Chapter Nineteen: Underestimating Your Enemy
The sun was warm above him and the grass was soft beneath him. There was the sound of water from somewhere, the happy gurgling sound of a small creek. Hermione was sitting on the ground dressed in a white gown, her belly large with child. She had a wreath of wildflowers in her hair that tumbled loosely down her back and she smiled brightly up at him. She laughed as James toddled over on unsteady feet, unsure of this new talent as he handed his mother a flower then turned to seek out another. Harry smiled and sat down beside his wife, laying down to rest his head in the very little lap space that was available. He ran a hand over her belly, firm and protective of the child growing within. Her fingertips ran lightly through his hair and he basked in her touch.
The sound of hoofbeats was quiet in the distance and Harry knew his dream was ending even though he desperately fought to hold on to it. Hold on to the image of James squatting to grab a flower, hold on to the feel of Hermione's hands in his hair. But with a broken heart he woke up to the feeling of despair and the darkness of the night, still bound and being carried to the man who had tortured his family line. He had been having that dream every single time he had fallen asleep or lost conscious. He wasn't sure what it was, if he had conjured it up himself to take him out of this horrible situation. He was being carried in the back of a wagon, making the familiar journey through the Shadowlands.
"You said her name again," Draco said as he rode next to him. Harry said nothing to this and sat up, keeping his gaze to the horizon.
"I should cut out your tongue," Draco continued. A large knight rode forward.
"You will do no such thing," he said. "The Dark Lord wants him for himself." Draco scowled.
The knight pulled out a flask and held it out to Harry. "Drink the water," he said. Draco intercepted him and snatched the flask out of his hands, unscrewed the top and spit inside of it.
"Yes, drink you dog," he said, handing the flask to Harry.
Harry ran a dry tongue over his dry, cracked and bleeding lips. He took the flask from Draco, smirked and poured the contents over the side of the wagon. Draco looked disappointed.
"You'll have to drink sometime," the knight said.
"We're here anyway," Draco sighed as the lights of the castle loomed on the horizon. He had ridded back the fastest he could with the stupid Rider being towed in a wagon. Of course he didn't know what was at stake, the life of a Queen, the life of the woman he loved.
Harry looked to the familiar castle. Was Hermione truly in there? His heart so desperately wanted to believe it but his mind thought that it would break him. Malfoy had said that the False King was poisoning her for every day that he, Harry, wasn't brought before him. Were they too late? Was she still alive? Was their unborn child safe from this poison?
As they came closer, they saw that the castle was bustling with activity, torches burned brightly as they were whisked around the castle. The shouts of men could be heard and the whinny of nervous horses.
"What is this?" one of the knights asked as another group of men rushed forward to meet them.
"She has escaped! Those foul creatures helped her. Is she with you?"
Harry's heart leapt in his throat. Hermione? Were they talking about his Hermione?
"What?!" Draco bounded forward.
"Take them to the Dark Lord!" the knight ordered and Draco was pulled from his horse as Harry was dragged from the wagon.
Once again the castle trembled the moment he set foot inside of it but he hardly noticed. His mind was racing along with his heart. Were they talking about Hermione?
The doors opened from the side and Lord Voldemort strolled through accompanied by two of his Death Eaters.
"I kept my part of the bargain!" Draco called out. "Now free her!"
Voldemort sneered at the brat king and lashed out at him, striking him across the cheek.
"You do not order me, I order you!" he spat in his face. "And one of you did not keep your bargain. Your precious little queen escaped just moments ago."
Harry suppressed the groan that threatened to escape him. She was alive! She was here only moments ago! His heart longed to reach out to her.
Voldemort's eyes fell on the Gryffindor King, lighting up like a he had just received the greatest gift ever. In a way, he did. The last Gryffindor was in front of him. The throne was as good as his, it was so close he could taste it. He grabbed a fistful of the young man's hair and yanked his head back to get a good look at him. Although generations had passed to get to this young man, he still had the faint traces of Godric upon him.
