Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I am just borrowing the characters for some fun.
Warning: This story will contain swearing, scenes of torture and sexual innuendo. Eventual Slash.
Summary: Nothing is going to plan. The order is three days late to pick him up and Lucius Malfoy has somehow managed to get out of Azkaban. Remus always wants to talk, but Harry can't bring himself to even think of what happened in June. It was time to face facts: Harry's life belongs to the cause and his own feelings don't matter. Begins after Order of the Phoenix. Eventual Slash.
Chapter 40: Fault Lines
At first Harry thought it must be a trick of the light. Maybe he needed new glasses. It had been a long time since he had his eyes checked. But as the Death Eaters advanced, he came to realize that no, he was not seeing things.
The man at the front, the man who was standing where Voldemort should be, was...handsome. Handsome and young. He was the opposite of the horrible snake faced man that should be leading the charge. And yet...he looked familiar. His bearing, his horrible eyes, his gait- they were all horrifyingly familiar.
When the army in black finally stopped at the gates of Hogwarts, it took a moment for Harry to realize that this man looked almost exactly like Tom Riddle from his second year. His scar pulsed and Harry knew;The new, fresh-faced body could not disguise the ugliness within- this was Voldemort, but he had somehow regained the looks of his youth.
The handsome brown haired man sneered at the army before him. "Is this the best that you could come up with Dumbledore? How disappointing...for you...I find myself quite pleased."
"Tom. You do not want to do this." Dumbledore's hard voice echoed over the field. "Hogwarts is a place of learning. A place where everyone can come, a place for children. A home to all who have walked these halls. It is not a place of war. You know that better than anyone."
Something flashed in those chestnut eyes. " As long as you harbor that boy and desecrate the old ways I will work to restore Hogwarts to its former glory."
"By attacking it?" Shot Harry. Dumbledore was giving him a disapproving look, but he didn't care. Clearly the Headmaster wanted to try and talk his former student down, but Harry knew better. Voldemort would not stop. He would never stop until they were all dead, and acting like there was any chance he would just made Dumbledore look weak.
"Hush boy the adults in the room are talking."
The Death Eaters behind him jeered and Harry could see Bellatrix laughing. That bitch had killed Sirius. She had tried to recruit Draco. She would pay.
"If I'm just a boy then why are you so scared of me?" said Harry "What's the rush ,Tom? Couldn't wait a few more weeks to get to me while I was in the muggle world? Or could you not come up with a plan to get past all those muggles?"
Voldemort's body tensed and he turned his full attention on Harry. Clearly, he had expected Dumbledore to take the lead like he had at their encounter in the Department of Mysteries, but Harry was not the same child he had been back then.
"I will burn your ugly muggle house to the ground."
Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise and pretended nonchalance. "Then, what? You're afraid you won't beat me when I inherit my ingenium?"
The Death Eaters in the front looked just as enraged as their leader, but Harry focused in on one's towards the back. The ones who were young and new, and looked a little frightened to fight; and remembered what Snape had said all those months ago about his followers being loyal out of fear.
"Lord Voldemort fears nothing!" Shrieked the enraged man. "I have conquered death, so what could I possibly fear from a badly trained 6th year? You are nothing Harry Potter, nothing compared to challenging the cycle of life itself."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Well then, this seems like a lot of wasted effort on your part. Do you enjoy putting your followers in harm's way for something that is unnecessary then?"
"Shut your mouth you filthy whelp." Bellatrix spat. She looked furious. "We are proud to stand for our heritage unlike your desecration of the old ways."
"I wasn't talking to you." Said Harry "Shut up and wait at the back like a good slave."
The dark haired witch began to swing her arm and cast, but Voldemort put a steadying hand on her arm. He leaned forward, whispered something and she took a step back. Her eyes were burning and focused on Harry.
"You will pay dearly for that comment, Harry Potter." Voldemort stepped forward toward the gates, his hand reaching towards his wand.
"What have you done Tom?" It was Dumbledore's calm disturbed voice. " What have you done to your body?"
Voldemort paused and smirked. "Don't you like it? Reminds you of the good old days, doesn't it? The specifics are a bit gruesome, you can ask Potter, but you can't argue with the results."
"Drinking the blood of babies isn't something to be proud of!" Screamed Harry. "You keep saying that we pervert magic, but look what you did!"
The Dark Lord gave a disarmingly charming smile. "Well you can't please everyone, I suppose. But no matter, you won't be around to complain much longer."
