Author's Note: I made another small canon error last chapter when I said that Orla Quirke and Laura Madley were fourth years……when in fact they are third years, and had their sorting during Goblet of Fire. Sorry about that, though I guess it was so small that no one caught it. I got another complaint about my Hermione strategy, complaining that gets very old after awhile. If what I do to Hermione is so upsetting, go to the 180,000 other stories that have her as the heroine and leave my attempt to do something different alone, we'll all be better off. One question came up on why Katie was senior to Harry in Quidditch, and whether or not she should have graduated already. My read is that she is indeed only a year ahead of Harry, having made the Gryffindor team in her second year…..and she has played three more matches than Harry, making her senior: one more in first year, when Harry was in the hospital after dealing with the stone, and two more after he was suspended in his fifth year. Oh, let's remember that one galleon equals five dollars for the purposes of our story. The exhibition game is this chapter, and while it may look like I'm promoting Canada, I'm actually an American from Michigan.
And one last thing: Due to the detail that I'll have to go into for the next chapter (you'll understand when you get to the end of this one), Chapter 34 will not be posted for two weeks, not the customary one week between chapters. I'm getting slammed at work and I'm just coming home too tired to write most nights, so most of the next chapter will be done on the weekends.
Thursday, May 1st, 1997 (continued)
"I think we just found 'the power he knows not.'"
They all sat there, pondering that. It was something that Tom Riddle would not know from his time at Hogwarts in the late 1930's and early 1940's, given that the only threats to anyone's lives were in fact directed by him, without anyone knowing who the culprit was. How to use it was the thought circulating through their minds. Maybe Moody had had a point: Harry would know how to use it when the time came. McGonagall, who had by now returned from sealing off the Owlrey, brought the conversation to a slightly different tack.
"Did you know about the passageway Harry?" Oh yeah, like he was going to give a straight answer to that question, he wasn't that much in shock.
"As the Americans would say, I plead the Fifth. Are you going to seal it up?" This did not appear to satisfy the old man, though the other adults smiled.
"I think we have to, the alarms we had on it didn't quite do the trick. Minister, Madam Bones, what is to become of these two?"
"We will question them of course, Biller will do it I think, he has quite the expertise at handling Death Eaters." Kingsley Shacklebolt was officially Head Auror, but Travis Biller (who was second in command) was the Auror that Fudge had the most trust and faith in……..and the fact that he was not a member of the Order of the Phoenix and couldn't stand Dumbledore contributed mightily to that. Part of Harry wanted to do the questioning right here, and with some sharp instruments……..but the other part just wanted to get on with his day and try to forget it ever happened. Fudge seemed to anticipate this dilemma, and much to Dumbledore's barely hidden displeasure, reassured Harry.
"Once the interrogation is concluded Harry, we will of course inform you of what we've gleaned……….but if you insist, I will include you among the questioners." Harry contemplated this for a second, and recognized the inherent trap inside it. On the one hand, he knew Crabbe and Goyle better than anyone in the room…….but on the other, he again didn't want to appear more important than he was, and did not want himself put out front like this, which could be used against him later by manipulative Headmasters……or former Headmasters, as would be the case in less than two months time (though Harry never acknowledged to any teacher besides Bliss and Shepherd that he knew about the 'retirement').
"No thanks Minister, I know Travis will get at the heart of the matter, and I'm sure he'll ask any question that I could think of……..me not being a professional and all." The look of relief on Dumbledore's face was noticeable to all, and Harry was hard pressed not to smack him. So, just to irritate the old man…..
"That said sir, as a kind of a reparation if you will……….I wouldn't mind having the two Invisibility Cloaks that they used." Dumbledore again showed his emotions on his face, and Fudge played along with pleasure.
"Certainly Harry, they're all yours." Blaise and Anthony had thought quickly enough to include the cloaks in their removal of the two goons from the Great Hall, and Harry quickly took physical possession before someone changed their minds. The students were soon dismissed, though not before Ginny rammed her foot in each of Crabbe's and Goyle's personal areas, and the others were careful to step on them as well.
Harry was not yet brazen enough to try and lay some surveillance charms in the old man's office, which is a shame because he missed a raging argument between Fudge and Dumbledore over what the Minister had offered to Harry, and the ease to which Crabbe and Goyle had penetrated the castle. The teachers mostly stayed out of it, while Bones acted as a halfhearted referee, though she agreed with Fudge on most of the points of dispute. The highlights:
"I gave him the cloaks to mollify him Albus, given that your so-called security allowed those two into the castle! The fact that you had alarms on the passageway is proof that you knew of the dangers, yet did nothing to prevent them! You were more interested in catching Potter at breaking rules than you were in protecting your students, I know your mind. Thank your lucky stars that it was Potter they were going after too, any other student would have been killed, and you would be brought up on negligence charges, which I still might do, considering that these two will be charged with attempted murder." Dumbledore rarely listened closely to anything this man said, and wasn't about to start now.
"You give him everything he wants Cornelius, and while up until now I agree he has not asked for much, it's a slippery slope. One day he's going to go too far and you'll be the one regretting it!" Fudge had brief moment of thankfulness that the old codger didn't know that he had authorized Harry and company to kill Snape if they wanted to.
"Once again deflecting the main issue Albus. Thank goodness Bill Weasley is now head of the Order, considering that you spend so much time trying goad Harry into rule breaking, no wonder your part in the war this time can be best described as ineffectual. I am ordering you to seal that tunnel today! Remember old man, just because I haven't passed any new Educational Decrees this school year, doesn't mean I can't do so now." This sprung the teachers upright in their chairs, and they alternately cursed both Fudge for his meddling and Dumbledore for his intransigence. The old man decided to end this debate now before any impromptu duels broke out.
"I agree that the tunnel needs to be sealed, and I will do so as soon as this meeting is adjourned. Amelia, what will Messrs. Crabbe and Goyle be charged with?"
"Attempted murder for certain, as the Minister said, plus unlawful entry of the school…….further charges will depend on the results of the questioning." Shepherd made the first teacher foray into the debate in awhile.
"If Voldemort sent them in here, their memories were certainly modified. Portkeys notwithstanding, I'm sure he knew that this was a one-way mission, which is why he chose two expendable soldiers. Our only hope for information is if Draco sent them in here on his own and didn't think that far ahead." Bones nodded her head.
"I agree with Charles, I doubt we'll get anything out of them, but we have to try." Even though the two kids were barely breathing, she shot out some magical ropes and tied them up for transport. She took out a portkey and went back with them to the DMLE. Fudge and Dumbledore said a couple of very stiff goodbyes and the Minister went back to his office, and Dumbledore to the tunnel. He first walked the length of it and sealed the Honeydukes side of it, then did the same to the Hogwarts side. Now the only non-floo way into Hogwarts was through the front door.
