Chapter Five: All The Queen's Men
The smell of smoke wafted through the air as the sky turned grey with the early dawn. Harry sat upon his horse, Neville and Ron on either side of him at the top of a small hill, looking down at the burning wreck below them.
"Do you think?" Ron whispered. "Do you…"
"There's only one way to find out," Harry replied and nudged his horse forward.
They had been riding North to Ravenclaw all night, hoping to head Hermione off before she reached the village. The smell hit them a couple of hours ago and since they couldn't see the smoke they followed the trail to the wreckage below. Soldiers slaughtered, the royal carriage bearing the banners of Slytherin smoldering. Ron had turned pale when he saw this, Neville strangely quiet. Harry should've been unnerved by this sight, should've felt the panic deep in his gut but he didn't. He knew Hermione. He remembered the circumstances in which he met her.
Hermione did have the most unusual methods of traveling. And he knew that Hermione and his son were not down there.
What they did find instead were murdered soldiers, a burnt bundle of hay, a murdered older woman and what he assumed was a young woman, Hermione's decoy. Beheaded.
He heard a gagging sound and he turned around to see a young man, barely removed from his mother's apron strings, holding the banner of Gryffindor in one hand, his other trying to stifle the smell of burning human flesh with the other.
"Take him back over the hill," Harry ordered his men.
"A decoy?" Ron asked, toeing the straw bundle.
Harry nodded.
"She could be in Rowena already," Neville frowned.
"No, she wouldn't risk that. She's somewhere around Rowena but not in the city itself," Harry said quietly. He had to think. Who would attack the queen like this? Draco surely wouldn't send for the death of his wife.
Unless he discovered the paternity of the boy.
No, Hermione's decoy had been beheaded and Harry was willing to gamble that the False King had done this. And
that her head was currently being transported to the Slytherin King wrapped in the False King's banner. But what
were the False King's army doing by Rowena?
As if in answer to his question, a couple of riders came over the hill.
"Your Majesty," one of them greeted. "There's a small encampment just over the ridge. The False King's banner flies over it."
"How many?" Harry asked.
"About two thousand men."
Ron walked up to Harry. "Didn't we pass another encampment on the way here?"
"They're surrounding Rowena," Harry said grimly. He moved back to his horse and swung himself atop of it. "We leave everything as is," he ordered, motioning to the burning wreck surrounding him.
Quietly the soldiers rode out quickly and quietly. But they didn't leave the wreckage untouched. They had failed to notice that the young man, who had been so offended by what he had seen had mistakenly dropped something in his haste to leave the scene.
~*~
Hermione cradled James in her arms as he suckled contentedly at her breast, her gaze fixated on the dark window in the room. Minerva sat in a chair by the fire, humming quietly as a pair of needles worked in the air magically, knitting a blanket for the baby. They had made it to a small village on the outskirts of Rowena and had checked into a small and dusty inn as a young mother and grandmother. James finished and Hermione swaddled him and placed him in the middle of the large bed, surrounding him with pillows as his eyelids began to droop over his brilliant green eyes.
"Milady!" Minerva whispered as a tapping was heard against the small window.
The white owl belonging to Minerva fluttered to the ledge. Hermione raced to it and opened the window to let the bird fly in.
"It is time," she said determinedly.
The women silently gathered their belongings from around the room. Minerva wore the sling and lifted James gently into it as Hermione watching, tying her riding cloak around her.
They slipped out into the darkened corridor, the sounds of the other guests in the inn filtered up to them. Silently they walked down the hall to the servant's door at the end, opening it and quickly making their way down to the kitchen below.
James stirred in his sling as the noisy clang of pots and pans filled the air. Dinner was in full swing and the kitchen was bustling with activity. Curious faces looked up at the two ladies as they passed but no one asked any questions. They didn't have time to stop and chat, the inn was too busy.
Hermione opened the door and stepped out into an alley, the noise from the kitchen penetrating the silence of the night. She drew the hood of the cloak over her head and tighter around her body, glancing back once to check on her baby. Minerva nodded that all was well.
Two women traveling alone in the darkened streets was dangerous and deadly. As they emerged from the alley they heard a quiet hooting sound from her right and with a breath of relief, a familiar figure stepped from the shadows.
