A/N We're rolling. Thanks as usual to Lady Starlight for her work on this chapter
Chapter 53: Steel in the Night.
******************12 Grimmauld Place***********************
11:58pm
Harry looked over at Hermione as she finished pulling her hair into a tight, thick plait that hung down her spine. She looked up at Harry over the small; round frames of a pair of Cat-Eye Spectacles, their lenses clear for now, and gave him a tired, pained smile. She reached behind her back as she stepped away from him, drew both daggers and gave them both exploratory spins on the flats of her palms before she slid them home with the soft sound of steel on leather. She checked the fit of her wand in its thigh sheath, tightening the straps before straightening and walking down the ragged line of the DA, all of whom were tugging on equipment, testing the edges of blades or checking the condition of the Weasley-supplied equipment in their pouches.
Harry frowned slightly as Hermione stopped and reached up to pat Neville on the shoulder. Neville gave her a small nod and looked over, the alternate catching the eyes of the 'Chosen One,' and with a small, almost salute-like gesture, Neville drew his dagger and held it in front of him. Harry nodded and walked to Remus, noticing the Lycan watching him approach with troubled hazel eyes. Harry stopped and looked up at Lupin who, like most of the men around him, was at least an inch or two taller than him, due to the Dursleys' "excellent care". "Thanks, Remus," Harry said quietly. He looked over to watch Tonks as she scrunched her nose, and her bright pink hair shortened into shoulder-length locks and darkened to the deepest black. "It means a lot to both of us."
"I'll get them out, Harry," he replied reaching out patting him on the shoulder, "I owe it to your family, either of them. Tonks and I will get them clear, if we can, and rejoin you." Harry reached up and pulled Remus aside, "Listen, Remus, Hermione's sister is already born." Remus' eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to speak but was cut off at a wave, "Hermione and I know Remus. She can feel her."
"That changes things," Lupin admitted, "both for good and ill." He shrugged. "I was thinking that I'd have to get very pregnant woman out of the school, along with her husband, but if the baby..."
"Her name is Anastasia, Remus," Harry whispered. He reached back over his shoulder to check the fit of his sword in its holder, he drew it an inch or two, then slammed it back home, "Remus-"
"Tonks and I'll get them back, Harry," Lupin repeated, watching Harry studying Hermione as she was talking to Parvati in low tones, the Indian girl was nodding slightly as she absently twirled a an ancient, rune-inscribed chakram around her forefinger. A twin to that one was hanging off her sister's belt. They had arrived in a note-less package from their mother last week, the same ones that their great-grandfather had once carried into battle with the British.
Harry gave him a nod, as Hermione finished talking to her former roommate and returned to his side. He looked down at his watch, pointedly, and glanced to Hermione. She shook her head slightly, glad for the tendril of mirth that passed through their shared thoughts. With a loud clatter of running feet, Ron and Luna sprinted into the room, out of breath and looking rather happy with themselves considering the situation. Luna was tying her hair back as she ran, with Ron kneeling down as he reached Harry and Hermione to finish lacing his boots. "Ready?" Harry asked sarcastically, "or would you rather..."
"Shush it," Ron growled, he looked around, "let's go, where's..."
Ron's question was cut off as Dumbledore strode into the room, clad in a light-devouring, deep black robe. His staff rested lightly in his right hand, and the bejeweled hilt of a broadsword jutted from beneath the folds at his waist, while a flat, black cap was pulled down low over his silver hair, which was tied back into a long tail. He looked at Harry, "Shall we, Lord Potter?"
Harry nodded and took a breath, he raised his voice, "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that we have a few uninvited guests in our home, let's go welcome them. I would hate to seem unaccommodating, Hogwarts has a reputation to uphold," a soft rumble of approval greeted his words. "Godspeed my friends." Harry reached out, grabbed Hermione's hand and vanished. With a rumble of CRACKs, POPs, RIPs and assorted other sounds, the room emptied until only Molly and Fleur stood looking through the empty space.
Molly looked at Fleur with tears in her eyes; her jaw vibrated slightly as she mumbled something under her breath, and flicked her wand. A large basket of cookies and other treats appeared and Fleur looked at her oddly, "The children will be frightened when they get to King's Cross." Fleur rolled her eyes slightly, but did not comment as she concentrated and vanished. Molly grabbed her basket and vanished a beat later, the room now empty of every living soul.
******************************Hogwarts******************************
Voldemort looked up from the battered and broken corpse of one the Aurors that his Death Eaters had caught sneaking around the edge of the wards, and his eyes flared a bright sullen red. He stood, as his head tracked out over the grounds. For an instant, a puzzled expression flitted across his flat, dark face. He turned to Hamilton, "Are we ready for guests, Gregor?" he sneered slightly as he looked over to find the battered Headmistress of Hogwarts looking up a him with an air of utter loathing, "I am sure that Potter will be here very soon. I would hate to spoil his forlorn hope."
McGonagall straightened in the arms of a pair of Death Eaters, her eyes seemed to glow with an inner fire as she looked at him through cracked lenses, "It will be my distinct pleasure to transfigure the pike that Harry puts your head on, and mount it at the gates of my school, Tom." Voldemort snarled and flicked his wand. She went tumbling across several of the tables in the Great Hall to land sprawled in a heap at the base of the wall. A loud snap had accompanied her flight, and she cradled her wrist in pain, and panted heavily.
