Book of Shadows
Chapter 30 – Shut de do
…
He who opens the ways was a shadow of great presence. It had been both right and wrong to compare it to a dementor. The fear it inspired was absolutely real, but up close it was clear this was not magic, as with dementors, but something else.
Harry knew it was something else because dementors destroyed him just by being there. He stared defiantly at the portal maker, daring him to blink.
"Ready lads?"
Chains exploded from his tome, and the giant with the twisted antlers groaned, a deep, heavy, bone shaking sound.
"I don't think he likes that," yelled Ron, covering his ears, an action mirrored by Neville
"He ain't so tough," said Harry, pulling on the giant like a big fish. "He ain't so toooooooooough!"
"HARRY!"
So tough, being a relative term. For a giant, he wasn't so tough. But a giant who wasn't so tough was still tough enough to hoist him into the air like he was the fish.
"This might not have been such a good idea!"
Hanging from his own chains the giant swung him about, trying to grab him. He missed a handle when Ron and Neville began hurling spells and he reflexively covered.
"Keep on him!" Harry yelled. "He's a bloody coward. Don't let up."
The portal maker didn't appreciate his hanger on encouraging the ones hurting him, flinging Harry around like an angry girl with a ragdoll.
No stranger to being flung around, Harry took the assault like a proper stoic Englishman. Running along a wall when he came close and temporarily managing to snag the other arm with his chain only to be viciously yanked away.
The near manacling of its free arm triggered something, and the portal opener made several quick gestures on the nearby wall.
A glow appeared, then dozens of minor shadow beasts poured into the hall. A rolling moan and a pointed finger sent them after Ron and Neville who were forced to redirect their attacks, leaving Harry to play catch with He who opens the ways by himself.
"This could definitely be going better." Swish. "You know the last time I did this it was with a troll." Swish. "You really aren't good at this." Swish. "Spose I shouldn't be complaining about that."
The gangly giant's aim was not terribly good, and Harry wasn't making it any easier, cuz why would he. Growing discouraged, the giant swung Harry as hard as he could, flinging the wizard all the way to an arch near the ceiling where he landed firmly, then stuck.
"Ha!" he declared, praying the sticking charm would hold.
Finding itself firmly anchored now, the giant reared back to swing at him, only for the swinging hand to become chained.
"I got him!"
"Good job Nev. Don't let him go. Stick your feet to the floor!"
Following Harry's instruction, Neville dug in and held. The giant bellowed in fury but was unable to break free of either wizard. This did not appear to be the purpose of the bellow.
"Bloody hell!"
Portals flashed and popped all around them, disgorging singular beasts with each appearance. Barely a moment and the hall was crowded with strange things, several hovering above the ground in a most spectral fashion.
"This is not going to end well," Harry observed.
Another bone shaking bellow sent them into action. Ron did his best to defend Neville, but Harry was on his own, and those who were airborne took full advantage of this.
Claws and talons scraped against flesh, inexplicably hard as stone. He couldn't explain it but was none the less glad for it because even with the protection each attack drew blood. And with both hands gripping his book he had no means of defending himself.
"Come on you bloody bastard, GIVE!"
But he would not. The portal maker never ceased in his struggles and as the flyers came around for another pass, Harry saw something sneaking up on his friend.
"Ron! Behind you!"
Too late Ron saw the thing with the spikes and the teeth, its gaping maw dripping green as it lunged for his throat. A brief replay of his life left him feeling a bit unfulfilled as certain death made to rip out his throat.
Black dust peppered his face and he coughed in surprise, surprise at his throat still being intact and the reason for that standing there grinning at him.
"Are we late?"
"Woof!"
The grin he grinned could have split his face in two, "Lupin!"
"Oy! Don't forget the rest of us," snarled Moody, throwing hexes and curses like candy at a parade.
And more followed. The cavalry had turned out in force and none too soon. While Snuffles dove bodily into the throng supported by his best friend, Dumbledore and McGonagall animated the various suits of armor under the cover of Flitwick who cast faster than anyone they'd ever seen.
Even Snape was there, venting his pent-up frustrations on things he wouldn't get in trouble for killing. None of them were anywhere near Harry.
"This is gonna hurt!" and he braced for the pain.
"Dobby is here Harry Potter sirs!"
In a burst of magical power, the elf appeared, blasting the flying force into a scattered tumbling heap.
"Dobby!"
"Yes, Harry Potter sirs," said the elf, standing next to him on the ceiling like it were perfectly normal.
Delightfully surprised, and more than a little lightheaded from hanging upside down for so long, Harry was at a loss for something clever to say, "How've you been," so he said something not clever.
"Dobby has been well," the elf replied, banishing an ugly ball with wings into the nearest wall. "Has been most busy keeping shadows out of the kitchen. Dobby's book be getting very full."
It said something that the biggest shock of the night, and it had been a long night full of shocks, was seeing the little elf hold up a grimoire that looked oddly like a cookbook. On the other hand, it did seem appropriate.
"The elves got them too?"
"Yes, Harry Potter sirs."
And why wouldn't they. The elves were just as magical as the wizards, more so in fact. "When this is all over, we need to sit down and talk."
"Yes, Harry Potter sirs, when this is all over," he nodded, casting a glance at the struggling giant as a subtle hint, it's not over yet, is it.
"Right. RON! Get another line on him!"
"Why!"
"JUST DO IT!"
Under heavy cover, Ron cast the powerful spell, wrapping mystical chains around the giant's neck, and anchoring himself to the floor like Neville. The portal opener did not care for this or the arrival of assistance. Another bellow shook the castle and filled the halls with such horrors as those assembled would never wish to see again.
"Harry!"
"PULL!" the last Potter shouted.
Together the three young wizards pulled against the much stronger shadow. The giant struggled but anchored in place there was little it could do, which was only just more than what they seemed to be doing.
"What are we doing?" Ron yelled.
"Just pull!" Harry shouted back. "Pull the bastard apart!"
It wasn't much of a plan, but Harry had come to realize there was no way this powerful creature could be pulled into just one book. The idea he could be pulled into three wasn't all that well thought out, but he was hanging from the ceiling. Best to keep things simple.
So, they pulled. Shadows continued to flow into the hall, and they continued to pull.
"It's not working!" Neville cried as something with a lot of sharp edges dashed by, tearing a hole in his pants and a gash across his leg.
"Dammit! We need to break him down!" Harry shouted back, really starting to feel the vertigo.
"Perhaps I may be of assistance," said Dumbledore, making several hard, slashing motions with his wand.
There was an odd sound, like something splitting the air, followed by a low, heavy, anguished moan. Long lines appeared on the portal maker, which grew into creases, then cracks, then great gaping chasms.
All at once the long gangly body split, and with nothing to anchor any of it, flew in three separate direction, into three separate grimoire. The silence that followed was a near palpable phenomenon, one broken by the remaining shadows who sensed the tides turning and attempted to flee.
The adult wizards made short work of them, and the three students could only watch and marvel at the mastery on display. Well, two out of three.
"Can somebody get me down. I don't feel so good."