Harry grabbed his grandfather's arm. "The attack isn't over yet."
All three of them, Charlus, Hermione, and Ron, turned to look at harry. "Explain." Charlus demanded, too on edge to worry about things like manners and politeness.
"Moldywart isn't this stupid. All his death eaters at the front of the train in one easy to fight group. He is a Slytherin. He plans and plots underhanded tricks. Ergo the attack just now was where we were supposed to be looking while something else happened. My guess is that someone has been snuck onto the train and if we aren't quick and find out what the plan is it will be too late."
There was silence for a few moments while everyone processed what Harry had said. "How do we know they haven't left yet?" Asked Hermione.
"I wouldn't want to portkey or disapparate from a moving train." Ron cut in. "If they hadn't planned for someone to restart the train, and if they had they probably wouldn't have killed the driver, then there is a good chance they are still on the train."
"Then we have to find them before the train stops." Hermione insisted.
"Don't jump to conclusions. We only suspect that something is happening. For all we know even if something was planned then it is entirely possible that we got the train moving soon enough that nobody had the chance to get on the train." Charlus pointed out.
"Do you really want to take that chance? Besides, someone needs to check all the compartments and inform the students of what is going on anyway. We can check the train at the same time." Harry pointed out.
That was logic Charlus couldn't ignore. The fact was the students were probably afraid and confused right now and someone would need to go compartment by compartment and tell them what was going on anyway. The other professors were either wounded or were looking after the wounded professors and Aurors, the Aurors who weren't injured were busy working out details about getting all the kids to King's Cross and Harry's intuition would probably come across as the nervous paranoia of a teen who had just gone through a traumatic experience.
So it was on Charlus and the only backup he had was the three teens. Luckily they were three teens who had gone through more training than anyone else in wizarding Britain who would be considered a civilian. So the four of them made their way along the train stopping by every compartment and calming the panicked students. While Charlus spoke to the students Harry looked around the compartments looking for anything out of the ordinary.
They were two thirds of the way down the train and Harry was starting to doubt himself. So far there had been nothing to indicate that anything had happened. They reached their compartment and looked in on Susan and Hannah and once again everything looked normal. The two girls were sitting there and Susan started asking twenty questions as soon as she saw them.
Ron squeezed past Harry and Charlus and went over to check on his girlfriend. "Hey Susie." "Hey" she said, and she smiled up at him as he leant in and gave her a kiss on the top of her head.
Then suddenly there were two flashes of red light and the two girls slumped unconscious.
Harry was the first to react and instantly had his wand against Ron's neck and with a single word demanded. "Explain."
Ron rolled his eyes. "Harry, that isn't Susan, how could you not see it?"
"Mr Weasley please explain how you got to that conclusion." Professor Potter asked. By calling Ron Mr Weasley he made it clear he was asking in his capacity as professor, the one where he was responsible for the welfare of the students.
Ron took a deep breath before he started to explain. "Well first it's her tights. When we left they were a dried mustard yellow. Now they are brown. Similar but different. Now that could have been the result of a colour changing charm and while unlikely, because Susan likes to have something visible to show Hufflepuff pride, it isn't impossible to kill time she and Hannah might have played around with fashion to not think about what was happening. So I called her Susie, a nickname she hates. If it was Susan she would never have smiled at me. And Hannah, no way she wouldn't have rolled her eyes at me kissing Susan. So that isn't Susan."
While Ron explained, Hermione pulled open Susan's handbag and started to go through it and pulled out six vials of what looked like thick, dark mud. She opened one and gave it a light sniff. "Incomplete Polyjuice potion. That means that Susan is still alive. You need to harvest the final ingredient from a living person and there isn't anything in here to add."
Ron was working a half step in front and reached up to pull down Susan's trunk. "If you were going to replace Susan then you would need to keep her close by, nobody would look twice at someone looking like Susan carrying Susan's trunk."
There wasn't a lot of room in the compartment so Harry and Hermione stepped outside with the door open so they could see what was going on. Charlus took over the trunk with a flick of his wand and gently set it down on the same spot Harry had been sitting in earlier. Then he opened it. Inside bound and gagged was Susan who had been stuffed into the trunk with no care for comfort. It looked like all her belongings had been vanished because there didn't seem to be anything else in the trunk.
The first thing Charlus did was remove the gag and immediately Susan said. "You need to help Hannah, she is under the Imperius curse."
Unfortunately before any of them could react to that there was a shout of "Avada Kedavra!" from Harry's right which was along the corridor that led to the back of the train.
