Friendship
The Meeting (Part 3)
Friendships are made at the strangest time and with the strangest people and things. Harry/Tonks. Harry finds out some things about himself, and Tonks learns more about Harry. Post OoTP
SH-telepathy
Harry-telepathy
Dumbledore-telepathy
... I was wondering if you knew that Nymphadora was pregnant?
Harry stopped. He put up a shield and nearly fainted.
WHAT?
Mr. Malfoy told of she was expecting.
Thisss wasss interesting newsss Dumbledore, thanksss for sssharing. An arctic-cold, snakelike voice sounded throughout the dome.
Voldemort! Harry, SH, and Dumbledore gasped at the same time. The answer they received was a snakelike laugh that vibrated throughout the dome causing the hairs on the backs of everyone's neck to stand straight.
It was some time before everyone settled from the shock of hearing Voldemort in person. Ginny was shaking and paled to the point of her freckles looking like an array of red polka dots. Minister
Fudge along with many others had fainted, unnoticed. Draco immediately held the convulsing Ginny to his chest. Ron, sadly, noticed the motion. Ron was too scared from hearing Voldemort to care, at the moment.
Dumbledore along with those who had faced Death Eaters before remained somewhat intact.
Ssso Potter. You're telepathic, and about to die and leave a brat to the ssscorn of the Blacksss. How do you feel?Voldemort sounded part insane, and part muggle game-show host.
There was no reply from Harry or SH. The Order was beginning to worry, as Harry was not seen through Dumbledore's connection.
He must have turned off the link, Dumbledore thought. His mind raced with concern for the wizarding world's last hope.
'Lassst hope' eh. Potter'sss a coward. And after I kill him, hisss Frankenssstein, and hisss brat, I will have finally killed off the Pottersss. It might have taken almossst twenty yearsss, but it was worth the time. SSSnape, I guesss thisss isss your lucky day, you get to witnesss sssomething you've wanted for yearsss: the annihilation of the Pottersss. I plan to kill you too today, but I'll give you the pleasssure of ssseeing the end of the Pottersss firssst. Snape, who was guarding the young Death Eater and making sure no one accidentally crossed into his territory and harmed his charges, glanced around the dome checking for any surveillance indicators.
"It's the magic in one of the spells that made the dome, the whole dome is spying on us." Draco said, thoughtfully.
Oh, don't look ssso nervousss. I've ssssussspected you from my rebirth. I love the fact thisss connection allowsss me to sssee everything you sssee Dumbledore. If he can see me. . . Dumbledore's brow creased up with concentration. No, no, no! Don't think for a sssecond that I'm going to let you Apparite away, you Potter deviation. Voldemort said with a burst of anger.
Oh, I wasn't trying to escape. I was making sure Dumbledore had a clear opportunity of finding your hypocritical-ass. SH said calmly.
WHAT!
Got it! Dumbledore mentally yelled. All I needed was a small contribution of emotion on Tom's part.
The scene on the dome changed, before all of them was Voldemort. His tall structure and his deformed face sent chills through everyone in the dome, except Dumbledore. Even though he was not there physically, everyone clutched his or her wand more tightly than before. They saw Voldemort's deformed snakelike face crease up in concern after being found so quickly.
Gotcha! SH yelled into the connection.
The dome's image changed again. In this scene they saw SH ripping through the crowd in the direction in which Voldemort had made his command center. With the dome's perspective alternating between SH and Voldemort, they saw Voldemort shimmer momentarily out of sight then pop suddenly back into view.
Oh no, no, no! You're not going anywhere snake-face. Nowhere but down and I will see that it happens.
The more experienced Death Eaters had arrived, and posed a slightly challenge to SH. Curses flew from his wand and at the Death Eater s with unimaginable speed. He never stayed still. He moved continuously, using the Death Eaters' own anger and frustration against them. Spells, that were meant to hit him or slow him down, hit other Death Eaters causing and fueling the Death Eaters confusion. Fueled by his rage and the thoughts of seeking revenge on Voldemort, SH turned into an animal. He cast spell after spell, and never staying in one place, letting spells meant for him hit other Death Eaters was leaving a reasonable dent in the Dark Masses. This lasted for minutes on end in which he began tuning down his spells.
