Unofficial Portkey Archive

Chapter 12 - Meadow Down

Atop a distant mountain peak ten black cloaked figures stood motionlessly as they waited for some intangible signal to start the battle. The snow had stopped falling and a huge area of bare rock was exposed in a giant circle since Hermione had summoned a large ball of blue fire and levitated it over her head.

"You just worry about attacking, I'll concentrate on defense," Harry said through their link. They were clearly overmatched and Harry's greater raw power would be most useful in negating incoming attacks whilst Hermione's cleverness would be most suited to devising a way to get past their defenses. Hermione acknowledged him with a short nod and gave her wand a flick. The ball of blue tinted flame split into eight smaller balls before each streaked away toward an avatar. The hurriedly improvised attack was easily deflected by silver shields bearing the symbol of the snake.

"Look out," Hermione said with the mental equivalent of a yell. Beams of green light flashed toward them, but Hermione needn't have worried. Harry blew apart the ground around them and intercepted the killing curses with a flurry of stones. Hermione was about to summon a stronger attack when a great ghostly shield that resembled a turtle's shell appeared around them. The shield had individual plates like those on a turtle and was able to shift position. Each time they moved they opened up small cracks through which offensive spells could be cast.

"I can't use elemental spells, they aren't going to get through," Hermione grouched as several strong curses impacted against Harry's shield and were absorbed or reflected. He moved his wand in a circular pattern that left a sky blue light sphere glowing in the air. Every few rotations the circle would pulse brightly and reinforce the turtle shell shield.

Hermione put her wand up to one of the cracks between the shield's numerous plates and cast a series of thick red vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines out of its end. The lines acted like cutting edges as they skimmed along the ground ripping apart everything in their path. Because their orientation was varied it made dodging them much more difficult. One of the avatars foolishly tried to block it with his shield and ended up getting massive cuts on the exposed part of his limbs.

"Don't make me laugh!" one of the avatars screamed even as the wizard Hermione had struck fell over in agony. "You can't hope to win against eight of us Potter."

A new hail of deadly spells pelted Harry's shield, but instead of dissipating after each blow their energies clung to the shield until erupting in a massive explosion. Dust churned up all around them as Harry grabbed Hermione and accelerated away. Quickly he conjured another ghostly turtle shell shield that, despite its weaknesses, was still the best defense he knew for a situation such as this. Suddenly Harry realized that Hermione wasn't returning fire anymore. Looking down he saw her thin figure covered in deep cuts, her clothes soaking rapidly in blood.

Albus Dumbledore sat anxiously behind his desk staring at the doorway that Severus Snape had just rushed out of. Most people who knew the man believed that he never had a friend in his entire life, but he did once, long ago. The death of Regelus Black at the hands of Snape's hero, Lord Voldemort, had shattered the gangly, pale skinned potion expert. Not to mention the other deaths…until the poor man was left alone with nothing but his dark memories.

The aging wizard stifled a sigh for the sake of the young people assembled in front of him awaiting the return of their two friends. Young Longbottom, no longer the bumbling little boy of six years ago, but now a competent wizard that made even his overbearing grandmother proud. The eccentric Miss Lovegood and Mr. Weasley, in many ways they reminded him of James and Lily Potter when they were their age. Ron, like James, had a difficult time with expressing the proper emotions at the proper times. Luna was more of a stretch, but she was easily as smart as Lily Evans had been and at least as brave. Then at last there was small Ginny Weasley, the most sheltered of the Weasley children to attend Hogwarts, but he sensed that she possessed a great deal of potential none the less.

There was a suddenly flutter of movement as a silver bird passed through the wall and circled closely to his head. Dumbledore reached up and grabbed the magically revealed parchment, his heart freezing when he saw the words written upon it.

"What's wrong?" Neville asked. Neville's prominent role in fighting Voldemort's forces had clearly made him the most perceptive of the four.

"We have been deceived," Dumbledore said sharply. "Hogsmeade is under attack."

"We've got to rally the Light Bearers," Ron said quickly.

"No," Dumbledore replied sharply. "Voldemort himself is leading this attack, I can feel the wards being erected in a network large enough to prevent any help from reaching us in time. Besides, we don't dare expose our forces to Voldemort without Harry."

Dumbledore jumped up and moved as quickly as he could toward the Great Hall. Thankfully, most of the students were still assembled in there for their evening meal. He strode up to the raised platform, motioning frantically to the teachers that something was amiss.

"Silence," McGonagall yelled out. "The Headmaster will speak."

"Hogsmeade has been attacked. We can only assume that a substantial number of people are left trapped throughout the village. Their only hope is for us to help them escape to this castle and so I must ask something of you that I had hoped to never ask. Anyone in the fifth year or above whom will volunteer to fight please stand. The house elves will keep the castle while the staff and I, along with anyone who will go with us, tries to help the people of Hogsmeade." Dumbledore said, attempting to keep the uncertainty out of his voice. He winced as he tried not to think about what he was doing. He needed people who could hold wands, but he didn't want to risk their most valuable members in a futile battle.

McGonagall swayed slightly, but she started barking out orders, summoning elves to take charge of the younger students. A majority of the fifth year and above, except most of the Slytherin students and a handful in the other houses, had stood to volunteer. Several of them were Lighter Bearer members, useful in a battle even if not fully trained and qualified due to their past experience in the D.A. Ashen faced youth and grim looking professors alike followed Dumbledore as he practically flew down the halls with his deep purple robes billowing behind him. Dumbledore looked behind and motioned violently for those following to hurry.

Normally those wishing to travel from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade would take a meandering road, but now such a circumvent route was a luxury that they could not afford. The sun had nearly set, but an unnatural foggy darkness had encompassed Hogsmeade. The village wasn't even visible except for the fires of destroyed structures.

"Minverva, assist Mr. Weasley as much as possible, he will need your guidance in this matter more than he may realize," Dumbledore said softly.

"Albus, what are you going to do?" McGonagall asked.

"I will do what I must," Dumbledore replied cryptically.

"No," McGonagall breathed, her eyes widening, "You can't, you know you can't, its suicide."

"Voldemort is the core of the attack," Dumbledore explained. "He's sent his strongest fighters to ambush Harry, that's the only explanation as why they've not yet returned."

"Albus, please…" McGonagall said softly, her eyes pleading with his.

"Don't ya worry none," Hagrid said gently as he came up behind them. The half-giant was carrying a strange metallic club that looked too big even for his hefty stature. He had been listening to the entire exchange and with Dumbledore's nod he gently led the transfiguration professor on down the hill toward the rest of the students who had paused in their march toward Hogsmeade. "Dumbledore's a great wizard, ya know he won' be goin' an rollin' over for any dark wizard."

Dumbledore was just on the fringe of the anti-apparation wards when he stopped and readied himself. Further down the hill students and teachers alike looked up toward the kindly old Headmaster who was always offering people candy or making off color jokes but they could barely recognize him. Dumbledore's eyes had turned a flat, icy blue color and their twinkle was replaced by a burning hardness that only a very few persons had ever seen.