As they had been talking, the unmistakable wolfish form of Greyback had moved to position himself in front of Deveraux's werewolves. The two pack leaders seemed to be glaring at each other from across the wards. As Voldemort raised his wand other Death Eaters spread out a little. From his defense classes with Remus, Snape, and Lucius Harry now recognized it as an attack stance. With magic, leaving some space between allies reduced the chance of someone hitting the wrong person with a stray spell. In the split second he had before Voldemort's spell started Harry gripped his own wand tighter and positioned his body as he had been trained, wide stance. Things were about to become unpredictable.
"Avada Kedavra."
The green light arched toward Hogwarts and the witches and Wizards standing to defend it. He watched in slow motion as the spell moved through the sky and then suddenly seemed to hit an invisible barrier and bounce back towards the Death Eaters. A dome of light shone in the air and a loud sizzling rejected the death spell. It arched back towards the back of Voldemort's troops and those in the line of fire tried to scramble out of the way, but an unfortunate young man was hit and fell instantly. He looked no more than a few years older than Harry and his face was frozen in fear.
Harry glanced at Dumbledore. Had the man knew that was going to happen and kept that from him? But no, the Headmaster looked just as stunned as Harry felt. He had expected that spell to land. Indeed, nothing was supposed to be able to block an Avada.
He glanced toward Snape, Remus and the Malfoys. Lucius was smirking triumphantly. At Harry's confused look the blond mouthed something to him. It took Harry a moment to realize what he was getting at but then it clicked. The Beltane ritual Harry had done with the other students had strengthened the wards - strong enough to deflect an Avada. It was unheard of.
Voldemort's handsome face had distorted with rage. He strode towards the castle gates where the dome of light had appeared, looking like he planned to rip it down with his bare hands "Dumbledore! I will see your wards dismantled to pieces."
"I don't think you can." Said Harry, going for a conversational tone to mask his surprise. He walked forward slowly and Dumbledore was forced to follow. "The old ways make very effective wards. Some of the students helped me with a Beltane ritual and the old magic clearly finds you to be a threat."
The Dark Lord laughed maniacally at that and threw another spell, not green this time, toward the school. As with the other it bounced off, but this time his followers seemed prepared to dodge out of the way. "Hogwarts does not practice the old ways any longer, boy. You cannot fool me."
The Headmaster opened his mouth to speak, but Harry interrupted him. "Dumbledore doesn't practice the old ways. Luckily, I do."
Harry heard Dumbledore responding as if through water. His attention was drawn to a commotion beside the dead man in Voldemort's ranks. Bellatrix and gone over and Harry could hear screaming.
"He died with Honor. Stand up and take your position!"
Bellatrix was dragging a young woman off of the body of the man who had died. She was crying and shaking her head. She pulled herself away from the mad witch and dove forward again. "My baby brother. I convinced him to join I-"
Bellatrix waved her wand and the women contorted into a convulsing, shaking mess. Her face letting out a quiet scream and then going slack when she ended the spell. "I said get in position."
The woman gasped, gave a glance toward her brother and then moved back toward what Harry assumed was her position.
He heard more yelling and looked toward his right. While Dumbledore and Voldemort spared verbally, others had taken to challenging someone on the other side. There were clearly plenty of rivalries that went back generations on both sides. Some people went to war for their ideals, but some simply wanted to avenge the death of a loved one or a slight upon their family. Harry's eyes were drawn to Deveraux and Greyback in particular. The men were radiating aggression and baring teeth. Greyback said something and Deveraeaux leaped forward past the wards and attacked. His pack followed and the first real fighting began.
Remus had warned him how deadly a werewolf was, even outside of the full moon, But that had not prepared him for the deadly skill that Devereaux and his pack displayed. Clearly these men and women did not just rely on their supernatural abilities, they trained like weapons.
Harry had never seen hand to hand combat like this. With wizards and witches most people fought from a distance, using spells. But the werewolves dove in close and punched, kicked and outmaneuvered their opponents with deadly accuracy. The Death Eaters who came to help Greyback did not fight as physically, and became overpowered when Deveraux's men dodged their spells and got in close.
None of the werewolves drew a wand. In fact looking at this Harry realized that when Deveraux said that his men had not been magically trained, he meant that they literally did not even have wands. In fact, in that moment Harry thought he remembered hearing that it was illegal to even sell a wand to someone who had not been through schooling, and most werewolves were not permitted in wizarding school. Some of these men may even be Muggles were it not for being bitten. And yet they fought without fear or hesitation. Their enhanced skin allowed some of the curses to bounce off them, giving them precious moments to punch out their opponent.
