Harry headed down the stairs of Claer, each footstep feeling heavier than the last. People were jostling past him, encouraging him to hurry up and get outside before the Death Eaters broke through, but something held him back from joining the rush that was going on around him. There was a battle coming, and he knew that he should be focusing on what he needed to do to make sure that the DA didn't sustain any more losses, but his mind wasn't there at all.
It was back in the room he had just left, with the woman he loved.
Letting her go with Malfoy had been one the hardest decisions he had ever made, and there was a large part of him that kept screaming that he was a total idiot for doing it. She said she loved him, and he wanted to believe her, but as he had said in the room: something like a kiss between her and Malfoy would only have happened if a part of her wanted it too. How large that part was was too painful for Harry to contemplate.
Yells from outside brought Harry back to the present moment, which presented its own set of problems. He couldn't believe that Callum would have willingly betrayed the DA, but he had to admit that the fact that he had disappeared at the same time as the Death Eater's attack couldn't be mere coincidence. Maybe he'd been taken by one of the Death Eaters before anyone knew what was going on? Of course, for that to have happened, he would have had to be way outside of the houses' defenses, which raised a whole other set of questions. At this point, it didn't really matter, anyway. He had to deal with what was in front of him.
He walked down the main hallway, passing room after room on his way to the front door, towards the yells he could hear, when he suddenly heard a loud CRACK! from a room he just passed by, and looked back in it to see Snape standing there, with a smirk on his face.
With a heavy sigh, Harry walked into the room.
"Never did pay close enough attention to your history, did you, Potter?" Snape said tauntingly.
Harry stared at him for a moment, anger fierce in his eyes. "You think this is my fault, do you, Snape?"
"You need to learn to pay closer attention, Potter. That's always been your problem. You don't think I called this place Camelot in jest, did you? Never much for subtlety."
"What are you doing trying to play Dumbeldore, here?! Dropping off hints and clues that I'm just supposed to pick up on?! I'm so tired of everyone playing games with me, instead of just bloody telling me!"
Snape weathered the storm of Harry's rage silently. They were both aware that Harry's anger wasn't really directed at him, and after a moment it subsided, and Harry lapsed back into the deadness he'd been feeling since he had entered Malfoy's room. Something crashed in the hallway outside as a pair of DA members knocked over a table in the hallway in their rush to get outside and fight. He could hear Ron and Dean shouting orders to people outside, and the urgency of the situation slowly started to creep into his mind. He really didn't have time for any more mind games with Snape.
"Do you have anything helpful to contribute, or are you just here for sport, Snape?"
Snape was silent for a minute as he looked at the broken man before him.
"You know why I looked after you all those years at Hogwarts, Potter. It was out of love for your mother and the respect I had for Dumbledore. It was as his behest that I did what I could to make sure you made it through to do what you had to do against the Dark Lord."
"Well, you did a brilliant job," Harry replied sarcastically.
Snape smirked at this. "Always like your father, then. He was never the grateful type."
Harry ignored the jab and waited for whatever Snape was going to say next.
"I helped to fortify your defenses, so the Death Eaters will have bit of a harder time getting here. I also created a fog right before the defenses end that should give them a few surprises, and allow your members to get an advantage. You're out-numbered, though not by a large amount, but the enemy that comes now is powered by revenge and hatred. You're going to need all the help you can get."
With a muttered thank you, Harry stood up. The screams outside were quickly getting louder, and Harry knew he had spent enough time here. He had to act, and act quickly.
He drew his wand and headed to the door, but stopped and turned back to Snape, who stood there staring at him.
"We'll not see each other again, will we?" Harry said, more of a statement than a question.
"No, Potter, I doubt we will."
Harry nodded once, in confirmation not only of the truth behind what Snape said, but also in a kind of acceptance of all that had happened to him. Dwelling on the past would do him no good now. All he could do was use the anger and energy he had from being in this horrific situation to save as many people as he could.
He left the room and headed to the front door to do the only thing he had left.
***
Bellatrix and her Death Eaters stood outside, looking at the glimmering lights of the house where the brats had been hiding all this time. The wind caught her long black robes and hair and tossed them about.
We're so close, she thought, feeling a surge of savage joy at the thought.
The thirty Death Eaters that made up her force had broken through the ground's defenses with relative ease. If these filthy children hadn't been against her, she would have admired their skills in protecting themselves.
Unfortunately for them, it would do little good now.
She signaled for her followers to move forward, and suddenly a murky fog sprang out of nowhere, making it practically impossible to see anything over a foot away.
Bellatrix laughed bitterly. Is this all you've got now, Potter? she thought as several Death Eaters muttered Lumos and lit up their wands.
That was when the shadows came, screaming and wailing straight at those with light coming from their wands. Some of her soldiers yelped in fear and shot spells at the coming forms, but the spells passed right through them and the figures continued soaring towards the light. In fact, the more light that the Death Eaters' wands emitted, the more shadowy forms appeared.
Some of her followers started to fall back, but she screamed at them to halt.
"Put out all the lights, you fools!" she screeched, and they were suddenly alone again in the fog. "It's only a trick! Stay where you are! Morder!"
She felt movement beside her and turned to see her lieutenant standing next to her.
"Yes, mistress?"
"The brats will have known we're here for some time now, and I expect they'll be waiting for us. You got a good look at the house, didn't you?" she asked, daring him to answer in the negative.
"Yes, mistress, just before this cursed fog obscured everything."
"Good. I want you to take ten soldiers and swing around to the back. If they're trying to flee, you should be able to catch some of them, and if not, we can use it to attack from ahead and behind. Oh, and Morder, in this case I'm going to skip my usual appetites, so no prisoners are required."
"Very good, mistress," he answered, and called out for ten soldiers to follow him, and she watched as his form disappeared into the fog.
Soon, everything was silent again.
Nothing for it but to put an end to this now, she thought, and called out for them to march forward and keep their wands ready.
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