Disclaimer: I couldn't own it even if I wanted to! JK Rowling owns all rights to Harry Potter.
Thanks to the following reviewers: Princess Eclipise, Emmas Padawon, Kates Masters Sister, Kates Master, Lady-Mearle, grannyHPfan, Bakakun, Tai Greywing, orangeokapi13, Freja Lercke-Falkenborg, lostindreams1001, HeyLookTheSnitch and MoonylovesFlo!
A/N: Hey peeps! Still feeling a little angsty as the weather here is miserable!
Those of you who were wondering about faster updates, I'm sorry but they will continue once a week for the foreseeable future. I know for the last story I started double updates about this time but to be honest I'm just not writing this story fast enough. I've also got my fictionpress story and my novel on the go, so I'm juggling quite a bit right now.
Plus I worked out that if I continue once a week, I can post my last chapter on Christmas day! Cool!
IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ: Okay, I'm off to Uni next Monday and I'm not going to have internet access. And I'm not sure when I'll get internet access, but rest assured, I will get internet access as soon as I possibly can! What I'm saying is that I'm not sure when the next update will be. I'll put it up sometime next week and then I'll carry on updating every Wednesday like normal.
OOO
Chapter 21"Death Eaters at the Bastion line! Emergency lockdown of ground floor in two minutes! All Aurors report to second floor recovery ward immediately! This is not a drill! I repeat, Death Eaters at Bastion line!"
"Let's move!" James ordered, drawing his wand and racing for the door. The rest of the group followed him. Lily could see people they passed looking terrified. Families were hugging each other and healers were running around preparing the evacuation procedures.
"Ground Floor lockdown in one minute!" Healer Althea's voice was ordering the whole hospital. "All patients and personnel evacuate the ground and first floors immediately. All quarantined patients remain where you are! Emergency evacuation will proceed in shortly.
"What's the emergency evacuation?" Lily asked, as they pushed past the panicking people on the stairwell. People saw their dark blue auror robes and stood aside to let them pass. Kiara, not caring much for the stairwell, was flying above their heads.
"They have emergency portkeys under the beds of the quarantined patients," Frank was explaining from behind her. "Healer Althea can activate them and transport them to a secured location at the ministry."
Lily analysed this plan in her head. It was a very good idea. Quarantined patients couldn't be let into contact with anyone else, just in case they passed on whatever virus they were infected with. By transporting them to a secure location, they were safe and the Death Eaters would not be tempted to break quarantine to kill them.
"All Aurors in the vicinity report to second floor, recovery ward immediately. All visitors and able-bodied patients please make their way to the visitor's tearoom. Everyone please remain calm!"
"Remain calm?" Sirius asked. "Fat chance!"
Lily had to agree. It was impossible to remain calm when you knew that your death could only be minutes away. The people they passed were stampeding up the stairs as fast as they could, to get as far away from the approaching danger. Healers were levitating patient's beds up the staircase to get them safely to the upper floors. Lily knew the evacuation procedures of the hospital dictated that one member of the staff had the authority to create emergency portkeys in order to get the patients and visitors out of the hospital safely. She hoped that whoever it was was safely upstairs.
There was another explosion from outside the hospital and everyone lost their footing. Lily stumbled down the last few stairs and landed on her face. She got quickly to her feet to avoid being trampled by the oncoming rush of frightened patients. Behind her everyone else regained their balance.
"Bastion defence shields are down!" Healer Althea's voice shouted. "Ground floor lockdown commencing! Emergency portkeys in thirty seconds!"
"They can't lockdown the floor!" Lily shouted in panic. "What if there are people still stuck down there in ICU!"
Everyone knew she was really thinking of Jenny, who's ward was on the ground floor. Lockdown meant magically locking all doors on the ground floor. It was meant to keep the patients safe in the event of emergency, however it also meant that not only were the Death Eaters locked in, but the patients and staff too, unless they got out quickly enough.
"There's nothing we can do for them now," James said. "Come on, they need us."
As they hurried out of the stairwell onto the second floor, Lily couldn't help but feel terrified. She'd already lost Tash. She couldn't lose Jenny too.
Pushing past the people heading up the stairs, the six aurors hurried across the second floor to the recovery room, which was the only part of the Magical bug floor which wasn't quarantined. Lily was relieved to see the rest of James's team and Kiara's team had already shown up and were gathered inside the, now empty recovery room.
"How did you guys get here so quickly?" James asked.
