Ministry of Magic
It had been a long night since the Dementor attack. As requested, the report was on his desk when the General arrived at work in the morning. It was clearly marked Top Secret, Minister's Eyes Only. Frank tapped the seal on the parchment with his wand and the scroll unfurled for him. He scanned down the document rapidly, reviewing it. After he was done reviewing it, he scrawled a hasty memo. He reviewed the memo once, then tapping it with his wand it folded itself into a paper aeroplane and went winging off to find the Head Auror. While he waited for Master Auror Moody to answer his summons, he scanned the headlines of the morning edition of The Daily Prophet.
It didn't take long for the grizzled veteran to show up. The Master Auror let himself in and stood at ease before the General's desk. Minister Longbottom promptly placed the partially read newspaper to one side and picked up the report his right-hand-man had sent him. He looked up from the report before he said, "Alastor, thanks for coming so quickly. Won't you please close the door and take a seat?"
Moody nodded, "Yes sir." In the twinkling of an eye, the door was closed and Moody pulled up a chair before the desk of his commander in chief.
The general began, "I have read your report, of course. I want you to tell me in your own words, what happened here?"
Moody stared at a spot just above and to the left of General Longbottom's shoulder as he recited, "30 muggles lost their lives before help could reach them minister. As you know, not all of our Aurors are proficient at casting the Patronus charm so many were having trouble until the Order of the Phoenix turned up with its members. They tried to control the fiends. The lad arrived with a number of his friends when our combined forces were barely able to contain the Dementors. I have no idea who sent for him."
The General nodded, "That was me. I sent my elf to Neville to inform him and Harry. I understand that young Master Peverell repelled a force of about 100 Dementors two years ago. He's come a long way since then. It's hard to admit, but we needed his help." He made contact with Moody's beady natural eye, the disconcerting, bright-blue, magical eye was revolving slowly, scanning the area for who knows what, "Now tell me about the Dementor slaying."
Moody hesitated, making a nod towards the door. The general, guessing at his meaning said confidently, "You needn't concern yourself. I have seen to the privacy wards personally."
Moody nodded his head firmly in approval before he answered, "I don't know about the spell, Minister. I've never seen anything like it. My best guess is that it's some arcane magic that has not been seen in this land in living memory." As he began to describe it, Moody became animated, "When the lad cast it, the evening sky lit up for a moment. Then a bolt of lightning cracked that came to rest on his wand, in the shape of a serrated blade. Then a lot of things happened all at once. Everyone around him cast their Patronus charms, the Dementors seemed to be irresistibly drawn to the blade. The blade seemed to act of its own accord, slaying any Dementor that came within its reach. Every Dementor that made contact with the spell burst and vanished. If the things tried to rush the lad in a mass, his friends used their Patronus charms to only let one or two come close. The ones who were permitted in met their fate. We joined in to prevent the Dementors from swarming and overcoming the lad's friends. In what seemed to me to be a few moments, them soul-sucking monsters were all destroyed. I have a feeling that this spell was created for just that purpose."
Frank took a moment to re-read a paragraph of the report in his hand before he looked up and asked, "Do you think there's any chance we can persuade him to teach us that spell?"
Moody shook his head, "The lad was in no condition to talk after the battle, sir. Since then, I've received a report from Dumbledore. Not only is the lad sworn to secrecy, but there are only a handful of wizards in the world who can keep that spell going for any length of time without passing out from the effort. Even if the lad could teach it to us, none of us could use it. Even the lad could only keep it going for a few minutes before he passed out from exhaustion."
The Unknown Castle
Macnair entered the castle at a shambling run. He fell at Voldemort's feet, "My lord, they have killed the Dementors."
Voldemort drawled, "I would punish you for bringing such news to my ears, but I have already received this news. You are late with your information, Macnair. I know they are killed. I can guess what they will try to do next. My folly that I played this card too soon. But worry not for this will instil the fear of me in their hearts yet again. You have a job to do, Macnair."
Macnair bowed very low to him, "I am yours to command, my lord."
Hospital wing, Hogwarts
Harry was sitting at Susan's bedside. She was still confined to bed and he was talking to her in a very low voice so as not to disturb the third year with a broken arm in a bed on the other side of the room. The student wasn't even trying to be discrete but was straining hard to hear every word of what was being said.
"Harry, why do you think I am getting exhausted so quickly?", she asked him worriedly.
"Sue, I'm no healer but it seems to me that the problem is that you have over-exerted yourself often since your discharge from the hospital wing after the battle of Hogsmead. I know you have been practicing 'til you drop despite having been told not to do so. Wounds and such may be cured within days but some injuries that don't show can take a lot longer. You were not doing yourself any favours by running yourself into the ground every night", he admonished her.
She blushed, "I didn't think you were going to find out about that. I was worried that I was not doing my best so I over-exerted myself at times." She looked Harry in the eye earnestly, "I promise it was the last time. I will abide by Madame Pomfrey's instructions from now on."
Harry clasped one of her hands in his and said, "Sue, know this that I love you. I don't see life for me without you. If something were to happen to you, I won't be able to bear the pain. Please don't do anything that would endanger you again or I promise that I will put you in a full body bind and never release you."
Headmaster's office
After the obligatory fussing over him, Madame Pomfrey decided to let Harry out of the Infirmary. Physically, there was nothing wrong with him. But, she gave him a strict charge for no wand work for at least two days or he would answer to her for it. With Susan being an inmate there, Harry was taking every minute that he wasn't in class to be there anyway. After dinner, as requested by the Headmaster, he made his way up to Dumbledore's office.
