Harry crouched down, checking the pulse of the robed figure he had come across. It was there. He sighed, rising. He knew too little of healing magic to help directly, and fully reviving a Silver Scion now seemed foolish.
In the past ten minutes, Harry had come across a number of injured. The sudden departure of the Death Eaters had been a temporary relief. The battle had not quite ended as the Scions continued to hold the Great Hall and attempt to attack from there. Harry had seen a few Order members helping the injured and running on who knew what orders. No one had stopped to speak, maybe they didn't want to be the ones to advise him on what to do.
A glance out of a nearby window gave Harry as much confidence in Voldemort's claim as he could get visually. A giant ring of dark robed figures encircled the school. They stood, still, and waited. Of course, it could be an illusion. Harry had seen enough of the enemy's deceptions to believe what Voldemort said or what his eyes told him at a distance. It smelled of a trap. The question was, did he spring the trap and see what was in it or wait and call the enemy's bluff. Voldemort would attack if he failed to appear, but was it with enough force to defeat the force inside the school?
A part of him wanted to face Voldemort, have it out and stop the man. They could buy time in destroying the horcruxes if they destroyed his body or captured him. Hopefully, those would all be discovered, soon. Had Hermione managed to find one here? If not, they would have loads of time to search.
Harry descended the stairs, passing points he had grown up knowing. Places he had played hide and seek, places he had spoken with professors and students dozens of times. His steps echoed in the relative quiet, and he could almost hear the clattering of students' feet rushing to classes. Most of the students he had seen were running for the dormitories on professor's orders. Well, not Hufflepuffs or Slytherins. They were being take up to their rivals' common rooms, where it would be safer.
The portrait in the Gryffindor entrance of the Fat Lady would defend that entrance admirably. And the Ravenclaw riddles would delay if not bewilder unaccustomed invaders. Of course, there could be Ravenclaw invaders, but Voldemort had singled out the Scions and Order as their targets. They likely had parents of students in their ranks. Heedlessly killing students would risk their own children.
"Harry, come with us!" cried a Gryffindor girl. "They won't be able to get to you in our common room."
"Don't give yourself up, Harry!" A Ravenclaw boy cajoled.
"I'm just checking on things downstairs," he answered. "I won't do anything hasty."
That seemed to mollify them, and they continued on. He wasn't sure what he would do, but hiding was not the solution. Voldemort might not threaten students directly, but he might tear the school apart to get to him. Harry could not let that happen. A fight in the lower floors would not expose too many to danger, just those who chose to fight with him - the Order, mainly. They were all dedicated to the cause, anyway. As was he.
On the first floor landing, several Order members had gathered around Mad-Eye Moody and McGonagall, and voices sounded heated. His arrival barely seemed to register with any of them.
"He's just a boy!" cried McGonagall. "Of course, we can't consider it."
"He knows what he signed up to," Sirius said. "And I'm proud of him for what he's done."
"Children should not have to make those choices, then or ever!" Flitwick responded, his face a red bulb in anger.
"While I agree in principle," Sirius replied, "this is not an ordinary circumstance, and he is no ordinary 'child' if you must use the term. He has the fire of both his parents in him, and a cleverness to topple them both. I'm not saying he should let You-Know-Who kill him. That's ridiculous."
"You might as well have," McGonagall replied. "Sending him off alone…"
"I might note, the stipulation never said he had to be alone," Mad-Eye said. "Perhaps an honour guard?"
"It's still too much of a risk," McGonagall said. "It's certain to be a trap!"
"Undoubtedly," Remus said. "But is the alternative better?"
"You know he won't hold to any vague promises to leave us alone," Flitwick squeaked. "He never even promised that much. He only promised they would come in if he didn't meet in the forest. There was no mention of what he would do if Harry did. Likely, the same thing, just after he killed the boy."
"Maybe you should see what the boy thinks?" Harry asked, stepping into the middle of them. "I am right here, after all."
"Harry, you can't go down there," McGonagall spoke, her ferocity suddenly pointed at him. Harry had forgotten how hard she could be, when riled. "I forbid it!"
