Chapter 19: The Beast War
"Cry `Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war"
William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar Act III, Sc i 273
A/N The battle descriptions will be a bit graphic. For those who dislike this, skip to "Hogwarts, The Infirmary 2045 31 October, 1995" and read the aftermath.
******Hogwarts, Charms Classroom #2 1430 26 October, 1995******
The Second Year Hufflepuff and Gryffindors were filing out as Harry called "Good use of the Color Changing charm everyone. Remember to read Michaelson Chapter 18 for next time!"
Filius Flitwick cancelled the Disillusionment charm on himself when the door finally closed behind the last outgoing student. He clapped his hands together happily and smiled broadly at his young apprentice "Well done Harry! Once you settled down and let the topic flow, you did very well. Very well indeed!"
Harry shook his head ruefully "I was so nervous at the beginning of the Lesson that I thought I was going to lose my lunch."
Flitwick chuckled "I still feel like that on most days, after a moment or two it goes away. My old Master told me that if I wasn't nervous before teaching, I probably had no business being up at the podium because I didn't care enough."
Harry nodded his head in contemplation of that nugget of wisdom as the door opened and Hermione came in. Flitwick greeted her "Welcome Hermione, you just missed your husband's excellent delivery of the Color Changing charm lesson."
Hermione smiled back "I know, but I was teaching fifth years the Vanishing spell."
Harry crooked his eyebrow. Did they give you any trouble?
She smiled and answered aloud so as not to be rude to Flitwick. "They didn't give me any trouble. I adopted Minerva and Jamie's attitude and scared the pants off them by first conjuring a ten foot tall Golem then vanishing it."
When the men's laughter died out, Flitwick excused himself and went to his office to deal with the issue of a Ravenclaw third year who thought it perfectly acceptable to shrink three barrels of butterbeer and bring them to his dorm room for later consumption.
When the door closed, Harry hopped up on the desk and Hermione nudged his legs apart and cuddled up to his chest. He held her snugly in his arms. Got a mirror call from Sirius before class. Seems Marcus and Sofia are back in town and he wants us, Mum, and Dad to come back to the Manor tonight for dinner.
Sounds good. She snuggled a little closer, then lifted her head for a kiss. After her husband had taken the appropriate action, she smiled and cuddled back down.
Harry kissed the crown of his wife's head and continued. Connie was telling Sirius that Marcus and Sofia have put a serious dent in Voldemort's recruiting campaign, at least twelve cells have been broken up. He felt her nod against his chest. Unfortunately, they can't say how successful the Death Eaters were in their efforts, because none of the Death Eaters talked before they were `disposed of.'
Hmmm. Too bad. This surprised Harry; his wife had been the most tenderhearted of people when they were young. Feeling his reaction, she addressed it head on in true Hermione fashion. Harry, this is war. She looked up at his face. It's unfortunate, and I really don't like it, but those bastards will kill all of us without a thought if given the chance.
Harry nodded and pulled his wife a little closer, hoping to ward off the chill on his heart.
******Hogwarts, Forbidden Forest 1800 28 October, 1995******
Harry and Hermione walked next to Dumbledore with the McGonagalls trailing behind as they went to meet the leader of the Goblin forces that had volunteered to take up residence on the Hogwarts grounds. Ragnok had worked out the agreement with the Ministry in exchange for some good free press, which the newly re-oriented attitude of the The Daily Prophet was very happy to oblige.
Turning the corner of the Castle, Harry took in a quick breath and said under his breath "Holy cow." The Goblin forces were not a vast number; he doubted if there were over one hundred in total. No, it was the armor. Every Goblin Warrior was outfitted in steel armor that shone like silver. The largest Goblin was speaking to three others making gestures and what sounded like orders in Gobbledygook. Turning the large Goblin saw the approaching humans and went to meet them.
Bowing low, the Goblin said "Well met, I am Silverspear, Commander of the Last Legion of the Goblin Nation." Seeing confusion on the humans' faces, he continued "We are the Legion that is placed around the most prized possession that is under attack. We have never failed to hold the line in battle" he finished with dignity.
The humans then introduced themselves and Silverspear began to explain what provisions his troops would need and reassured the Headmaster and his Deputy that they would not interfere with the running of the school in any way. "I doubt your students will even realize we are even on the grounds" he concluded.
Nodding Dumbledore and the McGonagalls excused themselves, citing prior engagements while Hermione started talking with Orcrist, Sivlerspear's deputy about Goblin customs. Harry was trying to study Silverspear's sword surreptitiously, for it was beautiful. The Goblin saw this and smiling a toothless smile, drew the sword and handed it to Harry, pommel first saying "It is easier to inspect in one's hand."
Harry smiled and chuckled. Releasing the Disillusionment on the Danio Tymestl, he drew it and handed it to Silverspear saying "This is the sword of my forefathers, it is the Danio Tymestl." The Goblin looked at the sword in awe muttering "The Firestorm goes to war again…"
Harry looked at the hand and a half sword of Silverspear's and liked what he saw. The blade was very old, from another age of the world when weapons were not only to be useful, but also beautiful. The handle was wrapped in platinum wire while the hilts had the appearance of damasked steel but were actually silver inlaid with more platinum. The blade held runes of power, strength and of resilience. It was easy to see that this blade would not break in battle.
He heard the Goblin say "That blade is also the blade of my forefathers. It is called the Foe Hammer in your language."
Harry handed it back and took back the Danio Tymestl saying "It is beautiful and full of power."
