Here we go, just like the title says. Thanks once again to Lady Starlight for her work on this
chapter.
Chapter 32: A Return to Reality
****************Beauxbatons Academy 250km north of Paris**************
January 2, 1998.
12:12 pm
Lines of smoke rose into a cloudless sky over the shattered, once manicured lawns of the French magical academy. Lines of spell fire snapped back and forth as dozens of Death Eaters poured spellfire into a large, fairy tale castle. Pastel colored walls held huge rents, where Reductors had breached the defenses. A tall, cloaked shape danced back and forth among the shattered walls, firing spells back at the cloaked figures assaulting the castle from the hedgerows and fields.
The lank forms of several Death Eaters along with the bodies of two-dozen French Aurors and too many small forms in the light blue uniforms of the school littered the lawn.
Madame Maxime paused as she rolled behind a large, stone pillar and took a breath. "Jeanette, Robert," she snapped to either side at her head students. The taller of the two, a blond-haired boy, was holding his left arm awkwardly across his body as he looked over to her. The girl that she had named, looked up from where she was lying, panting, on the ground next to him. Blood stained the front of her uniform and shone oddly in her dark hair as she glanced over the low, shattered wall she hid behind and snapped a Piercing Charm back out at the Death Eaters.
"Yes, ma'am," Jeanette replied, gulping as she caught sight of a huge, ash-dark cloud hovering above the school, on which a gigantic glowing green skull with a hissing serpent emerging from the open mouth.
"Cover me," Maxime snapped and both of them, along with another five students rose and fired off a continuous stream of spells. "EXPECTO PATRONUM," Maxime roared, and a giant, glowing bird of some sort erupted from her wand and streaked out to the north. She snapped off a huge Reductor killing another two Death Eaters before she dove back behind the cover of the walls. Ten blue spell bolts shattered the walls further, raining chunks of stone down on the defenders.
*********************Hogwarts Express, 2 hours north of London***************
The Head Students car was home to a few friends and family, riding out the trip back to school in a companionable, more or less silence. Hermione smiled down at Harry, where he slept with his head on her lap, stretched out lengthwise on the couch. She looked around the carriage, cataloging Ron and Neville playing chess with Harry's new Quidditch-themed set in the corner, while Parvati, Padma and Lavender were quietly, but urgently talking over the latest edition of Witch Weekly. Luna was next to them, periodically adding some random comment, but overall seemingly more interested in her copy of this month's Quibbler, in which the current Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, who had just been transferred out of the ICU wing at St. Mungo's was under scrutiny for several odd dealings that he had had in his past with known Death Eaters.
Harry muttered something in his sleep, rolled onto his side and snuggled back in. Parvati and Lavender giggled at them, and looked away at Hermione's practiced glare. She returned to the article in Transfiguration Quarterly she had been reading, not even noticing, consciously, as her fingers combed through Harry's disobedient locks. Seamus and Dean, along with several of the Gryffindor sixth years had been by earlier, but had left to go wander the train, with their only instructions not to start anything.
Hermione frowned as a loud, booming knock on the compartment door shattered the pleasant stillness. Catching Ron's eye, he was nearest, he nodded and stood, and slid open the door to the compartment, to find a decidedly pale werewolf and metamorph standing at the door. Hermione waved them in, and without a thought, cast a Silencing Charm on the carriage. "What, Remus?" she asked briskly, as her magical senses, as well as her eyes, caught the disquiet radiating off both of them. Harry stirred on her lap, awakened by the spillover of her emotions. He caught sight of Remus and Tonks, and instantly, any trace of sleep vanished.
"Where?" Harry added as he rolled to his feet and caught Hermione's eye. She was already diving for their shared trunk, sitting over next to the window. She shooed Crookshanks off the top and opened it, tossing Harry a familiar, scabbarded friend from the top.
"They are attacking Beauxbatons as we speak, Harry," Remus snapped urgently, "Hagrid is already on the way, he should be there by now." Harry gave him a brief nod and looked over to Ron. He swallowed and nodded, his eyes hardening as he looked at his friend.
"What about Durmstrang?" Hermione put in as she slid her dagger pack and equipment pack on. In the rest of the room, the other DA members, or rather Order members as that's what they all were by now, stood from what they were doing and gathered around.
"We don't know, Hermione," Tonks replied quickly, looking around at the rest of them, "Minerva received Maxime's Patronus about ten minutes ago, hers just caught up with us now. She frowned at Hermione annoyed look at the delay, "I know that the mirrors work faster, but Maxime didn't have one."
"Remus," Harry put in as he looked at Ron and Neville, they nodded as one and vanished into the train. "Do you think this is a set up? Trying to draw the Order out into the open?"
Lupin shrugged, "Who knows, I have already been in touch with Mad-Eye by mirror, he got Kingsley and several other Aurors to Hogwarts just in case. Arthur, Bill and Fleur should be there as well, by now, along with the Twins, Alicia and Angelina, but..."
"Without the people on the train, right now, McGonagall only has the Professors to hold the school," Harry completed for them all. "I can't leave kids there, Remus, if I can get them out..." Hermione chewed her bottom lip absently as she reached out to squeeze his hand, before she gave him a tiny nod. They all looked up as Ron and Neville entered the car trailed by several more DA members, all seventh years. Seamus and Dean went to go stand next to the Gryffindor girls, while Hannah, Ernie and Susan leaned against the wall near the door. Zacharias Smith came in a moment later, saw Susan and carefully went to the other side of the compartment. Justin Finch-Fletchley came in at his heels, along with Anthony Goldstein. Harry nodded to himself, as this was almost the entire initial DA, with the exception of Michael Corner, who had not returned to school, the Creeveys and the ones that had graduated already. He looked up again as Honor, Gretchen and Ellen, along with several of their sixth-year male Gryffindor counterparts, Sam O'Neal, Clarence Daly and Franklin Locksley, crowded into the room. The Creeveys appeared as if by magic, Colin was a sixth year of course with Dennis only a fifth.
