A/N: My god, I never realized how dependent I am on internet service until I've been without it for a few days. For those of you who commented in reviews about the big move, it went great! The new apartment is fantastic, so much better than what I used to be in, and it's just very, very wonderful. I've gone from renting a room in a house and sharing the common areas with everyone else to having my very own apartment with my own kitchen and living room and whatnot, and I couldn't be happier. Not to mention my desk-Harry Potter fanfiction central!-is now clean, organized, and in a much better location so when I sit down to write, I feel much more productive. And you know what that means? Better, longer chapters: faster! :D
Somewhat good news, I guess. Though with the inclusion of this chapter my outline says there's 5 chapters left plus epilogue, it's going to be 6 again. Everything I planned to have happen in this chapter would make it twice its current length (a whopping 6299 words), and I figured everyone would rather have the update now rather than later when I finish writing it.
And on that note, on to the disclaimer! And just as a forewarning, don't take my making fun of Captain Jack Sparrow's appearance the wrong way-he's the sole reason for my pirate fetish. :D
Disclaimer:
"Please, please, please don't change me again!" whines Lang-Captain-Jack-Sparrow. He is clearly enjoying his time as a dashing pirate who has no trouble getting into women's knickers. "For once I actually like who you've turned me into! I'm suave and debonair, and despite the absurdity of my hair and teeth, and the fact that my eyeliner makes me look like a raccoon, women want me!"
He pauses, realizing that Crystal hasn't written scores of women flinging themselves at him.
"You need the accent, Will." She says, removing her wand and preparing to cast. "Unfortunately the fact that you were born in England doesn't help. Living in Canada all these years ruined any opportunity you had for sounding like a British gentleman. No matter, however. I can take care of that."
A few flicks of her wand and Lang feels his appearance transforming once again. His teeth repair, his hair becomes shorter, and his clothing is a better fit.
"You didn't." he says, almost afraid to look down. He is dressed in boots, fitted trousers, a clean linen shirt that exposes his chest, and a proper thigh-length jacket. His hair hangs just past his chin, and there is a sword and scabbard at his hip.
"Please to meet you, Will Turner." The author grins.
Lang-Turner bites back a groan. "What good does this do me? Elizabeth kisses Jack on the ship! Not me!"
"Are you ever satisfied?" Crystal sighs exasperatedly.
He shakes his head. "Not until you let me be me!"
"Say the words, Lang. I'll change you back."
Stomping his foot to demonstrate his less-than-enthusiastic mood, he says "Harry Potter does not belong to Crystal. She does this for enjoyment because she has no life. Furthermore, she-"
"That's enough."
Lang-Turner stands expectantly, waiting for the change.
Minutes pass.
Nothing.
"Oy! What the hell, woman?"
"I lied." She says with a grin.
<><><><><>
As they watched Ginny collapse in tears to the floor, Hermione struggled to hold Ron and Harry back from passing the magical barrier. "Give it a minute," she said, half-tempted to use a Body Binding Hex on the both of them.
"That's my baby sister in there!" Ron fumed. "She thinks she's just sent Harry off to die and you won't let me go in there?"
Harry shot Hermione a pleading look, but stayed where he was.
Hermione shook her head. "We have to make sure that our plan worked. The pair of you are too emotional right now, and sending Harry in there is just insane unless we know for sure that she's okay. I'm going in there. You're not."
Ron opened his mouth to argue but Hermione's non-verbal magic was quicker than his tongue. With a silencing spell effectively in place, he was reduced to opening and closing his mouth with no other result.
With nothing more than a shrug from Harry, she crossed the barrier into the room. As she approached Ginny where she lay crumpled on the floor, Hermione cleared her throat to make herself known.
Ginny looked up, her eyes bloodshot and her nose running. "H-Hermione?"
She nodded, and knelt down on the floor. "Ginny, I know I'm not your favourite person right now, but I need you to answer some questions for me, okay?"
