yaaay! A more exciting chapter! This one was a lot of fun to write. Snape is so awesome in this scene in the movie. Oh, I also decided that I would make the final battle more like the one in the movie as it is easier to write about. I also like the Snape parts a whole lot in the movie...Enjoy!
Artemis went into the day with excitement that he hadn't felt in quite some time. Tonight was the night that things were going to finally start happening. The only huge event that had happened earlier in the year had been when that group of kids tried to steal the Gryffindor sword. Of course, it had been the fake version, but only Snape knew that. And the kids were safe as long as Snape was in charge of punishment.
It was nearing sundown when all of the students were called to the Great Hall. Nobody but Artemis knew what this was about, and Artemis knew that this was the kick-off to the battle. He had a plan set up to make sure that things were to fall into place properly. He didn't want to be killed by some Death Eater while attempting to carry out his plan. Holly would be able to save him if he got hit by a curse, but if he was hit with a killing curse there was no coming back. That was the one major flaw in his plan.
The students of Hogwarts were now required to travel in straight lines and stay in step when they were walking to and fro across Hogwarts. Artemis suspected that this was just to instill a sense of major control and order. Death Eaters were all about fear and power.
They were all currently being ushering into the Great Hall, where the tables had been removed to make room for the students to stand. They were forced to stand in rows and they all instinctively kept as quite as possible for fear of being punished. The normal professors stood along the wall, all of them looking disheveled and fearful.
"What's going on, Artemis?" Holly hissed.
"You will see shortly. Right after this I will tell you my whole plan but be patient for just a little while longer," Artemis whispered back.
They all fell completely silent when Snape swept in from the back, walking up the center row between the students. He continued to the top step and turned around to face the students, his hands in the pockets of his coat.
"Many of you are surely wondering why I have summoned you this evening," he began. "It has come to my attention that earlier this evening Harry Potter was sighted in Hogsmeade."
There was the rustling of many students as they whispered in awe to their friends. They stopped and became silent as Snape started speaking again.
"Now, should anyone, student or staff, attempt to aid Mr. Potter they will be punished in a manner consistent of the severity of their transgression. Furthermore, any person found to have knowledge of these events who fails to come forward will be treated as e…qually guilty."
"Now then," he began, walking down the center of the hall. "If anyone here has any knowledge of Mr. Potter's movements, I invite them to step forward….now."
Artemis changed a few things in his head when he realized that these events were more like what had happened in the movies versus what had happened in the books. That meant that he would need to go to the boathouse instead of the Shrieking Shack. He took that into account as he went over the plans in his head.
There was the sound of a whole room full of students taking in a startled breath at once as Harry Potter stepped out from within the mass of students. Snape's face didn't reveal any shock. He had quite the poker face.
"It appears that despite your exhaustive defensive strategies you still have a bit of a security problem, headmaster," Harry said as the doors behind him opened, revealing a large group of students and members of the Order of the Phoenix. "I'm afraid it's quite extensive."
Harry frowned. "How dare you stand where he stood? Tell them how it happened that night! Tell them how you looked him in the eye, a man who trusted you, and killed him! Tell them!"
Snape pulled out his wand and the whole mass of students backed up as one. It was the perfect time for Artemis and Holly to get out of there. Artemis really did want to see Snape fly out the window, but unfortunately they needed to get out while they could.
Artemis grabbed Holly by the arm and pulled her out of the Great Hall after him, trying to avoid drawing too much attention from anybody. They stopped in right in front of the staircase. They wouldn't be able to stay there long, but the message from Voldemort would give them a great warning that people were going to start moving.
"Artemis, is this the night? Does the fight start here?" Holly asked urgently.
"Yes, there will be a message from Voldemort and then the Death Eaters will start trying to get into the school. We still have quite some time until my plan comes into action. All we need to do is find the place to stake out and wait there to avoid getting unnecessarily killed."
Holly nodded. She really did enjoy some good action and excitement, but all of these humans with magic made her slightly nervous, and the thought of them actually fighting each other was rather frightening.
"Are you running hot on your magic?" Artemis asked, using the term that fairies used for saying that they had full magic.
