Unknown Castle
When Voldemort returned to consciousness, he found himself in the master chamber of the Castle. His followers the Carrows, Malfoy, the Lestranges and Severus were all there looking concerned.
He had gone out on the ambush to sow his fear in the hearts of enemies but not without taking some precautions. He was not being as impudent or brash as earlier but worked with some back-up plan in case things went pear shaped. Before he left, he had assembled a team of his fiercest death eaters and some of the most capable Germans under the leadership of Wagner. He had left them specific instructions that they were to come to his aid if Rookwood returned alone. They were told that their most important work would be to retrieve Voldemort if he was caught in a difficult situation. When Rookwood returned to the castle, it took them 5 minutes to get the story out of him. When they knew everything that was happening and that they would be outnumbered if they tried something foolish, Wagner had decided strategy. He would focus on rescuing Voldemort while others would cast the black fog for 5 minutes. After that, they were to apparate away. Wagner went in, saw that they were about to capture Voldemort. He had his men cast the fog, apparated near Voldemort, caught hold of him and was gone. Apparently the injuries that he suffered weren't life threatening or as numerous as they first appeared. It looked like the fools were trying to capture him alive.
He sat up, wincing very little at the pain which he knew was from the mended bones and asked Severus, "What are you doing here, Severus?"
Severus drawled in his Snapesque voice, "The Old fool told me how the ministry had cowardly ambushed you at the Greengrass manor, my lord. Greengrass had some ways to contact the ministry even if his floo was down. He was able to summon help."
"What was the boy doing there, Severus?", Voldemort asked.
Severus did not yet know that Harry had been involved in the adventure. He was caught off-guard but had a convincing lie ready, "From what I know my lord, the old fool had the boy in his office talking about the students. He has been concerned about how the students are being taught to kill, that it is entirely unnecessary to teach them to kill anyone. In fact, he has expressly told the new defense teacher to teach only defensive magic to the students."
This new piece of information made Voldemort pause and think about this new defense teacher. He hadn't thought about it yet but what if the new defense professor had been readying the students. He turned to his knights, "What do you know about this teacher? Let us start with his name."
"My lord, he is called Vikram Rana. A source has it that he has come from USA on a teaching assignment. I was not able to discover anything about his family", answered Rookwood.
"What do we know about his teaching abilities?", he asked and no one answered.
He turned to Severus who said, "His focus is on the practical aspects of teaching rather than theory. He teaches them to dodge, to duel and how to conserve their strength through a duel or a fight."
Voldemort thought over it for a long time before he spoke again, "So is he teaching all those things to everyone?"
Severus nodded, "yes my lord. I haven't seen him discriminating against anyone."
A plan was beginning to form in his mind but it would take some time to form fully. However if this plan of his succeeded, he was sure that he could cause some trouble inside Hogwarts.
After he had dismissed everyone, he asked for Severus to stay back. When they were alone, he asked, "Severus, how many students are involved? I know it was them who resisted our forces until the others could arrive."
Once again, Severus lied to the dark lord, "My Lord, I have seen a score of them practicing curses and hexes by themselves at times. The new defense teacher knows a lot about defensive and offensive magic and he is an able duellist. From what I have found out, he has won a few duelling titles in the past."
Voldemort nodded, "Your job is to discover how many students are training with them. What they are learning to do? What is the extent of his knowledge and how much he is willing to teach them?"
When Snape nodded, he continued, "Another thing that I want to know, Severus. How close is the brat to Dumbledore these days? I heard that the old fool took another boy as his apprentice but apart from the battle of Hogsmeade, I haven't heard of his apprentice being in a battle anywhere."
Snape's own information on Neville Longbottom was sparse, however he could tell him about Harry. "My lord, the old fool keeps the boy as close to him as he can. He has been teaching him arcane rituals, some of which are of dubious origin. They intend to fight this war presenting a united front against you and your forces. His apprentice as far as I know is still a wizard if mediocre talents who would pose much threat to your followers."
Voldemort sneered, "Twice they have caught me in an ambush but no more. Now they will know the terror of my name. Did you discover anything about that spy?"
Severus thanked himself for having learned Occlumancy that he could shield his thoughts from Voldemort. The search for the said spy was past due and yet Voldemort hadn't come close to discovering his identity. If things remained the way they were, he never would find out anything about it.
He turned to Voldemort, "My lord, I am close to discovering the identity of this spy. From what I can guess, he has made some kind of sinister deal with Dumbledore for passing information and secrets to him in return for amnesty from the ministry. The spy has found a way around the dark mark so that they can continue to defy you yet would not be harmed by it."
Voldemort was getting anxious, "Do you know his name?"
Severus shook his head, "From what I heard, it is someone whose family is on the side of light while the pretend to serve you. Their family pulled enough strings to get Dumbledore to agree to this deal."
Voldemort curtly said, "Keep an eye on it, Severus. When you find this spy, I will reward you beyond your wildest dreams. Now return to the castle and pay attention to the old fool and everything that he is doing. Keep an eye on everything and report to me if you see something suspicious happening."
Severus bowed low to him before he started to walk out. Voldemort called, "Send Emmett Wagner in on your way out."
While he awaited Wagner, he thought about how things were. Abbadon had told him to check the state and security of his horcruxes first. He had been caught up in other things and had forgotten the important instructions from his master. If the Horcruxes were gone, it will all be for naught.
Wagner entered the bedroom, bowed before him and remained standing. Voldemort pointed him to one of the chairs, "Take a seat Wagner. I have decided to honour you with a seat in my inner circle. You have performed a great service for Lord Voldemort yesterday snatching me from the clutches of the ministry."
