Update (Dec. 13, 2004): Another update and another plea for a little more time. (blush). I'm still working on Chapter 20, and it took another rewrite(!!!) because I wasn't happy with the original composition. I hope when I release it, it won't be a dud (at least). Thursday will be my schedule to release it. Thanks for your patience.
Author's Note: Thanks very much for waiting patiently for this chapter to be posted! Thanks, Thieving Magpie for your reviews, views, and useful critiques. (I'm trembling! Hahaha) Thanks also to Andy B, Lady Blazey, PottersPrincess, and Musique for letting me know what you think! Also to gal-txter for the heads up for the rec's. (We speak a common language aside from English)
I'm sorry, this chapter won't include the "fun part" as I've expected and mentioned before. Please read the authors note for my (hopefully valid) explanation. Thanks!
Chapter 19
Hallen Rodd
"W-Willard!" Harry said, feeling initially relieved of finally finding someone he knew who could help him and Hermione out of this tight situation and possibly being murdered mercilessly. "You're alive!"
"Yes, I am," he replied, but not in a cheerful manner as Harry would have expected. Harry didn't understand why Willard wasn't smiling back at him.
Hal moved forward. "Do you know each other?"
"Supposedly…I think we'll have to find out," Willard said.
Harry gawked at him.
Willard looked at Harry and stared straight at his eyes. "I'm sorry if I have to do this but before I recognize you as the real person, `Harry', you have to answer a couple of questions from me, understood? One mistake and I'll…I don't want to say and think about it…"
"One mistake and I will let Bruce hack them," Hal said.
Harry's spirits plummeted slightly. He knew he wasn't out of this yet, but he nodded his head vigorously (he was still held down and pinned firmly on the ground). He thought he was ready to answer any of Willard's questions and he hoped he'd choose the ones that were pretty easy.
"What's the name of my niece?"
"Stephanie!" Harry answered quickly.
Hal grunted. "Oh, gimme a break!" Hal exclaimed. "That's too easy, Wraskon! Even the Death Eaters know who her father is - you said they were held hostage back at your hotel to make sure you do your work properly here…"
Willard closed his eyes in annoyance, knowing that Hal was right. He had to ask a kind of question only he and Harry knew of, and it was very difficult for him to do. Not only that he strongly felt this was really Harry he was talking to and that he didn't want his colleagues to be given the excuse to kill him and his friend, but he didn't also want to risk their own security either. He bitterly remembered their recent and unpleasant experience with their other escaped prisoner, Francs Girbeaux, who turned out to be an Animorphagus Death Eater who infiltrated the group and had pretended to be as such. The Death Eater had blown his cover when he could not answer simple scientific questions from Willard. The real Francs Girbeaux was actually recaptured during their escape. From then on they were all wary of whoever turned out late. At the same time, Willard thought if this was another big attempt from the Death Eaters to infiltrate them, he found it peculiar why they chose to throw in Harry Potter this time. That's why he was almost convinced it was really him, but unfortunately the others didn't seem to appreciate that.
"That's totally unfair!" Harry protested to Hal. "I answered his question correctly!"
"I make the rules here!" Hal spat back.
Willard, however, ignored what Harry had said and proceeded with another question to satisfy everybody. "The thing that we got in the tavern back in Dufftown…"
"The Pocket Portkey!" Harry answered immediately.
Willard nodded and smiled. One down and more to go. "Yes, that thing…what was the name of the Tavern?"
Harry stared at Willard incredulously. How on earth could he remember the name of the Tavern he had seen only once? That particular kind of information was now probably hidden in the deepest recesses of his brain and it would take days for him to dig up. The mention of the Pocket Portkey was definitely enough proof already - no one else knew about it other the Ron, Mr. Weasly, and probably the bartender then who'd given up the pub lately.
"Willard, please don't do this to me!" Harry pleaded. "I only saw it once and didn't care to even remember it! Ask me something else, please!"
"If he doesn't answer the question in ten seconds," Hal said, "they're dead."
Willard looked furious with himself. It was a stupid question, he knew, and he was like only one of the thirty people who used to patronize the well-hidden joint before it was offered to him as debt payment by the former bartender. "I'll change the question…" he offered.
"NO!" Hal growled. "He had his chance. He answers it correctly or he dies! He's a Death Eater Animorphagi, I'm now convinced of it!"
"See here, Hal…"
"Answer it!" Hal shouted at Harry, with a frightening look on his face. Willard gritted his teeth and he stood up, grunting in anger and rubbing the back of his head with his hand.
Harry knew Hal was bent on executing him and Hermione if he didn't answer the question. He had never felt so pressured to answer a question in his life, especially when his and Hermione's life depended on it. The seconds ticked on and he was running out of time very quickly. It was just impossible!
"Time's up..." Hal said.
Willard made a move to shield Harry
"No, wait!" Harry exclaimed when Bruce pulled out his large knife once more.
"Hal…don't be hasty…" Willard said warningly.
"Froth's!" Hermione said suddenly.
"That's right!" Willard exclaimed.
"What did you say, girl?" Hal said.
"Froth's is the name of the pub. And the bartender who owned it before giving it up to Willard was Zack. Harry and Ron introduced themselves to Willard at first as Ernie and Bert but he didn't buy it later!"
Harry looked slowly at her with a wide smile. "But h-how did you know that?" he asked.
"You told me about the whole story one time, Harry," she replied calmly. "I- I just remembered everything you said…"
Harry smiled back at her astonishingly, amazed by her sharp memory. He looked around for Willard, and he saw him wearing a very wide smile, too.
"There you have it - they're for real," Willard declared cheerfully. "Harry's friend here, who I am certain is really Hermione, answered my question correctly and then some that only them could know. Please let them loose, Hal. Now! "
Harry then gazed at Hal. The man didn't look actually defeated - he looked more like shocked.
"A-Are you sure?" Hal tried to confirm. "The real Harry Potter?"
Harry stared at Hal who from Harry's view went from being too tough to someone suddenly acting so stupid.
Willard nodded. "I guarantee it. You almost had the Boy Who Lived killed - you should have detained them for a while before deciding to have them executed abruptly. I know what happened to us before about Francs, but there are times when it's helpful not to get too feisty about everything - I told you that so many times, didn't I?"
"Y-You're right…I-I almost caused them to do something terrible…" Hal said weakly, gesturing at Bruce and his band of defenders, and backing himself on to the wall behind him. He looked at the people still holding Harry and Hermione down on the dirt floor and said, "Release them…immediately!"
They obeyed, and withdrew their hands quickly. Harry and Hermione stood up at once and backed further away from them.