"VOLDEMORT," Dumbledore's magically enhanced roar seemed to rend the very fabric of the air. "VOLDEMORT"

There was a loud cracking sound and a sharp intake of breath from the on lookers as Lord Voldemort materialized a dozen paces away from Dumbledore. Apparently the evil wizard could apparate through his own wards, even if they were the hasty ones being set up to block anyone trying to come or go from the Hogsmeade area. The Dark Lord's black cloak flapped in the cold wind enough to reveal his unnaturally thin, pale, almost reptilian figure. Red eyes full of malice met blue eyes equally filled with determination and….rage.

"No one has ever called me out," Voldemort hissed angrily. "This is your end old man."

There was a flicker of motion followed by a rush of violently dislocated air and then both of them were gone.

"Hurry," Ron called out, "This is the only chance we'll have to help Hogsmeade."

"HERMIONE," Harry shouted out across their bond. The shield, which Harry had solidified since there was no opportunity to attack with Hermione out of commission, rocked hard as physical objects impacted against it instead of merely spells. Harry tried to heal Hermione's wounds but they didn't close much.

"Harry, just worry about the shield, I'll be okay," Hermione said forcefully, her eyes flaring open again. Harry watched with relief as her grip tightened around her wand and her wounds slowly closed. Harry tossed down a blood-replenishing potion from his hat so that she wouldn't have to search for a vial.

The relief that flooded Harry's chest was driven away almost instantly as another sensation made itself felt. The golden emblem around his neck actually burned hot from the number of desperate pleas that were coming across from those besieged. Harry saw flashes of Hogsmeade and Voldemort on the slopes of Hogwarts.

"We've got to get out of here Harry, they need us," Hermione said urgently.

"But the dwarves, they'll be defenseless," Harry argued. "We can't just abandon them."

"They've had time to at least stand a chance of escape," Hermione insisted, "If Hogsmeade is wiped out it will be a disaster, people will give up our cause out of fear, not to mention that Hogwarts itself may fall if we don't get back in time. Who knows what Voldemort can do with no one there to check his power."

Harry unleashed a hail of spinning silver disks, unable to think clearly enough to devise a more effective attack. The avatars barely paused to destroy or deflect them before firing off more killing curses. Luckily, Harry had held some of the disks in reserve to take the blows. He gritted his teeth and replied with searing attacks of his own, recklessly disregarding the shield in his determination not to abandon the dwarves. He had never really had any interaction with them, beyond the representatives that had signed their treaty and of course the dwarf that had delivered a singing valentine to him during second year. Still, they were sentient creatures and he couldn't abandon them to their fate like this.

"Harry, stop reacting to this emotionally," Hermione said sternly. "Remember your promise…"

Harry's mind's eye flashed back to a crying Hermione clutching him in a hallway, begging him to stop Voldemort no matter what the cost, extracting his promise to not let anything, even Hermione's own death, come between him and what they both knew had to be done.

Harry let out a strangled noise of stifled rage and loathing as he communicated to Hermione. "Cover your eyes!"

Harry lifted his wand high above his head and cast a flash of blinding white light. The avatars staggered, temporarily blinded by the unexpected maneuver. Harry flicked his wand like a whip and banished Hermione. She was hurled off the mountainside high in the air where the special shoes Harry had created held her aloft. Before her momentum had dissipated she had already caught onto Harry's plan and begun to do her part to carry it out. Harry felt her power snatch him toward her at a terrible speed until he was sent flying past her.

Back and forth they took turns hurtling each other steadily closer to the edge of the dwarves' magical transportation inhibition fields. They still had a long way to go when eight dark shapes lifted off of the abandoned mountaintop to came rushing toward them. The two teens quickly realized that brooms were far superior to their improvised means of travel. Harry felt Hermione's spell jerk him around the waist again as she got far enough ahead of him.

"Avada Kedavra," Harry yelled over and over again after he had grabbed Hermione with a spell. The avatars broke formation to dodge the flurry of deadly green flashes, but they didn't slow down much.

"Hermione, we've got to transform," Harry said desperately.

"No, Harry, we can't," Hermione shouted back frantically. "They'd chase us down easily and in our bird forms we're defenseless. Plus, we can't let them find out about our transformations unless it's absolutely unavoidable."

Harry was pulled backwards by Hermione's charm after she had begun to lose momentum from Harry's spell. Harry shot a few more curses as he sailed past her, but Hermione was summoning a new attack of her own. Tentacles of fire poured out of her wand tip and congealed into a writhing ball that seemed to have a mind of its own. Long after Hermione was yanked away from her creation it continued to lash out and attack the oncoming avatars. This time they had no choice but to stop and give battle to the bizarre thing. Aqua colored shields hissed as the long lashes of fire struck out from the ball over and over again.

"What is that thing?" Harry asked with a feeling of pride as they continued to put distance between themselves and the embattled avatars.

"Corporeal fire transfigured and imbued with animalistic intellect," Hermione explained. "I still haven't mastered it though."

Harry thought she had mastered it quite well enough when one of the tentacles wrapped around an avatar and wormed its way down his throat. The dark minion heaved as if about to vomit before his skin started to flake off in ash. With a brilliant flare the avatar burst into flame from within and was instantly consumed except for his charred skeleton that continued to cling to the broomstick as it fell from the sky.

The ball of fire actually howled with pain, or maybe rage, as it was pierced with a dozen spikes of ice. Big dark patches appeared on the surface of the fiery ball where the ice extinguishing the flame and undid the magic that animated it.

"How much further?" Harry asked as Hermione sent him rushing past her again for at least a dozen times.

"I think the field is starting to weaken," Hermione replied.

Harry cast more killing curses at the avatars that were rapidly gaining ground again after having defeated Hermione's spell. They twirled and swerved like professional quiddich players but they didn't slow down in the least.

"Hermione, make another fireball," Harry said desperately.

"I can't right now, the last one really drained me," Hermione replied.

Harry racked his brain desperately for a spell that would help them out but nothing came to mind. He shot out masses of silver projectiles only to see them vaporized or ground to powder by similar spells being used in retaliation. Seven mighty wizards were simply too many for them to fight, especially in such a precarious situation hundreds of feet off the ground.

Harry felt himself collide into Hermione with a soft thud and then he realized that the avatars had finally caught up. The dark cloaked figures swarmed around them like wolves looking for a weakness to bring down their prey. Harry and Hermione activated their armor as they oriented themselves back to back.

"We're almost there," Hermione lamented.

"Steal a broom," Harry said. "Push off of me when one of them gets too close."

"No way Harry, you'll be vulnerable all alone out here, you've got to push off of me," Hermione replied vehemently. Harry balked at this, he had realized the person left behind would be most vulnerable, which was why he had wanted Hermione to steal the broom.

"Harry," Hermione said sternly, "There's no time for you to hesitate, you're the superior flier not to mention the only one who can stop Voldemort. Our best chance of getting out of here is for you to go right NOW."

