Chapter 26: The Battle Part II
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While the battle raged through the castle, Dumbledore stood patiently around the corner from the Room of Requirement, watching as Voldemort approached the wall, walking deliberately past it three times, and entered through the door that appeared. Dumbledore waited a few moments before following him through, seeing Voldemort ahead, already starting to sift through items stashed in the room of hidden things.
"Hello again, Tom."
Voldemort wheeled around, eyes blazing.
"I see you've found your way back into the castle," Dumbledore walked towards him casually, "Might I ask how you did it? There seem to be quite a lot of Death Eaters in my school."
"Perhaps you should take better inventory of the passageways in and out of your school," Voldemort hissed.
"I think I have a decent inventory of most of them, but the castle is full of mysteries," Dumbledore gave him a small smile, "However it seems as though you came in from the dungeons which leads me to believe that you somehow found a way past the charms in the passageway from the Potions classroom, is that correct?"
Voldemort looked livid, "I've known how to break your charms for years," he spat, "I broke them as a school boy. You must really be losing your touch." He lifted his wand, throwing a curse at Dumbledore, who easily deflected it, still walking towards him.
"I'll have to find some new charms to really give you a challenge next time," he sighed, "Tonight, however, I will be content with you leaving my school unharmed."
"You will not make a fool of me, Dumbledore, I know what you have hidden here," Voldemort tried to take back the reins of the conversation.
"Do you, Tom?" Dumbledore goaded him on.
"Potter wouldn't even know what to do with a magical weapon," Voldemort jeered, "You think the boy is powerful enough to work the kind of weapon it would take to defeat me?!"
"Ah, how ever did you hear about this weapon, Tom?"
"Because unbeknownst to you, I've taken two of your students. I've had Death Eaters here in their place all year and they are far away from here. I tortured the truth out of Harry Potter's Mudblood friend. She'll die now I think, now that you've gotten in the way. Did we set off alarms coming into the castle? Did that Squib see us as we walked up from the dungeons?"
"No, Tom," Dumbledore responded calmly, "No, you didn't set off a single alarm! We just happened to learn your entire plan. You see the friends of those you captured noticed something was amiss and your imposters have let a little too much slip. Also, we've got our prisoners back so I don't think you'll be murdering anyone when you return home tonight. And as an added bonus, she lied to you about the weapon, I doubt there is any magical weapon that would be able to kill you as you are right now, if I had to guess."
Voldemort yelled in anger at the disastrous state of everything, "CRUCIO!" He shouted at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore flicked his wand and a sheer bubble erupted from the tip, engulfing him in protection.
"Your men are outnumbered," Dumbledore told him as Voldemort continued to throw curse after curse at the bubble, each one bouncing off in different directions, "We've pushed them onto the grounds by now and there are Aurors waiting to take them to Azkaban. I think it's time you join them."
Voldemort seethed, throwing another powerful curse at Dumbledore. This time, the bubble shook and shattered. Without thinking twice, he bellowed "Sanguinem," and a crimson liquid shot from Voldemort's wand, whipping hard at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore reacted quickly with a protection charm, which collided with Voldemort's curse, bursting into flames that shot feet into the air.
"You will lose them all," Dumbledore warned again.
Voldemort breathed heavily, realizing the losing battle he was fighting. Even if he killed Dumbledore, he couldn't let all of his followers end up back in Azkaban. Not with Fudge out of office now. With one last hateful look, he flew through the air to the door and took chase to the fight outside.
Back in the Entrance Hall, the Order was highly overpowering the Death Eaters at least 2-1 as the battle began to move out the front door.
Luna had slipped out of the Hufflepuff common room and joined the fight at some point. She currently stood to the side, directing her Patronous to hop around to different battles to distract the Death Eaters and send protection to the Order where she could, a dazed but determined look on her face.
Lucius, who had jumped behind a gargoyle that lined the stairs out of the castle, watched as wizards piled out of the doors and onto the grounds. He saw a flash of blond hair and he pounced.
Draco had been going after Greyback, who had taken a swipe at Ginny, when his father knocked him off his feet and down the last few stairs.
They wrestled on the ground for a moment, before pushing themselves to their feet. In his peripherals he saw Ron sprinting out the door to go after Greyback, Ginny right on his heels; that girl had a strong head on her shoulders.
"How did you get back," Lucius growled.
