Journey Home by Jardyn39
Chapter Twelve: The Keeper of the Keys
Hermione gasped quietly as she saw herself being dropped into the clearing. She had absolutely no idea she had been anywhere near Harry at the end.
Ron touched her lightly on her shoulder and mouthed, "What do we do?"
"Nothing," she mouthed clearly back. "We wait."
The Hermione on the ground was beginning to stir.
Harry stepped to one side and quickly shouted, "Stupefy!"
Voldemort didn't react at all, although the red stunner only missed him by inches. It hit where Harry aimed for, however, and Hermione fell limp again.
Voldemort smiled.
"I know, Harry," he said in mock sympathy. "She'll wish you had killed her, later," he added menacingly.
Hermione looked down at her watch. It was almost five o'clock.
By the time she looked up again, they were duelling.
Hermione had seen some of Harry's defence training sessions with Dumbledore and a couple of is Auror challenges, but those were nothing compared to this. She had never seen spell work as fast nor as powerful as this.
After their initial exchange of stunners and reductor curses, there was a lull.
"Excellent, Harry. Perhaps that old fool taught you something, after all."
Hermione looked around behind her and with a shock of horror realised that the others had all gone.
"Argh!" shouted Harry.
Hermione looked back at once. Harry had been hit. He was holding his left arm to his side now.
"That hurt, didn't it, Harry?" said Voldemort. "Fast, but not quite fast enough for Lord Voldemort."
Harry fired, hitting Voldemort in his upper right thigh.
Voldemort shrieked with pain.
"Look on the bright side," said Harry with a small grin. "That would have hurt so much more if you had any genitalia."
Voldemort's face distorted with a mixture of pain and fury.
The clearing suddenly filled with the sound of Phoenix song.
Hermione looked on eagerly.
This was it.
Harry raised his wand, a look of grim determination fixed on his face.
Hermione could see the empowering effect the bird song was having upon Harry. He would be the victor in this last exchange. There was no question now. Both of them knew it.
"Did you seriously hope to prevent any serious casualties this evening, Harry?"
"What?" asked Harry, obviously distracted.
"Kill him, Harry!" thought Hermione. "Do it now!"
"A group of students followed you into the forest this evening, Harry. They were hoping to help you. There were rather fewer than I anticipated, actually, but the important thing was that your closest friends," he gave a cold chuckle, "came in here to die for you. I can assure you, they won't be disappointed."
"No we didn't."
To Hermione's utter shock, Luna stepped out into the clearing.
Voldemort pointed his wand at her. Luna walked forward impassively.
"Beg me not to kill her, Harry!"
"No," he replied calmly. "She's not afraid of you, Tom. You always know when people are lying to you, don't you? Go ahead and ask her."
"Do you fear Lord Voldemort, child?"
"No," replied Luna unhesitatingly.
"Aren't you afraid of death?"
"No," she replied. "I'll be with my family again."
Luna's words clearly disturbed Voldemort. He appeared to falter.
"See, she is telling the truth. We're not afraid of you."
"I have filled this forest with your dead!" he said angrily.
"Yes, but how many were afraid of you?" asked Harry. "Even if they were afraid of dying, they came in anyway."
"Avada Kedavra," shouted Voldemort.
A green flash erupted from the end of his wand, heading straight for Luna.
Harry immediately stepped into its path and fell in a heap.
Hermione screamed, "HARRY!" and ran out into the clearing.
Voldemort was momentarily stunned. He looked back behind him. The girl was still there. Was this a twin?
Hermione collapsed next to Harry. There was no mistake.
He was quite dead.
She pulled her wand from his fingers and glanced back before standing. Luna was nowhere to be seen.
"You are not serious, girl?" said Voldemort incredulously.
"I'm not afraid of you!"
"Yes, you are," he replied with a cruel smile. "Why do you think poor, brave Harry stunned you? Your fear was a liability to him and his cause, that's why."
