Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

The Paths We Take	By : Luckycharms Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 18436 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That right goes to the AMAZING JK Rowling. No profit is made off this story. Shout out to Scorpia11 for being my awesome Beta!!

Chapter List
- 20
- 21
- 22
Guesses are now open! You have until Tuesday at midnight to place your month and year! 5 winners will be chosen. I do want to let you all know though that chapters might be slightly delayed as I find a way to insert the winners characters, but at the same time they might not be. This is just a heads up :)
“Just 'cause I predicted this
Doesn't make it any easier to live with
And what's the point of knowin' it
If you can't change it? To be human is to love
Even when it gets too much
I'm not ready to give up”
To Be Human- Sia Feat. Labrinth

Chapter 21- Wolves of the Night
Friday, May 15^th, 1999
Harry continued to stare at the essay in front of him, with his head resting upon his propped-up hand, as he thought about Hermione and Ginny and where they might be now. It had been days since he had a new vision and he was worried about when the next one would occur. The last place he wanted to be was in Professor McGonagall’s Transfiguration class, writing an essay he could care less about, and praying that he wasn’t sucked into Draco’s mind unexpectantly. Even though the Headmistress had given him an excuse to write his paper back in his room with Ron present to look out for him, Pansy and Luna refused to allow him to hide or fall behind and practically forced him to attend class. Luckily the Slytherin Princess sat next to him as the rest of the eighth years, including the blonde Ravenclaw, were seated at desks close by in order to keep an eye out for any signs that something might be amiss.
“Harry” Pansy whispered, pulling him from his traveling thoughts about life and causing the Gryffindor to glance over at her while he lowered his hand. “Are you alright? Do we need to leave?”
“No, I’m fine” he weakly smiled while picking up his quill and looking down at the parchment in front of him. “Just distracted.”
Pansy studied him for a moment before returning to her work while Harry sighed and went back to staring at the two sentences he had written. Unable to concentrate, he removed his gaze from the desk and began looking around the room at all the students quietly scribbling away as McGonagall silently read a book in the front of the room. However, a strange smell began to form in the air, and he scrunched his nose in disgust before looking behind him at Ron, thinking he had burnt something. But when he noticed the redhead was simply writing his half-assed essay in frustration, he glanced at Pansy who already had over half her eighteen-inch parchment completed.
“Do you smell that?” he questioned with his nose still scrunched while leaning over so that only she could hear him. The Slytherin Princess eyed him strangely before shaking her head ‘no’ as Harry went back to looking around the room. Though as soon as he turned his attention away, she quickly pulled the collar of her shirt up while bending her head down some and sniffed herself just to make sure it wasn’t her.
“Smell what, Harry?” she inquired worriedly as Ron and Theo looked up at the pair sitting in front of them.
“I…I don’t know exactly. It’s like something is burning. I smell…smoke, I think.”
“I-I don’t smell anything…” she replied while sneaking a peek at the boys behind her. However, as Harry continued his search for the source of the scent, he glanced down at his essay and jerked backward in surprise when it caught on fire.
“What the fu-” he yelled while quickly standing, causing everyone in the room to stare at him in confusion as he pulled out his wand and cast Aguamenti to put the flames out. But to his dismay, the fire refused to dissipate. “Pansy, help me put the fire out!” he shouted in a panic as she stood in bewilderment and he began to hit the desk with a tome to suppress the burning parchment.
“Stop! Harry, there’s no fire! Harry!” she argued while reaching out to halt the beating.
“Ms. Parkinson, Mr. Weasley” McGonagall began quickly while rushing over to see what all the fuss was about. “Take Mr. Potter back to your Common Room. I will be there shortly…” she ordered while gazing at the Golden Boy in alarm. “Hurry” she whispered as Pansy and Ron did their best to pull Harry away from the desk and out of the classroom. Unfortunately, as the doors began to close, and the Boy-Who-Lived watched with widened eyes at the people staring at him in concern, the entire room suddenly burst into flames…but no one moved a muscle as he screamed for them to run.
July 6^th, 1863
Draco sat on a log with his head in his hands, up by the lake, as he replayed the message Ginny had sent him that morning in his mind. He couldn’t believe what he had heard about the man Caleb informed him about before they left, and worried for the safety of the red-headed witch and his best friend if Ohiyesa decided to advance on his threat. Even though he didn’t tell her about it, he knew Hermione would be fine, seeing as the hunting party was miles away and he would give his life to protect her, but what did trouble him slightly was that Ginny mentioned in her most recent Patronus that they couldn’t find the Indian anywhere.
And now the youngest Weasley was two hours late in sending the latest update and Draco was strongly considering choosing to act on his promise and track her down. The last of her communication was sent around eight at night and it was now almost two in the morning; not even the Italian had found a way to let him know if they were alright. If she didn’t contact him soon, he not only would fear the worst, but also have to inform Hermione, and together locate their friends…that is if the brunette didn’t murder him first for allowing the pair to venture through the thick trees with men they hardly knew. He swore if the couple wasn’t dead in a ditch somewhere, the yelling he gave them the day before would be nothing compared to the punishment he would bestow upon the duo when he got his hands on them.
Cursing allowed and kicking at the ground before running his fingers through his hair, Draco threw his head back before pulling out his wand from his sleeve. He was about to produce the majestic Eurasian Eagle Owl when something stopped him, and he lowered his wand in confusion. Looking around at the dark landscape, he noticed no one was in the vicinity and brushed the strange odor away; thinking it was someone back at camp deciding to start a log fire to keep warm on the chilly night. Which perplexed him slightly, that Pennsylvania’s’ hot summer months could get so cold on occasion at night. It was like being back in the Gobi Desert all over again, except not nearly as frigid. Though he would rather face the deserts fluctuating temperatures over the Ice Age or Pompeii any day.
Raising his wand once more, the magical words to produce his Patronus were about to escape his lips when the smell grew stronger…but it was nothing like the bonfire he had smelt the night before. Narrowing his brows in confusion, the blonde stood up from the log and glanced around before noticing a billowing cloud of smoke rising to the sky just over the hill where the settlement of Shawnee people, and Hermione, were located. Rushing to the edge of the incline, his heart dropped as he took in the sight of wigwams in flames while a group of twenty or so Confederate soldiers, on horses and on foot, set fire to their temporary homes and chased the Natives…who were running for their lives.
“Hermione…” he breathed out in horror; mesmerized by the dancing embers floating upwards into the night sky.
Shaking his head to remove the stunned gaze, Draco began to race down the hill as fast as his legs could carry him. He slid down the steep slope a few times as he sprinted towards the compound in an effort to find his girlfriend but managed to recover rather quickly in his pursuit. Screams could be heard filling the air as the sound of the blazing fires, throughout the encampment, roared louder the closer he got, causing Harry to cover his ears as Pansy and Ron tried their best to hold him up in the middle of the hallway. The raven-haired Gryffindor fell to the floor in dread and terror while Draco ran into the burning camp and was stopped in his tracks by a soldier on horseback.
“Harry!” Ron called out as Pansy gently leaned the Savior’s upper body against the stone wall. “Harry, can you hear me?”
“GET OUT OF HIS WAY!” he screamed as his eyes went milky white and he grabbed his hair in frustration.
“I-I don’t understand” the Slytherin Princess declared as she watched Harry swing his arm as if he was trying to shoo someone in front of him.