Harry gritted his teeth and summoned all his power as he lifted his legs behind him to use Hermione as a launching platform. He hesitated for a moment until he determined which of the circling fliers was closest to them and then he struck. Hermione doubled over from the force of his kick, but he didn't have time to watch her recovery. The avatars realized their error and tried to move back but before they could get enough distance the atmosphere exploded in electricity. Harry heard a crunching noise as his metal coated fist slammed into the avatar he had targeted. His wand filled hand awkwardly clutched at the broom handle as his body twisted around into a sitting position. Broom secured Harry grabbed a dazed Hermione, who had also been affected by his attack, and rushed as quickly as possible for the edge of the ward field.

"Drink this, hurry, Hermione…" Harry wheedled as he shook her gently. Finally, Hermione drank the rejuvenation potion after regaining consciousness. Her eyes widened as everything came rushing back and they apparated away at the same time, the broom falling away in their haste.

"All right, everyone get over here," Ron yelled between breaths. After a few minutes of hard running everyone had arrived at the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Ron pointed his wand at the snow on the ground and caused a replica of the village to raise itself up.

"Now then, as near as we can tell we've got people trapped in these places," Ron said as he highlighted the areas he was referring to. "We need to break through and hold open the Death Eater lines along these points in order to get everyone out. Some will come here, others will use the secret tunnel in Honeydukes."

"We're outnumbered," Luna said as she batted at one of her radish earrings idly. "They could overrun this position anytime they wanted."

"You're right," Ron said, muttering under his breath. "Come on, Luna, Neville, we need a barrier."

"Right," Neville acknowledged. The three teens took up positions in a rough triangle and thrust their wands into the soft snow. A thick stone barrier sprang up from the soil to form a crude fortification to help absorb spells.

"Fifth and sixth years stay here, seventh years and professors with me," Ron shouted. He used his wand to leap easily over the wall and re-conjured the magical map of the village. "Neville, you and the professors need to retake this nearest route into the town center where the main battle is going on. Luna will take the other students and try to locate the anti-apparation ward that is located about…here. We get that down and most of the people trapped can escape, plus we can then call in reinforcements."

Neville motioned for everyone in his team to start moving out, but McGonagall hung back.

"I think I should stay here Mr. Weasley. I can help direct the battle…" she said kindly.

"No," Ron replied firmly. "You're one of our best fighters and if we're to break through the main concentration of Death Eaters you'll be needed with Neville."

"You can't bring in more people," McGonagall exploded, her real reason for wanting to stay revealed. "Professor Dumbledore explicitly said…"

"Dumbledore isn't here, I am," Ron snapped. He grabbed a fist full of cloak and shook it in her face. "And it wouldn't matter if he was. You see these four stripes? This is my command, now go, we don't have time for a bloody turf war."

Jaws dropped all around and everyone held their collective breaths waiting for McGonagall to blow up. Instead she simply snapped her mouth into a thin line, looking stun.

"Very well," she said tersely, wheeling about. Neville looked apprehensive but none the less motioned everyone forward.

"Bloody….sodding…McGonagall," Ron muttered angrily as they disappeared, "Luna, are you ready?"

"Don't worry Ron, everything will be okay," Luna said, leaning in and giving Ron a rather deep kiss on the lips. "Wish me luck."

"Uh, good luck," Ron said, turning as red as his hair from the public display. He watched as Luna took the fore of her group and disappeared out of his sight. Sighing he turned to the students left painfully aware that he was now unquestionably the strongest wizard left to defend the escape back to Hogwarts. He was in charge, he was the only one that could lead, and it was all up to him. Ron grimaced as he realized that this feeling must be something like the one Harry had been living with for years now.

Great pale gray spires twisted up into the air like pottery experiments gone wrong. The towers were arranged in a peculiar pattern that seemed to be both totally random and meticulously planned all at the same time. An invisible circular boundary governed the small city because the buildings all abruptly stopped at the same radius from the town center. However, Dumbledore could see very little of this from his current position in the meadows surrounding the city on all sides. Tall grass lapped at his robes as he stood by passively waiting for the tall pale figure that had followed him to do something.

Voldemort chuckled eerily. "How fitting, the end of Albus Dumbledore will happen in the cursed land of Meadow Down."

"Cursed only for the enemies of the ancestors," Dumbledore replied evenly. How he loathed bringing one such as Voldemort to a place such as this. Unfortunately, Dumbledore knew that Voldemort already knew the location of Meadow Down and it was one of the few places remote enough from muggle society to make a safe battlefield.

"Cursed for them as well, apparently, since they're all dead," Voldemort hissed. "Now I will put an end to your muggle loving meddlesome ways and then Potter will fall into my hands."

"You cannot defeat me Tom," Dumbledore replied serenely. "For reasons you could never understand. You may defeat Harry, that I cannot know, but you will suffer a fate worse than death and if Harry wins you'll taste death too."

Voldemort's eyes suddenly shone bright red and his cloak whipped as if in a fierce wind. "Show it to me!" He demanded hotly. "The power that defeated Grindelwald. I tire of your meaningless talk. You brought me here for that reason did you not? To use the power you swore not to so long ago?"

Dumbledore bowed his head sadly before looking back up. Contrary to Voldemort, Dumbledore's eyes didn't change beyond his normal fierce twinkle whenever he went into battle, nor did his robes shift, instead only a great calm settled around him. Dumbledore hated what Grindelwald had forced him to do; what he had allowed himself to do after Abigail was killed.

Voldemort on the other hand had always been too afraid of Dumbledore's immense strength to fight him in a full-scale battle. Instead they had faced off over and over again like two icebergs at sea crunching up against each other. Each knew that the other was hiding the vast bulk of their power, but neither knew which was hiding the most. Now that the prophecy protected him from death Voldemort was willing to risk a confrontation for the sake of his curiosity.

Voldemort pointed his wand at Dumbledore's feet and lifted it sharply. The grass grew and twisted into long thick ropes that wrapped around Dumbledore until only a huge green cylindrical bundle could be seen. In an instant the entire field was transformed as thick layers of ice materialized over the landscape. Dumbledore sprang from the grassy prison, shattering it and everything green all the way to the horizon, before vaporizing the fragments with a flick of his wand. Voldemort scowled as he surveyed the brown barren landscape left in Dumbledore's wake.

"Earth may escape fire and lightening with mere scorches, but against the power of water all of nature gives way," Dumbledore said, as if informing a class. "The lack of it will kill all that lives, the excess of it grinds mountains to dust."

"Water is merely a rider on the back of a mighty world of stone," Voldemort snarled. He pointed his wand at the ground again causing the ground to crumble beneath Dumbledore's feet. There was a brilliant flash as Fawkes appeared for Dumbledore to hold on to until his feet were on solid terrain again. The little phoenix settled itself placidly on Dumbledore's shoulder awaiting its next task.