Fortunately for Harry one of the drills he had run with his friends was how to deal with the killing curse. It involved putting a physical barrier between the potential victim and the caster. And luckily for Harry, his Hermione was a perfectionist. She had practiced transfiguring walls and floors into shields until she had it down to a non verbal cast with barely a flick of her wand. So when she started to react on the first syllable of the relatively long incantation of the killing curse she was still able to transfigure the sliding door into a wall that cut Harry off from the back of the train before the spell hit.
That wasn't to say the wall was a particularly sturdy one. It was a reflex cast and that meant thin and flimsy and it exploded over Harry as soon as it absorbed the killer spell. Not only robbing Harry of its use as a barrier but also putting a lot of flying shrapnel in his face meaning Harry's first retaliatory spell was a little off target. However whoever was casting at Harry knew they didn't have time to cast the killing curse again and switched to more conventional curses.
Harry's vision cleard up barely a moment later and he found he was now exchanging spells with Draco Malfoy. Harry couldn't keep the grin off his face at seeing who his opponent was. No more Malfoy running away, no more need for Harry to hold back. Draco Malfoy was a known death eater with a body count. It was time to end this.
Harry and Malfoy exchanged spells, the narrow corridor keeping them both from dodging spells and from using anything too big that could potentially hurt bystanders. After all, Malfoy apparently had an ally pretending to be Susan in the compartment next to him and Harry had no clue who was in the compartments next to Malfoy. So he cursed and shielded. This style of duel suited Malfoy more than Harry. Harry preferred to move around and dodge, giving him more opportunities to attack because he didn't need to shield. Malfoy however had been raised on the principle of the wizards duel where the participants barely moved.
Hermione turned and added her own shield. Harry had complete trust in Hermione and that allowed him to stop shielding and focus instead on pure attack. Harry didn't bother with a single jinx or hex. Harry was looking to end the threat of Malfoy trying to kill him or people he cared about permanently.
As Harry pressed his attack Malfoy was forced to shield more and more and he began walking backwards trying to increase the distance between them. However Harry and Hermione matched him, step for step. Soon Malfoy got desperate and instead of aiming a curse at Harry he aimed one for the ceiling above Harry. Hermione tried to shield it but the angle was wrong and struck the ceiling over head.
Maybe Malfoy had hoped that Hermione would move her shield over her and Harry and protect them from things falling on her head and give him a free shot. But that's not what happened, Harry and Hermione instinctively switched roles. Harry cast a shield spell over them like an umbrella protecting them from falling debris while Hermione switched to attack to keep Malfoy on the defensive shield casting while Harry dealt with whatever was falling over their heads.
Unfortunately for Malfoy even the best laid plans can go awry. He had expected to have an opening to get a curse in and was halfway through casting a particularly nasty entrail expelling curse before he realised he needed to shield and he wasn't able to switch tracks fast enough. It also didn't help that Hermione had one spell that had been drilled into her was only for dealing with monsters and to her Malfoy definitely counted as a monster.
"Fulmenactus!" Lightning crackled and Hermione's already wild and bushy hair stood up from the electricity and the bolt of lightning struck Malfoy in the middle of his chest. There was a loud crack of thunder and the windows of the train car shattered and barely twenty seconds after he tried to cast the killing curse at a distracted Harry, Draco Malfoy fell dead.
For a moment there was nothing but the sound of the wheels on the tracks, and the smells of over cooked meat mixed with ozone. Then everything started to happen.
Students from the compartments they had been fighting outside of grew almost hysterical, Ron was trying to get Susan out of her trunk, Charlus was trying to help Ron with Susan as well as check on Harry and Hermione, Hannah had been broken out of the Imperius curse and was now panicking, Harry clinging on to Hermione both needing to support the other both physically and mentally, Aurors came running down the corridor and upon finding a dead body, and two versions of their bosses niece started demanding answers. It was all too much for Harry to keep track of and he and Hermione just collapsed against one of the walls and slid down it arms still wrapped around each other until they were sitting on the floor.
-ϟϟϟ-
The Aurors stopped the train not long after that and after sending someone to get portkeys all the students were taken to King's Cross. Well, all the students except for Harry, Hermione, Susan, Hannah, and fake Susan. They along with Charlus and the dead body of Draco Malfoy were taken to the D.M.L.E in the new temporary ministry building.