"I will deal with you, later, Minerva," Tom Riddle sneered and motioned towards a pair of Death Eaters near the door, "Take her away, I want to take my time with her." The elderly witch did not soften her glare, even as one of the Death Eaters purposefully bumped her into the ancient oak doorframe. Riddle watched as the doors to the Great Hall closed again, "Wormtail?" he inquired.
"As you instructed, the students are confined to their dorms and we have taken their wands, my Lord." Peter approached Dumbledore's suborned golden throne and knelt, trembling, he glanced over at Bellatrix, who was sitting at Voldemort's feet, her hands over her distended belly and looking up at the Dark Lord longingly. "We have a listing of those we captured; I will have the demands to their families ready soon. Those pureblood families will pledge their loyalty to you, or their families will end. The Mudbloods will be put to use." Voldemort nodded, and Pettigrew smiled, baring yellowed rat teeth, "The professors are all in chains, those that survived. I punished Flitwick personally for his transgression, my Lord."
"And how goes my assault on the Ministry, Wormtail?"
"It...goes, my Lord, there has been unexpected resistance. Perhaps if you were to go..."
"NO!" Voldemort snapped, rising from his stolen throne and backhanding Pettigrew, knocking him to his knees, "Xavier and Goyle should have more than adequate forces to take an unoccupied building; they have a legion of my Inferi." He cowered, not daring to meet his master's eyes.
*************************The Forbidden Forest****************************
With a rolling thunder of CRACKs, POPs, and other Apparation sounds, a legion of the light appeared in a clearing deep within the forest. Almost before everyone had finished materializing, Harry waved at the edge of the clearing and several DA member peeled off to station themselves at the perimeter. Harry looked back and motioned towards the castle.
He began to move, but before he could take more than a step, he stopped at Dumbledore's hand on his shoulder, "I must leave you now, Harry," Harry opened his mouth to object, "No, Harry, this is how it must be. Merlin willing, I will see you again, however." Dumbledore vanished before any further objections could manifest, and Harry muttered under his breath before visibly gathering himself and waving towards the castle. Remus and Tonks fell in at his side, alongside Hermione, Ron and Luna as they picked their way towards the castle.
Harry could feel the creatures of the Dark Forest crowding around them, but none dared to approach the group. After a several minutes of tense travel they stopped as the slight tingle of the edge of the Hogwarts' Wards danced off their senses.
"We will be off now, Harry," Lupin whispered, his hand on Harry's shoulder, "I will contact you when we have Hermione's parents safe." Lupin's hand slipped from his shoulder, as the pair slipped away into the night. Harry sighed, watching as the Lycan and his mate vanished from sight.
Harry looked around the clearing, then up through the night's gloom to the towering presence of the castle looming over everything. Every light in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Tower was lit, no doubt from the students who were, according to Dobby in his brief reconnaissance, held captive in their own dorms, bait in a trap. Harry led his forces along a narrow, winding path towards the base of the mountains. An odd stillness hung over the night as they moved along the trail. Not a solitary creature, magical or mundane, was stirring in the night, wisely hiding from the darkness that had overtaken the area.
As they approached the hills overlooking Hogsmeade, the town seemed abandoned, the residents having fled since the fighting this afternoon, demarking the investiture of the castle. Harry staggered, and his vision wrenched to the castle once more, as a tremendous glowing green skull appeared in the air over the towers and battlements of the castle. Hermione only frowned slightly as she reached out and brushed her gloved fingers against his.
The Forlorn Hope moved along the foothills, starting once as the sound of hoofsteps echoed their travels, only to fade away, as if the Centaurs realized that following them might not be a wise idea. After another few minutes of fast travel, the group reached a seeming blank stretch of stone. Hermione flicked her wand, and suddenly, a large, round door appeared in the stone. A large rampant lion regarded them watchfully, waiting. Six slots sat empty around the periphery of the door, a seventh, slightly wider one sat at the top of the Lion's head. Without a word, Hermione stepped forward, drew both her blades and inserted them at the two slots next to the top. Ron followed, placing his in an empty slot, with Luna and Neville doing likewise. Harry frowned, gestured in the air, and one last sheathed dagger, this one oddly inscribed with a circle, swirled and split within itself. He looked over, "Ginny," he flipped the still sheathed blade underhand to her.
Ginny grabbed it out of the air, and drew it. Moonlight danced along a Damascus blade, as she looked down at it. She looked up at Harry, and without another word, she stepped to the door and slid it into the last remaining slot along the edge. The Lion roared softly and looked to Harry. The Sword came free into his hand; he took two steps forward and slid it home into the last remaining slot with a soft skittering sound of steel on stone.
The Lion came alive, its roar reverberating in their minds. It looked at Harry with glittering, ruby eyes as if it were evaluating him for something. Harry passed, and all seven blades shot from their slots, back to their respective owners as the door started to grind open.
Without a word of command, the DA slipped through the open door, moving quickly and silently into the dark hole in the side of the cliff. Within instants the clearing was empty, save for Harry, Hermione and the Twins. Fred nodded to them, and flicked his wand at a small crystal held in his hand, disarming the defenses that they had put in place in preparation for this day, long enough for the fighters to slip through. They followed the rest, leaving the last two alone in the night.
