Chapter 17
"Liberty or Death"
Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Jack struggled against their captors in a sign of their defiance as they were literally dragged towards Voldemort's throne room. Ron and Ginny were feeling the same way, resentful but scared the same but Harry, a few paces in front of them, was obviously fighting with himself aside from the Death Eaters.
Ron thought Jack was probably right - Harry wasn't himself. Whatever transpired with his meeting with Voldemort, he didn't know, but Harry could have been truly subjected to a Confundus charm, he now bet on it. Was there a way to break it? Maybe he could talk Harry out of it, as long as they were together in one place, he could still help him see reason and make him realize Voldemort was just tricking him. Ron knew what would happen if Harry answered positively to his scheme and he didn't want it to happen at all.
"Ron! Please don't let them kill me," Ginny cried, her face drawn with her feeling of dread of what was about to happen to them. The Death Eaters who were holding them rang with laughter, positively having pleasure from her distress. She was shaking, and Ron could not help but feel afraid for her, too. The fact that he couldn't do anything for her at this moment gave him the worst feeling he ever had in his life.
"Don't be afraid, Ginny!" Ron could only tell his baby sister. "Be brave! Be strong!"
When they had arrived in the throne room's very large anteroom, Harry and Jack were separated from Ron and Ginny. This gave Ron another jolt of fear. This would really prevent him from ever helping Harry resist Voldemort. "Harry!"
"Hey, where are you taking them?" said Harry to the Death Eaters, amid the confusion in his mind.
"You'll see later," said the Death Eater simply.
"Harry!" called Ron as they were being hauled away from each other. Ron was fighting forward; Ginny wasn't strong enough to be much of a resistance and was pulled away fairly easily.
"Ron! Ginny!" Harry shouted back. For few seconds he slid off the Death Eater's grasp and he flung himself towards his friends to try to pry Ron off his handler. A small rumble ensued, and Harry was hit with a hard whack from the back of a hand of another Death Eater. He flew back, spitting blood, and crashed down painfully to the floor, all the while Ginny attempted to bite the arm of one of the Death Eaters holding her with no success. Jack Chadron didn't put much of a fight; he just looked on, looking resigned to their inevitable fate.
With Harry sprawled on the floor, very much hurt to stand up quickly, the Death Eaters seized the opportunity to drag Ron and Ginny further as far away as they can. They were both shoved downward on a stone staircase Harry didn't know where it lead to.
"Harry, please don't listen to him! Not ever!" yelled Ron, and that was the last Harry had heard from him as the sounds of their protest became weaker until they were not heard anymore. Harry then heard some very large dogs barking loudly within the castle at a distance. He didn't know where they were - he didn't want to find out and didn't look forward to meet them soon, too. The barking had then stopped as soon as it started. Harry found that real weird and scary.
Shortly thereafter, Harry was lifted off the floor and painfully led forward to the throne room with Jack at the back; the tall, majestic oak doors opened and Voldemort was again sitting on his throne at the end of the room at very much the same way Harry saw him just earlier. The only thing that was different from the previous time they met was that there was now a body of a Death Eater slumped on the floor. He looked dead to Harry, and he was right.
"Foolish of him to disagree with me," said Voldemort as two other Death Eaters hurried over to remove the body out of the room.
There were a couple dozen uneasy Death Eaters with their masks on present in the throne room, and they all moved to both sides of Voldemort's throne, facing Harry and Jack Chadron, who were now both alone in the middle. Voldemort's giant snake Nagini slithered around the whole room.
Voldemort had told Harry he'd give him time to think about his proposition, and it was clear that Voldemort couldn't wait a minute more because this was their second meeting in less than three hours. What Harry didn't understand was that he'd naturally refuse Voldemort's proposition, but it seemed that he didn't know how to say "no". Hermione's voice kept playing in his mind, unceasing to blame him for her death. Harry tried to shut it out by apologizing to her profusely, but the guilt didn't just go away.
While Harry was still fighting amongst himself, Voldemort turned to Jack Chadron, who was standing a few feet beside Harry.
"Jack Chadron," he said, startling the former Hogwarts Head Boy. "As I have lost another servant because of his unforgivable mistake, I've considered your recent efforts to serve me as a good reason to reaccept you conditionally to my circle. I am willing to forgive your latest blunder. However, if you commit another one, then you will suffer the same fate of the Death Eater you saw on the floor earlier."
Harry made a quick look at Jack. It was as if Jack had seen his long lost family. His face was bright and he looked dreamy. "Wormtail, give him back his wand," instructed Voldemort.
