Fic: Brave New World (24/28): Harry Potter
Title: Brave New World
Author:
patriciatepes
Artist:
twisted_slinky
Fandom: Harry Potter
Chapter: Prev | Next
Rating/Contents: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters. Making no money here, as they all still belong to their prospective owners.
Summary: Partially DH compliant, most AU. Voldemort arrived at Malfoy Manor quicker than expected, and like that, the war was over. Now, Hermione is Snape's "assigned companion," and as determined as ever to stop Voldemort and save her friends. But that's hard to do in Voldemort's new world…
Chapter Twenty-Four: Re-Group
Neville, Hermione, and Snape apparated into their destination, all three hitting the hard, wooden floors simultaneously. They fell apart, and Hermione was the first back to her feet. She knelt by Snape, trying to get close enough to inspect whatever wounds he might have received from Nagini's bite. He shoved her off of him, however, rising to his feet. His left hand was held over a spot just under his right shoulder. He looked around the room, shaking his head.
"We're in Hog's Head?" he asked.
Neville, who made his way over to the small bed to sit, shrugged. "Yeah. Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, runs it. Seemed like the safest place to me."
Snape arched a brow, and Hermione took advantage of the momentary distraction to try and gently pry his hand from his wound.
"This is your so-called safe house? Merlin's beard, Longbottom, you might as well set up camp at Hogwarts! It'd be less public!"
"Well, funny, that-" Neville began, but Snape cut him off, turning to address Hermione.
"I'm fine. It's just a scrape," he said.
Hermione didn't still her efforts to look. "It might be infected. What if Nagini is venomous?"
"I'm fine! Or, at least, as fine as can be expected!" he snipped at her, turning away.
Her brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"The Dark Lord now knows I'm a traitor! We've lost the best defense that anyone could possibly have in this world," he lamented, his voice low and gruff.
"How could he possibly know that you're a traitor? You just-" Hermione tried to argue, but Snape was still in no mood to hear it.
"You mean, other than the fact that my supposed slave and the leader of the resistance showed up to save me? If the Dark Lord hasn't pieced it together from that, then he will deduce it by the mere fact that I ran. A traitor runs. A follower-"
Now it was Hermione's turn to interrupt. "Gives his life? It's doesn't matter, Severus! I wasn't going to just let you die. Now, let me see your bloody wound!"
Hermione ignored the involuntary twitched that Neville did. It seemed he wasn't used to a peer using the Potions master's first name so casually. But nobody said anything about it, and Hermione finally pried Snape's hand loose from his arm. He hissed as she prodded at the wound a bit, but it seemed that he was, ultimately, right. It was barely a scrape. Probably just enough to sting and be sore for a couple of days.
"You're fine," she muttered, stepping back.
He nodded, taking out his wand and pointing it at the scrape. He began muttering an incantation over it, and she could see the skin beginning to knit together slowly. Putting his wand away, he stared down at her.
"What about Draco and Miss Weasley?" he asked.
And then, almost on cue, Draco entered the room. Hermione jumped, having never-in any of her visits-seen anyone but Neville enter through the door. Snape seemed just as surprised to see Draco in Neville's "safe house." When both Snape and Hermione turned to Neville, he shrugged.
"I figured our inside men might need safety more than some others. So, I told Draco where my safe house was at. I was going to tell you too, Professor. Just… hadn't gotten around to it yet."
"Quite," Snape sneered. Turning to Draco, he said, "Voldemort could suspect your involvement in tonight's events. Or future ones. You can't be guaranteed in yours, or Miss Weasley's, safety any longer."
"He doesn't suspect. At least, not my involvement. He might Ginny's now," Draco said, shutting the door behind him.
Hermione moved in front of Snape, fixing Draco with a steady glare. "What do you mean, 'now'? What have you done?"
Draco held up his hands defensively. "Calm down, Granger. Did I not just warn you about what was gonna happen to Snape? Did I not take you directly to Neville so you two could stop it? Did I not drink veritaserum so you could interrogate me and know it was the truth?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. She had hoped, with impending fatherhood facing him, that Draco might have become a little less pigheaded. She could see now that that wasn't going to be the case. She crossed her arms, while Snape looked down, a rare look of confusion on his face.
"Neville was already at Malfoy Manor tonight? Why?" he asked.
All eyes turned to Neville, who straightened. "Draco told me that Luna and Ollivander were being held in the cellar there. So, I busted them out. They're raiding Mr. Ollivander's store right now, so that we can give wands back to those who have had them taken."
