Chapter Six
Ron walked into the great hall and took a seat beside Remus at what once was the head table. The entire resistance was crammed into the great hall, which had obviously been magically expanded.considering there were over a thousand magical beings in the resistance. Plus, there were many magical creatures roaming around.Centaurs.and other half way intelligent creatures, including Aragog and a few of his family members, much to Ron's despair. Ron glanced at Remus who looked extremely worn out from last night's transformation.
"Do you know what's going on?"
Ron asked, glancing at Dumbledore, who looked older than usual. Remus followed Ron's gaze
"He's let out nothing about this meeting anyone, and usually his meetings are only made up of us.whatever it is, it must be something important. Maybe he's found a way to end this war."
Ron snorted
"I sure as hell hope so"
They waited a few more minutes before Dumbledore called for silence. Every wizard, witch, and creature had both eyes on him.except Moody; his magical eye was fixed on one of the larger spiders behind Hagrid.
"My friends"
Dumbledore said, standing. His strong voice echoed throughout the room
"We have been at war for far to long.and that is the reason I've called you here today"
Whispers started through out the hall. 'Is he giving up?' 'Is Voldemort dead?' Dumbledore raised his hands
"What I'm about to suggest is only up to you. If we keep going like we are, the resistance will fall.Voldemort is gaining more and more strength.the longer we wait, the harder it will be for us to defeat him. I propose a full out attack on England"
It sounded as though a bomb had exploded in the hall. Everyone was shouting at once. Yes! No! When? How? Ron frowned.as afraid he was of facing Voldemort, he agreed with Dumbledore.it was now or never. The talking just got louder, and Dumbledore didn't seem to have any intention of shutting everyone up. Finally Ron jumped to his feet. He was surprised to see a small smile on Remus' face. Ron pointed his wand at his throat.
"Sonorous"
He whispered. He took a deep breath
"SILENCE!"
He shouted. All talking stopped at once, and Dumbledore sent Ron an amused, yet thankful glance.
"Quietus"
He muttered, dropping down in his seat, trying to ignore Remus' grinning face. Dumbledore began to speak again
"I didn't ever want it to come to this.but we will not be the only one's going up against Voldemort."
Dumbledore lifted a rather large pile of papers up.
"There are letters from every other resistance in Europe. We are the largest, but there are hundreds more groups ready to fight Voldemort. We also have enlisted the help of many colonies of centaurs and Acromantulas.the other groups cannot defeat Voldemort alone. They need our help. If you do not wish to help, you may leave this hall now. We will think nothing less of you, it is of course, your choice, but those of you that stay, know this.We will be fighting against an evil greater than anything else in this world. We will be outnumbered.but we have a stronger will to win.and."
Dumbledore grinned
"As powerful as Voldemort is, we outnumber him with powerful wizards"
Everyone was silent for a moment. Only children under around 15 left that hall in the time. Finally someone in the sea of people spoke
"Are you more powerful than the Dark Lord Professor?"
Dumbledore sighed
"In my younger days I would have been proud to tell you that my powers easily matched his. But now, in my later stages of life, I must say I would not come out victorious in a duel with him. But-"
Dumbledore grinned
"I have a very close friend that I know for a fact can defeat Voldemort."
Again talking broke in the hall. Everyone waited calmly until it calmed down. Dumbledore was about to speak again when another question rang out
"How can you be sure Potter will be there?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled
"Although Mr. Potter does not stand before you as I do.I know for a fact that he knows exactly what I'm planning. He will be there, along with many other stragglers."
Dumbledore glanced down the table at Ron.
"I think it's time for us to win back England"
~*~
"This is all your fault Snape!"
Sirius growled, tugging at his legs which were currently sunk knee deep in some sort of brown muck. They'd been walking under the highway and Sirius had fell in, that was 10 minutes ago, Sirius and Snape had been arguing ever since
"My fault?!"
Snape sneered, his eyes narrowing dangerously
"You were the one who insisted we walk through here Black! So don't you go blaming me for your misfortune! Had you listened to myself and your godson, we wouldn't be in the predicament!"
"I was doing it for our own safety! Had you not-"
"Not what?"
Snape asked, raising his eyebrows, staring down at Sirius, a smirk on his face
"You-"
"Would you two shut up?"
Harry growled
"Had you been listening to me and not arguing for the past few minutes you would know there is something more to worry about than your stupid argument. This obviously was put here on purpose, I mean, this isn't real quicksand, we're under a bloody highway! I'm sure there's a camp nearby and this is here to keep the prisoners from running"
Harry knelt down beside it; looking hard at the.substance.Sirius was still standing in
"I'm sure the death eaters know we're here, we probably set off some sort of alarm, so either they'll come get us, or there's something coming to finish us off"
Harry stood up
"We need to get out of here, fast!"