Willard went to Harry and offered to shake his hand, which he took rather uncertainly. "I'm very sorry all about this, Harry, but I really hope you and your friend are all right…"
"I-I'm fine," Harry said, and he looked around for Hermione. She looked shaken and glared at Hal who looked genuinely remorseful. Harry and Hermione's eyes met; she proceeded to embrace Harry and buried her face on his right chest, hoping that he'd provide her with some strength. Harry understood how she felt - she'd been staring straight at the eyes of death for so many times already. She was very upset but she didn't cry.
"Harry, I know things may be simmering with you right now, but I have to introduce to you Hallen Rodd - Hal for short," Willard said. "He's the elected leader of the group - the man who'll lead us to safety. I'll introduce you then to the others when - when things start to wind down. But for now - Hal - you owe Harry here an apology."
"O-of course," he said meekly. "Mr. Potter, I'm very sorry for everything I've done against you. Please accept my apologies in behalf of my colleagues…"
Bruce and all the offending people all nodded and murmured in support of Hal's statement.
"We were carried very much away," Hal went on. "Please understand we're living a dangerous life here down underground while we try to survive and I know it's not your fault but you came at a bad time just after we'd been freshly attacked by You-Know-Who's Death Eaters. Their attacks have been relentless, and we have had some experiences of Death Eater attempts to infiltrate our ranks. I can't imagine what would happen if we proceeded to hack you to death - I should have thought about it then before making a terrible and hasty judgment."
"You-Know-Who would probably throw you a party after that," Willard said. "Or maybe he'd kill you for beating him up to it for killing Harry instead of him. You then almost created a great headline for the Daily Prophet tomorrow…a real stunner!"
Hal glanced at Willard uncomfortably.
Harry didn't say anything and looked down at Hermione who he was still holding in your arms. She nodded her head slightly and whispered to him it was okay to accept his apology. Harry hesitated at first but he knew it would not be good at all if he did otherwise. He thought Hermione and he would be better off not being all alone together in a hostile place. They needed all the help they could get, and at the same time they could be able to help these people for whatever they were doing to survive. They were all in the same boat. Harry nodded reluctantly and smiled back at Hal who then looked relieved; Harry offered his hand to Hal to shake, which he gratefully took and everybody around them looked very happy.
"Thank you, Harry," said Willard. "It's a bad time to be reunited for us, but I'm happy to see you again."
"Same here, Willard," Harry replied, trying hard to take off from his mind everything Hal had almost did to him and Hermione. "We thought you were dead. Stephanie was so distraught about your disappearance…"
"You met her?" Willard asked, his eyes getting wide.
"Yeah, back in your hotel - Ron and I went there to pay you a visit, but we found out you were abducted. Steve told us what happened…"
"A-Are they all right? What happened to them?"
"Don't worry, they're unhurt and safe back in Ireland," Harry assured. "Ron's father sent in some Aurors to rescue them. Stephanie is still probably worried about you right now."
"That - That's good to hear," Willard sighed. "I always think and worry about them while they were left back at my hotel. I know they wouldn't last forever in there. Sometimes I wish I never tried to invent that potion everybody's so crazy about and this would have never happened. Hang on! What in the world are you here for?"
"Er…"
"If you'll excuse me," Hall interrupted gently, "I'm due for a situation meeting. We'll be finalizing our plans for you know what this midnight. Harry and his friend here might want to join us - you might want to ask them. Nice meeting you, Harry - we'll meet again later."
Harry nodded at Hal. The group leader left with Bruce with some of the prisoners who bowed guiltily when they passed by Harry.
Harry looked back at Willard, who still expected an answer from him. "We were kidnapped back in Hogsmeade - Hermione and me here. Oh, sorry, Hermione, this is Willard; Willard, Hermione.
Willard smiled at her. "At last, I've met you, Hermione. Harry had always wanted for us to meet, but supposedly in a much better setting." He shrugged.
"It doesn't matter at all, sir," Hermione smiled back. "I've wanted to meet you, too, for a long time. Harry here talks about you always…"
Willard laughed. "And he mentions you always in his letters to me - about a good chunk of everything he writes to me is about you…you can call me Willard."
"Okay, thanks, Willard," she answered back. She gazed at Harry, who went pretty red on his face.
"So how did You-Know-Who get you now, Harry?" Willard asked.
Harry told Willard everything that happened to him and Hermione starting from Hogsmeade and how they got to this part of the fortress. When Harry started to mention about how the Death Eaters used Hermione as an asset on the effort (Hermione was especially shocked by that revelation), Willard asked them to move with him to a much quieter place and they chose the end of the tunnel where Harry and Hermione were brought in by the net.
"I don't want to let them hear about this, my fellow prisoners," Willard whispered to Harry and Hermione when they were all alone.
"Why?" asked Harry.
"You see, they created a Serum for You-Know-Who, and they vowed to kill anyone they knew who were injected with it…"
"What?" Harry said. "You mean they're responsible for making the Serum?"
"In way, Harry, yes. They - I mean, we - were forced to develop and reproduce the serum in question against our will…"
"So they're part of the scientists who were reported missing, too, along with with you, aren't they? Is that why you were all abducted? To make the Serum?"
"That's right. Everyone you see in the cave is a potions master and a scientist. We all succeeded in escaping the dungeons and decided to hold out here in the underground tunnels until we decided again to escape Xanthius entirely. We have had out own important contributions to magical science, and You-Know-Who must have not wanted to settle for anything less than the best. Almost all of us are Squibs who have made up for it as being inventors. My personal discovery…"
"The Metavira Potion…" Harry provided.
"Yes, that. The potion is the last crucial ingredient to make the serum very effective. I was the last to be kidnapped - and they didn't want just anyone to mix it up for You-Know-Who. They wanted the inventor himself. We were forced to finish the serum in a matter of days - if we didn't produce a working serum, we were going to be killed. I suspected even if we made a serum, we would be killed anyway but my other colleagues didn't want to believe that."
"What are you two on about?" Hermione asked, totally perplexed and lost, looking at Harry and Willard back and forth. She had wanted to interrupt their conversation ever since but she chose to listen. "Serum? What Serum? And what's this about the Death Eaters using me…I don't remember anything about it at all! Is this some kind of a joke?"
Harry and Willard both made nervous glances towards her, and Willard said, "Does Hermione know what ever happened to her?"
"I- I didn't have the heart to tell her - yet," Harry sighed. "Sorry." Hermione gawked at him incredulously.
"Well, I think she better knows about it, Harry," Willard suggested. "She has the right to know."
"Yes, that's right, I do!" Hermione said. "Harry, please tell me the truth. What happened? I want to know!"
