Chapter 57: The Day of Battle
June 14th, 1998
Blaise Zabini marched back into Hogwarts Castle at 3am, one of several holding a wand to his mother. Hagrid had let the task force inside the gates, where McGonagall, Flitwick, Sirius, Molly, and Bill were all waiting for them. Aside from Blaise came Seamus, all the mercenaries (including a disgruntled looking Krum), as well as Dumbledore and all the remaining members of the Order which had been called together for one last time (aside from Kingsley, who would be needed in the Ministry today).
"We will place Madam Zabini in my office," said McGonagall.
Blaise and Seamus both nodded and followed, leading Clarise along. Everyone else remained downstairs where Flitwick began to brief people on their positions during the upcoming fight. It didn't take long for Blaise and Seamus to reach McGonagall's office, and once there McGonagall pulled out a chair and placed it in the center of the room.
Blaise forced his mother into the chair and began casting spells that bound her there. He made a great show of casting spells all over the chair. He stepped back after he was finished.
"So you'll stay here, safe and sound, while we trounce your Death Eaters," said Blaise.
"Is this all you have?" asked Clarise, "Where are the rest of Potter's people? It seems to me if these people and Potter's Army are all you have, you don't have enough people."
Blaise couldn't quite hide his smile. "Let's just say we'll be getting some reinforcements before the day's out. But you better hope they don't get to you. I've cast spells on this chair that will kill you if any marked Death Eater other than yourself gets within ten metres of this chair."
Clarise's eyes bulged, but behind her McGonagall stifled a laugh. She clearly knew what was up.
"Well, bye!" said Blaise as he turned and headed out of the office.
"You didn't really put lethal spells on her chair?" asked Seamus.
"Of course not," said Blaise, "That would require knowledge of Runes, which I don't have. But Mum knows even less about Runes than I do (thank you Hermione), so she won't know better. Her screams to tell any Death Eaters to stay away might slow them down though."
It had taken some convincing to get McGonagall to let them use Hogwarts for their trap, but not as much as Harry had initially feared. McGonagall still felt she owed Harry a debt. The way Blaise saw it, she'd done plenty to help Harry, more than any other teacher, but he knew that she didn't share that opinion.
Returning to ground level, Blaise saw that Dumbledore was leading the teachers of the school in creating a massive Protego shield around the entire school. Once the spell encompassed the entirety of the wards it would be a formidable obstacle to anyone entering the grounds.
The Order of the Phoenix had returned to help Dumbledore willingly, if a bit cautiously. He'd been put in charge here by default, as he was the most experienced and respected person here. And his expertise with the school was coming in handy! Dumbledore probably should have been attending the Wizengamot meeting today, but he didn't want to take part in what was going to happen today. In any case, he couldn't very well stay Chief Warlock if he helped overthrow the Wizengamot. Umbridge probably thought his absence was fortuitous, though she had to know he would be defending Hogwarts.
"Are you still planning to… you know," said Seamus.
"Yeah," said Blaise, "And you still want to come with?"
"Yeah," said Seamus.
And impulsively, Blaise kissed Seamus. It wasn't something he normally liked to do in public; many wizards still weren't very comfortable with that sort of thing, but he fully understood the sacrifice Seamus was making and it deserved an immediate reward.
By the time they had finished kissing, the teachers were done with the shield. Bill walked by and gave them a very much not subtle wink.
"And how are you doing, Bill?" asked Blaise conversationally.
"As well as can be expected I suppose," said Bill.
"Well, stay safe out there today," said Blaise, "Your sister is a good friend of mine, and I have plans for after the battle. Those plans do not include having to console Ginny. So please, don't make it so I have to."
Bill nodded. He knew Blaise had lost his father to this war. He knew what Blaise was trying to tell him. "I'll be careful," he said.
Blaise sat down on a stone bench and watched the others still at work. The waiting game was on.
