Of Shadows and Light
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Hogsmeade – Plaza
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Harry
"Harry! Over there!"
Harry followed Neville's gesture, only to see more than a dozen of students trying to reach them. They were harassed by a group of Dementors. The creatures were hardly kept at bay by Padma's easily recognizable solid Tiger Patronus and a pair of Patronus shields projected by the wands of Parvati and Ginny. Cormac, unable to cast the spell himself, did his best to protect the others from the spellfire of at least two Death Eaters. More than one student was injured already. This would be a close call.
The four friends hastily got in formation with Harry at the front, the girls at his sides and Neville at the rear. Millie and Greg joined them as did Sirius, while Roxanne stayed with Remus and Tonks to keep the other attackers occupied and the path to the tavern door clear. The Slytherin students laid down an impressing suppression fire on the sniping Death Eaters, while the others opened a corridor with their Patronus. The flood of Dementors was truly staggering. The Patronus spells chased them away, only to have the Dementors return again minutes later. A noise like a bell sounded as Hermione put a solid shield on Harry's flank, protecting him from a vicious curse.
"That's Amycus Carrow," she identified the attacker, who snarled at her from behind his cover, gathering his forces to overpower the group.
"I'll get him," Sirius growled, eager to put the man down like a rabid dog for injuring Carmen. Before Harry could stop him, Sirius left the formation and rushed towards the man. He will never learn, Harry groaned inwardly.
"Let him," Daphne stopped Harry. "He's buying us time."
He nodded slowly. Daphne was right. Every second Sirius occupied the Death Eater he wasn't able to coordinate the actions of the Dementors. They continued on their way and moments later both groups joined forces. However, as Harry wanted to order the retreat, Ginny wailed: "Luna, Harry. Luna isn't here. She got separated by the fiendfyre. We have to find her."
"Ginny…"
"No, we can't leave her alone," with her friends a bit safer now, Ginny wasn't willing to stay anymore. She had to find her friend.
"I'll go with her," Padma announced. Her sister only hesitated for a second. However, as she stepped forward, too, Padma shook her head. "No, you're following Harry to safety."
"Who are you to tell me…?"
"I'm the older one," Padma deadpanned.
"Only by 23 minutes," Parvati protested.
"Please, Vati," Padma begged. Mother can't lose both of us. She didn't say the words but the message was clear. Parvati shortly hugged her sister and whispered a few Indian words into her ear.
"Let's go," Millie had had enough of this nonsense and grabbed Ginny's arm, dragging her away. "Where have you last seen Luna…"
"What?" Harry looked around in shock.
Greg only shrugged and followed the girls as if it was the most normal thing. He was still shell-shocked by the death of his friend, but knew he would have to mourn him later. There was no chance in hell he would let Millie walk away without him.
"Yeah, let's go," Cormac agreed, lifting Demelza Robbins who had been injured during their flight and starting to hobble towards the tavern. He had rescued the girl and done his job as her date. Never would he turn around now and leave the safety of the tavern again. Stupid girls.
With a sigh Harry gestured for his friends to take position and as fast as possible and as much as the Dementors allowed, returned to the false security of the tavern.
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Sirius
"Bastard," Sirius cursed. "Get out of your cover, you filthy coward."
Amycus Carrow reciprocated the endearment with a grin and a pair of cutting curses, which Sirius easily dodged. Instantly a vicious battle erupted between them. Both wizards were graceful, inventive and very fast in their duelling. Graceful he had always been, the two other traits on the other hand he had noticeable enhanced in his endless hours training with the teenagers. Daphne and Hermione were still regularly besting him, to his endless shame, but hell had he learned some dirty tricks from them. And Harry – Sirius simply had to get faster if he didn't want every duel to end after five seconds. Now they lasted a minute at least – most of the times. James would be so proud. But Lily even more, he mused for a moment, with all his growing up. Harry had already reached a maturity James never accomplished. Another curse reminded Sirius that he had no time for day-dreaming now. Narrowing his eyes he concentrated again on putting that murderous swine down.
With his cover slowly falling apart around him, Amycus jumped away, made a roll on the ground and cast a Sectumsempra while standing up. The choice of the spell wasn't a wise one as it only enraged his enemy all the more. Waiving the use of shield spells, Sirius barely dodged the next attacks and went into full offensive. Luckily the Dementors didn't attack him because of his closeness to their master, so he didn't have to care about them. His Reductos shattered the last obstacles on the battle ground while his Lanceas punched fist-sized holes into walls. Amycus, who had to realize that his shield spells weren't a match for this amount of enraged power as they crumbled after one or two hits every time, had to dodge and dance around far too much for his liking. He was getting tired fast and tired fighters blundered. Jumping aside to dodge another one of Sirius' attacks, Amycus stumbled.
It's a trick, Sirius realized. He had seen Daphne do the same, in a much more believable manner. The third time he fell for that trick, she had actually slapped him for his stupidity. So instead of falling for it and trying to 'use the opportunity', Sirius made a roll to the right, evading the next attack, and used a low-powered widespread Reducto to whiff a cloud of sand into Amycus' face. The Death Eater was blinded for a moment and despite his dodging motions an easy target for Sirius' bone breaker. With a scream of pain Amycus, who had just tried to stand up again, went down in a heap. More screams followed as Sirius went through a series of three more bone breakers, hitting his left knee, his right shoulder and the wand hand.