Harry exhaled deeply and asked Hermione to sit down and relax on the ground, and after she settled herself beside the tunnel wall, Harry proceeded to tell her everything, including how she allegedly got it. Hermione often shook her head in disbelief as Harry went on.
"I - I brought you here for Voldemort… I brought you here for Voldemort…" she kept on repeating, shaking her head all the time.
"It's not your fault, Hermione," Willard told her. "The Death Eaters brought Harry for You-Know-Who, and you were just their victim as he was."
"But I did it!" she argued. "If it wasn't for me, Harry wouldn't be here right now! Right?"
"Indirectly, Hermione," Willard said. "Very, very, indirectly. You were used without your complete knowledge, and that is what's important. It does not make you at all responsible for it, I can assure you. You're a victim and I know how the serum works. Actually I am much more to blame of causing all of this. Because of my cowardice, I chose to give in to the threats of the Death Eaters to kill me if I didn't obey them and make the Potion to complete the Serum for You-Know-Who. I should have known they'd kill me if I prove to be useless someday, anyway. I should have refused to work for them…
"I didn't really know what their true motives were to create this serum. My real belief up to now was the You-Know-Who wanted a very effective way to infiltrate the wizard world with unwilling servants for his diabolic ends in a clandestine manner. My theory is when the time comes the number of infected wizards and witches would reach a critical mass, he'd unleash his unsuspecting army to do his evil deeds…without question or any form of resistance. To me, having obedient slaves who'll follow you to the ends of the earth would be the best army anyone could ever have. But I never thought they'd also use the serum specifically to get you here in this fortress and murder you, Harry. You-Know-Who probably thinks it's an amusing game to have you here for his own self and murder you when he wants to. And to use your best friend to achieve that end, it's…it's just wicked."
"But how did they ever succeed in injecting it to me?" Hermione asked, now in the verge of crying. "I should've suspected along something was wrong with me and I would've looked for help…"
Harry told her what Seymour had revealed to him back at Hogsmeade. "They struck while you were sleeping in your home," he concluded.
"But I- I don't remember anything about that!" she pointed out, still in a state of denial. "He must have been putting you on, Harry!"
Willard crouched in front of her and placed a hand on top of her shoulder. "The standard procedure I heard the Death Eaters being taught about administering the serum," he said gently, "was simply to subject the victim to a memory charm. It's really a simple but ingenious way to keep the victim oblivious to what was done to them. The serum works better if it's kept secret from the victim."
Hermione breathed and stared at Willard, slowly shaking her head. But he and Harry let her think about it more deeply, which she did. Gradually she collected all the past events that had happened to her before and she thought was very strange and that she could find a ready explanation for. "What does the serum do, really?" she asked finally.
"You already know it's injected to the bloodstream of the victim, right?" Willard started, and Hermione nodded. "The serum acts very fast and could be distributed through your system in a matter of hours. First, the victim will have a sudden high-grade fever three or four hours after it's injected. The fever will persist for about twenty four hours or so and will also abruptly go away…"
Harry glanced at Hermione. She was listening attentively to Willard though she had some difficulty in breathing. Perhaps she was being overwhelmed by the reality of the situation pretty badly. "Willard, I think this is too much for Hermione…"
"No, Harry!" she yelled, glaring at him but her eyes were teary. "I want to know everything! Willard, please go on…"
Harry merely went silent and bowed his head sadly.
"As I was saying," Willard continued, "it's a sudden on and off fever. Then if the victim doesn't die at first, the serum then goes to work. The victim is totally possessed. Now, it is activated only by the voice of a Death Eater, and You-Know-Who himself. The incantation to possess the victim is `Domini'. On the other hand, in order to release control of the victim, the words are `Vox Domini'."
"I-I remember Seymour mutter the first word very often," Hermione said. "But I never bothered to ask why he did so and what it is…"
"Who's Seymour?" Willard asked, and Harry described the Death Eater they often met at Hogwarts to him.
Willard nodded and said, "So I assume he's the Death Eater who probably controlled Hermione to do what everything he wanted her to do, which I don't have a clue of, huh?"
"But I don't remember doing anything for him…" Hermione said.
"Yes, that's because anybody who'd be controlled by the Death Eaters will never have any recollection of what they did for them as long as the possession serum remains active. That's the worst part of it. It's like you're a living dead - mesmerized. The Death Eater has to release control of the victim in preferably a short time to minimize suspicion. Harry, do you have any clue what this Seymour might have ordered poor Hermione to do?"
Harry nodded. Reluctantly, he told him and Hermione everything Seymour had revealed to him back at Hogsmeade, especially the part about rigging the Snitch to lure him out of the Hogwarts. Harry then proceeded to tell Hermione what she did to help the Death Eaters bring him in to Xanthius, and how she did the Cruciatus Curse against him. There could have been other instances that Seymour had succeeded in possessing her, which they thought they may never learn of anymore.
Hermione couldn't believe what she heard from Harry. She never imagined she could ever do those things against him. For her it was like she had betrayed her best friend who had today asked her to be his girlfriend and then accepting it very willingly. For her it was like she had deceived him - tricked him for making him think they had made their bond even stronger yet she hurt him harshly in the end. Though Harry didn't sound accusing at all, tremendous guilt however coursed through her now and she couldn't take it any longer. The guilt she felt was so powerful - all she could do was hide her face very tightly with both her hands from Harry, feeling extremely humiliated about her actions. She cried loudly.
"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry!" she bawled. "I'm so sorry for everything! I'm so sorry for ever hurting you!"
Harry moved towards her, and he also couldn't stand seeing Hermione so troubled that his own tears poured down on his cheek. He embraced Hermione wholeheartedly. He didn't want her to even feel slightly guilty about it, but now that she was, he began to regret for even telling her about the whole thing. He knew from Willard's description of how the serum works that Hermione never had any knowledge whatsoever with what she was doing for Seymour the Death Eater.
Willard was right about one thing - she was never responsible for her actions. She was a victim like everyone else. She didn't ask to be invaded at her room late at night by Death Eaters to give her the serum. Voldemort and the Death Eaters were undisputedly to be blamed for everything bad that had happened to all of them. It's because of their twisted and evil desire to murder Harry with all means necessary that they were now here stuck in a hostile fortress with no clue on how to escape. Hermione needed to understand that and not think otherwise. Harry did his best to soothe and calm her down, but she kept on crying and saying "sorry".
"I should have heeded your advice about not pushing it, Harry," Willard groaned, feeling sorry for Hermione now.
"I-It's okay, Willard," Harry said, absorbing Hermione's every tear on his robe. "Mind you, she almost died more than three times this year in entirely different ways, but I guess the bit about doing the dirty work for Death Eaters is just too much to bear for her - well, she's been crying a lot lately. We'll just have to let her understand there's no point to blame herself too much…"
"I see…more than three times you say? That - that's horrible."