Albus was in conversation with Frank, Moody, Amelia, Sirius and Remus when Harry entered.
Albus pointed towards one of the vacant seats and waited for Frank to speak. Frank after making sure that Harry was seated started talking, "I assume you know Harry that about 30 muggles lost their lives in Hampstead last night. We have a task ahead for you but I want to make sure that you are feeling up to it before I can ask."
Harry nodded, "I won't be casting any spells for a couple of days, General, but otherwise, I'm fine. Please do go on."
Frank nodded, "Harry, I had set the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures on the Dementor's trail and they found them at the Azkaban Island. As per their reckoning, there must be about 100 Dementors at the Island and you killed about 100 of them last evening. The Department is certain that there were more than 300 Dementors at Azkaban before the break-in occurred. Their numbers have likely increased since then."
Harry asked him, "So, what you're saying is that there are over 100 dementors unaccounted for? What do you think happened to them?"
Albus took up the narrative, "Based on certain information that I have, it appears that after you slew so many of them, Tom had the rest of them divided and moved half of them to a secret location. Or worse, it is a very real possibility that he set them loose all over Wizarding Britain. If that has happened, the muggles don't even know how much danger they're in."
Harry nodded gravely, "So what can I do about it?"
Frank answered, "For now, we cannot do anything about the ones that are at some secret location. For those who remain at the Azkaban Island, however, we can kill them so that he won't have them on his side in the final battle. For any that are out in the open, the wizarding patrols will force them to return to the Island."
Harry nodded, "Are you asking me to go and kill all of them?"
Frank shrugged, "Unless you can think of a better way, yes. All the rest of us can do is drive them and herd them and, when faced with actual Dementors, many of us can't even do that. If you are not feeling up to it then you can always refuse."
Harry nodded, "Of course, General, I will do it but it is very risky. I will need help from you to reduce that risk as much as possible."
Frank nodded, "Yes, what do you need?"
"I will need as many Aurors as you can provide who are effective with the Patronus spell. I want only those around me who can do it and not falter. They must do as I ask them and not ask me questions."
Frank nodded, "Alright. Whom do you have in mind?"
Harry thought for a few minutes before he said, "From the Ministry I want Master Auror Moody, Nymphadora, Kingsley, Robards and Sirius. I also need Remus, Neville, Daphne Greengrass, Ron and Hermione. I would also welcome as many more as you or Master Auror Moody can recommend."
Albus asked him, "My boy, what about Susan?"
Harry shook his head, "She is still recovering from a fatal illness. When she tested her strength in the face of 100 Dementors, she wound up confined to a bed. I want her to be at her full strength before I will let her in a battle with me."
Amelia nodded, "Very thoughtful, Harry. But do you think Susie will allow you to go by yourself and not interfere?"
Harry looked at her warily, "Auntie, we don't need to tell her. She is in the Hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey can keep her there for a few more days. By the time she hears about it, the battle will be over."
Frank nodded, "Agreed. Now when should we do this?"
"Four days from now, General. I need that time to find some answers to a few problems and I'll want to be at my full strength in any event."
The Chamber of Secrets
That evening there was another battle being staged. This time they were given time to strategize before they were to attack. The lions and the serpents were one team. The badgers and claws were on the other team. Hannah, Ernie, Terry and Mandy were the leaders of the claws and badgers while the twins and Daphne and Conrad were the leaders of the lions and serpents. None of those who had participated in the Dementor battle were allowed because they were still recovering. They were not to over-exert themselves and Harry for one wasn't going to ignore Madam Pomfrey's warning.
The battle was more about learning team work, to know each other's moves than to learn to be more effective together. They could fight but they couldn't fight in pairs which was necessary. The Aurors always insisted upon this policy among themselves. They always went in pairs where they knew their roles, their plans and everything that they needed to do.
The battle was entirely non-lethal but whoever was hit could not be enervated or get up again to take part in the war. This was to teach them the thing about battles and if someone's partner died, they had to fight by themselves. Those who died during the battle would have to run extra laps the next day at the lake.
The twins decided on a simple strategy. They assigned pairs and they would engage the members of the opposite team. They won't attack first but wait for them to make the first strike. They would subsequently choose their targets and engage them in battle. Once they won, they could move on to others.
The battle was one-sided from the start but there were problems. The proposed partners didn't know what their partner's favourite spells or who was to cast and who would defend. They also didn't know what to do when a spell came at them so many of them fell to such mistakes but there were some who showed some skill at this. The twins for instance were working as a well oiled unit and they both attacked when possible otherwise one would defend while another would attack. This went on for half an hour and Harry pronounced himself satisfied. He then set them to practice the piercing hex.
Most of them had been fairly accomplished at casting it but the trouble was that they could not hit the intended target every time. The hex was great but opposed to other spells it needed pin-point precision which others lacked. With practice, they were coming along. After about half an hour, he sent them to their dorms and then said to the chamber in general, "Come out Professor."
Vikram materialised out of thin air, "You have got them training hard Harry. Since the start of this year, they are hard to recognise now."
Harry grimly nodded, "Yes, They're coming along. And in exchange for this, they have paid with their innocence. Most of them are being forced to grow up too fast."
Vikram nodded, "That is war to you, Harry. However I noticed you didn't include yourself among them when you said they are growing too fast."
Harry smiled sadly, "I grew up when I was still a child, Professor."
Vikram decided to dissipate the tension, "So Harry, what did you wanted to talk about?"
"Professor I have tried the demon slaying spell before. I kept the sword going for some time. But yesterday, I was exhausted in 10 minutes. Do you know why?"
