Chapter 32
The room grew colder and darker a bit and the air seemed to grow thicker. Justin and Harry were surrounded by the other six. Harry could sense Snape and McGonagall rounding up the staff and telling them to secure the perimeters as well as ordering the prefects to make sure all the students stayed in their respective common rooms. In addition to the order, the staff was making sure no one got out of their common rooms by casting a locking spell that could only be broken in dire emergency.
Harry could sense Lavender tensing, but he was projecting thoughts of calmness as well as reassurances to her and the others. He was telling them to try to clear their minds. He was telling Lavender to calm down. He knew that she was feeling tense because of the fact that she hadn't found the meaning of the seventh song yet and that she didn't want to let Harry and everyone else down if that were to be the final battle.
He also warned them not to reveal any of their special powers. He didn't want Voldemort going away with that information if there was a chance he could escape. He couldn't help that Draco was exposed as being on their team, but Draco had a choice and he stood by the others as they readied themselves to fight with Harry.
"What's the matter, Potter? Your dear old headmaster is not here to protect you?" Voldemort taunted.
"It doesn't really matter if Dumbledore is here or not, does it? You're the one who's scared of him? I guess now that he's not around and your death eaters aren't surrounding you, you feel a whole lot braver, do you? Especially since you're not really here, are you?"
"Ah, Potter. If only you can feel your pathetic friend inside this body, I am very much here indeed."
That was the problem; Harry could feel Justin and he could practically hear him screaming in his mind. He didn't let Voldemort know of course.
"So, what do you want now, Voldemort? Aren't you tired of using innocent people to do your own dirty work? Aren't you man enough to face me in the flesh or is it that maybe you are scared of me?"
"Surely you don't think that you could defeat me you puny excuse of a man. Why, you're not even a man yet, are you? Has the slut of a mudblood shown you yet what it's like to be a man?" Hermione flinched and the floor beneath them trembled a bit, Harry showed no outward emotion. But inside he was seething like Mt. Fuji. He was thankful that Hermione wasn't in front of Voldemort or else he'd have known how much the comment affected him. He would have been able to surmise a conclusion from Hermione's blazing eyes.
Harry was telling her in her mind to calm down as he too began to calm himself down.
"What makes you think I need a woman to make me feel like a man? Is that what you had to do? Oh wait, did the spell return your manhood in tact?" He felt Voldemort's anger as the blinding pain to his scar hit him like a lightning bolt. Good thing he was prepared, otherwise Voldemort would have discovered one of their many connections.
"Crucio!" Voldemort screamed as he aimed the wand at Harry. At the sound of the curse, Harry prepared his body for the onslaught. He smiled as Voldemort's eyes grew in disbelief.
"Maybe it doesn't work as well since it's not your wand." Harry taunted. He felt Voldemort slip mentally for a second and used that time to get to Justin. He was telling Justin mentally to fight Voldemort.
Voldemort was able to feel a presence intruding in Justin's mind, but he couldn't figure out who it was out of the seven teenagers around him.
"So, one of you have been studying leglimency? That's quite interesting." He locked eyes with Draco. "Ah, young Malfoy, your father will be quite disappointed in these turn of events. Is it you who have studied the art of leglimency?"
Draco remained unmoving and his mind remained clear. Harry then told each and every one of them to project their thoughts towards Justin. As Voldemort turned to face each of them, Harry projected their thoughts into Justin's head one by one. Voldemort was more confused. All of them seemed to have the power of leglimency.
At the intrusion, he started pointing and cursing towards each of the teens, each time missing its mark. He grew frustrated as Justin became stronger. All the thoughts they sent him encouraged him to be strong and fight Voldemort in his mind. They were telling him that he could do it.
The curses kept flying half cocked from Voldemort but his concentration was waning. Justin's mind and heart became closed to VOldemort.
When Voldemort left Justin, Justin fell unconsciously on the ground. Harry followed Voldemort out as he tried to first enter Ginny's mind and then Lavender. They were able to block him out thanks to all the practice they'd been forced to take from Snape. They were stronger and more prepared than Justin. Voldemort tried one last time with Draco. Draco was busy worrying about Ginny.
Voldemort entered his mind. Draco screamed so loud his voice could have probably been heard throughout the castle. "No!" he cried as Voldemort gave him sinister thoughts. Ginny ran to him.
"Draco!" she screamed. "Fight him!" I love you she wanted to add, but she knew better than to show anymore weakness or any emotion in Voldemort's presence. He brought his hand up ready to strike out physically but before he could strike her, Draco flushed Voldemort out.
Just as Voldemort left he managed to say, "You've won this round Potter, but only this round."
Draco staggered back and fell forward landing on his hands and knees. His breathing was a bit shallow and his heart beat drummed in his ear at the pace of drum roll. Harry followed Voldemort once again until he was out. The act of multiple possessions weakened him and all he could do was work his way back to his body.
When he settled down, Harry smiled. He'd seen exactly where Voldemort was hiding, and he had an estimated count on how many death eaters stayed with him including Bellatrix. But first he needed to see to Justin and hoped that Voldemort and their efforts to flush Voldemort out of his mind didn't leave his brain damaged.
