AN: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Can you believe it took me a week to update? Sorry, ya'll but finals are upon me and I am trying to be a good girl, and do my homework and not fail and all that good stuff. You're reviews are LOVELY and this LONG CRAZY INTENSE CHAPTER is dedicated to YOU ALL!
Notes:
Toby- Do not be fooled Toby is a smart boy, he's not going to be written off quite that easily.
Harry/Sirius- There is nothing set in stone, we shall see where it goes my friends.
Timeline Reminder- I have obliviated all of you and you no longer remember that I mistakenly placed the prophecy far too early in my story. It shall come about later.
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Harry couldn't think, move or breathe for a moment. His mind was screaming at him and his heart was beating so fiercely he thought it would explode from his chest. His thoughts were irrational, he knew that black wavy hair, those defined and delicate features. He could only stare, he didn't hear when Severus noticed his presence and screamed at him. It was all muted, it was all so far away. Because all he could see was the blood and that black wavy hair, he'd seen people bleed that way before and he knew what it meant when they did. He felt a powerful cold whip through him, his mind preparing him for the pain that was to come. And he stared at the blood, and watched as it flowed over the fingers Severus had pressed down on to the wound. He watched, but it wasn't until eyelids fluttered and pain filled blue eyes looked at him that he was shaken from his reverie. Blue, like an icy lake not the familiar cloudy grey.
And suddenly everything came back into focus and Harry heard Severus yelling at him.
"For fucks sake, Pierson. Help me!" Severus pressed his hands down harder and there was a gasp of pain that followed.
Harry moved to where Severus was kneeling on the floor next to Regulus Black. He pushed Severus' hands away and pulled open the boy's shirt and saw several deep cuts bleeding freely, but it was the thin black outline of them that worried him. Cursed, he thought and glanced at Severus who was staring at his hands now painted with blood. Harry waved his wand over the boy's chest healing the wounds as best as he could but knew it wouldn't hold.
"Severus, you need to call the Potters, tell Lily to come here immediately." Severus hesitated. "He will die."
Severus moved to the fire and threw some powder into it before sticking his head into the flames. Harry heard half of the conversation but wasn't listening. He looked at the deep gashes that were barely stitched together with amateur magic. He glanced up and met with blue eyes. He brushed a few strands of hair away from the face that was so familiar and yet so different.
"It'll be all right." Harry said.
A few minutes later a disheveled Lily stepped out of the flames and hurried to Harry's side.
"What happened to him?" Lily asked and Harry looked at Snape who shrugged.
"He showed up this way." Came the tense reply from him.
Lily waved her wand and removed Regulus' shirt. She stopped short when she saw the mark on his arm.
"Lily…" Harry said but Lily stood and backed away from him.
"What the hell is this." Her voice was a cold whisper. "What the hell."
"Lily. He's a spy." Harry's voice was calm and direct. "I imagine he's been found out."
Lily's eyes didn't move from the mark on his arm, and Harry understood.
"Lily. He's saved a lot of lives with the information he gave us." Harry said, "He did it knowing he could die, are you going to let him die?"
Harry met Lily's eyes and he could see the unshed tears glistening in them. He could see the battle of emotions waging in her heart and mind and he grabbed her hand.
"Lily." Harry said again. "Lily."
She shook her head violently and then took a step further away.
"It is moments like this Lily, choices like this, that separate us from t hem." Harry said softly.
"Damn you, Harry, damn you." And she pushed past him and knelt on the floor. Harry stepped back and let her work.
He followed Severus into the kitchen and watched from the doorway as he made tea.
"He showed up a few minutes before you did, I don't know how he managed it. He could barely stand." Severus' voice was filled with a bitter anger.
Harry said nothing, he knew what was coming.
"We should have gotten him out of there."
"And what then?" Harry asked leaning against a cabinet.
"We could have hidden him. Something, anything." Severus said as he pulled ceramic cups from the shelf and set them down a little too hard. "It could have been me."
"Yes." Was all Harry said.
"Regulus and I…we've been good friends, that's why he wrote to me at first." Severus said handing Harry a cup of tea. "He knew this was coming. He said he hoped they would kill him, that he didn't deserve anything less for the things he'd done."
"He made his choice, he was young and stupid, but he made the choice." Harry said taking a sip of the tea.
"Not all choices made are so black and white as you'd like to believe." Severus said.
"They are actually, it's the consequences that make them grey." Harry responded and met Severus' intense gaze. "You made yours. You could have been where he is. But you aren't. I don't pity him."
