I certainly have no rights to Harry Potter, but this won't stop me writing this story. However, you probably already know this. As it is my specialty, and as in my other big stories, this shows how things go if something went different right at the beginning. Please note that I'm not a fan of bashing and also don't expect the pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them sertainly will be quite different. I also want to try and subvert certain plots and things that became common in the fandom over the years.
I have to announce that after the next chapter, the story will pause for four weeks, so that I can write ahead.
I'll try to answer all my reviews, since I do like the feedback for improvement. So please tell me your thoughts on the story in reviews. I would appreciate it. The more feedback I get, the more I can improve the story even further.
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Chapter 36: Bloody Moon, Part I - Hogwarts Invaded
Evening was slowly settling over Hogwarts, the sky darkening and long shadows creeping up onto the big castle. Today was another full moon night and everyone was nervous, wondering if Greyback would use the opportunity to cause harm.
From one of the windows of the Gryffindor common room Harry was watching the darkening grounds surrounding the castle. He saw light dots which her know were Auror patrols securing the castle grounds at this especially dangerous night. He couldn't help but to be nervous for some reason. Ever since the failed kidnapping Greyback had done little, apart from the bloody robbery of that petrol station. It was that silence which was putting people onto the edge this night.
"Harry, come back here. Watching the darkness won't help you prepare for the exams," Ginny called from the desk where his friends were sitting, brooding over books and notes.
"Mate, why are you even staring out at the dark grounds?" Ron wondered, sometimes being puzzled by Harry's behavior.
Harry turned around to look to his friends. "I can't help it. It's the upcoming full moon - for some reason I have a bad feeling and I can't concentrate on any schoolwork right at the moment."
"Please tell me you are not just saying that to put off the work," Hermione sighed, knowing Harry sometimes was not the most diligent student.
Harry looked slightly offended. "It's not that. I really have a bad feeling."
"Harry, are you thinking about what happened in Hogsmeade?" Ginny asked, looking concerned for her friend. "This is not Hogmeade. We are inside the castle, behind walls and guarded by Aurors and the teachers. You don't need to be nervous."
"I know that... yet it doesn't make me feel better. Right now I can't concentrate on school work." That said Harry returned to look out of the window. "Maybe I relax once Sirius comes over once his business with the Headmaster is done. That would make me feel better."
Today Sirius had contacted Harry over the mirror, telling him that he had some business with the Headmaster and would try to visit him after all business was done with. Having his honorary uncle visit him would surely lift him from the strange tenseness he was experiencing right at the moment. He had always felt safer when Sirius was watching out for him.
Seeing Harry turn back to the window, Ginny looked concerned. "He wasn't like that during the other full moons since Hogsmeade. What's wrong with him? Granted, I feel a bit strange as well, but nothing like Harry."
The made Neville look up. "Wait, you as well?" he asked. "For the last few hours I felt a bit weird as well."
Both of them looked to Ron, who looked a bit uneasy. "Eh, now that you mention it... for some reason I do have more trouble than normal to concentrate on the books."
Since this now was weird, they looked to Hermione, who seemed to be quite uneasy under their attention. "You know I don't give anything on things like hunches..." Seeing that she was fooling no one, she looked down. "I feel a bit uneasy as well."
That left Luna, who looked up from her book, blinking. "This actually is something unusual? I honestly could not tell it apart from how I normally feel."
"Very strange..." Harry commented from where he stood at the window. "I wonder what this all means?"
In the Headmaster's office meanwhile, Sirius was having a conversation with Dumbledore.
"Too bad that Moony can't be here for this, but he doesn't want to risk it. Not with the full moon being today. Even if he's not dangerous, the trauma of all the years sits deep within him," Sirius said while sitting down in one of the seats, ignoring the disappointed looks the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black was giving him.
"Even with the invention of the potion, this is a fear all victims of this curse share - at least those that haven't given in to wickedness," Dumbledore said, knowing too well what he was talking about.
"But enough of that, let's talk shop," Sirius said with a sigh. "All of those politics at times really rest like slabs of lead on my mood."
"I take it your recent political activities have not exactly been enjoyable to you?" Dumbledore guessed correctly.
"Right on the mark," Sirius said, feeling no need to hide his annoyance. "Albus, I have no idea how you go through that without feeling dirty. It also feels like I'm desperately trying to stop a car that's driving towards the edge of a cliff. Worst however is that this pink toad seems to have declared me her personal enemy."
Dumbledore frowned a little, knowing exactly who Sirius was talking about. "During my own dealings in the Ministry I sadly had to convince myself that Dolores Umbridge has gained substantial influence over Cornelius."
"As if Malfoy isn't bad enough, we now also have this racist woman attempting to slowly enact the magical version of the Nuremberg Laws," Sirius said, looking a bit old than he actually was. "Despite all our efforts, it feels like we will inevitably end up in the middle of a disaster."
Dumbledore, being as well-read as he was, knew what Sirius meant with Nuremberg Laws. "The thing is, they honestly believe the other magical races will just accept to be subjugated. They of course are deluding themselves."
Sirius snorted at the mere idea. "As if. Let's take the goblins for example. They hold a monopoly on banking. They would decide to close Gringotts and keep all the wealth in the unreachable vaults. Our economy would crash fully in mere days."
"Yes, the goblins surely have learned that an economic war would be more effective than outright violence," Dumbledore agreed. "Not to speak of other races. The centaurs would never stand for such treatment, there is no way to control the merpeople and the vampires would be highly offended."
"Not only would it pretty much be impossible to enforce such horrible laws against all of them, but the effect it would have on the reputation of Magical Britain would be devastating. The anti-werewolf laws have already proven to be highly unpopular with other countries and damaged our reputation," Sirius added, having heard what people outside of the United Kingdom thought about the matter.
"My international contacts conform with that, saying other magical communities in Europe wonder openly if we are falling back into the dark ages," Dumbledore added his own experiences.
"That's a sentiment Fudge certainly can't use right now, not with many eyes onto Magical Britain for the near future. Looks like they themselves sabotaged what they imagined to be easy victory laps," Sirius laughed humorlessly.
Dumbledore knew what Sirius was talking about. The finale of the Quidditch World Cup was to be hosted in Brtain during the summer. Then there was the Triwizard Tournament. Dumbledore himself had been against it, seeing it as still being too dangerous and a waste of their students' time. Alas, the Ministry had created facts and he had no choice but to comply, although he had given his misgivings and protest to protocol.
Both events would create much attention and it was not given that everything would go smoothly, not to speak of the already negative press Magical Britain got internationally.
Dumbledore knew there was nothing they could do about that. "That might be, but for now we need to talk about the current alliances and how they could shift..."
...at the same time at the edge of Hogsmeade...
