Chapter 30: The Rescue
Unknown Island, July 18th, 1996
"We're close," the captain announced as he lowered his sextant. "Now, we'll find out whether or not our prisoner told us the truth!"
Lily Potter, standing on the bridge of the ship nearby - if you could call the area a bridge; she wasn't a sailor, after all - narrowed her eyes. "Are you questioning whether or not the Veritaserum worked?" She had brewed the potion herself, and while she might not be quite as gifted at Potions as Severus, and might have focused on spellcrafting instead of potions research after Hogwarts, she had earned her Outstanding N.E.W.T. in the subject.
"Oh, no. But it wouldn't be the first time that a pirate doesn't know as much as they think they know. Smart pirates take precautions against the exact thing we are attempting." Abdul grinned at her. "Isn't this exciting?"
Lily didn't think so. The pirate - former pirate - might enjoy the risk of things going awry, but she didn't. They were here to save Harry. And Hermione. Not to have an adventure. Besides, the man's bravado rang a little hollow to her. She had experience with braggarts, after all - teenage James and Sirius, especially. "The only way that our prisoner might have concealed things from us would be a very complicated Memory Charm."
"Exactly! So, it's not impossible that this might end with us fighting for our lives, caught in the island's wards."
"We have experience with such charms," Lily said, not quite rolling her eyes. Bloody experience. She pressed her lips together at the memories of people screaming with terror and pain.
"And I can assure you, my friend, that even a thorough examination of our prisoner's mind has not revealed even a hint of such a charm." Dumbledore smiled as he joined them at the railing.
"Ah, of course." Abdul's seemingly confident grin had vanished the moment he had noticed Dumbledore taking an interest in their conversation.
Lily smiled. She didn't like braggarts. Or people who sought out danger for kicks. She briefly wondered if Abdul would be different if he had fought in the Blood War. James and herself certainly had changed a lot.
The captain cleared his throat. "Anyway, we're close to the island. So, to continue sailing towards it will risk triggering the spells protecting it. We'll have to slow down and prepare to cross the wards."
"Not for a few more miles," Dumbledore told him with a polite smile.
"How would… of course," Abdul nodded a little jerkily.
"And rest assured, I'll be able to cast the spells necessary to pass through the island's protections quickly enough so we won't have to slow down," Dumbledore went on.
And there was Abdul's broad smile again. The man either had a mercurial temperament or had missed a great career as an actor. "Perfect! Storming an island at the Great Dumbledore's side - this will be a tale worth a thousand drinks! Perhaps even a tale worth a French bride?" He cocked his head sideways. "You wouldn't vouch for my character after this, would you?"
Dumbledore chuckled. "I will certainly give my honest appraisal of your character, Captain, should you desire so."
"Ah… I'll have to consider this very carefully, then," Abdul replied with a forced smile. "But now…" He turned and bellowed something in Arabian to the deck below.
And the sailors rose, wands and blades raised to the sky, as they yelled in return.
"He told them to get ready for combat," Dumbledore explained.
"Thank you."
"And so should we," James said, stepping up to Lily. "As soon as we're through the wards, we're flying off."
She nodded. She would cast a Patronus Charm to send after Harry, and they would follow it. Abdul and his cutthroats could handle whoever was in the harbour; Lily, James and their friends would fly directly to her baby.
Dumbledore would do whatever he felt was necessary, of course. They'd have to trust him - but then, he had earned that trust, over and over, during the war.
She wet her lips. It was barely past noon now, and the heat was, even with the charms on her duelling robes, getting a little uncomfortable. But not much longer, now, and she would be in the air. Flying towards Harry.
He had to be on the island. He had to be.
"May I have your attention, please?" Dumbledore's amplified voice rang out over the ship. Instantly, the rowdy sailors fell silent. "We're closing on the wardline. We've already passed the Muggle-Repelling Charms. I will now cast the spell needed to pass through the actual protections."
The spell he had retrieved from the captured pirate's mind. At the cost of damaging the man's memory. Lily pushed the slight guilt she felt away. This was for Harry.
"I bet he's cutting it close," Sirius mumbled next to her.
"Shhh," Remus chimed in.
Fleur and Bill were a little off, hugging each other once more.
