Ch 28: The Chaos of War
Harry stood watching Voldemort's growing army. There were several hundred trolls, nearly five hundred Dementors, and maybe forty or fifty giants. There were perhaps three hundred wolves, and at least that many Death Eaters. In the far distance, nearly beyond the limit of his sight, he could see several colored spots in the air that were slowly growing larger. "Dragons I'll bet." Suddenly Hermione appeared by his side. He smiled. "Glad to see you could make it for all the fun. Are you bringing any friends?" It was Hermione's chance to smile as the faculty from the school and several of their classmates started appearing on the hill.
"I thought I said no other students," thought Harry.
"I know what you thought and I know what you said. But I thought differently. And so did they. This is their fight, too, Harry." Smiling, she added, "Besides, I think there are more than enough bad guys to go around, Harry. You can share."
Grinning back, Harry sighed. "I guess you're right."
"Of course I am," she finished.
Actually, despite his concern for their safety, Harry was glad to see so many of the sixth and seventh year students here to support him and help fight against Voldemort. He was especially glad to see so many members of the DA club. Ginny and Luna, and especially Neville, once he had gotten his own wand, had improved their DADA skills immensely over the past year. Spying Ginny among the students he thought, "Keep a close eye on her Hermione."
"So you do think she's the spy."
"I think she's one of the spies, but I'm sure she's being forced to do it."
Hermione nodded as they moved over to Dumbledore and the rest of the professors.
"Sorry about the little scene earlier," Harry apologized. "I hope Hermione explained."
"There is nothing to explain, Harry. But next time a little more notification and cooperation might work better," responded Dumbledore.
"With any luck today, sir, there won't be a next time," replied Harry firmly.
"Professor Snape, did Hermione talk with you about…"
"Yes, I understand. But I could have been better prepared if I had known beforehand."
"Yes, yes, I know. I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you. But I…I thought it was for the best. I guess we'll see shortly," Harry looked up as he saw Aurors from the Ministry and members from the Order arriving as well. Among the group of Aurors arriving from the ministry were nearly twenty witches and wizards dressed very strangely-none of them in robes. One small group, about six in number, were dressed in loose fitting, light blue clothing with a short grey cloak. Another six were dressed in shimmering green and brown robes that seemed to constantly shift colors and carried long staves or heavy clubs. The third group of five members were all dressed in black with silver trim. Down on the field, he saw the massing army of Voldemort organizing itself into deep ranks in order to charge up the hill.
Turning back towards Dumbledore and Snape, Harry straightened and seemed to grow in authority. "Dumbledore, I was hoping you and Snape would coordinate the activities of the wizards and witches with the allies Hermione and I have enlisted. I haven't seen any of Voldemort's undead allies besides the Dementors arrive yet, but that doesn't mean they won't come later. The thestrals will be here shortly for the Wind Warriors. Hermione will be helping Snape communicate with our allies as long as she can. Dumbledore, you will be directing the human forces while Snape guides the other magical creatures with Hermione's help. I trust Hermione explained my strategic suggestions. You can change them if you like, after all, they were only suggestions. I will be doing what I can to help during the battle, until I can isolate Voldemort when he has become weaker. Focus on his forces. If you can make him use his magic to defend them, even better. But don't try to attack him directly. Leave that to me. Above all, make sure nothing happens to either Ron or Hermione during the battle. I can't defeat Voldemort without them. Keep them as safe as you possibly can. And keep a very close eye on Ron-he's liable to get a little wild. And when I confront Voldemort, do nothing to interfere. You won't be able to help me at all, and may only hinder me." He looked steadily around at the wizards and witches surrounding him. Many were shocked at the tone of voice he had taken with his professors. Most were amazed at the calm and focus that was evident in his manner. "Whatever happens, please trust me."
Dumbledore raised his hands to begin directing the defensive formations of the wizards. Many of them lined up beside the false images of the wizards Harry had created from the Weasley twins' magical orbs. Hermione stood by Snape with a look of intense concentration on her face. Once the lines were set by Dumbledore, they awaited the attack of the enemy.
"So, your friends have come to die with you today, Potter! Do you really think you stand a chance against my army? Today you will get a preview of what I will do to your surviving friends and family after I defeat you here. I have been denied for too long. Behold the fury of my power!" Voldemort dropped his arms and the trolls, the wolves, and the Dementors charged forward. His Death Eaters prepared to launch spells from behind the advancing troops as the giants bent down to pick up huge boulders to throw from the edge of the cliff.