Silverspear nodded and then began to explain to Harry how the Goblins were setting up listening posts in the Forbidden Forest and at a few other key strategic points. Nodding, Harry thought for a moment and then waved his hand and an old piece of parchment appeared in his hand. Conjuring a table, he laid the Marauders Map on the table and activated it. Silverspear looked on with borderline lust for such a useful warfighting tool. Pointing out the tunnels to and from Hogsmeade Harry began to talk about different monitoring charms they could have in place in case someone or some ones used the tunnel.
Silverspear looked at him as if he was a child and after Harry had exhausted his ward ideas, the Goblin warrior said very slowly, as if addressing someone who is quite dim, "Why not just block the tunnel and disable the entrance into the castle?"
Harry looked at him blankly, blushed and then broke into hearty laughter that was soon echoed by the Goblin. Shaking his head ruefully, Harry said "It shall be as you recommend."
After a moment, the warriors regarded each other and the Harry said "Do you think he will come?"
The Goblin pulled at his short beard for almost a full minute as he looked over the grounds. Finally, he said "Yes, I do."
******Hogwarts, Staff Private Dining Hall 1730 31 October, 1995******
The small dining hall was ringing with laughter as Sirius and Harry danced around the room, Sirius wearing short pants and a smock that Harry had transfigured and Harry wearing a pink dress with a bustle that was slightly smaller than an armchair. They had been mock arguing about some point long forgotten and to settle the issue, somehow, they were in their current situation.
Minerva and Jamie were the hosts for the evening and were wiping their eyes in their laughter. All the travelers plus Connie and Remus had decided to gather for dinner and then walk to Hogsmeade after the meal to enjoy the legendary Halloween celebrations in the village.
At the end of the `dance', Harry and Sirius bowed to the laughing crowd who applauded heartily while Dan and Loreena cheered. After righting his clothes, Harry sat down next to Emma and got a big hug while she wiped her eyes from laughing so hard. "Oh, this is fun" she said to no one in particular.
Harry toasted his Godfather, who returned the favor and Harry downed his mead in one go. Just as he put his goblet on the table, the doors to the dining room crashed open and a bloody, disheveled goblin ran in the room. Looking around he saw Harry and shouted across the room "My Lord! The evil one has come!"
For a microsecond, the room was silent then it exploded into activity. Harry turned to Emma and said "You and Dan go to Hermione and my suite and stay there until we come for you. I don't care what you hear or want to do. Stay there!" Emma nodded somewhat dumbly, grabbed Dan's arm, and dragged him out. Everyone else was transfiguring clothes and summoning weapons. Minerva had sprinted out of the room to the Great Hall to get the students to their dormitories and mobilize the staff in response to the intruders.
Hermione, already in her fighting rig looked at her husband. Call Cuchulainn, we'll probably need him.
Harry nodded and called out for the Warrior. A moment later, he shouted to Hermione as they ran for the front doors, followed by everyone else, "He's already on the way. He said he's over the Black Lake and there's an army massing on the lawn and the pitch."
They skidded to a halt just outside the front doors. Holy Shit. Looking to their right, toward the front gates there was a group of Trolls, at least one hundred strong that had more joining them from a door in the air behind them. Near the doorway, there were cloaked and masked Death Eaters herding the Trolls into a semblance of a formation. It looked like Voldemort had managed to open a rip in the fabric of space so that his forces could mass in one area, and walk through the doorway to be at Hogwarts. Flanking the trolls were two Giants. Fifty feet tall if they were an inch, they wielded war maces that weighed at least two tons.
Directly to the front of the castle, about a mile away down the sloping lawn, was a throng of multi-colored animals that they couldn't quite make out. They were roughly the size of horses and would occasionally spew fire and what looked like frost from their mouths. From behind, they herd Sofia say "Wyverns." At Sirius' confused look, she said "Minor dragons. They have the speed, strength, spell imperviousness and intelligence of dragons, just not the size. It looks like there are about…" she paused and then said "twenty five or thirty."
To the left of the Wyverns was a sight that struck terror in all gathered. Manticores. Three of them. They rent the earth in their madness and blood lust. Impervious to most magic, this hybrid being had the stinger of a scorpion, a human head with a lion's body and stood about fifteen feet tall. They were as intelligent as dragons, yet their intelligence was twisted by a madness that made them some of the most dangerous monsters on the planet. They were consumed by an intense bloodlust that drove them to aggressiveness and violence that was matched only by the most enraged dragon. Cuchulainn landed next to the group and looked around. I can deal with the Manticores, My Lord, but I need one of you to remove the stingers. One, I could have handled on my own easily; two would be difficult, three I cannot safely defeat alone.
Apparently, the dragon had been broadcasting his thoughts to all assembled and Sirius spoke up "I will help" Loreena nodding by his side.
At this point, Dumbledore and the McGonagalls ran up behind them. Mouths swiftly went agape as they surveyed the scene. Harry finally turned to the left, toward the Quidditch Pitch and shivered. Gathering on the pitch through another door in space, were a teeming mass of Dementors. Their blackness overlapped each other and seemed to feed on each other causing waves of fear to radiate out like sound from an explosion.
Jamie turned to his wife and the Headmaster saying "We need the Seventh Years out here." Stifling the immediate protests from the other two, he waved his hand angrily "We don't have time for niceties. Most of them can cast a Patronus and we won't survive to see tomorrow without them. Will you call them down or will I?" he finished with some heat. Albus nodded resignedly and cast the Sonorous charm, summoning all Patronus capable personnel to the Entry Hall.
While this was happening, Hermione felt a soft tug on the side of her shirt and looked down to her right. There was an old House Elf, Darby she thought his name was, at the head of the Hogwarts House Elves. He gave a quick solemn bow and said "Professor Missus Potter, House Elves will help."
