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Summer Story | ||||||
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Category: Post-OotP, Buried Gems Characters:None Genres: Action/Adventure, Fluff, General Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 392 Summary: Summer at the Dursleys’ is typical for Harry Potter who hopes his stay with his relatives will only last two weeks at most. In this sequel to You’re Still You and New Year, New Hope Harry learns that his role as “savior” of the Wizarding world is more complicated than he thought and that he needs his friends and mentors more than he ever imagined. Hitcount: Story Total: 135401; Chapter Total: 3882 Author's Notes: This one's a bit different and definitely full of surprises. Enjoy! |
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Chapter 28: Surprises Everyone froze as more spells hit the outside of the crypt and the walls trembled. Ginny, who had turned away from Harry, turned back around, and in a strangled voice, whispered, “They’re here!” Harry was at her side in an instant. He wrapped his arms around her and over his shoulder she could see Ron doing the same for Hermione. All four of them were listening hard. Angry voices reached them through the door. From what she could hear, the parson and some of the villagers were trying to prevent the Death Eaters from entering the cemetery. Phrases like, “you have no right to desecrate a holy place” and “no one matching that description is here” and “please leave at once” were overridden by demands to be let in on the pain of torture and the flattening of the headstones. Finally, she turned her attention back to Harry as he murmured in her ear, “We’ll get through this.” Pushing away from him, Ginny gazed into the green eyes she could never get enough of. “Yes, Harry,” she said tremulously, gathering her courage, “we will.” She paused, then asked, “You’re sure the Death Eaters can’t see the crypt?” Harry nodded. “Nearly positive. Dumbledore told me that once he died, I was the Secret Keeper for it. Unless Professor Dumbledore told other people, you, Ron and Hermione are the only ones besides me who can see this crypt.” Ginny smiled, reassured. “Because you told us that day we came about Gwenyn.” Harry’s answer was drowned out by a sudden, loud crack! All four occupants of the crypt spun towards the sound, wands at the ready, to see Kreacher bowing, not at Harry, but at Hermione! “Mistress Hermione,” croaked the house-elf, “Kreacher is here. What may Kreacher do to serve my noble saviour?” Hermione blinked, her eyebrows racing towards her hairline. Ron covered his mouth to keep from laughing and Ginny and Harry just stared in astonishment. At length, Hermione managed to ask, “Noble saviour? Mistress Hermione?” Kreacher looked affronted. “Yes, Mistress Hermione. How may I help? I sense you are in danger.” “Kreacher,” Harry said, stepping forward, “explain why you are calling Hermione your ‘saviour’?” The elf swung around to look at him. “Mistress Hermione has delivered Kreacher from a terrible fate. She destroyed the bad locket that held Kreacher under its spell. Kreacher is indebted to Mistress Hermione for giving Kreacher back his freedom to be a good house-elf.” The four stared at each other above Kreacher’s head. Eventually, Kreacher seemed to have enough of the gawking humans. “Master Harry, you still are Kreacher’s master, but Kreacher will now help Mistress Hermione because of the help she gave Kreacher.” “How–” But Harry’s question died on his lips as a spell flew through the opening over the top of the gate. It hit the back window, cracking it. Kreacher glanced between the window and Harry as if making a decision. “Kreacher will help fight the bad wizards next to Mistress Hermione,” he said gravely. He looked at Ron. “Mistress Hermione’s friend can help me.” Ginny couldn’t help it; she began to laugh. The others stared at her a moment, then Harry joined in. Seconds later, so did Ron and Hermione. Kreacher shook his head. Ron gasped, “Certainly, Kreacher. I’ll be glad to help.” Another spell flew through the opening above the gate, making them all jump. Without having to say a word, everyone knew the Death Eaters had finally breached the fence surrounding the graveyard. Ron went down on his hands and knees, crawled over to the gate and looked out. “From what I can see, the villagers are keeping the Death Eaters busy at the bottom of the hill,” he