

Draco jerked his arm back and didn't even look at Harry, who baulked at the uncalled reaction.

'What in the world?' he asked, taken aback.

'Get out of my head, Potter!'

'What's the matter with you?'

'Nothing!' he snapped and hurried his step.

Harry stood rooted on the spot and looked at the other boy in confusion. After a moment, he decided to let go, for he knew that when Draco didn't want to talk about something, he wasn't going to.

***

They explored the tunnels and caves; each time encountering something new and scarier than the previous one. A spell that nearly chopped them all to bite-size, a very aggressive griffin, another spell that almost drove them mad with laughter and several other things they couldn't really remember anymore. If it hadn't been for Ginny, they would've fallen to pieces before getting too far out.

'I really don't want to laugh ever again!' Draco was commenting moodily, having been struggling with himself the whole way. That sensation he'd felt earlier just wouldn't leave him alone, and he hated it because deep down, he knew it lay in his very blood; running through his veins… pretty much the only thing he didn't share with Harry.

'Oh, cut it out, Malfoy! I can't believe you even suggested that I was a cry-baby!' Ginny retorted with an eye roll.

'I thought it was amusing, actually,' Neville said idly.

Harry raised an eyebrow at him. 'Right, if you like having your mid-section snapped in two…' he replied sarcastically.

'Whoa… Malfoy flashback. You may want to be careful with that, Harry,' Neville said and laughed; wincing a second later and clutching at his mid-section. 'Ouch'

'Hey! What is wrong with that?' Draco asked defensively. 'I'd think he was lucky to even get a little of myself in him'

'Actually, I—'

'Not. What I meant'

Neville raised an eyebrow at the blond boy. 'You really want me to answer that?'

'Oh, shut up! You're not worth my hearing time...'

'Argh! Would you please knock—' Hermione stopped when a swish of cool air reached her face out of the blue. She stopped and looked around to see the one that had looked after she and Draco back then. She would've hugged her welcome, but now, here, it wasn't a good sign that the Warden's Heir stood between them and the only path to the Portkey and to the Chest of Power. 'What are you doing here?' she asked stiffly.

Draco saw Agnese and also stopped dead in his tracks. Harry caught up with them, and so did Ginny and Neville; they all looked at her curiously. She was wearing ceremonial robes.

'Isn't she the one that you saved in Rome?' he asked puzzled.

'She told me where to go when I went looking for you. What's she doing here?' Ginny asked as puzzled as Harry.

Draco turned to them. 'That, my friend is the one that pretty much prevented me from bleeding to death when you had your little fit last year. She's Agnese Canepa, the—'

'Great Merlin! The Warden's heir!' Ginny finished for him.

'I thought we were done with his guards,' Neville commented.

'Final trial before the Big Man?' Harry offered sarcastically.

'Don't go that way, solver,' she spoke in her language, in a very distant manner.

Hermione was a little taken aback by this performance, she had been so nice and—warm back then. She figured the reason of this, but that didn't mean she liked it. Agnese had been of utter help those weeks and she had grown to care for her, but now they found themselves in opposing teams and that idea didn't appeal her at all. 'Agnese, please let us through,' she pleaded in English, she had already performed the translation spell on herself and her.

'The guards you've defeated were only the beginning, he has more inside and you five don't stand a chance'

'What's she saying?' Harry asked flushed because he didn't understand Italian. 'How come I can play the piano but I can't speak Italian?' he whined to Draco.

'Sorry, Potter. Guess my Italian knowledge is not as well-learned to be transferred to you. You know, somehow I get the feeling that you got much more—'

'What are they saying?' Harry cut him off.

'That there are many more guards inside and we won't be able to defeat them'

'Gee, thanks for the vow of confidence,' Neville said, rather annoyed.

'And she helped you two?' Ginny asked with a frown at the young woman.

Hermione glared at her. 'I think we've got the hang of it, thank you. Now, step aside, please. I don't want to hurt you'

'I know a better way, you should follow. I'm no threat to you,' she proclaimed.

