1,182A/n: I know, I am literally the worst for making you wait so long. Depression is no joke, and 2024 was perhaps my worst year ever. To be honest 2025 hasn't started off much better, but I did at least decide to take a few weeks to make no plans with anyone, and I found the time to fit in a little writing time. I have seen all your posts and comments hoping I hadn't abandoned this for good, and hoping for updates. I promise I am still here and determined to finish.
Anyway, a portion of the middle of this chapter is taken directly from the books, written and owned by JK Rowling.
1989
Chapter 48
"So, Percy." Charlie whispered, hoping not to draw anything or anyone's attention toward their hiding spot. "You've attended this school a lot more recently than I have. Any ideas on how to make it down seven flights of stairs and over to the hospital wing without getting spotted or attacked on the way?"
Percy looked to be deep in thought for several seconds before an idea came to him. "Yeah, actually. You have no idea how many times I had the opportunity to listen in on Fred and George talking about their fancy secret passageways. I believe there is a faculty tower not far from here. If I remember correctly, each one has a secret chute or stairwell leading to the first floor."
"Well lets hope you've remembered right then." He said as he looped Fred's unconscious body around his neck and shoulders. This position made it possible for Charlie to carry him by himself, that way he could steady Fred with his left arm and still cast spells with his right. It also freed Percy up so at least one of them had full range of motion for defensive spells on their journey.
They kept to the shadows as much as possible as they made their way down the corridor. It didn't take long before they came upon another small alcove that housed an ornately carved door. Percy was pretty sure this was one of those faculty break rooms he'd mentioned earlier. When they attempted to open it however, it would not budge. Obviously locked magically from the inside.
"Great, what's the plan now?" Charlie asked out loud as he peeked behind them to plan their next move more carefully. He wasn't thrilled with how far they would need to backtrack in order to get Fred the medical attention he needed.
"Well hold on, don't give up just yet." Percy scolded him, while he once again looked to be deep in thought. "If they haven't erased my magical signature since…well I mean, why would they have had reason to. I really should be able to…"
Percy definitely did not seem to be making any sense as he rambled on, and as he did he dragged his wand down the center of the door once before circling the doorknob three times. Almost instantly the door opened, releasing a small creak as it swung inward.
"I mean, I was Headboy." Percy added proudly as Charlie gawked at him.
They entered the dimly lit room together and Charlie quietly closed the door behind them in order to cover their tracks. It wasn't a small space by any means, but it was cluttered. There was a large table in the center of the room with a dozen or so worn down tweed chairs surrounding it. Several large wardrobes lined one wall, their doors bursting with books and common magical artifacts. Desks had been placed precariously around other parts of the room, and there was a small kitchen area filled with miscellaneous china cups, tins, and kettles.
"Sooo." Percy broke the silence as they looked around for a secret exit to the room. "What was that between you and Hermione back there?"
Charlie hesitated for a moment, finding it hard to break old habits. Of having to deny the truth when all he'd known for eight years was a life of secrecy. "That, brother, is a rather long story. One that involves a bit of time travel and a team of Unspeakables that came to Hogwarts eight years ago to erase the evidence. You don't happen to have any gaps in your memory from your third year do you? Specifically regarding me and who I was hanging around that year?" He asked, as he began to open cabinet doors and drawers in his search.
It was now Percy's turn to look confused. "Not that I can recall, although if it was erased from my memory, I wouldn't, would I?"
"Yeah, well Hermione was there most of that year. Less than an hour ago she broke a time turner and spent eight months in the past with me in my seventh year, and then made it back with the Ministry's help with only a few seconds gap between her two journeys. Only, to me, that was eight years ago." He explained as he opened two particularly ornate hutch doors that looked similar to that of the rooms entrance, at last revealing a large tunnel opening. "Ah ha, I think I found it."
