Episode Eighty Four
Part One
That very evening, sitting at the head table, dining on steak and kidney pie Gwen, along with the students and staff nearly jumped out of her seat as a loud crashing sounded from outside the doors of the main hall.
It sounded to Gwen as if someone were taking a battering ram to the front doors of the castle. She wasn't far off on her guess. There was a huddle of death eaters outside the main doors, their wands pointed and chanting vigorously. They were bombarding the doors with every spell they knew.
Apparently, part of Dumbledore's tighter security had been ensuring that the castle wouldn't let in any attempting marauders. He had set a powerful spell on every door to the outside making them unbreachable to strangers. The amazing thing about the spell was that the doors recognized students, faculty and certain upstanding members of the community.
Dumbledore had to shoot off fireworks to get everyone's attention, as he had years before when a troll had been spotted in the dungeons. When he finally received a quiet audience he announced: "The prefects will lead everyone back to their house dormitory. I ask that all students remain there until further notice." The students shuffled off as the teachers rushed past them into the main hall.
The doors had not been breached, nor would they be, but the problem needed to be addressed. Once again, someone was trying to compromise castle security and Hogwarts felt less safe than ever. All of the students had passed through the main hall and were currently walking briskly to their dorms.
The pounding on the door continued.
"What are we going to do?" Gwen asked, more than ready to take on the dark wizards outside.
Dumbledore sighed. "They cannot be allowed inside the school."
"Shall we send out a diplomat?" Snape asked snidely, scratching at the mark on his arm.
"I will happily take part in that envoy." Gwen offered. She felt a hand on her elbow and knowing that it was Graves in his invisibility cloak she did not turn to look, fearing she might raise some of the staff's curiosity.
"I wouldn't like wand to wand combat on the front lawns of Hogwarts." Dumbledore said plainly.
"Nor I." Minerva added.
"There's nothing for it." Anthony said. "They won't leave until they get a fight and if a fight's what they want that's what they'll get." He added, brandishing his wand.
"How many are there?" Tiny Professor Flitwick asked meekly.
Snape peered out of the window nearby. "Ten. That isn't their full force. There may be more waiting to ambush."
"I think we can take them." Gwen said, that fire beginning to lick at her brain stem once more. She could easily have taken them all on her own.
Dumbledore gazed at her mildly. "Is that your professional opinion Miss LeFey?"
"Absolutely not sir." She said with a spritely smile. "That's entirely personal."
The pounding was growing steadily in volume. "Even with the enchantment Albus those doors can't take much more." Minerva said nervously.
"Then we have only one option. We must meet them head on."
Part Two
Gwen was nearly bubbling with excitement. It seemed odd, but the tension she'd been feeling had melted away at the idea of fighting the death eaters. Some insane instinct to protect the school had taken hold on her and everything else was background noise.
She pulled her wand out of her robe, watching as the other teachers regarded her actions. They remembered very well the description Albus had given them when retelling the tale of her single handed capture of thirteen death eaters. They had no doubt she would be their front line of attack.
Not all of the teachers would be coming with them. In the chance that something might go horribly wrong they wanted as many teachers within the school as a last line of defense. Among those venturing out were Snape, Smith, LeFey, McGonagall, Hagrid and Dumbledore. Of course Graves was with them, but only Dumbledore, McGonagall and Gwen were aware of his presence.
The pounding on the door had stopped for a moment and the group used that moment to rush out, closing the doors quickly behind them. Both groups stood still for a tense moment and then a death eater pointed his wand clearly at Gwen. He was about to work the Crucio on her, but Gwen had him disarmed before he had opened his mouth.
The rest of the group was not so easy to subdue. There were three death eaters to every professor. Snape had been right, there had been more waiting to ambush.
Anthony was shooting spells left and right, trying to perfect his aim as he went. He knocked one death eater out, but he couldn't seem to hit the other two he had targeted. Minerva was dueling one on one with a tall death eater. She was very stylish, but they were at a stalemate.