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Amelia watched as Wizengamot members and security personnel all scrambled into Courtroom 10. Amelia had four of her people assigned to the courtroom, while Umbridge had eight. It wasn't going to matter. There were others there now, but they were setting up the finishing touches to the wards that would 'protect' the courtroom while the meeting was going on. The wards were regenerating, which meant they would go back up after a few minutes if someone breached them.
It was all going well. Umbridge had agreed to every proposal Amelia had made. She seemed to be bending over backwards to keep Amelia happy. It made sense. Until Umbridge was confirmed as Minister, she would be extremely vulnerable. It must seem to Umbridge as if everything had come together for her, especially the fact that Dumbledore wouldn't be here.
Amelia knew better. The moment Umbridge sealed those doors, events would be set in motion. Events that even Amelia wouldn't be able to stop, not that she wanted to.
She briefly entertained the annoyance that she had held for some time about this moment. It really should be her taking the reins of the Ministry. But she understood Harry's logic. They couldn't be encouraging future coups now could they? And Amelia had to admit, she didn't really want to be Minister. But it would have been nice to be asked.
She shook her head. That wasn't a thought for today. Today she had more important work to do.
Kingsley was giving the thumbs up to the wards, as was Scrimgeour. Umbridge's people began bringing in the witnesses, and last of all Ginny Weasley. Meanwhile all of Amelia's extra people began to leave. Kingsley stayed on for a few moments, but then Cedric came in and they left with Scrimgeour. Amelia knew Percy was just outside as well.
She wished them luck. "Ready Minister?" she asked as Kingsley shut the door.
"Ready Amelia," said Umbridge.
Amelia thrust her wand into the ward that had been drawn on the inside of the door. It lit up brightly, and then so did all the other wards. Courtroom 10 was sealed off from the world.
There was no going back.
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Scrimgeour led everyone into the prison area near the courtroom. Percy noted that one of the cells had been converted into an office for Scrimgeour. There were a few other converted cells as well. But aside from Percy, Cedric and Kingsley, as well as the six aurors who had been checking wards in the courtroom, there were only four people in the courtroom cells. Including Scrimgeour.
Scrimgeour waved them into his office. It was small, with a desk and a cabinet behind the desk chair. There were only seats for him and Kingsley. Percy didn't mind standing though. He wasn't going to be here long.
"I hope there are no hard feelings that I took your old job," said Kingsley.
"Not your fault," said Scrimgeour, "In retrospect, I can't even blame Amelia. I put her in an impossible position. Still, everything will work out after the trial."
"Yes, I suppose so," said Kingsley.
Percy glanced behind him nervously as Scrimgeour turned to get something out of his cabinet. He knew they had just arrived, but he was already getting anxious. Suddenly he heard a sharp whistle. That was the signal.
"What was that?" said Scrimgeour as he turned around to see the wands in Kingsley, Cedric and Percy's hands. Before he could say anything he was stunned.
"Let's get going," said Kingsley as Cedric bound Scrimgeour with magical ropes, "we have an hour tops to secure the Ministry."
Not that there would be any serious resistance. The only two people who could command the Magical Security Force were Scrimgeour and Umbridge. By taking out Scrimgeour they had ensured no one could organize the remaining members of his Magical Security Force into an effective force, and everyone would be expecting auror patrols today.
No, an hour would be plenty of time.
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The last of the Wizengamot members had taken their seats. Umbridge gave Amelia a nod, and the head of the DMLE stood up, causing the room to quiet. She looked down, making sure her foot was firmly on the rune she had drawn there, then checked the ward cluster on her desk.
"Before we begin, I have a security announcement," said Amelia, "As some of you have no doubt noticed, we have sealed this courtroom. This has been done for two reasons."
Amelia looked around. Most of the members of the Wizengamot were sitting back, not paying a lot of attention. Bryant was paying attention, but he knew what was coming. Amelia noticed that he was holding his wand loosely. Not a bad idea, though he didn't know that this was futile.
