Disclaimer: I don't own HP or D-man.

Chapter Twenty Four

Lenalee felt her stomach drop to her toes as the Noah slowly approached them. Their smirks reminded her of all the people they slaughtered, what she was fighting against. Terror and bravery warred in her system. Adrenaline made her rock on her toes. The last time they had fought so many Noah, there had been many more exorcists, and it had been only a narrow victory.

She looked at Allen out of the corner of her eye. Sometimes, when they faced the Noah, it was hard to separate the part of Allen that was the gentle exorcist and the bloodthirsty Noah that would try it's hardest to tear down the original personality. Sometimes, it was hard to see her friend under the deadly veneer of the Noah.

This wasn't one of those times. Allen shined clearly through his eyes, though his lips tugged in a pale imitation of a Noah smirk. She could see that Allen was holding the Fourteenth back, and felt her own lips tug into a smile. While the Fourteenth was their best bet against the Earl, she always preferred it when Allen was the one fighting. She knew she could trust Allen to have her back, to do anything within his power to keep them winning, but the Fourteenth didn't care about the exorcists. The Fourteenth would only be focused on the Earl.

Her own lips began to tug at the corners, as the danger neared. Adrenaline rushed through her system, as she forced her way past the last few mental road stops before battle. She had been fighting Akuma for years. This battle was no different. They had to win. There were too many innocent people beyond their borders to allow the Noah to pass.

The Earl's mouth was stretched into its obscene grin. "Hello, Exorcists. How pleasant to see you here. You can't imagine my surprise when I found out you exorcist showed up. And Allen… How is my dear brother?"

"Earl." Cross greeted coldly, cocking his pistol. "What are you doing here?"

The Earl grinned wider and laughed. "Now, now, Cross, why would I tell you?"

Cross smirked. "It's not that I care, of course. But if I go home without a reason… Eh, I don't really care." His finger squeezed the trigger, and next to the earl an Akuma exploded.

The earl squealed in rage. The other Noah took the earl's rapidly increasing rage as their cue to attack, and then the woods lit up with color.

Lenalee strengthened her own stance, and as the akuma swarmed towards them, shot off. "Waltz of the Piercing Wind!" she yelled, before everything dissolved into chaos.

…

Far away, still tucked safely inside the castle, Harry frowned. His scar was burning, and he had that sinking feeling that something was happening. But his scar didn't burn like it did when Voldemort was near. Rather, his stomach rolled with waves of anticipated happiness. He had to fight back the urge to laugh madly; McGonagall was rarely understanding about people who interrupted her class. It was a strange feeling, Voldemort's happiness, and it had taken Harry a moment to figure out what it was. But because his scar didn't burn like it did when Voldemort was near, Harry knew that it was his allies who would finally reveal themselves.

He started to shake with the effort to remain silent, as his thoughts whirled. At first, he had intended to stay through the class, but the sickening feeling of anticipation continued to tighten his stomach until, almost without thinking about it, he stood up suddenly, his chair slamming. "Excuse me, Professor," he announced to the class, his voice tight and high with distress. "I need to speak to Professor Dumbledore."

Professor MacGonagall, turned to him, looking him over with an appraising eye, before she let out a heavy sigh. "If you must, Mr. Potter. However, 5 points from Gryffindor for your disruption."

Harry smiled tightly, and ignored the looks his friends sent him as he flew out of the room. Without thinking too hard, he made it to the headmaster's office in record time, before he stood in front of the gargoyle. "I need to speak to Dumbledore." He told it, breathless.

Of course, the gargoyle stared at him, immobile. Harry growled. He knew that it was because of the password. "I need to speak to Dumbledore." He repeated. "It's an emergency. I don't know." He paused, before trying the password the Headmaster had used the previous night. "Blood pops." Still the door didn't move. He growled. "Lemon drops! Chocolate Frogs! Bertie's Every Flavor Beans! Cockroach Clusters! Sugar Quills!" Finally the door began to open, and Harry swore the gargoyle was glaring. But that didn't matter.

He flew into the office, and Dumbledore glanced up at him, a frown etched deep into his brows. "Hello, Harry. I suppose you're here for the same reason all of our guests have disappeared."

Harry gaped. It always surprised him how the Headmaster always knew what was going on, even when Harry was sure that he had something new. "Professor Dumbledore, my scar was burning. Voldemort's coming."

The headmaster nodded thoughtfully. "I sensed something in the forest earlier, right before Allen and his friends disappeared. I suppose that it's time to see what they are up to. Would you like to join me, Harry?

Harry nodded. He hated being left out of things, and if the headmaster was going to let him see what was up, he wasn't going to say no. It was one of the only times all summer that Harry felt like Dumbledore was actually looking at him. Not past him, but actually looking him in the eye. It reminded him how much he had missed the relationship he had with Dumbledore before Voldemort's return.

He gazed at the Headmaster thoughtfully as they left the office. After talking with Allen about Harry's spying on him, Harry started to wonder if the Headmaster had doubts about Harry himself. He hated the thought, but the Headmaster's behavior around him was very similar to how he treated Allen. Maybe the headmaster thought that now that Voldemort had returned, he was going to fall before the man. Maybe he thought that he would turn. Harry didn't know, but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.

His feet sunk into the soggy ground, as the sound of crashes echoed out of the forest as they approached. The grass clung to his feet, as both he and the headmaster picked up speed.

His eyes widened when he saw what was within.

Allen was fighting with a sword against a man who was wielding… butterflies? The white haired boy was ducking and dodging the little black insects with a dexterity that Harry envied. His sword weaved in an effort to cleave the other in half. Just behind him, Harry could see Lenalee was fighting with Rhode, who he wasn't surprised to see. Rhode had given him enough hints to know that she was involved with Voldemort, but he couldn't believe how fast they were moving. Professor Cross was fighting a round fat man with a top hat. From there he couldn't see much, the area being covered with… robot like things, shooting violent colored spears of light that Harry knew with a gut feeling he shouldn't let hit him.

"Professor?" Harry asked, through numb lips, wand hanging forgotten in his hand.

Dumbledore was silent for a long moment, before he drew his own wand, and gave it a flick. The light that came out was a subtle green, and it hit the creature before being absorbed. The creature never faltered, and Harry felt worry growing in the pit of his stomach. Dumbledore didn't know what to do, and no matter how many flicks of his wand he made, there was no change.

Dumbledore would have kept trying if at that moment Allen hadn't appeared in front of them, his cape flaring to block the purple sticks of light that were headed their way. "Harry! Headmaster!" he yelled, "Get out of here! You're magic doesn't work against these!"

Dumbledore looked for a moment like he wanted to argue, but with a glance down at the teenager by his side, he nodded, and gripped Harry's arm, before spinning.

"I thought that Apparition wasn't supposed to work in Hogwarts?" Harry thought as the headmaster whisked him away.

A/N: So I'm posting again! It's not all the way done like I wanted, but it's been over a year, so I'm just going to start posting what I have. I hope you enjoy, and the end is almost in sight! Sorry for the wait, and thanks for sticking with me.

-Senna