"And everybody says that I'm the heartless one," Severus said with a snort.
"Aw, Sevvy, you know you love me too much to be heartless." Harry said casually with a overly dramatic wink.
Severus pinned him with a glare that would have made Harry cower once upon a time, "Shut up."
Harry shrugged and took another sip of his tea, "You've really got to work on your insults, Severus."
Severus and Harry stayed in the kitchen talking over the moans of pain coming from the other room. Severus told Harry what information Regulus had summoned the strength to deliver, and they spoke in hushed tones about what it meant. They had settled into a tense silence when Lily returned to the room. Her hair was tied back but strands had come loose and were sticking to the sweat on her forehead, her hands and clothing were covered in blood and there was a tempered sadness in her eyes.
"He died." Was all she said and stood there looking as though she were tottering precariously on the edge of a cliff. Harry moved toward her and pulled the small woman into his arms. She didn't cry, only buried her face into his shoulder and held tight to him. He saw the mixed look of jealousy, concern, and grave sadness briefly in the other man's eyes before he turned away and made Lily a cup of tea.
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Harry was exhausted and blood still covered his shirt when he stepped through the fire in the headmaster's office. Dumbledore looked up and surprise faded into dread as he took note of Harry's appearance.
"Harry…" Dumbledore stood.
"It's not mine." Harry said and sat down heavily in the nearest chair. "Regulus Black. He was Snape's source. Suffice to say he is no longer a spy."
Dumbledore sat again and steepled his hands in front of him. "I see."
"He died about twenty minutes ago. We called Lily in, there wasn't much she could do for him." Harry said and rubbed his eyes with his palms. "He'd lost a lot of blood and the wounds they had given him kept reopening, cursed, I'm sure."
Dumbledore frowned deeply and in that moment he looked every day his age, Harry watched as Dumbledore nodded to a picture frame and he turned just in time to see Phineas Black disappear from his frame with a dark look on his face.
"Someone will need to inform Sirius." The headmaster said stroking his beard.
"I'll take care of it," Harry said with a wave of his hand. "There is something else."
The headmaster looked at him and gave him a nod.
"Regulus…mentioned to Severus that Voldemort is planning to move on Hogwarts." Harry let the words sink into the silence. The portraits around them began murmuring and moving from frame to frame to discuss things with each other. "We don't know when, but from what Severus understood…they know a way into the castle."
"Tom has always run from me." Dumbledore's voice was a mixture of disbelief and concern.
"Things change, he'd be a fool to not realize you are behind the Order. He can't take the risk people believing he has fear of you. It weakens him." Harry said. "Hogwarts will fall to him if you let your own pride dictate your precaution."
Dumbledore was taken aback by the bite in Harry's words, "I would not take lightly a threat to the students of this school."
"I should hope not." Harry said and stood.
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Harry had never been to Sirius' flat, it felt like ages since he'd seen the man when in reality it had been only a month. He took the muggle entrance and stood at the doorway for a long time, not quite sure how to say what he needed to say. He'd delivered this type of news before, too many times. But this was different, there were so many things complicating it and Harry knew wading into emotional territory with Sirius was like running through a minefield. He was jarred from his thoughts when t he door opened to show a smirking, half-dressed, Sirius.
Harry stared at him for a moment in confusion.
"I'm an auror, Harry. I have wards." Sirius said with a smile, "I let you stand for a bit but I figured you'd be out here all night if I didn't come collect you."
Harry nodded and followed Sirius in. The flat was sparsely furnished, the furniture was mismatched but it was meticulously clean. Sirius disappeared into another room and Harry continued looking around. He found several pictures on the fireplace mantle. Most of them he had taken. He picked up one and stared at it, it was of him and Sirius. The same one he had thrown on the table so many months ago. The glass was still cracked and Harry ran his fingers across it.
"I left it that way, because…" Sirius spoke from behind him and Harry turned. "Something between us broke that night, Harry, I don't know what but something did. And it still is broken like the picture."
Harry nodded and replaced the picture before taking the glass of firewhiskey Sirius offered him.
"You've changed." Harry said after taking a long drink. "You seem…"
"All grown up?" Sirius offered with a goofy grin. "Yes, Lily and Remus tell me often how proud they are. I suppose maybe it's the auror thing, or maybe it's the paying my own bills thing, who the hell knows."
Harry nodded and took another drink.
"So. I take it you got my letter…that Toby…scary fellow." Another wide smile.
"I…Sirius…" Harry couldn't meet his eyes, grey eyes not blue.