"Jason!" Hermione whispered.
His blue eyes lit up at the sight of her and he knelt respectively to one knee. "Milady," he said.
Hermione flew into his arms, it was so long since she had seen a trusted friend. Jason held her close, knowing it wasn't appropriate for him to do so, knowing that he had to force down those feelings he had for his queen. But he would relish this one moment when she looked at him like he was a king.
"Are you well?" he asked her, breaking the hug and holding her at arms length.
"Yes, yes I am," Hermione smiled, "But we must leave quickly."
Jason was accompanied by a few knights and under their protection, Hermione, her son and Minerva made their way through the village undisturbed. They walked a distance away from the village and into some surrounding woods where the horses were tethered. The rest of the knights waited here and dropped to their knees when they saw their queen. Hermione heard a familiar whinny and the beautiful, white horse Hedwig, stamped impatiently for a greeting. Hermione obliged the mare, kissing her velvety nose as Hedwig nudged her.
"How are you girl?" she said quietly to her. "Have you kept your master safe?"
Minerva handed the sling and placed on Hermione who cradled James to her. Jason looked at the bundle in her arms, so small and helpless and unknowing to the fate that hung so heavily above his tiny head. One of the knights held the reigns as he lifted Hermione onto the saddle. With relief, the horse did not protest. It was well known that the horse did not let anyone ride her but the King. It was trouble enough brining the horse this way but Hermione assured him that she could indeed ride the mare. Jason mounted his horse and stood it next to Hermione's.
"Are you sure you're okay to travel?" he asked, nodding to the baby in her arms.
"Yes, we'll be fine," she answered. Jason nodded then clicked to his steed and the group set off at a steady trot away from the village.
~*~
Draco rode behind the banners that rode ahead of him, spacing himself from them so the dust kicked up by the horses. The smoke rose up in the sky, a white sinewy trail to the heavens. The caravan stopped and Draco dismounted, a knight greeted him on bended knee.
"No one survived, Your Majesty," he said grimly.
"The queen?" Draco asked. The knight was silent. Draco pursed his lips together. "Show me," he said stonily.
"Is this wise?" Snape strode up next to him. Draco didn't answer him and instead followed the knight to the burned carriage.
He saw a charred heap of what must have been the witch McGonagall, the queen's companion. Nearby was a blanket covering another body. The knight walked to this and gingerly lifted it. Draco winced. This body was charred as well…and beheaded. Draco nodded and looked up at the sky.
"My son?" he asked.
The knight shook his head. "There is no sign of him," he said.
Draco pursed his lips together and looked down at his murdered queen. "Who did this?" he asked.
"There were signs of an encampment not far from here but it is abandoned," the knight said.
Snape who had wandered off to examine the rest of the massacre had returned with something in his hand.
"What is it?' Draco asked as he approached him.
"I found this on the ground," he said slowly.
Draco took the object from Snape and unfurled it. His lips pursed together in a thin white line of rage. He turned and stormed toward his horse, mounting it. The entourage that accompanied him hustled to their horses to follow the king. Snape caught up with him as they rode to Rowena.
"Do you really think he would've done this?" he asked.
"The man has been angry that she accepted to be my queen. She has refused him countless of times. A jealous lover would go to any extreme," Draco said absolutely, afterall, he would know.
"What are you going to do?" Snape asked.
"What can I do?" Draco said bitterly. "The man has murdered my queen and stolen my heir." He looked down at the Gryffindor banner clenched in his fist.
~*~
Jason suddenly came to a halt, bringing the rest of the caravan to a stop. Hermione rode up next to him.
"What is it?" she asked.
He motioned for her to be quiet and listened for a sound Hermione couldn't pick out. "I'll be a moment," he said, turning his horse around.
"Jason? Jason are we in danger?" she asked, darting a look to Minerva who held her child.
Jason left her side and motioned for a few other knights to follow him as he backtracked over the field and into the forest behind them. Two knights stepped in to take his place next to Hermione. Hedwig tossed her head and pranced nervously.
"It'll be alright, Milady. He's just being cautious," one of them assured her.
Jason stopped just outside of the woods, peering into the dense forest. He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been having for a short while.