"My Lord!" said one of the Death Eaters nervously. "You don't know what - "
"Silence!" Voldemort growled. "Nobody contradict me!" He gave the Death Eater a furious stare, making him flinch and return to his formation, shaking, and apologizing copiously.
Wormtail obediently went over to Jack Chadron, gave the wand to him, and quickly got back beside Voldemort. The look of Jack's face told everyone that he could not believe what was happening, and he stared at his wand like it was gold.
"Stand in formation with the others, Chadron," said Voldemort. "You will know what your first initiation will be when I say it." Jack obeyed, moved forward towards the throne, and filled the gap left by the deceased Death Eater. Jack looked at the masked faces of the other Death Eaters; he could tell by the look of their eyes under the shadows of their masks that he wasn't welcome. He looked around for Lucius Malfoy - he didn't know if he was present because all the Death Eaters looked the same behind their uniformed masks.
Voldemort returned his gaze to Harry and smirked at the look of his face as the boy just stood in front of him. His Confundus spell was so strong that he was confident he'd finally persuade Harry to join him. Voldemort had realized after their meeting in the graveyard that the allegiance of Harry Potter to his cause had far more advantages than just killing him outright. Harry was incredibly famous, and much of the wizard world believed he was their ray of hope against Voldemort because the boy had some kind of special magic within him that made him invulnerable. Or so they thought.
Voldemort would use that unproven myth for his advantage, and the fact that he had Harry as his "ally" they will fear him even more. When the dark clouds of Xanthius would spread its gloom over the wizard world completely, most will surrender out of trepidation, and Voldemort will at last start his reign of terror for Mudbloods - and purebloods opposing him. Even Hogwarts will surely fall in the weight of Xanthius' dark magic.
Still, if his new plan didn't work out, he'd still execute Harry Potter for all to see, and the effect of that will still be as ominous as his submission.
Of course, Voldemort knew Harry's allegiance would not be complete if the boy didn't pledge it with his freewill. Voldemort would have to break it to the very last moment when he gives in and release the Confundus charm just before the boy says "yes". Voldemort had tried to threaten Harry with death, but it looked like it didn't scare him enough, he had used the death - and the possibility of death - of his dearest friends to sway him. Voldemort knew Harry's weakness - the never-ending guilt of causing those deaths. He'd convince Harry that living on would actually be more horrifying than death itself, and it was almost done.
Voldemort laughed. His other promises to Harry were actually all lies - like salt and pepper. Fare may taste good if you sprinkle it with them, but after it's been eaten, they're over and done. Like in Harry's case, the offer would seem too hard to refuse, but once he accepts the offer, the boy will not remember his former self. Voldemort would still keep on killing Muggles and the new Harry would not mind at all and protest on not keeping his promise. He'd just use Harry for his worth, and dispose of him if he'd become useless. This was why Voldemort had to keep Harry alive for now, otherwise his plans for capturing the wizard world will be too difficult, but not impossible.
"The time has for you to accept my proposition, Harry," said Voldemort calmly. Jack Chadron looked on nervously.
"Harry, it's all your fault!" rang Hermione's voice in Harry's mind again. Her voice sounded like she was suffering. "I'm dead because of you!"
Harry fell to his knees, holding his head with both hands. "Hermione, no, no, I didn't mean to hurt you!"
"You hurt me! That's why I'm dead! How can you a thing like that to me?"
Voldemort laughed heavily seeing Harry fight with himself. He knew what was going in Harry's mind.
"Harry, why?" said Hermione. "Why did you kill me?"
Harry was shaking his head as he wept severely, body bent on the floor. Hermione's charge was the most painful of all. "Have I known that would happen, I wouldn't have done it…"
"Yet it's done Harry!" Hermione replied. "It's unforgivable!"
"Guilty!" said another voice much different this time. Harry didn't know whose and where it came from. "Accept it!"
"I can't - Yes I must - no!"
"There's no other way Harry!" said the other voice again. Voldemort and the Death Eaters laughed much harder as Harry bawled.
"I have something else that would help you decide," said Voldemort, and with a flick of a wand, a cage emerged from the floor at the middle of the room. Harry watched, gasping for air. As it was raising all of the Death Eaters rang with laughter. Jack tried to laugh with them, but he couldn't seem to make himself to when he saw Ron and Ginny were in it, bound and gagged.
"R-Ron! Ginny!" said Harry. "You all right?"