"Stop, I surrender." Amycus lifted his healthy left hand.
Not trusting him in the least and unwilling to accept the surrender, Sirius stalked nearer.
"You have killed…" A Lancea punched a hole through Amycus' shoulder.
"You have raped…" The second one hit the lower bullseye, letting Amycus nearly faint from the pain.
"You nearly killed the woman I love…." The third and last one went through the skull.
"Surrender not accepted," Sirius growled as he smashed Amycus wand with his boot. Turning around he walked away, picking up the sceptre Amycus had in his belt like as an afterthought. This could be useful, he mused, while he walked back, ready to defend himself, happy to have killed the man and relieved to see that no Dementor came near him. Patting the sceptre he thought again: yes, this could become useful.
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Hogsmeade – near Madam Puddifoot's
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Ron
Pure panic was glistening in his eyes as Ron rushed through the streets of Hogsmeade. He had to change directions a dozen times because he stumbled onto an Inferi. In the beginning he had tried to defeat them. Certainly Ronald Bilius Weasley would be able to bring down one of those filthy creatures. However, he learned very soon that a big mouth and an attitude were no match for this materialized piece of dark magic and destruction. It didn't seem to even feel the cutting curses and Ron's low-powered Reducto did no more than make it stagger. Without the sudden appearance of an unlucky, fleeing villager the beast would have gotten him. Ron didn't know the name of that poor man, but the picture of him getting ripped into shreds would never leave his mind. It had gotten colder within the last minutes and even Ron knew what this meant: Dementors.
Shit, why hasn't bloody Potter taught me that funny spell? Ron cursed. It's his fault. I could chase them away with my lion Patronus. His mind imaging how Ron the Mighty rescued the village with his house-sized Patronus, – in the form of a lion, what else? – everybody cheering their hero, Ron was too distracted to instantly notice the appearance of a trio of Dementors. He barely avoided the first one, stumbled, and fell over. Rolling on the ground like mad, he succeeded in getting up again and rushed away and into the next house, the Dementors hot on his heels.
Ron lost precious seconds futilely trying to close the broken door, not knowing whether it even would hinder them in the slightest. A suppressed scream made him notice the pair of 2nd year students hiding in the room. It had been one of the changes of the new school year, a change Filius would regret later today, to allow younger students to sometimes visit Hogsmeade. It was the first Valentine's Day date of these two and until now Dennis Creevey had hoped to see his brother again, and to see his girlfriend, Laura Madley, return safely to Hogwarts. The young Hugglepuff was white with fear and simply unable to move because of her shock. For a second Dennis had even felt relief when Ron entered the house. An older student, someone able to help them, he had thought. It only lasted until he recognized their 'guest'. Oh no, it was only worthless, clueless Ronald McDonald. Dennis nearly grinned, knowing the pureblood wouldn't understand the nickname. His expression turned to shock and fear as Ron's hunters entered the fray.
Ron staggered backwards, sending useless spells at his followers. They seemed to mock him, with their cloaks waving in the wind. They took their time, slowly encircling him. He needed time, time to get away and reach the window that promised hope. I need a decoy, his chess mind kicked in. Seeing all beings in the room like some chess pieces to be moved around by his masterly hand, he made a decision within a split-second. Surprisingly swift he jumped back, grabbed the little girl and tossed it towards the left Dementor, the one nearest the window. Grinning madly as the Dementor actually fell for his decoy and touched the girl, emanating a shocked scream, he sprinted towards the window. Pure fear lent him wings and with a dive roll he jumped through.
Safety.
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Luna
It was Laura's scream that made Luna notice the house. She had been separated from the others through a wall of fire, the Fiendfyre preventing even a witch like her to survive its flames. Since then she had dodged the Inferi and Dementors in a trance-like state, her abilities warning her early enough every time. It was the same abilities that had just warned her to stay away from that house when the screaming started.
Harry's friends often told him that he had a saviour-complex, that he simply stopped thinking when some damsel in distress was within sight. Luna, however, wasn't much better. Without a second thought for her own safety, she run into the house, just in time to see Ron jump through the window, a Dementor closely following him. A second one was stalking Dennis Creevey, the younger brother of her friend and 'colleague' Colin, while the third one…
For a moment Luna's big heart stopped, simply skipping a beat or two. The sight was painful already, but her other senses told her without mercy how Laura felt with her soul sucked away. A single tear slipped down her cheek. The shock was too great to mourn the girl as she deserved. Luna couldn't save her anymore, but perhaps … Luna had to make a snap decision. On the one hand there was Ron. He was Ginny's brother and Luna knew that he was unable to cast a Patronus. However, he had been a git more than once, had betrayed Harry and what he nearly did to the Patils… no, he didn't deserve to be kissed, but Dennis deserved it even less. Colin was her friend, one of her closest. He would be devastated to lose his brother. So she decided to rescue him.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Luna had many happy thoughts in her mind, the ones about her friends certainly belonging to them. However, it was the memory of a Sphinx telling Harry where she could find Crumple-Horned Snorkacks that evoked her Patronus now, not very solid, but recognizable in its form – at least to her. The size of an eagle, with the rough appearance of a seahorse, a single horn sprouting from the forehead and with little bat-like wings. It hurled itself at the Dementor before it was able to touch Dennis, the boy standing still in complete shock and near fainting from having to watch his girlfriend getting kissed. The Dementor hurried away, as the Patronus chased him and the other one away, towards the door, away from his mistress.
