Chapter 13
Rumble.
"I don't think…this was such…a good idea…after all." Bones's voice was as composed as always, even as she panted for air, each breath coming in a smoky puff against the cold night.
Harry couldn't help but smile, though he was breathing pretty hard himself, and he was praying for his shoulders and legs to cross the line from screaming to numb, the sweat so cold on the exposed skin around his eyes and the back of his neck that he wondered honestly if ice had begun to form. The Dementors weren't helping either but his stag and Mike's dragon kept him and the others shielded.
The climb up the side of Azkaban prison had been far more difficult than they had imagined. The rough-hewn stones that had seemed like they would offer such accommodating hand and footholds actually proved a treacherous collection of awkward slopes and angles; not quite enough to grab, but enough to make a foot slide down a few inches, a grip be not quite solid. There was also a flourishing crop of lichens, mosses, and slime molds that slipped and crumbled at every opportunity, and after an hour and a half of hard effort, they were only at the sixth floor, already forty-five minutes behind schedule and becoming dangerously exhausted, cold numbing their wearied fingers even further.
There had been a few close calls, and Harry had resolved to send Michael and Rachel a thank-you note of epic proportions as their Yak and Dragon shielded them from the crown of Dementors. He knew that the Gripping Gloves were the only thing that made the climb possible at all, and that they had saved his life at least three times already, clamping on to the wall as if glued there and releasing again at mere force of will. Pausing a moment, he glanced down and to his right a few feet to the second of the two smaller figures as he tried to wipe the sweat from his eyes against his shoulder. "Doing okay?"
Pappenforth's eyes glinted stubbornly up at him, but he could see the pain and exhaustion in the lines between his dark brows. "I'm fine."
"He is lying," Bones grinned. Harry didn't knew how the couple held themselves together with thousands of Dementors. But then again they were moving like sort of a shield circle. A Taurus, a Phoenix, a baby elephant, a giraffe, a yak, a stag, three cats- Madam Bones was quite good with patronuses, a tiger and two dragons shielded them all around. Like a big clock around him. Like his partners were the numbers, and he and his top commands were hands.
The pain dulled, driven back by anger, determination, a desire to strike back that pushed away the cold and fatigue. His shoulders tensed, and he reached out, grabbing the ledge that separated the sixth and seventh floors and hauling himself upward. The Dementors looked like a large black cloud above the six foot dragon covering him.
It was just the pain and the eyes and the wall, always the wall, stone against skin, shoulder throbbing, joints aching, muscles cramping…and then there was a hand. A girl's hand, delicate yet strong, closed around Harry's wrist, and suddenly he was back on another wall, and Elektra had reached down for him, and he was there, he'd made it. They were seven stories above the grounds, outside the main entrance of Dementors, and he pulled himself up to sit on the newly-strengthened ledge, gasping for breath as he trembled with the exertion and the throbbing ache from every muscle in his body.
His head swam, and Harry forced his eyes to remain open. He didn't remember the climb, but he was here, and he forced himself to be utterly aware of it. A cold sweat soaked his uniform, making it cling to him like a second skin, but it was the cold of late December and he had a mission. They had a mission, and he couldn't let them down.
"Thirsty." His voice was hoarse, and he wondered if they could tell what had happened, how he'd – he wasn't sure, really – but Elektra's eyes held no sign of suspicion that he'd lost his mind as she handed over the water bottle from her bag. He took a long swallow, then passed it back to Rachel, grateful to feel the thirst simply retreat like a normal thing.
"We should get moving. It's almost two," Lisa said nervously. "Are you…do you think you're ready?"
He nodded, forcing himself to his feet again. "Break into pairs now. Mike, you guard the ceiling. Terry, you go down. Wait for my blast." Quickly, his team joined with their pre-designated partners, with one of each pair moving to either side of the triangle. The seven of them drifted towards the inner wall; Bones, as the unit's second in command, would stay there unless Harry fell, keeping them safe from an attack from the sky. Elektra had already done her work; she had blasted the ceiling ceremonially.
