I Want You Back

By: babykelyse

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing, save for the plot and Tiliana. Credit goes to Blah-the-sixth for his character, Brian. No suing! :)

Author Responses: Yuki Asao – Thank you! And another big thanks to you for pointing that little slip-up out to me, haha. I fixed it. :) Timmm – Thank you! It always warms my heart when I can get someone into this particular pairing through my stories. I'm glad I was able to change your mind about them! :)

Twenty

Pansy shivered as consciousness slowly came to her. She stretched out her cramped muscles and peered around the damp basement. The room somehow felt familiar to her, but she couldn't seem to place it. She was startled out of her thoughts as the door opened and a masked DeathEater walked in. Without her wand, Pansy was helpless, but she stood her ground as the DeathEater strolled towards her and barely flinched when produced a tray of food from seemingly nowhere.

"The Dark Lord wants you to keep your strength up," the masked man snarled out, his eyes cold behind the mask.

"How do I know it isn't poisoned?" Pansy questioned, knowing she wouldn't get a clear answer.

"You'll just have to find out, won't you?" Without another word, the DeathEater walked out of the room, locking the door behind him.

Pansy cursed under her breath, reaching for the food unwillingly. She sniffed at it, but found no strange odors and tentatively took a bite of the warm chicken. Though her stomach growled and her children made her aware that they, too, were hungry, Pansy waited for a good ten minutes before consuming the rest of the meal. Once she'd finished, a cup of pumpkin juice appeared in the place of the empty plate and Pansy rolled her eyes. She took an experimental sip, and then downed the rest of it as well. She wasn't surprised when the cup disappeared the instant she'd finished the last drop.

Pansy sat back, seemingly content, but her mind was racing a mile a minute. She was positive that several spells had been placed around the room to keep her from trying to escape, but ideas and thoughts came anyway. First she thought of attacking the next DeathEater that came through the door, but she immediately dismissed it. Without a wand, she was almost like a muggle, and getting herself killed wouldn't be a good idea. As she continued to go through different scenarios, her eyelids kept getting heavier and heavier, until she finally dropped off to sleep…

Pansy awoke, feeling groggy and disoriented. She looked around and realized she was no longer in the damp basement, but a bedroom instead. She sat up quickly when a door she hadn't noticed opened. Pansy blinked several times, her mind protesting the sight in front of her. Harry stood just inside the door, a loving smile on his face.

"H-Harry?" Pansy couldn't believe her eyes. She looked around, trying to find some sort of trap when his husky laughter reached her ears.

"It's really me, love. I've missed you." The slight hiss went unnoticed as Pansy drank in the sight of her love, her heart thundering.

"Oh, Harry! I've missed you too!" Pansy sobbed as she hurried out of the bed, running straight into Harry's arms. The first thing she noticed was how cold his skin felt. The next was how wrong Harry felt in her arms. It was as if she was hugging a stranger. She looked up and gasped when crimson eyes stared back down at her.

"You were expecting sssomeone elssse?" Harry, no the intruder hissed, a hideous smile on his face.

Pansy wrenched herself out of his arms and backed away until she hit a wall. "You aren't Harry. Where am I?"

"You don't need to worry about that." The intruder answered, looking amused. "You should be more concerned about yourssself. I could easssily crush you right now and my work would be done."

Pansy blanched, but kept a brave expression on her face. "You could do that. But then what would you have to bring Harry here, Voldemort?" She spat out the name, as the Harry in front of her morphed and changed.

"I sssee you've gotten ssstronger ssssince we lassst were together." Voldemort's crimson eyes gleamed. "I'll have to change that."

"Nothing you do to me will work." Pansy bravely stated, feeling anything but. "You don't scare me."

"No?" Voldemort looked bored. "Perhapsss you should think differently." He motioned towards her belly, and Pansy automatically covered it protectively. "I would only have to dessstroy the livesss within you to defeat the foolish boy."

"Leave them out of this!" Pansy shouted, knowing she would give up her own life for her children. "They've done nothing to you. Your war is with me and Harry."

"My war isss with all blood traitorsss and mudbloodssss" Voldemort hissed. "The ssstink of it isss on you and the bastards you carry. But I won't kill you jussst yet. My fun has only begun." As his final words washed over her, Voldemort disappeared living behind a dark cloud.

