Harry Potter and the Battle of Hogwarts

............------------…………------------…………

Chapter Nine

Ambushed

............------------…………------------…………

Harry found himself in the middle of a forest.

Tall trees stretched high above him, blotting out the clear night sky. The brush was thick and dark, and sharp branches tore into his clothes and flesh. He stumbled over protruding roots, and tripped into holes burrowed into the hard soil. As he moved through the darkness, lashing out at the thick brambles, he felt many eyes on him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood out in alarm.

He soon found himself in a large clearing. Trees lay around the edges, uprooted and dead. A large mound sat in the middle, like a massive shadow in the darkness. The sky could be seen from the circular hole in the canopy, illuminating the grey top of the hill. Harry made his way around it, hearing a strange, rugged sound echoing around the large mound.

As he moved around the hill, he found his feet sinking into mud on the ground. He bent down, and by the moonlight, he could see that the mud was scarlet and slushy. Blood.

With a pounding heart he slowly made his way to the front of the mini-mountain, he came across a large, egg-shaped mound. On closer inspection, he found large gashes made into the odd leather-like material, with dark liquid spilling to the ground. As he moved closer, a flap opened on the hill, revealing a brown, shiny orb, staring straight at him. Stumbling back in horror, he slipped on the wet ground, falling down to his back.

A voice made him look up, to stare into the wasted face of Bellatrix Lestrange. She was smiling cruelly, pointing her wand at the hurt giant. “C'mon, Nott, make sure we get the filthy creature good.” She snarled as a jet of white light shot from her wand. Harry yelled in anguish.

............------------…………------------…………

“NO, GRAWP!” Harry shouted, finding himself wrapped in tight binds. He tried to escape, only to find himself on the floor of his dormitory, his sheets stretched tight over his body.

“Harry! What's wrong?” someone said as he tried to stand only to be held down by his blankets.

“Get me out!” he said loudly, as Ron attempted to untwine the sheets from his body. When he was released, he stood quickly, breathing heavily with a cold sheet of sweat coating his body.

“What happened?” Ron said his own face incredibly pale. “Is it dad?”

“No. Grawp - in the forest! Lestrange!” Harry said, making ready to run from the room, but Ron clamped a hand on his shoulder.

“What if it's a trap? It could've been a fake vision!” Ron said quickly and fearfully, not releasing his arm.

“I wasn't going to run in there! I'm going to tell Hagrid!” Harry said as Ron nodded, grabbing his dressing gown as Harry got the invisibility cloak from his trunk, and following him from the room. The castle was in complete silence as they made their way through the many corridors, and down the many stairs, trying to remain calm. Harry was trying to keep his fear under control, hoping that the vision was a fake and not the real thing.

They made it to the front doors without incident and they entered the cool air of the school grounds. Harry felt Ron shiver against his side, both of them hunched due to their height. The rolling lawns were in almost complete darkness, with the moon highlighting the great lake down in the valley. Harry glanced at the forest. It was silent apart from the trees rustling in a faint wind. An owl hooted from above them as they practically ran down to Hagrid's hut.

Three knocks resounded in the night, as Harry and Ron stood invisible on the front steps of Hagrid's small home. There was movement from inside the wooden cabin, and a faint light shone through the curtained windows. A moment later, the door swung open and Fang started barking loudly.

“Hooz there?” the half giant said, brandishing his crossbow forward. Ron gulped as Harry threw off the cloak, startling both dog and man. “'arry? What are ye doin out `ere?” Hagrid said, ushering them inside, before shutting the door with a click.

“Hagrid! Have you seen Grawp lately? Like today?” Harry blurted as soon as the door shut.

“Sure, I `ave. I went an' seen em this mornin'.” Hagrid said curiously. “Why?”

“I - I had a feeling something bad happened to him. If you could check him or something in the morning, it would make me feel better.” Harry said quickly, his fear slightly quelled for the moment.

“What kind of feelin'?” Hagrid asked, running one of his large hands through his shaggy, black beard.

“A bad one. Could you please just do this for me?” Harry pleaded as Hagrid nodded.

“Aight, `arry. I will go an check on em in the mornin'.” He said slowly. “An I'll let yeh know at breakfast, OK?” Harry and Ron nodded, with Ron stifling a yawn. “Now, yeh both should go back to the school. Yeh shouldn't be out this late.” The half-giant directed them to the door, with Fang drooling on Harry's hand the entire way.

