As the Order of the Phoenix prepared for their coming battle with Voldemort and his army Dumbledore's office had become their new base of operations. Mad Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Sirius Black were standing around a table on which held a model of Hogwarts and the surrounding areas and were arguing over how to position their own forces. Thanks to Snape's reports and their own intelligence sources they had a fairly good idea of what they were up against, however they knew that Voldemort was bound to surprise them with something.
"They say he needs to be close to Hogwarts for the ritual to work." Moody commented, pointing over at the other group consisting of Snape, McGonagall, and Hermione who were still researching the ritual. "Within a few hundred feet at most, but he also won't want to be inside the castle. If I were him, I would set up camp here while attacking here and here."
"But that's too close to the castle!" Sirius argued. "He's going to want to be as far away as possible to give himself more defensive depth. This is a better location."
They continued to try and convince the other which spot was more likely to be Voldemort's choice of location to attempt the ritual with Kingsley occasionally adding his thoughts while several other conversations went on around them. A secret door connected Dumbledore's office to a large room which had been turned into an area for them to rest. As the hours passed more and more Order members arrived and tried to prepare themselves for what lay ahead.
Dumbledore sat watching the excitement around him and contemplated his own role in the coming battle. He knew it would be foolish for him to attempt to face Voldemort on his own again, especially now that he was no longer the master of the Elder Wand. Even so he was still likely the third most powerful wizard and perhaps more importantly an asset Voldemort did not expect to have to deal with. He only hoped it would be enough to negate Voldemort's numerical advantage.
The old wizard's glance once again returned to the floo. Hours ago Harry had left through that very floo after telling the others in the office that Daphne Greengrass had been kidnapped and he was going to save her. They had attempted to persuade him to wait for help but Harry had not even slowed down. There had been no sign of him since, although it had been noticed that Daniel Greengrass was also missing. Dumbledore had briefly been angry that Harry had not waited, but then he remembered that he had been the one to encourage Harry to take a stronger leadership role in the first place and it was no longer his job to criticize. He only hoped that Harry would be careful.
As he thought that the floo once again roared to life as its orange flames turned green. Seconds later Harry and Daphne stepped through the floo with Daniel Greengrass right behind them. Other than a large bruise on Daphne's face none of them appeared to be injured. Seeing them, Hermione immediately ran over to the floo and enveloped her two friends in a hug.
"You're safe!" Hermione cried happily. "We were so worried!"
"I'm just so glad to be back." Daphne said.
"Everything went fine, Hermione." Harry assured her before turning towards Professor Dumbledore. "Daphne needs to see Madame Pomfrey, she's been subjected to the Cruciatus curse."
"I will send for her at once." Dumbledore replied. He motioned towards one of the paintings on the wall and it's occupant nodded and walked out of the frame, presumably to a picture in the infirmary where Madame Pomfrey was. "What happened?"
"Voldemort forced Pansy Parkinson to kidnap Daphne and send her to the Malfoy's house. I only knew that much because Draco warned me. I told Hermione and the others that much before I left." Harry explained. "Voldemort's plan was to try and get me out of the way tomorrow so I couldn't be here. I don't imagine he is going to be very happy when he figures out what happened."
"Very well. It is good to see all of you again. As for Ms Parkinson, Professor Snape has moved her to another part of the castle untill we decide what punishment, if any, she will face. Your room, Ms Greengrass, will be safe if you wish to retire there for the night." Dumbledore said. "Harry, I wish I could tell you to take all the time you needed to care for Daphne, but unfortunately time is one resource we have precious little of. Tonight will be very busy."
"I know." Harry agreed. "I'll be here."
Dumbledore nodded and Harry led Daphne off to the other room where there was a bed she could rest on while they waited. Harry knew what kind of pain she must still be in, having experienced the Cruciatus quite a few times himself. The potions that Madame Pomfrey was bringing would help, but in the end only time would heal it completely. After a few minutes of waiting Madame Pomfrey arrived, provided Daphne with the appropriate potions and ordered he to bed.