Harry held an Executive Council meeting that night and managed to convince them that is was an emergency portkey on his watch that he always carried. He was still pretty shaken from the experience, the more so (as said before), because this was supposed to his safe haven. He personally checked the passageway himself that night and confirmed its sealing.
Crabbe and Goyle finally woke up the next day and were questioned under Veritaserum for about ten minutes before the following things were discovered: They had Dark Marks on their forearms, as expected; Voldemort had put them under Imperius and given them their instructions to kill Harry……….and that was it. Peter Pettigrew had taken his time and done an efficient job at his memory modification, and basically erased the last four and a half months of dangerous activities from their minds. Not so much as one squib killing or Vernon Dursley beating was left in their memories. This left the Ministry with a quandary of what to charge them with, since it was custom that all crimes committed under Imperius be dismissed. The only thing they could be charged with was being Death Eaters (which they did admit to doing voluntarily). Then Bones remembered Zach Smith and started questioning them about the student beatings, which produced some more crimes. They refused to say one word unless under Veritaserum, so they were given a quick trial the next day and sentenced to four years each in Azkaban and to have their wands snapped forever. Bones managed to talk Fudge out of charging Dumbledore with negligence. She reminded him that the old man was losing his job in two months time and that he would be out of Fudge's hair, for the most part.
Ah yes, the new and improved Azkaban, which was also housing their former schoolmates Marcus Flint, Sean Touchet, Matthew Miller, Neil McCauley, and the others involved in the Battle of the Ministry from November. After the nightmare of the November breakout, it had been Kingsley Shacklebolt's primary task to harden the security there……after a strong reminder from Bones and Fudge that this was not to be fodder for Order meetings. He had taken the drastic step of totally isolating the prison from the outside world, except for the floos from Fudge's office and Bones' office. He put up strong anti-portkey wards as well, which is how Voldemort and his crew got in there the last time. There were also multiple Notice-Me-Not Charms on the island, as well as the standing Muggle Repelling Charms that were on all wizard governmental buildings. Therefore, a raid on Azkaban would have to have access to the offices of Bones and Fudge, not an easy task, as Shacklebolt had also strengthened security there as well……..and had made it personalized enough that Percy could not access it after his fall from grace and subsequent turn toward the other side. At the end of his labors, which took a couple of months and involved a lot of test runs, Kingsley felt secure in telling his bosses that it would take a full out assault on the Ministry itself and a lot of luck to get into Azkaban now. Whether that luck would be tested was anyone's guess, but by early May there had not been any attempts.
News of Harry's escape did of course make the papers, and Harry did a pre-emptive strike by owling a press release right to The Daily Prophet and to The Quibbler, describing the portkey and how it had worked for him. They printed it with full fanfare and every accepted it without question. The idea that someone could Apparate in Hogwarts was just too unreal to believe, and like Neville most had tried as soon as they learned how. They knew that Harry was powerful, but no one was that powerful. Voldemort barely grunted as he read the stories, he could readily believe that Potter was that paranoid…….he had trained the lad well over the years. He too accepted the story, as did Pettigrew, it just made the most sense. Pansy was the only eyewitness they had contact with, and she wasn't bright enough to see what happened for what it really was.
Thursday, May 8th, 1997
Harry's Trunk, Hogwarts
In the evening, sometime after dinner.
Harry surveyed his guests as they lounged around the trunk: Seamus, Dean, Parvati, and Lavender. Not his usual crowd mind you, but this was business. He turned to his two male friends.
"Dean, Seamus, how much have you told Lavender and Parvati about the archers?" Seamus and Dean immediately exchanged guilty looks, which told Harry all he needed to know……..but that's not what this was about.
"Relax guys, I fully expected you to tell them, and I was only going to say something if it got around, which it didn't. Thanks for that by the way. No, I want to incorporate the girls here into the plan." This statement put confused looks on all four of their faces, which pleased Harry a little bit. Parvati was the first to reply:
"How so Harry? You want the two of us to learn to shoot those arrows?"
"Not really, though it will help if you know the mechanics of the process. What I want you two to do is be the spotters for each of the groups. I want to station you two on the towers with some Omnioculars and have you tell these two, and me via a mirror, what is coming at us…….plus what kind of damage the volleys of arrows are doing." Lavender looked a bit skeptical of this:
"Isn't this something one of the little kids could do? Won't you need us with our wands if the fight comes here?"
"Ideally yes, but I need two people I can trust to do this, and I trust you and Parvati far more than some twelve year old who couldn't cut it firing the bow. I need people who can accurately describe what's going on. Once the Death Eaters enter the castle, the archers will break up and you four will head down to the main battle with wands in hand, while the second years make their escape. The archers are just meant to slow them down, I don't seriously think that this will prevent the main body of Death Eaters from entering the castle."
"Well if it's what you want Harry, I'm in." Parvati.
"So am I, you're right, better us than a little kid who might not know what they're seeing."
"Great, I wasn't going to order you to do it (yes he would have, but it played better doing it like this), and I'm glad that you're on board. Now Dean, Seamus, have you picked out the five archers like I asked?" About two weeks earlier, Harry had asked the two guys to cull out the five best archers in their groups, for a special project that he had planned for them. He had done a recon on the two towers (snicker) and found that it might be a little tight to have twenty people on each tower, plus the two sixth years on each (it had been in his mind for a few weeks to have Parvati and Lavender be the spotters, he just never thought of it at the right time to tell them).
"We have, but there's a small complication." Harry raised his eyebrows as if to ask 'such as?', and Seamus took over the explanation from Dean.
"Well we've had the archers split time at both shooting at targets and at doing the parabola type shooting like they'll be doing on the towers, and there are five that have separated themselves……but two of them are Daniel Garcia and Xavier Jones. They aren't the best shooters, that's Roy Figgar, but I'd have to say they're probably second and third behind him." Yeah this was a complication all right, he was kind of wary about having the two first year boys anywhere near the fighting anyway………but the overall defense had to come before these kinds of feelings, and if Daniel and Xavier were willing (as he suspected they would be), then they should be on the team..
"Well if they're good enough, then they're good enough. They're both twelve years old by now, and at that time in my life I was fighting a giant Basilisk……..all I'm going to be asking of them is to fire some arrows."
"You want these five as part of the main defense in the castle?"