The two siblings tried furiously to say something to Harry even if they knew they wouldn't be able to. Only their muffled voices were heard beyond their gags. Harry couldn't bear seeing Ron and Ginny like that. Ron closed his eyes hard as if he was concentrating.
"If it's too difficult for you to decide on such a simple thing, Harry," said Voldemort, sneering, "Then your refusal will be the cause of their deaths. What you haven't done for them will add to your pain forever."
"N-no, not Ron," said Harry weakly.
"Harry, you can fight it!" said another voice similar to Ron's.
"R-Ron?" Harry said, looking around. He glanced at Ron, who was still closing his eyes. Ron was communicating through telepathy, though Harry couldn't know how he learned to.
"Harry, I don't know if you can hear me, but if all of us will have to die, we have to die together, don't we?" said Ron.
"Together?"
"Harry, come to us, not You-Know-Who - "
Then he heard Hermione's voice again gradually drowning Ron's, but her persuasion had strangely stepped up another notch. "Harry, I'll forgive you if you spare Ron and Ginny," her voice said. "If you don't, we'll all blame you for the rest of your life."
Now Harry knew that didn't sound like Hermione. He couldn't believe she could say such a thing. "Hermione, how could you?"
"Yes, Harry, it's me! If you say yes to Voldemort, you'll save Ron's and Ginny's lives, then I can rest in peace. Please!"
Harry couldn't take it anymore and he screamed. He slumped on the floor in front of Voldemort, exhausted. His face was sweaty, he opened his eyes sleepily, and for the first time his mind somehow cleared up as he saw Voldemort laughing while he sat on his throne. Hermione said in a whisper, "Harry, do it for me. Yield to Voldemort - "
"NEVER!"
Voldemort's and the Death Eater's laugh stopped abruptly. There was an eerie silence across the whole room, and all everyone could hear was Nagini's rustling on the floor. "Say again?" said Voldemort very seriously, his brows furrowed.
"I'd never surrender to you, Voldemort!" Harry said as forcefully as he could despite his weakness. He slowly stood up as he stared at Voldemort, shaking. "How dare you use Hermione for your evil ends!"
"She's dead because of you, Potter. She's blaming you for it."
"YOU'RE BLAMING ME, NOT HER!" Harry roared. "She'd never say that to me! I could see it now - it was you all along, wasn't it?"
"Ah, what would she never say to you?" Voldemort said, acting innocent.
"She'd never want me to surrender to you just for her! We'd rather die doing so!" Harry shouted. However, Voldemort didn't seem to be bothered with Harry's resistance.
"I see. Or would you rather choose your other friends to die for it now?" he upped the challenged.
Harry snapped his head at Ron and Ginny, whose eyes were getting round with terror. He'd never want that to happen to them. "No - not them! Take me instead!" Harry said, fearing their deaths more than his. "They have nothing to do with you!"
"No, you will not die just yet. I will not allow an easy way out for you if you really choose death - how courageous of you," said Voldemort satisfactorily. "I will kill them first, and you will be left on your own to lament out of your wrong decision, and the only way out of your suffering is to submit yourself to me." Voldemort laughed again. "If you choose the latter, then I will spare the lives of your filthy little friends!"
Harry looked back at Ron and Ginny breathlessly. Ron was shaking his head and was desperately trying to say something. He closed his eyes again and attempted telepathy, but nothing came in to Harry 's mind. Harry didn't know if Ron didn't want to die or just didn't want him to give in to Voldemort.
Again, the voice that sound like Hermione's told him "Spare Ron for me, Harry, Please!" Harry closed his eyes and shook his head in an attempt to clear out Hermione's voice. He definitely knew it wasn't her. Maybe if he could still refuse. He could do a Grindewald, but he knew that wasn't the right thing to do. Taking one's own life can never be justified whatever the reason. What if he said yes, then he'd realize too late that Voldemort was just lying, and killed Ron and Ginny anyway? Then Harry understood he had nowhere to go - whichever path he took he'd still end up the loser. Harry thought hard.
"Ron, what'll I do?" he thought.
"Harry, Ginny and I are ready to die - we've talked about it. It's you who has to go on! Millions of lives are depending on you!"
"But that would be too arrogant for me to - " He looked at Ron and Ginny, who were looking at him without blinking. He could see now in Ron's eyes that he had forgotten how not to trust Voldemort. He had to tell Ron. "Voldemort's lying, Ron! He'll still kill you and Ginny even if I say yes to him!"
"That's it, Harry!" said Ron in Harry's mind. "You know how to fight it!"
Harry hesitated.
