Sorry everyone. We had a huge ice storm that knocked our power out for several days and caused quite a bit of tree damage. I got a bit too tired for writing while we cleaned up and made roof repairs. Then I also got distracted by the election.
Also, somehow as I write these last few chapters I keep expanding on my basic ideas; which continues to make this battle go on for more chapters than I intended. I was hoping this would be the end of the battle and I could do a conclusion chapter and an epilogue-eske chapter, but this one was getting and I had to break it up again.
Disclaimer: JK owns Harry Potter
Fear and Self Loathing in Wiltshire
Chapter 31
He didn't want to admit that Augustus Rookwood had ruined his life the moment he caused the blast that led to Fred's death. He didn't want to acknowledge that a permanent void now filled the space where his twin used to inhabit; where he'd joke and plot mischief with him. He didn't want the anger that festered in the pit of his stomach ever since the day his brother was laid to rest.
Despite all of this; despite losing his twin, and partner in both crime and business, George Weasley was still an inventor. Though the dream had originally been for the inventions to be sold inside of a joke shop beside his best friend, that hadn't stopped the devious ideas that formed in his head after the last war. When all of his plans and dreams for the future were crushed by the man currently stalking toward him.
Discreetly, George rolled up his sleeve a quarter of the way to his elbow, and unsnapped a black leather wrist cuff that he'd invented just for this occasion. It was something that hadn't been tested yet, as the results expected were not something you'd want to experiment on with someone you actually liked. Perhaps if this little device did as intended he could market it toward the auror department after today's test run.
"Percy." He warned his brother softly as he held the cuff in his hand. "Don't get anywhere near this. Do you hear me?"
Being at the receiving end of far too many of his brother's inventions, Percy looked the cuff over carefully; nodding his head in response. "Yeah, Sure."
With both eyes still trained on Rookwood, George then let his invention drop to the ground in front of him. "When I back up, you back up." He again ordered his older brother.
"Already planning on it." Percy responded, his wand at the ready.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Blaise?" Draco questioned the room; looking as if he were going to be sick. "Please tell me you didn't."
Blaise's eyes lifted to meet his and his mouth gaped. He looked shocked by the cold stares and accusations. "Me?" He asked, looking between Draco and Theo. "You think I…"
Theo released a cold laugh as he interrupted him. "See, I told you he hadn't noticed."
"Noticed?" Draco asked, looking confused. "Gods, what the fuck is wrong with you three? I thought we were done with this shit! I mean Theo I might have suspected, but you Blaise? Why is Salazar's name would you-"
"No, Draco look!" Hermione interrupted him as she pointed toward Blaise. "He isn't here of his own free will. Look, he is stuck to the chair."
Draco looked back at his best friend and noticed that Hermione was indeed correct. Where the fabric of Blaise's shirt and pants met the chair, there was an obvious flare out indicating that a sticking charm had been used to keep him in place. Draco's face immediately paled as a wave of guilt flooded his senses.
"Oh shit, Blaise. I'm sorry." He cursed.
Pansy rolled her eyes at the other people in the room, looking extremely bored with the situation. Though her wand was in her hand, it was limply tilted downward; making it obvious she had no intention of fighting them.
Theo, on the other hand, looked extremely pleased at the drama unfolding before him at last. His wand was out, and although it wasn't pointed at anyone, it was pretty clear that he was ready to defend himself at only a moment's notice.
In Blaise's eyes there was a flicker of disappointment. "You mean…" He faltered as his features revealed how hurt he was by this news. "You really didn't notice I was missing? At all?"
If he hadn't needed to keep himself alert and aware of the other dangers in the room, Draco would have hung his head in shame. Come to think of it he had only seen Baise once since the night of the ministry ball; the day he had returned from Italy with Theo. He had been so focused on keeping Hermione safe since then that he hadn't even thought to check up on his best friend in person. Other than the occasional owl to make sure he and Theo were doing alright, he hadn't spoken to him at all since that day.
"No. I didn't." Draco admitted apologetically. "I've been preoccupied, which I know is no excuse. I'm sorry, but I am here now."
"How rich." Pansy muttered under her breath with a scowl.
