A/N: And here we go. Thanks as usual to Lady Starlight for her work on this chapter.
Chapter 50: And Four to Go...
***************************Wewelsburg Castle***************************
May 23, 1998
10:20 am
Far below a moderately-sized, triangular keep, which dominated the local skyline from its perch on a hill, a pile of leaves moved at the edge of the woods surrounding the castle. For an instant, the sun glinted off something, an abandoned can, a piece of steel, or the lenses of a quickly-lowered pair of Omniocculars. The leaves settled, and nothing moved in the small clearing for a long moment, until the ground cover was disturbed again, this time by invisible feet as they crossed the clearing and stopped. A brief pause and then a sandy-haired head appeared floating in mid-air, followed almost immediately by a head of long-black hair hanging a head lower than the first.
Neville glanced over as the pile of leaves shimmered and vanished, revealing several tents pitched at the edge of the woods, as the Concealment Charm was dismissed. Parvati shrugged out of the borrowed cloak and hung it over her arm, as she looked over at Neville, who had doffed his as well before walking over to Harry, Hermione, Ron and Luna where the four were crouching around a small, conjured model of the castle above them. Draco and Ginny were standing a bit back, watching, but not commenting, though that could have been a function of the wand Seamus was tapping lightly against his leg as much as anything, then any intrinsic thoughts of propriety. Neville dropped to his knees next to Hermione and indicated a tiny guard shack set down the road leading to the main Muggle road a quarter way around the hill from them, "Parvati...umm convinced the guard to look the other way, and I Memory-Charmed him. He thinks it's his day off, and he went home."
Hermione looked up at her former roommate and raised one eyebrow, Parvati just smiled slowly. "We set the Muggle re-direction Ward," Parvati said, evenly as she looked over a Neville, her dark eyes glinting at something, "There's not a large focusing object for this one like there is at Hogwarts, so it really only covers about twenty feet to either side of the road, and it won't last more than a day or two, but while it does, any Muggle who takes that road to the castle will remember he should be somewhere else."
"Good," Harry replied as he looked down at the model, "Hermione and I just cut the phone lines in, so we should be undisturbed..." Harry looked around at the various DA members pushed in around him; the same people he had grew up with for seven years, and took a breath, "You all know the plan?" A chorus of nods. "Good, for some reason...I have a feeling that the item will be in this section," Harry waved towards a cylindrical tower serving as one point of the triangle, "I should be able to," Ron glanced jerkily towards Draco and Harry shrugged helplessly, "sense it if I can get close enough...But it makes sense that it's in this part, it was the first to be rebuilt following this place's last destruction...One last thing, if we do happen to run into a Muggle in there, we shouldn't, we had the wards in and other things, but if we do, stun, Obliviate and then Portkey them out...If any of you don't feel comfortable Obliviating them, let someone else do it. I don't need any more Lockharts on my conscience." Several small laughs came from the DA at his words. "Let's go, I heard that they are serving roast beef tonight..."
**************************Ministry of Magic*******************************
11:15 am
Arthur Weasley strode quickly down a second floor hall, leading to a large set of oak double doors. A pair of Aurors stood at the door, their wands drawn and their eyes hard, as they carefully scrutinized the identification of a stream of Aurors and other agents as they went past them into the largest, secure, briefing room in the Ministry.
The heavy oak doors boomed shut behind him as he moved down a center aisle, between rows of filled stadium-style seating, filled with almost every Auror, and MLE officer that the Ministry still had available. Arthur climbed the stairs to a raised stage at the front of the room and stood behind a small podium, which held the seal of the Auror Corps, a pair of crossed wands overlaying an inverted sword and a set of golden scales. Kingsley climbed the stage to stand next to Arthur and muttering broke out among the ranked Aurors. Arthur took a breath and touched a small, glowing stone on the podium, instantly the lights dimmed and a white flash lit the walls as the room sealed itself.
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen," Arthur's voice boomed out over the large room, aided by the permanent amplification spells in the room. "Thank you for being here on such short notice," soft laughter broke out from a few, and Arthur gave a fleeting smile, then his face became resolute, "This entire meeting is hereby classified Top Secret-Eyes Only, any leakage of the information here will be considered an act of Treason." Several of the Aurors who had been smiling and joking with their neighbors straightened quickly, and Arthur nodded, "Yes, ladies and gentlemen it is that serious...You may have noticed Kingsley next to me, as of this moment, Kingsley Shacklebolt is appointed on my authority to the interim post of Chief Auror, subject to confirmation by the Wizengamot...This morning at seven twenty, Chief Auror Savage was assassinated while at breakfast with MLE head, Watson... There is evidence that Mr. Watson was under the Imperius, however until that can be confirmed, he is being held in custody. So for the time being, I have assumed personal command of the MLE."
