Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Cannot Save You Now	By : tigrelilje Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Slash - Male/Male Views: 15706 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 5
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter fandom nor do I make any money from writing this story.

Chapter List
- 25
- 26
- 27
Disclaimer: I own no part of the Harry Potter fandom, nor do I make any money from this story.
Warnings: Violence and swearing
A/N: So fight scenes… yeah, not my strength.
{Parseltongue}
Chapter 25
"Mr. Renard, what are you doing?" Dumbledore asked suspiciously.
"Send the students to their common rooms!" Harry growled. "Do you not care about your students' safety, you old fool?! I tried to strengthen the wards, but I am not the Headmaster. Lock them down now! It will not hold Voldemort but at least it will buy you some time to call your Order."
Dumbledore considered him, his knowledge of the Order unsettling the old man, before instructing the students to be led back to their common rooms and sealed in. He altered the wards to lock down and called Fawkes to him. He sent him off with a message to Arthur Weasley, who would be at home now that he lost his job, and Kingsley Shacklebolt that Voldemort was attacking Hogwarts now and the password they could use to access the castle through his Floo once they gathered the rest of the Order.
The other teachers were watching Harry with wariness, not exactly pointing their wands at him, but holding them in their hands ready to use if he showed even the slightest hint of aggression.
The Great Hall was almost empty of students at this point, though Harry did see Neville making his way toward Dumbledore, as would be expected of the new Chosen One. Harry could see his friends and mate lingering at the back of the crowd, obviously debating staying with him. Harry didn't want that at all, staying in the Wizarding world would be infinitely more difficult for them if the people here saw how much they knew about him. They would be endlessly harassed for information about him. Even more unfortunate, Ron Weasley was refusing to be moved from the Great Hall and demanding to speak to his mother and father when they arrived.
Before Harry could even contemplate how to make his friends leave without drawing suspicion to them, Theo suddenly gasped before dropping to his knees and all Harry's plans to keep distance between them were forgotten as he ran to his friend.
"What's wrong?" he asked as he dropped to his knees next to his friend. He could see him clutching his left forearm. He peripherally noticed that Dumbledore and the other teachers' suspicion of him increased with the proof of an apparent Death Eater in their midst whom he was obviously close to.
"He's summoning me," Theo hissed out after glancing at Draco and confirming that his Mark was obviously not activated as well. "I had a mission to bring him Draco, remember?"
"So he wants you to do it now while everyone is panicking," Harry reasoned, also glancing at his mate grimly. Draco looked an odd combination of scared and determined.
"I assume so," Theo said, breathing deeply while he noticed the pain starting to lessen ever so slightly.
"Theo, Draco, I want you to stay together here in the castle," Harry began, before being interrupted by his furious mate.
"What?!" Draco hissed, furious but aware of their unwanted audience, keeping his voice down. "You cannot keep me here! How can I let you go out and face this alone?"
"Draco," Harry said, completely serious and almost harshly, "how are you going to help me if Voldemort uses your Mark against you? How are you going to help me when my instincts as your mate will not allow me to let you stay here?"
Draco opened his mouth again, but Harry cut him off, standing quickly so he was right in front of his mate and quickly erected a Silencing Charm around them.
"Draco, if you were a vampire, I would not hesitate to let you join me," Harry started, knowing their relationship was too new for them to have ever discussed such an option and Draco's face clearly displayed his displeasure of that comment. "It's not that I don't want you at my side always, because I do. But our bonding is still new, and though I disguise it well, due to our surroundings here at Hogwarts, I am having a lot of trouble acting normal in an environment that I do not feel is safe for my newly claimed mate. Please, don't fight me Draco. I will not be able to finish this if I know you are out on the battlefield. I will not be able to focus on Voldemort to finish him. I will only think of you and your safety and my distraction will cost me my life, and probably yours as well. Voldemort isn't the only enemy we need to deal with."
Draco stared at Harry for a long moment, still feeling frustrated at the situation but recognizing his mate's fear and that Harry did want him there. Finally he sighed and gave a reluctant nod before going over to Theo, who was once again steady on his feet. The situation, however, gave Draco much to consider in regards to his hesitancy to become a vampire.