"I could give you a slow death and just leave you alone with the brat king," he said quietly. "All this time I have waited for you, taunted you, baited you. When all I needed was the Slytherin Jewel." He looked into his face. "Not that I blame you. To the victor goes the spoils, does it not? I had the fortune to set my eyes upon her as well and had she not escaped," he sighed, "I, too, would have loved to see what it was about her that has two kings laying at her feet." Harry's silent fury slipped through and betrayed him at that moment and the False King laughed, letting go of his head. From the corner of his eye, Harry could see Draco struggling furiously and spitting out vile curses.
Voldemort stood back. "Bring me the sword," he said lazily, "I've been waiting forever to step into that throne room and claim what is rightfully mine."
The knight stepped forward and handed him Harry's sword. Voldemort looked down at it in disgust. "Not this one, you idiot!" he snarled. "The king's sword. Gryffindor's sword!"
"This is the sword he was carrying," the knight explained. Harry began to laugh softly as he looked up at the murderer.
"I'm not that stupid," he said. Voldemort's face contorted in rage and he reached into his robes and pulled out his wand.
"You will tell me where it is…CRUCIO!!"
Pain washed over Harry, pain like he never knew. He felt on fire, he felt as if he were being ripped apart. It seemed to go on forever but it eventually stopped. He found himself curled on the floor, gasping for painful breath after painful breath.
"Just kill him and get it over with," Snape said dryly.
"NO!" Voldemort roared. He grabbed a fistful of Harry's hair and yanked his head back. "He knows where the sword is and he will tell me."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Harry spat back and Voldemort swooped down on him.
"You will," he whispered. "I will make you. I will burn down every village dear to you, I will kill those that are closest to you, I will find the one thing that will break you, mark my words." Harry glared back defiantly.
"I would rather die," he whispered back. Voldemort sneered and shoved Harry's head back on the floor. There was a blinding pain at the impact and Harry saw black, falling back into unconsciousness, falling back into his dream of Hermione and James collecting flowers.
"And him?" the knight nodded to Draco.
Voldemort slowly walked up to him. "Your Queen may have escaped me but our deal still holds true. You have a new task. Take your Slytherin army and march into Hufflepuff. Burn down every village you come across until you find that sword. Round up the people the Gryffindor is closest to, bring them to me as well."
~*~*~
The sun had just broken over the horizon when Buckbeak landed in the castle courtyard in Rowena. There was a murmur among the soldiers and the servants that were nearby gave out startled cries.
"You're alive!" Neville approached her with a gaping mouth. Hermione looked at him, surprised.
"Of course, I'm alive!" she said as she made her way into the castle. Buckbeak followed close behind.
"People are staring at me," he said wonderously.
Hermione looked back at him. "I'm sure they don't mean to be rude." She turned to a servant who shrieked when she saw the Queen alive in front of her. "Please find some food for my new friend here," she ordered but the servant just stood there.
"We thought you were dead!" Neville explained.
"Why would you think I was dead?"
"HERMIONE!!"
Ron's shout caught her attention and she turned to see her cousin racing down the hall at a dangerous speed before he bowled into her, wrapping his arms around her and sobbing.
"You're alive! You're alive!" he said as he kissed her face repeatedly, holding her close and crying into her hair.
"Ron! You're alright!" she had been so worried that his life had ended when Draco kidnapped her.
"Oh, Hermione!" he breathed.
"Ron, why does everyone think I died?" she asked.
"He sent your head in his banner," Neville explained.
"Oh," Hermione said softly. "Oh, no. Oh, Harry?" she sank to her knees but Ron caught her and assisted her to a nearby chair. Kneeling in front of her, he looked up at her.
"Hermione…he thinks you're dead. We all did," he said slowly and Hermione let out a cry. "He rode to Arneau Tak to gather the army. The war against the False King has begun."
"No! No, Ron we have to go and stop him!" she grabbed his arms. "It's a trap! Do you hear me? It's a trap! Draco brought me to the False King as bait for Harry! He's using me to get to him!"
"What?" Ron stood up quickly and turned to look at Neville who had gone pale.
"I'll leave right away," Neville said then turned to gather a group of men.
"I have to go, too," Hermione stood to get up but her cousin stopped her.
"No, I don't know how far you've come but you have to rest, Hermione," he said, glancing down at her belly. Hermione followed his gaze then looked up at him.