"The first reason is simple, so that no outsiders who have no business here can interfere," continued Amelia, "The importance of this will be obvious shortly. The second reason is so that a certain dangerous individual cannot escape this room."
All true, though of course she was actually referring to Umbridge instead of Ginny. Umbridge merely smiled, oblivious.
"I would like to caution the members of the Wizengamot that the barrier can be breached if treated carelessly," she said seriously, "as a certain Taboo was reactivated last night."
For the first time Umbridge began to stir as she realized that something she hadn't anticipated was going on. Amelia made double sure she was standing on her rune.
"Whatever you do," said Amelia, "Do not say the name of Voldemort."
And then Amelia jammed her wand into the ward cluster written on the face of the desk that had been provided to her.
It took a moment for everyone to realize what Amelia had done. But suddenly every wand in the room was flying to a point directly over the ward cluster Amelia had just activated. Every wand except the wands of Amelia and her people, who were all standing on identical runes. Runes which rendered them immune to the spell.
Members of the Wizengamot surged to their feet. But it was too late. Hooded figures in grey robes began to apparate in. The Army of the Triumvirate had arrived.
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Harry emerged from his apparition behind the chair in which Ginny was being held. She was flanked by two guards, both of whom Amelia had assured him would be Umbridge's men. He stunned one, while Hermione, who had emerged beside him, had stunned the other. Both Hermione and Harry were wearing their silver robes, while everyone else was wearing their gray robes.
And it was pretty much the entire Army that had apparated into the courtroom. Even Fred, George, Angelina and Cho had returned for this one. The only major member who wasn't here was Cedric, who was working with the DMLE forces.
The rest of Umbridge's men had been captured, and Umbridge herself was under Amelia's wand. She seemed utterly shocked. This had all turned around on her so quickly.
Harry walked up to Ginny, shackled in the chair. Hermione conjured a shroud of smoke while Harry freed Ginny, handing her the Elder Wand and her silver robes. The smoke created a screen between Ginny and the rest of the room, and she immediately began to change into her robes. Harry turned his head politely.
Once she was done, Ginny turned to stand side by side with Harry and Hermione. Hermione dispelled the smoke she had conjured. And suddenly, the Wizengamot was faced by the Triumvirate, all dressed in their robes.
The members of the Wizengamot all stared as they realized what they were seeing. For only a moment though. Then Harry stepped forward and dropped his hood, revealing his face. The rest of the Army followed suit.
"I am Harry Potter, First of the Triumvirate," said Harry.
"I am Hermione Granger, Second of the Triumvirate," said Hermione.
"I am Ginevra Weasley, Third of the Triumvirate," said Ginny.
"We're here because Dolores Umbridge is working for the Death Eaters," said Harry, "and she, as well as the majority of this body, are complicit in Treason and Murder."
The members of the Wizengamot stirred slightly. They knew they were caught in Harry's trap. Most of them looked outraged. Not Bryant of course. And Augusta looked angry, though not at Harry. Parkinson and Nott looked very worried.
"Now, I will be giving people back their wands," said Harry, "but first… everyone roll up your sleeves. We're doing a Dark Mark check."
And so, every member of the Wizengamot showed off their arms. And as Harry suspected, Parkinson and Nott both had Dark Marks. Umbridge did not, but that wasn't unexpected.
"Are you just going to kill Parkinson and Nott?" demanded Umbridge.
"No need," said Ginny.
"If Fudge had reacted quickly to the return of Voldemort we would never have had to kill the Death Eaters who entered the Ministry two years ago," said Harry, "They could have been arrested. As it was, we needed to force the issue."
There was a murmur of discontent at that, but no one disagreed. Fudge's initial intractability had been nearly disastrous.
The aurors had taken Parkinson and Nott down to the floor of the courtroom and conjured bindings for them. Harry nodded at their efficiency.
