All around them, shops were ablaze. Smoke was so thick, Harry could
barley make out Ron and Ginny's red hair. Death Eaters were shooting green
and red sparks at frightened shoppers and shop owners. Dementors glided
through the air, hoods no longer up. Harry could see them for they really
were.
The dementors were people! Their faces were a dull gray, and their mouths had become permanent "O"'s. The strong jaws were large, and the noses were slightly squashed. However, Harry could see the faces of actual people. He didn't recognize any of them, but he was still terrified.
Vampires, ghouls, hags, ogres, and goblins were running amuck. Giants were towering above them. And up in the sky, Harry saw dragons and wild thestrals. The dragons were responsible for all of the fire, and the thestrals were swooping upon any carrion that was lying about. Harry pulled out his wand, and pointed it at his first victims, a trio of dementors. "Expecto Patronum!" A stag erupted from his wand, and was quickly chased by an otter, a lion, and a falcon. The dementors glided away quickly. All around, Harry saw other teams that had formed up. Ernie, Hannah, Justin, and Susan, who had fought at the Ministry of Magic, were all shooting out charms and spells against the vampires and ghouls. Cho, Michael, Anthony, and Padma were all standing around, frightened. So was the team of Seamus, Dean, Parvati, and Lavender. However, Neville and Luna were fighting off Death Eaters.
Neville had matured a lot over the years. He was no longer the scared first year Harry had first met. He was brave, and he had grown up a lot. Maybe that was what had given him the guts to face three Death Eaters. However, Harry knew that these were no ordinary Death Eaters. These three Death Eaters were Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband, Rodolphus, and her brother-in-law, Rabastan. These three had been the Death Eaters responsible for torturing Neville's parents, who were now in St. Mungo's. Bellatrix had also been the one to kill Sirius, her own cousin.
Harry ran up to help Neville. Neville had been working hard all year at curses and countercurses, so Harry wasn't surprised to see Rabastan's wand shrink to the size of a toothpick. He knew that Neville had used the Reductor curse. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Luna, had managed to Transfigure Rodolphus' shoes into a pair of pigs, which were now running off in the opposite direction, taking Rodolphus with them. Harry turned to face Bellatrix. "Well Potter, it seems we meet again. I remember when you tried to use the Cruciatus Curse on me last summer. If I remember correctly, it actually tickled. Let me show you how it really works." She pointed her wand at him, and said "Cruci-"
But she was stopped right then by the Impediment curse, which Ginny had shot right at her back. "Happy Valentine's Day!" She and Harry took off, and started causing havoc. They had put out the fires, and had managed to run off all of the dementors and other Dark creatures. Harry felt an odd feeling of longing, like he wanted to chase after them to Voldemort's headquarters. However, before he could, Dumbledore said, "Harry, come, it's time to go back to Hogwarts. I have some explaining to do." Harry nodded, and walked towards the fireplace inside one of the shops that had not suffered much damage. He hopped in the grate, and the Floo powder transported him to Dumbledore's office.
The dementors were people! Their faces were a dull gray, and their mouths had become permanent "O"'s. The strong jaws were large, and the noses were slightly squashed. However, Harry could see the faces of actual people. He didn't recognize any of them, but he was still terrified.
Vampires, ghouls, hags, ogres, and goblins were running amuck. Giants were towering above them. And up in the sky, Harry saw dragons and wild thestrals. The dragons were responsible for all of the fire, and the thestrals were swooping upon any carrion that was lying about. Harry pulled out his wand, and pointed it at his first victims, a trio of dementors. "Expecto Patronum!" A stag erupted from his wand, and was quickly chased by an otter, a lion, and a falcon. The dementors glided away quickly. All around, Harry saw other teams that had formed up. Ernie, Hannah, Justin, and Susan, who had fought at the Ministry of Magic, were all shooting out charms and spells against the vampires and ghouls. Cho, Michael, Anthony, and Padma were all standing around, frightened. So was the team of Seamus, Dean, Parvati, and Lavender. However, Neville and Luna were fighting off Death Eaters.
Neville had matured a lot over the years. He was no longer the scared first year Harry had first met. He was brave, and he had grown up a lot. Maybe that was what had given him the guts to face three Death Eaters. However, Harry knew that these were no ordinary Death Eaters. These three Death Eaters were Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband, Rodolphus, and her brother-in-law, Rabastan. These three had been the Death Eaters responsible for torturing Neville's parents, who were now in St. Mungo's. Bellatrix had also been the one to kill Sirius, her own cousin.
Harry ran up to help Neville. Neville had been working hard all year at curses and countercurses, so Harry wasn't surprised to see Rabastan's wand shrink to the size of a toothpick. He knew that Neville had used the Reductor curse. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Luna, had managed to Transfigure Rodolphus' shoes into a pair of pigs, which were now running off in the opposite direction, taking Rodolphus with them. Harry turned to face Bellatrix. "Well Potter, it seems we meet again. I remember when you tried to use the Cruciatus Curse on me last summer. If I remember correctly, it actually tickled. Let me show you how it really works." She pointed her wand at him, and said "Cruci-"
But she was stopped right then by the Impediment curse, which Ginny had shot right at her back. "Happy Valentine's Day!" She and Harry took off, and started causing havoc. They had put out the fires, and had managed to run off all of the dementors and other Dark creatures. Harry felt an odd feeling of longing, like he wanted to chase after them to Voldemort's headquarters. However, before he could, Dumbledore said, "Harry, come, it's time to go back to Hogwarts. I have some explaining to do." Harry nodded, and walked towards the fireplace inside one of the shops that had not suffered much damage. He hopped in the grate, and the Floo powder transported him to Dumbledore's office.
