Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. 'Nough said.
A/N: Thanks to my betas Caitey and Shannon for putting up with me! You guys rock!
In the Beginning: Halloween 2001
"Shit," exclaimed Harry Potter as he let his head slam onto his desk. Even though he was only 20 years old, it was times like these that made him feel so much older.
Over the past five years, Voldemort and his Death Eaters had steadily been gaining power. After the events of Harry's fourth year, the Order of the Phoenix had set up a command center located at Hogwarts first under the leadership of Albus Dumbledore and then Harry. Despite valiant efforts made by the Order and, eventually, the Ministry of Magic, Voldemort and his minions remained strong.
The report from Severus Snape that Harry had just finished reading had carried ominous tidings for the Light side. During a raid on Hogsmeade, Death Eaters had managed to capture Professor Flitwick. This was exceptionally bad news for those concerned with the safety of the castle and its inhabitants, for the diminutive professor had been in charge of raising many of the castle's defensive wards. His capture raised the threat of those wards being broken. However, even this was not as disastrous as the loss of Albus Dumbledore in that horrific attack two years ago.
Harry's thoughts grew darker as he remembered that horrifying evening. It had been Valentine's and a Hogsmeade Weekend, so Harry, on break from Auror training, had made the trip up to visit Ginny Weasley, who was in her final year. The sun had been setting over the Forbidden Forest as the couple made their way back to the castle arm-in-arm, both of them basking in the pleasant atmosphere. As they had passed through the gates to the Hogwarts' grounds, a violent explosion had thrown them both to the ground.
Harry had gingerly picked himself off the ground and then offered a hand to help Ginny to her feet. When they had turned to look at their destination their hearts had stilled; a gaping hole had been rent into the Great Hall. Immediately, Harry and Ginny had broken into a run towards the castle, both hoping beyond hope that there had been no one in the Great Hall, though they had known it was a foolish hope.
Another blast never came; the first had achieved its objective. The story that was later pieced together was horrifying. The Great Hall had been filled mostly with the younger students for supper, since most of the older students were enjoying the free day away from the castle. Dumbledore had just sat down at the teachers' table when a sixth year Slytherin boy had approached him. As the Headmaster had kindly asked the boy how he was, the youth held out a metal tube, shouted, "Voldemort shall triumph," and triggered the blast.
When Harry and Ginny had arrived at the castle, it looked more like a battlefield then a school. Smoke blinded their eyes and the smell of death stung their noses. And the cries. The cries of the terrified and the dying still haunted Harry's dreams.
This event had been a great blow to the Light's confidence about their preparedness for any attack that the Death Eaters might conduct on Hogwarts. No one had seen a Muggle inspired attack coming because of the severe anti-Muggle stance of Voldemort and his followers. No more Muggle inspired attacks had followed, though whether it was from the Dark's distaste for anything Muggle or if they were just bidding their time was still being debated in Light war rooms.
They had lost Dumbledore, Hagrid, and Sprout in the immediate blast along with the Slytherin student; Remus Lupin had been in a coma for two months; three students died from their injuries, and many others would suffer from the emotional and physical traumas for the rest of their lives. Many parents had sent for their children and many did not return the following year for their parents were too scared to let them out of their sight. Many owls had been sent to the school and the Ministry demanding for the removal of the Slytherin house and the members expelled. Minerva McGonagall, who had taken up the duties of Headmistress, had flatly refused, but those that were accepted into Slytherin were closely monitored. Hogwarts was no longer the safe haven that many believed it to be.
Heaving a sigh, Harry lifted his head off his desk and slowly rose. Mentally, Harry began to draw up the plans for having the Hogwart's Express ready for the next day for those students who wished to leave. Outside his office window, the late afternoon sunlight sparkled across the lake totally unconcerned with the dark thoughts going through Harry's mind. The students would be finishing their last classes soon and would be heading for dinner in the Great Hall. Despite the fact that it would probably cause many to loose their appetite, Harry decided that the best time to make his announcement would be then. Even though he had no classes to teach this afternoon, Flitwick's absence would be noticed and it was best to explain it before rumors began flying. Turning away from the window, Harry scooped up his cloak and wand from a nearby chair and decided to begin going to the Great Hall. Beginning to plan what he would say to the castle occupants, he reached for the door handle but had to jump back as a shaken Sirius Black slammed it open.