"Harry told us. He told us a lot of things," he said softly. He raised his hand and cradled his cousin's face. "Hermione, why didn't you tell me that you bound yourself to him? That you are the Gryffindor Queen?"
"We had to keep it a secret," Hermione said softly. "James. Where's my little Jamie?" she stood but Ron gently pushed her back down on the chair.
"Harry sent him back to Slytherin. But he's safe," he quickly added at Hermione's frightened face. "Dumbledore and Minerva have gone with him."
"I have to go to him," she said determinedly.
"Yes, you will. But not now, not today," Ron insisted. "Rest for now and get some sleep. Tomorrow you will go out and see him."
Hermione did feel tired from her journey and she suddenly craved the warmth and comfort of her bed. Tomorrow she would leave for Slytherin, she had to rally the army to Gryffindor, Harry needed them to defeat the False King.
~*~
Harry sighed as Hermione gently stroked his head, running her fingers gently through his unruly hair. The warm sun was beating down on him and he could hear James babbling as he brought over another flower for his mother. Hermione praised the little boy and began to work on another flower wreath.
Pain yanked him from his pleasant dream and he found himself writhing on the stone floor before the False King. He lifted his wand and the waves stopped but there were still lingering traces of it running through his body. Harry glared up at the man in front of him.
"You have to eat," he demanded. "I will not have you dying on me."
A servant stepped forward, a young woman with a tray of food and set it at Harry's feet. Harry eyed the tray then tipped it over, spilling the contents on the floor. Voldemort frowned at him then left the room. Harry was left alone with his thoughts until he heard a soft shuffling sound. Harry blinked when a house elf came out of the shadows with another plate of food.
"Don't eat what he gives you," the house elf whispered. "It's poisoned like he did with the Queen."
"And did she eat it?" he asked.
The elf shook her head. "She wouldn't. I helped her escape."
"So she is alive and safe?" Harry asked and the elf nodded as she pushed the tray toward him. Harry looked at the food on the tray, his stomach grumbled but once again he tipped it over.
"Please, my King!" the elf pleaded. "You must eat!"
Harry ignored her as he lay back down on the stone floor, praying for sleep to come to him where he would join Hermione and James again.
~*~
Once again, shock and whispers followed Hermione as she ran into the castle at Anguin. Buckbeak had flown her here the morning after they arrived in Rowena. Hermione ran through the halls calling out his name and ran into Minerva.
"Oh, it's you!" the woman cried joyfully and brought Hermione into a motherly embrace.
"Yes, it's me. I'm alive," Hermione said tearfully.
"Mama!" a tiny voice cried out and Hermione looked up to see Dumbledore carrying James in his arms.
Hermione ran to him, crying out his name and scooped him out of the wizened wizard's arms. She cried as she held him close to her, kissing his face and grateful that she had escaped the False King to be given this chance to hold her little boy once again.
"It is a great pleasure to see you alive and well, Your Majesty," Dumbledore said with a tear in his eye at the sight of mother and child reunited.
"Thank you for taking him," Hermione said sincerely to the two wizards but her face turned serious. "I sent Neville to Arneau Tak to stop Harry. He's walking into a trap," she explained and Dumbledore's face turned grave. "We haven't much time," she said. "I must speak to the Slytherin Knights. They must be united under Gryffindor."
"You said Harry was walking into a trap?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes, I sent Neville…"
"I must go to Arneau Tak as well," Dumbledore said. "I can get there faster than Neville can."
"Please hurry," Hermione said to him.
She had gathered the knights in the Throne Room. They were disbelieving and grateful at the same time at having their queen back. The knights repledged their fealty to her.
"Malfoy will be killed the moment he sets foot back on this land," Marcus, the lead knight told her.
"Leave me to deal with his treachery," Hermione stated. "He will return, mark my words."
"The people are angry with him, he will be mobbed."
"Maybe but he betrayed Slytherin…as I have," Hermione added softly.
The Knights looked at each other in confusion. "My Queen?" they asked.