"I didn't say I would," Harry replied, putting out his hand in a calming gesture. "Like you say, it is certainly a trap, but there is the threat of attack. Do we have any way to see if those are illusions or real Death Eaters out there? I don't doubt some are, but he could be inflating their numbers to scare us."
"At a distance?" Remus asked, frowning. "No, I don't know that Dumbledore could do it without getting close. With no Apparition or other forms of fast travel available."
"We could use brooms," Harry found himself saying. "It's cloudy out, and quick brooms could make it difficult to see or hit…"
"No," McGonagall said.
"I didn't say it had to be me," Harry said. "And just an option. We need to consider options. If we can see there aren't many out there, then we could risk holding back and fight them here, where we control the battlefield. If there are too many, retreat might be the best option."
"Retreat?" Flitwick asked. "Abandon the school?"
"Three hundred against… how many got in before they blocked the entries? Twenty?" Harry said. "Even with the best planning, we would never fight them all. Much less them and the Scions still holed up in the Great Hall. How many of them are there, now?"
"Thirty-four," Moody replied, sombre.
The numbers stilled the argument. It was bleak, and Harry had known it when he told them. Retreat might be the only way. It would be terrible to lose the school and leave it without any Order professors, fewer well respected, too. The students would face worse and worse if that happened. He waited. Someone would ask the obvious question.
"How could we get out, if we had to retreat?" Flitwick asked.
"The House Elf tunnel," Remus said, looking over at Harry.
Harry nodded.
"But a Scion might have revealed the location to the Death Eaters," Remus replied.
"What is this?" McGonagall asked.
"The House Elves took Hermione and her group out a secret way no one else knew," Harry said. "I was grabbed by Scions trying to find it to come back in. However, we weren't at the entrance, so they may not have found it. But, escape is just a back-up plan. We don't run unless we absolutely need to. I wouldn't want to abandon the students to whomever Voldemort would install."
A few gasped and Harry waved away their concern.
"The Taboo isn't going to do much good here," he replied. "He knows we're here. They're outside. The protective spells on Hogwarts are too powerful for their little Taboo spell to affect us, in any case."
"So, we either send Harry in with a group to face him while preparing for the fight," Remus said, "prepare to fight when the hour is up, scout to see if the group is as large as advertised or run?"
Harry nodded. That appeared to be the size of it. Whatever they did, they would need to do it soon. Every second ticked away a scrap of the hour they had remaining. He could just go charge out, but to make it effective, he needed the Order behind him. They needed to make their decision, collectively. He was not doing this alone. He had learned that lesson.
"We need more information," Moody growled. "I say we get some eyes on the ring of Death Eaters and eyes in the forest. We need to know what we're walking into, either way."
"The forest is one thing," Remus reasoned, "but who is crazy enough to fly over a ring of Death Eaters? And, no, Harry, I know you're a good flier, but you're their number one target just now."
"You called?" Fred said, sliding in behind Remus.
"I'm here now," George said. "You need your best, and I'm here… also, Fred, he might be alright."
"Bet I can fly over and check more of them than you," Fred said.
"You won't get a quarter way around before I meet you," George said, laughing. "Isn't it cute how good he thinks he is?"
The pair eyed each other, a competitive fire in their eyes. Then, they leapt across the space, landing a perfect high five before taking each other by the arm.
"Fred, you ol' loon," George said. "Good to see you're in one piece after the Ministry had you."
"Ah, they were nothin'," Fred replied. "I faced down Bellatrix at our flat. Now, surviving that was a challenge."
"Ha! Good one," George replied. Then, his face went sour. "She went into our flat?"
Fred scrunched up his nose, nodding as though he seriously wanted to disagree.
"We'll need to scour it for days," George said, "work like house elves on it… yuck!"
"You two had best be off, and quickly," Moody barked. "We have less than forty minutes to You-Know-Who's deadline. We need all the information we can get."
The pair sped off, sparing Harry a pair of shoulder slaps on the way. Then, as fast as that, they were gone. Harry hoped they found the fastest brooms in the school. They would need speed and agility, like few had seen in a Quidditch match… He wished them well.