"Those two will take no further part in these proceedings," said Harry, "They are Death Eaters. But despite her lack of a Dark Mark, so is Umbridge."
"And we are going to prove it," said Hermione.
Ron, Neville and Daphne stepped forward. Amelia gestured to Umbridge with her wand and Umbridge slowly obeyed, walking up to the edge of the courtroom floor. Ron, Neville and Daphne marched her to the chair, where they shackled her in the same shackles that had just held Ginny.
"Daphne?" asked Harry.
Daphne nodded as Amelia handed her a small vial. Veritaserum, right from the DMLE stores. Umbridge tried to struggle, but Ron and Neville held her down and forced her mouth open. Daphne quickly administered the Veritaserum. She then waited several moments.
"Were you aware of the attack that killed the progressives in the Wizengamot beforehand?" asked Daphne once enough time had passed.
"Yes!" said Umbridge, her voice full of rage.
"Was the attack carried out solely to push you into the position of Minister?" asked Daphne, her eyes flashing.
"Yes!" Umbridge roared, trying and failing to resist the Veritaserum.
"Did you arrange for Voldemort to have access to the home of Cornelius Fudge so that he could be assassinated?" asked Daphne.
"Yes," said Umbridge, who was finally beaten. Her shoulders slumped as she realized that she was now going to spend the rest of her life in prison.
"As you can see, Dolores Umbridge is a traitor who attempted a coup to take control of the Ministry," said Daphne as she turned to face the Wizengamot, "You should probably move to revoke her status as interim Minister for Magic."
"Return their wands," said Harry. This was a risk, but a very small one. The wards should be back up by now, so no one could escape without Amelia opening the door. And the whole Wizengamot was covered by the wands of the Army of the Triumvirate. Plus, the Wizengamot wasn't going to attack them. Many of them were related to members of the Army.
As Justin, Cho, and Luna began to distribute wands, Harry idly wondered how things were going outside this room. He had to hope everything was going according to plan.
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"There are almost a hundred of them," said Seamus, looking out at the army of Death Eaters that had just arrived. Well, Death Eaters and criminal mercenaries.
Blaise nodded. That was a lot. He wondered if the shield would hold against that many. The defenders of Hogwarts were all gathered in the main courtyard outside the school, and were watching for the attack to begin.
Sure enough, the attack began almost immediately. But it turned out that a hundred wizards and witches wasn't quite enough to bring down this shield. Not with Dumbledore's augmentations to the wards. Dumbledore clearly knew what he was doing.
"So it's a siege," said McGonagall.
"No," said Dumbledore, "Eventually they will break through. But we have bought a couple of hours, three at the most."
Everyone nodded. Blaise hoped Harry was hurrying. Because if he was late things would get rough fast.
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"All in favour of removing Dolores Umbridge, please light your wands," said Daphne to the Wizengamot.
Every member of the Wizengamot lit their wands. There wasn't really any discussion to be had. Harry was happy that they were cooperating so far, but he realized that cooperation would be short lived once his true goal became clear.
"Madame Umbridge," said Harry, "you are no longer the interim Minister for Magic."
Umbridge just growled at him.
"What about the selection of a new Minister?" asked one of the members of the Wizengamot.
Ginny smiled as she turned to the Wizengamot. "Of course that must be this body's first priority," she said.
"Oh yes," said Umbridge, "take over the Ministry, Potter. Make yourself our king! That's what you want, isn't it? Why don't you tell them why I had Weasley on trial!"
"Gladly," said Hermione, "Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Vold… well, you know, created several horcruxes to keep himself immortal. We have destroyed most of these. In the process of destroying them, Harry, Ginny and I absorbed some of Riddle's memories. We have used that knowledge to battle him. Despite the fact that we have used this information to fight him, Dolores here intended to accuse us of being under his control."
A ripple of disbelief went through the courtroom.
