CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

"QU'EST-CE QUI VIENT DE SE PASSER?" ELIAS Dupont's voice echoed in the silent Hogwarts hallway, his words audible enough alongside the tapping of my feet and the rushing of my breath as I ran down the empty corridor, my heart pounding in my ears as the granite floor beneath my feet lay hard and unrelenting.

"Dominique, you must give me something!" The Beauxbatons boy had desperation etched in his tone as he followed behind, his own footfalls precise in my periphery. "That was—Mon Dieu, you were—I'm sorry but that was all uncharacteristically psychotic!"

"I promise I'll tell you everything," I managed through the deafening pounding in my ears, "We do not have time right now."

"Fuck time," The boy yelled, "I was fucking held at wand point by Voldemort himself, you think I give a shit about anything else right now?"

I halted mid corridor, my breathing coming in hard as my chest ached with the force of it. I turned to face him, shaken by his choice of words and his anger. Elias Dupont rarely cursed more than once in a spoken sentence. There wasn't a boy more collective and composed than Elias Dupont in all of Beauxbatons. At present, I needed him to be all of that again. I needed someone to be sure of something in my presence, and somehow it was only Elias Dupont I could expect it definitively from. I didn't know what I would do were he to not measure up suddenly when I needed him to.

Elias stopped too, hands on his knees as he grappled for air, his brown irises pinned on me as a fresh glean of perspiration shone on his brow.

"Je suis désolé," I spoke then, the words cracking as they came out of my mouth. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked Angus to bring you. Now he's seen you and you're not safe. I should've sent both you and Angus away when I had had the chance. And now I don't know where he is. I only meant to take the wand—"

I broke off, fighting back the sharp ache in my eyes. This was no time to break down. The sudden disappearance of Angus was more unnerving to me than Voldemort's presence or Albus Dumbledore's condition. Acutely, it was only the presences of Angus and Elias that had rattled me. If I hadn't had either of the two present, could I have built the nerve to use The Elder Wand on Voldemort then and there? The former Credence Barebone would have had no need to sacrifice for me—if that was what he had believed he had done. Words seemed to just tumble out from between my lips in disarray, my true meaning concealed.

"It's not your fault," Elias let out as he straightened himself, stepping close and putting a hand on my elbow. "Did I blame you for any of this? I only asked you to explain. But you saved The Elder Wand from falling into Voldemort's hands tonight, that's all that fucking matters right now."

I didn't say anything, as he slowly removed his hand and pushed back the piece of his hair falling over his forehead.

"I assume he'll kill Albus Dumbledore," Elias thinned his lips, fixing his eyes in the distance. The boy's features displayed no remorse, though a certain disdain.

"The headmaster knew how he was going to die. But what of Hogwarts now?"

"Voldemort will come here," I swallowed an empty lump in my throat as I spotted the portraits hanging on the corridor walls. "He will not miss the chance to make the comeback in face of an empty chair. Britain ministry's guard is down, if we were to approach them, there's no assurance they would believe us. They are too busy relying on dementors to look for Azkaban escapees."

Commotion arose in the people inside the gilded frames, hushed whispers taking over the silence forming a low painful lull ebbing away at the base of my neck. For once, I didn't care if the eyes and ears on the walls saw or heard. They were all trapped, watching and hearing was all that they would ever do. A dark wizard's presence in the real world would make no significant difference in their lives.

"This is why I—we have no time," I urged, "We have to get the others and get out of here."

Elias met my eyes, a stern determination in them. "Out of Britain. I hate to admit that Chevrolet was right. Voldemort would have no significant influence out of the country, he had been much too focused on wreaking havoc here."

"I won't let him get me," I turned my eyes away, "And neither will I let him get any of you, because I'm the reason you're here at all. Albus Dumbledore set this all up in an attempt to get just me to be here."

Then I glanced at Elias briefly before picking up the run, and the boy followed in sync as we neared the end of the hallway and reared our way towards the great hall. I had no idea of what hour of the night it was and yet everyone had to be there at present if they had found out Elias and I were missing—Viktor Krum, Harry Potter, Bridgette Monet, Yordanka Hristova and the other guys. I needed them all to be. For some reason, the idea that they would all most likely be in their assigned dorms, snoring away, was abhorrent to me.

