Title: War Within a Breath
Author: Muddgutts
Rating: R
Ships: H/Hr
AN: First off before we start I would like to say I'm very sorry to you all. I now it's been awhile between updates. My RL has become very demanding. See my Live Journal for more info if you're interested. ^_^ Many thanks go out to AnneU for being a good friend and Beta, and also to Bojack for being my sounding board for this story and helping me with the fine details. Thanks for all the great reviews. You've all been very kind and helpful to me.
The layout and store locations of Diagon Alley in this chapter are based off of the map made by Steve Vander Ark, posted at Harry Potter Lexicon. Bonus points go to any reader that knows what movie the term/code "1L-19" came from. ;)
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Chapter 6
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Knockturn Alley
"Dispatch, this is Tonks, I've got a 1L-19 on the loose in Knockturn Alley!" Tonks screamed into her relay crystal as she ran down the street. Kingsley grabbed her by the arm and pulled her against the wall in front of the Shrunken Heads shop.
The crystal around Kingsley's neck started to vibrate, against his skin so he yanked it out from under his shirt by the chain. A soft voice echoed from the crystal, "Kingsley, this is dispatch, come in."
Kingsley raised the crystal to his mouth and spoke quietly into it. "Go for Kingsley, dispatch."
"Please confirm Tonks' last message. . ."
Suddenly the soft female voice was cut off and the harsh male voice of Major Atticus Vagnose, the shift commander, replaced it. "Kingsley! What the hell's going on down there? We just got a report from Transportation that an illegal Portkey was just used in Diagon Alley! Confirm!"
"Confirmed, I have one male Hill Giant in sight. He just popped in at the end of Knockturn Alley," Kingsley said, sticking his head around the side of the building in time to see the giant crash through the corner of a nearby store sending people running in all directions. "Requesting reinforcements ASAP!"
Kingsley and Tonks pushed the fleeing witches and wizards down the street to safety.
"Roger! We're on the way. Stay with him and don't let him out of your sight! Atticus out."
"Well, that won't be too hard." Kingsley pushed his crystal back into his shirt and turned to Tonks, "Well, you ready?" Tonks took a few deep breathes, readied her wand then nodded. Together they ran across the street to the other side of the alley trying to stay out of sight. As they inched along the wall Kingsley whispered to Tonks, "This bloke looks familiar, don't you think?"
In one quick motion Tonks looked around Kingsley's broad chest and down the street. "Sure does, I wonder where the Death Eaters are?"
"They can't be far away, keep your eyes open," he said and suddenly pressed Tonks against the wall with his arm. A few shop owners came running down the street clutching money pouches in their arms. One of the pouches ripped and several galleons spilled out on to the cobblestone street. The shopkeeper stopped to pick them up, but changed his mind as the giant let out a deep breath that shook the nearby store window. Then the shopkeeper cinched up his pouch and ran. Diagon Alley looked to be deserted now. There was no movement besides the enormous giant standing in the alley milling about at the corner between Borgin & Burkes second-hand shop and the Poisonous Candles supply store.
~*~
The sound of footfalls in water echoed like thunder as Bellatrix and company ran through the large underground sewer passage. Once Dagnir and his group of hobgoblins were ready, they left for Grimmauld Place at top speed. They would have used a Portkey to get there faster, but that would alert the Ministry. So they ran through the filth and stench of the sewers to get there. It was faster then traveling above ground and kept them hidden from Muggles as well. After ten minutes Bellatrix's legs burned as every muscle protested against such an intense test of her endurance.
About 20 hobgoblins clad in leather armor kept pace just behind them carrying pole-arms and small-edged weapons of their choice. Nott informed Bellatrix that hobgoblins, being goblins bred for the sole purpose of fighting against wizards, had a very high resistance to magic but had little to no knowledge of magic themselves. So they relied on brute force and numbers to overpower an enemy. They were a sad lot, to be honest; goblins had bred them to fight in the revolution against the wizards, but when the peace treaties were signed the hobgoblins were forgotten. The promise of a new life among the very wizards they were bred to destroy tasted like ashes their mouths. They chose exile, and fled from their own kind. For years after the war the Ministry hunted them to the very edge of destruction. Dagnir and his soldier were the only clan left in Great Britain from the once mighty hobgoblin race, and tonight they would go to war again.