"Well done, Charlie," Percy complimented him stoically. "But you do know there's going to be a huge fallout with Ron where she's concerned right? Like a big, major, nightmare of a –"
"Yes, Percy, I am aware." Charlie interrupted him mid rant as they climbed inside, ducking as to not hit Fred's head on the opening. "He's going to be an absolute bear about this."
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It was taking them way too long to escape the walls of the castle. They'd passed Dean and Parvati, who'd been deep in a battle with Dolohov and Travers. Peeves had nearly caused them to be discovered, as he'd been dropping Snargaluff pods down upon unsuspecting Death Eaters, and hit them by accident, revealing their hiding spot beneath the cloak.
They'd run past Yaxley in combat with Flitwick. Kingsley with an unknown masked Death Eater. Students everywhere were dragging the injured out of harm's way, while trying not to become so themselves. And then there had been Neville with his Venomous Tentactula, which was looping itself happily around the nearest enemy, reeling him into his demise.
"How do we get out?" yelled Ron over all the screaming of the battle around them.
Before Harry or Hermione could answer, they were bowled aside: Hagrid had come thundering down the stairs behind them, brandishing his pink umbrella.
"Don't hurt 'em, don't hurt 'em!" he yelled as he continued on and passed them unknowingly.
"HAGRID NO! HAGRID COME BACK!" Harry suddenly sprinted out from under the cloak, running bent double to avoid the curses illuminating the whole hall. But he was not even halfway to his destination when they saw it happen: Hagrid vanished amongst the spiders, and with a great scurrying movement, they retreated under the onslaught of spells, with Hagrid buried in their midst.
"HAGRID!" Harry yelled as he sprinted down the front steps and finally onto the dark grounds. It seemed the acromantulas had answered Ron's question, but not in any way that could ever make them grateful. For they were swarming away with their prey, and he could see nothing of Hagrid at all.
Harry went to chase after them, but his way was impeded by a monumental foot, which swung down out of the darkness and made the ground on which he stood shudder. A giant stood before him, twenty feet high. With one brutal, fluid movement, it smashed a massive fist through an upper window, and glass rained down upon Harry, forcing him back under the shelter of the doorway.
"Oh my –!" Shrieked Hermione, as she and Ron finally caught up with him, and gazed upward at the giant now trying to seize people through the window above.
"DON'T!" Ron scolded her, as she raised her wand at it. "If you try to stun him he'll crush half the castle!"
Hermione paused and lowered her wand, but before she could nod in agreement Grawp came lurching around the corner of the castle calling out for 'Hagger!' making them finally realize he was indeed undersized for a giant. The stone steps trembled as the more gargantuan of the two stomped toward Grawp, and then they launched themselves at each other with the savagery of lions. The night was soon filled with hideous yells and blows, and the three of them had no choice but to run toward the cover of the trees, rather than stay there in the open like sitting ducks.
Harry had not yet lost hope of finding and saving Hagrid; even though their mission was supposed to be taking them toward the Shrieking Shack, the thought of sacrificing Hagrid on the off chance they might stop the battle now was too hard a loss to contemplate abandoning him.
They were almost to the cover of the forest when they were brought up short again. The air around them had frozen: their breaths solidifying in their chests. As it became harder to breathe, it became harder to run, and dark figures swirled around them. Like predators closing in around their prey.
'No' Hermione thought through the deadened silence only dementors could bring. 'No. We are not meant to go out like this. Not when I just got back.'
Thinking hard about her recent reunion with Charlie, pulling the memory to the front of her mind, Hermione conjured a patronus in what was definitely her most corporeal to date. The familiar otter twisted in midair above them. As the two closest to her were chased away, a third one to her right seemed to be staring at her from beneath its cloak, if that were even possible. It raised a long slender and pointed finger toward her chest, and then retreated before her Otter could turn around to chase it off as well.