A shocked silence filled the room, as Arthur stood to the side and waved Kingsley to the podium, he took a breath, a flickering torch sparkled light off his earring, "This is not how I ever wanted to gain this post, but I will try to get as many of you out of this alive as I can..." Kingsley drew his wand and flicked it behind him, a curtain of billowing mist descended from the ceiling, another flick and an image of an old, Muggle town appeared behind him. "Little Hangleton, ladies and gentlemen. This is where we are all going this evening...The Ministry has received information, from a source that is considered reliable, that Tom Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort, is staging there for an attack this evening. This is a catch and fly operation, people, we did not have time or the security to brief you in more detail."
He flicked his wand again, and an old, dark, foreboding mansion appeared, "From certain historical records, this house, Riddle House, is believed to be the location that they are gathered at, or more likely in caverns underneath that reconnaissance has determined exist there...We are expecting large numbers of Death Eaters here, along with possibly other dark creatures that Voldemort is known to have in thrall...however there is no evidence of Dementors. We have basically no reconnaissance on the house itself, so once we make it into the house itself, we will be blind, so be on your toes."
A hand shot up and waved laconically from the middle of the crowd, Kingsley nodded towards an Auror with short, salt and pepper hair, "Shack," Dawlish drawled, "no offence, mate, but this plan sucks..." A few nervous laughs answered him. "Are you sure this isn't a trap?"
"No," Shacklebolt replied, "I'm not, but frankly, we have no choice, if they are gathered for an attack, in force, this may be the only chance we have to, at the very least, disrupt the attack, and hopefully, smash them in their lair...but make no mistake people, our duty is to stop the attack. From the information we have received this attack is in such number that if Voldemort succeeds, we might as well hand him the keys to this building." A gasp came from a few of the Aurors. "We will split into four groups commanded by myself, Thompson, Wandsmith, and Spangler, and arrive at the north, south, east and west ends of the town, respectively, and sweep inward, casting anti-Apparation wards as we move towards Riddle House."
"Two notes, first this is a Muggle village, you are to take reasonable efforts to stay covert, but your lives are more important, we have Obiliviators on staff for a reason." A few bleak grins. "Second, you are authorized to spell to kill, efforts should be made to take any Death Eaters alive, of course if it is easily practicable, but that is not to get in the way of your own safety." Kingsley took a breath, and nodded, that is it, ladies and gentlemen, see the board for your assignments, and get kitted out, we leave in three hours. You are not permitted to communicate outside of this group. There is food set up for you in the office. Merlin willing we end this godforsaken war tonight." Kingsley stepped back from the podium and left the room without another word, ignoring a few shouted questions.
**************************Godric's Hollow********************************
12:20 pm
Jane Granger grimaced slightly as a contraction hit her, one of a few she had been having since late last night and turned back to her lunch, a rather odd sandwich combination of roast beef and peanut butter. "Are you alright, Jane?" Roger asked, a small frown on his face as he looked across the table at her, setting aside the journal he had been reading.
She smiled, and reached across the table, interlacing their fingers for a moment, before she looked up with a grin, "I'm fine, just a touch restive today." She finished her sandwich and stood slowly, picking up her plate. She walked around the table and bent down, kissing the top of his head and picking up his empty plate.
"I can get that, Jane," Roger objected softly. Jane just smiled and carried their plates over to the sink and started to rinse them off. She set his aside in a drying rack and reached for hers, running it under the water. She scrubbed at a stubborn patch of peanut butter and before shaking the plate and setting it in the drying rack next to her. She reached up to place a glass back in a cabinet next to the sink, and her breath hitched as a warm flow cascaded down her legs.
She leaned against her hands against the countertop as a contraction bit her and she said in a normal voice, "There is something you can do for me, however, Honey," she knew he nodded behind her, "can you go and call Remus...tell him, it's time."
Roger stood so suddenly his chair crashed to the floor behind him. "Umm...alright," he said, and quickly moved around the small kitchen table to stand in front of her as she turned around to face him. "Are you alright, Jane?" he repeated, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.