Albus Dumbledore would have been killed by now, in his weak bleeding state he wouldn't even have been able to fight back. Aurelius Dumbledore too—Mon Dieu, what would Voldemort have done to him? The Obscurus inflicted wizard stood no chance even before he had raised the wand at the dark wizard. Elias Dupont was lucky to be alive, and me? I had held The Elder Wand in my palm, had my heuristics beating like a second heart inside me, yet I had made a run for it and saved who I could. To imagine that Bridgette Monet, Viktor Krum and everybody else had been asleep the entire time was disgusting to me. It made me sick to think of, it made fury ravage inside my chest like it was on fire.

"Dominique?" A quiet voice suddenly called out as Harry Potter's form stepped into the hallway from the shadows.

The boy's hair was a mess, his articulation slow, as though he had spent hours and hours just by himself and his thoughts. The sight of Elias and I had stirred him from his isolation.

"Harry," I exhaled, stopping, "Thank goodness, where are the others?"

"Your friends are in the great hall. Dominique I saw what happened—he killed—"

My stomach dropped then. Of course, the boy saw. It hadn't crossed my mind even once that Harry Potter had been there in this strange way. The boy had seen me leave, he had seen me duel Albus Dumbledore, he had seen me leave his headmaster to be killed—all through Voldemort's eyes.

"Harry, please," My voice softened. "I'll explain everything. But first we need to leave alright? Get your friends, and your invisibility cloak. Keep it hidden on you."

If Voldemort was indeed to come to Hogwarts, we would not be getting his hands on any of the hallows. I intended to make sure of that.

"We need to leave before he comes here."

The boy blinked, his eyes glassy and a thousand different emotions seemingly flashing through them. Then he quickly spun on his feet and ran away, without a spoken word or look of agreement.

"Dominique, where will we go?" Elias hushed urgently in my ear. "If we take them all, where will we go?"

"We can't leave them," I cried, "Harry needs protection from Voldemort, the wizard has been after that boy for far too long."

"I know. I'm not suggesting we leave them," He hissed, "I just—we need a fucking plan."

"Then think of it, s'il te plaît! I can come up with a hiding place. I have—," I broke off, the knowledge of the existence of the acolytes just hitting me with full force. Mon Dieu, what had they been up to this entire time? I had asked for them to lay low somewhere. Knowing Flora Fischer, I knew she, at least, would not have had her feet planted in the same place for long. That fact alone was irritating enough.

"People who can help," I caught myself. The wizarding world in these parts seemed as though it was going to hell already, and if the acolytes' presence became known of its own accord then so be it, but until then, I was determined to keep them under wraps.

"You wanted to help too did you not? Then think of everything else that involves the feat of hiding." With that said, I turned away from him and rushed towards the great hall, Elias following in after as we barged into the bright hall.

The floating candles illuminated the hall as though it was merely dinner hour commencing, and the brightness of them combined with the pounding in my ears and the exhaustion clinging to my bones, made me suddenly so dizzy that I had to halt midway, before I had even reached the side of the tables where I could see the familiar faces I sought sitting casually together. Elias Dupont came to a halt beside me, gasping for breath as he grabbed his knees again. I wondered then if I had ever seen Elias out of breath before, the mere act of it seemed to throw all of his built in composure in a state of awry.

"Dominique?"

I heard my name being called in an astounded, familiar voice as I focused past the splitting headache and saw the figure of Viktor Krum leaping off of his sitting position and approaching me in long strides, others followed suit, and I was strangely grateful for it. What was causing this sudden flush of weakness? It was peculiar because I only felt it when I used more of my heuristics in a single day or in a straight succession of days.

This present weakness—this present exhaustion, was the result of the duel with Albus Dumbledore, the gaping hole of Angus' absence, the startling act of the former Credence Barebone, and the appalling fact that I had been face to face with Voldemort. The appalling fact that I had seen him and he had seen me. Young beauty.

"What the fuck? Where were you both?" Yordanka Hristova's blunt tone beat any of Viktor Krum's sentiments before he had even managed to speak them. The bluntness in her thick Bulgarian accent made it all the more jarring to the ears.

The Durmstrang girl was dressed casually, her almond skinned facial features contorted in the pure disgust of being inconvenienced, her thick dark curly hair was piled atop her head—every detail of her adding to the intimidation of the image the girl seemed bound to portray.

"Out to try and locate the last hallow yourselves?" She sneered when I hadn't spoken, the sound of Elias' trying to get his breathing leveled, audible in the silence between. "I didn't peg neither of you for wanting to lick up your necks for Agilbert Fontaine's collar."

