A/N: Yeah! My computer LIVES!!! It's back! And I didn't lose a thing! Woo hoo! *dances around* This chapter is full of action for all you action buffs out there, and it's long, too. Most of the chapters are four or five pages long on my computer; this one is nine. Bill Weasley makes an appearance, and we get to meet Oliver Wood's father, Alan. Yay. Anyway, our heroes battle four creatures, Bill and Eko Chang make stupid puns (and I mean really stupid – you'll see), and Albus Dumbledore busts out the sword of Godric Gryffindor. Hoo ha! Thanks for being patient while my computer was gone. I started on Chapter 24 a few days ago, and it shouldn't be too long before it's finished. Oh, and I also need to know if you guys want a happy or tragic ending. I can go either way, but I need to know soon. Anyway, on with the show.
~~ Chapter Twenty-Three: A Snowball's Chance ~~
"There it is," Albus Dumbledore whispered to the five people with him as they watch the sun rise over the eastern horizon from their hiding place in a patch of bushes not far from a castle on the banks of Loch Lomond. "The castle Fudge was found in."
His five companions, Bill Weasley, Remus Lupin, Minerva Dumbledore, Alan Wood, and Eko Chang, did not find it necessary to make any response, for they were all thinking the same thing. They had no idea what they were getting themselves in to. For all they knew, they could be marching to their deaths. They didn't even know if Oliver and Hermione were in that castle. It was the only lead they had, though, and who knew? They might get lucky.
Finally, Bill Weasley spoke. "He was found there," he said, "but was he killed there as well?"
Dumbledore hadn't even thought of that. "I don't know," he said. "It's possible. After all, whoever we're dealing with is only leaving the clues they want us to find." He took a deep breath of air, then let it out slowly. "Is everyone ready?"
Five heads nodded.
"All right." He looked at Minerva. "You know what to do."
She nodded and closed her eyes. Her body shape shifted into her Animagus form. Dumbledore gave a nod, and the cat left the bushes and began sneaking toward the castle.
Wood shivered. "I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing someone do that," he commented.
"It does take getting used to," Dumbledore admitted, "and it's not a pretty picture when a person doesn't transform all the way. Let's not get into that, though."
Lupin shook his head. "No, let's not."
Hermione Granger thought she was dreaming when she heard the creak of door hinges opening, but when she opened her eyes, she saw that the door to their cell had indeed been opened. She sat up and shook the body lying next to her. "Oliver!" she said. "Oliver, wake up!"
Oliver Wood stirred, then lifted his head and opened one eye. "What is it?" he asked.
"The door!" Hermione said. "It's open!"
Instantly, Oliver was alert. "What?" he asked.
She pointed at the door. "Look!"
Suddenly, someone was standing in the doorway – a man wearing a long black cloak. The two teens were almost sure it was their captor, and when he spoke, they recognized his voice and their suspicions were confirmed. "Good morning," he said, but not kindly.
"Who are you?" Oliver demanded.
"I don't have time for details," he replied. "Let me just briefly describe to you what is going to happen. Right now, there is a group of people outside the castle that are going to try to rescue you. I am certain that old fool Albus Dumbledore is among them. Anyway, when they get to you, they'll probably ask about me. Tell them that I had some urgent business to attend to in London and am planning to leave the country after that. The Nundu is coming with me."
He turned around and started to leave. "Wait!" Hermione said, and he stopped. "You're letting us go?"
"Oh no, I am not letting you go," he said. "I am allowing you to be rescued. There's a big difference."
"But why?" Oliver asked.
"Do you really think I care about what happens to you?" the man said. "You're meaningless, both of you. It's a pity Dumbledore hasn't realized this. He is going to be so preoccupied with rescuing you two that he's going to completely overlook the person who really matters."
"Lucius Malfoy," Hermione said.
"Good job. You're a clever girl. But I have already wasted enough time with you two, so good-bye, and good luck."