Hermione snorted a little. 'Right. I'm sure the citizens of Troy had the same assurance on the horse'

'And now?' Harry asked again.

'You really are starting to annoy me, Potter. Why don't you just do the—' He motioned with his hand, 'linking thing so you can understand. Not that I understand that much anyway'

Agnese sighed, changing her demeanour to the Agnese Hermione knew. 'Look, I don't want him to annul you and I certainly don't want to kill you, so will you please follow me?'

Hermione hesitated a little and turned to Draco with the look. Draco shrugged. At this, Harry elbowed him hard on the ribs. 'Ow! What was that for?'

'Are you going to trust her, just like that?'

'Well, she was very nice when we met her,' Draco provided.

'Did the fact that she's the heir of the Warden escaped your attention?'

'Yeah. She probably is just taking us to yet another trap,' Ginny sided with Harry.

'Actually, I think she's telling the truth,' Neville stepped next to him.

'And how exactly would you know that?'

'The—'

'The Protector's powers, right?' Harry said before Neville could finish his sentence; he nodded. He gave Neville one more look and sighed, coming closer to Hermione. 'I'll trust Nev, but I don't quite trust her,' he stated.

Hermione translated what he'd just said and Agnese smiled a little.

'So mister all mighty agreed?' Agnese asked with a smirk. Hermione suppressed a chuckle, Draco didn't.

'What? What did she say?' Harry asked exasperated.

'You don't want to know'

'I do! What did she? Duh! Traducto Oracione,' he cast the spell on himself and stuck his tongue at Draco, who rolled his eyes.

She led them through dark and darker corridors, set very much like a maze. Harry tried to keep the path in his mind. Left, left, right, left again, two rights… but it was too much and soon he lost count and just followed.

'Now, most of this domes have animals inside, so be prepared for anything,' Agnese told them as she took another right turn and there was a fork in front of them. 'Some of these places, as you've prolly seen already, end in domes that are like Chambers. They are like resting points, if you want to call them that way'

'Gee, thanks for the warning,' Harry said with a sniff. 'Well, I got a feeling we should go this way. Is that all right, Miss?' he said sarcastically and took the lead.

'Oh Harry! Would you be a little nicer to her?' Hermione snapped.

'Well, I don't reckon it could be much worse than what we've seen already,' Draco shrugged; he had also cast the charm on himself soon after, and so had Ginny and Neville.

'Want to make a bet?' Agnese asked with a smirk.

'But why don't we levitate? I've seen a couple of entrances that could make short cuts,' Ginny offered, rather tired of roaming around and getting nowhere.

'A great man once said: "First dominate what's under your feet to be able to look above and conquer what you seek",' Draco said with a smirk.

'Uhm… exactly who said that?' Hermione asked puzzled, surely she would remember such a quote from some book.

He shrugged. 'Dunno, probably Draco Malfoy. Great man, Draco, great man,' he responded with a smug grin.

Hermione rolled her eyes. 'And I'm the Caesar's Empress,'

Draco stopped and bowed ridiculously low, showing her a beautiful half-sneer. 'Hail Caesar's Empress! Hail!' he exclaimed to the air, and his voice echoed in the cave, going to what appeared to be a Dome Chamber ahead. 'Not too far from the truth, now is it Caesar?' He looked at Harry and smirked again.

He glared at Draco. 'Shut it, Malfoy! There's no time for those things, I think we're close to something,' he said rather angrily.

'Whatever you say, My Lord,' he retorted and laughed.

Harry was about to respond , when he looked ahead and his eyes widened, his mouth hanging slightly open.

Ginny caught up with him and stared at what was just in front of her. 'Who was it that you quoted? What did it say?' she asked, not taking her eyes from the beast in the Dome Chamber.

When they all reached the huge cave, gasps received the sight of what appeared to be a giant spider, but with only five deformed feet. The silence that followed was so silent that the only thing that broke it were the loud breaths of the creature.