But as Harry watched one of the Devereaux's men was hit by a horrible red light and he went down in a pool of blood. Clearly, even werewolf skin could not protect them from some of the darkest spells. Harry found himself running forward to help without even thinking about it. He heard someone yell his name, but he ignored them. Deveraux was fighting for him against all odds, so the least he could do was offer him back up.
Harry hesitated at the end of the protective dome of light. He glanced back and saw that somehow Voldemort was still being distracted by Dumbledore, in between his continued attempts to penetrate the wards with his spells. He looked back towards the werewolves; Many of them were holding their own, but some of the Death Eaters seemed to have figured out that they couldn't use magic. Upon seeing a tall middle aged Death Dater aim his wand at the tough woman that Harry remembered from the meeting with Devereax for the first time, he dove forward. She was too occupied fighting someone else to realise she was about to be hit.
The wards didn't stop him from going forward, but he did feel a tingle along his back as he moved away from their safety. Someone-Remus he thought- was screaming his name even louder and cursing like mad.
"Exspelliarmus." The tall man's wand flew through the air before he was able to complete his curse. "Behind you!"
The woman gave him a surprise glance, but was well trained enough not to stop moving. She looked towards where Harry was gesturing and within moments the disarmed man was also down from a well aimed punch and kick. A few Death Eaters seemed to have noticed that Harry was beyond the wards and seemed stunned to see him standing before them. Devereaux's werewolves took advantage of the moment and 3 more masked men went down.
Harry gulped and readied his wand as he realized that his presence had drawn quite a lot of attention. Those Death Eaters who had not been engaged in a fight had their wands now squarely pointed his direction. He readied a shield spell and prayed it would hold against that many curses.
But just as he began to enchant, someone roughly pushed him back behind the wards. Harry landed on his back right past the barrier of the invisible dome of light. About 5 curses landed exactly where he had been standing. He blinked away stars. The female werewolf smirked at him and took up a defensive stance in front of where Harry lay.
"Harry what the hell were you thinking!?" Remus was pulling him into a seated position. "Stay behind the bloody wards. In fact you're supposed to retreat to the castle!"
"They can't do magic." Said Harry. "They don't have wands, they need help."
Remus looked madder than Harry had ever seen him."Don't you remember what I said about werewolf skin? It-"
"It only does so much!" He pointed to the dead man. He was lying in a pool of his blood. "They need back up. If we distract them with spells they can pick off the Death Eaters one by one."
Lucius and Snape had also come close and at Harry's words all 3 men surveyed the battlefield.
Lucius sighed. "Very well. But from behind the wards, you idiot Gryffindor."
The blond strode forward and began firing spells from the edge of the wards. Almost immediately some of the Werewolves were able to push forward in an attack.
"Are you injured?" Snapes hand was ready to flick open his cloak and reveal the numerous healing potions he knew were hidden there.
"I'm fine!" Shouted Harry pushing Remus away and standing. "Go help them!"
Snape gave him one more scrutinizing look, rolled his eyes and moved forward to help Lucuis.
Remus sighed and nodded. "Alright, but no more stupidities, like going beyond the wards."
Harry just rolled his eyes and waved the Marauder away. That man could be such a mother hen. He turned back to look toward Voldemort and Dumbledore. It looked like Tom underestimating him had worked to his advantage; The man was still focused on the Headmaster. He had only been gone for mere minutes, but he could tell that the man was getting increasingly rageful that he could not break through the wards. Although the werewolves charging forward had remained unnoticed by both Voldemort or Dumbledore, it was drawing glances from other members of the Order of the Phoenix. Harry could see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both giving him concerned looks.
"Hiya Harry!"
He spun on the spot and saw Fred and George standing standing a foot away with their patented mischievous grin.
"So what are we doing then? What's the plan?"
Harry was relatively sure that was Fred. He was usually the one who spoke first. "Aren't you with Dumbledore?"
"Naw, we're with you now."
"Looks like your side is where all the action is."
Harry felt stunned for a moment. His instinct at first was to convince them not to fight.-To get them out of harm's way- but obviously that was ridiculous. They were at war and needed anyone who was willing to fight.
"The werewolves don't have wands. Cast from behind the barrier, and keep the Death Eaters distracted so they can get in close."
"Sounds fun." George said and the two of them took off at a jog toward Snape and Lucius.
Harry gave a little smile at the look on Lucius face as he was flanked by two Weasleys and then took a deep breath. Time to get back in the game; soon Voldemort would wonder where he was.