Hermione's eyes brightened. "Neville. That's brilliant."
He smiled at her, and she returned it for just a moment before locking a cold gaze of stone on Malfoy once more.
"Ginny? You were saying?"
"Again, calm down. I just sent her away. I told everyone at the manor that she wasn't feeling well, so I sent her to a country estate. My family's got at least three."
"Voldemort could just as easily search them. He'll fine her with no problem," Snape said.
Hermione's heart thudded against her chest. But Draco, instead of looking properly worried, flashed a cocky grin.
"You're right. He could. But I'm quite good at Occlumency," he said.
Hermione huffed. "What's that got to do with anything?"
Draco shrugged. "He'll never find out that I just sent Ginny home."
"She's at the Burrow?"
Draco nodded. She suddenly felt an overwhelming need to hug him. She quelled it easily, though. Snape had moved to occupy the only chair in the room, set in a back corner, and from what Hermione could glimpse, his wound from Nagini was almost completely gone now. However, he looked more pained now than before. Hermione approached him, laying a hand on his.
"What's wrong?"
"I spoke with Potter before the attack."
Hermione sank to the floor by his feet, like a child awaiting a story. But she knew that this one was not one she probably wanted to hear. She pressed a hand to her chest, trying to slow her heartbeat. She could already feel her eyes watering, just thinking about poor Harry in that cage.
"He told me what the Dark Lord has been searching for… a way to master his new wand. The Elder Wand."
Draco and Neville both gasped. Hermione supposed that she should to. Sure, she had already heard the story about the brothers and the wand, ring, and cloak. And yes, she did find it strange that such a mythic object should be in play. But, apparently, it carried more weight with those who had grown up listening to those stories. Maybe if someone had said something about Cinderella's glass slippers being the key to saving their world, maybe she'd be more surprised then.
"He has the Elder Wand?" Neville asked.
"It's more than that," Snape said. "As I said, he can't master it. He's not its true owner. He thought… since I killed Dumbledore… that it was me. But… Potter figured the truth. It's not me. It's you, Draco."
Draco looked as if he had been slapped by someone wearing an invisibility cloak. He blinked several times before he finally mustered up a "What?" Snape nodded.
"Well, that settles it. Draco has to hide. Just as we'll have to now, Severus," Hermione said.
Draco seemed not to hear her. Instead, he locked eyes with his favorite professor. "Did Potter tell you, then? Did he tell you about tomorrow?"
Snape nodded. Hermione rose slowly to her feet, staring between the two of them. "What?"
Snape reached out, hesitantly at first, then finally with full force, grasping her hand and holding it. He barely looked up at her, through his curtains of black hair.
"The Dark Lord intends to kill Potter tomorrow evening."
Hermione's breath hitched. Her heart was surely going to hammer right out of her chest. The same three words just kept playing through her head. He doesn't know. He doesn't know. They just went, over and over, getting louder and louder as they kept on.
"It's going to be a bit of a deal, if I'm to understand. It's going to be done in the ballroom at my home," Draco explained.
Nobody spoke. They let the words sink in, and after that, they let them dance with what they already knew. There was the proverbial elephant in the room, and everyone could feel the pachyderm's gaze. Finally, Neville cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. He scratched at the back of his neck, looking down and away from his compatriots.
"I really hate to say it, but… isn't that… isn't that what we wanted?"
Hermione's nostrils flared as she glared at Neville. "No! No! Harry deserves a choice! We're not just gonna leave him like some sacrificial lamb!"
A heavy sigh, from Draco and not Neville, followed. Hermione turned to stare at the blond.
"I thought you might say that, Granger. Here," he said.
He reached inside his robes and withdrew two small, thin vials. Within each, barely visible until Hermione was close enough to press her nose to them, was a hair. One was blond, one was black. She blinked up at Draco. From behind her, Snape said, "You propose a Polyjuice Potion."
Draco nodded. "The blond is my father's. The black is my Aunt Bella's. I may be a wanted man, but I was born in Malfoy Manor. I know it better than anyone. I can sneak in, slip the originals sleeping draught, and then two of you could walk in and give Potter his choice."
"We don't have time to brew any, though. It takes a month, and Harry is supposed to die tomorrow, you said," Hermione protested.
"I have some in my stores at the school," Snape said, standing. "I always keep some on hand ever since the Dark Lord rose again. Never know when it is going to be useful."
"Yeah," Neville huffed out a humorless laugh, "like when you've got to give your best friend the choice of dying for a cause or not."
