Disclaimer: JKR and associated corporations own Harry Potter and company. I do not.
The waiting was always the worst. Moody stumped back and forth his eye darting in all directions. The Combat teams were assembled in the Great Hall of Hogwarts checking each others gear.
Alastor glanced at the little girls the phoenix said had to come with them if they were to succeed. Dumbledore had made some strange demands over the course of their long fight against the Dark, but this one topped them all. These children should never be near a battlefield. Moody stumped and fumed. To protect them he had skewed the makeup of his teams, placing most of his best fighters in one team, his. Albus, the girls, the elves, and himself were one team, they were the reserve. The Weasleys were another team, the parents with Bill and Charlie. The teachers were another, McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, Sprout. The aurors he had the least worry over. They were familiar with the target. Shacklebolt, Tonks, Black and Lupin. Black worried the hell out of him. Moody knew he would be difficult to control in the fight so he paired him with the active aurors and his friend who could be trusted to stun Black and port him out if necessary. The other groups were seasoned fighters from the first war. All good fliers and capable of casting a Patronus. Nearly forty souls would go in harms way this evening.
The Grangers, Minerva, and Poppy stood with the girls all of them holding hands, eyes glistening with held back tears. Hedwig and Athena sat on their mistresses shoulders, preening hair and cooing softly. They had all said all there was to say, so the final goodbyes were quick. "I love you, come back safe"
Poppy having addressed all three of them turned and hurried to check her supplies. She would not cry. The Grangers hugged their daughter, then Harry and shook Minerva's hand. One did not hug McGonagall. "Come back safe Hermione, Harry. Don't take chances." The girls nodded. They squirming in place, ready for it to start, this waiting was intolerable.
The battle plan was simple. Portkey to a launch point close to the island, get on their brooms and head in. Albus and Bill Weasley would set wards against apparition and portkeys just outside the ministry wards while the rest of the group went in to stun the Aurors on guard and port them out. Albus was able to make the portkeys that would bypass the Ministry wards and their own. They would begin herding the Dementors into a killing field as soon as they hit land. They would clear the outside and work down through the fortress. At the bottom were the high security cells, the cells with the inner circle Death Eaters, their secondary objective. It seemed simple, they had a superior force and weapons, it should work. Moody had a bad feeling about this operation. He always had a bad feeling about an operation. Sighing he sipped from his hip flask and checked his equipment again.
Albus stood. "My friends we are ready." Everyone stood and grabbed their team ropes. "Remember what you fight for, fear not what you fight against. Three, two, one, GO!" The teams vanished in a swirl of color.
Poppy looked at the Grangers and her other assistants. "Now the hard part, we wait." She had trained several house elves in field medicine, there were a few other healers in the Order, and she had the Grangers, whose abilities she had grown to admire. They fussed over their supplies and worried.
The teams mounted up as soon as they were able. Within a minute they were moving over the ocean towards the fortress. The ward team streaked ahead of the others, Bill, Albus, the girls and the elves. Bill and Albus worked so quickly that the other teams never slowed, the wards were up in seconds. Dobby and Limpy added a ward of their own to the surprise of the wizards.
Harry and Hermione shone in the moonlight, their armor a soft golden glow. Dobby rode at Harry's knee, his true form showing tall and fierce. "What ward did you put up Dobby?"
"It will weaken the powers of Darkness." The elf stated straight ahead, eyes glittering in the moonlight wrapped in a strange power. Limpy rode on the outside of Hermione. She was singing in a clear voice like wind chimes. Harry couldn't understand the words. Hermione was bound to be positively bulging with questions when this was over.
Fawkes flamed into being over them with Hedwig and Athena in his train. Harry felt grateful for the company but wished Hedwig had stayed in a safe place. Fawkes joined Limpy in her song and slowly the lot of them; elves, witches, wizards, and owls joined the song as they could. The island was close now, Harry could see the Dementors massing and heading for them.
They flew on singing. They would meet the Dementors over the open water, that had not been the plan but the evil ones had responded more quickly than Albus had imagined they would.
Albus stood in the brooms braces, his robes whipping in the wind of his passing and laughed. His voice echoed over the water. "Come then! It is a sword day, a red day, and a new dawn rising!" His gold saber snapped and hissed into being as he cast his phoenix patronus.