He began to walk towards his enemy. Harry wondered how long Voldemort would continue to throw spells at the wards before he retreated. With the exception of Devereaux's Werewolves, this was turning into more of a yelling match than a battle. The sun was starting to set and it was getting darker. The flashes of the curses almost looked like muggle fireworks in this light.
Just as he came within reach of Dumbledore, Voldemort pulled out a rock from the inside of his robe, and Harry froze. The rock was not terribly large, it fit perfectly within Voldemort's hand. It was a deep ruby red. In fact, Harry probably would have mistaken it for some kind of expensive jewel had he not know better. The color caught the last of the light from the setting sun and it shimmered. It looked beautiful and it terrified Harry to his core. This must be the rock that had been stolen from the Department of Mysteries. Some of the Death Eaters cheered at its sight.
"Goodbye Dumbledore." Voldemort leaned down and pressed the stone into the ground.
The Headmasters eyes widened and he took a step forward. "Tom, you-"
And then the ground exploded.
Starting at the now glowing red stone, deep cracks penetrated the ground. Harry could smell the earth as accurately as if it had just rained or he had been working on aunt Petunia's garden all day.
The ground was cracking like an egg. 3 large fault lines extended into the Hogwarts grounds, and then they lifted and moved apart. Harry fell forward as the ground beneath him tilted and leaned. He tried to find purchase on the grass, but he found himself rolling forward despite all his efforts. There was nothing to grab onto. His cloak was wrapped around his feet and he couldn't move properly. He was sliding towards a huge cliff, and who knew how deep it went. With Harry's luck it went all the way down to the lava at the center of the earth. He could hear screams, but he didn't have a chance to look around him, he was rolling too quickly.
His legs hit air. Harry's fingers grabbed at the grass. His nails dug into the ground and yet he still kept moving. The screams quieted and all he heard was the thumping of his heart. Gravity pulled him over the edge.
And nothingness. He was flying. He was falling. The earth was shifting above him and the air whooshed in his ear.
But then he landed on something. Something hard. It was far too early to be at the bottom and he braced himself for what came next. And when he dared open his eyes what he saw before him made him lose his breath.
It was a huge woman who was made of some kind of vine. She was humanoid in shape, with long arms and legs, but her face had no eyes and no mouth. She was unseeing, yet she had caught him. Harry was left gasping and staring up at his savoir. His hands reflexively closed and he grabbed at the leaves underneath him. She was cupping him in her hands like the most delicate potion ingredient.
The woman lifted him and spun in place. The movement gave Harry a good view of what was happening below him. It was chaos. Remarkably Remus,the Weasley twins, Snape and Lucius seemed safest because they had been closest to the edge of the wards. To their left 3 large pieces of the ground had broken off and tilted. Members of the Order of the Phoenix where sliding towards the chasm trying to reach for their wands. Others were just holding on where they could. Dumbledore was towards the end of a cliff and seemed to have stuck himself to the ground using some kind of spell. Mr. Weasley was clutching onto the hand of his wife who dangled over the side, Harry worried about how long he could hold her. Tonks was casting spells in every direction as she rolled head over arse toward the fall.
The large plant woman held him over the balcony on the second floor of the castle and tipped her hand. He landed in a lump on the hard stone, losing his breathe for the second time in as many moments. He took a moment to feel the comforting hardness of the ground before he pulled himself to standing. He stared out at the disaster and death before him. He needed to help. He needed to do something.
If only he could-
FLY.
He grabbed for his wand. Thank God he had secured it using a holster instead of keeping it in his back pocket as he usually did. "Hold on Mr. Weasley I'm coming. Accio Firebolt."
He squeezed his left hand into an anxious fist that left half moon shapes on the palm of his hand. They were dying. They were losing. Right in front of him and he was standing there waiting. His eyes were locked on to the Weasleys. He couldn't let it end like this. He hadn't spoken to them since they fought. After all the kindness that they had shown him he couldn't - he had to do something. His fucking broom needed to come faster. This fucking stupid spell was so slow it-
The vine woman leaned down and plucked Mrs. Weasley out of the air. And with her other hand she made a large cup and pushed Mr. Weasley into the hand with his wife. The two of them fell together in her palm. Harry whooped in excitement. They were safe.
From the corner of his eye he saw something moving and he reached out for his broom. He rubbed his thumb over the familiar wood. Voldemort thought he had cornered him, but he had just forced Harry to use what he was most talented in.
Not pausing to think any further Harry Jumped onto the back of his broom. The plant woman was carrying Mr. and Mrs. Weasley over toward him. They would be in safety soon.
