Power can make or break a war faster than anything else, which was probably why they came for the school first. While the great castle of Hogwarts tucked itself in for a night of sleep before the train ride home to London the next day they struck.
The entire structure shook sending people falling out of beds all over the school. Harry Potter was one such boy to be sent flying from his soft warm four-poster and down onto the cold stone floor of his dorm room. Scrambling up to his knees he grabbed his round wire frame glasses as his green eyes gazed around in confusion. Clambering to his feet his eyes landed on his four roommates and they all had the same look of shock.
Things had happened in the last part of the school year before, but this was really cutting it close. The raven haired boy had thought his adventure for the year was over after getting his godfather to freedom and fighting dementors, but it seemed as though he was wrong.
Another violent quake shook them on unsteady legs and they could hear swearing as bodies tumbled down the steps outside their room. Grabbing his wand from under his pillow he moved to his school trunk at the end of his bed and threw it open. Inside, right on top was an old scrap piece of parchment and a silvery cloak. "I solemnly swear I am up no good," he whispered and tapped the paper with his wand just as his best mate Ron came sidling up beside him to see what he was looking at.
Nameless black dots were pouring into the dungeons somehow. Any black dot they came across down there seemed to vanish. "They're killing them…" Harry said in horror as he tried to grasp what was going on. The school was shaking and people were dying by the looks of it. The school was under obviously under attack but by whom?
"We have to get to Ginny, Percy, Fred and George," Ron said desperately as he took off for the dorms door without a glance back. Harry swore under his breath and grabbed his invisibility cloak and moved to follow his first friend, not counting Hagrid.
When he reached the stairs he spotted the mass of red hair that represented the Weasley's huddling together. Hurrying down the steps he wondered how he was going to get the invisibility cloak to cover everyone when he bumped into a mess of brown hair coming from the other direction. "Hermione, the schools under attack," he said quickly and held up his map and cloak. "We have to get out of here."
"We can't all fit under your cloak Harry," Hermione said as though he hadn't thought of that. When he fixed her with a stare she blushed realizing that she was simply stating the obvious. Another shock hit the school causing the thirteen year old boy and fourteen year old girl to grab each other to stay up right. Harry's attention fell on the window where a massive fireball was rising from the north. "Hogsmeade…" the frizzy haired girl said in a whisper. "They're not just attacking the school they're going after the village and the train as well."
"We can't stay in here, it's a death trap," Harry said noting that if the enemies somehow broke into the common room they'd all be trapped. "Ron, you guys, we got to get out of here! If they get through the portrait we're all sitting ducks," he tried to warn them.
"I think not, Mr. Potter," Percy said as he adjusted his glasses and stepped in front of his younger siblings. "This castle impervious to attacks, it's probably just an Earthquake. We will wait here until a teacher comes for us," the Head Boy said pumping out his chest show his badge shined from his second hand pajamas.
"Ron," Hermione tried to reason with their friend but he only shook his head and held his younger sister closer. With no real recourse Harry grabbed Hermione and threw the cloak over her head before pulling her toward the portrait hole. The entire way she battled against him calling out for their ginger haired friend but the smaller boy somehow managed to get her out.
Checking his map and trying to hold a sobbing Hermione as she practically beat his chest in, he could see the nameless dots were still a few floors below them. A few names appeared to be heading toward their floor though. Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape were leading a few Slytherins and Hufflepuffs to higher ground. Checking the common rooms for the two other houses he saw them over run with black dots and sighed. There were no where no other survivors from those houses.
"Snape and McGonagall are coming," he told his friend as he pulled off the cloak and shoved it into his pajama pocket. Grabbing hold of her elbow he pulled her away from the fat lady's portrait and toward the stairs, reaching it just as Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass and who Harry assumed was her younger sister crested the top of it. The two Head of Houses came next followed by Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, Cedric Diggory and a cursing Draco Malfoy.
"Mr. Potter, why aren't you in your common room, and you too Miss Granger," the graying Deputy Headmistress asked as she spotted the two. "Never mind we have to get out this school, everyone does. Where is Filius and the Ravenclaws," she asked looking over her shoulder with fear.
Checking his map Harry smiled slightly. "They're on their way, coming up the back stairs," looking up he could see the hatred dripping from Snape's eyes as he glared at the map. "Oh get over yourself, this is probably the best chance of survival we bloody have," he snapped before looking for any ways to escape. "They've covered the third floor and are working their way up to the fourth.
"If we can get to the Astronomy tower we can conjure a rope to lower everyone down to the outside," Snape said and ran his hand through his greasy hair. A burst of blond hair caused Harry to look over to a girl the map labeled as Luna Lovegood come rushing from the other end of the corridor. "Miss Lovegood, where are the others," Severus demanded just before the school shook once more and screams echoed from the direction the blond had just come from.
"They're dead professor," Harry said looking at his map. "Whatever we do, we need to do it now. The outside is compromised; there are more of those… whatever is attacking us from outside. And really big ones at that," he said pointing to a large black spot covering what used to be Hagrid's hut.