Harry would keep that image to the end of her days. Dumbledore, beard and robes whipping, his eyes and saber lit he laughed as he entered a desperate fight against evil. All around them patronus sprang into the night air. They formed a funnel around the Dementors who ignored it intent on their prey. Those without light sabers dropped back as the wielders rode on. They would maintain the patronus funnel and watch for any assault from a different direction.
Sirius surged to the front, he had stopped singing. His voice was a pure animal howl of vengeance and blood lust. Fawkes shot ahead and circled him.
The attackers slowed and waited for the Dementors. They were nearly to shore. The mass of Dementors facing them seemed limitless, hundreds, maybe a thousand. No one had ever heard one speak before that night. No one had ever heard one laugh. That sound, the sound of a Dementors laughter would echo in nightmares for the rest of their lives. The patronus faltered and flickered. Few could hold their patronus against a single Dementor, but against hundreds? Fear grew and with it uncertainty.
"Pull back away from them, leave them to the sabers, pull back and keep your patronus herding them." The Headmaster's voice was strong and calm, easily heard despite the wind and wave. His troops rearranged themselves as he had directed. Sirius was roaring something inarticulate as the first of the Dementors reached for him. His blood red blade snapped through the creature, its severed halves dropped to the cold sea. The Dementors paused for a beat. Fawkes gave a screaming challenge while Sirius urged his broom forward. Sirius was blind to anything but the Dementors. Lupin swooped in on his right, blade out, howling his defiance. His pack was fighting, his brother in danger. Dumbledore and Moody raced to join them before they were encircled, with the girls and the elves in chevron formation. The fighters formed a loose globe of blades facing outwards just as the Dementors threw themselves forward at them.
Limpy and Dobby still sang their elven war song. The Dementors seemed to be focused on the elves. Sabers slashed as quickly as the hands holding them could move them. Dementors tumbled into the sea giving voice again. They could not only laugh, they could scream. Sirius screamed with them.
Slowly the saber team moved forward towards the shore. They would have been lost, quickly overwhelmed if it hadn't been for Fawkes and the elves. Whatever song they shared heartened the fighters, gave them an endurance that wasn't natural to them. They found they could bear their worst memories in the certain knowledge that beyond this life was another better life. A life without loss, a life of joy. And if they went to that life fighting this good fight who could call them anything but blessed?
The saber team grounded and began to march to the fortress. The Dementors pulled back, their initial savage assault beaten. They had lost dozens to the light sabers. Dementors were not beings that counted their loss. They had only their lust for souls. Before them were souls that were beyond price or imagining. Unbound elves, maiden warriors of the goddess, the tempered souls of the Order of the Phoenix. Never had the Dementors been offered such a feast. They would have their way this day as their nature demanded.
The Dementors withdrew to the fortress. They would draw their enemy in and separate them then overwhelm them in the narrow spaces.
The forces of the Light came to ground not a little tired. It had been horrific to watch, to see the gleaming armor of the girls disappear in a cloud of evil, to hear the Dementors laugh, to hear Sirius go insane. The shield team would have fled if they hadn't heard the clear elven battle hymn, giving them heart and strength.
The girls took off their helms and killed their blades. Dumbledore conjured hot chocolate for everyone, a very large serving indeed, and ordered that they drink it. Sirius stood pole straight staring at the fortress, unblinking. Occasionally he would growl. It was Hermione who approached him finally, a cup of hot chocolate in her hand. Firmly she wrapped his hand around it. Her voice was very loud, not quite shouting as she spoke to him. "You will have your revenge. If you will have anything after you must decide now. Do not become the next Dementor Sirius, do not become them. You will lose Harry." Sirius blinked finally and looked at her. His eyes were infinitely cold.
"You presume to tell me what to do little girl?" Harry stepped to her side and grasped her hand.
"She does. She tells everyone what to do. Haven't you noticed?" Harry was very matter of fact, very dry. Remus barked a laugh and pulled his wand. He turned Sirius bright pink, and dressed him in a tutu. Slowly laughter built in the group until people were on their knees with tears in their eyes.