Harry took one last, long look up at the castle, his home for the last seven years and swallowed heavily at the massive green skull hanging in the sky once more over the jutting finger of the Astronomy Tower. He shivered slightly, swallowed heavily and walked to the entrance, walking to Hermione standing at the doorway and his fate, whatever it would be.
******************************Hogwarts*********************************
May 24, 1998
1:25 am
A soft swish of leaves whispered in the still night as two dark, cloaked forms walked around the periphery of the Greenhouses. Half of the green-tinted glass windows were shattered and broken, exposing the delicate plants within to the Scottish Highland night. The Death Eaters paused, flicked their wands and laughed as the entirety of the glass of Greenhouse Five shattered and collapsed into the building.
"This is boring," a rough, coughing voice groused as a small animal jumped out from the wreckage of the greenhouse, "AVADA KEDARVA." A green bolt howled out, knocking a small Crup spinning. The Death Eater sauntered over, and kicked the small animal. "We have all those little...toys to play with, and the Dark Lord won't even let us play."
His partner shrugged, sighing, "Bella gets what she wants. Do you want to push her?" The first Death Eater shook his head forcefully, he glanced away for an instant, and looked back just in time to see his partner falling away to the grass, a shimmering sliver blade buried in his throat. He opened his mouth to shout, raising his wand to fire off a spell and felt hands of iron cup his chin. An open palm sledgehammered out of the night, smashing the back of his head and he fell away to lie on the ground, his head hanging oddly.
Lupin looked over at Tonks and nodded to her. She slipped to her target and removed the throwing dagger, cleaning it on the Death Eater's robes before vanishing it from view. She took hold of the Death Eater's heels and pulled him into one of the shattered greenhouses, slipping his corpse under a convenient Spitting Rosebush. Lupin dropped his target next to hers and flicked his wand at the foliage causing it to bend over the evidence.
Remus slipped out of the greenhouse, Tonks at his heels, for once as silent as a ghost as she followed Lupin to the base of the castle walls directly under the unlit windows of the Charms wing. Lupin looked back at her, grinned darkly, and touched a series of stones in a particular pattern. A passageway that had not been opened for almost twenty years slid open without a sound, and he slid in, waiting until Tonks had followed him before closing the passage that only he, Sirius and James...and probably Lily, had ever known.
A line of torches lit, lighting the darkness, and illuminating a long, narrow stone staircase leading up into the castle following the contours of the walls. Remus sighed, looking over at Tonks, "We are getting married as soon as this battle is over." He began to sprint up the stairs, for the first time in years grateful for his werewolf stamina.
Tonks snorted, and looked at him, as they reached the second floor and started hurrying along a hidden causeway towards the Transfiguration Wing, "What brought this on? Finally, by the way," she asked not quite laughing, the night was entirely too serious for that, but close.
"Because the next time I say that I am dog tired," Remus quipped, and stopped at a tapestry, "I want to be able to say it's because my beautiful younger wife wore me out."
"Deal," Tonks whispered and squeezed his arm quickly. She took a breath, and crouched down, nodding to Lupin. A pair of wandtaps, and a warm, running feeling later, they faded from view and wheeled into the hallway. Lupin sniffed slightly, and tapped her shoulder. She nodded invisibly and started to creep towards the nearest staircase, darting from alcove to alcove silently, courtesy of the Silencing Charm on her feet. She froze, sliding behind a large suit of fourteenth century plate armor, and did not even breathe as she watched with invisible eyes as at least fifteen Death Eaters trooped by. Tonks' tightened her grip on her wand, wanting desperately to them the consequences of their actions but refrained.
After another minute the group passed, their laughter bouncing off the ancient stones. The castle itself seemed to grumble at their passage, as Tonks felt Lupin come up to her side unerringly. "Later, Luv," he said softly, as he pulled on her in the opposite direction from where the Death Eaters were headed. Even though she was effectively invisible in the dim hall under a Disillusionment Charm, Remus could still see her frown. "Come on, we have another wing to get across." Lupin rose up on his toes and sprinted silently across the hall, sliding on his knees into a blind corridor. He touched a stone, snagged Tonks by her wandbelt and held on as the entire section of wall rotated around taking them with it.
A moment later, five Death Eaters walked by, oblivious to the wolves in their midst.
**************************Chamber of Secrets*************************
May 24, 1998.
2:14 am
The last of the DA tumbled into the huge, cavernous room, sputtering slightly as they came up through the water that had once again covered the secret second entrance to the chamber. Harry waved his wand, igniting endless rows of torches, and illuminating the Chamber. A cut off scream echoed off the walls from one of the sixth year Ravenclaws as she caught sight of the huge, desiccated corpse taking up the center of the room under the giant statue of Salazar. She gave Harry a sheepish half-grin as he looked over at her, then at Gred and Forge as they covered, mostly, their sniggers. Harry looked pointedly at Hermione, then at Ginny. Hermione motioned slightly with her hand and moved to the girl, who was, other than shaking the water from her hair like a kneazle, unaffected by the room other than the cold.
