A/N: Ladies, gentleman and Kneazles, fasten your seatbelts, it's a bumpy road and we're going about
100...(That's 161 Kph for those of you using a more modern system). Thanks as usual to Lady Starlight for her
splendiferous work on this chapter. And yes, I still own only the plot.
Chapter 51: The Die is Cast
***************************Hogwarts***********************************
Howling alarms filled the corridors of Hogwarts as Voldemort stepped into the castle, in person, for the first time in almost fifty years. A group of first years screamed and ran, Voldemort laughed as he watched them run, not even bothering to cast a spell after them as they turned a corner into the castle and escaped, for now. "Capture them all, take their wands and lock them in their dormitories...they will be useful, later, parents are soo-attached to their spawn after all."
Dozens of Death Eaters gave him a half bow and vanished, in a flurry of feet and ill intentions.
A crash of spellfire sounded from the second floor, and moment later at the top of the stairs, a few desperate souls appeared, their wands aglow. Voldemort contemptuously batted a wave of curses and hexes from himself, before sneering upward at the few professors standing with wands extended. Flitwick, McGonagall, Vector and amazingly Slughorn stood with their wands pointed. "Minerva," Voldemort said, almost pleasantly, "it is truly a pleasure to see you again."
"Leave now, Tom," she growled, "you are not welcome here."
He laughed, as did the group of Death Eaters still with him, almost fifty. "You seem to be shy of champions, Minerva, Albus is dead-and where is the 'Chosen One'-"
"I would hate to trouble him with such a trivial matter as you, Tom," McGonagall growled, and raised her wand. She started down the stairs, her wand extended. "Leave now."
"No," a turquoise, curling beam shot at her, McGonagall batted it away and the room exploded into motion, sound and light as Flitwick bounded to the side and engaged ten Death Eaters at once. A silver jet shot out, piercing two, he spun to the side, dodging a flickering Crucio, and slid under another, flicking his wand at ankle height. A wave of fire ripped out, cutting off another three at the ankles. Flitwick dodged backwards, spun to the left, and went flying backwards as three Stunners and a Banishing Charm hammered him into the wall, he slid down it and lay motionless at the base of the wall.
Above on the second floor landing Vector and Slughorn started exchanging spells with ten times their number of Death Eaters. Two fell to their wands, before Bellatrix pushed up the stairs, holding her belly as she moved, and growled, "KILL THEM YOU FOOLS."
Ten Kedavras were a truly excessive response to her command.
McGonagall glanced back as she felt the last two defenders fall and turned back to Voldemort, she took a breath, straightening, "You will never win, Tom."
A yellow beam drove her to her knees, panting as Voldemort walked up to her, "Odd, Minerva," he flicked his wand and a red bolt shot out, picking her up and slamming her back against the wall, she slid down it, "It seems that I already have."
-----
Far above, Poppy Pomfrey looked up at the howling klaxon, and her face went white. She looked across the infirmary, at Jane who was looking drawn and tired, and at Roger's face that even as she watched grew harder. "Grab them," she said urgently, pointing at the five second-year girls that were currently still in the hospital wing, before she moved to a seemingly blank section of wall. Poppy closed her eyes and concentrated, fighting to remember the combination that would work only once.
As Roger physically scooped up two of the girls, one in each arm, Poppy started tapping stones with the tip of her wand, a long, convoluted combination that took a good thirty seconds to work. The wall suddenly rearranged to a doorway, revealing a small, already equipped infirmary. She hurried back and urged Jane into the room, and quickly moved several already packed bags of potions and equipment into the room. She stepped aside as Roger set the two girls into the room and hurried back for the other three, all five were under a sleeping potion for the moment. Roger tossed a bag into the room that clanked softly as it landed and looked back at Poppy expectantly. "That's it," she said urgently.
Poppy frowned as she looked around the room, and looked for anything she had missed. With a sudden flash of inspiration she pointed her wand at her office door and a parchment appeared stuck to the door. She stepped back into the room and touched a protruding stone and the wall restored itself, leaving the infirmary empty of all souls.
Two minutes later, four Death Eaters sprinted into the room, and quickly searched the room. "OI," a short, slightly rotund Death Eater called, pointing at the parchment on the door. He cursed softly as he read it:
Called away to St. Mungo's, if this is an emergency, please contact Headmistress McGonagall for assistance.