Sirius and Snape nodded, their argument forgotten.
"Alright, Severus grab his hand, I'll try using magic"
Snape nodded and grabbed one of Sirius' outstretched hands. Harry pointed his wand at him
"Accio Sirius Black!"
Sirius began to shake form the powerful magic that was pulling at him and Snape's vein attempts.he wasn't coming loose.
"Something's wrapped around my leg!"
Sirius suddenly cried, his eyes widening in horror. He was quickly jerked down past his waist.
"SHIT!"
Snape managed to keep hold of Sirius' hand and continued to pull. Harry dropped his wand and ran over. He grabbed Sirius' other hand
"That repels magic!"
He shouted, tightening his grip on his godfather who was now up to his neck in the mud.
"On three!"
Harry cried, glancing at Snape
"One.two.three!"
They both gave an almighty heave and Sirius popped out, landing with a thud on top of Harry. He rolled off quickly, pulling the other two up
"Run! Come on!"
He shouted. Harry moved for his wand, but something grabbed his ankle. He looked over his shoulder in panic. Thin brown chord like tentacles were pouring out of the puddle by the thousands. Harry's eyes widened as the tentacles wrapped around his ankles, tugged hard, and sent him face down to the ground. He glanced at Sirius and Snape. Snape had just blown numerous tentacles off his arm with a reductor curse. Harry reached for his wand, but the tentacles jerked and dragged him into the puddle. He was underneath the mud before he could even scream.
~*~
Sirius saw Harry go under and panic gripped his insides
"HARRY!"
He shot towards the small pool he'd just been freed from, blowing the thin slimy chords away from him as he ran. He felt something grab his arm, but it wasn't a tentacle.
"Wait"
Snape held up a severed chord. He tired it around Sirius' wrist.
"Pull on it when you have him and I'll pull you up. Use a bubble head charm"
Sirius nodded, cast a quick bubble-head charm and dived into the small pool.He waded through it, searching frantically for Harry through the thick muck. Finally, after nearly a minute, he caught sight of his godson. Tentacles were wrapped tightly around his wrists and ankles. His eyes were closed and his head was lolling from side to side. Sirius let out a cry of shock and swam over. He tugged irately at the chords, trying to curse them off, but the bubble charm wouldn't let him. He began to panic, but finally remembered something. He dug in Harry's pocket and pulled out the knife he himself had given Harry for his fourteenth birthday. With quick easy slashes he cut the tentacles loose and tugged hard at the one around his wrist. Seconds later he and Harry shot out of the water with such speed Sirius felt as though he'd gotten whiplash. When he hit the ground he heard Snape shout another curse. When he glanced back to pool was surrounded by fire, and the tentacles were quickly disappearing. Sirius turned back to Harry. He removed the bubble charm from himself and laid his head on Harry's chest. He wasn't breathing
"No"
He whispered, wracking his brain for a spell
"There is no spell that removes water from the lungs"
Snape muttered sadly, dropping to his knees on the other side of Harry
"NO!"
Sirius shouted, searching Harry frantically for any sign of life
"We'll have to give him CPR"
Sirius said as calmly as he could, plugging Harry's nose. Snape nodded and pressed hard on Harry's chest. Sirius blew into Harry's mouth, blinking back tears
"Come on Harry"
Snape pressed again and again. And Sirius forced air into Harry's lungs again and again. Finally, just as they were loosing hope, Harry's body jerked.
"Harry, come on, it's okay"
Harry rolled over and water spilled from his mouth, along with other things he'd obviously swallowed. Sirius rubbed his back softly, tears falling over his cheeks
"Your okay.it's okay"
Sirius chanced a look at Snape and was relieved to see the other man as pale as a sheet and shaking. Although he wasn't crying as Sirius was, Sirius hoped Snape wouldn't tease him to bad.Harry was family after all.
~*~
Hermione was extremely annoyed. She hated being useless, she also hated looking like a fool in front of Draco Malfoy, and she knew she did. After walking for hours with her in his arms, Draco had tired out and decided to cast a levitation charm on her. They were currently walking (Well he was walking, she was floating) down an abandoned highway in southern Spain. Draco claimed they only had to reach the coast and he could easily apparate them to England. She sincerely hoped he was right. But besides the fact that she was upset about being able to do nothing but there, she hated floating in the first place. Sitting cross-legged a few feet in the air. being blind is really no fun. Hermione let out a long sigh
"Are you an animagus Draco?"