Sirius moved closer placing an awkward hand on Harry's shoulder.
"What?" Sirius asked concern dripping from the words.
"It's…" Harry finally raised eyes and looked at Sirius. "Hell…He looks just like you."
Sirius furrowed his eyebrows and there was an unwilling understanding dawning on his features.
"Harry…" Sirius said not wanting to ask but needing to know, as his eyes drifted over Harry's clothes noticing the bloodstains for the first time.
"Your brother." Was all Harry could manage against the sight of fear and pain in Sirius' eyes.
There was silence, and it was crushing and deep.
"Was it you?" Sirius said and Harry could hear the acceptance in the tone.
"No. Death Eaters." Harry responded.
"Why?"
"He was a spy, Sirius." Harry watched Sirius carefully noting the tenseness of his jaw and the steel doors slamming shut in his eyes. "He was Severus' source."
Sirius was still and silent for such a long time that when he threw his glass Harry jumped when it shattered against the opposite wall. Sirius stared at the spot where the glass lay in pieces.
"Fuck." It was barely a whisper.
"You want to throw mine too?" Harry said offering his glass. Sirius looked at him and pursed his lips.
"Shut up." He said with an tense laugh.
After another moment of silence, Harry spoke.
"I was there, he went to Severus. But he had lost a lot of blood and the wounds were cursed." Harry said. "We called Lily in…but it was too late."
Sirius put his hands in his hair and shook his head. "Fuck."
Harry could see Sirius fighting tears and losing. Harry set his glass on the mantle and pulled the man to him. For several minutes Harry held him and Sirius didn't return the embrace, but slowly his arms fell to Harry shoulders and he wept. Sirius cried without making a sound, it wasn't dramatic, it was precisely controlled.
"I couldn't save him." Sirius' ragged voice was in Harry's ear. "I couldn't save him."
"It wasn't your fault." Harry said.
Sirius pulled away abruptly and wiped his face on the back of his sleeve. He muttered a reparo spell in the direction of the shattered glass and then summoned it to him.
"Right, well. A drink to my brother." Sirius said with admirable composure. "Died fighting on the right side, even if he was a prat to begin with."
And he made his way to the kitchen for the bottle as Harry watched him go. Such an enigma this man was, such a strange rollercoaster his mind must be, Harry thought.
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Sirius opened another bottle of firewhiskey as Harry watched him cautiously. He had expected this. Harry understood Sirius, he understood that to him feeling nothing was better than feeling pain. Sirius was drunk, but not a sloppy, happy sing muggle songs kind of drunk. It was brooding and quiet drunk. Sirius didn't speak, he drank and he refilled Harry's glass and he stared at the flames. Harry was left with no words to comfort him, because the pain of death cannot be placated. So he drank with Sirius and he stared at the flames.
They sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace with enough space for another person to sit between them, Sirius did not reach out for physical comfort and Harry did not move to offer it. When Sirius finally spoke his words were laced with alcohol.
"He wanted to be just like me when we were younger." Sirius didn't take his eyes from the fire, "That was when both of us were afraid of my dad."
Harry looked Sirius, taking in the beauty of his profile, his long hair swinging down in his face as he bent over his glass.
"Even when we were younger, I was never the model son." Sirius continued. "Reg and I…we used to get into so much trouble together, we were all each other had in that damn prison of a house."
"What happened?" Harry asked softly watching as Sirius closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"I got accepted to Hogwarts and…I became everything my parents hated." Sirius said casually. "Gryffindor, friends with mudbloods and blood traitors. Christmas break of first year, I went home and Orion…made his feelings quite clear. And there was Reg, he must have been eight or nine at the time, and he was repeating the words my father said. And I thought…I thought that they had won him. I stopped going home whenever I could avoid it. Summers were brutal and Reg had suddenly become their perfect child, cold and uncaring and hateful. And I resented him because he was what they were but also because he had their adoration."
Sirius swallowed the rest of his glass and poured himself another.
"The night I moved out to the Potter's, Orion was angry about something…I don't really remember what started it. But we were arguing and when he hit me, I hit him back." Sirius took a long breath, "He was a big guy, and me hitting him was like swatting a fly, and I knew I could never win against him, I knew I had to leave. And after, I dragged myself up to my room and I packed what I could. Reg caught me at the door and I remember being terrified that he would tell. But he just looked at me, and he said "Go fast. Dad's just in the kitchen." And I left and I never looked back."
Harry took a long drink and didn't know what to say.
