Chapter Six

They continued to talk and catch up as the train moved on down the track. Harry's friends got to know Cassie a little more. Cassie asked about the house system and found out Harry was in Gryffindor. She was then very determined to be put in Gryffindor too. They needed to be together as much as possible so the same house was a necessity in their minds.

"But your mom said you were really smart," Harry told her worried. "You could be put in Ravenclaw. Luna is in Ravenclaw and she's really smart. Well, Hermione is too, but she's an anomaly. The Ravenclaws can't even figure her out."

Hermione punched him in the arm.

"Come to think of it," he said rubbing his arm, "Ginny's plenty smart too but no one would ever question her Gryffindor traits," he said smiling at his friend.

"I may make good grades but have you ever seen me afraid to charge forward?" Cassie asked.

"No, you're not. You act more like a Gryffindor," he said pleased.

"So, I will be a Gryffindor. Don't worry."

"Just in case, tell the hat that's your choice. It'll take that into consideration. It did with me when it wanted to put me in Slytherin."

"What?!" he heard from several of his friends.

"The hat actually said I could go to any house but had settled on Slytherin until I said no. There was no way I wanted to be in the same house as Malfoy! I would have killed him before the first year ended."

He then turned back to Cassie.

"It shouldn't, but if it fights you on it, tell it any other house will make Harry Potter very angry because he's your boyfriend. It knows I have plenty of access to it in Professor Dumbledore's office. It also knows I'm very close to Dumbledore's phoenix and Fawkes is quite fond of me. It knows what Fawkes could do to it and should be worried."

As they all pondered that statement, suddenly the train came to a screeching halt. People and luggage were ejected from their seats and racks due to the sudden stop.

It was a little different in the expanded cabin. Everyone had their trunks shrunk and in their pockets. Hermione had Crookshanks in a carrier sitting on the floor at her feet. No one else had a pet with them.

Harry braced himself with his magic and grabbed Cassie around the waist with one arm to prevent her from flying across the cabin. With his other hand he sent a wandless Immobulus spell to freeze everything in the compartment. This prevented the pet carrier and Crookshanks from moving and his friends from being hurt.

Once the train was fully stopped he released the spell. He could hear screams from all over the train. Everyone in the cabin asked what was going on about the same time.

"I don't know but I'm going to find out," Harry told them and went out the door determined.

They all decided to follow him with their wands out. Many had to stop and help the younger kids in their compartments to get luggage back in the right place and heal a few cuts. They told the kids to stay in their cabins.

Harry headed toward the front of the train quickly and let his friends check on the younger years as they passed. Magical people were made of sterner stuff so it was expected they would all be fine with perhaps only some minor injuries.

The interesting part of his walk toward the front was finding the Slytherins all staying in the same car and acting uninterested in what was going on. Harry found that very suspicious.

Just before he reached the first car next to the engine, he saw through the window on the door that Death Eaters had entered that car. Now he knew why the Slytherins were staying put. They knew about the attack.

Harry directed his friends to exit the train between the two cars instead of moving forward.

"See if you can sneak up on the attackers at the front. Make sure you keep a lookout behind you. They could be coming from that direction too."

He received some nods as they stepped down to the ground on both sides of the train, looking both ways before heading to the front. They decided to walk up really close to the train to make it harder to see them through the windows, unless you looked straight down of course.

Cassie was the only one who stayed with Harry. He looked at her and she looked ready. He didn't know if she knew how to fight so he would have to keep a close eye on her but not let himself get too distracted. Otherwise, they would both be in trouble.

"Stay close," he told her then headed into the first car.

Cassie put her left hand on his back so he would know she was still there. Her right hand held her wand at the ready.

Once they were in the first car, they drew attention from the Death Eaters up front. Harry didn't let them get set. He simply cast a powerful bone-breaker wandlessly and silently at the Death Eater standing in the aisle wondering who had come through the door. The sunlight through the windows was causing a shadow to cross Harry's face as he stood between two cabins.

The Death Eater yelled like he was surprised because he saw the spell coming. He tried to put up a shield quickly with his wand. His shield snapped into place right after the spell went past the end of his wand. The bone-breaking curse hit the Death Eater in the chest and he went down fast as Harry and Cassie kept walking forward down the aisle toward him.

