A/N. This isn't much but thought I'd post anyway and hopefully get a good rhythm going.
Cheers!
XXXXXXXXXX
Chapter 64 - Fight or Flight
Some time ago...
Fight or flight?
Patronuses were borne of happy, positive thoughts, weren't they?
"Good doggie..." Hugo muttered.
It didn't like that. The wolf lurched forward and ran towards him, growling ferociously, its white sharp fangs sparkling in the dark. Without a second thought, Hugo turned and began running. It was chasing him and, from the sounds of it, gaining ground.
Not reallly knowing where to go he turned left then right then right again but he couldn't shake it off. It was right behind him now, its breath puffing against his legs, its teeth nipping at his ankles. Then, all of a sudden, it wasn't anymore.
He looked back; it was slowing down. Somehow he didn't feel like celebrating just yet. Why was it giving up?
Before he figured that something was about to go wrong his next step caught nothing but air. He had little time to react. He managed to get his wand in his hand, his arms flailing as his feet lost contact with the ground.
XXXXXXX
Present time…
"You are the wand's master. No pressure," Warren concluded his monologue.
The Canadian had an angle Harry wasn't seeing and he was not about to take Warren's suggestions at their obvious face value. Why was Warren so keen for him to know that he had the theoretical mastery of the wand? Harry was certain that whatever that reason was it wasn't because Hermione was convinced he had to have the rest of the Hallows. His gut told him that the betrayal that earned Warren the business end of Hermione's wand was about something else, likely something worse.
"Dammit!" Warren swore at his phone, "I'll be right back. Kids are breaking into my potion cupboard again."
XXXXXXXXXX
Hugo was in a deep valley of dense foliage, climbing the steep slope opposite to where he fell from. He lost sight of the unusual Patronus a good half an hour ago after freefalling in darkness four storeys down.
The rush from that ride still lingered. He wanted to call Isa and Spencer but he dropped his phone somewhere and thought it imprudent to double back to retrieve it. He supposed he could contact his Mum but he convinced himself that he was no longer in any real danger. The last thing he needed was for her to overreact and ground him, not let him out of her sight. He decided that once he got to higher ground he would try to find the village, find Isa and Spencer and talk to them about it. Maybe Isa first. Spencer would just laugh at him. He ran away from a Patronus. How lame was that?
He trudged up the hill hanging on to the tall blades of grass sturdy enough to support his weight. He doubted very much that this part of Pag-asa had ever seen a being in a long while and he tried not to think of what dangerous wild life he could encounter. Really, it would probably be more reasonable to be scared of unseen poisonous snakes and untamed boars than conjured mists meant to fight off Dementors.
Just as that reassuring thought came to mind he reached the top and right into a circular clearing, and there, seemingly waiting for him, was the thing he had been running away from. It let out a low but intense growl as it began to put one paw in front of the other.
It's just a Patronus. You are not a Dementor, he reassured himself.
It made a run for him again.
At that point Hugo was not turning his back on it. His feet were glued to the ground, his wand at the ready, the bounding pulse from his heart so powerful he felt it choking him.
"Stupefy! Stupefy!" Hugo fired, his blasts going through the silver Patronus, not even breaking its stride.
On reflex, he lifted his left arm to protect himself as it pounced at him. The impact forced him to fall. The wolf's teeth sank into his left forearm and the sound of bone cracking in between its powerful jaws matched the excruciating pain that shot through his body. Blood immediately soaked his sleeve. With his back to the ground he wrestled with the maniacal beast, its eyes mad with desire to rip him apart.
This was no Patronus, at least it no longer was. It was solid, heavy, and very real, causing and about to cause more physical injury. He stuck his weapon into its gut.
"Reducto!"
The curse exploded from his wand and into the beast, sending it airborne, his hand ringing from the impact. It landed on all fours a few feet from him, whimpering as it looked at the hole in the centre of its belly. Hugo got up and watched its flesh and fur creep from the wound edges and meet at the centre. He buckled down. A part of him would have been disappointed had that not happened.
Recovered, the wolf looked up, angrier than it was before.
"Your move you stupid fur ball!" Hugo hissed at it, pointing his wand steady, ready for more.
It attacked again. He blasted it with a series of Stunners. The curses clipped the animal and jarred it momentarily but not enough to keep it from reaching him.
