It's battle time
Harry had sent a message to the Badgers and Serpents to meet him near the grand staircase entrance that evening and now was waiting for them with Susan at his side. These days, Susan never left his side unless there was no other option. When they all reported, she was attached to him at the hip. In fact, they were kissing quite passionately when the badgers and the serpents found them.
"If you two need some time to yourselves, we can always come back later", said Hannah who had Neville with her, "and please get a room."
They both immediately let go and Susan turned to Hannah, "Did you have to ruin my moment?"
Daphne grinned, "Forgive her Susie. She's grumpy because Longbottom is an idiot." (Everyone ignored Neville's blushing). She turned to Harry, "Did you call us here to watch you snog the daylights out of Susan?"
Harry wrinkled his nose, "Don't be so crass, Daph. I called you here to take you to your new training grounds."
Neville asked curiously, "Where in this castle is such a place that I don't already know about?"
Harry smirked, "You'll see."
He led them to the door which was hidden behind a tapestry and showed it to them, "When it's time for our training sessions, I will be here to take you in. The door cannot be revealed to any of you in any other way and only I can open it."
With that he led them in and they walked into the chamber. Since the chamber was dark, they were following him with their wands lit. When they reached the chamber, he waved his wand and all the torches in the dungeon lit up making them gasp in surprise.
Everyone looked around in awe and wonder for a few minutes before Susan found her voice, "What is this place, Harry?"
Harry spread his arms wide to indicate the entire room and said grandly, "Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets".
There were many gasps from among the crowd and even some shocked voices. Finally Daphne asked, "Is this all there is to the chamber?"
Harry nodded, "This is it. What you see is the chamber."
One of the Slytherins at the back of the crowd asked, "You said there was a basilisk carcass in here. What did you do with it?"
Harry smirked, "Where do you think those suits of armour came from that I gifted to you? They are made of basilisk hide. I obtained them after having rendered the beast for useful components."
After a moment, he said, "let me go and collect the claws and lions now while you make preparations to ambush them. But remember this shall be a non-lethal spells battle. If I see someone firing so much as a bone-breaker, they will be out of here before they can say a word."
As he left, he doused all the torches in the chamber, leaving them in pitch black darkness except for their wand-lights.
When he arrived at the door behind the wall on the 2nd floor, he knew they were all gathered near where he had asked them to meet. As the wall melted in front of him to reveal the hidden staircase and the doorway, there were cries of shock, gasps of wonder and some even jumped back in fright.
Hermione asked him, "Harry, how did you do this? Has this way been here since ever? Where does it lead to? How do you know about it? How does it become visible?"
With a look from Harry, Ron caught her hand and murmured in her ear which made her go quiet as everyone was grinning at her in amusement. Harry opened the door and turned to them, "Form two lines and start going down. Be warned, that at the end of the staircase, there is an ambush waiting for you. A mock battle, if you will. In a chamber which is dark at the moment. Non-lethal spells only. Those who are hit will be out of it. We will see how it goes."
They immediately formed two lines with Terry taking the head of the boy's line while Mandy took the girls. The twins were in the middle, looking for the formation and ensuring that none of them were straying. They were also to tell the plan for battle, if they had one. Ron and Hermione brought up the rear. The only person who stayed out of line was Ginny.
As they all went through the doorway, she caught Harry's hand and asked anxiously, "We aren't going there, are we?"
Harry suddenly realised why she was anxious. The chamber was a place of half remembered nightmares for her. It might trigger some trauma for her. He internally chastised himself for not thinking about it sooner but there was nothing for it now. He turned to her and said sombrely, "I know you might not want to ever visit that place again, Ginny but it is the only place I can think of where we can practice right now. Rest assured that the chamber has been transformed from what it was at that time. There are no remains of the Basilisk. If you see it once and still want to leave, I myself will escort you back to the Gryffindor Common Room."
She reluctantly agreed and they went down the staircase. They were all gathered at the end of the stairs while Ron explained his strategy, "first, a group of 4 will enter using solaris as they go in. The sudden light should dazzle their vision and reveal their positions. Before they have a chance to adjust, we should be able to get through the door and hit most of them with the first wave of spells. Formation Alpha. Go in pairs. One shields while one casts hexes and jinxes creatively. That is the only way that we can get to them."
Before they could enter, Harry spoke up, "I am not participating in this battle. I am going to see if anyone is cheating. If anyone is then I will call them out on it."
