Fire and Plot: Part Five
Harry fell backwards against the wall shooting streams of crimson red from his wand, which lit up the gargoyle for the briefest of moments as if it was covered in a red mist of blood. Guy had pushed himself up against the wall, unable to shoot as he held a blank expression on his face.
Hermione stepped forward quickly, taking her eyes of the gargoyle as she ran towards Harry, wrapping her arm around him and pulling him to his feet. He watched the window as she looked him over, no blood or mark stained him and she breathed a sigh of relief before she tuned around.
The window was now empty, the grey bars now only reflecting the clear pale moonlight, and the slow whirls of the clouds that showed a storm was on its way.
`That was a gargoyle!' Guy finally said in shock, his voice sounding calmer than his face seemed.
`Actually that was a child gargoyle' Harry said brightly, walking up to the window and peering through cautiously in case it was ready to come back.
`You mean they get bigger than that?' Hermione asked incredulously as she remembered the two inch long teeth that glistened in the window just seconds before. She peered out of the window before waiting for a reply and could see the town below, devoid of electricity but full to the brim with torches and fires. She couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, and definitely no flying monster creatures, so allowed her guard to be let slightly down.
`At their biggest their about ten foot tall' Harry said as he stepped away and looked about the room `wing span is about double that'
`Where did it go?' Hermione asked.
`That was just one of the scouts, chosen because of its small size, and the fact that if it got caught they wouldn't miss its killing power too much' Harry said absentmindedly as he ran a hand through his hair `we have got a little while longer yet'
`Where's Fawkes?' Guy asked urgently, he sounded as if he was terrified that the phoenix might have gotten hurt.
`Not about' Harry sighed shaking his head `but he'll show up when he's needed'
`We need a plan' Hermione said, steeling herself for Harry as he seemed to be too preoccupied to. She would bear the weight of the world for him as he did daily for everyone else.
`How about a near certain death one?' Harry asked with a wry smile.
`Um…' Hermione said pretending to think it over `good…but maybe we could do better?'
`How about fifty-fifty?' Harry asked as if he was bargaining with her.
`I'll settle for a we all walk out alive plan' Hermione said grinning as she held out a hand for him to shake.
`Um…ok' Harry said shaking her hand and chuckling `but you never let me have any fun!'
`You two are crazy' Guy said softly shaking his head back as he laughed along with them.
`Be that as it may, we are rather good at defeating things that go bump in the night' Hermione pointed out reasonably.
`I'd say fantastic!' Harry said with a grin as he lifted up his wand and filled the room with light `we need some light, gargoyles are our dreams fears, so we light up our world to start with'
`And that will protect us?' Guy said sounding hopeful.
`Nope' Harry said simply `but it'll buy us a little bit of time if we need it'
`Oh great' Guy said sarcastically, but Harry didn't pick up on it.
`How did you beat them last time?' Hermione asked trying to be helpful and direct Harry's thoughts to a practical solution.
`I went to their world' Harry explained distractedly `DreamWorld, Land of Nod, The Darkness… all those fairly dramatically named places'
`Why?' Hermione asked.
`They were feeding of the population of a village on the edge of the Black Forest' Harry said happily as he seemed to remember the time `delightful people… so I offered them a hand'
`And I guess by offered you mean jumped in without permission' Hermione smirked.
`Pretty much the same thing if you ask me' Harry said shaking his head slightly.
`So why don't you do that again?' Guy asked, but Hermione had already seen the flaw in this plan.
`Because I've already defeated them, banished them from the netherworld' Harry explained quickly `and now they appear to be somewhere else as they try to break into our world'
`And as you don't know exactly where they are we going to have to fight them here' Hermione pointed out, not liking the sound of her own words.
`Precisely' Harry said brightly `and as far as I know there's not a single way to beat one here'
`Oh' Hermione said, liking Harry's words even less than her own.
`You mean…' Guy started but stopped mid-sentence.
Hermione paused as she heard a noise form above, and as she looked around she realized Harry and Guy were both looking upwards.
`There beginning to come through' Harry said under his breathe.
Hermione stepped closer to Harry as she listening to the sound she could only liken to scratching, the sound she knew must be the breaking down of this world.
`Ahhhh' Harry groaned suddenly in pain, doubling over and falling to his knees. Hermione was practically holding him before he hit the ground as she jumped at him as if protecting a child.
`What's wrong?' Hermione asked nervously running a hand over Harry's face, his eyes were screwed up and his right hand was scratching at his forehead, as if searching for something that wasn't there.