"The come and go room," Minerva suddenly said pointing toward the stairs leading up. "Go to the seventh floor, the portrait of a man teaching trolls how to dance ballet. Walk back and forth three times and think of what you need and a door will appear. Try to use it create a way for all of us to get out. Severus I want you to go with them," the elder witch said giving the Head of Slytherin a wary look. "They'll need protection while I try to get my cubs up there as well."
Grabbing hold of a sobbing Hermione, Harry pulled her toward to the stairs before Neville Longbottom appeared suddenly at his side and grabbed her other arm. "Hey Harry, I noticed you were gone and… well, not to sound selfish but I figured going with you was the best chance for survival. You usually come out these things pretty much in one piece."
"Good to have you," Harry said with a bit of a smile as they followed the rest of the group up the stairs. Harry hated leaving Ron behind but hoped that McGonagall would get the Weasleys to safety somehow. As they reached the sixth floor though a new complication arose. Great black hooks shot through the wall before pulling it down. From the smoke and dust a large black six legged insect looking thing climbed in, a gray scaly creature riding on its back. It's nose was horribly pig like and its eyes red with rage as it looked down at them.
"Avada Kadavra," Snape's voice boomed as a green light shot from his wand and hit the strange creature dead in the face knocking it off its strange steed. A second green light flew out after the first and hit the black creature, sending it stumbling off the side of the corridor and down the gap between staircases. "I don't know if that killed it, we need to move," the black robed man said as he continued toward the next set of stairs.
They had just reached the seventh floor when a thunderous explosion rocked them off their feet. With wide eyes Harry fell face first toward the ground, throwing out his arms to stop his fall, the map still in his hands showed the fifth floor vanish along with the Gryffindor Common Room. "Ron… Fred… George… Ginny…" he whispered before he was hauled to his feet by an irate potions Master.
Confused and numb Harry watched as Malfoy raced ahead of the group and began pacing in front of a portrait filled with cowering trolls. A moment later a grand door appeared to materialize from the stone wall in front of the platinum blond boy. Grabbing the doors he threw them open and sighed with relief. "It's Malfoy Manor, come one Pansy, Greengrasses, we can get out through here, leave the mudbloods and traitors to their own defense."
Tears were welling in Harry's eyes as he crumbled the Marauder's map and shoved it into his pocket. The school had fallen. It wasn't going to do him much good now as anything but a keepsake. "You guys go," he said in a deadened voice before gazing back down the corridor. "Those things killed Ron and everyone else. I'm going to fight…" he nearly whispered as though he hadn't thought of it until just that moment. "I won't leave the only home I've ever known to these… monsters."
"Harry," Hermione said quietly as she looked at her friend. Sniffling she wiped her eyes and stood up straighter. "You're right, we have to fight back. Maybe that room can help."
"I'm in as well," Neville said stepping up beside the two.
Susan and Hannah looked at each other before nodding their heads and stepping forward along with Cedric. "We're in too. Hufflepuffs are loyal and this is our school damn it," the sixth year boy said with determination.
"Whatever losers," Draco said before he practically leaped through the door, Pansy Parkinson right behind him, her pug nose stuck in the air.
Daphne looked at her sister Astoria and bit her lower lip in thought. "Astoria, go to the Malfoy Manor and floo home as fast as you can. Tell dad to call the DMLE and tell them we're under attack. I'm going to fight here as well," she said with tears in her eyes. Both girls looked at each other for a long moment before hugging each other.
"Your sentimentalities can wait," Severus snapped as he grabbed the shorter blond girls and threw them through the door. "Stay if you wish to die, it's no skin off my back. And I will do better to get the warning to the Ministry then some errant first year, Miss Greengrass," the sallow skinned man said before slamming the doors behind him, leaving the rag tag group in the hall.
As the door faded the group turned to Harry and he felt his body shift under their combined stairs. "Well, Hermione, you summon the room, think about needing whatever we can to kill these things and the room will provide it, right? You know more about things like that then we do so I'll leave it to you. Think weapons and armor if you can, alright?" The misty eyed girl stepped away to do as she was told.
After three turns the door began to materialize and Harry and Cedric pulled the doors open. The room inside was immense and light spilled out of it to shower the teens who had decided to fight. "Why couldn't it have been a basilisk," Harry suddenly mused and everyone turned to look at him as though he had gone insane. "I can kill a basilisk with a sword… I don't need… those," he said pointing into the room.
Author's Note: So I thought long, long and hard about how to do a decent Harry Potter and Gears of War crossover. Ever since I beat Gears 3 I've been hankering to right this out, the evil little plot bunny. So how do you write something where Harry, Neville, and Cedric can end up the same size as Marcus, Dom, and Cole? Start when their young of course.
I originally planned on killing Snape in this… then I realized he wasn't worth it. His death wouldn't have mattered as much to Harry to cause him to dig in a fight. The Weasleys though were enough to do it. Please don't ask about pairings, I haven't decided yet. But as with all my stories, it won't be slash.