“He’s supposed to be out of it, isn’t he?” Ron panicked while looking to Pansy in complete puzzlement, although she too looked just as confused as he did. “He didn’t talk the last three times he had a vision, right? Only screamed in pain when something happened to Malfoy.”
“I-I…I think his visions might be changing” she asserted before looking around as Harry continued to yell. Standing up, she quickly jogged down the hall before rushing back to the two Gryffindors on the floor. “Hurry; help me get him up. There’s an empty classroom just down the corridor where we can seal the room and place a silencing spell” she claimed before Ron put one of Harry’s arms around his neck and lifted him to his feet.
“Why can’t we just take him to Madam Pomfrey?”
“Because there may be other students in there. We can’t risk them asking questions and spreading rumors, especially if he’s talking about the ones missing” she promptly replied while helping Ron carry Harry. “It’s bad enough he started beating his essay and causing a scene in class. We don’t want to have to explain his visions away to the whole school.”
As the duo moved the Golden Boy into the empty classroom, Draco gripped his wand firmly in his hand and glared with malice at the Confederate upon the horse. The soldier smirked wickedly, as he thought the man he had stumbled upon was unarmed, while he raised his LeMat Grapeshot Revolver and pointed it directly at the blondes’ head. Cocking the lever downwards on the rear of the pistol, he was about to pull the trigger when a bright red light unexpectedly hit him in the chest and he fell off his steed, frozen unconscious on the ground.
Scowling as he lowered the Hawthorn wood, the Slytherin Prince walked up to the stunned man and picked up his weapon as the Stallion he was riding, scurried off into the woods. Not wanting to cause a large butterfly effect by showing more magic than he already had, he secured his wand back up his sleeve and clutched the revolver firmly before he tucked it into the back of his waistband and continued to search the area for his witch.
While Draco ran in the direction of the tent the bookworm was staying in, or at least he hoped was the right direction, he encountered multiple Confederates he, unfortunately, had to fight off along the way. But as he fought to get to the brunette, Hermione breathed heavily as she tried to collect everything important in the bivouac she had run back into. Taking one last look around as the shelter began to fall apart from the flames engulfing it, she coughed a few times into her arm as she searched for a way out. Realizing the exit was blocked by the deafening fire, she wrapped her beaded bag tightly around her wrist and pointed her wand at the entryway. Casting the water charm, she subdued the inferno preventing her from leaving, long enough to race out of the tent and breathe in fresher air. Though as she bent over and supported her upper body on her thighs with her hands, she remembered that she had no idea where Draco was…or even Tala.
But the screaming of men, women, and children drowned out her cries of the Malfoy heir’s name as concern filled her lungs. Running in the opposite direction of the lake, the Gryffindor Princess headed south in an effort to get out of the raging fires swallowing the village whole. On her way towards the cliff she had stood upon the previous day, Hermione halted her jogging as she witnessed Aiyana’s wigwam completely immersed in a heated blaze. While trying to decide if she should enter and risk changing history to try and save the elder, Blaise, Ginny, and Caleb continued to race through the woods.
“How…much…further?” the Italian wheezed as a stitch painfully formed just under his ribs on his right side. “We’ve been…running…” he paused as he ceased his stride and bent over to rest his hands on his thighs, gasping for sweet blessed air. “We’ve been running…for about…an hour and a half straight…” he panted heavily while glancing up at the duo jogging back to him.
“We must keep going” Caleb professed while breathing hard.
“Listen…” Blaise retorted while holding a hand up to stop the Confederate urging him to continue before standing up while wincing and grasping his side. “I…am not…a soldier. It has been…a bloody long time…since I’ve played Quidditch…or worked out. I need to take…a fucking breath.”
“Blaise, we can’t delay for long” Ginny claimed through her shallow breaths. “We have to get back to camp and warn everyone.”
“Why not just send a Patronus then?” he asked while resting his hands on his hips.
“Because if those men were a distraction, they wouldn’t be the only ones in the woods. If anyone but Caleb and Tala see us using magic, we could really screw up the timeline. Or worse, MACUSA will get wind that a bunch of muggles saw magic and come for us; then we’ll really be separated from our friends because they’ll detain us and possibly trap us here forever if they don’t believe a word we tell them!”
“Okay fine! No Patronus then…” he sighed in defeat.
“We should almost be there” the brunette muggle added while focusing in the direction they were headed. “The compound is not much further…I do not think.”
“Should? You don’t think?” the Slytherin contested with narrowed brows. “Are you saying you don’t exactly know where the camp is?”
“I know where it is! I have been following the stars. It is just hard to calculate the precise distance!”
“Whose bright idea was it again to go venturing into the woods without Hermione?” Blaise challenged while throwing his hands in the air. “It was stupid not to talk to her first or bring her and Draco with us! Now we’re lost in the fucking woods with Confederates on our bums!”
“Uhhh,” Ginny raised a finger in annoyance, “that would be me, Blaise. So, thanks for that…Dick” she scoffed while crossing her arms, clearly insulted by his words. Though she knew he didn’t mean it, and this was just Blaise, once again, freaking out more than he probably should.
“I’m sorry, darlin” he sighed while rubbing a hand over his coarse hair. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know. I get it. I just-”
“Friends!” Caleb cut in in distress. “We need to hurry.”
“Okay! Alright!” the dark-haired wizard asserted before stretching his neck, cracking his back while rotating his shoulders, and began walking quickly passed the man unwilling to give him a moment’s rest. However, he quickly stopped with a raised hand and tilted his head slightly upwards while sniffing the air in confusion. “Do…do any of you smell that?” he asked while looking back at the duo behind him.
“Burning…Fire…Smoke…” Caleb replied solidly. “The camp!”
While the trio raced towards the potent smell, Pansy quickly locked the classroom door with a flick of her wrist before placing up a silencing spell as Ron set Harry on the ground in front of a long desk. The Slytherin Princess then rushed to the boys and crouched down in front of the Wizarding Savior and took his hand in hers while he continued to yell about what was happening around him.
“Can he hear us?” Ron questioned as he watched Harry squeeze the ever-loving shite out of Pansy’s hand. But the girl didn’t bat an eye or even yelp in pain as she allowed the raven-haired Gryffindor to practically break her fingers.
“I don’t think so” she replied, never taking her eyes off of Harry, who was sweating profusely with a clenched jaw. “But he’s talking, so something is either really wrong or…”
“Or what?”
“I-I don’t know. None of the books we read said anything about this. They never even mentioned that Harry would be connected to Draco!”
“No…” the redhead began while standing up straight and quickly started searching around the room before finding a slip of parchment and a quill sitting on top of the Professors’ desk. “But Rowle would know” he claimed before swiftly walking back to his friends. He then pulled out his wand and cast his Patronus in the shape of a Jack Russell Terrier, whispered a message to the canine, and sent it to Malfoy Manor. Setting the parchment on the table, he began to scribble down everything Harry was saying as Pansy, without thinking, reluctantly ripped off part of her skirt in order to wipe the beads of sweat from the Golden Boy’s forehead.
Friday, May 15^th, 1999
Thorfinn laid propped up in his bed at Malfoy Manor, reading a history book he had borrowed from the library, which contained the eras he had once visited with the friend he missed more than words could say. The memories of surviving through time with Regulus cut through his heart like a razor blade against a piece of tissue paper, and when he thought back on how their struggles caused him to lose the only person in his life he could ever call a brother, forced a lump to form deep within his throat. He feared for the four trapped in the past and dreaded that one or more of them may face death similar to that of his departed friend.