Another Death Eater appeared on the other side of the first one so Harry released another spell, a cutter this time, while the Death Eater released a stunner of his own. They were told to not hurt the kids unnecessarily. Voldemort had plans for them once he took over. Just get Harry Potter alive and bring back a few of the older pretty girls, he demanded. Harry went ahead and sent a blasting curse at him with his other hand right behind his first spell.

He was going to dodge the stunner but with Cassie behind him he decided to put up a shield to block it. However, Cassie stuck out her arm under his and put up a shield with her wand before he could do that. The stunner bounced off harmlessly, so Harry kept moving with Cassie right behind him.

The second Death Eater had dodged the cutting curse from Harry, but didn't see the blasting curse that came right after it. That one hit him hard. He flew back several feet before landing in a heap.

"Thanks for being quick with that shield, Cassie. Can you check each cabin as we pass by them to make sure there are only students in each? That way I can focus on what's in front of us. If any kids are older with a green uniform let me know. The older Slytherins knew about this. That's why they were staying put in their car and acting uninterested."

"You bet, Harry, and I've got your six."

"My six?"

"That means I've got your back so I'm also keeping an eye out on what is behind us."

"Oh, I get it. Look sharp, I'm sure there's more," he said as he moved again.

Harry suddenly stopped.

"I'm so stupid!" he exclaimed in a whisper.

"What's wrong?" Cassie asked concerned.

"I have a way to get the kids to safety and I just now thought of it. Keep a watch, okay?"

Cassie nodded.

"Dobby! Come here, quietly please," he whispered.

A small crack sound was heard as the elf appeared.

"What can Dobby do for the Great Harry Potter?" the excitable elf asked in a whisper.

"Death Eaters are attacking the train, Dobby," he whispered back. "I need you to go back to Hogwarts and get all the elves to come back here and transport the kids to Hogwarts were they'll be safe. Start with the youngest ones first, but leave the older Slytherins for last. Also, have someone alert Dumbledore before you come back."

Dobby nodded and disappeared with a small crack.

"Now that Dobby is handling the kids, let's keep moving. Same formation as before. I like knowing where you are at, so keep your hand on my back."

"Aye, aye, Captain. I can do more, you know," she told him as they started walking again, her hand on his back. "My dad was an auror, remember?" she said quietly in his ear. "He trained me when I was younger. Some of his auror friends gave me more training after he died."

"Good to know. Now stay sharp. I can't lose you."

"You say the nicest things," she told him. "Back at ya!"

There were no more Death Eaters on the train that they could see so Harry stunned the two he put down, broke their wands, and tied them up with an Incarcerous for each.

The driver was dead.

When they exited the train they saw their friends battling the Death Eaters outside. The teenagers were terribly outnumbered and not doing as well as Harry hoped. He and Cassie went into action quickly with Harry using his wand this time and caught a few of them off-guard.

Cassie was very impressive with her wand and her foot work, but what really got the Death Eater's attention was Harry Potter showing up and helping to turn the tide with his new side-kick. Harry was throwing around a lot of blasting curses that still did damage even if they got a shield up. The power behind them would knock them backwards and usually shatter their shields. Cassie followed it up with a stunner to put them down.

With Harry drawing their attention, the others were able to help out more, but it didn't last. More Death Eaters showed up all around them, including Bellatrix Lestrange. They started stunning his friends. Harry tried to stop them, but there were too many and they stunned Cassie too.

Harry dropped his hands and moved away from Cassie and his friends when they had him surrounded. A Death Eater took his wand from him and had him get down on his knees with four Death Eaters on each side of him, their wands trained on him.

They promised they would to take him to Voldemort as soon as they had everything they came for. They sent a Death Eater to find the older girls they wanted and reminded him to make sure they were pretty.

At least they only stunned Cassie and his friends, Harry thought. It's obvious they basically just came after me, he said to himself.

A little while later as they waited, he heard a Death Eater come running up out of breath. He told Bellatrix, "All the kids are gone from the train! These are the only ones left," he said gesturing to the captured teens. "Where did they go?" he asked excited. "Even all their trunks are gone!"

Harry smiled. Now he knew the kids were safe and Dumbledore should be coming with reinforcements. However, he wasn't sure he would still be here much longer. They were probably going to hurry up now.

When Harry went down on his knees, he was facing away from the train. He was facing the pile of debris on the tracks the Death Eaters used to stop the train. There were a lot of small limbs and sticks in that pile, he noticed.