Internally Wagner rolled his eyes. Trust a dark lord to be so dramatic. He was a mercenary and instead of words or meaningless honours, gold suited him better. He managed to keep the disdain from his face as he lied politely, "there will be no higher pleasure than this for me, Dark Lord."
Voldemort's estimation of the man went up a degree or two. This was not some brainless, simpering sycophant. Voldemort waited for him to sit and then continued, "I can sense some disappointment, Wagner. Perhaps gold would be better recompense to you than a place in my inner circle? Worry not, I will ensure that you are sufficiently rewarded. Now what do you think we should do?"
Wagner took in the fact that Voldemort was actually asking him for advice, "My lord, from what I have heard from my sources all over Europe, clandestine preparations are being made by individuals and organisations to come to Wizarding Britain's aid when the time comes. For now we have superiority in numbers. But if they get some outside help, the odds will even out. What you need to do is to ask your allies in other countries to brew trouble. Ask them to raise their banners and let hell loose all over Europe. This way, they will be too caught up in their own problems to come to the aid of the ministry here."
Voldemort mused over the advice for a few minutes then continued, "I suppose your suggestion makes sense. However the problem is that I have very little in the way of allies."
Wagner answered, "Ask them in the name of Lord Abbadon. Most of them are bound to him in one way or another. To honour any orders/ requests made in his name is their duty. Since you are the heir of Lord Abbadon in magic, they can't deny you, they are as bound to you as they are to Lord Abbadon. They only have to create enough trouble so that the foreign wizards will be reluctant to leave their homes and families unguarded."
Voldemort nodded, "I will get to it. However, there was another thing which concerns me. What should I do about the boy, Wagner?"
Wagner knew this question was coming. It had to be since the boy had humiliated Voldemort a few times already. He had also thought about a solution, "My lord, one of the reasons that he is able to defeat you is that he is very confident of his abilities. Also the terror of your name is significantly less than it should be. If the wizarding world were to fear your name, it would have some effect on him even if it was just a little. He is surrounded by people that he loves and who would die for him. However we know that he wouldn't want any of them to die for him. If any of them were to die, it would be a blow to his morale. Lastly, when you meet him next in battle, don't seek him out at once. Throw your forces at him, make him exhaust himself Only then should you move in to fight him when he is vulnerable."
Voldemort smirked, "I can work with that strategy. Is there any other suggestion you would like to make?"
Pleased with himself, Wagner had a small smile on his face, "let your death eaters and dementors loose on Britain. Don't ask them to make elaborate plans or attack in large groups. Instead, instruct them to go two or three at a time, strike randomly, kill whomever they find whether muggle, squib or wizard, and retreat immediately, leaving the dark mark in the sky. They should never spend more than a few seconds on any strike. They should never engage in duels. With dead bodies and the dark mark everywhere, the sheer randomness and number of attacks will have all of Britain fearing your name, as they should. That will break their morale and cause them to lose faith in their so-called 'Chosen One' People can't fight when they are running for their lives.". Seing that Voldemort was pleased with his suggestion, Wagner ventured to ask, "Do you have a place in mind for the final battle?"
Voldemort nodded, "Indeed, I do but that is for later. Leave me now, Wagner. I have some plans to make."
Hogwarts
Harry was in the hospital wing, at Susan's side when the morning paper arrived. Of course, the front-page story was about the battle last night:
"Voldemort clashes with the chosen one
In an unanticipated turn of events last night, the terrorist otherwise known as Lord Voldemort or Tom Marvolo Riddle as people have begun to call him, was at Greengrass manor last evening. He, along with an estimated 30 of his followers was caught in the act of attempting to force their way through the wards to attack the Greengrass family. This reporter believes that his intent was to either force the Greengrass family to take his side in the current blood war with Lord Peverell or murder them if they refused. Here this reporter would like to remind the readers that Lord Greengrass was a leader of the neutral faction in the Wizengamot before he sided with the light at the time of the investment of Lord Peverell.
The ministry received a distress call from Lord Greengrass and responded with a strike force of 30 Aurors within minutes. Members of The Order of the Phoenix, led by Albus Dumbledore were already on the scene when ministry forces arrived. It is believed that the chosen one accompanied the Headmaster of Hogwarts to the battle. Lord Peverell directly engaged Voldemort in a duel.
Most of the witnesses refused to speak openly about the duel which took place. One of the eye-witnesses, on condition of anonymity, had the following to say about it:
'They charged each other like two giants. The Chosen one went on the offensive from the start. He started by firing curses upon curses at Voldemort who deftly evaded everything that was sent at him. Unlike the previous battle between them, this time he was not making any mistakes but kept fighting on an equal footing with the chosen one. In his desperation, the chosen one even used a lot of questionable spells. Spells which are only heard of in classified secrets of the Ministry but there were only a couple of times that Voldemort looked like he was really in trouble. Once, he used one of his own men for a human shield. The other time, he raised a mage shield. We almost had him right at the end there, but there was this darkness, then he was gone. For those who are new to the Auror forces, it was a master lesson in dueling.'
With that being said, it was perhaps the first occurrence where the Order of the Snow Leopard did not make an appearance. That raises some pertinent questions and tends to stoke some of the old suspicions. The ministry did not confirm or deny those suspicions. This ambush also involved heavy losses for the ministry. We mourn the passing of ten Aurors in the field, including Williamson who fell at the hands of Voldemort himself. There were as many as 25 death eaters who died in the ambush including Walden Macnair, former executioner of the Ministry of Magic, who we are told, was killed by Alastor Moody.
This is the second attack in a week by Voldemort's forces. It is bound to send some ripples of apprehension through the entire community. They could be asking themselves if the ministry is doing enough."