With a gasp, Pansy shot up, looking wildly around the room. She knew what she had just seen hadn't been a dream, and she shuddered as she remembered how the cool skin had felt under her fingers. How could she have mistaken Voldemort for Harry? Pansy felt despair come in strong waves and hugged her self, shivering in self-disgust.

I'll just have to be more careful, Pansy thought to her self.

She should have known something would have been in the food and drink. No matter how much it would weaken her, Pansy resolved not to eat anything that came to her in the future. For added protection, Pansy strengthened her mental shields. Even if the food hadn't been poisoned, she knew Voldemort had managed to slither his way past her mental defenses. It wouldn't happen again though. This time she'd be prepared for his next attack.

--

Parkinson Manor was a flurry of activity. Once Kingsley had sent word that Aurors were needed, they began arriving in droves. Several Hogwarts students, mostly 6th and 7th years, began showing up as well much to everyone's surprise. Hermione had been the reason of that, much to Ron's amusement. As he sat in the midst of all the planning, Ron took a moment to take in all that was happening. Several witches and wizards, old and young, were huddled together in small groups making plans of attack and what spells they would use and when. Students from each of the houses in Hogwarts were huddled together actually cooperating, which still managed to baffle the red-head. He never would have thought he'd see the day where all four houses would cooperate with one another without threats from their teachers. Ron felt a nudge at his side and turned to look at Hermione inquisitively.

"What's wrong?" She asked softly, a concerned look on her face. "You were miles away."

"Nothing's wrong, 'Mione." Ron reassured his girlfriend. "I was just amazed at what's happening right now. Everyone is getting along and cooperating and it's a surprise. I never thought I'd live to see the day."

"I think you should start getting used to it." Luna's dreamy voice floated between the couple. "Once Harry vanquishes Voldemort, I should think this is what every day will be like in the future."

"I'm not so sure of that." Hermione voiced doubtfully. "There will still be prejudice in the wizarding world no matter what. There are still witches and wizards out there who think their blood status makes them better than others."

"So you think even if the outcome of this war is good, no one will change?" Brian asked, his head tilted to the side. "That's rather pessimistic, don't you think?"

"No," Hermione shook her head. "I'm being a realist. You can't expect years and years of ingrained hatred to just disappear out of the clear blue. It's going to take time and cooperation to overcome so much hatred."

"That's not something I expected to hear from a person fighting for the Light side." Brian mused aloud. "I figured all of you would be singing sunshine and roses at the demise of Voldemort."

Ginny laughed as she joined the group. "You haven't been here for years, Brian. Just because we fight for this side, doesn't mean our heads are up our arses. Many of realize that things aren't necessarily going to change once Voldemort has been defeated. Many of his followers came of their own free will because they believe in what he spews out."

"And the rest of us simply followed because we didn't have a choice," Draco drawled, coming up behind his girlfriend.

"So then why fight at all if you don't think good will come out of Voldemort's demise?" Brian questioned, truly curious. "Why not just let someone else fight for you, and stand on the sidelines?"

"At some point you have to take a stand for what you think is right." Blaise spoke up, sending a warm glance towards Luna. "I was content to stay neutral for the longest until I realized that it was just as bad as fighting for Voldemort."

"I never thought of it that way. I just thought that by not fighting and not choosing a side, it was the better way to go." Brian looked at the group of people around him, a new understanding in his eyes.

"I guess you finally get it, then?" Harry grinned at the Slytherin, clapping him on the back. "In the end, everyone has to choose a side, Brian. It may not be for the same reason as another person, but at least they've done something. I've already told you my reasons are purely selfish, while others may have different motives in their mind."

"I guess I've been a complete and total arse about this entire war business for the last few months, haven't I?" Brian grinned, though it was tinged with bitterness.

"Not a complete one," Tiliana smiled, lacing her fingers through his. "You've just been opinionated and bull-headed, but that's nothing new for you."

Everyone laughed, and Brian exhaled as if putting a huge weight off his shoulders. "I've been walking around with my nose in the air, thinking I was the one in the right when it was the exact opposite. Pansy being taken from us pulled the rug out from beneath me though. I kept thinking that because we were purebloods and of high standing, that no one would touch us. I've been a fool. And I want to apologize to all of you for being such a prick since I've gotten here." Brian looked at each person, his eyes earnest.

Ron was the first to break the silence. "Well now that you've realized what a dick you've been, I suppose I could let you off this once. But that doesn't mean we're going to become friends."