He looked around to get an idea where all the Death Eaters were standing and discussing the situation, including the one that ran up out of breath. There were thirteen of them since they rennervated the ones that got stunned. His friends and girlfriend were still out on the ground. Some might have even been hit with more than one stunner.

He didn't see the two he put down on the train with them. That made fifteen total Death Eaters. Might be all Voldemort has left, given how many went to Azkaban in June, he was thinking.

Harry wasn't sure if he would be able to do that many but he had to try. If he took out enough of them, then he may be able to fight his way past the ones that were left. He needed to make sure he got Bellatrix though on the first round. She's powerful and a great dueler.

This was something he worked on over the summer using his wandless magic, but he had to do it with no movement, only his mind. He discovered he could move his fingers a little and make it happen easily enough, but that would give it away since he was being watched carefully. Thirteen, though, would be a new record, if he can pull it off.

Harry stared at the debris pile on the tracks that none of the Death Eaters were concerned about anymore, nor paying it any attention. It was just a big pile of stuff they used to stop the train. He started concentrating very hard. Slowly, Harry began singling out a stick or short limb one at a time.

Once he knew he had 13 gathered with his magic, he checked the Death Eater locations again then sent them with a lot of force toward the Death Eaters. It took a ton of concentration. He saw the one in front of him, and the two on each side, who had him surrounded, get impaled by one of the sticks or limbs. Harry also heard the one behind him grunt and fall over. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bellatrix get impaled along with the two standing close to her, so he spun around to check on the other six he was aiming for.

He found out that he only missed one. The Death Eater that was out of breath must have moved again. Harry jumped up and wandlessly pulled a stick from one of the dead Death Eaters and sent it at the man who was in shock from witnessing all the slaughter of the others.

He could only stare in fright as he finally saw Harry coming toward him looking very angry. What he didn't see was the stick which impaled him through the side of the neck.

Harry went to the body of the one that took his wand and retrieved it before putting it away. He then summoned all the wands the Death Eaters had and placed them in a pile close to his friends. More wands came his way then there were Death Eaters so he was sure his friend's wands were in there too.

He recognized some of them, like Ron's and Hermione's, but he wasn't positive on the others. He started to wake up his friends but decided to wait. He wanted to try something with the two live ones on the train.

He went back on the train and discovered that only one was actually still alive. The one hit with the blasting curse didn't make it.

Harry rennervated the live one who was in a tremendous amount of pain and used Legilimency on him. He was still learning it but he felt like it came to him naturally so he entered the guys mind. He practically had no shields at all but he was in so much pain it hardly mattered.

The man's mind was a gutter so Harry poked around and wasn't very gentle with him as he looked for what he wanted. He finally found what the guy's portkey was, where he kept it, and the phrase needed to activate it. He checked and it required a dark mark to get through the wards. But then he found that Death Eaters could take people with them so only one dark mark was required.

Where did the portkey go? Malfoy manor. Of course the Malfoys would be hosting the dark lord.

When Harry removed himself from the guy's mind none too careful like, it looked like his mind was scrambled. He just had a blank, startled look on his face. Suddenly he took a last breath and died.

Harry took the man's portkey and went back out to check on Cassie. That's when he discovered she'd been scratched on the arm by something during the attack. Harry cast a healing charm on it and watched as it healed up and disappeared.

This made him very angry. How in the world could he let Voldemort get away with hurting Cassie? What if his Death Eaters had actually killed her? Sure it would be the fault of the Death Eater, but it was on Voldemort's orders to do the attack in the first place.

The more he thought about it, and looked at Cassie, the more he wanted to put all this behind him. Dare he do what he was thinking? Because if he was going to do this, he needed to do it soon. With one more look at Cassie, Harry sent her a rennervate just before he stepped back onto the train. He picked up the man's hand, touched the portkey to it and said the phrase that will take him to Malfoy manor.

oOo

After Harry rennervated Cassie she slowly woke up and looked carefully around her. She realized she was laying on the ground and she could see her new friends lying on the ground not far away. She raised up slowly and looked around. She couldn't see Harry anywhere.

Then she saw all the dead Death Eaters. Every one of them had a stick or short limb in their chests, piercing their hearts.

But where was Harry?

She stood up and noticed the pile of wands between her and her new friends. She went over and located hers. She then started rennervating the others and directed them to the pile of wands so they could find their own.