Ginny nodded, but her face fell and she burst into tears once more. "I killed him, Hermione! I killed Harry Potter!"
Hermione sighed, pushed aside any resentment she held for the younger witch, and embraced her. "It's okay, Gin. I understand. I know."
"It's that horrible potion that V-Voldemort made me drink! It made me do things, Hermione! It made me come after you and Harry, it made me send him straight into his lap!"
The redhead stopped abruptly, a hand fluttering up to cover her mouth. Her eyes went wide with realization and horror.
Hermione held her closer, and muttered a soft freshening charm for Ginny's soggy features. "I know it wasn't you, Ginny. It's alright."
"No, Hermione, you don't understand! I can talk about it again! That means it worked, that means that Harry's gone to Voldemort and his stupid plan worked and the potion got what it wanted, and that means that-that-"
"That I'm safe and alive?"
Both Ginny and Hermione swung around at the sound of Harry's voice. Both he and Ron were standing just outside of the barrier.
Ginny's mouth hung open in shock, and Hermione did not look impressed.
Before Hermione could decide how to deal with Harry's premature entrance from behind the barrier, Ginny shot up from the floor, across the Room, and straight into Harry's arms. He was knocked to the floor with a loud thump as Ginny threw herself at him.
Harry struggled to sit up under the redhead's weight, all the while returning her hug.
"But how? You're here, but you were there, and now-I saw you go! I saw the Portkey activate!" Ginny spluttered.
Standing and extending a hand to help Ginny do the same, Harry beamed fondly at Hermione. "Our Hermione here is a lot smarter than we give her credit for. Brightest witch of her age doesn't even come close, I reckon."
Ginny's eyes darted from Harry to Hermione, over to Ron, and back to Harry. "I-I don't understand."
Ron stepped forward then, and guided Ginny away from Harry, gently helping her back into her seat at the table. The Room sensed the need for a more comfortable environment and with an outward rippling effect; it became a replica of the Gryffindor common room. "Let's start from the beginning, shall we?" he said, getting comfortable in the chair-turned-sofa. "From what we know, when you ran away, you were captured by Voldemort. He gave you the Obeir potion, and the instructions to go after Harry and bring him back with a Portkey. If you did something wrong, it would hurt you. If you failed entirely, the potion would kill you."
Gulping, Ginny nodded. "Snape gave me the potion."
Harry felt a stronger surge of hatred for the beak-nosed greasy former Professor than he ever had before. Killing Dumbledore was one thing but forcing an underage witch to take a potion against her will in order to send the man she loved to her death was another thing entirely. Harry had thought that Snape might be above certain things, but no longer felt that way.
"You found Hermione and Harry in Godric's Hollow, managed to spit out some cryptic sort of sentence, and they brought you to Madame Pomfrey when you passed out. Somehow they found out that getting completely smashed would throw the potion off enough for you to go after something resembling Harry rather than Harry himself." Ron continued.
Ginny's expression changed into confusion. "So if Harry is here, who'd you Polyjuice to send in his place?"
Hermione stepped into the conversation. "We didn't Polyjuice anyone, Ginny. That would be wrong. As much as there are several people who some of us would be willing to do that to-" Here she shot a look at Harry, "-that is something that nearly no human being deserves to be put through. Besides, I think you dismissed Ron's use of semantics. He said something, not someone."
"It was a duelling dummy," Harry admitted, joining them in front of the roaring fire. "I'd animated him to spar with me in the Room while it looked like a duelling chamber, and when Hermione came in and watched she came up with the idea."
"But…how?" Ginny asked.
Hermione launched into a rather long and quickly spoken rant about the intricacies of the spells and transfigurations she used for nearly three minutes before Ron held up a hand to stop her. "Lemme do this. You're rambling."
Throwing up her hands in defeat, Hermione took Harry's hand and went off to a squashy looking chair in the far corner, leaving Ron to explain to his sister Hermione's spellwork in layman's terms. She and Harry made themselves comfortable in the overly large chair, entwining their fingers together.