She asked, turning her head in his general direction. She heard Draco chuckle
"Yeah, I turn into a polar bear. A polar bear! It's ridiculous; it offers me absolutely no cover considering there are no polar bears in England.so I rarely use it"
Hermione giggled
"A polar bear? How strange, I would have thought you'd been a ferret"
Draco let out a low growl
"Let's try to refrain from teasing here; you do remember I am the one holding you up"
Hermione grinned
"Oh really Draco.a polar bear's not bad. If your going to use it for something other than being invisible. I mean, polar bears are really strong and fierce, right? I mean, you could probably tear anything to shreds!"
Draco smirked, although Hermione couldn't see
"I suppose, and you?"
"And me what?"
"Are you an animagus?"
Hermione nodded enthusiastically
"Yeah, me, Harry, and Ron did it in our 6th year."
"All three of you? I'm impressed Weasley had the brains"
"DRACO!"
"I'm joking! So, what do you and the others become?"
Hermione smiled wistfully
"Well, I become a white wolf; Ron becomes a black unicorn, which no one could ever figure out, considering all unicorns are white. We just dubbed him deformed. And Harry.well, he's this lion, that's three times bigger than a normal one, with these huge golden wings. He's quite a sight to see, but then again, so is Ron. Remus was quite pleased when I showed him what I became.having another wolf around seemed to make him happy"
Draco laughed
"How did no one notice a black unicorn, a white wolf and a very large winged lion running around Hogwarts?"
Hermione smiled
"Oh, people noticed. One time Professor Snape was gone so Remus didn't get his potion.I can't really recall why, but we didn't make it to the Shrieking Shack.anyway, Remus transformed and bolted for Ginny and Seamus who were strolling around the grounds, just talking as they claim.me and Ron tried to stop him, but he was to fast. Harry threw himself in front of Ginny and Seamus and well, he and Remus ripped each other apart. Well, Remus ripped Harry apart, Harry just batted him away. He didn't have the heart to hurt Remus in return. Of course Remus had no idea what he was doing. Me and Ron got Ginny and Seamus out of there. Harry was laid up in the tower all through Christmas break. We couldn't take him to Madam Pomphrey because she would ask questions.so we healed him ourselves. He ended up with this weird scar that Ron says looks like a cow.I personally think it looks like a hand."
Draco snorted
"Ah, more information on Potter that I'd rather not know! His cow/hand shaped scar on his chest. I'm sure it fits right in with all his other battle marks"
Hermione rolled her eyes
"Oh give it up Draco! I know you really respect Harry for all that he's done, you just won't admit it because you know you were wrong about him in school"
Hermione smirked triumphantly
"Say it. Say 'I respect Harry Potter'"
Draco let out a forced laugh
"Me? Right! I do not respect Potter! He ran away!"
"He was sent away by Dumbledore.I don't know the Headmaster's reasoning behind that, but I know he did it for a reason! Come on now, say it"
"No"
"Say it"
"No!"
"Say it"
"NO!"
"Say it Draco"
"No"
"Say it"
"No Hermione"
"Say it"
"Noooooooo"
"Say it!"
"No way"
"SAY IT!"
Draco stopped walking, looking at Hermione's amused smirk. He let out a long string of curse words
"Alright.'I respect Harry Potter' Happy? How on earth did you get me to say that?!"
Hermione giggled
"Its how I got Ron and Harry to admit things, everyone eventually breaks!"
Draco grunted
"How they survived school with you I don't know"
~*~
Harry, Sirius and Severus sat stiffly in the corner of the pub. Sirius was on his fourth butterbeer and his second plate of chicken, and Severus wasn't far behind. Harry was checking the pub for possible ways to escape. The front door of course, the back door, on the other side of the pub, the window they were seated next to.and the roof, if worse came to worse. Harry sipped his butterbeer and took a bite of his chicken. He scanned the open street outside. It looked quite a bit like Hogsmede, except there were more houses than stores. He could see a couple muggle cars parked around the place, but he was pretty sure they hadn't been used in a while. He could easily pick out the death eaters that were marching down the street, trying to catch someone doing something wrong. Harry never took his eyes off the moving death eaters, they had been lucky there weren't any in the pub. Suddenly a death eater sprinted into the center of the street, meeting up with the four that had just been passing. They talked for a moment, and Harry's blood ran cold when they all turned and looked directly at him.