Its reddish skin seemed to glow, and its black eyes glinted with malice as they took in all the newcomers, setting apart the ones it considered the easiest to devour. A moment later, and before any of them could react, the creature had taken the two younger girls and was steadily advancing towards the other four.

Immediately, Harry reached for his sword as Draco took out his arc and aimed an arrow at the creature.

'Protect her!' Harry ordered Neville when he saw the boy reaching out for his wand.

'But you'll need my—'

'The protector will come if we need him. Right now I need you to keep her safe. Without her, we'll be here for the rest of our days!'

Neville sagged and took a few steps backwards, defeated. What Harry's said had been full truth, but that didn't mean he liked it the least. He cornered Agnese and used the Protector's powers to cast a force field (stronger than the one a wand could've created) around them.

'Bloody hell! Of all creatures, we had to run into a blasted quintaped!'

'And what is that supposed to mean?' Draco asked in Harry head.

'Only that they are one of the most dangerous and aggressive man-eating, almost extinguished creatures'

'Oh, that's good to know'

Their mental conversation was interrupted by a Ginny that was swinging against the nearest foe, to the quintaped's eyes; Draco. He had to jump and duck to avoid colliding. 'Oy! I know you love me, but aren't we going too fast Gin?' he asked but was only responded by unintelligible screams, which he wasn't too sure he wanted to decipher.

'We can't let it slam any of the girls anywhere!' Harry ordered as the creature started to take Ginny to its huge mouth; two rows of teeth showed inside.

Draco aimed again, and the silver arrow struck the quintaped on the leg that was holding her. It let out a yell of pain. 'Or eat them!' he responded to Harry's command.

The monster let go off Ginny and she was falling a good fifteen feet to the hard ground, screaming. 'Ginny!' Harry darted towards her, but the injured leg of the creature swung at him and slammed the boy against the wall.

'Arresto Momentum!' Neville performed the spell Dumbledore had once used in Harry as he sustained a force field against the two of them. He wished he could do something more, but knew better than to leave unprotected their only guide to the outside world. The spell worked, but she still landed hard on her back and was knocked out.

Harry's world came to focus again and he looked with panic where Ginny had landed, but she seemed all right… not dead at least. He looked at Neville and smiled thankfully. Standing again and taking his sword, he slashed another one of the beast's legs.

Draco was cornered, and his arrows had fallen feet away from him. He wouldn't have enough time to accio them and shoot before the quintaped's pointy leg pierced his chest. But then it let out a loud growl and Draco quickly rolled out of its way. Turning his eyes towards Harry, he made an official's thank you gesture and Harry smiled back.

Another scream tore the air and Harry noticed the creature squeezing Hermione tight. Apparently, it wanted to crash all of her bones before eating her. 'Distract it!' he told Draco.

He nodded and threw an arrow that pierced another one of the beasts legs, still, it didn't go down. 'Why don't you just fall! You want a full leg job, is that it?' he asked annoyed.

The quintaped appeared to rage beyond believe now and turned to Draco, swinging a reddish hairy leg at the blond boy, who slammed against the wall and slid down. Now it was only him standing, at least for the time being; the beast appeared to notice that too and to Harry again, whose eyes were closed.

A moment later, Draco stood again and threw a rock at its head. 'Hey! Didn't your mama taught you not to attack boys that have their eyes closed?' he asked it. 'What the bloody hell are you doing, Potter!?'

'You'll see,' was all Harry responded in a tone that sounded as if the boy was in a complete Zen state.

'Well, you better hurry!' Draco urged as he avoided another attack while trying to keep Hermione -who was unconscious- from slamming against any of the walls.

'Stupefacto!' Harry yelled and a thick purple thunder came out from his hand, striking the creature in the centre of the eyes. It shook as if it were electrocuting itself, then stopped, and a moment later, it fell with a loud thump.