reported, scrambling to his feet. Hermione looked around. “What do you propose we do, Harry?” she asked. “We can’t stay in here all day.” As Harry, Ron and Hermione began discussing their options, Ginny Disillusioned herself and stepped over to the window. She didn’t like what she saw. Several Death Eaters had made it to the top of the hill from the back entrance of the graveyard and were now creeping towards the crypt. If only the window was open, Ginny thought wistfully, her wand hand itching to send Bat Bogies at the masked wizards. A sudden cry, off to the right beyond the window, alerted Ginny that the graveyard was not just full of dark wizards, it also contained a large number of villagers who were bent on protecting the resting place of their dead. With a roar of, “You don’t belong here, you scum!” the curses began to fly so thick and fast that Ginny drew away from the window, cancelling her spell as she joined Harry, Ron and Hermione. They were still arguing over what to do next. Then, over the yelling of the combatants outside and the argument going on inside, Ginny became aware of something that made her turn to look at the gate; three voices she had hoped not to hear until she was back at Hogwarts. She watched in fascination as a hand reached out to grasp the bars. “Don’t touch that!” she yelled as Harry, Ron and Hermione whipped their wands out. It was too late. Draco Malfoy, flanked by Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott, had grabbed the bars of the gate with both hands and leaned his forehead against the crossbar to peer into the crypt. “Hey, let u–” he began, but stopped abruptly as the spell upon the gate took effect. His eyes grew wide and he screamed in terror as his body froze in place. The spell raced up his arms to his shoulders and vocal cords, silencing him in less than three seconds. The only part of him that remained active was his eyes; they swivelled beseechingly from Ginny to Harry to Hermione and finally Ron. “Stand back!” Harry ordered. Draco’s companions complied quickly as Harry crossed the crypt. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out there with the other Death Eaters?” He gestured vaguely in the direction of the square. Blaise scowled as he answered, “No! Not all Slytherins are Death Eaters, Potter,” as Theo demanded to be let in. “They’re after us, the Death Eaters!” he exclaimed. “Stop the spell, Potter!” Blaise demanded, pointing to Draco. “What’s wrong with him?” Harry pointed his wand at the gate but didn’t cast the counter spell on Draco. “He’s frozen. He has less than five minutes before his body begins shutting down. Now how did you find the crypt?” he demanded. Theo shifted from one foot to the other as he answered, “Professor Dumbledore told us about it when we were at Grimmauld Place last summer. Said you might need help with the Death Eaters some day. That’s why we’re here.” He glanced at Blaise who nodded. “We made Unbreakable Vows not to tell anyone else.” Harry still didn’t seem satisfied. “How did you know you were needed today?” Blaise pulled up his left sleeve enough for the four Gryffindors to see the bottom of his Dark Mark. “It burned and we were told to go to Godric’s Hollow.” Ron didn’t look convinced. “How do we know who you really are? You could be Dolohov on Polyjuice Potion, for all we know. What can you tell us that will prove you’re telling the truth?” Blaise stepped closer to the gate, but didn’t touch it. At nearly a whisper, he said, “Fourth year, Draco gave several interviews to Rita Skeeter who likes to turn into a bug.” He glanced apprehensively over his shoulder. “A lot of people could have seen that,” Harry said, scowling. “Yeah, they did,” Theo said, still shifting nervously from one foot to the other. He, too, glanced out into the graveyard. “But they didn’t know what Draco was doing. They kept trying to give him cough drops ‘cause it looked like he was having a coughing fit.” Harry’s shoulders lost some of their rigidity. He cast the cancellation spell and Ginny watched in fascination as Draco began to thaw out. He fell backward and Theo and Blaise caught him as Harry unlocked the gate. “Get in here quickly,” he hissed at them. Theo and Blaise lowered Draco onto the floor of the crypt next to the Basilisk fang and the sword which now lay at Ron’s feet. Theo conjured a pillow to put under his friend’s head. Draco lay there shivering until Ginny took pity on him