"Would you rather sleep here?" Harry asked. He wasn't sure if Daphne would be opposed to sleeping in the room where Pansy had attacked her the day before.
"No. I want to go to my room." Daphne replied. "Pansy won't be there and from the sounds of it Draco is on our side now. Besides, my wand is there and I hate being without it."
"Alright." Harry agreed. "But I am going to put up some wards around your room. It'll make me feel better."
Daphne hugged Harry back, understanding that he was probably upset with himself that he had not been around to prevent her kidnapping. It wasn't his fault, of course, but it was her boyfriend's nature to feel responsible for his friends and loved ones well being.
Together they left Dumbledore's office and walked to the Slytherin dorms. Harry suspected that one of the potions Madame Pomfrey had given Daphne had been a sleeping potion because her movements were becoming sluggish as the minutes passed. By the time they entered the dorm he had an arm around her helping her walk.
"Daphne!" a voice called out as they stepped through the door. A very worried Astoria Greengrass ran across the room and hugged her older sister. "No one would tell me what happened to you, but the rumors were that Pansy helped kidnap you!"
Harry noticed that Draco Malfoy had heard the commotion and walked out of his room to see what was going on. When he saw that Harry had indeed been able to rescue Daphne he did not smile but simply nodded as if he expected it.
"It's true." Daphne agreed. "Dad and Harry saved me. Draco told Harry where I was."
"You helped?" Astoria asked, turning towards Draco. At his nod of agreement she ran over to him and kissed him on the cheek, causing the older Slytherin to look very surprised. "Thank you!"
"It was no problem." Draco replied uncertainly. Astoria smiled and ran back to her older sister while Draco turned and went back to his room, leaving the others alone. Harry watched his former rival and, not for the first time, was surprised at how things turned out. Even now Draco's attitude was hard for him to understand and it was possible he would never know what caused him to turn against his father, but for now he was just thankful for the help Draco had provided.
"Astoria, let's help her to her room." Harry said. The younger Greengrass sister opened the door for Harry as he carried Daphne inside and set her down on the bed. Daphne was already asleep before her head even hit the pillow. The sleeping potions she had taken were evidently quite powerful. But, Harry knew, she would need the rest. The next day was going to be tough for all of them.
Lucius Malfoy knew something was very, very wrong the moment he stepped through his front door. As one of the Death Eaters with the most knowledge of Lord Voldemort's plans for the following day he had many responsibilities to take care of and so had not been at the house all day. Jugson and Gabriel Greengrass had been left in charge of watching the prisoner, more than enough given the fact that no one knew where she was being kept.
The first thing he noticed when he walked in was that his foyer and the attached sitting room had nearly been destroyed. As he walked through the chaos that had recently been a well kept house he wondered who could have caused this and if they were still there. He clutched his wand in front of him and scanned the area but neither heard nor saw anything to indicate anyone was around. That is when he saw the dead body of Gabriel Greengrass crushed underneath a bookcase. He amended his earlier thought: there was no sign of anyone still alive in the house.
Lucius considered walking upstairs but decided there was no point at the moment. He had ordered Narcissa to leave the house, not foolish enough to let his family near a planned ambush. Lucius continued walking and checking on the rest of his home. As he neared the kitchen he could not help but notice the foul smell of blood and death and was therefore not surprised to see five dead bodies there. From the looks of it they had died quickly but horrifically. The sight and smell made even his stomach turn a little.
Knowing the intruders must have come for the prisoner, Lucius' next stop was his private dungeon. As he expected, the girl was gone and one of her keepers was dead in her cell. He swore bitterly at the situation. His master would be very angry at this failure. Lucius had no idea how important this part was to the Dark Lord's overall plans, he only hoped that it was not a vital piece. If it were his chances for surviving his next meeting with the Dark Lord were slim to none.