"We've lost Flitwick," Sirius blurted out, at a loss for breath.
"I know, I've just read Severus' report and-"
"Not that. Those bastards have broken and killed him!" interrupted Sirius impatiently. "The defense wards are down!"
"What? So soon?" cried Harry in disbelief.
Harry knew that Voldemort would seize the opportunity to attack the castle before a defense crew would be able to set up all the wards once again, which would take some time. More time than they had. As the commander of both the Order of the Phoenix and Ministry troops at the castle, it would be up to Harry to organize these replacement wards around the school. The safety of those who resided there took higher priority then his own feelings for the moment, which meant that his grief would have to wait. Harry had accepted long ago the fact that he would have to place his wants and needs last during the fight long before he had taken up his current role as Commander at Hogwarts. He had accepted that fact when he had denied Voldemort the Philosopher's Stone and had refused to join him.
"Sirius, I want you to gather all of our Defense experts and go start building some sort of defenses for the castle," both men had exited Harry's office and were speeding down the hallway towards the main part of the castle. "I don't care how, just get those wards up as quickly as you can."
"Yes, sir," the older man was smirking, but the steely glint in his blue eyes expressed how seriously he was taking the situation.
Halting abruptly, Sirius watched his godson continue on. "Take care of yourself Harry," the choked sound of his voice made Harry pause and turn back.
"Sirius, what's wrong?" Harry asked, wondering at the sudden sadness that had overtaken his godfather.
"Nothing. Nerves, I guess. Must be getting weak in my old age," the older man attempted to smile, though his voice was still gruff. "See you in a bit," with that he turned and made his way towards the Aurors' chambers.
Brushing aside his concern at his godfather's odd behavior, Harry resumed his run towards the front of the castle. "Sonorous," he pointed his wand at his throat as he prepared to make an announcement to the school. The loss of the wards made the situation all the more urgent and the formalities of a formal address in front of the school had to be set aside.
"Attention please. This is Commander Potter," his voice echoed throughout the stone corridors. He did his best to keep the worry that was filling him from his voice so he would not add to the panic that he knew that his announcement would produce. "I want the Heads of House and prefects to please lead their Houses back to their dormitories immediately. Madam Pince will be in charge of Ravenclaw for the time. Then please join me and the rest of the staff in the Great Hall. Prefects please remain with your house. Aurors and Order members are to join us as well, unless directed otherwise. Quietus," with a flick of his wand he ended the charm.
The sound of hurrying feet thundered throughout the castle as its inhabitants made their way to their destinations. Harry was forced to slow his pace as he made his way through the tumultuous tide of nervous students which appeared in his path, all of them moving in the opposite direction as he was. The swell of students tapered off as Harry came down the main staircase and entered the Front Hall.
"Harry! What's happening?" came a concerned feminine voice from behind Harry. Turning, he saw Ginny, his wife of one year, hurrying down the stairs. He paused at the bottom of the stairs to wait for her to join him.
"Flitwick's dead," he replied quietly when she reached him, wrapping his arms around her.
Ginny gave a small gasp, her eyes were watering, but she pushed her grief aside for her beloved professor, "What now?"
Hand in hand, the couple resumed their trek to the Great Hall, "Sirius has gone out with a team to set up defenses and we're-"
A huge explosion tore through the Front Hall, interrupting Harry's explanation throwing them to the ground. As he picked himself up, overwhelming thoughts of that Valentine's two years ago began racing through his mind. A small groan beside him broke into his dark memories, "Ginny, you okay?"
"I'll survive," came the reply as she rose beside him.
Meanwhile, the doors to the Great Hall were flung open and those who had already gathered came out to assess the damage. "Shit, what happened?" came the voice of Dean Thomas through the gray smoke.
"Dean, I want you to contact Ron Weasley at the Ministry," ordered Harry. "Tell him to get a team of Aurors up here. Now! Hogwarts' defense wards are down." Ignoring the sudden buzz of concerned voices this caused, Harry began to organize the group. "I then want you to contact St. Mungo's and tell them to be on alert for any wounded we might send. Hermione Granger should be on duty there right now. Headmistress McGonagall, I want you to get a hold of Lupin, Hooch, Pince, and Vector. Tell them there are to stay with their Houses and protect the students. Then join Lupin in Gryffindor and help him work on defenses there. The tower will be vulnerable."