"I do, it'll either be a nasty surprise for the invaders after they've survived the initial barrage outside……..or even if they're not surprised it will force them to put up solid shields right from the get go and give us our advantage that way. Now, on a related matter, I've arranged for us to do our archer dress rehearsal. We're going to do it Sunday during the staff meeting, when all of the teachers will be talking about Merlin knows what for over an hour. Only Filch will be around, and I'm going to have Peeves distract him." Harry's ability to manipulate Peeves was considered one of the marvels of the school by the other students, though it really was very simple: bribery. Harry reckoned that he had spent at least fifty galleons this year buying WWW products (at a discount no less) to give to the troublemaking poltergeist, though the results had been well worth it. Added to that was that Peeves had a soft spot for memories of the Marauders (even though he had insulted Remus during third year, he had joked with him just as much when the students weren't around).
"My Auror mentor Travis Biller will be in on the meeting, and he'll make sure there aren't any surprises for us while we're doing our business. We'll have all of you snuck up to the towers before the meeting starts, and then when Travis gives us the signal, you can begin the firing."
"What if we do get caught?"
"Well Parvati, I looked it up in the Hogwarts Rule Book and there is nothing in there that says we can't have an archery club, or that we can't have our practices from the tops of the towers……..as long as no one gets hurt, and I'll have people on the ground to make sure that we don't have any stray students wandering around in your path. I'm also going to take measurements on the ground and put some markers down………you know, one for one hundred meters, another for one-fifty and so on. That will help you and Lavender with your spotting……….and if worse comes to worse, I'll take the heat from Dumbledore and all the punishment, since it was my doing. That said, we're not going to get caught." Seamus and Dean were already getting excited at the opportunity to do a live firing from the towers. Dean had one last question:
"When do you want to talk with the five?"
"We'll wait until after the rehearsal, I want to see them in action and get a feel for it, though I trust your choices and have no interest in messing with them." Harry had only been to one practice for each of the groups, not wanting it to seem like he was looking over the two guys' shoulders. He invited the four of them to lounge around the trunk for awhile and relax, and he went off to do other things. His Listening Charm picked up all sorts of strange sounds that left Dobby and Winky more than a little revolted afterward.
Sunday, May 11th, 1997
With thirty minutes to go before the staff meeting, Seamus and Dean began taking their people up to the towers for the practice shoot. They each had one of Lee's prototype mirrors (by now he could get ten people on the signal with full visual, fifteen with just audio) and Harry directed them, using the Map as his guide, to make sure there were no stray teachers or nosy Prefects. Ron, Neville, and Anthony were down at the front doors, making sure that no one went outside during the exercise, and Blaise, Ginny, and Luna were patrolling beyond the arrow limit to ensure that nobody came toward the arrows from that direction.
Biller gave them the signal from the staff room (he tapped the mirror behind his back, surreptitiously put it in his lap, and then cracked his knuckles loudly). Harry got on his mirror and gave the go ahead to start firing. Dean and Seamus each took up their own bow, and fired the first arrows, and got pretty good distance on them. The kids then did the same, and a couple months of practice came to fruition as thirty-seven second years and two first years fired their arrows. Harry, who was now at the front door with his three friends watched as the arrows all went up in a (somewhat) graceful arc and then rained down on the ground. Ron was the only one right away with something to say:
"I say we get hold of a time turner and go back to the Braveheart set so we can see this done live." They all laughed, and Harry spoke into the mirror and had them loose another volley. This time Dean and Seamus just watched as the kids did it again…….breathtaking. After this volley, Harry had them stop while Ron, Neville, and Anthony retrieved the arrows, and Harry ran out with a special Neverending Tape Measure, and a small can of florescent paint. He made markers every twenty meters all the way up until four hundred (no, the kids could not shoot that far, or even close, it was done to give Parvati and Lavender points of reference). By the time he was done with this, and he really should have done this earlier, over half of their time was burned up, so to be safe he only had them do another two volleys (picking up seventy-eight arrows takes some time as well).
Harry checked the Map again, there were no lurkers or anyone who had seen anything that they shouldn't have. He was more than satisfied with the test, and thought that Voldemort and his gang would be in for a rude surprise it the time ever came for it.
"Good job guys, time to head back. Seamus, Dean, have the five you picked out meet us in the Common Room. Luna, you guys come on back too, we're done here." The four of them waited for the three others, and once they arrived, they shrunk the arrows down and pocketed them. They returned to the Common Room, where they met with the five in Harry's trunk (they were all boys, and thus did not need to know about the floo system). They were: Roy Figgar, Xavier Jones, Daniel Garcia…..and two Slytherins, Frank Castle and Quentin Glass. Harry pitched his frontline idea to them, and they all responded with great enthusiasm. Harry privately thought he was going to be sent straight to hell just for suggesting this, but he went ahead with it anyway. Frank Castle had a question before they left:
"Harry, what makes you so sure that they're going to invade us?"
"I'm not Frank, but this is the most logical place to hit us if they want all of the powerful light wizards wiped out. They know that the Aurors and the Order of the Phoenix will come a running if they invade here, and it will put all of us in one place……and it will, in theory, make the adult light wizards wary of doing too much, if us little kids were to get in the way. Would I bet my vault on it? No I wouldn't, but nevertheless I think it's going to happen before the school year is out. That's why we need every advantage we can get, and you five are part of that, whether I like it or not……..and believe me, I would prefer to ship you off with the first years, I don't want anyone to get hurt." After a few more minutes of talk about the archery, Harry sent them on their way, with strict warnings to keep quiet about his trunk and how big it was inside. He closed his eyes and said a prayer that those five kids would never have to kill anyone……….but even in his heart he knew it was a waste of time hoping that.
Saturday, May 17th, 1997
Today was a big day at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, it was the rollout of the electronics. In the morning they were doing the presentation at their shop in Diagon Alley, to cater to the adult customers, while they would go to Hogwarts at night and make their pitch then to the students. They helped the adult turnout to their big demonstration by placing a full page ad in The Daily Prophet announcing nothing but a 'big test' demonstration. By this point the twins had gotten a well deserved reputation for innovation, and a large crowd assembled outside the WWW premises at 11:00 that morning. Fred and George had borrowed the projection screen television that Harry had given Bill and Ashley for Christmas to make their demonstration, and they had the entire crowd enraptured with their showing of Jurassic Park…….with very loud sound, as they had magically enlarged the shop to it's limits so that they could fit everyone inside it. The rest of Diagon Alley was a ghost town as even some of the other merchants came by for the showing. Lee, Charlie, and Bill handed out free cans of Coke to the spectators and answered any questions about what was going on.