And Peter, as usual, remained a little apart from everyone else.
Dumbledore suddenly waved his wand in a complicated pattern, then raised it and spoke a single word. A light flashed over the entire ship, glowing motes racing up the mast, then disappeared.
A moment later, Lily felt as if a faint mist brushed over her face.
Then an island appeared in front of them as the spells hiding it stopped working, and Lily froze for a moment.
There was a capsized ship in the harbour, and at least two buildings had burned down.
She gasped. Had that been caused by the storm they had encountered earlier? No! The charms on Abdul's ship had easily held the storm's power at bay. Surely, any pirate ship would be similarly protected. That meant… someone else had attacked these pirates! Oh, no - Harry! What if he had been hurt in the fighting?
"Expecto Patronum!" She flicked her wand as her Patronus appeared in front of her. "Harry! We're coming for you!" She held her breath as the doe pranced.
Then her spell sped away, and she gasped with relief. Harry was alive! And he was on the island! Behind the protections, as they had thought! They had found him!
"It's too fast!" James yelled.
What? Lily looked. The translucent deer had already disappeared from view - and it hadn't been heading towards the island but out towards the open sea. She almost flew after it - but they had just passed the wardline; she would fly directly into the protections. "We need to turn back and leave!" she yelled.
"Heads up!" Bill yelled. "The pirates are coming!"
And indeed - half a dozen pirates were already rising into the air on brooms. And more were gathering at the shore.
Abdul yelled something in Arabian, and his crew sent curses towards the shore. Most spells missed, but a Blasting Curse hit the beach, and the explosion threw up a cloud of sand and dust.
"We'll take the flyers!" James snapped. "Take them down quickly so we can go after Harry!"
"Allow me," Dumbledore said, his voice still amplified.
Lily looked at him just in time to see him wave his wand. A moment later, the flying pirates were driven back, scattered by a strong wind.
The wind also dispersed the cloud of sand and revealed that one pirate had been felled.
Abdul's ship was still sailing on but turning to the left now, the crew sending curse after curse at the village. One building caught fire, but most spells didn't seem to do much - the distance was too great and the spells more apt to disable or kill people than damage houses.
Dumbledore stepped up to the railing and cast another spell. The capsized ship started to float - in the air. Big streams of water ran down its hull as it rose from the waves.
For a moment, everyone seemed to stare at the sight. An entire ship, flying through the air. One sailor near Lily muttered what sounded like a prayer, and Lily guided her broom upwards - if that ship fell into the water, it would cause a huge splash.
Once more, Dumbledore's voice rang out - over the entire harbour, it seemed. Lily couldn't understand what he said, other than that he mentioned his own name. While he floated the ship above the village, water kept falling from the holes in the hull.
The pirates broke. Some knelt down, dropping their wands, others turned and ran or flew away.
Abdul's crew cheered, and they quickly got onto their brooms, racing to secure the village. And their loot, Lily realised.
"No!" she said. "We need to turn back. Harry's outside the wards!" And there had been that terrible storm before they arrived...
Dumbledore didn't answer, but the pirate ship slowly started to fly back to the water, sinking lower and lower - and turning upright. Lily saw the holes in its hull and deck and wondered what kind of spell had done this. Some holes looked like the result of an overpowered piercing curse. Like a cannonball.
She shook her head. "We need to get Harry!" He was alive, but he could be hurt.
Dumbledore flicked his wand, letting the pirate ship settle in the water, then sighed. "We will have to wait a little until the village is secure. And we need to find out who attacked it before us - it would not do to run into a second group and start a fight we might have been able to avoid."
Lily wanted to protest, but the Headmaster was correct. But Abdul better hurry up! Harry was out there, in need of help!
"Let's speed things up!" James snapped. "Follow me!"
He flew off, the rest of their group chasing after him.
"Fan out and secure the pirates on the beach. Watch out for stragglers hiding in the houses!"
Lily suppressed the impulse to tell James that she had fought in the war as well; he had been doing this for years as Head Auror. Instead, she flew close to the shore and started casting Stunning Curses and Incarcerous Spells to secure the pirates who had surrendered.
"Should we hunt down the ones fleeing?"
"No. Secure the village, first," James said.