You won't get her.
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Padma
They had heard the scream too and while they were looking for Luna, they certainly wouldn't ignore others in need, not on a day like this were human beings had to fight together against those creatures. Luckily most of the Dementors were gathering at the plaza while the bulk of Inferi tore the buildings around Madam Puddifoot's down, so they had been safe so far. Running towards the source of the screaming, they came around a corner only to watch a Dementor bowed over a fainted Ron Weasley. The creature apparently had already started to apply its kiss to the boy, but there was still hope.
Later the girl would wonder if they had hesitated for too long, following the all too human urge for revenge. Was it split-seconds or minutes until she moved? Padma really didn't know. But move she did. Stepping forward, she called her tiger Patronus forward again, this time to rescue a boy she had no small wish to see suffer. Moments later, with her tiger chasing off the bringer of fear, they stood around him, Ginny kneeing at his side. She felt bad, for not reacting faster; for hesitating because she, like Padma, had reason to hate him, to hate her own brother. He was unconscious now and very cold. Had they saved him in time? Only a healer would know, only time would tell.
"Ginny. Ginny!" Padma urged and Ginny looked up. Stumbling towards them where Luna leading a Dennis Creevey who was completely in shock. The boy didn't seem to notice anything around him at the moment, simply obeying Luna who dragged him, away from the house and towards the group. Like a flash Ginny jumped her friend and hugged her, her mind not realizing right now the meaning of the motion, that Luna's safety was already more important to her than her own brother.
You can choose your friends, but not your family. A part of her heart had already disowned her brother and replaced him with her new sister.
Millie, surprisingly gentle, lifted Dennis from the ground and carried him like the little boy he was right now, while leaving it to Padma – a frowning and glaring Padma – to levitate Ron behind.
They had to go now.
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Hogsmeade Plaza
With narrowed eyes Harry watched the Dementors whirl around like sharks in a feeding frenzy. The death of their master hadn't stopped their attack, made it only more erratic and disorganized. Could they use this? Their Patronus spells held them at bay for now. The situation reminded him a bit of those old western films, with the settlers hiding in their wagon fort and the bloodthirsty Indians encircling them on their horses, shooting arrows onto their cover. Here their wagon fort was a mix of the tavern building and their Patronus running guard. The Dementors were the soul-thirsty Indians, but luckily unable to make any range attacks, only their coldness reaching out to the settlers. The last Death Eaters had fallen victim to the leaderless Dementors, something that caused more than one defender to smile happily. They deserved their fate.
"Shouldn't we use the Carnifex spell, Harry?" Neville asked. "I really have enough of them and I would like a bit of revenge."
"Yes and no," Harry responded after a moment. "What do you think will happen when we simply use the spell on some of them?"
"They'll get hit, wounded or killed," Neville frowned, so far not seeing anything bad in that part.
"And the others?"
"If we're lucky they'll flee." Not bad in his mind.
"No," Hermione disagreed. "If we're unlucky they'll flee… and fight another day."
Harry nodded: "Exactly. I don't want this to happen. I don't want to have them attack Diagon Alley next week without anybody there to defend them."
"Whatever do you want?" Neville asked, getting his response from Hermione, while Harry simply nodded to her words: "kill them all."
Kill them all? Neville looked around and paled. There were at least forty of those creatures, perhaps more, with another twenty floating around the village, hunting survivors. How did Harry plan to kill every single one of them?
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Dumbledore Manor
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What can I do now? Albus Dumbledore wondered. The plan had been flawless, absolutely flawless until that stupid, ignorant and stubborn child dared to object.
The war could have been finished at the end of the day. With their master weakened by Harry and killed by Albus Dark-Lord-Slayer Dumbledore, the Death Eaters would scuttle into their dirty little holes, hoping nobody would remember their part in this mess. Ministry and public would be eager to listen to him again, follow his wise advice and be allowed by him to continue their insignificant little lives.
Why did Potter have to be so difficult?
It was only the fault of those damned Pinegrew women. Without them Potter would never have left his place, a place meant to be following Albus orders with a puppet-Ginny at his side and Molly nurturing him to behave like expected. Everything was falling apart now, absolutely everything. Tom would know the wording of the prophecy and Potter… the Dementors wouldn't kill him, but a soulless, mindless Potter was equally worthless. The prophecy simply didn't mention such a condition.
Albus' magic flared and destroyed a part of the furnishing, something that hadn't happened for decades, not since his falling-out with Gellert. I need more information, Albus thought, struggling to control his emotions. I need to know what's going on at the Ministry. Perhaps I should warn them now, perhaps it isn't too late. Yes, he nodded. I'll send Sturgis a message. I'm down but not out.