Sirius huffed. "Always laughing at the dog. I do think it is a form of jealousy." He crushed the girls to him in a fierce hug. "Remind me again if I slip will you pups?"
Harry shook her head. "No Sirius, don't slip. If we lose here, we see my mom and dad. If we win, we rid the world of those creatures. So we can't lose can we? Just relax and enjoy the fight. And drink your hot chocolate."
They rested another five minutes then began their march on the fortress. Minerva walked holding Harry's hand, Harry held Hermione's. Minerva kept a steady stream of invective going as they walked.
"How I ever let myself be talking into having you two here is quite beyond me. I shall have to ask Poppy to check for compulsion charms. I would send you back if I could make you go. I am sure there is not a strand of hair on my head that isn't gray. You two with your skiing and your goddess will be the end of me. I would rather have the Weasley twins for the summer that the trouble the pair of you are capable of. I don't understand how girls so young can cause so much mischief that it takes the full Order of the Phoenix to sort it out!"
As one Harry and Hermione wheeled around and hugged Auntie Minerva hard. They resumed walking in silence, with watery eyes each holding one of her hands.
The Auror guard met them just outside the fortress. The Warden spoke first "Dumbledore?" The Headmaster nodded.
"Warden we have come into possession of a means of destroying Dementors. We intend to rid the world of them. We certainly mean you no harm, if would be a great service if you and your men would consent to being portkeyed away."
"I have my duty sir. I will not abandon my post. I am the Warden of Azkaban. Not a happy title, but a responsibility I take seriously. I will stay." His guards all nodded agreement.
"Will you fight with us? Or failing that will you stand aside as we fight? We mean no harm to your charges, only the Dementors."
"I can do neither sir, I must oppose you. It is my duty." Dumbledore nodded sadly. A vast wash of red engulfed the guards, stunners launched from many of the Order. The stunned Guards of Azkaban got portkeys and were gone in a whirl of color.
Alastor muttered to Albus "That went as well as it could have, Horatio always was a stickler for duty." Dumbledore nodded.
The Order entered the Fortress making it's way to the top of the facility. The elves still sang softly while the birds rode the shoulders of their familiars. The Order began to move down through the fortress, floor by floor, clearing them and leaving guards behind to warn of any flanking by the Dementors. They were unopposed until they reached the ground floor with it's many entrances. The mass of the Dementors waited there.
The Order members in the rear were able to cast their patronus to protect the saber wielders in the vanguard. Once again the wolf and the Grim stood in the forefront. They stood to either side of an archway the Order entered through. Quickly the Order sealed each exit with a patronus, all but the stairs to the lower level. There was a second of echoing silence. Limpy gave a loud battle cry in her own language and lit her saber. Dobby and the girls followed, and the four marched forward between the wolf and the Grim singing. There was a massive surge of Dementors across the huge open hall towards the brightly shining figures, each so small, golden and silver. The girls called their staffs and grounded them sharply calling out a name forgotten in their world. They were beloved of elves and blood bonded to them, some things were given to them to know that others never would. At the grounding of the goddess staffs a blast of light tore through the room. The staffs stood on their own pulsing with an energy that sang of hope and love. The sabers snapped and hissed as the girls and the elves used all their skills to stay up and fighting. The four were in a square and any that got in reach of their blades perished. Slowly the press eased as the rest of the blade wielders cut their way to the girls. Dozens of Dementors were cleaved, shrieking as they passed over at last. Maddened beyond endurance by the carnage the Dementors burst through an exit to the ground floor courtyard. The four stood for a moment panting amid a mound of putrid corpses, the blood that was not blood pooling at their feet. Harry and Hermione collapsed to their knees, sick with the destruction of even so twisted a life.
"After them! Keep the other openings sealed!" Albus marched into the courtyard with Fawkes screaming war on his shoulder. The Weasleys were on the heels of the Headmaster, closely followed by the rest of the Order. At his side was his companion of many battles Alastor, along with Remus and Sirius. For the first time the Dementors felt fear. They had no power here, their magic was overcome by the phoenix, the elves and the warrior maidens. They cowered against the walls as the lightsabers hissed through their ranks winnowing them, reeving them.
