Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J. K. Rowling, not me.
Dumbledore Answers Harry - Chapter 26 - Pansy's Shoe
Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Ginny were still sitting together on the train, deciding what to do with Pansy Parkinson's shoe, which had been left behind after her `threatening' visit.
"I say we charm it to start dancing the moment someone puts it on, and leave it outside the door so it looks like we didn't do anything to it. She'll look for it before we reach Hogsmeade and think that's where it ended up," suggested Ginny, who was sitting very close to Neville.
"What if she checks it for a spell?" asked Hermione.
Harry grinned at his girlfriend. "Not everyone's as bright as you. I'll bet you a galleon that she doesn't check."
"You're on." BOOM!!!!
They heard a loud explosion that sounded as though it was just in front of the train. Suddenly the Hogwarts Express lurched to a sudden stop. Everyone in their compartment fell toward the front. Hermione was on top of Harry. Neville was on top of Ginny. Ron was stretched out over all of them.
"Ouch. That's my foot, Ron," said Hermione as he stepped on her.
"Sorry."
They were just getting untangled when Harry grabbed his scar in pain and went down on his knees.
"He's here." No one had to ask who Harry meant by that. Hermione helped her boyfriend to his feet while everyone else pulled out his or her wand. Once he was standing, both of them pulled their wands out as well.
"Are you alright?" asked Ginny.
"I'm fine. I reinforced my occlumency. That just caught me by surprise."
"That's good," said Neville.
"This was obviously a trap set for you," the brightest witch of her age declared. "He knew he'd find you here."
Harry took a deep breath. "I suppose so. I wish all the…" He glanced at Neville and Ron. He was going to say that he wished the Horcruxes had all been found and destroyed, but knew that was very sensitive information, especially with Voldemort nearby and ready to read anybody's mind. "Never mind."
He was saved from explaining what he was going to say by Hermione suggesting, "Harry, disguise yourself so Voldemort can't recognize you." Neville and Ron flinched at the name, but the others ignored them.
"How can you disg…Wow!" said Neville as he watched Harry close his eyes and concentrate. Now he was looking at a blond first-year with blue eyes wearing clothes that were way too big on him.
Hermione shrunk the clothes with her wand. "This should help. Now let's get out of here before we find ourselves trapped."
"What about the Invisibility cloak?" asked Ron.
"I don't think that'll work against Riddle. We don't have time to get into my trunk anyway. Let's go." It was weird for Harry's voice to come out of that little boy's mouth.
He opened up the window and climbed out, landing on his feet. The scene before him was complete chaos. The train had stopped just before crossing a blown up bridge over a river. There were about three dozen Death Eaters in the area, torturing students about twenty feet away from him. A group of first-years were being led out at wand point by Pansy (who was wearing a different pair of shoes), Crabbe, and Goyle. The two goons were pushing some of the children for not moving fast enough. Fortunately, none of the kids he could see were lying on the ground dead. Harry hadn't been noticed yet.
Hermione landed beside him, holding some sort of round shield in her left hand.
"Where'd you get that?" he whispered.
"I transfigured Pansy's shoe into it. I thought it might be useful."
While Neville was landing next to her, one of the Death Eaters had his wand pointed at a blonde girl wearing Ravenclaw robes. She looked vaguely familiar to Harry. The criminal was screaming at her so Harry could hear what was being said.
"If you can't give me a straight answer, girl, then you've outlived your usefulness! Avada…"
Harry pointed his wand and without a sound cast an `expelliarmus' at the masked figure, causing the wand to fly out of his hand in Harry's direction. He was surprised he'd been able to do it. He'd never managed a nonverbal spell before. However, he caught the Death Eater's attention.
"How DARE you interfere, you little boy! Judging by those muggle clothes, you're probably a mudblood and don't know who you're messing with!" He pulled a spare wand out of a leg holster and pointed it at Harry. "Too bad. Avada Kedavra!"
A beam of green light shot toward Harry's middle. He was moving to the left, but the body he was in couldn't move fast enough. He was convinced his arm would get hit, and he would die.
Suddenly, there was a small explosion in front of him, and he felt a bit of shrapnel hit his stomach and arms. He glanced at Hermione to see she was no longer holding the shield, and realized what had happened. She'd throw it like a Frisbee to intercept the death curse. "Thanks," he whispered. He glanced back at his opponent to see that he was on the ground with the Ravenclaw girl pointing her wand at him. He suddenly remembered that she was Ginny's friend he'd met in the library just minutes before he'd been petrified by the basilisk. Her name was Luna…something.