"That was the last time we ever spoke." Sirius said. "He could have called my father, he could have…but he didn't. I hated him for a long time, and he knew it, but he let me go."
Sirius went silent again and Harry reached over and took his hand rubbing his thumb against the other man's knuckles.
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Two weeks later Harry sat at the Hog's Head waiting for Toby. He drank from a dirty glass and watched a hag argue with the waitress. When the door opened and Toby came in he sat up a bit straighter and smiled as Toby sat down.
"How are you, Professor?" Toby said and Harry shook his head.
"Everyone gets such a kick out of that." Harry said. "I'm all right. You?"
"I'm good. In fact, I'm better than good." Toby said and there was a bouncing excitement in his eyes. "I think I've got the spell worked out. I need a test subject."
Harry rolled his eyes, "You just want an excuse to shoot killing curses at me."
"All in the name of research my friend," Toby said and signaled the waitress over, he ordered his drink and turned back to Harry. "How's Sirius."
"I don't know really. I haven't seen him since the night Regulus died." Harry swished the liquid around in his cup. "Remus says he's been staying over at the house a lot."
"I can imagine he doesn't want to be alone." Toby said.
"Right." Harry didn't meet Toby's eyes.
There was an awkward pause.
"How are classes?" Toby asked finally.
"Good. Half the students are gone now, though." Harry said. "I told Alex not to expect any special treatment and he told me I shouldn't expect any either. Yesterday, him and his friends charmed my classroom door to force everyone to admit their most embarrassing secret when they walked through."
Toby laughed. "What secret was it that you shared?"
"Oh, come on now. What kind of professor would I be if I let a bunch of second years get the best of me?" Harry said with a scoff. "Although half of the girls in the class admitted that they were in love with me. That was embarrassment enough."
Toby laughed again. They chatted aimlessly for a bit until Toby could contain himself no longer. He finished his drink and stood.
"Lets get to it."
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They stood in the room of requirement thirty minutes later, the room was clean and bare. But for the table on the far end that held a first aide kit. Harry rolled up the sleeves of his shirt while Toby took off his robes, leaving him in a button-down shirt and slacks.
"All right. The incantation is subsisto nex." Toby began, drawing his wand. "The movement is a quick cutting line across right to left, like this." Toby demonstrated by swiping his wand across in front of him. "And then a jab forward like this." Toby thrust his wand in the air. Now it's important that you've got the same mindset as with parietis diligo, but it shouldn't have to be constant. More like a patronous. One good feeling will do it for you."
Harry was nodding as he was practicing the wand movements.
"Got it?"
"We'll see I suppose." Harry said and looked at the other man.
"Lets give it a go then." Toby raised his wand. "Avada Kedavra!"
"subsisto nex!" Harry yelled out and a thick white film shot from his wand and stood between him and Toby like a dirty window. Harry had to jump out of the way as the green light shot through the shield shattering it like glass.
"Well, not quite right then." Toby said tapping his wand against his chin. "Try it with more of a poke than a jab."
"A poke?" Harry asked.
"Ready?" Toby said with a smirk and then "Avada Kedavra!"
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Harry wasn't sure why he was running. He could have apparated, but he ran. When he had heard he had flooed to Sirius' flat and found it empty. 12 Grimmald place was about ten blocks from Sirius' apartment and Harry saw the smoke as he rounded the corner onto the street. There were muggle firefighters out there with their ridiculous hose, yelling and screaming while a crowd of onlookers stood by. Harry approached at a quick walk, eyes scanning the crowd, he looked toward the flames and saw Sirius standing just to the side of the house watching it burn.
"Sirius!" Harry yelled out from a few feet away, and Sirius turned and gave him a smile that was haunted.
Harry reached him and drew out his wand, "Sirius…"
"Don't bother, I'd rather watch it burn." Sirius said and turned his eyes back to the fire. He took a drag off of the cigarette he held.
"What happened?" Harry asked dumbly staring at Sirius.
Sirius looked at him and cocked his head with a strange smile on his face, he raised his hand and pointed at the sky, where the dark mark hung in a cloud of green smoke. Harry didn't know how he'd missed it, but there it was.
"Turns out, the dark lord" Sirius' voice was filled with contempt, "Doesn't take kindly to traitors."
It wasn't long before the magical police showed up to sort the mess out, confounding all of the onlookers and the fireman. Sirius stood speaking with several officers and then motioned for Harry to follow him up the front steps. From the outside you could hardly tell there was anything wrong with the place, but once they crossed the threshold there was nothing but ashes and charred wood. About twenty steps from the front door were two charred corpses bound together with magic, the chairs they had sat on broken and charred beneath them. Sirius stood just inside the doorway.
