Chapter 14- A Leader Emerges
Harry pulled his hood over his head, crossing his arms and leaning back in the seat, attempting to fall asleep. For all he knew, Ron and Hermione wouldn't be back until the end of the trip, and he didn't really feel up to talking to Luna about yellow-bellied ruptites. Outside, he could just make out a solid row of trees on either side of the train, rows of black towers amidst the grey dusk sky. Neville and Ginny continued to nod their heads along to Luna's airy deliverance, as their eye-lids drooped. Slowly, Luna's voice became a muffled blur in Harry's head, as he fell to sleep….
He watched on in horror as Neville released his robes. "Come on, you can do better than that!" Beams of multi-colored light flew back and forth between a witch with long black hair and Sirius, standing up on the archway's platform. A jet of light smashed into Sirius's chest. His smile faded as his eyes grew wide and he stumbled backward, falling so slowly…. How could anyone fall so slowly? Wicked laughter rang through the air. Harry tried to scream Sirius' name, but as he felt his throat tearing open, no sound came out. Sirius hit the black veil, causing it to ripple even more, as he fell back through it. Harry tried to sprint down the benches, still silently screaming Sirius' name, but an arm grabbed him, holding him back. Harry whipped his head up to see Lupin, smiling sadly. "Sorry, Harry. He's gone. Nothing more we can do." Bellatrix's cackling face spun around in front of him. "Nothing more we can do…."
Harry jerked awake, breathing heavily and sweating. He looked around the compartment, where he found Luna with her face pressed against the window, and Ginny was standing with her head out the door, looking down the hall.
It was just a dream.
"Are you alright Harry?" Neville asked, looking at him with a look of concern on his face.
"Fine," Harry lied. "Just had a bad dream is all." If only it was just a dream.
"Alright," Neville said, looking back out the window.
It was then Harry registered something odd was going on. He followed the other's gazes out the window, trying to spot what they were looking at.
"What's going on?" he asked, craning his neck to see over Luna's head.
Neville turned back to him. "The train has stopped," he said nervously.
Just then, a piercing scream rang throughout the entire train, and Harry bolted upright and made his way towards the door, leaning over Ginny in order to get a better view down the hall.
"What was that?" Neville squeaked, wide eyes staring towards the door.
"I'm not sure, but something's definitely wrong," Harry said, trying to figure out what was going on.
Outside, rain pounded against the windows, drowning out every noise except the worried murmurs escaping everyone's lips. Harry peered out the window across the hall, and to his surprise saw a large group of people heading away from the train in lines.
"It looks like they're evacuating the train," Harry said, confused.
Just then, the cabin door at the end of the hall jerked open and McGonagall stepped through, yelling out, "Everyone must evacuate the train now and head towards the forest, as quickly as possible."
"What's Professor McGonagall doing here?" Ginny asked, and Harry wondered the same thing.
Ernie MacMillan yelled out to McGonagall, "What's going on?" as everyone bustled around grabbing their coats in frenzy.
Harry strained his ears to hear McGonagall's response but all she said was, "No time for explanations. Just get moving!" before she turned around and headed back into the neighboring cabin.
"I don't like this; I don't like this at all!" Neville said, as the four shoved their way down the hall towards the exit along with everyone else. At this point everyone was talking nervously, sharing theories about what was happening. However, Harry couldn't shake this suspicious feeling he had in the pit of his stomach that something weird was going on. It did not feel right for the train to suddenly stop and to have them all evacuate without an explanation as to why they needed to. He needed to find Hermione and Ron, as soon as they got off the train. He tightened his hood around his head, as he was shoved in the chaotic group through the narrow door and out onto the sopping ground. He looked around and found several other groups of students heading swiftly towards the dim forest. Many were gasping and pointing over their shoulders towards the train. Harry turned around and found what they were all pointing at. Floating over an end compartment was an eerie, green smoke skull with a serpent winding its way out of the skull's mouth: the Dark Mark.
"Harry!" Hermione and Ron came running up to him.
Ron looked around them curiously as Hermione said, "Harry, something isn't right here." She paused to catch her breath. "Why are McGonagall and Flitwick here, but not Dumbledore? Doesn't that seem a bit odd?"
Harry nodded his head enthusiastically, still looking all about him, squinting through the pouring rain. McGonagall and Flitwick were standing off to the sides, looking all around them, watching the students filing into the forest.