Vikram explained patiently, "Showing that spell or just practicing it is demanding enough but when you use it then everything that it does is done by your magic. As much as extravagant the display is, the more exhaustive it would be."
Harry shook his head, "Then what can I do so that I won't collapse in the middle of a battle, Professor?"
"You can consume a vial of pepper-up potion before you go into a battle against the Dementors. And if you have been in battle already and then you are going against them half-exhausted then you should have a vial of rejuvenation draught on you. That will prevent you from collapsing against them. But I must warn you. It is magical exhaustion. Even though you remain conscious, you will reach a point where you will not be able to cast any spell. What's more, you could do permanent harm to yourself. Better to retreat while you can. Keep a portkey handy."
The Dark Lord's messenger
Mr. Welter was a half blood who was a lesser name in the ministry. In fact if you asked someone about him, they would tell you that they didn't know any Mr. Welter but he in fact did exist. He was a man of tiny disposition, wispy hair and beady mean looking eyes. He however was far from mean and he worked in the department of magical transportation. He had worked under Madam Edgecombe before she was put under the imperious curse and taken to St. Mungo's. His work mostly had been to supervise the construction of ministry portkeys and to monitor their pathways. When a vacancy suddenly arose in the department, the head of the DMLE, Madam Bones had put him in charge. His ancestors had immigrated to England about 3 generations ago and became a part of the local wizarding populace though he had never asked his father about his origins. They had little in the way of gold or estate so it was clear that they had been poor when they arrived. His father Welter Sr. had worked hard and now they owned a decent cottage in one of the suburbs where the wizards lived in little communities. For him the war which had started blowing in full proportion meant nothing. He was a lowly ministry worker with no talent at curses or hexes so neither side would have wanted him. His house had the most minimal of protections which could be broken down by anyone and nobody had tried to do so yet.
He had a wife whom he had married after he had been just out of Hogwarts and for 2 decades now, they had earnestly tried for a child yet they weren't successful. The healers at St. Mungo's had told him that his wife, Leila can't conceive. They were happy with each other and never complained about this fact to anyone but lived their days in peace. If there was anyone that he loved, it was Leila.
This evening as he left his office and reached his home, he could see that the front door to his house was unlocked. This made him alert because Leila never failed to lock the door when he was not home. For all the good it would do, he pulled out his wand and carefully stepped inside. He failed to notice that the wards did not chime as they usually did when he arrived home. In fact, the wards no longer existed. As he turned on the lights, it was a nightmare before him.
The body of their Keanzle Mr. Puffstein was lying on the floor, quite dead and unmoving. The sofa was upturned, the table was blown to bits, the curtains were splattered with blood and in the middle of the room sat a man he knew from the wanted posters. This man was Augustus Rookwood, one of the Knight's of the dark lord Voldemort, flanked by two death eaters. Leila was on the ground near him, her face cruelly gashed down one side, her long tresses clutched cruelly in one of the guard's fist. His first concern had been for Leila but the wands pointed at him stopped him. He could see her chest moving up and down and was satisfied that she was at least alive.
"Oh Mr. Welter, we have been waiting for you for an hour", said Rookwood while grinning in such a way that his pockmarked face turned more hideous.
"What do you want?", Welter growled, "What have you done to my wife?"
"Oh we haven't done anything to her… yet", he replied, "We were just having tea while we waited for you." He nudged her prone form in the ribs with the toe of his boot.
The moan that escaped his wife's lips drew him to his wife's side, the wand forgotten still in his hand, "What do you want?", Welter snarled, while taking a step towards them.
Rookwood shook his finger, "I wouldn't do that, Mr. Welter. My men will kill her before you can move another inch."
As Welter halted in his place, Rookwood started speaking, "the Dark Lord has honoured you. He has sent me here, Mr. Welter. He wanted to come himself to ask a little service of you but I convinced him that you won't need persuading by him. I hope I have judged you correctly."
As Welter didn't speak, Rookwood continued, "As you know, the Dark Lord has lost some of his men during the recent raids. To break the morale of your ministry, we need to get to the officials of the ministry who have been leading this campaign against us. Our problem is the wards that protect the homes of the more influential families. We can't get past them unless we are ready to fight a bloody battle and bring a battering ram to tear them down. So, to solve our predicament we need another way into those houses, the floo address for instance? This is where your department comes in."
Welter stuttered, "I-I-I W-won't! I-I-I C-can't! Y-y-you can't make me!" His wand began to spark in his hand and his mind was going a mile a minute. The death eaters with the floo addresses of every ministry official! That was a terrible thought. How could he summon help? He was sure they had put a disapparition ward around his place. He couldn't cast the Patronus charm. The death eaters were standing between him and the floo. Even if he managed to send off a distress signal, it would take minutes for help to arrive. What to do what to do? If he had the presence of mind to summon help from the ministry before he entered, it would have been a different story.
Rookwood grimaced, "You refuse the Dark Lord's gracious invitation?" He turned to his companion, "Please enervate the lady, lad and show Mr. Welter what can be the consequences for refusing such a modest request."
The younger man ruthlessly yanked her hair back as she whimpered. The sob from her mouth cut at his heart but he could do nothing. Her captor then cast a severing charm at her other cheek. He slowly and deliberately continued to select other places on her body and repeated until her blood seemed to fill her husband's entire vision.
Welter fell on his knees, crying, "No! Please stop! I'll do whatever you want. Please don't hurt her anymore."
His plan was to say whatever they wanted to make them go away, then to flee to the Ministry and get their help to go into hiding. But these death eaters were not led by a fool, as he was to learn shortly.