Harry looked at them, and sighed. The DA was actually bigger, including a few seventh years that he knew were still at Hogwarts for the holiday, but he didn't have time to wait. "Alright, here is the situation, Beauxbatons is under attack right now," he looked at Ron and then Hermione before going on, "I am going to take whatever seventh year that is willing, to try and get them out of there." Several of the sixth and fifth years present started to object, but Harry silenced them with a wave, "No, I trust all of you, but I need to have people who can Apparate, I assume that all of the seventh can Apparate by now?" he got several nods in return, "Fine, we will Portkey away as soon as we can, to a spot outside of Beauxbatons, unfortunately I've never been there..."
"I have," Tonks interrupted, "I'll go along."
Harry nodded, "Good, thanks, Tonks."
"The rest of you," Hermione said, looking at the younger ones, "go on to Hogwarts and listen to Professor Lupin, and the Headmistress, we will be back as fast as we can. You are to hold the train and the castle against any attack, however if you are attacked in overwhelming force, or if Voldemort attacks, run, evacuate the best you can."
"Our only mission is to counter attack the Death Eaters, to give Madame Maxime time to get her students out," Harry said grimly, not mentioning the dark reality that was going carefully unsaid, that there might be no one left to save, "we are there only for that, understood, nothing else. Beauxbatons is smaller than Hogwarts, only around two hundred and fifty students at most, but I had heard that it was under populated as well this year, so it shouldn't take as long to get them away, however, the castle is not really a fortress as is Hogwarts, so they might have already been overrun." He took a breath, "Go, seventh years that are going, we leave from here in ten minutes, full gear, shield cloaks and hats, and the Twins' gear."
The compartment emptied in a rush as Harry looked up at Remus, "I'll hold Hogwarts, Harry."
"I know, Moony," Harry replied as Tonks began to program several Portkeys, using her Auror clearance to override the restriction on International Portkeys. He glanced over to see Hermione's bare back where she had turned from Remus and Tonks to change into her gear behind the couch, from the bright, cheery jumper and tartan skirt she had been wearing. Harry caught the blacks she tossed at him without looking and peeled his old, green "H" jumper off over his head as he stood next to Remus and replaced it with the dark, long sleeved t-shirt and black jumper that Hermione had tossed him. He toed out of his trainers, and changed from a pair of khakis to the pants that Hermione had tossed at his head and hopped backwards to lace on a pair of boots. Hermione was tying back her hair as the first of the DA members returned and entered without knocking, already wearing the dull-grey shield cloaks in their non-chameleon configuration.
Tonks looked around at the group that was going, and slid next to Remus, he was quivering slightly, his eyes slightly haunted as he looked at her. "I have programmed the Portkeys to appear in the woods outside of the school," she pulled a shining crystal from her robes, and tossed it in the air, it started to spinning faster and faster with a beam of light shooting from the tip, until a glowing, hovering image of the French school appeared. "This is an image of the school from the Ministry archives, I got it from Mad-Eye just in case. There used to be plans to help each school, just in case, during the reign of the Minister before Fudge."
Harry looked at the floating diagram, and then at Tonks and Remus, "Beauxbatons is new right? Only a couple of hundred years old?" he asked and received a nod. "So, no passages for either side to exploit to get in or out," he mused, "Ron, Mione, Neville?"
Ron frowned and looked at the others, then back at the floating diagram of the grounds, he walked up to the projection and traced his finger through it, looking at the image of the light blue castle backed up against the cliffs of the Northern French coast. "I dunno, Harry," he admitted after a moment, "the layout sucks both for us to relieve them and the Death Eaters to attack. The castle is out on this point of the cliff," he waved, "and anyone trying to get at it has to attack over a narrow front, unless they climb the cliffs from behind or use brooms to fly in, but that's suicide during the day, unless you are Harry. How wide are the--"
Tonks flicked her wand and a glowing red line appeared showing the limits of the anti-Portkey and Apparation Wards. Ron nodded and looked at Harry, and both of the boys and Hermione's eyes widened at the sample time. "But we can climb the cliffs, can't we?" Ron muttered and frowned at the cliffs, "What are these like fifty feet?" Tonks looked at the tiny scale next to the image and nodded. "If we can get someone inside to coordinate a break out, Harry, have them, maybe five or so of us go in."
"And the rest attack from the outside," Hermione supplied.
"We could break out, drive them back enough to get the kids out of the range of the Wards and port everyone out at soon as they reach the woods."
"I don't see a choice, Harry," Ron shrugged as a sinking feeling filled his stomach, "If it were nighttime, I'd suggest that we all come in on brooms from the sea, but we'd just be target practice during the day, even with Disillusionment Charms." He pointed at a spot directly behind the imaginary line that cut off the point from the mainland, "They have to be here at least, best place to cut off the castle from the mainland. Portkey right here," he pointed at a spot just inside the woods behind the supposed Death Eater siege lines, "Have the group that is to infiltrate from the rear take brooms and our cloaks and fly around and sneak down the beach until they hit the cliffs below, take out any Eaters an get into the castle from the rear. The rest waits here and blasts a corridor free when they get the word from inside. Expend every toy we have from the Twins in one assault and hold it until we can get the kids to the extraction point, and get them out."
"Fine, here's the plan, Hermione and I, along with Tonks?" she nodded, "will take brooms after we Portkey in and under cloaks, Ron give her your cloak, Tonks you have your broom?" she nodded as Harry absently summoned his Firebolt from his trunk and shrunk it, sliding it in a thigh pocket, "we will get inside, from the rear and contact Maxime or whoever's left and get them ready. Ron, I'll signal when we are ready, you make sure we have a path out, mate. Let's be at it."