Harry nodded, and Hermione kept on howling.
Willard watched Hermione in a commiserating way and said to Harry, "We have to help her and find a way how to get that serum out of her system. I have to say she's still dangerous in the midst of Death Eaters, and we'll have to do something about it. She doesn't deserve to die for it, unlike what my colleagues are thinking of. All of Hal thinks of now is to kill - I don't know what's gotten into him after we chose him to lead us. Bruce would naturally follow his lead - he's been his lab assistant for years."
"Yeah, they were a little too feisty back there, weren't they?" said Harry, clicking his tongue and shaking his head.
"That's right. Hal, Bruce and the others seem to be too aggressive now for their own good - they're actually nerds trying to look very tough, don't you know that! They're overdoing it and it's becoming unhealthy for us and for them. What do you think would have happened if they succeeded into hacking you both and Hermione dead? Would they just shrug it off when the wizard world held them accountable for it? Then that would be terrible, totally irresponsible, and stupid!
"They're very bright blokes, Hal and Bruce. I've known them for years. All they could have done then at least was to use their brilliant minds into considering Harry Potter could be in this fortress with a friend was because they were captured by You-Know-Who and had just escaped just like us…But I`m afraid I do have to admit he had a reason to be wary of anyone coming in claiming to be somebody we know…"
"Why's that?"
"Recently we had a bad run in with a Death Eater who succeeded into infiltrating our underground resistance. He pretended to be my good friend and colleague Francs Girbeaux who took some time to rejoin us after we had broken out of the dungeons. He kept disappearing, probably to report on us. But when we confronted him and he could not answer a very simple thing as a common ingredient in one of Francs potions, "Francs" morphed into his real Death Eater image and fought off our advances to subdue him. Many of us were killed in the process, but we caught him."
"Where's he now?"
"Dead - we pushed him off this cliff," Willard said, jerking his head towards the end of the tunnel. Harry whistled when he looked down, seeing large rocks and boulders at the bottom, and a white spot where he surmised the Death Eater fell with a sickening crack.
"After that," Willard continued, "Hal ruled not to accept anymore late comers. I tried to talk him out of it for the sake of the real Francs, but…" he shrugged. "I'm just glad he gave you some consideration, for our friendship's sake."
"I- I still don't like him," Harry told Willard.
"He's actually a good man, Hal Rod. Most of the time, at least.You just met him during a difficult time. He's not being himself, maybe, because he's scared to death of…dying. All his life he's been bullied because he's a Squib, but now we put our complete confidence in him to lead us out of this hole. His qualifications, you ask? He came from survivalist training in a Muggle school. The net you were caught in, it was his creation. It was made out of nothing, just scraps that we found. His ingenius traps, the spike pits, and tripwires that roll down huge boulders - we built them under his supervision. He had proven himself time and again, and fifteen rotting bodies of Death Eaters prove it.
"Is that right?" Harry said, slowly feeling some growing respect for the man, though he couldn't forget what Hal almost did to him and Hermione. But he'll just have to trust Willard for now about what he speaks of Hal.
"Listen," Harry said, "when I was brought in to Voldemort's throne room, there were about a dozen Death Eaters pleading to drop the chase in the dungeons saying it was too dangerous. Voldemort killed one of them for refusing to go, so either way, they're good as dead. They were pretty scared…"
Willard laughed. "They were huh? I think Hal would be proud when he hears that story. But we know we can't stay here forever. We're running out of food today. Two more days we'll be too hungry to have the strength to escape. We've drawn up some plans on how to get out from this awful place, and Hal and the others are finalizing it now. The schedule is this midnight - good thing you caught up with us, or you would have been stuck here forever… which reminds me…I have to catch up on the meeting…I'll be back with you two. Are you sure Hermione will be all right?"
"I-I'll take care of her, don't worry," Harry said. "You go on to the meeting."
"Yeah, I have to," Willard said. "I must push for my own important proposal with Hal before we try to go for it. There's only one person in the world who I hope could help everyone who's been victimized with the serum, and especially Hermione here."
"Who?"
"Francs Girbeaux. They still have him, for sure. He was the unwilling project manager and he was secretly developing an anti-serum. I was the only one he trusted to tell me about it, and I think he was almost on to a breakthrough when we saw the opportunity to stage the jail break. He was a slow runner and he got caught while escaping. I still believe he's still alive, and while Hal and the others are currently planning for the great escape as we speak, I always insist of not leaving Francs behind. Hal thinks it's too risky to rescue him, so I think I have to tell him the reason why he's important and Hal might consider it very carefully."
"Yeah, I agree, you must convince him, Willard! The anti-serum…"
"We'll talk again when things settle down here, okay?" Willard said. "Are you willing to escape the fortress with me, Harry, along with the others?"
"Do we have a choice?" Harry answered, smiling slightly. "Of course - we wouldn't want to be stuck here forever, right? We watch out for each other."
Willard nodded and smiled back. "Thank you…I'll be back with you both soon and fill you in with the details."
"Thanks…and Willard…"
"Yes?"
"You seemed to have changed a lot, it seems I don't know you - I do miss the jolly bloke I met back at the hotel…" Harry laughed slightly.
"Ah." Willard stood upright and said, "So what'll it be, Harry?" he mocked. "Fried chicken or Turkey - the order comes with a free humongous slice of chocolate pudding…"
"Thanks, Willard," Harry chuckled. "It's really good to see you again…"
"The feeling's mutual, my good friend," replied Willard, smiling broadly. He gave Harry a quick salute and turned on his heel towards the meeting.
-o0o-
Harry chose not to say anything and he allowed Hermione to fall silent over an hour after Willard had left them. He thought it was a little better when he left her to think about things very deeply, though he had not let go of his embrace on her even for a short time. Hermione seemed to feel very comfortable with his close hold on her. At the same time for Harry, holding Hermione this close in his arms had a soothing therapeutic effect on him. It seemed having her that close removed every bad feeling he had out of the terrible experiences they both shared lately. Perhaps it was this very reason that Hermione chose not to let go of him, too.
They both stared out of the mouth of the tunnel, listening to the serene sound of the water fall a hundred feet down below. It was Hermione who broke the silence.
"Harry?"
"Yeah?" he replied softly.
"Are you furious with me?"
"No…"
"After all I've done?"
"No…"
"I'm sorry, Harry."
"It's not your fault."
"I really am."
"Hermione - please don't blame yourself…"
"But I hurt you!" she said, starting to cry again. "I'd never try to hurt you with the Cruciatus Curse!"
"Voldemort controlled you…you're not responsible for it!"