Poppy Pomfrey
"Baker, Wolfe, stay here," the first Death Eater said and left, cursing.
****************************Wewelsburg*********************************
3:15 pm
Harry slipped along a dimly lit corridor, following the sense of coldness that seemed to fill his soul, growing more and more with every step. He stopped and took a breath, and leaned against the wall with one hand, as his other came up to rub at his scar. He took a breath, soft in the stillness of the empty castle, and closed his eyes for a moment.
The DA paused; looking back at their leader, and Hermione glanced at Ron, and motioned forward with her head, fighting the queasy sensation in her stomach. He nodded and motioned for the rest to keep moving, carefully, examining the walls and floors as they went for traps, towards the spot were Hermione thought that an entrance to lower, non-Muggle levels was to be found. Harry seemed to think that the Horcrux was below them, somehow.
Hermione glanced towards the rest as the moved off and reached over, grabbing Harry's hand and leaning against him, Alright, Baby? she asked, even knowing the answer already.
None of the others effected me like this, he whispered, tiredly, It's almost as bad as that first time, when he just came back...what's going on, Mione...
She bit her lip, frowning, At a guess-this one, it's in an evil place, headquarters for an evil organization, that did incalculable harm to the firmament. And yeah, it's affecting me, too, Harry. The environment is amplifying it. And it...might know....
Sorry.
Yeah, what is it with you and causing me pain, this...and then you are going to make me have our kids...
Harry grinned, Thanks, Mione, she smiled, and squeezed his hand.
Just doing my job, she replied, and pulled on his hand, getting him moving again, Merlin knows that I would have lost it long since if it weren't for you. Just returning the favor. But it is odd, that it's effecting you, us this strongly, Voldemort can't force the link anymore...why should the Horcrux?
Honestly, Harry asked, glancing out of the corner of his eye at her, as she dropped his hand and they hurried to slip back to the front of the staggered group, she nodded, I think that this one...is insane. It's not so much that Tom can't at least try the link, but that he doesn't dare...this thing doesn't seem to care. Hermione crooked an eyebrow, and then frowned as she reached the front and motioned for Ron to hold up as she passed him.
After several more, silent, tense minutes, the group came to a dark set of stairs spiraling down. Harry frowned as he felt the darkness coming from below, and slowly started down the stairs, creeping downward behind his wand, keeping his back to the stone as he moved.
A black hallway waited for them at the end of the stairs; Harry looked back up at Hermione and tapped the side of his frames. The world grew green as the Cat-Eye Charm activated and he knelt at the bottom of the steps with his wand pointing down the hall. Hermione slipped past him, pulling down a set of round-lensed glasses to rest over her eyes. The lenses faded from black to clear and took on a faint green glow. Harry watched a greenish Hermione stop halfway down the black corridor and stop, and waved him forward towards a blank wall.
Harry muttered a spell and watched as a smeared black symbol faded into view in his enhanced vision, the corrupt aura making bile rise to his throat. He swallowed heavily and reached out, running his fingers along the wall. My turn, Mione, Harry said without turning, and she sighed, but nodded and took a step back as Harry reached back behind him, and drew a short dagger from the back of his belt.
"Harry, I know why we didn't blow up the wall or the stones," Ron interjected quickly before Harry could proceed, "But why not this time?" A loud sigh came from somewhere, and Hermione opened her mouth to snap back a response.
Harry shook his head slightly, cutting off her response. He looked down at his left palm, at the knife hovering just inches away, "I've learned a lot of things, Ron," Harry said softly, and more than just Ron's ears were tuned to his words, "during the last seven years, from Dumbledore, Hermione, you...hell even from Riddle...And one of those things is sometimes, all the bangs and smoke in the universe are just there to cover up for ineptitude."
"Subtlety isn't going to work with Voldemort, mate," Seamus said from several feet away and a few nervous chuckles answered his words.
Harry laughed, the ill feeling pushed away for a brief moment, "No, I expect I'll just have to kick his arse." He turned back to the wall, "Now the thieves got in through some catacombs or tunnels under the hills, but they collapsed, this is the way that is a real entrance, and that could be good and bad for us..." Harry took a breath, and with a quick slash downward and a bit-off hiss of pain, sliced open his hand and pressed it flat to the stone. Blood ran down the wall, and the normally invisible emblem lit up, before morphing into a pair of intertwined snakes. {Open} he hissed, and the serpents jumped apart, dragging the two halves of the stone wall with them, as it split down an invisible seam.