A clear voice boomed from the top of the hill. "I give you one final opportunity to surrender, Voldemort. Accept the justice you deserve peacefully, or you and your servants will pay the ultimate price. The choice is yours." The advancing trolls stopped momentarily in confusion, as the wizards and witches of both sides looked in momentary awe at the figure of Harry Potter standing upon the hill, speaking in a tone of voice full of strength and power.
"Kill them all!" screamed Voldemort, reenergizing his troops and urging them forward again.
"So be it," said Harry in a quiet, but steady voice. As the wolves and trolls advanced, the air was filled with a slight buzzing and hissing. Two swarms of dark arrows rose from either side of the advancing troops to fall upon their ranks. The several hundred merpeople in the lake quickly launched another volley, before the first trolls and wolves fell from their arrows. The tiny darts of the wood sprites, the nasty, barbed arrows of the wild elves, and the long, slender arrows of the centaurs filled the air on the other side of the advancing line like a deadly rain. The air in front of the charging line quickly filled with the spectral shapes of the Patronus charm, led by the powerful and solid figure of a white stag that tore through the ranks of the Dementors.
As Harry concentrated from his vantage point on the crest of the hill, a loud rumble filled the valley and echoed off of the cliff. As the first boulders landed among the defending wizards, the cliffs themselves seemed to shake. Suddenly, a huge crack appeared in the side of the cliff and an enormous slab of rock slid off, crushing most of the giants near its base. Perhaps half a dozen giants staggered from the choking cloud of dust and rock that followed the massive avalanche. From either side of the collapsed cliff face charged small figures wielding enormous axes. Their axes falling with deadly rhythm, the mountain dwarves commenced the bloody work of finishing off their hated enemies, the giants.
Watching the dragons approach from the south, he looked to the north and with relief, saw a speck of red. "Please hurry, Brunjildtha. I have great need of your aid."
"Do not worry, Princeling. I have spoken with the other dragon mothers. They have told me that if what I say is true, they will not help the Dark Wizard."
"How do I prove that?"
"They wish to see the human who is also a dragon for themselves."
"Do you think they will help?"
"They may. We dragons dislike being deceived or manipulated."
Trying to reach out his mind to the other dragons, Harry thought "Great dragons of the air, I am the one you seek. I am the one who gave aid to Brunjildtha and helped rescue her dragonlings from the Dark Wizard who stole them from her and who now seeks your aid in this war. I implore you not to attack either myself or my allies, but rather help us defeat the Dark Wizard and his minions, lest he attack you and your dragonlings in the future should you not submit to his will."
"Show yourself to us, Princeling, and we will consider your words," commanded one of the dragons approaching the battle.
To the shock of the professors and students around him, Harry shifted to his dragonform and leaped into the sky. High above the earth, he flew towards the approaching dragons.
As he approached them, he heard, "We see that you speak the truth about your dragonform. Perhaps you speak the truth about the Dark Wizard as well. We will not attack either you or your allies, but we see no reason to provoke the Dark Wizard either. We will leave you to your battle."
As they turned to leave, Harry heard one of the dragons say, "We are not yours to command, Dark Wizard. You promised us great wealth and treasure. However, we have decided to return to our homes." There was a pause then Harry heard an enraged voice, "Do not try your mind control spells on the likes of us, human! We are DRAGONS! We do not bow the knee to any of your kind!" Another pause and then, "WHAT?!?! You dare threaten a dragon?!?! Foolish wizard! You will pay for your insolence!"
Harry couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Hermione! Did you hear any of that?"
"Yeah. I think Voldemort just made a huge mistake threatening the dragons, don't you?"
"Uh-yeah. I think he's going to realize that in about thirty seconds. How's it going down there?"
"It's getting worse. Most of the Weasley images are gone, and the front ranks of the trolls and wolves are at the edge of the hill. You know the merpeople and the hill sprites can't leave their areas, so I'm afraid it's going to get a lot tougher for the rest of us in a minute."
"I'm on my way. The thestrals and hippogriffs are almost here." In another second, Harry reappeared in human form on the hill. For a moment, he concentrated, and then opened his eyes to direct the flow of water from the lake into the low lying ground of the plain. Within minutes, many of the secondary ranks of the wolves and trolls were fighting through knee-deep mud, making them easy targets for the half dozen enraged dragons that began swooping down upon them.