Augustus smirked, "I knew you would understand. Now, I want constant updates on the floo addresses for Harold Peverell, Sirius Black, the Bones family, Remus Lupin, the Longbottom family, Alastor Moody and Rufus Scrimgeour to begin with. Not only their floo addresses, but any and all details about their security: wards, surveillance, guards and such."
Welter's eyes widened at the audacity of the death eater, "Surely you must know that any one of those details is classified as Top Secret by the General's orders. I don't have them memorized. I'll have to go back to work, open classified files and look it all up."
He was hopeful that now that he had agreed, they would leave, however Rookwood hadn't finished speaking, "To keep you honest, we are taking your wife with us. If we find that you have betrayed us, she will die."
Welter lunged forward and fell on his knees again, "Please don't take her."
Rookwood laughed evilly and kicked him aside, "Do as we say and you may one day see her again."
Welter realised it would be futile to plead for any clemency and asked, "Would you at least let me hold my wife for once before you take her away?"
Rookwood agreed as if he found the idea amusing, "Of course. Since you can't disapparate away with her, I can allow this small concession."
Welter loved Leila. He would have done anything for her safety but now that he knew the death eaters intended to take her away and he would have to keep doing their bidding as long as they held her hostage, there was only one thing left for him to do. He absolutely would not give up anything that would compromise the General or anyone else who supported him, much less the young Lord Peverell, on the slim hope that he might one day see his dear wife again. Rookwood mistook the profound sadness in the man's eyes for resignation. He revelled in the smaller man's abject misery.
As he tenderly hugged his wife, ensconcing her in his embrace and she clutched to him tightly, hoping for him to protect her, he murmured in her ear, "I am sorry, love. Good bye, till we meet in the after-life."
Leila felt his wand poking her chest, wedged between them. Her eyes momentarily spread in panic and terror before she saw the pain in his eyes. Her face set in determination and she croaked, "Please, do it."
Rookwood realised what was happening a moment too late. He leapt forward, trying to seize Welter's wand arm yelling, "Stop him!"
The two goons jumped in and grabbed at the man. There was blood everywhere. Leila's lifeless body slumped to the floor. Welter hung limply in the grasp of the three men as his wand clattered to the floor. Just before his eyes rolled up, he managed to gasp, "Tom can go to hell."
The damage from the severing hexes was plain on both rapidly cooling bodies. These two were forever beyond the reach of the death eaters.
Cursing their luck, Rookwood ordered his men to leave. A moment later, the dark mark was hovering over Welter's residence trumpeting a death eater attack.
Hogwarts, Fourth Floor
Ron, Neville, Hermione and Daphne were in the meeting room, behind the mirror, on the 4th floor. Harry had invited them to hear some essential news.
"There is something I need to talk about. The evening after the Dementor attack I met the General in the Headmaster's office. He told me that there are more dementors out there and that we will need to end them before the final battle."
Daphne asked him, "Why? I mean why now? Why not during the battle?"
Hermione answered her, "I guess it is because of all of us fainting due to exhaustion? I mean I can still feel the exhaustion in my bones. If we were to meet them in final battle, it would mean that we run a risk of getting exhausted and not being able to participate in the war."
Harry nodded, "That is certainly part of it, Hermione. The fact is that we can only make an educated guess as to the extent of Voldemort's forces. Most of them are well hidden. In general, it is in our best interest to eliminate as many of his forces as we can before the final battle. Every soldier or resource that we can deny him improves our chances. In particular, if Voldemort were to let them loose, they would spread sadness, negativity and despair all around while breeding. The muggles would be helpless against them. They can't even see them, never mind having any way to resist them. They wouldn't even know what is happening."
Ron asked, "So what is the plan?"
"There is a large number of them on Azkaban Island. The General has asked us to go and finish them there."
Daphne exclaimed, "What! Go to Azkaban by ourselves?"
Harry shook his head, "No, we will have a number of Aurors with us who can cast the patronus charm. Together we make at least 10 and we will be able to handle them."
Daphne frowned, "How can we even kill them?"
Harry said grimly, "Leave that to me. Only take care that you follow my orders to the last word."
Neville asked him, "When do we leave?"
Harry replied, "We leave by portkey, just before dawn, in two days." Then, looking significantly at the others one by one, he said, "One more thing. Not even a hint of this reaches Susan or by Merlin, you'll answer to me for it. Am I understood?"
As one, they all nodded. Then Harry turned to Neville, "Just to be safe, I don't want you to mention it to Hannah either."
Neville began to open his mouth as if to protest, then stopped and instead he said, "You're right of course, Harry." Then he said to the other three, "Just to be really safe, I don't think that any of us should share this outside of this meeting."
When Harry nodded his assent, the rest readily agreed.
Unknown Castle
There had been one thing weighing heavily on Voldemort's mind. The Hogwarts students could fight. That threw a monkey-wrench into his plans. He of course didn't know how capable they were but he was certain that they would know a lot. His plans to take over the castle would be in serious jeopardy if they mounted an attack on Hogwarts only to find a superior force that could mow down all of them. He needed a spy among the students.
He raised his voice and loudly called, "Parkinson!"
Parkinson entered after a moment, "You called my lord?"
"Go and send Montague to me, Parkinson."
William Montague entered about a minute later, "How can I serve you, my lord?"
"Montague, I need a service of you", he drawled, "I hear that you are still on good terms with your family despite being in my service."