"I'm glad you're okay," Hermione whispered, nibbling at her lower lip. "Imagine if we hadn't come up with the dummy idea, and Ginny had somehow gotten the Portkey to you, and you ended up face to face with Voldemort again…"
Harry wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and pulled her close. "It's not like I haven't faced him before, love. But I know why you were worried."
She nuzzled her face into Harry's neck and sighed. "I'm just relieved that we found a way around it. What if-what if you ended up with the Portkey and you didn't come back?"
He cupped her face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes. "I'll always come back to you, Hermione Granger. Always. I promise."
Dipping his head, Harry captured her lips with his own. His right hand threaded into her hair while his left drifted to her hip. She tentatively brushed the tip of her tongue against the seam of his lips and they parted, granting her access to his mouth. Their tongues danced as they held each other close, almost as if Harry was about to willingly take the Portkey from Ginny and meet Voldemort face to face once more.
Suddenly there was a very forceful pair of hands added to the mix as Ginny attempted to pry them apart.
"Get off of him, you slag!" she screamed, her face red with fury and her hair flying wildly about her head. Her brown eyes were flashing with a fiery anger reminiscent of her hair colour, and she was desperately pushing her right hand at Harry's shoulders and her left at Hermione's. Withdrawing her wand from inside her robes, she held it and prepared to hex them both.
Harry pinned her with a glare to the far wall of the Room, and Hermione felt a strange sense of satisfaction watching the redhead flying backwards from Harry's impressive display of wandless magic.
"That's enough, Ginny." He said coldly, standing from the chair. His hair crackled with the pure energy of his magic and his green eyes were a blazing fire that would rival the best of the Floo network. Hermione stood to join him, her right shoulder just an inch or so behind his left in a display of her backing him in whatever he was about to do.
"Harry, don't you see what she's doing to you?" Ginny pleaded, pretending that he wasn't holding her to the wall with nothing more than a stare. "She's no good for you! Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, the Golden Couple of the Wizarding World; it sounds ridiculous! Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley has such a wonderful ring to it, you can't deny that. You and me, we're good together, Harry. I know you enjoyed yourself last year, stealing away to snog in broom cupboards with me when no one was looking."
Harry continued to glare at her, his eyes scorching her very soul. And yet he still said nothing.
"I love you, Harry," Ginny declared desperately. "I always have! I've loved you ever since I was a little girl. It was supposed to be you and me, Harry! Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, one big happy Weasley-Potter family filled with big white weddings and loads of little babies with messy black hair with brown eyes, and bushy red hair with blue eyes. That's how it was supposed to be, Harry! Why can't you see that? Ginny Weasley loves Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley loves Hermione Granger. You and me, Harry! Not you and her!"
Ron cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Um, Harry? I know you're not going to want to hear this…"
He turned and fixed his stare on Ron, though Ginny remained pinned to the wall.
"But I always thought things would turn out the way Ginny thought they would. After sixth year, and all that tension between me and Hermione, and Dumbledore's funeral when she came to me instead of you… I thought it would be me and her, you know? And you were already dating my baby sister, so aside from the part where you were prophesied to be part of a fight to the death, could I ask for a better bloke for her? Ron and Hermione, Harry and Ginny. That's how we always thought it was supposed to be."
Ron said his piece with sadness and resignation in his voice rather than Ginny's passionate fury. His shoulders slumped as he told his best mate what he didn't want to hear.
"You promised you were going to come back to me, Harry! After the war! You promised! You told me at the funeral that it wasn't safe for you to be with anyone romantically, that you were a marked man with a price on your head and legions of Death Eaters after you. You told me that it was for my own safety that we not be together because you were scared that they'd torture me to get to you, and here you are with her! You think they won't use her? They wouldn't think twice! I'm sure Dolohov would love to get his hands on her again. I'm a pureblood, Harry! She's a Mudblood! Nothing but a Muggleborn and they wouldn't hesitate for a second to tie her up and beat her. You promise me that you're going to come back to me and then you're stooping low enough to be with her?!"