'How could this have happened?' he wondered. It was possible, but very unlikely, that Daphne Greengrass had somehow broken free of her chains, stolen a wand, and killed her guards. But the girl was not known to be especially powerful and it was much more likely that there had been more than one person attacking the Death Eaters here. That would mean that someone learned where the girl was being held and found a way to get past his wards and into his home. There was only one way that could have happened: Draco must have told them.
It didn't make any sense, Lucius thought. He had considered the life debt that his son owed Potter and was confident that it would not stop him from playing his part in their plan. After all he would not be lying to Potter who would already know that he was walking into a trap. If it wasn't the life debt though, that meant that his son had chosen of his own free will to defy him and and side with his enemies. But why would Draco do that? His son hated Potter and had for years. There must be something he wasn't aware of that would make sense of all this, he assured himself.
"He better have a good explanation." Lucius muttered. "Or he will pay."
Lucius left the house and apparated away to report the bad news to Lord Voldemort. He could only hope his master was in a merciful mood.
"About time, Potter." Professor Snape said as Harry walked back into Dumbledore's office, although without the malice that his greetings for Harry usually held. He had never particularly liked Harry but his views on the child of his childhood rival and love had begun to improve. Plus the fact that Harry had saved one of his Slytherins did not hurt.
"Hi everyone." Harry said as he took a seat at the table around the journal which held the details of the ritual. Several other books had been laid out on the table, apparently for reference. "How bad is it?"
"Very bad, Mr Potter." Professor McGonagall replied. "If Voldemort is allowed to complete this ritual our world and way of life will be destroyed."
"What'll happen if he does finish it?" Harry asked.
"At best creatures which can only be described as demons will pour through the temporarily opened portal between our worlds and attempt to destroy everything in their path, Voldemort included." Hermione commented.
"Really? That's the best case scenario?" Harry asked in shock. "And what's the worst case scenario?"
"The demons will not be wild, but under Voldemort's control." Professor McGonagall replied. "And the portal itself will remain open for as long as Voldemort wishes for it to."
"Is there any good news?" Harry wondered.
"Perhaps." Professor Snape said. "The ritual is fairly simple, although it requires massive amounts of magical power, but it requires the production of a potion containing a variety of rare ingredients. It will, unfortunately, only take the Dark Lord between twenty and thirty minutes to complete."
"So we'll have some time to disrupt his plans. Great." Harry noted happily. Then he noticed that no one else shared his optimistic outlook. "There's something else isn't there?"
"Harry, Voldemort has to be stopped before he finishes the potion." Hermione explained. "Once he starts the ritual only he will have the ability to end it. Not even killing him is enough to stop the ritual once it has been started. Unless he chooses to stop the ritual there are only two possible outcomes. First, it could end with him successfully opening the dimensional portal. Otherwise, either because he doesn't finish it or just can't because he is dead or not strong enough, the ritual will fail very violently."
"What do you mean by violently?" Harry asked, not liking where this conversation was headed.
"There will be an explosion." Professor Snape said. "The explosion will feed on and consume the magic of its surroundings. Due to the massive amounts of magic contained in Hogwarts the resulting explosion would be incredibly large."
"How large?"
"Harry, you've heard of atomic bombs right?" Hermione asked. When Harry nodded yes she continued. "By my calculations, and I admit this is a rough estimate, the explosion would be about 10,000 times more powerful than the bombs used at the end of World War II. Hogwarts, along with everything and everyone for perhaps 100 miles from here, will be destroyed. But again, it's just an estimate. It might not be quite that bad, but I am fairly certain everyone in Hogwarts will die if that happens."
"So if I can't stop Voldemort from starting the ritual something very bad is going to happen no matter what I do?" Harry asked.
"Unless you could somehow convince him to stop it on his own, no I can't think of anything." Hermione answered sadly. She and the others had been searching for a better option but so far had not been able to find anything useful. Their only hope was to stop Voldemort while he was brewing the potion. Otherwise they would have to begin evacuating the area immediately because no matter what the outcome of the ritual was they would not want to be anywhere near Hogwarts.