"Him a little maybe, but not you," Hristova shot a pointed glance at Elias before turning her dark eyes onto me.

"Well? Did you find the damn thing?" Gabriel Chevrolet spoke up next, deciding not to miss a beat as he eyed my form—his dark eyes displayed his obscene lust, an emotion the boy was only known to callously let out when he was drunk. "Was it in a brothel or something?"

It was then that I realized that I had the dark maroon burlesque dress still wrapping my body, its gemstone neckline digging into my skin. I glanced at Viktor Krum, and was startled to find his face bearing an expression that seemed to mutely agree with the implications of Yordanka and Gabriel. It struck something painfully inside me, this look of his. He met my eyes, a silent and resolved scrutiny in them.

Bridgette Monet and Zubair Dimitrova stood silently too, their eyes curious yet displaying a certain resolve as well. Perhaps they had all decided upon their thoughts on the matter before even facing either Elias or me.

"And what the fuck happened to your nose, Dupont?" Chevrolet tore his eyes away from me and rested them on Elias, in an attempt to fight his own travesty.

It was only in the face of Oliver Wood that I found genuine concern for the state that Elias and I had barged in, regardless of what we wore or the shape of the nose I had given Dupont.

"Enough," I let out, my voice cutting off the sneers on both Yordanka and Chevrolet's faces. I bore my eyes into both of them, the fury and worry trapped inside me molding into one.

"If you love your tongues, you do not want to rile me up right now," I managed, a throbbing sensation in my jaw.

I felt Elias Dupont's eyes on the side of my face at the threat. It was only he that knew the depth of the words, or perhaps the force behind them, considering he had seen me duel Albus Dumbledore with a front seat view. Would I tear both Yordanka and Gabriel's tongues out? Even in my fury, I didn't think so. The two bullies were not worth it. Had I done worse than tongues? I thought of the top most cell of Nurmengard, I thought of Grindelwalds blood drenching my hands, I thought of Dumbledore slamming against walls coughing up blood. Yes, I had done worse.

"Oh, I would like to see you try," Yordanka Hristova pushed forwards, grinding her teeth as she held her chin high.

"Trust me, you do not," Elias interrupted, extending a hand out in between us as the Durmstrang girl halted, Dupont's tone had returned to its usual collected form.

"Everybody just back off, alright?" Dupont spoke up, eyes radiating caution. "Let Harry Potter join us, and we will begin the question and answer session promptly."

I met Elias' eyes pointedly, for all his propriety, he sure as hell knew that neither of us had the time or inclination at present for questions. If he had the bearance for it, he was far more tolerant than I would ever be.

The patter of feet came instantly then, as Harry potter rushed in the great hall with his ginger haired Weasley friend and the curly sable haired girl. Behind them followed in the two other Weasleys, the twins and self proclaimed rebels. My mind rushed towards Draco Malfoy and his friend Blaise Zabini. The two boys did not follow the party, and they were not present in the great hall. If Harry Potter was right, Draco Malfoy was in no danger were he to be left at Hogwarts, but was that to be done at all? Death eater-in-training or not, he was just a fourteen year old boy.

"Great, everyone's here," Elias pinned an unsure smile to his face as he met my eyes. "Well, almost everyone I suppose."

A collective low whistle sounded as I was faced with the Weasley twins, their eyes flashing something as they eyed my rashly bejeweled form with intrigue. My stomach constricted under the newfound scrutiny of Potter's friends, and the chosen boy's own large eyes looked up at me with expectation and questions in light of everything he had seen. I felt my courage waver as I took a step back. I glanced weakly at Elias.

He met my eyes and understood the instruction. He was to convey the news, and nothing at present except Albus Dumbledore's death at Voldemort's hands, the dark wizard's probable return to Hogwarts, and my search for a safe place of hiding, was to be spoken of.

Elias Dupont nodded once—a confirmation, and I quickly neared him enough to whisper in his ear.

"I'll be in the courtyard, bring them all there. We'll leave."

He hummed low in response and I backed away slowly before running out of the great hall desperate to contact Flora Fischer in an attempt to secure the said place of hiding. I saw Viktor Krum stir in my periphery before I left, making a move to follow me, but he was stopped by Elias as the former conveyed the news.

The darkest hour was raging outside and the castle courtyard was swathed in the silver yet dull moonlight. I could hear crows as they shifted atop trees in the courtyard, restless and unable to get their shut eye. Perhaps the animals sensed the impending doom and quickly it was to descend.