Harry glanced down the newly revealed passage, a long corridor, dimly lit with odd, source less red lighting. "Fuck," he muttered feelingly, remembering the last time he went into a re-lit, underground corridor. He looked up and back at the DA, and nodded as Neville started to move forward in the corridor. "Be careful, we know there is probably a basilisk here...use the Osiris Eyes and your Mirrors to display the image, as you go around each corner." Neville nodded and started slowly down the corridor, the beam from his wand slicing the corridor. Parvati and Lavender followed them, then a visibly disgruntled Draco and Ginny.
"Can I at least have my wand, Potter," he snapped lowly as he passed.
Hermione glared at him as she held Harry's wounded hand in her own, palm up, and slowly ran the tip of her wand down the clean cut, sealing it. "Move it, Draco, before I decide to use it for kindling," Hermione growled, and he moved on, helped by a small shove by Seamus...just to get him moving of course.
Hermione tightened her fingers around his hand as she dug in her pouch for a vial of Blood-Replenishing Potion, and handed to him, and watched as he drunk the whole vial. Harry?
Yeah?
You know first year, the stone, when I had to leave you...Hermione said, looking up, her eyes glowing faintly in the gloom as she pulled more magic in to fend off the presence trying to push its way into her and Harry's minds. He nodded; You know what I was going to say when I chickened out, right?
He turned over his left hand, grabbing hers, before running his thumb along the ring on her finger, Yeah, I think I know. She smiled and leaned up, kissing him quickly, before stepping back and moving off down the red-lit corridor, Harry at her side and the DA surrounding them.
The group of twenty or so moved quickly down the corridor, following it as it slowly spiraled its way down into the Earth in a seemingly endless corkscrew. Every so often, a DA member would roll a small, glowing blue ball ahead of them, or toss it down the way like a tiny quaffle, or pick up a previously tossed one as they reached its resting place, while Parvati and Padma watched the alternating remote eyes in their mirrors.
Seamus held up a hand as he and Neville, having taken the lead over from Dean and Ernie, leapfrogging them as they picked up a used eye, came to an open doorway carved with several disturbing images. Neville's eyes widened as he heard a loud, hissing sound and waved everyone back to cover. He dug in his pouch and found one last Osiris Eye and flipped it around the edge of the doorway into the large, red-lit cavern beyond.
Harry, Hermione, Ron and Luna slipped forward, moving quickly along the wall and keeping their eyes averted from the doorway, just in case as they came to stand behind the Patil twins, who were both kneeling behind Neville and peering into a mirror in Parvati's hands. The tiny image slowly spun around the dimly lit room beyond, showing columns carved with bats, and on the far wall, hundreds of cups, in all sorts of materials, ranging from wood to gold. "Haven't we seen this movie?" Hermione muttered to Harry, and he shrugged, with only Lavender having a look of comprehension on her face as she slipped forward to look over her girlfriend's shoulder.
The image continued to scan over and without warning, the mirror filled with two yellow orbs, before it exploded. Parvati yelped and dropped the smoking remains, and shook her hands forcefully, trying to get feeling back in them. "I'm alright," she said after a minute.
"I'm not fighting this one with the Sword," Harry muttered and waved several more DA members forward, as he crouched next to Neville. "On three, point your wand around the corner and let fly." Hermione, Ron, Neville, Seamus, Parvati, Padma, and Luna nodded, and slowly maneuvered to be able to get their wands around the edge without exposing themselves to the Basilisk's glare. "One...two...three..." Blue fire lit the room beyond like lighting in a summer storm as dozens of Reductors ripped out from the wands, exploding whatever they touched. A loud, hissing almost-scream came from beyond, along with several wet, impacts, and then one loud thump. Harry waved them to stop and tossed another orb around the corner, watching as it landed and slowly panned around on Hermione's mirror.