They nodded and Harry melted into the shadows at the back of the crowd. Unknown to them, as soon as he went into the shadows, he disapparated.
Harry was getting frustrated. The battle had gone on for about half an hour. Almost half of them were dead. They simply couldn't think on their feet. The four who entered first had done well with temporarily blinding the puffs and serpents but things when downhill from there. The students had spread out through the entire length and breadth of the chamber which meant that not all of them were blinded by the solaris. When the rest of the Lions and Claws came in, fumbling in the dark, the serpents and badgers let them become used to the darkness. After about a minute, they turned the lights on and half the lions and claws were down with the first volley. From there it went back and forth. They formed pairs of two and one would cast while the other would defend. This strategy was good but for those who knew each other's moves. Harry could see that each had a distinct style and that they mismatched at times because they were not in tune with each other.
When the dead were counted, it was half their strength. If it were a real battle, it would have been a devastating blow. After everyone had been enervated, Harry stood at the head of the crowd, "Okay. Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets. This is the fabled chamber all around you. There are four entrances to it but the most known one has been sealed by Professor Dumbledore forever so that no one can enter that way. One is my private entrance and is guarded by some nasty jinxes and hexes which only I can overcome. The third is located where the Slytherins and the Hufflepuffs entered. The fourth entrance is on the second floor where the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws met me. Now, as you see, I staged a battle between all of you. This was to test what you would do when you do not get to make strategies but have to run headfirst into a battle. As I have seen, most of you have no experience with fighting in pairs. I have seen pairs which can fight together as if they are one in body and mind. They know each other's spells and moves. They don't even need to say out loud what needs to be done. For example in the battle in the atrium, I remember the General and Lady Longbottom fighting together with their backs to each other. Lady Longbottom defended them from any attack which came at them while Lord Longbottom blasted away their enemies. If any dared to come close or somehow evaded him then they died at Lady Longbottom's hands. That is how good I want you to be. Your reflexes should be so quick that your foe doesn't have the time to realise before he is disarmed or dead."
Colin asked him, "Will you show us what that looks like? The 'doesn't have the time to realise' bit?"
Harry nodded, "Alright. Three of you come and face me while the others stay back."
Colin, Rupert and Gwendolyn stepped forward. Harry looked at each of them straight in the eye and said, "Start when you are ready."
He saw the barest of movements from Gwendolyn and his wand was out in an instant. Before she knew, her wand was flying out of her hand. Rupert had his wand out but the incantation died on his lips as a filppendo hex flipped him quite a few times before he fell hard on the ground landing on his butt. Colin had sent a stunner at Harry but Harry waved it aside and before Colin could fire another spell, he found himself hanging upside down, his wand out of his hand.
When he was done, everyone was looking at him with awe. It seemed that he could do whatever he wanted with them. As they were still marvelling at the feat, he called names from among those gathered, "Hermione, Ron, Terry, Mandy, Neville, Fred and George, Daphne and Conrad, you are to help the students find their perfect partners. When they are matched, you will divide yourselves into 2 teams of 5 each and help them tune to each other. In your turn, you all will be helped by others. Now set to it."
Since everyone was to do it, Harry walked to Susan, "You my lady are saddled with me."
She fluttered her eye lashes, "And that is the way it should be, my charming prince."
The aim of this manoeuvre was to help the students know how to fight with a partner. This practice went for half an hour before Harry called a halt to it, "Alright everyone, that was good practice. We will practice it again next time to make sure that you know what to do in a particular situation or how you can work together."
The tale of failures
The Dark Lord was presiding over a meeting of his inner circle. He had insisted that Snape be present at the meeting. He had a few things that he wanted to ask. The first and foremost thing on his mind was the Order of the Snow Leopard. They had snatched certain victory from his followers quite a few times. No one was certain how that happened. If not for them, Bella would still be alive with Mulciber. They were also responsible for the failure of the ambush in Cardiff. The 10 who had been killed in the attack at Longbottom manor would have been saved or perhaps killed at least one of the Longbottoms.
He began in his high, cruel voice. "Severus, I hope that you know the identities of the members of this Order of the Snow Leopard which has been a thorn in our side recently", he inquired.
Severus gathered his thoughts for a moment before he said, "My lord, their identities are a matter of Ministry secrecy. General Longbottom has it secured under the Official Secrets Act and The War Act. Anyone divulging them would be punished as a traitor. The only person who can be sure of their identities is only the General. Under the present circumstances, I have not learned who they are."