Or at least she was as unaffected as anyone else. Harry frowned watching as the group crowded around him, most of them looking around nervously as if waiting for the Basilisk's cousins to pop out of the walls at any time. He knelt, waving his hand over a patch of the mostly flat stone floor, drying a patch before he spread the Marauders' Map. A gesture and the map filled in, for once devoid of the smartarse comments that usually accompanied its activation, as if it too knew the stakes tonight. Harry pointed his wand at a corner of the map, and watched as it zoomed in on the third floor.
Two tiny dots labeled, "Remus Lupin" and "Nymphadora Tonks" paused, just around the corner from another two standing just outside of a doorway labeled, "Main Infirmary". The second two named "John Dutta" and "Reginald Codony" moved about aimlessly, as if bored. Harry tapped it again, as at least ten pairs of eyes, and none more interested than the pair of chocolate ones inches to his right, watched the map zoom in tighter, and the dots became small stick figures as the scale decreased. The figures of Lupin and Tonks moved around a corner, tiny iron-gall ink wands were raised, and the two Death Eaters faded away from the map. Lupin and Tonks sprinted towards the Infirmary, where behind a seemingly solid line demarking a supposedly unbroken wall, at the back of a seemingly empty room, eight more stick figures, and one tiny dot labeled "Anastasia Granger" stirred.
"They're in," Hermione breathed, her voice tight. She closed her eyes for a second, before reopening them, and flicking her own wand at the map. Instantly it zoomed out, to show the entirely of the Hogwarts grounds again, "Let's get to work then." She frowned as her eyes panned over the map, "Looks as if the students are really in the dorms."
"Hermione," Harry muttered, pointing out at the periphery of the grounds, "What the bloody hell is that?" A seething mass of black moved around the edge of the forest, as if the map did not have enough ink to properly display.
"I've got it, Harry," Bill said quickly.
"Fine," Harry nodded, "Terry, Robert, Jean, go with him, watch his back. Don't get killed, Bill, if you can't handle it, back off." He stood quickly and looked around at the rest of the DA, the ones that had escaped or had been on the mission to Wewelsburg Castle with him, "The rest of you," he said firmly, sheathing his wand with a snap, "you know your assignments. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw teams, wait and hold at the entrance to the dorms. Signal via your mirrors when you are in place, as soon as all three of you are in place get in and start getting them out."
"If there is any question at all about one of the students, if they are behaving oddly at all, stun them and send them along with the others," Hermione added quickly. "Otherwise evacuate the students in priority of youngest first and any wounded."
Ron straightened, "As soon as your assigned dorm is clear, get out of the dorms, don't get trapped in them. There are too many ways to get caught in them. There is limited access to them by design. Unlike Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, however, there is a secret passage to the Gryffindor Common Room, I would use it to get behind the forces waiting for you on the seventh floor."
"That's it," Harry added, his voice betraying none of the utter panic that threatened to overwhelm him, "Disillusion yourself as soon as we reach Myrtle's, do not engage any Death Eaters until everyone is in position, or unless you have absolutely no choice." He looked around at every face. Many were pale, and a few were almost trembling, but none moved to back out, "Merlin keep you."
**********************Hospital Wing***************************
Remus glanced back at Tonks as she slipped into the Hospital wing, dragging the two dead Death Eaters behind her with her wand. She placed them into an empty storage room and sealed the door with a flick of her wand. She canceled the Disillusionment Charm and faded back into view, watching across the room as Lupin reappeared. He moved to a blank wall opposite Poppy's office.
He delved into a small pouch set on his wandbelt and pulled free a tiny iron key set on a leather thong. Lupin flicked his wand, causing a faint, red beam to emit from the end. He slowly played it over the barren wall, and grinned, ivory fangs showing slightly, as he slid the key into the invisible keyhole and turned. Lupin waited as the stones split and opened, and a dark archway appeared.
He froze as the cavernous muzzle of a suppressed pistol slid from the darkness, the silver hollowpoints he could sense in it, just as effective towards any other wizard, as towards him, or the other wolves in Riddle's employ. "What's the countersign?" a deep, hard voice snarled from the deep shadows.
"Mischief managed," Remus snapped, raising his hands slowly. The tip of a wand slipped out, covering Tonks as well as Roger slid from the hidden room behind the razed muzzle of a pistol. He looked at Tonks quickly and let out a breath he did not know he had been holding in. Tonks rushed past, grabbing Poppy on the way.
Tonks walked into the small, hidden room, taking a deep breath at what she found. "Professor Tonks," a small blonde girl in Ravenclaw colors screeched, "what's wrong, what's going on, I need to pee..."
Tonks crouched next to the girl; one of five, second years huddled together in a corner, "You are safe now, honey," she reached up and patted the girl on the cheek, "you just need to stay brave for just a bit longer...Can you do that for me?" The girl nodded quickly and turned back to her friends, huddling together on a small camp bed. Tonks took two steps to the side, and knelt next to Jane, she was lying, exhausted, her hair plastered to her head. A tiny form wrapped in a dark red blanket rested on her chest, with a full head of dark brown curls peaking out. "Are you alright, Jane?"
"I'm bloody well exhausted, how do you think I am, Tonks?" Jane snapped lowly. She took a tired breath, "I'm sorry, Tonks, what about Hermione and Harry?"