"Shit"
He said softly
"They know we're here, they'll be here in a few seconds.finish your food"
Sirius and Severus looked up, panic on their faces. Sirius downed his butterbeer and glanced out the window. The five death eaters were slowly making there way towards the pub, trying to look inconspicuous. Harry glanced passed them at another group of death eaters who had just marched into a house, their wands drawn and malicious smiles on their faces.
"Come on"
Harry said, standing up. As soon as the death eaters saw him move they broke into a run.
"Severus, check the back door!"
Snape ran to the back of the pub, disappearing around the corner
"There are four of them coming up this way!"
Snape shouted, quickly re-appearing. The people in the pub looked worried as Harry pointed his wand at the front door and charmed it. He did the same with the window, and the back door. Sirius was taking care of the people
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please try not to panic.we've managed to piss off your visitors just by showing up. If you all would please move over to the corner and set up the tables on their sides in front of you, that would be greatly appreciated"
Everyone quickly obeyed Sirius' orders, never taking their eyes off Harry and Snape who were quickly setting up wards. The death eaters were already working on breaking them. Harry turned away from the door and window
"Four in the back, looks like they have about 8 out front.six others just entered the house across the street."
He said calmly to Sirius. Sirius chewed his bottom lip worriedly
"This was a stupid idea; we've put this entire town in danger just for being here"
He whispered. Harry nodded sadly
"The least we can do is get rid of the death eaters for now"
Harry turned towards the people huddled in the corner
"How many death eaters occupy this town?"
He asked kindly. Everyone looked at him in confusion for a moment, finally a little girl spoke
"No more than fifty"
She said quietly. Harry nodded, smiling slightly at her
"Thank you"
He said, turning back towards the door
"Are you Harry Potter?"
The girl suddenly asked. Harry glanced at her, nodding slowly
"Go get behind one of those tables, okay? Stay close to your family. How many wards Severus?"
"We've got two left on the front door, three on the back"
Harry nodded, raising his wand
"Take the front one's down"
Snape nodded, and with a flick of his wrist, the door burst open
"STUPIFY!"
Harry roared, sending the lead death eater down. Everyone ducked as the death eater flung curses at Harry and Snape. Sirius re-entered the room
"The back door's open"
He said dully, firing curses the other way.
"We need to get them out on the street, away from these people!"
Snape said, blasting another death eater down. Twelve had entered, only six were left.
"Okay"
Harry said, throwing himself out the window. He shattered the glass, rolled across the ground, before jumping up and blasting anther death eater over. As expected, after Sirius and Snape followed Harry out, the death eaters left the pub. Five minutes later, every death eater was dead, or unconscious. Sirius was tying them up and Snape was locking them in a spare closet in the pub. Harry's eyes were roaming the town, trying to find the other thirty or so death eaters. Sirius and Snape joined him moments later, both holding large, over stuffed bags.
"We've got our supplies; now let's get out of here"
"NO!"
A high pitched voice echoed through the town. Harry, Sirius and Snape spun around. The house across the street from the pub was up in flames, and the death eaters were slowly leaving it, dragging with them a young woman in deep purple robes. She was fighting fiercely, a curtain of black hair covering her face.
"NO! No, Mum!"
More death eaters were appearing, all smiling evilly. Harry glanced at Sirius and Snape. They dropped their bags behind a bush and were watching Harry. Harry turned back to the scene. The girl was now pinned up against the wall, still fighting as best she could. The death eaters were laughing
"No point in calling for her, she's dead"
One of the death eaters said loudly. He reached up and grabbed her face in his hands, turning her eyes on him
"Our master would have no use for them, but you, my pretty young thing"
He smiled, tightening his grip on her face
"Will make him very happy. What a prize you will make"
"NO!"
She struggled against the death eaters that held her against the wall. The man slapped her and her head lolled to the side. Harry narrowed his eyes, and nodded to the others. They raised their wands. Harry transformed and shot up in the air, hovering silently above the large group of death eaters below him. Sirius fired a curse into the group and Harry took his chance. He dived, landing in the center. The death eaters leapt back in fear and surprise as Harry let out a vicious roar. The girl, who had been released, slid down the wall, shrinking away in fear. Snape reached her side first, pulling her up easily. Sirius blasted a few more death eaters away before grabbing the girls arm and dragging her towards Harry who was easily batting away terrified death eaters. Snape turned into a raven and sped off as Sirius pulled the girl onto Harry's back and Harry began running full speed away, only pausing to pick up the bags in his mouth, then disappearing into the woods.