"Now, let's be quick about it," Moody said, cutting into their departure. "Remus, you and Sirius go check out the forest. Get the house elves' directions, if you don't know a faster way. The rest of you, come with me. We need to settle this Scion issue and prepare the school. One way or another, I expect, the Death Eaters will be back."
Moments later, they were in the Entrance Hall, behind a wall of stone that had been raised in the earlier fighting. Tonks was at the edge, sending a barrage of spells at the Great Hall. A similar block of stone prevented most spells from entering the space. The others did not find the mark, in any case. The Scions were playing it cautiously.
"We need to bring down that blasted wall of stone," Moody said.
"They must have enchanted it," Tonks said. "I've tried striking it with the Reductor Curse, but that only bounces off."
"Let me try something," Harry said, moving up next to Tonks. He stuck his head out just long enough to cast, "Finite!" When he glanced back a second later, he saw a spell from the other side hitting the rock, a ripple of air moving about it. Harry groaned. "They're recasting the charm anytime it is removed. We'll have to be a bit more aggressive to catch them off guard. Professor McGonagall, can you get to that stone over there?" He pointed to a stone midway across the hall to the left. "And Professor Flitwick, that one?" He pointed to the right to another stone.
They both nodded, pulling up their sleeves. "On my signal, hit that stone with all the Reductor Curses and whatever else you can throw at it. Alright? We'll provide some cover while you get over there."
Harry, Tonks and Moody began to bombard the edges of the Scion's stone with spells rapidly as the other two ran to their stones, crouching behind it. A few spells were sent out after them, but they were wild and soared well wide of the targets. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. So far, so good.
He leaned in close to the edge, watching the enemy fire spells in the three different directions. Good, they were distracted, too. That could make this work even faster. Harry held one hand up in the air, looking at the three clusters of Order members. They all nodded to him. Harry raised his wand, and said, "Finite!" as he lowered his hand. Then, he gestured towards the rock, repeatedly alternating, "Finite! Reducto! Finite! Reducto!"
A violent, blinding series of explosions rocked the Entrance Hall, sending bits of rock flying all around the hall. Harry felt a number of pebbles strike his face and hands, but he did not stop sending the spells along with the other three groups until he could see cleanly through where the rock had been. A gaping hole in the centre told the story, and smoke came flooding in from the Great Hall doors.
Then, he ducked back behind the rock as a new series of spells flew out of the door. He was sure it was lessened by the few that had been close to the stone. Its destruction would have sent them sprawling, if they were lucky. Spells continued from both sides of the hall, and the cloud of dust began to envelop everything. Sweat began to crawl on his forehead as Harry struggled to maintain protection for their own stone and send offensive spells blindly into the Great Hall. At this point, he couldn't see the doors, much less any Scions. He did see an uptick in spells sent at the dust cloud, more Order members must have begun supporting them.
A spell struck Tonks, knocking her back beside him. Harry ducked out of the way and pulled her under cover. She looked stunned. "Ennervate!" he cast, bringing her back to sitting, gasping. "Catch your breath, then help us out," he said, barely hearing his own voice above the din.
At that moment, someone penetrated his protection of the stone, and it shattered, sending him backwards, flying over the seated Tonks. He struck the bottom stair of the Great Stairs, his breath stolen from him with the impact. Harry lay there, gasping for his air back as the spell fight continued. He vaguely saw Tonks up and fighting, her face covered in stone dust. Moody bellowed in pain from a spell strike, but continued fighting.
As Harry got his breath back, he saw a two ranked line of Scions exiting the clearing cloud of dust. The front were focused for defence, raising shields each time someone attacked them. The back were turning to send spells offensively. The Order members Harry could see fell back, hiding behind anything that would shield them. The Scions had not yet noticed Harry on the ground amidst the other fallen. They were being overrun!
In the back, a Scion with some height and clearly the leader called out orders. He pointed and they sent spells. Harry raised his wand. Maybe he could strike the man who had made him captive… Maybe he could get around the shields. The man saw him, and his hand pointed directly at Harry. Harry only managed to raise a shield before it was struck and shattered. He had nowhere to run. The next spells would knock him out, or worse.