"Yup, just filled up last month," Holly stated. "Why?"
"Okay, so here's the plan," Artemis began. He explained to her what they would be trying to accomplish and where they would need to be. "We do not need to completely change all of the events, just alter some. I am trying to plan the timing of all of this to make sure that we do not accidentally change the outcome of this war, because if the Death Eaters win all people, muggles and wizards alike, would be affected and in trouble."
Holly took it all in, treating it just like instructions she was receiving from her commander. This was her kind of thing, even though she really didn't see the point of all of this.
"What is the point of all of this?"
"We are going to save a few lives that would have otherwise been lost pointlessly," Artemis explained. "One of them just happens to be my favorite headmaster at the moment. He did not need to die, and we can save him without altering events at all."
"You told me all about him a while ago. Do you really think that saving him would be the best thing to do?"
"I am doing what I think is the correct thing, but nobody really ever knows if their actions are the proper thing."
"Right," Holly said.
There was a scream from inside the Great Hall and then utter silence. Another scream, a different person this time, split the air. And then a voice like no other cut through everyone's thoughts; a voice that made you want to hide, to do whatever it wanted.
"There's our cue," Artemis said, beginning to walk in the direction that they needed to go despite the odd feeling that was running through his body at the sound of Voldemort's voice in his brain. Holly also had an odd expression on her face.
"That guy needs to lay off the theatrics," Holly grumbled.
XxX
When Snape flew away through the window everyone had thought that he had gone right back to the Dark Lord. This was not the case. He had staked out a spot to watch the starting battle, not wanting to fight for either side. He stood at the top of one of the parapets, looking down at the people rushing back and forth preparing for the incoming Death Eaters. Snape thought about the message that he was supposed to rely to the boy when the time was right, and he wondered when that would be and how he would get the message across without Potter ignoring or fighting him.
Snape also knew that he would need to tell Potter where his true allegiances lie, and what he had sacrificed to save Lily Evan's one son. He knew that he was running out of time, as Voldemort was displeased with the Elder Wand and thought that Snape was the last master having killed Dumbledore.
Snape was not afraid of death, but there were some things that he wanted to get done before he died, and such things were rather important to the outcome of the wizarding war. He looked up as the beginnings of shielding spells started to surround Hogwarts. It was not enough to keep them out forever, but it would give them a little time. It also meant that Snape would have to stay inside for some time lest he disrupt the protection. He did not want to ruin the school's chance of survival.
He sighed. He could see the Death Eater troops on the horizon. There was no way that the little measly group of people in Hogwarts could beat the thousands of Death Eaters. They would be merely flattened under the feet of the sheer numbers that the Dark Lord had.
He felt his Dark Mark burn slightly. Voldemort was still trying to recall as many Death Eaters as he could in order to get a sufficient army. Anybody who hadn't showed up at this fight would face devastating punishment later.
It had been hard to keep the student safe during the school year and make sure that the Death Eaters didn't suspect him. He was lucky that the Carrows were a little thicker than most of the other Death Eaters. He could make up some lame excuse and they would believe him right away.
There was also the task of giving over a fake sword to Voldemort to put in the Lestrange's vault. It had been a very impressive fake, and nobody could tell but him and possibly the goblins, but it had still been rather nerve-racking. And then he had had to hide the real sword in the little pond out where Potter and his friends were camping and had sent his patronus. He had been worried that Potter was going to die then and there, having worn the locket around his neck when he went down, but luckily Wealsey had been there to save him.
He sincerely hoped that all of the efforts that had been made to help Potter along would be enough, but they probably hadn't. The Dark Lord would probably win, and the world would probably be in grave danger. Snape was more of a realist in this, and knew that he was probably going to die soon anyway. Either way it didn't look good.
As Voldemort's message rang through the school Snape thought about the redhead he had fallen in love with and how much he had sacrificed for her son. He hoped that it would be worthwhile in the end. He hoped that the boy would not die in vain and that the Dark Lord would be defeated. He knew that his hope was probably hopeless…
Please review. We are getting near the end of this story and I really would like to know what you have thought so far!