Through large gasps of breath Nott spoke in little bursts. "Bellatrix-how-much-farther?"
"Not far now," she yelled over the echoing footsteps. "Turn right at the next junction!"
After about three more minutes they reached the turn. Their legs hurt so much that Bellatrix and Nott almost collapsed into the foul brown water running in the passageway. Bellatrix dragged herself against the wall to the steel ladder leading up to street level. Clutching his side Nott staggered over to the ladder and motioned for Dagnir and his hobgoblins to follow.
"Wait, you can't go up yet." Bellatrix said stepping in front of the ladder. "The house is unplotted so you'll need this." She reached into her robes and produced a small scrap of paper.
Nott took it from her and read it aloud. "Number 12 Grimmauld Place is the Black family home? How did you get this?"
"My family is cousins to the Black family," she answered quickly. "I used to come here during the summer holidays from France, so of course I know how to find the place. I never thought my dear cousin Sirius would tell Potter about it, but now I'm glad he did."
"Right," Nott said and told Dagnir the message in the goblin tongue. A few minutes later the message was passed down the line for all of the other hobgoblins to learn.
Bellatrix adjusted her robes. Before she started walking down the tunnel again she turned to Nott and said, "You know the plan. You and the hobgoblins go out this exit, and I'll go up the next one. We meet back here in fifteen minutes, right?"
"Got it, good luck," Nott said and started up the ladder to the manhole cover on Grimmauld Place.
~*~
"Reducio!" Tonks screamed shrinking a metal bench flying through the air. The bench shrank to the size of a shoebox and bounced down the cobblestone street behind them. Kingsley ducked into the alleyway in front of the giant spider shop and took cover. Sticking just his arm out from around the corner, he shot a volley of arrows out of the tip of his wand. They landed dead in the center of the giant's chest.
In blind rage the giant charged Tonks and Kingsley. He was much bigger than the alley itself, and his tree-trunk-sized legs smashed through buildings as he went down the alley. The Poisonous Candle shop collapsed in a hail of wood, candles, and glass, sending large chunks of wood from the ceiling twirled through the street and hitting the street lamps over the road. The impact ignited the gas inside the lamps, causing them to burst into flames.
Crack . . .Crack
Tonks and Kingsley both Apparated down Knockturn Alley to the bottom of the long stairs leading up to Diagon Alley.
"Did you see that? He didn't even feel those arrows!" Kingsley said watching the giant struggle toward them past the flames.
Tonks nodded catching her breath. "All of my spells bounce right off of him. What the hell?"
"I know. He didn't even flinch when those arrows hit him. Something isn't right here," Kingsley said.
High above at the top of the stairs Atticus Vagnose's voice echoed off the high brick walls. "Shacklebolt, Tonks, clear the area!" Atticus was standing on the top stair waving them up. His wavy brown hair shone in the pale moonlight and his hazel eyes flashed with intensity.
"Look out!" he cried.
Tonks spun around just in time to see the giant's left foot burst through the side of a nearby building and then start to descend on top of them. Both Tonks and Kingsley Apparated to the top of the stairway just as the giant reached to bottom of the steps.
Atticus shoved them off to the side, clearing the way for the row of Aurors behind them. The Aurors crowded the streets in every corner and angle they could find cover waiting for the giant. Atticus looked down at the giant from the edge of the stairway. As the giant rose to his feet, his small black eyes narrowed on the young Auror. For a man of only 26, Atticus had already had a very distinguished career in the Ministry. He was always well dressed, with his awards and medals pinned to his chest. His suits were all perfectly tailored, and his royal blue cloak fluttered in the breeze. To the giant he was the perfect representation of the wizard pride and prejudice that for centuries had oppressed his race.
The giant watched the Auror at the top of the steps and growled a little through his beard. With a mighty thrust he dug his hands into the brick walls and started pulling his way upward through brick and timber. The thunder of the foundations of the buildings breaking covered all other sounds. The very ground they stood upon began to shake, and the smell of burning wood filled their noses as fires burned out of control in Knockturn Alley.