Hermione smiled and turned to Harry. Guard the entries to the castle?
Harry nodded. That and medical evacuation.
Relaying the orders to Darby, the House Elf bowed again saying "No evil will enter the Castle, Professor" and all the Elves popped away.
Hearing a stamping of feet from the far right, behind the eastern wings of the Castle, Harry disillusioned himself and apparated over to see the Goblin Legion marching up in formation. Removing the disillusionment, Harry approached Silverspear and with his permission, apparated them both back to the front of the castle while the Last Legion followed. Quickly surveying the field, Harry said "I need the Last Legion to take up position to hold our right against the Trolls. Can you do that?"
Silverspear tugged at his short beard while looking over the 150 odd Trolls that were milling about. Nodding shortly he said "We shall hold the line" and ran off to get his forces into a solid defensive position from which they could also counterattack.
Meanwhile Hermione was talking to Hagrid, who had just come out of the Castle, his face hardening at what his saw. A lunatic was using his beloved magical creatures for the ugly purpose of destroying Hagrid's home. Hermione looked the half-giant over and waved her hand, conjuring a huge battleaxe with a ten-foot long handle and a pike at the top. Levitating it, she said to Hagrid "Can you handle this, Hagrid?"
The gentle man half-smiled, grasped the haft of the axe and said "I think I might do alrigh' with this `un" and moved over to the right to fight with the Goblins.
Turning back to the front, Harry saw Jamie and the Headmaster arranging the Seventh Years and a few Sixth Years to the left to deal with the Dementors. He ran over to Albus who said to him "I must stay here and protect the students, as well as cast my Patronus. I see the Goblins have the right flank." Looking at the remaining eight people, he said with a despairing expression "Can you, Hermione, Remus, Sirius, Connie, Loreena, Marcus and Sofia handle the rest?"
To this, Harry responded with a feral smile "Oh, I think I'll be able to help you soon" and ran back to the warriors in the center.
He gathered everyone around and Marcus said "Sofia and I will handle the Giants and then help with the Wyverns" he paused, his eyes becoming unfocused. Looking back down the lawn, he said "Ware the Acromantulas." Sure enough, giant spiders of various sizes were coming out of the forest.
Sirius threw his hands up and said in protest "Ok, that's enough already!"
Harry snorted in response and said to everyone "Good hunting" then turned back to the lawn, his blood beginning to boil as the war rage began to descend when a hand on his arm stopped him. He turned and saw Hermione looking into his eyes with the same intensity he knew was on his own face.
I love you. Be safe. She then kissed him with a ferocity that he matched. They broke apart and she looked into his eyes one more time, raised her hand toward the Quidditch pitch and said "EXPECTO PATRONUM" as her almost solid shining doe streaked down the pitch.
Harry smiled and matched her action, his stag following the doe. He looked up to Cuchulainn. Honored One, would you sound the war cry?
The only response was the terrifying shrieking roar of the Warrior as the great blue-black dragon leapt into the air as the three Animagi shifted to their forms and led the charge down the hill.
******Defenders' Right Flank, Amongst the Trolls 1740 31 October, 1995******
Marcus and Sofia were sprinting down the hill at full speed, easily outstripping their comrades. The millennial warriors had been together for over two thousand years, loved and fought in countless battles and saw the short odds here and wanted to even them quickly.
Marcus reached his giant first, unsheathed his sword as he ducked the clumsy attack of the giant's mace and with a smooth movement, cut off the giant's right leg at the knee. With a roar, the beast toppled to his right, as Marcus' momentum carried him past his prey. Long black hair flying, he circled back and stabbed the creature at the base of the skull, killing it.
A momentary pause came over the battlefield; one of the most powerful weapons for Voldemort had just been easily killed in ten seconds.
Covered in the Giant's blood from its leg wound, Marcus saw his mate take down her giant in a similar fashion. Spinning around, he struck out with his blade, cutting a mid-sized Acromantula in half. A moment later, Sofia, who had run behind the Troll formation to join her husband, her face a blank mask of death as her sword continued its deadly dance, joined him.
******Defenders Left Flank, The Student's Defensive Line 1740 31 October, 1995******
As the doe and the stag Patronuses went charging to the Quidditch Pitch, Jamie McGonagall turned to the students and calmly said in a loud voice "Alright everyone, listen up! You all have shown that you can cast this charm; this is no different from in the classroom. Settle yourself; bring up your powerfully positive memory and then the incantation."
An audible mutter came from the line "Yeah sure, it's no different from class. We just have a thousand creatures that want to eat us, tear us apart or suck out our souls. No difference."
Jamie smiled slightly, turned toward the Quidditch Pitch and the now advancing Dementors. He paused, pulling up the memory of Minerva's face on their wedding day and shouted "Expecto Patronum!" Jamie's bull was followed by a host of glowing white animals, streaking down the lawn to their demonic prey.
******Overhead the Defenders, 1745 31 October, 1995******
Cuchulainn soared on the breeze above the beast army of Voldemort, the incarnation of death come to feast upon its enemies. The handlers of the Trolls and the Dementors had retreated via the now closed doors in space, their goal of orienting their charges in the right direction now completed. The Warrior saw Sirius' Grim Animagus form streaking down the lawn toward the Manticores, his wife not far behind him. They still had quite far to go, so on a whim the dragon swept low over the Trolls, breathing great gouts of flame into their groupings. As he gained altitude, he heard the hoarse bellowing of the creatures as many of them roasted in the flames. Wheeling to the northwest, he went back toward the Manticores and his battle for the early evening.