"Shouldn't we get away from here, and head into the forest?" Ron asked timidly, staring at the green skull in horror.
"No," Harry said forcefully. "We need to figure out what's going on first; I don't trust anything that's happening right now. I don't know why, but I have this feeling there's something going on that we don't know about."
Meanwhile, a group of students who were in Dumbledore's Army with him quickly wandered over to where he, Hermione, and Ron all stood near the train.
"Did you hear?" Katie Bell spat out as soon as the group approached.
"Hear what?" Ron asked, though Harry continued looking all around them.
"A student was killed!" she shrieked, "on the train! We shouldn't stay here…. the Dark Mark…."
Then Harry spotted something that made him stop dead. On the edge of the woods Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle stood in a close cluster. Someone's lit wand tip momentarily cast a glow of light on their faces as the wand's owner scrambled into the forest and Harry saw that instead of being frightened, each of their faces were quite smug.
"Hold on…" he said, trying frantically to make sense of what was going on. The group stood near him, waiting for him to instruct them. He glanced from Malfoy back to the teachers, who were still looking all around them as if looking for something in particular…Suddenly a strident scream rang through the air, radiating from deep within the forest. Harry felt everyone standing around him turn simultaneously towards the forest and hold their breaths. Someone grabbed his sweater sleeve as several other screams of different pitches followed it, growing in volume until the screams drowned out every sound of rain- rain that was steadily turning into ice as the temperature abruptly dropped drastically.
Harry's brain churned at a rapid pace as he put everything together and shouted, "IT'S A TRAP!"
He took off at once, sprinting towards the forest, the others hot on his heels, leaving the train and skull far behind them. He shouted instructions as they ran together, everyone around him withdrawing their wands as one would pull a sword out of its sheathe.
"I hope you've all practiced your Patronus spells, because you're going to need them!" he yelled breathlessly as they ran, ice drops smashing against their heads.
He breathed deep as he held his wand out in front of him, charging into the chilled forest, but a hand unexpectedly seized him from behind, halting him mid-stride and jerking him back. He stumbled but the person caught him, as everyone else ran on past them. He wrenched himself angrily around to face whoever caught him, and found Hermione frowning at him restlessly with rosy cheeks.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Harry asked, baffled by her behavior.
She grabbed his arm and half-led, half-dragged him off to the side, before pulling him down in some bushes. She kept a firm hand on his shoulder, pushing him down as he tried to scramble upwards again.
"Harry, listen to me!" she hissed. He stopped struggling for a moment and listened to her curiously. "The Death Eaters are obviously involved in this, and what could they possibly want, setting a pack of Dementors on everyone?"
"I don't know," Harry puffed, "Maybe to kill off another batch of un-loyal wizards?"
"No. I'll tell you what they want. They want you."
He looked at her like she was mad, but as he did so her statement dawned on him as true.
"You can not been seen!" she rasped, releasing his shoulder.
He remained crouched down, and peered out between the braches, where he saw many bright lights emanating in the forest, as the others cast their Patronuses. "Then where are they? I haven't seen any Death Eaters around here."
Hermione took on a look of deep concentration as she furrowed her eyebrows. "I have no idea…" she whispered. She examined the scene around them through a gap between branches, as Harry was. "Wait…" she said, a new look of comprehension replacing the confusion. "I think I do! Just wait here!"
She dove out of the back of the bush as Harry yelled after her, "What are you doing?" She ignored him as she crept around the edge of the forest, dodging between the trees.
Harry followed her movements inquiringly, praying that whatever she was doing worked. Screams continued to ring through the forest, accompanied with sporadic flashes of light. He watched nervously as Hermione, while hidden by trees, approached Flitwick and McGonagall, who were both hovering near the forest, almost as if hesitant to enter it, despite the screaming.
What is she doing? Harry thought to himself, watching her cautiously approach the two teachers from behind. The Death Eaters weren't over there… unless… Panic seared through Harry as he sprang from the bush and began running swiftly through the forest. He came towards where the teachers were just as a spell shot out of Hermione's wand from the shadow she was concealed in, and Flitwick fell stiffly to the cold ground, held firm within a tangle of binding ropes. As soon as Flitwick was hit, McGonagall spun around and raised her wand toward Hermione's spot in the forest. Without even thinking, Harry pointed his wand directly at McGonagall and yelled, "Concutere!" as a stream of black light blasted at her back, hitting her head-on. McGonagall collapsed to the ground haphazardly, lying in a crumpled heap as Flitwick continued to wriggle around. Hermione lit her wand tip and looked across the clearing at Harry, mouth agape. He motioned for her to come over and she jumped over Flitwick and ran over to him.