After the movie was over, the twins explained the principle of the damping field to the crowd, and how it could be discreetly done in the home to allow people to use their soon to be bought televisions, video cassette players, and compact disc players. The twins had not ultimately found a way to make it a one-time use spell, so part of the purchase price went toward one of them (or Lee) to go the buyer's house or apartment and do the spell personally……..though it would still last a year before needing to be renewed. They showed off the compact disc players next, and specifically tailored the music to skew older (keep in mind that CD recorders were not mainstream at that point, and DVD players were still four months away from their debut). They priced the television/VCR package at 135 galleons (for a 20 inch television and a standard VCR, with the fully fueled generator as well), and wound up selling seventy such packages, as well as sixty more of the compact disc players (priced at 30 galleons, with no generator needed, but sixth month supply of batteries included in the price). Those buyers also needed videotapes and compact discs as well, and by the time the afternoon was over WWW had cleared over 15,000 galleons gross, which nearly sent every Weasley and Jordan in the room into a dance of joy. It was 4:00 by the time they finished and closed the store early so that they could rest up and get over to Hogwarts………though the shop would be open for special hours on Sunday to make up for closing early.
The nighttime demonstration was even more packed into the Great Hall, as it was deemed a school function by Professor Hill, he of the Muggle Studies department. Dumbledore had no real objection to it, it seemed harmless enough to him. McGonagall outwardly did her tsk tsking, but secretly she found the twins very amusing and had let them get away with more than their fair share of unpunished mayhem over the years. Now the vast majority of Hogwarts students didn't have that kind of coin just laying around so that they could purchase the electronics, this was more along the lines of priming the pump for summer, and for seventh years to ask for them as graduation presents. This time WWW showed Star Wars to the crowd, and still wound up selling ten sets right there on the floor…….ostensibly to be used during the summer, as Dumbledore wouldn't likely take it kindly to having magical dead spots all over the castle. That's ten in addition to Bliss, Shepherd, McDowell, and Hill, who all bought them (Shepherd paid for all four, as these were the colleagues he got along with best, and 900 galleons for the hardware and movies meant little to his bank account).
Harry met privately beforehand with Professors Sprout, Flitwick, Shepherd, and McGonagall and assured them that the damping fields could easily be reversed, and that he would personally pressure the purchasing students to keep their grades up. He pointed out that Ron, Neville, Ginny, and himself all had the electronics in their own trunks, and their grades were all top ten in their class, except for Ron, whose grades had risen significantly during the year (Ginny was ranked fifth in her year, while Neville had moved up to tenth after Draco dropped out……..Luna only watched movies with her friends, as she was too busy studying otherwise).
The twins and Lee also sold twenty compact disc players and lots of discs, mostly to Ravenclaws who had been 'forced' to listen to Anthony's player in recent months and constantly argued with him over his musical tastes (he was into classic rock). This had easily been the single best selling day in the short history of WWW, and the gravy train would only keep rolling, as the people who bought the hardware would want more movies and CD's, and there would also be new buyers of the hardware once the word got out. Harry did all the Hogwarts damping fields himself, as the twins, Lee, Bill, and Charlie spent most of Sunday afternoon flooing from house to house doing so for the outside customers. By the end of the month WWW had sold another seventy television packages, and eighty more compact disc players, and people were constantly dropping into the shop to buy tapes, discs, and gasoline for the generators (which the twins bought retail and added very little markup). The customers could easily have gone into the muggle world and bought the stuff at slightly lower prices with more selection, but they wanted to give the business to wizards and keep the money in their world……..plus the twins and Lee were so likeable and friendly that customers often hung around for awhile, shooting the breeze with them.
By month's end Zonkos had renewed their offer with double the upfront money and seven percent of the business, but Fred and George turned them down flat, with Harry's wholehearted agreement. There was now more than enough money to open a second shop in Hogsmeade or Dublin, and between themselves Fred and George agreed to bring Ron in after he graduated, even if just on a part-time basis if professional Quidditch wound up calling him. Talking amongst each other, they and Lee agreed that Harry would not last long in Great Britain after the war was over, and would be the perfect choice to open a WWW shop in North America or Australia, places he was talking about visiting with more and more frequency.
Friday, May 30th, 1997
4:00 pm
Hogwarts
It was a scene reminiscent of the Tri-Wizard Tournament two and a half years earlier, the Houses were lined up waiting for students visiting from another school. The Canadians were coming via the carriages, having taken a series of portkeys from Toronto to London to Hogsmeade. They were due to spend the weekend at Hogwarts, with the game on Saturday and just some general getting to know you things on Sunday, to promote international cooperation.
The carriages soon approached, and arrived at the front doors. Harry had quietly placed a tape player near the door that started playing 'Oh Canada' as they arrived, a nice touch that even Dumbledore appreciated. A woman in her late 40's stepped out first, followed by two young men that were so imposing that they were either her sons or her bodyguards…….or both. Dumbledore approached her, this exhibition weekend was scheduled to be his swansong at Hogwarts, and he wanted to go out in style, the two school heads smiled at each other as they approached.
"Madam Bonner, a pleasure to see you again."
"Albus, it's been a long time. These are my sons Robert and Ambrose, Robert is our Quidditch instructor and Ambrose plays in the American professional league." They shook hands with the Headmaster, and he kissed her hand as well. The three Bonners appeared to be the only adults in the party.
"May I introduce Minerva McGonagall, our Deputy Headmistress." She smiled at them warmly, a rare sight in itself, as the Canadian students got out of their carriages. They had brought a full reserve team as well, just in case, and the fourteen of them lined up behind their leaders.
"This is our Captain, Seth Bullock." A medium height, muscular young man stepped forward and shook hands.
"Our Captain is Katie Bell." She did likewise, and was relieved to see that there were quite a few girls among the fourteen, this wasn't to be a testosterone game at least. Harry and Ron, standing with the other Gryffindors, saw nothing out of the ordinary in their opponents, no giants (figuratively) or mighty mites……they all looked normal.
Dumbledore led everyone inside, and personally led the Canadians to the guest quarters, where they could have a chance to rest a bit and get cleaned up before dinner. Like everyone visiting a new place, the Canadian kids spent a lot of time staring. Their own campus was not a castle, but rather a series of small buildings on the edge of Toronto that looked much like a muggle apartment complex. They had heard about the castle of course, but it was a trip to be in one, as those things don't exist in their home.