Malfoy, who was still not back to his former state of health and looked very frail and pale, said, "The Daily Prophet has suggested that students of Hogwarts are members of this order."
Severus drawled, "And of course The Daily Prophet has another reporter lying around somewhere who can transform into a bug and spy for them!" He turned to Voldemort then, "My Lord, my information comes from Dumbledore himself who is not happy with this order intervening everywhere and taking so many lives. The problem is that many of the ministry officials are against him at the moment and would not agree with something that he wishes."
Malfoy tried to interrupt again, "But the Aurors..."
Voldemort glared at him, "You dare question the veracity of information that Severus brings to us at mortal peril to himself, Lucius? The Old fool always knows everything that is going on so it is reasonable that what Severus told is the truth. What else do we know about this order?"
"My lord, this Order came out of nowhere one night to foil our raid at Bones Manor. Since then, they have always appeared at some ambush or other. It is widely believed that the members of this Order were responsible for killing Bellatrix and Mulciber Sr. They were also supposed to be present at the battle at Hogsmead but they didn't turn up."
He digested the information that was being given to him before turning to Rookwood, "What can you tell me about their numbers?"
Rookwood said uncertainly, "I have heard different accounts. It appears that they have more than 2 members. Mostly the same 2 have been seen at every attack but at times, there were more of them. They were quite able to keep your forces at bay and they did when they could."
Voldemort was lost in thought. This new Order was an unknown entity. It may contain 10 members or 100. Its members may be British or foreigners. Also they had no compunctions about killing. Their moral compass wasn't hinged like Dumbledore and they knew their priorities. To end this Order, they would need to know the identities of its members.
He turned to Severus again, "What are they planning?"
"From what I learnt in a meeting, the General has stepped up the training of his forces and they are being told to kill. I have heard that Alastor Moody was put in charge of making sure that they are able to do what is asked of them."
That was an idea which amused Voldemort. Since he had taken this mantel, the wizarding world had feared even his name. Parents used to scare their children with his name. To think that the sheep of the wizarding world would fear nothing was something that felt strange. He decided to test their mettle. Before that he needed to spread some terror and regain some of the old respect.
He turned to Macnair, "What of the Dementors? Where are they?"
"My Lord, the dementors have returned to Azkaban fortress where they are awaiting your orders. Once ordered, they will do your bidding."
Voldemort spoke coldly while his eyes danced with malevolence, "Send them in. Tell them I want them to attack Hampstead and kill as many as they can. Wizards or muggles, it does not matter. I want death to dance in the streets."
It was decided that Macnair would let the Dementors have free rein in Hampstead but Voldemort had told him to report only to him about the date of the attack. He figured there was a spy in the order. To evade him, it was necessary that any communication between them was kept away from the ears of everyone except for those who needed to know.
Three days later
Harry was having a brutal practice session with his Quidditch team. They had been working for more than two hours yet Angelina was nowhere near being in the mood to bring it to an end. The twins had been grumbling yet they kept playing for none of them wanted to incur her wrath. For that matter, Harry was not very fond of getting told off by her.
Ron had been having the hardest of it. His brothers had decided that perhaps having the keeper retired would end the practice session sooner so they had sent quite a few Bludgers his way. He had been caught twice and had left practice about 15 minutes ago after hhe begged-off to go and work on some essays.
The chasers had been alternating their turns and they worked perfectly as a team. They had been able to get a decent number of goals past the keeper but many more had been stopped.
The beaters had been having fun. Their job was the easiest so they targeted anyone they liked. The chasers had a hard time navigating through the Bludgers which were flying around the pitch.
Harry had been looking for the snitch whenever Angelina released it but other than that there was nothing for him to do. For the last ten minutes, he had been playing keeper. It was a tough job but it had the thrill of flying however Harry knew he wasn't meant for it. In general, he had been perfectly happy with his practice so far. If he kept playing at this level, there would be no problem for him in the match and the scouts would definitely notice him though he knew Puddlemere would be looking to bag him before anyone else could. Having the world's best seeker and the boy-who-lived would be like a dream come true for them.
Telling Angelina that he had some errands to run, he dismounted from his broom when a patronus (a bear) flew up to him and spoke in Neville's voice, "Dementor attack in Hampstead. Meet me at the gates."