Ron walked into the great hall and took a seat beside Remus at what once was the head table. The entire resistance was crammed into the great hall, which had obviously been magically expanded.considering there were over a thousand magical beings in the resistance. Plus, there were many magical creatures roaming around.Centaurs.and other half way intelligent creatures, including Aragog and a few of his family members, much to Ron's despair. Ron glanced at Remus who looked extremely worn out from last night's transformation.
"Do you know what's going on?"
Ron asked, glancing at Dumbledore, who looked older than usual. Remus followed Ron's gaze
"He's let out nothing about this meeting anyone, and usually his meetings are only made up of us.whatever it is, it must be something important. Maybe he's found a way to end this war."
Ron snorted
"I sure as hell hope so"
They waited a few more minutes before Dumbledore called for silence. Every wizard, witch, and creature had both eyes on him.except Moody; his magical eye was fixed on one of the larger spiders behind Hagrid.
"My friends"
Dumbledore said, standing. His strong voice echoed throughout the room
"We have been at war for far to long.and that is the reason I've called you here today"
Whispers started through out the hall. 'Is he giving up?' 'Is Voldemort dead?' Dumbledore raised his hands
"What I'm about to suggest is only up to you. If we keep going like we are, the resistance will fall.Voldemort is gaining more and more strength.the longer we wait, the harder it will be for us to defeat him. I propose a full out attack on England"
It sounded as though a bomb had exploded in the hall. Everyone was shouting at once. Yes! No! When? How? Ron frowned.as afraid he was of facing Voldemort, he agreed with Dumbledore.it was now or never. The talking just got louder, and Dumbledore didn't seem to have any intention of shutting everyone up. Finally Ron jumped to his feet. He was surprised to see a small smile on Remus' face. Ron pointed his wand at his throat.
"Sonorous"
He whispered. He took a deep breath
"SILENCE!"
He shouted. All talking stopped at once, and Dumbledore sent Ron an amused, yet thankful glance.
"Quietus"
He muttered, dropping down in his seat, trying to ignore Remus' grinning face. Dumbledore began to speak again
"I didn't ever want it to come to this.but we will not be the only one's going up against Voldemort."
Dumbledore lifted a rather large pile of papers up.
"There are letters from every other resistance in Europe. We are the largest, but there are hundreds more groups ready to fight Voldemort. We also have enlisted the help of many colonies of centaurs and Acromantulas.the other groups cannot defeat Voldemort alone. They need our help. If you do not wish to help, you may leave this hall now. We will think nothing less of you, it is of course, your choice, but those of you that stay, know this.We will be fighting against an evil greater than anything else in this world. We will be outnumbered.but we have a stronger will to win.and."
Dumbledore grinned
"As powerful as Voldemort is, we outnumber him with powerful wizards"
Everyone was silent for a moment. Only children under around 15 left that hall in the time. Finally someone in the sea of people spoke
"Are you more powerful than the Dark Lord Professor?"
Dumbledore sighed
"In my younger days I would have been proud to tell you that my powers easily matched his. But now, in my later stages of life, I must say I would not come out victorious in a duel with him. But-"
Dumbledore grinned
"I have a very close friend that I know for a fact can defeat Voldemort."
Again talking broke in the hall. Everyone waited calmly until it calmed down. Dumbledore was about to speak again when another question rang out
"How can you be sure Potter will be there?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled
"Although Mr. Potter does not stand before you as I do.I know for a fact that he knows exactly what I'm planning. He will be there, along with many other stragglers."
Dumbledore glanced down the table at Ron.
"I think it's time for us to win back England"
~*~
"This is all your fault Snape!"
Sirius growled, tugging at his legs which were currently sunk knee deep in some sort of brown muck. They'd been walking under the highway and Sirius had fell in, that was 10 minutes ago, Sirius and Snape had been arguing ever since
"My fault?!"
Snape sneered, his eyes narrowing dangerously
"You were the one who insisted we walk through here Black! So don't you go blaming me for your misfortune! Had you listened to myself and your godson, we wouldn't be in the predicament!"
"I was doing it for our own safety! Had you not-"
"Not what?"
Snape asked, raising his eyebrows, staring down at Sirius, a smirk on his face
"You-"
"Would you two shut up?"
Harry growled
"Had you been listening to me and not arguing for the past few minutes you would know there is something more to worry about than your stupid argument. This obviously was put here on purpose, I mean, this isn't real quicksand, we're under a bloody highway! I'm sure there's a camp nearby and this is here to keep the prisoners from running"
Harry knelt down beside it; looking hard at the.substance.Sirius was still standing in
"I'm sure the death eaters know we're here, we probably set off some sort of alarm, so either they'll come get us, or there's something coming to finish us off"
Harry stood up
"We need to get out of here, fast!"