Though he knew, however, that the fate of the students was left strictly in the hands of the ones who made the choices, and it was Regulus, who chose to sacrifice his life to ensure the destruction of the Slytherin Locket. Problem was, he was fully aware that the two Slytherins and the two Gryffindors would end up becoming a family when all was said and done. Each era was supposed to get harder and harder, which would cause them to want to work together, and it worried him that it was possible, not all of them, if any, would return home. A Slytherin might kill for the ones they love, but a Gryffindor would give their life…and Hermione Granger and Ginevra Weasley had a knack for wanting to do whatever they could to help others in need. If they were getting as close as he believed they were, it was only a matter of time before one of them did something thoroughly stupid.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t exactly remove Draco and Blaise from the sacrificial picture either. The boys were stubborn, possessive, and extremely protective. The proof alone was shown in Gettysburg and it scared him to know that one of the Slytherins might take things a little too far. They both may be cunning and willing to fight for each other and for the girls, but all it would take was for one of them to overthink, or not think at all, and die while defending their friends…
But as Thorfinn muddled over the thoughts about those imprisoned in time, a brilliant white light began to fill his room, causing him to look towards his window in puzzlement. A small breed, he couldn’t really identify as he usually stayed away from pets and the people who owned them, began running around the room as the former Death Eater sat up straight, and stopped just below his feet. The dog sat down upon the plush mattress and stared at him for a few seconds before its mouth opened and Ronald Weasley’s voice emerged from the canines’ lips.
The message was short but the panic in the redheads’ voice nearly caused Rowle to trip over his own feet when he attempted to rush out of the room. Running down the halls as fast as he could, while portraits on the walls yelled at him to slow down, he burst through the Library doors expecting it to be empty, but instead found the room full of all the adults staying at Malfoy Manor, staring at him as if he was interrupting a meeting he wasn’t invited to.
“Oh, shite!” he expressed in shock. “Sorry, I was not anticipating you all to be here.”
“What’s wrong?” Elizabeth questioned as she watched Thorfinn march over to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder.
“Is this fireplace still connected to Minerva’s office?” he asked rather quickly.
“What is going on, Rowle?” Molly pressed while Thorfinn sighed and ran his free hand through his blonde hair. “Talk to us…”
“I just received a Patronus from your son, that Potter is having another vision…” he answered impatiently.
“What?” Robert exclaimed in shock. “Is he alright?”
“As far as I know, he’s fine. The message didn’t give much in the department of details, but apparently…” he trailed off as the adults looked at one another in concern.
“Apparently…?” Arthur urged. “Apparently what, Rowle?”
“His visions are changing. He isn’t passed out like normal…He’s talking-”
“Talking?” Narcissa interrupted as she took a step forward with a hand clasped against her chest.
“That’s all I was told…Listen I-I have to get to Hogwarts while this vision is still ongoing. I have to document it…”
“I’ll go with you” the former Slytherin Queen stated as she walked past Thorfinn and stood in the hearth, waiting for him. However, when he looked back at her curiously, she relaxed her shoulders and crossed her hands neatly in front of her. “You can’t just waltz around Hogwarts alone, Thorfinn. You’ll terrify the students; some might even hold you at wand point. At least if you have someone with you, you’ll seem less threatening. And too many of us going will draw suspicion. So, I’m going, and I don’t want to hear any argument about it. Molly can watch over the Manor…I trust her…”
“Your home is in good hands” Molly uttered with a small nod of her head. “But…please, Narcissa…take care of my boys…” the red-headed mother weakly stated as Arthur wrapped his arms around her.
“They will always be safe with me…Now let’s go, Rowle. We don’t know how long Harry will see what is happening in the past.”
It wasn’t long until Thorfinn and Narcissa arrived at Hogwarts, causing every student, not in class, to stop what they were doing and stare in utter fear and confusion as the duo exited the Headmistress’s office. The pair began to march towards the room Ron had told them they would be in while whispers filled the corridor. Though they ignored the indistinct mutters and turned the corner to see Professor McGonagall with Theo, Neville, and Luna trailing quickly behind her.
“Minerva?” Narcissa called out as the duo jogged up to the group that had stopped for them. “Did you get Ronald’s Patronus as well?” she queried while everyone continued to hastily walk towards the Common Room.
“Patronus? Is that why you’re here?” McGonagall inquired as students in the hall scattered at the presence of the former Death Eater. “We did not get a Patronus. Mr. Potter began to have a vision in my class. Ms. Parkinson and Mr. Weasley were instructed to take him to their Common Room.”
“Wait!” Thorfinn exclaimed while halting his stride. “They aren’t in there. Weasley said they were in a classroom. They didn’t make it back to the dorms.”
“Did he say which one?” the Professor asked while gazing over her spectacles.
“No, sorry.”
“What classes are not in session right now?” Narcissa asked while Luna brought out her wand and performed a locator charm as everyone watched in anticipation.
Once the Ravenclaws’ wand stopped spinning in her hand, the six rushed to the classroom door that Pansy had spelled to keep everyone out. The Headmistress quickly took down the wards and entered the room just in time to witness Harry hugging his knees while rocking back and forth and mumbling something under his breath.
July 6^th, 1863
“Aiyana!” Hermione shouted while holding her arms up to shield her face from the raging fire engulfing the wigwam she had just stepped inside of. “Aiyana! Aiyana, can you hear me?” she yelled once more but had to quickly sidestep a piece of fiery wood that came crashing down from the ceiling of the shelter before seeing a body lying on the ground, coughing and moaning. “Aiyana!” she cried out while rushing over to the old woman. “You’re okay! I’m gonna get you out of here!” she claimed while on her knees, hunched over the Elder to protect her from falling debris and to assess her injuries.
The Native’s clothing was scorched and there were clear signs of second- and third-degree burns lining her fragile skin, but the Gryffindor refused to allow the woman to be in any more pain than she already was. Pointing her wand at the Elder, she went to begin healing the deep cuts and wounds when a hand grabbed her wrist to stop her.
“No…” Aiyana coughed as a trail of blood seeped out the side of her mouth, causing Hermione to glance at her in sorrow.
“Please…Let me help you…” she began to weep while stroking the grey hair on top of the Indians’ head. “I can heal you. I-I can’t explain how o-or why but I can. Let me heal you…please…”
“I know…what you are” she coughed more as the fire around them continued to rage uncontrollably. “Caleb…and T-Tala…are not the only ones…who have met s-someone…as remark-remarkable as-as you…”
“Aiyana, we need to get out of here, we need to remedy these burns. Let me at least take the pain away for now, and then we can get you some help” the brunette pleaded as a tear trickled down her cheek.
“Oh…little one” Aiyana weakly smiled as she removed her hand from Hermione’s wrist and cupped the witch’s face tenderly. “My time has come. I am ready…the Great…” she wheezed through her shallow breaths, “the Great Spirit…she calls to me.”
“No!” the bookworm stated determinedly before moving to try and lift the Elder by her shoulders to sit her up.
“Please…?” Aiyana implored, causing the witch to stop and look her in the eyes sullenly. “Bidziil…he-he be waiting for m-me…”
“Well he can wait a little longer then!” she strongly stated while trying to hold back the sadness swallowing her whole.
