Chapter 25
Almost 90 minutes later, eight cloaked figures on broomsticks quietly touched ground several blocks from the Simon residence. Loraine quickly cast a simple warming spell over everyone. There was no sense in walking into a battle too cold and numb to hold your wand.
With cloaks pulled tightly around them to silence the sound they make as they billow, the group walked toward the Simon residence as quietly as possible. Sticking to the shadows of the buildings around them, they snuck through alleyways and over fences. As the group passed a high wood privacy fence, a dog could be heard on the other side investigating the disturbance. It was Loraine's job to ensure the silent passing of the Order and she quickly waved a hand at the dog who collapsed, sound asleep. Remus, who had been watching the dog, turned and gave an approving glance over his shoulder at Loraine. She gave him a wink in return. Loraine was assigned the task of providing all of the menial spells, as she had the largest wealth of magical energy. Even with these very minor tapings into her energy, she would still have more power then anyone else fully charged.
Finally, Albus put his hand in the air and brought everyone to a halt. Looking up and down the street they had come out on; he didn't see anyone. Nor was there a Dark Mark in the sky over the Simon residence to signify a death occurring there. Leaning their brooms against the wall closest to each of them, the Order waited as Albus reached into an inner pocket of his robes and pulled out his small silver Put-Outer. Quickly, he made use of it and the street became pitch black as the lights up and down it went out. He placed the object back into his robes, and with one last look up and down the road searching for any sign of movement but seeing none; he stepped out into the street.
It wasn't until half the group was out of the alley that streaks of red and green started to fly out of the windows and front door of the Simon residence. Shields were quickly thrown up in defense of the onslaught and counter-curses were returned. Shouts could be heard from the inside of the house as the Order sprang into action and raced across the street looking for a more defensive position.
Death Eaters began to pour out of the house and race across the lawn to meet the oncoming attackers. Several members of the group would hold high rewards if brought back to Voldemorte alive, especially Dumbledore, McGonagall, and the Foci.
Loraine took up her spot near the back of the group. She was prepared for a tough fight, but the shear number of Death Eaters that came pouring out of the house shocked her. Professor McGonagall's teaching skills were going to be put to the test as Loraine's concentration would be taxed while trying to provide defensive shields to those who would need it and sending jinxes and hexes towards the Death Eaters.
This is my response to Thoroughly Modern Philly's last review. I sent it to her in an email but wanted to post it in case anyone else was interested:
Thanks for the review, as always!
Don't worry, no offense taken about your comment on the chapter length. Actually, some chapters are short because it is a good breaking point. I didn't want to do the whole battle in one big chapter because I like to build the suspense and then stop for a commercial, so to speak. The suspense hopefully keeps eveyone coming back for more. And if the stats show anything, I am averaging 25 readers or so per chapter and they are very consistant. So something must be working. :)
Chapter 24 was exceptionally short, even for me. : P But it left with everyone taking off on their brooms and heading for battle. If I was just a reader, I would be saying, "Ughh, don't stop there, I want to see the battle." That is the response that I am hoping for out of people. There are about 5 chapters worth of battle and the MM chapter that you have been so patiently waiting for is Chapter 28. So we are getting there.
Throughout the battle, I change perspectives a few times, so this shortens the chapters up a little too because I don't want to confuse people. But my current chapter, chapter 31 is about 5 pages, so it is longer. Hope that explains things. :)