Disclaimer: All characters, events and references drawn from HP belong to J.K. Rowling, etc., respectively, everything else is my own invention.
FORESIGHT
PART NINE
Harry and Hermione walked slowly into the clearing, holding each others hand tightly. Their hearts were beating rapidly, the adrenaline kicking in as it should when the mind is faced with an overwhelming threat. There, before them, stood more Death Eaters than either of them had ever seen in one place. The strange feeling that had been nagging Harry since leaving Hogwarts had now been made painfully clear even beyond what he might have imagined.
There seemed to Harry to be at least two hundred, possibly more, of the black robed figures, most of whom were standing around the perimeter of the clearing, forming a barrier that would not be easy to penetrate. And the two of them did not have their wands, so the idea of fighting their way through, bare-fisted, was completely absurd. Even if they had their wands, Harry knew that they would barely make a dent in the dark wizards surrounding them, before being taken down themselves. But his mind, nevertheless, was going into overdrive trying to think of something he could do - wanting more than anything to get Hermione out of here.
The pang of guilt swept over him briefly again - he had gotten them into this mess. At least Ron was not here, though Harry felt both relief and regret at that too. He could really use his best friend's help right now. But if he hadn't made that careless slip of judgment back at Hogwarts, Hermione might not be presently in danger. His heart ached at the thought of her being hurt and even worse, dead, because of him. No!!! He could not lose her. She meant more to his life than he had ever imagined someone could. He had to think, had to find a way to get her out.
Several of the Death Eaters, who had caught them in the woods, were urging them toward the center of the clearing. When they finally reached it, the dark wizards returned to the perimeter, leaving the two of them alone in the midst of all those servants of Voldemort who were now watching them, talking amongst themselves and apparently waiting for something.
Hermione turned to Harry and drew him closer.
"Harry, I wanted you to know…" she stated with a sense of urgency, as though expecting an eminent disaster.
"It was you…I saw you in the Mirror of Erised," she went on, her expression one of deep affection. "You were holding me, like you did by the river…I just wanted you to know." She reached up and caressed his cheek, an intense longing in her eyes.
Harry stood still, taking in what she had said and everything that had happened between them over the past week. He then placed his arms around her and brought her face to his. He gave her a smile - he now understood. Looking at that beautiful face he loved so much, he wished the two of them were far away from here, away from this bloody war and all the chaos. Harry leaned in and kissed her strongly, tightening his embrace as though this would be the last time he ever did so. He felt her body give way under the intensity of the kiss and she tightened her grip on him, holding on as long as possible. He leaned back slightly, and simply placed his face next to hers, breathing heavily, taking that warmth in one more time.
No!!! This can't be it. This can't be the way it has to go. He never intended for this to happen and now the dread at what might befall them was bringing that deep pain back into his heart and mind.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the lovebirds," a sly sounding voice cracked at them.
Harry and Hermione both looked at each other, still embracing, then turned their heads to look at who was addressing them. But Harry knew that voice even without looking and loathed it as much as the one from whom it came. They saw three of the Death Eaters approaching them. The one in the middle, who had spoken, now removed his mask and hood. His shiny, black hair falling down around that thin face with the hooked nose.
"So, finally figured it out, did you?" Snape said with a little snarl. "Took you long enough. I thought I would go positively mad watching you two make eyes at each other, all those classes."
Harry's blood pressure shot up and his face became fiery red. He let go of Hermione and turned to face Snape, who promptly drew out his wand.
"You're going to pay for what you did, you coward!" Harry shot out sharply. "I swear it…"
Harry started to move toward Snape and punch his lights out, wand or not.
"Harry, no!" Hermione shouted at him, grabbing his coat sleeves and pulling him back. Harry resisted at first then finally gave in. He realized that despite his hatred for the man and what he did to Dumbledore, there was something more important to consider than simplistic revenge. Hermione needed him if she was to make it out of this alive.
Snape moved forward, his expression one of rage, placing the tip of his wand right between Harry's glasses. Harry didn't flinch, but stood defiantly, his own look one of intense anger.
"What's the matter, Potter? Don't have your wand? Don't have that fool Dumbledore to save you this time?" the Death Eater chided. Harry started again at those words, but then restrained himself. Snape leaned in a little closer to Harry's face, wand still pointed at him.
"If I wasn't under strict orders I would squash you myself...right now." Snape torted, his voice rising in disgust. He then drew back, stood up and withdrew his wand, placing it in his pocket.
"As it is, I am going to enjoy watching you finally die tonight, Potter. I have, after all, been waiting far too long for it," Snape threw in, turning and walking away with the other Death Eaters.
Harry's angry face turned to one of exhaustion. His head dropped and he closed his eyes, breathing heavily again. He had never felt so helpless before. What could he do? Hermione stepped up and placed her arm around him, giving him a worried look.