Before she had time to fully comprehend that the amulets were also working to repel Dementors, however, Harry was already screaming for her and Ron to run again. Out of reflex, she darted forward and out of the way, and it was not a second too soon. For it seemed that though the sheer brightness of her patronus had driven the dementors away, it had also attracted another nearby giant, and the creature's vast foot had fallen exactly where she'd just been standing.
"The Whomping Willow! Go!" Harry yelled, exasperated. It seemed that though his heart wanted him to continue to go after Hagrid, his mind knew that for now they had to run; they had to reach the snake, and Voldemort, because that truly was the only way to end this nightmare.
The three of them ran faster than they had ever moved in their life, outdistancing themselves from the jets of light flying in the darkness. They panted and gasped as they moved toward the thick tree trunk, peering as they tried to find the knot of bark that would paralyze it before it could take a swipe at them.
Hermione was so out of breath she could not speak, and though Ron was not in much better shape, he was able to direct a twig from the ground at the trunk through the swaying branches, and jab it into place near the roots. The tree became still at once.
The two of them stepped forward, eager to get into the cover of the earthy passage, but they soon sensed that Harry was no longer beside them.
"Wait." He said calmly to them, clearly deep in thought. He was hesitating. "What if I am leading us into a trap?"
"Harry, we're coming with you, and that's that!" said Ron, attempting to lure him forward.
"He's right. Even if it is, we have no choice now. The only way forward is to kill Nagini, and Nagini is at the end of this tunnel." Hermione reminded him.
"I know, but he only wants me, there's no need for all of us to go!" He attempted to convince them to let him continue on by himself.
Hermione came to stand next to him, wrapping one arm around his shoulder from the side and gripping one of his hands in hers. She ushered them forward toward the Whomping Willow before it could unfreeze again. "I traveled through eight years of time and space to be by your side when you finish this, Harry. You're not getting rid of me that easily." She said through a teary smile.
"Either of us." Ron agreed as he joined them on Harry's other side, taking his best friend's free hand in his too. "We'll finish this together like we planned, all three of us."
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If they thought the damage to the seventh floor had been bad, it was nothing compared to the sheer wreckage of the ground floor that surrounded them now. It felt as if they'd be lucky if there was anything left of the Hospital Wing at all at this point.
Percy and Charlie continued down the corridor they'd arrived at, through the portrait of Gilderoy Lockhart painting his own self portrait. An item that must have been left behind, then hung there after his accident and long term admittance to St. Mungos.
"Protego!" Percy cast out of reflex, just as a large hand punched its way through the wall and ceiling above them. If the acromantulas hadn't been bad enough already, it now seemed giants had arrived to take down the castle walls. Their fists were like wrecking balls with each and every blow, and the brothers had to dive out of the way in order to not get buried in rubble again.
As Charlie tried to land softly, with Fred still draped around his shoulders, it took him a moment to notice that most of the wreckage had been purposely directed around them, and not from the protection charm that his brother had cast.
"Boys! Oh my boys!" He heard as he stumbled back to his feet. It was then that he realized who must have come to their rescue, as he was crushed into the familiar arms of his mother, who was exasperated in her worry for her children. "Oh, Percy, I'm so glad you came, and Charlie! Oh my goodness how did you arrive here from Romania already! And Fred! Fred? What happened? Oh my…Fred! Is he –?"
"No, he's alive." Charlie answered as he gripped her back, unsure if it was for her comfort or his own. "There was an explosion on the seventh floor and we've been trying to get him to the Hospital Wing. I'm sure Madame Pompfrey will have him turned around, right as rain again if we can just get him to her."
Molly Weasley had turned most of her attention to her unconscious son, checking for the wound on his head. "Well it's a good thing I found you then, you'd have gone too far in the wrong direction. Poppy isn't in the Hospital Wing anymore, there wasn't enough room to house all the injured there so she's taken up space in the Great Hall."
"The Great Hall? Is that not front and center battleground at this point?" Percy asked in confusion.