He started using spells taught at a school-curriculum. His movements, though he was constantly moving, were more precise and held less wildness. To those in the dome, either he was tiring out or he had something up his sleeve.
Death Eaters also tuned down their spells to a less lethal, though still harmful, level. They realized one of SH's intentions was for them to destroy each other with spells aimed at SH. He was going to let the Death Eaters do the dirty work themselves. Death Eaters began using their own strategy: use only deflectable spells and deflect any spells towards SH before sending more.
The stratagem was effective as SH was hit with several spells before he even reached the halfway point to Voldemort's fortification. Realizing he could not keep up with his strategy much longer, he threw up a spell similar to the one he and Dumbledore placed around the Order. A bluish dome appeared around him.
It was a simple tacit. The spells that were sent at the dome would increase the dome's power, then they would rebound upon their casters with even greater force. Whether or not the Death Eaters deflected their spells were their business. They could either dodge and let someone else get hit, or they could deflect their spells back at the dome and have it return with more power than before. Either way, someone was going to get hit.
Those in the dome saw SH struggling and were itching to get out there and help him. The Aurors reapplied stunners to those Death Eaters Harry had brought in earlier and encircled them. Ginny was, with amazing speed and coordination, nursing Draco who had lain exhaustedly on a stretcher, the young Death Eater, and Tonks as best as she could. She paused as she saw SH struggling, she slipped a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She turned to Dumbledore.
"Could you get closer to SH?" Dumbledore gave a sharp nod and did so, he had been watching the battle pensively.
The dome showed SH trying to heal his wounds rather hurriedly. Ginny quickly asked for a report of his injuries, using Dumbledore's connection to her advantage.
"Um. . . Broken ankle. Twisted wrist, and I think the guy was going for my neck." He gave a laugh. "A chest wound and a knife to the stomach." He said as if his injuries were not important. Spells were still hitting the dome causing it to zoom with power.
Ginny was aghast with his injuries and immediately requested that he returned to the dome to be healed, properly.
"It's time I took the Blood-Replenishing potion Harry gave me, I fixed the ankle and I'm working on the wrist. I can take care of myself." He said stubbornly.
Ginny obviously did not believe him. "What about the knife in the stomach and the chest wound?" Ginny asked. He gave a sigh and continued to heal his wrist whilst he replied.
"I plan to use that medieval spell for skin-growing since the stab wounds are large." He said nonchalantly. He flicked his wrist and cringed. "Maybe, I'll leave one wrist along. If Harry can work with one hand and wand on a day-to-day basis, so can I, not that he had any choice in the matter." He stowed one wand and began working on his chest and stomach with his other.
Ginny stared at the gaping hole in his chest, which he started on first. "You need to get here. Please!"
"Look, I'm cool. Just butt out!" He gave a small yell from the pain.
"Now, you listen to me, you-." A low moan stopped her mid-rant. She rushed from the dome's barriers to her patients.
Tonks was waking up. She immediately rolled over and threw up on the stretcher that Draco had just hurriedly evacuated. Ginny quickly cleaned and disinfected the stretcher before she approached Tonks. The tip of her wand lit up and she held her wand over Tonks' face. She slowly drew the wand repeatedly over Tonks' eyes. Ginny gave a snort of improvement."Where am I?" Ginny began checking her over.
"You're safe." One thing she was taught, was never to worry the patient unless the prognosis was fifty percent fatal or more. But going against her training to interrogate a patient, she asked what had happened to Tonks.
Tonks lay back with a groan. She looked around and gave a cry when she laid eyes on Draco. He was taken aback by reactions. A look of understanding flashed across his face followed by a scowl. Tonks rose again while shaking and moving back, putting as much distance between her and Draco. "H-he tricked me, he was the one-."
Wands were instantaneously pointed at Draco. Ron was in the middle of a curse, his wand tip a reddish color. He looked at Draco with a smug look on his face. Draco eyed the wand with great composure and indifference.
Ginny gave a quick nervous laugh. "He did no such thing."
Ron looked at her angrily. "Of course the little scarlet would defend her boy-friend over her family." A spell erupted from the outstretched wand.
Just as the spell neared Draco, another spell hit it and made it veer off course and it hit ground. Ginny jumped in front of Draco and threw a curse at Ron. He let out a horse-like neigh. Ass ears grew over his own. Every time he tried to speak and/or counter-curse, he ended up neighing.