It was true that Hogwarts and Hogsmeade were well-guarded. However, the old, abandoned house standing on a small hill outside of Hogsmeade was ignored by the Aurors, seeing no way this ruin would be of any importance for security. Sadly, despite all the security in mind, neither Dumbledore nor Remus had thought of the connection this old house held with Hogwarts would be a danger.
It was a simple oversight - both men had thought that unlike the other secret passages, which had been blocked, this one ending outside the walls of the castle made it useless for intruders - though it would have serious consequences.
In the growing darkness no one saw the dark shadows sneaking their way towards the Shrieking Shack from the side facing away from the village. It was not by chance that they weren't seen, but due to careful observation and planning, as well as preparation to be on the outside as little as possible.
"Really smart to have two of us loosen the boards on these windows the previous night so we can get in quickly," the punk woman said while the pack started to slip through the windows into the house.
"There is only a small time window between nightfall and moonrise. We have to use that," Greyback said, knowing he would today prove to everyone he was way more clever than they give him credit for.
Having all sneaked into the house, they made their way down into the basement, where they found the entrance to the tunnel which would lead them to the Whomping Willow, the tree having been planted relatively close to the outer wall of Hogwarts and inside the perimeter set by the Aurors.
"Just out of curiosity, Mr. Greyback, how did you learn of this secret passage?" the punk asked.
"It's all down to information and my own memory. When I heard the rumors surrounding this house, I timed when the so-called 'haunting' happened and when it suddenly stopped, then I put everything together and realized the ah-so integer Dumbledore was having a werewolf at school. So I had the house inspected and they found the secret passage," Greyback explained.
"Uhm, and what is that about your memory?" the punk wondered.
"Oh, I did become curious and after some reading remembered a certain incident where I made a nice bite. Somehow the little brat attended the school, so it must have been him. And the best thing? He's right now up there as a teacher. I like to close unfinished business," Geyback continued his explanation.
"That means he's a traitor..." the punk realized.
"Should he decide to come to the rescue of the little crops that are ready for harvest, he'll get what is coming for him," Greyback confirmed, then looked to his pack. "All right, listen up!"
Everyone gave him their undivided attention.
"All of you already know what to do, I told you often enough. That's now a journey with no return. Moonrise will be very soon, so all of you prepare for we only have one shot at this!"
None of them hesitated and started to undress in order to wait eagerly for the moment of moonrise. All of them were full with Wolfsbane potion, so they all would be of clear mind. Greyback himself did them same with the ease of it being something he's done many times. He saw the already naked punk woman giving him a strange grin. Considering her clothing choices when not being outside, it was no wonder she wasn't troubled by her own nudity.
"I'll see you on the other side Mr. Greyback," the punk promised.
Then they all felt it, even if it was not visible - the full moon had risen high enough and now was changing them once again.
All of them welcomed the change, having embraced it as the primitive part of themselves through which they can live out their bare instincts. Thanks to the potion, they felt that this was truly what they were; a beast of immense power that was not ruled by the laws of man while still being of sound mind. In their mind, everyone else was right now inferior to them.
When the transformation was finally finished Greyback looked over his pack. Everyone looked eager to start. The punk, who had somehow retained her red mohawk even in her wolf form, gave him an expecting look. Feeling there was no need to wait, he gave them a hand sign.
Knowing exactly what he wanted them to do, they picked up all of the prepared equipment, putting on harnesses that would allow them to carry things without having to hold them in their hands. All had been prepared in advance. Then picking up the bulky things they followed Greyback into the secret passage.
They did not use any lights in the passage, but not that there was any need to. Their eyes were perfectly adapted to even use the smallest amount of light and so they managed to pretty quick reach the end of the passage - directly below the Whomping Willow, an ill-tempered and outright dangerous tree that had been planted to disguise the entrance and which many parents had petitioned Dumbledore to remove due to it being a safety hazard.
Well, the Willow's days were numbered, even though it didn't know that fact yet.
Now that tree will have an actual use, Greyback thought while giving a hand sign.
The strongest members of the pack after Greyback himself took hold of steel axes before they jumped out of the hole. The tree of course felt very much disturbed by their presence and tried to hit them with its many branches. Of course werewolves had improved reflexes and they did manage to avoid the whip-like branches while starting their work.
-tac- They did swing their axes, hacking into the tree from all sides. -tac- Of course that only made the Willow try even more to get rid of them, yet they changed position after each strike, and the fit hits on them they did manage to shrug off. -tac- Bit for bit they destroyed the life-sustaining outer layer of the tree in a ring-shaped area.
People hearing the noise from the tree - which completely drowned out the sound from the axes - ignored it, since they by now were used to the Willow going psychotic on things like rabbits. It the tree being loud, it ironically served as the best cover for its attackers.
Finally, the life-sustaining connection between the upper and lower part of the tree was severed, its branches going limp.
Hearing the silence, Greyback climbed out of the hole and looked at the now dead tree. Only good to keep in one feral werewolf, not a whole group knowing what they are doing.
The whole pack moved out of the hole. While most of them moved towards the outer wall, several of them open canisters and started to douse the tree in a mixture of petrol and diesel. They also emptied what remained of the fuel into the entrance of the passage. Since the passage was a slight slope, it would run down the stone back into the basement of the Shrieking Shack.
Another hand sign and they stared to make a gunpowder line from canisters of stolen gunpowder from the tree close to the wall. At the wall, many member of the pack already had grappling hooks ready which they needed to scale up the wall.
Greyback nodded and the hooks were thrown, taking hold at the crenellations on the top. While the others started to scale the walls, Greyback took hold of a big and bulky zippo lighter. Not only could he use it with his transformed hands, it also was purely mechanical in nature and thus could be used in this magically saturated area.
Showtime has come. Enjoy the fireworks and run all toward it, Greyback thought before igniting the gunpowder.
The gunpowder line quickly burned back to the tree. -WOOOOAAASHHH- Since it by now was surrounded by petrol vapors and soaked in it, it went up into flames in a massive fireball while the flames also shot down the passage before erupting into the basement of the Shrieking Shack, setting its inside ablaze as well.
Pleased with the effect and the distraction and confusion it would cause, Greyback quickly started to scale the wall as well.
o
In Gryffindor tower Harry jumped back when for a moment the bright fireball illuminated everything.
"What in all names?!" Harry gasped, yanking open the window to look at the inferno outside of the castle walls. "Guys, the Whomping Willow has been set ablaze!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing and ran to the windows to see for themselves. They saw that Harry had not lied, the Willow had been turned into a giant torch, burning brightly. Everyone was in shock, as this had come out of nowhere. What had been a normal evening of going through the books had suddenly been turned upside-down.
The sudden eruption of a massive fireball of course did not go unnoticed outside, either.
All the Aurors patrolling the castle grounds of course saw the huge blaze right away and many of them - the less experienced ones - started to run towards it to investigate, throwing everything into chaos. The sudden change quickly caused Moody to run out of the guest building they were using as headquarters, looking in anger at the ensuing chaos.