Harry turned to those gathered around him and motioned for them to follow him towards the entrance. "Okay, based on what we've learned from Death Eater tactics, that was a warning shot. They want us to know that they know we're vulnerable. We're going to join Sirius' group outside and work on defenses, mainly the anti-Apparition wards. Some Death Eater's will have gotten in already, no doubt about that. What we need to do now is make sure that no more do."
As Harry pushed open the battered remains of the castle's front doors, the sight that greeted the group made them halt abruptly. Hundreds of Death Eaters were gathered on the front lawn. Sirius' group was surrounded at wand point by at least twenty Death Eaters.
Standing in front of all of this was Voldemort. A large, satisfied grin spread across his pale, serpentine face as he took in the horrified faces of Harry's group. Next to him, he was holding a bound Sirius at wand point. "Surprise!" came the gleeful greeting. Green light shot out of his wand.
Sirius slumped forward, dead from Avada Kedavra.
Grief, followed by anger overwhelmed Harry as he sprung, wand raised, at his nemesis.
Ginny reached out for her husband and grabbed onto his arm; she was determined to be with him all the way.
The Battle for the control of Hogwarts had begun.
Voldemort swung his wand forward and directed it at the Potters.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Mobilitemporal!"
As Harry's vision flashed green, his thoughts focused on Ginny, hoping she had managed to avoid the Killing Curse.
As blackness swept over his world, Harry's thoughts then briefly touched on Remus and the spell he had cast.
AN: Wow, that took a while. For all you writers out there, never start a story and agree to help you parents move halfway across the country at the same time. Especially with college finals on top of that. Eek. Ok, I hope this is making sense. If not, here's what's going on. This chapter is titled "The Beginning." The prologue was "The End of the Beginning." Hint Hint. This chapter is the start of it all. Don't worry, we'll come back to the prologue and its consequences later on. Got it? Whew. Yes, I know I'm killing people off, but hey its fun! Also, it will all work out in the end, so don't worry. Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reviewing knightsky, Bucky, Akiko SkywalkerGreenleafPotter, Hermione_granger, and Sirius B. Padfoot.
A/N: Thanks to my betas Caitey and Shannon for putting up with me! You guys rock!
In the Beginning: Halloween 2001
"Shit," exclaimed Harry Potter as he let his head slam onto his desk. Even though he was only 20 years old, it was times like these that made him feel so much older.
Over the past five years, Voldemort and his Death Eaters had steadily been gaining power. After the events of Harry's fourth year, the Order of the Phoenix had set up a command center located at Hogwarts first under the leadership of Albus Dumbledore and then Harry. Despite valiant efforts made by the Order and, eventually, the Ministry of Magic, Voldemort and his minions remained strong.
The report from Severus Snape that Harry had just finished reading had carried ominous tidings for the Light side. During a raid on Hogsmeade, Death Eaters had managed to capture Professor Flitwick. This was exceptionally bad news for those concerned with the safety of the castle and its inhabitants, for the diminutive professor had been in charge of raising many of the castle's defensive wards. His capture raised the threat of those wards being broken. However, even this was not as disastrous as the loss of Albus Dumbledore in that horrific attack two years ago.
Harry's thoughts grew darker as he remembered that horrifying evening. It had been Valentine's and a Hogsmeade Weekend, so Harry, on break from Auror training, had made the trip up to visit Ginny Weasley, who was in her final year. The sun had been setting over the Forbidden Forest as the couple made their way back to the castle arm-in-arm, both of them basking in the pleasant atmosphere. As they had passed through the gates to the Hogwarts' grounds, a violent explosion had thrown them both to the ground.
Harry had gingerly picked himself off the ground and then offered a hand to help Ginny to her feet. When they had turned to look at their destination their hearts had stilled; a gaping hole had been rent into the Great Hall. Immediately, Harry and Ginny had broken into a run towards the castle, both hoping beyond hope that there had been no one in the Great Hall, though they had known it was a foolish hope.
Another blast never came; the first had achieved its objective. The story that was later pieced together was horrifying. The Great Hall had been filled mostly with the younger students for supper, since most of the older students were enjoying the free day away from the castle. Dumbledore had just sat down at the teachers' table when a sixth year Slytherin boy had approached him. As the Headmaster had kindly asked the boy how he was, the youth held out a metal tube, shouted, "Voldemort shall triumph," and triggered the blast.