and covered him with her travelling cloak, tucking it around him to keep out the cold. She cast a warming spell on the cloak and then sat down on the floor next to his head, her wand on her knees just in case she needed it. “He’s got to thaw out somehow,” she told Harry heatedly when he scowled at her. “Lying there on the cold floor won’t help him retain his body heat, if he has any left.” Hermione, meanwhile, had started the final tidying of the crypt. As she reached for the Basilisk fang, Draco croaked through chattering teeth, “N-n-no, l-l-leave it... there.” Startled, Hermione withdrew her hand and sat back on her heels, watching him warily. With a great effort, Draco rolled onto his side and struggled to sit up. Looking at Harry, he pushed up his left sleeve, revealing his Dark Mark saying, “Maybe this will prove... I’m no Death Eater.” Then, quicker than Ginny thought he could move in his half-frozen state, Draco seized the Basilisk fang and in one swift motion, plunged the point into the centre of his Dark Mark. The other occupants of the crypt froze in morbid fascination as the Mark began to writhe and smoke. Draco screamed, his face contorted with pain, as the venom in the huge tooth began to eat away at the gruesome tattoo. With a supreme effort, he yanked the fang from his arm and stabbed the Dark Mark again in another location. The second hole created by the embedded fang began to grow long, greenish tendrils that crept towards the original hole. They engulfed every line of the Mark in an eerie green light and a black blood-like substance began oozing rapidly from the tattoo. It dripped onto the cold floor where it pooled in a growing, steaming circle. Suddenly, the Mark seemed to scream and with a shudder it dissipated and was gone from Draco’s arm, leaving two bloody holes where the fang had pierced his skin. Still clutching the fang, he collapsed, gasping, on the floor again. Silence filled the crypt. The others just stared at Draco’s arm. After about a minute, Theo broke the silence. “Do you have another fang?” he requested, surprising all four Gryffindors. Still staring at Draco’s bleeding arm, Hermione hurriedly unzipped her bag and pulled out another fang and handed it to him. She glanced at Blaise, who nodded wordlessly, and gave him a third fang. Once again, the air was again filled the terrible screams of the two remaining Dark Marks and their assailants until all three wizards at last lay bleeding and unconscious upon the floor. “Hermione,” Ginny whispered, “was that supposed to happen, I mean, the Dark Marks going completely away like that?” Scowling in concentration, Hermione answered, “I assume the Marks reacted like the Diary did, only the venom on the fangs purged the darkness from their bodies and not an object.” She shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.” Suddenly, Harry clutched at his forehead. Before Ginny could stand up, Ron was at his side, his hand moving to support his friend as Harry began to sway. “What’s up, Harry?” he asked, his face full of concern. “Scar,” Harry gasped. “Knows... Dark Marks... gone.” Ron took most of Harry’s weight as he closed his eyes and seemed to lose himself in the vision. Ginny exchanged concerned looks Hermione; she was biting her lower lip and glancing between the Slytherins and Harry. With more confidence than she felt, Ginny murmured to Hermione, “Harry’ll be all right. Ron’ll do right by him.” Hermione sighed. “I know, but it still bothers me that none of us can do anything to stop Harry’s pain.” “Well,” Ginny said gravely, eyeing Harry and Ron, “since Ron seems to know what to do for Harry, maybe we should see to Malfoy, Nott and Zabini.” Without waiting for Hermione’s response, she leaned over and extracted the fang from Draco’s grasp and handed it back to her. She then touched the skin between the two holes, snatching her hand back when she discovered that Draco’s arm was burning hot. If his arm’s this hot that means the Mark was probably connected in some way to Draco’s soul, she thought as she felt his forehead. Draco had a high fever now and had begun to shiver uncontrollably. She wracked her brain trying to remember the charms her mum always used on burns and fevers. They came to her just as Draco stirred. She cast the charms and watched his face intently; the moment the spells hit, Draco relaxed and opened his eyes, focusing on a point over Ginny’s left shoulder. She turned and