Farewell
Credit to: the fanfiction Post-Apocaliptic Potter from a Parallel Universe by Burnable, for the stasis disks – but minus the embedded Portkey, since Hermione was in a hurry, in this story
Kairo, 7th November 2003
“I buried a set of transporter rings here,” Arga explains as she waves Hermione’s hand at the expanse of sun-baked sand just outside Kairo. “It was meant for my ship, but anyone can make use of it if they know where they are going.”
“Well, this is it, then?” Susan looks round as she wipes sweat – yet again – from her brow. “I can’t say I’m impressed with this city. It’s too hot, for one, even with a Cooling Charm.”
“Pansy,” Justin teases her.
“Oh, Morgana, not that snooty girl!” she shudders.
“You know what I meant.” He pokes at her ribs, causing her to squeal and flee to where I’m standing with Teal’c, a few yards away.
“Bored with Justin?” I smile wanly at her.
“Irritated, more likely,” she sniffs, then put an arm round my shoulders. “Cheer up, Harry. We did all we can. Teal’c will take care of himself till we meet again, isn’t that right, Teal’c?”
“It is,” the stoic man nods. “I shall never remove the necklace that you gave me, Harry, and make use of the items as needed.”
The necklace – the mokeskin pouch that Hagrid gave me in what feels like forever ago, which some geniuses among the Residents turned into a bottomless storage years ago, as one of their gifts to me. And I bound it to Teal’c’s use only, yesterday, as the whole group staying at Black Lodge brainstormed about his safety and how we could help his people. Currently, it’s filled with ready meals and various beverages fit to feed an army courtesy of my own army of house-elves, crates of topical potions that the elves helped buy from various stores after Justin had confirmed – via little experiments on Teal’c – as benefitial to a Jaffa, one of the pair of Vanishing Cabinets that Malfoy Jr. used to smuggle the Death Eaters into Hogwarts during our sixth year that was hastily configured to be enlarged and shrunken by a Muggle, my own communication mirror that I repaired and linked to the one I found among Remus’ belongings, a few memory crystals for English language, a bunch – I don’t know how many – of stasis disks that Hermione made with runed crystal disks which a Muggle just needs to tap to activate, and my own portable flat that I modified to be a series of bedrooms stuffed literally to the ceiling with bunkbeds and hammocks.
I sigh, and let Susan manoeuvre me to hug him. “We already put plans upon plans,” she points out. “We literally can’t do more, except if Teal’c just stays here. But if Teal’c stays here, then his family is in danger, and he can’t help the others. And you promised that you were going to try to save them all, Harry.”
I huff against Teal’c’s stomach, just a little farther up from his prim’ta pouch, which he allowed Justin to take a sample of yesterday, while I talked to the little larva so it wouldn’t freak out too much. Susan is just repeating what I know and understand, but now I find that understanding doesn’t equal acceptance.
Maybe I should’ve realised that, when Andy and Teddy and Hannah died, months ago.
And now, someone else who has so quickly become a close friend – a new family member, even – must leave, too, while neither of us know when – or if – he can return.
“Be safe?” I whisper at last, more pleading and plaintive than I would like to sound, while Susan is already back with Justin and bothering him, and while Luna calls from farther away that she, George and Zabini have found “the boring giant rings.”
A pair of large hands land softly at either side of my head and shake it a little from side to side, humorously.
I chuckle wetly and tighten my arms round him for a moment. “Keep Teal’c safe,” I tell the little larva in his belly, meanwhile. “I shall see the two of you again some time, hopefully soon.”
And then Teal’c and I are off, jogging towards where the three sand-sifters are gathered.
“You must leave this place completely and erase your tracks before I activate the transporter rings,” the man reiterates what he has been saying a few times during the planning sessions, as the eight of us humans – plus the three Black Lodge house-elves whom I have just summoned, who wish to say good bye to “Master Teal’c” – are gathered round him and the series of large metal rings embedded on the bedrock a few feet down.
“We understand, big man,” George smiles. “Good luck out there.” He shakes Teal’c’s hand in rare solemnity.
“We’ll miss you, Harry most of all,” Luna pipes in in her usual frank manner as she squeezes in between Zabini and Justin to give him a bear hug. “We’ll take good care of your wife and son. We’ll take good care of your people, too, whether we’ll manage to extend their lives or not.”
“I’ll be working on the substitution with Potter and Granger,” Justin reiterates his promise.
“I’m sorry I didn’t manage to help you when you were first brought in,” Hermione, now her own self, does the same… with her apology, though she doesn’t tag on a promise to retrieve his gear, this time, perhaps not wanting all of us to lecture her once more.
“Well, it’s been quite an experience,” Zabini shrugs when our eyes land on them. “Don’t go telling anybody anything about us, though. The guard we put round your mind should suffice, but you must contact us immediately if–.”
“I think he got it, Zabini,” Hermione huffs.
Zabini glares at her. Before they can bicker with each other again, though, Susan thankfully jumps in. Elbowing Luna aside, half playfully, she hugs the dazed-looking Teal’c – or maybe he’s just confused… or overwhelmed… – and proclaims that she’s eager to meet and learn from fellow warriors that he might send us.
“Maybe they could teach the Residents too, Harry?” Neville joins in thoughtfully.
“Well, that’s for later,” I shrug. “Let’s not jump ahead too far.”
Then, after a last hug that Teal’c offers to me, I hurriedly usher my friends away from the thing that will bring him away until we don’t know when, so that I’m not tempted to stay. Zabini quickly drops behind to erase our tracks as we jog away, and I wish I got the task.
But then again, if I did, I might join Teal’c instead.
As it is, I daren’t turn my head round, even for a slightest peek.
And I’m the more miserable for it.
“Cheer up, Harry. Now you can prepare better for him,” George says as he drags me onward, huffing and puffing under both the exertion and the beating sun.
“You can travel round the world, too, so you needn’t think so much of the time,” Hermione, who’s gripping my other arm, pipes in… all too cheerfully, although with her own wheezing firmly in place.
“Why are you dragging me–,” I begin.
But then, faintly but sharply heard behind us, what might be the transporter rings activate.
I slump in my captors’ hold, while they drag me onward more urgently.
Luna, jogging behind George, pats my back consolingly. “We’ll see him again, and he’ll give us many friends in the meantime.”
And Susan, jogging right behind me, joins in quietly, “It’s a good reason to live well, till then, right?”