"Bastion host detection spells," said one of the aurors from Kiara's team, who Lily knew was called Phoebe. "Soon as they started attacking the shields we all knew about it. We got in by Portkey. Will and Kingsly are going to try and stop them from outside."
"Emergency Portkeys in five…four…three…two…one!"
In the room across from the recovery room, the beds all disappeared, their patients with them. Lily knew that all the quarantined areas in the hospital were now empty. They were by no means safe however. If the Death Eaters breached one of the quarantined zones they still risked contaminating the whole hospital with the bug.
There was a clatter from the staircase and everyone instinctively drew their wands and pointed them at the stairs. They saw instead, an exhausted looking Juda Althea running towards them.
"Thank goodness you're all here," he gasped. "They're breaching the reception. The ground floor and the first floor are all locked down."
"So if they want to stop us they'll have to fight their way up the stairs," James summarised. "We'll take them out on first floor stairwell. If we need to, we'll pull back to third floor."
"What about second?" another auror from James's team asked.
"No!" Healer Althea shouted in alarm. "If they breach these rooms they could contaminate the hospital!"
"He's right," Frank shook his head. "We can't risk fighting them on this floor. We have to pull back to potion and plant poisoning."
"There are still patients on that floor!" Healer Althea said in panic.
"Then I suggest you order that they be evacuated!" James ordered.
Healer Althea looked severely disconcerted at being told what to do in his own hospital, but he magically magnified his voice anyway.
"Attention all Potion and Plant poisoning healers. Evacuate all patients on the third floor immediately. I repeat. Evacuate the third floor."
"Let's go," Kiara ordered, spreading her wings and taking off towards the stairwell. She shot through the corridor doors, pulling her wings in as she did. Everyone followed her.
"Attention Hospital security, this is Healer Althea," Althea was magically magnifying his voice as he ran after the aurors down the first floor stairwell. "I was second floor on maximum lockdown. No one gets through those doors. That is an order!"
Lily appreciated his thinking. Letting anyone get into quarantined second floor, even if it was empty would be devastating.
"Aurors!" came a vicious voice from the bottom of the stairs. "AURORS ON THE STAIRWELL!"
"Invocatum!" Frank shouted. The Death Eater crumpled at the bottom of the stairs.
"Bring it on!" Kiara shouted, before launching herself off the staircase and into the reception area. Everyone followed her.
The reception area was barely recognisable. All the furniture had been upended or broken and several portraits on the walls were burning, their inhabitants screaming and taking refuge in other paintings. In the middle of the room stood about ten Death Eaters. Lily was instantly on her guard. Ten wasn't enough for a mass attack, especially on a place as big as St Mungos. There had to be more Death Eaters around.
Sure enough, there were holes in the wall, where the Death Eaters had found a weak point in the lockdown and blasted their way into the wards. There were screams coming from the artefacts accidents ward, and Lily was sure she could hear spells being thrown around in ICU.
She didn't have any longer to think however, as a killing curse just missed marking the end of her life. She dropped and rolled away to the side, before springing to her feet and pointing her wand at the offender.
"Invocatum!" she screamed. The spell leaped from her wand, and the Death Eater, obviously not expecting her to move so quickly, collapsed in a heap. Spells were flying above her head and she ducked as a cutting curse came dangerously close to her head.
"They're cutting us off!" came a yell from the door, and the Death Eater shouting was immediately stunned by Kiara, who was flying around the room dodging the jets of light being thrown at her. Lily felt slightly relieved. Obviously, Kingsly and Will were doing their jobs trying to keep the Death Eaters out of the building.
"Luneresca!" Lily shouted. The sliver of light shot out of her wand like a boomerang and hit three Death Eaters. They fell to the floor instantly. Lily felt elated. She usually had difficulty pulling that spell off.
"Avada Kedavra!" Lily felt her elation disappear as she watched Juda Althea fall to the floor, eyes staring terrified at the ceiling. He was dead.
"Avada…" the Death Eater began, but he was cut off as James shoulder charged the Death Eater and he fell to the floor. The incomplete spell bounced from the wand and hit the door leading to the Emergency Healers department. The door shattered and from behind it, several terrified Healers piled out. Lily could see Crystel in amongst them.
"Crystel!" she shouted, hurrying over to the, ducking a few more curses as she went. "Get up to the first floor and wait for us up there!"