Dinner that night was nothing too out of the ordinary. Dumbledore and Bonner gave nice little speeches about their respective schools, and told of discussion groups that would be held on Sunday between the students, to get to know their counterparts. For this night, and for breakfast and lunch the next day, the Canadian players would sit together at one end of the Slytherin table, since that House had been much reduced over the school year due to drop-outs, transfers, and expelling , so that was the table that had the most room. The Canadians were very friendly, and seemed to smile a lot. Likewise the Hogwarts kids went out of their way to be polite. They had all received lectures from their various professors of course, but there was a genuine curiosity about their brothers and sisters from across the water. The older students remembered all about the Tri-Wizard Tournament and how rude the Beauxbaton students had been, and how they had not even been allowed by Karakoff to talk with the ones from Durmstrang (except for certain Slytherins), and they were pleasantly surprised with their guests.
After dinner, Shepherd signaled Harry not to leave the Great Hall just yet. He lingered on, telling his friends he would catch up to them. He chatted with Shepherd for a minute as the students filed out, and was then brought to the faculty table. Madam Bonner had wanted to meet him.
"Mr. Potter, a pleasure, I've read so much about you."
"A tissue of lies (they both laughed), but thank you Madam Bonner. I'm looking forward to the game, and to talking with your students."
"As they are with you. You're not quite as famous over in our little corner of the world as you are here, but you're quite the well known young man. My daughter will kill me if I don't get an autograph." He chuckled at that.
"Is she not here?"
"No, she's not a Quidditch player, and her OWLs are coming up……we use the same grading system that you do here, she's a fifth year, my youngest."
"I know all about OWL pressure, I had them last year and my girlfriend is undergoing it right now."
"Yes, I'll be glad when she's taken her NEWTs and I don't have to listen to it as much, I relive my own memories when I hear my children stressing about tests. It was nice to meet you Harry, I hope we get a chance to talk more in depth later on this weekend." Seeing that he was being politely dismissed, he took his leave.
"It would be my pleasure ma'am, goodnight." Harry walked off toward his Common Room, as Bonner turned to Dumbledore and McGonagall.
"So that is who will take on your Voldemort? Can he do it?"
"I hope so, I doubt it will be long now before we find out."
Saturday, May 30th, 1997
Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch
2:00 pm
Against their better judgment, the twins had closed the shop at noon today so that Lee could come out of retirement for one last announcing gig. They were planning on attending anyway to root on their brothers, and figured that there wouldn't be much business anyway.
"Welcome everyone to our First Annual Hands Across the Water Quidditch Game, between The Maple Leaf School of Magic in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Parts Unknown, Scotland! I'm Lee Jordan, back for a return engagement as your intrepid announcer, and it is a pleasure. Now here are the teams!" The Canadians were all on their newly created Nike brooms, as wizard Phil Knight finally turned his attention away from muggle sports for a moment to create a modestly priced, very fast, broom for Quidditch. These were the brooms that Maple Leaf had been using all season, donated by a wealthy alum. Part of the deal was that the flyers had to use the same brooms that they had all season, and the advantage there was clearly with the Canadians.
"For The Maple Leaf School of Magic, their Keeper, a seventh year from Kingston, Ontario, Tom Nuttall!" Nuttall flew out to the center of the pitch, to the polite applause of the crowd, and waited.
"For Hogwarts, their Keeper, a sixth year from Ottery St. Catchpole, England, Ron Weasley!" A large roar from the crowd as Ron flew out to shake hands with his counterpart.
"For Maple Leaf at Beater, a seventh year from Morrison, British Columbia, Dan Dority!"
"For Hogwarts at Beater, a sixth year from London, England, Seamus Finnegan!" They repeated the handshake, a gesture arranged before the match by Captains Bullock and Bell.
"For Maple Leaf at Beater, a seventh year from Windsor, Ontario, Amos Cochran!"
"For Hogwarts at Beater, a sixth year from Birmingham, England, Michael Corner!"
"For Maple Leaf at Seeker, seventh year and Captain from Toronto, Ontario, Seth Bullock!"
"For Hogwarts at Seeker, a sixth year from Swansea, Wales, Megan Jones!" This caused some shocked looks amongst the Canadians as Harry's name was not the one announced……but there he was in his Quidditch robes nonetheless. Harry was the one player they had heard of, and every teen wizard in the world knew two things about Harry: he had survived the killing curse, and that he played Seeker in Quidditch.
"For Maple Leaf at Chaser, a seventh year from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Alma Garrett!"
"For Hogwarts at Chaser, seventh year and Captain from Dundee, Scotland, Katie Bell!"
"For Maple Leaf at Chaser, a seventh year from Montreal, Quebec, Sophia Metz!"
"For Hogwarts at Chaser, a third year from Inverness, Scotland, Orla Quirke!"
"For Maple Leaf at Chaser, a seventh year from Jenison, Newfoundland, Jane Canary!"
"And for Hogwarts at Chaser, a sixth year from Godric's Hollow, Wales, Harry Potter!" The largest roar went up for him as the crowd yelled their lungs out.
And there you have it, a Canadian team filled with veterans against the relatively inexperience Hogwarts squad, who could only really call Katie, Harry, and Michael veterans. The Hogwarts team had held ten practices over the course of the last month, a couple fewer than they perhaps would have liked, but NEWT pressure was coming down on Katie and it was all she could do to keep up her studying and her game planning. This was no different for her than it would have been otherwise, as the last game of the Hogwarts season would have been around now, but this was added pressure for her in particular.
Charlie, as Harry had promised, had indeed returned to his alma mater for three of the practices, to give tips to Megan. He worked with her and Ginny quite a bit, showing them new moves and ways to use the bludgers to their own advantage. This was stuff that he had long ago shown Harry, who had used them to great effect (the jumping off his broom was something he had gotten from Charlie). Fred and George too helped out Seamus and Michael for a couple of their weeknight practices, seeing Seamus in particular as a worthy successor to them. The Chasers had combined the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw playbooks to come up with a set number of plays to use, and they seemed to mesh well……..though having often played together on the pickup teams helped that tremendously, something Madam Hooch had noticed.
"And here we go folks! The Captains are shaking hands, very sportsmanlike I must say. Our special referee today will Pride of Portree star Keeper Pieter Aldrich, a South African who has no national bias for either team. The Snitch and Bludgers are released, and the Quaffle is up!"
"Potter immediately grabs the Quaffle and dodges a bludger shot by Dority, he's heading for Nuttall in the Maple Leaf goal, he's not waiting for Bell or Quirke. Harry is still on his classic Firebolt, which has now won Gryffindor House three straight Quidditch Cups……..he's almost on top of Nuttall as he shoots…….and scores! Gryffindor 10-0 on the first goal by Harry Potter!" McGonagall was not there to keep an eye on Lee, but he had voluntarily promised to be on his best behavior………as long as the Canadian players were too.