"Damnit!" he cursed, then spotted Dora looking at the chaos in disbelief and called her. "Cadet Tonks, what in all names happened?!"
"I don't know! All of a sudden the Whomping Willow went up in flames and everyone was thrown into chaos." Dora shook her head, trying to concentrate on the important stuff. "It can only be Greyback, but how has he set that tree on fire, and why? They don't have any wands."
"Use your brains!" Moody spat. "I know you are not as ignorant as the average wizard. Remember the theft and murder they committed three weeks ago."
"Yes, they stole..." Dora now understood. "But what is this supposed to accomplish?"
"It's a distraction from whatever they are doing - a damn good one at that, considering how many of the less experienced Aurors are acting." Moody pulled out his wand. "Help me gather these fools. I smell trouble."
-wooosh- Hearing that they turned around, seeing the Shrieking Shack being on fire as well, flames erupting out of several openings, bathing Hogsmeade in a reddish light. Moments later they heard the fire bell and lights went on in the village.
"That scum..." Moody growled. "Hurry!"
Back in Gryffindor tower everyone got scared at this sudden turn of events.
"How did that happen?" Lavender Brown asked half hysterically, not being the best with sudden situations.
"It has to be Greyback! No one else would want to cause such destruction right now!" a student realized, causing others to gasp.
"Harry, is something wrong?" Hermione wondered when seeing him stare outside to the fire, Aurors running to the fire being visible as small dots in the reddish light.
"Yes... why did he set the tree on fire? I mean, that's completely useless, unless... Shit, I need to get something real quick!" That said, Harry ran up the stairs to the dorms and then started to hectically search through his trunk, throwing stuff left and right to find what he was looking for.
"What's happening? Harry looked like he'd suddenly realized something," Neville asked before seeing the fire in Hogsmeade. "Guys, the Shrieking Shack is on fire as well."
It was that moment that Harry stormed down again, putting a parchment onto a table, touching it with his wand. "I need to check it now... I solemny swear that I am up to no good."
Percy, who had heard the words, was about to scold Harry for the words, but then saw what appeared on the parchment. The title alone already was making clear that the parchment was certainly not meant for lawful behavior. However, when seeing a map of Gryffindor tower appear on it, which was updating in real-time the location of everyone in it, Percy was taken aback.
"Harry, what is that?! You know that this constitutes as a grave violation of privacy!" Percy gasped in shock.
Harry however only half listened while being busy with the map. "Uncle Sirius gave it to me and told me to only use it in emergencies. I never before used it and the Headmaster knows I have it." Right then Harry froze. "Oh crap!"
Hearing that, many students flocked to Harry, wondering what this was about. However, when they looked at the map they froze in terror. Showing the area of the outer wall facing the Willow, the map showed dozens of paw prints - a feature originally put in to see if Remus was transformed or not - moving over the battlements and into the castle proper. The name tags next to the paw prints were not especially enlightening, until they saw one name that made everyone's blood freeze: Fenrir Greyback.
"Oh no!" Ginny gasped in horror.
Percy also was horrified at the sight, but then quickly realized that something had to be done. "Someone has to run to the teachers and tell them!"
"I have a faster way!" Harry knew time was of essence and quickly conjured his Patronus - the spell after further training now being like second nature. "Mr. Moody! Greyback and his pack have broken into the castle! We need help now!" Harry then sent the glowing fox off to find Moody and relay the message.
"Thank all goodness Uncle Remus taught me how to use it to send messages." While the other students watched the map in fear, Harry then took his communication mirror out of his pocket. "Sirius! Sirius!"
Sirius thankfully did answer. "Harry, is something wrong? We are about to find out where this fire is coming from..."
"It's Greyback! I've seen him and his pack on the map! They have already broken into the castle!" Harry told Sirius hectically.
"What?! Fuck!" Sirius cursed. "Harry, all of you stay in the tower and block the entrance with whatever you have We'll alert the Aurors and the teachers!"
"I've already sent a Patronus to Mr. Moody," Harry explained.
"Good, now... Oh, the Headmaster just sent his own to make sure. Now, lock yourselves in and no playing the hero!" Sirius then cut the connection.
Percy took charge as soon as he had heard that. "Use tables and chairs to block the entrance! The upper years to me the lower years to their rooms!"
In the Headmaster's office Sirius tried to get his anger under control, knowing that quick action was now needed. "Albus, you alert all the teachers and tell the suits of armor to defend the castle! I get Remus and then am on my way to Harry. I will make sure they won't touch him."
"Remus?" Dumbledore then understood that this was an emergency and sensibilities right now were secondary. Remus was powerful in his transformed state and could be of great help. "It would be faster to call him..."
"No dice. Remus told he he disconnects his fireplace during these nights so that no one could even accidentally stumble onto him," Sirius told Dumbledore.
Seeing the problem, Dumbledore knew he couldn't stop Sirius. "Just make sure he is recognizable as a friend. I will call the teachers to tell them to defend the dorms."
Sirius quickly left the office while Dumbledore activated the fireplace to make a call to all the adults in the castle. After that was done, he would also alert the other three houses of the danger and tell them to barricade the entrances to their dorms. The students were in grave danger and their teachers would defend them with all of their strength.
Outside of the castle, the messages had gotten through.
"Faster, faster!" Moody shouted, he himself being surprisingly fast for a man with a prosthetic leg. "Do you want this scum to cut the students into pieces?!"
The first message from Potter had been shocking and Dumbledore moments later had confirmed it. Moody had to admit the blaze had been a good distraction so that the werewolves could scale up the walls without being disturbed. Fighting them inside the castle would be significantly harder than on open grounds. Also, considering what had already happened, it was clear they would have more tricks up their sleeve.
By this point Hagrid, who had ran out of his hut when seeing the Whomping Willow engulfed in flames, had joined them on their run to the castle gates. Not only did he have the keys to the gate, if time was of essence he could break open the gate as well. Hagrid also had his wand drawn, but additionally not only was he capable of physically fighting werewolves, he also due to his nature could not be affected by lycanthropy, thus giving him an advantage.
Thankfully, the gate was already being opened - by Mr. Filch of all people, who was holding an old-fashioned hunting rifle of all things, creating the question where he got that thing from. "Quick, I hear them breaking down the doors!" Filch called.
Running into the castle, the sounds of ongoing battle were unmistakable. It seemed the animated armors were already engaging in battle with the intruders. However, by the sound of it the armors were being broken apart by the sheer strength of the werewolves, their pieces scattering over the floor. It would take some time for them to re-assemble.
When they finally spotted the enemy, things went from bad to worse.
The werewolves were not attacking them, instead holding glass bottles with burning rags being stuffed into the bottlenecks. Dora, being more knowledgeable than others, realized what those were. "Oh no, quick, stand back...!"