Crystel nodded and ushered the rest of the healers towards the stairwell. As she did she caught sight of a crumpled body nearby.
"Oh my God! Juda!"
"He's dead Crystel," Lily shouted. "Get out of here now!"
"Cestor Morandum!"
Lily felt herself slam against the wall of the reception. Her head rang and she saw a Death Eater approach, wand raised.
"I'll teach you the meaning of pain. Cru…"
"Stupefy!"
The Death Eater was blasted off his feet and onto the floor, where he lay as still as a statue. Lily looked up and breathed a sigh of relief.
Jenny stood behind the crumpled Death Eater, wand raised and a furious look on her face. Behind her, five trainee healers stood, their wands also drawn. They looked as though they had fought their way out of the Intensive Care Unit. Many of them were cut and scratched.
"Are you okay Lily?" Jenny asked, picking up her friend. Lily had never been so glad to see Jenny.
"Fine. How did you get through the lockdown?"
"Death Eaters blasted a hole in the wall," Jenny said. "We got rid of them and ran through the hole. There's still a few patients trapped in there though. We have to get them…"
She never finished her sentence. There was another bang and more Death Eaters appeared through the door that led to the street.
"Pull back!" James shouted. "Pull back to third floor!"
Lily looked around the hall. Most of the Death Eaters were gone, but so were a few of the Aurors too. She saw people from James's team lying, obviously dead, on the floor.
"Come on!" Lily shouted, grabbing Jenny's hand. Jenny and the rest of the healers followed her to the stairwell. There were flashes of light behind her as the Death Eaters began throwing curses.
"Come on!" James bellowed at the top of his voice, ushering everyone who was still standing to the stairwell. Frank was supporting Sirius, who appeared to have been hit in the leg by a cutting curse. Kiara swooped around the room once more, throwing two more stunners at the unlucky Death Eaters, before shooting through the door and to the stairwell. James was last through the door.
"There are still patients in ICU!" Jenny cried. "We can't leave them!"
"Jenny we can't hold them off down here!" James said. "We need to pull back! Lily! Lock this door!"
Lily bounded forwards and pointed her wand at the stairwell door.
"Occludfortis!"
There was the sound of a bolt being drawn across the door. Lily immediately cast strengthening charms on the walls too.
"Jenny," James turned to the devastated looking ICU healer. "Send a message to the hospital security. Tell them that Healer Althea is dead. They need to lockdown and secure the third floor immediately."
"What makes you think they'll listen to me?" Jenny asked as the door gave a thunderous shudder.
"You're Jenny the hug monster," Kiara pointed out. "Everyone in St Mungo's listens to you!"
Jenny looked worried, but pointed her wand at her throat anyway. James began to usher everyone up the stairs as far away from the Death Eaters as possible.
"Attention hospital security. This is Healer Tailby. Healer Althea is dead. I need the third floor on lockdown immediately." Jenny's voice echoed as she ran.
There was silence throughout the hospital for a second following Jenny's announcement, except for the panting gasps of the Aurors as they hurried up the stairwell. Then another magically magnified voice appeared.
"Healer Tailby, there are still patients on the third floor. We can't lock it down yet."
"We have to," Jenny replied. "There are Death Eaters on their way up." Jenny paused before adding her next sentence for gravity. "Also, can you see if there is away to strengthen the lockdown on wards one to five in ICU? There are still patients down there."
"There are patients still on ICU!" The voice replied horrified. "With the Death Eaters down there!"
By now, everyone was slumped at the top of the stairs outside the deserted second floor. Jenny looked pained at the thought, but she replied anyway, ignoring the waver in her voice.
"Yes…Increase the lockdown. It might give them a chance."
She lowered her wand and tried to blink back tears.
"There was nothing you could have done," Lily said, taking her hand. "You have to help the people that are upstairs now."
Jenny nodded and swallowed, pointing her wand at her throat again. Above their heads, the aurors could hear the sounds of frantic patients being moved from the third floor up the stairwell.
"All personnel still on the third floor, lockdown will commence in under a minute. Get out of there immediately! All emergency healers, retreat upstairs to floor five. Organise emergency portkeys for all critical patients. All critical patients please make their way to the visitors tea room. All porters and orderlies please head to the tea room…" Jenny paused before considering her next words. "Initiate code ten."
"What's code ten?" Lily asked. Next to her, Nicki, one of Jenny's healers, was looking aghast.
