Chapter Twenty Three: Hufflepuff’s Cup
Harry sat back in his chair in their rooms, sighing. After returning to Grindelwald’s castle, it had taken the better part of three days to finish searching, and they had once again come up with nothing. While Dark Magic lingered over the entire place, there was no sign of a resting place for part of Voldemort’s soul.
“It makes sense, really,” Hermione said for the third time, “Voldemort would have thought that Grindelwald was weak for being defeated, and he wouldn’t have wanted anything weak.”
“Give over, Hermione,” Ron said grumpily, disgruntled that his idea hadn’t worked.
Harry shut out the conversation, thinking over the events of the last few days. They had returned to Hogwarts to find a refugee camp filled with Ministry workers and Order members. The dorms were filled with children again, and the Hospital Wing had been expanded to accommodate all of the wounded, while Madame Pomfrey directed a large group of healers on loan from St. Mungo’s. The castle grounds were filled with tents, and there were witches and wizards patrolling the grounds and keeping watch at the walls. Since the death of Rufus Scrimgeour, the Wizengamot had met and had granted at least temporary leadership of the Ministry of Magic, temporarily headquartered at Hogwarts, to Minerva McGonagall, who, though she repeatedly said she didn’t want the responsibility, had run things smoothly ever since. She had had to deal with Percy fawning over her ever since, but she said he actually was rather helpful, once you got over the obsequiousness.
And what had Harry, the Chosen One, been able to do? Nothing, he thought bitterly, because I can’t find the Horcruxes and can’t face Voldemort. In the Battle of the Ministry, as it was being called, the Death Eaters had merely gone to destroy whatever they could. The Unspeakables had somehow managed to seal the Department of Mysteries completely, using spells they wouldn’t reveal to anyone. Voldemort had been furious, but hadn’t been able to penetrate the defenses. The rest of the Ministry had been completely destroyed. Since then, the combined forces of Magical Law Enforcement, the Aurors, and the Order of the Phoenix had been kept extremely busy. Death Eater attacks, mostly against Muggles, were almost constant. There were deaths being reported every day, and many witches and wizards were fleeing the country completely. And there isn’t anything I can do about it yet.
The Weasley family had reacted surprisingly well to Percy’s return to the family. Ron and the twins still wouldn’t speak to him at all, and Ginny had yelled at him for two solid hours until he came and apologized to Harry for everything he had done. Arthur and Molly had just been grateful to have him back, though Harry was sure Arthur had had a few things to say to his son. Bill spent all of his free time with Fleur, so Harry didn’t know how he was reacting, and Charlie hadn’t returned home since Percy had come back.
“So where else could we look?” Ginny asked, interrupting the argument brewing between Ron and Hermione.
“Why don’t we try Hepzibah Smith’s house?” Ron asked, eager to put forth another idea.
“There are still people living there, Ron,” Hermione said dismissively, waving aside the suggestion.
Harry sat up quickly. “Ron that’s fantastic! You’re right, Hermione, there are people living there, so why would anyone assume Voldemort would use it? It’s perfect! I bet that’s right where he’s got one of the Horcruxes. Do you still know where it is, Hermione?”
Hermione was looking a little put out, while Ron was looking at her triumphantly.
“I know where it is,” she said quietly, before getting up and walking out of the room. Ron watched her go in confusion, while Ginny looked at him in exasperation.
“Go after her, Ron! Find out what’s wrong,” she told him firmly. Ron nodded dumbly before following her out.
“What do you suppose is wrong?” Harry asked, also somewhat baffled.
“I think she’s feeling like she isn’t being very useful, and also a little left out since she’s the only one who hasn’t been able to make the Animagus transformation yet. I think Ron should lock her in the Room of Requirement for a few days until she just does it,” Ginny answered shrewdly.
Harry’s expression was amused as he held out his arms, inviting her to sit on his lap. She did so happily.
“I think you’re probably right, but she needs to remember that if she hadn’t spent so many weeks with Ron working on the mechanics of the transformation, he would never have been able to do it. She was able to go that far faster than anyone, even me,” he told her.
“But she’s hasn’t been able to do anything else for weeks either, and I think the rest of it will be harder for her than it has been for any of the rest of us. Her mind is a lot more complicated.”
Harry laughed and held Ginny close for a moment, before pushing her to her feet.