There was a photo of Harry and Voldemort dueling that took up a full third of the front page. It showed Harry sending a curse to meet Voldemort's curse midway. It made an impressive scene, but Harry was nursing the side of his head with frustration.
"What happened, my handsome boyfriend", Susan asked from the bed next to him.
It was still early in the morning but Madam Pomfrey had already sent the other students away. Harry had decided to stay because he wanted to be near Susan when the paper came. Oddly enough she was calm when she saw the headline.
Harry showed her the paper and she whistled, "You look so yummy here."
Harry glared at her, "Sue, they have found another Skeeter. This one does not mince his/her words. See how they are impugning the ministry and inferring that we are doing nothing. Accidentally, they are also giving a lot to the death eaters to think about."
She nodded, "I can see that but you just can't go to Cuffe's office and tell him to behave."
Harry patted his arm where his wand holster was, "Sure I could. Or, perhaps Aunt andromeda could pay him a visit." But then he shook his head, "but I don't like the kind of message that would send. Still, there must be something we can do?"
She nodded, "later. We will deal with him later. When we have vanquished Voldemort then we will deal with this."
He nodded, then asked her, "When is Madam Pomfrey going to release you from her clutches?"
She groaned, "She told me that she wants to keep me here for another 3 days, just in case."
He nodded, "I will leave you in her care then. I am going to classes. I'll come to see you sometime before curfew. I have to run some errands."
She kissed him deeply on the lips. As he was leaving, she said over his shoulder, "Don't end this war without me, Harry."
He chuckled then said, "No worries, Sue. I'll let you watch when I behead Voldemort."
Ministry of Magic
As it happened, he didn't get to see Sue until it was very late in the evening. Just after classes, he was summoned to the ministry with his friends. However before they went to the Headmaster's office, Harry told them to get ready. He made all of them wear the Basilisk armour over their robes even if they didn't expect to face any spell casters. He himself wore the duelling robes which he had worn in the battle of Burma, the armour that he had got from his vault, the leather mask and took his sword with him just in case.
Neville was likewise dressed in duelling robes and the armour with the longsword over his back. Ron and Hermione had chosen not to carry their swords because they still didn't feel that they were proficient enough with them.
In the headmaster's office, Dumbledore showed them the Vanishing Cabinet. They entered the Vanishing Cabinet one at a time to find themselves exiting an identical cabinet on the Auror floor at the ministry. Moody greeted them there, grinning hideously.
After the last one came through, Alastor escorted them to the training room where the Minister, General Frank Longbottom, with a number of his top Aurors greeted them.
Once they fell in, Frank addressed them as he paced up and down the line, "Your mission is to deal with dementors. Although many of you are more experienced, your commander for this mission is Lord Peverell and you will follow his orders without question. These foul creatures cannot be killed or destroyed by any mundane means or most magical means either and the unique ability to destroy them is the reason Lord Peverell is in command. You will travel to Azkaban Island to accomplish this mission. We have intelligence that about 100 dementors are there while A number of dementors have left the island and their whereabouts are unknown at present. We have dispatched people to locate them. I remind you that this mission is dangerous. May Mother Magic protect you. That is all."
As one, the assembled Aurors Snapped to attention. When the General returned their salute, Alastor led them to the staging area.
Harry started to follow them, but Frank held him back. He addressed Harry with mock sternness, "You should know how greatly I am displeased that you didn't ask for me to be included among your companions, Harry."
Harry grinned, "If you weren't our General, I would have asked you before anyone else."
Frank grumbled to himself, "I knew there was a reason I should have turned down this job."
Eat dust, you fiend.
The troops assembled themselves around the portkeys. With the tug behind the naval and a couple of minutes later, they were deposited on the banks of the North Sea. The wizarding prison was five miles out to sea where it was situated on a desolate piece of rock that jutted above the waves at high tide. Nothing grew there and it did not offer anything in the way of a harbour, pier or dock. As far as muggles could tell, it didn't even exist.
Two boats had been arranged for them to row out to the Island. Hermione, Daphne and Ron were joined in their boat by Moody, Kingsley and Robards. Harry and Neville were joined by Sirius, Remus and Nymphadora in the second boat. With four on the oars and one steering in each craft, the little boats travelled quickly over the swells toward the Island. Harry noticed that Sirius was shaking.
Out of concern, he caught hold of his hand, "Are you OK, Sirius? What happened?"
It was Remus who answered, "Azkaban was not a pleasant experience for him. When we were here the last time, he was shaking like a leaf then too."
Harry caught hold of his hand, projecting some of his magic to Sirius's white hands, "Father, I really need you to look sharp for what lies ahead. For all we know, you may be the advantage that we need."
Sirius asked him, "What do you need?"
"You know this Merlin forsaken chunk of rock better than any of us. We're counting on you to find us a way in. Can you think of a place that is open enough for us to fight the dementors and they won't be able to sneak up on us?"
Sirius nodded, "On the other side of the Island is the graveyard. That's where they bury those who perished while they were in prison. It's just a big, flat slab of level rock. They couldn't even bury anyone without magic there. There's no place to hide there. I think it'll do."
Harry nodded, "And how do we get there unnoticed?"
Sirius turned to Nymphadora who was steering, "Signal them to follow us. I will lead us to a sort of underground passage that connects us to stairs which lead up to the graveyard."
With a series of signals exchanged, Robards started following Harry's boat. They were led to the West side of the prison where the waters were shallow and there was an outcropping of rocks which could serve as a disembarking point for their boats. As they approached, Harry could feel that the anti-apparition wards which used to exist were no longer there but a more sinister ward was in its place now. This felt extremely hostile and Harry cautiously said, "Before we go, let me analyse these wards."