"Code ten means that…" she swallowed. "The porters have to guard the entrance to the tea rooms, and…" she didn't seem able to go on. Anti, another of the healers finished.
"They have to prioritise people," she whispered. Lily felt cold dread pass over her as she realised what Anti meant. With the panic and fear in the hospital, there would be plenty of people trying to force their way to a portkey by faking a severe injury. There would always be desperate people, who would try and bribe or bully their way out of the hospital. The porters and orderlies would stand guard at the entrance and they would have to decide who's injuries or sicknesses were major enough to merit them leaving. It was a horrible prospect but they really had no choice. There simply weren't enough portkeys in the hospital to allow everyone to leave.
Jenny had tears streaming down her face, but she was continuing to give orders.
"All other patients to be moved to the staffroom, hospital shop and library. Spell damage is off limits. I repeat. Spell damage is strictly off limits. All Spell damage healers must prepare for emergency evacuation if needs be…"
"Stupefy!" Lily was on her feet wand drawn. She had spotted the skulking figure approaching the stair case and she had reacted on instinct. Everyone looked down at the crumpled Death Eater.
"They're through the locking charm," James said. "How could they…"
"Voldemort," Lily cut him off, ignoring how several of the people present flinched at his name. "He's the only one of them who could know how to get around my locking charm. He must be here too."
"He's here?" Crystel whispered fearfully. "You–Know–Who is here?"
"I'm willing to bet a few limbs," Lily said, peering over the banisters. Sure enough, marching up the stairs below them were swishing black cloaks, which could only belong to the Death Eaters.
"They're coming!" Lily warned. "We have to move from this staircase. We can't risk making them fight on second floor. We could break one of the quarantines."
"Right everybody upstairs," James ordered. "Away from this floor." Everyone scrambled to their feet and began racing up the stairs towards the third floor.
"Jenny," James caught the healers attention as the ominous sounds of Death Eaters became clearer and louder. "You need to tell security to evacuate Spell Damage."
"James we can't do that!" Jenny said. "Spell damage was full to the brim before this attack, now it's got patients from the other wards up there too! There's too many people, we'll never get them all out in time."
"We need to try," James said. "Someone in the hospital has to be able to do emergency portkeys. It's down in the rule book."
"Yes that someone was Healer Althea," Jenny said sadly as the group arrived on the third floor. "And it may have escaped your notice, but he's dead!"
"Don't argue you two, it won't help!" Lily interrupted. "I can do emergency portkeys."
Everyone stopped in the process of barricading the stairwell. Everyone in Kiara and James's teams that was left standing was lining up around the stairs preparing to hex the Death Eater when they saw them. Now however they all turned to look in surprise at Lily.
"You can?" Frank asked. James however, threw his arms around his wife and kissed her. As he did however, an ear-splitting explosion ripped through the building.
The foundations of St Mungo's gave a hideous lurch and everyone lost their footing. Lily felt James grab her as they both landed on the tiles. The magical lamps above their heads shattered and some of the walls began to crack. From above their heads everyone could hear the sounds of people screaming. One of the lockdowns had obviously been broken.
"They've broken Cauldron Explosions!" came a frightened magically magnified voice from Hospital Security. "Quarantine is broken! I repeat! Quarantine is broken!"
Lily felt fear clench her insides. Cauldron Explosions was the only department in Artefacts and Accidents that wasn't free of the scrofungulus bug that had been released recently. If the Death Eaters had breached the quarantine, then every part of the hospital that wasn't in lockdown was at risk from infection…
Or worse, Lily realised in horror. The whole of London, could be contaminated.
"Lockdown and secure the outer perimeter! I repeat!" Jenny shouted, still lying on the floor, her wand pointing so hard at her throat that it left an imprint. "Lockdown and secure the outer perimeter immediately!"
"But the aurors outside!" Kiara shouted. "They'll be locked out of the hospital! We'll be on our own!"
"We can't let a single particle of the infection out of this building!" Jenny shouted back at the auror. "There are seven million people in that city, most of them muggles! We'll blow the magical worlds cover if we let a highly infectious…"
There was another explosion and Lily knew that the Death Eaters would have heard Jenny's magically magnified message.
"Hospital security!" Jenny said. "Lockdown and secure the hospital! That is an order!"
"There they are!" Lily heard a horribly familiar voice shriek. The last time she had heard it, her friend had been put under the Cruciatus curse. It was the sickeningly unmistakable voice of Bellatrix Lestranges.