When there were many wands left after everyone got theirs, they thought Harry must have done this. There was no one else that could have. They were the only ones fighting the Death Eaters.

But, once again, where was Harry? They all asked themselves this time.

Cassie headed back onto the train and found one Death Eater missing. She then was wondering if he got loose somehow and took Harry but that would seem nearly impossible given how good Harry fights.

She headed back off the train when she heard noises outside.

She found her friends with an old wizard that came by phoenix fire. He must be Dumbledore, she thought. He was followed by the same elf Harry had called to him.

"Where's Harry?" Dumbledore asked looking around at them.

"We don't know," Ron and Hermione said almost at the same time.

"We were all stunned before Cassie woke us up," Hermione continued. "Harry was already gone."

Dumbledore looked over at the very pretty girl with light, golden brown hair who had just joined them.

"You must be Cassandra Taylor, young lady. I'm Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"It's an honor to meet you, Professor Dumbledore. I go by Cassie."

"Hang on just a second before we go any further," he told them suddenly remembering something.

Dumbledore conjured a rope and cast a silent spell on it so that it glowed blue. A portkey. He turned to the elf.

"Dobby, please take this portkey back to the school and give it to Professor McGonagall," he said handing it to Dobby. "Tell her that when ready to come here one merely needs to tap the portkey with their wand and say 'activate.' Can you do that for me, please?"

Dobby nodded and popped away.

"Now," he said turning back to his students, "I was told, Miss Cassie Taylor, that you were the one who rennervated these students. Can you tell me what happened to you before that?"

"I was stunned too. I saw the spell I was hit with and it was definitely a stunner."

"Did you wake up from the spell then?"

"I don't think so. I don't believe enough time had passed. Also, I'm pretty sure I was rennervated. I didn't feel like the spell wore off and then I woke up. I've had that experience and it feels different. No, I feel like I was rennervated. I felt no effects at all from the stunner after I woke up so the rennervate was more powerful than the stunner."

"Very astute, Miss Taylor. So who do you suppose rennervated you?"

"I think it was Harry. He's definitely more powerful. Besides, I picked up a scratch on my arm during all the fighting and it's completely healed. I don't think any of these guys," she said gesturing to the dead Death Eaters, "would have bothered healing a scratch."

"Sounds reasonable. But where did Harry go after that?" he asked pondering the question.

"There were two Death Eaters in the first car that Harry took down before we came outside to help the others. We also found the driver dead. It was likely the two men Harry took down that did that. When I couldn't find him, I went to search on the train for him, but that's when I found one of the men missing and the other dead."

"Do you think one of them woke up, surprised Harry, then took him?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, because Harry hit the first one with a bone-breaker to the chest and the second one with a blasting curse. He also stunned them both, broke their wands, and tied them up. I just don't see how either were well enough to do that, especially without a wand and given Harry's fighting ability. He was amazing."

"So, do you think he purposely went with this Death Eater using a portkey?"

"Maybe, but I don't really know for sure, Professor. I'm fairly certain though Harry was the one who killed all these out here after we were stunned. Given that?" she asked leaving the question open.

They were interrupted by a large group appearing close to the train holding the rope Dumbledore conjured. There appeared to be several aurors in the group along with some others. Dobby appeared next.

Dumbledore turned to Dobby as he collected his rope.

"Thank you, Dobby. You did great! Did you need something else?"

"Dobby wishes to report to the headmaster that he made sure to follow Harry Potter's instructions. With the help of the other elves, we took all the kids and their trunks back to Hogwarts quickly to get them to safety as the Great Harry Potter wanted. Many of the older Slytherin students did not want to go with us, but we took them anyway. Harry Potter said take all the kids but to start with the youngest first. That's what Dobby and his friends did."

"Marvelous, Dobby! I'm sure your friend Harry Potter will be most pleased with you. He is always concerned with other's safety."

"Yes, because Harry Potter is a great wizard!"

"Thank you again, Dobby. That will be all."

Dobby watched as the headmaster made the rope into another portkey and had the six remaining students take it back to Hogwarts. The elf then popped away as he received another call for his assistance.

oOo

Harry landed on his feet this time using a portkey. He just took a step after he landed. He ended up in what looked to be a large room of some kind with a fireplace on the back wall. The dead Death Eater was at his feet. Voldemort apparently was using the room as his. Harry walked toward the surprised dark wizard sitting on a throne like chair at the back of the room.