"But you said you're allowing us to be rescued," Oliver said.
"I did," he confirmed. "I never said I was going to make it easy, though. Let's just say that I've left you some… surprises."
Minerva Dumbledore approached the castle with caution. If Albus was right, and this was a trap, then whoever was behind it must be suspecting something. After all, anyone bold enough to challenge Albus Dumbledore was not only daring, but smart as well. They had to know that Dumbledore wouldn't fall for a trap that was completely obvious, and since he knew that, she had to assume that their enemy knew that he knew, too.
Minerva knew something was up when she saw that the castle's main door was open just wide enough for a cat to squeeze through. She wasn't stupid enough to fall for that trick, though, and she continued to search around the castle for another entrance. On the east wall, she saw what she was looking for: a window slit within jumping distance. As she prepared to leap up, though, she had a thought. They knew their enemy was smart. Perhaps he had left the door open slightly so she would know it was too easy and look for an alternate entrance. Going through the window was probably just what he wanted her to do. She turned around and walked back toward the main entrance.
Upon entering the castle's courtyard, her keen feline eyesight and acute hearing scanned the area for any sign of danger. There was none. It was almost too quiet, but so far, everything seemed all right. It was probably safe to proceed. She transformed back into her human form, then Apparated to the others.
"Well?" Lupin asked when she returned to them.
"There was nothing there that led me to believe there is any danger," she said. "I got as far as the courtyard."
"Then that's where we'll go," said Dumbledore.
"Apparators are standing by," Bill said with a grin.
The other five groaned at Bill's lame joke. "Only you could come up with a pun at a time like this, Bill," commented Wood.
Bill smiled and shrugged.
"Well, if all our Apparators are ready," Chang said, "then let's get on with the Apparation."
Lupin looked at the Minister of Magic and narrowed his eyes. "Don't you start."
Once everyone was done making stupid puns, the six wizards Apparated into the courtyard. "Where to now, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked, looking around the courtyard.
"I don't know," his wife answered. "It's a big castle."
"We'd better split up, then," Dumbledore suggested. "We can cover more ground in less time that way."
Lupin looked at Wood. "I'm with you, Wood."
"Come on, Weasley," Chang said. "You and I can continue with the Apparation."
"Or at least the puns surrounding it," Bill replied, smiling broadly.
Minerva looked at Dumbledore. "Then it looks like you're stuck with me, Albus."
"'Stuck' is not the word I would choose, my dear," Dumbledore replied. He smiled at her, then addressed the group as a whole. "Meet back here in fifteen minutes."
"All right, then," Bill said. "Apparation Rescue Oliver and Hermione has begun."
Lupin groaned. "If he makes one more stupid Apparation pun, I'm out of here."
Hermione and Oliver stared at the open door in front of them for almost a full minute without blinking. "Did he really just walk off and leave that door open?" Oliver asked, breaking the still silence that had descended upon them.
Hermione nodded. "Yes, I think so."
"That's not right. It's too easy."
"You heard him, Oliver. He's allowing us to be rescued."
"Yes, but he also said he's not going to make it easy. I think the door is a distraction."
She hadn't thought of that. That was a good point. "Then what are we supposed to do?" she asked. "Should we do the obvious because he expects us to do the obvious, and therefore knows we wouldn't?"
Oliver took a deep breath, then shrugged. "All right."
The two of them walked out of the cell and into the hall. "It looks like the coast is clear," Hermione said, glancing down the corridor to the left.
Oliver put his hand on her arm. "Not exactly," he said, turning her around.
Hermione's eyes flew open in shock as she found herself looking at a mountain troll.
Remus Lupin and Alan Wood were walking along the allure on the wall built against the lake when Lupin suddenly halted and motioned for Wood to do the same. "What is it?" Wood asked, glancing from side to side to see if anything was approaching.
"I heard something," Lupin answered. His eyes drifted over to the lake. "It's coming from over there."