“So you will check on him then?” Harry asked as he stepped out onto the first step.

“Yeh, I will.” Hagrid said, glancing around in the darkness for any watchers.

“And you will be careful?” Harry said, needing to know that his friend would be OK.

“Yeh, I'll be careful. Now, get goin!” Hagrid said as Harry gave him one last look before throwing the cloak over both himself and Ron. They made their way slowly up to the castle, Harry a little bit at ease, but still incredibly anxious. As they whispered the password to a very drowsy fat lady and climbed the stairs to their dormitory, Harry was beginning to grow fearful. I shouldn't have told Hagrid. What if he goes in their and is ambushed?

“He'll be fine, Harry.” Ron said to comfort him, as he collapsed into his bed with an exhausted sigh.

“I hope so,” Harry said, lying down on his own bed. It didn't take long for Ron to be asleep, his heavy breathing joining that of Seamus, Neville and Dean. But Harry couldn't sleep. His mind was wide-awake, playing around the dream he had had earlier that night. What if it really was an actual vision? What if Grawp was down in the forest at that exact moment; hurt and bleeding, perhaps on his last breath.

Harry didn't get back to sleep that night, instead staring blankly at the opposite wall until the first rays of sun broke through the dark blanket of night.

............------------…………------------…………

“Harry, he'll come!” Hermione said to him at the breakfast table. Ron had filled her in on Harry's dream, and she had been greatly surprised and proud that he hadn't went running in their by himself. It was nearing the first of the day's classes and Harry hadn't even touched his breakfast. Instead, he was alternating from staring at his plate and the doors leading into the Entrance Hall.

“Yeh, `arry, he's prob'ly playin' wit' G'arp now!” Ron stuttered, his mouth full of food. Hermione threw him a disgusted look before turning back to comfort Harry.

“He'll be fine; trust me!” she said, placing a hand on his arm. He sighed looking down at his plate, a lurching feeling in his stomach.

“I hope you're right.” Harry said resignedly, looking back up at the large double doors just as the bell rang. His face fell and he turned his ears fearfully to Hermione. She was biting her bottom lip with a troubled face, glancing up at the teacher's table, where the professor's were just starting to leave.

“Maybe we should tell Dumbledore,” she said as Harry groaned and jumped up from his seat, grabbing his bag and weaving quickly between the chatting students. But as he was heading towards the front table, a lone owl flew from the rafters, to swoop down and drop a letter at Harry's feet. Curious, he picked it up and hastily read the messy writing.

Harry,

Found Grawp, he's in pretty bad shape, meet me at the clearing as soon as you can.

Hagrid

“It's from Hagrid!” Harry said turning to Hermione and Ron who had stopped behind him.

“What does it say?” Hermione asked as Harry read the letter out to them. There weren't many people left in the Great Hall, only a few stragglers stumbling through the doors.

“Are we going?” Ron asked quickly, glancing between Harry and Hermione.

“It's in Hagrid's writing.” Hermione said, looking back down at the scrap of parchment.

“What are we waiting for then?” Harry said.

“Ah, we have NEWT Level class now!” Hermione said with a frown.

“What class is it?” Harry asked as she pulled out her class schedule. She looked up a moment later, a grin on her face.

“Care of Magical Creatures.”

............------------…………------------…………

The rest of the NEWT Level Care of Magical Creature's class was sitting on the green lawn around Hagrid's cabin. Their chatter rang across the grounds as Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way towards the forest's edge.

“Hey, where are you three going?” a familiar voice called out. They stopped dead in their tracks and looked over to see Neville staring at them curiously.

“Ah - to find Hagrid!” Harry shouted truthfully, hoping they wouldn't want to come.

“Then I'll come with you!” Neville said, jogging over to them. Harry groaned under his breath. This is just what we need. He thought angrily.

“No, you don't have to!” Hermione said hurriedly, her own face slightly pale.

“Nah, I want to. I haven't been into the forest for a while, and that one time was at night!” Neville said happily, glancing between the three friends.