Harry nodded and muttered something under his breath, Hermione looked at him worriedly and he motioned her, Ron and Neville closer. Harry tossed his arms around the shoulders of the boys and whispered, "This never happens at Hogwarts," he whispered urgently as around them the rest of the rescue group looked around worriedly, Ron and Neville nodded. "As soon as we get back I want you two to start on at least six plans to retake Hogwarts, and we will train on them." He looked at Hermione, "We are going after you know what as soon as we get back, be ready."
Harry glanced up at Tonks as she started distributing the Portkeys she had made, five or six people to a Portkey. Lupin came over, gave him a brief pat on the back, stopped long enough to give Tonks a quick kiss and mutter something in her ear, and left the car, taking the younger DA members, except Luna with him. Everyone knew she was going to be with Ron. Harry took a breath, drew his wand with his right and reached out and touched the Portkey he was sharing with Ron, Luna, Hermione and Tonks. He gave Hermione a brief, melancholy smile, which she returned, "PORTUS!"
In several thunderclaps of sound and a torrent of swirling light, the compartment was suddenly empty, save for a pair of annoyed Kneazles and two forlorn-looking owls.
************************Beauxbatons Academy************************
A snap of light and a rush of wind ripped through an empty clearing, just south of the school, set inside the woods. Seventeen dark figures tumbled out of nothingness and continued to roll for several feet along the ground, as the even worse than usual momentum transfer from the International Portkey that had originated in a train moving at north at 140 kilometers an hour terminated. Harry pushed himself off from the ground and shook his head before rolling to a knee and sweeping the area with his wand. He felt Hermione at his back and Ron two meters away and to his right without looking, as he raised his left fist above his head and flung it open.
Around him, the rest of the DA members slowly melted into the foliage as Disillusionment charms took effect. Harry, Hermione and Tonks vanished totally as they swept cloaks over their heads. A slight rustling sound followed their exit as they flew off towards the east. Soft sounds of movement came from the trees surrounding the clearing for a minute before they stopped totally. Flashes of light and loud booming sounds came from just to the north. A shining blue bolt snapped down the center of the clearing, an obvious overshot, and felled a small tree at the far end. A minute after that, four cloaked and masked Death Eaters strolled into the glade, looked around casually, and shrugged.
"There's nothing here," the tallest of the four, with a deep raspy voice and a slight limp, growled. He turned back to the north, and swept his mask off to reveal a scarred face with an eyepatch covering his left eye. He started to turn back to the other three, "Let's head back before they breach the school, don't want to miss out on the-" Just as he finished his turn, he saw the other three crumple without a sound as a half-dozen silent, silver, red and blue bolts tore into them from out of nowhere. He opened his mouth to scream, and collapsed as a wand dimpled the skin behind his ear.
"Get them out of sight," Ron's harsh, low voice carried along the ground. The four former Death Eaters floated away under some underbrush and vanished as Disillusionment charms hid them, more effectively than normal, as they were rather still. "Let's go," Ron whispered and headed north towards the sounds of battle and the smoke he could see rising above the trees, "Justin, Hannah, cover our rear." Only a snap of fingers answered his orders as a pair of invisible shapes slipped to the rear.
Ron slipped to the edge of the woods and looked out, invisibly, at the shattered, pale blue walls of the school. He felt Luna next to him as she held up a pair of Omniocculars and scanned over the grounds. She looked for a moment, replayed the image and slipped them back under her cloak. She rolled slightly to her left and breathed in Ron's ear, "I see at least twenty five in that clump straight ahead, in front of the main doors...
Ron started slightly at a hand on his knee, before he heard Neville's low voice in his other ear. "I have a count of twenty eight Death Eaters on the left, Ron."
"Fine," Ron whispered so that both of them could hear him, "pass the word, when Harry gives the signal, and they'll know it, use half of the Frisbees on the Eaters, hold the Argentium grenades until later, just in case. Have every other person set the rest of the Frisbees in command mode; we'll set them off to cover our escape." The two slipped away for a moment, and Ron sighed, silently. Hurry up, Harry, Hermione. He smiled slightly as a Reductor from the defenders of the school felled two Death Eaters in his field of vision.
A distance away, at the base of the cliffs on which the school commanded an impressive view of the Atlantic, five Death Eaters stood, appearing bored as they looked out over the choppy, grey waters or up at the school over looming them. The wreckage of several brooms could be seen littering the beach, victim to unsuccessful attempts to escape. A set of tight, winding stairs meandered their way up the fifty-foot cliff, leading from the brightly colored castle to the beach, with two more Death Eaters sitting on the steps, smoking quite smelly Wizarding pipes.
None of the seven noticed the briefly disturbed air as two unseen brooms slid to the ground near them, right at the base of the cliffs. Three pairs of boot prints dented the wet sands for an instant before they too, vanished as if they had never existed. Hermione looked at the pair sitting at on the carved stone stairs at the base of the stairs, then with a brief mental pointer from Harry, towards the three standing together on the beach. The final two Death Eaters had wandered off, out of sight of the other five. Mione, you have the ones on the stairs, I'll take the ones in the middle.
Hermione ran her tongue invisibly over suddenly parched lips, she took a deep, silent breath as time stretched out in front of her, and the movements of the Death Eaters became languid as she rose up on her toes and sprinted at them. Deep footprints appeared in the sand and the Eaters rose to their feet...Hermione reached the pair, thrust upward with her left dagger, spun to her right, dropping her first dagger and reached out, grabbing the second and stabbing downward. The first had not finished falling when the second collapsed. She summoned her first dagger to her hand and turned towards the other three Death Eaters in view.
They looked up, reacting as their brethren fell to an invisible, silent attacker, just in time to watch a faintly, blue-glowing blade appear hanging in mid-air. Harry cut up and left, and back. The first Eater fell as he fired a silent, silver pulse from his wand at the furthest Death Eater. He died as Harry flipped up and forward, his cloak fluttering open to reveal a slice of his body as he landed behind the third and sliced backwards.