Harry watched as his friends left the hall before turning around to deal with Dumbledore. While he had been talking to his friends, a few of the Order members had shown up; most notably, the Weasleys. The adult Weasleys were currently forcing Ron to leave the hall while he protested heavily, pointing out that Neville was still there.
"Ronald Weasley!" Molly's voice carried throughout the hall, inevitably catching everyone's attention, "you will leave this hall at once! You are too young. I will hear no more of this. Go back to your common room, now! Go!"
Ron scowled mutinously as he was more or less pushed out of the hall and the door slammed behind him. There was a moment of silence, only interrupted by the slight shaking of the castle as Voldemort continued to attempt to breach the wards. The rest of the Order had appeared and Harry felt the attention in the hall focus back on him. His vampiric instincts did not appreciate the concentrated attention on his person but he endured it while waiting for someone to speak. He was glad Neville had kept his distance so far.
"Now, Mr. Renard, who are you? Why have you come to Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked, piercing Harry with his gaze over his half-moon spectacles. He felt the attempt to enter his mind from the old man and lifted an eyebrow mockingly.
"Why bother asking if you are simply going to try to break into my mind? Such a breach in proper conduct, old man, I worry for the rights of the other students in this school," Harry drawled sarcastically. Dumbledore looked surprised for a moment, before his gaze hardened and Harry could almost feel the wands in the room starting to point in his direction as the other occupants sensed the old wizard's ire. Harry could see the Weasley twins hanging back from the others, wands drawn but not pointing at him.
Harry hadn't planned to reveal himself to any of these people, not even the twins. The current situation was forcing his hand, though, and he wasn't happy about it. Perhaps he could attempt to assure them all that he was perfectly trustworthy without revealing his past identity, but that would waste precious time they could use to counter Voldemort. He could perhaps try to use his vampiric influence to make them cooperate with him, like the Imperious, but he thought that would take more magic than he was willing to expend at the moment with Voldemort here. He sighed quietly in resignation.
"Do you really not recognize me, Dumbledore?" Harry said quietly with a slight smirk that showed off one of his fangs, hyper aware of the undivided attention he was currently commanding. "Perhaps I am no longer the spitting image of my father but I still have my mother's eyes."
Everyone was silent, eyes wide as they took in his fangs. Harry watched Dumbledore's face pale and saw the moment he figured it out.
"Harry?"
Harry just gave a dry smile.
"You've been here this whole time?" Dumbledore demanded, losing his shock quickly.
Harry just raised an eyebrow, unfazed by the anger directed his way.
"Is this really the time to discuss this?" Harry asked, as the castle shook slightly under Voldemort's continued efforts to break through the wards.
"Harry James Potter! You owe us an explanation, young man!" Molly's scolded him loudly while her husband held her back from rushing to him. Harry sneered hatefully at her, surprising the other occupants of the room.
"I owe you nothing, you thieving bitch!" Harry snarled, taking Molly aback with his tone and setting everyone on edge as his fangs lengthened and his eyes glowed red.
"Harry, my boy," Dumbledore said in a soothing voice, eyeing Harry's vampiric features with concern, "that was unnecessary. Molly has been worried since you disappeared this summer. And when we found out you were being held with the rogue vampires… we have been planning how to rescue you and Remus. To see you have been here and not approached us-" Dumbledore trailed off, the picture of sadness.
"My name is Henry Renard, you would do well to remember that," Harry responded. "Harry Potter is dead, that little boy that you abused and took advantage of is no more."
Most of the Order looked confused by Harry's words, but Dumbledore and Molly were looking a little anxious. Of course, that could be because they were running out of time and Voldemort's efforts to break the wards were gaining in efficiency, but Harry didn't think so.
"Ah yes," Harry sneered, "why don't you tell them, dear Headmaster, about the magic-hating muggles you left the Boy-Who-Lived with? Good job on that one, old man. Completely ignoring my parents' wills to place me with some worthless muggles who were intent on beating the magic out of me."