Hugo was on his back again, fighting to keep the wolf's teeth off his face, and holding on to his wand like his life depended on it.
XXXXXXXXXX
Minutes earlier...
A few meters from Warren's hut, Rose walked up to the three local boys who had been giving Al bad advice all night.
"Where's Al?"
All three jumped like they had something to feel guilty about.
"Er..."
"Um..."
"Al who?"
They eyed Isa and Spencer nervously and then got even more jittery when Warren Gates showed up in the path.
"You again!" Warren called out, accusatory. The boys ran off before Warren could get to them, "I already told you to stay out!"
As they watched the boys scamper and disappear around the bend Warren turned his attention to them.
He had a warning, "You shouldn't be here. Something bad is about to happen. Go back to the plaza."
Rose wasn't going to leave without Al, "We think Al's in your home."
"Is your cousin spying on me?" Warren accused maliciously.
"Of course not," Rose defended Al, "Can we just take a look? And we need to find Hugo."
"Did you not hear what I said? You need to go back."
Warren didn't seem concerned that Hugo wasn't with them. That was strange.
"Mr. Gates, we haven't seen Hugo in a while," Isa stressed, "He wanted to talk to Mr. Potter. We're really worried."
"Come," Warren relented, motioning them to follow him.
They went into his house and Rose started calling out Al's name as they checked out the rooms.
Finally, Warren declared, somewhat annoyed, "He came for some sobriety potion but he's not here anymore."
"Looks like your suitor is a boozer," Spencer taunted Isa.
"Shut up," Isa retorted.
Rose was too worried to comment.
"Tell you what," the Ex-Auror had an idea, "Find your Mum and tell her what's going on while I try to find Hugo and Albus. And no arguments from any of you."
Warren was dead serious. He rushed them out of his hut and they got on the path that was to take them back to the plaza.
"Really, you're better off knowing now than later," Spencer said to Isa.
"Al isn't a drinker," Rose snapped, her pace quickening. "Something's not right. Did you find that Warren seemed too eager to get rid of us?"
"The family is always the last to know."
Isa finally had it, "Can you be focused on something important for once in your life? Hugo and Albus are missing! There's a dark wizard on the loose and you're acting like a...!"
Spencer abruptly stopped walking and held out his arms across their bodies that they had to stop too.
"Sssh! Do you guys hear that?!"
They both listened but had no clue what he was talking about. They looked at each other puzzled. Spencer's eyes narrowed, looking through the trees on their right. He turned to Isa.
"It's Hugo! He's in trouble!"
"Wait!"
Isa was retrieving something from her bag as Spencer transformed into a werewolf right before their eyes. Hugo's friend barely got the chance to slap one of the contraptions on Spencer's arm when he began running for the woods.
"He never waits! Come on!"
Isa urged her to follow. Rose figured the screen in her hand was a receiver of sorts for the transmitter she put on Spencer. They were running.
"You always prepared for this sort of stuff?" Rose was curious at the odd thing she just witnessed.
"To keep an eye on him during transformations," Isa explained, tinkering with the monitors, "He's not always in control. Now Pag-asa is unplottable like the IMAN but Muggle GPS technology still works. We follow the red dot."
Isa pressed a button and the dot projected out in front of them. Spencer was nowhere in sight but Isa seemed confident about where they were going. Rose took out her locket, opened it to her Mum's picture and brushed it with her finger, hoping her Mum had hers with her.
"Mum!"
XXXXXXXXXX
Earlier…
The Elder meeting had broken off. Several beings including the village leader got on stage and caused the band to stop playing music abruptly. An announcement was made in the local language and the panicked response from the crowd was such that Harry didn't need to translate to know that the bad news of Malvado's impending attack was now out in the open.
As the leader offered reassuring words to his constituents Hermione, Gracie and Maria joined him, all with grim faces. Maria was cursing repeatedly, angry and upset.
"Calm down before you have a stroke," Gracie said to her in the local language. "You knew this was going to happen. They were never going to listen to you."
"What happens now?" Harry asked Hermione, as the beings began to scatter from the plaza.
"Malvado has prowlers in the perimeter combing for a way to get in. We've managed to keep the Tree secure but it's only a matter of time before Malvado finds it. Those who want to leave have just been asked to leave and those who stay will defend the pit, make sure no one comes through it alive."