"It's because I wasn't being too careful - I let them inject it to me…"
"What?" Harry said, breaking slightly away from Hermione to look at her. She was staring at him, her eyes bloodshot. "What're you saying?"
"I let them inject the serum at me, Harry," she sobbed. "I should have woken up before they went in my room, I could have fought them off and this would have never happened…"
Harry sighed. He thought Hermione meant something else, and he gazed straight at her eyes. Hermione looked away but Harry steered her chin to face him slowly.
"Every once in a while we goof," he said. "But you didn't goof - you were fast asleep. We are most vulnerable when we sleep, and the Death Eaters took advantage of that."
"But you and Ron woke up before they did something to you…"
"That's because Moody was there in the room with us," Harry said. "You were alone that night in your own. You know, I should have insisted for you to spend the holidays with us back at the train station. The Death Eaters would have found an empty bed in your room that night if I did. But during that time I didn't want you to be deprived of the chance to spend time with your parents because I know you missed them…"
"Yeah, I missed them all right," Hermione replied. "But I shouldn't have waited for you to insist even more - I wanted to spend the holidays with you then."
Harry stared. "You did?"
Hermione nodded, and put her head on his shoulder again. "Harry, I've been hoping for years for you notice me, but I'm glad you finally did back at Hogsmeade."
"Y-Years?"
"But for me what hurts most is that I betrayed you right after we agreed to go steady, like you've told your story. It-it's just a ruthless thing for me to do. For that, I feel I don't deserve you anymore…" Hermione started to cry again.
"Oh, Hermione, please don't think that way…" Harry said soothingly. "I don't hate in any way…"
"Because of me," she interrupted, "you're here and you've been harmed - you almost died with that snake…Voldemort should have already killed me - I deserve it."
Harry thought they were going back in circles, and it meant Hermione still didn't forgive herself yet.
"Hermione," he said, "what's done is done, okay? We were all duped. It's not anybody's fault we're here in Xanthius right now. Nobody should be blamed but only Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Because he is so evil, he can always think of a way to hoodwink anyone just reach his ends. Didn't Dumbledore say once the one of the best weapons of Voldemort is secrecy?"
Hermione nodded, but kept sniffing.
"They kept their possession of you in total secret…Ron could have been the real asset - not you. If it was Ron, we'd never know about until it was too late, like now. I know Ron personally would never want to do the things that you were made to do back there…but even that he will because he'd be used by Death Eaters without his total knowledge. He could kill me if they told him to, but would the real Ron do that hideous thing to me?"
Hermione shook her head.
"Do you really think Ron would be responsible for his actions then if he was ordered to do so when he wasn't even aware of what he was doing?"
Hermione shook her head again.
"Then it will also be the same for you, I know it." Harry said gently. "That's why I'm not mad at you even just a little bit. I'm not charging you with anything. You didn't know what you were doing. You never wanted to do those things you were forced to do, right?"
She nodded her head this time. "Harry, I'd never want to hurt you - ever…"
"Why, Hermione?" Harry asked her slowly and expectantly, even though it was obvious. "Why would you never want to hurt me?"
"Are you daft?" she managed to joke through her tears. "It's because I love you…I always have loved you..."
Harry fell silent for a moment, but not because he was taken aback. He let what he heard sink in slowly and beautifully. It was the sweetest phrase he had heard Hermione say to him - ever. It was the phrase that he'd never forget in his life, and he beamed at her.
"But Harry," Hermione said, "you know, Willard said I'm still dangerous with the Serum still working on me…"
"So?"
"So that means whenever there would be Death Eaters around, I could be told to hurt anyone around, especially you. I don't want that to ever happen at all. I don't want to wake up one time and see you dead in front of me…it's just too scary to think about…"
"We'll find a way how to solve that…Willard said his friend almost made an anti-serum…"
"But that's still an indefinite proposition…so I think we must be separated for a while, for your safety!"
"Hermione, please…" Harry said, looking sadly at her. "I need you…"
"But I'm still dangerous, Harry!" she said, looking extremely disappointed about the fact. "Especially for you! I could still hurt you, you know? I don't want to hurt you because I love you! Since I love you we must go apart for awhile! That doesn't make any sense at all…but can't you understand that?" she stood up, walked a few steps from Harry, stopped and looked away from him, holding her tears still on her eyes.
Harry stood up a while later, moved over behind her back, and placed both his hands on her shoulder. Suddenly he spun her around and grabbed her chin gently to make her look straight in his eyes. "Yes, I understand," he whispered. "I understand that I love you even if you're very, very dangerous."
"H-Harry," she started, but fell silent when her lips met Harry's.
Hermione resisted gently for a while but she then fell for Harry's spell completely. She moved her head forward to tighten her kiss back to him. This spell was more powerful for her to resist than the serum and she let Harry's love flow inside her. She lifted her arms to embrace his neck and shoulders, and one of her legs rose up behind her from the floor.
Harry, meanwhile, never wanted to let go of her. He thought they could go on like this forever. Hermione's kiss was the most wonderful sensation he had felt in his whole life. It was like charm conjured by her over him a thousand times over. This is one magic he knew that never needed a wand in hand. Harry tightened his embrace on Hermione's waist, and they shifted their heads to another direction. Whichever way they kissed, it was like something fresh and wonderful for both of them. Finally, their lips separated and they stared at each other's eyes.
"H-Harry - what am I ever going to do with you?"
Harry smiled. "Just say you'll stay with me…"
"Even if can still hurt you without my knowing it?"
"Yes…" he said sincerely. It was true that Hermione was still a threat to anyone against Voldemort - that is, only when Death Eaters or Voldemort would remember to activate the possession serum, Harry thought. But she was his friend, and she needed his help. They needn't be separated for now. They needed each other now more than ever to survive during this time of their hardship. They had no other option but to escape Xanthius. Harry was confident they could find ways to go around the problem of Hermione - as simple as giving her some earmuffs transfigured from something else. He could make it pink and fluffy if he wanted to. If there's a will, there's always something they could think of.
"Am I still your girlfriend then?" asked Hermione, which touched Harry very much.
"Not only that, you're my true love," he whispered. Hermione's smile faded when Harry moved his head nearer to her again and they kissed once more.
Just then Willard came around the bend in the tunnel. "Harry I…oh!" he said, squinting.
Harry and Hermione broke apart quickly and both faced Willard, looking red in the face, though they shifted awkwardly on the spot.
Willard chuckled. "Uh, sorry about, uh, disturbing you in a - brilliant moment if you know what I mean…"
"Oh, not at all," Harry said, and Hermione punched an elbow on his side. "Ow, we were just talking…"
"Uhuh," Willard said, with a wide grin on his face. "I hope you've already `talked' about it, about what's bothering you. Just so you know, you're invited to our last supper before we start our breakout at midnight."