The feeling that they were being followed.
He looked to the knights that had accompanied him, they looked back at him for some sort of direction. Jason looked back at the queen, she was well protected. He drew his sword and urged his horse forward slowly with caution.
Harry watched Jason as he stepped into the trees, he watched as he left the two women behind with the other knights. Harry had split his group and sent only a handful into the woods that Jason was walking into. The rest of them waited on the other side of the field in the direction the others were heading toward. He had finally caught up with them earlier in the day and was now trying to cause chaos by separating Jason from the rest of the group. So far it had worked.
Hedwig once again pranced nervously and a feeling of unease settled into Hermione.
"Give James to me," she said to Minerva who carefully handed the babe over to her.
James fussed in his sling, protesting at being passed around when all he wanted to do was be rocked again. Hermione soothed him then looked around her. Jason had disappeared into the woods but she still had enough riders. Her hands tightened around the reigns.
Jason moved further into the woods, stopping to listen then moving forward again. He had just moved past the thick trunk of a tree when he suddenly felt a blade at his throat and a familiar voice.
"Stop where you are," Ron said quietly. "Don't move and don't yell."
He could see that Ron was on his horse. "So, you've been following us."
"You won't get away with it. The king won't let you," Ron said.
"And what, exactly, do you think I'm getting away with?" Jason hissed.
"You may have fooled the King with your false loyalty but you haven't fooled me. I will not let you betray him," Ron said through gritted teeth.
"You're right," Jason said lightly. "My loyalty does not lie with the King."
He brought his wrist up and knocked Ron's sword away from him, quickly bringing his own up to block Ron's blow.
Hermione jerked her head up when she heard the shout of men and the faint clinking of swords.
"No," Harry cursed when he heard the sounds as well. He watched as Hermione kicked into Hedwig and dart off in his direction. He didn't have time to move before Hedwig was upon him, she led Hermione directly to him.
"Harry!?" she said in shock and surprise.
She looked at him on his horse, surrounded by other knights, their swords drawn unprepared for what the Slytherin Knights were going to do. They surrounded the queen and drew their own swords.
"Drop your swords in the name of the Queen!" one of the Slytherin knights ordered.
"Drop yours in the name of the True King!" Neville shouted back.
Harry eyed the bundle in Hermione's arms. His son was with her.
"I do not want any blood shed here today. Please drop your weapons," Harry said.
Hermione looked around unsure. She didn't want a battle here as well but she had to get past Harry. At that moment, there was a crashing sound behind her and her cousin Ron appeared escorted with more Gryffindor knights in pursuit of Jason and the Slytherin knights that were with him. Jason took one look at the situation, the swords drawn on both sides and he darted to the Queen's side.
"He's a traitor, Harry! You cannot trust him! He admitted that he isn't loyal to you!" Ron accused Jason.
"I know that," Harry said patiently. He looked at Jason and Hermione. "It is very clear where his loyalty lies."
"I summoned them to me," Hermione explained to her cousin and Harry of the Slytherin knights' dissention. "They are to escort me to safe passage."
"Are you in danger?" Harry asked.
"Let us pass," Hermione insisted. "Be peaceful, you are in my realm."
"Unless you are stopping here, the Hufflepuff border is half a day's ride from here. That is where you are headed is it not?" Harry asked, eyebrow raised. Hermione looked away guiltily. The bundle in Hermione's sling moved and he heard a whimper and a chubby fist pop out. Harry so longed to see his son but now was not the time. He moved forward cautiously.
"Hermione, you know you can trust me to take you to safety," he said in a soft voice, looking at her as if they were the only two people in the woods. "I swear that no harm will come to you…or your child."
Hermione looked at Harry, the King he had become, the man she loved, the man she risked everything to protect. She had no choice, Harry wouldn't let her go and she wasn't sure if she wanted to leave him now that they had found each other again. But if Harry stayed with her, it was only a matter of time before he quickly discovered that he was James' father.
"Harry, I can't."
But it was a weak protest. She cursed to herself for her heart betraying her, longing to reach out and hold Harry in her arms once more.
"You know you don't really have a choice," he said softly. "The True King demands it."
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