"Don't even get me started on you Pans." Draco threatened her darkly, pointing his wand towards her instead of Theo, whom Hermione still had a close eye on. "You nearly got me killed tonight, you know? When you let Krum into the manor."
Pansy's face paled. "What?" She looked mortified. "But he wasn't supposed to lay a hand on you. He promised!"
"Well he lied." Draco informed her through grit teeth. "If it wasn't for an old protective ward on the property, my face and guts would currently be decorating the stone bricks covering the back garden patio!"
Draco's wand was now pointed directly at her face, with his hands shaking slightly from anger. It looked as if he was about to hex her at any moment.
"Hey, don't look at me like that! We all know I have no intention of actually fighting." Pansy holstered her wand, and raised her hands in surrender. "Yes, I helped Krum get inside the manor, but he was just supposed to grab Granger and go. You were not supposed to be harmed...I just wanted her out of the way!" She tried to defend herself verbally while pointing toward Hermione. "I should have just kept my jealous arse out of it." She scolded herself, lowering her voice a notch at the end.
"You're damn right you should have." Without turning his head away from her, Draco pointed his wand back at Theo; now sure that Pansy was not a threat. "Except, what the hell are you doing here if you didn't want to take part in what my aunt has planned for us? Hmmm?"
"Ask him." She pointed to Theo with her thumb. "When I got home last night after leaving Krum, he was in my room waiting for me; telling me I should come and see if Krum was going to make it back or not. The way he asked let me know I didn't have much of a choice. I'm almost as much of a captive here as Blaise is."
"Well that's just not true." Theo finally spoke up; looking entirely too happy about the conflict in the room. "Looked entirely too eager to find out, she did." He chuckled.
"Enough of this!" Blaise finally spoke up again, still stuck to the chair. "Theo, you have been found out. Draco and Hermione are actually here to get me. Now can you please release me from this annoying as fuck sticking charm, and let me out of here?"
Theo scoffed as he twiddled with his wand; causing Draco to train his own further on his old housemate. "Why, so it can be three on one?" His laugh became darker. "I don't think so."
With a swift flick of his wrist, and a dodge of the two curses sent his way from Draco and Hermione simultaneously; he sent an unforgivable in Pansy's direction.
"Imperio."
xxxxxxxxxxxx
The castle was finally back in view, and Charlie had every intention of finding his siblings again now that his mission had been accomplished; only, he could barely see past the smoke wafting off of the burning bodies nearby. His eyes were starting to burn uncomfortably, even for how used to being around dragon fire he was.
Someone in thick black robes ran past him, and he shot a stunner at them as soon as he noticed the silvery grey mask covering their face. He watched the witch drop as he continued the direction he had left Percy and George at earlier.
Checking behind himself, and either side; he barely noticed a small body on the ground in front of him until he almost tripped over it. His heart sank as he realized it was not someone from the opposing side of this war, but from his own. Quickly, knowing another death eater could come upon him at any moment, he kneeled and rolled the small wizard over onto his back.
It was Professor Flitwick. He wasn't breathing; death likely caused by the killing curse. A pang of sadness rang in his chest at the discovery. Flitwick had always been one of his favorite teachers.
Though there wasn't anything that could be done for the tiny professor now, Charlie also did not want to leave him there that way. Gently, he used his fingers to close Flitwick's eyes before draping his own cloak over the small body. He'd make sure to come back for the brave wizard when the fight was over; so he could have a proper burial.
Knowing he couldn't stay there any longer, he scrambled to his feet again to get his bearings. Just down the hill he could see George and Percy getting approached by two dark wizards coming from two different directions. They were a ways away, but he was determined to reach them before any duel could start between them.
Just as he was taking off at a run, a booming bark followed by a sharp yelp stopped him in his tracks. A few feet to his right there was a very notorious wizard in a death eater mask, and he had Hagrid's Neopolitain Mastiff, Fang pinned to the ground; kicking him over and over with his boot. The large black dog tried to bite at his abuser, but the magic kept him pinned down and just out of reach.
"Hey! Get off'er him yeh monster!" A familiar but panicked voice called from the ground; just beyond where Fang was getting kicked.