"KREACHER!" Sirius yelled out.
The house was silent and after a moment Sirius shrugged.
"Well, that answers that." He said before turning and walking out. Harry followed him as he made his way to the police officers and told them what they had found. They made their way down the street and Sirius whistled an upbeat tune.
"You know, we should get everyone together." Sirius said, "It's time for a celebration."
"Sirius…" Harry said cautiously.
Sirius turned to him. "You can even bring Toby, I promise to be nice." He gave Harry a wink.
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Harry had gained a strong measure of respect for the professors of Hogwarts. He taught 7 years' worth of defense classes which came to about 21 classes a week. Each class had at least 15 students and that was half of what there would have been, where it not for the war. He couldn't imagine how they managed it with out going insane. He finished marking fifth year essays regarding the patronous spell and looked around the classroom. For as much stress, and insanity as it may cause, Harry was starting to feel that maybe he had a home here. He enjoyed teaching, he liked being able to provide the students with the sort of confidence that he had needed so badly and had so rarely found during his own years at school.
He thought about his time at Hogwarts and felt suddenly and hugely lost. His memories both happy and sad washed down upon him and he sat there just breathing and willing himself to be strong enough to once again pull away from all of that, he reminded himself that none of it was there anymore, that there was nothing to go back to, even if he could.
Hogwarts was very much the same, even twenty years from now. The students noticed very little of the careful lockdown the school had gone into. Aurors patrolled the hallways and the perimeter under the guise of being Ministry inspectors, and he and Minerva had drawn up an evacuation plan despite the protests of Albus who felt the students would be more vulnerable outside the castle walls, but Dumbledore had never seen how the walls that protect can also entrap and that Hogwarts for all it's protections could never be completely guarded on all fronts. The wards had been strengthened and Dumbledore had convinced the centaurs to help keep watch along the lines of the forbidden forest, and the man felt that it would be enough. Harry and Minerva had tried to talk him into closing the school two weeks early, but he had refused. It had been nearly a month since Regulus' death, and the headmaster was convinced Voldemort had lost his nerve.
Harry sighed at the thought of what had brought them to this point. Then he thought about James, Lily, Remus, Sirius and Toby, such good friends. And here he was having barely have seen them in the two months he'd been at Hogwarts. That needed to change. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window at the lightly falling snow, checked his watch and realized it was just after dinner. He stood tucking the papers away in his desk and made his way out of the classroom thinking that maybe he would floo home and have dinner with Remus.
He made his way down the hall and smiled at seeing a trio of first years running down the corridor towards the Great Hall. He smiled because the two boys and the girl reminded himself so much of another trio. As he turned down the teacher's wing, he felt a chill run up his spine and he stopped. He listened carefully and heard nothing, shaking his head he continued down the corridor, but when he saw shadows moving in the hallway ahead of him he ducked behind a suit of armor. There were no words but the number of shadows grew and dread coursed through his veins. They were coming out of the wall, and then it hit Harry and he didn't know how he could have been so stupid. The passageway to Honeydukes. Of course.
He reached a hand underneath his shirt and wrapped his fingers around the small gold medallion around his neck and in a low whisper spoke servo lemma.
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Down in the Great Hall, there was not a single student who noticed that every professor and Dumbledore had simultaneously flinched and moved their hands to their chests, reaching for their own medallions that had burned their skin. Dumbledore stood and with a tense look with Professor McGonagall made his way to stand in front of the hall.
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Harry remained hidden for the moment not sure what his best move was. There were nearly thirty of them in the hallway now. Harry, was a Gryffindor, but he wasn't so foolish as to attempt to take on thirty Death Eaters on his own. His mind was moving over all the possible ways to get word to the order when he couldn't make any noise, or draw attention to himself. And then he remembered the coin in his pocket. He pulled it out and with a silent incantation carefully carved out his message before sending it out.
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Lily was serving dinner to James and Sirius and gave a startled noise when the coin in her pocket stung her with its sudden burst of heat. Sirius and James both looked at her strangely and her eyes were dark as she pulled the coin from her pocket. When she opened her palm in front of them James' fork fell to the table with a clatter and Sirius' chair fell backwards as he stood.
Lily felt a wave of fear pulse through her as she looked down at the coin.