"I concur," Dumbledore agreed - when had he arrived? Lily watched as he took a look at the burning remains of a large building. "I wonder what happened here." A flick of his wand summoned the remains of a fence. No, bars.
"A prison, Albus?" Lily asked.
"It seems so," Dumbledore replied. "Although a rather large one."
"For slaves and hostages," Fleur hissed.
Like… Harry! Lily clenched her teeth. "They kept Harry in this prison?"
"That is what we need to find out, I believe," Dumbledore replied.
"Whoever attacked the village would have freed him," Sirius said. "Your spell didn't point at the prison. But who did this?"
"We'll find out," Lily said and pulled out a vial of Veritaserum.
*****
Dumbledore repeated his question. Lily Potter didn't know what he was asking since the pirate didn't speak English, but she noticed that Dumbledore had asked the same question twice in a row now.
And now for a third time - at least she thought so. She glanced at Abdul, who was shaking his head. "What are they saying?" she whispered.
"It's nonsense," Abdul said. "They must have been fooled."
"What are they saying?" Lily repeated herself.
"They claim this - the ship sunk, the village set on fire, some guardian beast killed, a prisoner freed - was done by two wizards. No, a wizard and a witch." Abdul shook his head again.
Lily looked around. It wasn't impossible. With surprise and the right spells… Wait. "A wizard and a witch? How did they look?"
"I bet they were ten feet tall, both of them," Abdul said with a laugh while Dumbledore asked another question.
Lily didn't laugh.
"Lily? You don't think… Harry did this?" Remus sounded incredulous.
She didn't answer. She stared at Dumbledore.
The Headmaster seemed bemused as he turned to face them. "According to the description given by this gentleman here, they were attacked by a 'British wizard with hair the colour of the darkest night and a witch with a mane of brown hair, both of them wearing muggle clothes'."
Lily blinked. That sounded like…
"Harry did this?" Sirius blurted out. "Impossible!"
*****
Atlantic Ocean, July 18th, 1996
"Down!"
Hermione Granger dropped automatically, grabbing her wand, when Harry yelled. Turning around, she saw a glowing light approaching the boat and gasped. If the pirates had found them…
Then she realised what they were seeing. A glowing, flying deer. A white, translucent doe. A Patronus Charm! Warmth filled her.
Céline made a surprised sound.
Harry gasped as well. "Mum…" he whispered.
"Harry! We're coming for you!" a female voice - Mrs Potter's, she recognised it - rang out as the doe pranced in front of them, standing on empty air.
"We're on the Atlantic Ocean!" Hermione blurted out.
Harry coughed as the doe faded. "The spell can't hear you. It's strictly a message spell. One-way."
"Oh." Hermione frowned. "That's…" That wasn't as useful as she thought it would have been. On the other hand, if the recipient knew the spell as well, they could easily communicate like that.
"But they can find us now. And they're looking for us," Harry stated the obvious. He was beaming, though.
As was Hermione. They hadn't been abandoned! People were still looking for them! And they were no longer hidden by the island's protections - they would be saved soon!
"Qu'est-ce qui se passe?" Céline asked. She sounded timid and exhausted - unsurprisingly, of course - but also hopeful. Hermione saw her smiling shily.
"C'etait une message de la mère de Harry," she replied.
"Oh! On est sauvés?"
"Oui!" Hermione replied. They were saved. Or would be, soon. They just had to wait until they were found. She blinked. "Can they follow the spell to us?"
"Uh…" Harry briefly bit his lower lip. "I don't think so. They never did when they sent the spell after me before. Though… the spell doesn't appear instantly. It flies. And we saw it coming."
"It came from the east. Northeast," Hermione pointed out. "Unless we were blown off course, that's where the island should be." The island full of pirates. If the Potters had stumbled on it…
Harry, though, was chuckling. "Oh! Serves them right!"
"What?" Hermione frowned at him.
"Mum and Dad won't be alone. They'll have all their friends with them. Probably all the Aurors, too," Harry explained. "Those pirates have no chance!"
"Oh." Of course, the Potters wouldn't be alone, but with the Aurors. And maybe even with Dumbledore. Hermione shook her head at her own naivety. A band of pirates wouldn't be able to stand up to such a force. Especially not this specific band of pirates. "So… now we just wait?" If you were lost in the woods, you were supposed to wait at one spot so you could be found more easily. But they were in the middle of the ocean.