"Garrett now carries the Quaffle for Maple Leaf, a quick pass to Metz, then back to Garrett, good grief these girls pass quickly………yes, Quirke steals the Quaffle and shoots back toward Nuttall………and he saves the shot! He passes back to Canary……but Potter steals it and quickly lays it in to the bottom right hoop! 20-0 Hogwarts!" Meanwhile Megan and Seth Bullock were both stationed at the middle of field, avoiding bludgers and watching for the Snitch, which had made a one second appearance right at first, and then disappeared. The four Beaters were trying to hit the Chasers, but they were all so fast that it soon proved to be fruitless, and they started targeting each other.
"Canary has the Quaffle now, the three Maples are in a Hawkshead Formation, going right toward Weasley in goal………..Metz shoots…..and scores! It's now 20-10!………Potter wastes no time with the Quaffle as he sprints up the east line……..he's almost on top of Nuttall again……..and he goes behind the hoops, whipping the ball to Bell who shoots and scores! A carbon copy of the first goal of the Potter/Bell era in Hogwarts Quidditch, then it was Bell to Johnson, this time Potter to Bell. Wait! Is that the Snitch? Jones and Bullock are tearing downfield after something! Bullock is in the lead on his Nike broom, one not yet available in Britain I might add…………has he got it? No, the Snitch shoots directly upward and has now disappeared again."
Bullock's broom was fast, and his instincts seemed to be on par with Megan's……..which did not bode well for the young Hufflepuff. The Beaters were still wailing on each other, and while there were quite a few nicks and many near misses, no one had been fully hit yet. The six Chasers continued with their blitzkrieg for the next twenty minutes, and while Ron and Tom Nuttall both made some tremendous saves, the goals still came in rather quickly. At the twenty-five minute mark the score was 150-110, in favor of Hogwarts. The Snitch had not shown itself again, and Bullock had taken to flying around in an ever widening arc, trying to actively find it. He called timeout to give his Chasers a rest, and Katie couldn't really think of anything they could be doing much better. After Megan went back into the air, along with the others, Katie held back Corner.
"Michael, start targeting one of the Chasers with your bludger shots, try and get her out of the game, we need to build the score up just in case Bullock is as good as seems." Without telling her his source, Harry had gone to John Terry and found out that Bullock was considered to be the top Seeker eligible for the upcoming draft and was likely to play for Canada in the World Cup next year.
"You got it Katie." He went back into the air and took his position.
"Potter has the Quaffle again, he shoots, he scores! Harry Potter has his tenth goal of the game as he's flying rings around everyone, this lad can do it all. He or Weasley should make him a Beater next season, just to see. Wham! That was some bludger stroke by Corner……..Ouch! Garrett is hit broadside in her ribs…..oh no, she's slipping off her broom………but Orla Quirke quickly is there to right her. The other Chasers are continuing to fly as Quirke and Garrett come to the ground. Garrett is clearly hurt badly, and Quirke is staying on the ground until she gets back into the air, as Madam Pomfrey checks her out……….and a goal by Bell! She uses the clearer field and nails the middle hoop from long range, after a nice fake to the left. It's not 170-110 for Hogwarts!" Down on the ground, Madam Pomfrey knitted Garrett's ribs back together.
"You can still fly if you can take the pain young lady, you won't do any more damage to them unless you get by another bludger."
"Thank you ma'am. Let's get back to the game shall we." She and Quirke both rose back to the game, as the crowd cheered them, Garrett for her fortitude and Quirke for her sportsmanship. Garrett, tough as she was though, was not the same player as before when she had scored six of her team's goals (Michael had chosen wisely). Harry preyed on her and basically took her out of the Maple Leaf offense by stealing the Quaffle from her three times in succession, leading to two Hogwarts goals, by himself and Orla. Bullock called a timeout and huddled with referee Aldrich, getting a ruling.
"We have an injury substitution for Maple Leaf, as Alma Garrett goes off and Joanie Stubbs comes in, a fifth year from Vancouver, British Columbia. Teams are allowed unlimited injury substitutions, though once a player is replaced, he or she cannot return to the game." Stubbs took to the air, and with her fresh energy, quickly scored two goals against Ron, at the cost of another by Harry. The score was now 200-120 in favor of Hogwarts, as Harry was personally tightening the defense around Ron. Michael was now targeting Jane Canary with his bludger shots, and Seamus took the hint and was going after her too. This had the one benefit of basically taking her out of the action, by forcing her to dodge bludger after bludger (the Maple Leaf Beaters were going after Megan, higher up in the air)…….but it also allowed Bullock a free hand in looking for the Snitch.
"Quirke has the Quaffle now, she passes to Bell……stolen by Stubbs, who rushes Weasley…….save by Ron!……wait, he's not letting go of the Quaffle, he's past midfield and he's advancing on Nuttall! The Hogwarts Chasers are clearing the way for him as a bludger hits Canary in the leg………..and Weasley scores! That's something that his predecessor Oliver Wood never did!" Ron looked a bit embarrassed and yelled out to Harry:
"Sorry, I kind of lost control there for a second!" Katie answered for Harry, fighting back a smile:
"Just get your butt back to the hoops you idiot!" Ron raced back and was just in time to barely save a shot from the quick thinking Stubbs, who had almost beaten him back there. Canary was still in the air despite what looked to be a serious leg wound…….either she was very tough or the fifth Chaser wasn't that good. Dority and Cochran, the Maple Leaf Beaters, renewed their assault on Megan, and she was now flying as close to Bullock as she could, but her broom was not as good and he kept her just behind him, where the beaters could target her better. Katie, when she had time to think about it, was now somewhat regretting her rigid stance when it came to switching Harry and Megan………Harry probably wouldn't be hamstrung like this.
"Potter scores again, his fifteenth goal of the game and it's now 230-120 for Hogwarts………Oh my! A bludger just nailed Jones in the left arm, she's clearly hurt. An injury timeout by Bell. A reminder folks, teams are allowed one regular timeout, and as many injury timeouts as needed."