Draco was stunned for a moment and then noticed the creature's grip on Hermione was loosening, she was slipping and would be crushed by the quintaped's whole body! Her limp form started to fall and he rushed to catch her. She fell on his arms, and with her weight and Draco's woolly legs from the slam, he fell to the floor with her.

Harry seemed shocked for a moment, and it appeared to Neville that he was about to collapse. When he was sure the creature wasn't going to stand again, he put down the field and ran to Harry, catching him as his legs gave in a little. 'Harry! You all right?' he asked.

He fought to focus but was really drained; after a moment, he looked up at him and nodded idly. 'I'm all right,' he assured.

'She's not breathing!' Draco Malfoy's voice thundered in the cave.

'Check on Ginny!' Harry told Neville and ran to where Draco was.

Both boys kneeled next to the unconscious girl, Draco rolling from under her and placing her head on his legs. Harry sat to her right and watched her. 'What do we do now? Hermione is the only one that knows the spell to—' Draco asked.

'CPR,' Harry interrupted.

'Where's that?' Draco asked confused.

'Muggle way of saving people. You pump and I'll give her mouth to mouth'

'Pump what?' Draco asked, even more puzzled.

'At her chest. Press firmly five times while I breath into her mouth!' Harry explained, losing patience.

'All right,' he responded, wondering what this was about.

They did about five times. By now, Ginny, Neville and Agnese had gathered around the two boys and were looking at the procedure anxiously. Hermione took in a large breath, coughing afterwards and they all let out the breath they'd been holding.

When she managed to focus on the person in front of her, he had his lips almost against hers. 'Harry?' she asked bewildered.

They all sighed in relieve at seeing her breathing. Harry looked up at Draco and smiled at him, then turned back to her. 'Yes sweetheart, it's me,' he said in almost a whisper. 'Welcome back'

Hermione sat up with an effort and winced; Harry helped her as Draco held her back. 'Careful there, your bones might be a little almost crushed,' Draco told the girl he'd just saved. 'Don't do that again, will you?' he spoke in a soft voice; the sensation of longing and losing her present again.

Harry looked at him and then shrugged it away. 'Glad you're all right,' he said and stood, holding her hand.

A few minutes passed, in which each caught their breaths. 'One down. A hundred more to go,' Hermione commented, trying to enlighten the mood. They all laughed, clearly in lack of a relaxing moment.

Finally, Harry detached himself from the group, glad that at least this was over and walked around the creature, going to the end of the Dome Chamber to continue their way. He stopped and watched what they had just done, realising it for the first time now that the adrenaline rush was over. He was positively dumbstruck and Draco understood it perfectly.

As the creature lay dead and Harry's eyes were locked on it, Draco walked to him; he too was amazed at what they'd done. Sure, he had faced dangerous creatures before, but never without his father or even Hagrid close for that matter; and he had certainly never killed one that big.

His eyes were slightly wide, and that was a hell of a lot to say, knowing Draco. Soon, he gathered his composure and leaned lazily on the wall, a few steps from Harry. 'That was—impressive,' he accepted while nodding his head in an approving gesture.

Harry finally put down his sword. 'I know,' he agreed flatly, without turning to Draco, he had his own things to deal with right now. After a moment, he did turn, apparently having come to terms with what he'd became conscious of… that he could kill if it was necessary. He settled his mind to a more eased state and grinned at Draco with some sort of weird satisfaction.

He understood what was going through his friend's mind, for he was feeling something like that as well. He wasn't weak or a coward; at that moment, Draco realised he wasn't just a teenager anymore. He had killed a living creature protecting the ones he cared for and that was a major turning point in his life. He grinned back at Harry and nodded.

'I tell you, Hermione. They are spending way too much time together,' Ginny was saying as the four caught up with Harry and Draco.

'We're losing him, Gin,' she agreed with a wicked grin and place a kiss on both boys' cheeks. Adopting an exceptionally high pitched girly voice, Hermione continued. 'Thank you for saving us from the big bad monster. Oh my valiant knights!'