When Harry and Ginny had arrived at the castle, it looked more like a battlefield then a school. Smoke blinded their eyes and the smell of death stung their noses. And the cries. The cries of the terrified and the dying still haunted Harry's dreams.
This event had been a great blow to the Light's confidence about their preparedness for any attack that the Death Eaters might conduct on Hogwarts. No one had seen a Muggle inspired attack coming because of the severe anti-Muggle stance of Voldemort and his followers. No more Muggle inspired attacks had followed, though whether it was from the Dark's distaste for anything Muggle or if they were just bidding their time was still being debated in Light war rooms.
They had lost Dumbledore, Hagrid, and Sprout in the immediate blast along with the Slytherin student; Remus Lupin had been in a coma for two months; three students died from their injuries, and many others would suffer from the emotional and physical traumas for the rest of their lives. Many parents had sent for their children and many did not return the following year for their parents were too scared to let them out of their sight. Many owls had been sent to the school and the Ministry demanding for the removal of the Slytherin house and the members expelled. Minerva McGonagall, who had taken up the duties of Headmistress, had flatly refused, but those that were accepted into Slytherin were closely monitored. Hogwarts was no longer the safe haven that many believed it to be.
Heaving a sigh, Harry lifted his head off his desk and slowly rose. Mentally, Harry began to draw up the plans for having the Hogwart's Express ready for the next day for those students who wished to leave. Outside his office window, the late afternoon sunlight sparkled across the lake totally unconcerned with the dark thoughts going through Harry's mind. The students would be finishing their last classes soon and would be heading for dinner in the Great Hall. Despite the fact that it would probably cause many to loose their appetite, Harry decided that the best time to make his announcement would be then. Even though he had no classes to teach this afternoon, Flitwick's absence would be noticed and it was best to explain it before rumors began flying. Turning away from the window, Harry scooped up his cloak and wand from a nearby chair and decided to begin going to the Great Hall. Beginning to plan what he would say to the castle occupants, he reached for the door handle but had to jump back as a shaken Sirius Black slammed it open.
"We've lost Flitwick," Sirius blurted out, at a loss for breath.
"I know, I've just read Severus' report and-"
"Not that. Those bastards have broken and killed him!" interrupted Sirius impatiently. "The defense wards are down!"
"What? So soon?" cried Harry in disbelief.
Harry knew that Voldemort would seize the opportunity to attack the castle before a defense crew would be able to set up all the wards once again, which would take some time. More time than they had. As the commander of both the Order of the Phoenix and Ministry troops at the castle, it would be up to Harry to organize these replacement wards around the school. The safety of those who resided there took higher priority then his own feelings for the moment, which meant that his grief would have to wait. Harry had accepted long ago the fact that he would have to place his wants and needs last during the fight long before he had taken up his current role as Commander at Hogwarts. He had accepted that fact when he had denied Voldemort the Philosopher's Stone and had refused to join him.
"Sirius, I want you to gather all of our Defense experts and go start building some sort of defenses for the castle," both men had exited Harry's office and were speeding down the hallway towards the main part of the castle. "I don't care how, just get those wards up as quickly as you can."
"Yes, sir," the older man was smirking, but the steely glint in his blue eyes expressed how seriously he was taking the situation.
Halting abruptly, Sirius watched his godson continue on. "Take care of yourself Harry," the choked sound of his voice made Harry pause and turn back.
"Sirius, what's wrong?" Harry asked, wondering at the sudden sadness that had overtaken his godfather.
"Nothing. Nerves, I guess. Must be getting weak in my old age," the older man attempted to smile, though his voice was still gruff. "See you in a bit," with that he turned and made his way towards the Aurors' chambers.
Brushing aside his concern at his godfather's odd behavior, Harry resumed his run towards the front of the castle. "Sonorous," he pointed his wand at his throat as he prepared to make an announcement to the school. The loss of the wards made the situation all the more urgent and the formalities of a formal address in front of the school had to be set aside.