"It's a ruse of course," said Harry, "and a distraction. Even now Riddle is launching a full scale attack upon Hogwarts, planning on using it as a base of operations "
This caused an even bigger ruckus.
"Luckily, we anticipated this," said Hermione, "The school is defended. Once we are finished here we will go to the school's aid and rescue everyone."
"But this does mean we have to hurry," said Ginny.
"So who do we nominate?" asked another member of the Wizengamot.
There was suddenly an awkward silence that came over the Wizengamot. This was the danger point Harry realized. If they were going to resist, it would be now.
"Let me be clear," said Harry, "this is a coup. Or more properly, a counter coup. You will be approving our candidate. And then the Wizengamot will disband."
That caused a stir. Most of the Wizengamot leapt to their feet. Even Augusta looked vaguely outraged.
"So that's it?" said someone in the back, "No courts? No legislature? Just a dictatorship?"
"The Wizengamot will be reformed after the next election, where they will be elected rather than selected," said Daphne, "In the interim, we will convene a Wizard's Council to perform any legislative and judicial functions, with juries being selected from the general population for the time being."
The mood of the Wizengamot shifted. The moderates seemed somewhat less antagonistic, but the purebloods seemed angrier. This could be it.
"Oh for Merlin's sake!" shouted Bryant Greengrass angrily, "Get a hold of yourselves! We've called this upon ourselves! We have failed Magical Britain. Myself most of all. Did we remove Fudge when he tried to doubt that You-know-who had returned? Or did we sit and do nothing? Did we stand up and follow our own rules when our colleagues were murdered? Or did we align with Umbridge for political gain?"
Bryant took a deep breath. "Did we eliminate the prejudice and hate that caused the last war? Or did we let it fester in both our own ranks and the body politic? Face it. We have failed. And there is no one we have failed more than these young people. They are standing up for what they believe in. If we fight them here, win or lose, we will be fighting our sons and daughters, our nieces and nephews, our cousins and neighbors."
Bryant shook his head, "I will not do it! We came within hours of destroying the futures of these young men and women. Let us give them the chance to set what we fucked up right! Let us step aside for the next generation. A little early, perhaps. But the alternative is the worst thing I can imagine."
And then Bryant sat down. And slowly, the rest of the Wizengamot followed. Harry knew that there would be no further resistance. He had won. They could have continued without the support of the Wizengamot, but it would have been far more difficult, given enemies something to rally to. Not everyone here supported this rebellion, but they weren't going to fight it.
"I nominate Daphne Greengrass to be Minister for Magic," said Amelia.
Bryant looked up, his eyes burning with sudden interest. He hadn't expected this. He'd expected a muggleborn, or maybe Harry Potter himself. Suddenly all the purebloods on the Wizengamot seemed interested in this process, now that they knew a member of their social class was involved. Of course, Daphne would disappoint them. If anyone was a blood traitor, it was Daphne Greengrass.
"I second the motion," said Augusta.
"All in favour?" said Hermione, taking over the role Daphne had been playing earlier so that she didn't appear biased.
Most of the wands in the Wizengamot went up.
"Daphne Greengrass has been appointed to finish this term as Minister for Magic," said Harry formally.
"I will be sworn in at a later time," said Daphne, "But I need to take action now. I would ask that the Wizengamot vote to direct me to re-establish the Wizard's Council and disband itself."
This was one thing that Harry wasn't certain was legal. The act which had created the Wizengamot originally had come from the crown. As such Hermione had wondered whether this would require royal assent. Well, that was a matter for another time. If it did, they could do it later. It wasn't as if the Queen was going to object, as far as Harry knew she didn't even know the magical world.
The vote went Daphne's way, though she barely had two thirds of the Wizengamot for it. It didn't matter though. It was enough.
"Thank you for your cooperation," said Daphne, "Amelia, open the doors."
Amelia got up and went to the doors to the chamber. As soon as they opened, Percy marched in, followed by Kingsley and Cedric.