"Thanks," she said, as soon as she met up with him.
"Don't mention it," he replied casually as the two continued into the forest together. There was still some screaming going on and the two tripped over tree roots several times before finding themselves at the site of the chaos. Harry stopped dead as he looked about him. All around the area in front of him there were bodies of students lying on the ground, unconscious. The D.A. members were still working together to fend off the Dementors- there must have been fifty of them- from the other students. Some of the older students were carrying bodies into a cluster where the D.A. members surrounded them in a circle. However, it looked to Harry as though they were growing tired; the spell was taking a toll on them all. Neville was on his knees, trying to feebly cast the spell, and many others were standing on wobbly legs. Harry and Hermione looked at each other momentarily before they ran towards the group as fast as their legs would carry them. He tried to clear his increasingly foggy mind as they approached the weaning group, searching for the happiest thought he possessed. Continuing to run, he settled on the fact that he was back in the magic world again with Hermione and Ron, and stopped a ways from the cluster. Next to him, Hermione raised her wand, but he held out his arm to tell her to stop as he summoned his powerful thought and roared, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!!" A silver stag erupted from the end of his wand, charging at the group of chilling Dementors, pushing them away from the students. The stag galloped around the circle, herding the Dementors away, as Harry held on to the spell, though he felt himself slowly weakening. Eventually the stag chased them all away, as the Dementors swooped away into the dark sky. He lowered his wand as the stag cantered off to the edge of the group and dissolved into a disappearing mist. He found his legs shaking beneath him, and he stumbled backward where Hermione caught him, wrapping her arm around him to help him stand.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yeah, I just need a few seconds to regain my strength," he breathed. Observing the group, he saw many students passed out on the ground, and about the other sixty percent watching him in awe. He felt his chilled face burn red as he found them all staring at him, and murmured, "It's fine- I can stand on my own Hermione."
She released him as he yelled out to the group, "Everyone who can, grab someone nearby who is unconscious and carry them out of the forest."
A few of the Slytherins cast him looks of disgust, but Ernie Macmillan, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan and Ron all found someone around them and lifted them into their arms. Soon the other Gryffindors followed suit, trailed by the Hufflepuffs and then Ravenclaws; even a few Slytherins helped hoist someone onto their shoulders. He and Hermione led the others out of the woods, dragging their feet. Katie Bell and a friend of hers Harry recognized as Dayna Schoenmacker came up to him and offered their assistance.
"Yeah, I know how you can help," Harry told them, as they all walked on. "Can you two Apparate to the school and alert Dumbledore?"
"But McGonagall and Flitwick are already here…" Dayna began with a look of mingled confusion and curiosity written on her face.
"Hold on a minute…" Katie said, suddenly looking all around her as they walked. "Where are those two anyway? They never came in to help, as far as I saw."
"The professors were never here," Hermione snorted.
Katie and Dayna opened their mouths as if to speak, but seeing this, Harry cut them off.
"Just please, hurry. We'll all wait just inside the forest for you to get back. We'll explain later."
"Oh, come on," Dayna whined, but Katie grabbed her arm, casting her a stern look, and Dayna shrugged before the two Disapparated.
"Why do you want to wait in the forest?" Hermione asked, stepping over a knobby tree root.
"To keep out of the rain as much as possible," Harry said, as they halted near the edge of the forest, Ron stopping directly behind them.
Ron carefully laid the tiny Ravenclaw first year on the ground and slumped back against a tree. "I wish I had some chocolate," he grumbled.
Harry sat against a large tree right on the invisible border line where the forest left off and the expansive grass clearing began. The forest sheltered them from the worst of the weather, which had turned back into a dreary rain. Though he said that was the reason he wanted to stay in the forest, the truth was that he still felt a little nervous stranded out here with the two disabled Death Eaters, a whole strew of unconscious students, and rumors of a dead girl on the train, lying under the bright green skull that continued to loom above. Although he felt foolish to admit it even to himself, he felt like he wouldn't be comfortable until Dumbledore was around.