It took only a minute for Harry to fly to his dorm, trade his Quidditch robes and borrowed Keeper's pads for his battle armour and fly out to the gates. Neville, Ron and Hermione with Susan had been waiting at the gates where they saw him, flying toward them with his forehead pressing against his broom handle, pushing for it's greatest speed. In a single fluid motion, he pulled the broom to a screeching halt, leapt to the ground beside them and pocketed the now miniscule broom in his robes. He asked Neville quickly, "How are we getting there?"
Neville held out a rope to him, "This is our portkey. Hold on to it and we'll be going."
After a minute, they felt the familiar tug behind their navels and they were off.
Dementors demented
The group appeared in a side-lane in Hampstead which was dark. As they all found firm footing, they were up with their wands out but there was nothing before them. Harry frowned, "Did the portkey bring us to the wrong place?"
Hermione shook her head, "No, we're in the right place. This is Hampstead alright. This is where I grew up. There's the library just across the road where I used to get books to read."
Susan was talking to Harry, "Then where are the dementors? Even if their attack was over, there should be some signs."
At that moment, they could see the sky in the distance being lit up with the ethereal glow of a patronus which was huge. It took the form of a wolf before sputtering out. Harry ran in that direction shouting over his shoulder, "Follow me."
They all took it at a run and arrived at the square where the attack was happening. It was a scene from a post- apocalyptic world. There were muggles lying in the streets, vehicles upturned or run into the side of buildings and Dementors all over the place. A pram was rolling down the street. Harry summoned it to him to keep it out of harm's way. To his horror, the child in the pram had already lost his soul. Rage started building in Harry. He had to clamp down hard on his mental shields to keep his head clear.
A quick glance revealed that a team of 20 wizards were all over the place. They were trying to cast the patronus charm to repel the dementors but they were not being very effective. The chilling desperation of losing all hope and joy was all about them. Harry recognised Remus, Sirius, Nymphadora and Moody among them. Perhaps the members of the Order of the Phoenix were present with the Ministry and trying to control them but they were failing miserably.
As he watched, one of the dementors reached into a car to a child. Its rotting skeletal hands grabbing forcing the child's mouth open, preparing to administer the kiss. Anger reared up in Harry's eyes and he levelled his wand forward and roared, "Pitradev Sanrakshanam".
The mighty snow leopard burst out of his wand and ran towards the Dementor head-butting it so hard that it went sprawling. That also attracted the attention of others toward him. As a flock of the wretched creatures floated towards him, words of a witch came to his mind, "We don't use the patronus spell Harry. We kill them."
He raised his wand above his head and turned to his friends, "As soon as you see me kill the first dementor, conjure your patroni. Ron, you go to Sirius and tell him to ask everyone to do the same. Conjure patroni and remain around me. While I am doing what I need to do, I need them to keep their patroni around me. Is that clear?"
As soon as Ron ran towards Sirius, Harry motioned for his friends to step back. Raising his wand above his head, he started moving it in a circular motion while incanting at the top of his voice. As the incantation was finished, he loudly cried again, "Danav Sanharak Kshanprabha Aavhanam (Demon Slayer Kshanprabha, I summon you)."
Suddenly his wand started vibrating loudly but he held tightly onto it. It looked like he would pass out as his face turned white with exertion but before it could happen, lightning flashed in the sky and it descended on his wand taking the shape of a serrated blade made of lightning.
The dementors who had been flying at him sensed something was wrong but it was too late. By then, as the first Dementor was almost upon him, the others had their patroni out. He was the only one they could have gone to and here they were. Harry lunged upon the dementor instead of waiting for it to cover the gap between them and the blade passed through the dementor like a hot knife goes through butter. It burst apart with a muffled sound. Harry however was not waiting. He had again swung his sword and a tendril of lightning burst forth snaring another one. The dementor could not do anything before it was impaled upon the blade and existed no more.
From then it was a blood bath. The dementors could not help but be drawn to the blade or dragged to it. They tried to swarm him once or twice but the patroni kept him safe. Whenever one got too near without being killed, it would be chased away by a wild cat, a Jack Russell terrier, a bear, an otter, a dog or a wolf.
It went on for about 10 minutes during which almost 100 dementors who had come on this foolhardy mission were destroyed. At one time, they had sought to fly away but the tendrils of lightning bound them in their place until Harry could finish them off.
Finally as the last Dementor was dead, the sword disappeared abruptly and Harry's hand went limp with the wand clattering to the ground. Susan picked it up and pocketed it to return to him later. Sirius caught him as he could see that Harry had been swaying dangerously on his feet. He asked, "Are you all right son?"