"Yes," Harry said. "They'll find us."
He sounded so confident. Hermione smiled. "What spell will they be using?"
"Uh…" He blinked. "I don't know. But they'll find us. If everything fails, they can keep casting the Patronus Charm and just follow the directions until they find us."
Hermione nodded. That sounded logical. And, using brooms, they would be able to cover long distances quickly. Though… "Then we should be seeing more spells soon."
"Yes." Harry nodded.
They waited in silence for about a minute. No more Patronuses arrived.
"They must be busy. Probably with the pirates," Harry speculated.
"That makes sense," Hermione agreed. Though she couldn't help but worry. Why had they sent the first spell out if they weren't ready to follow up with more? Just to assure them that help was coming? That had to be it. Otherwise… No! She wouldn't worry herself with hypotheticals.
But as more time passed without any spells arriving, she started to worry. As did Harry. He didn't say anything, but she saw how he was clenching his teeth and staring at the sky, towards the east.
Still no Patronus. Hermione wanted to ask how much time had passed - Harry still had his watch - but that would… she didn't want to make him worry even more. But they couldn't just keep sitting around and waiting to be saved. What if some pirates were looking for them, and the others were still fighting the rescue party?
"Do you think we should move?" she asked.
"I… I don't know. Mum and Dad are fine. They can handle the pirates. We handled them, after all. And they won't be alone."
He was repeating himself. And he sounded as if he was trying to convince himself. Hermione took a deep breath. "I think we…"
She trailed off as she saw another bright light coming towards them. And two more. A Doe. A Stag. And a dog.
And she smiled as three voices talked over each other, and light and warmth once more filled her.
They were safe.
*****
"Harry! We're coming!" "Harry! Hold out! We're on the way!" "Don't worry, we have everything under control!"
Harry Potter didn't mind that Mum, Dad and Sirius's voices were talking over each other as their Patronuses flew around the boat. He felt good. Better than ever. Even his foot didn't seem to hurt as much any more.
Mum and Dad were coming. And Sirius. They were saved. He closed his eyes and sighed with relief as the animals faded. "They're coming," he whispered.
"Les parents d'Harry sont en route," Hermione told Céline. "Nous sommes sauvés!"
The little girl cheered and chattered in French - too fast for Harry to catch. Even Hermione seemed to have trouble understanding her. It didn't matter, anyway. Soon, they would be safe. And home.
"Do you see anyone?" Hermione asked. "We don't know how far we are from the island."
"No," Harry replied. But he was staring at the horizon. If they weren't too far from the island, then Mum and Dad could be here quickly. They had the best brooms money could buy. As did Sirius. Speed was life in a battle as well as in Quidditch, as Harry's godfather liked to say.
He didn't see any approaching brooms, though. But they were coming. He knew it.
Another set of Patronuses arrived - the same as before.
"We're coming!" "Almost there!" "Don't run off!"
"'Don't run off?" Hermione asked. He looked at her - she had raised her eyebrows.
Frowning, he told her: "When I was little, I used to do that when they sent a Patronus after me."
"Ah." Was she smirking? It was hard to tell; she had been smiling widely since the first Patronuses had arrived.
"They must be really worried," he said. He hadn't done that in ages. Well, at least a year. But that had been justified.
"Of course they are. We've been missing for almost two weeks," she said. "My parents must have been sick with worry as well. Do you think they brought them as well?"
"To fight pirates?" He cocked his head at her.
She blushed and scowled at the same time. It was a silly question - why would they bring muggles on a rescue mission?
He didn't tell her so, though, and looked back at the horizon. And he saw something move, something dark. "I see something!" He held his breath. Were those…?
A few seconds later, he could make out details. Broom riders! Half a dozen of them!
Mum and Dad were here!
"Over here!" he yelled, waving.
"We're here!" Hermione's voice rang out - she had cast an Amplifying Charm.
He frowned at himself for missing the obvious spell, then copied her. "We're here!"
Céline started waving as well. "On est ici!"