“Come on, we have to plan this trip out and get packed,” he said, brightly. “And I promise I’ll stay with you the whole time.”
“You’d better.”
***
“Hermione! Wait! What’s wrong?” Ron called out as he chased her down the hall.
Oh, leave me alone,” she said, crying now, and looking for a place where she could be alone. Unfortunately there were very few places unoccupied in the castle, so there weren’t many options. That day was Sunday and classes were beginning the next day, since McGonagall insisted that the school continue to operate as usual, so there weren’t any unused classrooms that they could go into. Finally, she ran to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room and into Harry’s office, knowing he wouldn’t be there.
Unfortunately, Ron followed her in, still demanding to know what the problem was.
“I don’t know, Ron. You seem to have all the answers now, why don’t you go tell Harry and the two of you can figure it out without me,” she said, hating how sullen her voice sounded.
“What? What are you talking about?” he asked, obviously confused. She couldn’t help thinking about how adorable he was when he had no idea what was going on; it softened her considerably, and helped her calm down quite a bit.
“I’m sorry, Ron,” she said, hugging him tightly, tears falling onto his shoulder. “I just don’t feel useful anymore. I say one thing, and Harry always seems to decide another. And I’m the only who one can’t make the transformation now, and I’ve been trying so hard!”
Ron held her for several moments, obviously thinking hard about what to say. Somehow, she knew that he would come up with the right thing to say, as he always did when he thought this hard about things.
“I don’t know what to say,” he started, and she looked up in despair.
“I mean, you always know what to do, and you’ve done almost all of the research while all I’ve been good for is carrying books for you. You’re the only one besides Harry who knows anything about healing, and even if he was the one who showed you how, he’s hurt often enough that that makes you all the more important. And the only reason I ever made the transformation was because you showed me how and then provided the motivation. I couldn’t do anything without you, Hermione. I love you,” he finished, and she smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder. That was more like it.
“Besides,” Ron added, a teasing smirk growing on his face, “I’m Animagus enough for the both of us.”
Hermione laughed in spite of herself, smacking his arm, and looking up at him.
“You are a magnificent lion, Ron,” she said, looking into his eyes. His grin widened as he pulled her in for a kiss.
***
It took until the end of the first week of classes before they could get away from the school. Harry was needed to teach classes, and a significant number of adults had joined Defense classes with the students, making teaching more difficult since the adults thought they already knew everything they needed to know. Most of the adults went to the more advanced classes, but there was a surprising number of them that were at a very basic level, and it really rankled on them to be taught by a boy much younger than them.
Harry also had a hard time now convincing anyone that he should be allowed to leave without a substantial Order guard. To be fair, he did understand where they were coming from. Molly had been absolutely mortified when she found out that Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had all actually thought that Harry was dead, and for almost two days. Since then, she had been checking in on Harry several times every day, making sure she knew where he was. This had grown especially annoying, since she had walked in on Harry and Ginny while they were kissing twice now. She hadn’t said anything, and Ginny had only laughed gleefully at Harry’s red face, but Harry couldn’t help feeling mortified that that had happened. Still, after a long talk with McGonagall, that included him conceding to not stay for more than ten hours and to send Fawkes with messages if he needed anything, he was told he could leave.
They took the invisibility cloak and their dark clothes with them, and their wands, and not much else. Fawkes transported them from Hogwarts to a small area about two miles away from the house. The air was crisp and cold; there was a smattering of snow on the ground, and a thin mist hung over the ground giving the night a ghostly feeling that chilled them all in a different way. The leafless trees were like skeletal phantoms warning them back from some illusive impending doom.
Ginny surveyed the night around them and turned to the rest of them.
“If I were to pick a spooky place for Voldemort to hide his soul, this would definitely be it,” she said in a cheerful voice that caused everyone to chuckle, though Ron and Hermione both nodded in agreement.
The plan was similar to the one they had had going in to the orphanage. Ron and Hermione waited while Harry and Ginny turned into their Animagus forms and flew off into the night to survey the area. The difference this time was that once they thought the coast was clear, Fawkes would transport them all to the house where they could begin searching in earnest.
“I hate waiting,” Hermione complained while rubbing her arms, “and it’s freezing out here!”
Ron wordlessly transformed into a lion, and curled up around her, and she suddenly found that she was quite warm and comfortable.