Harry flew out above the chaos. He needed to help them but who needed his help the most? He saw Professor McGonagall topple into the abyss and Harry made a sharp turn and dived down. He felt a thrill and exhilaration take him over. This was like a quidditch match, an extremely dangerous one, but if he could catch a snitch he could definitely catch a person.
He urged his broom faster as he got closer to the ground. He dared himself to be scared and only found excitement. He took a sharp turn downward and was suddenly surrounded by the walls of earth. Even the sound of the air flying past his ears changed. Professor Mcgonagall's scream became louder and more piercing as he got closer. He reached out and grabbed at the back of her robes. Both of them jerked roughly in the air.
Mcgonagall gave a shriek of surprise and glanced up. "Potter-"
"I have you professor." Said Harry, Except it was a lie. He didn't. A snitch was decidedly lighter than a human and well, they were still moving downward even though he was urging his broom upwards. And his hand was having trouble holding on already. NO. He had her damn it. He-
"Potter, You cannot hold me."
"I'll get you to safety." Harry strained with his broom and urged it to go up. They simply stopped. Suspended in place.
"I am not a Snitch Mr. Potter, and you cannot hold me."
He was saving her life, did she still have to be such a professor?
"I'll get you up professor." Harry could barely talk between the effort of holding her and fighting against his broom.
"I am too heavy." She said with a matter of fact tone.
"So be less heavy!" Snapped Harry
Was she... smiling?
"Hold tight Potter!" and that was all the warning he got before the woman before him began changing. He struggled to hold her as the robes under his hands turned into fur and then Harry realized that he was looking down at a tabby cat, instead of s stern woman. A tabby cat that weighed maybe 10 pounds…
Within moments Harry's broom was shooting up and it was as if the volume was turned back up as he burst back up to the sky. He turned and zipped over to the balcony, where he dropped his teacher. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were trying to cast spells from their vantage point and shrieked in surprise as the cat almost landed on them. Tonks now joined them on the balcony. The cat hissed and bounced off the Auror's head before landing on the floor.
He looked past them and realized for the first time that he could see Narcissa Malfoy bent down by the castle doors gripping onto the grass. Her face was frozen in concentration and her eyes were locked on the giant plant woman. Harry let out a little sigh of appreciation. He had asked her and Remus to do something big. Well this was definitely that.
Harry smiled and zoomed away. He did a circle around the battlefield. Devereaux's werewolves were still fighting, and it looked like they had taken a good number of Death Eaters. Snape, Lucius, Remus, Fred and George were still firing from just inside the wards. Many of the Death Eaters seemed drawn to Lucius and Snapes presence, but they were holding their own.
The further toward the castle you went to more the land seemed to buck and shift. Smaller cracks had begun to appear off the 3 original breaks. Most of the people on the ground seemed to be able to hold on, but they weren't going to be able to do more than simply survive. If the ground kept shifting it was only a matter of time before more people fell into the depths. Naricssa seemed to have stopped using the plant woman for now and Harry could see that she had grown grass and made it weave together like a hammock over certain rifts. It was ingenious but he wasn't sure how long to would hold, especially because he could see the ground starting to shake. He needed to stop this entirely- but how?
His eyes were drawn to the stone itself. Voldemort was still pressing it to the ground. The Dark Lords teeth were gritted and he looked somewhat drained. Clearly it was taking quite a bit of strength to direct that thing.
A plan forming in his mind, Harry took off towards Voldemort.
The wards tingled as he flew past them. He leveled his want towards Voldemort. He just needed to get that stone out of that assholes hands. Maybe he could accio the stone? Would it be that easy? What the hell did he call that thing? Well it was worth a try…
"Acc-"
Harry's jaw froze in a muscle spasm and pain shot down his spine. His body began to twitch and he felt himself losing his grip on the broom. The pain, that now extended to the nerves on his hands, made it so that he didn't even care about falling. That pain. It was all encompassing. It was piercing. It was setting his nerves on fire. He forced himself to tighten his grip on his wand with his right hand.
His left hand finally gave way and his legs locked in a spasm. He slipped from his broom. His body arched and jerked in the air and Harry could hear someone screaming.
Somehow, he fell a much shorter distance then he knew he should, but the pain made it so he didn't even care. In fact if he has lived in a better world maybe he would have fallen head first and been put out of his misery. He had landed on what seemed to be a pile of leaves and twigs. Harry held onto it for dear life.
And then just as suddenly the pain was gone.