He shot several detection spells in random directions. When he was done, he turned to them, "It is not a single ward but a cluster of wards up there. These wards were designed to stop some very specific spells. They will also stop any portkey or apparition by someone who does not bear the dark mark. We cannot access these wards until we can find the access code to these wards. And please don't call him by his given name or it will turn nasty for us. Call him by his birth name or something funny and we will be okay. Really ingenious that Tom thought about it."
Moody asked him, "Can you find the access codes or it was all for naught, lad?"
Harry grinned, "These wards seem to start at the front where the main gates used to be and we are at their boundary. These wards were written in parsel tongue. The thing about parsel tongue is that you have to use simple words for all the functions you intend it to perform."
Hermione asked him, "What does that mean?"
"That means that if I am to open something, I would simply say 'open'", he replied. "These wards need simple words like that."
With that he focused on the wards again and within minutes, he was dismantling them. After about 5 minutes, he said, "I haven't taken them down entirely. That would require me to find the ward stone. Also, I don't want to alert old Tom in case I took it down and tripped some hidden alarm. However I command these wards now so I can ask it to give access to wherever we want to go." He grinned, "And, if anyone with the dark mark attempts to Disapparate or portkey out of here now, they're in for a rude surprise. Now Padfoot, lead the way and I will keep clearing the way for us."
Sirius transformed into his dog form while Harry barked orders, "Master Auror, it is your duty to ensure that everyone is alert at all times. If you see something moving in the shadows then don't hesitate to take it down. Sense any danger, alert others instantly. There should be no one here but us and the dementors. Anyone else is a death eater."
Padfoot took up the lead with Moody and Harry behind him. Remus and Tonks were on Harry's six. Next were Ron and Hermione, then Neville and Daphne. Rear guards were Kingsley and Robards.
The walls of the prison at this side were smooth devoid of handholds or footholds to climb. Everyone wondered for a minute how Padfoot would lead them inside. He led them to a side where there was a submerged tunnel. Padfoot climbed into the tunnel which was half filled with water and sludge. Wrinkling their noses, the students trudged through it. The Aurors seemed unphased, however. Moody had put them through worse than this during training. The water in the tunnel was only up to their chest at the most and it kept receding as they walked forward. Soon it became apparent to them that they were climbing toward some outlet that carried water and sludge out from the complex.
After 5 minutes of walking, they reached the top of the slope. They halted for a minute there while Padfoot sniffed his way about. Then he took them through a grill in the wall whose bars were broken or removed some time ago. It was uncomfortable for most of them to pass through but they managed. They could have tried to blast it away but the noise from a Bombarda could have alerted the dementors.
Moody who was watching the passage was noticing every detail that no one else did. He was beginning to understand how Sirius had escaped. He had found his way down to the ground level instead of jumping down from the top of the complex as it was believed earlier. Having the dog form helped him get through the tight spots. He must have been very thin back then to have fit through the vent because he had trouble getting through it this time.
When they were through the vent, they found themselves in an old musty smelling room that had seen better days. Their lit wands revealed that it had once been used to hold prisoners. The manacles on the walls were a good clue. The sight of cracked, black stains on the manacles, walls and floor spoke of horrors of the past. Some of them shivered despite themselves.
Harry ordered everyone to clean and dry themselves before they continued.
The cell door led to a maze of passageways and other cells. Situated at some distance was what Moody identified as the offices of the prison guards. When they passed through the deserted office space, they found the door to the stairs leading upwards. The dungeons weren't too deep underground or they would have been under water at high tide. They only had to climb up one level to find themselves breathing clean sea air again.
On exiting the dungeon, Sirius returned to his human form, wand at the ready. He pointed to a forsaken, barren stretch of rock, not far away, and said, "The graveyard is over there."
Harry handed out potions as he addressed the group, "We'll be battling at least a hundred dementors soon. I can already feel the temperature dropping. Drink up. These are rejuvenation draughts, laced with chocolate. They'll keep you on your feet and help you resist the effects of the dementors. Look sharp, Keep your patronus charms ready. The spell I'm going to use takes all the concentration I can muster. Your job is to keep those slimy fiends from rushing me in a body. Only let one or two through at a time. If any one of you passes out, if any one of you even wavers, we activate our portkeys and get out of here immediately. There'll be no dead heroes under my command. Is that clear?"
Moody spoke up, "There's some nasty anti-portkey and anti-disapparation wards around here, Lad. We shouldn't try…"
Harry interrupted the veteran Auror, grinning, "That won't be a problem for us, Moody. I took care of that on the way in." To the rest of the group, he said, "Now, everyone form up around me and let's go!"
His friends formed a circle around him as they ran out to the middle of the graveyard. The dementors seemed to emerge from the dark on every side, their scabrous hands clutching at them, their breath sucking all the joy, hope and warmth out of the air. Suddenly, their raiding party of mighty warriors seemed weak and insignificant in the face of the onslaught of the soul-sucking fiends.
Then everything happened at once. Harry raised his wand to the sky and invoked the slayer of demons. The sky flashed blindingly bright in a blaze of sheet lightning that settled in a single jagged bolt and came to rest on his wand. The dementors, irresistibly drawn to the spell, tried to rush Harry in a body. Ten powerful, full-body patronus charms erupted from the wands of his companions, barring the way for the fiends. And three of the dementors met their fate with the first swing of the captured lightning bolt.
Cheers went up from nine throats, but Sirius was in trouble. His patronus faded out every time he tried it. It was Remus who spoke encouragement to him, "Just think, Sirius. This is your chance to get even with these fiends!"
The words kind of infused new vigour into him. Sirius shook himself like a dog after a swim and then his patronus erupted from his wand again, brighter than before. It loped over to a dementor and chomped down on it its leg, pinning it in place and it seemed that the patronus burned the fiend. It just wanted to flee, but the dog patronus was having none of it.