I found my back quickly pressed against a pillar in the dark as the cool wind washed my form and I shut my eyes, trying to reach the German dwarf witch. The bejeweled burlesque dress dug painfully in my back as I pressed myself hard against that pillar, harder each second in an attempt to chase my weakness away. Pain alerted you like nothing else, it made your senses flare up. Grindelwald, abusing my mark from his cell in Nurmengard, had taught me just that.

I caught onto the dwarf witch's essence, then I held onto it tight, dragging and forcing the essence to become a presence like I had done the last time.

When I opened my eyes after, there she was, bent over on all her fours as she heaved in the agony of trying to level her breaths and build her composure.

My stomach churned at the sight of her. Slowly, she straightened herself and I saw the dark blood that drenched her marked arm, dripping onto the silvery blue castle courtyard ground. This was exactly how I had summoned her the last time I had, I had abused the mark I had given her—being so brutal with it that it had bled profusely. This time I had done the same, unknowingly projecting my own pain and frustration on her.

At least my great uncle had been gentle in that regard. He had never made my mark bleed, and yet I had still suffered in face of his every summons. Guilt churned inside me harder this time, I needed to be aware. I looked at Flora Fischer, gripping my bare elbow and digging my nails into my skin. I cannot do this needlessly to any creature again.

"Fischer," I managed, my voice weak. "Es tut mir Leid."

Then I neared her, bent slightly over her form and drew a rune above her bleeding hand. I had little faith in it, for I had used the rune many a times to suppress the pain temporarily for my own mark, but my great uncle had always found a loophole.

The rune glowed a gentle green, and as it vanished, all of the dwarf witch's flowing blood vanished with it, the mark I had given her lay pristine on her skin underneath the disappearing gore—not healed yet not bleeding and hopefully not hurting the creature as much anymore.

"It is alright, my lady," The woman spoke then, her German accent had a slight lilt to it when she gathered her resolve, something I had never noticed before.

The witch's shallow green eyes bore into mine with confidence this time, as though she had learned much from the last time she had faced me.

"What is the condition of the acolytes?" I managed the question, pushing everything else to the back of my mind forcefully. The night was deepening further and time was scarce. 

"We have had to execute some, my lady," Flora Fischer spoke, her tone acid as she reported the situation. "Five, my lady. They grew restless, and not having seen your face they started disbelieving that we had a leader. The news of Grindelwald's death and Voldemort's rise was brought in by that filthy Barebone, and that was when those five made intentions to desert. I had Albert and a few others execute them." 

I shut my eyes at the word, my discomfort igniting fire suddenly at the mention of Barebone. Aurelius Dumbledore had gone to the acolytes to inform them of Grindelwald's death? His audacity made my fists tighten. The former Credence Barebone had no business associating with acolytes, the mere act of it was a slap in Gellert Grindelwald's face. The disloyal wizard had been disgusted at the prospect of me leading the acolytes, why then would he interfere at all? 

"How did Barebone know where you were? Did I not tell you to lay low, how dare you share your location with him?" I spat the words, keeping my back pressed against the pillar of the courtyard to ground myself and keep from lashing out. 

I was furious at Aurelius. He had no business—no right—to interfere as he had. He had no right to face Voldemort for me—to sacrifice himself when I hadn't asked him to. All I had asked of him was to let me be, yet he had done everything but that. 

"We did not, my lady," Fischer's words were desperate, her mustered resolve gone to the winds. "Barebone just showed up suddenly, either he followed me back from the last time you called or someone must have—but no, my lady, no acolyte has any contact with anyone else but us. We make sure of it. We have long severed contact with the death eaters and other prison escapees on your orders." 

"Ich bin mir nicht sicher, wie er aussah," The dwarf witch switched to German as her voice lowered and gaze fell to the floor. 

"Sie sollten sicher sein!" I hissed, venom laced in my tone as my jaw throbbed. "Either way, Barebone will not be showing his face anywhere or to anyone anymore." 

"How many acolytes do we have currently?" I asked before she could say anything more. 

"Twenty five, my lady. We had been able to find some more once we hid in Liechtenstein, Albert brought in a few more. But this is the number we have got left." 

I nodded slowly, glancing at a nearby tree briefly as a dark bird squawked loudly. "I am coming to Liechtenstein. I will be having some people along with me. You will be guiding us to a safe place in the vicinity, I want the acolytes to stay away." 