The last two Death Eaters returned around the point at a run, just in time to fall to a Cutting Curse and a Severing Charm. Tonks' head appeared, she sprinted over to the Death Eaters, verified their fates and destroyed their wands. Harry and Hermione lowered their hoods and paced over to Tonks. Looking up at the base of the castle, Harry muttered something under his breath, before, "I thought the cliff was supposedly hard to climb, but I seem to see stairs, Tonks?"
"I have no bloody idea, Harry, they weren't here last time I was, nor were they on my plans." She shrugged, "Perhaps they wanted a way to the beach?"
Harry nodded, "Still, let's use the brooms to levitate up to the castle, I don't trust the stairs," he suited words to action and climbed back on his Firebolt, waiting as Hermione climbed back on behind him, tentatively. He felt her arm go around his waist, while the other held up a wand in his field of vision pointed at the castle. The pair of them vanished once more under their invisibility cloaks, and rode a Disillusioned broom up the blank, sheer cliff face until they came to the level of the school, and solved the mystery of why the Eaters below hadn't tried the stairs.
At the top of the cliff, the winding stairs passed through a narrow, restrictive stone formation that had effectively kept them from attacking more than one or two at a time. The fallen forms of ten Death Eaters filled the narrowed passage, testament to the defenses of the school, such as they were. Harry and Hermione landed silently and invisibly behind the dozen or so scared students that pointed shaky wands towards the top of the stairs.
Damn, they were lucky, Harry mused as he looked over the students, who all seemed to be no older than a Hogwarts fifth year except one small, petite girl with odd, emerald green hair who seemed to be leading the defense. Harry felt Hermione nod as they watched the girl send one of the students back as a runner, and having no better idea Harry followed, leading Hermione after the girl. He paused after a second, Follow her, Mione, I'll catch up to you. She nodded and he felt her ghost off after the thirteen or so, year-old-girl that was hopefully going for Maxime. "Tonks," Harry whispered urgently as he flipped out his mirror. A breath later she appeared in it, her face shadowed under her invisibility cloak. "Tonks, Hermione's going to follow that girl, if she leads us to Maxime, hang back, and stay under the cloak, something is odd here, if I had had the DA attacking this place, I would have taken those stairs." He saw her give him a silent nod and vanished from his mirror.
Harry trailed Hermione's presence through the castle, winding through corridors and halls normally well lit, and airy, but today smoke-filled and oppressing. He swallowed heavily as he passed a group of what looked to be injured students and several faculty lying together on poorly conjured pallets, but kept going, pausing only to make sure that he wasn't detected, as his sense of unease had not lessened. He moved quickly, for another few minutes until he felt Hermione just ahead. He slowed his pace, his muffled steps becoming silent as he approached the front. He stepped around a corner, and saw Hermione standing under her cloak just behind the huge form of Olympe as she covered behind a partially fallen wall. Harry dodged to the left, absently, as hissing yellow beam shot in through the ruined outer walls of the school and slammed into the back wall of the corridor, ten or so feet from his head.
Harry slipped down the corridor, and paused. "Jeanette?" Maxime asked tiredly as she pulled back from casting another spell. The dark haired girl whispered something in the blonde's ear she had been attending to, he nodded and squeezed her hand, painfully, with his hurt hand before he slipped up enough to fire off several curses. "Haz there been any zign of the Order? Or any additional Aurors?" The Beauxbatons head girl just shook her head, and looked at the young girl that Hermione had trailed from the Cliffside part of the castle. She shook her head as well, and Maxime sighed, hugely, ""Arry well, Jeanette, Robert...we will load the ztudentz in the two carriages under the cover of the courtyard-perhaps we can make it..."
Hermione, stay under cover for a bit, Harry sent and felt her nod, I still have a bad feeling about this. He appeared from nowhere in between breaths and dodged two stunners and adsorbed another, shuddering slightly as he redirected the disabling pulse. "I think that we can help with that Headmistress," Harry commented softly as he shielded himself, the two Beauxbatons' Heads and Maxime as another pair of Reductors slammed in from the besieging Death Eaters.
"POTTER...is that you?" Maxime's large baton-like wand pointed at Harry, he flicked a pair of fingers and it pointed skyward. He looked around at several wands that had been pointed at him from the Beauxbatons students.
"Point those at the bloody Death Eaters," Harry growled and turned to Maxime, "I have a force here to cover your evacuation, are your students ready to go?" He took a breath rolled to his right and wave of blue roared outwards from his wand. An entire hedgerow vanished along with three Death Eaters. The heads looked at Harry and gulped slightly, before they returned to covering Harry with their wands.
Maxime looked hopeful for an instant, before her expression hardened, "How do I know that you are really Potter?"
Harry rolled his eyes, "If I were your enemy, you would already be dead, ma'am...fine, your mission with Hagrid for the Order that ultimately ended with Hagrid finding his brother...you took a battle helmet and a branch of Gubraithian fire for the Urg...you and Hagrid snuck through the woods, three years ago to see the Dragons before the first task...and Hagrid tried to propose to you in August, right before the start of the school year." Maxime gasped, she had not told anyone, and Harry smiled, slightly, "Hagrid was drunk one night and let Hermione and I know..."
Maxime held her hand to her mouth and her eyes, which had held a tired, defeated look, suddenly held a new light. She started to say something, when all at once, a blue uniformed girl stood from behind an open doorway behind them and pointed her wand at Harry's turned back, "AVADA..." A red bolt howled out of nowhere and threw her backwards into the room, fifteen feet backwards to crash through a tall bookshelf filled with charms texts. Hermione appeared in the next instant as she swept her cloak off and her and Harry swept the area with magical pulses that staggered the other magic users in the immediate area. Maxime sprinted into the room behind her wand, following Hermione as she signaled her students to continue their defense.
Hermione gestured with her left hand and the girl's left sleeve was ripped away to the shoulder, she gestured again and the arm rolled outward, exposing the unmarked inside. Ennervate...Revealo, a glittering trail of light slipped from her wand, scanning down the exposed arm and a second later, the Dark Mark slipped into view as the girl moaned back into consciousness. Maxime, and the Head Girl who had followed her into the room, gasped.