You're showing considerable restraint, love, all things considered.
I could say the same for you.
"I should've seen this coming, you know?" Ron sighed, pulling up a chair next to Ginny. "I mean, who am I? I'm just Ronald Bilius Weasley, youngest son who gets secondhand everything. Who am I to compete with the Great Harry James Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, Saviour of the Wizarding World, and The Chosen One? Of course Harry Potter gets everything he wants. He doesn't have to work a day in his life, probably never will. Just ends up with vaults upon vaults that are nearly bursting at the seams with gold. He sneezes and it makes the Daily Prophet, for Merlin's sake. He doesn't go to the press; the press comes to him panting heavier than Fang at the prospect of just the smallest word to quote. Harry Potter could say `Hi!' and end up with the cover of Witch Weekly! Of course Harry Potter gets everything. He gets the money. The fame. The recognition. The power. And the one thing that I want, the one thing that I thought Harry couldn't have… he gets. He gets Hermione."
"You're not happy until you've taken everything you can from the Weasley family, are you, Harry?" Ginny spat, growing angry. "You take my mother's love, nearly my father's life, Bill's a werewolf thanks to you, Percy's ignoring us because we're associated with you, you take my heart and break it, and then you take Ron's girlfriend, too?"
"I haven't taken anything that wasn't freely given," said Harry, finally speaking. "Your mother loved me because she chose to. Arthur joined the Order of his own free will, as did Bill. Percy made the choice to disown his family because of me, I didn't ask him to. You gave me your heart, Ginny. I didn't ask for it, nor did I take it. It was there, out in the open, with neither of us laying claim to it. And I didn't take Hermione from Ron. She left the Burrow on her own, neither of you wanted to come with her. She came to me, to help me like a best friend does."
The Room remained silent for a few moments, and Harry was surprised that Hermione was quiet as well. Every single one of them was glaring daggers at one another.
"Ron, I'm sorry that you feel that I've taken Hermione from you." Said Harry, ignoring Ginny's cries of protest. "From what I could see, there was no relationship to wreck in the first place. I'm sorry, Ron, but Hermione and I are together now. I love her. I'm not letting her go."
Ginny emitted a loud scream of rage. "I can't believe this!" she shouted. "You!" Stabbing a finger in Hermione's direction, Ginny turned a deeper shade of red and continued ranting. "You got your claws into him somehow and I'm willing to bet that it was dark magic! You used a spell on him, you found a way to make him yours, and you-you-"
"What, do you think I'm Merope Gaunt, or something? Stooping to the level of Amortentia to get the handsome love of my life to notice and fall for pathetic little old me? Resorting to drugging an innocent man to get what I want? I'm not desperate enough to try something like that, Ginny. But I think you are. In fact, I know you are." Said Hermione scathingly, stepping out from behind Harry and across the room so that she was at eye level with the younger witch. "A love potion is not real love, Ginevra. It's a potion-induced infatuation with temporary results. And I've absolutely had it with your meddling in our relationship. Why can't you accept that Harry doesn't love you? Why can't you understand that it's me he wants to be with?"
Ginny held out her chin defiantly. "I love him, and I always will. Ginevra Molly Potter; one of these days…"
"Harry," said Hermione in a daring tone, "let her down."
"Um, is that really such a good idea, love?" he responded nervously, catching Ron's gaze. Even if they were at odds over their current love interest, they were still in agreement that what was about to happen was not very safe. Or wise. Or a brilliant idea in general.
"Don't make me ask again, Harry." She said threateningly, not even bothering to turn and look at him.
Ginny fell to the ground in an instant; she barely had a chance to brace herself for the fall. She slowly lifted her head to glare at Hermione.
"I challenge you to a duel, Ginny Weasley. For honour, and for love." She said, taking a deep breath. Ginny rose to her feet, and nodded as she faced Hermione.