The aurors on the stairwell began to fire. The Death Eaters below shot killing curses at the group. Three aurors went down. There was a muffled yell as Kiara hit one of the Death Eaters in the chest with a stunning spell.
"Go!" Lily shouted at the terrified healers. Jenny shoved her friends up the stairs.
"Avada Kedavra!"
There was a scream and a flash of green light. Crystel, who had been trying to help the aurors keep the Death Eaters at bay, tumbled down the stairs, coming to a halt at Bellatrix's feet. The Death Eater looked up with a face of vicious triumph.
"NO!" Jenny screamed, pushing through the aurors and making to leap back down the stairs towards her fallen colleague. Many of the healers screamed. Lily seized Jenny's arms to stop her from charging back towards certain death.
"Tracostor Maxima!" Bellatrix shrieked, brandishing her wand at Jenny. Lily screamed and several of the aurors backed away watching in horror as Jenny fell backwards onto the stairs, clutching her throat. Her eyes were rolling back into her head and she slowly began to turn blue. Two more killing curses were fired and another member of James's team fell to the floor stone dead.
Before Lily could raise her wand and curse Bellatrix, there was a swoosh of wings and Kiara took off down the stairs. She moved so fast that Bellatrix didn't even have time to scream as Kiara hit her wrist with a cutting curse. Swearing foully, Bellatrix dropped her wand and Jenny went limp.
"MOVE!" James roared and everyone began climbing the staircase again. Swooping low, Kiara aimed her wand at the top of the staircase that the Death Eaters were climbing and muttered a hex. The stairs crumbled and there was the unmistakable sound of Death Eaters landing in a heap on the floor. Remus grabbed Jenny and swung her up into his arms. Kiara flapped back down beside Lily and straightened her robes.
"Thanks," Jenny gasped at her, still massaging her throat. "Think I've lost my voice…"
"You? Lose your voice?" Lily asked, as they ran. "Never in a million years Jenny!"
"Don't lose your voice Jen," Remus said. "You need it to say your vows!"
Jenny smiled at him before breaking out in a coughing fit.
"Hospital security!" Kiara magically magnified her own voice as Jenny was otherwise incapable. "This is Kiara Amnell. Lockdown the third floor! I repeat, lockdown the third floor!"
"No!" Jenny gasped. "There are still people down there! They couldn't have had time to evacuate everyone…"
She stopped as another wave of coughing engulfed her.
"They'll never get up now that the stairs are down," Lily said. "Sorry Jenny, but at this point their only hope is to stay put and hope that the Death Eaters don't break the lockdown."
"Amnell?" one of the healers on duty in Hospital Security was obviously confused. "Where is Healer Tailby?" there was a horrible silence. "Is she…?"
"No!" Jenny magically magnified her hoarse voice. "I'm fine! I just got hit with a choking curse! I'm perfectly fine!"
"Oh thank God!" came a hysterical voice that everyone recognised as Lyn Tailby. "Don't do that to me again Jennifer! Do you hear me!"
"Uh oh," Jenny said, taking her wand away from her throat to talk normally. "She only calls me Jennifer if she's really mad at me!"
"Come on," James ordered, from the top of the fourth floor staircase. "We can make our stand up here."
"Claire," Jenny called one of her trainee healers over. "You and Rachel go to the Spell Damage wards. They should have evacuated all the critical people but the wards will still be full. Go give them all the help that they can."
"JENNIFER LOUISE TAILBY!"
"Uh oh…" Jenny winced at the sight of her mother. Lyn Tailby marched out of the Spell Damage ward with Cheryl, Pauline and several other healers close behind. Lyn was sheet white and trembling, but she still managed to march up to her daughter and engulf her in a bone crushing hug.
"Hmm…so that's where she gets it," Sirius remarked dryly.
"Don't…ever…do that to me…AGAIN!" Lyn managed to say between furious hugs and kisses to her daughter. Jenny's face was scarlet as Lyn released her and hugged Remus.
"Thank you so much. All of you." She said moving on to hug Sirius and James together so that their heads banged together.
"Come off in Lyn we're all fine," Frank assured her. "We need to set up a barricade."
"There are some patients on the Spell Damage wards that want to help fight," Pauline said, gesturing to the corridor that they had just come from. In it were about two dozen visitors and patients, all looking scared but determined.
"Frank, James," Kiara said. "Can you guys set up the barricade? We'll find out what's happening with the other civilians."