The yelps became higher pitched just as Charlie noticed the large body of Rubeus Hagrid sprawled out on the ground just behind Antonin Dolohov. He was covered in tightly coiling ropes and there was blood dripping down his face into his tangled and wiry beard. The pang of sadness he'd just pushed away after discovering Flitwick came back with a vengeance.
Charlie was at a crossroads; with a decision to make. He could keep going forward and help his two brothers avenge Fred's death, while keeping them safe from the same fate. Or, he could save a good friend and his trusty canine companion from a very certain and painful death. An end at the hands of the same death eater whom he was pretty sure had killed Flitwick too; as he had been the one to take Dolohov down in the Battle of Hogwarts the previous year.
Hastily, He released a growl of frustration and turned right; still unsure if he was making the right decision or not. Regardless of who died tonight, he would feel most guilty for not helping someone who was bound and disarmed with no way to defend themselves. If he left and later found out that Hagrid died tonight, he would blame himself for not helping.
Acting on instinct, Charlie brought his wand back with determination before releasing his magical whip again, though this time around the wrist of the single dark wizard instead of at the ankles of several; the end of it halted any wand movement the death eater could make.
Antonin Dolohov paused mid kick from the shock of it, though Fang continued to whelp miserably. Charlie eyed his new opponent carefully as he kept a firm grip on his wand.
Slowly, the death eater turned to face him; the eyes behind the mask meeting his deviously from several feet away.
Charlie jerked his wand forward suddenly; the whip still around the opposing wizard's wrist causing him to fall forward onto the ground. His wand was knocked loose from the impact, which freed Fang from the confines of the magic that had been holding him down. Now able to move again, he sprang up from the ground and sank his jaws into the ankle of the man who had just been kicking him relentlessly.
Dolohov screamed into the morning air as he attempted to kick the large dog off of him, but the mastiff did not comply. Since his opponent was now preoccupied, Charlie used the opportunity to release the whip spell and ran past the struggling pair to help Hagrid up off the ground.
It only took a quick wave of his wand to release the ropes, but by the time Hagrid had grabbed his arm and hoisted himself off the ground, it seemed that Dolohov had been able to detach himself from Fang and find his wand again.
"Sectumsempra!"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Oh, hello Harry!" Bellatrix looked entirely too pleased by his sudden appearance. "I was wondering when I'd be seeing you again."
"I can't exactly say the same." Harry responded dryly, as he attempted to speak loud enough that Ron and Ginny could hear him, but not in a tone that would give away their plan. "I was quite comfortable thinking I'd never see you again, you know, as you're technically supposed to be dead."
Bellatrix cackled gleefully, as she swung a small velvet pouch around on her finger. She bumped the frame of the portrait with her hip before kicking it the rest of the way closed with the heel of her boot.
The larger than life painting of a girl in magenta dress robes stared at Harry from across the room. This confirmed that he had finally found the right room, and that Bellatrix had already beat them to the horcruxes.
"Ah, yes. Death." Bellatrix spoke to him in her baby voice. "That pesky state your soon to be mother-in-law sent me into. She wouldn't happen to be running around here someplace would she?"
"She is actually." Harry replied, noticing the fireplace on the side wall between the two of them, and hoping to entice her into staying of her own free will instead of jumping through the floo network. "Outside, and with your sister."
Her grin split to reveal a set of blackened and decaying teeth, of which he wasn't sure was from years spent in Azkaban, or her recent year long stint underground. "Which one?"
"Andromeda." He continued to distract her, as he casually looked around the room for where the floo powder might be hiding. "What about your husband, and brother-in-law? Where are they?"
Bellatrix slipped the velvet pouch into the pocket of her robes as her wand came up defensively. They both knew where this conversation was headed. "Good to hear, and close by."
"Alright then." Harry said calmly, before swiftly switching moods and sending his signature spell at her. "Expelliarmus!"
With her wand already raised, it took little to no effort to block the disarming spell, but Harry had already anticipated she'd be too quick for that to work. While she was distracted by protecting herself, Harry sent his next spell, a bombarda, right toward the fireplace; which promptly blasted the mantle and all of its contents all over the floor.
Though he knew blocking her exit would piss her off and make her more aggressive, Harry knew that it would be worth it; both as a way of keeping the horcruxes here, and signaling for Ron, and Ginny to join him and come help. He just hoped they would be able to take her down from behind before she could do to him what she had previously done to Sirius.