And the brooms homed in on them. He could see Dad in the front - the red robes were a dead giveaway, and he was the best flyer amongst the three. Sirius was right behind him; Harry recognised the sheen of his duelling robes. And there was Mum! "Mum!" Harry caught himself sniffling and wiped his eyes. "Mum!"
"Is that… Dumbledore?" he heard Hermione ask. "On a broom?"
He tore his eyes off Mum and blinked. Yes, that was the Headmaster. Riding a broom. And quite skilled - his posture was perfect. Oh. "Those pirates are dead!" Harry blurted out. With his Amplifying Charm still on.
"Harry!" Dad stopped in front of the boat. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Harry told him - after cancelling the spell.
"Except for your mangled foot," Hermione remarked.
"Your foot?" Dad asked.
"Harry!" Mum almost jumped off her broom. At the last moment, she seemed to realise that she couldn't just land in the boat and climbed down into the boat. "Oh, Harry! We were so worried!" she said as she hugged him. Mum! Safe at last.
"Watch his foot!" Hermione exclaimed.
"His foot?" Mum said, gasping as she pulled back and looked down.
"It's not broken," Harry told her.
"Not any more," Hermione added. "As far as we can tell. But it needs to be seen to by a Healer."
"Harry!" Sirius exclaimed. "What did you do?"
Mum waved her wand at it. Then she gasped. "Merlin's beard, Harry! It's… what did you do?"
"Broom accident," Harry told her. "I rammed a tree."
"Broom? You didn't have your broom with you...." Dad said.
Harry was about to explain when the rest of the group arrived.
"Céline!" Fleur exclaimed. "Céline de Ciel!"
And more French followed between her and the little girl.
"Harry needs a Healer!" Mum exclaimed. "And we need to get everyone back to the ship!"
"You have a ship?" Harry asked.
"We hired a dhow with crew," Dumbledore explained. "And yes, I believe we should return to them post-haste. We cannot expect them to stay outside the wards forever, not with most of their crew on the island and several pirates still not accounted for."
"We can fly," Harry said, pulling his broom out. "Just not too fast with Céline riding with us."
Hermione was already on her broom.
"You had a broom with you?" Dad repeated his question.
"No," Harry told him as Céline climbed up behind him. "We took them from the pirates."
"What?" "What?" "You did what?" "Harry!"
"They attacked us first," Hermione quickly added.
Unfortunately, that didn't seem to help at all.
*****
"What were you doing?"
"What were they doing?"
"What happened?"
"I believe we should wait with more questions until we are back on the ship."
"Ah, of course, Albus."
"Yes."
"But…"
"No buts!"
Hermione Granger smiled at the Headmaster's words. The middle of the ocean, on brooms, wasn't the place to explain what they had done. What they'd had to do to stay alive, she corrected herself. They hadn't done anything wrong, after all. All they had done had been perfectly justified.
She hoped the Aurors would share her view. Technically, they had been using magic while underage, and she wasn't entirely sure if being stuck on an island justified breaking that statute. It should, but the Ministry's laws weren't always fair. Or sane. Especially with regards to muggleborns.
Still, it couldn't be too bad. They were alive and safe. Finally. Harry's foot would be treated. Healed. Céline would be reunited with her family. Hermione would be reunited with her parents!
Dad and Mum… She missed them. And her friends. Lavender! Oh, dear Lord - they must have been so worried! Harry was lucky - his parents were both here. And fawning over him. Which was perfectly understandable, of course. It wasn't their fault that Hermione's parents weren't wizards and couldn't be here.
They were flying in a wide turn, she noticed. Avoiding the island's wards? But how did they know where… Oh. Dumbledore was leading them now. Of course, he would know how to avoid the wardline!
Then she saw the ship on the horizon, and her heart seemed to skip a beat. The pirates had returned! She gasped, her wand appearing in her hand before she realised it. "Harry!"
"Yes!" Harry, too, had his wand out.
"Harry? What are you doing?" Mrs Potter asked.
"That's the ship we hired!" Mr Potter said.
Oh. Hermione blinked. It looked so much like the pirate ship…
"You hired pirates?" Harry blurted out.
"What?"
"We hired former pirates, Mr Potter," the Headmaster explained - without looking back, Hermione noted. "I can assure you that they hold no love for the pirates whom you've met and revealed themselves to be quite trustworthy during our voyage to the island."