Harry didn't even have the energy to speak properly. He wheezed, "Tired. Too exhausting. Didn't even tell me this could happen."
Tonks, who looked like she had left her jaw on the pavement asked him, "Is there anything that you can't kill?"
Moody growled, "Leave him be, Tonks. The lad saved a lot of muggles." He then turned to Harry, "Alright there, Peverell?" But Harry did not answer.
Just then pops were heard and many others started apparating in starting with Arthur who was followed by Bill and Charlie. Frank came next with Alice and Amelia came with ten more Aurors and all they found were a group of wizards and far too many muggles whose souls were taken by the dementors.
Alice rushed to them, "Are you both fine?"
Neville answered, "We are fine mother. Just a dementor attack."
Amelia was talking to Susan, "How did you come to be here, Susie? What happened here?"
Susan couldn't speak what had happened. It was something she had never even heard about. Also the patronus spell had taken its toll on her. She was trying not to show it but she was frightfully pale and feeling weak in her knees. She just managed to hold on, "I don't know what happened, Auntie. I mean we were fighting dementors for a moment and just out of nowhere Harry started killing them."
Frank asked incredulously, "Killing them? You mean driving them off don't you?"
Sirius, who was now levitating Harry's limp form on a stretcher, proudly replied, "No. Killing them. Harry killed all of them. I saw it happen with my own eyes yet I still have trouble believing it."
Moody who had been calling for the clean-up crew, an obliviating squad and the members of the Department for Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures walked up to him, "Aye General. Saw it happen with my own eyes. The lad was something killing those fiends."
Before Frank could ask why Harry was unconscious, Ron and Hermione who were being fussed over by Arthur and Bill, swayed on their feet and crumbled. Susan and Neville followed suit soon making Alice and Amelia cry in dismay. Harry, well Harry had gone to sleep as soon as Sirius had caught him.
Frank turned to Sirius, "What happened to them, Sirius?"
"I believe that they have all fainted due to exhaustion caused by the patronus spells, Frank", said Dumbledore who had come up sometime during the conversation. He continued, "If you don't need them for anything at the moment, I will be happy to take them to Hogwarts infirmary where they will be kept for the night."
Frank readily agreed. Albus left with Arthur supporting Ronald, Bill supporting Hermione, Alice having Neville and Emmeline taking charge of Susan. Amelia wanted to go but she knew Susan was not in immediate danger. Due to her duty as the head of the DMLE, she had to stay here. A lot of muggles were worse than dead and the General needed all the help he could get.
As the students were led away, Frank turned to his Aurors, "Whatever passed here this night should not be told to anyone especially about Lord Peverell's Dementor slaying abilities. If a word of it goes out, I swear by Merlin that I will throw the might of the ministry against that person."
Frank never threatened anyone so his threat had the desired effect. The Aurors and everyone at that place swore an oath to not say a word about it. As they were dismissed, Frank had Moody and Amelia stay back.
After raising a privacy ward about them, he turned to them, "I want a report of this attack by morning tomorrow on my desk. I want the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to find where the Dementors are hiding as of now. If Harry can kill them then we should be done with that threat before we take on Tom Riddle for the final battle. Amelia you are to see that the department finds their position within the next week and then Alastor, it will be your duty to prepare for an all out attack on them. And no, you will not be leading this attack."
As they both nodded, he continued, "I also want the department to tell me about how many Dementors resided at the Azkaban Island before it fell and how many have died. We won't want to miscalculate and be assured from their side."
As they nodded, he dismissed them and left for the office of the muggle Prime Minister. Frank hated to be the bearer of bad news but there was nothing that he could do except fighting back and people died in wars.
Hogwarts
The students were brought to the Hospital wing straight away. Since they were in no mortal danger, there had been no need to raise the alarm yet Dumbledore found Hagrid and Vikram waiting for them at the gates when they appeared.
As they appeared, Vikram rushed forward, "Albus, what happened?"
Dumbledore looked at him keenly as if trying to decipher his secrets by merely gazing at him, "Please report to my office as soon as I am done taking these students here to the infirmary. They ran into a dementor attack in Hampstead. They are exhausted from trying to chase them away."
He nodded, "As you say, headmaster."
When they finally reached the infirmary, Poppy Pomfrey was not there. Sirius after having laid Harry into the bed named after him, went up to her office's door, "Poppy, we need you."