Ginny looked at him in disgust. "I believe it is time you showed your true form. You're an ass. Harry should have never become your friend. You traitorous asshole." She turned to look at Tonks, who was still glaring at Draco from the stretcher. "It was not Draco who attacked you."
Tonks exploded, theoretically. "You weren't there. He took me to a store he said Harry was waiting for me." Draco looked up suddenly. He was surprised.
"Harry told us to meet him there. When we got there I was knocked out too. Besides," He turned his head showing off a patch of roughly cut hair. Ginny coughed slightly, hiding her laugh. "Whoever needed my hair for the Polyjuice potion did a great job on my hair. But seeing him with those ears had made up for it." He looked at Ron with a smug smile.
"But-." Tonks said still unsure.
"He's telling the truth." Ginny said with conviction.
Mrs. Weasley turned away from helping Ron to glare at her daughter. "Quit defending him, Ginny!"
"I will defend him till I die," Ginny said strongly. She grabbed Draco's hand. Mrs. Weasley gasped at the implications of what Ginny said and remembering what Harry said about Draco proposing to Ginny. Everyone either turned away or watched with rapt attention."Wait till your father hears of this!"
"I don't care! I will love him and will marry him when I'm sixteen!" She said looking her mother straight in the eye. Ignoring the looks her brothers were giving him, Draco spoke nervously.
"You and my mother have been speaking to each other?" He sounded as though he already knew the answer.
"Yes my 'little dragon'." Draco winced at the second mentioning of his obvious pet name. "She had already planned out nuptials, our ceremony, party, processional, honeymoon, and our-," Ginny wrinkled her nose, "-conception." Draco went red from embarrassment. "Something about needing a male heir and that boys are conceived at certain times."
"She's been planning since I was eight." Draco murmured causing some of the others in the dome to laugh, those who were aware of the pureblood traditions.
"You don't say!" Ginny exclaimed in pure sarcasm.
"And when were you planning to tell your mother?" Mrs. Weasley said to Ginny, she sounded a little hurt.
"I was planning for the day I packed my things, but now is as good a time as any." She looked to Fred, George, and Charlie who were dead stunned on their feet. "What do you guys think?"
"Ginny! We would never-." One twin started.
"-Do or say anything-." The other said holding up a hand to halt any of Ginny's comments.
"-Against your orders, Madam Malfoy." They finished in unison with somewhat satisfied looks on their faces.
Charlie mirrored that look. "If Harry said he's cool, then. . ."
Mrs. Weasley was shocked. "Boys! Don't encourage her!"
Ginny laughed softly. "The manipulator hates to be manipulated." Mrs. Weasley looked about ready to breathe fire out of her nostrils. "Don't forget about the girls always having control over their men thing." Ginny said.
"Mom, she does have a point. You're kind of bitc-." She glared at the twin and both shut their mouths with audible snaps.
"-Barmy when it comes to us." Charlie said as he turned to the twins. "You two are eighteen year-old, it's about time you two quit with the complementary sentence thing." Before the two could respond, Tonks spoke.
"I don't care what guy think, I'm certain it was Draco who knocked me out."
"It wasn't Draco. It was Wormtail who knocked you out. He took some of Draco's hairs and added it to the Polyjuice potion. I told Draco to take you to the store and wait for me." Harry's voice boomed through the dome and he took a deep breath. "That's where Draco and I were going to get you and Ginny's engagement rings." Ginny looked to Draco for conformation.
He gave a quick nod and was almost knocked off his feet when Ginny attacked Draco a tight hug.
"You're not the only one talking to my mother." He said to her.
Tonks was looking around the dome and trying to locate Harry. "Where are you?" Tonks attempted to jump up but Ginny restrained her.
Dumbledore, who was being closely followed by Fudge, set about doing something to the dome's wards.
"What are you doing, Albus?" Fudge asked in a staged whisper as Tonks and Draco continued to talk to Harry.
"I'm trying to locate Harry, he seemed to have disappeared."
"Dumbledore, it's useless, you can't find me. The only was to find someone using that method is for them to let off a big emotion." Harry said in a small voice.
"Harry, where are you?" She asked again.