Without giving any further orders, Harry set a feather light charm on him and jumped in the center of Azkaban. He fell quickly, light as a parchment, but struggled not to make much noise in the process. Elektra, he noticed, was having difficulties doing the same; the young Auror was struggling to keep her fear in. But when Harry glanced over his shoulder at her, she gave him a confident thumbs up, so he turned back to the task at hand, straining his eyes to see in the dark.
Three of them - Anthony, Moore and Turpin - went for the ground while Harry took hold of a cell. Inside Azkaban was also triangular in shape except the cells all opened directly onto the drop, with no room outside them to land. From the seventh floor to the first there were rooms and bars outside them. No ground for them to even try.
Finally, he looked in the nearest cell, where a woman was trembling inside, thin as parchment. He was growing colder now, which told Harry that something was getting close. The presence of Dementors always made him cold—but suddenly the feeling was more than a chill; he was freezing and voices were beginning to drift into his mind—No!
Harry spun, wand in hand, just in time to see a Dementor floating out from a cell on the right hand side. Think of a happy thought, he told himself desperately as the Dementor came nearer. Screams echoed in his ears, though, and his vision started to blur… He remembered pain and horrors, and angry voices shouting… Something happy…
"Expecto Patronum!"
Elektra's Patronus sent the Dementor fleeing, and Harry let out a shaky breath. "Thanks," he said quietly.
"No problem, boss," she replied. "I saw you tense and figured that something had to be up. You sense those things from pretty far away, don't you?"
"Occupational hazard," he replied dryly. He was starting to feel like himself once more and let out a steadier breath. I am not going to be caught by surprise again, he vowed, more angry with himself than anything else. "Let's keep going."
"Right."
Fifteen minutes later, the Aurors finally freed all the people, sent them down with a feather light charm. Some weren't even moving, as if the soul had been sucked out of them. But the Aurors pushed them out and Rachel and other guards pushed them through the Portable Portal. Harry glided carefully around to check if anyone was left, hearing faint crunches under his feet and those of his team. He stopped at the foot of a cell just as Turpin let out a startled yelp in response to a loud crack under her foot.
"What was that?" Pappenforth demanded.
"Bones," Anthony responded, glancing up at them. "Looks like they dump bodies here."
Immediately, he and Elektra both went a little green, but Pappenforth only shrugged. Harry shivered, then shook his head, forcing himself to concentrate. He turned to Elektra.
"Stay here until I give the all clear signal."
"Got it."
Harry crept up the stairs, trying to miss the spots he remembered as mould. His attempts at stealth, however, failed when he discovered that all the walls were falling apart and beyond repair; the stones were crumbling around him. Abandoning the effort, Harry climbed up the rest of the way as fast as possible and cast a quick Searching Spell. Because he'd limited the distance of the spell, the results came back almost instantaneously. Nothing.
He sighed in relief. Harry's worst fear had been to break into the prison and immediately encounter a score of Dementors, but it seemed that he had remembered Azkaban's schedule correctly. During the night, Dementors were allowed to wander in and out of cells freely, permitted to torment prisoners almost to the point of insanity—but never over that line, and never the Dementor's Kiss. Fudge had a firm grip upon his disgusting creatures, and it seemed that they did not dare disobey him and even now, when Fudge was no more, they still followed the schedule.
Leaving the shelter of the doorway, Harry signaled the others to come up. The Dementors were scattered and otherwise occupied, which was good; it meant that no group of Aurors could encounter an overwhelming number of them, and Harry felt safe dividing his group into sub teams. When they had all made it through the cells, he led them forward another hundred feet or so along a tunnel which led downwards to where the top security prisoners were kept, and then stopped, turning back to face them and speaking in a rapid whisper.
"There are four rows of cells. Anthony, Turpin, Schuyler and Pappenforth, take the two to the right. Elektra, and Rachel, with me. We'll take the two on the left. Remember, we have twenty-seven prisoners to rescue, and some of them may not be able or willing to move on their own. Meet back here as quickly as you can, and let us know immediately if you run into trouble."
"Consider it done," Anthony whispered, leading his team away.
Harry watched them for a long second, and then turned left, towards the highest security of the Azkaban cells. Kingsley was right. This smelled like rats.