"What?!" McGonagall screeched, turning to Dumbledore in a fury, "You placed him with those beasts against his parents' wishes? How could you!? I told you they were the worst sort of muggles but you made me think there was no other choice!"
"There really wasn't, Minerva," Dumbledore said soothingly, trying desperately to regain control. "Sirius was in Azkaban, Remus wouldn't have been allowed for his werewolf status, and Severus was a risky option with his ties to Voldemort. And really, Harry," Dumbledore said, turning to him in disappointment, "your family is dead. How can you not be remorseful, when it was your rogue vampires who killed them."
Harry raised his eyebrow, annoyed that Dumbledore thought he could call him Harry still, before answering coldly, "That's very easy to answer, Headmaster. Vernon Dursley beat me to death." The Order members present gasped in horror. Harry saw the twins' expressions darken as they glared at Dumbledore before he continued, "Had my Sire not gotten there in time, I would be dead for real. How does it feel, old man, to know that my death rests solely at your feet due to your irresponsible and illegal actions? You are a true monster."
"Now really," Molly began, before Harry cut her off, some of his magical power lashing out before he could rein it in again. The brief display shocked the witches and wizards, leaving them wondering how Harry had become so powerful.
"Don't even get me started on you," Harry said lowly. "What kind of respectable human being takes money from an orphan boy without his consent? Trash like you, apparently, and not respectable at all. If you are so concerned about money, perhaps you should have stopped popping out babies like you're trying to save the human race. It's not as if your children can stand you, anyway. From what I can see, they flee your house without a backwards glance as soon as they are old enough. What does that say about you?"
Molly stood there, white-faced and shaken, as Harry' cruel words penetrated her mind. In the past, Harry would have felt guilty for saying such things, but now he only felt a sort of cold satisfaction. The twins were looking between their mother and Harry, clearly debating how to react to all this information.
"What do you mean, she was stealing your money?" Fred finally asked, choosing not to contest Harry's claim that all the Weasley children left the house as soon as they were old enough.
"With the help of Dumbledore, who took control of my estates as my magical guardian, your mother was receiving money every month from my accounts," Harry replied. "I assume it was payment for taking care of me, even though your family only ever had to take care of me for a month at most each year. Definitely not long enough to justify the amount of money she was receiving. Now, had someone asked me if I could help the family of my best friend, I would have gladly said yes. But these payments started even before I met Ron, so I do have to wonder if my friendship with the jealous, lazy waste of space was manipulated. I wonder where all that money was going, as your family situation doesn't seem to have gotten better after meeting me."
The twins looked remorseful, and Harry saw them exchange a guilty glance. It took him a moment to realize what they were probably thinking about.
"Fred, George," he called, regaining their attention, "I won't take back what I gave you. I chose to do that, and I honestly don't need it. There's no reason to feel guilty, you didn't know about any of this."
"Was it your doing? Getting Arthur to lose his job?" Molly yelled at him, having apparently gotten over her shock and deciding to take out her hurt and frustration on Harry once again. Harry glared at her darkly, but Arthur beat him to it.
"Be silent, Molly," Arthur said sternly, in a voice Harry wasn't used to hearing from the passive older man. "It seems like you've caused more than enough problems."
"I was trying to look out for our family!" Molly protested.
"By taking from another child?" Arthur asked incredulously. "That is not our way, Molly. Money is never more important than our respect of others."
There was silence for a moment before Dumbledore spoke up again.
"Harry, why do you no longer look like your father, James?" the old man asked. "And how have you become so powerful? I did not think vampires could wield magic."
"I wouldn't look like James, since he wasn't my father," Harry revealed bluntly. "And no, Lily did not cheat on James. They were best friends, not lovers. Ever. They just didn't trust you, old man, and decided to hide their real relationships."
"What?!"
"Lily and James weren't a couple?!"
"Impossible! James loved her for years!"
"There's no way!"
A cacophony of protests rang out in the hall, all of which Harry ignored before continuing with the rest of Dumbledore's questions. He wasn't going to reveal who his human father was, they didn't need to know everything.
"As for why I'm suddenly so powerful," Harry hesitated, wondering why Dumbledore would ask a question that would reveal more of his crimes, before finishing, "That would be because someone bound most of my magic while I was alive and I assume that person was you, Headmaster."