******Defenders' Right Flank, The Last Goblin Legion Line 1748 31 October, 1995******
Silverspear stood at the front of his troops as he watched some of the Trolls cook under the Dragons attack. "Good" he muttered to himself and turned to observe his troop deployment. They were almost in position in a half moon formation a quarter mile long. In the center, the half-giant, Hagrid, stood with his enormous axe. His strength and size would help anchor the middle so the wings could wheel and flex as needed. Nodding he turned back and saw the Trolls begin their shambling charge up the hill, axes, clubs and war hammers raised high and bellowing their hatred.
The commander of the Last Legion adjusted his breastplate and drew his ancient sword. Up and down the line, half the Goblin warriors drew swords or axes on their leaders lead. The Trolls reached one hundred yards from the front of the Goblin formation and Silverspear called out in Gobbledygook "NOW!" and the half of his troops without their weapons drawn, lifted their hands and cast Goblin hexes at the oncoming Trolls. The spells punched holes three feet across in the Trolls chests and continued through to at least the two Trolls trailing as well. It was a mining spell the Goblins had perfected centuries ago that also had very practical applications on the battlefield. After casting three or four times, the spellcasters drew their weapons and Silverspear shouted "FOR YOUR CLAN, FOR YOUR HOME AND FOR YOUR HONOR!" and charged the Trolls.
******Defenders' Center, The Manticores 1750 31 October, 1995******
Sirius and Loreena ran between the Manticores and the Dementors on the Quidditch Pitch almost to the Forest itself. Transforming back to his human form, Sirius told his wife his plan, she gave him a suggestion they incorporated after which they silenced their feet, cast a hunting spell that eliminated all of their scent, and approached their quarry.
The Manticores were looking to their front as they slowly worked their way to the Castle, always watching the Dragon. Even in their madness, they knew death when they saw it. Sirius and Loreena closed to ten yards, raised their wands and tried to take aim at the bobbing stingers on the beasts. Finally, Sirius had a good shot and cast a wide angle Cutting Curse that cleanly severed the stinger of his animal. Seeing the curse out of the corner of her eye, Loreena rapidly cast four cutting curses, the last of which cut the stinger off her Manticore.
Unfortunately, the time it took to cast that many curses allowed the already neutered Manticore time to turn and leap at her, capturing her between its front paws. Looking up at the already bloody jaws, she heard Cuchulainn's voice; Shield her! She saw a light blue shield spring up between her and her death and in the moment thought "That shield won't protect me, the Manticore will go right through it." Then her world erupted in flame.
******Defenders' Center, The Wyverns and Acromantulas 1750 31 October, 1995******
Ghosteyes and Raksha led Connie and Remus into the fight with the Wyverns, choosing to attack the side of the beasts closest to the Trolls, so as not to be enveloped in their attack. The Wyverns had watched the loping Dire Wolves as they made their way down the lawn, a scarlet, and a turquoise blue beast stood forward to meet them as they closed. Not missing a step, Ghosteyes leapt right at the neck of the scarlet Wyvern and ripped its throat out with one shake of his thick neck while Raksha feinted to the neck of the blue, but instead executed a belly attack, which left her opponent seconds from death with its entrails lying in the grass.
Connie was close enough to the Wyverns and stopped, aimed, and cast a Piercing charm at the closest Wyvern's eye, exploding it in blood and gore, dropping the beast like a stone. Hearing a noise, she turned and immediately ducked an attack from a full-grown Acromantula. Spinning and diving, she got room from her attacker and cast "CONFRINGO" exploding the head of her opponent, before she whirled around to face a new threat.
Remus was fighting next to Connie and had already killed three Acromantulas before he felt his left arm freeze in pain. Looking down, he saw that a frost spewing Wyvern had frozen his left arm, or at least given him severe frostbite. Either way, his left arm was out of the fight, and damn, it hurt like hell. He turned and cast "REDUCTO" right into the Wyvern's open mouth as it was about to attack him again with its frost. The back of the beasts' mouth exploded and the animal gave a whining roar as it fell over and died.
Ghosteyes was maddened and was fighting, biting, tearing; killing so fast that later Harry would be unable to remember the opening minutes of the battle without his pensieve. He was born down by an attack of four Wyverns and an Acromantula. Raksha saw this, transforming back to her human form held out both hands and blue eldritch fire lanced out and burnt the attackers to ash in seconds. Ghosteyes rose, smoking a little and bleeding from some lesser wounds. Thanks, love.
Anytime, lover. Behind you.
Without looking, Ghosteyes turned and snapped his jaws, sinking into the neck of the Wyvern that was trying to attack him as Hermione snap cast a Contego shield to protect herself from a fire attack from her left.
Ghosteyes changed back to his human form and Harry drew the Danio Tymestl. Alright. Fuck this. Seeing Sofia and Marcus fighting in the same area as Connie and the injured Remus, Harry began the deadly dance with sword and spell, cutting a swath of destruction leaving rent and smoking carcasses behind him, Hermione guarding his back and adding a not insignificant count to the destruction.
******Defenders' Right Flank, The Last Goblin Legion Line 1753 31 October, 1995******
The Goblin charge impacted the Troll front line like a hammer on an anvil. Bellows of rage mixed with blood and magic like a mystical dance. Hagrid was in the middle of the line, swinging his axe like a maniac, the berserker rage upon him. He clove two Trolls in half, turned and rammed the pike atop his axe through the palate of the next so hard that the pike protruded from the top of its head.
