9. The First Battle of Hogwarts
Hermione Granger sat at the Gryffindor breakfast table, utterly exhausted. Neither Dumbledore nor McGonnagal had been by to see her or Ron last night. She had not been able to sleep at all, and her fear for Harry's safety blocking out all other thoughts, except for her guilty ones. What if she had been there for Harry instead of yelling at him? Now he was who knows where, probably dead, and Hermione was sitting helplessly in the Great Hall hoping Dumbledore would share some news about Harry's disappearance with the school. Even though Hermione had kept her word and did not reveal the contents of Harry's letter, Seamus and Neville had spread the story of how McGonnagal had practically run out of their room, clutching a letter that was on Harry's bed. The rumors abounded, theories of how Harry was kidnapped or ran away from school being shared among and between houses. Everyone noticed Hermione and Ron's odd behavior, but no one could get them to speak, not even Eddie. Now, they kept throwing worried glances at her and Ron as they sat at the breakfast table. Finally, near the end of breakfast, Dumbledore cleared his throat and stood. The Great Hall immediately quieted down.
"As many of you may have heard, Mr. Potter has not been seen on Hogwarts grounds since late Friday night," Dumbledore began. "We have reason to believe he was lured out of the caste and kidnapped by Lord Voldemort." Various shrieks were emitted around the Great Hall at the mention of Voldemort.
"Additionally, I have the misfortune to announce that our own Professor Hagrid was found in the Forbidden Forest, murdered," Dumbledore said. Hermione was shocked. Hagrid? Dead? She and Ron shared a pained look. Several students burst into tears at the news.
"We ask that if anyone has any information about the whereabouts of Harry Potter," Dumbledore continued, seemingly looking directly at the Slytherin table, "that he or she report it immediately to a teacher. That is all."
Dumbledore sat as the students began to talk again. Hermione looked around and spotted Ginny, who was openly crying at learning of Hagrid's death. Hermione walked over to where Ginny was sitting, and they found as much comfort as they could from each other's embrace.
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Harry felt himself being dragged along the ground. Sensations of the world around him eventually managed to pierce the pain-filled fog that enveloped his brain. He first noticed that he was no longer in that blasted room that they had kept him in; in fact, he knew that he was outside, and that it was dark. As his body was scraped over rocks and fallen tree limbs, he realized his battered body was being pulled through a forest, his hands and feet bound together with ropes, his robes in tatters.
Memories of the past few days started to fill his mind, memories he would much rather have avoided. The past two days had been a cycle of pain, passing out, and awakening for another round of pain. The pain wasn't quite as bad as being hit with the Cruciatus curse, or even the agony he felt from time-to-time from his scar. But pain was still pain, and this particular pain was inflicted on him hours at a time. Harry had long ago given up trying not to cry out. He was sure his body was marked in horrible ways, scars from blade and whip, cursed so that no magic could ever remove them. The only bright spot of the ordeal, if you could even call it that, was that Harry had not been able to think about Hagrid. But now, once he had figured out what was happening to him, Harry had nothing but time to think about Hagrid. Time passed quietly, his captors silent, and eventually whoever was lugging Harry through the forest stopped and propped him up against a small boulder. Harry looked up at the two emotionless men who have been his torturers the past two days. Soon after, Voldemort appeared through the underbrush.
"And now we begin the last phase, Mr. Potter. I'm glad you'll be awake to witness it," Voldemort said with a sinister smile on his face. "You may recognize this place, the Forbidden Forest. For months now, I have been infiltrating my Death Eaters to this place, preparing for the attack." Voldemort looked up, searching the night sky. He seemed to revel in the moment, the moment before his triumphant return to Hogwarts. "In a few minutes, the stars will be in perfect alignment, and I shall perform the ancient ceremony that will allow us to breech the wards that protect the castle. Then, Mr. Potter, you shall have a front row seat to the attack," Voldemort said. "Unfortunately for you," he added, almost as an afterthought, "you'll be dead. But I will try and keep you alive long enough to see your fellow students slaughtered." Voldemort nodded to his Death Eaters and walked away, presumably to prepare for the ceremony he mentioned. The Death Eaters sprang to action, conjuring a large cross, constructed out of logs. They began tying Harry to it, and he realized they were preparing to crucify him.
Harry's mind began to swim. Hogwarts! So close! If only there was some way to warn them! His mind flooded with images of what would happen. Voldemort and his Death Eaters would emerge from the Forbidden Forest and cross the school grounds unopposed, without any warning. No one would be there to stop them, no one to oppose the Death Eaters as they entered the defenseless castle. The Death Eaters would be able to simply walk through the front doors freely and enter the House dormitories. Images flashed through Harry's mind as he watch Death Eaters rouse the students out of their beds, taking them hostage; he was sure some of the older students would fight back, only to be killed. Professor Dumbledore and the other teachers would be forced to surrender, since they would never risk the lives of their students. On their way through the castle, the Death Eaters would undoubtedly encounter prefects patrolling the halls, especially those alerted to the sound caused by countless Death Eaters in the main entrance. Hermione would probably be there…
Hermione! His mind screamed. They would surely kill her like they did to Hagrid, or torture her like they did to him. His mind pictured Hermione being tortured, treated as he was just a few hours ago. He couldn't allow that, he had to protect her, he had to stop it somehow! As Harry's mind flooded with thoughts of what might happen to Hermione, he felt his anger explode. All his frustration and bitterness, all the feeling he had bottled up and previously were directed towards Dumbledore, his teachers, and his friends, now broke free and focused solely on Voldemort. Harry felt something snap deep within him, as if a very old wall inside his body had been shattered. Harry stared at one of the Death Eaters in front of him, eyeing his wand. If only he could get his hands on it somehow.