“Thank you, Ron,” she said quietly, burying her hands in his mane and rubbing his head. He let out a low growl that was unmistakably supposed to be a purr, and she laughed delightedly.
Before too long, Harry and Ginny were back, and everyone changed back into their regular forms.
“There isn’t anyone there at all,” Ginny said breathlessly, “It looks like the Smiths have left the country or something like that, so we shouldn’t have to deal with them.”
“And the wards on the house wouldn’t stop Crabbe and Goyle,” Harry added smugly, “so we won’t have any trouble getting in and around.”
“Fantastic,” Hermione muttered, “I get to have my first break-in experience.”
“This’ll be easier than breaking Harry out of the Muggles’ house second year, I’d wager,” Ron boasted confidently, and Harry laughed too.
“Come on, let’s get this done,” he said, ending the conversation.
***
Fawkes transported them to right outside the front door, and Hermione cast a few quick spells causing the door to open silently. They entered and surveyed the richly furnished rooms; the costly furniture and beautiful artwork exuded a feeling of extravagance and high-class that was a little daunting, yet it all also managed to be frightfully gaudy.
“I’m never furnishing a house this way,” Ginny said, looking at Harry meaningfully.
Harry laughed, and pointed to a side table in the entry hall.
“What about this table?” he asked innocently, walking over to it and putting his hand on it. “I think I might like it in my house, it would go wonderfully in the blue room.”
The room he referred to was Ginny’s room, and had been decorated personally by her, painted a beautiful vibrant blue. The table was a huge mahogany monstrosity covered in gilt and laquerwork, and Ginny couldn’t imagine it matching anything, much less her room. She made a retching noise, before putting her hands on her hips and responding.
“That’ll be the day, Harry. The blind guy never gets to choose the furniture.”
Ron and Hermione laughed, but Harry’s expression had grown pained and solemn. An awkward pause followed, while Ron and Hermione looked at each other uncomfortably, and Ginny shifted nervously. Finally she walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Harry, I didn’t mean anything by that. I know you can see with Fawkes, and you can help pick out furniture…”
Harry looked up in surprise, shaking himself as if suddenly remembering they were there. “What are you talking about?”
Ginny shook her head in exasperation. “Never mind, Harry. What have you found?”
“I think this is it,” Harry said quietly.
***
Harry flicked his wand, sending the table skidding away. The bare papered wall behind it was no different in appearance than the walls in the rest of the room, and he could tell the others were more than a little incredulous that this was the entrance to any kind of secret chamber but he was quite sure. The resonance he had felt when he had brought his hand close to the wall had filled him with pain, and an aching sense of loss for the wise old wizard whom he could almost hear, saying once again ‘It has known magic.’ This place had certainly known magic; Dark Magic.
Harry ran his hands over the wall, trying to figure out the means required to pass. Because he was already thinking of the trip to the caves, Harry was able to find out what was needed quickly.
“Alright,” he said quietly, beginning to fully appreciate how large a burden Dumbledore had always carried. “I need all of you to promise to do whatever I ask, no matter what. There will be requirements that you won’t understand, or won’t be able to handle if you aren’t prepared, and that is the only thing I can do to prepare you.”
It took a few moments, and Ginny tried several times to argue, but finally all of them agreed.
“The doorway requires payment,” Harry then announced, “of pain. No one here could cast a Cruciatus Curse, especially not on each other, so it will be difficult for us to pass. How are your healing spells going, Hermione?”
“Wait a minute,” Ginny interrupted angrily, “you mean for one of us to be tortured? And I bet it will be you, like always. I don’t care what I agreed to, this is ridiculous…”
“You did promise, and this is the only way,” Harry said with quiet finality.
“I think I can do almost as well as you at some things in healing, Harry,” Hermione answered hesitantly.
“Ok,” Harry said, “I’ll make the payment,” Ginny interrupted him with a disgruntled snort but he pushed on, “No one can interrupt me until it’s over.”
Hermione and Ron watched with wide eyes, and tears glistened in Ginny’s, though her expression remained fierce, as Harry turned away from them and faced the wall. He pointed one hand at the other and muttered “Incendio!” The hand burst into flame, and Harry cried out in spite of himself. Ginny tried to rush forward, but Ron caught her and held her back. Harry placed his free hand on the wall, desperately hoping that he could inflict enough pain on himself to pass without permanently injuring himself. The skin on his hand was turning black, and the smell was awful.