Right at that moment the werewolves threw the bottles - but only some in the direction of the Aurors. The remaining bottles were thrown into other rooms, causing an inferno in those rooms as soon as the bottles broke. While dousing a fire with magic was easy, it was hardly so when being attacked by several werewolves while the whole corridor had been set ablaze. And the longer the inferno was untouched, the harder it would be to put out.
Thats only some of them! They want to keep us from following the others! Dora thought while starting to defend herself, seeing the majority of the enemies run deeper into the castle, setting more things ablaze.
The castle being set on fire around them made the whole battle even more difficult than it already was. It was not just the heat, it also was the smoke while parts of the old castle went up in flames, eating away items that had lasted centuries.
One way or another, this day would change Hogwarts.
o
Running towards Remus' room, Sirius right away noticed the smell of smoke starting to fill the castle. They must have set part of the castle on fire. Monsters!
Alone the attempt to to set a castle full of children on fire was already reminder enough for Sirius how utterly depraved Greyback truly was. Not many would have crossed that line, but Greyback clearly felt it was worth it while also creating as much damage as possible. If there had to be proof these people were irredeemable, this was it.
Funny thing was, it wasn't because they were werewolves that Sirius felt they were beyond redemption, but because they clearly felt their condition meant they could now do as they pleased while claiming it was because society forced them. However, despite how horribly werewolves were treated, it was no excuse for doing these horrible things. So in the end, it ironically was the human factor creating the true monster.
It's not far, Moony's room should be down the next corridor That he's not hearing all this... he must have soundproofed his room. -Wam- Sirius jumped back when the door in front of him was slammed open. Not good!
Sirius was confronted with a werewolf standing in the door. Judging by the body proportions it was a female one. The most bizarre thing about her was, that she was having a red mohawk on her head, as if the transformation wanted her to keep that. Sirius however also remembered the video of the attack on the petrol station, meaning it was that woman.
At least she was alone, but that still meant he had to fight an adult, bloodthirsty werewolf who knew exactly what she was doing.
The transformed punk also managed to recognize him in the few moments in which they stared at each other. After all, Sirius' picture had been in magical media often enough that he was easily recognizable. In her mind Sirius Black was an idealistic idiot who was sticking his nose into matters he should stay out of. So killing him would be a nice bonus.
"Hr, hr, hr, hr..." That growling chuckle was the only warning Sirius got before he had to evade a claw swipe.
Sirius was under no illusion that he could prevail against a werewolf on his own, regardless how much magic he had. Knowing that lesser spells like stunners would be pretty much useless against her, he instead used whatever came to his mind to stop her from ripping him apart. And his mind could be a scary place if he wanted it to be.
-Booom- An explosion spell shattered a decorative column, missing the werewolf, who was quite agile with good reflexes. The punk knew however that one-on-one she did have the advantage.
It was a deadly dance between a werewolf, who could kill easily with one good hit, and a wizard, who was throwing around destructive spells. Both of them were quickly turning their surrounding into a battlefield. Sirius however knew he would tire far sooner than her and thus was at a severe disadvantage.
Then suddenly...! "Ah!" In one moment of distraction the werewolf slapped Sirius' wand out of his hand and it sailed off to a far corner. The werewolf gave Sirius a nasty grin, drooling all the time. She clearly had been looking forward to what would be coming next.
Shit! I... Seeing the werewolf getting ready to jump forward to rip him apart, Sirius made a snap decision. I risk it!
The punk was confused when all of a sudden Sirius ran towards her, wondering if the man had finally cracked, when the man jumped and out of nowhere started to transform in mid-air into something else. She was stunned for one second too long before Padfoot jumped against her, his teeth digging into her throat.
Arrgh! Get off! Get off! Trashing around she tried to get him to let go.
However, Padfoot's teeth had sunk in deep and the only result was that while she did manage to finally shake him off, it was at the cost of tearing her own throat open! She was drowning in her own blood, her ruined throat making it impossible for her to breathe, and as powerful as werewolves were, they still were living beings that needed oxygen to continue living.
But... why? I couldn't please Mr. Greyback... Then all thoughts fled her.
Sirius had checked himself first for any injuries, but feeling none, he transformed back, then quickly picked up his fallen wand. Looking at the dying werewolf, he saw her transform back to her human self at the moment of death. It was only in death that the curse truly let go of its victims. Instead of terror, the dead punk woman's face showed confusion in death, as if wondering how this was even possible.
Sirius could only shake his head at such a waste of life before making haste to reach Remus' room.
Sirius knew knocking on the locked door was pointless. "Alohomora!" The door unlocked and Sirius stormed in, causing werewolf-Remus to jump up in fright.
"Damn it, Moony, calm down! It's me!" Sirius called before Remus would have time to panic.
Remus still looked uneasy - as much as Sirius could tell considering the anatomical differences - which most likely was due to the fact that someone human being present while he was transformed caused him to worry he could cause them harm. After all, you don't overcome a trauma of years just like that.
Being confused why Sirius had barged in like this, Remus' much more sensitive ears noticed the sounds of complete chaos in the far background. And then there was the smell of smoke... Knowing he could hardly ask his friend when having no voice, Remus quickly drew with his finger a question mark in the air.
Sirius quickly snapped back to the reason why he was here. "Crap, Moony, no time to waste. Greyback and his pack have broken into the castle and we need to protect the children. Greyback didn't get Harry the first time but he will try again now!"
Remus now looked horrified. While even to this day had had a deep-seated fear of actually confronting Greyback, the NEED to protect Harry and the other children was almost overwhelming. He was about to run off when Sirius stopped.
"First things first..." Sirius transfigured some random item into a harness. "Put that on. The big coat-of-arms of Hogwarts on it hopefully tells everyone you are not a foe."
Remus felt a bit stupid, since it made him look like a beast warrior from a bad fantasy novel, but he knew the need to identify him properly was far more important. Quickly putting it on, he then followed Sirius out, hoping they could reach Gryffindor tower in time.
o
Greyback had it all planned out. The Aurors would be held up by a small number of the pack and all the fires, while the bulk of them would be off to go where they knew the children would be at this time of the day. All four houses would be under attack, though of course Greyback would take the biggest contingent to attack Gryffindor, since that's where he knew Harry was.
After all, he wanted to get even with Harry Potter for his earlier humiliation. There should not have been enough time for the school to react, since after all, how could they possibly expect them to scale the walls? It wasn't like they had some kind of detection system, the school wards not being meant to be used against werewolves and thus couldn't detect them.
Of course Greyback didn't know that they had been discovered early due to Harry using the map - something that was about to royally screw up his plans.
The entrance to the dorms of Hufflepuff was, for whatever reason, located behind a huge barrel which normally was opened by using the right knocking combination. Of course the werewolves didn't care about that technicality and tore the barrel apart with brute strength, even ignoring the vinegar shooting out of the other barrels, having been warned about that and thus protected themselves properly.
Already smelling that up the slope behind it the rooms were full with brats they started to shred the barricades that had been hastily erected.