"I'm. . . okay. But I wish you would have told me about the pregnancy."
"I-How did you know?" She went pale.
Ginny answered for Harry.
"Draco told us."
Tonks' face lit up with satisfaction and anger as she turned to Draco. "I knew it was you who attacked me! I told you right before we entered the shop. Like two seconds later everything went dark-."
"Well duh." Draco replied angrily. "I was attacked too! I wish you would acknowledge that!"
Potter. I hope you're enjoying the last view of your pregnant wench and you're ssscrawny little traitor.
Dumbledore. Cut the connection off. Harry said in a cold voice.
But Harry-.
Just get it done, now! SH, you too. We already know each other's locations. We don't need anyone else finding them! Harry said.
Harry, are you sure? Dumbledore sounded confused.
DO IT! With a pop SH was gone from view.
Dumbledore, you too. . . Harry said.
"Harry!" Tonks cried out. But it was too late, with a pop Harry was gone.
The Potter line endsss ssso quickly, it'sss a ssshame. But just think, if the filthy young traitor hadn't ssspilled the wench'sss sssecret, I never would have found out. Furious, Dumbledore ended the connection, ending the visuals as well.
Everyone glared at Draco. Dumbledore sat on a newly conjured chair, he got rid of the ones that were conjured when Harry was in the dome, and began wearily contemplating. The Auror cast another set of stunners on the Death Eaters in the stretchers and began talking amongst themselves. Everyone else was looking at Ginny or Draco, some even began to approach Draco.
Ginny growled deep in her throat causing some people to take a step back from Draco. "For Merlin's sake! You people are like one of those medieval, bloodthirsty lynching committees. You are just waiting for people to punish, whether or not they're innocent. You make me sick!" They had the nerve to look ashamed. Seeing this infuriated Ginny more. "The enemy is out there, not in here, otherwise Harry would not have let him in. Stop fighting Draco, and start trying to figure out a way to fight the DEATH EATERS!" She screamed angrily.
There was an angry silence. They knew she was right, and so did she, but they did not want her to know that they knew. It was, however, evident on some of their faces that they wanted to be out there, fighting with SH and Harry and that they would if the dome was not in their way. Poor Madeye Moody looked close to crying at missing out on a chance of fighting Death Eaters.
Dumbledore suddenly got up from his chair, oblivious to the silence and the source of it, and began tampering with the dome's ward. Moody marched up to him. "You trying to figure a way out?" He asked hopefully.
"Yes, I have had enough of sitting around letting two teenagers fight a war against an army. Mr. Potter's intentions were good, but unfair towards himself and his counterpart." He got a curious look on his face before shaking it off and going back to what he was doing. Sweat began to appear on his brow. "Just a little bit mor - there it is!" Instead of the dome disappearing, it flashed a brilliant red color and went back to normal.
Dumbledore was puzzled. "I thoug-."
"Look." Someone shouted. A great bellow-like scream rang throughout the dome.
They blinked hard as they saw Harry tearing through the Dark Mass like a hot knife through a stick of butter. There was a definite sizzle. A fiery glow emitted from him. Harry mission was obvious. He was tearing towards SH, and he was striking the Death Eaters with viper-like speed. But still, no matter how hard he struck, the Death Eaters were closing in on him, keeping him from getting to SH. Even from the dome, they could see the desperation in Harry's attacks. He was not fighting just to fight, he was fighting to find and protect SH.
"He's a warrior, that boy." Moody said with an appreciative growl.
Confused, Hermione asked, "Which side of Harry are you speaking of?"
He turned to her, both eyes focusing on her. "Both, it-." Another bellow-like scream penetrated the dome interrupting Moody.
The scream came again. Sweat glistening on his brow, Dumbledore zoomed in on Harry, he was not causing the screaming nor was he the source. But he did look slightly pleased about something, perhaps the screaming. With a groan, the dome's magic focused on SH. His shield was long gone, he was furiously fighting the Death Eaters, along with some towering black-cloaked figures. His Patroni gleaming in the dark. He was not causing the screaming either.
"Dementors!" Fudge yelled in outrage. They had evacuated Azkaban of Dementors not long ago, on the request of Dumbledore. But still, it was felt as treachery before his eyes to see them fighting alongside of Voldemort.