The Order members started to shout at Dumbledore, who looked genuinely blindsided and surprised by Harry's revelation. If Dumbledore didn't bind his magic, who did?
"Hold on a moment!" Someone shouted, gaining everyone's attention. Harry looked over to see Tonks looking darkly at Dumbledore, before looking back at Harry. "Harry, with everything else that's been revealed, I know it might be easy to try to lay this at the Headmaster's feet, too. However, I have another potential explanation, considering the Headmaster looks so confused."
Everyone waited for her to continue, even Harry was curious what she might say.
"When a child is especially powerful, their accidental magic becomes dangerous to them and those around them," Tonks began, looking around at everyone, before looking pointedly at Harry and saying, "especially when their magic leans more toward the Dark. My own magic needed to be bound while I was growing up. This is a common practice in the Black family, originally because they tended to be so powerful and later it had more to do with the fact that most of them were partly insane and the inbreeding started affecting them."
"So who bound your powers?" Harry asked, already having an idea where this was going.
"My parents," Tonks said simply. "As I grew up, they released my power when they were sure I could handle it. I would bet a lot of galleons that your parents did the same, especially as you have revealed that Lily was seeing someone the Light side would not approve of. I can only assume that means your father was Dark. However, James and Lily died before they could take off the blocks. And all the adults involved in your upbringing before they died were conveniently inaccessible during your childhood. It's a miracle you were able to develop magically at all."
Dumbledore was looking relieved that he wasn't at fault before Tonks turned to him harshly and spat, "As his magical guardian, you should have taken him in to be checked by a Mediwizard semi-regularly, they would have caught this right away. Did you ever check on him at all?"
The castle shook again, more violently this time, followed by an ominous groan.
"We don't have time for this now," Harry said suddenly, "the Order is all here. I hope someone has alerted the Aurors, because we are about to face down all the forces of the Dark. And you need to know, Dumbledore, that your vampire ally is not trustworthy. He is also passing information about you to Voldemort and feeding both of you false information. It is because of him that Voldemort is attacking Hogwarts instead of my Sire's home."
"Why would Voldemort attack your Sire's home, mate?" George asked.
"Voldemort had no reason to think I would be at Hogwarts anymore, I made it very clear that I was the heir of the vampires' leader when I confronted him," Harry said. "Why would I come back to school when wizarding standards didn't apply to me anymore?"
"What does Jasper have against you that he would direct Voldemort to you?" Dumbledore asked.
"Nothing," Harry said darkly. "He is trying to get back at my Sire. A tragedy happened centuries ago that caused Jasper's mind to snap, and caused him to blame my Sire, who is his twin brother, for his loss though my Sire wasn't in a position to prevent what happened. Until he changed me, my Sire had no weaknesses that Jasper could exploit to hurt him in the same way that Jasper felt he had been hurt. When you hurt or kill the changed offspring of a vampire, the Sire will feel that pain. I am my Sire's only offspring and causing me pain by hurting the few human connections I still have and then killing me or my mate will have a painful backlash for my Sire as well. That is what Jasper wants and you let him in."
Dumbledore looked crushed and the other members of the Order were looking horrified that such a deranged vampire had been toying with their leader so easily. Harry, meanwhile, was becoming concerned that Tristan still hadn't arrived since Harry sent his Patronus to him when Voldemort first arrived. He had a bad feeling that something had happened.
"We need to go out, now, and try to stop Voldemort's forces and hope that some backup from the Aurors arrives," Harry stated, starting to turn toward the doors, before he paused. "First, however, I need to ensure my safety."
With that, Harry let his magic saturate the room quickly before using the same magic he had used on the Death Eaters so they couldn't talk about him. Ideally, he didn't want them to remember him at all, but at least now they couldn't let others know he was still alive.
"What did you just do?" exclaimed a woman that Harry vaguely remembered and thought might have been named Vance.
"I used the same magic on you that I did the Death Eaters when I met with Voldemort," Harry explained, heading toward the doors. "Now none of you will be able to tell anyone that I am alive. I have no intention of staying in wizarding society after this and now no one can make me."
