Chapter 16-Escape
Harry could hear Hermione's breath as she panicked. She had been brave, he thought. She couldn't possibly have saved herself if she hadn't used the "death curse." Either she used or he used it. He grabbed her wand and gave her his. There would be an investigation into the use of an Unforgivable Curse. Harry had an idea. He had to try it. He concentrated hard on Hermione. He imagined the scene as it had unfolded. He imagined it with him using the curse with her wand as he had gathered it during the battle. He hoped it would be the version she remembered. He hoped that Dumbledore was right-- that someone could give you false memories.
Hermione wiped the blood from Malfoy's nose and mouth. She saw how terribly beaten he was. She also noticed odd way his feet were turned. She felt sick. He had been brutally tortured. Anyone who saw him could tell that.
There was a noise from the far end of the corridor. It sounded like many footsteps. Harry was sure that they were coming from the opposite direction from where Mad-Eye would or should emerge.
The band of kidnappers and murderers had seen Harry and Hermione first. The front four were not carrying the bodies so they put on their invisibility cloaks.
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The other two went back down below and headed the direction they'd left the last time they were in the castle. Since they were uncloaked they carried their wands at the ready. Anyone who tried to stop them would die. They only had to get about two hundred more feet to the end of the corridor near Snape's office.
Just as they arrived at the exit, Snape came out of his office. He stopped for a second in disbelief. He reached for his wand and managed to cast his spell before the second man could turn. "Petrificus Totalus," he yelled. The second man fell with forward with his package falling on his back and legs. Snape ran toward where the first man had disappeared. He couldn't see him and he knew it would be suicide to follow someone into a dark corridor underground. As much as Snape wanted to follow, he knew he should not.
He bent over and untied the bundle. To his astonishment, he found Ginny Weasley gagged and bound. He wondered now who had been taken by the other man. He used the bindings that had been used for Ginny to bind his captive. He used the gag on him as well. He disarmed him and pulled him aside. He tried to revive Ginny, but he couldn't. Her kidnappers had used some very powerful magic to put her in this deep an unconscious state. He was worried.
He gathered her up and carried her off to the infirmary. He would have to trust that the man he had restrained would be there when he returned.
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The four clandestine figures moved slowly toward Harry and Hermione. They had seen their fallen comrade and couldn't afford to raise any more alarms. They didn't know who had been called or who had been here earlier. Harry was bent over Draco trying to straighten his legs. He put the invisibility cloak under Malfoy's head. Harry had his back to the danger.
Twenty feet.
Hermione looked at the body of the dead man and tried to remember what happened. It had all gone so fast. She just knew she was glad that Harry and she were safe.
Fifteen feet.
Harry tried to think. He hadn't heard any more noise. No voices. Where could Mad-Eye be?
Ten feet.
Harry looked over at Hermione. He prayed she was spared the thought of killing someone. He'd seen death and wanted to kill, but he couldn't imagine the guilt his sweet Hermione would feel. He'd die with this secret if he could get away with it.
Five feet.
Just as the first man was thinking of rising to strike Harry from behind the sound of Mad-Eye's peg leg came from down the corridor. Mad-Eye saw the four figures in the cloaks and yelled, "Behind you Harry!"
The first man was too quick. He gave Harry a crushing blow in the middle of the back with his elbow. Then he gave a quick kick to the side of Harry's head, knocking Harry to the ground. Harry was unconscious.
Hermione dove to the ground when she saw the flash of wands go by her. Harry, she thought.
The four men thought better of taking on an Auror of the caliber of Mad-Eye. They could not afford to be caught alive. They would not live even if the Ministry put them in Azkaban or let them go. Voldemort would make sure of that. They grabbed at Hermione but she fought them with everything she had. Mad-Eye was too close.
All four dashed out the door, just ahead of another blast from Mad-Eye's wand. He knew he was not fast enough to catch them. And fighting them in the dark was not something he wished to do.
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The word spread quickly that there had been more violence at Hogwarts. The morning edition of the Daily Prophet ran the headline:
Attack on Hogwarts:
Two Dead, One Missing, Four Hurt
The secondary headline:
Kidnapped Student Returned to Hogwarts
The call from Dumbledore to St. Mungo's for additional help had been overheard by several reporters. The onslaught of news coverage had begun. Even the muggle newspapers had tried to get coverage of the death of a student in an exclusive boarding school, but they had no facts so the story never saw print.
Draco Malfoy and Harry had been taken to the infirmary as soon as Mad-Eye could get Hermione settled down. She wouldn't let Harry go. Not with anyone. They were forced to sedate her and take her to the infirmary as well. The ordeal had obviously left her horror-stricken. The body of the attacker was given to Ministry officials when they arrived. And there had been several attempts to reach the Thomas family but no one could be found. Dean Thomas was taken to the infirmary and put in a separate room for the time being.
Snape had gone back to where he'd left the body of the kidnapper only to find the bindings cut and left behind. He wondered how that could be. He knew the man should be in that state for at least two hours. It had barely been twenty-five minutes.
Wild stories were circulating throughout Hogwarts and Professor Dumbledore was under siege by Ministry of Magic Minister Cornelius Fudge. He was at a loss for how the events of tonight had occurred. He had all of the main entrances covered. He had not yet had a chance to talk to Mad-Eye who was with Luna, Ginny, Harry and Hermione watching over them.
It had become clear who was missing by connecting the people who had been hurt. They had immediately took a head count and looked for Ron Weasley. The word had been given to Mollie and Arthur Weasley by Percy late last night. They were arriving this morning at 10 AM.