“It is not…your time…little one…You m-must go…”
“I’m not leaving you here…I-I can’t” Hermione affirmed mournfully as her jaw quivered dejectedly and tears fell freely from her brown eyes. “Please don’t make me leave you here…”
“Tell our story…so his-history…can…live…”
“Aiyana…?” the brunettes’ lips trembled as the Elder Native American’s eyes began to close.
“…on…” she breathed out as her hand relaxed and slid down Hermione’s face while her chest failed to rise again, causing the Gryffindor Princess to tilt her head as she shut her eyes tightly. The bookworm then began to sob over the woman while the sounds of the fire roared throughout the land.
After a few brief moments that felt more like multiple painstaking hours, Hermione finally stood up and covered the Elder with a singed quilt. Wiping her nose and the tears from her ash-covered face, she took one last look at the woman before making her way out of the disintegrating wigwam. As she exited the smokey shelter, Blaise, Ginny, and Caleb finally arrived at the camp with widened eyes. Ginny quickly put her hands over her mouth to try and suppress her shock of the devastation in front of them as Blaise stumbled backward, completely stunned.
The scene reminded the red-headed witch so much of the Quidditch World Cup when Death Eaters invaded Mr. Roberts’s campsite, tortured muggles and Muggle-borns, and destroyed everything in their paths. But what pained her the most, was how much the scene reminded her of Hogwarts as it was being ripped apart by Voldemort and his followers.
“I have to find Tala…” Caleb uttered, pulling the Gryffindor from her stupor before he began to rush off, but Ginny immediately reached out and stopped him.
“You can’t go in there!” she exclaimed in horror as a few Confederate whooped and shot their pistols in the air, resulting in people screaming in terror and the trio to instinctively cover their heads as they ducked.
“Get off of me, Ginny!” the brunette muggle demanded as they stood back up and he tried to rip his arm from her grasp without hurting her.
“No! I can’t let you go in there!”
“I have to find my love! I cannot just stand here!”
“Please, don’t go…” the redhead beseeched with tears brewing in her eyes.
“Ginny…” Caleb began softly while relaxing his shoulders slightly before noticing Blaise had finally shaken away his daze and walked up to the girl clinging to Caleb’s arm.
“Ginny…” Blaise asserted gently while touching one of her shoulders and walking around so she could see him. “You have to let him go…We can’t change history; not now, not after everything…”
“He’ll die…” she claimed in a soft whimper.
“We don’t know that. He’s not even in the history book…”
“He’ll die in there” she repeated with a trembling lip. “And I won’t be able to find him…”
It was in that moment, while searching her delicate eyes and seeing the desperation drowning her features, that Blaise understood what his witch was actually referring to.
“He’s not Fred, Ginny…” he declared as gently as he could as Caleb raised a brow and parted his lips slightly. “He’s not Fred.”
“Who is Fred?” the muggle inquired sullenly, realizing the man had to be someone very close to the woman adhered to his bicep.
“Fred is…was…one of her brothers that was killed during the battle of our school…” the Italian answered flatly, all the while never taking his eyes off of Ginny’s water-filled ones.
“That war you told me about over a bottle of pop skull, which you did not fight in? The Battle of Hogwarts?”
“Yeah…”
Sighing softly in sympathy, Caleb looked to Ginny as screams continued to rent the air and cupped her cheek, forcing her to turn her gaze to his.
“Listen to my words, little lion. No matter what happens to me…know that you will always be able to find me,” he stated fondly before removing a coin he had somehow fashioned into a necklace from his person, and placed it around her neck, “in here. Just like your brother. We will never leave you, no matter what era you may be in…” he claimed caringly before reaching back up to cup her cheek and remove a stray tear that had fallen from her lashes with his thumb. “But I have to try and find Tala and you…you be havin to find your friends. Stay strong little lion. You will never be alone, and I will always be rememberin you” he finished while he pressed a delicate kiss upon her forehead before he slowly stepped away from her and out of her loosened grasp.
“We have to go, Gin…” Blaise claimed sullenly after Caleb had disappeared into the mass of black smoke, took her hand, and began to lead her through the fiery chaos to find both Draco and Hermione.
As the couple scoured the campground for their friends, a large explosion from a Union-issued Ketchum Grenade, which the Confederates had most likely stolen during the Battle of Gettysburg, detonated around them, resulting in Blaise losing his grip on Ginny, Hermione to cry out while running in the opposite direction, and Draco to trip and scratch his head on a small rock not far from where the twosome had been. However, in the recesses of Draco’s mind, Harry screamed while covering his head with his hands as if the blast was actually happening around him; startling everyone so badly that Ron almost fell off the bench he had just sat down on, while a deep cut formed on Harry’s forehead.
Natives ran in all different directions, directly after the blast, that forced the pair to lose sight of each other as Indians pushed them back and away from the ongoing fight. Though when a few soldiers rushed to where the grenade had gone off, Ginny fell backward as women and children screamed in terror and brute Natives blocked her in order to defend their land and their tribe.
Scrambling to her feet, the red-headed Gryffindor ran in the opposite direction of the men battling one another and tried to find a different route to find Blaise. While running aimlessly through the burning bivouacs and wigwams as she panicked in the heat, Draco had finally reached the tent Hermione was supposed to be in.
“Ho-ly Salazar…!” he exclaimed in amazement when he saw the tent had become one giant bonfire. “HERMIONE!” he shouted while watching the fabric burn into nothing and ignoring the searing pain just under his hairline. “HERMIONE!” he tried again while rotating his body around in an effort to find her; praying to anyone that would listen that she wasn’t still in the shelter.
“Where is she?” Harry sobbed while his chest rose and fell rapidly.
“Who, Harry?” Luna requested as she rushed up to Pansy and Ron and knelt beside the Slytherin witch.
“He can’t hear us…” Ron confessed as he watched the beads of sweat continue to drip down the Saviors’ temples, into the wound, and wetting his hair as his skin turned deathly pale.
“You have to find her, Draco…Please find her…”
“What has he said so far?” Thorfinn questioned as he walked up to Ron and looked down at the notes he had taken. “Weasley, Gods dammit, you really need to learn to not write in chicken scratch” he commanded in irritation while crumpling the parchment in his hands and throwing it on the floor.
“He mentioned ‘fire’ a few times” Pansy cut in as Luna began tending to the gash bleeding heavily down Harry’s face. “A-and someone named Tala…maybe that’s who he wants Draco to find…?”
“Tala is Native American, isn’t it?” Narcissa inquired as she looked to Thorfinn and McGonagall for confirmation. “Did they settle with a tribe after what happened with Hermione?”
“It’s quite possible” McGonagall stated while Neville observed Theo, in case he couldn’t handle watching Harry go through another vision. “There were many Indians who helped fight in the American Civil War., but most tribes were forced out West in the seventeen hundred’s…Perhaps…perhaps there was one that stayed in hiding?”
“With the way things seem to be going with this damn amulet,” Thorfinn added, “I wouldn’t doubt that for once second. But with their luck, the tribe they landed with…Wait a second…Did you say Tala?” he asked Pansy who seemed slightly confused.
“Yeah…No last name, but he said the name ‘Tala’ very clearly at least two or three times” she answered as Thorfinn twisted his tongue and shook his head with a small chuckle. “What? You know her?”