Harry looked at her as if she'd lost her marbles. Draco however waved a hand dismissively. 'Think nothing of it,' he announced and re-engaged their way.

Ginny laughed and rolled her eyes as she followed. 'Men!' she muttered to Hermione, who smiled in return.

As they strolled down the cave, she watched the two walk side by side in front of them. 'Who would've ever imagined it, huh?' Hermione asked Ginny, giving a pointed nod at the boys.

'Yeah, especially with him. The two sworn enemies are now working together," Neville complemented.

Ginny was absently looking at the two now, her chocolate brown eyes faraway. Hermione noticed and frowned. 'What is it, Gin?' she asked her friend, placing a hand on her shoulder.

'We'll get through this, don't worry. We got all we need and—well, I don't think we'll be much more ready than we are now,' Neville tried.

Ginny looked at him and gave the boy a smile. 'I know, Neville. That is not what I was thinking of,' she said softly.

'Then what's got you so distressed, hun?' Hermione asked concerned.

'It's—nothing, really'

'We can't help you if we don't know,' she pressed.

Ginny sighed resignedly, deciding she wasn't going to get out of this, and that sooner or later, she would have to voice what had her so idle. She took a deep breath and spoke: 'I was just thinking that Ron wouldn't be too happy with the situation'

Hermione choked a breath and did her best to appear nonchalant. She had very deliberately put Ron in the back of her mind, behind four concrete walls, so she wouldn't have to deal with the loss.

At the beginning it had just been the fact that there was so much going on and she very seldom got to be alone with her thoughts, but at present it was a mechanism she had trained for almost a year now.

At long last, she looked at Ginny in order to continue with the conversation. 'I think he would be just as involved as we are. He would be upset if he was left aside'

'I wasn't talking about the whole Chest thing, Mione. I was talking about them,' she said directing a glance at Harry and Draco, who were a few steps in front of them, deep in what probably was another mental conversation while Agnese led them through the labyrinth.

Hermione opened her mouth to speak a couple of times and closed it again at the lack of anything to say. Then she spoke curtly. 'Life has to go on, doesn't it?' she said a bit absent-mindedly. 'Voldemort won't wait until—well, until issues are settled,' she continued as if she hadn't said anything of much importance. 'Besides, strategically, this would be the best moment to bring him down and he can't afford that,' she finished and quickened the pace to be able to calm down.

'That is so not the point! What about—' Ginny started protesting but Hermione had gone ahead; she let out a groan of frustration. 'Hermione!' she began walking to catch up with the other girl but Neville stopped her.

'Leave it, Gin. Not the moment, not the place,' he snapped pleadingly.

'There might not be another chance and I don't want them to—'

'There's no point, none will admit it,' he argued back, knowing what she was about to say.

'—without dealing with it at all. They're bound to break at some point, they can't hold that act forever,' she said angrily.

'All in its due time,' he spoke in a very wise voice. Ever since he had started taking the potion, the Protector had become part of Neville, and not only another being inside him.

'But what if there's no other time?' she asked with tears shining in her eyes.

'There will be, eventually,' he finished and gave her a peck on the cheek, hurrying his pace to catch up with Hermione.

Ginny stopped and looked at the two, then at Harry and Draco, and closed her eyes. 'It's not going to happen by itself, there might not be time,' Ginny muttered as she started walking again. 'They can't act forever—' she said and walked to meet the other two.

***

'Oh, Salazar!' Helga exclaimed and threw herself at her husband, who was still lying on the ground.

The black haired man put a hesitant arm on his wife's sobbing form and looked up at Godric.

'What was that you gave me?' he asked uncertain… scared.

'Rowena and Helga spent nights and nights without sleeping making it. It'll suppress the Symbio for a while'

'Does that mean that?' he asked hopeful.