The two wizards walked over to the edge of the wall and looked at the lake below. The lake was still and smooth as glass. "Everything looks fine, Professor," Wood said.
All of a sudden, a low growl was heard, and something rose from the water. It was a large, dinosaur-like creature, with a long neck and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Lupin recognized the creature immediately. It was a Kelpie, and quite a large one at that. Lupin remembered from his studies that the world's largest Kelpie was the Loch Ness Monster, but this one couldn't be far behind.
Lupin pulled out his wand. Wood did the same thing and said, "I take that back."
"Look at this." Bill Weasley ran his fingers over a now-familiar pattern of slash marks on the inside of a door in a room adjacent to the courtyard. The four parallel marks were two inches apart and about an inch deep. "Something was pretty angry with this door."
"I'd bet it was the Nundu," Eko Chang said, touching the marks for himself.
"I think you're right." Bill pulled his hand away and took a few steps back to view the marks from farther away. "But why a door?"
Chang shrugged. "So whoever is behind all this lets us know he was here?"
"Obviously, but why? What is the reason behind this?"
"We're not dealing with a rational mind," Chang said. "Reason cannot be taken into consideration."
Just then, they heard a snarl come from behind them. "Look out!" Bill cried, and pulled the Minister of Magic away from the door just before a Manticore lunged at it.
"I know that scream," Minerva Dumbledore said when the sound of a girl's scream hit the eardrums of Albus and herself as they walked through the castle's dungeon. "It's Miss Granger."
"They're not far," Dumbledore said. "Hurry!"
They began walking faster, and came to a corner. Upon rounding the corner, though, they found themselves facing not Hermione Granger and Oliver Wood, but a large, rhinoceros-like creature known as an Erumpent. Upon seeing the dangerous animal, they froze in place. "Don't move," Dumbledore whispered.
"What are we going to do?" Minerva whispered back as the Erumpent let out a low growl.
Having never battled an Erumpent before, he wasn't quite sure. His old Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor from his days as a Hogwarts student, Armando Dippet, talked about Erumpents in class one day, and he still remembered the important details from the lecture almost a hundred and thirty years later. "The Erumpent's horn can pierce almost anything and contains an explosive fluid that destroys anything it hits," Dippet had said. "Males frequently blow each other up during mating season, and because of this, the species is endangered." That gave him an idea.
"Minerva, I have an idea, but it might sound crazy," he said, keeping his voice as low as possible. A loud thud echoed through the halls of the dungeon as the Erumpent took a step forward.
"So?" His ideas rarely made sense at face value, and she had come to expect this.
That got him to smile momentarily before continuing. "If I conjure up an invisible wall, and we get it to run into it, that should destroy it."
"And what's the catch?"
"Let's just say watch out for falling rubble."
Minerva couldn't think of a better idea, so she agreed. "All right."
As quick as a flash, Dumbledore pulled out his wand and pointed it at the floor in front of them and shouted something. The air shimmered as the magic barrier appeared. All the sudden movement startled the Erumpent, and it charged. Albus and Minerva grabbed onto each other's hands and started running away from the beast.
A loud bang was heard as the Erumpent crashed into the invisible wall, and it sent shock waves up and down the corridor. "Get down!" Dumbledore shouted, putting himself between Minerva and the blast. Both of them tumbled to the floor as the walls around them exploded.
When the debris settled, Minerva saw that a piece of rock had hit Dumbledore in the temple, and he was bleeding profusely. "Albus, you're hurt," she said as she brushed away some of his snowy white hair from the cut.
"I'll be fine," he insisted, and slowly rose to his feet. He gave Minerva his hand and helped her up as well. "Look, we killed the Erumpent."
Go us, she thought. "And now there's a huge pile of rocks blocking our path," she said. "We'll have to backtrack and find another way to Miss Granger and Mr. Wood."