She snorted, "Honestly, Roger, I'm not made of glass, now go," she leaned forward and pecked him on the lips, "go and call Remus, and get our gear, I'll just wait for you on the couch." Roger nodded and vanished as if he had Apparated, and seconds later she heard his steps as he ran up the stairs. She moved much more sedately as she walked into the living room, and eased herself down onto the couch, she waited as Roger hurried down the stairs, carrying a black bag, which bulged and clanked oddly. Roger pulled down a large, loose polo shirt on over his t-shirt, and settled it carefully over his hip, concealing the Browning holstered there. He set the bag next to Jane on the couch, and knelt before her.
"I called Remus, he and Tonks should be here..."
A swirling vortex of color exploded in the living room and spat out the two mentioned, Remus took one step forward and grabbed Tonks, knowing that she should never really be trusted where coordination was needed. She smiled at him, and looked over at Jane, "Wotcher, Jane, decided that you need to go for a bit of a trip? This is a touch much, though, I'm sure that Wolfie and I could have arraigned a bit of an outing somewhere that would have been safe."
"Funny, Tonks," Jane grunted as she let the younger woman pull her to her feet. "Can we go?"
"Yes, Jane," Remus said, giving Tonks a slightly reproachful look. She stuck her tongue out at him, before she pulled a handball-sized silver orb from inside her pocket and held it up, placing it into Jane's hand. "That 's a special Portkey that I had made, just for this, I had a friend, it's charmed to be much, less...eventful than a normal one, I was owed a favor by a friend, they are a touch difficult to make, and they have to be targeted for only one place." Jane gave him a smile, and held it up. "Ready?" Remus asked, looking back at Roger, who reached in and touched the orb, closing his hand over Jane's. Remus pulled his wand, "PORTUS," the Grangers vanished in a fall of color and Remus looked to Tonks.
She pulled another orb, a black one this time and held it to him, he grabbed her hand and they both felt a tug behind a their navels and felt themselves be yanked through time and space to be spat out again, from the more normal Portkey to land staggering in the Infirmary.
Poppy already had Jane reclining on a bed near the door. Several other beds were filled with several young witches, several empty potion bottles were set on tables next to them, and they were sleeping peacefully. "Let me get a look at you, Jane, and then we'll see about letting you walk about for a bit, its easier to keep mobile, at least for now." Pomfrey waved her wand over Jane's belly and a clipboard hovering at Poppy's side started to fill in words and numbers.
Poppy took the clipboard and started to read though it, she flipped the page and made a small, satisfied sound, "You are fine, Jane, though I think it will be several hours yet."
Jane gave her a smile and motioned for Roger to help her from the bed. She walked over slowly towards the bag that Roger had tossed on the bed next to her, and started to dig through it, "Bloody...Roger, we forgot that blanket I made..."
"We can go back and get it, Jane," Tonks volunteered, looking at Remus meaningfully, "I need to swing by my flat to pick up some gear anyway...Where is it?"
"Up in my and Roger's bedroom, should be on the chair next to the bed," Jane explained, smiling appreciatively, "Thanks, Tonks."
"Sure, Jane, it's the least we can do for family," Tonks grabbed Remus from where the lycan was talking lowly to Roger. Remus clasped him on the shoulder and took Tonks' hand, before they vanished again, falling away though the ether back to Soho, to Tonks' flat.
**************************Hogsmeade*****************************
1:25 pm
Susan Bones frowned as she followed several of her younger classmates along the high street leading into the small, Wizarding Village set next to Hogwarts. She coughed slightly, still not quite over the wizard flu that had sidelined her from the mission that even now, her friends were on, somewhere in Germany. She sighed as she looked down the street at the herds of Hogwarts' students as they moved between Zonko's, and Honeydukes, and Dervish and Banges, and others carrying bags full of their purchases, or munching on candies.
She stepped aside as a pack of giggling Hufflepuffs, ranging in age from thirteen to fifteen, sauntered past, dressed up on their obvious dates, with their companions, a slightly motley crew of assorted Ravenclaw, Hufflepuffs, and one quite bewildered-looking, third year Gryffindor who was carrying an odd, red handbag, following along. Susan snorted to herself, which sounded more like a sneeze and headed on down the street, towards the Three Broomsticks and a late lunch.
An odd feeling from somewhere in her gut caused her to look back, along a alley leading alongside the bookstore, to find Blaise Zabini and almost every Slytherin sixth and seventh year moving in a tight pack back towards the castle. A rather odd behavior for the Slytherins, who would normally be taking Harry and Hermione's absence for the "deathwatch" of Augusta Longbottom to lord over the younger students in the other houses. They definitely would not be wasting this opportunity if something more pressing was not occurring.
