Okay, this is a new record for me. My muse bit my ass about noon today and told me that I was writing two chapters today. I think the purpose in doing this is so that I'll have something to post while I'm gone next week at my college orientation. If I'm a day ahead of the postings, then I'll be able to keep up better, and with the judging starting in a little over a week, this is really crunch time to get everything finished. I'm even taking my laptop with me everywhere I go so that I can type in the car. Thank Merlin for the adaptor that allows me to charge the computer in the car. It's a Godsend.
I really liked the way the last chapter went. I thought it really came together nicely. It was serious at first with them deciding what was to be done, and then it got even darker with Voldemort and Lucius killing Scrimgeour, and then really light with the drunk scene. Which is where I'm opening here. I want to start off light, and then get more serious. I'm thinking that this chapter is going to focus on Nagini. Three more chapters until the battle I think. And then we'll just land on a few major events in the lives of our favorite people. It'll be great. I want to end somewhere other than the battle, so even if I run over with chapters, I don't care. I want to cover what I want to cover. Anyway, on with the story. I hope you enjoy.
Oh, and to my beta reader, I don't think you realized that there could ever be two chapters in one day. Sorry. But when my muse says write, I am helpless to do anything but write.
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Six men woke at almost the same time in five different rooms in two different places. Lupin woke cuddled up next to the dog he and Tonks had adopted, with their cat on his face. His wife was standing above him, cup of steaming anti hangover potion in her hand, looking at him sternly around her bulging stomach.
"Do anything stupid?"
Lupin shook his head and guzzled the potion, hopeful that it would burn the fur off of his tongue and make the room stop spinning. "Not that I recall. There was some singing, and then Harry broke Hermione's favorite vase and then Ron passed out and James thought he was Santa Claus and Hermione put Ron to bed and Draco screamed and we all joined in. He said that Hermione was an evil witch who killed Ronnikins. Then there was the whole baby thing. James told Lily that he wants seventeen more."
Tonks had immediate sympathy for the other woman. "Oh my."
"And then I said that I was going to go home and tell you that the alien you're about to deliver wasn't allowed to pee on me, or spit up on me, or keep me up at night, and a whole lot of other things, and then I passed out. Who brought me home?"
"Ginny. She was very genial about the whole thing. Lily and Hermione picked her up and they spent the night in Lily and James' new house."
"Oh, I bet the guys over there are having fun about now."
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Draco woke up when his head rolled off his shoulders and crashed onto the floor. Or, at least, that was what it felt like. Like he was dying and wanted to go a little quicker than he was. The room was rocking back and forth, and he seriously considered the reality that he was going to be sick. He pushed back the feeling, gripped his head with both hands and sat up. Very, very gingerly, he put his feet on the floor and noticed that he was wearing high heels.
Disgusted with himself, he kicked them off and debated on whether or not he was going to stand. He decided against it, and instead decided to try and remember if he'd done anything amazingly stupid. Or terrible. He tended to get a little wild when he was drunk.
No, nothing too bad. There had been singing, which was when he'd donned the heels, and the broken vase, and he'd called Ron Ronnikins, which was enough to make him puke. There had been a conversation about Ginny's legs during which Ron had been convinced Ginny was still a baby in need of a diaper change. That made him chuckle. Draco had thought Hermione was evil and had killed Ron, then he'd put her on the ceiling in the drunken discovery of his magical powers. There'd been a lot of screaming. That also made him laugh.
Oh God. He'd bit Hermione. Not hard, he didn't think, and that wasn't the worst thing in any case. He'd tried to kiss her and had ended up sticking his tongue up her nose. He decided right then that the hangover remedy could wait. He needed to brush his teeth. That was disgusting.
So he'd done nothing that needed to be apologized for, other than the whole Hermione thing. He'd buy her another vase, too, since he was the one who'd handed it to Harry during their drunken duet to a Muggle artist. Satisfied, he got out of bed and walked into the bathroom.
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Harry opened his eyes slowly. His head was the size of a beach ball. He was absolutely sure of that. He touch his head gently, relieved to find that that it was all in one piece. He struggled to remember what had happened the night before, and groaned.
He'd kissed Hermione and slobbered all over her, pranced around singing into her best vase, broken the same vase and had a conversation with Draco about Ginny's legs. He'd called himself a baby. Oh God, his parents wanted to have another baby. Seventeen was the number his father wanted, if he remembered correctly.
He'd kissed his mother. Harry retched, barely managed to keep from throwing up. He hadn't gotten all of her mouth though, thank Merlin. Mostly chin, he remembered. So, other than apologizing to his mother and buying Hermione a new vase, he had nothing to be sorry for.
Except for the hangover, he thought ruefully, stumbling into the bathroom, his head still in his hands. He had to get rid of the hangover. And quick. Before his head simply fell off and landed on the floor.
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Ron woke with a yelp. His head was exploding. He knew his head was going to explode if it wasn't in the process of exploding right that second. Convinced that he was going to die, he slowly made his way into the hall, hopeful that Hermione had a batch of hangover remedy in the kitchen. What he found was Sirius and James cuddling in the living room floor.
He found them by tripping over them. And sprawled on top of him was how Hermione and Lily found them when they Flooed into the living room. Hermione clapped her hands over her mouth, giggling, while Lily took charge of the situation.
"Ron, you go get in the shower Draco just vacated. James, Sirius, you two go to the house and get cleaned up. You'll all feel better when you get back, and that'll give me enough time to get the hangover stuff ready. We have work to do."