"Okay," Frank nodded. Lyn and Jenny led Lily, Kiara and the rest of the trainee healers away from the stairwell into the corridor.
"What' the situation up here?" Lily asked.
"We've still got about two hundred critical patients up there waiting for portkeys," Cheryl said. "We evacuated this floor and sent everyone upstairs as soon as they had some space. They've started putting people in the library and stockrooms." She turned to look at Jenny. "The porters initiated code ten, but there's only ten of them up there to keep people out...and there are other problems too."
"Only ten?" Jenny asked in confusion. "What happened to the other fifty porters and orderlies we have running around this hospital?"
Lyn and Cheryl exchanged glances. Lily watched as Jenny's eyes went wide.
"No," she shook her head. "No…they weren't…"
"They were all in the Orderly lodge when we locked down the ground floor," Pauline said sadly. Jenny sank onto the floor, Lily beside her.
"Jenny there's nothing you could have done," she said. "Locking the Death Eaters out is the easiest way to keep the patients safe."
"But they're not locked out are they?" Jenny asked, looking close to tears. "They're breaking through the lockdowns. We're trapping these people and sending them to their deaths."
"What about the Quarantine in Cauldron Explosion?" Nicki asked.
"We locked down the hospital as instructed," Lyn said. "But anyone inside the hospital is at risk."
"Even us?" Kiara asked.
"Yes," Lyn nodded. Lily felt sick with fear at the idea that they could all be exposed to a magical virus.
"What about the people who are being let out of the hospital?" Kiara asked.
"Well that's the problem that the porters are having," Lyn said. "We can't let people take portkeys out of the building if they're infected with the virus. The porters are diagnosing everyone before they leave, but that's why we've still got so many patients on the upper floors."
Jenny groaned.
"So either we let them out and risk contaminating everyone with a scrofungulus virus," she said. "Or we keep them in here with Death Eaters on their way up."
All the Healers looked uncomfortable.
"If Healer Althea were here…" Cheryl said. Jenny's head snapped up.
"Well he's not here is he Cheryl," she said. "And while he's not, we have to manage as best we can. We have a duty to these patients to keep them safe, and that's exactly what we're going to do!"
No sooner had the words left her lips, when another magical message echoed around the corridors.
"Attention all Healers. Magical bugs is under attack. I repeat. Magical bugs is under attack."
"Have they broken quarantine?" Jenny asked fearfully.
"No, quarantine is still unbreached," the healer replied. "What's going on down there?"
Jenny did not answer. Kiara had just fallen to her knees and was lying with her ear pressed against the floor.
"Listen," she said. Everyone bent down with their heads on the tiles. Lily immediately felt sick. They could hear everything going on in Potion and Plant Poisoning. The screams of trapped and terrified patients were easily audible. Lily caught the sound of what sounded like a child under the cruciatus curse.
"Oh God," Jenny muttered. One of the Healers stood up holding their stomach.
"Hospital Security," Jenny said in a choked voice. "Potions and Plant Poisoning is under attack."
"Lily!" Lily snapped her head up at the sound of James's voice. Her husband was running down the corridor towards them.
"They're attacking the stairwell," James announced. Lily and Jenny jumped to their feet. Kiara took off from the floor and streaked towards the stairwell. Sure enough they could all hear the sounds of hexes being thrown around.
"You lot need to get up to the fifth floor," Jenny ordered. "We can try and keep the Death Eaters distracted on Spell Damage while you lot all get out of here."
"And if they get up to the fifth floor?" Cheryl asked fearfully. Jenny looked at her.
"Then you're screwed aren't you?" she said bluntly.
"You're screwed?" Lily asked, grabbing Jenny's arm. "What on earth makes you think you're staying down here?"
"I'm not leaving you all to fight Death Eaters while I get transported to safety," Jenny said stubbornly. "I'm staying to help you all."
"Jenny…" Lyn started to argue with her daughter, but Jenny fixed everyone with a glare.
"I will not sit by and watch my friends die. I'm going to protect them anyway I can."
"Well if you're staying down here then I am too," Lyn said immediately.
"No!" Jenny said. "Mum you go upstairs with everyone else!"
"Jennifer, don't argue with your mother," Lyn said firmly before turning to the rest of the healers. "All of you upstairs now!"