Hermione stood and walked before each of them. "What do we want? We want a land free of the dark lord, the False King. We want to be free of his treachery. We want a land united," she paused. "Under one king." The knights murmured amongst each other.
"Like it was before?" one of the knights asked. "Long ago?"
"The True King?" another spoke up.
"And his Queen," Hermione added softly.
The knights exchanged uneasy looks and Hermione summoned her courage.
"You may be free to judge me but I feel that I owe you, and Slytherin, my honesty and admit that I am and was, before I married your king…the Gryffindor Queen."
There, she said it. Let the people judge her if they must, she owed them at least that. But to her complete astonishment, one by one, the knights dropped to one knee in front of her.
"You are truly, and forever, our queen," Marcus spoke up. "You could've turned your back on us. Left us to a traitorous king but you came back."
Hermione fought back the tears that came to her eyes. "Then you will fight?" she asked.
The knights stood and Marcus spoke again. "The Queen's battles are our battles," he proclaimed.
~*~
As usual, Harry tipped the food tray over again. It had been three days and Harry began to feel weakened, it took five house elves to hold him down with some sort of magic and force him to eat some bread when Voldemort wasn't there. But it was done against his will. All he wanted was to be left alone to his dreams where he could be at peace.
Voldemort looked down at the young man in front of him. His cruciatus curse was not working on him like he would liked and he had yet to break him to tell him of the sword.
"Send her in," Voldemort barked and the young servant girl was brought in.
"Tell me where it is!" he demanded. Harry stayed silent. Voldemort lifted his wand and cast the cruciatus on the servant girl. Harry recoiled when her screams filled the air.
"Stop it!" Harry demanded and stepped forward but two Death Eaters blocked his way.
"Tell me where it is and I'll stop it," Voldemort said calmly.
Harry stepped back and leaned back against the wall behind him. He covered his ears as he sank to the floor, muffling her screams. Soon, even Voldemort had enough and he cast the killing curse and left the room. He didn't bother removing the dead girl's body. Harry just stared at it, wishing he could trade her places.
~*~
"We can send in three brigades," Marcus said as he pointed to a map in front of Hermione. "One can go through Arneau Tak another can enter just east from it."
"An attack on three fronts?" Hermione let out a loud sigh.
"Can you get Hufflepuff?" he asked.
"Hufflepuff will bring the Giants, and they can join whoever is left of Rowena," she replied.
There was a commotion outside of the doors and they flung open as a group of knights holding someone prisoner.
"Release me you traitors!"
Hermione recognized that voice anywhere and she rose to her feet to approach Draco.
"Let me go! Hermione please hang them?"
She glanced at the group of knights that held Draco and nodded to them. They promptly let go of him, letting him fall to the floor. Hermione stood regally in front of him.
"I'll have the heads of all of you, do you hear me?" Draco threatened with hurt pride. Hermione watched him with cool regard. He looked up at her. "I heard you escaped, how clever of you," he said dryly.
"You sound disappointed," she replied.
"Considering that Slytherin is still under the thumb of the False King, I'd have to say so. You were supposed to be freed when I delivered the rider to him."
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "You are under the thumb of the False King. Don't say I didn't warn you. Slytherin does not bow down to him." She crossed her arms. "Did you deliver him the Gryffindor King?"
Draco grinned evilly. "It went much smoother when I told him you were alive and were being poisoned each day I didn't bring him to the Dark Lord."
Hermione's lips pursed together. The False King has Harry. She stared down at the pathetic man in front of her. She held out a hand to him and he took as she helped him to his feet.
"Let's get you cleaned up," she said sweetly to him. "I'll prepare a bed for you and have someone send up something to eat."
The hot bath his wife had prepared for him was exactly what he needed. He had spent days without a proper wash having to run around the land fetching kings and retrieving armies for a Dark Lord. It wasn't easy work. The feel of soft silk on his skin felt wonderful as he was dressed. He was looking forward to his bed. Surely, his wife would join him, he had gone so long without bedding her. Their last little tryst in the carriage on the way to the Shadowlands hardly counted since she fought like a hellcat the entire time. But as he walked into his chambers he found his wife was lying on his bed of green silk sheets. She wore a matching green silk robe that was, to his absolute pleasure, loosely tied at her waist. A platter of his favorite food lay in front of her.