Harry suddenly got a plan as he saw Voldemort beyond the other Death Eaters looking around, probably for him. Riddle's amplified voice said in his menacing way, "Come out from wherever you are, Harry Potter, and we'll leave the rest of your pathetic classmates alone.
Harry whispered, "Neville, Hermione, use your elements to bury the Death Eaters. I'll take care of Moldyshorts." Without waiting for an answer, he moved to get a better view of his nemesis.
Suddenly, Tom Riddle's body was surrounded by flames. For a moment, a look of terror crossed his face until he used his wand to put out the flames. At the same time, Death Eaters were yelling something about quicksand as they sank. When they tried to use their wands, the wooden sticks caught fire and fell into the quicksand as Ginny used her element.
Harry concentrated more and a powerful burst of wind knocked Voldemort to the ground. Potter was surprised to see Riddle's clothes catch fire at the same moment he started sinking in quicksand. Harry sent another gust of wind down on his fallen foe to increase the speed of his descent. He knew it wouldn't kill Tom, but it would hurt him. He saw Riddle's red eyes fill with rage for a moment before he flicked the wand he was still holding and disappeared.
Harry slipped into the shadows and quickly changed back to himself (after restoring his clothes to their original size). He realized that he was still bleeding from the shrapnel that had hit him, but not badly. He then looked around to see dozens of Death Eaters, including Pansy's trio, buried to their necks in solid dirt. Many of the students were stupefying them to stop their struggling. A few, like Seamus Finnegan, were kicking their heads while they were still awake.
He saw Lee Jordan, Fred, and George in a tight circle around one and heard the sound of leaking water coming from the middle, along with several vile profanities coming from their victim. He noticed a Death Eater mask, presumably from their victim, on the ground behind Lee. He couldn't help but chuckle at that scene. He briefly considered joining the three pranksters before he heard a zipping sound. He nearly fell down laughing when they walked away, revealing Lucius Malfoy's face and hair dripping with pee. He noticed a flash and spun around to see Colin Creevey with his camera, immortalizing to look on Lucius' face.
His smile faded instantly when he noticed a group that was not so fortunate - the prefects. Several, including Percy, were lying down having muscle spasms due to extreme exposure to the cruciatus curse. The Head Boy and Girl, a Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw respectively, were lying down dead. Percy seemed to be staring at the murdered head girl in shock, even as his body spasmed. It was Penelope Clearwater, Percy's old girlfriend.
Harry felt a hand grab his gently. He didn't have to look around to recognize Hermione's hand. He turned toward her, and saw Ron, Neville, and Ginny with her, looking for instructions. "The prefect's obviously aren't in any shape to help. Hermione and I are going to walk toward the front of the train. Why don't Ginny and Ron walk toward the back? Look around for any Death Eaters or wounded students. Neville, see if you can find a student who knows some first aid."
They all nodded and Harry walked off silently with Hermione, looking in every compartment, but finding them void of occupants, often with baggage and candy all over the floor. They finally reached the front, to find the conductor and the `snack lady' dead. Hermione finally broke the silence.
"It looks like they killed or tortured anyone they thought might be a threat. I doubt they were able to send for help before they died, but there had to be a way for communication. She looked around for a moment, and then noticed a small mirror on a wall. "I'm going to feel really foolish if this doesn't work." She walked up to the mirror. "Ministry of Magic."
For a moment, nothing happened, but then suddenly the face of a bored-looking middle-aged woman with brown hair that was just beginning to gray appeared on the mirror. She looked annoyed. "This is the Ministry of Magic, not a playground. What are you doing wasting our time by calling us, little girl? Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?"
"For your information, the Hogwarts Express was just attacked by Death Eaters and I'm calling from the train!" Hermione said in as civil a tone as she could manage. "All the adults and both head students were killed, and the prefects were hurt. That's why I'm calling you. We need help."
The woman looked shaken up. "This better not be a crank. Where are you located?"
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Within a few minutes, several aurors and healers apparated to the area. After the captured Death Eaters were portkeyed straight from the ground to holding cells (taking lots of dirt with them), the uninjured students were portkeyed to Hogwarts with a half-hour to clean up before dinner, which was now changed from a feast to a memorial for those that did not survive. The injured were either taken to St. Mungo's or Hogwarts' Hospital Wing, depending on how serious their injuries. Harry, with his minor cuts from the shield/shoe that saved his life, was sent to the hospital wing, where he was treated and forced to spend the night.
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