"Water is the balance of stone," Dumbledore replied. Unnatural clouds swirled in the sky and a gentle mist began to fall.

Voldemort waved his wand and great spikes shot out of the ground intending to impale Dumbledore. They quickly sagged and collapsed into a muddy heap on the ground thanks to the conjured moisture permeating the earth. The mud leapt up into a tight cocoon around Voldemort as Dumbledore repeated the tactic he had tried on the dark wizard in the Ministry of Magic's lobby.

The swirling mud hardened in a flash and flaked away into a cloud of dust from which Voldemort stepped confidently. The clouds darkened as the rain got heavier and the wind increased. Dumbledore and Voldemort were both completely soaked now, their robes clinging to them tightly. Dumbledore moved his wand in a tiny circular motion and conjured up a tendril of twisting air that lashed out at Voldemort. With a flicker the evil wizard apparated away an instant before the miniature cyclone struck and gouged a deep hole in the ground.

Dumbledore struck out again and again, but each time Voldemort apparated away at the last instant. Finally, Dumbledore pointed his wand at himself, casting a spell to make himself inflate rapidly until he resembled a giant ball with a beard and a pointy hat. The force of Dumbledore's swelling caused all the water that had accumulated in his robes to fling off in every direction and a second spell caused the tiny droplets to harden into jagged icy darts. Voldemort howled as his body was riddled with dozens of shards and then lurched back in pain.

Dumbledore returned to his normal form and cast a beam of vibrant blue light at the stricken dark wizard. It impacted against an invisible barrier a mere arm's length away from Voldemort. Dumbledore unleashed a flurry of spells that impacted with a flash of light and roar of thunder against the barrier.

Voldemort clutched his wand tightly and his wounds began to disappear. He regained his feet, face twisted in fury. "One killing curse old man, just one, that's all I ask." Voldemort yelled.

Dumbledore's eyes blazed and he gritted his teeth, but he didn't cast the infamous Avada Kedavra. Instead he unleashed a torrent of white-blue light from his wand that shattered Voldemort's barrier, vaporizing it instantly. Voldemort summoned a silver shield emblazoned with his snake symbol to absorb the rest of the blast, but the force of Dumbledore's spell still sent him skidding backwards.

Then, just like that, Dumbledore seemed to diminish. "I'm afraid you must be denied Tom." He said simply. "I won't make the same mistake that I made before, especially not here. Did you think I chose Meadow Down only for its seclusion?"

Voldemort's eyes glinted with understanding. "You were the one weren't you?" Voldemort asked. "I remember hearing about the rumor that you discovered a baby in some kind of time spell trap, but it was you wasn't it. You were that baby!"

"I don't remember anything actually," Dumbledore spoke at last. "But I am curious to know how you would be aware of the trap. Only one has been found and it was destroyed without a trace."

"Oh no, I don't think so Dumbledore. This is your day to tell secrets, not mine," Voldemort laughed again, even louder than before.

Red beams lanced out through the air followed by two thuds as another pair of Death Eaters hit the ground. Neville glanced around quickly using the vision enhancing eyepiece that all Light Bearers carried. They had pushed through three different pockets of Death Eaters with little trouble and now found themselves only a few dozen meters away from the largest concentration of individuals still holding out against the attack.

"You two, stay here and guard this alley," Neville said firmly. "We're going to need a way out."

He surveyed the street and quickly came to the conclusion that they would have no choice but to confront the Death Eaters in the open if they were to break out the people under siege. Neville gestured rapidly for the professors to fan out and then with a wave they surged forward with a hail of deadly spells. For a moment Neville thought that they had taken the Death Eaters entirely by surprise, but then the offensive spells abruptly exploded against an invisible barrier.

"McGonagall, Flitwick…Longbottom?" Lucius Malfoy said in a quizzical tone.

Two cries sounded from behind them and Neville spun around in time to see a dozen Death Eaters stun the two professors guarding their exit.

"Now!" Lucius yelled. Neville turned back in time to see the elder Malfoy toss three round objects into the air. They glowed blue for an instant before vanishing and Neville realized that the portkey dispersion wards were down.

"It's a trap," he cried out desperately, but it was too late. Three massive giants appeared where the spheres had vanished from a few moments before. These giants were unlike anything Neville had ever seen or heard of before. They were covered from head to toe in some kind of ancient looking armor that had to be goblin wrought. In one hand they carried shields of dragon bone adorned with randomly placed spikes that jutted out several feet and in the other hand they wielded giant swords of flame. The air shimmered from the heat of their weapons and the wind off of their movements caused the snow to boil up in a miniature blizzard. Emblazoned on each of their helms were three horizontal stripes, with each progressively longer to create a rough pyramid.

"It's tha `Arg brothers," Hagrid shouted.

"The who?" Neville asked.

"The Arg brothers are the most dreaded warriors of the Red Mountain tribe," McGonagall hissed angrily. "The eldest, Aarg, the second eldest Barg, and the youngest Carg. Don't underestimate them."

Normally Neville wouldn't have been worried about giants. Despite their natural resistance to magic they still died like anything else when struck by the unstoppable Avada Kedavra curse. Even non-lethal spells could restrain or subdue a giant after a while. However, these giants were too well shielded to be killed so easily and for the first time Neville began to appreciate why Dumbledore had been so adamant that they get the giants on their side.

"How are we supposed to fight these things?" Professor Fliwick squeaked. Hagrid seemed to be the only one who knew what he was doing. The gamekeeper was using his club like a pike to keep the giants from being able to quickly close in on him.

"I don't know, use your armor," Neville yelled, suddenly wishing that he had regular Light Bearers with him instead of an improvised force of schoolteachers. He fired a killing curse at the nearest giant but it barely even scratched the warrior's magic resistant dragon bone shield.

It was almost comical to see the likes of McGonagall or the tiny Flitwick activate their armor and shields. Neville didn't have time to ponder on their appearance before the giants rushed forward, flaming swords screaming through the air. Neville and McGonagall leapt aside as snow turned to steam where Aarg's sword slammed into the ground. Showing unnatural grace for someone her age McGonagall managed to outflank Aarg before casting thick sticky ropes around his legs. Neville recognized what she was attempting to do and copied her tactic.

Aarg's armor shimmered slightly and the sticky ropes refused to hold. The giant's powerful muscles did the rest of the work by snapping the few threads that were wrapped around both legs. McGonagall tried to send more tendrils out but Aarg wasn't to be fooled by the same technique twice. The flaming sword enlarged itself into a flat surface wide enough to intercept and vaporize all of the Professor's attack.

Neville racked his brain desperately for something else to try, but before he could do anything he was suddenly pulled aside by a summoning charm. Snow hissed as Barg's flaming sword slashed through the ground that Neville had previously been standing on. He landed on his back heavily at the feet of the person who had saved him.

"Ginny!" Neville exclaimed. Long fiery hair whipped in the strong wind as Ginny helped him stand. He felt a rush of concern; Ginny shouldn't be in such a dangerous place. Neville flushed even as he finished those thoughts. Ginny had just saved him; she didn't deserve to be berated for it. "Thanks Ginny, you saved me."