"Your time is up, Harry," said Voldemort, and Harry looked at him with dread. "Your friends will now die."
"NOOOO!" Harry cried and tried to lunge at Voldemort, but Nagini squeezed Harry with his body, restraining and holding him still.
"Jack Chadron!" Voldemort called, and Jack stepped out of his formation. "I have something for you to do. Your first task is to kill the Weasley children."
Jack was alarmed with Voldemort's order, although he knew he'd be told to do something sooner or later. Like a good Death Eater like he'd become, he had to obey Voldemort without question.
" I assume you have been trained with the death curse," said Voldemort. "Do it properly, and you are one step towards full Death Eater membership. Fail, you die along with them."
Jack shook, although not too visibly. Voldemort's last sentence jolted him, and he remembered his last attempt of the Death Curse against Dumbledore. He had failed then, and would he do it properly this time? He looked at Ron and Ginny, and their eyes were the widest he'd seen in his whole life.
It was unsettling for him to know that he'd be killing kids, and he'd be hearing their jokes and laughter - then their cries of death. He didn't know if he'd be able to get over the feeling for the rest of his life - he felt Harry's pain when he talked about his guilt about causing the death of Hermione Granger, and it will feel all too real with him after he'd commit the murder he'd been ordered to do. Still, he had to show his mettle with Voldemort, or else he'd die, too. Looked like he no choice either.
He moved forward towards the cage that kept the Weasleys, his wand pointed at them. Voldemort and the Death Eaters watched him intently, simpering as he went nearer to the frightened kids. As he passed where Harry stood, he stopped. "This is what I have dreamed of all my life, Harry," said Jack slowly, looking to Harry, and then at his wand. "The time has finally come, like I wished it would come. He-Who-Must-Be Named saw my potential at last."
"Jack - P-please don't do it," pleaded Harry. He felt that his appeal would fall into deaf ears - Jack couldn't have been too happy with the treatment he got from Harry and Ron back in the dungeons.
"Forgive me, Harry, for everything," said Jack sadly, as Ron and Ginny trembled. He just stood there for a moment, irresolute; the silence was killing Harry. Then an odd look emerged on Jack's face.
"But there's still one thing I have to tell you that nobody knew except He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and me," he continued on. "He killed my parents - yes, I've realized it at last, thanks to you and your friends. He butchered my true and only family - "
Harry then knew what was coming, and so did the Death Eaters who heard what Jack had said. Confusion developed as some Death Eaters started to run behind Jack, reaching for their wands. "What's happening?" said Voldemort, baffled by the sudden activity around him.
Jack raised his wand to the high ceiling, and bellowed, "FLIPENDO ULTIMOS!"
Jack's spell shook the whole castle violently. Death Eaters who were running lost their balance and fell to the floor. The stone ceiling, fifty feet above them, came crashing down on everyone, and Jack was the first to perish along with some others. Nagini had inadvertently protected Harry from the heavy stone members of the ceiling by curling to save himself. He was hit in the head by one, knocking him out. It was every man for himself, and thick dust soon covered the whole area, blinding anyone who had survived within a few inches.
Harry could hear Voldemort's curses amidst other wailing voices and the choking dust. He struggled to free himself from the snake that bounded him, calling for Ron and Ginny's name. He could only hear the sound of their muffled voices in return and he steered himself to it. Along the way, he almost slipped at something that rolled under his feet. He felt it was a wand - it was Jack's wand, miraculously intact! Heart pounding loudly with his luck, he grabbed it, and felt his way forward again until he had reached the steel grilles.
"Ron, Ginny! Hang on, I'm coming," Harry said, coughing. He felt around for some kind of a lock somewhere and he found it. He stepped back, pointed the tip of the wand at the lock and muttered, "Alohomora!" The lock clicked open. The dust was thinning out, and he got himself in the cage making out the white faces of Ron and Ginny. They were still bound behind their backs and he had to take care of that, too.
"Snipendo," Harry muttered as he pointed his wand on the ropes that bounded Ron and Ginny. After their hands were free, they removed their gags. "Welcome back, Harry," said Ron as he stood up, helping Ginny on her feet. "Let's get out of here!"
"Right!" said Harry. They all ran out of the cage and ran up and down the rubble, away from Voldemort's throne. The dust had almost settled completely on the floor, and they could see almost clearly around them.
"Look, they're escaping!" said Wormtail.
"Kill the Weasleys!" barked Voldemort. "Potter's mine!" With Voldemort's order, more than half of the original number of Death Eaters began to move out in pursuit of Harry, Ron, and Ginny. "Don't come back until you bring me them all to me!!!"