Inside the Hufflepuff common room Professor Sprout was waiting. "I hear them coming. Everyone get ready!"
She had literally run to the Hufflepuff dorms to protect the children and on the way there Professor Sinista had joined her. Both women had quickly organized the defenses, knowing they had to hold the intruders off until the reinforcements could arrive. Besides the two of them only adult students from sixth and seventh year were allowed to participate in the defense, everyone else had to hide in their locked rooms.
"Too bad we can't use shield spells to slow them down," Sinistra regretted, knowing that trying to shield the entrance would have interfered with the magic of Hogwards in bad ways.
"Better than have part of the castle blow up. The entrances are have been enchanted so much we can't risk it," Sprout answered the untold question.
"Still would have made me feel better." Sinistra then looked up. "You heard that?"
-Craaack- "There they come!" Sprout shouted and the battle was on.
At the same time part of the pack was running into the dungeons toward the entrance to the Slytherin dorms.
Like with the other group they did not bother with sophistication. No one would have known where the entrance was, as it looked like a blank wall, if not for Greyback's insider information. They right away started to claw out a small hole into the door before they started to put in something: explosives.
Meanwhile inside the common room Snape and Slughorn heard the noise coming from the door, the adult students which had decided to fight with them looking highly nervous. Everyone else had been sent into their now locked rooms. It had been coincidence that both of them had been in the nearby potions lab when the call came, thus managed to read the common room in time.
Slughorn was trying to look brave, but that he was nervous was no secret. "I know I'm not much of a fighter... I know my reputation. But I won't let them hurt my students. Never."
"You are underselling yourself. Despite your age and weight, you know how to put them down," Snape told him while looking grimly towards the door at the other end of the room.
Slughorn was used to Snape being blunt, so he took this in stride. "Still, I had not expected the job would lead to this... Yet by now for nothing in the world would I leave it."
Snape knew Slughorn had learned his lesson after his first retirement and would probably teach until he literally couldn't do so anymore. Suddenly there was silence coming from the door. "Silence... Be prepared." While they couldn't shield the entrance, a temporary shield to protect themselves was possible.
-BOOOOM- An explosion ripped the stone door and barricade apart and showered them with debris. Then the werewolves stormed through the gaping hole.
Members of the pack were also racing up the stairs towards the entrance to Ravenclaw tower.
The dorms were protected by a door where one had to answer a riddle to gain entrance after using the door knocker. Of course the pack members had no intention of answering riddles, even if they could talk at the moment. -Bom- -Bom- Instead they slammed hard against the door again and again, the wood groaning under the constant assault.
Finally, the wood splinted and to their surprise there was no further obstacle. Yet they stopped at the sight that waited for them in the Ravenclaw common room.
They were confronted with just a single man in the otherwise deserted room. Professor Flitwick stood there calmly, having taken off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, holding his wand in one hand. "I give you this one chance. Surrender now or suffer the consequences of your actions."
After a moment of silence, every single werewolf let out what counted as laughter, clearly not thinking that this tiny wizard was any kind of threat to them, especially since he had decided to face them completely on his own. If anything they were amused at the sheer chuzpa of this dwarf and would enjoy turning him into bloody pieces.
Professor Flitwick sighed, his foes clearly judging him by his lacking height. "I see. You can't hold me responsible for what will come next."
o
Unlike the other three houses, Gryffindor had no teacher present to help with the defense, due to the werewolves blocking the way toward the tower on the direct route and no one wanting to risk using the floo while the magic of the castle was getting strained like this. After all, they had no wish to end up as chunky salza should the internal floo network get disrupted at the worst moment.
That meant they had to fight their way to the tower - like with Sirius' encounter with the punk werewolf - and would only arrive probably too late to make a difference. That was especially bad due to Greyback leading the biggest group towards Gryffindor tower.
Inside the tower, Percy was having a serious argument with Harry.
"Harry, please reconsider! The six of you refusing to hide inside your room inspired others to defy logic as well. You really should leave the fighting to us from the upper years," Percy tried to make him see reason.
"You know even all of you together will be overwhelmed. You are not like the teachers... Also, I hate to say it, but Greyback wants me personally and he'll rip the whole tower apart if he doesn't find me right away." Harry knew Greyback would like nothing more than to get back at him for what happened in Hogsmeade.
"Sorry, Perce, but wee are standing with Harry on this one. Hiding won't help this time," Ron told his brother, though he made no secret at how nervous he was.
Desperate, Percy looked to Ginny, but his sister also shook her head.
"Percy, all of us would feel like traitors should we desert Harry," Ginny explained to Percy.
Percy felt trapped. He knew it was unwise for them to participate in what was very certain to come next, but he had no way to make them to leave. He again felt the weight of the responsibility on his shoulders and it made him question if he really would have been suitable for a leadership position. His internal thoughts however were cut off when he heard something.
Neville had heard it as well. "Someone is coming... A number of someones."
Outside on the corridor meanwhile the werewolves had reached the portrait hole, the Fat Lady trying to act brave. "You won't get in here."
Greyback however snarled loudly and then took hold of the painting frame, causing the Fat Lady to shriek and run out of her portrait in fear. Together with two other werewolves Greyback managed to tear the portrait off the wall, the frame splitering where it was connected to the wall with a special sticking charm. Greyback then threw away the painting into a corner.
Looking at the blocked passage, he pointed to it and snarled. The message was clear. So close... now it's only a matter of moments.
Two of his pack members started to tear the barricade apart.
-Crac- -Craaack- Hearing the werewolves tear the barricade apart, Percy knew the time time discussions was over. Now he could only hope for the best. "Everyone, get ready! Protect yourselves! Fire what you can at the entrance!"
The first werewolf who came through was bombarded with spells and was dead pretty much on the spot. The same went for the second one. However, they had gladly given their lives to be used as living shields for those that followed them, spells now only impacting their held-up corpses.
To make it even more disturbing, they then threw the corpses, which were already reverting to human form, against the defenders to break their ranks before they started to storm the common room.
Students were not meant to fight werewolves. They were not as experienced as Aurors or the teachers, thus the best thing they could do was to defend themselves so that they wouldn't be overwhelmed and killed or bitten. While the older students from sixth and seventh year could hold their ground, they could hardly be expected to mount a counter-offensive.
The students from lower years who had insisted on staying now realized to their horror why Percy had pleaded for them to go into hiding, many of them wondering what they had been thinking. They now were wondering how they could have been this arrogant - they were over their head here.
Was hatte ich mir gedacht?! Ich bin hier völlig überfordert! [What was I thinking?! I'm out of my depth here!] Stefan Schuster thought in horror, now realizing what he'd done was playing the hero.
"AH!" He suddenly screamed.
In horror he saw a werewolf had bitten him in the leg before a spell had forced him away. He already started to feel weak, stumbling back while the curse was starting to take hold of him. Stumbling against one of the stairs to the dorms, he couldn't get up anymore and everything became black.