"Then come," Dumbledore said. "We've not a moment to lose."
Alan Wood stole a glance at Remus Lupin out of the corner of his eye. "What do we do, Professor?" he asked in a low voice. The Kelpie's eyes never left them, and it slowly advanced toward the two wizards.
"Get off the allure," Lupin said. "They can't leave water."
Suddenly, the Kelpie let out a sound that sounded like a combination of a woman screaming and a lion roaring and lunged forward at them. "Jump!" Lupin said, grabbing onto Wood's arm and jumping off the allure. The Kelpie's jaws narrowly missed them.
Wood and Lupin landed hard on the ground after falling some twenty feet. Lupin struggled to his feet, surprised that he hadn't broken anything. The Kelpie, angry that it had missed its prey, roared again. "We should have known better," Lupin grumbled, watching the Kelpie carefully. "It was too easy to get in. I can't believe we didn't see it." He glanced at Wood, who was having trouble standing. "Are you all right?"
"Fine," Wood said through clenched teeth. He took a step forward, then let out a cry of pain. He clutched at his left ankle and grimaced. "I think it's sprained."
The Kelpie wasn't going to give up that easily. It spotted the two wizards, and then did something neither one of them expected: charged through the wall. The stones holding up the ancient structure crumbled under the giant creature's weight, and the snapping jaws at the end of its long neck were after them again.
"Come on!" Lupin said. He grabbed onto Wood to help him walk as they attempted to escape from the Kelpie again. This time, though, they were too slow, and the Kelpie's jaws snapped down on the end of Lupin's robe.
"Professor!" Wood shouted as the Kelpie hoisted Hogwarts's Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor into the air.
"Do something!" Lupin said, struggling to break free.
Wood pulled out his wand and pointed it at the Kelpie. He shouted a magic word, and several green fireballs formed at his wand's end, then shot toward the creature. The fireballs hit it in the mouth, and it let out a cry of pain and surprise. Lupin fell from its jaws into the lake. He was free, but now the Kelpie was angrier than ever.
Bill Weasley and Eko Chang had their wands pointed at the Manticore as the fearsome beast with the head of a man, body of a lion, and tail of a scorpion snarled at the door and then turned toward its head toward its intended target. Both were accomplished wizards, and Chang was one of the finest in the world at that, but neither one had experience in battling creatures. On top of that, this wasn't just any creature – it was a Manticore, one of the most dangerous monsters in existence. It was nothing compared to what had left its marks on the door, but even though it wasn't a Nundu, it could still kill both of them easily.
"Got a plan, sir?" Bill asked.
He didn't, but Chang quickly thought of one. "I'll Apparate around the room and distract it, and you knock it out," the Minister of Magic said. "Does that sound good?"
Bill nodded. "Sounds great."
Chang vanished, and almost instantaneously appeared behind the Manticore. "Over here!" he shouted, getting the creature's attention.
The Manticore snarled and lashed out with its scorpion tail, but the deadly stinger at its tip found only air as Chang Apparated to another point in the room. Its next lunge was also unsuccessful as the Minister of Magic vanished again and reappeared on top of the table in the corner. "No, over here!"
Bill pointed his wand at the Manticore and spoke a command, but the blue fireballs that left the end of his wand missed their target as the creature chased after Chang. "This isn't working!" he shouted to his companion. "I can't get a clear shot!"
"We'll think of something!" Chang said, and Apparated to another point in the room.
Bill knew Chang's Apparating would only distract the Manticore for so long, and he searched his mind for a possible solution. He couldn't think of anything, and the creature was already starting to lose interest in Chang. He wasn't about to start Apparating around the room like the other wizard was – he was nowhere near as skilled at the difficult spell as Chang was, and besides, that would do nothing but make the Manticore even more angry.
All of a sudden, the door flew open, and Albus Dumbledore's voice said, "What's going on in here?"
