Book 1: Of Thorns & Roses

35: Oblivion

The screams of outside pierced through the obnoxious veil of The Three Broomsticks. Slowly, so slowly it registered to everyone in the tavern that once we stepped through the rotting wooden door, there was no going back.

Draco set his face into unwavering determination, but those eyes held a darker truth.

"Grier, you're going to have to go back to the castle and hide somewhere." My breath quickened, "I won't let anything happen to you."

A began my retort, "Draco, I can't hide away like a scared animal. Defiance runs through my veins, just like it did in my mother."

He shook his head once, twice, three times, "I can't control you once we leave this place, so fight, my love. Fight because I'm not sure what else they have planned. Fight for your mother's memory, and fight for our future."

I grabbed him, pulling him towards me, wrapping my body in that comforting smell of apples and cologne. I savored it. All of it.

Just in case.

"I promise," I said, as I held up my pinky. He grinned at my motion and curled his pinky around my own.

So never cease to amaze me Grier Langston.

Those words rang through my head every waking moment, taunting me in light of Draco's task. For Dumbledore and my mother, I would fight like hell.

"I love you," I said as my fingers laced through his white hair for the last time.

A warm smile replaced the panic that had embedded itself in his gaze, "I love you."

We slowly stood. To face the wrath of the Dark Lord. To fight for a future that may end up in ashes and blood. To protect the students and professors of Hogwarts.

Hand in hand, we pushed through the congregation that now hovered close to the exit as if fear made cowards of them all.

Not me. Not Draco.

All eyes crept to us in acknowledgement of our intentions. Opening the door, there was no hesitation as we stepped into the chaos filled streets that swelled with screams of panic.

I looked up into the sky to see the green tinted clouds slithering above Hogwarts.

"They're here," said Draco.

A skull hung clear in the sky as its jaw cocked open to reveal a snake. It prowled the clouds and watched the hell that lay below.

The Dark Mark.

His lips met my own in flustered anguish. One last fleeting moment that pierced my skull with its memory. That unflinching determination fled my bones.

Draco faced me and muttered one word, "Run."

So I ran.

****************

Once I reached Hogwarts, the halls were filled with questioning students. The presence of the Death Eaters cast a hollowness throughout the castle, and one that would not be easily tamed.

That was when I ran into Harry.

His face was a stark white, eyes wide and lips drained of all color. "Harry, are you okay? What happened?"

"We need to talk, Grier. In private." His startled gaze chilled my blood as he led me further into the castle.

I recognized where we were headed as the stones that lined the walls grew darker with age and smelled of an ancient secret.

We were headed for Dumbledore's office.

Walking in silence an endless surge of questions raised in my throat, but I knew that something far more complicated than I realized was at play.

Reaching the headmaster's office, the air of distress and foreboding death laced with the danger that stuck to every surface. The hauntingly eerie feeling never left me as Harry and I walked up the spiral staircase.

Harry glanced my way once before we ascended the final step. I heard the coughing and gasps for air before I saw the headmaster.

He was leaning against his massive desk, curled over himself as if an invisible pain wrought its ugly grasp around him. "My dear, I'm so happy to see you."

His voice was like the crisp air that flowed just outside the window.

Harry then spoke, "Grier, Dumbledore told me about the memories you saw that belonged to Voldemort." He looked between me and Dumbledore before continuing, "I think you can help us defeat him."

Registering his words, shock painted my face, leaving me breathless. "How?"

Harry's green eyes lingered on my face as he whispered, "You have a reason to. Just like I do. I think that together, we can manage to change the tide in this coming war."

My mouth hung open slightly, "Hell yeah. I'm in."

A smile tugged on Harry's lips as the headmaster mustered a laugh.

"Do you know what a horcrux is, my dear?" Said Dumbledore as he sat in his chair.

I could still hear echoes of screams coming from the vast corridors that stretched across the castle, "No sir."

Dumbledore nodded his head to the boy standing before me. His raven black hair caught the lowering sun's rays, like a God stood before me.

Reaching into his pocket, Harry pulled out a gold locket. One that was of an elongated octagonal shape and a casing around the front. Slowly taking the locket in my hands, I shuddered at the raw power and captivating contents.

Voices swirled like silent wind around my head. The voices belonged to the old, the young, men, and women, speaking in languages I recognized and some that were far more primeval.

With my hands shaking, I noticed the stone inlay of a snake that set in the shape of an 'S'.

Slytherin.

I looked at Harry, "What the hell is this?"

Dumbledore answered my prodding question for him, "Well, Harry and I went on an adventure, and one that would change the wizarding world as we know it." Grunts of pain fled the ancient man's body, "We discovered the way to destroy Voldemort."

I rushed to the headmaster's side as he regained steady breathing and Harry spoke, "What you have in your hand is a horcrux. Something that Voldemort has used to store pieces of his mortal self in an attempt to maintain a state of immortality."

I sucked in air and pursed my lips, "Tell me everything."

"For starters, we believe that there are quite a few of these horcruxes somewhere hidden for the world to forget about. Some might be here, in Hogwarts. Dumbledore helped me discover that if we destroy all of these horcruxes," I yearned and hoped to hear those next words leave his mouth, "he will die."

"Holy shit." I muttered in disbelief.

Grier! Grier, they're coming. I'm coming, so fight like hell. Draco shot down the bond.

Dumbledore seemed to have regained some sense of self as he said, "Draco just told you they're coming... Didn't he."

"H-How," I said.

The headmaster lifted up his hand to silence me, "I know what my fate is, Grier. Just don't forget everything I told you." He ran a hand down his long white beard as he eyed the locket around my neck, "You are more than you realize. Don't forget the power you wield in words and wisdom, and most importantly, don't forget to kick ass."

I choked on tears and laughter as I tumbled towards the headmaster, wrapping my arms around him, "Don't worry. I'll make sure they write songs about me... just for you, sir."

"Now we must face the darkness that lies ahead. You and Harry must never stop fighting because everything is about to change," boomed Dumbledore as he stood and strode towards the door.

So Harry and I looked at each other and strode into oblivion.