A/N Thank you for the lovely reviews. It was been a while but I am determined to have this story finished! I hope you all enjoy the latest instalment.
The emergency meeting to the Hall was something no one who was there would forget easily.
The students filed in solemnly and stood row by row waiting for whatever instructions or punishment would be given. The Carrows had their usual evil grins plastered on their faces. Florence took her usual spot next to Minerva and Flitwick – no one had the energy to smile at the other and instead faced the students, hoping their presence was enough for the students to fill even a bit more comfortable.
It was later said that Severus played his role in this moment. Not a soul would've suspected him as being anything but loyal to Voldemort. He took his usual blank expression and ignored the glares from both students and some of the staff.
As the last students were filed in, he addressed the hall: ""Many of you are surely wondering why I have summoned you at this hour. It's came to my attention that earlier this evening Harry Potter was sighted in Hogsmeade. Now... should anyone, student or staff, attempt to aid Mr Potter, they will be punished in a manner consistent with the severity of their transgression. Furthermore, any person found to have knowledge of these events, who fails to come forward, will be treated as equally guilty. No one?"
A pin could be heard in the hall. Students did not dare to look at each other and continued to blankly stare at the front of the hall.
Severus inched forward and readdressed the students, "If anyone in here has any knowledge of Mr Potter's movements this evening I invite them to step forward. Now."
There was a sudden shuffle of movement in the back of the hall and a buzz of chatter emerged which took Severus by surprise.
"It's Harry!" Minerva hissed at Florence.
"It seems, despite your exhaustive defensive strategies, you still have a bit of a security problem, Headmaster. How dare you stand where he stood! Tell them how it happened that night. How you looked him in the eye, a man who trusted you, and killed him."
The buzz of chatter became louder and louder and the Carrows shot curse after curse at Harry. Florence was pleased to see members of the Order stand by Harry and block the curses, "Come on Snape, get him!" Alecto hissed at Severus.
Severus reluctantly lifted his wand, internally hoping someone would come and take Harry's place. Minerva rushed forward, "Don't you dare! You'll have to get through me, Severus."
There was a moment of hesitation before Severus throw the first spell which Minerva defended quickly. Florence watched in anticipation as Severus held back his true potential, there was no way he honestly wanted to fight Minerva, the woman who became his maternal figure.
The fight was short lived and Severus had subtly rebounded a number of curses at the Carrows were crumpled on the stone floor. Once he felt he could do no more he Apparated away, folds of black material crashed through the glass, leaving the school in the hands of Minerva.
The eyes of thousands of students were fixed upon Minerva, "Those who want to fight, stay. Those who are not trustworthy, can the Order escort the Slytherins and the like back to the dungeons."
Minerva turned her attention to Florence. The once kind warmth had vanished and was replaced by a stern steely glare, "Are you going to remain here and defend the Castle and Harry? Or are you too going to vanish?"
Harry was now standing beside Minerva, the now familiar look of distrust painted on his face, "I want to stay and fight! I have been trapped here with everyone else. Dumbledore's Army can testify my loyalty. Merlin knows I've done a lot to protect them from the Carrows."
Harry glanced over to Ginny who nodded in confirmation, "She stays, Professor."
Florence sighed in relief, "What do you need me to do, Minerva?"
Within twenty minutes Florence, the Order and the most advanced students had cast charm after charm to shield the castle from the upcoming attack. There wasn't a speck of the castle which had not been checked and the Weasley twins had been important in this due to their vast knowledge of every nook and cranny.
Harry had planned his next move and had quickly told Minerva his plan and ran off with Hermione and Ron. Florence had wanted to tell him to be wary of anything relating to meeting Voldemort, however, he'd ran off before she had the chance.
Remus and Tonks.
Florence mentally planned to ensure they would not leave her sight. If she was going to do something important it would be making sure she could save the lives of them and Severus.
Kingsley had taken charge of organising the placement of defence around the castle and Florence made a beeline to him. Give me Harry Potter. A distorted voice echoed and snarled in Florence's head. She quickly held her wand out, ready to attack whoever had spoken. She looked wildly around, expecting the owner of the voice to appear, but they did not. It seemed the voice was appearing in everyone's heads as several the students started to scream in panic.
"It is agreed we will not hand Harry over," Kingsley stated with the Order nodding in unanimous agreement, "defences need to be split up around the key points in the castle. Our main agenda is to hold back attack for as long as we can. We will be outnumbered; however, I am sure we can hold them back for a while. Enough for Harry to do what he needs to do."
