Chapter 36 : Remus' Revenge
"Wait!" screeched Bella. "Is he dead?" She started toward the entrance of the Headmaster's office stairs, but Draco spun around and stepped in front of her.
"Dead? DEAD?" He threw back his head and laughed. "Do you know anybody who has been hit with two 'Avada Kadavra' spells and lived, Auntie dear?"
"Don't make more of an ass of yourself than you already have, Bella," snarled Snape. "Draco and I fulfilled the Dark Lord's orders. Now I suggest you lead your little band of merry-makers to safety . . . and be quiet about it, or you'll get us all captured."
He waved his hand at the Carrows, indicating they should start on their way, Fenrir took one last look at the gargoyle guarding the stairs, smiled wickedly and turned to follow the brother and sister down the hallway.
Bella was seething, but knew arguing would give away their presence, if they made too much noise, so she turned abruptly and stalked off in the werewolf's wake, Draco and Severus following behind.
As they started down the last corridor toward the 'Room of Requirement' they heard voices. Throwing out his arm, Amycus Carrow halted them, turning and putting his finger to his lips. Stopping short of the corner where they would have turned to get to the door, they listened and then Draco peeked quickly around the edge of the wall and found the way blocked by two members of the staff; Professor Flitwick and McGonagall, with Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley at their side.
"It's Flitwick, McGonagall, Longbottom and the Weasel," he whispered.
"Psst!" Bella started walking forward. "Children and old fools . . . "
"Quiet!" hissed Fenrir, grabbing her arm and yanking her to a halt. "If they see us they'll raise an alarm!"
"Quickly, follow me," whispered Severus. "We'll have to get around them and collect the others as we go."
Turning, they followed the Potions Professor to a nearby tapestry, which he pulled aside, revealing a narrow staircase. The Carrows grinned and hurried through the opening and started downward, followed by Draco and Fenrir. Bella hesitated, but Snape bowed and swept his arm, indicating she should go first.
"After you, Madam Lestrange," Severus said silkily, sneer on his face.
Rather than waste time in a verbal joust, she lifted her chin and proceeded down the narrow steps. They emerged into a little used hallway, which they traveled as quickly as they could without actually running. As they emerged at the main stairs, they heard shouting coming from a lower landing. Fenrir looked over the banister and saw figures running down the stairs.
"There they go!" came a shout from below and then the sound of spells . . . someone was dueling
"One of those fools you put out there to guard our backs was spotted," Fenrir hissed at Bella. "We'd better get out of here before the whole castle wakes up!"
No sooner did he finish speaking, they heard the sound of running footsteps approaching, forcing them back into the hallway. Neville and Ron came thundering down the main stairs and past them, heading for the sounds of the fight below. Bella leaped out, aiming her wand at Neville's back, but was knocked halfway down the stairs but a blast from above. Draco ducked his head so no-one would see him grinning.
"Incarcerous!" Filius Flitwick's voice rang out, even as ropes shot from his wand to wrap themselves around Bella's figure.
But just as quickly, Severus countered the spell, as the Carrows jumped out onto the landing, turning to face Flitwick and McGonagall. Hearing the commotion behind them, Ron and Neville spun around and joined in the fight, forcing Draco, Severus and Fenrir to take cover. Bella had regained her footing and turned on Ron and Neville, but she was surprised to see Tonks sprinting up the stairs, wand out, to help the boys.
"This way!" Snape growled to Draco and Fenrir, ducking around a column and into a side balcony which took them past the stairs and then into another hallway.
"What about Bella?" Fenrir growled.
"Would she help you?" Severus snapped. "She's capable of holding her own until we can get to the other side of the stairs, then we'll cover her and the Carrows and get past those fools . . . Longbottom! Humph, is that the best they can do?"
Fenrir barked a laugh and followed Snape.
X X X
"Here it is, Remus," said Albus, as he handed the 'Sorting Hat' to the werewolf. "Good luck, my boy."
"Thank you, Headmaster." replied Lupin, as he tucked the brim of the hat in his belt. "Are you sure it will be safe?"
"Quite. Harry has the copy and will be able to switch them at the proper time. If that plan fails, the Sword is perfectly capable of returning here by itself if needed; seems to have a mind of its own on that point." Turning, with a wave of his hand, the Headmaster disappeared through a door hidden behind a statue of Bridget Wenlock.
X X X
Emerging on the next set of stairs, Severus, Draco and Fenrir fired off a few hexes, which made Flitwick and McGonagall duck for cover, giving Bella and the Carrows the chance they needed to rejoin the group.
"We've been betrayed!" Bella spat!
"More likely, the others were spotted by a patrol, but it doesn't matter . . . we need to get moving before more 'defenders' show up and we get cut off from our escape route," Severus replied, even as he started to run down the side stairs. "Let's debate what happened later!"
The others ran down the stairs after him, heading toward the sound of fighting on the lower floor. They came upon a full-fledged battle, with their comrades out-numbered and falling back. But when the Death Eaters realized Bella and her group were there, they turned and renewed their dueling. Smoke, screams, shouts and spells flew wildly, as the Death Eaters tried to maneuver towards the last staircase that led to the front doors. If they could get outside, they would make a run for it.