"Dominique Marie Grindelwald," The dwarf pressed in desperation again, "The remaining acolytes must see you, they must believe that they are being led. I do my best, but my lady if you were to show them your face—be in their presence even for a short while—" 

"My work with the acolytes is not done," I interrupted her, my eyes sharp into her shallow green ones. "I will see the acolytes on my own. The people with me will not be involved. Do you understand that? You will lead us to a safe place in Liechtenstein away from the acolytes."

The witch nodded hastily, relieved. "There are a few places, I suppose. There's a hotel at the outskirts or perhaps the village will be safe too since the population there is a lot and if something was to occur we would know beforehand and would be able to escape without being seen. The acolytes have taken up a few houses at the edge of the village, some have taken up work too because Albert and I thought that would help ease suspicion and keep them focused—" 

"Den Mund halten!" I glared at her. "You are leading us to a safe place, I don't care at present what it is. Voldemort will be showing his face any moment and we are leaving Hogwarts. Do you understand? Greifen Sie zu!" 

Flora Fischer jumped at my tone, swallowing a lump in her throat nodding her large head in haste. 

"You are not going anywhere." 

A third voice floated into our senses and the dwarf witch and I were then faced with the headstrong form of the fourteen year old platinum haired boy I had been thinking of earlier. The boy's eyes were focused on me, his form a safe distance away, his dark wand held high towards us with a force so strong his knuckles seemed paler than his face in comparison. I wondered if the wand would break right then and there. 

"Draco Malfoy," I managed his name, my tone plain as I thought upon my next move. If this boy was indeed a death eater-in-training, the fact would make itself known presently. 

I had planned on extricating information from the boy, and the thought alone of such a plan was laughable to me now. It was plain to me now that Voldemort's plans—or even the mere scent of them—would not be flowing in a mere boy's direction. 

"Who is she?" The boy pointed the wand solely at Fischer before raising it high towards me again, before moving it to and fro between the two of us anxiously. "Merlin, she's ugly." 

Flora Fischer scoffed, but held herself unaltered. 

"That's not very nice," I pointed out, my tone devoid of the previous frustration. "Flora is my friend."  

"What do you think I am? Stupid?" The boy spat, his eyes full of hatred. "I heard you giving the creature orders in some language!" 

"Yes," I joined my hands together at the base of my stomach, exhaling slowly. "I was indeed asking her to secure a comfortable spot for us to hide. You must know by now that Voldemort may be headed to Hogwarts soon?" 

I wasn't quite sure if the boy in front of us knew anything at all, but still, it felt prudent to ask.

"I heard your classmate in the great hall," Draco Malfoy managed. "I know Dumbledore is dead." 

 "Alright," I noted, exchanging a brief glance with Fischer before facing the boy again, his face holding no remorse for his fallen headmaster. "So would you like to go with us? To the safe place I was just asking my friend to take us to?" 

The boy's wand shook in front of me, his eyes hard. It was seconds before he responded. "No, if Dumbledore is dead, and the dark lord is coming here, he must not find the castle empty." 

I found the pinned gentle smile on my face falter. "Why, does the dark lord prefer welcome parties in his honor?" 

Draco Malfoy flinched. 

"If he does," I turned to Flora Fischer. "My friend here is an expert at lavish parties, that was how we first met, was it not Flora?" 

The dwarf witch nodded hastily, playing along with my ruse, her eyes holding the understanding I needed her to. 

"I'm afraid she is going to be quite busy though," I turned to look at the platinum haired boy again. "For she is going to be taking us to the safe place, before depriving you of your wand and tying you up, of course." 

The boy blinked in confusion, but before he could collect himself, Fischer whipped out her wand at him. 

"Petrificus totalus," The dwarf witch cried, and Draco Malfoy flew off and dropped motionless to the ground, his wand toppling to the floor. 

I narrowed my eyes at her at her use of the binding spell. "That spell is too much work." 

The witch pursed her lips and raised her shoulders. Before she could defend her decision, footfalls were heard and Elias Dupont headed into the courtyard, followed by everyone else. Most of the faces mirrored Elias' determination, while others displayed skepticism etched with familiar anxiety. 

"Woah, is that Malfoy?" One of the Weasley twins rushed over to the platinum haired boy's motionless form, stirring him with a toe as his brother joined his side in the inspection. 