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Ministry of Magic
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It was only one detail that rescued the whole Ministry from burning down: there were wards that kicked in sensing the Fiendfyre scorching the Hall of Prophecies. They tried to quench the hellish fire and – failing in this – shut the doors, closing it off from the rest. There wouldn't be much left of the room. Thousands of prophecies would be destroyed. The building itself however was sturdy enough to survive. The fire would run out after a while, the thick walls and wards enclosing it. The loss of knowledge however would hurt them for generations.
It was equally only one detail that rescued Senior Auror Brinks and his men. Following the alarm – an alarm set off by the violent death of Unspeakable Croaker – he gathered the few Aurors still left at the Ministry and rushed into the DOM, only to meet an enemy from his nightmares. The little detail rescuing him was the fact that Voldemort was exhausted and depressed. He had worked off his initial rage by destroying everything around and now only wanted to leave. So, instead of fighting a brutal, murderous battle, he pushed the Aurors away with a widespread Reducto, breaking many bones and killing two of them, but hurrying away instead of massacring the rest. A few of the younger Aurors wanted to follow him, not grasping how hopelessly outclassed they were, but Brinks stopped them, allowing them to go home in the evening instead of having to inform their families of their early demise.
It may be a bit cowardly not to fight him, or to at least try to prevent his flight, Brinks thought. But my honour isn't worth the loss of my men's lives.
"Stop," one of his men growled, pointing his wand towards a niche in the wall. "Come out of there!"
A few shuffling noises could be heard and a moment later a man left his hideout: Sturgis Podmoore.
"What are you doing here?" Brinks growled. Podmoore had nothing to do at this place. Unlike Croaker and Shacklebolt, Brinks didn't know about the Order of the Phoenix, or about the connection between Dumbledore and Podmoore. However, he didn't intend to simply let him walk away.
"Only… I was only…" he pointed towards his hideout, his mind racing to find some explanation.
"Hand over your wand," Brinks commanded.
"You can't…"
"Hand over your wand," Brinks repeated, pointing his wand between Podmoore's eyes. The trembling man obeyed. "Escort him into one of the interrogation rooms. Jenessey, get me some Veritaserum." Podmoore paled. "If the Unspeakables object, tell them it's to clear the circumstances of Croaker's death. On Madam Bones' return I want to have some answers for her."
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Hogsmeade Plaza
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A little pale Harry watched his godfather walk through the hordes of Dementors like Moses through the Red Sea. They simply parted ways, allowing him to walk unhindered towards the tavern.
"Anything happened while I was away?" He asked with a faux smile on his face. Without waiting for a response, he instantly turned serious: "how's Carmen?"
"She's stable," Daphne responded. She glared at him: "you know you have to thank Draco and apologize to him?"
Sirius nodded. "I will." The thought of thanking Draco Malfoy nearly made him vomit, but Daphne was right. The boy had saved Carmen's life.
Harry didn't know whether he should be happy about Sirius' return or angry because of his stupid behaviour. He decided to go for a question. "Why did they allow you to pass their ranks?" He nodded towards the still encircling Dementors, only held at bay by the Patronus that encircled the tavern.
"Because of this," Sirius patted the sceptre sticking from his belt. "I found it at Carrow's side." He handed it to Hermione and Daphne who tried to examine it. Allowing them a few moments of peace, Sirius nodded towards Neville. The boy was sitting in an unfinished circle of runestones, apparently sleeping. "What is he doing there?"
"Gathering power," Harry grinned. His eyes narrowed and he looked thoughtful. "Do you think you could command the Dementors with that sceptre?"
"It's not a commanding sceptre, Harry," Hermione objected.
"It seems to be more like an 'I'm-your-friend' sceptre," Daphne agreed.
"So," Harry concluded "Sirius couldn't get them to do something against their nature, but perhaps direct them a bit… say: he could tell them how nice it would be to gather at the plaza to have a little snack?"
Daphne paled, looked at Hermione and nodded after a moment: "that should be possible."
"But there would have to be a 'happy meal' in sight," Hermione objected.
Harry thought for a moment. "Mum, I want you to gather the house-elves in the tavern. Organize things so that two people stay close to every house-elf. Everybody has to be ready to flee in time. I don't want to risk their safety anymore than necessary. When we're ready," he pointed towards Neville and the runes "Sirius can give the order to the Dementors to attack us."
Roxanne gulped. She wanted to ask Harry if he was mad. She wanted to beg him not to follow his incredible dangerous plan. But she understood that he needed to do this, that he needed her support right now. So instead of being the frightened mother she felt right now, she stepped forward and embraced him and Daphne. After a moment and without a word she turned around and left for the tavern.
Harry directed his stare towards the Dementors. Plan Extermination was in action now.
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Hogwarts – Hospital Wing
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Poppy
Poppy Pomfrey had been bustling about in her Hospital Wings since Winky and Ciddy arrived with the first patients.
I don't know whether I'm coming or going, she thought, while hurrying to the next sick bed, caring for another injured patient. More than twenty students and more than three dozen villagers had been transported to her hospital by the eager house-elves, and while she really appreciated their work, it was impossible to organize all of this and get something done at the same time. Luckily Severus had arrived to help, not leaving the school with the rest of the staff, and eased the pressure a bit.