“Oh, I know her…I met her…in 1859 when she was to become the next elected Chief of a Shawnee tribe after her father fell ill during their travels up North. Caleb had met the group just before he cared for mine and Regulus’s wounds after we tried to save a man from being beaten on the streets, without magic. He had informed them of where to go in order to be safe. Said something about an Underground Railroad in Chambersburg that some African American woman mentioned to him earlier that same year. I thought they would have been found before then and marched out West. I had no idea they could hide so well and for that long without some sort of magic.”
“So, the ancestor they’re with is named Caleb?” Narcissa queried.
Everyone knew they couldn’t do anything to help Harry while he was in the vision and instead decided to gain more information from the blonde who suspiciously had more knowledge about the past than he had originally let on.
“Yes…” he sighed heavily, “and Tala is the woman he intended to marry one day.”
“Find her!” Harry shouted, compelling everyone to look to him in worry as he squeezed Pansy’s hand harder, triggering her to finally wince ever so slightly.
“Who exactly is this Caleb bloke?” Theo asked as he removed his woeful gaze from Harry.
“A…” Thorfinn sighed heavily, hesitant to say anything after knowing the information would cause the group to panic unnecessarily. “He was a good man” he stated decisively. “When we met him, he was only nineteen and willing to help everyone he came in contact with. Had a memory of an elephant, that one. We taught him to read and write better than he was; even improve how he spoke. He saved a lot of lives and was a charming young lad…”
“What are you not telling us, Rowle?” Theo requested mistrustfully as he crossed his arms and stared at the former Death Eater. “You’re mentioning all the good he’s done but…you’re hiding something…aren’t you? I know you are.” Thorfinn pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek as he exhaled a deep breath and slightly bobbed his upper body back and forth.
“I…” he began nervously as Harry continued to sweat and rock his body. “After we were transported to the next era…I did a bit of digging. Wasn’t easy considering we were in France 1944…in Oradour-sur-Glane. One of the women we had saved from the slaughter was the ancestor we had to find. She had no family left except a cousin in America she never talked to, and a brother who was a scientist that was drafted to work on the Manhattan Project after a colleague in England told some guy named Oppenheimer about his research with Uranium.
“Her brother researched Caleb for us, which I’m assuming in family tomes because he’s not in any history book that I know of. Anyway, after Margret technically lied and told him in a letter that he had saved my grandfathers’ life during the Civil War and that I wanted to thank the family for his efforts, he had written her back with all the information he could find. Though I guess it wasn’t a full lie considering Regulus and I were the ones he had saved…she just didn’t know that-”
“Hermione?” Harry interrupted once more, forcing everyone to again look to him in concern as Thorfinn breathed a small sigh of relief, grateful for the disruption.
“BLAISE!” Ginny shouted over the loudness of the pandemonium, causing Draco to whip his body around while thinking the woman yelling was Hermione.
“Red?” he expressed in a mixture of shock and confusion. “Red, what are you doing here?” he called out while jogging up to her, stunning her for a moment as he grabbed her shoulder, turned her around, and looked her over for any injuries. “What are you doing here?” he demanded in a firmer voice. “You shouldn’t be here! Where’s Blaise?”
“Oh, Gods…Draco…” she exclaimed as fresh tears began to fall from her eyes.
“Ginny, where is Blaise?” he requested once more.
“I-I-I lost him” she sobbed as a few people violently pushed passed them and the air began to grow thick, making it harder to breathe in the dense smoke. “I lost him!” she wept after he had righted her when a woman had shoved her roughly in her shoulder in an effort to escape the angry fires and madmen running about.
“What do you mean ‘you lost him’? Why are you even back here? You’re supposed to be miles away from here!” Draco yelled over the noise before grabbing the Gryffindor by the bicep, refusing to allow her to answer him, and began to drag her away from the destruction.
Once they made it out into the woods where yellows, oranges, and reds lit up the tree line as shouting, screaming, and cries of pain suffocated the atmosphere, the blonde halted their stride and whipped his body around as tears streamed down Ginny’s face. “Why are you back here? Did you see Hermione?” he questioned, but the redhead was in too much shock to answer him and stared at the fire rising through the tall trees. “Ginny!” he bellowed while quickly turning her face to his by grasping her jaw in his hand, snapping her out of her trance as his stormy grey iris’s pleaded with her to tell him where the rest of their group was.
“I lost him…I-I-I-” she began to stutter before he placed his fingers under her soot-covered chin and forced her to look at him.
“Breathe, Ginny…talk to me. Tell me what happened…” he implored as his eyes began to water in fear that something bad had befallen Blaise.
“T-two Confederates found our camp…B-Blaise said they were pr-probably a distraction so Caleb…Caleb got us out of there and we r-ran a-all the way back here to find every-everything on fire…”
“Wha-what happened t-to Blaise, Ginny…?” he asked anxiously, causing her to tense her shoulders as she tried not to break down again.
“I don’t know” she began to sob. “An explosion went off and we got separated…I lost him, Draco…I lost him…”
“Okay, okay…” the Slytherin expressed while exhaling a sigh of relief that his best friend might still be alive. But as the Gryffindor started to cry harder, Draco swiftly pulled her into his arms and held her close while doing his best to not fall apart himself. Glancing back at the camp burning to the ground, the only thoughts that filled the blondes’ mind was finding his Italian friend and the woman he had promised…to always protect. Loosening his hold on the witch, he cupped her face with a single hand as he exhaled a deep breath. “I need you to stay here while I go back in there…”
“No!” she shouted while gripping his wrist tightly. “You can’t abandon me too! Blaise left me; Caleb left me…Fred left me…I-I can’t lose you too…”
“Red…I-I’m not abandoning you, but I can’t leave Hermione and Blaise in there. And what about Tala?”
“Please don’t leave me too…” she wept softly, forcing Draco to choose between walking away…and staying behind, while Harry began to wail uncontrollably into Pansy’s’ chest as she held him close.
But while the duo in the woods discussed the best way to move forward, Hermione continued to search for Draco in the anarchy that was once a peaceful encampment. She was about to round the corner of a large wigwam, thankfully not engulfed in a deathly blaze, when she heard arguing between a man and a woman, whose voice she recognized all too well. However, the pair that was quarreling were fighting in a different language and she couldn’t understand a word of it. Taking a chance, she quickly preformed the language charm and peeked around the shelter to see Tala with a man she didn’t recognize, though he appeared to be a part of the tribe.
“You will come with me!” the male Native demanded as he towered over the Chief, although, Tala seemed unfazed by the brute trying to intimidate her. “That white man is a savage and does not deserve you! Your father chose me to be your husband and you will abide by the rule he gave during his final breath!”
“You do not frighten me, Ohiyesa! I am Chief now! I will be the one to choose who I wish to marry and who is to lead at my side! I love Caleb and until he returns, I will do everything I can to ensure as many of my people survive this slaughter! Now if you are not going to help me get everyone to safety then leave!” she ordered before trying to turn away so she could return to aiding her small village screaming for help.
“Our people!” Ohiyesa claimed crossly while he gripped Tala by the bicep and prevented her from walking away. “I will not have you marry that worthless, uncivilized, barbarian! It is bad enough he brought those animals into our tribe and onto our land! He is not deserving of your love!” Ohiyesa scowled menacingly as Hermione scoffed angrily. “You should have rid them the moment they stumbled upon us…”
“Oh, and you are worthy of my love…?” she ridiculed with a small chuckle. “If you harm my friends in any way…” she glowered as her hands tighten into fists and she glared up at the man holding her hostage. “I promise you; you will not live to see another day.”