Montague, who couldn't believe that Voldemort personally wanted something from him, spoke with awe in his voice, "My lord, my family may outwardly condemn me but secretly, we have always strived to serve you to the best of our ability. Even now while they appear to be aligned against me, they seek ways to promote our cause. You are but to command us."
Voldemort knew what Montague was trying to do. In fact, he had done quite the same during his younger years. "I want you to go to them, William. There is something that you must do."
After Montague had been dismissed, Rookwood walked in, his robes covered in blood, looking disappointed. Voldemort surmised that Rookwood had failed in his task. His impulse would have been to punish Rookwood for this mistake at first but he didn't act on it. The way his followers were being killed on raids lately, Rookwood's safe return was good news.
He asked in what he considered to be his most benevolent tone, "I assume your bring me some bad tidings, Augustus?"
Rookwood hung his head, "Yes, my lord. The ministry worker we hoped to persuade to our side by abducting his wife is dead, by her side, by his own hand. He did that rather than have to betray the ministry to us."
Voldemort didn't believe it. He scanned his faithful servant for signs of deception, thinking that perhaps he had been clumsy and killed the target of his raid without obtaining what he was sent for. Although the man was hiding some guilt, what he found was mostly disbelief. This was new to Voldemort. In the past, this strategy had always worked. He wondered for a moment as to what would have prompted the man to take such a drastic step. However that was to ponder over later. He turned to Rookwood, "so, they are both dead. What did you get out of him before he died?"
Rookwood managed to look even more miserable, "Nothing of value, lord. He prattled on about having to access secret files at the ministry and top secret. When he agreed to do your bidding, we were going to take his wife away to ensure his continued cooperation. That was when he killed both of them with severing curses. My lord, I was too slow to stop him. We left the bodies where they fell. We placed the dark mark over their house before we left."
Voldemort smirked evilly, "That will do, Then Augustus. The appearance of my mark atop a wizarding house with two very messy deaths will send my message well enough. I am pleased with you."
Ministry of Magic
Amelia Bones looked up from her work as Moody entered her office. She gestured to a chair as she put her quill into its stand, "What do you have for me, Alastor?"
The old Auror looked grim as he began, "Yes, Ma'am. I got a report about a dark mark over Welter's house. Most of the time, it's already too late to do anything for anyone by the time we see the dark mark, but I took a small team with me just in case. I regret to inform you that Welter and his wife were both found dead. I'll spare you the grizzly details. They're all in my report anyway. The wards were down, destroyed by brute force as far as I know. The Welters were slain by severing curses. Mrs. Welter's body showed clear evidence that she had been tortured. Priori Incantatem showed that Welter cast the deadly curses himself. There was evidence that at least three people, likely all men, were there after the couple died. We found Leila's wand, broken, the pieces lying in a corner, far from her body. Welter's wand was under his body. We had to move him before we could find it."
"What!", she exclaimed loudly, "Welter wouldn't kill his wife. He absolutely adored her."
Moody let her finish her sentence then continued, "I can think of two reasons he could have done that: first, she had been tortured. He may have wanted to stop them from using her to control him. Second, he may have been under the Imperious Curse, the same as his predecessor. The former being much more likely."
Amelia frowned, "We don't know if Welter was compromised, Alastor. He was the acting Head of the Department of magical transportation. I would suppose that they were squeezing him for secrets of that department. Welter being honourable, chose to die rather than betray the ministry."
Alastor nodded, "It would appear that is what happened. Still, we must consider the possibility that the death eaters got what they wanted, then killed the Welters with his own wand. In that case, all of our floo addresses could be compromised."
That sobered Amelia up in a trice, "You're a paranoid son of a goblin, aren't you Alastor?"
Moody nodded proudly, "Yes Ma'am. That's why I'm still alive."
She smacked the parchment on her desk decisively, "I believe that Ramsay is in charge of the department of magical transportation while Madam Edgecombe is away. Please tell him to see me immediately when you pass his office on your way to the lift. I'll have to work out damage control with him before anyone gets hurt."
Amelia took her quill from the stand and began to work on the parchment again, but Alastor hadn't left. When she looked up again, he said, "And what do we tell the press about the Welters?"
Placing the quill back in the stand, she gestured at the parchment before her, "I was working on the press release when you came in. I'm writing about his heroic self-sacrifice. Even if that isn't what happened, it's how I want him to be remembered."
Hogwarts
Harry brooded over the grim headline on the front page of The Daily Prophet.
"Ministry Employee and wife found murdered at home
Yesterday evening, Aurors were dispatched to investigate a dark mark over the home of a ministry employee. When they arrived, they found the bodies of Mr. Welter of the department of magical transportation and his wife inside.
Mr. Welter was the acting head of the department while Madam Edgecombe is being treated for the effects of the Imperious Curse at St. Mungo's. Mr. Welter worked for the ministry in the department of magical transportation for 20 years and had a record free of any infractions against him.
The bodies showed signs of hexes and curses being used on them before they were killed and it is likely that they were tortured for ministry secrets.
While the ministry has been tightening security around Wizarding Britain, they forgot their own employees. Recently as many as 3 employees, all Department Heads I might add, were found to be imperioused by the death eaters and now we have one dead.
The pertinent question here is what will the ministry do about it?
In response to this incident, the DMLE has issued directions to every wizarding household to change their floo address. It is possible that the department of Magical Teleportation was compromised."
Harry sighed as he put the newspaper down. Hermione, who was sitting beside him at the Griffindor table, said, "Things are turning for the worse, it seems. First we had the dementor attacks just a couple of days ago and now this. Can't the ministry do something about them?"