"And for Harry." Added Ginny.
The boys turned to face first each other, and then the girls. "What?" they both exclaimed.
"For Harry." Agreed Hermione.
I don't know if I should be flattered or frightened.
I can take care of myself, Harry. But you'd better get Ron and yourself behind a barrier like the one I made earlier.
The Room transformed into the duelling chamber that Hermione had walked into the day before, with Ginny and Hermione standing in the centre of the platform. Raising their wands, they bent slightly at the waist in the form of a bow. They turned back-to-back, wands out, and walked to the end of the platform. Five paces. Four.
"Is this really necessary?" asked Ron frantically, surprised that Harry wasn't trying to stop this. Three paces.
Two paces. "Yes," said Hermione evenly as she reached the end of the platform, "It is."
"It's the only way I can get Harry back," said Ginny, turning on her heel to face the centre.
Ron let out a derisive snort, and then quickly covered his face to hide it.
Ginny didn't even bother to turn her head. "Thanks for the support, Ron."
He shrugged, slowly turning the infamous Weasley red. "Sorry, Gin, but it's Hermione! Cor, even Harry is scared of her when she's right pissed, and what do you think she is now?"
She shrugged, and narrowed her gaze on the brunette witch at the opposite end of the duelling platform. "She's a bloody slag is what she is. A dark magic practicing slag."
At Hermione's end of the platform, Harry was standing next to her, prepared to take her robes. "Not that you'll need it, but good luck," he whispered, winking at her. Hermione nodded in acknowledgement, and shrugged off her robes, flinging them into Harry's waiting arms. She was wearing a tight fitting pair of dark green velour track pants and a form-fitting white polo t-shirt. Removing a black hair elastic from her wrist she tied her mane into a ponytail at the top of her head, and a few curly strands escaped to curl around her face. Her short-sleeved shirt showed off her toned arms, and her snug clothing left little to the imagination. Harry was beginning to appreciate the exercise room back in Godric's Hollow even more than before.
At the opposite end Ginny removed her robes and handed them to Ron, leaving her in a worn pair of denim jeans and a faded charcoal grey t-shirt. Her skin was pale and she was definitely not as physically strong as Hermione. She copied Hermione's idea of tying back her hair, and assumed a duelling stance.
Hermione did the same, and winked at Harry. "Love, since you're the reason for this match, would you care to officiate?"
"Wands at the ready," he said, as both girls readjusted their stances with their wands out. "On three then. One, two-"
"Expelliarmus!" cried Ginny, aiming her spell at Hermione's chest and hoping to catch her off guard.
Hermione was expecting this, however, and responded with a shield that allowed the disarming spell to harmlessly bounce off. "Taking a page out of Snape's book, are you? Are you sure that potion is all he slipped you?" taunted Hermione, moving into stance to cast another spell. "Stupefy!"
Ginny spun and the spell shot just past her elbow, nearly grazing her skin. "Immobulus!"
"Protego!"
"Rictumsempra!"
"Reducto!" yelled Ginny, aiming for Hermione's wand arm.
"Oi!" interrupted Harry. "No need to blow off any body parts or the likes, keep the damage to a minimum, would you?"
Ginny nodded, but replied, "It's not like it got precious ickle Hermione anyway. I'd think that the brightest witch of her age would be able to block a silly little spell like that one."
Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Oh, I'll show you a silly little spell!" She aimed her wand and her non-verbal Stunner hit Ginny with such force that, despite her hastily constructed shield, she fell straight back on her arse in the centre of the duelling platform.
She began to cackle at what she thought was the hilarity of the situation, her eyes screwed shut with the intensity of her laughter. "Her-Hermione, please tell me you're j-joking! That's the best you've g-got?" said Ginny through her side-splitting chuckles. Opening her eyes, she found herself surprised. Hermione was nowhere to be found. Not to her left, her right, or even directly in front of her. Suddenly she felt the tip of a wand pressed into her neck, just below her chin and right next to her jugular.