About twenty hippogriffs, led by Buckbeak, dived right into the middle of Voldemort's army, raking with their claws and slashing with their beaks and sewing widespread confusion. Occassionally, one of the hippogriffs would seize a Death Eater or wolf in its claws and then fly skyward, only to drop them to their deaths. The thestrals landed a moment later on the hill, and the blue robed Aurors mounted them quickly. They quickly joined the dragons in attacking the ground troops of Voldemort, strafing his lines with powerful spells. Some of the students cranked their heads to watch in amazement as they flew easily upon the flying steeds, hanging on using only their legs while their hands were busy firing spells. Instead of a wand, it seemed as if they were using a small bow to launch spells at the Death Eaters from above. After the Battle of Hogwarts, the thestrals were visible to nearly everybody from Hogwarts, though they were still frightening to behold. Many of the Death Eaters were now focusing their attention on trying to bring down the dragons and hippogriffs and the riders on the thestrals in order to protect their troops, rather than attacking the defending witches and wizards on the hill.
However, even without the spells of the Death Eaters, the fighting on the hill was becoming very intense. Very few of the Dementors had made it to the hill, but many of the trolls were attacking viciously with their clubs and the wolves were very quick and difficult to hit with a spell. On the top of the hill, Snape surveyed the field and his brow furrowed in thought as Hermione stood beside him, her eyes closed tightly in concentration. Suddenly, from the woods on the left burst a variety of wild howls and yells as dozens of wild elves burst into view. Wielding long, wickedly curved swords they gleefully threw themselves upon the suddenly frightened wolves. Close on their heels thundered six unicorns and four centaurs. The unicorns' dangerous hooves and deadly horns trampled and tore asunder anything in their way, including the Dementors. The mighty bows of the centaurs were replaced by twelve foot long halberds wielded by the enraged centaurs. The mighty blades cut an incredible swath through the ranks of Voldemort's army. From the right, there was two high pitched screams as two three-hundred pound reddish-brown cats tore into a pack of wolves. In the center of the group of students, their were gasps of shock as several of them, including Katie Bell, watched Ron transform himself into a four hundred and fifty pound tiger and leap upon three of the wolves that were attacking them. Harry charged to the front of the line and shouted, "Inflammatio whip!" Waving his wand back and forth in front of him, a line of flame extended about eight feet from the tip of his wand. The fur of any wolf hit by the line of fire burst into flame. He saw several other DA students repeat his spell and soon most of the wolves were retreating to the swampy green field.
Between Harry and Ron and the Weasley twins, the Aurors in brown and green stepped in and began swinging mightily with their staves and clubs. Every time one of their weapons connected, there was a deep rumble, like the roll of thunder, and the creature went down. Where there were still groups of Dementors, the black clothed Aurors stepped forward to confront them. Several of the students around them watched in amazement as the Aurors' wands transformed into swords in their hands. With the words "Neco Flamen,"the Death Stalkers cast the Flame of Death charm on their swords and their blades glowed with a silvery white light that was almost too bright to behold. The Dementors attempted to retreat, but they were too slow as the Death Stalkers exploded into action, swinging and slicing their blazing swords with incredible skill. The very air around them appeared to glow with light as one dark robe after another fell to their bright swords.
Harry looked around, desperately trying to think of some way to repel the trolls still trying to climb the hill. Hearing a loud roar from the top of the hill, Harry looked up and saw Grawp finally arrive. Several of the trolls who saw him turned and ran back down the hill. Grawp, followed happily by Hagrid, ran at another group of trolls. Harry turned and ran back up the hill, opening his hand as he ran and summoning several of the Weasley magical orbs to his hand as he did so. Just out of sight over the top of the hill, Harry knelt and touched each orb with his wand, altering the image it would project. "Those trolls might just be dumb enough to fall for it again."
Back on top of the hill, he tossed the orbs to the ground and waved his hand again to activate them. The air seemed to tremble with roars, as another six giants seemed to run from behind the hill towards different groups of trolls. None of them actually did anything other than yell and wave their arms, but the trolls didn't wait around long enough to see that.
As Harry looked back into the middle of the field, he noticed that the army in front of them was much smaller than the one half an hour before. Many of the Death Eaters were still standing, but most of the giants were gone, about half of the Dementors were no more, and about a third of the trolls and wolves were down. Harry figured that another ten minutes under the constant barrage of arrows from the merpeople, tree sprites, and wild elves, the fire of the dragons and the Wind Warriors, and the spells of the spellcasters would take care of most of them. Harry began lobbing powerful spells into the midst of the attacking army, trying to force Voldemort to expend his magical power in defense of his army.