The Dark Lord entered the fight at this moment of loss. He flew into the courtyard and landed among the Dementors, arm raised, hand clenched and screaming. "By the Light in the Dark I call you to battle! You will not falter! Take their souls!" Darkness and evil pulsed from him, power flowed from his hand. The Dementors found themselves strong again, and determined to feast on those before them.
In a flash Albus stunned Remus and Sirius. He levitated them into the great hall the Order had just left. "Back to the Hall, we will defend the doorway!"
In close rank the wielders of the swords moved back as the Dementors pressed forward. Still the elves sang as they slew and Fawkes circled singing. The girls hadn't breath to sing, their blades danced and weaved. Earlier in the fight cleaving a limb from an opponent had taken them out, now the Dementors pressed on regardless. They had to be killed to be stopped. At the Dementors back stood Wormtail with glowing red eyes, his arm upraised and fist clenched around some source of dark strength. Whatever magic he held it drove the Dementors to a frenzy. In the Hall Minerva enervated Remus and Sirius. She hurriedly forced chocolate on them and had them move to where the goddess staves were pulsing with clean pure magic. The dog and the wolf regained some color and life came up in their eyes.
Wormtail laughed and screamed. "Take them, take them all, prisoners as well, today my children you feast!" He spotted Remus and Sirius. "The dog and the wolf! Take them! Do not fail me this day!"
The Dementors gathered in the courtyard now scarcely more than a hundred. These were the oldest of them, the ones who had lived since their making, the ones directly sworn to the Light in the Dark. They could feel its dark power giving them strength and the courage to fight on against the damn glowing blades. Their lord spoke at last. "Our strength is not of arm, but the sickness we bring to the soul. We will sicken them one by one and kiss them as they come to us, let us call him who was with us those years."
They bent their magic on Sirius; calling to him, knowing his mind, seeking to drown him in despair. He tried to resist. His feet shuffled forward as his eyes glazed.
Harry was heartsick from the carnage. What they did was what was needed. But the sheer amount of slaughter was horrifying. She would never be clean of the blood she had spilled this day. Dully she watched as her godfather slumped towards the courtyard and death. A soft sigh was all she had to give. She turned to Hermione and kissed her softly. "I love you." It was the barest of whispers. Hermione's eyes lost their glazed look as her hand came to her lips. She nodded at Harry, smiling and certain. "I love you Harry."
Harry picked up her staff and walked to the courtyard entrance. Cold was the laughter of the Dementors as they felt Sirius weaken and move more quickly to them.
Harrys blade snapped into life, she spun in a circle like a discus thrower and released her saber. Spinning it shot across the courtyard. Before any could react the glowing blade had severed the upraised arm of Wormtail. Harry called a simple spell just as Sirius came up behind her. "Accio Light in the Dark".
The gem shot across the courtyard and into Harry's hand. The dark power it had been putting out ceased instantly as Harry began to scream, her hand smoking. Sirius caught her as she slumped to the floor. The Headmaster was in a fury. "At them now! No quarter! He led the grim eyed charge into the courtyard. The blades of the wielders rose and fell leaving only carcasses behind. There was no singing now, this was not a work of glory, this was a fight to extinction. It was Sirius who took the last head.
The Lord of the Dementors had picked up Harry's saber, still lit. Sirius charged him howling. Remus gave a growl and streaked at Wormtail. Red eyed or not there was going to be one less rat this night. Albus and Alastor directed the Order in the final push.
Remus raced at the rat. Faint with pain Voldemort pulled his wand into his left hand and sent Remus a killing curse, he had no time for mere werewolves. With this last skirmish he could kill Dumbledore while the Headmaster was busy directing the end of the battle.
Remus had been a beater when he was in Hogwarts and those reflexes served him well that night. He swung the saber perfectly. The killing curse shot back at the astonished Voldemort, hitting him dead center in the chest. Without a sound the body of Wormtail collapsed in the dirt.
Dumbledore was frantic. The Dark Lords soul was unbound and close to so many he loved. In their battle frenzy many of them would be vulnerable. Fawkes gave a piercing call and burst into flame along with Hedwig and Athena. The huge pulse of light magic from the sacrifice of Hedwig, Athena and Fawkes drove the soul of the Dark Lord off of the island. He drifted, mere vapor again, losing will if not coherence. Formless he was adrift and unaware.