followed his gaze. Harry’s eyes were open, but he was still leaning heavily on Ron. “Proof enough for you, Potter?” he whispered. Somewhat shakily, Harry knelt beside Ginny. “You didn’t have to do that,” he said quietly as she put an arm around his waist to support him. Draco glanced at his unconscious companions. “Yes, we did. You wouldn’t have believed us otherwise.” Ginny turned to look at Harry as he admitted, “Yah, you’re right. I wouldn’t have.” He hesitated, then asked, “How are you feeling?” Draco managed a small smile. “Lousy,” he said and fell back onto the conjured pillow, “but free.” Ginny touched Draco’s arm and felt his forehead again. His skin was still warm to the touch, but not as hot as before. Without looking up, she said, “Hermione, check Theo’s and Blaise’s arms. The fang’s magic made Draco’s arm hot.” Hermione knelt between the other two boys and gingerly touched their arms. Just as Ginny had done, she snatched her fingers away and swiftly cast her own healing charms. Blaise and Theo began to stir as Ginny cast her charms again. This time, Draco managed a weak “thank you” before running an exploratory finger over his arm as it lay on the cold stone floor. “Can I get you anything?” Ginny asked, feeling strangely concerned for the boy who had been her nemesis for as long as she’d been at Hogwarts. “Are you in pain?” “Not much. Do you have any Dittany?” Draco asked, shaking his head. “It might heal my arm faster.” Hermione spoke up from where she was tending Blaise and Theo. Her tone as conflicted as Ginny felt. “I’ve got some, but I’m reluctant to use it. At least not until I can be sure there won’t be an adverse reaction with the Basilisk venom.” “There shouldn’t,” Draco said. “I know,” Hermione responded, “but we’re sort of in new territory and if something goes wrong all three of you could be horribly disfigured.” Draco laughed hollowly. “It wouldn’t be any worse than what I just took off my arm.” Ginny sucked in a surprised breath as Harry joined in. “No worse than having a lightning bolt on your forehead.” The two wizards eyed each other intently and Ginny had the impression that a silent understanding had just been forged between them. She tried a different healing charm, this one for open wounds that she’d used many times during the battle of Hogsmeade. As Draco’s wounds began to heal over, she turned to Hermione and asked for the Dittany. “Be careful, Ginny,” the older witch cautioned. “Go slowly and watch your patient carefully.” An absurd urge to laugh raced through Ginny’s brain as she answered cheekily, “Yes, Healer Granger.” Hermione looked up, catching Ginny’s eye, and the two began to giggle. The nervous laughter was infectious and soon even Ron had joined in from his seat next to James and Lily’s grave. It felt good to release some of the tension and it calmed Ginny’s nerves enough that she could tip one tiny drop of the Dittany onto Draco’s arm. The puncture wounds closed up, leaving faint indentations even though the skin was perfectly healed. Draco shifted onto his side again, pulling Ginny’s cloak more securely about his body. “Thank you, Ginny,” he said, startling her because he’d never used her given name before. He then looked past her, then, to where Harry was now sitting next to Ron. “Harry, what can I do to help you?” he asked. Harry’s head jerked up; he had a far-away look in his eyes that Ginny didn’t like. “Er...” he responded. “Oh. We’re isolated in here,” he said finally, his voice sounding more normal. “Any ideas on how many Death Eaters are out there? How do we find out which side has more fighters?” “This crypt’s under magical protection other than the graveyard’s?” Draco asked, calling Ginny’s attention to the fact that the cries and yells from outside the crypt had become distinctly louder in the last few minutes. “Yeah, a Fidelius Charm and a few others,” Harry said. “The crypt should stay hidden even if the graveyard’s enchantments fail.” He scowled as a triumphant yell suddenly rent the air and the air in the crypt seemed to shimmer. They heard yells of “Find Potters’ crypt” and “Grab the git” and “Take him to the Dark Lord” coming from several directions. “Harry, you need to stay hidden,” Hermione said desperately, looking at Ron. Beside her, Blaise and Theo struggled to sit up. She gently pushed them back down onto the floor ordering, “Lay down, you two.” Theo must have been feeling better for he quipped, “Yes, ma’am,” and