The DA surrounding them gasped as they saw the shattered remains of a fifty-foot-long Basilisk. Its front half was almost entirely chewed away, and dark blood pooled on the floor below. Harry took a breath and stepped around the corner, followed immediately by Hermione, Ron and Luna. The latter two fell back slightly, spreading out as Harry walked towards the back wall of cups and stopped, looking at the wealth arrayed in front of him.
"Can you feel which one it is, Harry?" Hermione asked as they stood, looking at the seemingly endless array of cups, mugs, bowls and tankards spread before them. He just nodded, his face pale, as he walked unerringly towards a shelf filled with bright-gold cups, each inlaid with precious gems. He pushed the cups in the front aside, and reached towards the back of the shelf, pulling free a cup with a good millimeter of dust covering it. He set it down on the floor and waved his hand, causing a miniature cyclone to whirl around the cup, it vanished, leaving a shining golden goblet sitting, glinting unusually in the red-tinted lighting.
An intertwined HH was set between two precious stones on the side facing them, and Harry glanced back towards Hermione. She shrugged, they had been fooled before, Harry slowly knelt next to it and extended a hand. The cup jumped and wobbled, trying to leap to his hand and Harry took a deep, hard breath at the jolt of coldness and utter, wrongness that shot to his core.
His scar burned as he backed up, standing quickly and taking an involuntary step back. He felt Hermione's shaking hands on his arm, as she looked at him wide-eyed. Back near the entrance to the chamber, Ginny gasped and started panting softly, shaking as the Horcrux tried to find a way out, to infect a host, to find its way back to itself.
Ron looked at each of them, "It's hurting you, isn't it?"
Harry nodded, swallowing, "Yeah...I think it knows."
Ron just nodded and picked up the cup, he slipped it into the pouch at his side, "Then I'll carry it out," he smiled slightly, "besides, Tommy boy wouldn't want me..."
"He never had much taste, mate," Harry replied. "Thanks, Ron."
"What else would I be doing on a Saturday afternoon," Ron replied, with a bare grim edge to his voice, his thoughts utterly aware of what now rode in the pouch next to his hip. Luna glanced over, and started to say something, but closed her mouth, choosing for once to remain silent. The quartet walked towards the entrance to the chamber, their thoughts miles away.
Hannah's sudden, slightly panicked shout came from down the corridor, just as Ron crossed the threshold, "INFERI..." Ron leapt forward, grabbing Luna and tossing her out of the chamber, just as it started to collapse. Loud moaning sounds came from the tunnel walls as they started to collapse and grayish-green hands started to tear from the walls.
"RUN," Harry shouted, pushing Ron and Luna forward and the DA started to sprint up the corridors. Lavender screamed as one caught her arm and ripped. Neville grabbed her and exploded the Inferi, pulling her out of the way.
"Your spell," Ron panted as he flicked his wand, shredding an Inferius that was reaching for Luna.
"Can't," Hermione snapped back, "too tight a quarters. We're...ugh...already in the middle of them." A flurry of small Reductors, Severing Charms, and other spells kept the Inferi at bay as they ran upwards, dodging collapsing parts of the tunnel, panting uncontrollably.
After what seemed like days, after almost every one of them had obtained some injury from the Inferi that were literally coming out of the walls at them, a black rectangle appeared ahead, marking the end of the tunnel. It started to shrink, the doors closing, "DOWN," Harry roared, and DA members dove for dirt as Harry snapped his hand out, palm held vertical...A bolt of blue ripped from his hand, racing down the corridor. The doors exploded, chunks of stone raining down even as he pulled Ron to his feet as he passed and raced towards the door. Harry reached it and pushed the DA past him, his wand holding off single Inferi as they came at him, in the tight corridor.
Finally, Hermione slipped past, the last of the living in the tunnel, and they sprinted up the spiral stairs together to the hallway of the main castle above. "GET MOVING," Hermione snapped, waving the rest past, "GET OUT OF HERE..." She started to walk backwards, as Inferi boiled up out of the ground, a green-grey wave, she glanced over at Harry, as at least a hundred, Inferi filled the end of the corridor, he nodded.
Imperatum dispersium inferati de flagratto, Harry and Hermione cast as one, and spiraling lines of flame erupted from the tips of both of their wands, joining into one several feet out and changing to a brilliant, emerald green. The entire pack of Inferi collapsed to the ground, and Harry took a deep breath, and gave Hermione a small smile. She started to return it, and froze as a scampering sound came from the Inferi, and all new undead started to boil up out of the ground.
