-.-

Chapter 21

The Fall of Hogwarts

-.-

Harry awoke very early the following morning, even before the California sun began to creep over the horizon. Leaving Hermione to rest, Harry made his way to the attic, his mind full of ideas and plans for the coming assault on Hogwarts. Even though no one wanted to admit it, they all knew that if they lost the school, the war was over. Catherine was already in the attic when Harry arrived. She sat on the sofa, flipping through the Book of Shadows.

"What are you doing up here so early?" Harry asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." Catherine muttered stiffly. It was clear that Catherine was still angry, and Harry didn't blame her.

"Okay, look... I know you're still mad, but..."

"Damn right, I'm mad!" Catherine exclaimed, leaping to her feet. "What were you thinking? Obviously not about Mum, or me, or anyone else but yourself!"

"Catherine..."

"You have no idea what she felt when she found out what you'd done, do you? I felt her heart break... I felt her world fall apart around her, and she had no idea what to do! I've never felt so many different emotions from one person in my life! You had to know how bad it would hurt her when she found out, but you didn't care! All you were concerned about is what made you happy!"

"Kat, that... that's not... you know, you're right. It's true. I didn't care, but I do now. Your mother is trying to get passed this, couldn't you try too?"

"Mum's hurting far more than she's letting on," Catherine told him, sadly.

"I know... and I want to help her, but... I honestly don't know how. Not to mention, now really isn't the time. This is something we'll have to deal with after all this is over. Let's put it aside for now and focus on the task at hand."

"Fine," Was all Catherine said. Harry sighed.

"So, what do we have?"

"Well," Catherine began. "I figure Voldemort'll launch his attack with everything he has. Reports say his army is at least two thousand strong... and that's only the Death Eaters. He has Werewolves, Dementors, Giants, Acromantulas, Chimaeras… and a number of Inferi."

"Is that all?" Harry asked, sarcastically.

"Well, I certainly hope so. Fortunately, the magical community has risen to the challenge. Elves, Nymphs, Trolls, Fairies, just about every force of good in the world is rallying at Hogwarts. The Order managed to get Griffons, Hippogriffs, Erumpents and even a large group of dragons. Even so, Voldemort outnumbers us ten to one.

"Dumbledore's constructing a massive wall around the castle, but even if it's completed by the time Voldemort attacks, it won't take him long to get through it, and the inner wall can't stand up to the onslaught Voldemort will unleash. We need to gain an advantage before his forces breach the outer wall, but if we haven't done it before he reaches the inner wall... it'll be over. To be honest, it's not looking good."

"It's never looked good, Kat," Harry said consolingly. "All we can do is hope for the best."

"And when that doesn't work?" Catherine asked grimly. Harry just shrugged.

"We fight them until we don't have any fight left in us."

-.-

Night was falling on the day before Voldemort would launch his attack. The outer wall had been completed the day before, and the inner wall had been heavily reinforced. Hermione stood atop a tall tower situated on the inner wall. The tower was tall enough to overlook the entire field of battle. Catherine appeared at her side. She appeared to be deep in thought.

"Can't sleep?" Hermione asked without taking her eyes off of the school grounds.

"No." Catherine said simply.

"Pre-fight jitters, I suppose." Hermione replied

"Yeah... I guess." Catherine muttered. They stood in silence for several minutes, neither speaking until Catherine asked, "So, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that unless we get a miracle tomorrow... we won't stand a chance." Hermione reached into her pocket and retrieved a small potion bottle. "This is a power enhancing potion," Hermione explained, looking as though she wished for nothing else than to be doing anything other than what she was right then. "I know you've learned to control that shield of yours, with this; you may be able to shield the entire castle with it. Unfortunately, it won't last long, and you'll be drained, both physically and mentally. It's up to you whether or not you use it. Dumbledore said to give you the choice."

"I don't need a choice; I already know what I have to do." Hermione pressed the bottle into Catherine's hand. The look on her face indicated she wished Catherine had refused.

"You should try to go to sleep," Hermione said softly. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

"Yeah, I guess I should try." Catherine turned and walked toward the door. "Night, Mum," She called over her shoulder.

"Goodnight, sweetie," Hermione said, leaning against the cold railing.

-.-

"Mione? Mione, wake up." Hermione's eyes fluttered open and she glanced up at the figure who had awoken her.

"Harry? What are you doing?"

"You fell asleep up here, sweetheart." Harry whispered, gesturing off the side of the tower.

"Oh, yeah…" she replied blearily, rubbing her eyes. "I suppose I did. What time is it?"

"It's still early, Mione. About three in the morning, I'd say. I've been looking for you for an hour."

"I'm sorry, Harry... I..."