Thoughts of his godfather spurned him on even more to defend himself, and take his killer down for good this time. When she let out a long screech of anger, he knew he had done the right thing. Her reaction, along with the grey powder now all over the Persian rug, all but confirmed she was going to attempt to escape through the floo network now that the fidelius had been broken.
Abruptly, Bellatrix stomped forwards, releasing curse after vile curse in his direction. The protego he cast seemed to absorb the first few, but the amount and force soon overtook it; knocking Harry backwards over the settee.
With his auror reflexes kicking in, he did a quick somersault; landing in a crouched position on the floor. After only a second of delay, he sent another disarming spell at her; which somehow miraculously worked this time; hitting her wand between the two most recent casts of her own.
Her wand hurdled toward his outstretched hand, but even after coming back from the dead Bellatrix was still an expert duelist. She leapt into the air after it, kicking her boot against the nearest table for extra leverage.
The palm of her hand missed the wand by a few centimetres, but the forceful impact of her leaping at him sent them both crumpling to the ground in a heap. Somehow Harry noticed that his own wand had been knocked out of his right hand before they had even landed.
With both of their wands now clattering across the floor, Harry scrambled to get to his first, knowing he could overtake her if he was successful. Only, he wasn't expecting it when Bellatrix reared her arm back from atop him, and struck him in the eye with one of her fists.
Not for the first time in his life, he felt his glasses shatter from the impact of being punched in the face; only this time accompanied by the sharp pain of glass shards embedding themselves into his eyelids.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Well if it isn't another couple of Weasley bratts."
Rookwood chuckled darkly as he approached them. He tapped the tip of his wand with the pointer finger of his left hand; looking at George and Percy sinisterly. His mannerisms showed that he did not view them as a threat; regardless of it being two against one.
"Wasn't one of you on the long list of crimes I was sentenced for?" He asked gleefully as he pointed between them. "A brother perhaps?"
He hadn't come quite close enough to them yet, and definitely not in range of the inventive cuff. If he had, George would have activated it right then. The excited way he was mocking Fred's death made his blood boil. He would get what was coming to him soon enough.
As if in sync, both George and Percy stepped backwards. It was a subtle movement on both their parts, one that looked like they were preparing to run instead of lure him forward into their trap, but their plan was soon put on hold as a flash of green blasted in front of them. If they hadn't just moved, there was no doubt that the killing curse would have hit George in the chest; sending him to an early grave next to the same twin he was now trying to avenge.
It only took a split second before George pushed Percy backwards; knocking them both to the ground just as another wave of green was sent at them from the side. A second death eater had managed to sneak up on them from the left, by the looks of it the same one who Rookwood had gone into hiding with after the last battle.
It seemed George wasn't the only one capable of coming up with a devious plan. Rookwood had obviously been attempting to distract them as a maskless Rosier attacked them from a distance. If it weren't for their own intent of bringing Rookwood closer, it likely would have worked and they would now both be dead.
A strong protective charm cast directly above them by Percy stopped the next onslaught of nasty hexes, ones that had been cast by both men now approaching closer. Though Rookwood was the intended target of George's invention, it seemed Rosier was actually the one who had come closest to it. He could see the cuff in the grass a small distance away through the magical barrier that was still keeping the jinxes from hitting them.
By now he knew that if Percy and he were to make it out of this fight alive, he might have to change his perfectly thought out plan of revenge. The device intended for Fred's killer might have to be used on the wizard in question's best friend instead.
On second thought, that might even be more fitting.
"It's time." George said to Percy as he braced his feet against the dirt in preparation to spring up from the ground.
Not knowing exactly what was about to happen, but that it definitely wasn't going to be pleasant, Percy mimicked his movements. At the same time they stood up from the ground and backed up several paces, Percy's arm rotated the protective charm in front of them.
"Corvus oppugno impetus!" George shouted into the smokey air; his wand pointed downward to the cuff in the grass.
Though the two death eaters put up defensive spells to counteract him, there was no effect. The spell George used had not been directed toward them; at least not physically, but at the ground between where they stood.
