On The Hunt: Chapter 3 (1/2)

Harry was laying on his bed in the hospital wing, his arm heavily bandaged and his forehead covered with a green paste. He vividly recalled the green jet of light that had destroyed whatever was there in that scar and closed his eyes.

The soft rustling of curtains brought Harry out of his thoughts. As he looked in the pitch darkness of the night, he saw the familiar silhouette of Gabrielle climb on the bed before she laid down beside her. Bemused, he scooted slightly so that she could get comfortable.

Their eyes locked together as they lay there in silence. A long moment passed before she scooted closer and burrowed her face in his chest.

“I was so scared,” she whispered, her small voice tearing at his heart as Harry wrapped his arm around her small frame.

“When I saw Fleur like that... oh Harry, it was horrible.”

Harry recalled the moment he saw Krum hold Fleur under the Cruciatus. The gut-wrenching wails of the Beauxbatons champion were ringing in his ears and he felt his throat tighten slightly.

“How is she?” His voice was gruff, Gabrielle noted, and she tilted her head to look at him.

“We don’t know,” Gabrielle whispered brokenly, “Fleur was under that curse for very long, the healers haven’t said anything. They say... they say if Fleur doesn’t regain consciousness within the next 12 hours, her condition might get worse...”

Sobs wracked through her body and Harry softly shushed her as he continued to hold her.

It took her a while to bring her sobs under control before she asked him a question that stilled him slightly.

“Can you tell me what happened, Harry?”

His mind flashed back to the moment the fake Moody jumped him and he felt words pour out without any filter.

“I assume you saw what happened in the maze?” He asked her, looking straight up.

Gabrielle nodded.

“After the fake Moody jumped on me, we were portkeyed away. While we were on the way, the fake Moody punched me quite a few times. Luckily, I didn’t lose my wand somewhere in between. When we landed, we were sent sprawling on the ground and my head collided with a rock.”

Harry looked down to see Gabrielle listening attentively, a frown on her face as her hand softly stroked the back of his head. The wound had been healed by Madam Pomfrey but there was slight throbbing even now.

“I assume you went unconscious then?”

Harry nodded.

“When I came to, I felt a sharp pain in my left arm. In the beginning I couldn’t open my eyes. The pain in my head was too much, and my neck was stiff. Every movement hurt, but I somehow opened my eyes to look around. I was in some graveyard, and there were a dozen or so wizards standing in a semi-circle. All of them had their faces covered with gold masks of the death eaters, garbed in dark robes with black wizard hats over their heads. And in the middle, stood the asshole himself.”

Gabrielle’s grip around his body tightened, and Harry took a deep breath.

“He was gloating to the others, how he was the greatest wizard of all time, how he had done the impossible and conquered death, how no one would stop him from world domination, typical villain stuff.”

Gabrielle smiled slightly, and Harry frowned when he saw it never reached her eyes. He stroked her cheek and she gave him a soft smile.

“Then?”

“As if knowing I was awake, he mocked me for being so weak, for being incapable of freeing myself, and told me how he was going to torture me, humiliate me, break me until I begged him for death,” Harry muttered darkly.

Gabrielle gasped; her eyes horrified as she looked up at him.

“Don’t worry, he didn’t manage to do anything like that, although the Cruciatus he cast once did hurt like a bitch,” he admitted with a slight shiver. Gabrielle was still clutching him tightly, as if afraid that he’d go away if she loosened her hold.

“He wanted to humiliate me though, and he asked his lackey McNair to hand me my wand back. He wanted to duel me, you see. Well, McNair threw my wand at me and I picked it up. He said some bullshit about following some etiquette before my reply enraged him so much that he cast a Cruciatus. Unlucky for me that I was still delirious enough that I didn’t manage to dodge. I swear those few seconds were some of the most agonizing seconds of my life.”

“What did you say to him?” She dared to ask, and Harry looked at her with a smirk.

“Well... I might have told him to take his etiquette and shove it up his nose, before remarking how it was impossible seeing he didn’t have a nose anymore... I might have also called him No-nosemort too.”

Gabrielle looked at him with an unimpressed look.