"Alright." Harry said finally, pulling the journal towards himself. "Let me read this then. Maybe a new set of eyes will see something different."
An hour later he had read, reread, and reread again everything Canweard the Wise had to say about the ritual but he had not been able to find anything that the others had not already thought of. Indeed the few ideas he did have had already been discussed and dismissed for various reasons. In the end he had no choice but to unhappily agree with their assessment of the situation. Having done so he left them to continue their discussions while he tried to get a better understanding of how the rest of the battle would go and what everyone would be doing.
For all of the members of the Order of the Phoenix the hours seemed to pass much too quickly, and far before any of them were ready the light began streaming in through the windows from the sun rising in the eastern sky. A new day had begun at Hogwarts, and unless they were able to overcome the odds it was possible that this would be its last sunrise. Professor Snape was one of those thoughtfully observing the sunrise as he considered his own chances for living through the day. His time as a double agent would almost definitely end today. As those thoughts crossed his mind a sharp pain shot through his left arm. Clutching it, he glanced towards Dumbledore who had seen his reaction. The Headmaster motioned for him to leave, understanding the reasoning behind the reaction and knowing that Snape would help them however he could. Snape silently left the room and a few minutes later was out of the castle completely and headed back to Lord Voldemort.
While the Order of the Phoenix was nervously waiting and watching for the first sign of trouble the morning began quietly for the rest of the wizarding world. People woke up, had breakfast, and went to work just as they had every other day completely unaware that this one would be any different. Diagon Alley was full of witches and wizards doing their last minute Christmas shopping while their children happily enjoyed the break from school.
Then, just before noon, everything changed suddenly. The Death Eaters and their foreign allies began coordinated attacks on the homes of every Ministry official that had opposed them. Their goal was not to capture or even kill these targets, but instead to create as much chaos and confusion as they could. After those targets had been his they turned their attention to the homes of the Aurors, with similar intentions.
An hour after the attacks began disorder had been effectively spread throughout both the Ministry and the Auror department. Minister of Magic Amelia Bones desperately tried to rally her forces, recognizing that these attacks were only designed to prevent her from sending help to Hogwarts when Lord Voldemort eventually attacked it, but with little success. In all under half of her Aurors answered her call to gather at the Ministry of Magic, the rest ignored the order to stay with their frightened families. The true battle had not even begun and yet Voldemort had already landed the first serious blow.
The doors to the Great Hall slammed open and Professor Snape hurried through, not slowing to acknowledge the strange looks his behavior was producing. He headed straight for Professor Dumbledore's office and when he finally arrived he announced his news loudly and without warning:
"The Dark Lord will be here in a half hour!"
Snape's announcement was not met with chaos or screams but instead quiet nods and silent acceptance. Professor Dumbledore ushered Snape in and began quietly talking with him while the others continued their work with a greater sense of urgency than before. The time had come for them to begin moving into the places and wait for things to begin.
Moody, Sirius, and Shacklebolt had worked the entire night to come up with a strategy to defend Hogwarts and give them a chance to stop Voldemort and felt the one they had finally produced was a good one. The only thing left to do was put it in to place. Harry's place was with Hagrid and Sirius in Hagrid's hut. This was not far from where they expected Voldemort to perform the ritual or the front entrance to the castle.
"How 'bout some tea there Harry?" Hagrid offered as they waited.
"Start a pot, Hagrid." Sirius replied. "Might do us all some good."
Harry nodded from his spot at the window, looking for any sign of movement in the Forbidden Forest. But so far nothing was happening, at least not that he could see. As he watched Sirius came and sat beside him.
"We're going to win today, Harry. I know it." Sirius said. "I want you to know how proud of you I am. And how proud your parents would be. If I don't make it through today, I just wanted you to know that and never doubt it."
"Quit talking like that, Sirius." Harry replied. "We're both going to make it. You'll see."
Sirius shrugged and handed Harry a cup of tea. Harry was able to take one sip before something new in the sky caught his attention.