She sighed deeply and looked around. Slowly she was reaching her limits. No, cross this out! She was beyond her limits already. Another five serious cases needed her magic, only Severus' stasis spells keeping them alive for now. Another four had lost their souls through the Dementors, the sight terrifying the others. At least a dozen more needed help in some way, some healing spells, others could use someone caring for them, shock showing in their frightened eyes.
Where to start?
"Open this damned barrier, Poppy."
Poppy nearly fainted from relief and obeyed without hesitation. Cancelling the barrier that closed off her emergency floo, a first little smile crossed her face as Healer Nowles left the fire. In short order a dozen healers followed her, their robes telling Poppy that Nel had gathered her forces from half the countries of Europe. Two faces she knew from St. Mungo's, another one from Ireland. The rest however, wearing robes from French, Spanish, Italian and Greek hospitals, were unknown to her. Poppy had no idea how Nel had been able to react this fast, how she had gathered this kind of help with so little delay, but she was immensely grateful.
Someone clapped his hands loudly to get everybody's attention. With wide eyes Poppy noticed an elderly man in a weird kind of robe, certainly not of the wizarding kind. "Nel, allot healers to the most urgent cases. Brother Marcus, one brother assists every healer." Only now did Poppy notice around twenty more people filling her already crowded hospital.
"What are Monks doing here?" A Muggleborn student whispered to her friend, getting only a shrug in response. Monks, Poppy wondered. What in Merlin's name are Monks?
"You," the man addressed Madam Maulkin, who had been sitting there, still a bit in shock because of the attack in her shop. "You're alright so far?" She nodded hesitantly. "Good, go with Brother Peter and Healer McKeefe," he pointed towards one of the weird men and the Irish healer known to Poppy. "Help them with magicking furnishing into beds or how you call it. We need more beds and sick rooms around the hospital."
Madam Maulkin frowned: "you mean transfiguring?"
"Yes, yes," he agreed impatiently. "Off you go. Get some help from the other villagers. Brother Michael, have a look at the uninjured. Some of them appear to need help to overcome their shock. Get them somewhere calmer."
Within a minute the hospital changed into a humming and buzzing beehive, with Poppy only needed to tell them which of her patients needed what kind of help. Poppy had still no idea who these men were – aside from being Muggles apparently – and why all those healers allowed the Muggles' leader to order them around. However she was happy to have him here. His authority was awe-inspiring and in no time only the worst cases were still in the hospital, creating space for the next bunch to arrive while the simpler cases and the ones only needing emotional assistance had been organized in the rooms adjacent to the hospital.
"Sit!" Poppy felt herself pushed into a chair and her wand taken away, while one of the Muggles shoved a cup of tea into her hand. "Recover, we'll need you again later."
She wanted to object but the Muggle already hurried away, carrying a potion here and speaking with a frightened patient there. Perhaps he is right, Poppy thought, who never before had allowed anybody to treat her like this in her own hospital wing. A moment of rest can't hurt… at least until the house-elves arrive with the rest.
The question was: where were the house-elves right now?
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Hogsmeade – Madam Puddifoot's
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Minerva
I'm too old for this, Minerva McGonagall grumbled. She had been running around the village, trying to rescue as many of her cubs as possible – irrespective of their house affiliation. After a while more and more house-elves arrived, taking away students and villagers alike. Why haven't I remembered them earlier? Their transportation skills were invaluable and certainly rescued dozens of lives today.
The hue of the flames flaring behind some of the buildings told her enough: someone had dared to use Fiendfyre. It could easily destroy the whole village if not tamed in time. With only small hope to succeed in doing this – so far she only knew one man being able of that feat and she hadn't seen Albus around here today – she wanted to at least try to stop the fire. Dashing around a corner, she nearly crashed into a group of students. The duo of redheads was unmistakable.
"Misters Weasley, what are you still doing here? Shouldn't you ascertain the safety of your ladies?"
Actually Fred and George kept their girlfriends very close right now, the smouldering remains of three Inferi telling her that the twins were far from helpless. Their faces however showed only determination.
"Ginny and Ron… they were at Puddifoot's when the attack started. We're looking for them."
Minerva paled. There was little left of the love nest café. The main building had collapsed and the kitchen area was ablaze. Nobody could still be alive therein and a number of corpses on the street told her about the brutal fight that had happened there. Minerva's heart was in deep mourning because of all the deaths that had happened today and were still happening all around. Her eyes bulged as exactly those corpses started to move. A mad cackle caused her to whirl around.
"Toys," Alecto Carrow clapped happily "new toys."
Slowly the corpses rose from the ground. As if following a silent command they turned around and shambled towards Minerva and the four students. Minerva shot a curse towards the mad woman, but Alecto darted behind the next building, leaving only her cackle and a dozen Inferi behind. Without words the students took position around Minerva, the girls at her sides, the twins protecting the flanks. Their faces hardened into emotionless masks. They knew most of them, the students and villagers that now attacked them with no memory of their former life. At least neither Ron nor Ginny were among them.
"Burn them," Minerva commanded, suppressing her own tears as she opened fire and banished one of the Inferi into the raging flames. To give them eternal peace was all she could do right now.
I will kill you, Alecto, for forcing me to do this, Minerva vowed.