A powerful cry shook the space, and a ball of fire struck the stonework in the middle of the Scions. It sent the Scions flying in all directions, a number striking walls or simply landing, limp on the ground. The remaining members scattered, some running back for the Great Hall, others looking for anywhere they could hide. Harry looked up, but couldn't see what was going on above.
The tall man was running for him, though. Harry felt his arm rising, and he tried to think of a spell to send the man back, but the man's wand was already moving.
"Leave Harry alone!" cried a voice, and a spell flew across the hall, sending the man sliding across the floor to stop lightly at the steps on the other side.
Hermione appeared, her wand still pointing at the man, but she sprinted over to Harry, worry covering her face. She looked around as she reached him, then helped him up and into the nearby corridor. Harry felt some pain in his left leg as he walked, but he didn't complain. He didn't care where she had come from. Harry was just happy she had come.
She looked about to fuss over him when they reached a niche in the corridor, but Harry pulled her into a tight embrace.
"I was so worried," he said, and he felt her soften, then tighten her own grip on him.
They said nothing for a while, but he could feel her own worry in the grip. He was sure that she didn't want to let go, either. Booms and crashes resounded in the space behind them, but neither of them moved. It was fortunate the Order seemed to have the Scions in hand, because neither of them would have been able to stop an attack.
Eventually, they released, looking at each other. Hermione was crying. Harry creased his forehead. Was she injured?
"Hermione?" he began, reaching up to brush her cheek.
"Harry, just… just read it," she said, holding out a letter with a shaking hand.
Harry frowned, unsealed the letter and read it. The content was short, to the point and heartbreaking. He understood. Hermione. Oh, how he understood.
"I… I tried to find something," Hermione said as he lowered the parchment, her eyes red. "The library solved so many of our problems. I just needed more time, Harry. I'm sure I could have…"
"Dumbledore had faith," Harry said, steeling himself. "If he thinks we can get through this, then I must, too. I… I guess this makes the decision easy, though. I have to face him, now."
"Oh, Harry," Hermione said, struggling to hold in her emotions. "Maybe it doesn't have to be today. Maybe we can find another day, and that will give us time, time to research it, together. I should have brought you in from the first, but…"
"You wanted to spare me," he said, sighing. "I… thanks, Hermione. But, I think today is it. We're surrounded, and may have just finished off the Scions. If we don't stop him today, Voldemort might have too much power to be stopped. Even if his three hundred aren't real, there's a chance they are. He's had time, time to gather. We need to finish his last horcruxes… and end it."
"We… we brought back the the diadem," she said.
"Yes," Harry replied. "Remus has it. I don't know if it is a horcrux or not, but I suspect it is. We didn't find the cup… If I … can't, make sure you destroy it, Hermione."
"Don't talk like that, you idiot," she said, burying her face in his robe. "You said you have faith. Well, don't you?"
"Yeah," he said. "But, who knows… maybe the school will send me to Australia or something. That would take some time to get back."
Hermione laughed, shaking her head. Harry lifted her chin, looked into her eyes and kissed her. Every time he did was like a rush of happiness. It was a long time before they moved apart.
Harry pulling his wand back out, determined. "Let's go," he said. "If I need to face him, I want you near me. We need to do this right, and we can't afford some other Death Eater trying to take me down for glory."
Hermione looked surprised, but Harry felt certain of it. He was done with going it alone. Even if he needed to… die, he would have help getting there, and if everything went well, he would need help getting back out. He would come back. Dumbledore had seemed certain, so it must be…
The pair entered the Entrance Hall to a much changed scene. The remaining Scions were tied up in one corner of the hall, Tonks sat on the lowest step of the Grand Stairs with Remus knelt down beside her. He was particularly, tender, seeing to her wounds. He, himself, looked winded and tired. Sirius was standing over the captives, laughing. The twins were flying around in the air, pumping their fists in the air from their brooms and hooting.
Harry and Hermione walked calmly to the centre of the hall, joining the group gathering around Moody. Harry was surprised how many were in the hall. Tonks remained seated, but about a dozen Order members gathered, including Moody, the professors (including a few that were not Order members), Arthur, Molly, Charlie, Bill, Fred, George, Remus and Sirius. He was particularly startled to see Ron and Ginny amongst them, Ginny with a defiant face. A few others milled on the edges, watching the Scions and watching the damaged entry doors.