"Narcissa!" Bellatrix was standing in front of them looking stunned. She had jerked her wand back to end the Crucio, and she was looking up at the huge plant woman with squinted eyes. "You Dare. You-You DARE!"
She twitched and began muttering to herself. Harry was glad to be a nice distance away from her raving while he recovered from the searing pain. She seemed to have reached a new level of crazy- a level Harry hadn't known previously existed. Bellatrix had fallen to her knees and was pulling pieces of wood towards her, she pulled back and hastily lit a fire. She turned frantically, and seemed to be looking for something. Harry was surprised when she picked up a small flower off the ground.
"This will have to do." She hissed. Her eyes were wild. She began enchanting in a deep voice, speaking in quick panicked Latin. She dropped the flower into the fire, pulled out her wand and did a slashing curse on her left hand. The blood flowed down her hand, and when it hit the fire the flames turned to silver.
"No sister of mine."
Harry gasped as he suddenly felt the hand of the tree woman give out. He began to fall the last 20 feet towards the ground. He braced for impact and tried to move his wand so it wouldn't break. To his surprise a gust of wind lifted him up and lowered him down to the ground slowly. He even landed on his feet- Directly in front of Voldemort.
He hoped the Narcissa was okay, but he didn't have time to check. The tree woman had totally disintegrated, so he was facing off the Death Eaters, Voldemort and Bellatrix without his broom or back up-Snape and Lucius must be pissed.
But yet, somehow he realized, he had the advantage. Belletrix was still mumbling in Latin and seemed to be staring off towards Hogwarts- probably trying to see her sister. She wasn't stopping her ritual to get to Harry. Most of the younger Death Eaters behind her looked scared to approach them. And Voldemort himself looked..drained. He hadn't even looked up to see what was going on. For all his good looks, he looked paler than when Harry had seen him reborn. That stone was taking all his energy.
Harry probably had ten seconds before one of the more inconsequential Death Eaters decided to try to make a name for them-self, and he intended to use every moment of it. Looking at Voldemort, did make him realize that he didn't want to touch that stone; who knew what did? So he did the most logical thing he could think of in the moment...and kicked it.
He was a somewhat decent footballer. Just last week Dean Thomas had made them all play a game, and Harry had scored 3 goals.
So, the stone immediately flew through the air toward the melee of Werewolves trying to rip each other apart. It arched over everyone and to his pleasure smashed directly into the head of a guy trying to take out Deveraux. Not bad if he did say so himself.
And then Fred Weasley seemed to pop in from out of nowhere, grab it and disappear. Wait how had he? Did he apparate within the wards? Of Hogwarts? What the…?
A cold hard hand gripped his foot, and Harry started back into the moment. First survive then ask questions.
"Potter."
"You sure you want to do this now? You don't look too good Tom." Said Harry. He was lucky; it looked like Voldemort had put his wand away while he wielded the stone. A stupid move, he had counted on his followers to protect him.
Harry pointed his wand downward toward his foe. He could feel the blood rush in his ears, he could end this. Any moment now this would be over.
Something-someone- rammed into him and Harry went down. Harry struggled under the weight, but the Death Eater pushed him down roughly, and he stilled when a wand pushed into the back of his neck.
"What would you like me to do to him, My Lord?"
"I would advise that your let him got immediately Mr. Taylor." Said Dumbeldore, sound close enough to have crossed the wards.
Harry could hear the breath of the Death Eater in his ear. He knew what the boy was doing. If he let Harry go Voldemort would kill him later. If he didn't let him go Dumbledore would kill him or possibly arrest him now. It was an impossible position to be in.
"Let me go." Whispered Harry. "Let me go and meet one of my people in the shrieking shack in 1 hour and I will make sure you live. I'll protect you. You have my word."
The hand holding him down tensed and Harry could feel him roughly bunching the fabric in his shirt. And suddenly-
CRACK
The boy was gone.
Harry jumped up and pointed his wand toward his opponent calling on all his hours of defense training. Voldemort had also taken out his wand in the past few moments, so Harry waited to find an opening. Unfortunately, it looked like the Death Eaters had gotten into formation around their leader and looked ready to jump in. Harry was sure that no matter how good Dumbledore was they couldn't take all of them.
"POTTER!" Harry instinctively turned at the sound of someone calling his name. Lucius was running towards them. He was pointing his wand at the huge cracks in the ground and was directing a huge tidal wave of water towards them. Harry grabbed the Headmaster and pulled him backwards a few steps just as the wave moved past the wards.