Godric sighed. 'I'm afraid not, my dear friend. Once he beats the effects, he will develop resistance to the potion'

'I understand,' he said bitterly in Godric's head. 'Thank you'

The other man looked at his friend with shimmering eyes, full of tears for having his best friend and once upon a time secret lover's eyes back… but only for a few hours. He looked down and then at his wife; the woman he'd give anything for and without whom he was certain he'd die, of having no one else. A sense of dread passed him; if the two were gone from his life, he didn't know if he'd survive, and now with one departed he felt an urge to protect his wife and the mother of their four year old son and future daughter.

Rowena's look was completely indescribable. She stared at Salazar with fear, happiness, sadness, hope, longing… all at once. She wasn't sure if to reach out and touch him for fear of the man she'd once loved vanishing when becoming real. Finally, her glance crossed with his and she felt reassured. Tears started streaming down her face and she kneeled as well, hugging Salazar with all her strength. 'I'm so sorry I attacked you like that!' Was all she managed to say.

He patted her head with a smile. 'It's all right, Rowena,' he said with a chuckle. His decrepit face and thin body seemed made of paper, now that he had full control of it; it appeared as if it was solely held up and together by magic… which it probably was. His eyes were sunken, and his once thick black hair was now thin and greying. After a moment, Salazar pulled away and focused exclusively on the two girls. 'How long?' Was all he asked.

'Three hours,' they said in unison.

'Can I see—meet?'

'Of course you can! We have a portkey here to Hogwarts,' Helga said with a smile. 'It's been a while so don't be surprised to see things changed and faces you don't know,' she warned quietly, helping him stand up.

'We brought strengthening potions and snacks,' Rowena offered and Salazar took them most thankfully.

Ten minutes later, they were walking in the deserted Great Hall, where lunch was taking place. Some of the children gasped when seeing him, others watched him with awe, and the ones belonging to his very own house (which was led now by a former student of Salazar himself) looked at him with admiration, seemingly wanting to ask one million thousand question, but not daring to.

They passed the Great Hall and walked to a new creation of the three: The Room of Requirement. It would always show you what you want or need in that precise moment, if you were thinking about it.

When they entered, it looked like a bedroom… a kid's bedroom, more accurately. There was a big bed in the centre, a window that showed the most wonderful view and a big space where toys were located. In the centre of the playzone, a small boy, no older than four or five, sat playing with some cubes; making them fly and place themselves on certain places. When the cube landed on the right place, he would giggle and clap his hands and when not, he would pout and try again.

Salazar looked at him for the longest time. His long, jet-black hair fell down his forehead as he played; his pale skin seemed to reflect the light coming through the window… he wanted to see his son's eyes, if they were cold and dead as his or if they had that kindness and lost warmth of his mother's.

Slowly and quietly, he approached; not sure how to do it. When Salazar was a few feet away, Samuel looked up scared and lifted both his hands, putting up a shield that threw his father off.

Helga gasped and ran to Samuel. 'Sam! Honey, don't do that!' she cried and looked to where Salazar was.

His eyes were filled with tears, but he completely understood, with much regret, why the boy was like that. He shook his head. 'It's all right, Helga, I know,' he said and turned to look at Samuel's dark green eyes with much relieve to see Helga's spheres in his. 'Samuel, I am Salazar,' he spoke softly, approaching slowly.

The little boy stopped and his eyes widened. 'You're—'. He turned to his mother, who nodded, and then stood, walking to him. 'My father,' he spoke, in a voice that was anything but a five year old's.

Even from where Salazar stood, barely knowing him, he realised how much of his own character his son had. His son recognition made his heart ache and all he managed to do was open his arms. 'Yes,' he breathed as the black haired boy hesitantly walked into Salazar's embrace.

'And this is Gael, Salazar. Your godson,' Godric put in when the other two had settled.

The man looked up to see a boy that looked like a male version of Rowena. He had dark brown ringlets and blue eyes that sparkled like Godric's used to before everything happened. His skin was slightly dark, mirroring Godric's. He was probably four, barely a year younger than Samuel.