Hermione wiped her tears away with he sleeve and advanced.
Voldemort took a short step forward. She stepped back at once and stumbled over Harry's body, falling backwards to the ground.
Voldemort laughed and said, "Why bother throwing your life away like this? I've won. The prize is mine. The castle is mine."
"Prize?" she asked, clearly confused. "The Prophecy only said one of you would kill the other. Not that the victor couldn't be killed."
"Girl, they said you had brains! We were fighting for far more than the outcome of a mere Prophecy."
Hermione frowned.
"You may not be aware, but I personally questioned that oaf Half Giant. He resisted the strongest torture, but no one resists Lord Voldemort for long. He eventually told me that he had transferred the guardianship of Hogwarts to Potter, believing he would be victorious. He died defiantly; he utterly believed in Potter's ultimate victory. A foolish belief."
"The Keeper of the Keys," whispered Hermione. "I forgot," she added honestly.
"Well done. Glad you got there in the end. Anyway, when I killed dear Harry here, I became Keeper of the Keys. Hogwarts and the powers it guards are mine."
Voldemort gave a short bow.
"You may congratulate me before I kill you."
"No thanks," said Hermione shakily, grabbing hold of one of Harry's still warm hands. "I'd rather you just got it over with."
"As you wish," he said raising his wand. Hermione closed her eyes and thought of Harry for one last time.
"Avada Kedavra," he shouted.
Hermione saw a bright green flash through her eyelids.
She opened her eyes to a confounded looking Voldemort.
"Harry wasn't the Keeper of the Keys. Not all of the Hogwarts grounds are part of the original Celtic site, but this area is. This is the very clearing the Dumbledore invested Hagrid with the Keys. You could never have killed Harry here, had Harry still been Keeper of the Keys."
"You!"
"Me," she replied shakily. "It is true that Keeper surrenders the Keys upon death if they haven't already, but not to the killer. The transfer can only be made only to a loved individual. Since I was invested with the Keys here in this very clearing, it seems the ancient magic here has given me some protection, although I had no idea it would work so well. If I had, I would never have allowed Harry to give up his protection."
Hermione looked straight into Voldemort's suddenly fearful eyes and said, "Avada Kedavra," her voice dripping with hatred.
She didn't look as his body fell, being blinded by tears now anyway, but instead she groped around to find Harry's hand again.
She couldn't find it.
Despair overcame her suddenly, and she fainted.
*
Harry walked into the clearing and was rather surprised to find his five friends there.
"What are you all doing here?"
Harry realised that Hermione was lying unconscious and went over to her.
"Let her wake up slowly, Harry," warned Luna. She was cradling Ron in her arms. He appeared to have been unconscious as well, and was just stirring.
Neville and Ginny were both awake, sitting with their arms around each other.
Harry took hold of Hermione's hand. She was warm and her pulse was strong.
"She'll be fine," said Luna softly, not looking up.
"What happened?" asked Harry.
"You relived that night again, didn't you, Harry?" asked Neville.
"Well, kind of," Harry agreed.
"We experienced much the same thing," added Luna. "We each faced our demons. Did what we each regretted not doing that night."
Hermione stirred, and Harry looked down to see her looking up at him in disbelief.
He smiled and lent down to kiss her.
*
It took some time for Hermione to recover her senses and truly believe they were all alright. While she recovered, they each told of their experiences and explained how they were different from the actual night.
On the actual night, Ron had been hit with a spell that drained him of his magic. Wandless and defenceless, he had been cornered and forced to find cover in the hole formed by an uprooted tree. There he could do nothing but watch as so many students were killed.
Tonight, Ron had come out of that hole and stepped in front of a killing curse intended for Luna.
Luna, in turn, had stepped into the clearing and defied Voldemort to his face.
Tonight Neville had killed not only Bellatrix again, but also several of Voldemort's closest Death Eaters. With Neville's help, Ginny had avenged herself on her captors and a good few more besides.