It was Neville who answered, "The ministry has issued advisories and training to its employees about procedures to follow if they find something amiss around them. There are steps that have to be taken. For example, Mr. Welter should have had some good protections around his home. I remember meeting him once or twice. He didn't seem to be a man who cared much or knew things. I expect he had the basic protections around his house like everyone else but no serious ones. Even if there were any wards, they wouldn't have held forever. Secondly I think he was not at home when they came calling because otherwise, he would have tried to alert the ministry by floo before they got in. It is very likely that he rushed in instead of thinking things through. The concern for his wife's safety overruled his good judgement."
Hermione turned to Harry, "When do you think this will end, Harry?"
Harry gravely said, "This will not be over until Tom Riddle is dead and the last of his followers with him. We have set a deadline which cannot be rushed. The so-called final battle is still about a month away. Until then, this is a war of attrition. We must do everything we can to prepare, to train, to preserve our people, while at the same time eliminating his people and denying him resources at every opportunity. I expected him to attack muggles, even though they have nothing to do with it, just for the terror value. But if the death eaters are killing ministry employees then it is clear that they want to sow their fear in us."
Hannah asked, "Why are they asking us to change our floo address?"
Ron answered this question, "Welter was the acting head of the department of magical transportation. If the death eaters managed to get anything out of him before he died, changing our floo addresses would protect us by making that information useless. Most of us have wards around our homes, making a frontal assault difficult and time-consuming. Help is almost certain to arrive before they could penetrate them. Hearths, on the other hand, may not be so well defended. A surprise attack through the floo network has a much better chance of success."
Harry said, "Well I don't have to worry about it then. The townhouse is under a Fidelius and the floo is off the network. The Black Manor is also closed so they can't get in there. Other properties don't even have a working floo connection. The only place with a working floo connection is the cottage. I guess Sirius would have changed the address by now. I don't remember putting the Weasley Manor on the network either and Aunt Andromeda never had one installed. Moony had taken his off after the Greyback ambush."
Others nodded in assent that their floo connections would have already been changed by then. If not then they would be after their families read the news.
The Dark Lord Makes a House Call
Cyrus Greengrass returned to his manor, quite worried and not looking too happy. When Roxanne entered the parlour where they usually sat in the evenings, she found him with his head on the sofa and eyes closed, perhaps being in deep thought.
"Cyrus what happened?", she asked with a tone of worry in her voice.
He sighed deeply, "Nothing much, dear. I received a letter from death eaters today asking me to pledge my allegiance to them with the neutrals."
"WHAT!", she exclaimed loudly, "That is nothing much? Cyrus, its Voldemort we are talking about."
He tried to calm her down, "I know, love but I don't think he will come here. Even if he did, we have a way to get away before they would be able to break down the wards."
She was still worried, "But Cyrus, how can you be so calm?"
He chuckled lightly, "I am tense as a bow string, love. But there is nothing more that we can do. We have a plan to escape and we can do that at a moment's notice. The little non-descript cottage we have is being kept ready for just such an emergency, stocked with a month's supplies."
She nodded, though still worried, "But promise me that if he comes then you would not act foolishly and try to confront him."
He looked at her warily, "You know we never actively seek a conflict. I would much rather avoid it than face it unless we had no other way."
She smiled, "alright then. Freshen up and I will get you some hot dinner."
Before Cyrus could stand up from the sofa however, he stiffened and barked to her, "Run to the next room to the closet."
She asked him frantically, "What happened?"
"He is here", he said grimly, "They are launching an attack at the wards."
As they ran, he shouted, "Matty."
Matty his house-elf popped before him, "Master called?"
Cyrus said to him quickly, "Go to Dumbledore and inform him that death eaters and may be even Voldemort, are trying to break in. Then come back here and take the vanishing cabinet with you to join us at the cottage."
Cyrus ran to an inside room in his manor where they kept a Vanishing Cabinet. It had cost them a lot of galleons when he bought it but it was an investment which kept them safe in the last war.
As he entered the cabinet, Matty appeared in Dumbledore's office, "Mr. Dumbydorr, Master Greengrass is in trouble. The bad wizards are attacking."
Dumbledore was up from his chair in a moment, throwing a pinch of floo powder in the fireplace, "Office of the Head Auror, Ministry of Magic."
Moody's scarred face appeared in the fire, "Albus, what do you want?"
"Alastor, death eaters are attacking Greengrass manor. And I think that Voldemort is there too. Raise the order members and go to their aide."
As they left, he sent a Patronus to Harry and whistled for Fawkes. The phoenix appeared within a second. Catching hold of its tail, he was gone.
Harry was in the Chamber with Daphne, Ron, Hermione and Neville. Harry was coaching them on the Patronus charm when the phoenix patronus swooped in and spoke in the Headmaster's voice, "Death Eater attack at Greengrass Manor. Fawkes is coming to take you all there."
As they all scrambled to their feet, Fawkes appeared before them. Since there was not a moment to lose, they caught hold of its tail and were gone.
The death eaters were making a concerted effort to smash through the wards with Rookwood and Voldemort in the lead when Voldemort heard the pops of apparition in the distance. He barked orders promptly, "Macnair, take 10 of our men and engage the newcomers."
The Order of the Phoenix had arrived with Moody leading them followed by Kingsley, Sirius, Emmeline, Remus, Tonks, Amelia and Bill. Moody had sent for more Aurors and they were expected to arrive soon. There were about 30 death eaters who had come with Voldemort. At his order, 10 had detached themselves to fight the Order. The Order was outnumbered at the moment when suddenly Fawkes flashed and Dumbledore appeared.