"I escaped," He bit back, "Mother helped me. You should know better than to threaten her only son."
"Incarcerous!" Lucius yelled.
"Protego!" Draco countered.
"You have destroyed this family by being weak. You don't deserve to carry the Malfoy name," fire burned in Lucius' eyes.
"You're just angry because you finally see how pathetic you are. You're a follower. You'll never be a leader. And now, The Dark Lord will never give you another chance."
"CRUCIO!" Lucius yelled.
Draco fell to the ground, writhing in pain, but keeping his mouth shut.
"CRUUUCIO," he yelled louder this time, hatred dripping from his voice.
Draco couldn't keep it in anymore, he cried out, his father's anger was tangible in his attack.
"I will kill you for what you've done," Lucius enunciated each word, barely audibly, "You will pay for it all."
Hermione had just stunned a Death Eater and was looking around the grounds. The rain had turned to a light mist and the fog had come in heavy from over the forest. Through the fog she saw Draco on the ground, his father standing over him.
She ran towards them, hearing their words as she got closer.
"Avada Ke-"
"No!" She screamed, running towards him, "Volanto!" She flourished her wand, pushing all of her might into the spell.
It hit Lucius square in the face and he flew back ten yards.
"Petrificus Totalus!" She said, standing over him now. He went stiff and she ran back to Draco.
"Draco? Draco are you okay?" Her heart was pounding in her chest.
"You just saved my life," he looked up at her, a grin on his lips.
"Well, you're welcome," she said, relieved that he was alright, "Let's get you back inside."
"No, we need to keep fighting," he stood up slowly, "I'm okay, really, we need to get back in there."
Hermione grinned back at him now, "Alright, Draco Malfoy the hero, let's get back in there!"
They rejoined the fight, looking around to see they had all but won, most Death Eaters tied in ropes on the ground.
Out through the doors, what looked like a puff of black smoke emerged, forming quickly into the body of Voldemort as he stepped onto the grass, seeing the carnage around him. Aurors were running in to grab tied up Death Eaters and levitating them back into the castle to bring to Azkaban.
"POTTER," Voldemort yelled, seeing the boy ahead of him.
"Master!" It was Bellatrix running up to him, her dark eyes were pleading, "Master we are gravely outnumbered, we have to get out of here."
He cast her aside, "POTTER, MARK MY WORDS, YOU WILL BE DESTROYED."
Knowing he was out of time, he flew back into the air again, grabbing what followers he could on his way and flying out into the Forbidden Forest. Bellatrix and Snape ran after him into the dark, crossing over the threshold of the Forest as well.
The night became quiet, filled only with the heaving breathing of the Order members and professors that lined the lawn.
"Hold the perimeter," Dumbledore instructed the Aurors that had joined them, "Walk the edge of the forbidden forest and put your protective spells around it. I don't anticipate they'll be coming back tonight, but we need to use caution. I'm going to place some particularly strong spells on the passageway under the Potions classroom. Oh, and Dawlish," he addressed one of the Aurors, "Can you please move the Death Eaters we've rounded up over to Azkaban at your earliest convenience? I expect the students will be forcing their way past their common rooms soon."
"Professor," Harry ran up to him.
"Yes, Harry?"
"What about the professors that were under the Imperius curse?"
"There's already a group of Aurors tending to them. They'll need to be treated in the hospital wing with some counter curses," Dumbledore looked at him sadly, "I'm afraid I didn't know the extent of how far they'd infiltrated the castle before we caught wind of it."
"Did you know...?" Harry wasn't sure how to finish his question respectfully, "Did you know Snape was one of them?"
Dumbledore was quiet for a moment, "Harry, Severus Snape was a conflicted man. I urge you to remember that things are not always as cut and dry as they seem. But I am not surprised that he has left with Voldemort tonight."
Harry tried to deconstruct Dumbledore's words, but he had too many other questions on his mind, "Was anyone hurt badly in the battle?"
He looked at Harry gravely, "I'm afraid to say that Professor Sprout was killed. She didn't realize that one of the other professors was under the Imperius curse and was trying to help them. She died a hero."
A lump caught in Harry's throat as he thought about the professor, he saw Neville sitting on the stairs looking distraught, Luna comforting him, her Patronous still out, sitting on the other side of him. Sprout had been a mentor to Neville, someone who gave him the opportunity to find his calling in the magical world. He thought about the Hufflepuff's in their common room who would soon hear of her passing. His heart hurt for them all.