"Look, over there." Harry pointed. "Smoke."
Hagrid and Sirius looked out the window and saw that Harry was indeed right. Smoke was billowing out of the far end of the Forbidden Forest, but other than that there was no change visible.
"Why would Voldemort start a fire in the Forbidden Forest?" Harry asked.
"Oh no. Oh this is not good." Hagrid said. "This is no good at all."
"What is Hagrid?" Sirius asked. "What's wrong?"
"That is the part of the forest Aragog and his children live in." Hagrid replied. "They hate fire. It's going to drive them all towards the castle."
"Hagrid, who or what is Aragog?" Sirius demanded to know.
"He's an acromantula." Harry answered. "He's huge, And he's not alone. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of smaller acromantulas with him. Hagrid, can you convince him not to attack?"
"Oh I don't think so, Harry." Hagrid replied. "They're under attack and won't bother to figure out which group of wizards it is attacking them."
"How long until the reach the castle?" Harry asked.
"Five minutes maybe." Hagrid said. "Well we knew there were going to be surprises. Looks like this is the first one."
"Let's get ready." Sirius said before downing the rest of his tea and walking out the door, wand in hand and ready to fight. Harry smirked at his godfather's attitude and followed him out the door.
"Attention all students!" Professor Dumbledore's voice echoed throughout the castle, surprising everyone who had believed the old Headmaster to be sick or dying. "You are to return to your dorms at once and remain there until further notice! Prefects, see that this is done immediately!"
Most people obeyed the order, but there were a few notable exceptions.
Fred and George Weasley had been hard at work on a new invention all night and within the past few hours had tested it and begun replicating it dozens of times over. When they heard Dumbledore's voice they smiled knowingly at each other, packed up their work, and set out to the part of the castle they had already picked out which they believed would make the best use of their work. If there was going to be a fight today, they were going to be a part of it.
Daphne and Neville had been warned of what was coming and were waiting in the Room of Requirement for the battle to begin. They had programmed the room to provide them with all of the information possible about what was going on in and around the castle. If Harry needed help they would be some of the first to know.
Draco Malfoy was on his way out of the Slytherin dorms when he heard the announcement. 'Right on time...' he thought to himself as he clutched a letter he had received only a few minutes earlier in his hand. It had told him this, or something like, it would take place at about this time. He had his own plans to see to and was not about to let an announcement to return to his dorm room stop him. What he would do today would in large part determine the path the rest of his life would take.
The rest of the students filed into their respective dorms and waited while they nervously discussed what possible reason there could be for their confinement. The idea that the castle was under attack was a common suggestion, and unfortunately also the one that would prove to be true.
Outside the fire in the Forbidden Forest continued to rage and spread. It was quickly becoming clear to all those watching that something very bad was making its way through the forest and towards the castle. The Order of the Phoenix had sent word to the Ministry that their help was needed immediately and Aurors had begun to pour into the castle through the available floo connections. But for now the castle appeared calm from the outside, not giving Voldemort any sign that they knew what he was up to.
A few minutes after the fire had first been spotted the first few acromantulas ran out of the forest headed straight for the castle. Their angry squeaking noises left no confusion that they were on the warpath. At the same time on the opposite side of the castle dozens upon dozens of inferii began making their way out of another part of the Forbidden Forest also headed towards the castle. The wizard controlling these animated corpses was not visible, but everyone had a good idea of who it was.
Suddenly Aragog, the largest and oldest of all the acromantulas, came crashing out of the forest sprinting towards the castle. The massive spider smashed into the walls of the castle and roared. Harry fired the first shot, a fire spell that burnt a few dozen of Aragog's children to a crisp. The Battle of Hogwarts had officially begun.
Author's Note:
Short wait on this one, mostly because I've had a good idea of how this part of the story was going to go for some time. It was a bit shorter than normal, but don't worry cause the next chapter will be posted soon. Only a few chapters left now, hope you all enjoy it!