Harry was doing the only thing he thought could get him through this mess, conjuring his Patronus to defend him. After all, it had worked well enough against Greyback the first time. However, problem was in all the chaos going on the glowing fox seemed to have trouble to decide which target was most dangerous to Harry.
Suddenly Harry saw something that made him panic. Oh crap, no!
Even as a werewolf, Greyback was easy to recognize and the way he was making a beeline for Harry made it clear he was there to settle the score. His Patronus was busy with warding off a different werewolf, him not being experienced enough to go against so many targets at once. Greyback was gladly using these circumstances.
Greyback was about to make a jump at him, when -Wham!- a spell threw him back. "Leave him alone!"
Looking to his side, Harry saw Ginny right next to him, looking angry. It was clearly her who had fired off that spell. "Thanks, Ginny, but I think that only made him even more angry!"
Seeing Greyback angrily get back up, Ginny gulped. "I didn't think of that..." Holding onto Harry she hoped an enigma like last time would happen, but while Harry's Patronus became a little bit brighter, nothing else happened.
Harry noticed and remembering what happened last time as well as his fight against the basilisk, he got a weird idea. "I just got a strange idea... can you touch my wand with your own?"
Ginny honestly had no idea why Harry insisted on that, but did so anyway due to being out of ideas what else to do to get them out of this. Surprisingly, as soon as their wands touched, it was like a small, harmless electric shock went through both of them and... Harry's Patronus changed.
What before was just a fox now looked like a fox and a horse had been smashed together, its two heads snapping angrily at surrounding foes while its eight limbs kicked around, one kick hitting Greyback, knocking him some distance away.
Harry's eyes widened at this unexpected result. "Guys, get over here!"
Thanks to the new chaos caused by the malformed Patronus his other four friends managed to reach them. All of them showed how bad of a situation this still was, their uniforms being damaged in one way or another, though they thankfully were not injured unlike several students from the upper years. Harry knew only a bite actually would infect them, but permanent scars on arms or legs also wasn't much fun.
"Harry, what the hell is that?!" Ron asked, pointing at the bizarre Patronus.
"Our ticket to get out of this alive. Touch my wand with your own. Don't ask, just do it!" Harry told them, right now not caring that he sounded a bit rude.
They indeed didn't ask questions and did so. With each wand that touched Harry's, the Patronus mutated further, becoming bigger and growing more heads and limbs. When Ron touched it, to Patronus gained the head of a bulldog, with Hermione an otter was added, Neville added a dove and Luna... they honestly had no idea what that was supposed to be, though Luna all of a sudden seemed really happy to see whatever it was.
"How are we actually doing this?" Hermione wondered, having no explanation how touching Harry's wand with their own would create such a Frankenstein-like monstrosity of a Patronus.
"Should we honestly care? That thing is kicking their arses!" Ron said, and his observation was correct.
The mass of a Patronus had grown to a big size was kicking the werewolves around, managing to separate them from the students. Considering that it was powered by the desire of the Six to end this it started to push the werewolves toward the portrait hole.
No, you won't get rid of me like that! Greyback cursed, but then he and his pack get ejected out of the portrait hole, the glowing mass blocking the entrance, which unlike shield charms would not cause a magical backfire due to the enchantments in the walls.
Not daring to separate their wands, as that was keeping Greyback and the other werewolves out, the six friends looked in astonishment at what had happened. "Guys, how exactly are we doing this?" Neville finally asked.
"I honestly don't care as long as it keeps them out," Ron said, closely watching the blocked entrance.
While holding her wand firmly, Hermione used the chance to finally see the fallout of the attack and tit didn't look pretty. Numerous students were injured, though thankfully not bitten nor in the face like Percy. However, she did spot two students who had lost consciousness and knew that was a symptom of a fresh werewolf infection. She did spot Percy looking distraught at the injured... and then at the bodies of the dead werewolves.
"It's been less than five minutes and our common room has turned into a battlefield," Hermione said, trying hard to not look at the corpses.
Even Luna looked unsettled by the sight. "After tonight many will be able to see the Thestrals..."
The six of them just hoped they could keep this up until it was safe again.
Outside meanwhile Greyback was raging. Trying to get past that... thing was an utter failure and only resulted in them getting burns. Being denied the main prize was pissing him off to no end. However, he had no more time to rage when enemies approached.
Not right now! With one hand movement Greyback conveyed his orders and most of the remaining group ran down the corridor to greet the enemy.
He just wanted to return his attention to the problem at hand when from the opposite end of the corridor a spell hit one of the two werewolves still with him like a battering ram, smashing her so hard against the wall that it almost cracked her skull - which was no easy feat - and knocked her out instantly. Turning to from where that came from, his eyes narrowed.
He of course recognized Sirius Black - after all pictures of him were in the newspapers often enough. No, it was the werewolf by his side that raised his ire. That male wolf was wearing the crest of Hogwarts, meaning it was the traitor, the one he had turned personally so many years ago and who had brought shame to true werewolves like himself.
Sirius and Remus stopped when seeing who that werewolf was. "Greyback..." Sirius had recognized him even when transformed, he simply was that distinctive... and bigger than the others.
Greyback growled loudly before attacking Remus right away, leaving the other werewolf to deal with Sirius.
"Damn!" Sirius cursed. Remembering what happened when fighting the other werewolf earlier, he knew he had to end this quickly or suffer the consequences. Thankfully, in this corridor there was much less room to evade spells.
Time to get creative! "Locomotor Mortis" Sirius called and all of a sudden the werewolf's legs locked together, causing him to stumble and fall flat onto his face. "Astrictus!" Sirius then called and the werewolf realized it was like he now was glued to the floor and could not get up again.
That should keep him down. Sirius knew without a counter-charm, that werewolf would stay stuck there.
Remus meanwhile was suffering problems of his own. Greyback was bigger than him, also stronger and had lots of experience fighting in that form. Remus on the other hand due to sleeping it out ever since taking the potion, had little idea how to properly fight in this form and was trying to wing it as best as possible - something for which he already had gotten multiple bleeding slashing wounds.
"Moony, get behind!"
Remus did understand what Sirius meant and managed to get behind Greyback, choking him by pressing his lower arm against his throat. "Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" Several stunners in quick succession hit Greyback in the gut.
"AAAAOOOUGH!" Greyback howled in pain, feeling his strength being sapped significantly. If anything however, this only served to make him even more angry.
"Ouuuch!" Remus groaned when Greyback slammed him backwards against the wall, causing him to let go.
Gryback then surprisingly jumped forward, trying to bite Sirius. However, Sirius quickly transformed, shrinking down so Greyback missed him and was rewarded for his attempt by dog teeth biting hard into his leg. Howling with pain, Greyback kicked hard, forcing Sirius to let go. He turned around to again deal with Remus...