Harry, Ron, and Ginny had gotten out the throne room's main doorway. Everything beyond the throne room looked intact. "Where're we going?" panted Ginny. They looked around for the best path to escape.
"Anywhere!" said Ron. The floor was flat again, and they could now run as fast as they can. The hall they chose seemed endless, and there were no doorways or connecting corridors for them to turn to. The pursuing Death Eaters had now gotten out of the throne room, and were frantically chasing Harry, Ron, and Ginny as if their lives depended on it.
"Let's stick close together," said Harry, looking back. "They won't try to kill you if I'm with you - they can't risk it."
"That's nice to hear," said Ron. "Oh no! Look!"
Ten more Death Eaters, dispatched from another part of the castle and about fifty meters away, were on a collision course towards them. "Does this hall ever turn somewhere?" said Ginny nervously, fearing that they were going to be trapped. They had found one, and like the hallway they were in, it looked like it was going nowhere, too. However, it was obvious they had no other choice but to take it.
"We've got to find some way to go down, at least," said Harry, losing breath. He saw something bearing down fast behind him. He didn't want to wait to see what it was, and just muttered the next spell that came into his mind. "Reducto!"
The object bounced and hit the walls. Harry would've been happy for his fast reflexes but he saw something - or hundreds of them - emerge from where the object came from that made his jaw drop. "Imps! Hundreds of them!" Harry moaned. They looked menacing, like very wild and scary monkeys.
"Can you hold them off?" said Ron, still running.
"I can't! Even if I had to stop to aim properly!"
"We're going in somewhere huge outside!" said Ginny. "Up ahead!"
The hall ended up somewhere vast - they were outdoors, but they were not still out of the outer walls. It looked like a large courtyard or something, enclosed by walls as high as forty feet on four sides. They stopped at the middle, seeing that there were no other doorways leading to other parts of the castle except for the one ahead of them - of a high tower. Remembering the imps that were after them, Harry conjured an impenetrable shield on the doorway to delay their pursuers.
"That would hold them off, but not for long," said Harry, looking back nervously. Some of the imps bumped the shield violently, and the rest were scratching and pounding on it. The shield didn't look too strong, and judging how it wobbled, it would only hold the imps for a couple of minutes.
"Harry, that tower is the only way we can go!" said Ginny.
"I think that's too risky," said Ron. "If we can't stay on the ground, we'll never be able to get out of the castle. What's behind those walls?"
"I don't know - let's see…" said Harry, starting to move towards one. He stopped abruptly when he saw something move on top. Death Eaters and hundreds of imps were crawling above every wall, looking down, and completely surrounding them. It seemed they had nowhere to go.
"This doesn't look good," Ginny said tensely, looking around. "Er, nowhere to go but up?"
"I suppose," Ron said, feeling all the hair on his back standing up. "The doorway's still open, let's make a break for it!"
As the three of them sprinted towards the access of the tower, the imps and Death Eaters made their own move, scurrying and scaling down the walls to try to cut them off. Harry, Ron, and Ginny had entered the base of the tower not a moment too soon; Harry quickly conjured another shield on the doorway as they hurried up the stairs, canceling out the one he had made earlier. They had barricaded themselves in before a single imp could get in. Harry, however, didn't feel happy about it - it was the only exit they would ever have.
The spiraling stairs seemed to reach the top forever, and they were losing breath as they negotiated it. Their legs were cramping from the climbing, but they didn't seem to mind it much as their endurance was the only thing that will at least keep them alive. At last, they'd reached the top, emerging from the stair landing, and seeing again the blue cloudy sky. Ginny fell down on the tower's floor as Ron gasped for air.
Out of breath, Harry went over the edge of the embattlements, and what he saw made his heart sink. Instead of rolling hills around the castle, he saw only endless ocean. "For the love of Merlin!" he exclaimed. Ron had noticed Harry's desperation, and he moved beside him to look around, almost feeling faint upon seeing the sight around him.
"I don't understand it - we were walking up to the castle when we were brought in," Harry recalled.
"Bloody hell! I don't know if we could swim that far, if we could ever see land!" said Ron desperately.
"If we could go even through that - look!" said Ginny, pointing downwards to the castle grounds. "Were do you suppose did they come from?"
The grounds seemed to be flooding with thousands of imps and other creatures trying to get to them. Harry couldn't believe it. The imps had breached Harry's barrier - they were flooding the tower's base and would be coming up on top of them from the staircase any moment. Harry conjured another shield to cover the access to the staircase behind them at the middle of the tower, and he knew this was the last line of defense they would have.
