Chapter 7 Preparations are Being Made
A/N: Alright, this chapter is just absolute filler while I work on the actual battle. You can probably just skip this chapter and not actually miss anything.
" Damn it's cold,", Harry muttered to himself as he inscribed blood runes over the grounds of Hogwarts. Complicating the matter of covering the large expanse, was the time consuming process of turning his blood into something that wouldn't be washed away by rain and snow, or even the wayward student.
He knew the magic he was invoking could be considered dark, but he really didn't care, because he was a Grey Lord after all. He wasn't as powerful, in terms of pure power, as Dumbledore and Voldemort, but he certainly had more special abilities and the such to employ in his favor. He was only now beginning to discover these abilities.
However, to his displeasure, he found that most of his 'Grey Lord Specials' involved Demonic summonings and the such. Normally, he wouldn't give a damn about his public standing, but as the leader of the only faction opposing the Dark Lords, he needed people to get over their fears and join the fight. Not cower in fear of BOTH sides.
It always pissed him off how he couldn't explain to the ever stubborn populace of Britain, good or evil, that is not the magic that is evil, it is the man who is using it. Avada Kedavra can be a Light Spell if used to end a being in pain. Just as Wingardium Leviosa can be evil, by throwing someone off a tower.
He finished off the Symbol of Saturn with a flourish, and then turned to look at his handiwork. He stood up, and stretched out his back. Crouching for hours can do terrible things to a man's back.
Rings upon rings of the Symbol of Saturn, which also doubled as the Symbol for Destruction, with only a small difference, spiraled out like the rings of the Planet itself. Each glowed an eerie purple that reminded him of the Black Lights that Sirius spoke of in one of his letters. He had already drawn the connecting lines, which connected this massive circle to another not far from it.
This singular, massive circle that was almost as wide as Hogwarts itself, was the power cell to his other rings. The other circles were scattered throughout the grounds, and some were even in the Forbidden Forest. These rings were all connected by glimmering lines of runes drawn in Sorcerer's Dust and Powdered Fire. In turn, these were all connected to his Rune Pen, which he had linked to a series of Triggers in a makeshift throne room at the top of the Tallest Tower.
Harry already had a special set of robes set out for him to enchant into being his secret weapon against Voldemort and his Bro as well. These robes would be enchanted with the most powerful spells Harry knew, to not only give him a leg up in power, but stamina as well.
He wasn't pulling any punches. He knew that Voldemort still had a big advantage over him in both strategy and tactical senses. He had greater numbers, and he was still more powerful than Harry. Making things even worse, was that he had an equally evil twin brother/clone who was only recruiting even more men for their cause.
It was that twin/clone that drove Harry nuts. He'd seen all of the memories that Dumbledore had had of Riddle. This included his birth, however disgusting that had been. But he was very certain that Merope Gaunt had not given birth to twins. That meant that Marcellus was a construct created of magic to balance out Harry's own growing power. This also meant that the battle that was coming in roughly a month was going to be the deciding battle to determine who would rule the Magical World.
Taking his more cerebral, strategic, nature into account, that sort of decisive battle wasn't what necessarily wanted. Yeah, it would look great in the history books and all, but tactically, this was really stupid. He shouldn't be playing along with it at all. Yet he was. Like he had some sort of compulsion to do so.
But that didn't mean he didn't believe in weakening his enemy. He had already sabotaged several Death Eater camps with Rune explosions. Rune Reader was turning out to be an even more useful skill than he could ever have imagined when he had first learned about it back in the forest. At least he wasn't fishing around in the dark looking for Horcruxes. Ass hole or not, Ron was right back then. No plan equals no fun. Kind of like ammunition. Luckily, Harry had plenty of all three.
Dobby appeared in front of him, " Status report, Harry Potter Sir."
" Give it to me."
Dobby smiled, " Rune rings 1-50 are complete. The Ley lines are linked and Hogwarts itself is now linked. The rings are at full power, and will show the Death Eaters who is boss."
" Good, we will need to weed out their ranks for us to have a real chance in this battle. I'll not be sacrificing myself for the 'Greater Good' like Dumbledore wanted. Not today. Not in this fight. However, our defenses are still not yet complete. We need more. I'm working on creating some Golems, but they'll just be prototypes. Don't know if we'll be able to rely on them consistently in battle"
Snape chaffed, " You like the sound of your own voice don't you, eh Harry? Explaining the scheme to a House Elf."
" A House Elf who's been more faithful than even my closest friends. And he's also a Rune Reader. That alone makes him priceless. Now, on to business. My students keep bitching about how difficult my curriculum is. Can I please have permission to tell my Seventh years to shut the fuck up?"
Snape chuckled, " Now you know how I feel. Your class was terrible in that respect. You and Weasley always bitching. Longbottom couldn't tell the inside of a cauldron from the outside. Finnegan's too busy trying to get pussy and thinking he's a bigger man than he is. Thomas is too Muggle. Granger showing off like an idiot. Did I miss anyone in Gryffindor?"
" Lavender being a whore and Parvati being a gossip, but that's about it. It is absolutely terrible when Seventh and Sixth years come in. Especially Ginny. She doesn't hesitate at all about letting me know she's not happy with my choices in women. But she can just fuck off for all I care. Too much baggage now that I think about it. Ginny likes to be 'dominant' as Dean said. Sorry but I like my women a little more submissive."