"I wouldn't dream of it, r-Weasley." Brian grinned. Ron returned the gesture, flicked him off, and left to discuss strategy with one of his many brothers.

"I guess that means you're forgiven in Ron-speak." Ginny laughed. "And I forgive you too, although you didn't do anything personally to me. You were just misguided and uninformed. It happens to us all."

"Gin's right." Harry spoke up. "Now I hate to break up this little pow-wow, but my fiancée is locked up in some dark basement at Hogwarts and I want her back in my arms as soon as possible. Let's get back to work, shall we?"

A chorus of 'sir yes sirs' rang out much to Harry's amusement. The group broke up, each going to their respective places to resume strategizing. Harry moved from group to group, approving or disapproving several plans. Once he was satisfied with the results, he called everyone to attention, waiting until every last eye was upon him.

"First, I want to thank you all for being here. We're about to head to war, and though I hate to say it, some of us may not make it back, including myself. Many of you didn't have to be here, yet you came anyway, and I want to commend you for it." Harry looked at several of his former classmates, seeing fear and determination in their eyes.

"This isn't going to be an easy fight. Voldemort has an army of DeathEaters following him, including the Dementors. We're all going to have to look out for one another and keep close watch. Now isn't the time for petty House rivalries or family rivalries. We're going to have to put that behind us and focus on our goal: the demise of Voldemort. I want you all to be careful and remember our plans of attack. I believe everyone has agreed to flying, correct?" Several heads nodded and Harry smiled grimly.

"It's going to be a long trip. If you don't have a broom, I'm sure someone here won't mind you flying with them. Are we ready?" Harry addressed his last question to Kingsley. Once the older wizard nodded his head, everyone dispersed, pulling out their brooms as they headed into the cool night air. As Harry made to follow, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He looked back to see Camille smiling at him, her eyes determined.

"Do be a gentleman and allow your future mother-in-law to ride with you, dear." She cut Harry off when he made an attempt to protest. "I'm coming with you, Harry. That's my daughter who's probably holed off in some dark, damp room. There's no way in Hades I'm not coming with you."

"But Mr. Parkinson-" Harry tried to weakly protest again, only to be cut off.

"Blayne is traveling with one of the other Aurors. Although I'm a bit rusty in the defense area, I'm more than sure I'll be able to help. You didn't think I was going to sit back and twiddle my thumbs, did you?"

"Of course not," Harry stumbled.

"Then what are you waiting for? Enlarge your broom and help me onto it. Hogwarts is a while a way and sitting here dawdling about is wasting precious time." Camille looked at Harry expectantly, and he hurriedly pulled his shrunken broom out of his pocket. They made their way out into the front yard, where several others were mounting their brooms and pulling off. Harry enlarged his broom, helped Camille on, before hastily climbing on in the front.

"Hang on tightly!" He called out to the older witch behind him. Once she had fastened her arms around his waist, Harry kicked off, letting the rush of flying fill him. He spotted several brooms ahead of him, and rushed to catch up. He nodded at several familiar faces, including his friends as he passed them to catch up with Kingsley. Once he spotted the older wizard, he pulled up beside him, surprised to see Blayne Parkinson riding along with him. Pushing his surprise down, Harry called out to Kingsley.

"How long do we have until we reach Hogwarts?" Harry shouted over the noise of the wind.

"At least an hour or two," Kingsley shouted back. "Scotland is a fair distance away, so we may have to take a break before we get there. It wouldn't do us any good to be tired once we reach our destination."

Harry nodded, keeping a firm grip on his broom. "What about the Disillusionment charm? How close to Hogwarts do we need to be before casting it?"

Kingsley seemed to ponder Harry's question for a bit, until he came to a conclusion. "Dementors will more than likely be prowling the grounds which means we'll have to be quick to cast the Patronus. I think we should cast the charm at least twenty minutes before we get there to take them off guard. They might be able to sense the magic if we cast it any later than that."

"Sounds good," Harry agreed. "I'll let everyone know about that once we touch down. It would probably do us all good if we paired up from then on. I noticed several of them flying by themselves."

Kingsley nodded once again before pulling ahead, his mind on finding a place to touch down in the next twenty minutes.

"I'll cast the Patronus for us, Harry." Camille spoke from behind Harry.

"Are you sure?" Harry questioned. "I can cast a pretty good Patronus when the time calls for it."