-rip- "GGRROUUAAGH!" Greyback howled in pain when Remus swiped his claws directly over the left side of his face. For some moment the only thing Greyback could see out of his left eye was red, then his sight in that eye failed entirely.
Then it felt like a battering ram slammed into his back before a hard kick from Remus finally sent him down to the floor, gasping for breath. He was unable to get up again when Sirius glued him to the floor as well. Snarling, he looked up to both of them, as if telling them to get over with it.
"Of course you want us to kill you. You want to end up as a martyr so that others emulate you." Sirius looked down onto Greyback with contempt. "We won't do you that favor. Keeping you alive, we can show everyone what kind of monster you really are."
"Finally we are through... Damn, Sirius, get down!"
Hearing that and seeing Dora raising her wand, Sirius quickly jumped in front of Remus. "Dora, don't shoot! That's Remus!"
Dora's hair went white. "Remus...? Crap, I almost attacked you!"
"Good thing you didn't." Sirius then noticed Remus grimacing, holding his side. "Don't tell me you busted a rib."
"Goddamnit, Remus!" Dora said while walking up to him, unafraid of his current form. "You had to be noble and a hero, don't you? And you didn't believe me when I told you that you are too noble for your own good."
Seeing that that was taken care of, Sirius ignored the approaching Aurors and walked to the portrait hole, observing the glowing mass blocking the entrance. He had a good guess whose work that was. "Harry! Harry! The danger is over! You can drop it, Greyback and his pack are defeated."
The mass vanished after some seconds and before Sirius could walk in, Harry ran out and hugged him. One look at the teenage boy was enough to see that he was urgently in need of a hug.
...hospital wing, later that night...
"What is the final tally?" Dumbledore asked one of the healers who had arrived to help with treating all the injured.
"The three students are clearly infected with the curse and in one month they will transform. A dozen students have various injuries that will leave cursed scars, but thankfully they were not infected. Seven dead Aurors, double the number injured without infection. Thankfully no infection among them," the healer reported.
Dumbledore looked subdued when hearing these news. "I understand. What about Greyback's pack?"
"Half their numbers are dead, while almost all of the other half are injured to various degrees. Greyback himself will have permanent scarring on the left side of his face and his left eye has gone blind due to the damage."
Dumbledore nodded, then dismissed the healed to let him return to his work.
Walking through the packed hospital wing, he saw the Aurors and students who had suffered injury when defending the school. All of them were deep asleep due to all the potions in them, bandages covering the areas where they had been injured. Unlike with Percy Weasley, their scars would be mostly hidden and thus not destroy their future.
Brave soldiers wounded in action... Dumbledore thought.
His eyes wandered to the door of a smaller room. In it Stefan Schuster and Fay Dunbar from Gryffindor as well as Allan Foster from Hufflepuff laid in beds. All three of them got infected and were now facing an uncertain future. Their families were at their sides, waiting for them to wake up. Knowing of the direction the wind was blowing in the Ministry, Dumbledore knew action had to be taken.
In a separate room was the injured Remus Lupin, constantly being watched by Dora Tonks. His secret coming out like this was unfortunate, despite the man having risked his life to defend the students when confronting Greyback. Dumbledore knew that Remus would soon feel the pressure to leave due to the heated social climate after Greyback's atrocities.
Leaving the hospital wing, Dumbledore opened the first door next to it to enter the makeshift morgue. In it the corpses of Aurors and werewolves alike laid under white sheets. The number of corpses told Dumbledore that while they had managed to defend Hogwarts, this was no real victory, considering the price in blood.
Leaving, Dumbledore looked quite thoughtful, questioning past decisions.
He walked by the former battle zone, the sight of burnt-out rooms driving home that Hogwarts had been wounded this night. While the physical damage could be repaired, an idea had been lost tonight: the idea that Hogwarts under any circumstance would be a safe haven for its students. Reality had shown them cruelly how those who wanted to harm them would find ways to do so.
He felt thankful that law enforcement was keeping away the press, since the castle already was chaotic enough.
After what happened, the parents of the students had to be informed and like with previous incidents the castle was flooded with concerned parents. Considering that students actually got injured more than one parent had fainted and they currently were running low on calming draught due to the severe emotional distress running around - and they already had gotten a new supply from St. Mungos.
Reaching the anteroom to his office, he saw his secretary Ms. Spencer working in massive overtime, her typewriter rattling like a high-gear machine, due to all the paperwork this near-disaster was creating. Looking at the coffee pot sitting on the heating stone next to her, it was pretty obvious she was preparing for an all-nighter.
She looked up from her work. "Headmaster, they are all waiting upstairs in your office. I have to warn you that the mood is quite tense."
"Thanks, Ms. Spencer. To be honest, I already expected this not to be easy." Dumbledore then walked up the stairs to his office.
His office was crowded.
There of course were Harry and his friends. Additionally, their parents and guardians were present as well, and judging by first sight the children really needed the comfort given to them after what had happened. Sirius for his part still showed signs of the struggle, as he had not wasted a thought to look presentable again.
"Albus, how bad...?" Sirius began to ask when seeing him.
"It could have been way worse if not for Harry discovering them early," Dumbledore said, not wanting to talk about numbers. "It still is bad enough. While no students have died, a few got infected. Losses among the Aurors are significant. This night will be a turning point in the history of Hogwarts. Violence from the outside was carried into the walls."
"How could this happen?! How did they break into the castle?!" Jean Granger asked heatedly, her concern for the children showing, her very pregnant belly bouncing a little when she stood up to confront the Headmaster.
"As far as it can be reconstructed, Greyback's pack used the tunnel from the Shrieking Shack to get inside the perimeter surrounding the castle. That tunnel had not been blocked due to the belief that since unlike the others it ended outside the walls, it would be useless for intruders. We... underestimated Greyback's craftiness," Dumbledore explained.
"Yes, everyone underestimated him, and we now see the result." Jean was starting to get angry, until she felt her husband's hand on his shoulder.
"Jean, please calm down. Nothing is gained by raking the Headmaster over the coals," Ian told his wife.
"Yes... Sorry, being about to become a mother again is making me overly protective," Jean sighed while sitting back down, feeling that pregnancy hormones were doing a number on her temper.
"If it helps, there is plenty of blame for that oversight to go around. Not only the Headmaster, but also Moody, Remus, McGonagall and myself knew of that tunnel and all of us thought it would be useless for Greyback," Sirius admitted.
There was some silence at that revelation. The fact that multiple people knew of the passage and all of them had felt it couldn't be used to get into the castle indeed spoke less of arrogance of a single person and more of simply being incapable of being able to imagine how it still could be used as such.
"All right, but the tunnel alone still doesn't explain what happened," Molly Weasley said stiffly, fearing that if she let her emotions out she would cause a scene.