Sirius circled the Lord of the Dementors, hungry for the fight. The Dementor held back, aware that very soon he would be the last of his kind. The Dementor would have fled but now that was impossible. He was hemmed on all sides by the Order, their patronus, their glowing damned blades. Perhaps though he could take one more before his end.
In the old speech he heard Limpy. "You were one who bound us. As has been foretold that will now end. Do not think to take this one with you, it will not be allowed. He has demanded you fight him as a matter of honor. You will do so. You may kill him but you will not possess him. Your rule is ended."
Dobby drew a silver knife across his palm and drizzled blood onto the Light in the Dark, followed by Limpy. Hermione lifted her staff and brought the iron shod end of it crashing onto the gem. It shattered with a huge blast of light, knocking the Lord of the Dementors to the ground. When he rose, he rose as a man. He was tall and strong, a fell man, grim of visage with malice in his eyes. Harry stood next to Hermione, cradling her burnt hand. She lifted her staff and called "Accio saber". Her lightsaber spun across the courtyard into her hand. She killed the blade.
"You will have to find another sword, mine is sworn to the Light."
Sirius stood waiting, a Grim indeed. Evil the Lord of the Dementors was, but never a coward. He reached into the shadows and a black blade came into his hand. The elves hissed and stepped back. The Headmaster cast a spell that caused the courtyard to glow with an even light, Sirius would be able to see during his fight. The two met with a rush.
Harry had expected the lightsaber to cleave the sword of the Dementor, but the black sword withstood the contact. A deep ringing came as the blades met again and again. Sirius threw himself into the fight with all the passion of a man seeking revenge for a dozen years in hell. His opponent fought with precision and coldness. The best the Dementor could hope for was to take one more life before his ended.
The Dementor held the first rush and began to press Sirius back, testing his skills. Sirius was a good swordsman, but not great. His opponent was great. The Dementor began to toy with him. He was passing opportunities to push the fight forward and allowing Sirius to recover. Sirius began to lose his concentration and was cut twice in quick succession. Remus watched and worried. Finally Remus shouted over the ringing of the black sword and the snapping hum of the saber. "For God's sake man, your bright pink and in a tutu, how can you lose?"
Sirius heard his old friend and had to laugh. He smiled like an idiot, realizing that there was just no damn way he was going to give the wolf the satisfaction of dying in a tutu. There was a sudden flurry of blows and Sirius was on one knee looking up at his opponent as the Dementor raised the black sword for a cleaving stroke. Sirius took him off at the knees while twisting away from the descending blade. The Dementor screamed as the cauterized stumps of his legs hit the dirt of the courtyard. Sirius surged to his feet taking off the Dementors sword arm. The final stroke took off the last Dementor's head.
Harry had a portkey on her godfather before he had taken another breath. She hugged him hard and activated the portkey that would take him to Hogwarts. She hugged Remus and sent him after the dog. She was surprised when she felt the sensation of a port key and saw the swirl of color. Some sneak had sent her to the infirmary.
Albus wrapped his hand in cloth and picked up the black sword. He hated to touch it, it exuded evil. He conjured a box for it and set it inside, sealing the box and sending it along to Hogwarts with a scrap of parchment asking that it be put in his office.
The rest of the Order moved through the prison fortress porting out the Death Eaters to their new home and reassuring the rest that while they would remain prisoners, they would never have to suffer from a Dementor again. Those who were still sane enough to have reasoning abilities were profoundly grateful.
Algernon with his men watched from afar as Voldemort landed and rallied the Dementors. They watched as the Dementors surged across the courtyard driven by whatever magic Voldemort was wielding. They saw the glowing blade take off Voldemort's upraised arm. They saw the battle pause. Suddenly the fighters inside erupted into the courtyard and Voldemort was dead, hit by a rebounding killing curse. They saw the Dementors falling until only one was left.
Without a word the mercenaries and Lucius turned and flew towards the land. They landed and apparated to the training facility they had used. There were several quick fights over the gold. Worry over Aurors arriving held the fighting to a minimum. Algernon had been careful to mention that possibility on the flight back. He had seen Lucius smirk. Definitely an irritating man.