"Oh, no!" said Ron. "You're not going to believe this, Harry." Harry hurried over again to the edge to look down, and his body just slumped resignedly on top of the embattlement when he saw the incredible sight. The Imps were scaling the tower's walls all around, making their own shrill sounds as they did, and they were now steadily advancing halfway to the top. They were trapped - Harry's shield shook violently and was about to break behind them.
Ron's legs collapsed in resignation, and he sat on the floor giving up; Ginny moved over to Ron and they hugged. Escaping was truly impossible like Ron had said. Then the sound that came from the sky was the last nail to their coffin.
Harry shook his head in utter disbelief when he saw a dragon diving in from the clouds. He laughed bravely, threw his hands upward and roared, "Damn you, Voldemort! What else are you going to throw at us?!? Huh? Here I am, take me if that's what you want!"
Harry pointed his wand at the dragon, but it dove speedily down to the ground below them, hidden from the sight behind the embattlements. Harry waited a long time see it rising again to the tower to kill them off, but he heard shrieks from the thousands of imps all around like there was a massive outbreak of panic. The air around him, Ron, Ginny just outside of the tower walls smelled of burnt flesh. Harry hesitated at first but he had to see what was happening below them, and ran to the edge of the embattlements. The sight was mind-boggling.
Fire was burning all around, and there was a flurry of activity on the ground as imps and the Death Eaters fought for their lives to get back inside the castle. The imps who were scaling the charred tower walls were nowhere to be found. The dragon seemed to have blanketed the whole grounds with fire - Harry looked around for it but he didn't see it until it hovered quickly a feet just above them after it dove back from behind the clouds, flapping its majestic wings, and Hermione jumped off its back.
"H-Hermione?" said Harry, Ron, and Ginny hoarsely. She was smiling broadly, and Harry could have sworn she saw a ghost if he didn't feel her take his hand and heave him towards the dragon very urgently.
"Hermione - how - "
"C'mon, there's no time to talk!" she yelled. "There are still monkeys inside the tower! Get on the back of the dragon and hold on as tight as you can!"
Upon hearing this, Harry pulled Ron and Ginny off the ground and helped them get up the dragon. It was the same Norwegian Ridgeback he saw that took off with Hermione. It was flapping its huge wings steadily, its nostrils spitting balls of fire and it was looking around like it was ready for anything that might jump out on top of the embattlements. Ron and Ginny frantically tried to get between one of the dragon's horned back, their feet slipping off occasionally from its smooth hide, and mounted themselves firmly. They were both speechless.
The last barrier had broken, and imps were scampering out to the floor from the center of the tower, bearing down on them. Harry and Hermione were still on the surface - thousands could have swamped them if Ron and Ginny hadn't grabbed and pulled them on to the back of the dragon. Seeing that everyone was aboard, the dragon flapped its wings much harder and rose a few more feet up the air. Some imps had gotten on and were crawling towards Ginny.
"HANG ON! This'll be uncomfortab-awwwl - " Hermione shrieked as the dragon dove two hundred feet to the ground, almost vertically, to pick up speed. Harry, Ron, and Ginny were screaming their lungs out. The dragon abruptly changed g-forces as it leveled off and used its momentum to climb higher up to the clouds.
"Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick - " said Ron uncomfortably, his face as green as Harry's eyes. But he had forgotten about his nauseous feeling instantly when he heard Ginny's scream from behind him. The last imp on board had lifted her off the dragon and she flew back towards the end of its tail. She would have fallen off if not for her reflexes by grabbing the dragon's tail and hugged it as hard as she can.
"GINNY!" cried Ron. Ginny was holding on to dear life while the dragon's tail was flapping naturally and wildly to control its flight. The imp was also screaming, and it lost its hold of Ginny's leg, falling down to its death.
Ron tried to let go of his grip off the dragon to get to Ginny, but Hermione saw him and stopped him. "Ron, no! You'll fall off the dragon, too!"
"Ginny can't hold on much longer! I must get - to - her!" he said as he struggled with Hermione's restraint amidst the rocky ride.
Ginny's squeal told them that she had lost her grip of the Dragon's tail and had fallen off. The trio screamed for her name. Harry, with admirable presence of mind, pointed the wand at her and bellowed, "Accio!" But to his horror the spell broke because of Ginny's distance.