Sirius and Snape nodded, their argument forgotten.
"Alright, Severus grab his hand, I'll try using magic"
Snape nodded and grabbed one of Sirius' outstretched hands. Harry pointed his wand at him
"Accio Sirius Black!"
Sirius began to shake form the powerful magic that was pulling at him and Snape's vein attempts.he wasn't coming loose.
"Something's wrapped around my leg!"
Sirius suddenly cried, his eyes widening in horror. He was quickly jerked down past his waist.
"SHIT!"
Snape managed to keep hold of Sirius' hand and continued to pull. Harry dropped his wand and ran over. He grabbed Sirius' other hand
"That repels magic!"
He shouted, tightening his grip on his godfather who was now up to his neck in the mud.
"On three!"
Harry cried, glancing at Snape
"One.two.three!"
They both gave an almighty heave and Sirius popped out, landing with a thud on top of Harry. He rolled off quickly, pulling the other two up
"Run! Come on!"
He shouted. Harry moved for his wand, but something grabbed his ankle. He looked over his shoulder in panic. Thin brown chord like tentacles were pouring out of the puddle by the thousands. Harry's eyes widened as the tentacles wrapped around his ankles, tugged hard, and sent him face down to the ground. He glanced at Sirius and Snape. Snape had just blown numerous tentacles off his arm with a reductor curse. Harry reached for his wand, but the tentacles jerked and dragged him into the puddle. He was underneath the mud before he could even scream.
~*~
Sirius saw Harry go under and panic gripped his insides
"HARRY!"
He shot towards the small pool he'd just been freed from, blowing the thin slimy chords away from him as he ran. He felt something grab his arm, but it wasn't a tentacle.
"Wait"
Snape held up a severed chord. He tired it around Sirius' wrist.
"Pull on it when you have him and I'll pull you up. Use a bubble head charm"
Sirius nodded, cast a quick bubble-head charm and dived into the small pool.He waded through it, searching frantically for Harry through the thick muck. Finally, after nearly a minute, he caught sight of his godson. Tentacles were wrapped tightly around his wrists and ankles. His eyes were closed and his head was lolling from side to side. Sirius let out a cry of shock and swam over. He tugged irately at the chords, trying to curse them off, but the bubble charm wouldn't let him. He began to panic, but finally remembered something. He dug in Harry's pocket and pulled out the knife he himself had given Harry for his fourteenth birthday. With quick easy slashes he cut the tentacles loose and tugged hard at the one around his wrist. Seconds later he and Harry shot out of the water with such speed Sirius felt as though he'd gotten whiplash. When he hit the ground he heard Snape shout another curse. When he glanced back to pool was surrounded by fire, and the tentacles were quickly disappearing. Sirius turned back to Harry. He removed the bubble charm from himself and laid his head on Harry's chest. He wasn't breathing
"No"
He whispered, wracking his brain for a spell
"There is no spell that removes water from the lungs"
Snape muttered sadly, dropping to his knees on the other side of Harry
"NO!"
Sirius shouted, searching Harry frantically for any sign of life
"We'll have to give him CPR"
Sirius said as calmly as he could, plugging Harry's nose. Snape nodded and pressed hard on Harry's chest. Sirius blew into Harry's mouth, blinking back tears
"Come on Harry"
Snape pressed again and again. And Sirius forced air into Harry's lungs again and again. Finally, just as they were loosing hope, Harry's body jerked.
"Harry, come on, it's okay"
Harry rolled over and water spilled from his mouth, along with other things he'd obviously swallowed. Sirius rubbed his back softly, tears falling over his cheeks
"Your okay.it's okay"
Sirius chanced a look at Snape and was relieved to see the other man as pale as a sheet and shaking. Although he wasn't crying as Sirius was, Sirius hoped Snape wouldn't tease him to bad.Harry was family after all.
~*~
Hermione was extremely annoyed. She hated being useless, she also hated looking like a fool in front of Draco Malfoy, and she knew she did. After walking for hours with her in his arms, Draco had tired out and decided to cast a levitation charm on her. They were currently walking (Well he was walking, she was floating) down an abandoned highway in southern Spain. Draco claimed they only had to reach the coast and he could easily apparate them to England. She sincerely hoped he was right. But besides the fact that she was upset about being able to do nothing but there, she hated floating in the first place. Sitting cross-legged a few feet in the air. being blind is really no fun. Hermione let out a long sigh
"Are you an animagus Draco?"
