The Battle Standard
by Jardyn39
The diesel engines increased in volume as the train left the platform. Harry looked on in wonder as every window now had a gun emplacement in place of the usual glass.
Activity was most feverish at the back of the train where a low flat trailer has been attached after the passenger carriages. Several men were assembling what looked like a missile battery and two machine guns.
Harry turned to Bateman and said, "Bear, shouldn't the train be going in the other direction? The village is the other way."
"Come on," he said with a grin and turning away, "we need to get a move on."
He picked up a heavy looking back pack and rifle that had been propped against a bench seat. Hoisting the pack on his back, Harry hurried to catch up as he marched down the platform.
Group of a dozen or so infantry were waiting for them where the platform sloped down.
"Ready, Gentlemen?" said Bateman firmly. "Harry, with me."
Bateman raised his arm up, facing towards the village, and waited. A moment later a figure emerged from the undergrowth a few yards up the track and returned the signal.
"It's clear," began Bateman as they set off at a run on either side of the railway track.
The track continued on a gentle bend for a few hundred yards before changing direction, away from the village.
"Change the points, Corporal," said Bateman.
"Sir!" said someone from the group behind.
Harry watched as two men ran forward a few yards. They stopped and looked around for a moment before one of the dived into the undergrowth and emerged with a long lever.
As they got closer, Harry could see that there was actually a junction in the tracks, only the joining set appeared to go no-where.
"By changing these points now," explained Bateman, "the train should head away from the village when it comes through. The train will approach the village from the other side, but we need to make sure it can get through this way."
Harry followed as they set off again, although he was still none the wiser. The tracks where the train would come from looked old and overgrown. He could hardly tell there was a railway track there any more.
As they ran through the undergrowth, Harry asked, "Will the train be able to get through here?"
"These are just saplings, Harry, and the rails themselves are completely clear. They look like they were planted to hide the tracks."
As Harry ran, be realised that although the tracks were rusty, the sleepers and fixings were all in very good condition. Only the exposed section of track had looked completely disused.
He also remembered that this particular stretch of track hadn't been shown on Barlow's map of the area.
Harry was panting as he asked, "She couldn't have planned all this, could she?"
Bateman didn't answer at once.
"I think something has gone wrong. She seemed genuinely shocked."
Harry nodded and they continued in silence.
*
Harry wasn't sure how far they had gone when Bateman called a halt.
"Take two," he advised. "Catch your breaths. We'll need to be quieter and slower from here."
The others immediately found a stop to rest, but Harry noticed they were all checking their weapons and knives rather than just relaxing.
Harry, having no equipment to check, just caught his breath.
"Okay," said Bateman. "You four are to stick with the track and make sure no sections of rail are missing," he said pointing to a Corporal and three men. "You," he added pointing to four more, "will patrol on the left hand side of the track. Watch out for movement and people hidden."
He turned to face Harry and the remainder of his men.
"We will patrol the right hand side. That's where an attack will probably come from. Harry? You come with us but I need you to stay fairly close to the track. If there is a problem you need to fix it."
Harry nodded, although he wondered what he could really do having no idea how to fix railway tracks.
"Let's go."
Harry was astonished that all the infantry seemed to vanish as these words were uttered.
He hurried to follow.
Under the shade of the forest canopy, there was less undergrowth to walk through but it seemed much quieter. Every noise appeared to be amplified, heightening Harry's tension.
Every now and again, Bateman stopped and held up his arm, for everyone to halt. The third time this happened, Harry heard a clicking noise from their left.
Bateman pointed at Harry and then pointed over towards the track.
Harry hurried back to join the track team and soon emerged into bright sunlight again. They were a few yards away as he'd joined the track too far away.
Hurrying towards them, Harry immediately saw what the problem was. One of the rails had been pushed over.
"Can you lift it, for shall we call for help?"
"No, let me have a go first," replied Harry. "I'll lift it up, but you may need to rotate it."
Harry pointed his wand down and concentrated. He could feel magical sapping properties of the area, but they were far enough away for him to perform a levitation spell on the rail.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The heavy steel rail rose up and hovered about a foot in the air. The other four immediately pushed it the right way up and then guided it down.
The strain on Harry was extraordinary and he only just maintained control. The rail clanged as it dropped the final inch or so back into place.
"What about the fixings?" asked one.
"Here," said Harry. "l think I can transfigure them."
Rather than attempt to duplicate the complicated bolt and clamp arrangement, Harry transfigured the timber sleepers so they grew around the bottoms of the rails, holding them in place.