No one spoke. No one needed to.
Author:
patriciatepes
Artist:
twisted_slinky
Fandom: Harry Potter
Chapter: Prev | Next
Rating/Contents: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters. Making no money here, as they all still belong to their prospective owners.
Summary: Partially DH compliant, most AU. Voldemort arrived at Malfoy Manor quicker than expected, and like that, the war was over. Now, Hermione is Snape's "assigned companion," and as determined as ever to stop Voldemort and save her friends. But that's hard to do in Voldemort's new world…
Chapter Twenty-Four: Re-Group
Neville, Hermione, and Snape apparated into their destination, all three hitting the hard, wooden floors simultaneously. They fell apart, and Hermione was the first back to her feet. She knelt by Snape, trying to get close enough to inspect whatever wounds he might have received from Nagini's bite. He shoved her off of him, however, rising to his feet. His left hand was held over a spot just under his right shoulder. He looked around the room, shaking his head.
"We're in Hog's Head?" he asked.
Neville, who made his way over to the small bed to sit, shrugged. "Yeah. Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, runs it. Seemed like the safest place to me."
Snape arched a brow, and Hermione took advantage of the momentary distraction to try and gently pry his hand from his wound.
"This is your so-called safe house? Merlin's beard, Longbottom, you might as well set up camp at Hogwarts! It'd be less public!"
"Well, funny, that-" Neville began, but Snape cut him off, turning to address Hermione.
"I'm fine. It's just a scrape," he said.
Hermione didn't still her efforts to look. "It might be infected. What if Nagini is venomous?"
"I'm fine! Or, at least, as fine as can be expected!" he snipped at her, turning away.
Her brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"
"The Dark Lord now knows I'm a traitor! We've lost the best defense that anyone could possibly have in this world," he lamented, his voice low and gruff.
"How could he possibly know that you're a traitor? You just-" Hermione tried to argue, but Snape was still in no mood to hear it.
"You mean, other than the fact that my supposed slave and the leader of the resistance showed up to save me? If the Dark Lord hasn't pieced it together from that, then he will deduce it by the mere fact that I ran. A traitor runs. A follower-"
Now it was Hermione's turn to interrupt. "Gives his life? It's doesn't matter, Severus! I wasn't going to just let you die. Now, let me see your bloody wound!"
Hermione ignored the involuntary twitched that Neville did. It seemed he wasn't used to a peer using the Potions master's first name so casually. But nobody said anything about it, and Hermione finally pried Snape's hand loose from his arm. He hissed as she prodded at the wound a bit, but it seemed that he was, ultimately, right. It was barely a scrape. Probably just enough to sting and be sore for a couple of days.
"You're fine," she muttered, stepping back.
He nodded, taking out his wand and pointing it at the scrape. He began muttering an incantation over it, and she could see the skin beginning to knit together slowly. Putting his wand away, he stared down at her.
"What about Draco and Miss Weasley?" he asked.
And then, almost on cue, Draco entered the room. Hermione jumped, having never-in any of her visits-seen anyone but Neville enter through the door. Snape seemed just as surprised to see Draco in Neville's "safe house." When both Snape and Hermione turned to Neville, he shrugged.
"I figured our inside men might need safety more than some others. So, I told Draco where my safe house was at. I was going to tell you too, Professor. Just… hadn't gotten around to it yet."
"Quite," Snape sneered. Turning to Draco, he said, "Voldemort could suspect your involvement in tonight's events. Or future ones. You can't be guaranteed in yours, or Miss Weasley's, safety any longer."
"He doesn't suspect. At least, not my involvement. He might Ginny's now," Draco said, shutting the door behind him.
Hermione moved in front of Snape, fixing Draco with a steady glare. "What do you mean, 'now'? What have you done?"
Draco held up his hands defensively. "Calm down, Granger. Did I not just warn you about what was gonna happen to Snape? Did I not take you directly to Neville so you two could stop it? Did I not drink veritaserum so you could interrogate me and know it was the truth?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. She had hoped, with impending fatherhood facing him, that Draco might have become a little less pigheaded. She could see now that that wasn't going to be the case. She crossed her arms, while Snape looked down, a rare look of confusion on his face.
"Neville was already at Malfoy Manor tonight? Why?" he asked.
All eyes turned to Neville, who straightened. "Draco told me that Luna and Ollivander were being held in the cellar there. So, I busted them out. They're raiding Mr. Ollivander's store right now, so that we can give wands back to those who have had them taken."