A silvery otter made its way to him at the same time and Ron's voice echoed around them. "Boot needs a break. The Dementors are affecting him badly. I have left the prisoners you sent in the boat with a otter but I don't think it will last long. Work faster, mate. Faster." Ron's voice was exhausted and Harry simultaneously with Elektra sent a stag and taurus to help. Hopefully it would hold. Everyone started working faster.
"Watch out!" Neville ducked a red flash of light and fired a spell over his shoulder in that direction without looking back. "Thanks!"
Li Sue was too busy casting spells to answer, and Neville rolled to her side, coming up in a crouch and seeing LeStranges firing that reminded him painfully of his father—Don't think about that now, Neville, he cautioned himself. You can't afford to be distracted!—and joined her effort.
The Death Eaters outnumbered his team, and the Aurors had been fighting a splendid retreat, but things were beginning to get hairy. The space around the gallery of Grimmauld Place, after blasting many walls, was only so big, and within ten minutes, if they kept up the pace they were at now, they'd run out of cover. At which point the Death Eaters would undoubtedly start to wonder why the Aurors hadn't simply Apparated away and saved what they could.
No one was down, yet, although Neville had acquired a nasty burn on his right shoulder that he knew would need attention later. Fortunately, it wasn't bothering him enough so that he had to switch wand arms, which would have been very bad in a fight like this one. They had to delay long enough to give Harry and the others time. Everything depended on keeping Lestrange and the bulk of his Death Eaters away from Azkaban—
"Neville," Maggie Smith suddenly shouted, fear in her voice.
He had to cast a Shocking Spell in Selwyn's direction before answering. "What?"
"He's gone!"
"Who's down?" Neville' heart leapt into his throat. He hated to lose people, hated to sacrifice friends and allies in a cause that, although just, had claimed far too many lives in the last twenty years.
"No one! It's Lestrange and his merry band! They are gone!"
Harry led the prisoners towards the door, his wand held in a low ready position. After a quick glance outside, he gestured Diggle forward, and the man was only too glad to comply. Stepping outside his cell under his own power for the first time, Diggle looked around and noticed at least three other Aurors, one of whom was helping a battered wizard hobble from the next cell.
One of the Aurors turned to Harry. "We've got all the prisoners from the far end, Potter," Elektra Einstein said calmly. "Now, all we've got to do is work our way back towards the meeting point."
"Good." Potter turned and gestured far down the cell row. "Watch that direction."
"Harry Potter." Diggle's fellow prisoner was staring at Potter with wide eyes and a slack jaw. He stumbled, and the slight Auror supporting him almost didn't catch him.
"Hey, Angelina's father, right?" Harry replied quietly. "She is going to be happy to see you."
Angelina's father blinked. "You're dead. They told us you were dead."
"Almost." The smile didn't touch Harry's eyes, which were darting from side to side, watching everything around them. He seemed more tense than the other Aurors, but more watchful as well, and they were clearly turning to him for leadership.
"Dementors!" Dedalus managed to gasp as he collapsed and hit the floor, dragging the slim Auror down with him. Angelina's father staggered, bouncing into the wall and leaning on it hard. Harry's vision wavered, darkening rapidly, but he could see a dozen of the creatures heading their way. He saw one reach Mr. Johnson before the black wizard could raise his hand—the Dementor clamped its hands around Johnson's neck and was bending over—Harry stumbled, almost collapsing, and hit the wall next to Dedalus. His wand was up, and Dedalus caught a glimpse of the grim determination etched into his pale features as his wand whipped forward.
"Expecto Patronum!"
An enormous silver stag leapt out of Potter's wand and bowled over the first Dementor as it brought Johnson's face up; the Dementor flew backwards and then turned and fled, defeated. Immediately, the stag swept around to face the other incoming creatures, diving into their midst and scattering them. A moment later, a female wizard's voice could be heard casting the Patronus Charm, as she ran up from behind them. Her Taurus joined the stag in chasing the Dementors away.
The cold feeling retreated as suddenly as it had come, and Harry blinked, pushing himself away from the wall and helped Dedalus to his feet. Harry had walked over to Angelina's father, steadying the larger man as he struggled to stand.