"Weird," said one of the soldiers.
"It should hold so long as the train isn't travelling that fast," said another. "We should hurry. The others are bound to be far ahead now."
The same thought had occurred to Harry and he looked anxiously into the dark canopy. Bateman and his men were nowhere to be seen.
"Come on!"
Harry repaired two more sections of rail, but the third attempt at sabotage hadn't worked at all. Here, no magic was possible, so they had completely given up after loosening just one bolt.
They had just begun moving again when Bateman and his men appeared a few feet away farther up the track. They crossed over to the other side, each with their rifles held up ready to fire.
The moment they disappeared on the other side, the sound of automatic gunfire erupted through the forest. This was followed by shouts and screams.
Harry immediately made to follow, but he was held back.
"Their job right now is to protect us. Our job is to make sure the track is safe for the train."
The gunfire was actually over quite quickly, and Harry presumed correctly that the surviving enemy had just turned and run. Without the ability to perform magic, they probably had no idea how to defend themselves.
Finally, they came to the edge of the forest. The tracks continued right across the central wizard controlled camp.
Bateman emerged next to them.
"We'll have to follow the tracks, but it is very exposed out there. I'd attack when we were right in the middle of the clearing. See how the tents close too have been pulled down?"
"Do you think they have any weapons that work?"
"I think we should assume they have stolen some guns from the perimeter patrols. We know they captured some of our men too, so they could have been forced to construct traps and the like."
"Why don't I follow the tracks under my invisibility cloak?" suggested Harry. "You can stay under cover of the trees and meet me on the other side."
"No," replied Bateman firmly. "You might not be able to repair the track on your own and anyway they'd know exactly where you were when you started repairs. We go together."
Bateman formed them into a circle with Harry and the other track team in the middle.
Then they set out across the wide clearing.
*
"Alright," said Bateman as they reached the other side, "that was unexpected. Either they are waiting for the train or they have gone."
The walk across the clearing had been tense but totally uneventful. They hadn't seen any sign of live at all.
"Could they have gone to the village?"
"There's no point in speculating. Let's hurry up or the train will arrive before we do."
The track turned and headed downhill directly towards the village. It wasn't long before they encountered Lieutenant Pembrooke and a group of men trying to shift a large tree that had fallen across the line.
"Lieutenant," said Batemen, giving the officer a quick salute.
Pembrooke saluted back and said, "Sergeant, I thought we'd make sure the track was clear. I only remembered a few minutes ago that we placed these trunks here to block the line."
Harry pointed his wand at the large trunk and Bateman shouted, "Stand clear!"
The men stopped and scrambled to get back.
Harry hoisted the tree off the ground and intended to guide the trunk safety off to the side. However, he misjudged the force needed and ended up hurling the trunk high over their heads. It then came crashing back down through the trees.
"Oops," Harry found himself saying. "I think I'm over compensating for not being able to do magic back there in the camp."
Bateman frowned but said, "No matter. The track is cleared. Are there any more, Lieutenant?"
"No, this should be the last one."
"Good. Let's hurry down to the village and help get the train loaded. Where are the rest of your men?"
"Call the men down, Corporal," said Pembrooke.
*
As they hurried towards the village, Harry found himself observing the men he was accompanying. The first thing that struck him was how different Lieutenant Pembrooke seemed. When he had met them from the train, he seemed totally lacking in any ability to command.
Whether it was John Bateman's influence or the expectation of those around him that made the difference, Harry had no idea.
If Pembrooke had any doubts about what they were doing, he certainly didn't show it.
This, Harry mused, was no bad thing.
Quite unlike the small group Bateman had commanded when they were assigned to him as close protection in the summer, these men were clearly not Special Forces.
Harry had assumed that all military personnel would be more or less the same. He hadn't expected them to chat nervously amongst themselves or need constant reassurance that things would work out in the end.
He also had the feeling that they were not quite as comfortable with the prospect of using deadly force as Bateman's men had been. Indeed, they didn't even carry their weapons with the same quiet confidence.
Bateman, though, seemed to know what was required.
In the few months he had known Bateman, Harry had thought him happiest yelling orders at various hapless recruits, including himself.
Now, though, Bateman seemed to know these men were afraid.
Even though it would be quite impossible for him to shout at them, it would have been very easy to resort to constant criticism. Instead, he addressed the important things; advising why it was important to carry the rifles in a particular way or keep watch over a specific zone that protected a colleague.