Tonks glanced back at Remus, he glanced at Roger, whose face was hard and set, she reached out and grabbed Jane's arm, "They are going to attack as soon as we get you clear."
"To get the other students out?" Jane whispered, even as Roger subtly turned from his wife and grabbed Remus' elbow and eased the Lycan back into the main room.
"How bad is it, Remus?" he muttered, sliding his sidearm into his belt behind his back. Roger scrubbed his scalp with a large hand, looking worriedly at the man who had spent the last year hiding him and his wife.
"Right now, to use the vernacular of the younger generation," Lupin said darkly, "it sucks, though it's not as bad as it could be...I haven't talked to Harry since Nymph and I managed to infiltrate the castle, but I do know that it's at least six to one odds, Harry just had fifty or so..."
"What about the Aurors?" Roger hissed, "the Ministry?"
Lupin shook his head sadly, "It's under attack as well; we can expect no help from that quarter until too late to do us any good."
"So my daughter and son-in-law are going to try to fight an impossible mission, and get themselves killed," Roger looked back to his wife, who was talking lowly to Tonks, visibly forcing herself to remain calm with her newest daughter in her arms. "Get them out Remus, I need to help them."
"Not a bloody chance, Roger," Lupin growled, "you and Jane and those little girls are getting out of here, Harry and Hermione would kill me if I let any of you get hurt. I need you to go with Poppy when we set up the Portkey, help her triage, it's going to get really crowded on nine and three quarters just as soon as we start to evacuate." Roger's eyes narrowed, and Lupin reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, "And they aren't alone....they have Dumbledore." Lupin just shrugged at the utterly bewildered expression on Hermione's father's face. "Let's get you and yours out of here." With a flourish, Lupin reached into a pouch, grabbed a length of rope and touched it with his wand.
The rope glowed blue and shook in his hand, before becoming still. "This Portkey will take you to London," Remus shrugged at the hard look on the slightly older man's face, and handed him another, smaller length of rope from his pouch, "this Portkey will return you at eight fifteen to the edge of the forest, near Hagrid's hut."
Roger nodded, a paragraph of thanks in a glance, "Let's be about it then."
********************Hogwarts, near the Quidditch Pitch********************
2:45 am
Bill slid behind the broomshed, and knelt, peering out from near the ground at the edge of the Forest, through a pair of borrowed Cat-Eye Spectacles. He slowly panned his gaze around the area, and froze suddenly as he found the cause of the Map's confusion. He glanced back at the three DA members with him and took a quick breath, and frantically motioned them out of sight. He quickly pulled his head back and huddled against the old fieldstone wall of the broomshed. He swallowed heavily, panting slightly as his mind's eye replayed what he had just seen.
Bill slid a willfully steady hand into a pocket and extracted a pocket mirror, "Harry," he hissed, "we have a smidgen of a problem..."
The image swirled and solidified into Harry's face, behind him, Bill could see the familiar confines of Myrtle's bathroom. Fred and George moved past, their expressions grim as they hoisted large packs on their backs and moved towards the door. Harry glanced back at them, saying something Bill didn't catch, before looking back at the eldest Weasley child, "Yeah?"
"It's a trap, Harry," Bill said tensely, looking back towards the dark edge of the Forbidden Forest. Trees shook at the edge, while in one large clump, ice covered the ground even in the middle of May. "Looks like he was waiting for us-at the very least he has more Dementors than I've ever seen, the bloody ground is frozen out here." His breath puffed in the chill, "As to the rest," he pulled a pair of tiny Omniocculars from his bag, and touched them with his wand, they grew to full size and he brought them to his eyes, scanning the woods. Bill grunted as he saw at least twenty Death Eaters standing in the edge of the woods, as far as they could get from the group of Dementors, he panned right slightly...
"Oh...bloody hell," he growled under his breath, Harry waited, Hermione, Ron and Luna crowding his shoulders as Bill visibly gathered himself, he dropped the Omniocculars to the ground and looked back onto the Mirror, "He has at least eight giants and I can't tell how many trolls...a lot, in any case."
Harry nodded, his face set, "Very well, Bill, back off, try to slip back in the castle, I doubt he'll let them in amongst his own forces. Our best bet is still to get the kids away, he was probably going to let us show up and crush us between his forces in the castle and out there.
"Sucks that we're already inside then, doesn't it," Ron quipped quietly. Hermione glared at him, and he quieted, but Harry nodded.
"Ron's right, and there's another thing that Tom doesn't know-Dumbledore," Harry mentioned, and Hermione's eyes widened.
"The wards, once Dumbledore is back inside the castle..." Hermione said urgently.
"The Dementors will never cross the boundary."
"Harry," Bill put in, "if the Dementors can be kept away...I might be able to take care of the Giants." Harry started to object, "Trust me, Harry," Bill urged softly and Harry nodded.
"It's up to you then, Bill...but don't do whatever you are planning until Dumbledore activates the wards, you should be able to tell."
Harry closed his mirror and slid it into a pouch on his belt. He took a breath, "We need to make sure Dumbledore knows...Fawkes..." Harry muttered and a beat later, the crimson and gold bird appeared in a flare of fire and alighted on Harry's shoulder. Harry bent his head to the bird, "Fawkes...Dumbledore needs to know...There are Dementors waiting at the edge of the forest, he needs to set the wards to keep them away...Understand?" Fawkes trilled and vanished without leaving Harry's shoulder, the flare of fire magically not touching Harry as he vanished. "Let's go everyone, move." Harry snapped and the DA vanished, disappearing under cloaks or Disillusionment Charms.