Quickly, the battle took a form. The patronus of each member of the group carefully herded one or two dementors at a time into the killing zone. Harry dispatched all of them with such speed that his spell seemed to blur. His wand vibrated violently and yet Harry seemed to pay it no mind. He wielded it with deadly precision until no more dementors answered the siren call of the lightning blade. Taking one more look around, he let the spell dissipate. As he worked on catching his breath, he muttered, "Fifty. There were only fifty of them here. Merlin only knows where the rest have gone."
Louder, he said, "That's all of them. You won't be needing your patronus charms anymore."
Almost as one, the patroni vanished.
Harry was wet with perspiration. He gasped, "Death eaters will be on their way for sure. We need to find cover somewhere between here and the front gate." That was when the wards chimed in Harry's head. Gathering himself up, he said, "Look sharp, everyone! They're already here."
As they ran toward the rubble pile that had been the main tower of the prison, Harry spoke, "Ron, pick a good spot for an ambush and assign everyone to a place."
Even in this dim light, Ron could see that there were great slabs of broken stone, any one of which would provide excellent hard cover. The shadows cast would easily hide full-grown adults. Disillusionment spells would be as good as Harry's invisibility cloak under these conditions. He barked out, "Disillusionment spells, everyone." He rapidly pointed out hiding places to each member of the team. By the time they got to the rubble pile, everyone knew what to do.
Even when Azkaban had been a working prison, the corridors were only wide enough for three people abreast. The ruins barely allowed one at a time to wiggle their way through. Although the death eaters nearly had them outnumbered three to one, they had to deal with the terrain.
By the time the first of the death eaters made their way into the waiting ambush, the last of them were just starting to make their way into the ruins. They all had their wands out, trying to find their way through the maze of tumbled stone. Harry had to restrain himself from laughing. They were making it too easy. He used his cat vision to make sure that none of them were skulking around in the dark, but found no more.
When Ron squealed like a sea-gull, ten wands spoke at once. In the same instant, Moody, who had been eager to try out the new gadgets, produced three metal spheres from the depths of his robes. With a gesture, he banished them to the rear of the death eater party, where three metallic clinking sounds followed by a poof announced the demise of ten of the death eaters the moment they took their next breath.
The ambush was a wild success also. Of the ten death eaters who had helpfully lit themselves up like Christmas trees with their wand light, only three thought fast enough to shield themselves from the first barrage. The other seven lay dead because their skulls no longer served their intended purpose. Harry, Kingsley and Robards quickly dispatched the remaining three with artful spell chains. They never had a chance to dodge or fight back because they had messed up their dark adaption with their lit wands. With only ten death eaters remaining, they doused their wands and dove for cover. Harry knew they were all tired from keeping their patronus charms going for about five minutes and that the death eaters coming in were fresh and ready to fight. They hadn't won the day yet and it was doubtful that any of the rest of them had a spell left in them. Harry knew that even though he still had a few spells left in him, he was done if he got into an extended duel. The sound of a sword being drawn could be heard by everyone. It was quickly followed by the sound of another sword being drawn. The next moment, the gleam of the two goblin wrought silver swords could be seen by the opening to the ruined corridor. Moody whispered from nearby, "What are you lads about?"
Harry's voice whispered from behind one of the blades, "I know the rest of you are about all in. We're going to try some muggle fighting."
There was just the whisper of moving armour as Moody took up a position behind them with his staff at the ready. The draught had done its work and he was not about to pass out instantly.
Robards voice whispered out next, "What do you want us to do?"
Harry whispered back to him, "Keep your positions. If any of them manage to sneak by us, make sure they don't live to tell about it. If we're not back in ten minutes, your orders are to use your portkeys and get to safety."
Without another word, Robards was back in his position.
Harry led the way. They found the first death eater trying to peer out of the corridor from behind a large stone. With a swish and a thud, his head parted company from his neck. Neville gasped. That was when Harry realized that he could see much better in the dark. Neville probably only got a hint of what had just happened. He whispered in his god-brother's ear, "Use the night vision from your bear form."
The next moment, Neville whispered back, "Good to go."
They found the next one, lost in the darkness, trying to fumble his way back to the boats. With a powerful overhand swing, Neville cleaved the man from shoulder to hip. They moved on as the ruined body slumped to the floor.
Moody spotted the next one with his magical eye, trying to ambush them from a side passage. Without even turning, he fired a bone exploder from his staff at the man's neck. The result wasn't pretty.
After making sure that there was no one in immediate vicinity, Harry cast a non-verbal Homenum revelio. He could clearly make out the locations of his allies, and six more, making their way through the rubble ahead. He directed his steps toward the nearest one. Neville followed with Moody guarding their rear.
The next death eater tried to shield himself when he heard them coming, but a magical shield was no match for a goblin wrought sword. He was sent to the afterlife to join his friends when his heart lost its structural integrity due to a piece of silver sticking through its outer wall.
The last five had gotten smart. They had taken up positions in what had been a large room. They were dug in like ticks and ready for a fight. There was also a bit of moonlight streaming down where the roof had been. Moody's bright-blue eye spotted the danger before the party exited the corridor. He whispered, "Stop."
Harry pulled Neville into a huddle with the Master Auror, "What is the matter, Master Auror?"
The blue eye, focused on the tableau up ahead, he answered, "There's five of 'em in there. They think they're going to spring a little surprise on us."
Harry nodded, "Ok, so how do we turn the tables on them?"
Moody asked, "Do you think you can manage another spell or two?"
Harry shook his head, "Sorry. I'm knackered. No can do."