After a few minutes dozens of the trolls tried to flee into the woods while many of the wolves tried their luck in the lake. The merpeople quickly pulled them under the surface, and a disconcerting noise of branches rustling and wood pounding on metal and flesh left the impression that the trolls fared no better. Harry and the other spellcasters focused their efforts on the remaining Death Eaters.
As his army continued to fall around him, Voldemort looked around with fury. "Very well, Potter. You may have won today, but we shall return." He gave the signal to Apparate. Puzzled when nobody disappeared, he gave the signal again.
Harry chuckled, then his voice boomed. "Did you really think you could just come and fight for a while and then run away if things didn't go your way Voldemort? There will be no retreat today, for you or any of your servants. The house-elves will ensure none of you Apparate away to plot your revenge or another attack. No, Voldemort. We finish it today."
Looking around in disbelief, Voldemort himself tried to Apparate away from the battlefield and the look of shock on his face revealed to everyone that Voldemort and his army was trapped with nowhere to run. In desperation, the Death Eaters attacked even more fiercely than before. Stunned by their ferocity, the defending witches and wizards gave way before the violence of their attacks. But only momentarily. Dumbledore, Snape, and the other faculty roused the remaining spellcasters in a counterattack. The air sizzled as spells and counterspells flew from both sides.
The battle reached its most intense moments so far as both sides collided in anger. The Death Eaters were trapped and fighting for their wretched lives. The rest were fighting for their lives as well but they also fought for something more. They fought for their friends and families at home. They fought against tyranny and oppression, against the chaos and brutality that would result if they should fail. They fought for freedom, and love, and hope. They fought for a better, safer world, one free of the terror of the Dark Lord and his mark. They fought so that the horrors of the past would not be repeated. Most of all, they fought so that good might triumph over evil. And they fought better than their enemies, in part because they had more to win, and more to lose.
Slowly, steadily, the line in front of Voldemort became a ring around him and his remaining servants and the noose slowly tightened. No quarter was asked and none was given. The grim faces of the surviving spellcasters reflected the losses they had suffered that day.
With less than twenty supporters remaining in a defensive ring around him, Voldemort began muttering a spell in a low, terrible voice and the earth began to shake and the air filled with a horrible moaning sound. Both attackers and defenders looked around in amazement as the hundreds of bodies lying on the field slowly began to lift themselves from the ground slowly. The Death Stalkers immediately began attacking the rising corpses nearest to them as the rest watched in momentary shock and growing horror.
"Harry! Is Voldemort actually raising his army from the dead?!?! How can that be? How can he be that powerful?!?!"
Harry looked from Hermione to Dumbledore with surprise evident in his eyes. Then his face tightened and his eyes hardened.
The attacking wizards now turned outward to defend themselves again while the remaining Death Eaters laughed out loud.
"How many times do you think you can beat my army, Potter? Perhaps I should now offer you the chance to surrender your pathetic little army that is completely surrounded. If you do, I will make the deaths of your friends a little less painful than they will be otherwise." Voldemort laughed.
A cold fury worked its way through Harry's gut. Desperation stoked his rage as he watched the corpses move slowly towards the ring of defenders. Harry recalled the nightmares and the deaths he had witnessed over and over again months ago and screwed his eyes shut in pain.
"NOOOO!" he screamed and opened his eyes, which were blazing with a green fury. There was a slight buzzing in the air and then sparks began to pop in the air around the surrounded defenders. Suddenly an arc of electricity jumped between two of the reanimated giants which quickly jumped from corpse to corpse. As it passed through their bodies the bolts flew to other reanimated corpses, burning them away and leaving nothing but a pile of ash and a charred spot on the ground where they had risen. Everyone but Voldemort and Harry watched silently in amazement. However, only the bodies of Voldemort's army were destroyed. The dead allies of Harry that Voldemort had reanimated were frozen in place, and before the eyes of the observers, they slowly turned into stone statues.
With his entire army destroyed again, Voldemort looked around in fury while Harry's body seemed to sag for a moment as he nearly collapsed to the ground. Ron and Hermione were close enough to catch him before he fell and steadied Harry for a moment as he stood, wobbling on his feet. At a signal from Voldemort, his Death Eaters put up a series of defensive shields around the group moments before the first offensive spells began flying their way again.