The water rushed forward and smashed into Voldemort and his Death Eaters like the wall of a tsunami. Voldemort was the first to apparate and the rest followed quickly; Within minutes the entrance of Hogwarts was free from invaders.
Harry let go of Dumbledore's clothes and turned to run towards the castles. He needed to check on Narcissa, and Remus and -
"Harry." the Headmasters hand gripped his arm. "You will come talk to me later."
He tensed at the presumptive tone. "I don't see what there is to talk about."
"Harry Please-"
"I have to go check on my friends." Said Harry. He pulled his arm back and jogged towards Lucius. "Where's Narcissa? Is she okay? The plant lady- that was her right? What happened? That thing with the water saved our ass by the way. Thank you. "
"I have a way with water." Said Lucius. The blond's hair was disheveled and his eyes were heavy. "Bellatrix did the reverto Ingenium. Narcissa is...well...Come with me."
They marched through the ranks of the Order and werewolves. Many people seemed to have broken bones from falling while the ground bucked. Others were hanging onto a rope as they dangled within the chasm. Kinsley and Tonks were busy making bridges for people to get across, but a couple of the grass bridges were holding for now. Some Order members Harry didn't recognize were walking around healing people. Mostly it was just loud with people yelling to find their friends and family. The air smelt like fresh dirt, and water and sweat.
Up ahead Harry could see Draco kneeling by his mother. Narcissa was laying on the ground with a furrowed brow. Her hands were shaking and sweat disrupted her normally impeccable hair. Lucius rushed forward.
"Oh Harry, I'm so glad you're okay!" Hermione enveloped him in a hug. "You are okay right? She had you under the Cruciatus for a while."
Harry gave her a one armed hug back and tried to look at Narcissa around her messy hair. He willed his hands to stop shaking. "Oh course I'm okay. Got out by the skin of my teeth, like I always do."
"You went completely off from the plan."
Harry pulled back and saw Ron standing with his arms crossed watching them. "I always go completely off the plan. Normally I don't even have a plan to begin with."
"Well now that I made the plan, I see how bloody annoying that is." Ron couldn't keep his lips from twitching upwards.
"It was rather rash, Harry." Said Hermione. "You're lucky to be alive the way you kept running in and out of the warded area. And at the end when the plant lady dropped you how did you manage to land on your feet? I must say I'm relieved, but it seems impossible that-"
"He had a Weasley on his side that's how." Ron looked smug.
Harry rolled his eyes. "What are you my good luck charm now?"
"I've been on almost every stupid heroic death defying adventure you have and you're still here, so I say that makes me a good luck charm." Said Ron with a laugh. "But in this case I was talking about Charlie."
"Charlie?" Harry furrowed his brow. "I don't even think I saw him, so how did he-"
Ron leaned close. "Wind. It's his ingenium. I think he gave you a little help with the landing."
Harry thought back for a moment to the miraculous gust of air that had helped him land on his feet. "That would make sense. I have to agree with Hermione, I thought I was a goner."
Hermione sighed. Clearly she had decided to leave the debate about ingenium for another day. "Well I'm just glad everyone is okay."
"The students didn't have to do any fighting?" Asked Harry, just to be sure.
Hermione shook her head. "No, they were only supposed to attack from the inside if Voldemort made it past the wards."
"Good, then actually, I have to go check on Narcissa. Something happened to her. That bitch Bellatrix."
Ron and Hermione turned to look at the Malfoys all huddled together.
"They actually protected you." Said Ron. "I mean I knew they would, but somehow I'm still surprised."
Hermione tugged on Ron's arm. "Go check on them Harry, we'll see you later."
Harry took a step towards them. Narcissa was still on the ground. And could he see tears in her eyes? Draco's face looked like stone. Snape and Remus were standing near them looking somber.
"Potter."
Harry sighed and turned to see Deveraux and Fred Weasley waiting to speak with him. It was a bit of an odd combination, but then this whole day was odd. "Yes?"
"I was impressed." Deveraux's smile was jointly terrifying and uplifting. His shirt was stained with crimson and ripped. His skin was bloody and bruised, but yet he still looked like a kid in a candy store. "You fought him. And you backed us up."
"I told you I would." Said Harry
"I have come to expect ...something else from most wizards." his eyes twitch towards Dumbledore. "You really do believe that Werewolves and wizards can live side by side."
"I do."
Deveraux laughed as if it was a good joke. "Well, we will be leaving now. I will be in touch Potter."
"Please, I can get someone to see to your wounds." Said Harry, thinking of how long it takes to heal without magic.
