It had only taken moments after their assailants retreat for Remi Lupin to kick open a door, frantically looking around until she spotted them. Harry could already see the blood on her clothes, the scratches and injuries on her face and arms, the ragged appearance, and was preparing to offer some sort of assistance, whether to contact mediwitches or figure out a way to get them back to Hogwarts, when the Lycan rushed up to the two, grabbed both of their arms and promptly Apparated to just outside the wards.
By the time the trio was nearing the hospital ward, both to inspect the students despite their insistences, as well as receive treatment for the injured woman, the staff was on high alert and on their way towards Hogsmeade. When the other adults found them, the rescue operation lightened significantly, several professors along with Dumbledore still proceeding to see if aid needed to be given but Riddle opted to stay at the castle.
The Slytherin Head of House sent out the rushed status update to the two families only after Pomfrey cleared both students medically.
****
"What the Hell were you thinking?"
Delphini winced at her mother's tone. Although she had never been one for violent punishments there would still be some form of discipline, of that she was certain.
"Not only did you waste your time with a worthless contest but then you chose to place yourself in danger all for some useless boy!"
The younger swallowed, mouth already dry. Rarely had her mother ever shouted, but she was remarkably close at that moment. "I can explain…"
"And" Bellatrix continued, either not hearing her daughter or just ignoring her, "you decided to put yourself in harm's way for a ridiculous proposal by the Minister. When this plan failed miserably you decided not to activate your emergency Portkey and what… stay behind and act like a heroic Gryffindor? All for a stupid wizard!? "
It had been one of the things plaguing her thoughts ever since their return to Hogwarts, why had she not departed when able? So many reasons conjured, so many dismissed. Finally, she had fabricated enough of one to appease anyone who would ask. "Not for him mother, for our name."
Finally, her words reached the older woman, who paused before gesturing to continue.
"I will admit the tournament wasn't exactly a worthwhile use of my energy, but it did attract a larger number of students than normal and gave me an insight into various duelist skills when something other than pride was on the line. I went along with the Minister's suggestion to gain favor, and more importantly recognition, from current events."
"And the boy?"
"Whether I agree or not he is famous. It would further bolster my own name by having him attend with me on such a social event."
Bellatrix crossed her arms, clearly unhappy at the reasons but finding no fault thus far. "And why did you not escape when you were able? His life is not equal to yours, regardless of how others think of him."
"If I had left it would have done me no good. Taking a younger boy on an outing only to abandon him at the first signs of danger? I might as well have killed any political future I might possess with my bare hands. If I were injured though it would have been marks of pride. Scars showing how I had protected a weaker student at the cost of my own health, marks of combat and experience, and even a medal from the Ministry itself."
Older eyes narrowed in examination, as if to find such a wound, despite one not existing. "And yet none of these things have come true, have they? Accounts are messy at best, and no one can confirm anything, which means this entire situation is at a net loss in terms of time and relevance."
"Not a loss mother. The Minister, at the very least, will now be indebted to us for her abysmal planning and without any further information, aside from the attacking taking place, the rumors have already begun to spread about how we triumphantly fought back a pack of Lycans without aid."
It was a stretch, but the effect seemed to work, and her mother nodded slowly. "Continue fanning these rumors and I will see what all we can gain from the government." Delphini nodded and turned to leave, knowing a dismissal when she heard one, only to halt as the woman spoke once more. "And Delphini, if you ever do something like this again you will regret your choices for many years. I promise you that."
****
"Explain."
Harry gave an obvious sigh, not that he was expecting much of a different greeting, but it was becoming tiring every time he had to go through the 'I'm not going to sit around and let people die' talk. "We were in the restaurant, something happened outside and drew away the Aurors, we were attacked, Remi fought to buy us time to escape…"
"And you decided to stay!?"
The boy crossed his arms and remained silent, staring back at his parents until they caught the meaning of 'I will not go further if you don't stop interrupting'. Seeing as they finally understood he went on, "No, Delphini and I tried the Floo in the back, but it wouldn't work. I asked if she had a Portkey and she didn't, we didn't have any other options. So, I barricaded the door back into the restaurant and figured we might be able to hold on until more Aurors arrived, but they managed to get in. We fought back and eventually I blew a hole in the wall so we wouldn't be trapped. Eventually they ran away. Neither of us were hurt although Remi was. I haven't heard anything about Tonks and the other Aurors, are they okay?"
Lily dragged a hand down her face, body almost shaking from the stress while her husband nodded, "They are fine. From what she let slip they believe it was a distraction."
"Makes sense, probably thought it would be a quick attack and escape before help arrived. They knew we were going to be there though, otherwise the Floo would have worked."
His mother pinned him into the seat with a stare, "Would you have taken it and escaped?"
He bit his lip and looked away."
"Harry…"
"I would have ensured Delphini had gotten out and summoned help, but I wouldn't have left Remi to fend for herself if that's what you're asking."
The woman looked ready to argue when her husband beat her to it. "Harry, you can't… everything can't be your fight." There was exhaustion in his voice mixed with hurt and concern, enough that it silenced any rebuttals and brought tears to the border of the teen's eyes.
"You won't survive it Harry…" his mom whispered, "we won't survive it, the girls won't, you friends won't. We don't know how else to tell you this, how to reach you."
Now there's distress leaking through, pouring through, a dam breached, and he can see the frantic need in both of their eyes. They want to protect him, need to protect him. It is the same need James and Lily undoubtedly had when they stood between a Dark Lord and his crib.
Now his vision is blurry with tears from some unknown stress, and he removed his glasses just to wipe them away. "I'm sorry…" he whispers, his own voice heavy with emotion, "I just… I watched someone die. They died because of me, and I can't go through that again. I can't have more blood on my hands when I could have done something to save them."
The worry and pain are even more evident on their faces and a bite of shame creeps through him. He shouldn't be bothering them with this, shouldn't add more fuel to the fire of worries.
"Just…" James Potter trails off before falling silent, frustration clear at being unable to think of the correct words or even what he wants to say in that moment. Instead, he swears softly and angrily messes his hair before refocusing. "Shit, I don't know. I don't want to say, 'be careful' as if this is okay, but I know saying 'stop putting your life at risk' isn't working."
Lily spoke next, "It feels like something we should be able to compromise on, but it isn't. What if one of your sisters was doing this Harry? Wouldn't you tell them to stop? Wouldn't you be horrified?"
He nodded instinctively, "Of course I would, one hundred percent, and I would do everything I could to keep them safe and protect them but… I'd like to think I would understand deep down why they would need to do this."
Nothing is stopping the tears of his parents, or his own for that matter, and they flow freely, "I can't… we can't bury you, Harry. Please don't put us through that."
The boy shook his head, "I don't want to, please believe me that I don't but if I hadn't been there, if it had just been Delphini and another boy… they have parents too, families that love them. You can't ask me to let other children die just to save myself, just like someone else couldn't ask you to do the same."
Neither adult could respond and instead stood to sit on either side and pull him into a hug.
_______________________
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