The right wing of the Last Legion was making headway and threatened to envelop the Troll left. They had taken casualties, but were still fit. Silverspear wielded his forefathers sword like a demon possessed and no one stood near him, friend or foe. His battlecry drove his opponents in fear and inspired his Legionnaires to new heights. The Trolls were being driven back when four axe wielding Trolls attacked Silverspear at the same time bearing him down. Hagrid saw the Goblin leader go down and heard the involuntary cry of dismay go up from the Goblin warriors. The half-giant fought through three opponents as if they weren't even there and decapitated two of Silverspear's attackers with one sweep of his axe. With the backstroke, he stabbed forward with the pike and gutted the third attacker. Silverspear, given a reprieve flashed out the Foe Hammer and in moments, the last Troll champion was on the ground, bleeding its lifeblood from its severed neck.
At this point, the right wing turned the Troll left and Silverspear smiled a glittering warlike smile. He held his sword high and cried "THE ANVIL, THE ANVIL!" and the Goblins began to push the wings of the Last Legion together in a slaughter of Troll and Goblin.
******Defenders' Center, The Manticores 1756 31 October, 1995******
When the fire cleared, Loreena saw that the Manticore over her had been removed, and in its place, she saw two massive blue-black legs. Cuchulainn had come diving out of the dusky sky like an arrow and had tossed the dragon flame stunned Manticore like a rag doll, breaking its neck in the process. Sirius sprinted to Loreena, pulled her out from the immediate battle as Cuchulainn and the two remaining Manticores eyed each other roaring and snapping at each other.
Loreena winced as Sirius helped her away, she must have broken ribs. Sirius saw the wince and said "Ribs?" At her nod, he called "DARBY!" and the House Elf popped in at her side. Sirius said "My wife is hurt; please take her to the infirmary." The wizened Elf nodded and popped Loreena away. Sirius' eyes now narrowed and he watched the massive confrontation brewing in front of him as he tried to find a way to help his friend the dragon.
At this point, two fireballs appeared above Cuchulainn's head; Hedwig and Fawkes had appeared on the battlefield. Hedwig did a brief circle, gave a shrill cry and dove at the head of the still dangerous Manticore. Fawkes did the same and soon the animal had two Phoenixes tearing at its face with beak and talon.
Cuchulainn quickly breathed white-hot fire at the other Manticore and whipped his deadly tail in attack at the stunned animal, tearing open its side with his razor sharp tail. Leaping at the Phoenix beleaguered Manticore, the warrior sank his fore claws into the animal's side and with a precision and viciousness Sirius had never seen, bit off the tail of the beast. Turning like a snake, the dragon clamped his jaws on the Manticore's neck from behind and twisted, once, twice and on the third time tearing the head of the Manticore off.
Bellowing his victory cry, Cuchulainn stared at his remaining prey. The enduring Manticore, the largest of the three, was the most dangerous kind; wounded and it knew where his enemy was.
******Defenders Left Flank, The Student's Defensive Line 1800 31 October, 1995******
Albus and Minerva were advancing on the far left of the Dementors under the cover of the four dozen or so Patronuses that had hemmed in the Dementors. Every so often, one or two would fade out and then a few minutes later would come running back down the hill from the student's defensive line. The Transfiguration Master and Mistress knew that the students couldn't keep this up indefinitely. They needed to contain the demons and quickly.
The Headmaster and his Deputy closed to within thirty yards of the Dementors and then Albus began working his way to the other side of the Quidditch pitch, near the Slytherin stands.
He got about ten yards from his preferred spot for their plan, but figured his position was close enough. He caught Minerva's eye and counted aloud "One, two, three" and then cast in conjunction with her.
Their plan was to conjure thirty-foot walls around the mass of Dementors that was still in a clump after their arrival from who knows where. Minerva's first conjuration made a section of wall the desired height and twenty feet long. Albus met her conjuration and extended the wall forty feet toward him, halting the Dementors advance for the moment. Feeling a little drained, he cast again, conjuring another section forty feet long again. Now the wall was covering the entire Pitch from stand to stand, but the Dementors merely had to circle back to escape, or try to wedge themselves under the stands.
Running toward the Hufflepuff stands at the opposite end of the pitch, Albus and Minerva ran out of the protective area of the many Patronuses and immediately felt the icy cold grip of the Dementor circle their hearts. Albus stumbled a moment, his one hundred and fifty four year old legs failing him for a moment as memories of his dying wife and sons began to assault him. He felt strong arms encircle him and he looked up into the pale face of Minerva. She tugged him back up to his feet and they outran the Dementors and started conjuring again.
They finished the new wall and Minerva slid down it, panting in exhaustion and her own inner terror: seeing Jamie die in the inferno of their home again and again. Albus cast his Patronus and then set the Phoenix to circle her. She looked up and smiled her thanks before passing out in magical exhaustion. Dumbledore conjured a dome of granite over her for protection and then started climbing the Hufflepuff stands. About halfway up, he figured he was high enough and turned to look over his Quidditch stadium. He then began to conjure the thirty-foot tall walls down the front of the Gryffindor stands, each conjured section a little shorter than the previous section. The old Headmaster was beginning to tire under the strain of the mass conjurations and the effects of the Dementors.
Finishing the front of the Gryffindor stands, Dumbledore put his hands on his knees; he hadn't felt this tired since he fought Grindlewald. His only defense against the Dementors was his Occlumency, and he forced himself to run through the calming and organizing exercises, but it felt like trying to pick up watery sand as the tide was coming in. Gathering himself, he took a deep breath and began to seal the Slytherin stands. He had to stop two thirds down the stands to sit for a moment, else he would pass out as his vision focused and unfocused with the beat of his heart. Hoping that Minerva was still safe, he raised his wand and put all of his considerable magical energy into one last conjuration to seal the demons in their new pen. Looking down, he saw that he had succeeded, then passed out, falling down the stands to the bottom.