"Leave us," she told the servants and they obediently left the room. Lords, his wife giving orders did turn him on. She beckoned him forward with her finger. "Sit down, my King, it has been so long since we were together." Draco thought to himself that he could definitely get used to more homecomings like this.
He lay down on the bed and Hermione scooted next to him, feeding him a couple of grapes off of the platter. Draco reached out for her. "The food is a lovely gesture, darling but I would like to just skip it." Hermione stayed his hand and laughed.
"No, first we eat. I want your strength built up for what will be a long night."
Who could argue with that?
She passed him a goblet of wine and pressed it to his lips as he drank the cool and sweet nectar. She fed him a couple of more grapes before she moved over him and straddled his hips. Draco's body suddenly felt heavy and he chalked it up to his long journey. Hermione kissed his nose.
"So he just let you go?" she asked. "Surely he must have wanted something from you?"
"Hmm, why do you ask?" he sighed when she kissed his neck.
"Didn't he reward you for bringing him the Rider?"
"He asked me to send an army to Hufflepuff to search for his…sword, I think."
Hermione paused to look at him. "His sword?"
"Yes, I guess the Dark Lord is after some sort of sword."
"And the Rider didn't have it on him?" she asked.
"No…why do you ask?"
"No reason. Just…imagine the reward when you find it," Hermione replied.
Draco smirked. "Provided the Rider doesn't break first."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Dark Lord is torturing him every day that he doesn't tell him where the sword is at. He'll push the right wound soon enough."
Hermione suddenly moved off of him and tightened her robe. He got a good look at her and his eyes fell to the small bump of her belly. He looked up questioningly at her. The expression on her face had changed.
`"I'm with child," she answered shortly and his heart soared. He had gotten her with child again. He moved to get off the bed but suddenly found that he couldn't move at all. He looked up to his wife for an explanation but saw that she had a small smile on her face.
"Hermione," he croaked. He felt his voice leaving him as well.
She climbed back on to the bed and sat next to him. She reached out with her hand and brushed his bangs out of his face.
"You took so much from me the night you had Viktor killed and any sympathy I had felt for you died the night you killed Jason," she said solemnly. "But I'll let you in on a little secret, Jason and I were never lovers." Draco looked at her with wide eyes. "I know. Impossible you say because I was plucked before you could have me." There was a knock at the door and Hermione scooted off of the bed. She opened the door and a nursemaid handed her little James. She picked up the child and returned to the bed, dismissing the maid.
"Take a good look at him, Draco," she said as she held the babe at her hip. "A really good look at him and you'll see exactly what I mean."
Draco looked at her then his son and immediately saw what he had been so blind to see before. James' eyes were green. The same color as that blasted rider. He looked back up at Hermione. Rage on his face. Tears welled in Hermione's eyes and she looked down at him with hate.
"Don't you dare be angry with me. You knew I loved him. Deep down you know I did. But guess what, Draco? I married him. That's right. I married him before I married you. You stole all that time from us. The baby I carry isn't yours. It's his, just like James. The Malfoy line and the end of the Slytherin Kings finishes with you." She leaned over him and picked up a small vial from the tray. "Rumor has it that you added this to your mother's food. I put it in your wine." Draco's eyes widened. Hermione moved away from the bed. "I didn't bother with the antidote. Goodbye Draco," she said softly before she left the room with James in her arms. Draco stared up at the ceiling. A single tear fell from his eyes.
~*~
Hermione sent a raven to her cousin and to Dumbledore alerting them that Harry indeed had been taken by the False King and was being tortured until he gave up the sword. Minerva had James' things all packed as they prepared to leave for Rowena. She gave Marcus her final orders and he left to march through Ravenclaw to Arneau Tak. She would be joining them shortly.
In the carriage, Minerva had given her a long rectangular package. "Is it what I think it is?" Hermione asked.
"It is the sword," she answered. "What do you plan to do with it?"
Hermione eyed the box. "Return it to its rightful owner, of course."
Dumbledore and Neville returned to Rowena the same time that she did with news that Arneau Tak had been deserted and the bodies of the soldiers that rode with Harry the morning he left were piled and burned.