"I'm glad," she replied nervously, obviously having expected to be chewed out.

"We've got to move though," Neville said urgently. He wrapped an arm protectively around Ginny's shoulders and led her away. McGonagall fired off another round of hexes at Aarg only to see them rebound off the giant's formidable armor.

"Intempestus Horrificus," Ginny yelled. Great dark shapes like a twisted variation of her favored bogy hex squeezed out of the end of her wand and swarmed over Aarg. The giant dropped his sword and stumbled about, yelling in terror. Neville copied Ginny's attack and for a moment it looked as if they might have found a spell to gain the upper hand. Unfortunately Barg came to the aid of his brother by throwing his shield at the two teens. Neville took the brunt of the blow, one of the spikes impaling his thigh as they were sent sprawling. By the time Neville had staggered back onto his feet with the help of Ginny the giants had already retrieved their weapons.

"Run Ginny," Neville pleaded when Aarg started toward them, his intent deadly and clear. Ginny didn't respond, instead she tugged on Neville's much heavier form to try and get him moving. Neville winced from the sharp pain in his leg but twisted to futilely cover Ginny's body with his own as Aarg's sword arced through the air towards them.

With an unusual cracking sound Harry and Hermione found their progress arrested by the presence of Voldemort's anti-apparation wards. Now they were doubly thankful for their animagus forms as they morphed into a falcon and an owl before flying in the direction of Hogsmeade as quickly as possible.

"Harry, you've got to go get the wards down so everyone can escape," Hermione said as they flapped their wings with determination. Through the emblems they were able to gain a working knowledge of the ongoing battle.

"Are you sure, wards are more of your specialty than mine," Harry replied.

"If Voldemort returns he will go to secure the wards and Luna's group are the weaker fighters. They need you and I can handle the giants," Hermione insisted, though she talked with more assurance than she felt.

The air was now thick with smoke from the ruined and burning structures of Hogsmeade. The noise of people shouting spells also began to filter into their keen animal senses. At the edge of the village Harry and Hermione landed so they could transform outside of anyone's sight. Harry gave Hermione a quick kiss and watched anxiously as she accelerated away. With a silent plea for her to be safe Harry turned away and ran as fast as he dared to avoid falling into an ambush or trap.

Harry grimaced as he passed a second body in an alley as he headed toward Luna's group. The body obviously belonged to a student, but it was so badly deformed by some kind of spell that he had no idea who it was. He had a sickening feeling that he would see many more such bodies before the day was over.

"Harry! Over here," Luna yelled from a doorway just in time for a dozen beams of green light to lance out at him. The air grew heavy and the beams seemed to refract around Harry's position. Not wanting to test fate any further Harry accelerated into the building that Luna had called out to him from.

"That was lucky, you almost got fried," Luna said with a Dumbledore like calmness once Harry was safely behind cover.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. If the prophecy would bend the laws of magic and nature for him like that then maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.

More spells flew across the empty street from the Death Eaters who were guarding the wards. Harry realized that the only reason that the wrecked building they were in wasn't aflame was due to an active spell being cast by Luna herself. As it was they had still been forced to blast out a space like a trench he'd seen muggles use in one of their great wars so as to escape the continual stream of killing curses that decimated anything caught above ground.

"Who can perform Avada Kedavra?" Harry asked. A couple of people nodded; not nearly enough for what Harry had in mind. "Fine then, stunners, everyone will saturate that entire area with stunners when I draw their fire."

Harry had half expected someone to argue, but no one did. He conjured up his silver shield and levitated a mass of shattered masonry to protect him from killing curses as he leapt out into the street. A few green beams flashed out at him only to be absorbed by the masonry. However, many of the Death Eaters switched over to spells that remained unaffected by physical barriers.

"Stunners!" Harry roared as he huddled beneath his silver shield. From behind him a dozen wands spat out thin red beams of energy, most of which exploded harmlessly, but served their purpose of making the Death Eaters slacken the pace of their assault.

Harry didn't pause to consider the less than stellar performance of his backup as he blew in the remains of the wall that the Death Eaters were hiding behind. He charged into the room and spotted what remained of Voldemort's guard struggling to resist him. Unfortunately for them they were not avatars and against the strength of the only person capable of defeating their master they stood little chance in open combat.

A wizard with long braided hair snapped a killing curse at Harry an instant before he was driven into the wall by a stunner. Harry flicked his wand and sent several tiny balls of sliver shooting toward the remaining Death Eaters. The balls struck the Death Eaters and pushed them back against the walls or floor and then morphed into shackles. A second flick drug their wands away before they could make any attempt to undo their restraints.

"Come on," Harry shouted. Luna waved and quickly darted across the street. She instructed the bulk of her force to watch the street in case more Death Eaters arrived to reclaim the wards. The rest came further into the building to watch the now stunned Death Eaters that Harry had subdued.

"Oh, nice, ethereal," Luna said mistily as she gazed down on the slowly rotating wards in front of Harry.

"Do you know how to undo them?" Harry asked gruffly, annoyed that Luna appeared to be admiring Voldemort's work at a time like this.

"No, not really," Luna replied happily. She tugged idly on one of her radish earrings and stared at the ward.

Harry thought back to what Hermione had told him about such things when she was teaching him how to construct wards. Unlike normal wards made of conjured spell form bases ethereal wards were not really a part of the greater world around them.

"Avada Kedavra," Harry shouted angrily. The floor around the ward disappeared in a cloud of smoke and dirt, but the ward wasn't even slightly affected. Harry sat down on the floor and let several tendrils of energy seep out of his wand. He would have to deconstruct it one piece at a time with more subtle magic.

Harry concentrated on the intricate form of the ward that contained the anti-portkey ward first. Not everyone trapped could apparate so he wanted to give those with portkeys the ability to leave as quickly as possible. A few pieces of the semi-transparent milky white ward flaked off hesitantly, but almost immediately thereafter the ward began to glow with a blue hue. A fierce blast of lightening ripped out across the room leaving the stench of ozone in its wake. Harry blinked once and realized that the charm Hermione had placed on his wand had protected him, but Luna had not fared so well.

Harry abandoned his task to look after the prone form of the blonde girl. Luna's skin was scorched in several places, especially around her jewelry, and she didn't seem to be fully conscious. Harry tore his hat from his head and fished out a handful of potions.

"I'm…finish the ward," Luna gasped when Harry started forcing some restorative potions down her throat.

"Don't try to talk," Harry said firmly. He realized that Luna was right though, he couldn't afford to take time to help her right now. Harry looked around the room for one of the weaker fighters.

"Lavender, get over here and give her more of these healing potions" Harry said, motioning his hat. Lavender came over quickly looking anxious and concerned. Harry realized that she wasn't as good at healing as he was, let alone Poppy, but it couldn't be helped. He turned back to the ward, this time after having everyone summon shield charms to protect themselves from any more anti-tampering spells that Voldemort might have left imbedded.