"How did you do that, I thought the connection was off?" Draco asked Dumbledore.
"My mental connection with Fawkes." He paused before launching hurriedly into an explanation. "I knew the dome's magic could be adjusted to most types of mental connections, that was what one of its origin spells allowed. I could not focus on just anyone out there, obviously. So my next choice was my faithful companion. But infiltrating the mind of a magical creature is not easy by any means." He said, wiping the sweat from his brow. He turned back to the image. "But where did those screams come from?"
He pondered this deeply, the power of the dome focused back in on Harry. He had noticed the Dementors, he tried to produce a corporeal Patronus several times, but failed each time. The Death Eaters were not deterred in the slightest by the Death Eaters. They continued to press onto Harry with tremendous force.
Everyone accepted the inevitable. Harry and SH were not going to last long unaided.
"Dumbledore, we need to get out there." Moody said.
He nodded and opened his mouth to say something as the earth gave a terrible quake. Many inside and outside the dome toppled to the ground from the force of the shake.
"Oh what now!" Ginny moaned from Draco's arms. Dumbledore tried to focus the dome's magic from various angles to locate a source, but it was futile.
Remus rushed to Dumbledore. He looked pretty shook up, though most likely not by the quake. "Try focusing downward on the whole f-field." He stuttered slightly, felt bad for what he had done to Harry. They all did, those who did something.
The view changed soon afterwards. They saw the field. They saw the gleaming dome, like an orb sticking in the ground. There was a mass of black dots swarming around two points. At one point, which they assumed to be SH, silver specks were moving. SH was able to perform the charm whilst Harry could not. Jets of a multitude of colors flew towards both points but nothing else seemed to deviate from what they had seen from the other angles.
"Wait!" Draco said pointing. "Did you see that!"
Dumbledore wiped his brow again and stepped forward, "I don't see anything, Mr. Malfoy."
Draco was astounded as several others nodded with the Headmaster. "No one saw half a dozen of the Death Eaters around SH just disappear." Sure there was a slight disturbance around SH's point, but nothing that collaborated with Draco's statement.
Ron rolled his eyes. "Stop making stuff up. They said no one could leave the field. How cou-."
Ginny gasped, "Oh my sweet Merlin!" She pointed a shaky finger at SH's point. "Dumbledore, the Death Eaters are scattering around SH." Some tried to get closer to see. They had been telling the truth. Black dots were scattering and disappearing.
Dumbledore immediately went to a different angle. The image caused a number of people to become sick. SH was riding a snake, the word Basilisk comes to mind. In the snake's mouth were screaming Death Eaters. The snake swallowed them whole and went on to its next victims, squeezing, swatting and swallowing all the while scattering.
"I-It's a b-basilisk." Ron yelped.
"No, it's not." Tonks said quickly. She went red at being the center of attention as everyone was staring at her. "That's Harry's pet, Seth. He's an Elemental Snake. I'm guessing this is one of its abilities."
Dumbledore seemed to try and find a way to explain what had happened.
"Elemental Snake! How is that possible?" Fudge said, not giving Dumbledore the opportunity to speak.
"Harry believed that he and the snake meeting was a work of Fate. I'm surprised that I did not recognize the snake sooner. Harry sent it to me with his proposition for me to spy. I should not have
missed the emerald-green snake-skin, with dark green eyes, and the odd pattern of stipes and diamonds. It's legendary." Draco said shaking his head at his mistake.
"Harry didn't make you any proposition." Tonks said angrily.
He turned to face her, glaring. "Before he met you, he did." He huffed.
"Professor Dumbledore?" An Auror said looking at the Headmaster with worry in her eyes.
"I never," He spoke softly and people had to strain to hear him, "I never quite understood the purpose of Elemental Snakes. I always believed the world was in suspended balance. One action could not entirely dominate over another forever. Something must happen for a shift to take place and a new action to counter the first. Everything must change, nothing stays the same, but there would be some balance at one point or another."
"That is of course what Arithmancy is. The study of the inner balance of things, with the use of numbers, though spells are more frequently analyzed. For every good, somewhere there will be a bad and vice versa. Put simply, and to quote one of my favorite muggles, 'for every reaction, there is an equal but opposite reaction'. But Elemental Snakes, who are supposed to bring a sort of balance, just do not fit into the 'equation' at all."