Neville volunteered, "I was feeling it a few minutes ago, but I'm sure I could duel Professor Rana now if I had to."
Moody clapped Neville on the shoulder and said, "That's the spirit, Lad. Now, here's the plan…"
A few seconds later, a ten-foot-tall stone golem lumbered out into the moonlight. As the death eaters scrambled to try and destroy the thing with Bombarda Maxima, it smashed one of them into a bloody pulp with a swipe of its arm. While the death eaters were trying to destroy the monolithic menace, Harry used the shadows and the confusion to sneak around while disillusioned to get atop a large stone behind the death eaters. As the smashed remains of the animated juggernaut crumbled to the ground, one death eater lost his head, while another one had his neck explode and a third one lost his wand arm shortly followed by his head. The last remaining survivor was hit from behind with a simple stunner. Moody had him trussed up like a Thanks-giving turkey and levitating before the dust settled.
Harry nodded grimly, "50 dementors and 30 death eaters in one night. That's good work. But we'd better get out of here before reinforcements arrive."
With his enhanced vision, Harry led them out of the maze at a near run. As they approached the end of the corridor where their friends were waiting to ambush anything that got past them, Harry called out, "Mission accomplished!"
Robards approached them as they came out into the moonlight, "I see that the Master Auror has collected another pet?"
Alastor barked with what passed for a chuckle with him then said, "The Lad says we need to get out of here. I'm inclined to agree with him."
Robards called out, "Alright folks, our commander says it's time to go home. Fall in!"
The party dropped their disillusionment charms and formed up. The next moment, they were all ready to take hold of the portkeys. That was when a sea-gull swooped in and turned into a wizard before their eyes.
Bartley Higgins spoke urgently, "Alastor, it's time to leave. Many more death eaters are coming this way. You will get trapped." He pointed towards a direction, "through the outcropping of rocks, there is a way which will lead you to the water where I have brought your boats. Get on them."
Moody firmly clapped the man on the shoulder, "that won't be necessary, Bartley. We'll be leaving by portkey. Did you happen to notice how many death eaters were taken out by the poisonous gas on your way in?"
Bartley paused for a moment before his eyes widened and he asked, "You mean the ones that looked untouched? I thought they were just stunned."
Moody nodded, then Bartley answered, "I counted 11 of them."
Moody grinned in grim satisfaction, "Alright. You can catch a portkey back with us or you can observe what they do when they see what we've done and report to me at the ministry when you're done."
Bartley slapped the bandolier full of silver daggers he was wearing and responded, "If it's all the same to you, Sir, I'll hang around just a bit longer." With that, he turned back into a sea-gull and took to the air.
With a gesture from Moody, the party took hold of their portkeys and vanished.
Ministry of Magic
Although morale was high, they had just handed 29 death eaters a one-way ticket to the afterlife on top of accomplishing their mission, the troops were exhausted and cold. The dementors and the night air on a barren slab of rock in the North Sea hadn't done them any good. The party landed in a heap as their portkeys dropped them in the staging area.
Most of them, including Harry were not in a hurry to get up. Alastor was still standing, but anyone looking closely would notice that his prosthetic leg was not moving and he was leaning on his staff heavily.
They were all given rejuvenation draughts and when they came around, Frank asked Alastor, "What happened there? That took a long time."
Alastor explained, "Well sir, we had to row across five miles of open ocean, defeat the wards and crawl in through a sewer before we could even begin the battle. Then when we were done with disposing of the soul sucking fiends, 30 death eaters tried to get the jump on us. Whose idea was it to send Bartley after us anyway?"
"I did. I was worried and wanted to know what was happening. Higgins reminded me that he has the perfect disguise to fool the death eaters and Dementors alike and find out what is happening. I was happy to allow him to go. Where is he?"
"He will return after some time", Moody replied "he is on an errand for now."
The General then turned to the students, "You all performed commendably. Your services will be remembered and you will be adequately rewarded when the time comes. Now, if you all can manage then the Vanishing Cabinet is over there. I daresay that Albus would be worried for you all."
Without a word, they all stood in a line and followed Harry to the cabinet. This time, they exited in the Hospital wing at Hogwarts, where Madam Pomfrey stood waiting for them, her hands on her hips, fire in her eyes and her wand in her hand sending up sparks.
Without a word, she let everyone to a bed and for good measure tied them to it after allowing them to take off their armour and change into their pajamas
When Harry tried to take the bed adjacent to Susan, she curtly said, "I don't think so, idiot boy."
She led him to the farthest bed from Susan and after tying him up on it, shoved a vial of dreamless sleep down his throat.
Dumbledore kept watch over the spectacle with amusement and he was also scared of Poppy. She had chewed his head off for sending students on such a dangerous errand at such a dangerous place. It was only when Dumbledore assured her that she could keep them as long as she wished that she had relented.
It was a small mercy that there were no other students in the hospital wing. It wouldn't do for them to see students emerging from a closet in the middle of the hospital wing dressed in war gear, shivering and exhausted.
Unknown Castle
Voldemort was listening to the report from one of his men that he had dispatched to Azkaban. The man was just reporting in about the remains of the battle that had taken place on Azkaban.
Voldemort spoke clearly and slowly in his high, cruel voice, "What news do you bring me?"
"My lord, we estimate that there were about 20 wizards sent by the Ministry. They entered the Island not by the front entrance but through some hidden passageway we knew nothing about. We sensed their presence when we felt the wards turning hostile to us."
"Hostile to you?", Voldemort asked sceptically. He was confident in his abilities but Abbadon had told him that no one is invincible and everyone can be won over. But to do such a thing, one would have to be a parslemouth and have an extensive knowledge of ward lore. Possible but not even remotely likely. And yet, there it was.