******Defenders' Center, The Wyverns and Acromantulas 1810 31 October, 1995******
Harry and Hermione fought side by side as a tide of Acromantulas threatened to overwhelm them. The spiders had to climb over the carcasses of their slain brethren to get to the Potters whose blades flashed and flamed in the dying sunlight. Marcus and Sofia fought in a similar position directly behind the Potters while Connie and Remus finished the loose rectangle formation. Dozens of spider carcasses with the odd Wyvern tossed in for good measure surrounded the sextet.
Connie and Remus had been delegated to shielding the group from the breath attacks of the Wyverns. After Remus' injury, they didn't want to get caught unawares by flame or frost. Harry decapitated a mid sized spider with the Danio Tymestl and shuddered slightly. A dying Wyvern had lashed out and torn open his back from the nape of his neck to his waist. Hermione had cast a quick healing spell to stop the bleeding, but every time he twisted his torso, his back screamed out in pain.
Hermione stabbed out with the Eryr Ewin and impaled an attacking Wyvern on the ancient blade. Shaking the blood out of her eyes from a scoring wound on her head from an Acromantula claw, she drew back, cast a quick banishing charm and used the corpse of the now dead minor dragon as a battering ram to kill two charging Acromantulas. The spiders were turning out to be much more fragile when faced with magically tempered steel, but there were hundreds of them mixed in with the dozen or so Wyverns that remained.
We're going to be overrun unless we get some help soon. Harry was panting some in the pain and effort. He'd been fighting at a frenzied pace for over thirty minutes now and even with magically enhanced muscles he was beginning to tire. He transfigured a dead Acromantula into a large pile of caltrops and banished them into a cluster of the spiders, rewarded with the eerie screams of the dying monsters
Hermione was about to respond when there was motion to her front left and an Acromantula was torn in two by very familiar black paws. Crookshanks leapt into the defenders' formation and Remus opened up a little to give the great cat space to fight.
Harry smiled and said "Good to see you Crooks, now I know we'll win." The cat growled softly and pounced on a small spider, about the size of a large dog, crushing it under his 900 odd pounds and killing it. Crookshanks then lifted his head and looked at the Forbidden forest and the spiders and Wyverns paused in their attack as if they heard or felt something.
Hermione stopped, sword at the ready. An uplifting feeling overtook her, filling her senses with a feeling of … love? Caring? It was similar in effect to Phoenix song. Do you feel it? What is it?
Harry shrugged while they all waited for the next onslaught, like an island in a sea of opponents, while behind them, Marcus and Sofia began to laugh.
Stunned at the laughter, Harry half turned and looked at the Dhampirs as if they were mad "What's so funny?" he demanded.
Marcus merely pointed. Harry turned back, followed the direction of his old master's finger, and gaped. Out of the Forest charged the entire Unicorn herd and above it, like Valkyries of old, were six Griffins with one grey Hippogriff that was very familiar to Harry and Hermione. The Griffins were just like those depicted in the texts; large tawny leonine bodies with an eagle's head, the feathers golden and flecked with black. With their huge wings sprouting just behind their forelegs, the Griffins swept down from the heights, screaming their call to war.
Almost as if Wagner's masterpiece was blaring across the grounds, Harry felt the lift of his spirit as tiredness fell away at the approach of the Griffins. The magnificent animals, along with the Unicorns and the Phoenix, were the most light-aligned creatures in the magical world. The Unicorns galloped into the press with horns lowered, while the Griffins and Buckbeak shrieked their battle cries and dove from above, talons outstretched and reaching. From the opposite direction, the two Phoenixes dove, shrieking their own battle song.
With renewed vigor, the septet struck out at their foes with blade, claw and spell.
******Defenders' Center, The Manticores 1810 31 October, 1995******
Cuchulainn and the remaining Manticore eyed each other across the plowed earth. They had come to grips four times, each time both came away bleeding and torn. The ancient Warrior's left wing was broken and his belly was wounded and bleeding. The Manticore had been a whisker from latching onto the dragon's neck before Cuchulainn had head butted it twenty feet away with a thwack! that was heard up to Gryffindor tower where the whole house was crowded around the windows in awe at the series of battles below.
Cuchulainn looked at his enemy and saw a very wounded Manticore. It had a broken foreleg, one of its eyes was blinded, the stinger, of course, had been removed by Loreena and the dragon believed he had broken many of its ribs. Cuchulainn spotted his secret weapon and decided to go for the kill. Now.
Sirius cast a Cutting curse at the Manticore's head. It impacted just below the beast's right ear and bounced off harmlessly. As soon as he cast the curse, Sirius turned, shifted into Padfoot and sprinted toward the Forbidden Forest as fast as his four feet would carry him.
The Manticore felt the impact of the spell even though it did no damage. Instinctively, it turned its head and saw the retreating Grim. The three seconds it looked away spelled its doom.
As soon as the Manticore's head began to turn, the Mighty One silently sprang forward at his opponent. Even without his wings being in working order he could still leap a great distance and covered the thirty feet between them in one go. His mouth wide, he reached deep within himself and cast the hottest fire he could bring forward at the Manticore's head. The shrieking of his opponent confirmed that he had finally hurt it with his flame. Without stopping his attack, the dragon snapped his jaws shut on the muscled neck of the Manticore and began a frenzied tearing and ripping with all four sets of claws on the side and torso of the mad monster. Flesh flying and the purple blood of the Manticore spraying in gouts, Cuchulainn ground his jaws and jerkily shook his head, pulling his opponent with him to the left and the right.