Fawkes was gone immediately as the duels began. Albus was more intent on disabling as many as he could, while other members fought to maim or kill.
Moody blasted one away as soon as he saw them approach, then engaged Macnair himself. Macnair was skilled and deadly but Moody was no slouch. Every curse or hex that Macnair sent at him, Moody answered it with one of his own. His staff had put a shield up for him while he took shots at Macnair from behind it. Macnair was dodging what he could and shielding what he could not. He got a few fair chances to send his choice spells at Alastor but Moody was safe with the shield that he had raised.
Sirius and Emmeline took on 3 of them together. They stood side by side and cast at their enemies.
Emmeline shielded for them while he cast. He had already hit one of them with the same curse that had been Travers' demise. The other two were getting the pounding of their lives, just barely shielding everything. Sirius shared a look with Emmeline and dropping her shield, she started sending curses at them. Face with a double frontal assault, the death eaters were surprised at once when Sirius seized his chance. A well placed Bombarda took the head off of one of them. The last one remaining knew a split second of despair as his shield failed and the follow-up curse destroyed an assortment of his important internal organs.
Remus and Tonks were fighting a group of them and fighting them effectively. They had already killed two and two others were fighting for their lives with them. Bill was mostly intent on protecting Amelia who was fighting death eaters and killing one after another. She had been frustrated with sitting behind a desk while others went out to do the fighting. Now that she had a piece of the action, she was revelling in it. She wasn't staying back. She used the piercing hex with abandon and such was her aim that it always found her foe's heart. They tried to shield but she was faster than them.
Voldemort tried to keep his attention on breaking down the wards, sending more and more of his death eaters to battle the handful of wizards who opposed him, while holding back enough to guard him while he worked. He could plainly see that the wretches were handling his minions with ease. It was time to remind them why he was feared and he'd best do it quickly, before Ministry reinforcements could arrive.
He saw Dumbledore in the crowd and moved towards the old fool. Half of his problems would be solved if he could kill Dumbledore today and may be, he could do that. Dumbledore didn't look as fast and powerful as he had in years past.
Dumbledore spotted Voldemort coming towards him. Having transfigured a dead branch into a voracious beast, he sent it off to engage the death eater he was fighting against and moved forward to engage Voldemort.
It was then that Fawkes flashed in again with a series of pops going on about them. About 20 more Aurors had arrived on the scene with the General himself in the lead. As soon as Frank got his bearings, he roared, "Charge. Let none escape today."
Rookwood, who saw the commotion, knew they could not kill the Greengrasses today. They were at the last layers of the wards but it was already too late. They were suddenly outnumbered over-whelmingly. Remembering Voldemort's orders, he activated his portkey and was gone in a moment.
As soon as Harry arrived, he barked orders to his friends, "All of you, go inside and secure the manor. Daphne will lead you in. See if you can help in anyway. The Aurors are here and we don't need to get in their way."
Hermione asked him, "Where are you going?"
He grinned ferally, "I'm going to have a pleasant chat with my old friend Tom. We have some catching up to do."
They wanted to resist his order but he had drilled into them that they should follow what he said during a battle. There was not a moment to be lost. Skirting the battle and keeping in the shadows, they entered the manor.
Meanwhile Harry ran towards Tom. A death eater saw him and made the mistake of trying to stop him but a piercing hex from Madame Bones sent at him felled him.
The balance of the battle had shifted. The death eaters who remained standing were badly outnumbered. Three Aurors, who were perhaps too bold, had surrounded Voldemort and started casting at him. Voldemort, lashed out in anger with a curse which felled them instantly. Blood rushed into Harry's ears and he roared, "Tom, come and face me."
Voldemort turned to find him and smirked, "Harry Potter, come to die at my hands?"
As Harry ran towards him, Voldemort whipped his wand up and roared, "Crucio!"
Harry jigged ever so slightly without missing a step from the path of the curse while sending a curse of his own in return "Taditam!"
The lightning bolt flashed across the closing distance between them. Voldemort was in no mood to put up a mage shield. Abbadon had hammered it into him that using it too much would drain him quickly making him vulnerable.
To stop the curse from hitting him, he grabbed hold of one of his death eaters and used him as a human shield to take the curse. The bewildered death eater had no time to even realize what was happening before the lightning bolt hit him, killing him instantly.
Harry felt revulsion at the trick. Voldemort was now using his followers as human shields rather than to face him as a respectful wizard would. As the charred body of the death eater crumpled to the ground, Tom sent a wave of fire at Harry. Harry was slow to react and barely dodged as the fire singed the hair on his arms. He could feel the evil in that curse and knew that it was not an ordinary spell but something more sinister.
He hissed loudly and the ground around Voldemort erupted, forming a cage around him. Tom was surprised for a moment but the next moment, he sent a curse which dispersed the cage in an instant. Harry was already on his feet and roared, "Pinak!"
A black arrow erupted out of his wand and rushed at Voldemort who reluctantly raised a mage shield this time. As soon as the spell fizzled out, he dropped the shield and roared, "Fiendfyre!"
The malevolent fire rushed at Harry who had invoked one of his own to counter it. As they fought, the battle around them was winding down. About 10 Aurors were down from one cause or another. Bill had been hit with a bone breaker and a few Aurors were injured but other than that they had suffered no major casualties.
The students emerged from the manor as the battle was winding down. There was no one in the manor. Daphne had contacted her father through her elf who had returned promptly when he heard that his heiress was in the manor while a battle was raging outside it. When they came out, Harry and Tom were still engaged in the battle of wills.