Florence had managed to position herself with Remus and Tonks, and she was determined to stop their early deaths. She had made sure she would be the first in the line of fire and Tonks and Remus had some shielding.
The vast sea of black could be observed from the great height of the Astrology tower and it was a daunting sight. Voldemort's propaganda had be relatively successful and Florence was adamant a number of Slytherins had escaped early on to join the Death Eaters. It was a sad thought but with the Carrows presence it was inevitable.
"Here we go!" Tonks whispered as a sudden jet of light hit the shield and slowly disintegrated it, "Harry must have destroyed another Horcrux, because he is pissed." Remus chuckled softly at his wife's words.
"Always eloquent, my love."
Tonks smiled back, "You know me well!"
It was not long before Death Eaters on broomsticks appeared and the battle began. Florence was able to defend and throw enough curses to keep back any form of attack. Remus was able to charm gargoyles to attack the wizards on broomsticks and Tonks worked to shield part of the tower from ground attack.
"We're doing well! Let's keep at it," Remus roared out, motivating the group to keep going.
There was a lull in the fight, giving them a chance to catch their breath, "This is near impossible," Florence gasped, wiping sweat from her forehead.
"You-Know-Who's fed them with so much anger and fear they're half mad," Remus said, "they'll rather die than be seen as a traitor to the cause."
Something made Florence turn around, a feeling that caused her stomach to tighten, and she caught sight of a Death Eater climbing over the edge of the Tower, his wand ejecting a deadly green light, "no, no, no!" Florence hissed. She charmed a large stone to quickly slam into the wizard's hand, a sickening crunch confirmed his hand had broken, and she pushed Tonks out of the way of the curse.
She ran to the edge of the tower and watched as the wizard fell to his death, a small thud could be heard, and she closed her eyes in respect. As she opened them, she frowned as the swarm that had been making their way to the tower was now moving the Great Hall, "I think the action is now taking place elsewhere. They must've broken the defences."
The group fought their way through the battle to the Great Hall. Centaurs, acromantula, thestrals and giants were all playing their part. The amount of death and destruction was stomach churning and relentless. The only thing Florence was pleased about was she had managed to change the fate of her two friends. Their deaths at the tower had been prevented and they were now safer in the outskirts of the ground battle. Just as Florence was about the turn to Tonks, her body went numb and she fell to the ground, unable to scream or speak.
"My sweet daughter, I feared our reunion was short-lived. I'm glad I was wrong," a cold voice whispered in her ear, "the thing is, everyone has their own battle here, no one will sacrifice themselves for you. After all, your loyalty can always be called to question."
He reversed his curse and kicked her, "Get up. You say I will die, however, it seems as if you were wrong."
Florence struggled to her feet, she could see Tonks and Remus were in their own battle, wisely fighting back-to-back. They could see she was in trouble, but as her father said, they were in their own fight.
She smiled, "I haven't been wrong yet!" She threw the first curse, causing him to fall backwards. He quickly jumped up and thew spell after spell which Florence was able to rebound with ease.
"Duro," Florence cast, her father turned to stone and Florence approached him, freeing his face, "Why did you betray my mother?"
"I had no choice. I made my allegiances and she refused to help me. Greater power will come from the Dark Lord. You have no idea what can come from him! You should've followed me when I offered you the opportunity. Even you husband knows better."
"Your wrong. The Dark Lord will get what he wants and then abandon and destroy you. You gave up the only person who loved you, for what? A hopeless dream." Florence pulled back her wand and the stone man shattered.
The Hall fell silent once more as the distorted voice of Voldemort filled the air, "You have one hour. Pay respect to your dead. Give me Harry Potter."
The Death Eaters vanished with that command and all that was left was the standing fighters and the injured and dead on the ground.
Molly Weasley had followed Tonks and Remus to the Hall where the dead had begun to be moved and she let out a hallowing scream as she collapsed onto a red-headed body. Fred. Florence's heart tightened as memories of the eager fun-loving boy ran through her head. He had been a joy to teach, and watch grow up. Wasted promise for the fight of a power-hungry monster.
The Order scanned the castle for the hour for any more injured or dead and the job was a thankless task. There were more dead than injured and it took more trips to move the dead in the makeshift morgue than to the temporary Hospital Wing.
Just as Florence had sat down for Poppy to clean her wounds, Voldemort's voice once again filled the Hall.
"Harry Potter is dead!"