"The Ministry is ours, Minister," said Percy to Daphne.
"Just for that, you get to keep your job," said Daphne with a twinkle in her eyes. Percy smiled in response.
Harry walked over to Bryant. "Thank you for what you said," said Harry.
Bryant nodded. "It seemed the right thing to do," he said truthfully, "And now I have to find some honest work to fill my time, as I appear to be out of a job."
"Harry," said Daphne, "You need to deploy the Army to Hogwarts. I'll follow up shortly with the Ministry forces. We'll have aurors and hitwizards in position in fifteen minutes. And our allies need to be contacted as well."
Harry nodded his understanding. Suddenly he realized that the Triumvirate was no longer in charge. Daphne was. It was actually a huge weight off of his shoulders. He no longer had the weight of all those decisions on him.
"All right, let's get in position," said Harry. Now it was time for the real battle. The battle to save Magical Britain. The battle for Hogwarts.
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Narcissa Malfoy watched as the latest barrage of spells hit the barrier outside Hogwarts. Voldemort assured her that the barrier was weakening, but she didn't see it. In a way she hoped it didn't fall, but she also realized that if Potter arrived before the barrier fell this chance to kill Nagini might be lost. So even though she knew it would mean many deaths, Narcissa had to hope that the barrier would fall.
"Again!" shouted Voldemort.
Narcissa once again cast her spell at the shield. This time when the barrage hit the barrier flickered.
She briefly thought about Draco. He was also in this army preparing to take part in the battle. She hoped he survived. Even after all he had done.
"Almost there men!" shouted Rookwood, "Two more should do it!"
"Again!" roared Voldemort. Another wave of magic hit the shield. It nearly collapsed, but just barely maintained itself.
"One last time!" roared Voldemort.
And this final barrage caused the shield to fall. Narcissa clutched her wand. She would have to look for a chance to separate Voldemort from his snake. If she could kill Nagini, this war would be one step away from being over. She just had to find her chance.
"Advance!" cried Rookwood.
The battle was on.
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"Send them a message and then fall back to the school!" yelled out Dumbledore, "Do not get caught at the barricades when Lord Voldemort arrives."
Blaise winced, realising that Dumbledore had just probably given Harry a nasty headache. Blaise was part of the second line of defense. The mercenaries were holding up at the barricades which they had placed near the border of the forest along with Moody, Krum and Bill. Their job was to send a few spells at Voldemort as he advanced, then fall back towards the school itself. Just slow down the initial attack a little.
The surge of enemies was pretty large though. There were only a handful of mercenaries and they seemed pretty nervous. Still, they began engaging on schedule.
"All right, fall back," shouted Dumbledore.
Suddenly the return spells came in and they were intense. Moody and Bill began moving back, but Blaise suddenly realized that the rest of the mercenaries weren't. They didn't want to leave cover!
"Fall back before Voldemort blows up your cover from under you!" screamed Blaise.
Krum seemed to get the message, as did Gustav. But it was too late for many of them. One of the barricades suddenly exploded as Lord Voldemort charged into view. At this the other men started running but they were quickly cut down. Gustav turned back to help his men only to take a killing curse right in the forehead. Moody also turned around to help others retreat. But he suddenly found himself facing Voldemort.
Blaise had to do something. He ran forward and began firing blasting curses at the advancing Death Eaters. That held up most of them. And the sudden addition of several fireballs from Seamus stopped most of the rest. He nearly cast one at a woman, but redirected his fire when he saw it was Narcissa Malfoy. No, she might be on their side. With Voldemort now fighting Moody this gave the remnants of the mercenaries time to withdraw. But at a heavy cost. Voldemort gave a roar of triumph as he cut down Moody with a killing curse.
And then he turned to face Blaise.