"As far as we can reconstruct, Greyback's pack broke into the Shrieking Shack and used the tunnel to travel under the Whomping Willow. From the remains of the willow it could be concluded they killed it with axes, then doused in combustible fuel for non-magical vehicles and set it ablaze as a distraction," Dumbledore explained.
"Uhm, Sir?" Neville right then asked. "Why was the Shrieking Shack burning as well?"
"As far as we know they also poured fuel into the tunnel. It flowed down the slope back into the cellar of the house. The flames went down the tunnel and set the house ablaze. The house has burnt down and the ruin has to be demolished," Dumbledore answered the question. "Using the distraction, they scaled the wall with the help of stolen grappling hooks to enter the castle proper."
"And that was when I discovered them with the map?" Harry asked.
"That you did. You saved many lives with your quick thinking and have proven you are using that map responsibly," Dumbledore said, making no secret he'd had his doubts about Sirius giving Harry such a thing which easily could be used to violate the privacy of others.
Harry blushed a little. "I only did what's right. It's not such a big feat..."
Veronica sighed. "Harry, there is humility and there is making yourself smaller then you are. Please don't try to play down how important you were in preventing a disaster."
"Mate, she's got a point. Just accept it that without you we probably wouldn't be sitting here right now," Ron told Harry.
Harry knew Ron could be incredibly blunt at times, but in this case it was a good thing. "If you put it this way..."
"Your common room overrun by werewolves... That must have been traumatic for all of you," Alice Longbottom said, holding her son a bit closer at the thought.
Ginny shook her head when hearing that. "Surprisingly, it was way less scary than what happened in the chamber; I think nothing can top that one. The werewolves were something we could defend ourselves against and we were not alone."
"Still, so much death and blood..." Luna looked paler than she already was naturally. "It is only natural we will have nightmares about this. Just think about how many students now can see the Thestrals."
"We all know. Things will not return to normal after this. We will be there for you... like any good parent would," Pandora Lovegood said, holding her daughter closer.
"Sir, what about the other houses? No one told us how bad they were hit," Hermione asked, worrying due to how hard Gryffindor had been hit.
"In Hufflepuff and Slytherin the upper years defended their houses together with teachers. They suffered injuries, yes, but only a single student got infected. As for Ravenclaw... Professor Flitwick all on his own repelled the attack, though he right now is too exhausted to give us more details," Dumbledore explained what happened in the other three houses.
"All on his own...?" Ginny had trouble to imagine the normally jovial Flitwick being such a fearsome opponent.
Thomas meanwhile looked quite impressed at that feat. "That teacher of yours must be a special kind of awesome, especially when considering how physically unassuming he is."
"Many people underestimate Filius due to his short height, which can be a costly error." It was at that moment that McGonagall entered the office. "Minerva, any news you can give us?"
McGonagall tried to hide how tired she was. "Hogsmeade is overrun with reporters, I've heard that Minister Fudge is pushing Scrimgeour to allow him entrance to the castle despite him not being a parent to a student and we have found the Fat Lady. She fled into the portrait of Catweazle and he is constantly telling her to let go of him."
"Impressive that she managed to break his silence of almost thousand years..." Dumbledore remarked, knowing of the portrait in question. "However, Cornelius has to wait, as right now the situation is way too delicate."
"And I have to warn you, Albus - a few parents told me they will remove their children from Hogwarts and arrange for private tutors. It's right now only three or four students, but expect that number to grow a bit over the following days," McGonagall warned the Headmaster.
"That was to be expected," Dumbledore said, looking a bit defeated. "I have to ask this. In light of what happened, does any of you harbour the wish to pull your children out of Hogwarts? I would not blame you for doing so."
The parents looked a bit conflicted, realizing that what Dumbledore asked didn't come out of nowhere. Some parents would only see what happened this night and say 'yes' without further thought. However, they were well-aware of how that was not such a clear-cut case. There were other factors at work as well, which did speak against removing their children from Hogwarts.
Finally, Arthur was by quiet vote selected to speak for them. "We talked about it once already. Despite today's horrible events, the children would be in more danger if pulled from the school. That Greyback actually managed to break in was something so unexpected we honestly can't hold it against the school."
"This gives me some relief. After all the attention they already got, Hogwarts despite what happened today still is the best place for them to spend most of the year." Dumbledore then looked over the children. "However, there is one more point that at the moment is of interest to me - namely how the six of you removed the intruders from Gryffindor tower."
All six of them looked to be at a loss. "No idea. Each time one of the others touched my wand, the Patronus grew and it looked like another one got stapled onto it. I just thought that after there's a shield spell that can combine power, it could work here as well."
"Well, it did look quite insane with six heads and almost two dozen legs," Ron added, finding the whole thing quite memorable.
"The only unusual thing that happened to us today before we did that was that we felt a bit strange, like something was looming over us," Neville added, remembering the strange feeling all of them had felt in the minutes before the attack.
Some quick looks were exchanged between Dumbledore, McGonagall and Sirius, before McGonagall spoke up. "Well, could you perhaps try to replicate your feat? It would be helpful for us to determine how you did it."
The six friends exchanged looks. "We can try, but we honestly have no idea how we did it," Harry offered.
Getting agreement, they did try. However, when they attempted to re-create their feat, the only thing that happened was that Harry's Patronus became brighter. "Strange, it did did exactly the same thing when Ginny held onto me before we touched wands. I wonder what this is about?" Harry asked.
"That perhaps is best determined by Professor Lupin." Dumbledore again exchanged looks with Sirius and McGonagall, hinting that they actually got good information from this. "Of course he will have troubles of his own. Not to speak of the infected students."
The reminder of the impending fallout from this night pulled down the mood.
to be continued...
Next Episode:
"Bloody Moon, Part II - Aftermath"
Notes:
Here the notes.
First, like I said at the top, after the next chapter the story will pause for four weeks before it will continue. I need the time to write further ahead, especially since year 4 is quite different from the canon one. Meaning after Chapter 37 at February 19th, Chapter 38 will be released at March 19th.
I sincerely hope that I showed how horrifying an attack on Hogwarts by werewolves should be. The damage caused by it - especially due to Greyback actually wanting to cause as much as possible - is immense. While our protagonists escaped injury, several students did get infected and a number of Aurors died in the line of duty. I hope Greyback's plan was good enough - I worked hard on that - and basically without Harry to spoil it, it would have been a massacre. He still had achieved something else - a consolation prize - which is shown in the next chapter.
In case you wonder, the other houses got attacked by less werewolves, thus why the teachers managed to defend them (in two houses together with the oldest students). Greyback's group against Gryffindor was the biggest and thus also caused the most damage.
Finally we do see more hints what the Chosen Six are about. I hope you don't mind that the build-up is slow, but I really want to keep the suspense. Also, the prophecy has come true with the three canines clashing (the adults in the know did share meaningful looks).
The aftermath of the attack is quite long, thus why this is a two-parter. There will be various consequences to what happened in that night.