They sat there for a few minutes, waiting. Tension was still thick in the air as contagious nerves bounced around within the assembly. Harry's limbs still felt heavy and his head remained a bit foggy, like one of Trelawney's crystal balls- only the fog refused to clear and offer him insight into the future.
"Harry!" Hermione exhaled, seizing his arm and pointing over his shoulder out into the clearing. "I think something's moving out there!"
He struggled to make out what she was saying through the swirling fog, turning his head to find what she was addressing. Then he saw it too, and his head suddenly became much clearer. Out in the clearing, down about a mile along the forest perimeter two dark figures moved around, darting swiftly out of the forest. Affirming his initial fears, Harry saw the two hooded strangers heading toward the detained Death Eaters they had left carelessly on the ground.
"Argh," he groaned, formulating a plan swiftly in his mind. If they didn't do something soon, the Death Eaters were going to get away, and their true identities would remain unknown. He made to at least run closer, but Ron and Hermione both held him back.
"Are you mad?" Ron said discouragingly, ripping him back to the ground. "You can't just go running out there."
Noticing the commotion, Seamus, Dean, Neville, and Ginny looked up from where they were sitting nearby. It had only been a few seconds but the hooded figures were only feet from their comrades, and every instinct in Harry cried out to at least fire rapid-aiming spells in their direction, but Hermione had a different agenda.
"We need to move!" she rasped impatiently, color draining from her face as she began running through the mass, yelling out to everyone to move as quickly as possible, away from the Death Eaters.
"What is she doing?!" Ron said incredulously, as he hoisted up the Ravenclaw girl into his arms again and fought to keep up with Hermione, running with the stream of panicked people.
"She's right- we have to get everyone to move!" Harry said back, glancing over his shoulder at the black figures, which were through bending over the thrashing impersonation of Flitwick and were heading rapidly in the direction of the forest where everyone had been sitting moments before.
Hermione came running back against the flow of stampeding students, being knocked around in the process, until she reached Harry and huffed, "You have to hide- right away. Just run as fast as you can or something…"
But as soon as Harry began to climb a nearby tree, there were several corresponding CRACKS that he distinguished as sounds of people apparating. Everyone stopped running and looked around, out into the clearing. Looking between the tree branches, Harry saw Dumbledore moving quicker than he had ever seen him move before, directly over to where the inert Death Eaters still lay; Dumbledore was followed closely by several teachers, including Snape, Madam Pompfry, Sprout, Hagrid, and the real professors McGonagall and Flitwick. However, there was another loud CRACK as a lone figure dressed in a flowing black cloak unexpectedly appeared at the sides of the impersonators, and in one swift movement waved his cloak over the two bodies and all three disappeared without a sign. A couple more quick cracks from a few feet away in the forest told Harry that their pursuers had Disapparated as well.
He sighed in relief and disappointment as he jumped back to the ground. People began to timidly file out from underneath the damp trees, continuing to support the unconscious victims of the Dementors. Hermione cast him a half-hearted smile as if to say "It's all over" as they marched weakly out into the pouring rain.
Seeing the group emerging from the forest, the teachers headed over at once. All of them were ashen-faced, looking around with sharp eyes as if taking inventory of the students. Upon viewing the many limp bodies bore by various people, McGonagall shot her hands up to her mouth and Snape stopped dead where he stood. Dumbledore, however, continued to look the students up and down naturally, though Harry saw the burning look he saw last year in his powerful eyes, and he felt his righteous anger flooding out of him. Dumbledore continued to steadily scan all of the students until his sharp eyes fell upon Harry, standing in the middle of the group, and his eyes softened drastically. Harry nodded at him slightly in acknowledgement.
"Headmaster!" McGonagall suddenly shrieked, wild eyes stretching open even wider than before, as she pointed towards the green skull above the train.
Snape and Dumbledore turned abruptly towards the train, and Harry noticed Snape compulsively seize his left forearm in his hand.
"Everyone, wait here," Dumbledore commanded, in his powerful yet calming voice. "Severus, Minerva, come with me."
Snape nodded curtly and set off at a brisk pace towards the train, accompanied by a squirmy McGonagall and firm Dumbledore.
"Oh my," Madam Pompfry sighed, assessing her students. "Let me see here," she said, examining a passed-out Hufflepuff girl with short brown pig-tails.