Snape chuckled, " I will take back everything I ever said about you being like your father. You don't like red-heads. You don't like fiery women. You love power. Hell, you like blondes, and no Potter has ever married a blonde. Ever. Are you even sure you are a Potter?"
" Last time I checked I was. I can't help being different from my ancestors. I've been meaning to ask, but is it really true that, despite our noble heritage, that every Potter has been an Auror since the Auror corps was founded?"
Snape looked thoughtful, " I remember Dumbledore saying something about that. He said, ' Harry will likely end up being an Auror just like every Potter before him. And that's why he'll be such a great soldier.' To that effect at any rate."
Harry laughed, " Such a manipulative bastard while alive wasn't he? At least, he's repented some. Without this Rune Reader ability, who knows how much more difficult this could truly be?"
" Likely very difficult. By the way, Charlie reports that he has reinforcements for us to use in the upcoming battle."
Harry smirked, " Excellent. We will need everything we can get, if our intelligence is any indication. How they hell did the Dark Lords find three thousand men?"
Snape sneered, " Money can persuade even the staunchest men, Harry. I've seen it done. Though, I don't even think Mercenaries can account for this many men. Does it include auxiliaries and irregular troops like Giants and dark creatures?"
Harry shook his head, " Nope. We can only assume that his numbers will be even greater with their additions. Getting reinforcements from anyone is more than we can hope for at this time. We are in a siege despite the lack of an enemy. This is our Helm's Deep, our Siege of Gondor, Severus . Our best and brightest will be arriving shortly, but there will be no Haldir with reinforcements from Lorien to save us here."
Snape frowned, " Cut out the LOTR analogies, however fitting to our situation they are. Who are these men who will be joining us anyway? New recruits?"
Harry laughed, " I wouldn't call them new. More like, returning from distant shores. Dumbledore had some contacts with some former Order members who went to America after the last war ended because they were pissed at how the Ministry handled the Post-War period. They are led by a man named Johnny Earle, an American who moved to Britain after Vietnam. He's a veteran. "
Snape scowled, " Great, Americans coming to our aid. How…typical. The Great War 2 all over again. Arrogant bastards the lot of them, and I'm betting this one isn't any different."
Harry berated Snape, " Back off Snape. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth anyway, he seems like a good guy. Either way, we need all the help we can get, no matter where it comes from. Now, help me finish up these Circles, and we can call it a day?"
" Yeah, let's do that? My back's starting to kill me."
( Somewhere out in Space)
The Spirit of Salazar Slytherin sat in the massive crowd of spirits, as usual. He was watching the events unfolding with a slight smile. Despite the disapproving glares he was getting from the Gryffindor crowd, he was genuinely pleased with what was going on. Potter was turning the coming Battle of Hogwarts into the decisive battle that would determine the fate of the world.
Dumbledore scowled at Salazar, " This still goes against all the plans anyone has made for this world."
" Dumbledore, how many times do we have to tell you? Humans are not pawns to be used and then thrown away. "
The Dumbledore loving crowd hissed at Salazar's dismissal of Dumbledore. Oblivious as ever, the Watcher simply stared off into the distant stars. His eerie golden eyes glimmered from beneath his obsidian armor. But in reality, he was smiling. The time was coming for the battles to begin. Those battles that would consume the world would soon begin.
Salazar, meanwhile, was complaining, " Why won't Potter use his Summoning abilities? They are what gives him the edge! This Rune Reader skill is useful, but it will not win the battle for him."
The Watcher added his piece, " Potter may be more aggressive than before, but he is still not ruthless. He is thinking. I'm impressed by that alone."
( Harry…a Few days Later)
" Mr. Potter, I am retired Captain John Earle. You can just call me Johnny though. "
Harry shook the man's hand, " It is nice to meet you, Former Captain Earle. Your help is most appreciated in the coming fights. I must warn you though, nothing you see must faze you in anyway."
Earle frowned, " I've seen Korea and Vietnam, Mr. Potter. There isn't much you can do to get past those two."
Harry nodded, " Very well. Now, how accomplished are you as a duelist?"
" Very. I've lived on the Dueling Circuits after I left the Military. However, I should hope that you would use these men in a good way. They are all that is left of the American Branch of the Order of the Phoenix. "
There was about seventy members. Harry didn't want to tell Earle that the American Branch had over double the amount of the Original Branch at this time.
With that, the remaining time between now, and the supposed Final fight began to run short. Harry knew that he wasn't going to be getting anymore troops. Not from anywhere. But he was happy with that. Because he had his Rune Reading. And he had his Rune Circles. With them, Hogwarts would never fall.
But the fight was not going to be easy. Not by a long shot. The Dawn of Solace came soon.
A/N: Alright, I didn't exactly describe the preparations that were made very well. I admit this. But, the final battles, yes plural, will be enough I think to make up for it. Also, the Final Battle will have a Real Name. Not the generic Final Battle.
Johnny Earle: A reference to the song " Johnny Come Lately,", by Steve Earle. It's a song about the various wars since World War 2, though mostly about Vietnam.
The Final Battle Stage 1: I've found that it is almost impossible to write Large Scale, Wand Only, Magical Battles without them becoming clones of the somewhat anti-climatic Canon Fight, which was mostly comprised of 2V2, 1V1, 3-5V1 skirmishes, with tragedy ( Fred's Death), comedy ( Ron joking about the House Elves fighting), Desperation ( Harry finally realizing his destiny), and Romance ( Ron/Hermione, Ginny/Harry are finally recognized in their final forms) mixed in.