'Hello, uncle Salazar. Mum and dad told us what they were going to do. I am glad they could,' he said.

He gathered the boy into a hug and soon after, Samuel joined in. Salazar looked up from the two little boys' warmth. 'I am so sorry I wasn't here for all this,' he said sincerely.

'But you are here now, and that's what matters,' Helga said as she came closer and kissed her husband deeply. Salazar let go of the two boys, who stuck close together, and held her as tight as he could without hurting her.

'I love you so much,' he muttered between kisses that screamed how much they'd missed each other.

'I will always love you too, no matter what'

The other couple watched them kiss passionately and Godric came closer to Rowena, putting a protective arm around her and pulling her close. 'I am so happy we can be together'

***

'I'm afraid that from now on, I must leave you. My grandfather would kill me if I arrived with you. Harry, you know the way?' she asked with bright eyes.

'I think I can manage,' he responded tensely; the sensation of being so close to finally finishing this was overwhelming and he did his best to hide it.

'There is one last acid test in which I cannot assist you,' she said in a very diplomatic manner. 'I have a mission after all and whether I want it or not, I must do what I can to fulfil it'

'What are you talking about? You helped us all the way here. It doesn't make sense!' Ginny started protesting and looked at her friends.

Hermione sighed and turned her attention to Ginny, speaking for the first time since the incident. 'It does make sense, Gin. Things are not solely black and white,' she explained serenely.

'Then why the bloody hell did she help us here is she was going to ditch us in the most important part?' she asked angrily. 'Might as well have killed us when she first met us!'

She turned to the others looking for support. Draco looked very annoyed, Harry had a resigned expression, Neville was only looking at Agnese blankly and Hermione seemed unable to believe it. Her eyes widened as none backed her in this. 'What's the matter with you? Don't you want to get to the chest and finish this at last to get back to our lives?' she pleaded and her voice cracked.

Agnese stared at her with pain in her beautiful dark eyes. Harry studied the older girl and turned to his old girlfriend. 'She wants to help us more, but she can't, Ginny. She's done more than enough for just leading us here; we would've taken forever otherwise'

'But we will never—I don't understand you guys'

'You're the heir of the Hufflepuff House. The world needs you to go through all of this to free something you didn't even knew your ancestors had done. Do you wish to put your life in danger and get hurt and all that has happened to you? Did you someday dream you would lose part of your life doing something that had nothing to do with you in the first place?' Hermione asked her.

Ginny looked down, starting to understand the point. 'No, I never asked for this,' she responded like a little girl that had just been grounded by her mother.

'There are things in life that we do not yearn for. But nevertheless, we must do them; and in the process, we are also obliged to find a moment in which our own wishes must prevail over our responsibility. That's what Agnese did and we can't judge her for that,' Hermione said resignedly, her eyes over-bright, pleading for her friend's understanding.

She swallowed and looked at Hermione with big brown eyes. "I understand," was all she said.

A moment later, Agnese came closer to the two girls. "While I can't help you anymore, I am sure you will be able to come through. You are after all the heirs of the Hogwarts four, and they were four of the greatest wizards in all of the history of your people." She smiled at her and leaned closer. "They need you, they cannot do it without you, Ginivra," she whispered and kissed her softly on the lips; a lovingly encouraging kiss.

At that moment, Ginny could feel the emotion on the young woman in front of her. A split second later, she nodded. "I will, young Warden, I will." She spoke in a voice that was not an eighteen year olds' at all, but it was the voice of a woman forced to grow up much faster that she should.

***

A/N:

No, this is not a slash fic, don't worry. But it's not completely het either, as you've noticed. I am slash-friendly, like I told you when I started WWB, so that's what the fic is: Het but slash-friendly.

And yes, the Wickening came from Charmed, I'm a huge fan of the show ^_^ I know this chapter took long, but the thing is that this is the moment in which we need to start tying loose ends… the beginning of the end, if you want to call it like that