"Yes, Ginny. It is. Now drop your wand. It's over." Whispered Hermione into Ginny's ear. Amidst Ginny's laughter, she missed the near-silent crack of Hermione's utilisation of her house elf Apparition abilities, and was entirely unaware of the older witch's presence directly behind her.
The redheaded witch was clearly frightened.
"Told you she was scary when she was mad." Said Ron, holding back a chuckle. Though he loved his sister dearly, it was more than amusing to watch her get knocked on her arse.
Ginny's wand fell to the platform with a clatter, and with a silent Incarcerous from Hermione; Ginny was bound by ankles and wrists. Hermione stooped to retrieve the wand, and came face to face with Ginny.
"I won." Said Hermione, her cold stare causing the younger girl to shiver. "We duelled, for honour, for love, and for Harry. You lost, Ginny. It's over. Harry and I are together, and you need to deal with that."
Her hard gaze softened, and she released Ginny from her bindings. She began to rub her wrists where the ropes had tied them, bringing the feeling back. "You think you've won, Hermione, but one of these days Harry will wake up and realize that you're nothing but a boring bookworm, and he'll come back to me. I know he will."
Snatching her wand from the brunette's grasp, Ginny turned on her heel and stormed out of the Room of Requirement. Harry could have sworn that she was so mad there was steam bursting from her ears, but he wisely remained silent.
Hermione turned her focus expectantly on Ron, and Harry followed suit.
The lanky redhead threw up his hands in defeat. "Hey, I'll get over it. Thick-skinned, hardheaded Weasley, remember? It hurts, yeah, but I should've seen it coming. Just…don't expect me to be all Ron Weasley, Comic Relief for a bit, alright?"
Harry clapped his friend appreciatively on the back, and smiled at him. "You're taking this fairly well, Ron."
He shrugged. "Bound to happen anyway, innit? Honestly," he scoffed in a perfect imitation of Hermione, "even a blind person can see that you two should be together. Just wish I'd realized it sooner, is all."
Hermione crossed the distance between the three of them, and wrapped Ron in a hug. "I'm sorry," she said, squeezing him tightly, "but really, it's better that we deal with this now rather than later. We still have to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, and Harry and I can't do that all by ourselves."
Ron nodded, and Harry came over to join the hug. "'Course not," he grinned, "Without my brilliant brains and strapping good looks, well; what are you two without me? We're the Golden Trio, not the Golden Duo. Just doesn't sound as good."
"That's the spirit," chuckled Harry.
With that, the trio left the Room in search of Ginny, as well as Arthur and Molly Weasley.
<><><><><>
When Nymphadora Tonks approached McGonagall's office, the last thing she expected to hear was the Weasleys raging voices from inside. She was only able to catch a few words; something about a potion, Ginny, and Voldemort. With the help of an Extendable Ear she'd nicked from the twins, she was privy to the rest of the conversation.
As she listened intently at the door, her companion shot her a steely cold glare. "Didn't you know that it's rude to eavesdrop on private conversations?" he asked haughtily.
She flicked him a look that said `Shut it or I'll hex you', which had the proper effect.
A few moments later, and his curiosity got the best of him. "Oh alright, what's going on in there?"
"From what I've been able to gather, Voldemort slipped Ginny a potion that forced her to go after Harry. Arthur and Molly are trying to figure out what's going on, and they thing there's something Minerva isn't telling them."
He looked taken aback at her explanation.
"What?" asked Tonks.
"Didn't think you'd actually tell me," he replied.
She shrugged and tossed her vibrantly pink hair over her shoulder. "It's not like you've anyone to run off and tell, now, is it?" She raised her hand and knocked on the door, three times in rapid succession.
The heavy wooden door swung open, and they walked in.
McGonagall was seated behind her desk and was carefully surveying the responses of Arthur and Molly Weasley, who were quite red in the face and more than worked up. The Weasleys were barely in their chairs, and looked like they were about to burst from containing their anger.