"I haven't been on a broom in years, Harry Potter." Camille laughed lightly. "I'd more than likely crash us into the ground if you let me take control. I'll cast the Patronus and you just make sure we don't crash."

Harry grinned, but nodded nonetheless. He brought his attention back to the task before him, and began going over the plans he, Kingsley, and the others had come up with, while keeping an eye out for a signal from Kingsley to touch down.

--

When the next tray of food was placed in front of her, Pansy merely knocked it aside, sneering at the masked DeathEater. He took his leave, and Pansy huddled in the corner which her knees up to her chest. So far in the perusal of her surroundings, she'd come to the conclusion that she was inside the Hogwarts castle somewhere near the Slytherin common room. She didn't know of this place, but being that Hogwarts was full of secret rooms and halls, she was surprised. Any hopes of finding an escape route were dashed as she began to feel the wards placed around the room. When the door opened again, she was disgusted to see Pertarsky stroll in, a maniacal grin on his face.

"You really should eat, Pansy." His oily voice grated on Pansy's nerves and she struggled not to lash out at him.

"So you can poison me again?" Pansy questioned through gritted teeth. She clenched her hands tightly together at her side until her fingernails breached the skin of her palm.

"You'd be dead already if I had any say." Pertarsky snarled, walking slowly towards the middle of the room. "However, the Dark Lord still has use for you yet, so a drop of Mind-Relaxing potion helped ease my rage. Lord Voldemort was much pleased with the results."

Pansy shuddered at her earlier slip-up being thrown back at her face. She took a deep breath and kept her nonchalance façade up, hoping to anger the slime-ball in front of her enough so that he'd either leave or do something stupid which would result in some kind of torture for himself.

"I'm so happy to have been of assistance to you both." She drawled out sarcastically. "I'm surprised you came up with the idea yourself, seeing how utterly pathetic you are." She spit out the last words, pleased with the growing rage that came off Pertarsky in waves.

"You little bitch!" Pertarsky yelled, drawing his wand out.

"What are you going to do? Hex me?" Pansy drawled in a bored tone. "We both know you can't do that, don't we?" Pansy pushed herself away from the wall, strolling with a confidence she didn't feel.

Pertarsky's laughter stopped her. "You've let yourself become quite bold, haven't you? I may not be able to touch you…yet, but when the time comes, you'll find yourself regretting every word that comes out of that pretty little mouth of yours. I may even use it for my own pleasure before killing you."

Pansy felt a pool of dread drop heavily in her stomach, but she kept her mask in place, determined not to let the little shit in front of her see any fear.

"Such brave words, Pertarsky," Pansy grinned thinly. "Before this night is over, I'll have you eating those words."

"We'll see about that, won't we?" Pertarsky winked before moving backwards. "Your little boyfriend won't save you this time, Pansy. He'll be killed before he makes it to you."

Pansy's heart went to her throat, but she smirked outwardly. "How do you know he's not here already?"

She took savage pleasure in seeing Pertarsky pale in front of her as his eyes darted quickly around the room. She laughed aloud and shook her head. "You're pathetic. At the mention of Harry Potter you turn into a sniveling coward. How the bloody hell did you end up in Slytherin? You should have been in Hufflepuff."

Pertarsky growled ferociously as he gripped his wand tightly. Pansy merely looked on somehow knowing that despite his words, Pertarsky was too much of a coward to act on his instincts. Without another word, the ex-Slytherin walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him and reinforcing the wards. The grin on Pansy's face slid off as her energy left her. She cradled the visible bump that housed her and Harry's children and sadly smile down at it.

"He'll be here soon, loves. I know he will." Pansy spoke quietly to the unborn children, hating the niggling doubt at the back of her mind.

--

Harry smiled gratefully at Camille as she handed him a conjured glass of water. He drank from the cup thirstily, watching as many others did the same. So far, they had managed to travel the many miles towards Hogwarts without any trouble and had touched down to let everyone take a break from riding on their brooms for little over an hour. They still had a bit of distance to go, but no one seemed to be showing any signs of fatigue, which pleased Harry greatly. He let his thoughts turn to Pansy, and a frown crossed his face. He hoped she and the babies were okay. He'd kill Pertarsky if he laid a finger on her.

"You shouldn't frown like that, dear. You'll get premature wrinkles." Camille's soft hands smoothed out the lines in Harry's face and Harry sighed. He looked into eyes that looked so much like Pansy's and he fought not to succumb the dark despair that had been hovering over him like a dark cloud all day.