"Good work, everyone," Moody said. "The Scions were a big problem behind us. Now, we need to worry about the one in front. Fred and George?"
"There aren't three hundred Death Eaters out there," Fred said.
"More like sixty," George added, shrugging.
"A couple might have singed robes…" Fred said, lobbing one of their fireworks in one hand.
"And a few might have spouted extra tentacles," George added, obviously slipping something into his pocket.
"But it's still a good number," the pair said at once.
"Moody!" cried a man. Harry thought he was named Mundungus. "I found something you might be interested in.
The shabby man came forward, holding a book. "The leader there had it," he said. "Matches the one that Albus was talking about."
"And you stumbled on it?" Moody asked, his eyes hard.
"Was just looking to make sure no one was carrying anything dangerous," Mundungus answered. "And I resent the implication it was anything else!"
"Thank you," Harry said. "I'm sure we can take care of that. We know it's a horcrux… right?"
"Albus said it was," Moody growled. "Give it here."
He took the horcrux and put a bubble around it. With a fierce growl, he stabbed at it with his wand. "Mala Ignis," he said. The bubble filled with Fiendfyre, burning away the diary in an instant. Moody waved his wand, dissolving the spells.
"Alright," Moody grumbled. "That is done. Anything from outside, Remus?"
"We couldn't get there," Remus said.
"Had to collapse the tunnel as the Death Eaters tried to send some acromantulas in at us," Sirius grumbled. "I told you they could fit!"
"Fine," Harry said. "It's a fight then. And… I will have to face Voldemort.
"What?" McGonagall began.
"Dumbledore sent me a letter," Harry said. "I don't know where he is, but he said I have to face him. He cannot be defeated unless I do."
"Is this that prophecy rubbish again?" McGonagall asked, sounding scandalised by the field.
"No," he said, "but I have to face him, nonetheless. Hermione has agreed to come with me. Who else wants to help there? We will need some people here. I am sure he will order an attack on the school, anyway. Our numbers aren't … great."
"I'll come," Remus said. "If you have to face him, you'll need all the defence you can get."
"I'm stayin'," Moody growled. "School needs a good defence in this hall."
"We're coming with Harry," the twins said.
"You two," Moody said, "might best help here. I have a few ideas which might need your particular … skills."
They paused, looking at Harry, but nodded. The remaining divided amongst themselves, leaving Harry with an additional guard of Arthur, Sirius, Hagrid and Professor Flitwick. The rest were staying.
"We will need to build up some protection along the hall, and have some of you down the corridors, to protect from courtyard entries," Moody said. "This is not an ideal defensive location, and with our numbers, we may struggle. If we fall-back, we rise through the school, a floor at a time and…"
He trailed off as a storming of sound descended through the stairs. Everyone looked up and watched hundreds of students racing down to the Entrance Hall. Eight of the students came to the forefront, two from each House.
"Professors," said one of the group, "we, the students of Hogwarts, have decided to help. We heard You-Know-Who call out Harry for a fight. If he, a student, must fight, so will we."
"Absolutely not," McGonagall began, but Snape stepped forward from the Order ranks, touching her shoulder.
"Students," he said, looking at them with his harsh expression. "We will not stop you, if you wish to defend the school. However, I ask that only those who have achieved their O.W.L.s remain and that you know what you are attempting. The Dark Lord will not hesitate to kill any of you, if you stand in his way. He will not stop at death, either. His followers know an unsettling number of terrible techniques. If you choose to fight, no one can guarantee your safety. I ask that you consider, fully, before you decide."
"We have," the spokesman said, his voice proud. "Each of us, O.W.L. or no O.W.L. is ready to fight, professor."
"O.W.L. only or none of you," the Headmaster snapped in retort. "You are under my care. I will not risk the lives of all our students unnecessarily."
The students grumbled, but the eight conferred and nodded. "Headmaster, we will send up the younger students. They will remain in the common rooms."
"Vinken!" Snape called out.
A small house elf appeared. "Yes, Headmaster?" the figure asked, looking up. "The house elves are ready to help!"