The door opened a moment later and Madam Pomfrey stepped out, her left hand on her hip and her wand twirling in her right hand. She gave a cross look to Sirius making him shudder, "have you hurt yourself again, idiot boy?"
Dumbledore diffused the tension before it escalated, "Poppy, it isn't Sirius who needs your attention. These students (he gestured to those who were sleeping in their beds) were in a Dementor attack. They have exhausted themselves with the effort of chasing them away."
Madam Pomfrey looked at the said students and said resignedly, "The usual ones. Can't stay out of trouble, can they?"
She went on to examine them and found nothing wrong with any of them except severe magical exhaustion. She enervated them one by one and administered large amounts of chocolate which they washed down with rejuvenating draught followed by sleep potion. She however faltered when she came upon Susan and turned to Dumbledore, "Headmaster, her magical energy is almost spent. It looks like she has been involved in heavy spell practice despite having been cautioned about it. I fear I will have to keep her here for the next full week."
In fact, Susan had come very close to dying of magical exhaustion that night because she hadn't yet fully recovered from the injury she sustained in the last battle. The regimen of potion had been over for more than a week but she had been cautioned against over-exerting herself. Contrary to that, she kept doing it and as a result, she ended up in the infirmary again.
Madam Pomfrey diagnosed Harry at last and the result had her lips trembling. Albus noticed this and asked her, "What happened, Poppy? Is everything alright with Harry?"
She turned to him and said in a shaky voice, "Headmaster, my readings suggest that he used too much of his magic within a matter of minutes and he was exhausted due to the rapid consumption of his energy. If he had kept that barrage up, he would have gone into a Magical Coma again. He will need complete rest about 4 days before he will feel up to his previous strength again. I am not going to let him out of the hospital wing until then."
Dumbledore nodded, "if you must, keep them as your guests for as long as you please".
Unknown Castle
Voldemort was overseeing the training of his men. The German was unorthodox but effective. He was teaching them to last in combat and how to gain an advantage over their enemies. Stealth was something that his followers had never learnt and he was teaching them to be stealthy. One important thing that he had done was to sort out those who knew some advanced curses in one group while sorting others in a group who knew the basic curses. Since then, he had divided them into two and had the Lestrange brothers look over the training of those who were acquainted with the basic curses.
He knew that his followers were inept because Hogwarts could not find someone who was competent enough to teach the students. Since Dumbledore had denied him what he saw as rightfully his, he had cursed that position so that no one else could keep it. He had tied the longevity of the curse to his life and as long as he lived, the curse would remain active. No teacher that the old fool had found had lasted for more than a year. Some died rather horribly; some had their whole life's reputations in tatters and one even turned out to be a werewolf.
He also had the time to think about the blood war. It was an idiotic decision if Voldemort himself said so. Blood wars ended only after blood had been spilt and it was something that the light valued. He knew that others may think that Harold Peverell would be leading them but he knew the truth. They were being led by Dumbledore and the General. While the General was a man of such a disposition that he would not fear to make blood spill but Dumbledore valued such things. Furthermore, the boy had no means to carry out his proclamation of the blood war. He was powerful enough and he had students who knew how to fight but they could not be as brutal as his own followers were. Harold Peverell had sealed his doom and that of others who were foolish enough to stand by him in his proclamation of the blood war.
Today his mind was fixated upon the Dementors. Macnair had told him that this was the day the Dementors were going to carry out his orders. He eagerly waited for some good news that the Dementors had again established the terror of his name among the sheep of the wizarding world. A few visits to prominent wizarding families in person would fully restore it to its previous state.
He was fidgeting because the Dementors were supposed to have returned by now. They had been asked to wreck enough havoc to have the ministry running and then to return to the Island. May be the fiends got carried away and forgot to do as he asked. No matter, Macnair would make sure that they knew what happened to those who crossed him.
Suddenly he felt the wards chime, signalling someone's arrival in the castle. He straightened in his seat and waited for the newcomer to come and find him. As it turned out, it was Severus Snape who had come to make his report to Voldemort, "My Lord, I bring news.".
Voldemort said, "What news do you bring, Severus?"
"My Lord, the old fool had me in his office. He told me about the dementor attack", said Snape slowly and with enough apprehension in his voice.
Voldemort drawled, "I guess he knows about the attack by now. What was he agitated about?"
"My lord, he told me that the ministry had killed the Dementors who were sent to attack Hampstead", said Snape simply and left it there for Voldemort to hear and ponder about.