Megan's arm was indeed broken, and the Hogwarts people looked at Katie for her decision. She had told Natalie that she was the preferred choice to be first substitute for Chaser, since she worked so well with both her and Harry……..Natalie or Ginny, Chaser or Seeker. Harry was outscoring Maple Leaf by himself, but he was the only one she felt comfortable throwing in there against Bullock. She knew that it would wound one of the girls not to be chosen, but she made her decision without consulting Harry or anyone else:
"And Natalie McDonald enters the game as a Chaser, substituting for Megan Jones, with Harry Potter moving to Seeker. This is Hogwarts one non-injury substitution of the game, since it involves switching positions. Potter goes higher in the air and starts marking Bullock, while McDonald has the Quaffle, passes to Quirke……..and she scores!" Harry had not argued the call putting him at Seeker, and braved a look over at Ginny only to see that she was chanting his name as loud as anyone in the crowd. He quickly started scanning the sky for the Snitch……..was it there? In his matches it always liked to appear around Ron, but this time it was near Nuttall on the other side of the field. He and Bullock both rocketed off toward it as Nuttall passed the saved Quaffle back to Metz, only to look up and see the two Seekers heading right for him. The Nike broom (nickname: Air Trafficker) was just as fast as his four year old Firebolt, and he and Bullock were neck and neck with the Snitch inches away……….
WHAM! Harry and Seth rammed full force into Nuttall, who had done a poor job of getting out of the way, and only seemed to fly right into them. Bullock caught the least of it and somehow righted his broom and stayed in the air. Nuttall flew into the goalpost (without his broom), but managed to hang on to the post and slide down unharmed. Harry's broom, while undamaged, was in a sideways spin and was turning him around as he plummeted to the ground. He saw the Snitch a meter from him and managed to leap off and grab it……..right before he fell the last four meters and crashed into the ground, face-up.
"Harry Potter has the Snitch and Hogwarts wins the game! The final score is 390-130.…….but hang on a second, Harry isn't moving down there, someone check on him!" Indeed Harry wasn't moving, every shred of breath had been knocked out of him with his landing, and he had more than a small headache. The Hogwarts team rushed down from the air and out from the holding area, and got there just in time to see him raise his arm……..the one with the Snitch in it.
"He seems to be all right ladies and gentleman, Harry Potter lives again! How about this game folks! The return match is next year in Toronto, and I personally plan to be there…..if only to heckle the Maple Leaf announcer" Ron and Michael helped a woozy Harry to his feet, and he was carried off everyone's shoulders………which was nice, as he still had trouble breathing and that was the only way he would have gotten off the field. The teams all shook hands, and Harry and Tom Nuttall made sure each other was none the worse for wear (Nuttall had a bloody nose, but that was it), and even though it was not part of the schedule, the kids spent an hour deconstructing the game, comparing plays and notes on what they had done right and wrong. Harry, who had scored the most goals and also caught the Snitch, wheezed through the first part of the discussion before getting his breath back toward the end. The teams then did a flying parade in front of the audience. Not one foul had been committed, nor any penalty shot needed, and the spirit of cooperation and harmony that was intended when the game was organized, was in full force today.
There was a reception that night, as the Canadian players mingled amongst the Hogwarts students, sitting at various parts of the tables, getting to know their counterparts. Harry got to quiz Ambrose Bonner about being a professional Quidditch player, and what it was like to live in the United States, though he didn't mention that he almost had moved there himself. Harry and Ron both hung on the twenty-two year olds every word about the lifestyle, and what his chances were to play for Canada next year (he was a Keeper, and thought he had a decent shot to make the team). He too had been at the World Cup Finals three years ago, and they promised to get him Viktor Krum's autograph (Viktor played in the Continental Quidditch League, and he and Harry had exchanged Christmas cards).
The next day was a lounging day as there was a lot of interaction between the students, as they all appreciated the hard fought game. Harry spent a lot of time with Seth Bullock, and found the seventh year to be a kindred spirit. Bullock had lost his parents too, though in his case it really was in a car accident, when he was eight years old. The Trio took him around the castle and showed him the sights, just like all the other Canadian players and reserves were doing The reserves were mostly the younger students (four sixth year students, two fifth years, and a fourth year), most of whom would be the players in next years game, which as Lee said was scheduled to take place in Toronto. The entire Hogwarts starting seven, minus Katie, was eligible to be picked again, though they would be hard pressed by Ginny, Laura Madley, and even a Slytherin or two perhaps.
After dinner, and right before the Canadians were scheduled to depart Hogwarts, Harry had a long talk with Madam Bonner, who got her daughter that autograph, and after a reasonably subtle buildup and sales pitch, she managed to float the idea of Harry coming to work for her after he graduated. She knew, as did most of the wizarding world unfortunately, of his breach with Dumbledore, and she thought that he might want a fresh start somewhere else.
"Think about it Harry, Robert Cochran, Amos' grandfather, is due to retire in a year from the Defense job at my school………I'm willing to offer it to you right now, for after he retires and you graduate from here, and I'll keep the offer good until the end of the calendar year, then I'll have to do a public search." Harry had a brief moment of mental overflow as he contemplated his future career path, choosing between: WWW, Quidditch, Gringotts, this, and perhaps something else that would come up. He appreciated the offer though, and vowed both mentally and out loud that he would consider it carefully.
"That's a very nice offer ma'am, and I will take you up on the time you're giving me to think about it. You realize that I can't commit to anything until Voldemort is gone?"
"I understand, and I think we both know that the end is coming soon. Dumbledore seems confident about it, and I think you are too."
"I am, he'll force the final battle very soon……..and if he doesn't, I will. I'll spend my entire summer hunting him down if need be."
"Whatever happens will be interesting. You take care of yourself now Harry. Come visit us this summer if the war permits." Thinking of the Toronto bank account he had been curious about, he found himself nodding his head.
"I'll do that ma'am, I'll send you an owl to let you know when I'm coming." They shook hands, and she went back to her students for the trip back, which went off without a hitch. Harry got a lot of questions from his friends, since he had been sequestered with her for over thirty minutes……but he just blithely framed it as her wanting to know 'The Boy Who Lived' , and wanting some war gossip. The idea of a fresh start was growing on him more and more, and that night he began to get very impatient for the confrontation, something that likely would have festered within him, if subsequent events had not occurred.
Much to certain students' surprise, there was no announcement made over the weekend of Dumbledore's retirement. When queried about it on Monday, Shepherd explained that Dumbledore and McGonagall had agreed to wait until the Leaving Feast to do it, so as to cause as small a ripple as possible. He told Harry that everything was set, and Dumbledore was going to leave peacefully, but that the old man wanted the last month to go smoothly, and with himself still firmly in charge. Most of the kids in the know found that a bit pathetic, the old man still clinging to his power even as he was pushed out the door.