"I'm okay," he said shakily.
Harry nodded; his eyes were sharp. "I think we've been made."
"Agreed," the woman responded, and Dedalus turned slightly towards her as he shoved himself free of the wall. He knew Elektra, and was surprised that he hadn't recognized her voice or her Patronus—but such worries were for another time. She had been an intern during the war. Looking over her shoulder, he spotted the knot of prisoners that she'd clearly been with before rushing forward to meet the Dementors.
"Nice timing, by the way," Harry said to Elektra, and Harry suddenly recognized the slender young man as Mundungus Fletcher. His jaw dropped at the sight of him.
"Not good enough," he replied testily. Elektra's eyes were on Potter, but he was looking behind her.
"I think," Dedalus said slowly, "that you're going to have to sacrifice some of us less mobile prisoners for the sake of speed."
Harry gaped. "De—"
"Not possible." Rachel cut them both off with a hard look on her face. She walked straight up to Dedalus and looked the battered man in the eye. "I'm not leaving anyone in Azkaban; I know too well what this place is like." She extended her wand. "Here. Just do it."
Dedalus looked dubiously at the wand. "I'll last an hour if we're lucky," he warned. "And my left leg is broken. I won't get very far without the Quick Heal, and I refuse to slow anyone down."
"If we're here for longer than an hour, we're all dead anyway."
Sighing, Dedalus took the wand and pointed it at himself.
Harry felt his eyebrows rise as Dedalus cast the spell; he remembered, oh so clearly, learning about the Aurors' emergency Quick Heal Spell in training, and definitely recalled Proudfoot lecturing him high and low about how never to use it unless it was a genuine emergency. Well, if this isn't a disaster, I don't know what qualifies, Harry thought to himself. The look on Dedalus's face told him that the pain had faded very little, if at all, but the older man straightened and was able to support his own weight. Harry knew that the spell wouldn't last long and that the damage would be worse when it finally wore off, but in the current situation, even that seemed like an improvement.
"Thanks," Dedalus said to Rachel.
"No problem. Let's get—"
Red light flashed over their heads, narrowly missing the slender Auror who had been supporting Dedalus only moments before. "Get down!" Elektra cried, and the four Aurors, both old and new, dove to the sides, seeking what shelter they could from the prison's walls. For a moment, Dedalus considered ducking back into his old cell, but decided that he'd rather risk it then go back there.
Hermione couldn't sleep. Something was wrong. Something was there. Something was going to happen. She felt uneasy wandering around the corridors thinking about it.
She closed her eyes and the familiar blue eyes flashed through her mind again. It was like a sixth sense. It was intuition. She just had a bad feeling about this day. Wandering around at this time of the night, Hermione was surprised to see Trelawney walk out of the kitchen with cakes in her her hands. Trelawney looked at her and opened her mouth.
Suddenly, she dropped everything and looked at her strangely. Hermione's brow furrowed and she glanced down at the scattered object when Trelawney began to speak.
"When Spares are spared,
When time is turned,
When unseen children murder their fathers, then will the Dark Lord return."
Hermione's heart leapt out. Her throat closed and she couldn't bear it anymore. The goosebumps on her skin rose and suddenly everything felt so silent and slow.
She raised her wand in familiar incantation. Silver sparks shot through her wand and her otter came out, then left with her magic.
Trembling, Hermione helped Trelawney pick her things up.
"Stupefy!"
A red jet of light issued from their side, and suddenly Harry saw one of their shadowy opponents go down. Then he heard Bulstrode's voice.
"Oh, is that you, Potter?" he taunted. "Have you been foolish enough to enter Azkaban? I hope you know you won't be leaving this time!" He easily blocked a spell that Rachel sent in his direction, and Rachel's shield evaporated under the strength of Bulstrode's attack.
"Nox," Harry hissed under his breath, and suddenly all the lights went out in the corridor and they were plunged into darkness. He thought he heard someone on their side curse angrily.
"Do you think you can hide, Potter?" Bulstrode's voice demanded, laughing. "The darkness is my friend! Avada Kedavra!"