"Killed!", Voldemort exclaimed loudly, "How can they kill dementors? Who can have this skill?"
Severus shook his head, "My lord, I have no information about these things but he indeed told me that the General had sworn everyone to silence about it. No one who was there can speak about it without risking their lives."
"Leave me, Severus. Go and find Macnair and send him to me. We need to do something and do it fast", he ordered curtly.
As Severus left, Voldemort contemplated on what he had just heard. Someone had killed all the Dementors that he had sent. He had never heard of anyone killing dementors before, but if it existed then it was all the more reason for him to keep the remaining creatures safe. Macnair had shown good judgment when he sent only 100 Dementors. They would divide the rest of them, keeping half at the Azkaban island while the rest will be harboured somewhere that the ministry can't reach them. His only consolation from the situation would be to see how many muggles had been left soulless before the dementors were destroyed.
For now, he needed to make some house calls and see if people were amenable to bend their knee before him or see their head rolling in the mud. He was partial to either of the treatments.
Headmaster's office
Vikram, as he was asked, entered Dumbledore's office, "You called me, headmaster?"
Dumbledore pointed him to a seat across from him, "I believe you know why I have called you here?"
Vikram nodded, "Of course I know. You are interested about the dementor slaying spell. Aren't you?"
Dumbledore nodded, "Yes, I am. It would be a handy spell if everyone knew it. Then we wouldn't have to fear them."
Vikram shook his head as he chuckled, "Albus, I am not at liberty to teach anyone that spell. However there are a few things I can tell you about it. The spell is of such a variety that it can be cast only by someone as powerful as Harry, you, Neville or likewise. You can cast it as well as Mr. Longbottom can but there are so many more who simply lack the power to perform it. For any average witch or wizard, it will make them pass out before they are able to even summon it. The spell actually conjures a sword of lightning which can kill dementors but it requires great power to be able to hold on to the sword and as such, it puts a great drain on anyone's magic. You heard what Madam Pomfrey said about it. Harry's magical core is perhaps bigger than everyone in Wizarding Britain right now but even he was drained in a few minutes. Think of how much energy it requires to cast a fully corporeal patronus and then multiply it by 10 times. That is what it requires to keep the sword going. Dementors are irresistibly drawn to it. If there are several dementors about, then one has to have many wizards about him who can cast a patronus without passing out from the effort to save him if anything goes horribly wrong. I hope you get the picture now."
Albus sighed, "I guess it was wistful thinking after all. Can you perform the spell?"
Vikram shook his head, "Barely. I did it once and kept it going for a full minute. Thereafter I spent the next week in bed passed out due to exhaustion. In fact Lord Harsh does not allow this spell to be taught to everyone. To think he allowed it means he has complete faith in Harry and his abilities. The only ones that I know can cast this spell successfully are Lord Harsh and two other mystics whose primary work is to train other recruits. Fortunately we never had too many run-ins with Dementors over the years."
Hogwarts
Next morning, the students were dismayed to find that neither Harry nor Neville turned up for their morning running session. For that matter, not even Ron, Hermione or Susan were there either. This puzzled them greatly but it puzzled Hannah most who was the one that had to answer questions from the students.
As they all gathered beside the lake for the morning run, she stood firm before them and addressed them thus, "I don't know where the others are but we will continue doing what we have been. I believe they are running some errands so they are not here. For this morning, Fred and George will oversee our morning runs and make sure that it is not lacking in any way."
The twins selected Daphne, Hannah, Terry and Mandy to help them. That morning practice was different because the twins kept using prank spells on the students. Those who were caught were deemed to be out and had to start again. One of the pranks would make a person turn red, another would have them grow antlers, and another would have them become invisible and so on. This went on for an hour during which the students felt that they had been tested in different ways than usual.
As soon as they were gathered for breakfast, Daphne cornered Hannah, "Out with it, Abbott. Where are they?"
Hannah's lips quivered, "I don't know Daphne. Neville told me that they were going to take care of some urgent business and that it might take time for them to return. We will know more once we have visited the headmaster."
Daphne nodded, "Alright. We are going to talk to him as soon as we are done with breakfast."
Since most of their group was absent, people were sitting according to their preference for breakfast. Hannah was at the Hufflepuff table with Daphne when Astoria slipped into the seat beside her elder sister, "Worried about Harry, Daph?"
Daphne's head snapped up, "What do you know, midget?"