"As long as you were there to keep an eye on them, Albus," a man with black hair and an aristocratic manner added.
Judging by the Headmaster's chuckle, he didn't disagree.
Hermione frowned. That didn't really endear the ships' crew to her. If they only were trustworthy as long as they were cowed by Dumbledore… She glanced at Harry. He didn't seem to be happy, either.
Well, Dumbledore was with them. That counted for something.
Hermione would still keep her wand ready. Just in case.
They approached the ship.
"Ahoy!" a big wizard dressed like a pirate shouted, waving to them from the bridge. "You've found your wayward children, I gather!"
Children? Hermione narrowed her eyes at the man. They weren't children - they were teenagers. Hermione was a little over two months from being an adult in Wizarding Britain.
"We found them! But we need a Healer!" Mr Potter yelled back even as the first of their group landed on the ship's deck.
"A Healer?" The man - apparently the ship's captain - yelled something in another language. Hermione only caught a name: Ahmed.
Then she landed and dismounted, shrinking the broom and stuffing it into her pocket before anyone could take it from her.
Another wizard approached them, and Céline shied away from him, clutching at Harry's shirt - he was still astride his broom.
"Calme-toi! Il n'y a aucun risque. On va te protéger," a witch told Céline - one of the Potters' friends. And one of the most beautiful women Hermione had ever seen, now that she took a second look at her. A Veela, she realised. And French.
Céline still looked scared, though.
"N'aie pas peur," Hermione said, showing her wand. "On est en garde."
That seemed to help. Céline released Harry but stayed close even as the wizard examined Harry's foot.
The apparent Healer said something to the captain, who translated. "He says it needs a few spells, but it's nothing serious."
Hermione clenched her teeth - it most certainly was serious! And extremely painful! But she held her tongue.
"He also asks permission to treat the boy," the captain went on.
"He has it," Mr Potter said. Mrs Potter nodded.
Harry clenched his teeth, Hermione noticed. They hadn't asked him.
"Are you alright, Miss Granger?"
She turned her head. Who… "Professor Lupin!" she blurted out. Of course - she had known he was a friend of Harry's parents, so she should have expected his presence.
He smiled at her and repeated his question.
"Ah." Hermione nodded. "I'm fine," she said.
"Good, good. We'll have you back with your parents in no time," Mr Lupin told her. "Don't worry."
They were treating her and Harry like Céline, she realised. Like children.
Hermione didn't like that. Not at all. But she managed to smile when Harry, a little belatedly, introduced everyone to her.
*****
Harry Potter sighed with relief when the pain in his foot vanished. This was… "Merlin's beard, this feels good!" He exclaimed. "Thank you!"
The sailor healing him nodded and stood, saying something in Arabian. Probably. Harry still didn't know what language they were speaking. He smiled at the man anyway and repeated himself. "Thank you."
Then he poked and gripped his foot, squeezing a little. No pain. Then he stood, pulling himself up with the help of his broom, before putting weight on the foot. Still no pain.
"It seems healed," Hermione said. She was staring at it as if she wanted to check herself - he saw her wand twitch a little before she pressed it to her leg.
"Yes," Harry agreed. He took a few more steps, feeling the polished wooden deck under his bare foot. "A bit tender, but it's OK now."
"Good." She nodded.
"I can't believe you were walking around like this!" Mum blurted out. She was frowning even as she hugged him again. And Dad stepped closer, rubbing his head and ruffling his hair.
"I wasn't walking," Harry protested. "I was staying on the broom."
"Or hopping or crawling," Hermione added.
"I didn't crawl," he disagreed.
"That's not the point!" Mum insisted. She released him and wiped some tears from her face. Then she turned to Hermione. "And you, Miss Granger! Are you hurt?"
"No!" Hermione shook her head, her ponytail almost hitting her face.
"Better check her anyway," Harry told Mum. She had been banged around, after all - he could see the bruises.
Hermione glared at him for that, but he met her eyes. There was no reason not to get checked out by a Healer.
Although… Hermione was really tense, he realised when the Healer waved his wand at her. Oh - the wizard did look like one of the pirates they had fought. "Sorry," Harry mouthed at her.
She nodded in return.
"It's OK," Mum told them. "You're safe."