Atticus was yelling to the Aurors to make ready to cast their spells, but Tonks couldn't hear his voice over the noise. She watched him mouth to hold their fire. Large clouds of dust and debris floated upward as the giant crushed everything in his path.
Slowly Atticus backed away from the steps, his right arm in the air, ready to give the signal. Then Tonks saw the top of the giant's head rising above street level. Atticus let him continue upward for close to thirty seconds more then yelled, "NOW!"
Suddenly night became day as all of the Aurors shot their spells at the same time. Beams of brilliant red and orange smashed the giant in the face, sending him tumbling down the steep incline back down into Knockturn Alley. As he was falling a silence hung in the air until he hit the ground flat on his back.
~*~
"Number 12 Grimmauld Place is the Black family home. Number 12 Grimmauld Place is the Black family home," as the words rolled off of Bellatrix's lips her eyes widened as the old house appeared between numbers 11 and 13. It still looked the same as she remembered it from her childhood, but now it was rundown and gray. The once proud home of the Blacks was nothing more then a ghost of its former glory. Shaking herself from her daydream Bellatrix moved over to an old BMW parked across the street and pulled the potion from her pocket. Carefully she placed it on the hood of the car and retrieved the photo of the Potter wedding.
The images of Lily and James Potter watched her curiously, whispering to themselves and then back to Sirius, who also watched her, his head cocked to the side trying to see her face. Bellatrix drew a small penknife from her inside pocket and started chanting the first set of verses to the complex spell. Her wand glowed as she waved it above the photo and the bottled potion. The bottle's contents started to glow a faint ember and she thrust the penknife into the center of the photo. Lily and James jumped to one side of the picture and Sirius moved to the other to avoid the blade. Bellatrix dragged the knife downward cutting the picture in two, leaving the Potters standing on the church steps in the picture and Sirius by himself on the other half.
Bellatrix inspected the half with Sirius on it and was pleased. She stabbed the penknife into the other half of the photo, pinning it to the hood of the car. As she uncorked the potion with her thumb Bellatrix's chanting increased in speed and she dropped the photo of Sirius into the potion. The waxy film on the photo's surface bubbled and blistered, peeling away from the paper, and sank into the potion. The potion's color changed from ember to a cool blue and its inner glow faded. Bellatrix swirled the contents inside the jar observing it closely.
When she was pleased with the change she pulled out the paper remains of the photo and tossed it to the ground then raised the potion high above her head. Chanting the last verses of the spell aloud, she poured the potion on top of her head. As the potion oozed like jelly over her skin, its color changed from blue to a pinkish flesh tone, then spread quickly down her face and neck. Soon the potion masked her like a second skin, and as Bellatrix raised her hand to her face the mask bubbled and rippled. Then as she spoke the final charm of the spell the mask stopped changing. It shrank and tightened wiggling into her pores grabbing hold of her. Slowly Bellatrix turned and looked at her reflection in the car's windshield. What she saw wasn't her own face, but that of her cousin Sirius Black.
Bellatrix broke out into a fit of laughter, giggling and pointing to her reflection in the glass. "Oh, dear sweet cousin. You always were a handsome man." Her fingers ran across her check bones and she frowned. "It's a shame really."
~*~
Nott and the horde of hobgoblins crawled through the backyard of the house behind Number 12 Grimmauld Place until they reached the fence. Only a few lights were on side the house, making most of it appear black and empty. Nott turned to Dagnir and motioned to the top floor. Dagnir moved in close and saw what Nott was pointing at. On the top floor of the house the windows were boarded up, but looked very easy to get into. Nott whispered into Dagnir's ear, "Leave four of your best men with me. We will enter the house on the ground level. The rest of you scale that drain pipe to the top floor."
"Understood," the hobgoblin grinned showing his pointy teeth. Dagnir snapped his fingers and the hobgoblins hopped over the fence into the yard of number 12 and rushed to the side of the house.
Before he could go over too Nott grabbed Dagnir by the wrist. "Remember our arrangement, Dagnir," he said. "No one touches the Potter boy. The rest are yours, but he lives, understand?" Dagnir smacked his body-armor with his fist and gave a hearty harrumph, then he and Nott hopped over the fence and started to make their way to the back of the house behind the other hobgoblins.