Tonks had to admit that Arthur looked fairly calm compared to Molly, who was on the edge of her seat and muttering under her breath. Had the circumstances not been so serious, Tonks might have laughed.
"Ahh, Tonks, to what do we owe this pleasure?" asked McGonagall cordially.
Her companion stepped out from behind her, his eyes barely meeting those of the Headmistress.
"I have someone who has valuable information for our cause," said Tonks, pushing him forward. "He was willing to speak with you, as we'd discussed earlier. Well, go on then."
The Weasleys stared at him in disbelief. "You can't be serious," said Arthur.
"On the contrary, I'm very serious. Hear him out, Arthur."
Before he had a chance to speak, Ginny Weasley came crashing through the door. "Mum! Dad!" she exclaimed, taking no notice of the office's three other occupants. Molly swept her into a rib-crushing embrace, while Arthur simply looked on. He waited his turn for his wife to stop smothering their only daughter, and hugged Ginny.
After a few minutes of rejoicing and reuniting, Ginny turned to face McGonagall. As she opened her mouth to inform her of what had just taken place in the Room of Requirement, her warm brown eyes met cold grey ones.
"You," she seethed, glaring for all she was worth.
"Oh shut it, Red, I'm not here for you." He said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
"Then what the hell are you doing here?"
"Yeah, what the hell are you doing here?" asked Harry, who along with Ron and Hermione had just entered McGonagall's office.
"Potter," he acknowledged, barely keeping the venom from his tone.
"Malfoy," said Harry, returning the icy stare.
Ron and Hermione shared a look. This was not going to be good. Hermione carefully took a position behind Ron, to stay as far from the Slytherin as possible.
"Shouldn't you be in hospital?" asked Ron, taking note of Draco's wand arm. "Could've sworn that Harry nearly killed you."
Malfoy continued to glare at Harry. "It's amazing the things magic can heal," he said, pushing up his sleeve.
Though Harry had carefully cauterized the wound at his shoulder, somehow the Healers at St. Mungo's had managed to attach the wizarding equivalent of a prosthetic limb. For all intents and purposes it functioned like a real arm, but without the blood, veins, and muscle tissue to keep it working.
"Oh, so your new arm just magically led you back into Hogwarts, then?" said Harry, eyeing him disdainfully. It did not escape the adults in the room that his hand was resting on his wand holster, more than prepared to pull it out and hex the young blond.
"Harry, stop it," admonished Tonks, "he's here to help."
"Help?" scoffed Harry. "You can't be serious. The bloody bastard nearly killed Hermione!"
Tonks placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He's seen the errors of his ways, Harry. He has something that can help us."
"I don't care what the ruddy wanker has, he tried to kill Hermione and you're just letting him stand here? He's not even bound or anything, he's walking about like he's free!"
"I am free," said Draco, his hand twitching in the direction of his wand. "What's the matter, Potty? Scared I'll have another go at your little Mudblood toy?"
"Draco!" Tonks smacked him upside the head. "We've been over this before. Behave. Or I'll send you back to Voldemort."
"Sorry," muttered Draco.
Harry and Ron looked to each other in disbelief. Draco Malfoy, apologizing? He must really be scared.
"I do believe you're here for a purpose, Mr. Malfoy?" McGonagall reminded him.
Draco snorted. "Something tells me Potty here doesn't want any help with his Horcruxes."
The trio's eyes all snapped to Draco.
"What did you just say?" asked Harry.
"Hor-crux-es. Horcruxes. You know, inanimate objects with little bits of the Dark Lord's soul inside of them? Key to killing him and whatnot? Merlin help us if the so-called Saviour of the Wizarding World doesn't even know what a Horcrux-"
"I know what a Horcrux is, Malfoy," growled Harry, "but what do you know of them?"