HGWTS-ATTAK-ORDER-NOW
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Some of the students had silenced when Dumbledore had moved to the front, others had broken out in loud whispers. All sound was ended, however, when the doors flew open, and aurors came in led by Alastor Moody. Several students gasped as the ten aurors closed every entrance to the great hall and stood guard in twos. Moody made his way to Dumbledore.
"Anyone not present?" Moody's gravelly voice was clipped.
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Remus was reading quietly in front of the fire when a sudden yell startled him enough to cause his book to fall to the floor.
"Remus!" It was Lily's voice. "You've got to get to Hogwarts. The boys have already gone. Death Eaters. We're calling in the order. Tell them the healers will be on the way."
And then she was gone and Remus stared at the flames for a moment before his eyes caught a picture of Alex and Harry on the mantle and suddenly panic and adrenaline jarred him into action.
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The Death Eaters were starting to move down the hallway toward Harry. He quickly cast a disillusionment charm on himself and pressed his back against the stonewall and barely allowed himself to breathe as they passed. The group was nearly by when one of them stopped and stared in Harry's direction for a moment but he was pushed forward by the bodies of those behind him and he turned away. Harry gave them a count of twenty before he followed them down the corridor and broke to the side as he made his way to the stairway. He crisscrossed taking a time wasting but unavoidable trip up and down several floors before he came out just before the entrance to the library. He was moving so quickly and still disillusioned when he ran bodily into another person. Harry swore when he realized just who he had run into.
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Minerva McGonagall stood at the end of her house table, feeling an unfamiliar panic fighting against her stern control. She watched as her Prefects walked down the table counting heads. She was gripping a crumpled paper in her hand that held her evacuation plan on it, and her white knuckles were a display of the frustration she felt that at this moment Dumbledore seemed inclined to keep the students here in the great hall like crabs in the kettle. She was well on her way to convincing herself to simply march her Gryffindors out of the building in accordance with the plans Harry had set out for them. The teachers all came to gather around the Deputy Headmistress but Minerva's eyes were immediately drawn to the worried expression on Pomona Sprout's face.
"Pomona…" Minerva started but didn't finish.
"Alex Rettner and Helena Bidman did not come to dinner." Pomona answered
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Harry un-disillusioned himself quickly and grabbed the boy's arm and that of the dark haired girl watching in confusion. He dragged them along as he continued to run glancing behind them every few seconds as they went. They began to protest and Harry quickly cast a silencing spell on them and pushed them against the wall and stepped in front of them as he heard loud footsteps coming around the corner. He immediately cast out a shield that stretched the length of the corridor. He heard an exclamation as someone had apparently found themselves unable to cross through it. He listened to curses be thrown and felt the reverberation in his wand. He glanced at the children at his side and took in the tears on the girl's face and Alex's wide frightened eyes.
Suddenly there was a shout.
"Wait! This is Harry's work!" A voice shouted and Harry craned his head to listen closer.
"How the hell would you know…" Sirius. Sirius.
Harry motioned for the kids to stay put as he walked out staying safely behind the shield and found himself faced with Lily, Sirius, Toby, Remus, James, and the Longbottoms.
He smirked at the small sardonic wave Remus gave him before he caught the sudden shift in the man's expression. He turned just in time to avoid being hit with a stunning spell. Four Death Eaters approached quickly and Harry dropped his shield before throwing off four consecutive stunning spells at them, taking one down. Suddenly the others were around him and after a well-aimed stunning spell from Lily, a binding jinx from Sirius and a body bind from Alice the other three were felled. Harry turned to find James and Frank standing purposefully in front of the two children whose eyes' had grown impossibly wide.
Harry turned to Snape, "You got anything good on you at the moment?"
Severus gave him a wry grin and reached into his cloak pulling out a vile of clear liquid. "Something like this."
"Exactly." Harry nodded and then turned to the others. "Sirius and Remus you stay here with Severus and I. Lily , James, Frank and Alice, you guys get down to the Great Hall, take the kids and make sure Dumbledore MOVES them. They're sitting ducks in there, but the man will try and keep them together. Get them moving, get them out. Minerva has the plan."
Everyone nodded and Lily took the crying girl's hand while James gripped Alex and they took of at a sprint with Frank at the head and Alice at the rear shooting cautious glances behind her.
Severus had already pulled the masks off the Death Eaters. Goyle, Crabbe, McNair, and the last one made Harry smile.
"Well, Lucius such the pleasure." Harry said at the bound Death Eater, who practically radiated malice.