Astoria smirked, "Oh they are in the hospital wing. Shelly Burton from Ravenclaw saw them this morning as she was being released from her care."
Daphne asked her hungrily, "Did she tell why they were there?"
Astoria shook her head, "Shelly is too much of a coward to approach them. You know that group scares us little children. I mean so much power walking together can intimidate anyone."
Daphne nodded, "You will get your price for your information, Tori. Now leave us in peace so that we can have some breakfast."
Astoria grumbled, "no one values little sisters anymore."
The owls had started arriving by then and a tawny owl landed in front of Daphne. She placed a couple of bronze knuts in the pouch attached to the owl's leg and retrieved the paper. There was a big story splashed across the front page that got her attention:
"Dementors Destroyed in Hampstead
This headline may shock some of our readers. Others may think it is an early April Fools joke but we assure you, this is real. Late last night, the ministry issued a press release.
An undisclosed number of the fiendish creatures known as dementors perpetrated an attack on the muggle citizens of Hampstead last evening. By the time Ministry Aurors arrived, 30 muggles, including women and children were already worse than dead. The attack known as The Dementor's Kiss had left them bereft of their souls.
Ministry forces acted quickly, using the Patronis charm to drive the fiends away from the muggles. They were being overwhelmed by the Dementor's superior numbers when The Order of the Snow Leopard appeared on the scene.
As our regular readers know, the Order of the Snow leopard, with the notable exception of the attack at Hogsmead, have shown up in the nick of time to thwart many recent death eater attacks. One of the Aurors, on the condition of anonymity, said, 'They just arrived out of nowhere like they always do and started killing Dementors left and right. One of them kept killing them one after another while the rest of the team shielded him.'
To our woe, no concrete evidence as to the identities of the members of this order has come forth as of yet. This reporter tried to contact the ministry but the General remained unavailable for comment. The question still remains as to whether the Order of the Snow Leopard isn't a band of future dark wizards who will prove to be more dangerous than Tom Riddle also known as Lord Voldemort."
Daphne's eyes were ready to bulge out of their sockets yet she kept her calm as she turned to Hannah, "Well, We're just going to have to go see them now."
Hannah agreed, "Yes, an absolute must."
Infirmary
In the infirmary, Dumbledore was talking to Madam Pomfrey, "Why are they still asleep, Poppy? If not Harry and Susan, the others should have been up and about by now."
Madam Pomfrey looked smug, "Oh, they would be awake by now alright if I hadn't shoved extra strong doses of sleeping potion down their throats. These students whine a lot and I don't want to face a bunch of whiners until I have some breakfast in me."
Dumbledore chuckled, "If you will, please enervate them now?"
Within minutes they were all up but Madam Pomfrey made them remain in their beds while she went over each one with her wand, checking them. When she found that everything was all right with them, she turned to Dumbledore, "Headmaster, Miss Granger and Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Weasley are free to go though they must not over-exert themselves for the next two days. Mr. Peverell and Mess Bones will have to remain here until I say so."
Harry advised her from his bed, "please let me go too, Madam Pomfrey. I'm concerned that if you don't, my friends will turn this place into King's cross station."
She turned to him and smirked, "Oh I would love to see them try to get past my barrier at the door to the infirmary."
Dumbledore, understanding the gravity of the situation, said, "Poppy, if you can let Harry go, I promise he will not over-exert himself. There are a lot of things which cannot be done without him. I promise he will come in twice a day for check-ups."
Poppy got a mulish expression but couldn't go against the word of Dumbledore. She voiced her concerns to the Headmaster, "When I say that he is dangerously magically exhausted, I mean it." She turned to Harry, "No spell work until I clear you. You don't want to spend another week here in a magical coma." She addressed Dumbledore again, "I'll let him go on your word, Headmaster. But, if he does any spell work or fails to report in, I hold you responsible."
Harry piped up, "really, Madam Pomfrey, I still feel too weary to lift a wand. Besides, I will spend my every spare minute here, so long as you hold a certain strawberry blonde ransom."
That made the others laugh. Susan blushed deep red knowing he was alluding to her.
Daphne and Hannah had reached the hospital wing by then and Albus left saying, "I will leave you to meet with your friends for now, Harry. Come to my office this evening."
A/N- I have been thinking that despite being connected through a story for last 1 year, we all know nothing about each other. So I am willing to know more about you all, my friends.
as for myself, I am Yatharth from U.P., India.