Harry squinted and concentrated on the decomposition procedure even though he was beginning to get flashes of battle from across his link with Hermione. He roughly shoved those feelings to the back of his mind along with another whispered plea for her to stay alive. He knew the only way to help Hermione was to finish his job and to trust in her like she deserved. That final thought spread relief through his mind; Hermione was a powerful witch and far cleverer than anyone else Harry had ever known. With renewed concentration and caution the stubborn ward began to further break apart.

Neville blinked his eyes rapidly, not realizing that he had shut them until now. A fierce heat wafted off of the sword of living flame that hovered less than a meter above his head. A dark silhouette held the giant's attack at bay with an armor covered hand.

"Hermione?" Ginny's voice croaked feebly.

Neville squinted through the heat-distorted air and barely recognized the golden outline of a torch on her beaten robes. That was all he recognized. Hermione's usually bushy hair was matted in partially frozen blood and caked to the side of her head. Her face was likewise a mass of blood and her ragged clothes were stiff with it.

"Neville, what in the bloody hell are you doing out here like this? Get these people out of here," Hermione's voice commanded roughly.

"They ambushed us," Neville said, trying to explain. Hermione pointed her wand at the burning sword and suddenly it rocketed back up into the air.

"Not now, we've got to get your team out of here. We're too outnumbered." Hermione shouted.

"There are people trapped in there," Neville yelled back.

"We can't help them like this," Hermione responded. Aarg had regained his composure and his brother Barg had joined him again. Both of the giants were looking for an opportunity to obliterate the tiny little witch that had defied them. Hermione summoned a thin long lash of fire out of the end of her wand and brandished it like a massively oversized sword.

Aarg and Barg ran with surprising speed toward flanking positions in an attempt to catch Hermione between them. The rest of the battle seemed to stop as everyone, including Death Eaters, gawked at Hermione's swift fluid motions. First she pointed her wand straight down and used some sort of spell to launch herself into the air toward Aarg. The fiery lash coming from her wand was still aligned with its tip, but it now hovered nearly a meter out from it to allow her to easily cast other spells. There was a thunderous crack of metal on metal as Hermione used her momentum to connect a powerful blunt force punch right into Aarg's torso. The giant reeled backwards on unsteady feet as Hermione perched on him and unleashed a flurry of breaker spells.

Neville started to cry out in alarm when Barg finally closed enough to loose a sweeping blow meant to knock Hermione off his brother, but before he could do anything Hermione was already leaping away. Her long thin lash of flame seemed ridiculous next to the thick swords of the giants but it proved effective when it parried Barg's slash. The rest of the battle resumed with a new focus on Hermione. Several Death Eaters came forward tentatively to give aid to their giant allies.

Hermione accelerated away from the giants as several different colored beams of light seared through the air toward her last position. With a casual grace Hermione sent a half dozen stunners at the new attackers only to see them absorbed by their shield charms.

"Avada Kedavra," Hermione shouted. The lead Death Eater only had time to widen his eyes in shock before the fatal curse passed through his shield and slammed into him. The remaining attackers scrambled to levitate bits of nearby wreckage to give themselves some cover and in the process left themselves open to the whip like motion of Hermione's fiery lash. Two Death Eaters fell; their bodies ripped into charred halves by her attack.

The rest of the Death Eaters backed off, unwilling to become the next casualties, but they had already done their job. Hermione barely had time to put her armor between her and Barg's shield before it sent her flying through the air. It was only fortune or fate that none of the metal spikes on the dragon bone shield managed to impale her. Dust erupted outward where Hermione impacted against one of the walls.

Barely a second clicked by before the rubble erupted and an angry Hermione burst out. Neville noticed with horror that she was slowly bleeding from dozens of cuts all over her body and realized that she must have been struck with some kind of curse wounds that she could no longer concentrate on enough to keep shut. Neville and Ginny were back on their feet now, though they were having a hard time moving away from the battle. The professors had finally managed to dig in enough to keep the surrounding Death Eaters from quickly overwhelming them, but Neville had a sneaking suspicion that the wizards were merely waiting for the giants to do most of the work rather than risk themselves.

Neville tripped, dragging Ginny down with him, and in the process noticed a part of the fight that he had forgotten in the course of the drama which was Hermione fighting. Hagrid was still holding his own against the smallest of the giants, Carg, and in fact appeared to be gaining the upper hand. Neville knew that Hagrid's club must be ferociously heavy even though the gamekeeper was swinging it about as if it were a fly swatter.

Every now and then Carg's taunts of midget or little man would filter in over the din of the rest of the battle. Neville could still watch what was happening though, as the glow of the burning village illuminated the gathering night, because he and Ginny were completely cut off. In front of them were three giants trading blows with their relatively tiny opponents, to their sides and rear were ranks of Death Eaters who were wearing down the remaining holdouts.

Carg bellowed in surprise as Hagrid sent him staggering with a thrust from his club followed by a wild swing that actually clipped a huge chunk out of the warrior's dragon bone shield.

"Neville, what are we going to do?" Ginny asked, her voice trembling. Neville looked back to where Ginny was watching Hermione. Both giants had finally managed to close in on her at the same time and together were driving her back. Hermione's armor was beginning to show serious damage from repeatedly staving off their attacks.

"We've got to help her," Ginny said suddenly. She leaned Neville back against the building they had sought shelter next to.

"No Ginny," Neville said sharply, "You'll just get in her way."

"She's not going to make it," Ginny replied hotly. Hermione indeed was looking worse than ever with most of her outer cloak a smoldering wreck and her hat long ago turned into a charred ruin.

Neville felt his wounds reopen as he stumbled after the determined red head and he cast the exertion charm that Harry had taught him to keep from collapsing. Meanwhile Hermione barely dodged Barg's shield when the giant tried to squash her into the ground with it. She recognized the vulnerability of the giant's position and took the opportunity to run up the steep slope that Barg's arm made when it was thus lowered after his attack. Hermione pointed her wand at her armor and charged it with mystical energy before landing a devastating punch that managed to send Barg flying into the air.

Hermione had long since stopped paying attention to the battle at large. It had originally been her intention to help those trapped by the Death Eaters to break out and get them back to the relative safety of Hogwarts. Unfortunately, the giants had made such a thing impossible with their unparalleled fighting abilities. Their armor and swords absorbed even the most devastating of spells while their natural immunity prevented any sort of magical restraints from being effective. In fact, if it hadn't been for Hagrid, Hermione was certain that she would already have been overwhelmed. Of course it hadn't been a fair fight from the very beginning since she had arrived at the battle already physically and magically fatigued from the earlier escape from Voldemort's avatars.

Hermione unleashed a flurry of explosive bolts to drive Aarg back behind his shield. With Barg temporarily flung to the side she could at last regain her composure and try to think of a way out of this mess. Hermione gingerly felt of her head and wished that she had her hat back along with the potions it had contained. She had even carried a vial of the experimental potion for an emergency such as this when she needed extra magical power. Hermione had studied the giant's role in some of the ancient wars, but nothing had prepared her for how truly terrifying their power could be.