Voldemort then stood up and approached Harry as he continued walking. They stopped only about three meters from each other. Not really enough room to dodge spells.

"Harry Potter," the dark lord said surprised.

"Tom Riddle," Harry said back which made the dark lord frown. "I come with news."

"What news?" he asked curious.

"All of your death eaters you sent to attack the Hogwarts Express are dead. I know this because I was the one that killed them. I even brought one with me," he gestured back toward the one laying on the floor behind him. "I decided to use his portkey. It was convenient."

"You? You killed all fifteen of my servants?"

"Yes. My friends put up a decent fight but more showed and outnumbered them. They were all stunned, so it was left up to me" he said nonchalantly.

"Why did you come here, Harry? Why, when you know I will kill you?"

"Well, I thought about it. I really gave it some serious thought, but you would not believe the summer I've had. I met the best girl and she made my life so amazing. She even helped fight your servants today. Unfortunately, she was also stunned with my friends. After I killed the last one and took his portkey I checked on my girl again and discovered she had a scratch on her arm. That really set me off.

"She didn't have that scratch before the fight so one of your servants must have messed up and caused her to be injured. Now, I know I've taken care of whoever it was since I killed all of them, but the problem is, you ordered them to attack the train to get to me. So you have to pay too."

"You're upset over a scratch?" he asked incredulously.

"No, not that exactly. I was able to heal it completely. It's the fact that anyone would dare to hurt the one I love, the one that I can't stand to be away from. Yes, I'm even admitting it to myself right here and now, that I love. that. girl. I would be lost without her and you caused her to get hurt, with a possibility of even being killed," he told him as he got angrier.

"Do you understand now why I came to see you today, Tom?"

"I understand that I'm going to have to kill you just to shut you up."

"Are you sure you are up to the task?"

"Positive. I'll even make it quick."

Voldemort pulled his wand slowly and held it out in front of him.

"Any last words, Harry?"

"Good-bye, Tom."

"Good-bye, Harry," he said as he raised his wand. "Avada Ke –"

Schnick!

Voldemort stopped and stared down at the metal rod sticking out of his chest. He wondered what it was before he recognized it as the poker for the fireplace in the back of the room. How did it get in his chest? It went through his back and Harry is in front of him. How does that work? He was confused as he sunk to his knees and swayed back and forth trying to stay up.

He looked up at Harry still confused but the boy was just smiling.

"I believe you forgot to ask me how I killed all your servants who attacked the train."

Voldemort frowned then fell over sideways to the floor dead.

Harry used wandless magic to pull the poker out of Voldemort's body and left it there on the floor, blood spilling out on the tile. He then put Voldemort's body in stasis and called for Dobby who popped in right away.

"The Great Harry Potter has called Dobby back to where Dobby once worked before being freed?" he asked confused.

"Yes. Hi, Dobby. I had to come here and kill Voldemort."

Dobby then saw the dead, evil wizard lying on the floor. "Dobby always knew Harry Potter is the greatest wizard to ever live!" he said excitedly.

"Thank you, Dobby. Now I need something to wrap him up in so I can take him back with me. People will need to know he's dead. Can you get me something that will work? A sheet or something that will last as long as needed?"

Dobby snapped his fingers and the dead dark lord was wrapped up in a sheet Dobby summoned from somewhere in the manor. He knew where everything was kept since he formerly worked there.

"Nice, Dobby. You know, I was thinking that I should ask you to come work for me. I could use a talented elf such as yourself in my employ. I'm now head of the Black family and next year I'll take over headship of the Potter family too. What do you think?"

Dobby sat down suddenly on the floor.

"Are you alright, Dobby?" Harry asked him concerned.

"It has been Dobby's dream for so long to serve the Great Harry Potter, sir. To be asked is a great honor," he said shocked.

"Does that mean you accept my offer?"

"Yes!" he said hopping back up. "But, Dobby will only serve bound to the Potter family. It would shame Dobby to get paid to take care of the Great Harry Potter."

"Okay, if that's what you want. Remember that if you ever need any money to buy something for yourself then just let me know. I won't have a problem with that."

Dobby smiled as a golden light surrounded them both, sealing the bond.

"Now, I need you to check the manor to see if anyone else is here. Don't let them see you. Just come back and let me know who all is here. I'll handle it from there."

Dobby popped off and was gone for several minutes.

"Did you kill my master?" Harry heard from behind him in Parseltongue.