Cuchulainn did not stop his attack despite the fact that he'd had torn almost all the flesh off the left side of the Manticore and it had only weak, spasm-like resistance left. Pausing for a moment only, the ancient Warrior gathered his strength before biting all the way through the neck of his enemy. The Manticore shook once, twice and then lay still in death as the little blood that remained in its corpse leaked out slowly.
******Defenders' Right Flank, The Last Goblin Legion Line 1815 31 October, 1995******
The two wings of the Last Legion had suffered terrible losses. Even in their monumental stupidity, the average Mountain Troll was still incredibly dangerous. Hagrid stood in the center of the line, acting like a hinge as the two wings tried to collapse on the remaining Trolls. Seeing the possible closing of the noose about their necks, the Trolls bellowed in rage and terror and a group of five charged at what looked to be the weakest point in the Goblin line - Hagrid.
Hagrid stood like the Rock of Gibraltar; weathering one attack after another. The first Troll went down quickly without it's left arm and a gaping abdomen, the second fell with its head partially severed. The third, with its hammer raised high, caught Hagrid a glancing blow on his left shoulder, shattering the joint.
Hagrid screamed, a terrifying noise that reverberated around the battlefield. The Troll paused for a moment at the noise and then fell as Hagrid opened its brainpan with a one handed swing of his axe, leaving his weapon buried in the Trolls' skull.
His left arm hanging useless, Hagrid fought through the pain and scooped up his conquered foe's hammer and ducked an attack from a club wielding Troll. Spinning with an agility that no one could have foreseen, Hagrid's spin terminated when his hammer turned his foe's head to jelly. His fifth attacker fell to an assault from Silverspear, and the Care of Magical Creatures Professor paused to look around.
He almost cried when he saw the attack of the Griffins and the Unicorns. He was overwhelmed by a feeling of rage that the noble creatures had been so sullied and joy at witnessing the beautiful creatures. Suddenly he saw something that wiped out all other thought "BEAKY!" and started to run down the hill. He pulled up short, panting in the pain from his shoulder. Silverspear came up to him as the Last Legion summarily dealt with the remaining few Trolls. "Brother" Hagrid's eyes opened wide at the salutation "Let us get you to the Healer for your shoulder. Come" and he was led away to Madam Pomfrey.
******Defenders' Center, The Wyverns and Acromantulas 1830 31 October, 1995******
An hour after their fight began, it started to wind down. Harry leaned on his sword, panting and noticed that his wife did the same. The Unicorns and Griffins had been the turning point. The Unicorns had rolled over their foes like a pure white tsunami, leaving only corpses in their wake while the Griffins had tossed broken bodies to the left and right as they dove and attacked from the ground and the air. Looking over to his wife he saw blood on her face. Are you hurt?
She sat down abruptly and leaned her head against the pommel of her sword. I'm dead tired, and I have this burning cut on my head, but other than that, I'm Ok. I think. She laughed a mirthless laugh at this point and then leaned into the one armed hug from her husband.
Come on love, let's go to the Infirmary. She nodded and held out her hand to be helped up. As they maneuvered through the corpses of the slain they saw Connie and Remus up ahead, about to enter the Castle; Remus was leaning heavily on her as she helped him inside. Marcus and Sofia prowled the battlefield to ensure that all the fallen foes were truly dead and were seen to dispatch a few more in mercy rather than malice.
Down by the Forest, they saw Hedwig and Fawkes crying their pearly tears on Cuchulainn's wing and his neck, wounds from his encounter with the Manticores. Harry's brow furrowed in worry as he saw Jamie hurrying up the hill, Minerva in his arms and Dumbledore levitated behind them.
Seeing Harry and Hermione, the pale faced Highlander said "I found them down by the Pitch where they penned all the Dementors. I think she's just exhausted but the Headmaster is pretty broken up. I think he fell down the stands."
Hermione nodded and asked one of the House Elves to take the Headmaster to the Infirmary. She finally took a good look at the doors to the Entry Hall and saw that the Elves had truly not allowed any evil to enter the Castle. Stacks of Acromantulas and a few Wyverns were piled around the doors and the Elves were quietly tending to their own fallen. Harry grimaced again and they hurried up to the infirmary, following Jamie and the unconscious Minerva.
****** Hogwarts, The Infirmary 2045 31 October, 1995******
Harry sat next to Hagrid while the oversized man underwent his treatment with Skele-gro. Madam Pomfrey had to conjure a new bed and reinforce it three times before Hagrid could finally lie down. "After I had a Skele-gro treatment my Second Year, I know it's a lot easier to deal with the discomfort when distracted by company."
They chatted about the Griffins and Buckbeak "I did'n know tha he had come back to the Fores'" Hagrid mumbled through his pain potions. "When I get out next few days, I'll have to go find him and see how he is." Looking up at Harry through non-focusing eyes, he said "He is doin' Ok, isn' he Harry?" and promptly passed out.
Harry chuckled under his breath and patted Hagrid's good shoulder before slowly getting up, wincing as he did so. Madam Pomfrey came over, grabbed him by the ear, and said "Enough, Harry. I've seen everyone here twice and your wife threatened to hex me if I didn't see you now, so come with me" and she half led and half dragged him to the end bed that he usually ended up occupying. Sighing he went with her and let her cut his shirt off.
As she looked him over, she clucked her tongue, cast a few medical cleaning spells and headed to her potion stores, returning with a pain potion and a tub containing a salve. Emma had come up to the infirmary, ignoring Harry's orders and was helping Poppy with the wounded. She and Hermione came around back of Harry and she clucked her tongue also while Hermione paled some. Hermione asked the Healer "Poppy, what can you do for that?"