“OK, we don't have time to sit and chatter,” Harry said, quite annoyed. He strode purposely over to the tree line and plunged straight in, the sunlight immediately falling. Neville looked slightly confused at the rush but followed anyway, struggling to keep up with their long strides. The forest grew thicker, and soon the sky was completely blotted out by leaves and stretching branches. The air grew warm and thick, with creatures calling out from the distance. Neville hovered closely behind Harry as they walked along the path leading to Grawp's clearing.

As they were a mere hundred metres away, Harry stopped them with a raised hand. “Get your wands out, we don't know what we may mind.” He said as Neville almost dropped his wand.

“What do you mean? I thought we were just looking for Hagrid?”

“We were. But we have reason to believe that he might be hurt! So just get your wands out and please be quiet!” Harry hissed, starting out again. They neared the clearing, with the trees thinning out but the thorns and brambles becoming thicker. Harry was first, making a path that the others could follow. Branches and prickles dug into his flesh, causing blood to dribble down his skin. He ignored it, determined to see Hagrid, unhurt with his giant half-brother.

Finally, after much hassle, Harry stumbled out onto clear ground, but stood face to face with an uprooted tree. There were many trees lying crossways around the clearing, creating a large, guarded space in the middle. Placing a finger to his lips for the others to remain quiet, he clamped his wand tighter and began to climb over the wooden barricade. It was hard work climbing with one hand and hundreds of cuts spread across your face, arms and legs. But they managed it, to finally be able to see over the top into the clear space inside.

What he seen made his blood run cold.

Grawp was lying in the middle of the clearing, motionless, like an outsized, grey hill. And just like in his dream, blood was seeping onto the ground, creating a large, red mud pile. But that wasn't all. Instead of Grawp being alone, another form lay a few meters away from his still body.

“Hagrid!” Harry shouted, jumping over the tree trunks to fall three meters to the hard earth. He heard Hermione scream form behind him but thought nothing of it as he bolted towards his fallen friend. He collapsed to the ground by his sight, noticing, with a lurch, that the half-giant was lying in a pool of dark blood.

“Hagrid?” Harry said in barely a whisper, placing a hand on his friend's giant shoulder. When he pulled his hand away, his palm was coated in a thin sheet of scarlet liquid. “Please be OK - please?” he pushed him again, a little hared, and was rewarded with a raspy groan.

“HARRY!” a voice screamed. He jumped to his feet and spun around, wand in hand. He could have died at that exact moment. Bellatrix Lestrange was standing over near the tree-barricade. She was wearing a wicked grin, a pale Hermione clutched in her arms. “Harry!” Hermione said again, the fear apparent in her voice.

“Let her go, Lestrange!” Harry shouted, taking a few steps forward.

“Ah, ah, ah, bitty Potter!” Bellatrix said, stabbing her wand to Hermione's temple. Ron lay sprawled at their side. Harry hoped he was only stunned. Neville was lying bound on the dirt ground, eyes wide and staring fearfully at the deranged Death Eater.

“Let - her - go!” Harry shouted again, not daring to take another step fearing for Hermione's safety.

“Where would be the fun in that?” Bellatrix said mockingly, stroking the wand up and down on her victim's cheek. Hermione let out a strangled whimper as a tear ran down her cheek.

“What do you want?” he asked, trying to find a way to free Hermione and still get everyone out alive, including Hagrid.

“Now, that's a better topic! What do I want? Hmmm…for starters I want your mudblood girlfriend and muggle-loving friends dead with you watching them die a very slow, painful death.” Lestrange said with a dark laugh.

“Well, I can't let that happen,” Harry said, sounding braver than he felt. The smile vanished from Bellatrix's face.

“Or I can just settle with you dead; either way is fine by me!” Harry had been staring into Hermione's eyes when they had widened in fear, looking at a spot past him. Dropping quickly to the ground from years of Quidditch Practice, a green spell sped over his head, towards the spot where Bellatrix was holding Hermione hostage. They just managed to dive out of the way, as the Killing Curse blasted a burning hole into the tree behind them.

Harry quickly flipped around, shouting, “Stupefy!” the red jet of energy shot from his wand, hitting a Death Eater, not expecting Harry to drop like that. The motionless body dropped heavily to the ground, their wand rolling from their fingers. Harry turning quickly, to spot Hermione and Bellatrix wrestling for the dropped wand. Harry would've found the situation humorous if not for the circumstances, so he quickly ran to Neville and released his invisible binds.