"Yes, Mum," Harry agreed. Though he couldn't help feeling a little tense, standing on the deck. Which reminded him… He pulled his shoe out and put it on while the Healer finished with Hermione. Harry saw the bruises disappear under healing spells.
"You are slightly malnourished and in need of rest, but healthy otherwise, Miss Granger," Dumbledore translated whatever the Healer told him. "The same as Mr Potter, actually."
"Malnourished?" Mum gasped as if she had been told they'd be dying.
"We had to make do with coconuts, mostly," Hermione explained. "And some fish, but fishing was often too dangerous."
"Yes. And the wyvern wasn't really edible," Harry joked.
"The wyvern?" That was Dad. And he was frowning as well. Shouldn't he be smiling? It was a joke.
"There was a wyvern on the island. It was hunting us, and so we had to kill it," Harry explained. "Please don't tell Hagrid!" The professor would never forgive them.
"Or Luna," Hermione added. "Luna Lovegood."
"Yes." Harry nodded. "Best keep that a secret, OK?" He smiled at the others.
Mum and Dad were staring at him, though. As if he had asked them to kill the neighbour's cat. Or told them he had killed it.
"A wyvern? A great flying dragon-like beast?" Uncle Remus asked. "And it was
hunting you?"
"The captured pirates did mention something like it," Dumbledore said. "Quite a large specimen, according to them, though sailors have a habit of embellishing their tales."
"Well, it wasn't that big," Harry said. "Like…" he moved his hands about a yard apart. "Like this, right, Hermione?"
She nodded. "That was the size of its mouth, yes."
More gasping.
"You fought… you killed such a monster?" Mum looked pale.
Oh, damn. He glanced at Hermione and winced.
"We trapped it," Hermione said. "We didn't fight it out with wands versus claws."
"And we were safe in a cave. And later a shelter," Harry added.
"Safe? When fighting a wyvern?" Dad sounded angry.
"It was too big to enter the cave," Harry explained. "It got stuck."
"That was your trap?" Uncle Remus asked.
"No, we used spikes with barbs," Harry told him. "The cave was when we hid after the first trap failed. But we got it the second time when we used a pit with spikes."
"And bent trunks to smash it onto the spikes." Hermione interrupted him with a nod. "And lead poisoning."
"It took a while, but we got it." Harry nodded as well.
"I think you should tell us exactly what you did since you disappeared from
Knockturn Alley," Mum said in a rather clipped tone. The last time she had spoken like this, Harry remembered, had been when Rose's Potions experiment had almost set the house on fire despite the Protective Charms that should have prevented that.
He winced again.
*****
"...and then the wyvern succumbed to its accumulated injuries," Hermione Granger finished her tale - well, it felt more like a report. Only that instead of researching in the library, she had to remember every detail herself.
"And we buried the carcass, so it wouldn't attract scavengers and such," Harry added.
"Merlin's beard!" the aristocratic wizard - Mr Black, Harry's godfather - blurted out. "That's…" he shook his head. "We never did anything like that!"
"This is quite the tale, Mrs Granger, Harry," the Headmaster smiled at them. "I would award both of you points for quick thinking and persistence as well as bravery if we were at Hogwarts. Although I think you are correct - this is not a tale Rubeus would like to hear."
"Albus!" Mrs Potter snapped. "This isn't some school… adventure! They almost died! Multiple times!"
"But we didn't!" Harry protested.
"And it wasn't as if we had a choice," Hermione pointed out. "The wyvern was hunting us - we were at risk whenever we left our shelter. Or the cave."
"It attacked us first, too," Harry interrupted her. "What should we have done? Hide until we starved?"
This entirely logical argument didn't seem to impress his parents, Hermione noted.
"How long did it take you to construct your trap?" Mrs Potter asked. "Time you spent out of your 'shelter'. And how long did it take you to gather food?"
Hermione scowled and spoke up before Harry could say anything. "That's an unfair comparison. We might have been able to hide and live off summoned coconuts, but Malnutrition would've become an issue very, very quickly."
"And being effectively locked up in a small room isn't good long-term, either. You told us that," Harry added, frowning at his parents.
"I was talking about Azkaban!" Mrs Potter retorted. "Not about hiding from a man-eating magical beast the size of a dragon!"