"Work? What kind of work?" Harry asked, walking down the stairs. He felt much more human now that he had showered and gotten dressed in jeans and a black T- shirt. Human enough that when he'd heard voices, he'd felt brave enough to try and maneuver the stairs. Seeing as he was still alive, it had gone well.
"Work that involves killing a snake." Lily said, handing her son the Daily Prophet. The article read. "Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour found murdered in his home late last night. Witnesses saw a giant snake slithering away from the Ministry and in the direction of Malfoy Manor. Aurors first on the scene confirmed that Scrimgeour had been killed before being placed in his home and that the Unforgivable Killing Curse had been used. It is believed that He Who Must Not Be Named is responsible for this tragic death."
"We have to go get her." Hermione said, starting work on the hangover remedy. "If she's even still there, she won't be for long, and there's no way we can know how to find her once she's gone."
"All right then. Let's go."
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Harry, Draco, Hermione, Ginny and Ron were going in together, and Lily, James, Sirius and Lupin were together. The five teenagers were going in the main entrance, and the adults were going in the back. They'd all used Hermione's Undetectable spell to Apparate through the wards and into the house. Draco took charge.
"Okay, they stay in the basement, and Voldemort rarely gets up before noon. He likes his sleep. That and he's typically up until nearly dawn with the Death Eaters. There're going to be guards at the door to the basement, more at the bottom of the steps, and still more at the door to Voldemort's suite. Harry, you and I will head directly there. We have the best chance of defeating that snake. Hermione, Ron and Ginny, we need you to take care of any Death Eaters in the basement, and trust me, there'll be plenty."
Draco opened the door and they moved quickly into the house. They were all becoming visible, and once they were detected, they wouldn't have much time. He led them to the kitchen, and they could see the two Death Eaters at the door. Not ready for confrontation yet, Harry aimed his wand.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Both Death Eaters fell to the ground, and the foursome was able to open the door. Two even bigger Death Eaters were waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Hermione took care of them. "Wingardium leviosa." She tossed her wand in one direction and they flew into the wall. She'd simply knocked them out.
Draco grabbed Harry's arm. "Let's go. We haven't got much time."
They took off for the door to Voldemort's suite, and Draco casually took both Death Eaters to their knees with the Cruciatus Curse. Harry was impressed that he'd managed to get both of them with one curse. Harry shouldered the door open, and Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Black, Crabbe, Goyle, their fathers, Millicent Bulstrode and Pansy Parkinson, met them.
"Well, well." Draco said, sneering. "A Slytherin reunion. I'm so glad you could all make it." His gray eyes shifted almost imperceptibly to the left, and Harry saw Nagini reared up off of a pillow she'd apparently been sleeping on. His gaze seemed to say, `get her. I'll handle them.'
Harry hesitated until he saw Sirius out of the corner of his eye. "Sirius!" he yelled, and ran dodging curses. One Cruciatus hit him, but his momentum kept him running until the pain became bearable. He tackled the snake. He had a feeling that the killing curse wouldn't work on her. It didn't normally affect animals.
Nagini was strong, and she was big. She was feet longer than Harry was tall, and she knew how to use that to her advantage. She lifted her fluid body so that he was suspended above the floor by about five feet. Then she jerked downward, thrashing him against the stone floor. His head rattled and his bones sang with pain, but he held on, flailing desperately for any weapon while they grappled on the floor. He could see Draco and Sirius fighting back to back and his brain registered foggily that he hadn't ever thought he would see that in a few million lifetimes.
Desperate for anything that he could use against the snake, Harry conjured a knife. A long one with a serrated edge and wicked looking blade. He stabbed at the snake, and found the skin tough as leather. He broke the blade, and only managed to produce a small amount of blood.
The Chamber of Secrets. The Basilisk had been a giant snake. He'd managed to pierce its belly with Godric Gryffindor's sword. That was it. He would kill Nagini the same way. It was only right. After all Salazar Slytherin had killed Godric Gryffindor. It would be fitting.
Struggling for breath, as the snake was on top of him and Harry honestly thought she weighed a ton, Harry grasped his wand tightly. "Accio Gryffindor's Sword!"
All activity stopped for a split second. Voldemort watched in horror as the sword flew into Harry's hand and was plunged into Nagini. The snake writhed, blood drenched Harry. She collapsed, dead, and Harry stood, faced the man who was the epitome of fear.
"You're the only one left. The diary, the ring, the cup, the locket, Nagini, the sixth, whatever it actually was. That's six. You're seven."
Voldemort nodded. "Better than I expected. You haven't killed me yet, boy, and nor will you ever. I am protected by thousands of followers who will lay down their lives for me. Can you say the same?"
Harry shook his head. "I don't need thousands."
To everyone's surprise, Draco stepped up beside Harry. "Not when he has us."
Lucius leered at his son. "You would dare align yourself with him?"
"I would."
"You will be punished."
"Looking forward to it." Draco said maliciously. There was a small pop as the Death Eaters all Apparated.
Hermione, Ginny, Lily, James and Lupin all rushed in. "Where'd they go?"
"They left. Apparated."
"And you let them go?" Ginny demanded.
Harry nodded. "We did what we came to do. The rest will wait. This will make him angry." He looked at his parents. "We need to get to the school. He'll attack there soon. He knows it's what will hurt the worst."
"We'll leave tonight."
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So, there you have it. Chapter 14. I hope you all enjoyed it. And it's only six o'clock. My muse is telling me I may just keep typing. If I manage three chapters today, I swear my fingers will fall off. Oh well. Such is the price I pay for my creativity. Don't forget to review and vote on August 15.
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