"What're we having?" Harry said, feeling his stomach growl. He suddenly felt embarrassed asking about it.
"Nothing fancy - just he the last of the loaf bread we gathered from our past prison meals.
"Better than nothing," Hermione said sincerely.
"Are you kidding? But I want steak!" Willard said, "Boy, I miss steak…see you in a little while." He walked back towards the main cave.
Harry and Hermione laughed when Willard was out of sight.
"Are you okay now?" Harry asked her gently after a moment of silence, looking at her concernedly.
"I-I guess so…a bit," she said. "But I know as long as you're at my side, I'll be all right. I just hope they won't tell me to hurt you again…"
"If you're really concerned about that, maybe I could configure something into an earmuff for you to wear…"
"Hey, that's a good idea," Hermione said brightly. "But you know, wearing earmuffs can be dangerous sometimes - I won't be able to hear anything at all. It could be a handicap…"
"Maybe we could subject it with a charm that blocks out nothing but the words "Domini".
"Oh, I know how to do that," she said happily. "Now, why didn't I think of that before?"
"You know what I think? I think it's beginning to become unhealthy being around scientists - you're now starting to sound like one!" he joked.
Hermione giggled, and moved closer to him again. "After so much thought, I think you're right, Harry. We still both need each other to get out of this mess. Thanks for making me see that I might not have to take full responsibility about this…"
"Because you're not," Harry reiterated. "You have to remember that always, won't you?"
Hermione smiled and nodded. "Thank you for not condemning me…"
"Sure. The first thing we're going for is to clear out of here. Then we'll worry about flushing out the serum inside you. I don't want them to keep on possessing you - it'll be hell for you if they catch you again, and I don't want that to ever happen again…even if would take my life I'll protect you…"
"Oh, Harry," she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "Why do you always think it's me who needs protecting?" she giggled. "You're as vulnerable as I am, don't you know that? I'll do the rescuing sometimes…"
"Great," he laughed. "Then I think you now know why we shouldn't go apart at all, right?"
"Yeah," she replied, kissing him on his cheek. "Yeah, I do. Thanks to you I now understand. I think they're waiting for us now." They both started to walk together through the tunnel back to the main cave to rejoin Willard and the other scientists for supper arm in arm.
"Hermione, do you think Hal Rodd is thinking correctly about breaking everybody out tonight?" Harry asked while they both walked. "I mean, I don't know how he'll do it - Voldemort might have made Xanthius inescapable after we got away the last time."
"Can we have it any other way?" Hermione groaned. "I guess we have try again or be stuck here forever. Nobody would probably come to help us out. I think it's worth the risk and it is our duty to escape. I still want to live up to a hundred years old, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life here - we might as well die trying…if we do, I want to make sure I'll die with you."
It was a very grim thought, but Harry knew it was possible that this might be the last time they'll be together. If he had a choice, he'd rather also die trying to escape Xanthius than be stuck here forever. Hermione was right; no one was coming for them, if anyone even knew they were here. They had to face it: tonight was the night they had to do something.
-o0o-
Harry and Hermione had been the last to join everyone for supper in the main cave. Most of the surviving scientists, about less than thirty of them, including Hal, were now sitting down on the damp floor of the cave each of them now holding his own spear. Hal was handing out rations of bread to everybody.
"Hello again, Harry and Hah-mione," said Hal, smiling. "I hope you've decided to join the club already. We're having our last supper before we start breaking out at midnight."
"Yeah, we gave it a lot of thought," Harry replied, offering Hermione a spot on the floor and sat down. "We don't have much of a choice - I think we'll have better success if we go with you…"
"Great, because we need all the hands we could get," Hal grinned. "You're both the only ones here who could do magic, and I'd like to ask you to provide us some support when we charge. Is that okay?"
"Uh, sure, it's okay," Harry said, "but I think I lost my wand…"
Hal slapped his forehead upon realizing they hadn't returned Harry's wand yet. "Oh, Bruce has it…Bruce!"
Without any more saying, Bruce took out Harry's wand from his pocket and gave it back to him.
"Oh, good," Harry said. "Thanks."
"But it's me who's without a wand," Hermione said. "I left it back in the throne room…but I guess it's better that way." Hermione leaned over to Harry and whispered, "because I'm still dangerous." She winked at him.
Hal looked confused. "I don't know what you mean by that, but it's a shame, really. Two wands would really make a big difference for us…" Hal shrugged and then walked over towards Harry and Hermione and handed them two relatively large portions.
"Hey," Harry said, "this is twice as big as everybody else's. I think it's unfair."
Hermione concurred and tried to divide her ration into half.
"Please, we haven't gone over with our apologies," Hal said, gently preventing Hermione from tearing her bread further. "Besides, we all have eaten late this afternoon, and you both look you haven't had anything to eat today."
Willard, who was a few steps away from them, gave Harry and Hermione a toothy smile while chewing his bread. Harry and Hermione hesitated, but practically everyone in the cave murmured their agreement and collectively urged them both to accept it. Harry sighed deeply and said, "Thanks", making them all applaud with bread in their mouth. The bread was a little hard to chew and swallow, to Harry and Hermione's difficulty.
"This is the last we have," Hal said to everyone. "So I hope it's enough for our plan for tonight. We only have a little more than an hour before we do the breakout. We'll be moving out by around ten minutes from now…"
"Hal," Harry said tentatively.
"Yes, Harry?"
"Why're you planning to break out of Xanthius tonight? Could you wait for a much better time?"
Hal smiled and nodded his head. "After much consideration, we've decided tonight's the best time to stage the breakout," Hal replied patiently. "We've been holding out of these tunnels for a week before you came, and we realized no help would be coming soon. Our food supplies are what's left you see. It's gone. After a day or so without food we will starve here and become weak and we'll have no more strength to even move our feet to escape. Aggravating the situation will be is - can you smell anything peculiar?"
Harry and Hermione sniffed the air. There was indeed something that smelled bad. "Yeah, what's that awful smell?"
"The stench of death," Hal replied, making Harry and Hermione pinch their noses quickly and then look nauseous. "Many people died here in the underground in our own little war. The dead are beginning to decompose. No matter how much we try it, we can't dig the floor with our bare hands, and soon some of us may also die with disease. Even the river down below is contaminated, and perhaps the water upstream. So we really have no choice but to try tonight, while our stomachs are full and while everybody's healthy. God willing many of us will be lucky to escape the fortress, we can go on and live another day. It's worth a try, even if it means dying in our attempt. We'll take the chance."