Harry told of how he had originally gone straight for Voldemort and how he had always regretted not helping Ginny and Neville.
Ginny's ordeal and injuries at the hands of the Death Eaters had been truly terrible that night. Harry had actually found Ginny barely alive in Neville's arms, on his way back out of the forest. Neville had crawled to her with a broken leg and had managed to kill the few remaining Death Eaters. The remainder had gone off to gloat in Voldemort's expected victory, but had actually died at Harry's hands anyway.
"Harry, how much of what I saw actually happened?" asked Hermione. "I saw you kill Lucius Malfoy and you stunned me. The confusing thing was that I saw Luna there as well as myself."
"Well," admitted Harry. "I did kill Malfoy and I'm afraid I did stun you. Luna wasn't there though."
"Actually, Harry," said Luna. "I was there. I was just too afraid to come out into the open."
"But why did you stun me, Harry? Voldemort said it was because I was afraid."
"Yes, I suppose that was why I did it," he admitted.
"But the thing that upset me the most," said Hermione, her voice cracking, "was that you made me Keeper of the Keys when you knew that Voldemort couldn't have killed you otherwise."
"Hey," he said gently, stroking her cheek. "If I hadn't, he could have killed you. I knew he would bait me using you."
Harry turned and groaned, rubbing his ribs.
"For an illusion, though, it feels awfully real."
Hermione pulled up his shirt.
"Can't you even wait until we get back?" Harry joked.
Hermione gasped seeing his bare skin.
"What?"
*
The six of them left the forest and headed for the castle, still pondering Harry's injuries.
"But, Harry, none of us is hurt."
"Well, maybe one of your stray spells hit me by accident. Things were a little intense at times."
"Perhaps," said Hermione, although she sounded rather doubtful.
They entered the entrance lobby and were greeted by a frantic looking Sir Nicholas.
"Thank heavens you are unhurt," he said with relief. "I am to escort you all up to the Headmistress' office."
They followed the ghost at a walking pace. Harry couldn't help notice him looking around every corner nervously.
"Um, Nick?" Harry asked cautiously. "Is anything the matter?"
"No, Harry. Not at all!"
"Nick," pleaded Harry gently.
"I'm not supposed to alarm you so soon after your ordeal this evening."
At these words they all reached for their wands.
*
Harry was the last to step out of the green flames and into the Gryffindor common room. They wouldn't normally have used Floor Powder to come there from the Headmistress' office, but it seemed safer not to risk the corridors.
Fortunately, many Gryffindors were still up, waiting for news.
Harry looked around.
"Carmen?"
"Yes, Harry. Sorry, I mean, Sir!"
"I need a couple of favours. Where is Hydrus?"
"I'm here," he said, poking his head out Carmen's sleeve and tasting the air.
"Would you be prepared to accompany me outside for a few hours? It could be dangerous," he warned.
"Of course we will!" said Carmen with a smile.
"I'm only asking Hydrus, not you."
Carmen frowned.
"Hydrus?" he prompted.
"Well, I suppose so. Not that I owe you after you made me swim for a week in that ointment."
"Thanks, Hydrus," said Harry, gently picking up the tiny snake. "Carmen, come over here a moment."
Carmen followed, her curiosity overwhelming her pout.
"You remember Ron, don't you?"
"Hi, Ron!"
"Ron, this is your body guard and personal tutor while you are here."
"Carmen, Ron was hit by something that dampened his magic. He'll need to relearn most things, so he's very vulnerable right now. Can I trust you with him?"
Carmen smiled and nodded.
"Play nicely, both of you," Harry warned, "and try not to transform him into anything too messy when he annoys you," he added with a wink.
Harry made his way over to the portrait hole.
"Are you sure you're up for this, guys?" he asked quietly.
They all nodded.
*
Harry, Hydrus and Hermione set off together. Luna, Neville and Ginny would search separately.