They cast again, and more fell, but this time, the nearby wall hangings caught fire, and flames started to leap from tapestry to portrait, to wooden beams and doors. Shit...Harry muttered as the Muggle installed fire systems kicked in, alarms started to wail, and sprinklers went off, not affecting the fires in the slightest. Harry saw movement as even more Inferi started to come up, climbing over the unmoving bodies of their brethren. Harry let a Reductor fly, exploding the staircase and collapsing it.
"Let's go, Harry," Hermione growled grabbing his hand and starting to pull him along.
"What about all of the Inferi?" Harry asked as he turned and followed her, "Won't the Muggles find all the bodies..."
"I doubt it," Hermione said, breathlessly as she sprinted along the corridor, following the faintly echoing bootsteps of their compatriots. She glanced back at the flames still growing behind them, "I don't think there will be much left, that's a magical fire."
*****************************Godric's Hollow*****************************
3:45 pm
"WE NEED TO GO, TONKS," Remus yelled up the stairs as he paced in the living room of the house. He looked down at his watch and sighed, before reaching up and scrubbing his hand through his hair.
"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Wolfie," Tonks replied as she came down the stairs, holding in one hand, a soft blue, red and gold blanket, embroidered with happy dragons, tiny broomsticks and scampering lions-Jane had been planning ahead. "Just because I tripped and knocked you to the bed..."
"We stayed there for an hour-"
Tonks walked up to him, her hips swaying slightly as she slowly cycled the colors of her hair, like a demented sherbet factory. She stopped in front of him and rose on her toes, giving a quick kiss on the cheek before she turned around and started towards the door, her hips swinging entirely too much for efficient locomotion, she looked back over her shoulder, dark eyes twinkling, "You didn't seem to have a problem with it at the time."
"Touché," Remus laughed and took the blanket from Tonks, shrinking it and placing it in a pocket of his cloak. He took her hand and they vanished with a soft POP.
They reappeared hundreds of miles away, and even before they finished materializing, Tonks gasped as the image of a green skull hung low in the sky over the castle. "DOWN," Remus snapped, sweeping her with him as a web of multi-colored jets ripped at them, shattering several trees.
They rolled apart, and spun to their feet, firing as they moved. Tonks slipped right and shot back across her body. A Death Eater fell away as a silver jet drilled a neat hole in his chest, she deflected a Reductor and dove behind a tree and looked over at Remus as he found cover near her. The Death Eaters started to circle around, but were temporarily stopped as Remus drew a star in the air with his wand and a shimmering half-bubble of hardened air drove them back.
Tonks jumped as something rubbed her leg, she looked down, her wand pointing, and found a glowing silver cat. It looked up at her with silvery-white eyes and suddenly Minerva McGonagall's voice filled her and Remus' heads. "Remus, Tonks," the voice said urgently, "Voldemort has breached the castle...I will try to hold, but I do not expect success." Tonks let out a soft sob as the tree she was sheltering behind shuddered as it took a hit and the smell of burnt wood filled her nostrils. "Do not try to save us, escape and warn Harry, as long as Harry is alive, there is hope...Godspeed my friends..." The Patronus faded away and Tonks rolled around her cover and her wand bucked twice, and two Death Eaters fell away with smoking holes in their chests. She started to charge...
"NO, DAMN IT," Remus growled, leaping across the distance to his fiancée, he grabbed her and dove behind an overgrown pile of stones. "We have to go, Nymph..."
"But..."
The topmost rock of the pile exploded into gravel, showering down on them, "We have to...we'll be back, and Merlin help them when we do, but we have to go now."
Tonks just closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, and they vanished with a POP.
May 23, 1998.
5:10 pm
******************Wewelsburg Castle, Germany************************
A tired group of Witches and Wizards sat or stood in a rough circle, panting, bleeding or otherwise catching their breaths; while in the background, up atop a rough ridge, a triangular keep burned for the second time in fifty some-odd years. Out near the trees, another six knelt with wands pointed outward, covering the complete arc. In the center of the first group, another mixed cluster stood around a small, flat, altar-like rock.