"Yes my lord", he replied. We felt a change in the wards, but we had no idea what it was until Ruther attempted to disapparate to come and report to you. What was left of him didn't live very long, but that was later. As you had predicted, the ministry had sent a team to the Island fortress to destroy the Dementors and we waited for them on the ship keeping an eye on the sea. When we saw strange lightning in the sky, we immediately dispatched 30 death eaters to investigate. When they did not report back, I lead a team to investigate. By the time we arrived, the ministry people were gone. The first thing we found was eleven bodies. They were just dead, no marks on any of them, as if they had all been slain by the killing curse. With the wards on that island, that should have been impossible, but, as we discovered later, the wards had been tampered with, so who can say what's possible? Another 18, we found among the rubble of the tower. They were all killed in more conventional ways. Ten we found together, it looked like they were ambushed in a body. Four more in another group. It looked like they put up a fight, but were overwhelmed. The final four, we found in the corridors separately. And finally, my lord, not one single dementor anywhere. We conducted a thorough search of the entire island, but found no one else alive. That was when Ruther attempted to disapparate and the wards splintched him into several pieces. After that, we did not attempt a portkey, we had to row until we could be certain we were outside of the wards again before I apparated to the checkpoint to report to you."
Voldemort was troubled. One of his death eaters was missing. That meant that either the ministry had taken a prisoner or that he was a traitor. Either one was bad. He wanted to know the identity of the ones who had cost him so many of his forces. He asked, "Were there any clues as to who did this?"
The man managed to look even more wretched, "My Lord, none among us was a skilled tracker, but even to our untrained eyes, there were a few strange things. Although it was not a full moon, it appears that one of them changed from a wolf to a human." (Of course he was talking about Sirius, but telling the difference between the tracks of a large dog and a wolf is difficult if one lacks the skill). "Another walked with a cane or a staff. Later in the battle, it looked like one leg was dragging as if it were dead."
Voldemort puzzled briefly. The man with the staff was most likely that pestilential Mad-Eye. But the shape shifter? Who could that be? Perhaps one of his inner circle could provide that information. There were still more answers this man could provide, "How do you think they escaped the fortress? Our ship was between them and the shoreline. They couldn't have disapparated or used a portkey and they could not have reached the Island without going through where the front entrance used to be."
The man shook his head, "Your death eaters are still investigating how they got in and how they escaped. Near where the ten were ambushed, it looked like they all gathered there but there were no tracks leading away from there. We also found two boats tied off at a rock where they could have boarded them, but there were no tracks around them.
Voldemort nodded, "What lies in the sea around there?"
He said simply, "There are only a few deserted islands a couple of miles from there, my lord."
He nodded, "They must have used brooms to get outside the wards. From there, they could have used portkeys to return to the ministry. Go and send in Yaxley. He needs to perform some service for me."
The death eater left the room quickly, grateful to have avoided being punished for bringing bad news. He decided it was best not to contradict the Dark Lord by pointing out that the moon had been bright and no brooms were sighted.
Yaxley entered a few minutes later, "My Lord, you sent for me?"
He nodded, "Go and let loose the dementors, Corbin. We need to give them free rein of Britain, harassing the muggles and wizards alike to keep the ministry busy. May be, we can also draw out the enemy who has been killing Dementors."
Muggle London
The rest of the night was terrifying, devastating and confusing for muggle London. The dementors attacked randomly, taring the hope, joy and souls away from muggles and disappearing before Aurors could arrive. There were attacks by single death eaters throughout the length and breadth of Wizarding Britain. They would come in, throw a few curses around, killing anyone they saw, starting fires or blowing up buildings and be gone leaving the dark mark glowing in the sky.
After the sixth attack and 13th death, all the Aurors were called in. In fact, Frank had prevailed upon Dumbledore to supplement their forces with the members of the Order of the Phoenix. One such pair that was sent for patrolling were Mundungus Fletcher and Sturgis Podmore.
Sturgis Podmore was a competent wizard but Mundungus was a cowardly thief. They were sent to patrol Yorkshire after having heard reports of 3 attacks in the area. The pair was on patrol near the townhall when Sturgis thought that he saw two death eaters in all their paraphernalia. They had their wands out and were about to cast when he pulled out his wand and shot a bone breaker in their direction. His bone breaker hit one of them in the chest, busting one or two of his ribs. The furious death eater and his companion turned towards them and started firing spells at the pair. Sturgis fought valiantly but Mundungus just tried to stay out of the arc of fire. The death eaters looked like they were using every lethal spell that they knew. Sturgis had to defend himself and Mundungus too while he fought with them however Mundungus's inability was a liability. The thief tried to hinder Sturgis in an attempt to save himself. Sturgis sent a message to the Order. He was just hoping for some help to arrive while he kept delaying them.
The death eaters saw how Mundungus was hindering Podmore and decide to target him more. Mundungus panicked when he realised that they were now targeting him. Podmore took advantage of the situation to shoot a bludgeoning hex at the pair. It struck one of them on the face hard enough to make him flip over. The death eater removed his mask to take in some breath revealing the face of Alecto Carrow.
Alecto and Amicus Carrow were very temperamental and were versed in the dark arts. In fact, they were ranked alongside the members of Voldemort's inner circle. It was rumoured that he would offer a place to them as soon as there was an opening. They had come in to kill a few muggles and have fun but Podmore had ruined it for them. And now they were very furious.