"A defensive plan isn't going to work!" Maria passionately pointed out.
Harry gave his opinion, "Malvado has the numbers. You can't go to him and fight him toe to toe."
"Pag-asa's defences are a joke!"
"It would have been nice if you didn't point that out to the elders," Hermione chastised.
"But it's the truth. They're just too proud to admit that they cannot stand up against him and survive," Maria wagged a finger at her, "And it's entirely your fault for putting that seed in their heads!"
Hermione was red in the face. Harry stepped in, to break them off.
Gracie did the same and told Maria, "You're out of line."
But Maria was not ready to let it go.
"You could have at least tried harder to convince them it wasn't time!"
"That's enough! She is not the enemy!" Gracie yelled at her, "She tried. It wasn't her decision to make. And I for one agree with Elders. This is what Pag-asa stands for. To give it up is not an option. And if we fail to defend it, at least we fought for it."
Maria swore again, muttered she would get ready and left in a huff.
Gracie reassured Hermione, "She knows this is the right thing to do. She just hates you because you make her feel obliged to do it."
Hermione wasn't that concerned, "I know. Your cousin always becomes more bitchy just before a fight."
Harry brought up a point about the defensive plan.
"What if they attack by air or by sea?"
Gracie replied, "The village is protected by innate magical forces bestowed upon it at the time of creation. The pit is the only natural entry point."
"What about exits?"
"Once you're in you're free to leave its confines however you wish," the restaurant owner said, then added, "There are a few exceptions."
Harry frowned.
Gracie continued, "The same magical force that protects it from trespassers prevents Portkey travel and Disapparition of any kind within Pag-asa. We will take you to the nearest land border. You can Portkey from there."
He frowned even more and looked at Hermione.
"Oops. Jumped the gun there," Gracie realized her gaffe, "I'm sorry, Hermione. I'll round up the kids and meet you back here."
After Gracie left Hermione wasted no time explaining, "The Elders appreciate your offer but declined help. They insist that all humans leave now. You have to go before we loose control of the Tree."
"Seriously?" was all he could think of to say to her.
"We don't have time to argue about this."
"Damn straight."
"These beings are doing this for me. Malvado is coming for me. They stood up to Malvado because I said they could and I would help them. I am not leaving them."
Harry knew she would say something like that. It was a point he had no arguments for.
Instead, he replied, "I am not leaving you here."
"You staying here is not an option."
"Why not?"
"Because one of us has to find the answer to Malvado," she was calm and firm, trying to hold it together while he was barely able to keep his emotions off the table, "I've run out of time."
He went past the annoyance he felt that Warren told him the very same thing.
"You need my help here," he pointed out to her.
"I need you out there more, to find out what I can't anymore. And I need you to keep Rosie and Hugo safe because after Malvado gets through me he will be coming for them," Hermione pleaded, teary eyed, "Please."
Harry felt how torn she was. He understood her conundrum and while the beings would probably understand if she left Pag-asa with her family she wasn't capable of doing that.
He had no choice. It was frustrating how the lack of options seemed to come up frequently when things involved her.
"And here I was thinking we were past arguments about who would look after the kids," he said half-jokingly.
Hermione smiled weakly, relieved that he saw her point.
She said, "You need to go."
He had many things to talk to her about. And it was out of extreme desperation to find 'the answer' to Malvado as soon as possible that he said something he never thought he would.
"I want the rest of the Hallows."
And surprisingly, he meant it too. He finally found a reason good enough to want it.
"Using the Hallows is not the answer," she was again choosing her words meticulously.
"I need to know that it's not and the only way to know for sure is to use them," he appealed to her logic, "And if that doesn't work I'll find a way to get rid of them."
He could sense her holding back. He presumed her inability to discuss more in detail had to do with her POTH vows.
"When he finds out you have them he will go after you. He will do whatever it takes to get them," she said, worry filling her eyes.
If only Harry had all the Hallows now. What she just said was proof that she was still conflicted about how much she would let him be involved. Her wishes were clear; keep the children safe, find the answer, but don't deliberately put himself in harm's way. Deciding not to fan her anxiety with his current thoughts he took Warren's advice.