She was falling perilously, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione felt as if their stomach had nudged up their throats when the dragon dove around abruptly ahead of Ginny to position itself below her. Getting the idea, Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked up where Ginny was and she seemed to be just hovering a few feet above them. But in reality they were plunging down the same speed. Fighting the unpleasant feeling of positive g's, they knew they only had one shot at this as the ground below them - now solid ground - was fast closing in on them. They reached for her with one hand while holding on the dragon with another. Hermione had caught and yanked her on to sit down on top of the Dragon just a few seconds before they rose up to the sky again.
They were all breathless with the close call, and it took a long time for Ginny to catch her breath to say "T-Thanks for that!" shuddering, with an extremely pale face.
This, ultimately, was the wildest ride they ever had in their lives - not even the fastest broomstick in the world could ever match this.
-o0o-
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had all calmed down, feeling all exhausted to talk after the unending rush of adrenaline. They were high above the clouds and they have been cruising with the dragon for thirty minutes. All they could hear were the deafening howling of the wind, and the flapping of the dragon's wings.
"Hermione!" shouted Harry to his back. "I can't believe you're alive - we thought you were dead!"
"What?" yelled Hermione back. "I reckon we'll be landing soon, let's talk when we don't have to shout, shall we?" said Hermione on Harry's ear, smiling.
Soon they were losing altitude, punching through the clouds and saw all around them rolling hills, forests, and mountains. The dragon picked a hollow in the forest, which look like the one they had been on earlier, and stopped to hover just a few feet above the ground until it settled gently on the soft grass. The dragon snorted, spewing out a ball of flame from its nostrils, signaling everybody that it's safe to dismount.
Just as soon as they stood on terra firma, Hermione was overwhelmed with the sudden show of affection to her. Harry, Ron, and Ginny hugged her very hard as if they had lost her a million years. "Hey, what's all with the hugs and kisses?" said Hermione, giggling.
"Hermione, we're so happy you're alive," said Harry, tears running down on his cheeks while he hugged her. "We really believed you were dead! You don't know how guilty as ever I was for hurting you! Will you ever forgive me?"
"Aw, Harry," said Hermione returning to her old emotional self. "You don't need to ask for it - I'm also sorry for keeping things from you. That was really wrong for me, too."
"If I hadn't been stubborn back in the Burrow - "
"Guys, guys," Ginny interrupted. "Let's just keep it up to there, okay?" she said laughing. Harry and Hermione laughed and agreed, and it was Ron's turn to deserve a strong hug from Hermione.
Harry looked around at the dragon, which was resting on the grass just beside them, its left eye transfixed sleepily at the sight of hugs. He purred like a kitten, but when he did, black smoke puffed from his nostrils.
"Hermione, I'm impressed," said Harry. "How - "
"Oh, Harry, don't you recognize him?" said Hermione brightly.
"Recognize?"
"You know him! It's Norbert!" Hermione said, laughing and patting Norbert's foot. There was a pause when Harry and Ron didn't really get what Hermione said.
"No!" said an unbelieving Harry and Ron.
"Who's Norbert?" said Ginny, scratching her head. "You mean this thing has a name?"
"Norbert - how did - how can you be so sure?" said Ron, goggling at how big he'd grown.
"Hagrid tattooed his name on Norbert's belly. Come here look - " she pulled Harry and Ron where they could see the tattoo better. "Norbert! Roll!"
Norbert obeyed Hermione like puppy, and rolled to his side showing off his tattooed belly. Harry and Ron found it really funny to see a dragon do this, and that Hagrid could be so possessive of pets, even if they were banned.
"But he was so fierce when we last saw him," said Harry.
"Yeah, because he felt threatened of us then," replied Hermione. "He was just trying to protect himself. He didn't hurt me when he brought me someplace to get away from you - I was out for a couple of hours, I reckon. You would have heard me scream for miles around when I came to and seeing him staring down at me, but then I saw the look in his eyes and thought he was very gentle."
"He recognized you!" said Ron, feeling another rush like a miracle.
"Yeah," Hermione said, smiling up at Norbert, who was closing his eyes contentedly. "He's very smart - he showed me his belly by himself. I had to let his pink eye heal for a while before I could get back to you, Harry. When I returned, you were all gone."
"So how did you find us?"
"The map from the shack. I suspected you were caught by Voldemort's men and brought to that Xanthius place. You'll never know how long Norbert and I just flown overhead the castle looking for a sign from you - it was ages! We were about to give up when I saw lots of activity around the grounds, and we knew it was time to act."