Amycus got furious and roared, "Avada Kedavra". The green light rushed at Podmore and Mundungus. Dung in his desperation, pulled Podmore between himself and the curse. In the next fraction of a second, Podmore attempted to conjure canaries to take the hit, realized that not only had Mundungus used him as a human shield and that he had a firm grip on his wand arm, making magic useless. He tried to pull his arm free, but he ran out of time as the rushing, green spell seemed to fill his whole world and he knew no more. Mundungus watched in horror as his erstwhile companion, now a rapidly cooling corpse, slumped to the ground.
That was the same moment in which Alice Longbottom, Amelia Bones and Emmeline Vance arrived on the scene in answer to the distress call. Sirius had informed them and since there was no one else to send, they came in themselves.
Alice, as she saw Podmore falling, sent one of her signature curses at Amycus followed by a cutter by Emmeline at Alecto. Alecto who had seen them arriving, pulled Amycus towards her and they fell to the ground, safe from the curse. Emmeline's cutter however had hit Alecto on the face, slashing one of her cheeks and gouging out one of her eyes, leaving a bleeding gash where her eye had been.
Amelia had fired an incarcerous at Mundungus to bind him and take him to the ministry. He was responsible for Podmore's death and he would pay. Maybe it wasn't her lucky day. Dung saw what was coming and disapparated.
Alecto knew she was outnumbered. Amycus had broken ribs and she was losing blood. She raised her wand, yelled, "Morsmordere' before she disapparated with her brother.
Hogwarts infirmary
When Harry finally woke up, the angle of the sun told him it must have been nearly noon already. The grumbling in his stomach told him that breakfast was past and lunch fast approaching. The first thing he noticed was Susan who was sitting on a chair beside his bed. He stirred, "Sue, how long have you been sitting here?"
"About an hour", she replied, "what happened yesterday? Why are you all here again?"
Daphne, who came over to join them answered, "Nothing much. Some dementors and a couple of death eaters. That's all."
Harry nodded, "The contraption that Moody used took care of many of them before they could even get to us or we would have been in trouble." Rubbing his growling tummy, Harry asked, "Why did I sleep so late? Did she dose me again?"
Susan shook her head, "No, not that, my love. She told me that it would go better for you if she let you sleep and wake up naturally. Now, I've heard enough of your bits and pieces of information. Tell me everything that happened."
Hermione who had come to join them along with Ron, said, "I will tell you."
Before she could start, Harry said, "Please make sure that Madam Pomfrey does not see us huddled together or we will all be in trouble."
Ron grinned, "Oh, we have put a silencing charm on her office door. A handy nifty spell that we have learnt. She won't hear anything."
Harry nodded, "Go on then, Hermione."
It took about half an hour for her to tell everything. After that Harry turned to Susan, "I hope you aren't angry with me, Sue."
She shook her head, "It was my mistake to over-exert myself so many times. But I remember to have asked you not to finish all of them before I can join you again."
He chuckled, "I promise there are many more left for us to fight."
The newspaper arrived by that time. Hermione opened it to the front page and gasped loudly. Harry asked her, "Hermione, is everything alright?"
She showed the paper to him which had the headline, "The Dark mark appears throughout Wizarding Britain. 35 dead, 20 injured."
Harry read the newspaper at once and when he read that Podmore was one of the casualties, he felt aggrieved. He was not very close to Sturgis but had interacted with the man on occasion. He was a good bloke, to say the least.
He decided to ask Dumbledore about it later. He tried to find out about the raid on Azkaban. It was just a small piece of news in the lower half of the paper. The ministry stated that they had received information which warranted investigation into the former prison. Investigators had met with an ambush there. There was no mention of Dementor slayings.
Headmaster's office
About an hour later, Harry had conducted a successful raid on the kitchen before going to meet with the headmaster in his office. He found Dumbledore in a most uncharacteristic rage. He asked cautiously, "Professor, is everything alright?"
Dumbledore said gravely, "Emmeline informed me that Podmore died because Mundungus Fletcher dragged him in front of an incoming killing curse. Mundungus has been missing since then."
This statement filled Harry with rage. But he tried to keep his cool and asked him, "What will you do when you find him, professor?"
"Hand him to the ministry to be tried", Dumbledore answered.
"NO professor. Podmore was there in the great hall when I declared the blood war and as such, he was under my protection. Mundungus is for me to deal with."
Dumbledore tried to reason with him, "My boy, he is a criminal of the Ministry."
Harry thundered, "It is by the will of Mother Magic that I claim Fletcher's life forfeit. It is also in accordance with the ancient laws. Do you wish to contest my claim?"
Dumbledore knew he couldn't but he could ask for a boon, "Lord Peverell, as a supplicant I ask a boon of you."
Harry looked at him, "I will grant any boon, professor but not his life."
Dumbledore said grimly, "No, that is forfeit. I ask that you give him to Alastor Moody when you find him. Moody will dispense your justice to him."
Harry agreed to that. When he left Dumbledore's office and was in the Chamber of Secrets, he raised his voice and called, "Dobby, Kreacher, Matty."
The three elves appeared before him bowing very low to him, "How can we serve master?"
"You are all to track down the thief Mundungus Fletcher. When you find him, bring him to this chamber and hold him here until I come to deal with him. This task takes precedence over any other task that you might have."
Kreacher's face twisted into a hideous expression that Harry had never seen on him before, "Lousy thief. Steals masters things. Kreacher will catch him alright!"
Harry realized that the old elf was grinning. This was an assignment he would do with gusto.
With quick bows, the three elves disappeared with soft pops.
A/N- I loved the reviews that my awesome readers posted for me. Trust me I was over-whelmed.
1. I am going to take this series to the end.
2. I am not planning to abandon any of my stories.
3. Writing is something that alleviates a lot of my worries and keeps me busy intellectually. I am not going to give it up and I hope my stories will keep entertaining you all like they have been. We will ride into the sunset together. Cheers to you all amazing folks out there.