As the snake faced fire and Snow Leopard shaped fire fought, others watched with bated breath. They could feel the tension, the heat and adrenaline rush. Slowly the leopard pushed back the snake faced fire and Voldemort ended the spell abruptly. Harry dispelled his fire as quickly and was already chanting something in an ancient language (It was not Sanskrit). Nothing seemed to happen for a moment but then the sky started to rain fire. It was something that he had once seen in Harsh's memories and had seen Ignotus doing it to a group of his enemies. Voldemort was dancing, trying to stay clear of the fire. The boy surprised him constantly. When they had last duelled, he had not shown so much variety in his casting but this time, he was showing off the extent of his powers.
For Harry's part, he was still using one wand and Voldemort seemed to have improved. For one, he was not making the mistake he made last time. He was being cunning too and was constantly thinking on his feet. He had been able to negate three of his most deadly spells and forced him to do this. As Harry watched Voldemort disapparated to appear at the edge of his vision to his right and banish an arrow at him. Harry flicked his wand and a shield appeared between him and the arrow. Before Voldemort could do anything more, Harry had picked a dagger out of his belt which he threw at Tom. This dagger was an ordinary one but sharp at the edges and it impaled itself in his flesh. Voldemort roared but did not take it out and throw it away carelessly. The dark lord of Austria had taught him this valuable lesson.
Applying a numbing charm to where the dagger had hit him, he started sending his bolts of fire at Harry. Harry would have tried to catch one on his wand point and transform it into his fire whip but with the hostility that it reeked off, he could not risk it. He knew that they could keep fighting for the whole night but the duel would yield no result. Voldemort was conserving his energy and they could keep fighting but to no avail. He decided to try an underhanded trick, something he wouldn't have known to do but Vari had told him. Vari had told him that Petrov, the vampire hunter was not a respectable mystic because he hunted his prey in a pack. The mystics always fought one on one but Petrov always fought to bring his enemy down. He never stopped to enjoy a duel but tended to end it as soon as he could. If they could capture Voldemort today, it would save them a lot of hassle.
He roared to people gathered around him, "Everyone fire your best curses at him. Let's capture him before he gets away."
Voldemort himself knew he was in a tight spot. He could use the parasite spell but it wouldn't change the outcome. He had no back up and the ministry could always summon more and more Aurors while he fought. Besides, it seemed like the brat could go on for hours before he would tire. There was only one course of action left to Voldemort. He would have to run.
It was all-out defence for the Dark Lord now. He shielded and dodged until there was an opening for him. When his one lucky moment came, he had his wits about him and he apparated away to appear behind them. The brat had already guessed his manoeuvre and as Voldemort appeared, a bone breaker struck him on the right shoulder. He hissed as his wand arm went numb. In the next moment, a Barrage of bone breakers struck him.
Suddenly, there was darkness all around, and someone grabbed him whispering, "I will take you out of here, my lord".
This someone apparated away with him as Voldemort passed out.
When the darkness dispelled, the scene revealed the ground littered with death eaters, the Aurors, some battered and bloodied but still standing and Harry, his wand out, glaring at the place where his nemesis had stood only a moment ago. The General was the first to find his voice, "Where did he go? Where did that darkness come from? I thought we had him."
It was Albus who answered, "I believe it was one of his men who risked his life to save their master. Someone who knew of the darkness and took advantage of the distraction it caused. I daresay that with all the damage we were able to do to him, Tom won't venture out again anytime soon."
It was then Frank turned to Harry, "that was one amazing battle, Harry!"
However, revelling in his win was the last thing on Harry's mind. "Did you see that?" he said as he pointed to the charred body of a death eater, lying on the ground. "He used that man as a human shield, rather than go to the bother of raising a mage shield! That is how much regard he has for human life. Even his own loyal followers. He's lower than scum!" Then he looked around the battle to the Aurors who had fallen in battle, "To many! Too many! This has to stop."
Frank nodded, "I know. It's a dark gloomy night for all of us. You return to the castle with your friends, Harry. I will see you all later."
Dumbledore took them away to appear outside the hospital wing. When Harry saw where they were, he sighed wearily, "Headmaster, I am not hurt. I don't need to be there."
Dumbledore chuckled, "I know you are not hurt, my boy. But a good night's rest without the distraction of your house mates will do you some good."
Harry nodded, "Are we still going to Azkaban tomorrow?"
Dumbledore said uncertainly, "The final decision is with the General. If you are not feeling up to the task tomorrow by reason of fatigue, we can always reschedule."
Harry shook his head vehemently, "No Headmaster. That coward hardly warmed me up tonight. I'll be fine. As far as I'm concerned, we will proceed."
While his friends left for their houses, he walked into the Hospital wing to find Susan on her bed in the infirmary. When she had been brought in, she had insisted on being assigned to the bed next to the one named for him. Harry climbed into his bed and passed out instantly.
A/N- a big rant coming. I have seen a lot of fanfics where the writer bashes up every good character or makes some very weird storyline which makes no sense or they would just throw in every random thing that they can think of yet people flock to their fanfics. I have seen how people revel in Jilly bashing or how they put Snape and Lilly together. I have even seen some where Harry or Hermione are meant as the prize for the slytherins for their redemption arcs which cannot happen unless you are modelling them in your own light. These fics aren't even as detailed and as rich I try to make mine yet I keep waiting for follows or favourites or reviews.
Now that the rant is done, a quick question. How many of you people want me to take this fanfic to the end? I mean with the little interest it is generation, it is a genuine questions which arises in one's mind.