"I don't need an explanation." Harry said with a smile. He carefully lifted her into his arms and orbed them to the room they'd been living out of until they could return to the manor. Harry carefully laid her down on the bed and smiled when he noticed she had already fallen asleep again. He gently stroked her hair.

"It'll be over tomorrow, Mione." Harry whispered. "Voldemort will be gone for good." Harry laid down beside her and sighed. If only he could believe it would end so well.

-.-

"Are you ready?" Hermione asked of her daughter six hours later as she and Catherine entered the Astronomy Tower.

"As I'll ever be…" Catherine muttered before downing the contents of the bottle Hermione had given her the previous night.

"How long does this stuff last, anyway?" she asked.

"Two hours. After that, the shield will go down and our only hope is gone." Catherine cast a glance out toward the edge of the Forbidden Forest where Voldemort's army waited.

"How long until Voldemort begins his advance?" Catherine inquired.

"No idea," Hermione replied. "Whenever he chooses, I suppose. Everyone needs to be ready so when he does attack, we're... Get down!" A massive ball of fire shot away from the edge of the forest, arced over the outer wall, and crashed into the base of the Astronomy Tower. The door behind them flew open and Harry, Ron Luna, Ginny and the Halliwell sisters raced through.

"It's time." Harry said solemnly. He glanced toward Piper, Phoebe and Paige. "Hermione, could you take them to Hogsmeade?"

"What?" Piper exclaimed furiously, while her sisters glared. "We want to help! We can't just leave!"

"You can, and you will," said Hermione. "You don't have any powers, but that won't make Voldemort any less inclined to kill you. You've done all you can for us." The sisters nodded, clearly unhappy. Hermione took their hands in hers and they vanished in sparkling blue-white light.

"Alright then, Kat," said Harry. "Go for it." Slowly, Catherine raised her hands. A massive purple-blue shield erupted from her palms, expanding out to cover the entire castle. Sweat immediately began to stream down her face, and she whimpered as though a terrible pain were sweeping her body.

"Kat..."

"Go!" She shouted. Harry grabbed the other's hands and they too orbed out. "And hurry..." she whispered to no one.

-.-

And so it began. Two massive armies, one greatly outnumbering the other, met on the field of battle. The shield kept both spells and people from reaching the castle, but Catherine was unable to keep the shield up for long. After her return from Hogsmeade, Hermione stayed in the tower with her daughter to keep an eye on her.

"Mum... I... I can't do... it anymore." Catherine was struggling just to speak.

"It's okay." Hermione said warmly. "You've bought us some time, let's hope it was enough. Look, I'm going down there to help. Stay here and rest sweetie… I'll be back." Hermione orbed out, leaving Catherine to watch as Voldemort's army advanced passed the Outer Wall, and listen to the screams of the dying.

After the loss of the shield, the outer wall fell quickly. That was when the battle began in earnest. Dragons soared through the sky, burning long trails into the earth and leaving behind the smoking carcasses of those unlucky enough to get in their way. Catapults fired flaming balls into the sky, which crashed upon the inner wall, blasting large sections of Hogwarts' last line of defense into dust. It was then that everyone knew the battle was over. Voldemort had claimed the castle.

"Move, move now!" A jet of green light shot through the air. Ginny managed to duck just in time. She looked up desperately at Harry.

"Harry, it's over!" she exclaimed. "We've got to go! Now!"

"No!" Harry shouted as a dragon shot overhead, blasts of fire leaping from its mouth. A Dementor soared down from the sky and grabbed Ginny. Before Harry could even think about casting a spell, the Dementor had already performed its deadly Kiss. The Forbidden Forest began to burn from all the fire until it became a blazing inferno.

Hermione and Luna had their backs pressed together, fighting off hundreds of enemies that charged toward them from every direction. Both of them grew numb from the constant killing. Luna screamed as a jet of green light caught her in the side. She fell, dead, to the ground. At that moment, all the Death Eaters stopped attacking. They stood, unmoving, in the shadows.

Around them, the Forest burned. Hogwarts was a shattered wreck; even the Great Hall had collapsed in on itself. The ground was drenched in the blood of those that had fallen. The screams of the dying filled Hermione's ears, and the stench of death made her feel sick. Battles continued to rage everywhere. Spells streaked through the night, fire and energy balls incinerated everything they hit.

A tall Death Eater stepped forward and raised his wand. Hermione simply watched him. Just as he prepared to cast the deadly curse, a scream split the night. A herd of centaurs charged onto the scene, peppering the Death Eaters with arrows. A swirling blue-white light filled the area and Catherine appeared. She and Hermione ducked behind a tree.

"Dumbledore's gone, Mum. He was in the Great Hall when it collapsed. There's no way he could have escaped."

"Then it truly is over..." Hermione whispered.