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Voldemort's Lair
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His mood didn't get any better when he arrived at his lair. A few younger Death Eaters standing guard cowered in fear as he stormed pass them. To their luck, he had no thought to squander about them right now. He needed more information. His plan had been daring and he had been lucky to enter and escape from the DOM more or less unhindered. The distraction had worked quite well. Only, everything had been useless. With the prophecy destroyed he had to find other ways to learn more about Trelawney's…
Trelawney, Voldemort narrowed his eyes, thoughtful, pondering how to use that bit of knowledge. A seer usually didn't remember her own true prophecies. This had been the reason he never tried to catch her last time around. However, Dumbledore had hidden her away, protected her in his school for more than a decade. There had to be a reason for this. Perhaps there were still ways to extract the prophecy from her mind. It was the only thing making sense.
Yes, he grinned maliciously. I'll send an invitation to the crazy bint and we'll have a little talk. It can't hurt anyway. I like guests.
His mad grin suddenly stopped as he remembered the other part of today's plan: the attack on Hogsmeade. It hadn't only been ordered to allow him to enter the Ministry, not only meant as a distraction. He wanted to spread fear and terror among the public. With dozens of students kissed and the whole village exterminated, nobody would dare to fight him anymore, fearing a repetition of today. An added bonus was the chance to diminish the enemy's forces. Some of the teachers and Aurors would be there, hopefully to get killed or wounded in the fight, perhaps even kissed. A smile crossed his face as he imagined Minerva McGonagall getting the kiss. He had hated her more than most other followers of the old man. He remembered quite well how ecstatic he had been when he got the information about her husband's last assignment in the first war. It had allowed him to catch him and his men by surprise and kill him off, nearly breaking McGonagall.
Yes, he thought happily. Perhaps Amycus will return with some happy news about her. By the way: where are you, Amycus?
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Hogsmeade Plaza
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Harry did his best to work fast and precise at the same time. Putting his Occlumency and meditation training to good use, he completely shut off the noises around, blocked his senses from reacting to the ongoing struggle. Runestone after runestone got finished and left his hand to be added to the arithmantic hexagon Hermione had created around the position Neville was sitting in. A nearly identical hexagon was already finished a few steps away, waiting for Harry to take his place. For every runestone in Neville's hexagon, there was a counterpart in Harry's. Only while Neville's showed runes of gathering power, Harry's were of the releasing kind.
Neville, without ever opening his eyes or showing any clear reaction to Harry's and Hermione's actions, was slowly charging the hexagons. They were brimming with magical light already, Harry's hexagon stronger than the unfinished one around Neville. Daphne was standing guard near them. Later Hermione and her would help the boys channel the magical energies, but for now she couldn't help. Sirius and Roxanne, together with Remus, Tonks and a few others, were keeping the Dementors away, their Patronus patrolling the perimeter like shepherd dogs, frightening away the black-caped wolves daring to leave the security of their hunting pack for a half-hearted attack. It was more than a bit weird to work like this, to be the eye of the storm while dozens of Dementors longed for their emotions and souls.
Padma and the others hadn't returned to the tavern, but her Patronus delivered a message a few minutes ago. "We're safe. We left the village and are on our way to Hogwarts. We found Luna, Dennis Creevey and Ron and met the Headmaster on our way." One less concern, Daphne thought, happy to know Luna safe. Harry had even smiled despite his concentrated work.
A relieved sigh announced the end of his work. While he recovered, Hermione triple-checked his work but was apparently satisfied. That was the easy part, Daphne sighed.
"Are our caped friends reacting as hoped?" She asked Sirius, presuming Harry's next question.
"Yes, they're gathering," Sirius responded, concentrating on his sceptre. It was a more than unusual feeling. Coldness was dripping into his bones when he concentrated on the frightening creatures. There was a connection to their minds, a connection that caused a sensation of depravation, of feeling unclean. Their minds were too foreign to actually be understood. It was completely different to Legilimency or the Congregation's Rapport spell. However, he was able to tell that they understood him; he even felt their hunger, their eagerness to attack. While Harry had prepared the ritual, he had advised the Dementors to gather near the edge of the plaza for a full-blown attack. They had been eager to follow his call and now it became more and more difficult to stop them from immediately attacking the tavern. They sensed their 'meals' in there, knew that they would find dozens of victims in the building, only defended by a small number of those hated creatures of light and hope.
Soon they would attack. Soon they would feed again.
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Hogsmeade – at the edge of the village
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Amelia Bones allowed Kingsley to organize their troops while taking her time to have a look around. So far only a single Death Eater and a trio of Inferi as well as a stray Dementor had been visible. The Death Eater died in the crossfire of the French Aurors to her left. The quartet had followed Kingsley without invitation, the Danish Aurors doing the same, while the Spanish team instantly went for Hogwarts to protect the Hospital. The teamwork between the three foreign teams and Kingsley was one of the few things making her happy today.