"Dominique," Viktor Krum approached me, his eyes marred with concern as he took hold of my hands in his gaze earnestly into mine. "Merlin, baby. Why didn't you tell me? I could've come. I told you I would be by your side, did I not? Why then do you insist on keeping me away?" 

I retrieved my hands, and glanced at Elias briefly. I thought of Angus who still hadn't showed up. I thought of how different it would've been if Krum had come along too. Perhaps it would've been him then, missing instead of Angus. The idea wasn't any less painful. 

"It doesn't matter now," I swallowed hard. "We're leaving before Voldemort arrives." 

"I told you," Gabriel Chevrolet uttered with acidity. "We shouldn't have fucking come here at all. Fontaine and Dumbledore fucked us up and one of them got killed for it. I can't say I'm not glad for it." 

"How dare you?" Oliver Wood pushed forwards, eyes glaring at Chevrolet. "You are insolent and you have no idea of anything you talk of." 

Gabriel's jaw jutted out as he ground his teeth. "You are grieving, Hogwarts boy, so I will graciously let this pass." 

His eyes turned away from Oliver Wood and spotted the dwarf witch at my side. "Who the fuck is this? Mon Dieu, its gnarly." 

"Professor Dumbledore was a better human and a powerful wizard than any of you will ever be," A small voice spoke up in support of Wood, and my eyes turned to look at the curly sable haired girl who had offered. Her features were marked with disdain as she held herself at Harry Potter's side, as though she was determined to not associate herself with anyone else present. 

Yordanka Hristova scoffed at the girl's audacity. "Is that why he went ahead and got himself killed? Checks out." 

"The ministry should find out about this," Zubair Dimitrova articulated, his eyes meeting mine briefly before resting on Viktor Krum. "They would do something—they would have to do something." 

"Yes," Bridgette Monet's voice was full of hope as she looked at me, "Yes, we just have to get the news to them." 

"We have no proof," Elias Dupont eyed her naivety. "Should Dominique and I have brought a head in a sack? I think we all know by now that the ministry will not believe a bunch of students." 

"So what, we escape? Hide away?" Yordanka glared at me, as though it was all my fault—perhaps it was, in a sick distorted way. 

"Yes," I uttered. "We have the deathly hallows, we take them and keep them safe form Voldemort's grasp. Just like we were assigned to in the first place." 

"Did we find every single one?" Oliver asked, features schooled in determination. 

"Yes," I exhaled, glancing at Elias briefly and then meeting Harry Potter's eyes. 

The boy had the invisibility cloak on him somewhere, his resolved glance told me exactly that. The Elder Wand was on my person, and the resurrection stone was on Viktor Krum. One glance at him confirmed that as he met my eyes and nodded once. 

"Albus Dumbledore had The Elder Wand," I swallowed, keeping my composure in face of knowing that it was too risky telling everyone present this particular information just now. "I have it now." 

I had made a silent vow to protect the wand, and risk was something that would only grow. I had no choice but to let it. 

"And I have the cloak," Harry Potter chimed in, braving his face as he met everyone's scrutiny. Chevrolet and Hristova perked up, the knowledge that the boy had one of the hallows they were looking for was reminiscent of insolence in their books. 

Oliver Wood nodded, irises determined. "Then we hide and protect them." 

"We must go to The Burrow," The younger Weasley, at the left of Harry Potter, chirruped suddenly, a flush deepening on his face as all attention fell on him. Ron. I remembered him from when he had shown up to our dorm in Ilvermorny with Potter, though the boy's presence was anything but memorable. 

"My parents are allies of Dumbledore," The boy continued as his elder brothers walked over, having had their fill of toying with Draco Malfoy's motionless form. "And there are more. Harry's godfather and Remus Lupin would be there too, they would believe us. They can help. Remus is—" 

"I do not require help from your parents or Dumbledore's allies," I cut the boy off, my eyes sharp on him. The mere suggestion of it was insane—ridiculous. 

I wanted nothing to do with Albus Dumbledore anymore, he was dead and gone. So why then would I seek out his allies? People who were complete strangers to me, even more so than Dumbledore had himself been. 

"If they were any good, the Hogwarts headmaster would be alive right now, would he not?" 

"How dare you!" The sable haired girl shrieked, distraught at my words as the moonlight reflected the wetness on her cheeks. 

Harry Potter held her back, I found it slightly amusing that she would even advance forwards. With the intention to do what? She was no match for me. Still, I hadn't intended to hurt her with my words, but they were just the truth. It was the sharpness of that truth that had jarred her, and that was not my problem. 