“You’re literally surrounded by the biggest dark wizard since Grindelwald and his minions and you say things like that. You really have a death wish?” She asked him and Harry yelped when she pinched his waist. With her nails. He glared at her and she glared back. Harry sighed.

“Anyway, I shakily got up and he tried to put me under the Imperius. I looked at him blankly as he tried to make me bow, and I flashed my middle finger at him. I swear I was only trying to aggravate him so that I could have the opportunity to escape. Also, I was trying to bide some time to recover my energy as much as I could.”

“And then?” She prompted.

“And then the fight started, or rather, the one-way battering began. However,” Harry grinned slightly, “I did manage to take out quite a few of his loyal followers.”

“How?” Her eyes were wide at his admission, and she wondered if he had to kill someone.

His eyes gained a faraway look.

“I cast a ribbon cutter at Voldemort, and he sliced his wand to sever the curse at the middle. However, the death eaters behind him were not so lucky and two of them were cut off at the waist. The battle went on for quite some time. I was mostly defending but managed to fire a few occasional blood-boiling curses or bone-breakers. I purposefully deflected a few lethal curses toward the death eaters. Some were shielded, and some managed to pass through. That’s how the fake Moody died by the way.”

Gabrielle shook her head.

“I knew I had to do something big enough to distract him so that I could reach the cup. So, I used the first spell that came to my mind. Fiendfyre,” he said when he saw the open-mouthed look she was giving him.

“You cast a Fiendfyre? In that state?”

“Yeah... it took all I had though, and I barely had any energy left to reach the cup or even summon it. My body felt numb, but I slowly dragged myself over as Voldemort and his minions tried to bring the violent flames under control. And I almost managed before...” his voice abruptly cut off.

“Before? Before what Harry?” Gabrielle forcefully asked.

“Before I was hit with the Killing curse,” he admitted and Gabrielle’s teary eyes widened.

“B-but how? Y-you’re alive,” she whispered.

“Yeah, I’m alive, as to how, well... that’s complicated.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sorry, Gabrielle, but I can’t tell you. Not that I don’t trust you,” he hastily added when he saw the hurt look on her face, “I trust you, it’s just that this is a significant thing, one that can help us tremendously, and you don’t know Occlumency, so the chances of someone finding out this fact are high,” he tried to explain.

“What’s Occlumency?”

“It’s an obscure art of safeguarding one’s mind from an external assault, along with many other disciplines. Basically, it enables you to keep your secrets safe inside your mind. I promise I will tell you someday.”

Gabrielle reluctantly nodded.

“I was hit by the Killing curse, but I woke up a few seconds later. Voldemort had managed to dispel the Fiendfyre and was making his way over to me. I had already reached the cup and before he could do anything, I jerked my body forward and grabbed the cup. That’s how I found myself dropped on the ground. It was painful,” Harry grimaced.

“And then you told everyone that Voldemort was back.”

“Yeah... and you know the rest.”

The pair stayed together in silence, each mulling over the events of the night. Gabrielle was unhappy but relieved that he was alright, however, her mind was filled with concern for her older sister. No matter how much they teased one another, they loved each other with all their heart. She didn’t know what she would do if Fleur didn’t recover.

“Quit thinking negative things,” Harry gently chided, bringing her closer, “Fleur will be alright tomorrow, don’t worry.”

Gabrielle nodded tearfully.

Silence ensued in the hospital wing for a while, one which was broken by Gabrielle.

“Harry?” She whispered.

“Hmm?”

“Can I... can I stay here with you tonight?” She looked up at him with pleading eyes, and Harry didn’t have the heart to deny her. He shifted slightly so that she could get under the covers and get comfortable.

“C’mere...” he wrapped his arms around her and brought her in his embrace. Gabrielle tucked her face in the crook of his neck as Harry rested his chin on top of her head.

“This feels nice,” she whispered, and Harry shivered as he felt her hot breath on his neck.

“Y-yeah...”