**************************The Lawn***************************
Ten Death Eaters stood at the great, sundered doors to the ancient keep, lounging and joking roughly with each other. A dark smear of blood led down the side of the doors, to a twisted body lying motionless, with a crumpled patch of fur next to it. They looked up as one as a single, darkly cloaked figure holding a tall, white staff topped with a shimmering crystal, walked slowly up the path leading to the main gates, he paused under the archway leading to the normal carriage stop and slowly panned his hidden gaze around them.
"Who are you?" the tallest of the Death Eaters a cruel man named Stephani, snarled. He raised his wand, pointing it towards the dark figure...and died at a gesture as his carotid turned to lead. He crumpled and the rest of the Death Eaters fired instantly, a wall of green and yellow beams annihilating the archway and shattering the courtyard fountain.
Random bits of stone and water rained down as they ceased fire, "What the..." A shattered archway met their gaze as the smoke cleared, but nothing else. A soft scuff of leather on stone and a blue wave ripped out of the night, intersecting all nine and sending them crashing down to the stones. The wizard stepped to the first Death Eater, fading back into view from nothingness, and looked down, "You should have listened Mr. Stephani," he said sadly, "When Horace said you were on the wrong path...alas, you did not listen." He looked up, at the grinning green skull hanging over his beloved school, and slammed the butt of his staff on the ground.
A huge white pulse ripped into the sky, expanding into a vast flaming phoenix lighting the sky. It's beak opened as it swooped and swallowed the Dark Mark whole, before vanishing, leaving the sky full of only stars once more. He stepped into the castle, vanishing from view as he moved.
**************************Fourth Floor***********************
4:15 am
Alecto Carrow strode down the exact center of the hall, braying with laughter as she walked at the head of a column of
twenty Death Eaters, firing off spells to shatter portraits, armor and various other knick-knacs accumulated over a
thousand years of continuous occupancy of the ancient fortress. The occupants of the portraits screamed and ran from
frame to frame, fleeing her and her wrecking squad.
She never noticed as a squad of shadows flitted from alcove to alcove in her wake, "We need more entertainment," she roared and the Death Eaters with her laughed, particularly so an absolutely huge blonde Death Eater, with a particularly cruel face. He laughed as he stepped to the side and fired off a Reductor destroying a line of Armor.
Behind them, in a side passage now filled with rumble that they had just passed, the air shimmered and cleared, leaving behind a baker's dozen that had not been there before. Hermione nodded to Parvati, as she slid to the corner on her belly, and slowly extended her mirror at the very bottom of the wall. She looked back and mouthed, "They're gone."
Harry nodded without looking up, as he looked down at the Map spread out in front of him, it was currently zoomed in on the Dungeon dorm of Hufflepuff, where a large group of terrified first and second years, along with a scattering of older students, crowded around a dot labeled "Ernie McMillan." Harry moved his finger in a circle and the Map zoomed out to show the whole of the castle before zooming into a representation of Gryffindor Tower. Harry smiled darkly as he noted at least thirty tiny dots filling the Gryffindor Common room, at the scale he had it at, the names blurred together, but they were in a position to attack the first thing through the door.
A line of Death Eaters filled the hall in front of the dorm, a force of ten, perfect adequate to hold the narrow corridor against an attack from their front. We could flit up there, Harry, Hermione mentioned silently.
We have to trust them to do their jobs, Harry muttered back, though she could feel the hesitation in his words. He looked over at Draco and Ginny, huddled together in a corner, Draco's eyes were constantly moving at each of them in turn. Even if we have damn little reason to believe that they will in the case of some of them, he added reflectively.
Harry glanced up as Ron, Luna and Neville joined him in looking at the map. A minute passed with only the sounds of soft breathing; then six dots appeared behind the Death Eaters, appearing from a hidden door unknown to them. Four of the Death Eaters vanished instantly, then another and another.
A minute later it was over, as all of the dots representing Death Eaters faded slowly from the map, along with a dot labeled Gretchen Anderson. Harry took a deep, long breath, knowing that she would not be the last this night, and watched as the remaining four dots flowed into the room, and were immediately swarmed by the students waiting in ambush.
Anther breathless minute passed, before Harry's mirror vibrated in his pouch and he tapped it, to allow him to hear a breathless voice in his ear. "Harry," Honor's voice was tired and flat, almost expressionless, "we have the tower...We lost Gretchen and Sam's hurt bad, Harry, I'm sorry it was..."
"You did your best, Honor," Harry replied as Parvati, Lavender, Dean and Seamus moved to the corridor, their wands extended. Parvati twirled her chakram on the finger of her left hand, before she swapped her wand and the heirloom weapon. "Are you ready to get them out, Honor, have you checked the rest of the dorm?"
"Yeah, Harry," she replied with just a hair more life to her voice, "We are, give the word..."
"Hold on," he replied and tapped his mirror again, "Padma, Ernie," he called and two more soft voices answered, "are you ready?"