"Fischer will take us to a safe place, we'll stay there a while and see if some of us can safely be transported to our own schools," I gestured at the dwarf witch as she nodded once under the gazes of everyone. 

"Some of us?" Zubair Dimitrova raised a brow. 

"You're clearly stupid," Gabriel Chevrolet exhaled. "Utilise ton cerveau, these Hogwarts students have no place else to go." 

I held back, because I planned to stay in hiding for as long as Voldemort breathed. The only preferable time for me to end my exile seemed to be when I took the breath away from him. Until then, I needed to muster my strength, keep the hallows close to me and keep Harry potter safe. Everyone else could leave if they would like. I didn't have that option. 

"We do!" Ron Weasley spoke up again. "The Burrow, didn't you hear? It's a safe place. It's protected." 

"Hell yeah it is," One of the elder Weasley brothers agreed, both twins nodded their ginger heads.

I ignored them and looked at Harry Potter. "You are coming with me, Harry. Your friends can go to this Burrow if they think it's safe." 

Harry blinked in surprise. The sable haired girl tightened her hold around Harry's arm. "No, Harry's going with us." 

"Harry, Dominique can keep you safe," Viktor Krum let out, pushing forwards as the boy peered up at the Durmstrang with uncertain eyes. 

"Please Harry, we don't have much time," I urged, desperation clawing at me as Flora Fischer tapped my side once with her thick small hand.

"I—," The boy stammered, his eyes turning glassy as he looked at his friends. 

Then a determination washed over his features as he met my eyes, and for a single second I feared he had chosen wrong. 

"I'll come with you." 

I exhaled slightly in relief, though I still wasn't sure if the choice was right. 

"No, Harry," The curly haired girl pressed, tugging at his elbow again. Harry pulled away. 

"Hermione please," He spoke to her. "I need to figure somethings out. And going with her is the way I will do it. Give my love to everyone else." 

The girl choked on a sob as Ron Weasley pulled her away, frowning sadly at Potter. 

"Everyone choosing this.. Burrow," I cleared my throat. "Step away." 

One by one the Weasley brothers took a side, with Ron Weasley joining them as he dragged the sobbing sable haired girl along. Blaise Zabini, who's form I hadn't noticed, trudged up and joined them, his dazed out eyes falling briefly on Draco Malfoy's motionless form on the courtyard ground. He feared for his friend, but his own fear was enough to convince him of his choice. 

Oliver Wood approached me then. His facial features held a certain resolve and concern. 

"I'm going with them," He uttered, an apologetic smile on his lips. "Be safe, Dominique. Keep the hallows safe." 

I felt a gentle pang in my gut, faced with his loss. Wood's had been a comforting face, and now it would no longer be there for me. I wanted to ask him why he would choose the choice he had made, but I had no strength to. I only nodded, holding his gaze before he turned away and joined the Weasley twins' side. 

"I will apparate you all with The Elder Wand," I managed the words and they were barely above a whisper. Apparation and disapparation was forbidden on castle grounds, and only the wand Dumbledore himself had used would permit such a feat at present. I could use my own magic, but my mind was scattered just then. 

I pulled out the wand, the wood feeling cool in my hands. Exhaling a breath, I apparated the Hogwarts students to the location they had asked for, and the mere act of it was so swift yet not as different as it would've felt from my own wand. Perhaps The Elder Wand was subtle like that, strong in a way that would take me by surprise.

After they were gone, a cool breeze was left behind in their wake and my eyes fell on Potter as he stared at the empty spot where his friends and peers had been. 

"They don't know where we will be, right?" He spoke softly. 

"They won't find us," I affirmed. "You made a good choice. I can teach you Occlumency, losing you to Voldemort would tip the scales, Harry, and they cannot protect you, surely you realize that." 

"I do," The boy looked up to me, a certain indifference in his gaze alongside his determination. I realized there were still some things I needed to explain to him. Some things he saw needed to be acknowledged, and Potter was determined to know them fully. 

"So? Is this gnarly dwarf taking us out or what?" Gabriel Chevrolet snapped, his eyes narrowing on Fischer as the German dwarf witch glared back at him with her shallow green eyes. 

***

A/N:
A change of scenery up next? This chapter turned out longer than I intended but its fine I guess. Anyway, happy Sunday. I hope everyone's doing good. I'm going on vacation in the mid of July and I intend to finish this book before then so let us see how that goes.