Within minutes the place was empty of people and easily transported valuables. Last out the door was Lucius Malfoy. He fussed about and watched his forces melt away, then returned to the building. Lucius knew that Voldemort kept a large supply of gold hidden from them all. He would have that gold before he escaped to the continent again. It took him most of an hour to find the gold, so much gold he had to cast featherlight charms on the crates and shrink them. He sauntered out of the building into a killing curse that took him right in the chest. Algernon searched Lucius and pocketed the gold. There was a reason he acted dumb. It always helped to be underestimated. He left the body of Lucius to cool in the early morning air.
As he flew away he wondered if the Weasleys would pay for the information that Lucius was dead. The Weasleys were too well connected at the Ministry to not hear the news, although with them openly storming the Ministry's prison a lot of things were going to change. Algernon hurried for the coast. No matter how it fell out, it couldn't improve his position. He was set for life, all he had to do was keep what he had and keep quiet. There was some honor among thieves, anyone who rid the world of Dementors was not someone he wanted to fight, or to try to blackmail. If the Ministry was going to learn who was in on the assault it wouldn't be from Algernon.
The Order of the Phoenix returned to the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Sirius was the injured the worst, the wounds from the black sword resisted Poppy's efforts to close them. There was a small mountain of chocolate that was disappearing at a phenomenal rate.
Limpy and Dobby stood off to the side, before them were gathered the elves of Hogwarts. They were unbound now and free. They sang and talked to one another in a language no one else knew, not even the Headmaster. They were tall and slim, if human they would be skinny. They had a grace and elegance that was otherworldly. Albus looked on the elves with great interest. The world had been reshaped this day and he was most interested in knowing how. Every few seconds elves would pop into the Great Hall. It seemed as if every elf in magical Britannia was either at Hogwarts or headed there.
The Headmaster hurried from the Great Hall calling for his Heads of House to follow him. Minerva was reluctant to leave Harry, her hand being treated by Auntie Poppy while Hermione held the other hand. They both practiced breathing without life hanging in the balance. In the next bed Sirius was cussing out Remus for not changing him out of his tutu and reversing his pink spell.
The Heads of House and Albus met in the Headmaster's office. "My friends we have succeeded beyond what I had ever imagined today. An ages old wrong was righted and a great evil is no more. Voldemort is in spirit form, we have all his Death Eaters. These are all great things and worth the price we will have to pay."
"Fudge will not take this well. We stormed the Ministry's prison and killed all it's non human guards. We may be seen as traitors. We most certainly will have a great many questions to answer to a great many people. I should very much like your opinions on our best course of action."
Minerva spoke first. "Lock down Hogwarts. We need time for this to settle out. We will not have that if Fudge has access to us. You must hurry Albus, close Hogwarts to any not already here. We can not fight the Aurors, we mustn't. Merlin only knows what the upshot of the freed elves will be."
Albus looked around the room. "Are we agreed then? We prepare for a siege?" All of them nodded. Albus stood behind his desk and placed his wand on it. He murmured some spell softly. Suddenly the air felt thick and the slamming of enormous barriers was hear at first far away, then moving closer. Finally the shutters over the window of the Headmaster's office shut out the summer day.
They all heaved a sad sigh. Hogwarts was a school, to shut out the world was not to be done lightly. The teachers made their way back to the Great Hall and the rest of the Order.
Albus stood on the dais that held the teachers table. "Members of the Order, return to your homes immediately. Gather those dear to you and come back here. We will wait here to learn what consequences our actions will have in the broader world. We will provide shelter to any elf that wishes it. We have shaken the magical world today and must expect that we did not do so at no cost to ourselves."
Limpy stood forward from the growing crowd of elves. "Headmaster perhaps elves could accompany the members of the Order. We are able to pass the wards of Hogwarts and the Ministry. We can assure that only those who should be here are, and that none who should be here are not."
Albus bowed to her. Sometime in the fight she had become regal, a princess. "It would be most greatly appreciated Elder." Limpy paused a bit as if surprised at the title fitting her. A faint smile graced her ethereal features as she gave a small bow and turned to her people. A rippling series of pops sounded across the Hall as elves took the members of the Order to their homes.
Many thanks to my kind beta nas-iiN. All mistakes are mine, all glory his.