She ducked back out of sight, and fingered her wand where it sat in her back pocket, before she straightened, and started to trail the crowd of Slytherins towards a seldom-used trail at the edge of town leading along the edge of the woods towards Hogwarts. She passed the back of Honeydukes, passing a shadowed alley and screamed, silently, as a large hand clasped over her mouth and strong arms pulled her into the alley. The arms spun her around, and her eyes grew wide as she found Blaise Zabini leering at her, Pansy hanging off his arm. She looked around, able to move just her eyes and found another half-dozen Slytherins crowded around.
Zabini shook Pansy off his arm and moved closer to her, his wand slipped from his sleeve and jabbed her roughly in her stomach, "It is a shame, poor little Susan, that I do not have time, to properly entertain you." He reached up and grabbed her hair; she tried to struggle but was held immobile in Goyle's arms. Zabini's wand slipped up along her stomach, lightly tracing her breast and throat to end up in the hollow behind her left ear, "AVADA KEDAVRA," he hissed and a flare of green lit the alley for an instant.
Sightless eyes looked up as she fell to the ground, Goyle letting go of her body the instant Zabini had uttered the words. "Oi, Blaise," he growled, "I wanted her."
"No time, you oaf," Zabini snapped, "drag her behind that can, by the time they find her it will be too late." Crabbe and Goyle dumped her behind a dumpster, neither one remembering that they could have just as easily, levitated her there...or maybe they could not; it was Crabbe and Goyle, after all. The Slytherins quickly filed out of the alley, moving quickly along the back streets of the village towards the castle.
************************Ministry of Magic****************************
2:00 pm.
Arthur Weasley sat quietly behind a large, oak desk shuffling papers, not thinking about the people that he was sending into combat, and very possibly for many of them, their deaths. He sighed to the empty room and took off his glasses, setting them down on the desk in front of him and rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Without putting them back on, he stood from his desk and walked to a small wet bar set along one of the walls opposite his couch, and poured himself three fingers of Old Ogden's before taking the glass and walking over to his window. He watched as tiny brooms flitted in the sky above the Burrow, memory of a time when all of his children still danced under the sky, before war and betrayal, jealousy, and lust had nearly destroyed them. He took a sip as his thoughts slipped away to his youngest, wherever they were, on a mission that even he did not know the specifics of. A fleeting spike of anguish danced along his thoughts, before he forced it away, burying it behind walls of duty and honor.
He raised the glass back to his lips...A thunderous explosion rocked the Ministry, staggering him and causing the tumbler to fall from his hand to shatter on the floor below. Arthur turned towards the door, just as blaring alarms filled the air, and several more explosions shook the room. He took a staggering step towards his desk, reaching it just as the door boomed open and Kingsley ran in. "We're under attack...they've already taken the lower levels, before we got cut off, security reported the Atrium full of Inferi."
"How the hell..."
"We think they broke through from the old catacombs, there was no real security there, they overran the few people down there," Kingsley explained quickly, "I've already sent the Aurors down to hold what we have, but they just keep coming, I think that they must have found some old cemetery or something."
"Alright then," Arthur said, reaching into a drawer of his desk and grabbing his wand, "Let's go."
"No," Kingsley said, standing in the doorway and blocking Arthur, "Your job is leading this fight, not being in it." Arthur growled under his breath and sheathed his wand with a forceful snap. "There's one other thing, Arthur...we have no communication with the outside, no mirrors, no fires, no owls, nothing."
"Then we are on our own," Arthur said softly, he staggered as something else shook the room and the faint odor of burning, rotten flesh started to fill the air from the vents. "Hold at all costs, Kingsley, make every effort to force a salient to the Atrium, and pull all combatants back to the first and second floors, I will have my aides use them to set up triage."
"Yes, sir." Kingsley started towards the door, and paused without turning, "You do realize that we can't be the only place under attack."
"I know, I know."
****************************Hogwarts********************************
2:01 pm
Professor Augustine Glyph walked slowly down the path from the winged boar gates to the school grounds. Her eyes were slightly unfocused as she moved stiffly, almost robotically along the path, moving ever closer to the main doors of the school. Following behind her, having joined her after she performed an odd incantation that temporally disabled the Intrusion Charms on the gate, an even dozen, black, cloaked figures moved silently as if ghosts, in her wake. She passed through the arch leading into the outer courtyard, and started up the stairs leading to the open main doors.