"The Dementor vanished towards the plaza, Madam Bones," Grimes, a middle-aged, trustworthy Auror who was more of a leader and observer than a fighter, announced. Amelia nodded curtly. Looking left and right she noticed the French and Danish teams taking flanking positions, both teams bolstered by two English Aurors each. While the resistance hadn't been strong so far, they had to be careful, especially because of the Dementors. It wouldn't do to simply rush into the village, not with this kind of opponents. They had to look for survivors too and Amelia was content to notice the group assigned by Kingsley to follow them. Their job would be the evacuation of the villagers and students they found.
"We're ready."
Amelia gestured Kingsley to go on and followed him, her mind shortly on the fire to her far left.
I hope Bry is alright.
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Hogsmeade – Madam Puddifoot's
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Minerva
More and more they had to back off. The sheer mass of Inferi was slowly overwhelming them and some of the houses neighbouring to Madam Puddifoot's already caught fire. The twins were mostly protecting their girlfriends and Minerva so far simply had no chance to attempt to control the Fiendfyre. It got worse because Alecto Carrow had started some hit and run tactic, firing a spell or two from some cover before hiding again. Fighting occurred all around the village apparently. Perhaps Aurors had started to arrive, Minerva hoped. And certainly Filius is on his way with the rest of the staff.
As if called by her thoughts, pops could be heard to her left. Minerva dared to take a look. She relaxed visibly as the well-known figure of Brychan Camwy appeared, a man and a woman by his side. Minerva recognized Jessica Treskow. The man has to be Fabian, she mused.
"We mean you no harm, don't fear us," Jessica's words rattled Minerva from her thoughts and for a moment she had no idea what this was about. She noticed that Fabian gulped down some potion, his wife following seconds later. For few moments nothing happened and Minerva was too occupied fending off the Inferi to give the words and potions much thought. Then however, roars permeated the airs. Minerva glanced to her left and paled. Where Fabian and Jessica had been, now stood two of the largest Werewolves she had ever seen, snarling at the Inferi, their claws glistening. For a moment Minerva wondered about it, before she noticed Brychan's wandwork. Something like Bluefire flames, she mused. With a snarl akin to a warcry Fabian Treskow jumped into the fray, destroying two of the Inferi in his first attack. Jessica on the other hand simply passed the fight and hurried away. Minerva only needed a second to understand: she's hunting Alecto. For a moment the wish passed her mind to follow her, but protecting her cubs was more important than revenge.
"Fred, George, shield me," Brychan yelled, before turning towards the raging fire. Trusting the twins to protect him from any Inferi escaping the raging Werewolf only a dozen steps away, he started to concentrate on dousing the fire. Reaching out with his Elemental Fire Magic, he worked to get control over the raging inferno that had long slipped Alecto's command and was on the edge of destroying the whole village. Slowly he was gaining ground, impressing Minerva more than a bit with his abilities. This man was certainly more than your off-the-rack secretary.
"Incendio!" Fred's spell burned one Inferi to a crisp, ignoring the memory that he had pranked the dead student only a month ago, while Alicia and Angelina worked as a team and pushed another one into the flames. The masses of Inferi were shrinking fast with Fabian simply ripping them apart. If this is how an enraged Werewolf fights, I don't want ever to have to go against Greyback, George mused. I hope Greyback doesn't have access to this potion, too.
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Jessica
While Fabian was destroying the Inferi and Brychan battling the fire, Jessica Treskow had no problems to follow the smell of Alecto Carrow. The mad witch actually looked frightened as Jessica rushed around a corner. The Werewolf dodged the first two spells, grunted as a third hit her chest and jumped. Alecto barely dodged the attack – mostly. Two claws grazed her shoulder and it started to bleed. Cursing she fired another spell at her enemy, the Reducto hitting Jessica close-quarter. She was pushed away and went head of heels a few times. However, very fast she was on her feet again, telling Alecto that her spells, with her core being exhausted after all the fighting and summoning, wouldn't be enough to save her. So, instead of continuing to fight, she fumbled for her portkey.
Jessica snarled and jumped at her, getting close enough this time to have a bite. With vicious force her teeth sank into the left arm Alecto used to shield her head. She screamed in pain, kicking against the far stronger Werewolf. It was enough to actually get away for a second, the adrenaline from her terror kicking in and lending her inhuman strength. Terrified by the marks in her arm, Alecto Carrow used her portkey to get away. Only an old, depleted sceptre was left behind and a small pool of blood.
Jessica cursed for a moment, but then her wolfish face turned into something like a smile. Until the next full moon Alecto Carrow will be a very frightened witch.
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Hogsmeade Plaza
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"Whatever happens, you have to get Tori away," Daphne snarled.
Draco simply nodded: "you can trust me with her."
"I do," Daphne shortly smiled, before she hugged her little sister and left the tavern again to join her friends. Roxanne was there with Ciddy at her side, Sirius a few steps away with the sceptre in his hand and Paddoc holding guard. She hadn't seen the silent exchange of looks between Harry and his house-elves. Dobby, not needing a word to know his job, had taken Winky's hand and jumped on the tavern's roof. From there they would watch the events and – should the need arrive – pull the girls from the ritual to rescue them, even against their wishes. The girls would be furious, but should the need arrive for the house-elves to go through with their assigned task, he would already be as good as dead.
