Change the Future

DH 26

"I was the last to come through," Mrs. Longbottom said. "I sealed it, I think it unwise to leave it open now Aberforth has left his pub. Have you seen my grandson?"

"He's fighting," Harry said. 

"Naturally," said the old lady proudly. "Excuse me, I must go and assist him." With surprising speed she trotted off toward the stone steps. Harry looked at Tonks.

"I thought you were supposed to be with Teddy at your mother's?" 

"I couldn't stand not knowing" Tonks looked anguished. "She'll look after him have you seen Remus?"

"He was planning to lead a group of fighters into the grounds" Without another word, Tonks sped off. "Ginny," Harry said, "I'm sorry, but we need you to leave too. Just for a bit. Then you can come back in." Ginny looked simply delighted to leave her sanctuary. "And then you can come back in!" he shouted after her as she ran up the steps after Tonks. "You've got to come back in!" 

"Yeah she wasn't coming back " Rory said smiling at Ginny.

"Hang on a moment!" Ron said sharply. "We've forgotten someone!"

"Who?" asked Hermione.

"The house-elves, they'll all be down in the kitchen, won't they?" 

"You mean we ought to get them fighting?" asked Harry.

"No," Ron said seriously, "I mean we should tell them to get out. We don't want anymore Dobbies, do we? We can't order them to die for us" There was a clatter as the basilisk fangs cascaded out of Hermione's arms. Running at Ron, she flung them around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron threw away the fangs and broomstick he was holding and responded with such enthusiasm that he lifted Hermione off her feet.

"Erm not exactly the right time" Sirius says.

"Is this the moment?" Harry asked weakly, and when nothing happened except that Ron and Hermione gripped each other still more firmly and swayed on the spot, he raised his voice. "Oi! There's a war going on here!" Ron and Hermione broke apart, their arms still around each other. 

"I know, mate," Ron said, who looked as though he had recently been hit on the back of the head with a Bludger, "so it's now or never, isn't it?"

"Never mind that, what about the Horcrux?" Harry shouted. "D'you think you could just just hold it in until we've got the diadem?"

"Yeah right sorry" Ron said, and he and Hermione set about gathering up fangs, both pink in the face. It was clear, as the three of them stepped back into the corridor upstairs, that in the minutes that they had spent in the Room of Requirement the situation within the castle had deteriorated severely. The walls and ceiling were shaking worse than ever; dust filled the air, and through the nearest window, Harry saw bursts of green and red light so close to the foot of the castle that he knew the Death Eaters must be very near to entering the place. Looking down, Harry saw Grawp the giant meandering past, swinging what looked like a stone gargoyle torn from the roof and roaring his displeasure. "Let's hope he steps on some of them!" Ron said as more screams echoed from close by. 

"As long as it's not any of our lot!" said a voice, Harry turned and saw Ginny and Tonks, both with their wands drawn at the next window, which was missing several panes. Even as he watched, Ginny sent a well-aimed jinx into a crowd of fighters below.

"Good girl!" roared a figure running through the dust toward them, and Harry saw Aberforth again, his grey hair flying as he led a small group of students past. "They look like they might be breaching the north battlements, they've brought giants of their own."