"News of his capture will travel fast," Sirius said gravely.
"Everything we have fought for will fall apart without our King to lead us," Remus added sadly.
Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, Neville, Ron and Hermione all sat in a quiet and darkened room.
"We still have a queen," Dumbledore said softly. All eyes fell on Hermione who was sitting on a chair, elbow propped on the armrest, her fingers playing at her lips in thought. She eyed the men.
"I think it is time to reveal to the False King that he still has an enemy to contend with," Dumbledore said to her. "A powerful one. Do not underestimate yourself as the False King has. A lioness is most dangerous when those she loves are threatened."
Could she do this?
Yes, she needed to. She knew she would do this the moment she bound herself to him that wonderful night they conceived James. It was her fate, her destiny.
"We have to get him out of that castle," she said as she moved out of the chair and began to pace. "Voldemort hasn't killed him yet but he will when he learns that there is a Queen. He'll know that I have the sword."
"So…what are you suggesting we do?" Ron said with a knowing grin.
~*~
Harry opened his eyes to meet the red ones of his nemesis. Voldemort sighed and stepped away from him. There was no tray of food this time and Harry wondered if this would be the day that he would die. It was a willing sacrifice. Hermione and James were safe as was the sword.
"Did you know that you murmur in your sleep?" Voldemort said softly. Harry sat stone faced and disinterested. "You say the same thing. Hermione." Her name being spoken by the False King felt sacrilegious to him but he still said nothing. Voldemort began to pace in front of him. "You see, I've been wondering how to break you. Nothing has worked, yet. But just today, I thought, maybe I am being to complex about. Maybe…I need to return to where I started." He squatted right in front of him and pushed his bangs off his forehead with his wand.
"You came for her once. If I capture her, maybe then that would break you. Bring her here, torture her right in front of you. Have my Death Eaters violate her while you watched. Yes…maybe. But," he put a finger to his lips in thought, "maybe that wouldn't work. Because, I have a theory that she might actually have feelings for you. She didn't escape to save her husband, I can tell you that. I can see it in her eyes that she would rather see him hanged. She would rather die than be tortured in front of you and if I didn't kill her, I'm sure you would out of mercy." Harry's façade cracked a little and he looked away trying to cast the terrible thoughts from his mind.
"So, I thought some more. As you well know, I have hunted down your line for years trying to rid the world of the Gryffindor line. Each time I think I have done it, the throne remained locked to me. Did you know that you look just like your father?" Harry glared at him. "You do and your grandfather too. I tortured him in this very room," he looked around. "Yes, you should be proud little Rider, carrying on the family tradition. Your grandfather was stubborn just like you and he held out for a month before he finally died. So I thought, how similar this situation is. How willing you are to give your life up and not reveal the location of the sword. Just like your grandfather…when he was protecting his son."
"NO!" Harry roared and lunged at Voldemort, tackling him to the ground. He was surprised and caught off guard long enough for Harry to land a few good punches but his Death Eaters ran into the room and pulled him off of him. They held him as they beat him.
"The Slytherin king is an idiot but I am not. Severus told me that his heir was born early and that the king bought that stupid tale his Queen told him. But she hasn't fooled me," Voldemort shouted in his face. "He's yours isn't he? Little baby James."
Harry struggled some more. "No! You won't touch him! I swear that I will rip your blasted heart out. I will kill you with my bare hands." The Death Eaters shoved him to the ground and pinned him there. Harry cried out in pain.
"Send out the dragons. Send out the entire army if you have to!" Voldemort shouted his orders, maniacal with his discovery. "Take the infant and bring him here. I want him to watch as I kill his son. The end of the Gryffindor's is near! Find him! Find him!"
They all left the room, leaving Harry on the ground. Tears were streaming down his face, terrified for his son. He went to the heavy door and yanked on it, banged on it, all the time screaming his son's name. He moved to the brick wall, pressing each and every one of them, tugging at them, scraping and bloodying his fingers in the process.
"Where are you?!" he shouted. "Help me, please!!"
Suddenly the little house elf appeared behind him.
-->