"No, luckily McGonagall sealed it off early on, and only the injured and the innocent are being allowed in. It seems the Death Eaters know that Harry isn't hiding out there, so they've left it alone for the time being, but surely it's only a matter of time before one of the larger creatures at You-Know-Who's disposal breaks through." She explained, as she motioned for them to follow her. "So let's get him there now, come on…quickly! Before it's too late."
Knowing that his mother would be able to handle anything that stood in their way, Charlie kept a quick pace behind her, as they were finally within distance to getting Fred some medical attention. "Have you seen anyone else?" He asked her. "Where's dad?"
"Not recent enough as I would like." She answered, at last coming to a stop in front of two closed, grand doors; ones that usually stood open to allow students in for dining and assembly. "But your father is with Bill and Fleur, they decided Hagrid's was a good place to start looking for your brother, Harry, and Hermione. They went through the West wing of the castle, by the greenhouses."
At this point, Charlie knew there was nothing more that he could do for Fred now that they had arrived at their destination. Not only that, but he still had his entire mission to complete. As careful but as quickly as he could, he unwrapped Fred from behind his shoulders and set him to lean between his mother and Percy.
Just as quickly, as his mother questioned what he was doing with her eyes, he retrieved the remaining amulets from his pack and draped one around his mothers neck. "It's a long story, but this will protect you from dark creatures." He explained, as he shoved another six or seven into the front pocket of her robes. "Give them out as needed, and I'll do the same. For now, I need the two of you to get Fred inside, but I've got to go find everyone else. Okay?"
Molly looked a little teary eyed at the thought of one of her precious sons heading back into battle by himself, but she knew that it was something he had to do. It also seemed she knew that with all the dark creatures looming about that the rest of her family stood a greater chance of survival if he could get these protective amulets to them in time. So with a brave face, she gave him a sad smile and a loving pat on the cheek before nodding her head in agreement at his plan.
"Stay Safe." She bid him, as her and Percy turned to enter the Great Hall.
As the doors closed back behind them, Charlie felt a little lighter, knowing at least three of the people he cared about most in the world were safe. Only now he was on his own, and he had a lot to do before he could even attempt to go find Hermione again.
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At last the tunnel began to slope upward and Hermione saw a sliver of light ahead. She tugged at Harry, and forced the cloak into his hand as they simultaneously extinguished the lights coming from the tips of their wands. They could hear voices coming from the room beyond the tunnel they were in, and one voice in particular stood out. It wasn't until she heard it that Hermione realized she hadn't had time to tell Harry one of her more important discoveries from her time spent living in the past.
"Harry!" She whispered in his ear. "There's something really important you need to know before you go charging in there. It's about Professor Snape."
He turned in order to hear her out, but the look on his face made it clear he had no intention of letting Snape off the hook for killing Dumbledore, no matter what claim she was about to make about him.
"I'm nearly positive he's on our side after all." Hermione claimed. "I saw his patronus while I was in the past. It's a doe! Just like the one that guided you to Gryffindor's sword. It had to be him, just like it had to be him who gave Bellatrix the fake one to put in her vault at Gringotts. Everything he's done has to have been at Dumbledore's request, in order for him to be in a position of power to help you when the time came. Which has finally come tonight."
"That's it? Hermione, there's loads of witches and wizards who could have a doe patronus."
"Like your mother?" She asked with a solemn tone.
Harry froze mid thought at her question. "My…my mother?"
"I had a lot of conversations with Dumbledore while I was in the past," Hermione began her explanation, "and finally I just had to know why he trusted Snape so much. I even tried to warn him at one point, but he was adamant that Snape could be trusted. So after much persuasion, he finally told me this evening before my return."
"Told you what?" Harry seemed curious, but also as if he wasn't quite sure he was ready for the answer.
"Snape was in love with your mum, Harry." She revealed to his astonishment. "His patronus is a doe because hers was a doe."