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The doors to the great hall rattled on their hinges and the aurors stepped back with their wands trained. Several students were in tears and they had all moved toward the center of the room. There was a sudden scream from a unknown girl and there was not a steady heartbeat in the room as they watched smoke rising from three of the doors to the entrance.
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McNair, Crabbe and Goyle lay stunned and bound on the floor while Lucius Malfoy was on his knees hands bound behind him. Severus moved toward him and tilted the man's head back, pinching his mouth open with one hand and pouring the Veritiserum down his throat.
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Frank, James, Lily and Alice ran to the foyer but held back at the full out battle that was taking place. The Order's fighters had shown and curses were flying in every direction. Alice gasped and pointed her finger at the main entrance to the great hall where black flames licked at the door.
"Fiendfyre." Came a cold intonation from Frank.
They held for a moment.
"The staff entrance." Lily whispered and nodded to their right and they group took off down the corridor once again.
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"How many more are coming?" Harry said.
Lucius struggled fruitlessly against speech, "Shifts of thirty every hour."
"Is Voldemort to be here?" Snape said.
Again, the man fought the potion, "Not until it's over."
"Is the passageway the only entrance?" Harry asked.
"They will come through the front gates, they are taking the wards down." Lucius spat in disgust.
Severus and Harry looked at each other and Harry pointed his wand at Lucius.
"Stupefy."
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James pounded his fist against the staff entrance door to the Great Hall.
"It's James Potter." His voice boomed. "Open the door."
There was no response.
"They've set Fiendfyre on the doors, if they come down it will spread!" James shouted.
A loud gravelly voice came through the door, "James Potter present yourself."
"I am James Potter, I failed my disguises examination first time around, because I forgot transfigure my glasses." James shouted and there was a moment, and the door clicked open and Moody stood facing them.
"We have to get them out of here." James said and Moody nodded.
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Sirius, Remus, Harry, Toby and Severus had left the four death eaters, bound and stunned, locked in a warded broom closet.
They came across several small fights between Order members and Death Eaters as they made their way toward the passageway. They shot out curses but kept their pace. Harry was able to save one Order member from falling off a staircase to his death and stun the responsible Death Eater at the same time, while Severus had cost two Death Eaters their wand hands with sectumsempra. Their feet slid in pools of blood that told them, the Death Eaters were sparing no mercy.
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Minerva stepped up behind Mood and nodded to James.
"Harry and I have worked out an evacuation. We need to get moving. The doors are not to hold much longer." She said.
"Harry said Dumbledore would argue it."
"Leave it to me. Get these children out of here." She said and turned back to the room.
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Harry reached the Gargoyle and as the others came to a stop next to him. He heard Remus growl
"Peter. He must have told them."
Harry spoke the password and the gargoyle slid to the side. Harry could see a group of Death Eaters heading toward them from a ways down the tunnel.
"On three!" He raised his wand as did the four other men. "One, Two, Three!"
"REDUCTO!"
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The castle shook and several students screamed. James and Frank were leading the Ravenclaw students out of the Great Hall, with Lily and Alice at the back. They led them through the staff room and out into the hallway. They crossed from classroom to classroom before coming out in front of the stairway. James and Alice shot out curse while Frank and Alice held up shields. As they came to a T in the corridor a large door appeared before them.
"This is it." James said and pulled the heavy door open.
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Harry watched the stones tumble down in front of the Death Eaters and then turned abruptly and without a word ran off in the direction of the Great Hall.
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The smoke in the Great Hall had become dizzying and all of the students had crowded around the exit waiting to be led out. The sounds of curses being thrown echoed down the corridor.
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Many of the students gasped in surprise as they entered the room, which had become a tunnel, at the far end of the tunnel was not a door but a portrait of young blond girl. As James moved toward it the girl motioned to them to follow as she turned and walked deeper into her frame.
James turned to the first student behind him, the Ravenclaw Prefect and helped the boy climb up over the edge of the picture, he looked a bit frightened but he made his way down the dark corridor of the painting and James and Frank began helping the rest of the students up to follow him.
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Harry's wand was in his pocket and he was simply blasting anyone in a mask that got in his way, he didn't bother with stunning spells and the four behind him followed suit. As they came to the foyer Harry looked at a stunned Death Eater who fell nearby and saw that there was a strange green glow around the uncovered mark on his arm.
"He's coming." Severus spoke from behind him.
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James, Frank, Lily and Alice saw Harry and the others disappear through the staff room into the Great Hall.