Green light flashed high over Elektra's head, impacting with the wall and making metal fragments spray everywhere. A moment later, Harry heard a reverberating gong sound in the prison that sounded much like thunder; with a start, Harry realized realized that it was Lisa's rescue team's trouble signal.
"Is that the best you can do?" Elektra called back in response to Bulstrode's taunts, but he laughed.
"Calling for friends? And here I was, thinking that you'd be man enough to fight me!" He laughed again, and the sound of it sent a shiver down Harry's spine. Somewhere to his left, he heard movement, but Bulstrode wasn't finished. "Lumos," he hissed under his breath, and Harry caught sight of his ghostly outline just before his wand zeroed in on Rachel's crouching form. "Ava—"
"Everbero!" He clearly hadn't been waiting for Harry to reveal himself, because his strike spell hit Bulstrode full in the chest and sent him flying backwards, where he crashed into the distant wall, unmoving. "Expelliarmus!"
His wand sped into Harry's hand, and then everything went dark as Bulstrode's spell extinguished. There was no sign of anyone else being here and Harry shuddered to think what was happening outside with the shield guards. Ron could hold it for some time and Madam Bones was even better but then a herd of Death Eaters wouldn't be easy even for her. A moment later, the corridor lights were restored as Harry mumbled another spell, and the Auror turned immediately to Dedalus, who shook his head. "Give it to Fletcher," the older man said weakly. He was clearly still in pain.
"Here." Fletcher caught the tossed wand neatly and turned it over in his hand.
"Thanks."
Harry nodded. "Everyone all right?" A chorus of affirmative answers greeted his question as Aurors and prisoners picked themselves up off the ground. "Good. Let's get out of here before something else goes wro—"
"Look out!" Angelina's father cried, spinning towards the direction from which the other prisoners were approaching. On instinct, Harry felt his wand raising and turning in the same direction, and he barely managed to deflect the Stunning Spell that was on his lips when he recognized the new group of people. Turpin was in the lead, which made relief color Harry's voice. "Lisa."
Lisa's sharp brown eyes took in the unconscious Bulstrode with a glance. "I see you've been busy," she commented.
"Quite," Fletcher grunted. "Let's get out of here. I don't think I can hold much longer."
Harry spoke after only a few seconds. "How many did you find?" he asked Lisa.
"Five," she replied immediately. Harry noticed that his companion seemed years older now, and the determination on her face was clearly mixed with joy. "We ran into Avery on the way, but he'll be out for awhile. I don't think they were the only ones. I think there are more."
They set off down the corridor as fast as they could, which, unfortunately, wasn't a great speed. Various injuries slowed the prisoners down, and Harry saw some supporting each other while Aurors alternated between lending a hand and keeping a lookout. It seemed to take forever to work their way up the long row of high security cells, but finally the ungainly group made its around the first bend and soon they had nearly passed the last bend when they heard screams.
Harry's throat went dry as sandpaper as he recognized the voice. Ron. He froze right there until he had enough sense to run. Once he had, he ran at full speed. Not Ron. Not Ron! A cold chin ran down his spine as he saw a yak run before him and Harry noticed Schuyler had used his mind. Ron was being cornered by Dementors. His shield hardly holding out, protecting him and Terry at the same time. A horrible image of him holding out like this protecting Sirius flashed through his mind and Harry at once released his stag. His happy memories faded away as he heard several more bursts of magic around him.
Once he looked up he noticed Madam Bones and Pappenforth with six cloaked figures, fighting hard to keep Mike out of harm's way whose shield was deflecting as he looked at them. Pappenforth's left arm wasn't moving. Madam Bones had her cheek bleeding. Harry immediately rushed to Ron as the herd of Dementors left him and Terry and as soon as he crouched the Killing Curse made way to him and he was pushed down in a second by a spell. Harry made a mental note to thank Goldstein for his senses.
Rabastan's laughter made way to Harry's ears and as he looked up, a wand was already pointing in his direction and firing the killing curse.
Harry was moving already, and a gesture with his wand tore a hole through the wall; the Killing Curse made the wall explode and lit the ground between Harry and Rabastan on fire, lending eerie light to the proceedings.