"Harry, Minerva didn't explain very much in her announcement. What is happening?"
"Minerva, is it now?" asked Harry with a smile. "You're getting as cheeky as Carmen."
"Well, I am older that she is, counting in snake years."
"There's no such thing as snake years."
"Are you ever going to tell me?"
"Okay," said Harry quietly, carefully peering around the corner. They stayed at this vantage point while Harry explained.
"I had the oddest feeling early this evening. I was sure something was in the castle that shouldn't be here."
"I know that much."
"Yes, well Professor McGonagall got news after we went into the forest. She summoned Peeves to conduct a search. Unfortunately, Peeves is missing again."
"It wasn't Carmen this time!"
"I never said it was," replied Harry calmly. "No, Professor McGonagall knows that Carmen gave me her word not to do that again."
"So," said Hydrus, "whatever got Peeves knew that he could find him?"
"That's our assumption."
"What is this thing we're after?"
"Not what, who. We are looking for someone who has been able to come and go unhindered. They know the school intimately and are invisible to both the Marauder's map and, I assume, normal eyes as well."
"Another Poltergeist?"
"This is still a possibility, but I doubt it. It takes years for Poltergeists to become strong and I can't see Peeves giving up he position as chief trouble maker so easily."
"A ghost then?"
"No, this one fires hexes at people in the forest."
"Ah," said Hydrus. "I thought I could smell burnt flesh."
"Well, that's why you're here. Hydrus, I want you to smell the air for any unusual scent. I'm convinced we are looking for something alive."
"Hold your sleeve up, will you?"
"I want you to stay hidden for now," whispered Harry. "If they suspect you can detect them-"
"I understand. Just swing your arm casually, then."
*
They proceeded along the corridors and in each classroom and storeroom, but after an hour of searching they had found nothing.
It was almost dawn now, although the school should normally have been busy by now.
"Unusual," muttered Hydrus.
Harry at once held his hand up to warn Hermione who could not hear the snake, nor understand if she had.
Harry casually waved his arm around saying loudly, "I think we're wasting out time here, Hermione."
"Yes," she agreed lightly.
"Definitely something," whispered Hydrus.
"Tell you what, I'll finish up here. You go and report in?"
"Sure, Harry," Hermione replied before walking off down the corridor they had just come from.
Harry stayed where he was so he was sure she got away safely. Hermione would warn the others that they'd found something.
He walked very slowly and quietly along the corridor.
"This one," whispered Hydrus.
Harry nodded to indicate he understood.
"It smells like rotting flesh. Human flesh. But there's something else as well."
Harry pushed open the door to the empty classroom.
*
Harry felt a dread far greater than he had ever felt when facing Voldemort as he entered the darkened classroom.
Although Professor McGonagall had assured him that no one was missing and that all the students were accounted for, Harry quite expected to find a body. If the intruder used Polyjuice potion to assume someone's appearance, they would want to ensure the person they had impersonated did not make any inconvenient appearances.
He prayed for the victim not to be a student.
Harry could smell it now. Hydrus was right. The smell was unmistakable.
He swept his wand around and all the lanterns in the room burst into life.
Harry went straight for the cupboard at the front of the classroom.
He opened the doors and grimaced at the smell. There was a large bundle of rags stuffed into the bottom of the cupboard. He pulled the rags out.
Harry sighed with relief. There was no body, but there was plenty of space to hide one. This classroom was hardly ever used now. These particular cupboards were rarely visited, as well.
"I'm sure a body was kept here. Probably for quite a while too, from the smell."
"Yes," agreed Hydrus quietly.
"I can smell some kind of perfume too," Harry said normally. "Probably to hide the smell. It looks like our culprit can't even perform basic preservation spells. Mind you, why on earth didn't they just transfigure the body?"
"Harry!" whispered Hydrus in the tiniest of voices. "We're not alone!"