did as he was told. Kreacher, who had hidden himself in the darkest corner of the crypt when Draco, Theo and Blaise had entered, now ventured over and bowed to Hermione. She acknowledged him with a smile. “Mistress Hermione, tell Kreacher how he can help,” he croaked. Draco caught Ginny’s eye and mouthed, “Mistress Hermione?” to which Ginny replied, “Later.” Hermione looked at the others as if to say, “What do I do?” It was the first time Ginny had seen her friend in a quandary. They needed help, but she wasn’t about to order the elf to put his life in danger. “Hermione,” Ron said, “Kreacher is asking; you aren’t ordering him to do anything he doesn’t want to do, right? He wants to help, he’s volunteering, and if you phrase it right, he can refuse if he wants to.” Hermione smiled gratefully at Ron. Addressing Kreacher, she asked, “Do you know if there are any house-elves in Godric’s Hollow?” “Yes, Mistress Hermione, there are ten house-elves in the village. What can we do?” Kreacher croaked. A thoughtful look passed over Hermione’s face. “We need protective spells to keep the homes and businesses in the village safe from spells and especially fire. Could you organize the village elves to quickly cast the necessary spells to keep the damage to a minimum?” Kreacher puffed out his chest. “Tell Kreacher when to go and the elves will protect the village,” he said. Then he glanced at Harry. “Especially Master’s homes.” Harry looked surprised as he said, “Er, thank you, Kreacher, but my homes should not have priority over anyone else’s. Please wait until everyone knows what they’re doing before you Disapparate.” Kreacher bowed low to Harry and Hermione, then returned to his corner. “Ginny, where did you tell everyone to Apparate to?” Ron asked suddenly. “The only safe place I could think of was the street in front of Gwenyn’s gate. I remembered it was pretty deserted around there, so it should have been safe to arrive there Disillusioned,” she replied. “Right, then. Ron, Hermione, we need someone to find out how many Death Eaters are actually in the graveyard and someone to keep an eye out for the DA and Order,” Harry said. “I’ll count Death Eaters,” Ron said. “I remember seeing a flat-roofed building across the square from the graveyard that would be a perfect vantage point.” “If I go to the bandstand,” Hermione said, “I can see the entire square and the two streets leading off it from there.” She paused, looking directly at Harry. “Something tells me you need to stay hidden. I hate to say it, Harry, but you’ve got to stay here until we know whether it’s just Death Eaters or if You-Know-Who really has come.” Harry scowled. “I don’t like it, but I agree. I don’t like hiding.” Save your energy for your confrontation with You-Know-Who, Ginny shot at him. Glancing at her, Harry replied, And what am I supposed to do while you six risk your lives? Out loud, Ginny said, “I know you don’t like hiding, Harry, but someone needs to stay with Draco, Blaise and Theo until they feel well enough to join the DA.” She turned to Draco, Theo and Blaise. “Now that you’ve de-Marked yourselves, I assume you’re willing to help us protect Harry until it’s time for him to confront You-Know-Who,” she said, piercing each of them with her eyes. They all returned the look. “That’s why we came in the first place,” Theo acknowledged. “Very well,” Hermione said. “Once we’re all in place, we need to get our findings to Harry. How?” “We can use our galleons if you two brought yours,” Ginny said, fishing hers from her pocket, thinking fast. Both Ron and Hermione pulled theirs out. “Standard issue,” mumbled Ron, eliciting nervous chuckles from the rest of the group. The only one who didn’t laugh was Harry; a haunted expression crossed his face as Ginny received his thoughts, There’s a problem with that plan, Ginny. I couldn’t find my galleon this morning, so I don’t have it with me. How are we communicating now? Ginny reminded him. Thanks. I needed that, Harry said, smiling a little. Hermione cleared her throat. “Time’s not going to stand still and I don’t want to be stuck in here much longer. Harry, you said we can Disapparate directly from the crypt but it’s charmed not to let anyone Apparate in?” “Yes.” She began issuing orders. “All right, everyone. Ron and Kreacher will go first. Harry, can I borrow your Invisibility Cloak? You stay here with the others until we know what we’re up against. Ginny, wait two