Jeanette dove across the room and before anyone could react, backhanded the seventeen-year-old girl whom Hermione still held in invisible bonds. "HOW COULD YOU, YOU...YOU..." The Head Boy, whom Harry had last seen cradling a broken arm and firing back spells at the Death Eaters grabbed her arm, just in time to take the redirected blow from the enraged girl. He wrapped her in his good arm and pulled her away from the revealed Death Eater. "You were my f..f...friend," Jeanette gasped before Robert leaned in to mutter something in her ear. She glared at the girl and crouched down as she slipped out of the classroom to work her way back to the holes in the wall to fire at the Death Eaters.
Maxime glared at the girl, as Harry waved a wand and she collapsed into unconsciousness again. "I have forces outside of the Death Eaters, along with Tonks here inside your parameter-"
"How," Maxime interrupted impatiently, "you could not have, you do not-"
"Headmistress, I could have brought the entire Order through your rear entrance, if I had wished," Harry exaggerated, slightly, "The only reason that I can think of that they did not assault in force up that point was-" he broke off as his eyes met Hermione's. "Oh...Bugger" Harry and Hermione muttered as one. "Get them in the carriages now, you have to get to the tree line. How many students do you have?"
"A hundred or zo, zerveral of which are wounded..."
Harry took a breath as he felt a burning pain erupt in his head; he staggered to the side as a drop of blood leaked from his infamous scar. "Get them in their carriages now, pile as much solid debris around them as you can. Hermione, you stay here..."
"No, damnit, Harry, we face him together..."
"Mione, I need you here to direct their evacuation to where they can Portkey out," Harry said desperately. Four Reductors smashed into the walls next to where Harry and Hermione were standing, more or less under cover, and neither noticed.
"Bullocks, Harry James," Hermione growled and grabbed his shirt, pushing him further back into the shadows. Several of the students who where continuing to fight back, looked up at them until Maxime waved them back to their task. Harry and Hermione stood, toe to toe for a long, endless moment, eyes glowing faintly in the shadows of the broken walls.
Until, Harry nodded reluctantly and sighed. Hermione gave him a pained smile, and kissed his cheek before she whipped out her pocket mirror, "Tonks, Ron." Tonks' shadowed image appeared instantly, with Ron's vague outline of a head appearing a beat later, splitting the screen. Harry looked over Hermione's shoulder, not commenting, as they both knew what they the others needed to do, "Ron get ready, we will be having, company, soon. Tonks get up here, at the front to work with Maxime. Be careful, we've already seen one Death Nibbler among the students." Tonks nodded and vanished from the mirror.
"We'll be read-" Ron looked up at something suddenly, "Bloody fuck," he muttered fiercely, "We have a problem, here, but we'll be ready...kick his arse." He vanished from the mirror without a word. Hermione glanced back at Harry and shrugged.
"Who?" Maxime asked with an odd look on her face, as she stood fully, just barely behind the cover of a broken column as another curse arrowed in at her.
"Voldemort," Harry and Hermione spat together. The students clustered around them shuddered as they vanished back under their cloaks and left. Maxime looked after them for a moment, before screaming at the students to start to load onto the carriages, having discerned what Harry's plan had to be. The Death Eaters had suborned Beauxbatons' own defensive wards for their siege, possibly through the girl they had just captured. The attempt would not have worked at Hogwarts, those ancient defenses could, eventually, be beaten down by sheer force, or lowered voluntarily by the Headmaster or Headmistress, but the castle itself would not have allowed them to be taken over, she had too much will for that. This castle was much younger however, and had not yet developed the sheer presence of the older construct. Maxime poked her head out from cover and squinted towards where she knew that the best site would be for a mass Portkey out.
At the edge of the wards, Ron gulped and looked inward at the school, as what he had spotted came true, "OLYMPE!" A hoarse roar came from the side as Hagrid appeared from the depths of the woods. Twigs and small bits of vegetation were caught in his coat, hair and beard as he staggered forward. He was visibly dragging several Disillusioned DA members who were trying, uselessly to stop him. They dropped away as Hagrid reached the edge of the wards.
A company of Death Eaters turned to the sound and started firing at Hagrid. A wave of spells with colors muted by the bright sun tore towards him and the entire DA took a harsh breath.
In a way it was almost, a more deadly repeat of the scene Ron had witnessed fifth year. Death Eaters started firing at the Half-Giant, desperately, as he reached their midst, his huge stride eating the distance to their positions as if it were nothing. Four stunners bounced off his chest with no effect as he grabbed a Death Eater in each hand and slammed them together with a sickening crunch. A Cruciatus only slowed him only slightly, with a pair of Kedavras miraculously missing him as he used one of the limp Death Eaters in his hands as a club.
More and more Death Eaters started turning from the castle to attack Hagrid, as another two fell to the Berserker in their midst. Ron rolled to his feet, "FOR DUMBLEDORE!" Fourteen wands fired and almost fifty pre-positioned Really Fanged Frisbees erupted into the Death Eaters flank and instantly the battle changed as two score Death Eaters fell. Ron danced to the side, his Disillusionment falling away as a pair of Kedavras shot back at him. He caught the sight of a DA member falling to another out of the corner of his eye and kept going as he ran forward and dove behind a hedgerow. He jumped back as he hit a Death Eater and stabbed forward with his dagger, dropping the Eater. He took a couple of deep, harried pants as Luna slid in next to him. Her leg was wet with blood, but she gave him a quick reassuring nod.
He looked up as Hannah took a hit in the side and was pulled back behind cover by Neville and Ernie as Lavender and Parvati covered them. Ernie took a hit in the knee and collapsed as they reached cover and with a strength that no one knew Neville had, he bodily picked up the Hufflepuff and threw him behind cover. Neville didn't pause to take a breath as he rolled back over the top of the Hedge and fired curses at the Death Eaters, dropping another two before reaching his destination. He looked back at Ron and gave an exaggerated nod, Ron and Luna sprung to their feet, firing, and ran to cover further on, widening their field of fire and settled in.