"I'm ready, Harry," Ernie's voice whispered back as Harry looked up at Ron and mouthed, "Get them ready." Ron nodded, tapped Neville and Luna on the shoulders and slipped to inform the rest of the team that the ball was about to start.
"We are too, Harry," Padma's voice, the almost identical one to her sisters, answered, "We stunned two here that were acting odd, they were both sixth years, transfers from Beauxbatons, don't know why they weren't at Hogsmeade with the rest," she paused, "Harry they had wands, none of the rest of the kids did, the Death Eaters took them, these other two were supposedly up in their room and the Death Eaters, missed them, according to what they told the others."
"I understand, Padma, tie them up before you port them and have one of the kids tell Fleur and Molly when they get to the Platform to watch them...they may not be plants, but..."
"Yeah, Harry."
Harry took a breath and looked down at his watch, then at the map, which he zoomed out to the whole school, "We go in five minutes everyone," he said in the mirrors, "port them out as fast as you can. As soon as the Portkeys begin to fire off, Tom will know, I can't hide that." He looked down at the map, finding the group that had just passed them, a large force of at least a hundred in the Great Hall headed by a dot marked Tom Riddle, a force of fifty or so walking around the first floor and many, many more spent in smaller packets around the school. "Ernie, as soon as you get the last one out, go to the Slytherin Dungeon and seal the entrance, drop the corridor if you have to, the kids that are in there will be fine, but I don't want any unexpected help from that quarter."
"Right, Harry."
"Padma, as soon as you get the last one away, meet up with me, we are going to take out the group that just passed and head towards the Great Hall, meet up with us on the fourth floor by that statue of Dell the Screwball." Harry looked at the faces with him; most were pale, but calm.
"I'll be there, Harry...tell Seamus..."
"You tell him, Padma," Harry cut her off, "see you in a few, two minutes now, everyone, out." He tapped the mirror again, cutting off conversations as he slowly stood. The map folded itself and leapt to a thigh pocket of his pants. "Let's go," Harry looked to Fred and George who were watching him intently as they held hands over bulging packs, "You two are up...we aren't playing fair tonight." They nodded with slightly maniacal glints in their eyes, before they vanished with dual swishes of cloaks. The rest of the group vanished in ones and twos, tossing cloaks over their heads or recasting Disillusionment Charms, and slipped into the hall.
Hermione gave Harry a small, tight smile before she vanished from his normal vision, leaving behind only her muted
presence in his senses. He stepped into the hall, invisible and felt Hermione at his side as they loped off in pursuit
of the Death Eaters. He rounded a corner quickly, feeling them ahead, and stopped in the middle of the hall. His wand
tracked up, towards the woman in the lead that he remembered from the night Dumbledore, died? A clocked ticked
somewhere, and the vaguely cold discharges of Portkeys surround him, lighting up his senses. He felt a sudden,
stinging pain in his scar,
"NOW, FRED, GEORGE!" Harry snapped and let his powers flow. Green light lit his eyes as a blue bolt ripped
from his wand, leaving his target a red mist in his suddenly sped up perspective.
Harry dove to his left, dancing under a green Kedavra that shattered the wall behind him; he distantly heard a grunt as a chunk of stone hit Dean. Harry stood; slicing left with the Sword, as he caught Hermione twirl around another to his left, silver blades glinting in the dim lighting. Both of their targets fell as the Twins stepped from the shadows, pulled two large stacks of discs from their packs and flung them to the ground, "DOWN!" Two-dozen silver discs, the latest generation of WWW's Very Fanged Frisbees streaked down the hall ripping into the remaining Death Eaters like a steel tornado. One, five, ten went down, dead or as injured as so not to matter.
The huge Death Eater dove back, shooting several of the Frisbees out of the air with Reductors, his last two compatriots fell as discs slipped past their defenses and gutted them, leaving him alone in the hall as Harry's entire force faded into view. "Potter," he growled, pulling loose a long, dark blade from under his robes. He laughed, "Care to see if you are really as brave as they claim? Come, face me with steel if you dare."
"Why not?" Harry whispered, and felt Hermione sigh, as he slid his wand back into his thigh sheath and slowly stalked forward, drawing the Sword from his back as he went.
She looked over at the huge, 6'8" or so, Death Eater towering over Harry's relatively small, 5'10" height, and took a breath, steadying herself as Harry stopped five paces away and held the Sword in a low guard, the hilt by his right, trailing, hip with the point pointing down and back. "Ready to die, Potter?" Sampson Crenshaw laughed, and looked past Harry to watch Hermione slowly spinning her daggers between her fingers, "I will entertain your-woman for you, after you are gone, Potter." He smiled hugely, showing large, slightly pointed teeth, and raised his sword overhead.
Harry sighed, "Anytime now--I do have your master to kill still..." Crenshaw let out an inarticulate roar, and charged. Time abruptly slowed to Harry's eyes as they lit...Harry danced to the side, watching as the huge claymore passed though the space he had just stood in...he spun to his right, slicing up and right, opening Crenshaw's back from kidney to scapula in a spray of blood...twisted his wrist and snapped the blade back, continuing his spin...