"I know you don't want me to face him. Doesn't say much for your confidence in me…," he had to say it and made her feel bad for it, "…but I get it. I can't really fault you for caring enough that you don't want me hurt. You don't want me to risk my life for you or for one of your causes. But this, what you're fighting for here, isn't just your cause. You made me realize years ago that Voldemort wasn't just my problem. Well, Malvado isn't just yours. So don't feel guilty about dragging me into this fight because you didn't. I'm here because it's my fight too.
"We're the same; we fight for what's right and what's fair, and we've both been at it almost all our lives. I'll make sure Rosie, Al and Hugo are safe but I am not going to sit around and wait for Malvado to come. That's not how I do things. Once they're set I'm coming back to help here. Hopefully we'll have the answer then but if not, we'll fight him off and buy more time."
"You have other responsibilities."
"And I'm prioritizing."
Hermione looked at him, finally resigned that she wasn't going to get exactly what she wanted.
"Just don't die."
"I'll try my best not to."
He sighed and looked into her eyes with as much concern as she looked into his. He wanted so much to stay, to have some say in ensuring she would be okay in case Malvado got in before he could come back. That was the one thing he never had to worry about since Hermione retired from active Auror duty. The thing was no matter how much he knew Hermione was an outstanding fighter the thought of her duelling Malvado on her own worried him a lot.
"Watch your back," he told her.
"I will."
"After all that we've been through, life without you now would suck more than ever."
That made her chuckle.
"You're a true romantic Harry," she said to him then went back to strategy, "If things go awry you won't be able to come back in through the pit."
At least she was not talking him out of coming back.
"I'll find a way," that was the least of his worries. He reminded her, "The wand and the cloak."
"I am not the Keeper," she replied impatiently.
"How do I find the Keeper?"
"I'd prefer not to tell you. Come on Harry."
She was shaking him off, her eyes telling him they weren't going to get anywhere with him asking those questions.
"Where's your book?" he asked, and when she seemed bewildered, he followed up, "I've been told that the answers are in your book, in Dumbledore's book, the one he left you."
Hermione's eyes lit up.
"Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" she was upset at herself for not coming up with it, "Who gave you the idea?"
He thought it best not to mention who his source was.
"Not important. Hermione, where is it?"
A muffled voice was coming off Hermione's locket. Hermione opened it immediately, very concerned. It was Rosie and she sounded very distressed.
XXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile...
"Are they gone?" Al asked from behind the door.
"Yes. You can come out now."
Gates didn't sound pissed. That was a relief. When he saw Rosie with Isa and Spencer he asked Gates not to tell them he was there.
"I'm sorry I broke in. The locals did a prank on me and I was desperate," he tried to explain.
"They were just trying to help. You should have tried it out," Gates seemed to know what Marco, Tomas and Juan planned for him, "Pretending to be someone else can be fun and rewarding if you pull it off."
"It's not for me," he replied, then set a vial down on the nearby table, afraid to come near the man, "Your anti-Polyjuice doesn't work."
Gates picked it up and read the label.
"This wasn't anti-Polyjuice."
"But it says so on the vial."
"I ran out of vials, used an old one. That's why you never drink someone else's potion without asking."
"What was in it?"
"Potion Potentiator," Gates revealed, "Looks like you're going to look like Hugo for a while."
"Great," Al groaned, wondering just how long 'a while' was.
He'd ask his Dad. His Dad would know what to do. It was what he should have done in the first place. Al got set to leave but Gates wasn't budging from the spot in the doorway. He was looking outside, seeing something aside from the darkness before them.
"Where are you going?" Gates asked.
There was something about how Gates asked the question that gave him goosebumps. Al looked the Canadian in the eye and tried not to be intimidated.
"To see my father."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"You can't keep me here against my will."
"You don't want to go out there right now."
Right after Gates said that a fiery explosion lit up the sky and shook the entire house. It looked like the village entrance was under attack. Gates calmly closed the door as Al heard screaming and wailing from the villagers.
Al didn't know what to do! He didn't know what to think! Rosie! His Dad! Isa and all those kids at the plaza...!
Gates waved his hand on the foyer floor and a trap door appeared. It lifted on its own, light filling the underground cellar it concealed.
"I am not going in there!" Al thought and said out loud.