Ron's eyes hardened as he spotted a black-haired presence in the midst of the fighting, he started to stand to attack Snape, but stopped at Luna's hand on his arm and headshake. Neville shared a look with Ron across the field but neither man gave into their instincts further. They started to rise, to advance further when a huge concussion wave snapped outward from the midst of the battle tossing them backwards like rag dolls to the ground.
A tall, red-eyed presence filled the center of the field and smiled slightly as he took in the counterattacking DA. Voldemort flicked his wand at Hagrid, and a three-inch thick beam of canary slipped across the battlefield and drove him to his knees. His hoarse screams echoed in the air, until he passed out with a thump that Ron heard hundreds of feet away through the chaos of the battle. Voldemort looked at Ron and smiled, darkly. Ron barely ducked in time as another Cruciatus almost hit him. Ernie, Luna, Neville and Parvati fired a Severing Charm, two Reductors and a Piercing Charm, which Voldemort deflected off over the grey Atlantic with flick of his wand. Parvati screamed as she took another Cruciatus from a Death Eater to the side and passed out.
The Death Eater's head exploded as Neville's Reductor found him.
Voldemort turned back to him, raised his wand, and was thrown backwards, through a stone wall of an outbuilding as Harry appeared from under his cloak. The battle paused for a split second as Voldemort stood from the ruins of the building, shook a bit of stone from the shoulder of his cloak and strode imperiously towards Harry. He flicked his wand and twelve; giant pythons arrived in a flash of light and slithered towards Harry. Harry flung up a hand, waved it across his front and watched as a small tornado of flames consumed the snakes. "Harry," Voldemort hissed, "it is so nice to see you again." His cat-pupiled eyes flicked to the side, "And you brought your Mudblood as well," he added as Hermione appeared off to one side. Her wand jabbed at a Death Eater lining up on Harry, and a purple wave cut him off at the knees.
Harry glanced over and MOVED, blurring to the side as a spiraling maroon beam erupted from his wand, surrounding Voldemort. A cylinder of smooth, black stone rose from the ground, encasing the Dark Lord. Harry continued to move, dropping two more Death Eaters as Hermione followed, felling another in his wake. They took cover just as the stone prison exploded showering the area with gravel. "Surely you can do better than that, Harry." Voldemort's magically magnified voice boomed out over the lawn.
Harry looked back, caught Ron's eye from behind the barricade where he and Hermione were temporarily sheltered. He waved Ron back, and jerked his head back towards the school. Harry took a breath, and vanished. Reappearing next to Voldemort, he snapped his wand at the Dark Lord, causing a flaming trail of light to wrap around him, which then faded to steel cables. Voldemort dispelled the binding and fired a Kedavra, missing Harry by a foot as he flashed past. Hermione slashed her wand sideways, and twin, man-sized bits of rubble rose from the shattered castle and swept in towards Voldemort. Both of them crumbled to dust as he pointed his wand at them. A third fallen block changed into a huge lion behind him and pounced, knocking Voldemort from his feet.
Voldemort's body glowed bright red for an instant, the lion burst into flames and vanished. He rose to his feet, his eyes glaring and fired a Cruciatus at Harry, but with an odd bend of his wrist, the beam curved in mid-flight and hit Hermione. She screamed as she fell to her knees, shaking.
"MIONE," Harry screamed, REDUCTO! The beam that howled from his wand, a thick blue beam scintillating with white lighting, hit Voldemort's summoned silver shield, tore through that shield as if it were paper, and crashed into his wand arm. Voldemort's arm ripped from his shoulder in a spray of black blood, with his wand still clutched in his hand. The yellow beam of the Cruciatus torturing Hermione stopped as if a switch had been thrown, and she passed out, unconscious. For the love of Merlin, now, Tonks, Harry muttered in his thoughts as he streaked towards Hermione and Voldemort calmly walked over to where his arm lay twitching on the grass. Ennervate, Harry whispered and watched, his heart beating again, as Hermione stirred, shook her head and got to her feet with his help. She took a breath, and her magic flowed, recharging her.
As if Harry's desperate plea for the Auror had been a shouted command, the remaining outer walls of the school exploded outward, the stones crushing two Death Eaters. Every eye turned back towards the school as three of the huge, house-sized carriages like Beauxbatons had used at the Tri-Wizard charged out through the gap. Ten or so students and faculty hung on each of the carriages firing ever curse they could think of as they passed. The huge horses ran down another four Death Eaters as the carriages careened though the fighting.
The lead carriage streaked past where Hagrid was lying prostrate on the ground as Maxime jumped off it, without it slowing down. She tumbled to a stop, heaved Hagrid to her shoulders with a monumental effort and started staggering rapidly after the carriages. Harry glanced towards the clearing, felt the Portkeys start to go as the students reached the edge of the wards, "NOW, RON, NOW!" Ron looked at Neville, they nodded, and both of them traced a single rune in the air with their wands.
Another hundred of the Twins' best Frisbees and all of the Grenades they had brought with them went off at once. Instantly the Death Eaters were busier trying to keep alive than trying to keep them from escaping. Harry watched the scene as Frisbees lined up in formations and attacked a Death Eater as one or as the flash of hidden grenades set in booby trap mode covered their flanks as he and Hermione started running back, leapfrogging each other as they sent a continuous stream of curses flying back at their enemies. Harry gritted his teeth, barely holding onto his wand as it smoked and threatened to erupt into flames from the constant stream of spells erupting from it. He watched as the last of the DA passed him, with more than one of them being carried, he waved Hermione past him, and looked back at the battlefield just in time to see Voldemort pick up his severed arm, and replace it back on his shoulder. He took the wand into his left hand and waved it over his right shoulder. His right hand flexed and he laughed evilly. Harry felt a spike of fear before he stood, one last time, and ran backwards.