"Hermione…I am so sorry for all this," Harry began to tell her, sounding almost defeated. "I never wanted to put you in danger. If I hadn't been so stupid…"
"Harry, don't," Hermione responded. "Don't let that bother you anymore. You need every bit of strength right now. And I need you with me, all of you. I told you last summer that I would stick with you no matter what and I don't regret that even now. We'll get through this together, somehow. We always have."
Harry wished he could believe her, but everything seemed to just continue heading downhill, out of control, and beyond his ability to do anything about it. He really wanted Ron here with them, but he hoped that Ron had somehow found out about what had happened and was going for help. They needed every bit they could get right now.
Suddenly, they were startled to hear that popping sound again and swung around. They both felt a sense of hope for the first time at seeing Fred, George and Ginny disapparate behind them, the three holding their wands out and pointing them at any Death Eater that might try and make a move. The three of them then fanned out around Harry and Hermione in a gesture of protection.
"Are you two alright?" Fred asked them.
"We're okay, for now," Harry stated. "Fred, can you apparate with Hermione out of here?"
"Harry, no!" Hermione interrupted, perturbed at the suggestion she leave him, giving him an angry look. Harry frowned back at her, his eyes sinking.
"Nothin' doing, I'm afraid, Harry," Fred replied. "Can't apparate in or out of the field, remember?"
"But how did you…" Harry asked with a questioning look.
"Had to sneak up behind those smelly gits," George answered.
Both Harry and Hermione noticed that the Death Eaters around the clearing had not moved to disarm Fred, George or Ginny. None of them had even taken a step forward after the commotion. They simply stood watching the five of them, waiting. Harry figured that either something big was about to happen or Voldemort's servants felt secure in their numbers.
"Do any of you have a plan to get us out of this mess?" Hermione now asked intently, almost blaming the twins for creating the mess to begin with.
"We're working on it," Fred told her. "But seeing as we're quite outnumbered…" He never finished.
Harry suddenly cried out, falling to his knees, his face contorted in pain. The other four were astonished, looking down at him. Harry reached up and placed a hand on his forehead - his scar was burning badly. Hermione practically leapt down beside him, trying to find a way to help him get through it, but Harry was reeling from the intensity. He thought his head was going to split in two, but then the realization hit him - this could mean only one thing.
The five of them looked up at the crowd of Death Eaters gathered at the edge of the clearing near the woods in front of them. Suddenly a number of them began to step aside, leaving a large gap between them. Snape and the two wizards on either side of him, stood in place several yards from the gap, their backs to the five teenagers, and looking into the dark woods behind. Eternal moments passed and Harry, still a little dizzy from the pain in his head, saw the silhouettes of several figures appearing from out of the woods. Harry's heart stopped. Proceeding them was the Dark Lord himself.
No sooner had Voldemort touched the edge of the clearing, than every Death Eater inside fell to one knee and bowed before him. Voldemort walked directly over to Snape and the two wizards who were also bowing. As soon as the evil wizard stopped, Snape stood up and they exchanged words, briefly. Harry saw Voldemort nod his head, and Snape quickly bowed his and motioned to the other two Death Eaters to follow him. They then took their place with the others at the perimeter, the gap once again closed.
The pain began to sear in his head again as Voldemort looked directly at Harry and began walking in his direction. The thin, inhuman looking wizard with the snake-slit nose and dark red eyes stopped, gazing over at the others and then looking back at Harry. Harry now felt a continuing, dull headache pulsing every so often. The tension was thick in the air and every soul inside the clearing waited breathlessly, wondering what would happen next.
"WELCOME TO OUR PARTY, HARRY!" Voldemort shouted, with a wicked smile. He lifted up his arms in a mock gesture of greeting.
There erupted a roar of laughter from the dark wizards surrounding them. To Harry this seemed eerily reminiscent of their previous encounter in the graveyard almost 3 years ago. But this one was ten times the scale.
"And once again, you are the guest of honor," the Dark Lord continued, with twisted sarcasm. "In fact, I'm throwing this one for you Harry…it's your farewell party. And believe me, this time you are going away for good." He spoke that last phrase with solemn disdain.
Harry finally stood up, his mind trying to cope with the burning and trying to figure out what he could do. Hermione leaned close to him, grabbing his arm with both of her hands. He looked at her briefly, watching her roll her eyes and shaking her head at Voldemort's inane party allusions.
"But before the festivities begin, I have a little parting gift for you," Voldemort said with a smirk, then raised one hand and motioned to someone behind him without turning around.