"Is this going anywhere, Professor?" Ron asked, several others glared at him.
Dumbledore shot him a look that made him go red in the face. "Yes it is, Mr. Weasley. Elemental Snakes have a purpose that was not meant for classifications. It was merely a helper. It chose whom it was going to help, good or bad, and did so. But whether the person was good or bad, was not the issue. It was whether or not they were causing an imbalance in the equilibrium, if I can call it that. If there was too much good, though it would be nice, it helped the bad."
This startled several people.
"You mean they can be dark?" Hermione said.
Dumbledore nodded. "To it, balance is peace, and peace is when both sides are at a standstill. Both sides are equally witted, numbered, to the point where neither can make a move on the other. This is shown from past recordings of Elemental Snakes. Merlin, it is said, created them for that reason."
"So, in order for there to be balance, we have to make peace with Voldemort! Are you loony!" Ginny said.
"GINNY!"
"No-well... maybe yes, but not to the Voldemort statement. Something will be done, bartering, however, is not an option anymore." He said gravely. "When the balance is there, they all disappear, like we've all believed them to have done, and when the balance is threatened considerably. . ." He trailed off.
"So this balance has to be in big danger for them to come back."
"That is the theory." Dumbledore said.
"So the balance was in danger and Voldemort was winning?" The person said.
Dumbledore nodded.
"What a lovely history lesson," Ginny mocked, "but, I would rather be out there making history and keeping those two from becoming history than talking about it in here." Most gave their approval of her views. Fudge looked at her with interest.
Dumbledore nodded. "I agree, Ms. We-," She gave him a look, "-Mrs. Malfoy, but there is no way to leave the protection of the dome," He paused, "yet."
Fudge, who had been talking with one of his people, spoke to Dumbledore. "Supposing that there was an exit, how would we go about finding it?"
"If only Bill Weasley was here. He's a Curse Breaker, and is specialized in these specific types of wards." Tonks said.
Dumbledore's eyebrows rose to his hair line at Fudge's inquiry, along with a few others. "I suppose that copying Harry's actions might get us somewhere, but he was a Weaver." Fudge beckoned him over and they began talking in a small tone, heading towards the other end of the dome.
Ron charged to the surface of the dome. Hermione caught his arm. "Where are you going?" He looked at her and gave her one of his stubborn looks.
"If Harry can get through it so can w-."
"Look!" Someone yelped, interrupting their arguing..
SH had made it to Harry by riding on Seth's back. Death Eaters continued to send spells, but most of them hit Seth and caused no damage whatsoever. Harry was pulled onto Seth's scaly back by SH. Their reunion was short-lived as Dementors began swarming around them. Death Eaters were trying to find spaced through the cluster of Dementors to send their spells. But finally finding few or none, they pulled back. They had been, obviously, told to not harm the Dementors.
Harry and SH were trying to protect each other. Their Patroni were weak now and did nothing but keep the Dementors at bay.
"Why can't they make strong Patroni?" Hermione asked, shaking out of fright. Her grip on Ron's arm loosened. Things were running through his mind, if anyone had looked at his face, they probably would have known what he was going to do.
He looked at the scene in disdain. Harry and SH were suddenly thrown from Seth's back. They sent spells at the Death Eaters and Seth fought the Dementors. Suddenly a spell hit SH from behind, he fell to the ground in agony. Harry screamed and fought harder while putting up a barrier around SH. Some in the dome screamed as a spell struck Harry. He faltered but did not fall, he kept fighting, using one wand. Seth swiped the ground in an arc with its tail. Some Death Eaters went flying, others paused. Some, upon the threats Voldemort was making, continued to pursue. Seth gave a startling battle cry. They recognized it at the scream from earlier. Harry joined in with a battle cry of his own. SH, dismembering Harry's barrier, joined in as well and continued fighting.
Inside the dome, Ron suddenly turned and bolted towards the dome's barrier.
"RON!" Hermione yelled, everyone turned and watched in shock as Ron ran into the membrane of the dome.
"MR. WEASLEY!" Dumbledore yelled.
But it was too late. . .
As I said before, I love cliffhangers. How many seconds would have passed after five years? Think hard people! And I'll see you next chapter.