`It's happening' Harry said, his eyes opening slightly, like slits in his screwed up face instead of eye sockets. He breathed in Hermione's ear the words `help me up'
`You can't!' Hermione yelped, both fear and reason told her that Harry had to stay still, had to get calm and help himself.
`Help me up!' Harry growled, a fierce look firing up behind his eyes.
`But you'll kill yourself' Hermione said and as eh said the words his eyes seem to flash menacingly.
`HELP ME UP!' Harry roared in anger sending Hermione falling backwards a few yards away and only able to watch as Harry limped himself of the ground.
Harry raised his wand above his head, and instead of a light coming shining out of the end a ear splitting whistle filled the room making Hermione fall to her knees, hands over her ears, eyes scrunched up in pain.
She could feel the room shaking beneath her, the cracks and creeks coming from every stone block in the castle, the panic cries resounding from outside the window. And slowly a calming song filled the room, crashing chaotically with the rumbling and screams.
And then it was over. And all that was left was still.
Hermione slowly opened her eyes and looked at Harry, a puzzled expression covered his face where pain had previously been.
`What happened?' she breathed softly, her chest aching as it fought to get out words.
But Harry didn't reply, his face was perfectly still. Guy stood up at the same time as her and looked at Harry. His eyes seemed lifeless as they stayed stationary, and for the barest of moments she thought something might have happened.
But as quickly as this thought had come, Harry had turned his head and smiled at her, a weak but kind smile that filled her quietly with hope.
`Fawkes came' Harry said softly.
`I heard it' Hermione said walking up closer to Harry who seemed almost too weak to stand on his own.
`And then he left' Harry said as if this was an explanation.
`Where to?' Guy demanded, panic in his voice as he feared for his friend.
`Home' Harry said simply.
Hermione looked at Harry, his hand was shaking slightly and his eyes were watering, and she took his hand in hers once again, felt his cool clammy palm and wrapped her fingers tightly around it trying to banish any fear he might have.
`Are we safe?' Guy asked nervously looking around the room.
`Yeah' Harry said, his voice quiet and weak.
A loud thundering came hammering on the door knocking them all quickly from their thoughts.
`Come out!' a man shouted form behind the door, and Hermione recognized the voice as the leader of the soldiers `we have the exit guarded so escape is not an option!'
`What are we going to do?' Hermione breathed urgently as she saw Harry look quickly around the room `can you apparate?'
`No' Harry said, his voice hard and low `too weak'
They all watched as the beating on the door intensified, Harry's eyes were burrowing in determination, his wand clenched dangerously in his hand, but Hermione knew he might not have enough power to fight their way out.
Guy walked up infront of them and smiled a strange smile, as if trying to say goodbye without words, before he quickly threw what appeared to be a thin blanket over the pair of them at the same moment as the door was slammed open
`You saved me, now let me help you' Guy whispered momentarily before the soldiers she had met came storming into the room. Hermione was surprised that not a single one of them even spent a second to look at them, but this thought was lost as she saw one of the largest men hit Guy around the back of the head, sending his limp body falling to the floor.
Hermione went to jump forward and try and protect Guy but Harry pulled her close and whispered in her ear.
`Remember that he didn't die yet' and Hermione knew it was true, but a she also knew that they would be labelled his accomplices, and they would be killed. She backed away slightly, still shocked that none of them paid any attention to them yet but Harry whispered again `this is an invisibility cloak, they can't see us'
`Oh' was the only word, or sound she could make as Harry's hand gripped around hers and pulled her backwards the way they came, hidden from notice by the cloak. And the last time she saw Guy was as he was dragged violently through the door, ready for history to vilify him.
*
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped through the door of the Ford Anglia, its large walls and heavy wooden doors had rarely seemed so inviting before. Readying herself she turned and faced Harry.
`Are we going to rescue Guy?' Hermione said quickly, knowing that it would probably be rather easy for them now they were home, with the power of time travel and rest at their fingertips.
`No' Harry said simply as he wandered over to the pensieve and sat down in his chair. He looked completely knackered and seemed ready to pass out.
`Why not?' Hermione asked
`Guy will be fine' Harry said with a grin `being hung, drawn and then quartered can actually be quite enjoyable for a wizard…I hear it's slightly ticklish…and I think its best if we leave him to his destiny'
Hermione thought over this for a few moments, she had liked Guy and didn't like the idea of never seeing him again. Slowly she sat down in her chair opposite Harry and looked at him.
`Your right' she admitted softly and found it easier than she thought it would be `our lifestyle would be too much to ask anyone to take in, wouldn't it?'