All of a sudden, the wand flew from the Death Eater's holster into Harry's outstretched fingers. Without pausing to wonder what happened, Harry immediately reacted. Aiming awkwardly at the Death Eater closest to him (his hands being tied to the cross), Harry muttered a stunning spell, hoping it would be strong enough to incapacitate the Death Eater. With barely enough time to react to his wand flying out of his holster, the Death Eater crumpled to the ground after being struck by Harry's spell. The second Death Eater turned when he heard his partner hit the dirt. The Death Eater was surprised into inactivity for only a few precious moments before reaching for his wand. Fortunately for Harry, those few moments were all he needed; the second Death Eater quickly joined his mate, unconscious on the ground. Harry then pointed the wand the ropes binding him and freed himself. Feeling a strange newfound strength flow through his body, Harry quickly approached the stunned Death Eaters, claiming the other wand. He quickly removed the robes from one of the Death Eaters and replaced his own tattered robes with it, drawing the hood up. After conjuring ropes to bind the two Death Eaters, Harry levitated the bodies ("Mobilicorpus!") and directed them deeper into the forest, hiding them in the bushes and fallen branches. Harry knew he was running out of time and he only two goals in mind: prevent Voldemort's ceremony from completing and somehow warn the school.
Harry debated quickly between trying to slink through the trees or simply walking through them. He knew that with the Death Eater robes on, hood up, no one could positively identify him from afar. But if he were spotted sneaking around from tree to tree, he would look suspicious. Harry decided to walk purposefully, as if he knew exactly where he was going and what he was doing. Doing his best to ignore the aches and pains in his legs, Harry did his best imitation of a Death Eater as he walked through the forest in the direction Voldemort had taken. Following the sounds of voices, Harry soon found the site of the ceremony. Harry stifled a gasp at what he saw.
Voldemort was in the center of a large clearing, standing in front of a raging bonfire. In both hands, Voldemort held a shimmering orb high above his head. Forty or so Death Eaters surrounded him, prone on the ground and chanting words Harry didn't recognize. He knew the ceremony was still ongoing, but he wasn't sure how much time was left before it ended. Peering through the trees, Harry could make out Hogwarts castle. Harry inched towards Hogwarts, getting as far away from the ceremony as he could while still keeping Voldemort in sight. Then, taking careful aim, Harry pointed his wand at the orb in Voldemort's hands, and cried out the Reductor curse.
The spell erupted from the tip of his wand and headed straight for the orb, smashing it into pieces. Not waiting to see Voldemort's reaction, Harry immediately turned and ran towards the castle, hoping to gain precious ground in the confusion. Unfortunately, Voldemort tracked the path of the spell back towards Harry's departing form and screamed out at his followers, pointing in the direction of the castle.
The branches and bushes seemed to grab at Harry as he ran, stumbling through the forest. All pain was forgotten as adrenaline flooded his body. "Relashio!" he cried repeatedly, sending fiery sparks from his wand in all directions that ignited the trees, bushes, and grass around him. Harry hoped to set up a wall of flame that would hinder the pursuit Death Eaters. He wasn't sure if by interrupting the wards protecting Hogwarts were intact, or whether some wards have been broken while others remained; he only knew he had to get to the castle, and quickly. A jet of light passed on his left, missing him by a couple of feet. Harry spared a quick glance behind him; although he could see no Death Eaters emerging from the quickly building flames, they were still firing curses at random, relying on luck to strike Harry down. Harry ran as fast as he could, tripping once, before finally emerging from the Forest. He knew he was particularly vulnerable now, as it was open terrain from the Forest to Hogwarts, no trees to obscure him or block any curses. As he ran towards the castle, Harry pointed his wand at his throat and placed a Sonorus charm on his voice.
"Professor Dumbledore! Professor McGonnagal!" he cried, his magically amplified voice carrying to the castle. "Death Eaters in the Forbidden Forest!"
Harry repeated his cries over and over again, hoping to alert the castle. Just as Harry was a few meters from the castle, when he started to believe he would make it safely, when a jet of light struck his leg and he went down, tumbling to a stop. He lay there for a moment, breathless. Harry got up, but he leg wouldn't support his weight when he tried to run. Realizing he had no chance of reaching the castle by hopping on one leg, Harry firmly grasped his wand and turned to face the approaching horde Death Eaters. To his surprise and relief, only a dozen or so Death Eaters were running towards him, not the forty he saw at the ceremony. Harry took aim and starting firing stunners and other curses as the Death Eaters quickly approached. He couldn't dodge the spells, as his leg refused to obey his mental commends, and he relied on the shielding charm to protect him. Several well-placed curses hit his shield hard, rocking Harry back unto his knees. As the remaining Death Eaters got closer, their spells grew more accurate and more frequent. Still on his knees, Harry had to focus all his concentration on maintaining the shielding spell, as the Death Eaters were firing curses practically non-stop. Harry watched as the Death Eaters slowed to a walk and formed a semi-circle around him, firing curses from all directions. Harry felt despair overtaking him; he couldn't do anything, he couldn't move or fight back; he was a sitting duck, and it was only a matter of time before they were able to penetrate his protection. Finally, a curse broke through Harry's shield, striking him in the chest and launching him backwards ten meters. Harry landed painfully, his wand falling from his hand somewhere along the way. Harry knew it was over - he was wandless and could barely move, the pain beginning to cloud his vision. He could only pray that he had alerted the castle in time, and the last image in his mind before the world faded to black was of Hermione's face.