Blaise prepared himself, knowing he couldn't fight Voldemort, but suddenly Dumbledore was there. Dumbledore and Voldemort began dueling while the rest of the defenders of Hogwarts began casting spells at the rest of the attackers. They wouldn't last for long at this rate. For one terrible moment it seemed to have all gone horribly wrong.
And that was when witches and wizards on brooms began flying in from behind Blaise, from over the top of the school. Blaise saw Tracey and Ron leaping off their brooms and joining Bill and Molly, he saw the Weasley twins landing on top of the main entrance and firing down spells from above. Luna and Neville led a group of the Hufflepuffs to attack the Death Eaters from the side while Cho and Colin led Ravenclaws and Gryffindors from the other side. And in the middle of it all was Harry who flew in and immediately began attacking Voldemort. But not directly. He still clearly didn't want to lock their shared wand cores.
And that's when the fighting started in the forest. Daphne and the Ministry had arrived. And more. Arrows and spells came from further in the forest. The centaurs and the Irish had arrived as well.
Voldemort had only one option. He was almost completely surrounded.
"Fall back to the lake!" he roared as the Death Eaters and mercenaries fled towards the lake.
Tactically, Blaise admitted it made sense. The lake would allow Voldemort to guard the rear of his force, and the lakeshore was outside the wards, so he could apparate away if necessary. But Blaise knew what was waiting for them there. It wouldn't work out for the Death Eaters at all.
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Narcissa had to admit that the shore of the lake didn't look like a promising site for a battle. But it would at least allow them to fight all of their enemies from one direction. Nagini had stayed close to Voldemort this entire time, even when he'd led the attack on the school. However, Narcissa was beginning to suspect that this was all part of Potter's plan. This was very likely a trap.
Suddenly a voice came from the Forbidden Forest. "This is the Minister for Magic, Daphne Greengrass. You are surrounded. Surrender at once."
Narcissa's eyes widened. Minister for Magic? Daphne Greengrass? What was this?
Suddenly Voldemort began laughing. She'd never heard him laugh like this before. It was bitter and angry and half insane.
"I have to hand it to Potter," said Voldemort, "He knew I'd take too long to take Hogwarts. He lured me here! And while I was occupied he took over the Ministry."
Suddenly he lashed out, throwing a killing curse that killed one of the criminals who worked for Clarise.
"I really need to kill that boy," said Voldemort evenly.
Narcissa nodded, afraid to say anything else. She wondered why their foes weren't attacking. Suddenly the wind started to pick up. That was odd. Narcissa turned around.
And saw Hermione Granger on a broom hovering over the middle of the lake. And she was summoning a massive waterspout.
Narcissa's eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen.
And that was when Hermione sent the massive tower of water towards the Death Eater position on the side of the lake.
Now the rest of Voldemort's forces had seen it. Narcissa resigned herself to getting very wet as she began to run as far from the lake as she could.
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Harry ran up to Daphne as the two forces met on the edge of the forest.
"Well done!" said Harry.
"Looks like Hermione has done her part," said Daphne as she pointed to the massive waterspout bearing down on the Death Eaters.
The massive wall of water broke over their position, scattering the Death Eaters in all directions. Harry was sure he saw a snake swimming onto land as the water began to recede.
"I see it," said the disembodied voice of Ginny.
Harry nodded to Daphne. And Daphne turned to face her newly formed army.
"Attack!" she roared, and the entire force surged out into the open and began casting spells at the Death Eaters.
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Narcissa spat water as she tried to regain her feet. Voldemort's forces were scattered all over the beach. But a quick look showed Narcissa that the wave had been successful in the most important way. Nagini was a natural swimmer, so she had ridden the wave to safety. Which meant she was now separated from Voldemort.
She tried to get to the snake, but her robes were soaked and slowing her down. All of a sudden a wave of spells came in towards her position. This was what Potter had been waiting for. Narcissa had to kill the snake. She had to!