"The younger students are going up to the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor common rooms," he responded. "Could I ask you to watch over them, keep them safe?"
"Yes, Headmaster," Vinken said, proudly, a smile on his face. "It is the house elves' pleasure to help the students of Hogwarts!"
Snape nodded as Vinken Disapparated, then, turning to Harry and the others who had watched the exchange, he said, shortly, "Don't you have somewhere to be, Potter?"
Harry nodded to the man, and led the others to the entrance door. He opened it, finding himself suddenly surrounded by his guard, Hermione close at his side. He was not accustomed to having anyone guard him. They might not have to do it for very long. Outside, he could see the wall of Death Eaters waiting for them. Many were fake, but the illusion spell made it impossible to tell which. They probably would not like to see him guarded on the way to Voldemort.
"Albus?" Remus asked, looking to the left.
Harry followed the man's eyes, and saw the old Headmaster, head of the Order of the Phoenix, near the edge of the school. In front of him, a dull white light hovered, it flashed brighter and waned regularly, but always dull enough that Harry could look at it directly. Albus had not seen them, and was far enough away that it would take some effort to get to him, and take them well out of their journey to the forest. What was he doing?
Squinting, Harry saw Albus lay a hand on the tree, the same one he and Hermione had retrieved. The man must have taken it from the Room of Requirement. As far as Harry could tell, Albus was fully concentrated on it, and muttering to it or to himself. Maybe he was still trying to put it back? Harry couldn't be sure.
"He has his battle," Sirius said, drawing everyone's eyes back, "and we have our own. How do we get through them?"
He pointed ahead at the line of Death Eaters. None of them moved, but all of them watched. The other Order members were silent, all trying to work something out.
"We must have only a few minutes left of Voldemort's time limit," Harry said, frowning. "Maybe we should take a leaf out of Albus' book? Everyone gather around. I'll need everyone up front to put up shields. Stay still. Hermione, can you and Arthur focus on moving us forward? I'll keep us airborne?"
"Harry, what do you?" Hermione began.
Harry waved his wand in a circle around them, saying, "Reducto. Wingardium Leviosa."
A cracked section of earth around them appeared and shuddered. Harry lofted them carefully into the air. Then, Hermione and Arthur Weasley sent them flying forward. The air whistled past, a rush that increased as they accelerated. Harry felt his footing slip, slightly, but Hermione took his arm to keep them together. The boulder of earth flew forward, past bewildered Death Eaters and into the edge of the forest, before it collided with a number of trees and dropped them to the ground.
Harry groaned, rising up and helping Hermione to her feet. The others cursed or grunted in annoyance. Still, they had made it, and the shields had softened the landing. Harry stumbled forward, entering a clearing not far from their landing. Death Eaters were scrambling about, trying to find out who had invaded their space. They stopped, startled, to see Harry come through.
He felt the others behind him, but he did not look back. Harry strode forward, calling out. "Riddle! I have come to face you. Show yourself unless you are a coward."
The Death Eaters snarled at his words, but made no move. Evidently, their Dark Lord wanted him for himself. Voldemort did step forward, then, pale white and laughing. He had the ease and confidence he had always had, and smiled at seeing Harry there.
"You see?" he said, looking around at his followers. "So predictable. And he brought a few more for you to play with, but not yet. He is mine, first. When I have killed the boy, then you can do what you will with the rest."
"I knew you were not as good as your word," Harry said. "You couldn't even defeat the Scions, yet we have. You are cruel and cowardly. Always hiding in the shadows, always letting others do your work for you. Well, no more. That ends today. I mean to bring about your fall."
"So you may think, young fool," Voldemort said. "I should have killed you years ago. Now, it is finally, my time."
Voldemort pulled out his wand, stalking forward. "Watch closely, all. Today, you will see how worthless this child is, and how little faith you should have put in him."
Harry stood tall, not raising his wand. His enemy raised his own, a mad look of glee in his eyes as he screamed the curse, "Avada Kedavra!"
Something bright white raced the green spell through the air, blurring with it as it impacted. The light was blinding, green with weaves of white wrapped up into it. Harry felt nothing, no pain. He was enveloped into that light and everything else faded away.