Every other scientist in the cave raised their spears and cheered. Harry nodded his head when he witnessed the show of unity. He couldn't deny it; he and Hermione shared their beliefs, too, so it strengthened their resolve to fight for their freedom with them. But he can't help but notice how lopsided the battle would be when the time would come they came face to face with the Death Eaters, or worse, Lord Voldemort himself. Spears against wands - it would be a massacre as Harry would foresee it. But what choice did they have? This was a desperate moment in their lives, and he knew not one of the people here saw would choose the option of giving up without a real fight. Like him and Hermione, they all wanted now and hoped for was to live on even if the prospects were very grim - their chances for success very slim. But they genuinely all had the fighting spirit flaming inside their hearts. This, alone, inspired Harry to help them out with whatever he can. These people didn't deserve to die here.
"Do you know the way out of here?" Harry asked next. Hermione nudged Harry and asked to borrow his wand for a moment, and Harry nodded distractedly.
"As a matter of fact, yes," Hal said, again patiently. "While we were locked in the dungeons, a Death Eater who seemed to have sympathized with us gave us a map of Xanthius. It's from the personal files of Daedelus Lowrie, the architect of this fortress."
"Lowrie - I've seen him before…" Harry said. "So he's a Death Eater…"
"Was," Hal corrected. "From what I've heard from the unknown Death Eater who we've never seen since, Lowrie turned over Xanthius to You-Know-Who while it was not fully finished. Lowrie was murdered by You-Know-Who by feeding him to the snake then after a few people had escaped when the fortress was supposed to be inescapable."
Harry knew it was likely him who Hal was talking about, but he chose not to tell him.
Hal talked on. "Lowrie left a slew of spots that weren't subjected to magic, and we've identified a route that would give us the best chance for successfully getting away from Xanthius with the least casualties. But before we dash out to freedom, we must take into consideration that Xanthius is not the fortress itself. Its existing magic still projects a wide scope for miles around. You-Know-Who will know where we are and he'll just have his Death Eaters apparate in front of us to finish us off.
"Therefore, we agreed on a plan to raid the portal room before we emerge out of the tunnels. It contains an orb that controls the best means of transportation for the Death Eaters in and out of here. If we know how to work it right, we could open up a portal right here inside the fortress and fight our way to it if necessary. That would be the most critical part of this effort, and God forbid, the part where many of us may die. I'm sure the Death Eaters will do their damndest to prevent us from ever escaping out of here."
"How can you get there, the portal room?" asked Hermione.
"A small task force led by me will attack whoever is guarding the portal room," Hal said. "Right here…" he opened up the map and pointed at the spot at the center of the fortress, right at the second floor. "We're here, and my force will enter the nearest outlet to the grounds here," he pointed next to another spot, which Harry calculated was about almost a couple hundred or so meters away from the portal room.
"That's too far away - you'll be going through a number of hallways and you might get ambushed or caught!" Harry said, looking at Hal apprehensively.
"We know, but Willard has asked us to rescue Francs because he has something very important in him - an anti-serum. He convinced me we should try not to lose him, and it might also help with our effort to commandeer the portal room. The dungeon Francs is most likely to be in is right at opposite side of the fortress, accessible by tunnel. Some of my men will snatch him, and at the same time create a diversion. We hope the Death Eaters will fall for it and concentrate on this side of the fortress while we attempt to raid the portal room. They've been wanting to eliminate us all for weeks, so they might find that a good opportunity to meet us in force - but hopefully our men there would slip out of sight and the Death Eaters will mostly be all there instead of here (the portal room side).
"After we're successful opening up the portal, my task force will be hightailing back to the tunnels and everybody will rendezvous here." Hal pointed at the center of the structure where there was a wide and a long hallway. "We will do our best to open up the portal right next to the tunnel access in this area for us to slip through. The only danger here is that if we fail to place the portal on the spot where we want it to be, which can happen, it will open up somewhere else at any point of the fortress. Then that means we will surely be fighting to escape. This spot where we'll jump out of the tunnels is the only one we know where we can't be trapped or cornered. It's one of and connected with the main hallways, and it's the most straightforward path to any part of the fortress." Hal sighed, and all the spear-wielding scientists looked grim.
"Where does the portal lead to?"
"We all agreed anywhere in Hogsmeade," Willard said, winking at Harry and Hermione.
Harry gave Willard a smile and a curt nod. "Okay, what do you want me to do?" Harry asked Hal.
Hal gazed at Willard for a moment, and Harry saw Willard nod his head back at him. Hal looked back at Harry and sighed. "I was asking Willard if he'd allow you to help us, particularly to support my task force with magic. It's imperative that we succeed in operating the orb to open up the portal. He said it depends on you if you want to help us, Harry - we'll understand if you don't…"
Harry stood up from the floor and said, "I'll help you, Hal. Just tell me what to do."
Hal nodded very happily. "Thanks, Harry - all you have to do is fend off any threats around us as much as you can. We'll have a better chance of success getting in and out to have someone do some magic directly for us."
"Sounds okay for me," Harry grinned. "Who's operating the orb?"
"I am," said Bruce. "I've seen it work…"
Hermione stood up, too. "I'm going with you."
Harry looked at her quickly with an uncertain look on his face. "But, Hermione, you don't have a wand with you…"
"Harry, I don't want to be separated from you. Didn't we just talk about it back at the tunnel? We must go together! I'll help you even without magic. I still have two hands…"
Harry, however, was very reluctant to agree with her. She was vulnerable without her wand, but he couldn't deny they agreed on not ever separating from each other while they were in this fortress. Harry began to wish they never had talked about it now that he knew what the disadvantages of this were. He looked towards Hal for an answer.
Hal just shrugged and said, "I don't mind, Harry. I know she won't be a liability, isn't she?"
"Harry, please," Hermione said, now sounding pleadingly. "I know it's not time to get emotional, but I don't want us to go apart. I don't want to lose sight of you…we're each other's strength, aren't we?"
"Hermione…er…" Harry looked around. He didn't want to mention anything about her the threat she posed to the group because of the serum.
Some of the scientists smiled and talked in hushed tones. They seemed to start enjoying seeing a lover's quarrel start.
"Can you give us a minute?" Harry grinned at Hal. Hal nodded and Harry grabbed Hermione by her arm, albeit gently, and pulled her out of earshot from the rest.
"Hermione, but you're still dangerous," Harry hissed. "What if some Death Eater spotted you and muttered the `D' word? Imagine what it would do to Hal's group."
"I'm without a wand, Harry," she argued quietly. "How can I be a threat?"
"I know, but do you think I'd ever leave you alone while you're being controlled?"
"Uhm, no?"