The gap in the Death Eaters opened again and two more black robed figures walked forward from the woods. Harry screwed up his eyes to try and see what they were bringing in their arms, but he could only tell that it was heavy enough that it required both of them to carry it. As they grew closer, a shiver ran down Harry's spine at the realization that it was a body. The two wizards then passed Voldemort and stopped several yards before Harry and Hermione and callously dropped the body on the ground, it's limp form collapsing like a tailor's dummy into the grass.
Harry felt Hermione's grip on his arm tighten, almost excruciatingly. At the same time, a shock of terror ran through him. They both stood fixed in a state of disbelief at the sight before them.
"RON!!!" they shouted simultaneously, dropping to the ground next to his body as fast as humanly possible, Harry on one side and Hermione on the other. Another roar of laughter filled the night sky from the Death Eaters around them.
No! No! No! This can't be happening now, Harry shouted to himself, looking at the still body of his best friend. His heart was beating rapidly again, trying to cope with the intense feeling of loss before him. Hermione was already in tears, gripping Ron's arm and trembling.
"Ron…" she managed to utter in a broken voice.
Ron's usually white skin seemed even paler and lifeless in the moonlight that continued to invade the clearing, but there were no apparent external wounds on his body. Harry's head was still aching from the pain in his scar, but he barely noticed it. Things simply were getting even worse all the time. He desperately searched for some sign of life in his friend, checking his pulse or for some indication of breathing. Then suddenly he noticed it.
A wave of relief swept through him almost as a shock. He looked at Hermione, trying with his expression to communicate with her - Ron was still alive, but barely. She seemed to acknowledge him, her body beginning to relax a little. They did not want Voldemort to know, they could not afford to give him any more leverage than he already had. Harry was so glad that his friend was still alive, though for how much longer he could not tell.
"I must confess, Potter, that I was rather impressed with your friend Weasley's determination," Voldemort spoke. "He bested three of my Death Eaters with his bare hands before we took him down. Not bad for a stupid kid, though probably better with his hands than with a wand, I dare say." Another cackle of laughter came from the crowd.
The two of them continued to look down at Ron's unconscious body in the silent moments that followed. Then suddenly, Harry realized that something wasn't right. He slowly turned to his right to look at Fred, George and Ginny, standing several yards away from them. The three of them had a blank look on their faces, just standing there, wands lowered and looking at Harry and Hermione. Hermione must have read his mind, for she too was staring at the trio.
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU THREE?" she yelled at them, Harry also feeling a swell of anger rise up inside.
But that anger was quickly stifled. He now felt a sickening feeling in his stomach. The two of them watched in horror as Fred turned to look at George and Ginny, and they turned to look at Fred, huge smiles breaking across their faces which now let out torturous laughter as they turned and gazed down at the three friends on the ground. 'Oh no,' Harry thought. His eyes closed momentarily at the terrible realization that was now dawning on him. His mind raced back - back to what he had been feeling for the past day in the back of his brain but until now did not understand.
Their guest rooms at Hogwarts ransacked, by someone who knew the password. Ginny had been there. A couple of days before the theft, she had gotten the password from Ron to get something out of his backpack for him. No. He couldn't believe it.
The attack on the school as a diversion to get to the three of them and the almost 'miraculous' appearance of Fred, George and Ginny to help them escape.
Ron and Harry's amazement at Ginny's excellent fighting ability with a wand. How could a sixth year have learned to duel like that, so fast?
And then there was Ginny's behavior. Harry felt stupid now that he had not noticed something amiss at her warming up to him so quickly again after her cold manner before.
The portkey, taking them who knows how many miles from Hogwarts and nowhere near the Burrow. The three had never intended taking them to the Burrow.
Harry's heart continued to sink at the memories which were caving in any hope he had of getting through tonight.
He remembered Fred and George's words:
"…we're not too far now…"
"…we've still got some surprises left…"
"…get some rest, Harry, you'll need it…"
Ron had apparently noticed something was wrong, but didn't know what it was. He, like Harry and Hermione, had simply accepted what they saw at face value. And the emotional roller coaster that Hermione and himself had been on all night had blinded their usual acuteness in similar situations.
It had been a trap. They had been set up for this from the moment they had fled Hogwarts. As much as Harry hated Voldemort, he couldn't help but be somewhat impressed by the Dark Lord's cunning this time.
They were in the middle of nowhere. No one knew where they were. They had no wands and Ron was down. They were surrounded by Death Eaters and Voldemort himself, inside of the Invitalis Field. No one could apparate in or out. Anyone looking at it directly would not see them, they would only see an empty and peaceful, moonlit glen. Unless, of course, they happened to notice the sparkling effect. But even if they did, upon entering it, they would be overwhelmed by numerous highly trained dark wizards in a matter of seconds.
The trap had been shut and they were totally alone inside of it. No one was coming to their rescue…