Fenrir was suddenly aware that he was being stalked, although it was hard to see who, exactly, was targeting him until a torch was knocked from its wall holder and fell in front of the figure he was dueling . . .it was Lupin. Fenrir grinned and started moving closer and closer toward his former victim.
"Well, well, look who's here . . . my pup! How's life treating you, Remus?" Fenrir taunted, even as he followed Remus onto an adjacent landing, giving them more room to maneuver.
"Not bad, all things considered," Remus replied, parrying a hex aimed at him.
"Can't be that good, if you're reduced to hanging with this crowd," Fenrir waved a hand at the combatants behind them. "Oh, by the way, old Albus is dead."
He saw the shock in Remus' face and laughed wickedly, savoring the look of panic and indecision that showed in Lupin's eyes.
"Yes, your former colleague, Snape, and the Malfoy whelp did him in . . . quite the sight for sore eyes . . . The Dark Lord will be so pleased . . ."
"AAAHHHHH!" Remus yelled, as he doubled his efforts, attacking Fenrir with every bit of strength he could muster.
The two battled viciously for several minutes, each being hit, bleeding and winded. Then Remus fired a blasting hex at Fenrir's hand, right as the Death Eater finished swinging his arm across his body while shooting a spell at Lupin. Fenrir's hand was shattered and his wand went flying. With a roar of pain, he turned and lunged after it.
In that split second, while Fenrir's eyes were following his wand sailing through the air, Remus pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat and running forward, planted his feet and raised the sword in the air.
As Fenrir straightened up from scooping his wand off the floor with his uninjured hand, Remus swung the Sword and Fenrir's head was severed from his body, flying over the banister to bounce down the stairs between the Death Eaters and defenders of Hogwarts, coming to rest on the next landing.
Bella shrieked, looked up to see Lupin, Sword in hand, peering down at the suddenly silent crowd. It was silent but for a second or two as the Death Eaters renewed their efforts, as did the DA and staff members. Bella saw, out of the corner of her eye, that Snape was now dueling with Lupin. Grinning, she knocked Ginny Weasley across the floor and started down the stairs, yelling, "OUT! EVERYONE OUT! NOW!"
The Death Eaters fought their way down the stairs, covering each other as best they could. Then Bella saw Lupin fly backwards and hit a wall, falling in a heap. Severus blasted his way through the crowd of defenders, Draco running with him catching up with the others as they made it to the front doors.
When they got outside the Death Eaters took off down the road towards the gates, outside of which they could 'Apparate' away to safety. Bella paused only long enough to send the "Death Skull' spell streaking into the night sky.
Severus and Draco caught up with her, stopping for a second to catch their breath. Her eyes opened wide at the sight of what Severus had in his hand . . . the 'Sword of Gryffindor' gleamed in the moonlight, blood on the blade. She reached for it, but Snape yanked it away from her outstretched hand.
"I don't think so, Bella. I will present the Dark Lord with this prize. You may have the honor of explaining how it came into our possession and why."
But before she could speak, a spell streaked past them, as Harry emerged from the school to give chase.
"Go!, Get Draco out of here! I'll be right behind you," hissed Severus, as he turned to face Harry, deflecting the spells the young Wizard was shooting at him.
Bella grabbed Draco's sleeve and they took off toward the gates.
Harry advanced on Severus both of them shooting and returning spells, until Bella and Draco were far enough away they couldn't overhear.
"Is Remus alright? I hit him a little harder than I'd planned," asked Severus.
"He's fine. Flitwick put a cushioning spell behind him, just in time," grinned Harry.
Harry pulled a miniature sword from his pocket and enlarged it, trading the Gryffindor Sword for the copy, transferring some of the blood from one blade to the other.
"Take care, sir." Harry looked Severus in the eyes.
"I will . . . I can't wait to see how Bella talks her way out of this one . . . although Albus being 'dead' might make up for losing Fenrir . . . we'll see. Good bye, Harry."
Severus turned and started running for the gates, as Harry turned to walk back to the school. Looking up at the Death Mark, he smiled, then took as deep breath.
"Okay, Act 2!"
X X X
"You offed Fenrir? Bloody hell, Remus!" gasped Rupert, then he grinned and looked at the Weasley twins and Ron. "Wicked!"
Everyone laughed as Draco and Severus sat down.
"Okay, what's Act 2, Harry?" asked Dan.
"The funeral, of course . . . first we had to have Albus declared dead and then the funeral and all that rubbish ; inviting all those Ministry people, Dolores included. We really hated fooling so many people, but we knew, in the end, they'd forgive us the deception when they saw its importance in our plan to get rid of Voldemort." explained Harry.
Albus rose and looked around, smiling. "Yes, my reappearance was a bit of a shock, but it all worked out in the end. And speaking of end, I think it's nearly time for our evening meal. Let's all go freshen up and return in, say, half an hour?"