"Fred, George," Harry called suddenly. They both jumped before hurrying to catch up to him as everyone started to leave the dining hall. "I have a special job for you. As much as I want to do the honors, I think I will entrust you two to take revenge on the traitorous Marauder, Wormtail. Perhaps some particularly cruel pranks to end him will suffice as payback for his betrayal."
"Aye, aye sir!" they both saluted him, showing some of their expected behavior while sporting dark smirks.
"I will temporarily return this to you," Harry stated, handing the Marauder's Map back to them. "I have a feeling the coward might try to come through the passages, maybe you should take a few other members with you in case he brings some friends with him."
The twins nodded solemnly before investigating the map to find their prey.
"Neville, there's only one left," Harry said pausing to look at his friend, before glaring slightly at Dumbledore. "I want you to find her and finish her. The Sword of Gryffindor should work. Is Ciaran still with you?"
Neville nodded, pulling his sleeve back a little bit to show Harry's snake.
{Ciaran, will you help Neville locate Nagini so he can kill her?} Harry asked.
{I do not like that I must assist in the death of one of my own but yes, Master, I will help him} Ciaran replied reluctantly.
{I'm sorry, my friend, I wish it didn't have to be this way} Harry said with some compassion.
{It's not your fault, Master, I know she must die} Ciaran reassured.
"You will have to search for places where a giant snake can be hidden," Harry directed at Neville, leaving the rest of the Order besides Dumbledore confused.
"Harry, my boy, I think there's something you need to know before we face Voldemort," Dumbledore began.
"Don't worry, old man, I already died," Harry said harshly, "Now you don't need to think of a clever way to kill me anymore."
With that, Harry strode out the front doors to see a few Death Eaters already making their way toward the castle. The wards weren't completely broken yet, but they would be soon. And then Voldemort would be free to descend upon the castle.
Ron was furious. How dare they make him leave, he deserved to be part of the fighting! They needed him. It was even more infuriating that they allowed Neville, Neville, of all people, to stay.
Even worse, that slimy snake, Renard, was still in there. Was he given more trust than Ron was?! He wasn't going to stand for it.
As Ron turned away from the doors that had just been slammed in his face, he saw some of Renard's friends, including his Hermione, ducking into an alcove. He could only assume they were going to wait until the other went out to fight so they could fight.
Ron really wanted to go over and confront them, demand that Hermione come back with him or demand that he be included. He wasn't sure. But for once in his life, Ron chose the sneaky route. He turned away, back toward Gryffindor Tower, and walked until he rounded a corner. There was no point in talking to the other students until the rest of the Order came back out of the dining hall. In the meantime, maybe Ron could finally get some answers about that bastard, Renard.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out an Extendable Ear. In a rare moment of brilliance, he cast a Disillusionment Charm on it. Or at least he attempted to. It wasn't very well done but he reckoned it would suffice.
He let the ear creep along until it was pressed up against the crack at the bottom of the dining hall door. He was almost shocked when he heard voices coming through loud and clear, so used to being blocked from meetings when he was at Grimmauld Place.
For a moment he was confused by all the noise before he could distinguish individual voices. Harry was in there? Harry was alive?! Wait… Renard was actually Harry?!
How dare he?! Ron raged, having half a mind to break back in and teach the traitor a thing or two. That asshole has been alive and in Slytherin this whole time? I was right to think he was rotten when he disappeared.
Ron continued to listen to the conversation. Uncle beat him to death? Yeah, right. Just more attention seeking. Harry didn't know what a tough life was. He wasn't poor. He wasn't shadowed by older brothers. He was famous and rich and powerful. Apparently even more powerful now than he was before. It wasn't fair!
Wait, if Harry was Renard… Harry had destroyed his relationship with Hermione! He couldn't even let him have that?
Ron continued to stew in his rage. He heard footsteps approaching the doors before they stopped. He heard Harry using magic on the Order to ensure their silence and Ron smirked, not feeling any magic being used on him.
He could tell whoever he wanted that the Boy-Who-Lived was still alive.