His confidence was infectious, and Harry felt it too.
They split up into small groups and flooded between the isolated outer buildings. Harry stayed with Bateman and they followed the tracks running perpendicular to the main village street.
There was a dull bang from somewhere far off in the distance and a plume of smoke rose up ahead of them above the trees. This was immediately followed by the sounds of automatic gunfire and explosions that seemed to get louder and closer by the second.
Suddenly the train appeared travelling fast. As soon as the engine reached the clear straight length of track, the brakes were applied hard and there was a screech as the train came to a stop.
The rear of the train was burning and soldiers were using extinguishers to try and put out the flames.
Before the train came to a halt, people streamed out from the forest and from between the village buildings. They must have been hiding, waiting for help to arrive.
Harry slowed and looked on, unsure what to do.
Soldiers were climbing down to help villagers get onto the train, although it looked impossible that they would all be able to ride on the small train.
"Harry! Move yourself!" yelled Bateman from ahead.
Harry ran to join him as bright magical mortars were fired high up into the air from a few yards away in the forest. He had no idea where they had been fire from, but he was sure they were under attack by wizards now.
The bright red projectiles climbed up high, snaking side to side until they reached their maximum height. Then they hurled themselves directly at the train with a loud whistling noise.
The first few missed their target, but gradually they became more accurate.
Harry found it was almost impossible to hit the mortars because they were travelling so fast, but he did manage to deflect two.
Now at the end of the train, he destroyed another with a reductor curse. Unfortunately it was one of a pair and the second shrieked on towards the carriages.
Harry turned in alarm, intending to have a second shot when it exploded just before impact.
To his amazement, Hermione was standing on the roof of the last carriage, firing at the mortars. She was managing to hit them with hardly any time to spare and they were exploding right in front of her.
Every time she almost disappeared in the smoke and flame.
Fearing for her safety, Harry was about to run back and help when Bateman grabbed him roughly by his shoulder.
"Harry, we need to buy more time. These mortar things are not accurate and Hermione's got them covered. They will be getting closer to get within range to use something worse. Come on!"
Harry knew he was right and soon shrugged Bateman off.
They entered the forest side-by-side at a run. Gunfire erupted all around and Harry was staggered by the shear number of enemy wizards headed towards them through the trees.
He held out his wand, but every approaching wizard fell before he got off a spell.
"Cease fire!" yelled Pembrooke from somewhere off to his right.
Harry stood there, his wand still shaking. Not one wizard had got up again.
"What do you think, Sergeant?"
"They were only the first wave, Sir," said Bateman darkly. "They now know our range and our number."
There was a green flash off to Harry's far left and the gunfire began again.
This time hexes came at them through the trees, fired from unseen wands.
"Is the train loaded yet?"
"Just about!" someone shouted from behind.
"Good," said Bateman, pulling Harry back.
"Fall back!" shouted Pembrooke and everyone reversed out back towards the train, firing and reloading the entire time.
When they got back to the train it had already started to pull away. Hermione was helping to push the last villager up into the last passenger carriage, walking along as the train began to gather speed.
Harry found himself being pulled onto the rear flatbed, but almost fell off again in shear shock as the two enormous rear mounted machine guns opened fire. The trees seemed to just explode into splinters as flames several feet long shot continuously out of the muzzles.
Bateman and the most of the others were jogging along beside the train when a hex hit the engine from the side. They immediately dived into the forest and firing could be heard as the train gathered pace.
Harry looked behind him and Hermione grinned at him.
"You're hurt," he said at once, seeing her burnt arm and face. Her robes were charred down one side too.
"It's nothing. I just let one of those mortars get too close, that's all."
Another spell flew out from the forest and Harry managed to deflect it just in time.
"I can't fire back," said Harry in frustration. "I might hit one of ours."
There was a shout of pain as two soldiers operating one of the rear facing guns were enveloped in flame. Hermione leaped forward and extinguished them with water from her wand.
The second gun became silent abruptly.
"Out of ammo!" shouted the adjacent gunner, hoisting the useless gun over the side.
Knowing they were now vulnerable, several wizards emerged from the devastated forest and began firing at them from brooms.
Harry jumped up and fired, savagely cutting down at least four before they fell back again.
Several more mortars whistled by but all missed the moving train. In the quieter moments Harry could hear gunfire from within the forest on both sides.
"Maybe I should jump down and help them," said Harry.
"You'll be more use here," observed Hermione.