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James came up behind him as Harry was addressing Minerva and Albus, "We've got to take the rest of them now."
"There are too many." Albus said with caution, "As a large group they are too vulnerable."
Harry ignored the man and instead turned to the students.
"How many of you can cast a shield charm?" He spoke loudly.
Half of the students raised their hands shakily. "Okay I want all of you to step to the outside of the group, the younger ones in the middle. Professors, and aurors form a circle around them. Headmaster, you and Minerva at the back there with James, Frank, Lily and Alice. Moody join me up front, with Remus, Toby , Sirius and Severus."
It took nearly five minutes for everyone to get sorted. When Harry was satisfied he spoke again.
"Moody tell your aurors to be on the defensive." The man nodded.
"Aurors, to the ready!" His voice boomed and all the aurors raised their wands.
"Everyone else! Be ready to put out your shields on my word!" Harry yelled out. "Lets move!"
They walked in a large group, Harry widening the doorways before the crossed them. They made it to the corridor with no incident. But as they came to the T, about twenty Death Eaters came flooding into the space in front of them.
"SHIELDS!" and on his word sixty shields raised up around the group as the Aurors began shooting curses. The group had stopped moving and but the Death Eaters continued to approach even as they fell to the curses of the Aurors who broke ranks with the group to form a line in the front. Two aurors fell, before the remaining Death Eaters gripped their arms and ran off to the left at a signal from one of them. The aurors followed them and three more fell in the retreat.
"MOVE!" Harry boomed and the group, shields still up with the exception of some of the younger students who had lost their strength. They came to the T and the door appeared in front of them. Harry pulled it open and led the students in as the professors and aurors formed a protective circle behind the group. As they approached the portrait a young man returned with Ariana and Harry waved to her. The boy stepped from the frame and spoke to Harry.
"Aberforth is flooing them to the Ministry. They're being met by the aurors there." The boy reported and though his voice was strong there was still the essence of fear in his words. Harry grasped the boy's shoulder.
"See that the rest of them make it safely," He said and the boy nodded before turning and making his way behind Ariana down the painted corridor.
As the remaining students filed past, Harry glanced to the ones still waiting to be led down the portrait and a painful realization struck him. He and Sirius met eyes at the same moment and they took off running out of the room together.
They broke through the aurors and professors, and did not pause at the questioning shouts. They didn't hear the footsteps that fell behind them they kept running until the reached the Great Hall, where they heard nothing but a high pitched-tormented scream and maniacal laughter.
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Harry's heart pounded in his ears but could not drown out the screaming. Harry strode through the staff entrance to the Great Hall, and there was a wild roughness to his tone when he yelled out.
"TOM!" Harry came to a stop as his eyes fell on the bloody blonde curls, and then came to rest on the face of Voldemort, which now held a sickening grin.
"Ah, it is the savior." The man drawled out.
Whether it was out of habit, or a mental awareness that it would catch the dark lord off guard, Harry advanced without responding to his words and shouted out raising his hand.
"Expelliarmus!" The spell hit Voldemort square in the chest and while he held his wand, the impact of it sent him flying backwards several paces.
Riddle's spell was broken but Alex continued to scream long afterwards, Sirius, James and Lily rushed to him as Harry advanced on Voldemort. who was now on his feet a pale fury marking his features.
"Well, well. Quite brazen. Aren't we." Voldemort spoke and quickly raised his wand. "ˆAvada Kedavra!"
Harry's wand was back in his hand without him knowing how it got there and he brought it across the air in front of him in a quick motion before thrusting it forward, "subsisto nex!"
A clear, almost silver liquid erupted from Harry's wand and came before him. The green light collided with the silver shield and splintered and reflected back towards the caster. Harry dropped the shield.
"NOW!" He shouted and four voices rang out with his own followed by five green jets of light, all of which hit their mark. Voldemort staggered back from the impact and hunched over at his waist, but he did not crumple and fall. There was a moment of chilled silence before the man looked up with eyes that were now covered with a sheen of blood.
"You cannot kill me," A disturbing laugh erupted from the man who still had not righted himself, "I am immortal."
Harry raised his wand once again. "Immortality is fatal to most men."
Before he could send a spell, Voldemort had brought his hand to his left wrist and disappeared.
Harry turned around and didn't speak when Lily looked up to him her eyes bright with tears, nor when he looked at Sirius' hand as it stroked blood-streaked blonde hair. He shrugged off Toby's hand and ignored Remus' soft words; he walked out of the Great Hall and killed the first Death Eater he saw.
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