Harry was getting ready to pass out when Ginny broke free from Ron and ran up to where he was, pulling out her wand. Instead of dousing the flames, however, she gritted her teeth and lit her own arm on fire. Harry felt intense fear and anguish as she placed her other hand on the wall next to his, screaming out at the pain despite her clenched teeth. Harry’s heart cried out in agony at seeing her in such pain, and suddenly the door was open.
Hermione and Ron acted instantly, both casting extinguishing charms and easing their injured friends to the ground just inside the doorway. Fawkes flew in as well, unable to transport here, and landed next to Harry, singing reproachfully.
Harry’s and Ginny’s free hands were now clasped together, and Harry was mumbling some kind of apology. Hermione ignored them both, and cast the healing charms that would fix the damage. The skin on their hands knit back together, looking fresh and pink. Both were able to open their eyes, and look at their surroundings and each other, while Ron and Hermione both applied a salve borrowed from Madame Pomfrey and taken from a small kit that Hermione had packed with her. After a few moments more, they were able to stand, and Harry immediately threw his arms around Ginny, who hugged him back fiercely before pushing him back and looking into his eyes.
“Stop trying to do everything by yourself, Harry. You need us,” she said passionately. Harry nodded wordlessly at her, and then looked around. They were at the entrance to a long narrow corridor, which extended off into the darkness. A little farther down, the walls to the sides were replaced by barred walls, like jail cell walls, that seemed to run the length of the hallway from then on. The hallway was cold, which had initially felt good to Harry, but now seemed eerie and unnatural, and a slight breeze seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, like the chilled breath of death itself caressing their skin in anticipation.
“I don’t like this,” Hermione said in a scared voice, and Ron nodded while he put his arm around her.
“Come on,” Harry said reassuringly, lighting his wand tip and setting off down the hallway.
The others followed suit, though none shared his confidence, which was only a show to begin with. Harry slowed when they reached the area where the bars began, and saw that the hallway was really part of a huge cavern, made a hallway only because of the bars. They were magically reinforced in some way that was unfamiliar to Harry, though he could tell they were designed to keep something on the other side from getting out into the hallway, though knowing this was Voldemort’s work it was not comforting at all.
Knowing there was nothing else to do, Harry kept going, not sure what to expect but determined to be ready for anything. The others followed, equally wary and even more nervous. After they had covered a hundred paces past the beginning of the bars, Harry felt something coming. Then there were more of them.
They were like pieces of the darkness breaking off and coming towards them. Harry suddenly heard the sound of screaming, and knew exactly what it was. He lifted his wand and tried to cast the spell.
“Ex…” but that was as far as he got. He collapsed as hundreds of Dementors rushed into the light from their wands, crowding against the bars, scabrous clawed hands reaching and groping for them. They were held back by the bars, unable to touch Harry and his friends, but close enough that the four of them couldn’t escape from their influence.
Harry hadn’t been near a Dementor since the summer before his Fifth year, and he was now reminded of all of the horrific things he had seen and experienced since then. The images and sounds came, unbidden and unwanted but unrelenting. Sirius falling through the veil… Dumbledore being hit by the green light and blasted off the tower… Ginny lying broken and bleeding in the remains of the fallen tower… and along with all the rest, the desperate pleading screams of his mother went on and on, all punctuated by the awful high-pitched laughter.
Harry collapsed, and was vaguely aware that his friends were on the floor as well. They would lie here, he remembered thinking, until they were driven mad or Voldemort came to check on his soul.
***
Hermione felt herself falling, feeling sick and cold, experiencing over and over the worst moments in her life. Being made fun of in Muggle schools, and then again at Hogwarts, culminating with hearing Ron say she had no friends. Seeing her new friends hurt and injured, not knowing what to do, and then finally discovering that Harry was dead; It was an awful recounting, but Hermione willed herself to push it off. She knew very well that the worst experiences of her life were nothing compared to Harry’s and Ginny’s, and Ron wouldn’t know what to do. In a moment of clarity, she knew that it would all be up to her. She struggled against the weight on her mind, unable to get up or even move. She had never collapsed from the influence of Dementors before, but the sheer numbers were debilitating, even to her.