"Professor Dumbledore!" Bill said, surprised and delighted to see the Hogwarts headmaster. He then noticed Hogwarts's deputy headmistress standing behind him, and said, "Professor Dumbledore!"
"Hello, Mr. Weasley," the couple said in unison.
"Glad you could join the fun!" Chang said, Apparating just before the Manticore's claws sliced through his flesh.
"I can't get a clear shot at it," Bill said to Dumbledore. "Minister Chang has to keep Apparating around the room to avoid being killed, and the Manticore is chasing after him and isn't in one place long enough for me to hit it."
"I have an idea," Dumbledore said. "Stand back." He removed his outer robe, and both Bill's and Minerva's eyes grew wide with surprise as they saw what was hanging at his waist: the sword of Godric Gryffindor. "I thought this might come in handy," he said, pulling the sword from its sheath. Although it was well over a thousand years old, the sword was still in perfect condition and just as magical as ever.
A beam of light found its way to the sword's blade, and the reflection caught the attention of the Manticore. It lost all interest in Chang and turned its head toward Dumbledore. A vicious snarl escaped its human-like lips, and it lunged at its new target. It didn't get far, though, because Dumbledore brought the sword down and sliced off the creature's right paw.
The Manticore howled in pain, and blood spurted from the wound. Dumbledore took advantage of its shock and used the sharp blade of Gryffindor's sword to decapitate the creature and put it out of its misery. "I don't like killing creatures," Dumbledore said, giving the sword a shake to get some of the blood off, "but desperate times call for desperate measures."
"It was self-defense, Albus," Minerva said. "Now hurry, we've got to find Miss Granger!"
"Is she here?" Bill asked.
"We think so," Dumbledore said. "We were down in the dungeon and heard her scream before we ran into an Erumpent."
"An Erumpent?" Chang repeated. "And we got a Manticore… I wonder what Lupin and Wood are up against?"
"Let's hope they've been luckier than us," said Dumbledore. "Come, to the dungeons!"
Remus Lupin and Alan Wood were not having near as much luck in defeating their creature as the other four had been. While Bill Weasley, Eko Chang, and Albus and Minerva Dumbledore raced toward the dungeons to track down what they believed to be Hermione Granger, the two of them were faced with a very angry Kelpie. It had been angry before it charged through the wall and dropped its prey when a fireball hit it in the mouth. Now it was nothing short of furious.
"Thanks!" Lupin said when his head broke water, glad to be free of the Kelpie's jaws.
"Don't mention it!" Wood called back, trying to think of something to do next. Zapping the Kelpie seemed like a good idea at the time, but not so much anymore. "What do we do now?"
Lupin swam to the shore and climbed out of the lake. "Try that spell again!" he suggested. "I'll do it, too, and maybe it'll drive it back into the lake!"
Why not? Wood thought. It wasn't a bad idea, and besides, it was the only one they had. He sent another fireball flying at the Kelpie. It howled and moved back a few feet. "It's working!" he shouted.
"Great!" Lupin said, sending a fireball of his own at the massive creature. "Keep at it!"
Oliver Wood grabbed onto Hermione Granger's hand and began pulling her away from the troll. "Run!"
She didn't need to be told twice. The two of them took off sprinting down the corridor. The confused troll, not knowing what else to do, followed them. The troll definitely had the upper hand when it came to size and brute strength, but even though they were wandless, Hermione and Oliver were quick and could probably outrun it. At least, they thought they could… until they came to a pile of rubble in the middle of the hall.
Hermione frantically glanced from side to side. "We're trapped!" she said upon realizing that they were at a dead end.
"What are we going to do?" Oliver asked. The troll's heavy footsteps grew louder as the massive creature drew closer.
Now was one of those rare occasions when Hermione couldn't think of anything, and she was mentally kicking herself for it. "I don't know," she said. If only they had their wands!