Professors Sprout and Flitwick began rounds, checking that everyone was still in a stable condition, and handing out small chunks of chocolate they had brought with them.
"All right there Harry?" Hagrid said, coming over to him as people scooted out of his way and smiling warmly.
"I'm alright," Harry replied, though he found he could not return Hagrid's smile. He wasn't alright. The Death Eaters had just evaded capture, again, and Malfoy's haughty face was still haunting him.
"Tha's good, tha's good," Hagrid mumbled absently. "Hermione? Ron?"
Hermione nodded a yes and Ron croaked, "Fine," with a sickly face.
"It's just `orrible what `append," Hagrid said, glancing around, looking like he was about to hurl. "Can't believe it, neither. Yeh shoulda seen Dumbledore's face when Katie and Dayna ran into the school, all wet, yellin' about Dementors and what-not. He didn' even wait for `em to say another word; he just bolted upright and headed as swift as a fox outta the Great Hall. Hardly ever seen `im as worried, `specially knowing you was out here, Harry." He paused and looked up apprehensively towards the Death Eater symbol. "I never thought I'd see that again. Haven't seen it in years, and I never wanted to see it again." He shuddered. "Ah, look, here comes Dumbledore."
Dumbledore was marching back from the train, though Snape and McGonagall were still on it. He walked up to where the four stood and spoke to Hagrid.
"Do you by any chance, Hagrid, have some items that may be used as temporary portkeys?"
"Why, o' course I do." He began patting his coat, withdrawing any object he came across (including a pair of enormous dragon-hide gloves, a bent spoon, a handkerchief, and a ratty copy of the book "Befriending Brutal Beasts"). "Here yeh go," he said, handing them over to Dumbledore.
"Thank you Hagrid; I will be sure to return them to you later this evening." Then he cleared his throat to quiet everyone, and soon everyone's eyes were turned eagerly onto him. "If we could now all split into five groups in order to take some portkeys to the school, it would be highly appreciated. I can assure you all that an explanation will be given at the feast, which will still be held tonight on the account of our un-sorted new students." Many people began licking their lips in expectation of the feast, as everyone grouped into five clusters. There was a tap on Harry's shoulder, and he looked up to see Dumbledore looking at him with dead eyes, devoid of their usual twinkle. "I would like to speak to you after dinner, Harry," he whispered, only loud enough for Harry to hear.
"Sure," Harry said, stomach churning nervously while he continued to stare at Dumbledore's eyes.
Dumbledore gave Harry a quick half-smile and then headed off to a group standing further away, ready to leave, tapping the spoon as he went.
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Ron began, as Harry stopped watching Dumbledore and joined his friends in a group. "But I really don't think I'm that hungry."
"Me neither," Seamus said, disappointedly.
"Hey, that was a great Patronus Harry," Dean offered, thumping Harry on the back.
Harry felt his cheeks grow red again as he shuffled back and forth from leg to leg self-consciously. "Thanks, but it was nothing."
Dean snorted. "Yeah, whatever you say man. I couldn't do that if I practiced every day for a whole year."
Harry felt his pride glow deep within him, but recognizing it and feeling guilty, he took on a harsher front. "Yeah, well it's not exactly something to celebrate about, when I do have to use it."
It was Dean's turn to flush as he looked toward the ground and muttered, "Yeah, I know."
There was an awkward silence during which Harry avoided everyone's eye contact, looking around as the fourth group disappeared in a flash. Then Dumbledore wandered over to their group, holding out the book in front of him and turning it into a portkey. However, as he approached and Harry looked back at the eerie train once more, he caught sight of McGonagall and Snape carrying a lumpy board covered with a white sheet draped over it out of the back of the train. He felt a sudden lump rise in his throat as he watched them solemnly carry it around to the other side of the train, and a tiny limp arm showed through, hanging there lifeless.
"Harry, hurry up," Hermione said, as they all stood oblivious to the body with their hands on the book, waiting for him. He somberly reached out his hand and touched the edge of the cover, before he felt that uncomfortable tug below his naval and they were whisked away.
A/N: Thanks for the continued support. I love how many hits I'm getting and I love your kind reviews even more- they're excellent quality! Whether or not you liked this, could you please leave a review stating why (specifically.) It's cool if you didn't like it… maybe I did something non-satisfactory. It's even better if you liked it though! I promised you action… think this was enough for a short while? Was it realistic? Could you picture the setting and everything going on?
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