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Luckily, it had only taken him ten minutes to track down his sister. She'd been with a fellow Gryffindor boy, who was carrying a strange plant that kept chewing and burping, and a blonde Ravenclaw girl, who turned out to be even odder than the plant. He'd given them all an amulet and sent them on their way to check on Fred in the Great Hall turned Infirmary, knowing they'd be safe there for the time being.
Charlie still needed to find George, and his dad, Bill, and Fleur, so he turned back in the direction of the Greenhouses. It didn't take long before he was distracted from his mission, as he came across a scuffle in the first floor trophy room, stopping as soon as he saw a familiar flash of vibrant violet hair. He entered the room just as Tonks was knocked backwards over a pile of upturned stones by a female Death Eater with wild black hair, who by the look of it seemed ready to fire her final blow. As she stalked closer, Charlie stunned the witch from behind out of reflex, in order to protect one of his oldest friends.
He rushed to help Tonks up, all the while keeping a close watch on the stunned witch, who he knew was one of the more dangerous beings who had infiltrated the castle that night. On second thought, he perhaps should have done more than just stun her. He was just thinking about putting her in a full body bind when Remus Lupin, who it turned out had not been far behind him, soon joined Charlie by his wife's side.
Sensing his sudden distraction by Lupin's appearance, Bellatrix hopped up from her stunned position and backed up toward a hole in the castle wall. She had her arms and wand raised defensively.
"Don't worry, I know when I'm outnumbered!" She cackled as she disappeared with a swish of her cloak, before they could so much as throw a simple hex at her.
Now that they were alone in the room half turned to rubble, they all got to their feet and brushed the soot and dirt off of their robes. Charlie took two amulets from his pocket, now starting to worry because he was getting down to the last dozen, and he still had half his family left that needed them.
"Here." He said as he placed one over Tonks head. "These are amulets I forged. They protect from dark creatures, and the castle is crawling with all kinds."
She thanked him as he turned to pass one to Lupin as well.
Remus eyed it suspiciously and put up both hands, taking a step backward away from him, looking as if he needed to put some distance between himself and the amulet. "I'm afraid that won't work for me, my friend. Werewolf, remember?"
Charlie cringed, feeling stupid. "Of course, that's right." He agreed as he put it back in his pocket.
"That also means I won't be able to stay very close to you as long as you have that on." He warned his wife.
She began to take it off, looking as if she'd rather be by her husband's side than have the added protection.
"No, keep it on. I won't stray far I promise, but I'd rather have to keep a little distance from you than have you carried off by acromantulas." Lupin said in compromise.
"Fine." Tons agreed as she dropped the amulet back around her neck. "I'm going after my Aunt Bellatrix though. Are you two going to join me?"
Charlie sighed, wanting to go with them. If Bellatrix was running back to Voldemort, then he'd be able to go join Hermione, Harry, and his brother in the big fight. However, Hermione was counting on him to pass out the amulets and he still hadn't found his dad and the others yet. Not to mention his comrades from Romania should be here somewhere too by now, as well as Devin and his other friends from his year at Hogwarts.
"No, I've got my own mission I'm afraid, but good luck you two."
He bid them farewell as they followed Bellatrix out of the hole in the wall. As they disappeared, he hoped silently that they were headed in the same direction as Hermione. He'd feel a lot better about his chances of her making it back to him alive with an Auror there for backup.
Charlie had just turned to leave the trophy room to go in search of his friends and family when he was suddenly blasted backwards. He'd been ambushed so suddenly there hadn't even been a split second to react, and before he knew it, the back of his head hit the same pile of stones Tonks had tripped over earlier. Hard.
His vision was hazy as he tried to scramble back up to defend himself, but he was kicked in the chest by a small black boot, and fell back against the rubble yet again. Through blurry vision he could just barely focus on the long blonde hair that came into view as this new Death Eater slowly removed their mask; revealing a very pretty yet familiar face. His eyes squinted as his mind slowly processed what he was seeing, the head injury causing him to decipher his surroundings slower than normal.
"Heather?"