Then the duel began in earnest. Harry hardly had time to think, only to react. Bright lights flashed in the air, crossing and bending around one another. In the background, Harry heard shouting, and thought that came from his companions, but he didn't have time to be sure. He could only concentrate on Rabastan's reactions.
Harry was struck with Rabastan's Cruciatus Curse even as his Confounded Spell hit the Dark wizard. Harry flew backwards with a cry, hitting the wall only inches from Ron's startled feet, but was gratified to see Rabastan also down, although temporarily, which broke the torture curse's hold on him. Ron tried to grab his arm and pull him aside, but Harry rolled forward and out of his reach, coming up in his old dueling crouch.
"Reducto!" he bellowed, but a wave of Rabastan's wand deflected the spell upwards, making a section of the wall cave in with a crash almost making Bones fall. Harry immediately cast a Stunning Spell, hoping that the effort of avoiding the falling rock would distract his opponent, but had no such luck and narrowly missed being hit by another Cruciatus Curse.
In the meantime, Rabastan conjured a swarm of snakes that reared up at Harry, seemingly willing to swallow him whole—a quick Incinerator Curse made the snakes burst into flames, but it had taken precious moments, and a Bone Breaker Curse ate through Harry's neglected shields. Gasping, he doubled over, feeling ribs crack and splinter; there was barely time to roll out of the way before another jet of green light filled the space where he'd just been. Still in motion, Harry raised his wand quickly, knowing that there was no time for pain.
There was no time for thought or reaction. There wasn't even time to breathe. Only to act.
The corridor between his companions and escape was becoming the stage of a light show. Curses filled the air, and Harry blocked some by pure instinct and avoided others; smoke was drifting around them, making the duel seem absolutely surreal. Ron blocked an Impediment Curse and tore another door off its hinge and sent it flying at Rodolphus. Immediately, the door burst into flames, but Ron was already moving sideways, anticipating the Killing Curse before it was cast. The wall behind Harry exploded, and he heard someone shout.
Quickly, he waved his wand, and his stag and Ron's Otter took care of the Dementors trying to come in and join the duel. Coming up into a crouch and seeing stars, Harry fired off a shield that intercepted Rodolphus' next curse, then Harry shot to his feet, acting on pure instinct and forgoing thought of any laws or rules, or even of common sense.
"Imperio!"
"Imperio!"
Rabastan's imperious didn't affect Harry at all but Harry's curse made Rabastan lose it. Harry at once willed him to go and duel his own. He needed to get his team out of here before whole herd came. He looked back at Ron who was helping Terry up and casting a shield around.
"RON!" he hollered and Ron's head shot up in search for him. As his eyes found Harry, he seemed to have breathed in relief. "RON! Quick heal Terry and walk towards the yacht. Get it ready." Ron nodded and at once began to work.
Harry looked back up at the ceiling and sent three stags up there in support of Mike. To free Pappenforth of his two attackers, Harry at once willed Rabastan to blast them.
He sprinted towards the door, and the crowd of prisoners and Aurors split to allow him passage. Upon reaching the rusted Portal. He noticed it was closed, and a cold feeling began to creep its way into his stomach. Don't be silly, Harry told himself. Lisa just must have closed it behind her. Without further hesitation, he wrenched the Portal off.
And came face to face with thousands of Dementors at once.
Harry blasted the Portal off. A cry of pain followed by a bright flash of light came from the other end of the hundred foot long hallway. Harry glanced around himself wildly, hoping to find a way out, but he knew there were none. The short hallway had just become a killing ground. They were trapped.
"Pappenforth! Mike! Bones!" he shouted, gesturing quickly to the three Aurors closest to the ceiling. "The wall to the right! Blast it now!"
"Why?" Mike shouted.
"Just do it!" Harry cried, pointing his wand at the rocky wall and letting lose the most destructive curse he could think of. His earlier attempt to collapse the walls into Rabastan had weakened it considerably, but Azkaban was a sturdy structure. The others followed his example, shooting spells straight up at the floor, and the floor began to shake once more—
Rumble.
Beta credits- StopTalkingAtMe.