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Without taking sides, I have to point out that the plan was sensible and took the dangers into account."
"They used Harry as bait!" Mr Potter snapped. "If the Summoning Charm had been a little slower…" He shook his head, and his wife paled.
"We had it under control. And I knew Hermione could summon me quickly enough," Harry told them. "Just like at the pond. We weren't reckless!"
Hermione nodded in agreement. "Yes. We had a plan and followed it, and it worked as planned."
"After your first plan didn't work," Mr Potter said.
"I'd say you were reckless, but it worked out well," Mr Black said. The Potters glared at him, and he cringed a little. "Still, I hope you've learnt your lesson."
Harry nodded. "Oh, yes. Next time we encounter a wyvern or something similar, things will go differently."
"Yes." Hermione narrowed her eyes. "I've already made a list of spells we need to learn that will be most helpful in the same situation." She wouldn't be caught unaware and unprepared again. Never again.
The Headmaster seemed pleased at hearing that. "Feel free to ask me for advice, Miss Granger, Harry. I do have some experience in the field, so to speak."
"Thank you, Headmaster!" Hermione replied, beaming at him.
Unfortunately, the rest of the group didn't seem to be happy about the situation.
"Albus! That's not the lesson they should've learnt!" Mrs Potter protested again.
"Oh? I would think learning new spells to be prepared for any eventuality was the hallmark of a good wizard or witch." Dumbledore inclined his head as he turned to face the Potters. "Far too many of my students seem to forget how to use their wands for anything but the most basic charms and a few spells they need at work as soon as they leave Hogwarts."
"That's not the point," Mr Potter retorted. "But they shouldn't be trying to kill the next wyvern or dragon they meet."
"Of course not!" Harry blurted out. "Only if it attacks us! Or attempts to."
"And if we can't run away and get help," Hermione added. "Or if others are in danger, of course." She glanced at Céline.
Once more, only the Headmaster seemed to like their plans.
"Harry! You're not Aurors! You're not even Hit-Wizards! You're children - students! You shouldn't fight any dangerous creatures!" Mr Potter all but yelled.
"Tell that to Hagrid when he makes his lesson plans," Harry snapped back.
"And whether or not we should isn't the question," Hermione cut in. "The question is what we do when things go wrong. We can't count on others being there to save us."
"Indeed, Miss Granger. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, accidents and incidents do happen, and the authorities, be they teachers or Aurors, cannot be everywhere at once."
The Headmaster's smile turned a little sad, but the Potters looked as if Hermione had hexed them, she realised. Oh. They probably felt guilty for not finding them sooner.
"Yes." Harry nodded sharply as he turned to Mr Black. "And I've heard enough about the war from Sirius to know that you didn't leave things to the Aurors and Hit-Wizards either!"
"That was different!" his mother retorted.
"And we were out of school!" Mr Potter added.
"Albus didn't let anyone join the Order unless they were adults," Mr Black added. "Fortunately, he didn't require us to act our age all the time."
No one laughed at the joke, though. And Hermione had to bite her lip to keep from telling the Potters that she'd be an adult in a bit over two months. That wouldn't help her argument at all.
The Potters exchanged a glance, then Mrs Potter said. "Look, Harry… we just want you to be safe. This should never have happened!" She frowned. "It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't gone into Knockturn Alley."
"Hey! I went in to protect Hermione."
"I was only in the part right next to Diagon Alley!" Hermione retorted, glaring at Harry. Then she frowned at his father. "If that's so dangerous, then the DMLE should've shut down the alley long ago!"
Mr Potter gaped at her even as Harry chuckled. "That's… That's not the point!"
"She got you there, James," Mr Black muttered.
"While discussing the policies of the Ministry is both necessary and sometimes entertaining, I do believe that this is a subject for another occasion," the Headmaster cut in. "Instead of assigning blame, might we hear the rest of your adventures while we wait for our allies to finish their business in the village?"
Said business was looking like their 'allies' were looting everything that wasn't protected by a Sticking Charm, as far as Hermione could tell. But the Headmaster had a point.
So she nodded. "Yes. After we dealt with the wyvern, we decided to explore the island, see if there was a way to call for help or escape it. So we climbed the central hill first, and…"
*****