A/N- This chapter was short, so I have decided to grace all of you to with two chapters tonight, because I love you. But I expect some major reviews!
A/N 2- Anyone what to know what a wizard's bond is? Read on.
Chapter 20- The Battle
When the six students reached the clearing, the battle looked hopeless. Close to one hundred death-eaters had surrounded the headmaster and the potions master. Quickly, the students began their attacks on those on closest to them. The men, realizing they were being attacked from a second front, turned quickly, but the trees provided cover allowing the students to avoid the counter attacks. Shouts of "Petrificus Totalus", "Expelliarmus", "Impedimentia", "Locomotor Mortis", "Stupefy", and "Cunfundus" filled the air, evening the odds.
Finally, Dumbledore appeared to have enough. In a voice so loud it echoed in the night, he called out a spell they couldn't quite catch, but the remaining death-eaters dropped to the ground, powerless.
Dumbledore strode forward quickly intent on reaching the Dark Lord as soon as possible, but Snape, noticing the death-eaters that had been felled much closer to the forest stared hard at the trees for a minute before joining him.
They watched the two men go from their perch, and followed them with their gaze. Hermione was the first to catch sight of McGonagall, just after Voldemort disappeared. "Oh No!" She whispered, traumatized. "Professor McGonagall's going to die!"
Ron, Harry and Ginny stared at her in horror. "What?" "Why?" They cried out at the same time. Davina and Draco had turned back to stare at their professor, trying to figure out what Hermione saw.
"Voldemort was trying to form a wizarding bond with her, and they got past the first stage…"
This time only Harry looked confused. Wizarding bonds were the stuff of legends, things wizard children heard about when they were very young. But for Harry's sake Hermione explained. "A wizarding bond is kind of like the most extreme form of marriage. But the difference is, it binds two souls together. They can never be apart from each other, and when one dies the other will too. The bond can never be broken. The first step in the ritual is to release the anchor of the body to the soul. McGonagall's soul is just floating around right now, and if it isn't bonded, there's no way to get it back into her body!" She got very quiet and stared at the five adults standing just about a yard away. "If the wound on her arm heals before that, she'll die."
Harry looked like his world was coming to an end. He glanced over at McGonagall's floating body, then back at Hermione. Then back at McGonagall. Then he took off towards the clearing at a run. Hermione was on his heels. Seconds later, Draco caught sight of flaming red hair as the last remaining death-eater besides his father lowered her hood and he too was running through the clearing. With a shrug to Davina and his sister, Ron motioned for the two of them to join him as he followed.
Minerva was at peace. She was warm and happy, floating everywhere and nowhere. Everywhere she looked there were beautiful colors, she felt as if she were part of a sunrise. She heard laughing all around her, and when she stared hard into the distance she could just make out her the village she grew up in, all of her childhood playmates beckoning her to come play. A small giggle escaped her and she began to float over to them. Then suddenly, she was heavier. She frowned and tried to pull away from the weight, but she couldn't get away. It held on. Slowly the weight felt like warm arms hugging her and she relaxed within them, content once again to just float.