As three hobgoblins started to scale the drainpipe on the side of the house, a flash of purple came from the shadows, crashing into them. They tumbled through the air and crashed into the high grass by the fence face first. Nott whipped around with his wand at the ready.
"Hmm, curious indeed. So it would appear that you and McNair never did clear out those Hobgoblins after all, former Ministry Executioner Nott," Alastor Moody said stepping out of the shadows. His wooden leg made a solid thump with each step on the brick walkway.
In one swift movement Dagnir drew his short sword and made ready to attack, but Nott threw his hand in the way. "No, this one is mine," Nott said. He tipped his head downward a bit and spoke softly to the hobgoblin. "Get the children, follow the plan." Dagnir slowly backed away and the rest of his warriors followed his lead. Nott flung his cloak up as he walked forward with his wand held low towards the ground. "Alastor Moody, I presume-how very unpleasant to meet you finally. I thought for sure that the Ministry had locked you away in an insane asylum."
Moody's magical eye continued to spin, watching the hobgoblins climbing the house, while his one good eye watched Nott. "I'm not the one who will be seeing the inside of a jail cell tonight."
A very wide grin spread on Nott's face and his eyes narrowed as he watched the old Auror walk. "You should look in the mirror more often, old man. Do you really think you're a match for me?"
"Boy, I was taking down dark wizards before you were even born!" Moody said un-buttoning his jacket. "Let's do this, I'm starting to get hungry."
~*~
Lying on the old musty cot in the top floor of Grimmauld Place, Remus could feel the transformation starting to overtake his senses as the muscles in his arms and legs began to convulse. Biting back the pain he sat up in the bed and pulled at his clothing; his chest burned and his lungs felt like they were on fire. Everything in the room started to swirl and turn before he lost his balance and fell to the floor in a quivering heap. Soon all the color drained from his vision and all that was left was black and white patterns, wolf's vision.
Remus tried to push himself off the floor, but as he extended his arms his fingers curled and retracted into his palms and claws grew outward from the knuckles. He tried to scream, but his voice cracked in the middle of it into a howl.
Through the darkness a thin ray of light from the window pierced the room and Remus cringed away from it. He threw himself back onto the bed and into the corner of the room. The shaft of light continued to grow and the sound of breaking wood echoed in the empty room. Something was happening, but he knew not what it was for his mind had already started to turn in on itself.
As the light filled the room, ever growing in size, a flash of light on steel caught his eye, and he watched as the shapes of small men in armor poured into the room. One of the small men walked towards him with his hand extended out, beckoning to him from the corner of the room. As the hand came within striking range Lupin instinctively swept at it with his clawed hand. His strike was quick and deep, slashing the figure before him in the throat and chest. Blood splashed across the walls and down Lupin's face, and it tasted good. The men fanned out in front of him pointing weapons at him. Remus leapt from the corner to the nearest man, clawing and biting at him, but it was no man, it was a goblin of some kind.
Drawing back to attack again Remus felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down and a large spear was plowed through his ribs. On the other end was another hobgoblin, who twisted the shaft turning Remus's insides. Remus tried to scream or howl, but was thrown into shock as more pain consumed him. Arrows and blades pierced his chest and legs, and he fell forward only to meet the shining blade of their leader Dagnir's sword across his throat. His body hit the floor with a wet slap on the wood as blood pooled around his body. Remus lay there not moving as the hobgoblins cleared the window and started hammering on the door to the hallway with their weapons.
Struggling to breathe, Remus couldn't move or talk, and the last thing he could see was the reflection of the moon in his own blood. Then everything went black before his eyes. Only the sound of hammering echoed in the room and that faded too.
~*~
Wow I hope I don't get flamed to bad for this chapter. I just realized Thanks to AnneU that there is no Trio action in this chapter, at all! Wow how the f**K did that happen? We needed to finish the set up for the ending. I hope it wasn't too boring for you. I'll try to be faster next time with the updates, ok. Thanks for reading, and as always your review are very helpful to me.
Muddgutts J