The four wizards froze in place. Three of them weren't sure anything had happened at all, while the fourth smirked deviously as he waited. It wasn't long before the leather cuff began to shake and grow in size. As it began to expand and float upward, Percy looked on curiously while the two death eaters raised their wands higher in defense.
A crackling noise startled them as the leather broke into several pieces; each one forming itself into the shape of a bird with jagged metal beaks. Though Rookwood's eyes were covered by his mask, Rosier's definitely widened in horror as the black crows cawed and followed each other in a swirling circle.
Now realizing how close he was, Rosier backed up slowly; and though he held his wand a little tighter, he seemed unsure of which spell to use against them. By now they were ducking and diving closer to him; bound by the magic to attack the closest living thing to them at the moment of activation.
"Bombarda!" Rosier screamed as the first one broke from the circle to dive at him.
As George had hoped, the spell had no effect on the conjured bird. It kept to its course and gashed it's beak against the dark wizard's cheek bone. Rosier was left with a line of red dripping down his face.
He paused to wipe his finger across the cut, which verified that he had indeed been struck. The panic was now evident on his face as he stared at the blood. He obviously knew that none of his usual tricks would work on these unique conjured creatures.
The rest of the birds soon followed suit; swarming him and giving him no avenue for escape. Using his free arm, he tried to hit them away, but this only seemed to spurn them on more as they dived at him with their sharp metal beaks.
Rosier screamed as they continued to attack him, leaving more trails of blood in their wake. It took this, it seemed, for Rookwood to finally break from his frozen state of curiosity to attempt a rescue.
At first he tried to vanish the birds with a simple evanesco, but that also was in vain. The killing curse did not work either, as the birds were not technically alive to begin with.
"Get them off me, get them off me!" Rosier pleaded as one of them gave a particularly harsh peck into one of his eye sockets.
As a last resort, Rookwood reached forward with his glove covered hands and attempted to pluck one from the air. His fingers clutched tightly onto one of the wings, and the bird immediately changed focus. It began to peck ferociously against the hand trying to take it captive.
Rookwood yelped in pain as the metal pierced through his glove and into his skin. Not wanting to risk his own life and get in the way of whatever sorcery was attacking his friend, he attempted to shake the crow off. This move only caused the bird to abandon his hand and go straight for his eyes instead.
It seemed George's invention was doing even more than he'd intended. It was supposed to go for the nearest person and only stop once the counter spell was used, but it looked as if this bird was abandoning Rosier and now going for the one attempting to stop it from completing its mission.
George looked on in awe as his birds continued to do their worst. This little test run was proving far more useful than even he had imagined. Percy, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel a bit disturbed.
By this time, another bird had abandoned Rosier and had gone to help its companion. Followed by another, and another. The two men began to scream in a mixture of fear and pain as the transfigured birds attacked them with equal measure.
Suddenly seeming out of options, Rookwood raised his wand backward over his shoulder. If his spells didn't work on the birds themselves then there was only one other option he had before the birds pecked straight through his skull; to take out the human controlling them.
"Avada Kedavra!"
George gasped as the green light shot past him; hitting the man with his arm raised straight in the chest.
Rookwood fell backwards; his eyes still open in shock from being taken out by the very spell he had intended to use himself.
"Oh, Fuck!" Percy cursed beside him. "What did I just do?"
George turned his head to look at his brother while Rosier continued to scream; not only from the death of his friend, but from the sudden onslaught of the other birds returning to peck at him.
"Perce?" His eyes widened as he took in the sight of his older brother trembling. "Did you just…?"
"Save you?" Percy replied, still in shock over what he had just done. "Yes."
"Not that I'm not grateful, or in any way upset that the bastard is dead." George ignored Rosier's continued screams and cries for help. "But why in the hell did you do that? Personally I was enjoying the death by a thousand pecks."
"I mean, I didn't really plan on doing that. It's just that I saw him draw his wand back at you, and it reminded me that I had to watch the light go out in Fred's eyes last time." Percy sighed as he rubbed his face with one hand. "I acted out of reflex I guess. I wasn't about to watch the same thing happen to you. No matter the cost."
"Wow, Perce!" George suddenly threw an arm around his shoulder from the side to bring him into a brotherly hug. "You just broke one of the strictest laws in existence just for me! With an Unforgivable!"