Everything was put on hold until Director Bones, Hermione's, and Hannah's parents were brought in. Mr Weasley, Ron's father, was already there as it was a work day for him and while he wasn't an Auror his department was right next to theirs because they worked so closely together. Luckily all three of them were waiting at Kings Cross for their girls so it didn't take too long. Mrs Weasley had been informed at the same time but she had to take care of Ginny. Fred and George were now old enough to apparate themselves home. And once Director Bones was there they first focused on the issue with Susan.
Susan was cuddled up and clinging to Ron as she told the Aurors investigating what she knew. "So Hannah and I were sitting in our compartment after Professor Potter and the others went off to investigate all the noise. After a couple of minutes the door slid open and Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson came walking in. They already had their wands out and Malfoy cast the Imperius curse on Hannah and Parkinson cast the body bind on me. Then Malfoy pulled out some of my hair and added it to a vial of Polyjuice potion that Parkinson took to look like me. She then transfigured her clothes to match mine and the two of them pulled down my trunk, vanished all my things and shoved me in it while talking about what Pansy was supposed to do."
"She was supposed to pretend to be me for the rest of the day so auntie would take her through the wards at home then when she went to bed tonight Pansy was going to murder her and cast the dark mark into the sky. It was supposed to be Pansy's initiation into the death eaters."
"After I was shoved into the trunk Malfoy wished her luck and said he had his own mission to take care of and he would be waiting for her at the Parkinson house once she had finished her mission." Susan explained.
Hannah's story matched Susan's but she had a few more details of what happened while Susan was in the trunk. Telling them about how Parkinson was bragging that once she killed the head of the D.M.L.E she was going to be welcomed not only as a full death eater but as a member of Voldemort's inner circle just like her beloved Draco.
Eventually they got around to questioning Harry and Hermione. Before they were questioned there was some question about if they should be in trouble for killing Malfoy. Some said because he was an escaped criminal, known death eater and had tried to kill Hermione and had stabbed Harry in the past it was completely justified. Others saw a dead teen and wanted to throw the book at whoever had done it. That all went away after the questions however, when Harry and Hermione revealed that Malfoy had tried to hit Harry with the killing curse. Especially when both Harry and Hermione offered to take Veritaserum to give their testimony. It soon became clear to even the most hard nosed of Aurors that it was a clear cut case of self defence.
If there was one upside of the event it was when Amelia Bones sat down with them all after everyone had given their statements. Susan was still firmly clinging to Ron and the Abbotts had already left talking their daughter to St Mungo's to check for any lingering psychological effects from being under the Imperius curse. Ron was a little nervous having what was in all effects the teenage daughter of the head of the D.M.L.E sitting in his lap while she was there but Amelia offered him a warm smile.
"I'm rather impressed with your observation. Very few people would have noticed such a small shift in clothing. It is called change blindness. If people don't literally see a change, they don't notice it. But you not only noticed it but came up with a test on the fly like that. Susan says you want to join the Aurors when you finish Hogwarts next year, is that true?"
"Yes ma'am." Ron nodded as he answered his arms tight around Susan.
"Well if your Newts are up to standard we would love to have you on the team." Then she turned to Mr Weasley. "Arthur, I have a favour to ask. I'm going to have my hands full cleaning up this mess. Dead bodies, retrieving the Express, arranging Miss Parkinson's trial. I hate to impose but could Susan stay with you at the burrow for a night or two? Normally I'd ask the Abbotts but as you know they have to prioritise their own daughter right now and I think Susan would feel safest with Ron."
Susan and Ron immediately had looks of hope on their faces. Mr Weasley nodded. "There is plenty of room now that my oldest three have moved out. There is always room for a guest or two. Tell you what, you will still need to eat so why don't you pop home and grab an overnight bag for Susan and join us for dinner in.." he checked his watch. "About an hour and a half. That way she can have something to sleep in, and you can have a decent home cooked dinner to keep you going."
Amelia Bones seemed to like that plan and it was quickly agreed on. It seemed that the distrust that Amelia had last summer of any place that wasn't completely under her control had lessened and this summer Susan might actually get some quality time with Ron at the burrow.
Speaking of girlfriends in the house, grandfather Charlus revealed to Harry and Hermione that Hermione and her parents were joining them at Potter manor for a few days. "We don't expect there to be a repeat of what happened the first night of summer last year, however we aren't going to roll the dice on it, especially with the floo down. So you're coming to the Manor for the break."