Shocked by the Chiefs’ threat, as she was known to be extremely placid and not condone violence, Hermione was about to step out from her hiding spot to help the woman when a Confederate on horseback, shot a teen boy directly in the back as he was running towards the witch, provoking terror in the Gryffindor and Tala. As the boy fell face-first into the dirt ridden ground, the brunette bookworm gasped in horror while Tala tried to break free from Ohiyesa’s grasp in an effort to get to the unmoving child.
But once the Native American Chief finally broke the hunters’ hold on her and the Confederate laughed before racing off, the Gryffindor Princess watched as everything began to move in slow motion. While Tala rushed to the fallen boy and fell to her knees as she reached out to pull him into her arms and tears fell from her copper-brown eyes, Ohiyesa slowly pulled a dagger from his deerskin belt and stepped up behind the raven-haired leader.
“If I cannot have you…then no one can…” he muttered, but Tala didn’t hear it through her mourning…however, Hermione did.
“NO!” the brunette witch cried out while removing herself from behind the wigwam with an outstretched hand, but she was far too late and Ohiyesa…was far too fast. In one quick effortless motion, the brute hunter reached around the sobbing Chief and ripped his knife cleanly across the front of her neck, spilling crimson blood down her chest and onto the sacred dirt.
Pulling out her wand, Hermione swiftly threw the Diffindo charm at Ohiyesa, slicing his shoulder, and forcing a loud agonizing scream to emit from the Natives’ throat as he gripped his arm tightly and dropped the knife in his hand. The brunette was about to throw another hex when the hunter glanced up at her with widened eyes, and quickly scrambled away, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. She was strongly thinking of chasing after him, but the dying Tala drew her from her pursuit and instead rushed over to the stunned Chief.
Hermione quickly caught the raven-haired muggle, before she could fall to the ground, and held her tightly in her arms while pointing her wand at the wound, trying her best to heal it…but she was too late. Glancing up at the woman’s face, the Gryffindor Princess sat on her knees in absolute shock as Tala stared up at the smokey starry night sky…with lifeless eyes. She didn’t blink, she didn’t breathe, she didn’t even choke out a word of encouragement as she bled out onto the bookworm who was too startled to move.
“Hermione?” Caleb called out from behind the brunette when he noticed the Golden Girl kneeling on the earth and two pairs of legs stretched out to the left side of her. “Hermione?” he repeated while steadily walking up to her. After noticing the boy lying face-first in the dirt, the wavy-haired muggle raced over to check on him before looking up and seeing the one thing he had prayed to never see ever in his life.
Too scared to say anything, Hermione continued to gaze down at Tala in her arms while tears began to fall from her lashes. Caleb, in a daze, hesitantly reached out in order to take the love of his life from the Gryffindor witch, but Hermione refused to give her up and clung tighter to the Chief while pushing the Confederate away. “Hermione, please…Please give her to me…” he begged as he began to weep, and his bottom lip quivered violently. “Please…” But all she could do was shake her head ‘no’ and cling harder to the body in her grasp.
At that moment, Blaise stumbled upon the mournful scene and paused while jolting backwards after seeing the death in front of him. Realizing who the pair on the ground was, he timidly took a step forward with a partially outstretched hand as his breath grew heavy and the wigwam behind Hermione, caught fire.
“What the fuck happened?” he yelled over the searing flares lighting up the night sky as he rushed over to the duo before observing the person lying lifeless in his friends’ sobbing embrace. “Her-Hermione?” he asserted while flicking his gaze from off of Tala and up to the bookworm wailing as her body rocked back and forth. Kneeling down to her level, he gently moved the boy in front of her out of the way before turning to Caleb, who was barely holding his own emotions together. “Caleb…” he softly muttered, “we-we have to get out of here…We-we have to leave…”
“Please give her to me…” he cried, refusing to look to the Italian as he continued to plead with the brunette Princess. “Hermione, please…I’m begging you…”
“Hermione…give him Tala…” Blaise requested while turning his sight back to the girl he called family. “Give her to him so we can get out of here.”
“No!” she shouted while still rocking the Native. “I’m not leaving her behind!”
“Okay,” he stated with raised hands. “Okay, Buttercup…” he calmly claimed as he looked her over without touching her and caught sight of all the blood staining her blouse; unknowing if all of it came from just Tala or if his friend was injured as well. “Talk to me…Tell me what happened? Where’s Draco?” he questioned, hoping the mention of her boyfriend would pull her out of her trance.
“He never came back…” she wept but refused to meet his eyes.
“Alright, Buttercup…Can you tell me what happened a-and why you won’t give Tala up?”
“He-he came out of nowhere…” she mumbled softly as her tears maintained a steady flow.
“Who, Hermione? Who came out of nowhere?”
“I-I don’t know who he was…” she stated while shaking her head intensely.
“Was…was he a-a Con-Confederate?” Caleb inquired through his own weeping when he realized what the dark-skinned wizard was trying to accomplish. He would do just about anything in that moment if it meant Hermione would give him his deceased bride, and he didn’t want to hurt or even startle the witch, who would most likely turn on him in an instant if he tried to rip his love from her grasp. But Hermione simply shook her head ‘no’ and he threw his head back in disappointment and defeat.
“Was he part of the tribe?” Blaise added, causing the Gryffindor to nod her head, however, she still refused to look at either of the men crouched near her while Caleb snapped his attention back to the witch.
“Th-they were arguing in-in Shaw-Shawnee” she continued through her heartbreaking sobs. “I-I used the language charm to-to understand and…”
“And what, Buttercup?”
“And then that boy was shhhhhhshot, and Ta-Ta-Ta-Tala went to check on-on him…”
“Okay” the Italian stated as he glanced at the boy with a bullet in his spine before looking back to Hermione brushing the bloody black hair from Tala’s face. “Then what? What happened with the man, Hermione?”
“He said…If-if he couldn’t ha-have her…Nnnnnnno one could…And then he sliced her throat open” she continued while pointing to her own throat with a relaxed hand, “like she meant nothing! I-I tried to heal her. I tried…but…” She tensed her shoulders and opened her mouth as a silent sob attempted to escape her lips before finally looking up at Blaise with reddened watery eyes.
Her bottom lip trembled as she momentarily stared at the Slytherin and thought about how she could no longer take it anymore. All she wanted to do was go home. She was tired of the death constantly occurring and she was sick of feeling like she could do nothing to relieve the pressure of sadness that weighed heavily on her every day. She just wanted it to all be over and she realized in that moment…she couldn’t do it on her own anymore.
As her eyes connected with Blaise’s, she suddenly felt a wave of understanding wash over her. Flicking her unseeing sight down to the ground, before looking to Tala in her arms, Hermione’s breath halted for a few short seconds as the noise surrounding her suddenly went quiet. While fresh tears began to fall once more, she looked back up to her friend in desperation and a ragged breath before saying the words she never thought she would ever need to say.
“P-p-please…” she pleaded as Blaise’s face softened in a mixture of shock and confusion and his own eyes began to water. “Please help me…”
“Hermione…” he stated gently with sorrow dripping from his voice, realizing the amount of pain the Gryffindor was in.