"Does this mean we get a short tour of Hogwarts?" Tom asked. "I'd love to see the Slytherin Common Room."
"I think that can be arranged," Draco laughed. "Let the Gryffindors take care of the others while I show you around."
"Excellent!"
"Could I come along, too?" asked Emma. "I've seen the Gryffindor Common Room, LOTS of times but never Slytherin's, not even the set. "
Tom and Draco exchanged looks and then shrugged.
"Oh, alright . . ." Tom replied, with an exaggerated sigh.
"I suppose . . . " added Draco, rolling his eyes.
"Stop being brats, you two," Emma laughed, as she took one, then the other, by the hand. "My two favorite Slytherins, all to myself!" She stood on tip-toe and gave each a kiss on the cheek. "Let's go!"
The three walked off, hand in hand, unaware of the stares and raised eyebrows that followed their progress.
X X X
"Bezoar." Draco said, as they came to the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room. A huge section of the stone wall swung to the side, revealing a torch lit passageway, with stairs descending even further under the castle.
"Draco, why do you know the password? Aren't you a little past having to get in here?" teased Tom, as they walked down the short flight of stone steps.
"It's the Alumni password, but not that many ever come back to visit, unless their kids are going to Hogwarts," Draco laughed. "Haven't used it in years!"
"Oh, Draco! This is lovely!" exclaimed Emma, as she walked into the cavernous Common Room.
"Whoa! This isn't anything like the movie set!" added Tom, as he spun around, trying to see it all.
The wall directly ahead of them was made up almost entirely of floor to ceiling glass, through which they could see along the rock foundations of the castle to the lake and to the Forbidden Forest beyond.
On the left were four fireplaces with seating areas and low tables ranged out in front of each. In the center of the room were half a dozen tables with six or eight chairs around them, obviously for study groups. There was the entrance to a hallway in the middle of the right hand wall but the rest of that side of the room was covered with book shelves and trophy cases.
Draco pointed toward the hallway, as he turned to Emma. "The girls dorms are to the right, boys to the left. If you need a towel or anything, just call for 'Posey'; she's the House Elf assigned to help the Slytherin girls. The boys have 'Jamey'.
"Oh, lovely. . . maybe in a minute." She smiled at him, as she walked over to the window to admire the view. "Wow, this is marvelous!"
"From the outside, it looks like part of the rock foundation, one way view only." Draco told Emma, who nodded.
"Oh, look! What's that?" Tom exclaimed.
Draco and Emma walked over and looked toward where Tom was pointing. High above the trees on the opposite shore, a black, winged creature circled and then glided down out of sight.
"What is what?" Emma questioned, looking at Tom. "I don't see anything."
"Oh, my . . . was that a real Thestral, Draco?" he whispered, turning to the Wizard standing by his side.
"Yes, it was. Beautiful, aren't they?"
"You saw a Thestral, Tom? Wow!" Emma gasped, turning to look out the window again.
"Well, I was with my Granny when she died . . . it was very peaceful, and she was ready to go, so it wasn't a bad thing, really . . . but this is a magical creature, Draco. How can I see it?" Tom asked.
"Well, you've seen the House Elves, Fawkes and Buckbeak, so why not a Thestral?" Draco shrugged, smiling. "These animals are all real, just hidden from Muggles, present company excluded."
"Is Buckbeak still living at Grimmauld Place?" Emma asked.
"No, Sirius brought him back here to Hogwarts, as it was better for Buckbeak to be outside. Sirius still comes to visit him, though."
"I'd love to see him, too," Emma said, pulling her attention from the view and turning to the Draco and Tom. "Perhaps we can go down to Hagrid's before we have to leave, if we can squeeze that in to our visit."
"It'll be a bit more of a surprise for Hagrid to see us, as opposed to our seeing his creatures!" Tom laughed.
"Pity," sighed Emma, "When we go back, we'll be like the rest of the Muggles; we won't remember any of this and we won't know that 'magical creatures' are alive and well and sharing space on this earth with us."
"Damn, that's right," muttered Tom, then he brightened. "Well, in that case, I want to see as much as we can, remember or not, I still want to see it! The Quidditch Pitch, the Potions Lab, the Forbidden Forest - at least as far as Hagrids' and even the Gryffindor Common Room!"
Emma laughed, Draco grinned and Tom stood there rubbing his hands together at the thought of running amok at Hogwarts.
"In that case, let's get freshened up and go back to the Great Hall. We'll propose a tour . . . we may as well say we need another day here to see everything , so why not have a Hogwarts 'sleepover' and do it right?!" Draco suggested.
"That's brilliant, mate!" Tom exclaimed, as Emma threw her arms around Draco's neck and gave him a hug.
"What a wonderful idea! With all the Time Turners we have working, we'll be able to pull it off without any trouble!" Emma added.
"Right," agreed Draco, who turned Emma around, smacked her on the bottom and shooed her off to the girls dorm. "Go on, fix your face and whatever else you need to do and we'll meet you back here in five minutes."