"Let's start," Harry announced, staring shortly in the eyes of his friends, finishing with Daphne whom he sent a small smile that he wished to be more confident. Silently they took their position. With no time to tell Sirius when to start, it was left to Roxanne to watch them and order the attack. Never before had her wish been this strong to simply grab her children and apparate away. This was madness. The coldness was very strong now, her breath creating little puffs of steam. She had stopped counting the Dementors some time ago but assumed that more than five dozen of the creatures were encircling the plaza, nearly half of the Dementors known to exist in Scotland.
The Dementors seemed to feel it too. They got even more restless now in their soul frenzy, trying to get nearer, the ones at the back pushing those at the front closer, while the dozen nearest to the quartet of teenagers apparently felt some kind of danger emanating from the place. The Patroni from Roxanne, Sirius, Remus and Tonks did their best to protect the tavern, while Daphne and Hermione had changed their tactic. Now, instead of calling forth their corporal Patronus, they had formed their spells' energy into a half-sphere, a dome of positive feelings protecting their fiancés.
Roxanne felt the energy level rising, the hexagons glowing, their light getting more brilliant with every second. The Dementors were really mad now. Only a few more seconds, Roxanne thought, her chest nearly unable to continue breathing. Only a few more seconds.
.
"You did it," only Minerva's steady hands kept the man from collapsing. "You really did it."
Brychan smiled weakly, his eyes still on the smouldering remains of the houses around them. Fabian, still a Werewolf, was keeping watch, while Jessica had changed back after her return and started to examine Brychan and the others. Suddenly she stopped and exchanged a look with Fabian.
"Do you feel it?"
He simply nodded. Something was happening right now, something big.
.
Filius was struggling, torn between feeling happy about the number of students rescued already and self-guilt about allowing them to enter the village in the first place. They had met Padma Patil a few minutes ago and knew that Harry was gathering the survivors near the tavern right now.
Hopefully they'll hold out until our arrival, he prayed, urging his teachers to increase their speed. We can't be too late, we simply can't.
.
They had caught another two Death Eaters and destroyed a handful Inferi as well as rescued more than twenty villagers and students, but seen none of the Dementors so far. It caused fear to creep into Amelia's heart. There had to be dozens of them around according to the coldness permeating the air. Where were…
She stopped cold, her eyes at last being able to stare down the lane up to the plaza. Dozens of cloaks were whirling there. A few persons were standing in front of the tavern, some kind of dome of light shielding them for now. How can we hope to chase them off? Despair gripped her heart for a single second, before she clenched her teeth and ordered a full-out attack.
Here comes the cavalry.
.
The air was brimming with magical energy. Never before had a decision been this hard for her. If she was a second too early, Harry wouldn't be ready to release the energies. If she was too late, he could lose his control, the sheer amount of magical energies staggering. The runestones were glowing now, appearing to be near their melting point. Small lines were connecting the hexagons around Neville and Harry. Neville, still gathering more and more power from the ground, the earth of Hogsmeade apparently feeling his urge to protect its villagers, had left the ground some time ago and was hovering above the earth. Harry looked like a priest, his arms expanded to issue the blessing.
"Sirius, go," Roxanne's voice was hoarse and nearly inaudible, but Sirius had been waiting for the smallest sign.
"Attack!" he commanded 'his' horde of Dementors. "Feed!"
.
For a single second Draco was unable to break free from the sight, with dozens of Dementors losing every restraint and going in for the attack. For a second he wanted to watch the result, but he had a job to do.
"Flee, everyone flee. Go, go, go!"
Ignoring Astoria's plea he kept her close and ordered Kreacher to apparatet them away. Only Tori's despaired wail was left behind, as well as a dozen popping noises. Three seconds later the tavern was empty, the only creatures alive being two little house-elves on the roof.
.
Daphne put every bit of emotion into her shield, every single good memory about the night she spent with Harry in Iceland, to empower her shield. Hermione did the same a few steps away, her mind on the moment Neville heard those first words from his mother after more than a decade of silence. They gave everything to protect their boys.
Their shield endured the onslaught of sixty Dementors in a feeding frenzy for a full three seconds. These three seconds counted however. These three seconds were all Harry needed. Opening himself to the magical energies Neville was sending his way, he felt it brimming in his veins, felt nearly unable to contain it for another second. Even the training with Brychan hadn't really prepared him for this amount of magic. His senses were unable to concentrate on the events around him. Had Roxanne already given the order? Had Sirius already commanded the Dementors to attack? He didn't know. He didn't care. It was now or never.
"TEMPESTAS LUCIS!" (3)
And the world perished in a storm of fire and light, extinguishing the coldness in the blink of an eye, shredding apart any despair and changing everybody around forever. Unnatural screams frightened away the wildlife for miles around, as the Dementors were ripped apart. A wave of light rushed through the village, a wave of hope and righteous fury rushing through every heart around. The Aurors under Amelia's command, the still hiding students and villagers, they would speak to their children and grand-children about the sheer feeling in that moment.
Four teenagers, one spell: a spell that would change the war, one spell that would achieve what nobody thought possible, to create fear in the heart of the surviving Dementors. From now on they would hate and fear one name: Hogsmeade, the place where their brethren died.
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A/N
(3) Tempestas Lucis = Storm of Light (Area variant of the Carnifex Lucis)