“Please…” she implored despairingly. “I can’t…I can’t let her go…I-I need you…Please help me…”
“Okay…” he nodded as Caleb practically began to hyperventilate. “Okay, I…I need to be able to touch you…alright? Is-is that okay?” he questioned in worry, fearful that she might freak out if anyone other than Draco touched her. However, Hermione nodded her head in compliance while she looked back down at Tala.
Slowly reaching out, Blaise steadily lifted the Native American from the bookworms’ grasp as Hermione inattentively stared at the ground slightly off to her right. Gently handing the Chief to her former love, Caleb began to sob uncontrollably as he took her from the dark-haired wizard and cradled her in a tender embrace. Blaise then turned back to Hermione and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug as she unwillingly cried into his shoulder.
As the three knelt on the hard earth and grief filled their lungs, Draco was trying to convince Ginny to allow him to go back into the camp to find their friends. But as he softened his shoulders and ran both hands through his hair in frustration, a bright green light lit up the darkened woods, leading the pair to look off into the distance and gasp in surprise as the prominent square, they wished would have come earlier, glowed brilliantly. However, the clock didn’t show five minutes as it did twice before and instead held the roman numeral for the number ten.
“Did…Did Hermione…But…That’s-that’s not right…” Ginny claimed while wiping at her face and staring hard at the numbers counting down. “Why is it giving us more time?”
“We-we’re not all here…” Draco muttered rather quietly before looking back at the burning village. “I think it’s because we’re separated…”
“How do you know that?”
“I don’t. It’s just an observation” he claimed, still torn between protecting Ginny and saving Blaise and Hermione. And thanks to his grating familial bond, his heart was being pulled in both directions.
If he left Ginny behind, because she was in too much shock to actually help him, then something bad could happen to her. However, if he brought her with him, then she might not only hinder his ability to save their friends, but they might also lose the position of the square if they got lost in the confusion of the chaos. But while Draco contemplated one of the hardest decisions he had ever had to make as explosions, that didn’t sound like grenades, echoed in the air, Blaise released his hold on Hermione when he noticed a green glow light up his face.
Behind the Gryffindor witch sat her notorious beaded bag, gleaming brightly in the fiery moonlight, making him conclude that the brunette, wiping at her face before him, had finally completed her trial. Yet the Italian didn’t have a chance to even open his mouth and tell her as the sounds of shouting men pulled them both from their despair.
“NO! NO, NO, NO!” Caleb yelled as he tried to hold on to Tala for dear life while a group of male Natives pulled him away in a rage, apparently assuming that Caleb had killed their Chief with the evidence of the bloody silver dagger laying at his side.
“Stop!” Hermione shrieked as she began to crawl towards the muggle, who was kicking and screaming as he attempted to fight those holding him back. “Stop, he didn’t do it!” she called out as she finally made it to her feet and Blaise watched in horror. “Let him go! Stop!”
“Hermione, no!” the dark-skinned wizard expressed while shaking every thought running through his mind; realizing that if he didn’t protect Hermione from the men who could cause her harm for interfering, then he would never forgive himself and Draco…would have his head on a spike. He had to keep her safe and if that meant letting Caleb be taken away, then so be it. “No!” he yelled while he scrambled to his feet, grabbed the bookworm by the waist, and hoisted her up and away from Caleb, who was still doing everything in his power to fight off the Natives.
As much as it pained him to see one of the ancestors of the amulet in so much heartache and turmoil, Blaise couldn’t risk changing the past either. But there was something about the way Hermione was screaming as she tried to escape his strong grasp, and the way Caleb desperately pleaded to get back to Tala, that caused him to have second thoughts about helping.
“Hermione! Stop fighting me!” he shouted over the duos screams and hopeless struggles while whipping the witch around so she couldn’t see the Natives pin the Confederate to the ground with his hands behind his back, crying out for his deceased lover through agonizing tears.
“We have to help him!” she howled while Blaise did everything he could to hold her back.
“We can’t! I’m sorry, darlin…but we can’t…” he declared sullenly, though he wasn’t fully sure if he actually meant it or not.
But as the words left his lips, the witch suddenly stopped fighting against him and looked up into his defeated chocolate irises with a quivering lip. Her shortened wavy brown hair clung to her wet face and her lips puckered as she tried to hold in her emotions, however, her eyes began to appeal to his better nature, and he threw his head back in frustration.
“Please…Blaise…” she begged somberly through a ragged breath. “Please help him…”
Licking his lips as he tilted his head, divided on the choices he had to make, Blaise inhaled a deep breath, pulled out his wand from his pocket, and turned around just in time to see an angry Native pull out a knife while the rest of the tribesmen lifted Caleb to his knees and grabbed his hair in order to give the man better access to the muggles’ throat.
“I did not do it…” the brunette Confederate wept through his heavy breaths and tear covered face. “Please, Paal…I did not kill her…” but Paal either couldn’t understand the desolated plea…or he just didn’t care and took a step forward while flipping the knife in his hand so that the blade now pointed upwards to the smoke-filled sky.
Shielding the Gryffindor behind him, Blaise exhaled sharply before raising his wand and wordlessly threw a Bombarda at Paal’s feet, throwing him backward, before effortlessly flicking his wrist and hurling the same charm behind the men holding Caleb. He then began Stupefying the rest running around in terror, believing Confederates were throwing more bombshells at them, and causing both Hermione and Caleb’s eyes to widen in shock.
The three of them froze as the Slytherin double-checked to ensure everyone was unconscious while the bookworm stayed hidden behind him. After lowering his wand, Hermione tore her bewildered gaze away from Blaise only to find a mixture of fear and astonishment etched across Caleb’s face. But she didn’t have time to make sure he was okay due to the fire in the wigwam next to them growing dangerously larger and gripped the Italians’ bicep hard when she remembered what the shelter contained.
“Run…” she whispered while Blaise slightly winced from the nails digging into his arm. “RUN!” she screamed, startling Caleb enough to pull him from his trance before he scrambled to his feet and stumbled into a run. Hermione then grabbed Blaise’s wand from his hand as she had dropped hers in order to hold Tala and produced a shield charm while simultaneously pulling him to the ground as the Wigwam exploded from the gunpowder set inside.
“What the bloody fuck!” he shouted after the blast had settled and scrambled to his feet in complete confusion.
“That was their weapons depository” the brunette claimed while slowly standing up.
“Since when the fuck did Indians carry gunpowder?” he yelled in shock before turning around to help the Gryffindor.
“They most likely collected it in case they ever needed it. It can be used for other things besides guns, you know-Ow…” she claimed while holding the upper part of her right arm.
“What? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” he inquired slightly panicked.
“I’m fine, I just…I just landed on a rock when we fell. I’ll be okay.”
“No, once we find Red and Draco, you’re going to let me take a look at that and heal it, okay? I don’t want to hear any argument about it.”
“Alright…” she shrugged. “Here…I’m sorry for taking it from you.” Handing him back his wand, Hermione walked over to where her own wand laid, while trying her best to not look at the dead by her feet. Picking it up before reaching for her beaded bag she abruptly began noticing the glow emitting from it. “H-how long has this been glowing?”