"Hermione!" Harry darted toward them from across the grounds, blasting a Death Eater off his feet as he went. He huddled with them behind the tree.

"Harry, Dumbledore's..." Hermione began.

"I already know, Ron told me. I'm calling a full retreat. You're going to Beauxbatons."

"What do you mean, 'you're going'?" Catherine asked.

"I'm going after Voldemort. If things go well, I'll meet you there later. If not... well..."

"You can't..."

"I have to!" Harry shouted. "Go, now." Catherine gave him a furious glare, and orbed away. Hermione hesitated.

"I'm staying with you." Hermione told him.

"No..."

"C'mon, we're wasting time, let's..." Hermione froze mid-sentence. There, barely ten feet from them, stood Lord Voldemort idly twirling his wand between his long, slender fingers.

"Well, well, well..." Voldemort said, his eyes burning with hatred. "All this time... all this death... simply for this moment. I must say, in a way, I'm disappointed. I hadn't thought it would be this easy."

"It's not going to be." Harry growled.

"Don't be so sure." Voldemort said with an evil smile. In a flash, the Dark Lord vanished, and reappeared behind Hermione. He placed the tip of his wand against her neck.

"I underestimated you, Ms. Granger. The use of that potion to survive my curse was very impressive."

"It won't be the last mistake you make." Hermione muttered. Voldemort didn't reply and instead glared at Harry.

"One false move, Potter, and she's dead. And this time, I guarantee you, it will stick."

"You don't want her," Harry said resolutely, as though simply stating it made it the truth. You want me. So, just... just let her go, and... and you can take me and the school." Voldemort laughed.

"Oh, I'm going to do that anyway. Why not remove a thorn in my side as I go?" With incredible strength, Voldemort shoved Hermione away. She stumbled forward and found herself standing roughly halfway between Voldemort and Harry. She looked up at Harry, who was staring at her with terror in his eyes.

She felt it rather than heard it, the sudden rush of wind erupting behind her. Then she felt a gentle, warm tingling on her back and she lost all feeling whatsoever. It was strange, she thought. She would have imagined that it should have hurt, dying. But this… this was practically peaceful. She never knew that she collapsed to the ground, never heard the enraged scream from Harry as she fell… in fact, she knew nothing else at all.

Voldemort turned and disappeared as Harry's world froze. The battles still going on around him no longer mattered. The fires which blazed at unbelievable temperatures made no difference. Harry fell at Hermione's side. He placed his hands over her to heal her, but knew it was already far too late. Harry gently cupped her cheek, which was still warm, and kissed her.

"I'm sorry, Mione... I'm so, so sorry." Harry slowly stood, wiping the tears from his eyes. A soft hand gripped his arm and he looked up. Catherine stood there, tears running down her face.

"Catherine… Kat, how…?"

"I don't know, I don't care," she whispered. She cast a glance at her mother's body. "I know what you want to do... and believe me, so do I. It won't bring her back, nothing will. We need to go... Rally what's left of the Order and try to do something... anything. Don't get yourself killed because you want revenge." Harry nodded and together, they orbed away.

What remained of the broken Order fled in every possible way they could. Those that couldn't flee were cut down by Voldemort's unrelenting assault. By midnight, Voldemort's flag flew over what had once been thought the most secure structure on Earth.

-.-

Harry and Ron sat in the living room of the manor. Ron stared blankly into the fire which flickered in the fireplace. Harry sipped at a cup of coffee. It had already gone cold, but Harry didn't care. Catherine appeared in front of them with Piper and Phoebe.

"Where's Paige?" Harry asked, coming out of his grief-induced trance. Piper bowed her head and Phoebe burst into tears and sank into an empty chair.

"Voldemort launched a simultaneous attack on Hogsmeade," Catherine told him quietly "Paige... didn't make it."

"Oh, God..." Harry said. "I'm sorry."

"What do we do now?" Piper asked, trying to turn the conversation away from Paige. Harry shook his head.

"Nothing,"

"Nothing?" Piper asked. "How can we not do something?"

"There's nothing we can do, Piper!" Harry shouted. "It's over... Voldemort controls the school. Hermione, Paige, Luna, Ginny, Dumbledore... they're all dead. If we couldn't stop Voldemort with the entire magical community backing us, what do you think we can do?"

"I... I don't know." Piper said sadly, looking around at the others. "I just..."

"I know..." Harry said. "It's not right... it... it's not fair, but... they're gone, and there's nothing we can do. Come on, it's not safe for us here. I know a place we can go to hide. Voldemort won't come looking for us there." Harry reached out and took Piper and Phoebe's hands. Catherine took Ron's and lifted the Book of Shadows into her arms. Without a second glance, the small group orbed out of the manor and didn't look back.