Harry only watched tiredly. He felt so exhausted all of a sudden. "I shouldn't have done that. Now I don't have enough energy left to defeat Voldemort! What was I thinking? What have I done? But I had to-there was no other way. Damn! Why didn't I guess he might do something like that? What am I going to do now…" Harry's racing thoughts were interrupted by Hermione's scream.
"Harry! Dumbledore! What is he casting?!?!" screamed Hermione's voice. "He wouldn't dare, would he?"
Hermione looked in horror at Dumbledore and Dumbledore's face turned extremely grim as he turned to Harry.
"But he's not even putting up any defensive wards! He won't even be able to control them, they'll just go berserk and destroy everything!" shrieked Hermione.
Snape spoke quietly, "He has nothing left to lose. If he can't win, he would rather destroy everything." Several of the professors paused to look at Hermione, then Snape, and then at Dumbledore.
Before Dumbledore could speak, Harry announced in a calm, but tired voice, "Everybody stop casting your spells. Voldemort is opening a demon-gate. If we disrupt the process now, there's no telling what might happen to the gate." He looked at what seemed to be a pinhole of darkest black several feet to the side of the Death Eaters. As he watched, the other wizards and witches looked too and watched with growing dread as it slowly grew bigger.
"Dumbledore, do you think a Casses Pius ward might close the gate?"
Dumbledore looked at Harry thoughtfully. "It might. Do you have enough energy left to create a Holy Net that is strong enough by yourself in time?"
"I better. I've never tried creating one, but I'm familiar with the theory. We don't have much time so unless you have a better suggestion…" looking back at the widening circle of darkness, Harry could hear screams and shrieks of anticipation and see clawed hands beginning to reach from out of the darkness towards the light of their world.
As the other wizards and witches looked on in confusion and growing horror, Harry closed his eyes. Several moved in front of the slowly growing black disc until Dumbledore waved them away. "If Harry is unable to seal the gate, then we will have to do the best we can. But our best hope right now is to let Harry cast the spell. We do not have time to initiate the proper counterspell."
Harry ignored the world around him and went over the intricate spell in his mind, making sure he would be able to cast it correctly. He could feel his strength slowly returning to him. He knew he would have just barely enough time to cast a variation of the Holy Net ward before the gate was large enough for the demons to emerge. But for him to be able to make the spell strong enough to prevent them from passing through the gate, he needed a name. A powerful name. "Hermione, how was he known in ancient Hebrew?"
"Yahveh."
The portal was nearly five feet wide when Harry opened his eyes and extended his arms. "Gratia occludo portus diabolus, creo casses pius nomine teminus ab Yahveh!" A bright white light appeared in the center of the dark, black sphere. From a single point in the center, lines quickly extended up, down, left and right, forming a huge cross in the center of the demon-gate. From each of these lines, other lines of light emerged, quickly forming a crisscrossing pattern of bright, almost blinding light. The screams of anticipation quickly turned to anger and pain as several of the claws made contact with the white lines and were burned. With a scream of rage, Voldemort turned back to Harry and the other wizards and launched a series of curses at the white net Harry had placed on the demon-gate. They all bounced off harmlessly, except for the ones which hit his Death Eaters.
The battle began again in earnest and the air buzzed once again with spells. Harry watched quietly with a defensive shield in front of his body as he slowly recovered his strength. Within a few minutes, Voldemort stood alone. With the last of his Death Eaters lying either unconscious or dead at his feet, Voldemort looked around at the enemies surrounding him and began to laugh.
"Which one of you thinks that they can actually kill me? Which one of you is foolish enough to think they are actually that powerful? You, Dumbledore? Not past your prime yet? What about you, Snape? You've always coveted my power. Anyone? Or are you going to make the boy try and do it? How very brave of you all. He's managed to save you so far, right? Place all of your burdens, all of your hopes, on the poor orphan's shoulders. How pathetic. Do you think you have it in you boy? Do you really think you can kill me? That's what you'll have to do, you know. I won't surrender. Think you can do it?" Voldemort laughed again.
Harry lowered his shield as he stepped forward and looked quietly at Voldemort. He said nothing, but stood gazing at Voldemort with an inscrutable look on his face.
Voldemort shifted his look away from Harry uneasily. "No brave last words, Potter? No final threats or demands that I surrender? Very well, prepare to meet your parents at last. But don't worry, I won't send you off all alone. I'll be sending all of your other friends with you. Perhaps I'll start with her." Pointing his wand at Hermione, Voldemort intoned, "Avada…"
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