Pomfrey pursed her lips and opened the tub, releasing a foul odor. Harry ingested his disgusting potion and she said "Well, this salve will help it heal and it should leave only a faint scar. Those Wyverns" she spat out "leave a nasty cursed cut. Even Dragons don't do that. Lucky it's not so deep" she muttered as she worked.
Harry was a bit annoyed and said "I am right here you know, you can tell me what's going on with my own back."
The three women looked at him like he was mad and Dan crossed the room saying "Harry, shut up. They'll tell you what you need to know, when you need to know it." He continued in a stage whisper "Husband rule number sixteen; she's always right" and nodded theatrically drawing out a small laugh from his son-in-law.
Harry sobered when his eyes fell on the unconscious Headmaster and Minerva. Fortunately, Minerva was only suffering from magical exhaustion and exposure to the Dementors. Poppy had propped her up and shoved a bottle of chocolate syrup in Jamie's hands saying, "Give her a couple of squirts every fifteen minutes or so followed by the Swallowing charm" and moved on to the seriously injured Albus Dumbledore.
The aged Headmaster had a severe concussion, broken hip, broken femur, torn ligaments in his left knee and ankle and those were just the gross injuries. Right now, he was heavily sedated while he had a large dose of Skele-gro working on his broken bones. The torn ligaments could wait. Fortunately, he did not damage his spine, but he was so bruised Pomfrey was unable to tell if he had any significant muscle damage. Time would tell. He wasn't critical, but he was severely hurt.
Harry had called for Darby after arriving in the Infirmary and asked where the Elf and Goblin wounded were being tended and a nervous House Elf said "We is taking care of our own Professor Mister Potter."
Frowning, Harry directed him to bring all the Elf and Goblin wounded to the infirmary for treatment. An astounded Darby stared at Harry for a full five seconds before nodding and popping away.
Harry ambled over to Remus' bed after Poppy finished applying the nasty smelling salve to his back and conjured a loose shirt to cover him. The Wyvern had given Remus an extreme case of frostbite, and Pomfrey was unsure whether she could save his arm or not. She had smiled ruefully and said "Fortunately you have the full moon in ten days, that will help." At the baffled and surprised looks on Remus and Connie's faces, she said "The transformation should heal this wound and I don't think you'll lose the limb in that short of time. Unfortunately, there isn't much that I can do except dull the pain."
Remus leaned back and Connie kissed him on the forehead while smiling. "Never thought I'd be grateful for the curse" he muttered.
Connie half smiled and said "I've got to go check in at work and get the Dementor handlers from the Department of Mysteries here. I'll be back tonight if I can" she kissed him and then used her Ministry Portkey to leave.
By now the House Elves and Goblins were arriving in the infirmary and Poppy began to help their own healers in their work as the assistants from St. Mungo's started to arrive. The first few carried shrunken cases of potions and dropped them off before flooing back to the hospital. Finally four healers flooed through and were stunned to see the thirty Goblins and ten House Elves lying in the beds. The eldest, a grey-headed man in glasses said in a loud voice "I don't treat animals. Get a Magical Creatures Healer" and turned to leave.
In a flash, Harry grabbed the man by the back of the robes and threw him up against the wall. He grabbed the front of the man's robes and hissed at him in a fury "Those beings in the beds fought, bled and died in defense of this school today. Now you have a choice, you will try and save them, or I will ensure you never practice medicine ever again." After a brief pause he added "Nor will you ever walk straight again."
Harry's eyes were glowing with a blue fire and Hermione slowly came up behind him. Ok, love, let the man down now. She slowly rubbed Harry's arm and he dropped the bigot, who fell on his rear end rather ignominiously.
The healer nodded shakily and went to help Pomfrey and the Goblin healers while his three companions followed. Harry pulled his wife into his arms. Those Goblins and Elves are better people than that bastard is. I wanted to… He pulled her closer and began to shake as the adrenalin began to bleed out of his system.
Hermione rubbed small circles on the unwounded section of his back. I know baby, I felt the same way, and you just beat me to it. I still love you. At this, he pulled her closer for a big hug before pulling back and giving her a quick kiss.
I love you. What did I ever do to deserve you? He was smiling now.
She smiled and said aloud "Well, I'm sure I don't know, but I bet it was pretty good."
Sirius and a now-healed Loreena walked up and said "Hey, we're going to clear out and head home. I think I'm going to sleep for three days."
Harry gave them both a firm hug and said "We'll swing by in the next couple of days, maybe we can have a dinner in peace." Sirius laughed his barking laugh and they walked out to get to the gates so they could apparate home.
As Harry watched them walk out, Ragnok, Steelclaw and Amelia Bones walked in, looked around a bit and then Steelclaw pointed the Potters out to the two leaders. Harry bowed to Amelia and said "Madam Minister, I hope you are well" pausing until she nodded and then turned to Ragnok saying "Overlord, you should know that Silverspear and the Last Legion acquitted themselves well, they destroyed over one hundred Trolls in defense of the Castle."
The three dignitaries' eyes widened at the statement and Hermione, recognizing the signs said "Maybe we should tell you what transpired today" and led them into Poppy's office for a long explanation.
A/N
1) I own nothing
2) The thing that took Dumbledore down was the combination of conjuring almost a mile of thirty foot tall walls under the unprotected influence of over one hundred Dementors. Granted, the conjuration was no mean feat, but doing it in conjunction with the Dementors influence was enough to knock out even Voldemort, Harry and Hermione.
3) Thank you to chem prof for the recommendation at the end of his excellent story Notebooks and Letters.
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