Narcissa trudged on slowly getting close to the snake. The battle was swirling around her and she feared she would be killed before she finished her revenge. Suddenly Ginny Weasley appeared out of nowhere, dropping an invisibility cloak. With a single spell she held Nagini in place and she suddenly cast "Legilimens!" on the snake.
"They drained the horcruxes," said Narcissa, finally understanding. They had taken the knowledge and power contained in each horcrux. No wonder Potter had done so well!
But then she saw a real threat. Rookwood had seen Ginny attacking Nagini. And he advanced on her as well. He pulled back his wand to cast some deadly curse.
Narcissa didn't even think. She sent a blasting curse straight at Rookwood. He saw it coming at the last minute, and managed to put up a shield. He stared at Narcissa, not in disbelief, but in resignation. He leveled his wand at her.
And then he exploded in a haze of blood and guts. Narcissa turned to the source of the spell to see Blaise Zabini running up and standing between Ginny and the rest of the Death Eaters. Soon Ron and Justin had come to stand side by side with him.
Narcissa turned to face Voldemort's forces. And saw that he had seen what she had done. As he advanced on her she cast a shield. Luckily, his first shot was so angry it missed, instead causing a nearby rock to explode. Shrapnel pummeled her. And as she fell down she thought she saw Dumbledore stepping past her, but she couldn't be sure as she slipped into unconsciousness.
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Ginny held her ground against Nagini. Nagini had once been human! That horrible sense of loss permeated the poor creature. But Ginny couldn't let up. Still this was far more difficult than any horcrux because Nagini's will was added to that of the horcrux.
But Nagini had never done this before. Ginny had. And Ginny had one advantage no one would suspect. The Elder Wand. It gave her spell a power that no one could prepare for. Certainly a wandless Maledictus could not. And that advantage carried Ginny over the top. With a puff of black smoke, the final horcrux evaporated into the wind.
Ginny felt Nagini's despair. She had failed the last creature who had treated her as a person. She wanted nothing more than to die. But she wouldn't allow Ginny to just leave. She suddenly broke free of her bindings charging Ginny.
And then Ginny cut her in two with a cutting curse. It made her want to throw up.
And suddenly, the battlefield rang with the howl of Lord Voldemort realizing that he had become mortal.
XXXXX
As Harry rushed towards Lord Voldemort he heard the voice of Daphne once more. "Lord Voldemort is now mortal. Concentrate your attacks on Lord Voldemort," she said. He kept rushing only to find Dumbledore and Voldemort battling again. Harry charged in with a gust of wind pushing Voldemort back. The Dark wizard scowled at Harry and prepared to attack him when suddenly he dodged to the side. Hermione had landed behind him and was launching a flame whip at his head.
And then Ginny Weasley was there firing off cutting curses at Voldemort. And Blaise, and Ron and Justin were all casting at him from a distance. And in that moment, Voldemort finally realized he was outclassed. All around his men were surrendering or being cut down.
And finally, Voldemort knew this battle was over. "All forces retreat!" he yelled. And then he apparated away. A few of the Death Eaters also apparated away. Most of the mercenaries and criminals immediately surrendered.
And just like that, the Battle for Hogwarts was over. Harry and his allies had won.
Author's Note: Sorry about the delay, my beta reader has been busy and I have been laid off, so I have had other priorities than fanfiction. First I want to thank everyone who sent messages of support for what I posted with the last chapter. It means a lot, and I am going to try to find a way to publish fanfiction again eventually. But when I do I will need to do it in a way that allows me to do so without materially supporting someone who is doing harm to people I care about.
There isn't a lot to unpack in this chapter, it was pretty straightforward, and the writing of it was pretty straightforward. Bryant gets his redemption scene I guess, though it isn't enough to make up for his earlier shittiness. There's a lot more to discuss with the last two chapters.
Next Time: Harry, Hermione and Ginny help Daphne and the Ministry try to prevent Voldemort's escape. And Pixie has already finished sending me notes on this chapter, so it should just be a few days.