Hermione whirled when she heard a frightening shout. "Ginny, get out of there," she yelled frantically.

Barg had regained his feet from the blow Hermione had just dealt him and was homing in on the red haired witch who was exposed out in the middle of the large open space where the main fight had been taking place. Hermione cast a shield charm to protect herself and accelerated toward Ginny only to find herself flying backwards. Aarg had tried to kick her and managed to land a glancing blow that caused the acceleration charm to send her spiraling out of control.

Hermione could only watch, horrified, as Ginny attempted to escape from a sweeping blow of Barg's shield. The petite witch even managed to activate her shield and bring it in front of her, but it was ill placed to protect all of her body. A look of shock spread across her features as three large metal spikes protruded from various parts of her chest and lower body. Barg laughed as if it were a delightful game and raised his shield so everyone could plainly see Ginny's fate.

A split second later Hermione hit the wall, again, but this time could only slump against it in a daze. She pointed her wand at herself and began a shaky healing charm, though she had little hope of bringing herself back enough to survive the next onslaught. She squashed thoughts of calling for Harry. If he didn't destroy the wards they would all die anyway when Voldemort inevitably returned.

Aarg and Barg started moving toward her with a since of inevitably surrounding them when they were both suddenly flipped away by an invisible attack. A roar of anguish arose from a limping figure that appeared from the side of Hermione's field of vision. Neville summoned his own element, air, again and again to lash out at the giants that had killed Ginny.

"Hermione, dear, are you awake?" McGonagall's kind voice asked. Hermione blinked and realized she must have blacked out for a moment. "Can you move?"

"Yes, we've got to help Neville," Hermione sputtered. Apparently she hadn't been out for more than a few seconds because Neville was still in almost the exact same spot as she last remembered. The enraged wizard had thrown a vial at Barg that had erupted in long black tendrils of Devil's Snare. Hermione marveled at such an ingenious idea to use magic to grow the deadly plant rapidly. Unfortunately, the good idea was only of limited use against a warrior with a sword of flame.

"I was," McGonagall replied tartly. "Those giants are beyond our ability to combat. You-Know-Who has done something to them beyond goblin armor and dragon bone."

In spite of the severity of the situation Hermione found time to glare at the Professor's inability to say Voldemort's name. She raised her wand drug it like a dagger through the air, ripping jagged white half crescent blades which then went whistling through the air toward Aarg. The cutting attacks were not very affective against the plated goblin armor.

"I just don't know what to do," Hermione wailed. "I already depleted my best magic escaping from the avatars that were attacking the dwarves."

McGonagall nodded grimly and started to perform another healing charm. Hermione meanwhile copied Neville's attack strategy by using air as a blunt force weapon to hammer at the giants. The combined assault drove them back, but Hermione could tell that Neville was about to collapse. Though he had proved himself to be a wizard far more powerful and resourceful than anyone would have imagined based on his performance as a youth he still lacked the extraordinary power demonstrated by those like Harry, Hermione, Dumbledore, or Voldemort.

Hagrid too was beginning to look rather fatigued. Professor's Sprout and Flitwick had joined the big gamekeeper, but they were mainly relegated to protecting Hagrid from other Death Eaters since their spells had proven ineffective against the giants too. Suddenly Aarg and Barg slapped their swords together between them in a rough cross formation. Where the blades joined a stream of fire erupted and headed straight toward Neville.

"Professor," Hermione squeaked desperately. She let loose with a counter spell and a second later McGonagall did too, but it was too little. Neville was washed over by the intense flames, too drained to defend himself. Hermione looked away from the charred heap and didn't protest as McGonagall tried to hide her away in some of the rubble.

Hagrid was retreating toward their position as quickly as possible along with Sprout and Flitwick. McGonagall was firing some kind of impediment spell, though the giant's armor and natural resistance to magic was severely limiting its effectiveness.

"We've got to hold out just a little longer," McGonagall said. "I think the anti-apparation ward is about to fall."

Hermione focused on the wet blanket feeling of the spell that was keeping them trapped in Hogsmeade and realized that the Professor was right. She had been so caught up in the battle that she hadn't even noticed. Hermione hoped that Harry was taking down the portkey dispersion wards at the same time because some people, like Hagrid, couldn't apparate.

Harry groaned as another piece of the ward broke into a fine dust and drifted away in the wind. Flashes of the battle were weighing on him heavily, not only from the emblem, but also from Hermione's mind. He knew that she was trying to suppress the worst of it so he could concentrate, but that actually just ended up making his fears more acute. Meanwhile, the Death Eaters had predictably tried to retake the ward. After he had starting throwing fireballs at them they had decided that it wasn't worth it and for the most part he'd been left alone.

The subtle coloring of the ward had given way to a scorched black ash look as Harry continued to attack it. The final pieces cracked and Harry inexplicably felt a stab of anguish come through his bond with Hermione.

"Something terrible has happened," he whispered, mainly to himself, before continuing in a louder voice. "The wards are gone, the spells they maintained should dissipate any second now. Those who can apparate return to Ron's position and let him know what happened, everyone else portkey back to Hogwarts."

"What about them?" Luna asked in a strained voice. Harry had completely forgotten the unconscious Death Eaters. He summoned a disk for each Death Eater and transfigured them into portkeys to Middle Yard.

"Use these, they'll activate in two minutes," Harry said, indicating the disks. He used the acceleration charm to whisk himself toward Hermione's location.

"Hermione, I'm coming, the wards are gone, what's happened," Harry asked frantically.

"It's terrible Harry," Hermione replied with the mental equilivent of a sob, "Neville and Ginny are dead, I don't know how many others are too. There are three giants that have some kind of armor that makes them virtually immune to most spells. I tried to stop them Harry, I was just too tired…"

Harry winced in self-incrimination. Hermione had done most of the heavy fighting when they had escaped from the avatars. Harry ceased his rapid movement when he ran up against a wall of wrecked buildings. A hurried flick of his wand blew an opening into the barrier.

"Harry, over here," Professor McGonagall yelled from behind a nearby wall section.

Harry waved an acknowledgement but focused on the ongoing battle. Three giants were bearing down on Hermione's location slowed only by the retreating battle Hagrid was putting up. Harry attacked with a quick hail of silvery projectiles designed to get the giant's attention.

"Harry, they're really strong with that armor on," Hermione's voice echoed. Harry felt her memories of the battle and the tactics she had used flood into his consciousness.

The giant's didn't change direction though, since they were apparently intent in finishing off their old opponents before facing a new one. Harry used the acceleration charm again and appeared next to Hagrid. He unleashed three strong blasts of air that drove the giants back to give the beleaguered game keeper some breathing room.

"Sarry Arry," Hagrid gasped, "Been tryin' ta keep off but they're jus' made for this kind o' fightin'."