"I must tend to the passageway sooner rather than later, Harry," Dumbledore cut into his thoughts, "You fought valiantly tonight, you all did."
He patted him on the shoulder, squeezing it briefly before he walked off back into the castle.
The group slowly made their way inside, a feeling of triumph, mixed with heavy hearts for the loss of a beloved professor. A few people were being tended to along the way for moderate injuries and curses, but no else else was critically hurt.
Luna and Neville stood to follow them. At the top of the stairs, Luna turned and sent sparks into the air, reciting a quick poem of mourning while making some very elaborate movements as Neville bowed his head and the others paused.
They watched her, not wanting to interrupt, until she was ready to retreat inside.
O-o-o-o-o-o-o
Harry walked through the Entrance Hall into the Great Hall to escape the chaos currently going on during the clean up phase. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Draco and Blaise followed.
Harry sat down, head in his hands and Ginny sat next to him, rubbing his arm, "We did everything we could," she said softly.
"I should have battled him. I should have done it tonight when he didn't have his Death Eaters to protect him."
"Harry," it was Hermione's voice this time, "I think if Dumbledore thought he could be destroyed in battle, he would have done it himself, or had you join him. I think there must be a reason he hasn't chosen to duel with Voldemort and we just need to trust him for now."
Harry sighed, pulling his head up, "It's just another year and another loss," he said solemnly, thoughts of Sirius playing in his head.
"Well," Ginny smiled at him, "You've got to look on the bright side. Times are dark, we know that. BUT we've got Hermione back."
Harry gave her a half-smile, "I know you're right," he looked up at Hermione, "We are so happy you're home."
"Me too, Harry," she felt like she could cry, but held strong.
Harry stood up and walked over the Draco, who was standing a few feet back with his hands in his pockets. Harry held out his hand to Draco, who looked down, taken aback.
"Thank you," Harry said and Draco slowly pulled out a hand to shake his, "For fighting with us. Thank you for being there for Hermione, and thank you for getting her back here safely with the help of your mother."
Draco nodded, pulling his hand back, "Going to take a bit to get used to this truce," he said with a laugh, "But thank you… for accepting me."
Blaise clapped him on the back, "See, why couldn't we have done this six years ago!"
"What fun would have have been," Draco smirked and they all shared a laugh at how far they'd come.
"Let's get back out there and see if anyone needs help," Ron suggested.
As the group headed back to the Entrance Hall, Draco grabbed Hermione by the hand, "Can we talk quick, before we go back with everyone?"
"Of course," she stepped back with him.
"Hermione I…," he tried to find where to begin, "I don't know how I would have survived there without you."
"I'm sure you would have been just fine," she said, but let him continue.
"I mean mentally," he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "I was in a dark place when we were brought to the dungeon. You made me fight my way out and you showed me another way."
"You should take some credit for yourself, too," her eyes were soft, "You made your own decisions. I'm proud of you for letting down your guard and making choices for your own life. You didn't just stand up for yourself to Voldemort, you stood up for me, too while we were in there. You're stronger than I think you realize."
Draco had never met someone who believed in him like she did, "I think you're good for me, Hermione Granger."
"So you're saying you didn't just like me because we were stuck together?" She grinned.
"No," he rolled his eyes, "No I like you just fine now, too."
"And I believe you're also indebted to me for saving your life, as I recall," she reminded him coyly.
Draco laughed, "I am indeed," he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist, "Listen, Granger," she said smoothly, "What I'm trying to tell you here, is that after spending two months locked up with you, you've changed me. You've made me a better person, and one I can be proud of. While we were locked in that dungeon, I fell in love with you."
Hermione felt her breath catch, trying to find her words and placed a hand on his chest, "I love you." Her eyes bore into his with passion. She meant it with all of her heart. She leaned up, catching his lips with hers and pressing her body against him.
He kissed her with desire. She was his and he would be hers. There may be a long war ahead or them, but tonight they fought together. No longer prisoners, no longer enemies, forever bonded.
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A/N: Thank you, thank you, THANK you for taking time out of your life to spend with me and my story. I started this years and years ago and am so incredibly proud of finally finishing it :) Please leave a review, I would love to hear your thoughts! Look out for another new story coming *soon*.