Chapter 41: Fighting
They had to slow down when they reached the Great Hall because a dense crowd had gathered there. In the center Ron, Hermione and Charlie were explaining what the Ministry had done, wands out. Harry realized that everything was not going as he had hoped. He climbed down from Jasper's back and conjured up a pair of dark glasses.
"Vampires haven't been getting much press lately," he explained to his companion's questioning look. Stay with me, it's going to get bumpy."
They made their way through the crowd, whispers rising as they passed. Everyone whispered his name in amazement. Jasper scanned their emotions, most were relieved to see Harry, many were curious, and a few were disgusted to see their hands tied, but overall no one seemed to want to hurt them.
They barely had time to get to the center of the crowd when several people shouted the Survivor's name as they ran towards them. Jasper tensed up, ready to defend his companion, although he did not sense any animosity from the three people coming up. The joy Harry felt when he recognized Luna, Neville and Seamus convinced him that there was no danger. The young blonde woman jumped into the dark-haired man's arms, causing Jasper to grunt slightly, but Harry's feelings told him not to worry. The two young men greeted the other wizards warmly, then Jasper with a handshake before they could greet the dark-haired man in turn. Luna gently hugged her friends from school as well as Charlie, then gave the vampire a peck on the cheek.
"Trust in magic, your path will be lit by the moon forever," she whispered to him.
Jasper looked at her surprised, not really knowing how to take those words, but he had better things to do now, murmurs were rising from the crowd.
"These are the heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts."
"They're almost all wanted by the Ministry. "
"The papers said Potter was either dead or kidnapped by a vampire."
Just as he was about to share what he was hearing with his companion, Harry threw a sonorus at himself and addressed the crowd.
"I suppose you're as surprised as my friends here to see me here, or to see what state Charlie, Ron or Hermione are in. You were told that I was attacked by a vampire, that is not true, the only one who attacked me and my godson Teddy was Minister Gestand. You were told that I was a prisoner, that is not true, I was hiding so that my godson could grow up safely."
A rumble rose up in the crowd and snatched a smile from Jasper. Obviously these people didn't like their Savior being touched. Harry, on the other hand, was very uncomfortable, hating to speak in public like this. Jasper sent him waves of calm that allowed him to resume.
"Gestand hates magical creatures so much that he wants to exterminate them all. In order to find Bill Weasley who was injured by Greyback during the war and to find me, he blew up the Weasley house. He killed Molly and Ginny Weasley in cold blood just to find us."
The crowd stirred again, but this time the comments were negative. Some people shouted for Harry to hear their words.
"LIAR!"
"Who dares to call Harry a liar again?" exclaimed Ron.
"Haven't you learned anything from the past?" continued Neville. "Four years ago, Harry announced the return of Voldemort and you all called him a liar. Who was lying in the end? Fudge! Harry never lied about that!"
"Today my mother and my little sister are dead because of a minister who makes us fear our shadow!"
"Do you want to spend your life in fear of..."
Seamus was interrupted by the arrival of Gestand and his government.
"Mr. Potter, I see you are working hard to tarnish my image!" the minister began.
"Not as hard as you are at killing everyone I care about!"
"I never tried to kill anyone... I should sue you for libel!"
"And I intend to sue you for murder and attempted murder with intent, kidnapping and use of unforgivables."
Arthur's voice rang through the room. All heads turned toward the apparition area. Every Weasley still alive was there, bandages around their heads or limbs, faces still devastated by the ordeal they were going through. Behind them stood Fleur and the Cullens. Harry looked around the group and quickly noticed the absence of Andromeda and Esme. He deduced that they must have stayed with the children.
"Arthur, I did not expect to see you here..."
"Indeed, I suspect that you were hoping to see me dead alongside my wife and daughter. For months now, Minister, you have been telling us about the danger of vampires and magical creatures. You asked me to give you my oldest son, his wife and my granddaughter, claiming that they were a threat to society. But in the last twenty-four hours you have blown up my house, killing two members of my family, you have kidnapped my second son, you have sent assassins who have not hesitated to use the Avada on those present, you have kidnapped Harry's companion and attempted to murder my second son. While vampires, those creatures who would be a danger to us, have helped each of us and have not hesitated to put their lives at risk to help us when we were strangers to them. So tell me, who should be caged?"
The crowd stirred loudly, nearly choking Jasper who had not expected emotions to explode like this. He caught himself to Harry as he staggered slightly under the anger he felt. The wizard took his hand, easing the force of the emotions that were hitting the empath.
"Their anger is the key," Luna whispered as Jasper prepared to send a wave of calm.
The roar of the crowd swelled and phrases began to be shouted, louder than the others.
"They took my son!"
"They confiscated my wife's wand!"
"They locked up my brother!"