"Attention please. This is Commander Potter," his voice echoed throughout the stone corridors. He did his best to keep the worry that was filling him from his voice so he would not add to the panic that he knew that his announcement would produce. "I want the Heads of House and prefects to please lead their Houses back to their dormitories immediately. Madam Pince will be in charge of Ravenclaw for the time. Then please join me and the rest of the staff in the Great Hall. Prefects please remain with your house. Aurors and Order members are to join us as well, unless directed otherwise. Quietus," with a flick of his wand he ended the charm.
The sound of hurrying feet thundered throughout the castle as its inhabitants made their way to their destinations. Harry was forced to slow his pace as he made his way through the tumultuous tide of nervous students which appeared in his path, all of them moving in the opposite direction as he was. The swell of students tapered off as Harry came down the main staircase and entered the Front Hall.
"Harry! What's happening?" came a concerned feminine voice from behind Harry. Turning, he saw Ginny, his wife of one year, hurrying down the stairs. He paused at the bottom of the stairs to wait for her to join him.
"Flitwick's dead," he replied quietly when she reached him, wrapping his arms around her.
Ginny gave a small gasp, her eyes were watering, but she pushed her grief aside for her beloved professor, "What now?"
Hand in hand, the couple resumed their trek to the Great Hall, "Sirius has gone out with a team to set up defenses and we're-"
A huge explosion tore through the Front Hall, interrupting Harry's explanation throwing them to the ground. As he picked himself up, overwhelming thoughts of that Valentine's two years ago began racing through his mind. A small groan beside him broke into his dark memories, "Ginny, you okay?"
"I'll survive," came the reply as she rose beside him.
Meanwhile, the doors to the Great Hall were flung open and those who had already gathered came out to assess the damage. "Shit, what happened?" came the voice of Dean Thomas through the gray smoke.
"Dean, I want you to contact Ron Weasley at the Ministry," ordered Harry. "Tell him to get a team of Aurors up here. Now! Hogwarts' defense wards are down." Ignoring the sudden buzz of concerned voices this caused, Harry began to organize the group. "I then want you to contact St. Mungo's and tell them to be on alert for any wounded we might send. Hermione Granger should be on duty there right now. Headmistress McGonagall, I want you to get a hold of Lupin, Hooch, Pince, and Vector. Tell them there are to stay with their Houses and protect the students. Then join Lupin in Gryffindor and help him work on defenses there. The tower will be vulnerable."
Harry turned to those gathered around him and motioned for them to follow him towards the entrance. "Okay, based on what we've learned from Death Eater tactics, that was a warning shot. They want us to know that they know we're vulnerable. We're going to join Sirius' group outside and work on defenses, mainly the anti-Apparition wards. Some Death Eater's will have gotten in already, no doubt about that. What we need to do now is make sure that no more do."
As Harry pushed open the battered remains of the castle's front doors, the sight that greeted the group made them halt abruptly. Hundreds of Death Eaters were gathered on the front lawn. Sirius' group was surrounded at wand point by at least twenty Death Eaters.
Standing in front of all of this was Voldemort. A large, satisfied grin spread across his pale, serpentine face as he took in the horrified faces of Harry's group. Next to him, he was holding a bound Sirius at wand point. "Surprise!" came the gleeful greeting. Green light shot out of his wand.
Sirius slumped forward, dead from Avada Kedavra.
Grief, followed by anger overwhelmed Harry as he sprung, wand raised, at his nemesis.
Ginny reached out for her husband and grabbed onto his arm; she was determined to be with him all the way.
The Battle for the control of Hogwarts had begun.
Voldemort swung his wand forward and directed it at the Potters.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Mobilitemporal!"
As Harry's vision flashed green, his thoughts focused on Ginny, hoping she had managed to avoid the Killing Curse.
As blackness swept over his world, Harry's thoughts then briefly touched on Remus and the spell he had cast.
AN: Wow, that took a while. For all you writers out there, never start a story and agree to help you parents move halfway across the country at the same time. Especially with college finals on top of that. Eek. Ok, I hope this is making sense. If not, here's what's going on. This chapter is titled "The Beginning." The prologue was "The End of the Beginning." Hint Hint. This chapter is the start of it all. Don't worry, we'll come back to the prologue and its consequences later on. Got it? Whew. Yes, I know I'm killing people off, but hey its fun! Also, it will all work out in the end, so don't worry. Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reviewing knightsky, Bucky, Akiko SkywalkerGreenleafPotter, Hermione_granger, and Sirius B. Padfoot.