Time abruptly returned to normal as the Death Eater collapsed to the floor, a head shorter than he had started. Harry took one breath and muttered a spell, cleaning the Sword before sliding it back into his sheath. He looked back at the remainder of his team, saw Parvati finishing bandaging a slice on Seamus' arm, "Let's go," he said simply and shrugged his cloak over his head and vanished.
*******************Platform 9 3/4, Kings' Cross Station*********************
4:20 am
Molly Weasley sat wearily on a bench set against the old brick of the station, watching the mostly empty platform as she waited for the refugees to arrive. She looked across at Fleur as the very pregnant witch sat with the few students that had been hiding in the Infirmary when Remus and Tonks had relieved the spot. The small, tiny really, girls sat nervously, eating milk and cookies that Molly had packed for this, occasionally talking to each other, but mostly waiting. At least one of the girls' parents had been found and were on their way to hopefully take all five of the girls as they all seemed to be friends.
They had arrived, almost an hour ago, along with Remus, Tonks, Poppy and the Grangers, now plus one. Tonks had taken Jane and Anastasia to Grimmauld, where Winky was waiting to help Jane if needed, Winky having luckily not been in the castle when the attack occurred, but back at Godric's working on outfitting the crib for the newborn. The Secret seemed rather moot now, however, as the tiniest witch's ultimate fate, along with so many others would most likely be decided in the next few hours.
Roger had remained here, with several cases of medical supplies, along with Poppy, waiting to treat any injured from the kids who would hopefully, soon, be delivered safe from the war that had engulfed them. Molly looked down at her hands, twisting madly in her lap, before she looked back over at Roger, pacing furiously, his hand ever so often resting on a Muggle sidearm that he had placed in the small of his back. A large, lumpy black duffel sat pushed against the wall near him, he had had Winky pop to Godric's to retrieve it.
A slight change in the air pressure was their only warning as at least twenty vortexes opened, in a rainbow fall of colors, turning the dimly lit, early morning station bright as day, before fading. Sudden cries of terror and a few of pain rang out across the large open space as over a hundred children, eleven, twelve, and thirteen, with a few sprinkled older ones, appeared from nowhere. "GABRIELLE!" Fleur screamed, as she caught sight of a small, platinum-haired form curled protectively over an older boy in combat blacks. Fleur moved as rapidly as she could, around a clump of students, "POPPY!" she snapped, pointing down at the injured DA member that had evacuated with the youngsters. Poppy immediate dove to his side, waving her wand and starting a potion drip from a large, infinitely deep bag at her side.
She looked up at Roger as Gabrielle was swept, crying, into the arms of her older sister, "It's started then, Roger," she said as she finished stabilizing the young fighter, who would be far from the last she treated this night, if they were lucky, if they were not...that thought really did not bear thinking on.
"Aye," he replied softly, as he looked around the area. Molly was already herding the students into groups, the youngsters responding to her as she came into her own. Fleur helped as she could, but the real star, was Gabrielle, as the tiny part-Veela, charmed, cajoled or just plain influenced the rest of the children into some semblance of order, so her sister could get their names to contact their parents to come get them, with the flock of owls already waiting patiently near one end of the platform, courtesy of the efficient pre-planning of a certain Hogwarts Head Girl.
**********************Great Hall*****************************
"FIND THEM," Voldemort roared, and flung his wand sideways, sending tables skittering across the floor. At least fifty Death Eaters ran at his words, sprinting out of the hall through the forward doors. He stood from Dumbledore's golden throne and paced to the body lying motionless between a pair of his Death Eaters.
Minerva McGonagall looked up slowly, her grey eyes almost hidden behind her cracked and broken glasses. She glared at him, a look that could kill lesser evils, "Problems, Tom?" she sneered, he raised his wand high above his head, and she laughed, a more coughing sound actually as she coughed up a wad of blood, but a laugh nonetheless. A yellow beam ripped into her, sending her squirming in pain, but not screaming, not giving him the satisfaction.
"None of that is your concern, Minerva," Voldemort hissed, sending more of his Death Eaters in the hall out into the castle. He ended his spell with a flick of his wand, "Where is your precious, Great White Wizard...Where is your Chosen One?" He sniggered slightly and twirled his wand between long, skeletal fingers, "Yes, I remember now...your precious Albus is dead. And Potter's death will soon fuel my ultimate ascension. Come here, Bella, my precious..." Voldemort motioned and the black-haired Black, moved forward to stand at Voldemort's side. "My heir, Minerva..." Voldemort smiled darkly and slowly ran his fingers over Bella's distended belly, "I will soon, transfer my essence to him-"
"You've already split your soul enough, Tom," Minerva spat, and she smiled slightly as his eyes widened, just a touch, "And as to the other, Tom, not all is as it seems..." she took a breath and slumped, passing out as Voldemort raised his wand in fury.
A patch of air shimmered, "That...Tom," a wry, strong voice boomed across the hall, "would...be a mistake." A dark cloaked figure held up a tall white staff and rapped it strongly on the stones of the castle. An echo of power ripped through the air, permeating the very stones of the castle. Far away, Voldemort could feel the wards shift, and his tenuous link, to the Dementor host in the forest beyond; sever. "Were you expecting company, perhaps?"
A/N: There you go, some things were answered, some weren't and may never be...Next time, Harry and Tom begin their...conversation.