XXXXX

The morning came too early and Madam Pomfrey slid the curtains open. Her indignant shout awakened them as they looked at each other. She was wrapped up in his arms, her head resting on his chest before she shifted slightly. Pushing herself up, she sat up on his bed as Madam Pomfrey berated them for inappropriate conduct in the hospital wing.

Enraged shouts from outside cut her tirade off, as she turned her furious glare at the entrance to the hospital wing. Turns out the headmaster and the minister were having quite a heated argument, and whatever it was about, it had upset the minister so much that he was shouting.

Harry could make out the words ‘not back’ and ‘delusional’ before the procession entered the hospital wing.

The minister and his entourage walked over to his bed, where he threw a sack of galleons with a sneer. Without a backward glance, the man marched straight out of the hospital wing, but not before throwing Dumbledore another venomous glare.

At his askance gaze, the headmaster sighed before explaining what exactly had transpired. The minister was categorically denying the return of Voldemort, attributing the entire incident to a random attack and the ravings of a delusional child who was surely too traumatized to speak sensibly. Harry was not surprised. Fear was something that overrode common sense, and the minister had fallen victim to the age-old phenomenon.

He simply wished the man saw reason in time; else the situation could go dire for both him and Wizarding Britain in general.

XXXXX

The day passed without any incident apart from a significant one. Fleur had woken up in the early hours of the morning, and the healers had finally declared her safe. Her body was still weak, and it would take a while for her to be able to function properly, but at least she was no longer in any danger.

All of them were relieved at the news, none more so than Gabrielle, who had burst into tears before hugging him tightly.

Sirius had come along with his friends to meet him and they spent the entire day together until Harry was cleared by the matron to leave. It was then that Sirius informed him that his home had been renovated properly and they could move in at the end of the year. Harry was looking forward to that.

A few days passed and Fleur was now able to walk for longer distances and run for short distances. Her recovery was progressing nicely, and it wouldn’t be long until she was back to normal.

It was the day of the departure of all the foreign guests who had arrived for the Triwizard Tournament. Everyone was gathered in the courtyard, bidding goodbyes to their new friends with promises to meet soon.

One such exchange was happening at the edge of the courtyard.

“So... I guess it’s a goodbye then,” Harry muttered, looking straight ahead at the wall that separated them slightly from the others.

“I guess so,” Gabrielle muttered sullenly, looking up at the ceiling.

“I’ll miss you,” Harry confessed, and Gabrielle turned to look at him. Harry looked back at her before he caught her as she launched herself at him.

“Promise you’ll write to me?” She asked desperately.

“I will, I promise,” Harry nodded.

“You better, or I’ll cross the Channel and hex you,” she murmured and Harry chuckled. Suddenly, she pulled back and looked at him. Their eyes stayed locked together for a long moment before Harry leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her. Gabrielle brought her arms around him and held him close, savouring the moment together.

“Gabrielle!”

The young pair jolted apart as if burned, as Gabrielle’s mother, Apolline came into the courtyard.

“There you are! Come on, the carriage is departing, your sister is already inside,” she remarked as she joined them.

Gabrielle nodded, her face burning.

“Just a minute, maman.”

Apolline looked over at Harry who was standing to the side with a soft smile and nodded.

“Hurry up then.”

Gabrielle turned toward Harry, and they both knew something had shifted between them at that moment.

“Take care, Harry.”

“You too, Gabrielle.”

They smiled at one another before Harry turned toward the Delacour matriarch who was waiting for her daughter.

“It was nice to meet you all, Mrs. Delacour,” Harry said with a smile.

“It was nice you meet you as well, Mr. Potter. I hope we’ll meet again someday,”

“I’m sure of it,” he remarked as he looked over at Gabrielle who had joined her mother. The two shared a nod before the mother and daughter turned around and walked away to the carriage.

Harry looked on as Gabrielle’s form slowly got smaller until they entered the carriage. With a sigh, he turned around toward the Headmaster’s Office. It was time they had a serious discussion. The war was about to begin anew, and if what he saw after being hit with the Killing curse was anything to go by, he was the key player in this game.

The time to take the gloves off had come, and Harry resolved to do anything he could to make his fortune the way he wanted, even if he had to stain his hands.