She tried desperately to think about how you could get past a Dementor. The Patronus Charm would never work here; she couldn’t lift her arm or speak enough to cast the spell, and hers had never been as powerful as Harry’s. Suddenly she remembered Sirius telling how he had escaped from Azkaban; he had transformed into his Animagus form and the Dementor’s influence had been unable to stop him. She screamed inwardly in frustration; she was the only one cognizant enough to help the rest, and she was the only one that couldn’t make the transformation.
After several minutes of self-doubt, she felt herself again slipping completely into the influence of the Dementors’ presence, and she pushed it off again. I can do it, she told herself over and over again, I just have to find out who I am. She concentrated until the images and sounds from the Dementors were only a blur and a hum in the background. She knew that she was intelligent, more intelligent than almost anyone; she was adaptable and fiercely protective of her friends and family, and she knew she wasn’t afraid to fight for what she wanted or for what was right. Let it be enough, she begged, furiously forcing herself through the stages required for the transformation.
It was enough; she felt herself begin to change, and felt a thrill of satisfaction as the Dementors’ awful grip lessened even more. She found that she could see and hear, and smell. It was incredible how well her sense of smell worked; she was sure she could navigate by her sense of smell alone. She looked down and saw silver-gray paws, like a dog’s, and wondered if she had been thinking of Sirius too much. Ignoring that for the moment, since helping her friends was more important than knowing what she was, she looked around. Ron was the closest, and if she could get him free from the Dementors, he would be able to help in his Animagus form. She grabbed onto his shirt with her jaws, and began dragging him back the way they had come. It didn’t take too long; although he was a fairly big person, she was strong and moved steadily. Soon they were past the bars and into the section of hallway where the Dementors couldn’t go. Ron’s eyes opened and he looked around frantically before his gaze settled on her. He screamed and threw up his arms, before she changed back into herself and slapped him.
He spluttered for a moment before looking back at her, and then asked in awe. “Hermione, are you a werewolf?”
“Of course not, Ronald,” she said in exasperation. “I need you to change into your Animagus form so that we can pull Harry and Ginny out of the hallway.”
Ron watched in delight as she changed back into a wolf and followed suit by transforming into a lion. They raced back down the hallway and quickly found their friends. They wasted no time in grabbing onto them with their mouths and dragging them back to the comparative safety of the first section of hallway.
Ginny was the first to recover, and she looked up in amazement at being free. She shook Harry gently, until he also came to, and they hugged each other tightly.
Hermione handed out some chocolate from her pack, and they were silent for a moment while eating it.
“How did we get out?” Harry asked.
Hermione blushed while Ron told a much embellished tale of how she made the Animagus transformation and saved them all.
“Can we do the same thing to get to the other side?” Harry wanted to know.
“Now that we are all Animagi, I’m sure we can all make it across,” Hermione said, “though it still isn’t pleasant to be so close to so many Dementors.”
They all made the transformation and flew and ran down the hall as quickly as they could. No one wanted to have any more contact with the Dementors than was necessary, and thankfully they were all very fast. In a few minutes they reached another section of hallway free from the barred sidewalls, and away from the Dementors’ influence. After changing back into humans and eating more chocolate they were all ready to keep going.
As they continued down the hallway, they became aware of a low roaring sound, that grew louder the farther they went. All of them were moving slowly now, not wanting to see what was making the noise, but determined to keep going as well. It didn’t take long before the noise was deafening, and then they came upon its source.
The room opened up into a huge circular cavern, with a floor that dropped several feet below where they were standing. At the center of the room, on a pedestal and lit by an unearthly white light, stood what was unmistakably Hufflepuff’s cup. Unfortunately, in the Quidditch Pitch-sized depression in the middle of the room were hundreds, if not thousands, of snarling and growling badgers.
“That’s appropriate!” Ginny shouted over the noise.
“How do we get past them,” Ron asked, “they look like they would eat us alive in minutes!”
Harry pulled out his wand and tried casting a stunning spell on the nearest badger, but the spell merely ricocheted off into the wall.
“I think these badgers have been tampered with,” Harry shouted back to the others.
It took only a few moments to discover that none of the spells they could cast would work on the badgers. They were flame and cold resistant, and shrugged off Reductor Curses, Cutting Charms, and Sleeping Spells with ease.
“We could try flying over there,” Ginny suggested doubtfully.
“We could try, but I think Voldemort would have thought of that,” Harry said with equal incredulity.