minutes before leaving.” Draco added, “Be careful out there,” surprising everyone. “And thanks.” “Right, let’s go,” Ron said. And with a cheeky salute to Hermione and Harry, he Disapparated, followed by Kreacher and finally Hermione, who took the Invisibility Cloak with her in her bum bag. Draco, Theo and Blaise remained on the floor, having agreed they all needed more time to recover: Harry would stay with them as planned. Ginny turned to leave, too, but Harry caught her arm. “Hold on a minute, Ginny,” he requested. When she looked up at him he fumbled with the chain around his neck, finally getting the clasp undone. He handed it to her solemnly. “Keep it safe for me, Ginny,” he said. “I want it back later when I’ll need it most.” She gazed into the depths of his eyes, knowing that whatever he needed to do, he didn’t want to risk the reserved magic the necklace held. She nodded and stuffed the phoenix into her jeans pocket without looking down. “I will, Harry. I promise,” she whispered. Then she blinked and lunged forward to hug him fiercely. Harry briefly returned the hug, then stepped back, giving Ginny room to Disillusion herself and depart via the gate. As soon as she was free of the crypt’s enchantments, Ginny found a tall statue, melting into its shadows and using its cover to Disapparate to the roof of the church. Still Disillusioned, she began scanning the square and graveyard looking for Ron and Hermione. Because of his hair colour, Ron was easy to spot; she found him crouching on the flat roof of the green grocers. A moment later, he, too, Disillusioned himself and disappeared from sight. Hermione was harder to find. She’d chosen to land either on the roof of or in the tree next to the bandstand in the middle of the square. Her clothing was so well camouflaged that when Ginny finally found her in the tree, she actually looked a part of it. Ginny pulled a small mirror from her pocket and flashed it once at Ron and then again at Hermione. Now came the hard part; waiting for her brother and best friend to report in. She felt her DA galleon grow warm and Apparated inside the steeple of the church, landing precariously on one of the cross beams supporting the bells. It moved a little under her weight and Ginny waited for the great bell beneath her to clang. It didn’t, so she eased herself down to straddle the beam and pulled out her galleon. Ron had written, “50 DE/50 V graveyard.” As his message disappeared, Hermione’s materialized before her eyes: “OotP and DA approaching from Gwenyn.” Smiling to herself, Ginny opened her connection with Harry and reported, Ron says there are fifty Death Eaters battling as many villagers in the graveyard. Hermione reported seeing the Order and the DA coming from Gwenyn. Harry answered immediately. Excellent. Tell Ron and Hermione to join the DA and Order. Everyone needs to stay out of the square until we’re better organized. Ginny smiled as she encoded her galleon with Harry’s message and sent it to Ron and Hermione. The Death Eaters were in for a surprise. A/N: Well, there it is… surprised that Draco, Theo and Blaise renounced Voldemort and turned into good guys? Aggiebell, my beta, was, but she really shouldn’t have been and neither should you because there have been hints all along in this series that something like this might happen with these three Slytherins. For example, in the closing chapters of New Year, New Hope several characters openly discussed Draco, Theo and Blaise and their fates after the Battle of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. You may recall that Harry gave Theo and Blaise sanctuary at Grimmauld Place to recover from their injuries–ones they sustained during the battle–since he was the owner of the house. (Draco recuperated at Grimmauld Place as well, even though that bit of knowledge wasn’t made known until Chapter 8 of this story.) Then, at the Leaving Feast, Draco was given one of the Service to the School awards for his part in protecting the first and second years. I’ve left you other hints throughout this story, too… They’re just few and far between. Since I’ve already mentioned Aggiebell, I now need to thank her for beta-ing this chapter. I sincerely appreciate her going over each of my chapters and making comments and adding or taking out commas as necessary. I am thankful that she has the time to help me get my story published. |
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