He quickly pulled back the Extendable Ear he was using when the footsteps continued again. He couldn't hear the conversation anymore, but it didn't matter. He looked around the corner slightly and glared hatefully at his traitorous best friend as he emerged from the dining hall.
After the Order had left through the front doors with Harry, Ron noticed Hermione and Zabini slipping out the alcove, hand in hand, making their way out the front door. He didn't see Malfoy or that other kid, Nott, following them. As he watched Hermione walk out holding a Slytherin's hand, Ron felt his ire turn elsewhere. Hermione was his!
Ron once again cast his mediocre Disillusionment Charm, this time on himself. He waited a few minutes before following the pair out the front doors and into the battle.
Harry was very grateful that the Hogwarts wards seemed to be acting like a filter on the invading force. Voldemort had only worked through a few layers and only his weakest Death Eaters were making it through. However, as he peeled back more layers, his stronger forces were going to be able to come through. The Order currently had no backup, and Harry was reluctant to release his vampire in full around so many people he didn't trust.
Also unfortunate, most of Voldemort's forces were very weak, so the bulk of them seemed to be charging them en masse at the moment.
While they were weak, it was completely possible that they could overwhelm the Order with sheer numbers. Already, Harry watched as some of the Order engaged the first wave of Death Eaters. The Death Eaters were no match for the Order's skill, but they Order's unwillingness to use lethal force was going to be their downfall, as the Death Eaters occasionally revived their fallen comrades.
Harry grimaced. He was going to offend quite a few people during this battle and he hoped he could escape before he has to listen to their sanctimonious preaching. And possibly lose control of his vampire side. He could already feel his violent tendencies fighting to get out as his fangs began to lengthen and his eyes started to glow red.
Harry conjured a dagger and ran into the fight, making quick work of five Death Eaters in a few seconds with his superior speed, simply slashing their throats. He didn't want to use magic for now if he could avoid it. While he didn't regard Voldemort's power with the same kind of awe as he had as a human, he knew the man would still put up a fight. Hopefully, the energy he was expending to bring down the wards would put him on even ground with Harry as he lost energy while he took out Death Eaters and waited for Voldemort.
With plenty of time to see Death Eaters as they came up the lawn, Harry spent most of his time skirting the edges of the fighting to dispose of Death Eaters as they tried to sneak up on Order members that were engaged in duels and prevent them from reaching the castle. He saw a few of the Order members' faces go white with horror when the noticed the growing pile of bloody bodies gathering on the battlefield before they forced themselves to concentrate of the duels they were engaged in.
The blood was starting to get to Harry at this point, and he knew he was going to start feeding soon while he fought. He thought he had held out pretty long considering he had never been in a battle like this before. The blood would return his lost energy and keep him at top fighting shape; he just had to be careful not to take too much and slip into a full bloodlust. He noticed Hermione and Blaise in the thick of battle and growled out loud, annoyed that his friends were endangering themselves but knowing there was nothing he could do about it currently other than watch their backs as he was doing with the rest of the Order.
Some of the truly dangerous Death Eaters were making an appearance now, letting Harry know that the wait for Voldemort was almost over.
Hermione was rather disgusted by the blood and gore she was surrounded by at the moment but she wasn't going to let it distract her. She and Blaise were fighting together, easily overpowering the low ranking Death Eaters. She couldn't quite bring herself to kill them but she saw Blaise using spells that would eventually be fatal if left unchecked. Her Gryffindor sensibilities were screaming at her that she should be stopping this, but her newfound realistic side realized that it was necessary if they didn't want to be overwhelmed and defeated.
And if she wanted any kind of future in Harry's life, or even Blaise's, she needed to learn to accept death to some extent.
She turned to block a spell aimed at Blaise's back and faltered for a moment when she was confronted with the feral snarl of Ron Weasley.
"Ron?!" she screamed incredulously, blocking another spell aimed from her ex-boyfriend. "What are you doing?!"
"You belong with me, Hermione," Ron growled, trying to get around his woman to his true target. "After I deal with this Slytherin that's corrupted you, I'll deal with that traitor Harry next. Everything will be fine after that!"