Argus Filch and his companion were standing at the door, watching for students attempting to bring back contraband items. He looked up at the approach of the odd party and frowned, "Professor, who are..."
A flicker of green light splashed across the distance, and Filch crumpled, collapsing off the side of the stairs to the ground, several feet below. Mrs. Norris looked down at him, stunned, howling a mournful wail; she turned to the Death Eaters, a hiss issuing from her throat as she stood with her hair standing straight up.
She died in another causal flick of a wand and the tallest of the twelve lowered his hood. Searing red eyes looked over the huge, open, oaken doors of the ancient Wizarding fortress, and a lipless mouth sneered. "I have won," Voldemort laughed. He waved behind him and an endless wave of black darkened the lawn, before he stepped into the castle, his wand held high before him. Behind him, Glyph died as Bellatrix walked up behind her, a blade flashed, and Bellatrix giggled, pushing the new corpse away to fall back down the stairs.
An unearthly howling klaxon filled the air as the war came to Hogwarts, for real this time.
**************************Hogsmeade*********************************
2:02 pm
A loud scream from outside of the Three Broomsticks was the first warning of the assault on the town. The DA, those that were at the town anyway and not thousands of miles away, even at this instant creeping into a castle with as dark a past as Voldemort himself, pushed back from tables and barstools. They drew wands as they moved to the doors, some of them slipping out the back of the pub, with a few preparing themselves for a rush out the front.
Colin Creevey looked over at Honor as an explosion shook the street outside, she shattered a window with a muttered, "Reducto," and tossed a small, blue ball out onto the street. Colin flicked open a small pocket Mirror, and looked into it, Honor, Gretchen and a few other DA members crowded around the mirror to find the image of the High Street filled with masked, black-cloaked figures. The walls of the pub exploded inward, flying glass flaying a pair of fifth years as they sheltered behind an upturned table.
"There's too many, Colin," Honor snapped, her voice shuddering slightly before she pulled it back under control with an effort of will. Her dark eyes hardened to small points, and she took a breath, ducking as a fireball soared in the gap in the wall and ignited the back wall. "We have to run."
"Damn it, Honor," Colin snapped as his brother pushed up enough to fire off a Stunner out into the street beyond. "Harry would want us to fight."
"No, Merlin damn it, Colin, he would want us to live," Honor roared, as lifted her mirror to her lips, "ALL DA, RUN, DAMN IT, RUN..."
Around them in the streets of Hogsmeade, students in jeans and t-shirts dove behind cover, behind carts and buildings, and vanished in flickers of Psuedomotion, as Death Eaters screamed their rage. Honor looked around the room, at the ten or so DA members still here, "What are you waiting for, get out of here and read those papers Hermione gave you, I'm sure this is enough of an emergency to get them to open...they should tell you where to go. Now get!" Seven soft CRACKs of Apparation snapped out, as the DA ran, defeated for now. Honor took a breath and looked about the room, at the civilians still there, "Get out of here, all of you, there's no one to save you but yourselves."
"What about the Ministry?" an old witch asked from near the bar, "They have Aurors and such...or Potter, he saved the town the last time."
"They aren't here," Colin snapped, as his brother moved over next to him, the three of them the only DA remaining in the Three Broomsticks. A soft bell sounded and he opened his mirror to find the only other members left, Michael Corner and Misty Elliot, in the silvery screen. Flickers of spellfire filled the air behind them, and Misty rolled back out of frame and "REDUCTO" came out of the tiny speaker.
"We found Susan...she's dead..." Michael snapped, his voice breaking slightly as he looked into the mirror, "I...can't side along her, she's..."
"L...Leave her," Honor whispered, tears blurring her vision of the mirror.
"But..."
"LEAVE HER DAMN IT," Honor roared, "Go, she'd understand."
The images disappeared without another word, and Colin closed his mirror, he looked at Honor, she took a deep breath, looking up from the floor, and nodded. "Let's go," he said very quietly, and with a triplet series of CRACKs, the three DA members, vanished.
***************************Wewelsburg Castle*****************************
2:02 pm
Eleven hundred kilometers from the sudden fighting in their home, none of the DA, even now moving into the hoped-for site of the last Horcrux, had any inkling of the destruction raging across Britain. Under a blue sky, the members of the DA flitted from bits of cover to cover, slipping through the trees towards the castle. Hermione came to the edge of the clearing, along with Harry leading the way, for the simple reason, that if anything were to come out at them suddenly, they could most easily deal with it. She held up a hand, waving the rest of the DA to a halt.
