Voices Beyond the Veil - 4

Harry looked away from them all, unable to deny he'd thought about doing just that.

"I thought so," Ginny said, scowling.

"The Death Eaters were already at Hogwarts when we left," Ron said. "Hermione sent a message to warn them."

Harry sighed heavily, his eyes roaming around the silent room and stopping to rest on the Veil. He could still hear those odd, distorted whispers behind it. He was here. This was it. The time to act and end it all was now.

"Harry, you're not in any condition to do this," Hermione said as if reading his thoughts.

"I have to, Hermione. We won't get a better chance," he replied.

Hermione looked around the room helplessly before returning her gaze to him. Her lower lip trembling, she nodded. "I've stopped the bleeding on your arm, but the wound is really deep. Madam Pomfrey will have to set it properly."

"Right," Harry replied, his throat raw.

He knew he should take a moment to tell them how much they'd always meant to him, but he couldn't manage to get his mouth to form the words. Instead, he just stood there – feeling stupid – and swallowing repeatedly.

Before he had long to contemplate it, however, his scar felt as if it had been ripped open with blinding pain. Bright shards of light pierced his field of vision, and he had to wrap his hands around his head to hold it together. He dropped to his knees, convulsing yet still trying to maintain control.

"Harry!" Ginny yelped, and he felt her cool hands on his forehead.

"Voldemort," he gasped. "He knows I'm not at Hogwarts. He's looking for me. We have to do this now. I need to show him where I am."

"I can help you do that," Draco said suddenly, surprising them all.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, moving to stand protectively in front of Harry.

"You obviously still can't shield your mind against Legilimency," Draco said, rolling his eyes. "Snape proved that."

"But he got Snape, didn't he?" Ron asked belligerently.

"Eventually, I suppose. If you think you can manage to stall the Dark Lord until you get angry enough to do something, go right ahead. Perhaps if he just kills one of the Potterettes," Malfoy said, jerking his head towards Harry's friends, "that would do it."

"No!" Harry said, suddenly sitting up straighter and blinking through the pain in his head. "Okay, Draco. We'll try this together. What do we have to do?"

"Let me into your mind. I'll direct your thoughts in order to project where we are to Voldemort, and I'll try to help you shield them once he arrives," Draco said, swallowing heavily.

"Why are you so willing to help now?" Ginny demanded.

"He killed Pansy, and I'm ready to be free. If this works, I can get on with my life while I still have it," Draco snapped.

Harry groaned again as he felt Voldemort's cold tendrils attempting to coil around his brain. "Now. We have to do it now," he said, gasping. "Ron, Ginny, Hermione, conjure some heavy stones to use as shields. They can absorb the Killing Curse when he starts using it. Conjure several in the room and practice doing it quickly. Each will only shield you from one Curse, so you'll either have to find or conjure another after yours is destroyed."

"Create a large one for me, too," Draco said. "If the Dark Lord realizes what we're doing, he'll go after me. He'll be puzzled over the fact that Harry is suddenly able to shield his thoughts, but it won't occur to him right away that Harry would willingly let someone else in his mind since he would never do so."