Snape was working with a bloody fury, angrily swishing his wand and dropping a death eater here, another there. Dumbledore seemed to be hanging back. He had chosen to duel one on one, as had Minerva, but he had dropped his first opponent and no others had emerged to challenge him. Hagrid had no wand, but was currently picking up a death eater and throwing him like a discus, aiming for the lake.
Gwen was surrounded by several of them. They had recognized her from an attack in Hogsmeade and were preparing to reenact the scene. But they were to be highly disappointed. Before they could do anything Gwen had all six of them disarmed. Graves was sneaking around the outside of their ring and knocking each one on his or her ass.
The teamwork had paid off. Before long they had all six wrapped in tight bonds. The battle was in such a state that no one could hear Graves congratulate Gwen on her excellent timing.
Before long all of the death eaters had been tied up thoroughly. Dumbledore immediately sent word to the Ministry. Minerva returned to the castle to check in on the students. The rest were left to watch over the group and ensure that no further mischief ensued.
"That was excellent wand work." Anthony commented to Gwen. He sent her into a blush and she giggled just a little.
"I had help." She said a little mysteriously and she felt the soft, invisible hand landing on her shoulder in thanks.
Snape raised his eyebrow and looked past her shoulder directly to where Graves was standing. He narrowed his eyes, as if he could see through the cloak his former student was wearing. Of course he couldn't, but Gwen grew nervous just knowing that Snape was suspicious.
A group arrived from the Ministry not much later and shuffled the sullen bunch of death eaters into a sort of paddy wagon Gwen assumed would be heading for Azkaban. The professors left on the lawn straggled up to the castle slowly, sighing with relief and Snape growling about Ministry punctuality.
Part Three
It didn't take long for word to get out. The Daily Prophet had a huge story about the attack the very next day, even with the Ministry's efforts to silence the report. Some people were appalled at the nerve of such a maneuver. Others were terrified that their children might not be safe.
The students were disappointed that classes had not been cancelled and grumbled the entire day. The professors took this in stride and continued to fill their heads with useful information. The Defense Against the Dark Art's lesson was particularly candid as Anthony retold the story of the attack in great detail, painting Assistant Professor LeFey as a heroine of mythic proportions. Of course, Gwen denied any allegations.
When classes ended she retired to her boudoir to find Graves sitting at her bench and gazing out of the window. He had walked her to her room the previous night and wouldn't leave again until he was certain she was ok. They hadn't spoken about Snape's behavior following the attack. It was as if they understood that he knew something was up, but they didn't feel the need to discuss the issue yet. It wasn't yet an issue.
But that afternoon Gwen needed to get something else off her chest. "I felt free when I was fighting the death eaters." She said, surprising herself as she plunked onto the end of the bed.
"Free?" He asked, looking at her with his head to the side and a deep frown.
"It's hard to explain. I just…" She cut herself off. She didn't know how to describe the feeling. It was almost happiness, but that sounded absurd. "It was the only time I felt really good except for when I'm with you or Harry. I just want to get rid of all this anger and confusion. I can't take any more."
"That's where I was not that long ago." He said with a sigh.
She looked at him, honestly put off. She hadn't expected that. He looked lost and tiny, frail when he usually looked so much stronger than she felt. He had changed in so many ways and it was an interesting task trying to discover and make note of the little things that were different. She didn't say anything for a long time when he decided to speak again.
"I'm not working for the Order." He stated plainly.
"Then what was that the other day when you helped with those death eaters?" She asked.
"That was me protecting the one thing I value."
"Me?"
"You." He replied with a grin. She rolled her eyes.
"You could do a lot of good you know."
"I know. But I've been caught between the good and the bad forever. I don't want to go overboard to one side or the other. I'd rather just walk the line for now."
"Is it easier?"
"Walking the line?" He asked. She nodded affirmatively. "Sometimes I wonder. Enough of this." He said with a snort of laughter. He stood, crossed the room, took her hand and pulled her from the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and began a slow dance to a hummed tune. "I don't know if I can make you happy, but perhaps I can chip away at some of the angst."
Her head landed softly on his chest and she swayed in rhythm with his slow steps, content not to worry about anything but the steady beat of his heart.