She asked, turning her head in his general direction. She heard Draco chuckle
"Yeah, I turn into a polar bear. A polar bear! It's ridiculous; it offers me absolutely no cover considering there are no polar bears in England.so I rarely use it"
Hermione giggled
"A polar bear? How strange, I would have thought you'd been a ferret"
Draco let out a low growl
"Let's try to refrain from teasing here; you do remember I am the one holding you up"
Hermione grinned
"Oh really Draco.a polar bear's not bad. If your going to use it for something other than being invisible. I mean, polar bears are really strong and fierce, right? I mean, you could probably tear anything to shreds!"
Draco smirked, although Hermione couldn't see
"I suppose, and you?"
"And me what?"
"Are you an animagus?"
Hermione nodded enthusiastically
"Yeah, me, Harry, and Ron did it in our 6th year."
"All three of you? I'm impressed Weasley had the brains"
"DRACO!"
"I'm joking! So, what do you and the others become?"
Hermione smiled wistfully
"Well, I become a white wolf; Ron becomes a black unicorn, which no one could ever figure out, considering all unicorns are white. We just dubbed him deformed. And Harry.well, he's this lion, that's three times bigger than a normal one, with these huge golden wings. He's quite a sight to see, but then again, so is Ron. Remus was quite pleased when I showed him what I became.having another wolf around seemed to make him happy"
Draco laughed
"How did no one notice a black unicorn, a white wolf and a very large winged lion running around Hogwarts?"
Hermione smiled
"Oh, people noticed. One time Professor Snape was gone so Remus didn't get his potion.I can't really recall why, but we didn't make it to the Shrieking Shack.anyway, Remus transformed and bolted for Ginny and Seamus who were strolling around the grounds, just talking as they claim.me and Ron tried to stop him, but he was to fast. Harry threw himself in front of Ginny and Seamus and well, he and Remus ripped each other apart. Well, Remus ripped Harry apart, Harry just batted him away. He didn't have the heart to hurt Remus in return. Of course Remus had no idea what he was doing. Me and Ron got Ginny and Seamus out of there. Harry was laid up in the tower all through Christmas break. We couldn't take him to Madam Pomphrey because she would ask questions.so we healed him ourselves. He ended up with this weird scar that Ron says looks like a cow.I personally think it looks like a hand."
Draco snorted
"Ah, more information on Potter that I'd rather not know! His cow/hand shaped scar on his chest. I'm sure it fits right in with all his other battle marks"
Hermione rolled her eyes
"Oh give it up Draco! I know you really respect Harry for all that he's done, you just won't admit it because you know you were wrong about him in school"
Hermione smirked triumphantly
"Say it. Say 'I respect Harry Potter'"
Draco let out a forced laugh
"Me? Right! I do not respect Potter! He ran away!"
"He was sent away by Dumbledore.I don't know the Headmaster's reasoning behind that, but I know he did it for a reason! Come on now, say it"
"No"
"Say it"
"No!"
"Say it"
"NO!"
"Say it Draco"
"No"
"Say it"
"No Hermione"
"Say it"
"Noooooooo"
"Say it!"
"No way"
"SAY IT!"
Draco stopped walking, looking at Hermione's amused smirk. He let out a long string of curse words
"Alright.'I respect Harry Potter' Happy? How on earth did you get me to say that?!"
Hermione giggled
"Its how I got Ron and Harry to admit things, everyone eventually breaks!"
Draco grunted
"How they survived school with you I don't know"
~*~
Harry, Sirius and Severus sat stiffly in the corner of the pub. Sirius was on his fourth butterbeer and his second plate of chicken, and Severus wasn't far behind. Harry was checking the pub for possible ways to escape. The front door of course, the back door, on the other side of the pub, the window they were seated next to.and the roof, if worse came to worse. Harry sipped his butterbeer and took a bite of his chicken. He scanned the open street outside. It looked quite a bit like Hogsmede, except there were more houses than stores. He could see a couple muggle cars parked around the place, but he was pretty sure they hadn't been used in a while. He could easily pick out the death eaters that were marching down the street, trying to catch someone doing something wrong. Harry never took his eyes off the moving death eaters, they had been lucky there weren't any in the pub. Suddenly a death eater sprinted into the center of the street, meeting up with the four that had just been passing. They talked for a moment, and Harry's blood ran cold when they all turned and looked directly at him.