"Whoa," said Ron. "Good thing the whole ceiling fell down on the right time, otherwise we'd would've been a goner." He wiped some sweat off his brow. "You never knew how Harry fought with himself back there. Tell, her, Harry."
"Oh, of course," said Harry. "But, uh, what if the Death Eaters come up suddenly?"
"Xanthius is a hundred-fifty miles from here; besides, we have Norbert," said Hermione, eager to hear what had happened to Harry, Ron, and Ginny.
"A hundred fifty?" repeated Harry, puzzled. "But when I was blindfolded it seemed only an hour of walking for me."
"Really," said Hermione. "Strange, isn't it? I think they were just trying to confuse you - " she mused. "Oh, c'mon, don't keep me in suspense - I wanna hear what happened to you back there!" They sat down on a circle and Harry told her everything, which gave Ginny lots of shivers. He made it a point to tell Hermione about the voice he heard that was hers.
"Wow, you all been through a lot! But, that couldn't have been me," said Hermione, after Harry had finished with his story, frowning. "You know I couldn't say such a thing. I don't even know telepathy yet."
"I discovered how, Hermione," said Ron proudly. "I never knew I could talk to Harry by just concentrating enough. I think that helped."
"A lot," said Harry. "Thanks for the help back there, Ron." Ron smiled.
Hermione looked like someone had bested her again. "Impressive!" she said. "I've been trying to do that for ages! You gotta teach me, soon, or else I won't forgive you," she joked.
"You know, Hermione," said Harry slowly. "Your voice sounded real, and I was so guilty! You didn't forgive me for causing your - death."
"Harry, listen, that wasn't me," Hermione replied softly, running her fingers down on Harry's cheek, which felt real good for him. "First I'm not dead, and second, I already forgave you even if you didn't have to ask for it." Hermione smiled, and Harry returned it.
"Thanks."
"Voldemort was probably using an advanced form of the Confundus charm," theorized Hermione. "I've read about it. The voice you heard was probably dug in from the depths of your sub-consciousness. You were feeling too sorry about something, and he used that to his fullest advantage. I think that's how he hoodwinks people into following him. If you gave in, Harry, then God knows what would have happened next."
Harry gave an involuntary shudder. "Glad I got lucky there - "
"No, Harry," said Hermione. "Glad you were too strong for him. That's what tipped the scale."
Harry sighed. "I guess. We don't' have to worry about it now, at least. I don't want him doing that to me again. After this, what's next under his sleeve?"
"We'll just have to be prepared about it," said Hermione, not knowing how to answer that. They fell silent for a moment.
"When we tell Hagrid about what you did, Norbert," said Ron, talking to the sleeping dragon, "I think he'll flood Hogwarts with buckets of tears. He'd be so proud of you."
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny murmured with agreement. "Okay, we've been here a long time," said Ginny, "when can we get out of here?"
"Oh, yeah," said Hermione, "Now is a good time. But we can't ride Norbert to Hogwarts - it's too dangerous for him. We need to find another way."
"Aw, shucks, why?" said Ron, and he couldn't believe he'd never ride Norbert like he had expected. He was quite enjoying it.
"He's not supposed to get out of bounds," replied Hermione, disappointed just the same. "I think we're in one of the dragon reservations for the Ministry of Magic. If he gets out, he could earn a prison term from Dangerous Creatures. Oh, if ever the Ministry would have to search where Xanthius is located, they can just narrow down it down to these reservations."
"Who wants to get back here?" shivered Ginny. "I'd never want to see You-Know-Who anymore! He scares the hell out of me!" Hermione moved over to comfort her.
"So I guess we have find that Pocket Portkey, Ron," said Harry, standing up and looking around. "I think it's left here somewhere if they didn't bring our things to the castle. It's in my robe pocket, I think."
"You had a Pocket Portkey and you didn't tell me?" said Hermione incredulously. "Oh, I hid your robes and wands right on that spot," said Hermione to Harry and Ginny, pointing at a mark just a few yards in front of them. "Let's get it."
They walked a little, away from the sleeping Norbert. Hermione knelt down on the ground and bushed off a few dead grass from the spot. "It's here somewhere," she said when she had not seen anything. "Oh, maybe it's right up there. I swear I hid them right around here - I couldn't bring those heavy robes along with me."
They looked frantically around, looking down at the ground all the time. "That's impossible," said Hermione, frowning. "It won't just go away on its own unless - "
"Unless somebody else had found it," said Graham Denton the Death Eater in a deep voice and cruel satisfaction.