No one wanted to argue with two Tailbys, so everyone hurried down the corridor towards the stairwell. Lily, James, Lyn and Jenny followed, Lily casting Jenny worried looks out of the corner of her eye.
The stairwell was a scene of complete pandemonium. Hexes were being thrown around so quickly that it was impossible to tell where they originated from. Lily, Jenny and Lyn immediately charged towards the pack of aurors surrounding the stairs. James urged Cheryl, Pauline and the rest of the healers up the stairs towards the fifth floor.
"How we doing?" Lily yelled to Frank as she joined him next to the banister. Frank hexed a Death Eater that had inched around one of the walls below them before turning to her.
"We're down by five volunteers and two aurors," he said. "We must have stunned about eleven Death Eaters, but they keep reviving them. So we've got clearance to use stronger curses if needs be."
"You mean…" Lily trailed off. She knew exactly what kinds of curses required official clearance. "You mean we have permission to kill?"
Frank's face flickered for a second as though the thought had hurt him, but at that moment another Death Eater inched into view and fired a killing curse in their direction. Everyone ducked.
"Send them to me!" Jenny hissed, looking menacingly below them for a Death Eater that she could get a clear shot at.
"Jenny what are you doing up here?" Remus asked, his voice rising in fear. "Why didn't you go with the other healers upstairs!"
"I'm not leaving you you prat!" Jenny said good naturedly as she fired a stunning spell at another Death Eater who had been trying to make his way up the stairs.
"Avada Kedavra!" screamed a voice below them. Everyone on Frank's team ducked as a killing curse soared over their heads. From behind them there was a muffled yell and one of the visitors who had volunteered to help fell to the floor.
"You are going down Bellatrix!" Jenny screamed over the banister. Another curse came dangerously close to her head and Lily pulled her down.
"You want to get yourself killed!" she demanded her friend. Jenny was about to retort when there was a sudden sound of breaking plaster and the stairs leading to the fifth floor crumbled into a heap. Everyone ducked with their arms over their heads as plaster and bricks rained down on them. A cloud of dust swept throughout the stairwell.
The fifth floor was now cut off from the rest of the hospital.
Lily raised her head slightly as the sound of collapsing bricks. Through the dust, she could see Jenny, Remus and Frank all doing the same. A hand found hers and she knew James was next to her.
"Everyone okay?" James asked. There was no response as everyone started taking in their surroundings.
"Is anyone hurt?" Kiara called. There were some scattered responses broken by coughing.
"Come on people!" Kiara shouted. "Talk to me! Longbottom!"
"Here!" Frank shouted.
"Potter!" Kiara yelled.
"Ok!" James and Lily shouted together.
"Lupin! Black! Tailby's!"
"We're all fine!" Remus called.
"Candice, Toby, Danny are you there!" James shouted to his three remaining team members.
"Candice is down!" shouted one of the aurors. James ran to inspect his team mate.
"We're all here!" Kiara's team shouted, obviously having just been called.
"Right, everyone else?" Kiara shouted addressing the rest of the volunteers.
"Hospital security," Jenny choked out through a mouthful of plaster dust. "Lockdown the fifth floor stairwell. You've lost your staircase I'm afraid."
"You okay?" James asked. Lily nodded breathlessly.
"Think St Mungos'll need the builders in thought," she said.
"Under the circumstances," Kiara said. "I think that the deteriorating tactical advantage that was previously apparent to our situation has been comprehensively nullified, and it leads me to the conclusion that a strategic alteration of our current location will shortly become necessary."
A profound silence followed this statement.
"You what?" Frank asked. Kiara rolled her eyes and Phoebe came to the rescue.
"Roughly translated from Kiara speak – RUN AWAY!"
"Umm…guys," Remus got their attention. Everyone turned to look at him, most of the group still on the floor. Remus had gone sheet white, and was staring at the bottom of the stairwell, which until a minute ago had been packed full of Death Eaters. Jenny was snarling and Sirius had a black look of fury in his eyes. Together the rest of the aurors peered over the banister.
Standing on the third floor stairwell, with no less than fifty Death Eaters behind him was Voldemort.
OOO
A/N: Oh I do love fight scenes so! Though I was worried that one was getting repetitive. Hope I didn't bored anyone.
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Don't forget, I'm not sure when the next update will be exactly. Sometime next week (fingers crossed). I know it's the nastiest place in the story that I could possibly leave you, but there isn't much I can do about that.
Next Chapter: Thrice defied!
May Stardust fall in your dreams!