"No. Most of your spells do not take into account our biology and werewolves heal quickly. We have our own experts and can take care of ourselves. Until next time, Potter." Deveraux gave a little tilt of his head and turned to stalk toward his pack.
Harry turned to Fred, getting impatient to see the Malfoys. "What is it?" he snapped
"Oh amazing Fred, I bow down to your brilliance! Thank you so much for getting the fucking earthquake stone and saving us all!" the red head held up his hand. "What do you want me to do with this?"
Harry blinked at the totally ordinary rock. Somehow it had lost its red glimmer and was now a dull gray. It had been partially wrapped in some kind of fabric, so that Fred himself didn't have to touch it. "How the bloody hell did you get that thing?! It was like you came out of nowhere!"
Fred leaned forward and winked. "I guess you could say I have a talent for walking about in the shadows."
Harry closed his eyes and smiled. His Ingenium was walking through shadows. Harry was learning all sorts today. So, Lucius could control water, Charlie could control wind and Fred could walk through shadows. It was an amazing power and it had so much potential, but he was sure that up until now Fred had only used it for pulling pranks. "Well that is useful."
"So, what do I do with this thing?" Said Fred. "Seems like bad luck to carry it around."
Harry thought for a moment. "Give it to Tonks. She must know an unspeakable who can get it back to the ministry. Oh and work your magic to meet that ex-Deather Eater in the Shrieking shack in 1 hour. Don't hurt him, I promised him protection."
"Aye Aye captain" He gave a little salute and hurried away.
Finally free, Harry rushed toward the Malfoys. He squeezed in next to Snape and Remus. It alarmed him to see Narcissa hugging Lucius, it was not like them to have public displays of affection. "What's happening? Is she okay? I can get a healer."
"We would have acquired a healer had she needed one." Said Snape. "There is nothing anyone can do to heal Narcissa, except perhaps kill Bellatrix."
"Well that's already on the to do list." Said Harry "But I still don't understand, what happened?"
Narcissa pulled back from Lucius and turned to Harry. "It is just a strange feeling, a feeling of emptiness. But I will be fine, I will get used to it." Her voice caught and she blinked with determination, far too proud to cry in front of so many people. He face looked like she hadn't seen sunlight in years.
"What happened? How did she get to you from here?" Said Harry, still not understanding.
"Bellatrix is my older sister." Said Narcissa. "She's the eldest and so she controls the blood magic. I knew the second that I went against her that there was a risk of this happening, but today, her seeing me defend you, fight for you, it must have been too much. She did the reverto Ingenium. I no longer have access to my Ingenium or any of the blood magic of the ancient house of Black. I have been completely disowned."
Harry's mind spun. "I don't- how- You're the head of the Black family. You got the house, so how-"
"Legally, Potter." Draco snapped. "Of course the laws have to accommodate the muggleborns, and of course they don't want convicted criminals inheriting titles and wealth. But do you really think the old ways give a toss about that crap? Merlin, you've been living in this world for 6 years, pay attention."
Harry reeled back as if he had been slapped. Draco hadn't talked to him like that since they began dating. "God Draco, what the fuck is wrong with you?"
Draco's nostrils flared. "My mother suffered about the biggest dishonor a pureblood can have all because she was protecting you. And why did she have to protect you? Because you didn't follow the bloody plan and went running right into danger. Typical Gryffindor style. Maybe Dumbeldore was right and you should have left, if you were going to be so stupid. This is your fault."
Harry tried to form a sentence, or a word, something some kind of response but his mind felt blank. It was his fault. Of course, Draco was right. All of it was his fault. The attack itself had been so Voldemort could get to him. He had crossed the wards. He had tried to get the stone. Hell, he had asked Narcissa and Remus to do something big.
"Draco." Narcissa glared at her son. "We knew this was a risk when we went against Bellatrix's wishes. We always knew it was possible."
"Well she only did it now because you had to save Potters ass." Draco ran his hand through his hair. "And he doesn't even understand the implications for you, for our family. Access to entire properties- gone. My ingenium will only come from the Malfoy side. Artifacts that-"
"That's enough, Draco." Lucius voice cut through his son's rant.
"He could have died. You could have died. Mother could have died." Said Draco. He still looked angry, but also somehow defeated.
Harry felt Remus grip his shoulder. He had forgotten. He had somehow forgotten that this little group was not his family. Somewhere in that demented needy brain of his he had thought that these were his people. But no. He was on the outside and right now he was intruding.
"Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help." Harry managed to whisper, before turning on his heal and fleeing toward the castle. He could hear Remus calling after him.