"You'll have to," Gates replied roughly, his voice tense, "Malvado will be here any moment. You've heard. He wants Hugo."
"But I'm not Hugo," Al pointed out.
"Precisely. Imagine what he'll do to you when he finds you and then finds out you're not who he wants," Gates answered, "No matter what happens, I strongly suggest you don't make a sound."
Gates grabbed him by the arm and shoved him down the wooden steps. Before Al could fully process what was happening the trap door slammed shut.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ron said to Jessie and Padma in frustration, "Can't get a hold of either of them. How much longer do we need to keep him?"
"About another hour before we get all our test results," Padma replied.
Jessie chimed in, "I'll need more time."
"He's pretty steamed," Padma answered with concern.
"I would be livid if I were him but he has to understand," Jessie said with some compassion, "It's kind of hard to prove or disprove something we know very little about unless somebody is prepared to blow his brains out and see if he survives."
They were referring to the suspect they had in the high security interrogation room next door. The CFO had a good point. Among them she was the one who was most objective about this. And while it appeared cowardly to be standing behind the one way mirror and letting George Bones and the Legilimiens, Flavius Belcher, do the questioning, it would have been inappropriate for him to do it.
"Are we done here?" an irate Ernie MacMillan snarled at George.
The Auror answered calmly, "Not quite."
"Come on!" Ernie yelled in frustration, "This is getting to be ridiculous! It should be obvious by now that somebody is out to destroy my reputation! Why would I come as myself to get the stone?! And if I were Llamas do you think you'd still be alive?! Do you think I'd still be here?!
"He has good points," Padma commented.
Ron saw Jessie bite back a remark. She was thinking the very same thing he was. All that still didn't prove Ernie wasn't the one who took the stone. George remained unemotional.
"Ernie, you know this is all procedure."
"I've answered all your questions and cooperated fully with everyone! I just want to go home!"
Ron couldn't stand watching Ernie lose it again. Auror procedure dictated locking Ernie up until there was absolute proof he wasn't the intruder who broke into Llamas cell earlier. The fastest way to clear Ernie was for Warren, or somebody else, to confess to the crime. That, or as Jessie pointed out, fail Hermione's Bombarda Brain test.
He tried to reach both Hermione and Harry again. Still no answer from either. Where were they?
The door to the room opened. One of Jessie's assistants handed her a bunch of papers and left. She took a look at the first page, then the next, and the next, each time more eagerly than the previous. Padma joined in the excitement, took the papers from Jessie and handed the ones she had seen to him.
Ron rifled through colored graphs, charts and numbers. They were all meaningless to him.
"What does this all mean?"
"These are Llamas test results," Jessie could barely talk from being so pumped, "Humptail's tissues were alive in vivo but barely. Cell mitochondrial death occurred instantaneously at sampling which means the tissues and organs are being kept alive by these pulses of magical energy we detected emanating from the stone. These graphs show the body's response to the injurious sampling. Notice the simultaneous spikes in energy levels cascading from the stone's centre through a network of nerve-like extensions here, here and here. While I can't prove it without the body I suspect that the stone is some sort of a storehouse of undifferentiated precursors with the ability to rapidly regenerate dead cells. It communicates with the rest of the being through the magical energy it emits."
Padma added, fascinated at their discovery, "The energy is unique, the wavelength shorter than any being we've ever catalogued and transmitted at a frequency higher than the most naturally gifted wanded wizards are able to conjure at their peaks. If we can isolate it, we may have a shot."
"In Auror English please!"
"Since we can't remove the source of the being's power maybe we can find a way to prevent it from communicating with its physical body and prevent it from regenerating dead cells," Jessie explained, eyes determined.
Padma was just as psyched, "Let's get to work."
XXXXXXXXXXX
Hugo grunted as he and the animal crashed backing up into a rock. He raised his wand at it but the wolf went for his arm. Its sharp teeth missed his limb this time. Instead, it pierced his sleeve and began viciously shredding it into bits, forcing him to lose his wand.
He punched, kicked and fought it off with all he had. He was losing the battle. The stronger animal gained the upper hand. It finally let go of his tattered shirt and stepped back into attack position.
Instinct made him rapidly search for anything that would save his life. Hugo saw his wand on the ground to his right. He dove for it.
XXXXXXXXXX
A/N. More to come…
-->