The moment she spoke the train slowed down.
"Why are we stopping?"
"I think we are close to the camp," replied Harry, looking ahead. "There isn't any cover there."
Most of the infantry that had followed Bateman into the forest emerged and boarded the train. Bateman came out of the undergrowth last, helping a limping Pembrooke towards the train.
Harry jumped down at once and was about to help Pembrooke up when he spotted movement behind them.
He fired at once but ducked when gunfire erupted over his head from the train windows.
"Harry, get yourself up to the front of the train," ordered Bateman.
Harry turned and ran as the train began moving again, this time accelerating hard.
Careem was standing in the diesel engine's open doorway, hanging on with one hand and extending his arm to grab Harry.
Harry jumped up and grabbed the other handle while Careem pulled him into the cabin.
"Go!" ordered Careem and the driver, looking a little out of place in deep blue overalls instead of green camouflage, pushed a lever in front of him.
The sounds of more gunfire reached them but they couldn't see if the rear of the train was being attacked again.
"Look!" shouted the driver, pointing ahead. "What are they?"
"Giants," said Harry and Careem together.
Two massive giants were loping across the open camp towards the train.
"What can we do?" shouted Careem. "Those things could rip up the tracks or push us over!"
"Go faster," suggested Harry, knowing that the Muggle firepower on the train would have little effect on them. He also knew he had little chance of hitting them from the rocking train. "I'll jump down and try to delay them a bit."
"I wish I'd kept some rockets back," said Careem as Harry opened the other door. The two giants were rushing to intercept the train on the other side of the clearing.
Harry stepped onto the ledge and tried to decide when the best moment to jump would be. It wouldn't be a soft landing, but he should still be able to shoot.
"Harry, are you really sure about this?"
"Not really," replied Harry truthfully, as he bent his knees and jumped. He rolled down a small embankment and luckily landed in a muddy, foul smelling patch of water.
He heard Careem shout something after him, but it didn't register at all with Harry.
He got to his feet at once and ran out to meet the two giants.
Behind him, he heard the train put its brakes on. He didn't look, but knew they must have stopped because of an obstruction on the track or something.
This meant it was even more vital to hold the giants up.
Harry realised that the giants may have been confused by the train's speed because they hadn't made towards them in a straight line. They appeared to keep correcting their course which slowed them a little.
He ran towards the closest and fired two warning hexes at their heads. He knew Giants took at little time to come to decisions about things, so he didn't fire at them properly at once.
One stopped and ripped off a large wheel from a cart. Swinging it around, he tried to hurl it at the train.
The wheel exploded as Harry's Reductor curse hit it, and sharp splinters peppered the giant.
Ignoring the howls of pain, Harry fired at the second giant who was now between him and the train. He fired three hexes but these bounced straight off the giant's armour.
Harry ran after the giant, intending to get close enough to use one of the Kemmynadow curses as a last resort.
He also became aware of activity at the front of the train. Several men appeared to be trying to clear the track in front of the train.
The giant slowed, apparently unsure what part of the train to attack first.
Harry caught up and ran past, firing hexes at the giant's ankle and knee. The giant staggered but didn't fall. Harry marvelled that he could continue at all, knowing that several bones were now broken.
After a few steps, however, the giant slumped to one knee.
Harry approached cautiously and stood right in front so the giant could clearly see him.
"Yield, giant, and I'll heal your bones for you," said Harry as firmly as he could whilst breathing hard. "Hurry and decide because I need to go and help my friends on the train."
The giant looked at him fearfully through the slits in his battle helmet, but after a long moment he nodded. He removed the massive helmet and Harry then realised he was not an old giant.
Noting that the other Giant was moving away from the train now, Harry stepped forward and mended the broken bones.
"Alright?" asked Harry. "You'll heal okay so long as you don't run or jump for a few days," he advised.
The forlorn giant grunted.
Harry smiled and ran back towards the train which was now moving again. He jumped up and once more climbed onto the rear open wagon.
"Where's Hermione?" he asked.
"Up the front," one of the soldiers advised. "She had to clear something from the track."
Harry nodded and watched as wizards ran towards them across the wide clearing. It seemed hundreds had been chasing them in the forest.
There were then several long whistling sounds followed by several explosions.
Two gunship helicopters flew over them to loud cheers from the soldiers and the exposed enemy scattered in shear panic.
The last thing Harry saw as the train entered the forest was the young retreating giant vanishing in a fireball as a missile from one of the gunships hit him.