Fawkes volunteered to try to fly out over the pit to retrieve the cup, and since he couldn’t be permanently killed and they could, they were all fairly keen to that idea. Fawkes took flight, but the second he was over the depression, the badgers went mad. Suddenly, the noise was even louder than before, and the badgers started jumping at Fawkes and snapping at his feathers. This wouldn’t have been a problem for normal badgers, but these were jumping as high as the cavern roof; had the situation not been so serious, it would have been incredibly comical, watching the badgers hopping up like popcorn from a hot skillet. Fawkes was barely five feet into the room, when he cried out in fear and pain and turned back, dodging the attacking creatures, defending himself with beak and talon fiercely. By the time Fawkes reached them again, the phoenix was breathing heavily and missing quite a few feathers.
“I don’t think flying will work,” Harry said, stating what was obvious to all of them.
“The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures needs to have a look at this place,” Ron said in awe.
“Well, casting spells may not work, but Fawkes was able to hurt them,” Hermione informed them all, pointing out into the chamber.
Sure enough, several of the badgers were bleeding heavily from wounds inflicted by the phoenix.
They all stood silently for a moment, trying t decide how they could use this information.
“If one of you could fly out and grab the cup…” Hermione started to say, thoughtfully.
“Then Hermione and I could run interference on the ground!” Ron finished, excited.
“I don’t know,” Ginny said nervously, “There are a lot of them, even if you two are bigger…”
“I have an idea,” Harry interrupted suddenly, “everyone change into your Animagus form.”
They all did so and Harry began casting spells over them all, including Fawkes, making their skins impervious to any kind of physical damage.
“These spells don’t work for very long,” he informed them when he was done, “and they would have to be done over again if any of you changed back to do it for me, so I’ll go for the cup, while Ginny and Fawkes fly cover for me, and Ron and Hermione distract as many as they can on the ground. I expect we’ll only have ten minutes at best, so we’d better go now.”
Suiting his words, Harry changed into a hawk and flew out into the room. The rest of them followed quickly, and the entire room became a mad-house. Harry flew steadily, but not too quickly, careful to keep Fawkes and Ginny around him; Ginny flew above him, watching for anything coming too close to Harry, and then diving at it, driving the badgers off course and away from Harry. Fawkes, who could carry as many badgers as could try and latch onto him, flew below, warding Harry from anything that Ginny missed.
Hermione moved like a flash, a silver-gray wolf with thick, beautiful bushy hair, darting in and out of confrontations, jaws snapping and causing mayhem among the badgers which were trying to pay more attention to Harry. It was Ron, however, that kept the situation manageable. He roared loudly as he ran around, sending dozens of badgers flying with swipes of his great paws, pausing only to shake off the badgers that clung to his fur like burs, gnawing unsuccessfully at his impervious hide. Several times, Hermione would be covered completely in the swarming creatures, unable to move due to their sheer numbers; Ron would roar out in rage, and many of the badgers were torn to pieces.
Had there been only one or two of them, even with the impervious spells, they would have failed; the badgers would have pinned them down until the spells wore off and eaten them alive. As it was, it was very close; Harry made it to the cup and dove, swooping down and grabbing a handle of the cup and flying back to the top of the chamber, speeding back to the ledge. As he got closer, Ron and Hermione abandoned their efforts and started a fighting effort to get back as well. By the time they reached the ledge above the pit they became aware of the fact that the ledge hadn’t kept the badgers back, but proximity to the cup had. They managed to get ahead of the horde of ravening creatures, but it was quickly becoming a race, and the badgers were very fast.
Harry screeched out at Ron and Hermione, and when they looked up he dropped the cup into Hermione’s mouth. She caught it expertly and raced down the hallway, quickly outpacing Ron, who stayed behind in case she needed a rearguard. Harry, Ginny, and Fawkes flew quickly, keeping pace with Hermione, and watching from above. By the time they reached the corridor of the Dementors they were so tired and afraid that they barely even noticed the Dementor’s presence. Then they reached the first part of the hallway and saw that they doorway had closed again.
Hermione had turned back into herself and was looking around hopelessly for any other way to open the door, while Ron had remained a lion and stood between her and the oncoming tide of badgers. The Dementors had slowed the badgers down somewhat but they were no more than a minute behind them. Harry and Ginny landed and turned back into themselves, looking at each other in frustration. There was no way they would be able to pay the price of pain in time to get out before the badgers got them.