Professor McGonagall was absolutely disconsolate. She had been sad for the Goyle and Crabbe families but she didn't know them well. She had to explain to the Weasley's and the Granger's how their children had been put in mortal danger. She knew that this may spell the end for Hogwarts as they knew it. There would be demands for constant surveillance and charms to identify every visitor. There would be no stopping the demands of so many parents. Otherwise, there would be no school. They would not allow their kids in school.
In the news article in the Daily Prophet there was a call to remove Harry from the school. The article cited a recent editorial that asserted that there had not been a single negative event at Hogwarts in the fifty years prior to Harry Potter's enrollment. The author asserted that if Harry were to be let go, the school would no longer be targeted by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Sadly, neither Professor McGonagall nor Professor Dumbledore could refute that claim.
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The day had grown long for the Weasley's. They sat in the infirmary with their daughter and their son's best friend, hoping against all hope that he would be found somewhere on the school grounds or returned alive. They looked over at Luna and felt such sadness. She may be crippled for life. The doctors were not sure if even their magical medicine could repair the damage to her spinal cord. Her father had arrived only an hour ago.
Harry was still unconscious. He had suffered a severe blow to the head and a traumatic injury to his back as well. He was listed as serious. Hermione and Ginny to their great pleasure were the only two here that were simply recovering from sleeping potions. Ginny had briefly awoken when they first arrived, but couldn't talk without slurring and ranting on about Dean Thomas. No one could understand a word she said. Madame Pomfrey decided it was better that she continued to sleep.
"Percy, dear, would you come here?" Mrs. Weasley pleaded.
She took her oldest boy by the hand and sat him next to her and hugged him. "Are you okay, Mum?" Percy asked.
"As good as could be expected." She lied. She felt a breakdown coming with every breath. Even with her husband and all but one of her children safe, she felt a pain in her heart for Ron.
"Mum, we have every wizard volunteer we could find out looking for him. We know the kidnapper exited somewhere in Hogsmeade. That's where the tunnel ends." Percy explained.
"Thank you, dear, but save those explanations for your father. I am a nervous wreck and it'll just make me cry." She kissed Percy on the cheek and patted his hand.
"Mollie," said Arthur, "I have sent word to Bill and Charlie. If the investigation goes longer than tomorrow, they will be back to help the Order look for him."
She was gladdened that her two older sons would be on their way back if things turned worse. The order could use their help.
Quietly, they waited for Ginny, Harry or someone to wake up. They wanted to know what happened.
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By dinner, Hagrid had completed his search of the immediate grounds and the forest. He had seen nothing to suggest that they were still hiding here. He wished he'd caught them. Magic or no magic, he thought an angry half-giant would take three or four chicken-legged dark wizards any day. He knew he was probably wrong, but it made him feel better to think he could do something.
Snape, Mad-Eye, and Tonks had made a sweep of all the known tunnels throughout the castle. By order of Dumbledore, they would be closed by tomorrow night and guarded around the clock until then.
They were all in Dumbledore's office. "Professor Dumbledore, how are the children?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"Madame Pomfrey has informed me that the most severely injured was Miss Lovegood. She may be paralyzed from the neck down. However, she said that it may not be that severe. Tests have shown that Miss Lovegood's trauma may not leave her unable to use her arms after a few months of therapy. She has feeling in the tips of her fingers." There was no great joy in that pronouncement, but it was better news than earlier in the day.
"You'd think the greatest wizards in the entire world could redo nerves if they can regrow bones," said Hagrid. "No offense to anyone here, mind you."
"Mr. Potter will probably recover in a week or so. Madame Pomfrey says that dizziness and headaches are typical of the type of trauma Harry experienced. His back was not broken, but the swelling around the spinal cord has left him without feeling in his legs. He will probably not be able to walk until he has some feeling."
"Miss Granger, what a tough cookie she is. She woke up this afternoon about an hour ago and went directly to Harry's bed and sat there with her wand like a protective lioness would with a cub. No one will be bothering Harry while she's there." Professor Dumbledore added, "She does appear to have experienced severe emotional trauma and may need to be kept sedated. For now no one wants to do anything until Harry wakes up."
"As you well know, Miss Weasley will be fine. She may experience some emotional problems as well. To the best of our knowledge, she saw Dean Thomas die. That will cause anyone to lose a little of their grip on reality. Or give them to strong a grip on reality. Either way, she'll need the love of her family."
"Well, enough of the medical journal. Molly and Arthur, have you decided to take up residence here for a while?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes, we think so. You will need the extra help with security and the added work load in the infirmary," said Molly.
"Mr. Lovegood. Will you be staying for a while?"
"I will need to have access to a courier to conduct my business. Is that a satisfactory arrangement for you, Professor Dumbledore?"
"Yes, I think that Percy here can do that on his way to the Ministry a couple of times a week. Percy?"
"Why, yes sir, I could do that. Will you let me stay then too, Professor Dumbledore?"
"Of course, Percy. For the record Percy, I hold no ill feelings for last year's events. If you are on good terms with your family you are welcome here."
"Finally, other than the death of one of the intruders near the door to the castle, no one knows what happened. Hermione won't say anything until Harry wakes up and no one can talk about the incident one floor below. So, we will have to wait for more information like everyone else."
There were nods around the room. Professor Snape still had the puzzled look on his face about how the intruder near his office had escaped. Professor Dumbledore had told him to remain silent about that. No one else should know. There was an advantage to knowing what could not be known by anyone but the intruder and his accomplice.
"Well, if that is all for now. I am tired and must rest and I should think all of you should too. Tomorrow will bring a host of new challenges I would guess. We will meet at 10 AM tomorrow, if that is satisfactory to everyone?"
A resounding yes made it official. The Order of the Phoenix would meet in the morning with two new guest members: Mr. Lovegood and Percy Weasley.