"Shit"
He said softly
"They know we're here, they'll be here in a few seconds.finish your food"
Sirius and Severus looked up, panic on their faces. Sirius downed his butterbeer and glanced out the window. The five death eaters were slowly making there way towards the pub, trying to look inconspicuous. Harry glanced passed them at another group of death eaters who had just marched into a house, their wands drawn and malicious smiles on their faces.
"Come on"
Harry said, standing up. As soon as the death eaters saw him move they broke into a run.
"Severus, check the back door!"
Snape ran to the back of the pub, disappearing around the corner
"There are four of them coming up this way!"
Snape shouted, quickly re-appearing. The people in the pub looked worried as Harry pointed his wand at the front door and charmed it. He did the same with the window, and the back door. Sirius was taking care of the people
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please try not to panic.we've managed to piss off your visitors just by showing up. If you all would please move over to the corner and set up the tables on their sides in front of you, that would be greatly appreciated"
Everyone quickly obeyed Sirius' orders, never taking their eyes off Harry and Snape who were quickly setting up wards. The death eaters were already working on breaking them. Harry turned away from the door and window
"Four in the back, looks like they have about 8 out front.six others just entered the house across the street."
He said calmly to Sirius. Sirius chewed his bottom lip worriedly
"This was a stupid idea; we've put this entire town in danger just for being here"
He whispered. Harry nodded sadly
"The least we can do is get rid of the death eaters for now"
Harry turned towards the people huddled in the corner
"How many death eaters occupy this town?"
He asked kindly. Everyone looked at him in confusion for a moment, finally a little girl spoke
"No more than fifty"
She said quietly. Harry nodded, smiling slightly at her
"Thank you"
He said, turning back towards the door
"Are you Harry Potter?"
The girl suddenly asked. Harry glanced at her, nodding slowly
"Go get behind one of those tables, okay? Stay close to your family. How many wards Severus?"
"We've got two left on the front door, three on the back"
Harry nodded, raising his wand
"Take the front one's down"
Snape nodded, and with a flick of his wrist, the door burst open
"STUPIFY!"
Harry roared, sending the lead death eater down. Everyone ducked as the death eater flung curses at Harry and Snape. Sirius re-entered the room
"The back door's open"
He said dully, firing curses the other way.
"We need to get them out on the street, away from these people!"
Snape said, blasting another death eater down. Twelve had entered, only six were left.
"Okay"
Harry said, throwing himself out the window. He shattered the glass, rolled across the ground, before jumping up and blasting anther death eater over. As expected, after Sirius and Snape followed Harry out, the death eaters left the pub. Five minutes later, every death eater was dead, or unconscious. Sirius was tying them up and Snape was locking them in a spare closet in the pub. Harry's eyes were roaming the town, trying to find the other thirty or so death eaters. Sirius and Snape joined him moments later, both holding large, over stuffed bags.
"We've got our supplies; now let's get out of here"
"NO!"
A high pitched voice echoed through the town. Harry, Sirius and Snape spun around. The house across the street from the pub was up in flames, and the death eaters were slowly leaving it, dragging with them a young woman in deep purple robes. She was fighting fiercely, a curtain of black hair covering her face.
"NO! No, Mum!"
More death eaters were appearing, all smiling evilly. Harry glanced at Sirius and Snape. They dropped their bags behind a bush and were watching Harry. Harry turned back to the scene. The girl was now pinned up against the wall, still fighting as best she could. The death eaters were laughing
"No point in calling for her, she's dead"
One of the death eaters said loudly. He reached up and grabbed her face in his hands, turning her eyes on him
"Our master would have no use for them, but you, my pretty young thing"
He smiled, tightening his grip on her face
"Will make him very happy. What a prize you will make"
"NO!"
She struggled against the death eaters that held her against the wall. The man slapped her and her head lolled to the side. Harry narrowed his eyes, and nodded to the others. They raised their wands. Harry transformed and shot up in the air, hovering silently above the large group of death eaters below him. Sirius fired a curse into the group and Harry took his chance. He dived, landing in the center. The death eaters leapt back in fear and surprise as Harry let out a vicious roar. The girl, who had been released, slid down the wall, shrinking away in fear. Snape reached her side first, pulling her up easily. Sirius blasted a few more death eaters away before grabbing the girls arm and dragging her towards Harry who was easily batting away terrified death eaters. Snape turned into a raven and sped off as Sirius pulled the girl onto Harry's back and Harry began running full speed away, only pausing to pick up the bags in his mouth, then disappearing into the woods.