Harry recast the impervious spells on Ron and Ginny and sent them to hold back the badgers as well as they could, staying back with Hermione and trying to decide what to do, keeping Fawkes with him so he would be able to see. In the closer quarters of the hallway, Ron was even more fearsome, able to hold almost the entire passage by himself, so there was more time, but there still wouldn’t be much. With every passing second, Ron and the others were being driven steadily back.
Harry tried desperately to think. He knew how to do all of the spells that Dumbledore had known, but which spells would Dumbledore have used? Harry remembered the last trip, into the caves. It had been a simple spell that Harry already knew, for fire, which drove off the Inferi. The badgers seemed to be immune to every spell directed against them, but direct physical attacks were able to harm them. Harry suddenly remembered the battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort at the ministry, where Dumbledore had transfigured the Fountain of Magical Brethren into a moving defensive shield. Something like that should work well, here!
Harry began casting spells around him in rapid fire, the light flying from his wand and hand illuminating the hallway like fireworks. The spells struck loose stones and rocks from the ceiling and floor, animating them and causing them to begin circling around Harry until there were hundreds of them. He sent them forward then, extending the defensive circle to protect Ron and Ginny. Ron and Ginny turned back into themselves and limped back wide-eyed and injured; the impervious spells had worn off earlier this time, and Harry knew that if he had to cast them again they would wear off sooner still. Hopefully that won’t be necessary, Harry thought, as he fought to control the spells he had cast; the badgers were now busy contending with the rocks he had sent, but still they kept coming. Suddenly a series of well placed blasting curses came over Harry’s shoulder, impacting against the ceiling over the badgers. Harry spun around and had only a brief moment’s time for a confused look at Hermione before Ginny cast a summoning spell that lifted him off his feet and pulled him back to the others. As he was flying through the air, the ceiling began to fall; he flew into Ginny’s arms and both of them fell, while Hermione maintained a shield that kept any stray rocks from falling onto them. A few of the badgers made it through, running in their continuing frantic attempt to protect the cup, but Ron changed back into a lion and finished them off without much difficulty. As the last rocks fell, blocking them off from the badgers completely, and the dust started to clear, Harry looked up at Hermione in amazement.
“Well,” she said, obviously pleased with herself, “I got the idea from you, Harry. You pulled a few rocks out of the ceiling, and I got the idea that I could collapse the whole thing.”
Harry flushed red with embarrassment. He had spent so much time trying to think like Dumbledore that he had ignored the simplest solution. He vowed he would try and avoid the flashiest way of doing something in the future, and just do what worked.
Ginny saw his embarrassment and grinned.
“You can’t think of everything all the time, Harry,” she said giggling.
Ron had changed back into himself and was limping down the hallway, also grinning.
“Hermione’s thinking of the answers before anyone else; everything is back to normal,” he put in, sighing happily.
They all paused for a moment, catching their breath, while Harry healed Ginny and Hermione healed Ron, all the while talking about how magnificently he had handled himself against the badgers. Harry and Ginny were snickering to themselves because of how far Ron had stuck out his chest and how high he held his head, while declaring that it was all nothing.
Finally, the time came where they couldn’t put leaving off any longer. Harry looked at Ginny and saw in her eyes a fear of the pain she had experienced before, and he squeezed his hand sympathetically. As he was opening his mouth however, Ron and Hermione stepped up together and cast the spells. Harry watched in horror as his friends screamed in agony, hands pressed up against the wall; it seemed to go on forever until finally the wall opened up. This time it was Harry and Ginny that caught Ron and Hermione as they fell, and they dragged them back into the foppishly furnished foyer of the Smith’s house. As Harry cast the spells of healing and Ginny applied the salves and potions from Hermione’s pack, they finally began coming around. Ron’s first action was to put his arms around Hermione and hold her close; then he turned to Harry and, as close as Harry could tell from Fawkes’ point of view, looked him straight in the eye.
“Now you know how it feels, Harry,” he said quietly, and Harry felt a lump of guilt growing in his throat. He couldn’t say anything, so he just nodded. So this is what they feel like, every time I rush off and try to play the hero, he thought sadly. It was a bitter pill to swallow; he knew he had no choice. Fate had made him to be either hero or failure, and he was determined to be a hero. The other option left him and all of his friends dead.