"You look so much like her," Harry murmured, closing his eyes. "I just want her back with me."

"I know you do, love." Strong arms embraced him, and Harry went willingly, letting the tears he'd been holding back for so long fall. Camille patted his back and whispered words of reassurance and encouragement in his ears, until finally he stopped shaking.

"I haven't cried like that in years." Harry admitted shakily, rubbing the tears off his face and fixing his crooked glasses.

"You've held everything in for so long, it had to come out some way." Camille smiled gently at the young man in front of her. "I told you before that you don't always have to be so strong, Harry Potter. Don't take the weight of the world on your shoulders. You'll never survive by doing that."

"But I have to save her," he whispered. "It's my fault,"

"Harry Potter!" Camille's shout brought not only Harry's, but everyone else's eyes to her. Harry blushed and tried to look away, but Camille's hands brought his gaze back to her face. "I told you not to blame yourself, didn't I? None of this is your fault, do you understand?"

Harry nodded, but Camille was having none of it. "I asked you a question, Harry Potter."

"Yes ma'am, I understand." Harry mumbled, feeling properly chastised.

"Good," Camille brushed Harry's hair back from his forehead and straightened his robes, much to his amusement. "You'll give yourself a bloody ulcer if you go around taking the blame for everything, and my daughter is not going to raise those children alone."

Several witches and wizards close by smiled and laughed as their Savior was fussed at by Camille Parkinson. A heated glare shut many of them up, but amusement still shone in their eyes, much to Harry's eternal embarrassment. Once Camille finished, she patted Harry on the arm and went over to her husband, who had a gleeful look on his face.

"She's a lot to handle, isn't she?" Brian grinned at the dark-haired wizard. "Pansy takes after her a lot. Sure you can handle it?"

"I look forward to it." Harry smiled faintly, still looking after Camille. "I've already been on the receiving end of Pansy's rants more than a few times."

"I'll bet you have." Brian laughed. "She is fine, Potter. So stop looking so forlorn every time you think about her. She can hold her own, as you already know. She's not one to sit back and cower."

"I know. That's why I fell in love with her." Harry looked away, gathering his composure. When he turned back, his eyes held determination and strength.

"Now that's the Harry Potter I'm used to seeing." Brian grinned. He patted Harry on the back and made his way back over to Tiliana.

Harry signaled to Kingsley and the older wizard nodded. "We've rested long enough, everyone." Kingsley spoke loudly the group of witches and wizards. "Before we head back up, I want everyone to have a partner with them on their broom."

Kingsley waited patiently while those who had been flying solo teamed up with another witch or wizard and continued. "We're about an hour or so away from Hogwarts. Once we're about twenty minutes away, I want everyone to cast Disillusionment charms so we won't alert the Dementors to our presence. They'll pick up on our emotions, but now that everyone has paired up, the person not controlling the broom is in charge of casting the Patronus charm. Is that understood by everyone?"

Heads nodded and Kingsley continued on. "You all know which part of the castle you are to enter, so each group needs to fly in close contact with one another. Once we have taken care of the Dementors, we'll split up and go from there. I don't think I need to tell anyone to be careful. Look out for those around you, and stick to the plan, even if something goes wrong. When it is time to cast the Disillusionment charm, I'll signal out. Are we ready?"

Affirmative answers rang out through the night air and Kingsley nodded, mounting his broom with Blayne Parkinson on the back. He nodded to each witch and wizard that stood before him. "I hope to see all of you at the end of this." He kicked off without another word, and the others made to do the same.

"Are you ready?" Harry questioned Camille as she gracefully straddled the broom, her wand ready.

Camille nodded and Harry mounted the broom in front of her. Once Camille's arms were securely around his waist, Harry kicked off into the night sky, more determined than ever. The time for war was now here.

--

A/N: This is out much later than I had planned…blah. I just couldn't seem to make the last few pages of this chapter come out in a timely manner. Anyhow, only two chapters left in this one! But it could possibly be three, depending on how things map out. We'll see. Forgive any spelling/grammar mistakes. I'm pretty sure I caught them all as I was writing, but you can never be too sure. Next update will hopefully be up this weekend, but I won't make any promises. At the latest it'll be next Tuesday. So, don't forget the poll and my little contest (100th reviewer gets a one-shot of his/her choice). So, you know the drill: Read, review, and as always enjoy! Ciao!