`Can you imagine what we'd say?' Harry said laughing `we travel through time saving people and having fun…he'd think we were mad'
`I didn't' Hermione pointed out quietly.
`Yeah, but you're…' Harry said and seemed to be at a loss for words for a few seconds till he recovered and said laughing `so bossy you just saw it as a way of reaching millions more!'
`Ha ha' Hermione said sticking her tongue out slightly playfully.
They sat there in silence for a few moments, each just enjoying the experience of nothing trying to kill them until Hermione leaned forward to speak.
`So what actually happened with the gargoyles?' Hermione asked curiously.
`What do you want to know?' Harry asked without moving his head.
`Why they came there?' Hermione said before adding `and how they went away?'
`So pretty much everything then?' Harry said grinning without moving `The gargoyles fled through space and time, that much is obvious'
`So why here, why now?' Hermione asked and watched as Harry ran a hand through his hair in thought.
`As you know all people carry a cellular residue' Harry started to explain `their power wizards call it, religion says its our souls…the gargoyles use to feed of when we are asleep, becoming more powerful as that residue leaks out in dreams…so it should have been obvious to me that when they fled… if I had realized of course they had managed to…that they somehow got trapped between space and time. As we crossed over, travelling ourselves outside of time they saw us. Usually this would have been fine, amny things live outside of what we know as reality, but unfortunately I was the last thing they touched, and my residue pulled them through back into the reality they dreamed of so hard. I guess that this resulted in some sort of an explosion and we were thrown out of the original destination and into the fifth of November…'
Hermione looked at Harry and smiled, always so clever and confident.
`I thought it'd be something as simple as that' she said with a slight smirk `and you closed that rip?'
`Yep' Harry said, his face dipping down out of sight slightly as he spoke `with a little help from Fawkes'
Harry watched her for a few moments before he lent forward and took her hand in his.
`Go. Get some sleep' he said softly, caringly `I'll park the Anglia somewhere safe for a while and we can take a holiday?'
`How long for?' Hermione said eyeing him suspiciously.
`Ooooh…' Harry said running a hand along his chin `how about…a day?'
Hermione threw her head back and laughed, Harry was always going to be the happy traveller and a day to him of not doing it would seem an eternity.
`Ok' Hermione said and saw that Harry suddenly looked rather scared at the idea `a day of to relax? It'll be your greatest adventure!'
And with a little squeeze of his hand she stood up and walked of, dreaming of a well deserved bed…
***
Harry fell back more into his chair as he watched Hermione walk from the room, his muscles relaxing as he cushioned himself deep in against the leather. The night had taken all of his energy, and for the first time in a long time he felt both mentally and physically knackered.
He thought briefly of Fawkes, and whether or not he would ever see him again. He somehow knew that he must, but this knowledge unnerved him. The future held so many surprises, and he had found out they were hardly ever pleasant.
Thinking of his future, as it did too all people, he found himself feeling alone, and needing to talk to someone. Hermione would most likely be drifting of to her dreams by now, so he couldn't talk to her, and even if she was awake he wouldn't be able to tell her what he really wanted to.
That he had lied.
That the Gargoyles hadn't fled through time, hadn't been attracted to him because of residue and pulled here. Such theories were plain and simple lies. Impossible fabrications of words in order to protect her…and maybe even him…
He wanted to tell her the truth.
That only one…thing…could be responsible for this. One thing that was so dangerous that Fawkes would have travelled here in a hope to help. That, in the moment he held his wand above his head, he had almost sacrificed himself…and her…and everyone else… to stop it…and only Fawkes had stopped him…
Just one…thing…
And even the merest echo of it and he had found himself in a situation all too familiar…almost losing…her…
And… for the first time since he had taken Hermione's hand in his own, leading her away from the plastocrese… the future didn't look so bright.
A storm was coming and Harry was scared. Scared for himself, Hermione and every other living creature throughout time…
It was coming…
The Bad Wolf.
*
Hey, hoped you liked that. And I hope you weren't getting too down about Harry's original explanation because it wasn't supposed to be very good, just long! But I hope the little part from Harry's point of view built things up nicely up?…
This adventure, for me, went even better than I had originally planned…I really did enjoy this and can actually see every little link I wanted to put in, and wondered how I'd manage it, represented nicely on the page….probably better than I could have hoped for. I know it wasn't as self contingent as the other adventures, and didn't answer all the questions the plot of it asked…but hopefully you realize that this was on purpose… things will become clear…
Next adventure starts tomorrow, going back to 2006! Hope you like it, its one of the adventures that I had originally planned and thus is very fun…
Till next time…
Jms Granger…
-->