Just as he reached the edge of the area where DA members were Apparating out as fast as they could, a cutting charm ripped into his thigh sending him tumbling into Hermione. She looked back, and waved for Ron and Luna as the last two to remain behind to go. They vanished in a loud CRACK, and an instant later; Harry and Hermione vanished, with a parting gesture from each of them for the Dark Lord.
Voldemort screamed in rage. He turned to the nearest Death Eater, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" The green bolt hit the Death Eater and threw him back almost a hundred feet, sending his lifeless body crashing down over the cliff. At the other end of the battle, Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy, both of whom had managed to stay out of most of the fighting, slowly started to ease out of sight.
**************************Hogwarts*******************************
8:20 pm
Harry limped along the beds of the Infirmary, his heart screaming in pain much worse than that from his cracked rib or the leg still healing under a magical salve. Not a single member of the rescue force had returned unwounded from the day, except, amazingly, Ron. Hagrid was laying taking up almost an entire wall in his hastily conjured stage-sized bed. Olympe had been at his side, wearing a robin-egg sized ring on her hand, until McGonagall herself had pulled the woman away to care for her students. He had not woke yet from Voldemort's curse, but he was breathing much better now, almost seven hours after they had returned.
Hermione looked across the room at him, and gave him a small, shaky smile as she came over and intertwined the fingers of her right hand with those of his left. Harry looked down at their hands as he felt her shaking a bit, and looked back up, over at her eyes. She shrugged slightly as Harry felt another residual tremor pass along her nerves. Harry leaned over, turning enough so they could rest their foreheads together. She kissed him quickly before they walked to the end of the long, magically expanded room and looked back as they leaned against the wall. Besides Hagrid and Hermione, who they both knew that the only reason she wasn't in a semi-coma like the Half-Giant was the fact that her powers were much, much greater than Hagrid's, there were others being tended to, tonight.
Neville sat heavily on the floor, with Lavender on his lap next to where Parvati was sleeping off the effects of Nerve-Regeneration Tonic, it went much faster with magical folk then it had with Hermione's father. In the bed one over, Hannah Abbot was resting next to Ernie McMillan, both of them recovering from Cutting Curses, hers to the side, his to the knee.
Poppy was still muttering about the lack of propriety.
Harry looked down at Luna laying on the bed he usually took up in this, his second home. It was a sign of the times that Poppy had given up on her privacy curtains for the sake of expedience. She had cut the blonde's pants off with her wand to get to Luna's leg and was now bent down over her as an IV pumped glucose and Blood-Replenishing Potion into her. Poppy finished sealing the wound that Luna had insisted was nothing until all of the injured Beauxbatons students had been treated and stood, stiffly. In fact, none of the Hogwarts students, those that were able to get there under their own power that is, had let her treat them until the frightened Beauxbatons students had been helped.
Ron thanked Poppy softly as the matronly witch pulled a blanked up to Luna's chest and told the girl to get some sleep. Poppy patted Ron on the shoulder and walked over to Harry and Hermione, with her eyes only resting briefly on a door at the end of the room. Beyond that room, the worst casualty of the day, at least for Hogwarts, rested, forever.
Zacharias Smith, one of the original members of the DA, and an occasional rival of Harry and the others, had gone down from a Kedavra at the beginning of the fight. He had been picked up as they evacuated, as there were very old traditions involved, ones that never left anyone behind if they could avoid it.
"You should get some rest Harry, Hermione," Poppy whispered hoarsely. She had been forced to treat the entire wounded of Beauxbatons, and the DA by herself, without any help from St. Mungo's as they had found out when they arrived back at the school, it wasn't coming.
Voldemort had, in what the evening edition of the Prophet was already calling the New Year's Massacres struck across Britain and indeed if one counted Paris, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang; Europe. The Wizarding center of Paris, the Street de Magik' had been attacked by giants under the control of McNair. In turn, almost the entire French magical government's forces had responded to the attack, leaving the school uncovered for his true goal, the school. Durmstrang had been even easier, it was now only a smoking hole in the ground, though it was still unknown if it had fallen or had gone over to the Dark before being destroyed.
In Britain it had been worse. A host of Dementors had cut a swath across the Scottish-English boarder, annihilating at least three Muggle villages. A four square block section of Soho near Tonks' apartment had exploded in what the Muggle authorities were calling a "gas main explosion", but Harry privately thought that it was probably an overpowered, delayed Reductor. Four Muggle cruise ships in Norfolk Harbor had sunk as a large tentacled monster had erupted from the deep and pulled them beneath the waves. In Leeds, a school had been overrun by a pack of Werewolves, they were still counting the dead, while in Surrey, a Muggle police station was left with the entire shift lying dead on the floor, their sightless eyes testament to the efficiency of the Avada Kedavra. The Muggle government's explanation for that one was that a terrorist had pumped in Cyanide gas to the heating system.
All in all, the Dark Mark had appeared almost fifty times over Britain and the surrounding countries, but it was almost more of where he did not strike than where he did. For it was the places that it was most feared that Voldemort would strike, Hogwarts, the train returning the students to school or the Ministry, all had gone untouched, except for one Death Eater that Lupin had caught trying to sneak around the edge of the Forbidden Forest. That had been a mistake, for him. St Mungo's, which Harry thought should be a prime target, had also gone untouched, though Harry thought, unlike the published comments of several Ministry officials who claimed that the Hospital was sacrosanct, that it was only a matter of time until it was too, hit, again. They had already forgot the assault on the hospital this past summer. Harry sighed and shook his head at Pomfrey's comments, "We will, but we need to go see McGonagall, have to get the new students settled properly." She frowned but nodded as Harry and Hermione slipped from the room.