Monday, June 1st, 1997
Riddle Manor, Little Hangleton
3:00 pm
It was a nice, sunny day, with few clouds in the sky as Voldemort looked over his combined forces and fought back the happy face that was fighting its way out. He had in front of him 500 Death Eaters, 40 fighting trolls, and 36 giants…….all at his command, and all ready for final victory. The plan was three-pronged: One group of ten trolls and forty Death Eaters would go to the Ministry and lay it to waste, counting on surprise yet again to defeat the Aurors and other Ministry personnel. The rest would go to Hogsmeade and sack it, leaving no building unburned and no capable defender left alive……….and then on to Hogwarts for the coup de grace. Voldemort had made one last ditch effort to sway the Dementors to his side, but with no luck, and they would play no part in the upcoming battle……nor would the werewolves, who had been thoroughly tamed by the promise of a lifetime of Wolfsbane from the trust, and the vampires also decided to sit this one out, there was nothing in it for them either way.
"Today is the day people! Today we claim victory over the mudbloods and their pathetic allies! Today we claim Great Britain for us! No wizard force on earth has ever matched what you are right now, and the Ministry and that fool Dumbledore will fall like grass to our blades……..and we will show them no quarter. You are to kill every adult you come across that raises their wand to you. If they surrender without a fight? You will simply stun them and move on your way. At Hogwarts, always keep in mind the hit list, kill those that are on it, stun everyone else and we will use them for hostages."
With the help of Draco, they had come up with a list of Hogwarts students who were just too dangerous to let live, wands in hand or not. Pictures had been taken from a pensieve memory of Draco's of the following students: Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Terry Boot, Blaise Zabini, Luna Lovegood, Lisa Turpin, and Theo Nott…….. the killing of whom was promised to his father Frederick. These pictures were given to all of the fighters and they were told to memorize the faces. Harry too was a given to try and kill, but they were instructed to simply capture him if possible, or do what they could to lead him to their Master.
"You all know what to do, go with your group leaders and do your duty to me. Attack!" There was a great roar as they all shouted their responses. Voldemort strode off and Pettigrew found Draco.
"Are you ready Draco? You have everything you need?"
"I do Peter, I'll make our Master proud."
"Go forth and murder my good man, wipe out the last relative our good friend Potter has." They smiled evilly at each other, and Draco portkeyed away………to Smeltings Academy.
Since the students were still in class, the lobby was empty, and he went up to Dudley's room and easily got it open (Alohomora, Standard Book of Spells, Chapter Seven). He made himself comfortable and idly toyed with Dudley's collection WWW products. Though Draco would never stoop to paying a Weasley for anything, he had to admit that some of the pranks were quite ingenious. After about thirty minutes Dudley and his roommate, Richard Griffiths, came into the room to find their visitor. Draco was under strict orders from Voldemort not to linger or toy with the boy, so he quickly used his wand to kill them both with Avada Kedavra. He then used his hideout knife to stab them both, making it look very muggle-ish. He examined them one last time to make sure they were dead, and portkeyed away to Hogsmeade, where the main battle was now taking place.
Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Magic, the Death Eater force had entered through Percy's office as planned, and set off no alarms. They were led by the redhead himself, as these were mostly new recruits along with the trolls. The first thing he did was kill Perkins, who was astonished at the number of people who kept coming out of his floo………Percy's only regret being that he couldn't make his boss'……sorry, ex boss' death take much, much longer. They took the next half hour and laid waste to the Ministry, rampaging through it and leaving no one they encountered alive. The relatively few pro-Voldemort people who worked for the Ministry had been told to owl in sick this day, and thus everyone they came upon was an enemy of some sort.
The Aurors rallied by their own section of the building and with their superior training began mowing down the opposition, killing twenty of the Death Eaters and all of the trolls, even though their own losses were heavy as well, losing eleven Aurors and countless numbers of Ministry workers in the process. Fudge, Diggory, and Bones were forcibly put in their offices and told to stay there, as they were too valuable to lose, though no one could be spared to guard their doors. There were a total of seventy Aurors in the program all together, including ten from Canada, Ireland, and Australia on loan…….but half that total was not responding the distress signals that each Auror carries on them at all times, and the Biller led Aurors were weakening fast before Auror Sanford Jenkins led a suicidal charge that would kill himself and four other Aurors, but took down another dozen Death Eaters in the process. Percy and the other seven Death Eaters could see the writing on the wall, and they retreated back to his office and flooed to Hogsmeade to join their comrades (one cannot portkey in or out of the Ministry except for specific, hardwired jobs like Bones had access to).
The reason that half the Aurors had not responded to the Ministry call was that they were fighting for their lives in Hogsmeade as they did battle with Voldemort's main battle group, who had mass portkeyed into the town and proceeded to destroy every building they came across, and kill every person that crossed their path……..taking a certain liberty with the orders to kill just those with their wands out. The thirty some odd Aurors did their best to beat back the attackers, but they were outnumbered over ten to one, and Voldemort made sure that each of the Death Eater squads was led by one of his old veterans, who to a man (or Bella) hated Aurors and directed the assault. Within fifteen minutes every building in Hogsmeade was destroyed, and half the population dead, the other half having flooed away before they were killed.
From the edge of the woods came a mass portkey as thirty members of the Order came in, led by Bill and Moody, having been summoned by Madam Rosmerta before she escaped in the confusion, her hard won business literally collapsing around her. All she had said was that there was an attack, not the numbers. Bill couldn't believe it (and this was still without the ten percent of the Death Eater force that had gone to the Ministry). They now heard that chant of 'Hogwarts! Hogwarts!'………and the worst fears of all of them were confirmed.
"My God in heaven, how did they get that many?" Moody was using his magical eye to scan through the rubble, and he quickly saw that the remaining Aurors (thirteen) were heavily pinned down in two different groups, one near The Hogshead Pub, and the other back against the Shrieking Shack. Said Aurors were the only opposition left until now. Moody and Bill looked at each other and came to a silent understanding. Moody took half their force and moved to the Shrieking Shack, while Bill led the other half toward the other group of Aurors………except for two of them:
"Fred, George, get into Hogwarts somehow and warn them, we'll hold them off as long as possible, but there may be some already on their way. Go through the trunks and find Harry, he needs to implement our plans now." They nodded and popped off, while Bill led his unit toward the Hogshead, crashing into the rear of the attackers.
Fred and George wasted little time doing as they were told, and within three minutes they were standing, panting, in Harry's trunk. Fortunately our hero was right there, having just gotten back from History of Magic, and was idly talking Quidditch with Ron and Anthony. The three of them looked at the disheveled twin and saw something they had rarely seen before in them: panic.
"Voldemort's sacking Hogsmeade……..they're coming here next Harry, they're coming to Hogwarts."