“Since I let go of you…” Blaise replied while looking around at the village that was now almost completely silent, except for the sounds of whimpers and flames that still burned throughout. “Buttercup, we need to find Draco and Ginny. We can’t leave without them…” At that moment, before Hermione could even reach in her bag and pull out the amulet or even look to Blaise, a blinding silver Eagle Owl soared through the mass of black smoke before landing on top of a large boulder not too far from them.
“Is-is that-” Blaise started to question but was quickly cut off by Hermione’s excited gasp.
“Draco’s Patronus…” she beamed while tugging happily on the Italians’ sleeve.
“Salazar, it’s…it’s beautiful…”
“We have to follow it!” she expressed as the large bird flapped its heavy wings and began to fly deeper into the woods and away from the fallen camp that held little to no survivors.
“There’s only eight minutes left, Draco!” Ginny exclaimed in worry. “What if they’re not alive and-and-and we-we have to go alone?” she panicked, causing the blonde Slytherin to grab her shoulders in an effort to calm the scared redhead.
“Red! You have to stop thinking like that!” he demanded firmly. “They aren’t dead, you hear me! They’ll come…” he claimed with a shaky voice.
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” she argued.
“I don’t know!” he yelled in a mixture of dread and heartache. “I…I-I don’t know” he repeated in a softer tone while releasing his grip and running his fingers through his soot-filled hair while his eyes began to water. “I can’t lose her, Ginny…I can’t. She’s the best thing that has ever happened to me…I’m not ready to let her go…” he admitted as a tear fell down the arch of his cheek and splashed into the dirt below, causing Ginny to soften her shoulders before pulling him into a hug and Harry to realize the relationship between his best friend and the man he once called an enemy.
“I’m sorry, Draco” she cried as she held him tightly and listened to the sounds of him doing his best to reign in his sorrow. “I didn’t mean to say that. She’ll make it through this, she always does…” she asserted while pulling back and allowing him to wipe his nose on the back of his sleeve. “They both will…” she claimed while silently praying to anyone who would listen, that Blaise was alright as she tried not to think about her fallen brother and the same fate that could befall their friends.
“Draco?” a voice called out from the distance, pulling the pair from the sullenness surrounding them as the blonde quickly pulled out the gun in the back of his waistband and fearfully pointed it in the direction of the sound. “Draco!” Hermione exhaled sharply while running as fast as she could towards her wizard with Blaise directly on her heels.
“Oh Gods, Hermione!” he breathed out in relief while lowering the weapon and racing towards his witch as his Patronus dissipated into the air. Rushing into his welcoming hold, Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco’s neck as he dropped the gun, picked her up, twirled her around, and hugged her as if his life depended on it. “Fuck!” he expressed as he gently set her down and cupped her face before kissing her hard. “I thought I lost you. Gods, Hermione, I thought I lost you” he confessed while running his thumbs across her skin and leaning his forehead against hers. And even though Harry was ecstatic that his friend was alright, he could have gone without the feeling of kissing her…but that didn’t stop him from being thrilled to be able to feel her strong embrace around him.
Draco then pulled her into another hug, preventing her from replying, while Ginny kissed Blaise all over his face in delight. Finally allowing the Gryffindor Princess to breathe, Draco stepped back and smiled before his happiness turned to concern as he eyed the blood covering the front of his witch’s blouse and skirt.
“It-it’s not mine…” she stated while he stared at her in shock and worry.
“Then whose blood is it?” he questioned in alarm, though never taking his eyes off the obscene amount of red covering the bookworm. “Whose blood is that, Hermione?” he asked again, making Blaise and Ginny break their snogging session and gaze at the couple, but Hermione couldn’t find the right words to tell him what happened.
“It’s Tala’s” Blaise proclaimed through the thick silence that filled the air, causing Draco to snap his attention to the Italian behind him and Ginny’s eyes to widen in bewilderment. “…She’s dead” he declared gently while sadly looking to Hermione.
“What?” Ginny whimpered while shaking her head. “No…No, she can’t be…”
“I tried to save her…” Hermione stated while staring unseeingly at the ground. “I tried…but I was too late…”
“We don’t have a lot of time to explain right now but…I think it was Ohiyesa. I think he followed us back to camp and-”
“What about Caleb?” Draco finally managed to say through his dismay.
“He’s alive…” Hermione answered as she wiped the palm of her hand across her left cheek, smearing the cinders on her skin.
“Can-can we please read the clue and get out of here before discussing everything?” he queried while holding back the tears wishing to fall from his lashes. “I really just want to leave this era…”
Ginny took a step forward, out of her Slytherin’s embrace, and was about to reach for Hermione’s bag when she remembered the mental state her friend was previously in; unaware that her best friend was no longer in the same mindset she once was. Not wanting to risk anything as the timer in the square read four minutes, Draco noticed her hesitation and reached for the glowing bag himself. Pulling out the amulet, he began unfolding the paper while Thorfinn paced back and forth in the classroom as Harry’s sobs finally subsided.
“Tell us about Caleb” Neville demanded as the former Death Eater still hadn’t answered Theo’s question.
“What did he do?” McGonagall questioned with a hint of worry dripping from her voice.
“He didn’t do anything…He…He was a…”
“Just spit it out, Rowle” Theo asserted in annoyance.
“He was a Confederate…” he finally admitted as a tidal wave of gasps filled the room.
“No!” Ron argued as he stood up in surprise. “You’re lying! He can’t be one of those sick bastards that attacked ‘Mione!”
“He didn’t have a choice!” Thorfinn contended. “He was practically forced to join that side, but he had helped many people escape the South in doing so. He was an extremely peaceful person and he-” he continued but was quickly caught off by the soft mumbling of the Golden Boy.
Pansy sat the Savior upright as he began to talk louder, but his words were still unintelligible. However, he suddenly straightened his body while taking a large breath before slumping forward and speaking loud and clear for all to hear.
“A time of death...for those without shame...the Canonical Five...a Ripper once claimed.”
Everyone except for Thorfinn, who knew Harry was repeating a clue, stared in bewilderment as the Boy-Who-Lived fell forward into Pansy’s arms, while the four in the past groaned in annoyance.
“Ahhhh come on!” Blaise yelled while punching and kicking the air in frustration. “Fuck it!” he claimed once he stopped his flailing temper tantrum, took Ginny by the hand, and stepped into the square, followed swiftly and reluctantly, by Draco and Hermione.
@Saxman66- With the war, MACUSA wouldn't bother with people using unauthorized magic, though the group hasn't used any forbidden magic and have only used magic in front of one muggle since Caleb is technically a squib. Though one muggle isn't enough to cause them to send someone out to investigate. But to answer your other queries:
A) Tala is hostile to magic when used on her people. The tent is Hermione's and technically Draco's as well, so they are allowed to do with it what they will as long as it doesn't affect the tribe in any way.
B) It would be faster for Ginny to send a Patronus but things are moving quickly and it's most likely she didn't think about it; and with the risk of others seeing she wouldn't do it. On top of all that, the fight that was occuring in the main camp is already happening so it would be pointless. Also the two Confederates with the hunters are not prisoners, they're are just a distraction to keep the hunters occupied. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I really hope you enjoyed this one as well :)
@HaplessParadox- Thank you, love! I really appreciate you saying that and leaving another review :) You're awesome!
@1_Luv215- Thank you! You're too sweet! Yes, Ohiyesa is an asshat, as you put it lol. But a necessary evil. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and it answered all you other questions! I am very grateful for all of you reviewing this story! It really makes my day! :)
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The Paths We Take