The minister's men pulled out their wands and attacked the crowd, surrounding it. The Weasleys and Cullens reacted quickly, responding to their spells. Gestand and his closest followers closed in on Harry, Jasper, and the wizards beside them. The two clans stared at each other, wands in hand without anyone initiating hostilities.
"Jasper," Harry whispered.
The empath understood and sent a rueful feeling to the men advancing toward them. Gestand made intricate movements with his wand and the vampire felt as if he was receiving everything he had just sent. He fell to his knees under the force of his own power, and Harry took him in his arms to help him recover. This was the signal for the dark-haired man's friends to attack.
From then on, the spells began to fly and Harry had to get up to defend himself. The duels began, but not only that, some wizards were casting spells from a distance. Jets of light shot across the room. Explosions sounded, as well as cries of pain. Harry tried to keep an eye on his companion, who seemed to be struggling to recover, but fighters got in between them, forcing him back to defend himself, and soon he was away from the vampire. Harry did his best to reach him or at least keep him in sight, fearing that one of their enemies would attack him while he was still on the ground. Jasper, sensing his wizard's anguish made an effort to get up. He struggled to keep the despair the spell had sent back to him at bay, but he had to counter it or Harry would be killed. Suddenly arms wrapped around him and Jasper felt the love and encouragement of the one he considered his father for him. Harry also sent a wave of love and refocused on his fight, using their love as motivation.
As Jasper finally felt ready to enter the battle, he very distinctly heard Alice yell "No!"
Harry and Charlie heard it too. Both of them immediately realized what was going on and threw themselves between the two vampires and the spells coming their way. The dragon rider stepped in front of Jasper, deploying a shield in front of them, while Harry did the same with Carlisle, his shield was not as strong as the dragon rider's though and the flames were licking the brown man's leather outfit. Harry concentrated on his bond with his companion to strengthen his shield, but it wasn't enough.
The four men were relieved to see Emmett and Edward decapitate their attackers. The fire went right out and Harry took off running, attacking the Prime Minister relentlessly. Jasper and Charlie looked at each other for a moment, as if sizing each other up as everything around them became a blur. For less than a second they ignored the fighting around them, creating for the first time a connection between them without the intention of killing each other.
"Thank you," the vampire finally said, sincerely.
"All I want is for him to be happy, that won't be the case if you die, so stay alive."
Jasper ignored the pained tone, nodded, and moved toward Harry, followed by Charlie. The two of them neutralized the wizards who were trying to hit the Survivor in the back, but they couldn't come to his aid. They couldn't get to him, there was always someone standing in their way. They were finally separated from the brown man by the growing number of fighters in the ministry. Many fantastic creatures and wizards had come down to swell the ranks. The fighting had intensified with the arrival of the aurors, who had divided themselves between the two sides, sometimes fighting each other. There were, however, more of them supporting Harry than the Prime Minister. The spells used were now mostly deadly, taking lives, destroying windows, the fountain, the stairs. The screams of pain and the sounds of destruction reminded Harry of the Battle of Hogwarts... He had managed to get past Gestand's men, who were very numerous, but their numbers were slowly dwindling, and had reached the Minister. He started the fight quickly, but one of Gestand's henchmen retaliated and the Survivor found himself fighting one on two. Jasper was desperately trying to get closer to Harry when he realized that another wizard was fighting with the Minister against him. This opponent was attacking him with a spell that produced a green beam that Harry was trying to block with his shield. Gestand took the opportunity to cast a spell as well.
"NO!" shouted Jasper, horrified.
At the same time, George stepped between the minister and Harry, also deploying a shield, but he fell to the ground, his shield closing. The beam had turned into a knife and passed behind the shield before it opened completely. The weapon struck George in the abdomen, blood began to pour from the wound, and he collapsed. Lying on his back, he clenched his hands around the blade, trying to stop the bleeding without success.
"George!" shouted Bill and Charlie who were closest to the fight.
The older man lost his temper and threw himself at the minister without restraint. He threw a violent punch that knocked him to the ground. The man defended himself, but he was no match for Bill's strength, who sat on his pelvis and beat him relentlessly, putting all the pain of what had happened to his family into it.
Charlie, desperate to see his brother on the ground and his love in trouble, knocked the other man still attacking Harry off his feet and the two ex-lovers fell to their knees beside George who was bleeding profusely.
"Fred." he whispered before losing consciousness.
The Weasley family and Harry's friends gathered around the injured man, some crying for him, others protecting them. Charlie also passed out, his previous injuries and those he had suffered during the battle finally taking their toll on his body. The adrenaline and urgency of the situation that had carried him had worn off and he could not resist any longer. His father took him in his arms immediately.
With the news that the minister had fallen to Bill's passing, the battle quickly died down, some residual fighting continued for hours, but most of the fighting was over.