“Look out -” Neville shouted, both jumping out of the way, as a purple spell flew at them. Bellatrix Lestrange stood hauntingly by the still form of Hermione, her hair hanging raggedly around her face, which was red and bruising.

“I'll kill you Potter!” she screeched as Harry pushed Neville out of the way, while he ducked quickly.

“Stupefy!” he shouted as Bellatrix only stepped aside, laughing manically.

“You can do better than that! Crucio!” Harry only just managed to jump out of the way. He spotted Neville awakening Ron, and Bellatrix followed his gaze. “Foolish boy! Avada -” But she stumbled back as a spell hitting her, extinguishing the green light at the tip of her wand. Harry had hit her with the Cutting Charm. A long, bleeding gash stretched down the left side of her face, from her hairline to her jaw. She spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground before turning her murderous gaze to Harry.

“You'll pay for that one! Crucio!” Harry didn't have time to move before thousands of white-hot knives plunged into his skin. Lestrange's Cruciatus Curse wasn't as bad as Voldemort's but it still hurt like hell. He struggled not to scream, not knowing how long the pain was going to last. Finally, it lifted, after an eternity, leaving Harry panting and shaking on the ground. Luckily, he managed to keep his wand in hand, even though he was too weak to use it.

“How are you going to get out of this one, baby Potter? You were lucky last time, with Dumbledore saving your sorry behind. But he's not here now - Petrificus Totalus!” Harry's body snapped together, and he found himself lying still at the death Eater's feet. She had a manic glint in her eyes as she bent down to face him. With an outstretched hand, she ran a finger along his cheek and smiled, as she placed a hand cupping his chin.

Harry shot daggers at her with his eyes, trying to fight against the Full-Body Bind. But it was fruitless. It was too strong. As Bellatrix sat there, Harry spotted Neville creeping up behind her, a determined glint in his eyes. She didn't notice but only reached a hand into her robes and pulled out a black disc, showing it to Harry.

“See this? Once I put this in your hand, you will be taken to my master. There, you will be tortured endless, much to my pleasure and amusement. It's a show not to miss.” Her hand slowly went to his, the black disc only mere inches away form touching his skin. He could hear his heart beating frantically in his chest, and could feel both blood and sweat running down his neck. He glanced quickly at Neville, who had his wand pointed at Lestrange's back and a spell on the tip of his tongue.

That's when Harry felt it. The solid earth beneath him was vibrating, and it was growing stronger at every beat of his heart. It was growing so loud that the small pieces of rock and dirt on the ground were shaking and jumping up and down. Bellatrix paused, with a mere centimetre between Harry's hand and the black portkey. She looked around curiously, finally seeing Neville behind her, frozen in place.

She stood quickly, a sneer on her wasted face. “Longbo -” she started but couldn't finish, as the thumping grew so loud it was deafening. Harry watched on fearfully as many four-legged creatures sprang over the tree barricade in one bound. Bows and arrows were drawn, pointing at both the students and Death Eaters. A dark centaur stepped forward, an arrow pointed directly at Bellatrix's heart.

“What are you doing in our forest, dark one?” it said in a bold voice, pulling the string back on his bow. Lestrange pointed her wand at him, causing the rest of the herd to rear and load their bows.

“You dare point you filthy wand at me?” He shouted. “For this, you must be punished!” the arrow was released just as a loud crack reverberated around the forest clearing. The spell holding Harry was released but he remained motionless on the ground. The centaur looked startled as the arrow speared into the tree trunk opposite him. As silence reined, the creature's eyes landed on Harry, who gulped.

This can't be good. He thought as the lead centaur stepped forward.

............------------…………------------…………

- Disclaimer -

I do not own Harry Potter and never will.

Hey peoples.

This chapter is up a lot sooner than the others, because I'm finally in tune with the older story. So I can just touch up on the old chapters instead of fully rewriting them. There was a bit more action in this chapter. And a few more, major changes than the previous story. Like in the older copy, I didn't have Grawp hurt and only Hagrid, and Neville never went with them. The centaurs never came either; instead, Grawp woke up and attacked the Death Eaters. More will be explained about this chapter in the next one; about how Bellatrix escaped, (no I didn't forget about the fact that you can't apparate in Hogwarts grounds). So, stay tuned for more!

Please review and thanks to everyone who has so far!

Later Days…

DW