In the exact center of the stone, a gold goblet encrusted with robin egg-sized diamonds and topazes sat dormant, as if waiting for someone to come along and drink from its cursed basin. The group nearest the Cup shivered slightly as an unseasonable cold wafted through their bones. The smallest of the ones who were standing around looking down at the vessel, seemed to be in shock, her deep brown eyes wide and unfocused. Her bright red hair vibrated slightly, as she hugged herself tightly and shivered in place.
Across the inner circle, deep chocolate eyes glanced to the left, and up slightly, catching another pair of tired emerald ones. They flicked to the small woman, and back. He nodded, causing a lock of longish, night-black hair to fall over a pair of round, wire-framed lenses. She nodded slightly, and Hermione walked around the stone, pausing suddenly and taking a sharp breath as a jolt of emptiness ripped through her as she got too close to it. She took a step to the side, and moved quickly to Ginny, pulling her into her arms and moving the girl away.
She led Ginny towards a tall, thin, platinum-blonde man, who was surrounded by another trio, standing in a rough triangle around him, not as defenders, but guards. Neville stepped to the side, and let Hermione through with her burden to Draco. Neville stepped over to Lavender, and dug into a pouch at his hip. He flicked his wand at her sleeve, which was glistening in the late afternoon light with her blood; it fell away, detached at the shoulder. Neville poured a glittering powder on a long slice, it bubbled and hissed, and Lavender let out a soft whine as it sealed. Neville bent his head and kissed her forehead, before he turned back to Hermione and Ginny as Hermione handed the small girl off to Draco. "Take care of her," Hermione muttered softly, placing Ginny in his arms.
"What's wrong with her?" Draco asked quickly, his drawl breaking slightly as he pulled her towards the outer circle. Lavender, Neville and Parvati, who was limping slightly, followed, their wands held ready in their hands as they kept a rough formation around him.
Hermione scowled slightly, "I'd say it was the remainder of what your former master did to her. But that was back when she was just a little blood-traitor swot, wasn't it, Draco?" She didn't miss the slight flinch as he kept walking away with her, not looking back. Hermione turned on her heel and walked back to Harry. She could feel the Horcrux reaching out to her, trying to ride through her link to Harry to her, hunting for some chink in the mental armor of its greatest enemies. She took Harry's hand and squeezed it, fighting it as she felt the desperation, coming from the object, as if it realized its brethren had already fallen. Harry took a deep breath and looked over at Ron.
Luna was bandaging his left hand, she finished tying a conjured bandage around his hand, to hold it until they could treat the wound better with the supplies that they had in their various caches around England. He smiled down at her, quickly, before he looked at Harry and shrugged, "We heading back to Hogwarts or what? Grimmauld?"
"Hogwarts, I guess," Harry replied as he once again started to watch the Cup. "I suppose you want to try to restore this one, as well, Mione?"
Hermione bit her lip slightly and reached up to push a fall of curls out of her eyes with her free hand. "I suppose," she said slowly, "though I'm not sure that I have enough of the rarer ingredients to immolate it."
The rest of the circle, behind and around Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Luna as they stood discussing the fate of the last of the Founders' artifacts, started to crowd in, listening to their words, as some of them started to learn, for the first time, just what they were here after. Harry opened his mouth, turning slightly to Hermione, when a cacophony of buzzes, hoots, chimes and other sounds came from somewhere around almost every single persons' person, as Two-Way Mirrors sounded an emergency message. Harry reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out his mirror, and flicked it open. Hermione, Ron and Luna crowed his shoulder to look as well as others took theirs out as well.
A tiny Remus Lupin looked out of the mirror at them. Even at that miniscule scale, Harry could see the shock and pain in his face. Somehow, even before Remus opened his mouth, he knew. Hermione's hand started to crush his as Lupin began to speak. "He's taken Hogwarts, Harry."
"WHAT!" Ron snapped. He shut up as Hermione spun and gave him a quick look.
"What happened, Remus, how bad is it?" Harry asked quickly over the tumult that started to erupt all around him.
"I'm not sure, Harry, Tonks and I were at," he paused, took a breath, and decided that the Secret didn't matter any longer, "we were at Godric's, Harry. I took Jane in to Hogwarts a few hours ago..." Hermione took in a sharp breath. "Tonks and I had gone back to get something that they had forgotten in the hurry to get her to Poppy. We Apparated to the edge of the wards, and were fired on by at least twenty Death Eaters. Minerva left a time-delayed message that she was going to try to hold, but it was probably a couple of hours old. We...backed off, Harry...I'm sorry."