Ron, Lavender and Neville sought out the Dumbledore and the rest of the staff. Harry worked on Justin's head as Hermione put a hand on his shoulders for additional strength. They knew one of their unborn children had the power of healing. They'd found that out when Hermione was scratched up during the incident in the Valderag's cave. Her cuts were healed just as quickly as they appeared. Because of the chaos, no one seemed to notice at all that Hermione and Harry were the only ones to escape unscathed.
Dumbledore walked in just as Justin was regaining his consciousness. Since Harry's healing power was no longer a secret, Justin wasn't surprised to find himself staring into emerald orbs. He smiled and whispered "Thank you."
"Is everyone all right?" asked Dumbledore. He was frantic when he couldn't get into the door of the great hall. He'd know that Harry placed a locking spell. He was moving around the castle asking the portraits who had other portraits in the great hall to check on the activities.
At the sight of Harry unharmed, his fear subsided and a bit of temper replaced it. He wanted to give his grandson a tongue lashing even worse that Vernon Dursley ever gave him, but he held back because he knew somehow that it was Harry's way of protecting everyone else, even him.
No one answered Dumbledore for a while until Justin could get up with support from Harry and Hermione. "He still needs to get some rest," Harry answered his grandfather without meeting his eyes. He'd felt his anger and he didn't want to look into his eyes at that moment.
"We'll walk him to Madame Pomfrey," Ginny volunteered Draco and herself.
"I'm fine," Justin insisted as he almost fell over when he tried to take a step forward.
"We'll take you," Draco sounded a bit terse, but he was still fighting the wave of pain that Voldemort left after leaving his head.
"I think you might have to levitate him," Dumbledore suggested. Ginny nodded and whispered the spell as she pointed her wand towards Justin. Justin drifted along flanked by Draco and Ginny.
Dumbledore then looked at Harry and Hermione. His anger slowly dissipated when Harry walked forward and wrapped his arms around him to reassure his grandfather that he was indeed all right. A lone tear fell out of Dumbledore's eye, but he smiled. "Thank you, I needed that." He then held out his open arm towards Hermione and she stepped into it freely knowing he needed all the reassurances he could take.
"I know where he's hiding." Harry announced out of the blue as the three stood in the middle of the Great Hall.
"You what?" asked a surprised Hermione.
"I know where he and his death eaters are hiding out. I followed him when he left here."
Dumbledore was once again amazed at how much power his grandson had. He wondered if he should have been worried at all. But he knew, no matter how powerful his grandson became, he would always worry about him and his ever growing family. Like Harry he'd always wondered when he'd get his family back, he hadn't realized until that moment that he was indeed blessed with another chance to have a family. He knew about the triplets and was ecstatic at the idea of Harry and Hermione having three babies. After the battle he knew that he would no longer keep his ties with Harry a secret. He was going to have three more grandchildren to spoil knowing that he couldn't do much when Harry was a baby. He was going to make up for all those times.
"What does that mean, exactly?" Hermione wanted to know.
"It means, that we could take him by surprise for once and not the other way around. And don't worry. I am not going to be going there by myself. I've learned my lesson already." He eyed his wife knowing that he'd never be forgiven if he actually did go and try to fight Voldemort on his own. Dumbledore chuckled.
"Well, that's good."
"Why don't we have a meeting with the order tonight and you can draw us a map?" Dumbledore suggested.
"Nope, no good," Harry answered and managed to witness his grandfather's mouth hang open at the refusal. "I don't want anyone else trying to be the hero and going there on their own. I will reveal the place when we, as a team, are ready to face him. Lavender still needs to solve the seventh song and I think it's safe to assume that we need to recruit more people for our cause."
"I guess I underestimated your power of reason," Hermione chuckled and kissed her husband soundly on the lips.
"Well, now. Why don't you too go on and find the others or do whatever it is I think you want to do and I'll clean up this mess."
"Yeah, why don't we do what Grandfather is thinking," Harry joked. "Dirty old man." Hermione playfully slapped Harry's arm as Dumbledore threw his head back and laughed so loud the portraits covered their ears.
"Really, Harry. That wasn't a very nice thing to say to your grandfather."
"You don't know what he was thinking, do you? You'd say the same thing if you did." Harry smiled at her. She knew he was joking because of the promise he'd made not to sneak into people's head any time he wanted to.
"Come on, I want to be alone with you and do some relaxing."
"Does your scar still hurt?"
"A bit."
She knew he was lying. She knew it was hurting him more than a bit, but she knew too that he knew how he felt. They were connected in a lot of ways. She took his hands as if to let him know that she was willing to share his pain.
Harry was amazed at how well she understood him. He knew that she was probably the only person who truly did and would be the only person who ever will. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it.
When they were finally alone in their room, they sat in the couch and just held on to each other. No words were needed. Harry needed to release some emotions and she knew words were not enough after what happened. They sat for a few minutes until they both drifted to sleep.
A/N: Well, I didn't feel like it was time for the final confrontation. So there you go. Sorry it's so short. Been busy like crazy lately. Hope you stick around until the end of this story. We're almost there. Thank you for your reviews as always. They are very flattering and encouraging. Without them I'd have no will to continue to write them.
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