"Why you little-" Blaise began, taking a step toward Ron with his wand raised. Hermione blocked him with her arm while also casting a spell to block a spell coming at their backs. This was a really bad situation, surrounding by the enemy and being attacked by someone who should be an ally. Hermione pushed Blaise back toward the fighting, already making up her mind.
"Concentrate on the Death Eaters, Blaise," Hermione said in a hard voice, feeling her heart breaking. "I'll deal with this- this jealous coward."
"Hermione, are you-" Blaise began, trying to talk his girlfriend out of this mad idea. He was worried her emotional stability would be horribly affected from this.
"Blaise," Hermione cut him off very steady, almost coldly. "This is my fight, something I should have realized would happen. I never thought he would try to take advantage of an enemy attack to get even. Even I have my limits when it comes to betrayals."
With that, Hermione started throwing spell after spell at Ron, intending only to incapacitate him. Blaise watched for a moment before turning back to the rest of the battle, trusting Hermione to remain safe. While she fought, Hermione couldn't help the few silent tears that trailed down her face. As expected, her duel with Ron was completely one-sided, forcing the boy back on the defensive while he somehow evaded most of her spells.
"Hermione, come back to me," Ron coaxed, "then you wouldn't be so sad. I would never make you cry."
"You idiot," Hermione screeched, "You utter moron, it's your fault I'm crying. How could you be so cruel?! Did I ever know you? I hate you for this, Ronald Weasley!"
Ron glowered darkly at her as he sidestepped a Petrificus Totalus, only to be quickly hit by a Stupefy he failed to see coming. Hermione stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, before she bound him in ropes and levitated him away from the battlefield. She didn't want to kill Ron, but it seemed he couldn't be trusted to be free. Once she was sure he was out of harm's way, she turned back to the battlefield, only to gasp in horror as she noticed the change in players. The Death Eaters were a much more deadly bunch now, including some of the ones they had faced at the Department of Mysteries last year.
There were a lot of Death Eaters, and they were overwhelming their own forces. The Order was by no means beaten, but some Death Eaters were starting to slip past them toward the castle. Hermione froze for a moment before jumping into action, not allowing herself time for fear. She saw Blaise making his way back to her before she saw something that induced true fear in her.
Antonin Dolohov.
The Death Eater that slashed her at the Department of Mysteries. Even worse, he was looking straight at her as a wolf would watch a rabbit. Then, to her true horror, she saw his eyes flick behind her and his grin turned truly wicked. For a moment, she felt lightheaded as all the blood drained from her face, and she watched him raise his wand.
Too late, she lurched toward him, determined to stop him from completing the motion but his wand seemed to move at accelerated speeds and he shot a spell toward her.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Hermione's eyes widened in horror, she could hear Blaise's distressed voice scream her name, but the spell shot over her shoulder. She turned to see the last of the spell's light fade out as it surrounded Ron.
Ron, who she had left unprotected during a battle.
Filled with a rage unlike any she had felt before, Hermione turned back to the Death Eater, Blaise at her side, and attacked like a wild beast. Her fighting was all instinct, she wasn't even thinking as she threw spells and worked in seamless tandem with Blaise. It seemed that he had also given himself over to pure instinct.
In a moment of distraction, Hermione was able to disarm Dolohov, and then she heard those dreaded words again.
"Avada Kedavra!"
This time she watched as the green light left Blaise's wand and hit Dolohov in the chest, ending his life with a look of surprise on his face. Hermione and Blaise both stared at the downed body of the Death Eater in slight shock. Then Hermione shook herself, turned around and sprinted towards Ron, hoping that by some miracle he was fine.
She dropped to her knees by his side. Ron's eyes were closed, but she had Stupefied him. She frantically checked his pulse.
Nothing.
She put her ear to his chest, listening for a heartbeat.
Nothing.
She stared at Ron for a moment, feeling the shock settle in. Blaise was at her side, trying to pull her away, back to somewhere safer where a Death Eater or stray spell couldn't get them. She finally let him pull her away, numb and cold, only one thought circling through her mind.
Ron was dead. And it was her fault.
- 25
- 26
- 27
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Cannot Save You Now