"What about the Aurors?" Ron put in quickly, "Dad would have had them..."
Behind Remus, Tonks' head pushed into the image, "We think the Ministry's under attack too, almost all the field agents were there when it went down...Arthur had info on a large concentration of Death Eaters; they were there for the briefing."
"So, we're alone," Harry whispered, glancing over at Hermione. Her lip was trembling slightly. She moved away slightly, still within hearing distance, as she desperately tried to process.
Tonks swallowed, and in the image, she and Remus shared a look, "Harry...I think right now, you and Hermione, and Remus and I...we might be the only Aurors not fighting at the Ministry....Harry, what'd..."
Harry closed his eyes, and took two steps to Hermione, and pulled her to him with one arm as he held out the mirror with the other, "Meet us at Grimmauld, we have some injuries to heal, and we need to work up a plan." He kissed her forehead as some of the others started to mumble loudly, "We are going to take care of something here, and then we'll come on." Remus nodded and Harry slapped the mirror closed.
"Harry, we need to..."
"What are we going to do...."
"Bloody fucking hell...."
"SHUT UP!" Hermione snapped, silencing the scared voices. She stood a step back from Harry, swallowing. He watched her, as rush of power filled her eyes. "We have to destroy it now, Harry."
"Yeah," Harry replied and his eyes lit. "Step back," he said softly, but his voice seemed to thunder in every ear. Ron and Luna took several steps back. Hermione gestured in the air, and the Cup rose in the air and began to rotate slowly in the air.
Her hands began to flicker though the air, her lips began to chant, and a flaming circle enclosed the cup, set with a five-pointed star. Another joined it, then another and another, faster and faster, almost instantly compared to her last attempt. A faint phoenix song filled the air as Hermione closed the last circle forming a perfect sphere around the Cup. Kill the son of a bitch, Harry.
Harry's eyes glowed brighter as he brought his hands together, COLLASPIUM. A glowing, sparkling pinprick appeared next to the cup. With a sudden rush the cup collapsed like an empty soda can. A horrible, ethereal scream filled the air, and half of the DA members fell to their knees as a dark, evil shadow filled the fiery sphere. Its sullen red eyes glared out at Harry. They widened as he reached back, and the Sword of Gryffindor filled his hand. The blade lit with a scintillating, bright blue lighting.
Die, you bastard, Harry took a step and thrust the Sword directly at the sphere. It passed through, and pierced the Fragment... An explosion of green fire snapped outward, as another part of Voldemort's soul was sent to wait for him in Hell.
Hermione gestured and the sphere vanished. The flattened Cup tumbled from the air, to land spinning on the rock. "It's done," she said flatly and walked to the remains of the Cup and slipped it in a pouch.
Harry turned to the stunned bystanders, "That's what we're here for, destroying the fragments of Voldemort's soul he had hidden to survive. He has one more fragment left; he'll have it with him, at Hogwarts."
"Then let's go and kill the bastard," Seamus shouted from behind Ron.
"No, first we need to heal our wounds and resupply, and work up a plan," Harry said firmly. Next to him, Hermione was noticeably pale, but nodded as she stepped to his side.
"How are we going to get there in time, Harry?" Ron asked, already visibly cataloging the moves necessary to retake Hogwarts in his head, working through the already existing plans in his head.
Harry looked to Hermione, she smiled wanly, "Like this, mate." A shocked silence fell as he and Hermione started to shrink and change, arms elongating, necks stretching, as their bodies SHIFTED. An instant later, two large Phoenci hovered motionless in the center of the group. The larger one was a brilliant ruby, with a golden beak and wing feathers. Startling green eyes looked out over it's long, golden beak as it looked over to its slightly smaller companion, with the exact same coloring, except where he was gold, deep sapphire blue feathers caught the light of the evening sun. .
Harry and Hermione shot straight up, their tails trailing fire. They began to orbit the group faster and faster, forming a flaming vortex of fire.
A beat later, the DA vanished with a loud SNAP, and a fall of fire.
There we go...Next chapter a bare half pause to regroup, a pair of surprises.