Hermione may have her portkeys but they weren't infallible and as much as she missed her parents she wasn't looking forward to the part where she didn't get to see Harry for a few days. So the group split up, Mr Weasley made his way to the official disapparation point while Harry, Charlus, and the three Grangers made their way up to the roof to use Hermione's portkey. The roof was apparently warded so nobody would notice anyone coming or going even if they happened to be looking right at the roof from one of the surrounding taller buildings. Once everyone had at least a finger hooked around the chain Hermione was wearing around her neck, Hermione once more tried the key phrase. "Activate Potter Manor." and this time the portkey activated whisking them away to front gates of the estate hidden in the Welsh mountains.
As soon as Harry saw the large monstrosity of a house, with its too many floors and massive spaces that were almost never used he felt like he was home. It was something he wouldn't have even dared dream of stepping inside of before he went to Hogwarts, and now it was home. He tried to imagine what he would have said to someone who told him this would be his future back when he was ten. The best he could come up with he would either think it was some elaborate joke, or he would think the person telling him such an impossible tale needed to see a doctor.
The gate swung in, opening up and letting them in as they walked along the path that led through them and up to the house. It was a five minute walk but it was a summer evening and the weather was pleasant, they had all been sitting around for way too long. A big black dog came bounding down the path to greet them as they walked. Harry half wondered if Sirius was going to jump all over them like a real dog but he skidded to a stop a few meters in front of them and shifted back to his human form. If his dour expression wasn't enough to tell them he had been worrying then the first thing he said would have done it. "You're late. Where have you been?" He practically demanded from them.
So they told him. Everything from the decoy attack to Hermione lighting Malfoy up like a Christmas tree and all about having to go to the Ministry to sort everything out.
By the time they finished explaining to Sirius they were in the manor and up in the family area. Almost as soon as they sat down Hermione had withdrawn into herself causing her parents who had been waiting in the family room for them to immediately worry. After everything that had happened that day she finally let herself drop the mask of being calm and in control. Without the adrenaline and a massive measure of stubborn refusal to crack in the Ministry keeping her going, the fact that she had killed someone only a few hours ago was making itself the only thing she could think about.
It didn't matter that she knew exactly what type of person Malfoy was, nor that she knew of his many crimes, including stabbing Harry, trying to kill her, accidentally killing an innocent bystander and the fact that he was in the middle of trying to kill Harry when she killed him. It was Malfoy, he may be a prick but she had known him for five years. He was a person. He liked Quidditch, he had friends who were close to him. She was going to have to look some of those friends in the face in September and face their scorn. He had parents, she remembered his mother from that one time she had seen her at the Quidditch world Cup. Was she currently crying her eyes out over her son? Did she even know yet?
All of this was too much for Hermione to handle and she only had enough presence of mind to pull Harry and her father together on one of the larger sofas and to then collapse between the two of them sobbing for what she had done. Hermione fell asleep cuddled between the two men and she and Harry ended up staying there all night.
-ϟϟϟ-
Hermione being the first to fall asleep was the first one to wake up the next morning. She was a little surprised to find herself laid half on top of Harry in the Potter manor family room with a blanket pulled over them. Harry was still asleep, one arm wrapped protectively around her while his other dangled off the sofa, a peaceful expression on his face as he drooled into a cushion.
She thought he looked cute like that and snuggled into him as she thought about everything from the day before. As she examined her feelings she found that while her emotions were still raging, they weren't as debilitating as they were yesterday. She still felt like she was going to throw up whenever she thought about the fact that she had killed someone.
Yet she also couldn't deny that there was some vindictive pride attached to the fact that she had gotten Malfoy. The same Malfoy who had taunted her and her friends for years. The same Malfoy who had stabbed Harry. She idly brushed a finger over where she knew Harry still had a scar from the stabbing and he shifted in his sleep, even turning and giving her a peck on the cheek and squeezing the arm he had around her reassuringly before falling back into a deeper sleep.
To Hermione the meaning was clear, Harry was still there for her. He didn't care if she had killed someone, he wasn't going anywhere and she still had his full support.
The concepts of 'killing is wrong' and 'It was justice' warred in her head but no matter how uncomfortable the thought of killing someone made her, no matter how queasy the memories of Malfoys body crumpled in a heap smelling of over cooked meat made her, it couldn't kill the fact that Malfoy was a murderer, a terrorist, and an enemy combatant in a war his side started. And that sense of justice was enough to help keep her from breaking down again. It was going to take time, she was going to need help from Harry and her friends, but she knew that in time she was going to be fine.