Hermione leaned on him as they walked slowly down the halls towards the second floor entrance to McGonagall's office. They nodded as they passed Colin and Dennis who were patrolling the halls along with Honor; the three of them had their wands in hand and looked nervously around. Hermione's tired smile seemed to reassure them as well as the few words Harry muttered to them as they paused. We dodged a Kedavra today, Love, Harry whispered as they walked down a fourth floor hallway and stepped back as a pack of third years hurried back to their dorms from the Great Hall, where the events of school life went on.
And not only the literal ones, Hermione agreed as they descended a flight of stairs to the third floor. She looked to each side, her eyes going slightly unfocused for a second. Finding them alone in the hall, she pulled Harry into an alcove, tucked herself in tight to his chest and felt an instant of vertigo as the entire alcove spun in place, leaving them in a dim passage. Harry waved his wand and torches lit along the corridor, lighting the top of a stone slide that curved downward and to the right. She jumped on the top of the slide, and crossed her arms across her chest as she slipped rapidly away into the darkness. She hit the charmed landing zone a floor down and hundreds of yards away and tumbled forward. She rolled over just as Harry slid in where she had just been.
He stood and reached down and pulled her to her feet. Hermione smiled and kissed him in silent thanks, before she transfigured their torn and stained blacks into pristine school uniforms. She looked down as her black cargos shortened and split, separating until they formed her normal, pleated school skirt. She frowned for an instant at the knee-length skirt and flicked her wand at it again, shortening it by several inches. Harry laughed tiredly and she grinned for an instant before their smiles fell away again. He conjured a pair of night-black robes trimmed in crimson and handed her the smaller of the two before dawning his own.
Fully dressed for this meeting, Hermione placed her Head Girl badge on the chest of her robes and stepped out from a tapestry next to the Gargoyle guarding McGonagall's office. She paused, looking back as Harry stood in the doorway, his face wan. He looked up at her, I lost another one, Hermione; Harry stated flatly and looked down at the floor. His face grew suddenly pale as he leaned against the doorway and shook slightly. It was only luck that we didn't lose everyone.
Hermione slipped back next to him, and wrapped her arms around his waist, she dropped her head to his shoulder and shook it against the coarse fabric of his winter robes. No, it wasn't luck, Harry, we went in with a plan, and we did the job. Shit happens, Harry, you know that better than anyone.
But Zacharias got...
Hermione frowned against his shoulder, not knowing exactly how to say this, then with a tiny groan pulled back enough so she could meet his eyes, her hands slipped up to cup his face as she leaned forward so their foreheads touched lightly, Harry, I love Hagrid, he's my friend as much as yours, he has always been fair to me, to us even when we weren't to him...but more than anything, Zacharias was killed because Hagrid charged in like a berserker and Ron had to get the party started too soon. Harry frowned, and tried to drop his eyes from hers, But even so, Harry, it still could have happened even if Hagrid had never been there.
I know, Harry replied softly, and he won't be the last one, either...he laughed quietly and bitterly as a thought crossed his mind, you know that this wouldn't be nearly as difficult if I was half as evil as the Dursleys thought I was.
But you're not, baby, you're not, Hermione whispered before she leaned in to kiss him.
Harry just nodded, and stepped back, straightening. Hermione fought back tears as she felt the torrent of emotions slip back behind the wall that those Dursleys had taught him to build so well. He took her hand in his and gave it a tiny squeeze, "Shall we be about it?" he asked and pulled them to face the gargoyle. Its blue eyes snapped open, regarded them for an instant and stepped aside, allowing them access to the moving staircase. They rode the stairs to the top without a word or conscious thought passing between them. Reaching the ancient, oaken door, Harry reached out and rapped sharply with the Griffin knocker once, and entered at McGonagall's exhausted command.
Harry and Hermione slipped into the room to find McGonagall sitting behind Dumbledore's old, vast desk with her eyes drooping heavily behind her glasses. Harry's gaze flicked automatically to the portrait behind her, to find that Dumbledore's image was awake and watching the events unfold intently. Harry gave it a nod, which it returned almost as if the ancient wizard was here instead of on his next great adventure. Harry and Hermione approached McGonagall's desk at her wave, passing Remus on the way. He just gave Harry a small pat on the shoulder before he went to go stand near the back of the room with Tonks. Harry looked over at the couch facing McGonagall's desk and saw the two head students of Beauxbatons looking nervously around the office. Maxime sat in a chair the size of a loveseat next to them, looking absently out the window.
McGonagall spared her a consoling look before she looked up at Harry and Hermione through her square-framed glasses. "Mr. Potter, Miss Granger," she said briskly, "you have already met your counterparts from Beauxbatons? Jeanette Braxton and Robert Smythe?" all four of them nodded, "Good, then if you would please, work with them to get their school mates settled in? For tonight, Filius has outfitted the Great Hall as a makeshift dormitory, they will sleep there tonight." Harry nodded. McGonagall shared a look with him, communicating her sorrow at the night's events. "Mr. Smith was a brave student, he will be missed."
"Yes, ma'am, he was," Harry agreed softly. "Will there be anything else?"
McGonagall shook her head, "No, Potter, Granger, we will offer a place to those students who choose to complete their studies for the rest of the year here if they so choose, and we will be sorting them in the morning, but for now let them rest."
"Ma'am," Harry began fitfully after an instant, "I assume that you will be writing a letter to Zacharias' parents?"
"I am sorry to say that his parents passed several years ago, I will be writing to his uncle however, Harry, he is an Auror in Ireland," Minerva explained.
"I would like to write a letter as well to go with your correspondence, ma'am," Harry said, "to tell his Uncle how brave he was, and how he died...I owe him that much." McGonagall nodded, not trusting her voice as Harry looked at the two Beauxbatons students and motioned them to their feet, "I guess we should show you where your friends are bunking and give you a brief tour." Harry led the two out of the door, with Hermione following, pausing just long enough to share a glance with McGonagall as she closed the door, long enough to catch the single tear that slipped unnoticed down her mentor's tight visage.
There you go...Next chapter, a little training that the Ministry wouldn't approve of, and back to the hunt....Stay tuned...