An eerie smile spread across Malfoy's face as he reached into the pocket of his robes. "I know that this is a Horcrux," he said, holding out his hand.
The room fell silent save for the sounds of breathing.
Resting in Malfoy's hand was Helga Hufflepuff's cup, in all its golden, jewel-encrusted glory.
Harry snatched the cup from Malfoy's hand before there was a chance for anything else to happen. "How did you get this? Where was it?" he demanded.
Draco sighed. "The Dark Lord had hidden it here at Hogwarts. I retrieved it for him before the end of last year, and since then he's been keeping it at Malfoy Manor."
That was when Draco Malfoy landed with a solid thud on the floor of McGonagall's office with a bleeding nose.
"You bastard!" spat Harry, kicking him hard in the ribs.
Ron and Hermione quickly grabbed a hold of his arms and dragged him from the office before he could do any further damage to Malfoy. "Let it go, Harry," said Ron wearily. "We've got the cup, isn't that what matters?"
Harry began to rant about the blasted ferret having been the one to keep the elusive Horcrux from them all this time when Hermione intervened. "Harry. Shut it."
He looked up at his girlfriend in surprise. "I'd think that you of all people would be cursing him straight to China right now," he said.
She shook her head. "As much as I hate to admit this, Harry, I think he really has changed sides. If he were still in league with Voldemort, he wouldn't be stupid enough to bring us the cup. It'd be suicide."
The trio retreated to the Gryffindor common room where they spent the rest of the afternoon until suppertime staring at the cup where they'd placed it on a table.
Meanwhile, Draco and Tonks had remained in McGonagall's office with the Weasleys.
"I suppose we should decide what to do with the two of you," sighed Tonks.
"Two?" asked Molly.
Minerva nodded in agreement. "She's right. We can't very well let Draco go off on his own, and though the potion has been removed from Ginny's system, there's no saying that Lord Voldemort won't try to capture her once more. We need to keep them safe here at the castle."
Draco and Ginny found themselves backed into a corner with the Headmistress, an Auror, and Ginny's parents bearing down on them. For the briefest of moments they put aside their hatred for one another, and shared a nervous glance. August was going to be one very interesting month.
<><><><><>
"So, how was the wedding?" asked Harry, tearing Ron's attentions from the cup. Three hours of staring wasn't going to make it disintegrate in front of them, and Harry couldn't take the silence anymore.
"Hasn't happened yet," replied Ron.
"Why not?" asked Hermione.
Ron shrugged. "Guess Fleur didn't want the bridesmaids to be one short to the groomsmen, what with Ginny missing and all. She and Bill decided they would put it off till Ginny got back; they didn't want the wedding without the entire family there."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin, your mother would've killed me if I missed it."
The redhead nodded in agreement. "You're right there, mate. Nothing brings all the wedding guests in droves like the mention of Harry Potter in attendance."
Harry shot him an annoyed look.
"What? I'm just saying, is all. You know that's not why we want you there, anyway."
Hermione repositioned herself in her chair. "Harry won't be attending the wedding so it doesn't make a difference."
Both Ron and Harry looked at her, confused. "What?"
She sighed, and began to explain with a patient air. "We just sent the transfigured dummy off to Voldemort. Voldemort most likely cast the killing curse at him, and he now believes Harry is dead. With a wedding this big, the press is bound to be there. If they see Harry, Voldemort will realize he killed a fake and our whole plan is ruined."
"Oh. Right, then." Said Ron, looking rather embarrassed.
"I could take Polyjuice," offered Harry.
Hermione shook her head. "You'd have to nip it out of a flask like Professor Moody to keep your form all night. I'd rather find another way of disguising your appearance."
With that the trio set to spending the rest of the afternoon discovering a way to disguise Harry for the wedding. Soon after they made their way to the library for some more Horcrux research, where they uncovered information that Hermione had somehow missed the first time around in their sixth year. Thanks to the treasure trove that was the Hogwarts library, the trio was about to embark on a rather interesting month.
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