"Yeah, Yeah." Percy attempted to shrug him off. "But speaking of dangerous spells, where the hell did you even get the idea for...that" He asked as he pointed to the leather birds still attacking Rosier, who was now lying lifeless on the ground.
"From Hermione of course." George suddenly smirked proudly, creating a shift from the serious tone. "Have you never seen her use conjured birds to attack Ron with when he's being a prat?"
"What?" Percy looked confused. "No."
George chuckled as he recalled several memories in his mind; guiding him and Percy away from the two dead bodies still being pecked at relentlessly. Without much effort he pointed his wand at the conjured birds and muttered the reversal spell; accioing them to him before securing the cuff back around his wrist. "Well, let me tell you about how devious our little practically adopted sister is…" He bragged.
"Gives me practically all my best ideas she does."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The first sense Charlie regained was touch. He could feel that he was on his back on the ground as the grass tickled his ears. His clothes felt wet, but for some reason his mind couldn't focus on how they had become that way. The familiar heat of dragon fire seemed to warm him from the outside in, which is when he noticed how cold he had felt only moments earlier.
The second sense he noticed, was sound, as the familiar echo of a dragon roaring nearby resonated around the valley. He could also make out the muttering of a scratchy voice, and the pants and whimpers of a dog just above him.
As his head began to clear, Charlie slowly opened his eyes to regain his sense of sight; which revealed that Hagrid was the one hovering over him; his trusty pink umbrella in hand. The friendly half giant was tending to several deep gashes that seemed to cover his torso. His once green shirt was now tattered and red. He almost passed back out when he realized how much blood he'd obviously lost.
"Vulnera Sanentur." Hagrid murmured again, causing the wounds to heal just slightly more. "Nah, Charlie. You've got ter stay awake. Here. Take this."
A glass vial was tilted between his lips, and he drank deeply. By the taste of it, a blood replenishing potion. Something he had become quite familiar with over the course of his hazardous occupation.
"Where's Dolohov?" He asked raspily, as Hagrid continued to use the healing spell Snape taught the professors after Harry had used the same spell on Draco two years ago. Each time mending the skin just slightly more.
"Dead." Hagrid answered simply as he continued to inspect the wounds; taking a bit of bandage wrap out of one of his massive pockets. "Seems yer dragon over there didn' take too kindly to him attackin yeh."
"Ah." Charlie replied, grimacing as he took a deep breath. "Yeah the good ones tend to do that. Be protective of their caretakers I mean."
"He's a beaut, that one is." Hagrid nodded in agreement.
"Are my brothers okay?" Charlie asked him, remembering how close they had been just before he'd turned to help Hagrid. "I thought I saw Fred and George about to get attacked down that hill a few minutes ago." He attempted to point the direction he had originally been heading, but his arm would barely raise off the ground from how weak he was.
Hagrid squinted into the horizon for a moment before his face broke out into a grin. "Yeah, and from the looks of it, headed this way." He replied as he helped him up into a sitting position. "Along with ever'one else."
"Everyone else?" Charlie asked skeptically as he tried no to fall back over from the blood loss. "You mean more death eaters?"
"No." Hagrid beamed. "Just order members and aurors. It looks like we actually defeated 'em. Every last one."
xxxxxxxxxx
The flickering flames shined brightly as they reflected off the emerald encrusted handle of the dagger. Andromeda Tonks couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips at the knowledge of what she now held in her hand.
Out of curiosity, she then poked her head over the banister, where she had just sent two bodies over; into the flames still ravaging the floor below. The fire was burning hot, and not to her surprise, there was already nothing left of the two men to see. With her end goal in mind, Andromeda turned from her position by the stairs, and continued on her journey before the flames could burn the floor out from beneath her.
The reunion with her sister was about to get a lot more interesting.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A/N : Keep in mind Hagrid doesn't see inside the castle, so even though all death eaters have been defeated outside, there are still the two battles going on inside to finish up.
Also someone warned me that they saw a copied version of this story on AO3 under a different name and user name. So if any of you run across it please let me know so I can get it flagged. The person couldn't remember the name at the time, and I couldn't find it based on the information they gave.
Thanks!