Behind her, most of the DA went to ground; Neville, Parvati, Lavender and Dean, who were trailing the pack by several meters, quickly moved behind large trees for cover, their wands pointed back as Hermione crept carefully towards a strangely square, overgrown pile of stones. She stopped several feet away from it, her eyes slightly unfocused as she looked at it, and shivered from a sudden cold wave that passed through her bones. The pillars writhed with black serpents of light, endlessly moving, in her enhanced sight. She did not look back as Harry went to one knee next to her, and Ron and Luna crouched together a couple of paces to her left. "One of the ward anchors," Hermione mused quietly. She bent to the side, and pulled three silvery, hand-sized crystals from her infinitely deep pouch.
She handed one to Harry and he nodded, slipping to the other side of the pillar and set the crystal in the ground. Hermione set one of hers, then the second, forming a precise triangle around the stones. A flick of a wand, and a silver beam of light connected the three before vanishing. She joined Harry next to Ron and Luna and crooked an eyebrow at Ron as she saw him scowling. "Blimey, Hermione," he said softly, "Why don't we just blow them up, it would be easier..." Ron drew his wand and pointed it at the stones.
"Luna," Hermione muttered, and without so much as a pause, Luna reached up and thumped Ron on the back of the head. "Ronald," Hermione muttered with a bare touch of exasperation, "This is a Death Ward, emphasis on the death...Now if it were activated, yes, that is what we would probably do, but this seems to be triggered if we get the Horcrux. Also, Ronald, this a Ward raised by Tom Riddle...I can taste the quiescent power, along with the darkness from here, just what do you think will happen if we just blow that stone up without the Ward already up to disperse the energy?"
"Um...we all die?" Ron replied in a suddenly small voice and Hermione sighed as Harry rolled his eyes, and shared a small grin with Luna.
"Yes, Ron, we would probably all die from the equivalent of about a hundred Kedavras," Hermione replied tolerantly, and waved the rest of the DA past them, moving from the edge of the clearing to the castle's outer wall, moving quickly towards the base of the east wall.
"Then how are we going to get out--"
"Honestly, Ronald," Hermione muttered as Harry tolerantly let her continue, knowing she was just blowing off steam, "Tom Riddle made the worst mistake of his misbegotten life when he decided to fuck with my husband's life and by extension my own." Harry smirked slightly, not bothering to remind her that she was all of two when Riddle had picked that fight. "Those crystals have set up a resonance field around the pillar, when it is activated, instead of completing the ward, the energy will collapse on itself, destroying that pillar and cascading to the other three." She moved off quickly towards the wall, Harry moving at her side. She reached the base of the wall, in the center of the rest of the DA, and looked back at Ron, "Do you understand, Ron?"
"Yes," Luna replied for him, elbowing him not at all surreptitiously. "Can I see your math when we get back? That gives me an idea for a shield variant." Hermione smiled slightly and nodded, and Ron kept silent at a glance from Harry. "We have such a problem with Albian Garden Weevils at home."
"Alright," Harry drawled, looking away from Luna and towards the base of the blank stone wall, and sharing a small, hidden grin with Hermione. He nodded to himself as twirled his wand in long fingers like a rock drummer.
"How are we getting in, Harry?" Ron asked, "The entrance is on the other side...Blow a hole in it?"
"Honestly, Ronald, what is it with you and blowing things up?" Hermione muttered exasperatedly. She took a deep, sighing breath and glanced up at the top of the wall, You can feel it, can't you?
Yeah, Harry whispered back, I can. Hermione shrugged slightly, moving over just a hair to brush her hand against his, and he gave her a tiny smile, knowing what she really wanted to say. "I think the 'Chosen One' can be a touch more discrete when necessary, mate," Harry said softly with a small, wry smile. Without so much as another word, he stepped forward, and touched the tip of his wand to the stone about a foot above his head. Portalias, he whispered as he drew the wand straight down like a knife slicing through cheese.
The DA watched, stunned, as the stones jumped out of way, softly clanking and grinding until they formed a dark-arched tunnel, with the lights of the inner corridor of the castle on the other end. "Let's go," Harry said and stepped into the dark tunnel, Hermione at his heels.
A/N:Okkkaayyyy....there we go, the train has left the station....it's all a matter of timing, on both sides. Next Chapter, one last Horcrux, and a few other slightly important things.