"That's what I'm saying," Harry said, glancing back at Hal, who was busy discussing their plans to Bruce and his men.
"But I already took care of it, Harry."
"How?" he said skeptically.
Hermione took out a pink fluffy earmuff for Harry to see. "I transfigured half of my bread to this using your wand like you had suggested. I've already subjected it to a charm to block out only the word `Domini'."
Harry broke out a little smile and took a close look at the earmuff. "Does it work?"
"Yeah, try it…"
Harry placed the earmuff to cover his ears. Surprisingly it didn't really block out any sound even though he felt it cover his ears completely.
"Can you hear me, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Y-yeah…this is amazing. I didn't think it could be done…"
"It helps being a teacher's pet - especially when it's Professor Flitwick," Hermione laughed. "Can you hear the word ---"
"The word what?" Harry said. Hermione did say something, but he didn't hear it.
Hermione took off the earmuff from his head and said. "I said can you hear the word Domini?"
Harry smiled broadly at her. She had done exactly what he thought of. And what was even more impressive is that she did the charm with a wand that was not hers.
"Now, Harry," she said slowly. "I'm harmless. Can I go with you then?"
Harry gave it a thought and eventually he gave in. "Okay, come to think of it I'm glad to have an inspiration around."
Hermione beamed at him and kissed him at his lips quickly. "Thanks." They both returned to the meeting quickly.
"Well?" Hal asked them expectantly.
"Yeah, we talked about it and agreed to help you together," Harry said. Hermione knew this wasn't what they really talked about and gave Harry a smile, which he returned.
"Splendid," Hal said, clapping his hands once. "Willard volunteered to lead the group who'll create the diversion and rescue Francs because he feels he personally needs to make sure Francs should be rescued. He'll make a lot of noise to attract attention. I hope they could return to the tunnels before Death Eaters are all over them."
"We'll do our best efforts to find Francs before they do…" Willard assured.
Hal nodded. "Then everybody will meet at the rendezvous point. We will make the final decision when we're all there. Willard, I hope you understand if you don't make it back in time with or without Francs we'll get out of the hole without you. Remember the portal will only be open for limited time."
"Yes, I do," Willard said seriously, and Harry gave him a surprised look. "I feel it's very important for me to rescue Francs - even if your men would leave me, I'll keep looking for him."
Hal gazed down on the floor in a show of sadness.
"Willard…" Harry started.
"I know what you're thinking, Harry," he said forlornly. "Hal needs you more than I do. The success of getting to the portal room is vital to the whole effort. Not achieving that, we'll all have failed. Please concentrate your best efforts on our primary objective, which is the portal room. Everyone's counting on your success."
"B-but will I see you again?" Harry said. Hermione went closer beside him and hugged his arm softly, staring at him sadly.
Willard moved closer to him and placed both his hands on Harry's shoulders. He looked straight at his wide green eyes.
"Of course, Harry," he said, "you will see me again. Please don't think you won't. I will be away while you do your stuff with Hal - but I'll do my best make it back to the group in time, I promise. Like I said, Hal needs your skills more than I do. We reckon there will be lesser guards in the dungeons, so don't worry about it. I'll be safe, thanks to the tunnels."
Harry didn't say anything in response because he didn't know what to do or say. A big part of him wanted to help Willard with his personal task to look for and rescue Francs. Deep inside him he'd rather go with his good friend to help him rather than Hal who he just only met for a short time. He didn't know if he'll forgive himself if Willard didn't make it because he wasn't there for him, but another part of him said that Willard was right. All the hopes of survival for the group centered on their success in reaching the portal room whether he liked it or not. It was much more critical because Hal's group would be exposed on the ground rather than Willard's, which will have the benefit of underground tunnels leading towards the dungeons.
"Harry," Willard said again, "please don't mind me and concentrate all your efforts to help Hal and his group. Harry, please, I'm asking you as your good friend."
Harry stared at him silently, and with much effort, he agreed and nodded.
Willard smiled broadly. "Thank you, Harry. I'll meet you at the rendezvous point. I promise, okay?"
Harry nodded again and swallowed.
"Good luck, Willard," Hermione said to him with teary eyes. Harry and Willard's conversation struck a heartstring in her.
"Thanks, Hermione," Willard replied, and squeezed her hind neck gently. "Take care both of you, okay?"
Hal moved towards Willard and shook his hand. "Good luck, good friend," he said. "Please do find Francs, will you? My prayers for you…"
"Yeah, we must," Willard said, smiling back at Hal. "He's the only one who knows who can defeat this dreadful serum - he's wizardkind's best hope."
"Yes, I know," Hal breathed. "You better get going. Remember to count an hour from now and make the loudest ruckus you can. We'll be expecting you then soon after…"
Willard gave him another smile and a nod, and he turned on his heels to start moving followed by at least five of Hal's men.
"Willard!" Harry called, and Willard turned around to see him. Harry walked over towards him and they simultaneously hugged each other tightly. They let go a few seconds later without saying anything, and Willard walked off and disappeared.
"I see you're really good friends, Harry," Hal said to him softly when he came back. "I know Willard can make it - he's not a total nerd like me."
Harry glanced at Hal and made a teary laugh.
"We'll be moving out in a few minutes," Hal told him. "Will you be ready then?"
Harry inhaled and exhaled deeply and said, "You can count on me, Hal. I'll support you any way I can."
"Me, too," Hermione said, moving forward a step. Her eyes met with Harry's and they both smiled back at each other. She kissed him at the cheek and said, "And that's for good luck."
To signify their solidarity and commitment in this undertaking, Hal exchanged firm handshakes with Harry and Hermione. With a final exchange of well-wishing and good luck, Harry knew there was now no turning back. He and Hermione were all ready to fight to break free from Voldemort's clutches along with Hal and his gang. They moved out into position.
-o0o-
Chapter 20 coming soon.
Authors notes: The climax will definitely be in the next one. This chapter took too long in my view and I had to cut it somewhere where this won't look too bloated but at the same time not lacking in both information and preparation.
I felt that Harry and Hermione joining in to something immediately after being traumatized wasn't realistic, so the events needed to have some sort of a little breather. Harry, especially Hermione, needed at least little time to heal emotionally. I also needed to lay out Hal's plan so that the reader will know what would be happening around when they executed it and what they're really up to so that you won't get lost in the chaos. This one took a lot of story space. I hope I didn't create too much expectation for this chapter, which turned out to be like a letdown. Yeah, I'm so evil! If you think I've overdrawn this, please do let me know!
A review from you, of course, will be highly appreciated. You may want to take the opportunity to rant - it's okay. (grinning). As always, criticism is welcome. Thanks very much for your continued interest in this story. Thanks!
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