"Here Hagrid, take this," Harry said, tossing him a portkey in case he didn't already have one. "Get back to the castle, you can't do anymore good here. You too Hermione."

"No, Harry, you might still need us," Hermione said, emerging with McGonagall from the nearby ruin and looking slightly less tired. Her wounds had mostly closed again and she had reconjured some of her most tattered clothes.

The heavy pressing sensation of the anti-apparation wards had since vanished and the remaining survivors were leaving. With fewer people to attack the Death Eaters were converging on the central battle and the last remaining refugees trapped without the ability to apparate or portkey. Worse still, the giants remained a terrible force to be reckoned with even without increasing Death Eater reinforcements.

Harry flicked his wand violently to produce a thick caustic stream of venomous air. The shimmering wave impacted the lead giant, Aarg, and nearly melted through his armor before he could roll out of the way. A second flick cast another jet of air at Barg, but the burly warrior manipulated his sword in such a way that it blocked Harry's attack.

Harry conjured a thick watery whip and lashed out at Barg's sword. The giant's muscles strained to wrest the weapon from Harry, but this time magic bested brute force. The ancient spell that animated the swords flame began to die out under the assault of elemental water. Harry let his attack lapse when the sword hardened and started to flake away. Unfortunately, the giant's weapons had apparently been designed to survive contact with a powerful wizard because as the last of the corporeal fire disappeared a gleaming metallic blade was revealed.

"I'll take tha one that lost his fire Arry," Hagrid said. He charged Barg and landed a solid blow on the giant's left shoulder.

"Hagrid!" Harry yelled, "Just go, leave them to me, you're too tired."

"Nonsense Arry," Hagrid replied conversationally. "I been scrappin' giants before."

Harry recalled Hagrid coming home late into their fifth year beaten to a pulp after "scrappin" with his runt of a brother too. He didn't know if Hagrid was just unaware of the danger or too loyal to Harry to leave him during a battle. Aarg and Carg continued their assault on Harry, though with less success than they seemed to have expected. Harry blocked Aarg's slash with his wand and in the process flash froze the flame. The sword was rendered virtually useless while the flame struggled to break free of Harry's spell.

Harry went on the attack using spells that imparted sharp physical blows. Hagrid's attack on Barg had demonstrated the effectiveness of blunt impact against the tight metallic armor that the giants wore. Howls of rage and pain escaped into the night as Harry advanced. There was a crash from behind him and Harry broke off his attack in time to see Hagrid take a blow from Barg's metal-coated fist.

Hagrid retaliated by swiftly clubbing Barg in the helmet, knocking him to the ground, his apparent victory making Harry relaxed. What he didn't see was the dull flash of Barg's damaged sword as he thrust it swiftly upward through Hagrid's ribcage.

Hagrid backpedaled, a strange gurgling noise from a punctured lung coming from his throat. Harry froze in shock for a second, unconsciously accelerating over to his big friend's side.

"Hagrid," Harry whined. Hagrid choked and spit up blood as Harry tried to apply a healing charm. Hagrid's giant blood severely reduced the effectiveness of his spell though. "Hagrid, no, don't die, you've got to stay with us."

"S-Srry, Arry," Hagrid gurgled. "Eh, Proud o' ya Arry…"

Just like that, Hagrid was dead. Harry was vaguely aware of Hermione's cry of outrage and McGonagall's gasp of shock as they witnessed the entire event from their nearby hiding place. A great hollowness seemed to carve itself out of Harry's chest as he remembered all the things he had shared with Hagrid. When he had found out he was a wizard. The first time he had went to Diagon Alley. All the classes, birthday presents, and just quiet evenings spent in his cozy hut talking about the latest creature to catch his fancy. The end of a gentle person who had wanted nothing more than to be left alone to care for the animals and people he so loved.

Had Harry been one for introspection he would probably have expected himself to erupt in an uncontrollable rage. Indeed, had he watched the faces of most of his professors he would have noticed that they expected him to explode with anger. Hermione knew better, but she had an insider's perspective. Instead of white hot rage Harry felt what could only be described as cold bitter fury. He had loathed the Death Eaters for years, witnessed them stealing the lives of so many people, and now they'd taken three of his closest friends, people he considered family.

Harry pointed his wand with an almost casual manner. He didn't cast a spell; instead he simply unleashed power. A thick green cylinder encompassed Barg and for a split second the sky and earth were connected with each other by Harry's magic. The giant looked about fearfully, but it was too late for him. To the outside observer it appeared as if Barg's figure shimmered. A muggle would have likened the effect to that of a television getting a fuzzy reception. Barg got fuzzier and fuzzier until suddenly he was completely vaporized. Utterly wiped from existence without a trace. All that was left was a small smoking crater where Barg had been a moment before.

Now the Death Eaters knew the terror of facing an opponent they could not defeat. As Aarg was enveloped by a column of green light Lucius Malfoy signaled the retreat and scores of sharp cracks announcing apparation sounded from across Hogsmeade. The giants had been abandoned to their fate.

"What was that?" Sprout squeaked. McGonagall was looking even more tight lipped than normal and Hermione had sagged back against a wall in relief.

"I've never seen it before, but such a thing was described to me once by…Hagrid," McGonagall choked out finally. "When Abigail Dumbledore was killed in the battle with Grindelwald Albus supposedly went…insane I suppose you could call it for lack of a better term. He tracked him across the world from Europe to Japan. It was fortunate that the muggles had recently developed their explosive metal bombs, otherwise it would have been impossible to cover up what Albus did in his rage to kill Grindelwald. I hope to never see it again."

Sprout looked down meaningfully at Hermione's battered form. "Me too…"

"We've got to go," Harry said dully as he ran up, a sense of failure nearly overwhelming him. "Aurors are starting to appear now that everything's over."

Once everyone else was safely away Harry activated Hermione's bracelet portkey and together they disappeared.

There was a sudden cracking sound nearby where Dumbledore and Voldemort were still trading blows. All around the two wizards the ground was ripped up from their various attacks. Large slabs of stone that had been twisted from within the ground lay broken at odd angles. Parts of the ground were muddy, other parts were unnaturally dry, or frozen, or charred. Two pairs of eyes, one set blue, the other red, swiveled toward the pale gangly looking man that had appeared.

"My Lord," he groveled, "The battle does not go well. The boy is protected by the prophecy…"

"Enough," Voldemort growled.

"It's over Tom," Dumbledore said serenely. "With your forces defeated Harry will come here and together we will destroy you."

Voldemort seemed to tremble physically with rage over the way events had unfolded. He had failed to kill Dumbledore and apparently Harry had ensured his operation at Hogsmeade was less than a complete success.

"You may have survived today," Voldemort snarled. "But the time is swiftly coming when you and all those who have dared stand in my way meet their end. No one defies Lord Voldemort and lives."

Dumbledore sighed with relief as the evil wizard disappeared along with his lackey. A second later he vanished too, but he dreaded what he would find in the aftermath of the battle.

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