The troll was coming. Oliver and Hermione closed their eyes and held onto each other tightly, expecting to hear the sound of the troll's giant club smashing open their skulls at any moment. What they heard instead, though, were two words: "Wingardium Leviosar!"
They opened their eyes, and saw Eko Chang pointing his wand at the troll, the troll's club hovering in the air, and the very confused troll wondering what the hell was going on. "Minister Chang?" Oliver said in disbelief.
Suddenly, three other figures appeared out of thin air: Bill Weasley and Albus and Minerva Dumbledore. Bill placed a hand on both Oliver and Hermione. "Are you two all right?" he asked, and they said they were.
Dumbledore stepped up next to Chang. "I'll take it from here, Eko," he said.
Chang nodded and took a step back. Dumbledore pointed Godric Gryffindor's sword at the troll, and a bright light flashed. When the light faded, the troll was unconscious.
Hermione was the first one to speak. "Wow," she said. "How did you do that?"
Dumbledore looked at the sword for a moment before putting it back in its sheath, and then answered Hermione's question. "I'm sure you know this is no ordinary sword," he said. "The person who gave it to Godric Gryffindor placed several charms on it, including the one you just witnessed."
Minerva couldn't help smiling a little bit. The story of how Gryffindor received his sword was not unknown to her.
"But this is no time for a history lesson," Dumbledore continued. "We've got to get out of here before our friend wakes up. There's no telling what else may be waiting in this castle for us to find. We've already killed an Erumpent and a Manticore."
"So that's what he meant," Oliver said to Hermione as the six of them walked past the troll and down the corridor at a rapid pace.
"What who meant?" asked Minerva.
"The man who captured us, Professor," Hermione answered. "He's the one who's been killing everyone."
They stopped walking. "Who was he?" Dumbledore asked. "Did he say his name?"
"No, he didn't," Oliver said, "and we never saw his face. All he said was that he had some urgent business to attend to in London and that he and the Nundu would be leaving the country after that."
Dumbledore looked at Chang, and the Minister of Magic nodded. "I know what you're thinking," he said, "and I'm as good as gone." Without another word, he vanished into thin air as he Apparated back to the Ministry of Magic headquarters in London.
"There's more," Hermione said. "Lucius Malfoy is in danger. All of this is somehow connected to him. We have to warn him."
"Very well," Dumbledore said. "We'll send an owl to them as soon as we get back to London. For now, let's just worry about getting out of here."
Slowly but surely, the Kelpie was being driven back into the water as Lupin and Wood sent fireballs flying from their wands at the giant creature. "Do you think this is going to work?" Wood called to his companion.
"I don't know!" Lupin shouted back. "It seems to be working now, but I don't know how long it's going to last!"
It wasn't going to last for much longer. The Kelpie, upon realizing that the fireballs were just intended to inflict discomfort and would cause no real damage, charged at its assailants. Its charged stopped, though, when a giant white fireball exploded just in front of it. It let out a snarl, and then, deciding that these bothersome wizards weren't worth the trouble, turned around and retreated into the depths of the lake.
Lupin and Wood, wondering where the white fireball had come from, turned around and saw Bill Weasley and Albus and Minerva Dumbledore holding out their wands. Then, they saw who was with them: Oliver Wood and Hermione Granger. They ran over to them, and Alan and Oliver embraced each other tightly. "What in the world happened to you?" Wood asked his son.
"It's a long story," Oliver said.
"One we don't have time to discuss at the moment," Dumbledore added. "Come, let's get out of here before anything else happens."
The instant Eko Chang arrived back at the Ministry of Magic headquarters, Nathaniel Kilner, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, came walking up to him at a rapid pace. "We've discovered who's behind all the killings involving the Nundu, Minister Chang," the tall, robust man reported.
"Have you?" Chang said, thinking they had discovered the identity of the man who had captured Oliver and Hermione.
"We have," Kilner confirmed with a nod. He reached into his pocket and handed Chang a piece of paper. "Lucius Malfoy."