Hermione's eyes brightened. "Neville. That's brilliant."
He smiled at her, and she returned it for just a moment before locking a cold gaze of stone on Malfoy once more.
"Ginny? You were saying?"
"Again, calm down. I just sent her away. I told everyone at the manor that she wasn't feeling well, so I sent her to a country estate. My family's got at least three."
"Voldemort could just as easily search them. He'll fine her with no problem," Snape said.
Hermione's heart thudded against her chest. But Draco, instead of looking properly worried, flashed a cocky grin.
"You're right. He could. But I'm quite good at Occlumency," he said.
Hermione huffed. "What's that got to do with anything?"
Draco shrugged. "He'll never find out that I just sent Ginny home."
"She's at the Burrow?"
Draco nodded. She suddenly felt an overwhelming need to hug him. She quelled it easily, though. Snape had moved to occupy the only chair in the room, set in a back corner, and from what Hermione could glimpse, his wound from Nagini was almost completely gone now. However, he looked more pained now than before. Hermione approached him, laying a hand on his.
"What's wrong?"
"I spoke with Potter before the attack."
Hermione sank to the floor by his feet, like a child awaiting a story. But she knew that this one was not one she probably wanted to hear. She pressed a hand to her chest, trying to slow her heartbeat. She could already feel her eyes watering, just thinking about poor Harry in that cage.
"He told me what the Dark Lord has been searching for… a way to master his new wand. The Elder Wand."
Draco and Neville both gasped. Hermione supposed that she should to. Sure, she had already heard the story about the brothers and the wand, ring, and cloak. And yes, she did find it strange that such a mythic object should be in play. But, apparently, it carried more weight with those who had grown up listening to those stories. Maybe if someone had said something about Cinderella's glass slippers being the key to saving their world, maybe she'd be more surprised then.
"He has the Elder Wand?" Neville asked.
"It's more than that," Snape said. "As I said, he can't master it. He's not its true owner. He thought… since I killed Dumbledore… that it was me. But… Potter figured the truth. It's not me. It's you, Draco."
Draco looked as if he had been slapped by someone wearing an invisibility cloak. He blinked several times before he finally mustered up a "What?" Snape nodded.
"Well, that settles it. Draco has to hide. Just as we'll have to now, Severus," Hermione said.
Draco seemed not to hear her. Instead, he locked eyes with his favorite professor. "Did Potter tell you, then? Did he tell you about tomorrow?"
Snape nodded. Hermione rose slowly to her feet, staring between the two of them. "What?"
Snape reached out, hesitantly at first, then finally with full force, grasping her hand and holding it. He barely looked up at her, through his curtains of black hair.
"The Dark Lord intends to kill Potter tomorrow evening."
Hermione's breath hitched. Her heart was surely going to hammer right out of her chest. The same three words just kept playing through her head. He doesn't know. He doesn't know. They just went, over and over, getting louder and louder as they kept on.
"It's going to be a bit of a deal, if I'm to understand. It's going to be done in the ballroom at my home," Draco explained.
Nobody spoke. They let the words sink in, and after that, they let them dance with what they already knew. There was the proverbial elephant in the room, and everyone could feel the pachyderm's gaze. Finally, Neville cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. He scratched at the back of his neck, looking down and away from his compatriots.
"I really hate to say it, but… isn't that… isn't that what we wanted?"
Hermione's nostrils flared as she glared at Neville. "No! No! Harry deserves a choice! We're not just gonna leave him like some sacrificial lamb!"
A heavy sigh, from Draco and not Neville, followed. Hermione turned to stare at the blond.
"I thought you might say that, Granger. Here," he said.
He reached inside his robes and withdrew two small, thin vials. Within each, barely visible until Hermione was close enough to press her nose to them, was a hair. One was blond, one was black. She blinked up at Draco. From behind her, Snape said, "You propose a Polyjuice Potion."
Draco nodded. "The blond is my father's. The black is my Aunt Bella's. I may be a wanted man, but I was born in Malfoy Manor. I know it better than anyone. I can sneak in, slip the originals sleeping draught, and then two of you could walk in and give Potter his choice."
"We don't have time to brew any, though. It takes a month, and Harry is supposed to die tomorrow, you said," Hermione protested.
"I have some in my stores at the school," Snape said, standing. "I always keep some on hand ever since the Dark Lord rose again. Never know when it is going to be useful."
"Yeah," Neville huffed out a humorless laugh, "like when you've got to give your best friend the choice of dying for a cause or not."
No one spoke. No one needed to.