(dedicated to Ady coz I was too lazy to review Flick and I feel awful… I'm sorry!)
Harry
had never felt such piercing pain anywhere but his scar, he could barely move
as every shudder brought spasms of agony from the gash in his back causing
shock waves to spread out from his lower back engulfing every nerve in his
body.
His
eyes flickered open and he saw his fading shield faltering behind the concerned
faces of those he was protecting.
Harry
closed his eyes again, trying to ignore the pain. He summoned all of his concentration to transform back into his
human form…
He
was relieved but exhausted as he shrunk down into his usual form, but he
realised how weak and hungry he felt, his robes hung from his terribly thin
frame and he felt horribly vulnerable.
"Harry…
Are you alright?" Murmured Molly
Weasley moving cautiously towards the trembling boy.
"Stay
away!" Cried Harry suddenly doubling
over and shrieking in pain with a hand pressed to his blood soaked back.
"Why
Harry? What's wrong?" Demanded Arthur moving forward.
Harry's
eyes darted about him. The fear was
evident on his face.
Harry
saw his alter ego in the shadows and he froze, his own emerald eyes mocking
him,
You
can't escape me Harry, and you are about to loose everything you hold dear.
"No! I won't let that happen!" Cried Harry.
Percy
Weasley was holding up Minister Fudge and motioned to his father that the
shield was starting to disintegrate,
Professor
Snape who had been stunned when Harry had suddenly awakened was now eyeing the
two Death Eaters on the other side of the shield apprehensively. He had no doubt who Voldemort would have
left to guard them and he shuddered at the thought of what might happen should
Harry's protection disappear…
~~~*~~~*~~~
Mundungus
Fletcher picked himself up still shaking from the cruciatus curse and sidled
away from the dark lord, he could barely believe what a coward he'd
become... Giving your soul to darkness
crushes you from the inside. He mused.
"Fletcher! You and Wormtail will stay and guard the
prisoners, they shouldn't bother you, but if anything happens, I think you know
what the price will be." Sneered Lord
Voldemort.
"Yes
my lord." Mundungus muttered as he
shrunk back, solemnly making his way towards the glittering white shield glad
to be away from his master.
Voldemort
gazed into his orb once more, he saw the dementors scattered by the patronus
and shook his head and commenced muttering.
"Potter,
you shall pay for this, Hogwarts will be mine, and you'll wish that you had
died!"
Harry
was confused, he soon realised that he was hearing telepathic messages from
Voldemort, his scar burned and he was weak, shaking constantly, he knew the
shield would soon fall, he had to get everyone out of there, or surely they
would all die! His alter ego watched
him with a terrible eagerness in his eyes and started to laugh as Harry
painfully got to his feet undermining the little confidence that Harry could
muster.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Ron
blinked several times. He could still
barely believe what he had seen. A
Gryffindor lion. Then he heard the
voices, the shrill cries of pain forming words that seemed to penetrate
him. A couple of injured centaurs
stumbled out of the forest wailing…
"Harry
Potter must return or Hogwarts will fall!"
"The
furnace must defend or Ophiuchus will reign!"
Exclaimed
their unearthly voices as they drew nearer.
Ron
shuddered as their last cries of terror and death hung on the air as they fell,
carried in the cool breeze resonating as a warning.
"The
centaurs!" Whispered Hermione
"What?" Squeaked Neville from where he knelt next to
Sirius trying to shake the poor man awake.
"The
centaurs are being attacked, we must get Dumbledore!" Said Hermione, turning to run for the castle and almost tripping
on her robes.
"Yes." Said Ron, still pondering on what the dying
centaurs had said.
"Harry!" Shouted Sirius coming around, "We need you
Harry!"
Ron
and Neville looked at each other in despair before glancing at Hermione's retreating
figure and helping Sirius to his feet.
"Come
on Sirius, we need to get out of here, Dumbledore will know what to do." Said Ron grasping Sirius' arm.
"Wait,
there's not enough time, hold tight!" Said Sirius reaching into his robes.
He
pulled out a strange looking coin with a lion carved roughly into it and
muttered
"Transportus!"
In
a whirl they were in an unfamiliar chamber, which was chilly and damp.
"Damn
it! Where is Dumbledore?" Growled Sirius whilst Ron and Neville
stumbled around in shock.
"Illuminate!" Came a voice from across the chamber.
"Minerva!" Exclaimed Sirius blinking in the new light
that had flooded the ornate room, which now glowed red and warm.
"Sirius! What are you doing here? What's going on?" Asked McGonagall striding over.
"Dementors
came, they were driven away, but the centaurs are being attacked, we need to
see Dumbledore." Gasped Sirius still
shivering from the effects of the soul-sucking imprisoners.
McGonagall
shuddered at the thought of the terrible dementors,
"Well,
you just wait here, I'll get the headmaster." She said to Sirius giving him a stern look, "There's some chocolate in
that draw over there, make sure he eats some." She added to Ron with a small smile before sweeping out of the room.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Hermione
ran straight into Draco Malfoy who looked pale and worried.
"I
couldn't find Dumbledore!" He confessed
frowning.
"Well,
things have gotten worse, we managed to get rid of the dementors, but I think
the Death Eaters are attacking the forest, the centaurs are being killed!" Said Hermione panting slightly out of
breath.
"Come
on! There's one place I haven't looked
yet."
Said
Draco spinning away from her and storming down the corridor.
Hermione
followed with a shrug of her shoulders.
They
arrived at the Hospital Wing just as Dumbledore and Lupin were emerging.
"What's
happened?" The headmaster asked
immediately concerned seeing the two students worried faces,
"Dementors
and possibly Death Eaters are attacking the school." Said Minerva McGonagall from down the corridor as she emerged
from behind a tapestry.
Just
then the torches in the hallway flickered and a chilling breeze swept through
the castle,
"The
siege is beginning. Voldemort is
here." Said Dumbledore looking grim.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Snape
knew that time was short, he turned back towards Harry who looked small and
helpless and seemed to already be fighting a battle of his own in his
mind. He thought for a second how
amazing it was that all of their hopes were resting with such a young scared
looking boy. But then he thought back
and remembered how much power Harry had, he was their only chance!
"Harry!" Shouted Snape grabbing the boy's shoulders.
Harry
flinched and his frightened face didn't comfort Snape,
"Come
on! We have to do something!" He demanded feeling sick to his stomach
remembering that the large pool of Harry's blood that covered the floor next to
them had been shed by him.
"Escape! We have to get out of here." Said Harry squinting in pain.
"Yes,
yes!" Urged Snape.
"We
must all hold hands in a circle." Said
Harry in a detached yet authoritative voice.
The
Weasleys, Fudge and Snape formed the circle in silence glancing at each other
but not questioning.
Harry
threw his head back and started to chant in another language his face contorted
in a mixture of intense concentration and pain.
They
were surrounded by a shimmering mist and the next thing Snape knew he was
falling, spiralling downwards. He
vaguely felt the impact of his body on the ground, but his mind slipped away
and he was in darkness once again.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Dawn
Inigma had been in a fitful sleep as soon as Remus had laid her on the hospital
Wing bed, she had vaguely heard Dumbledore enter the room and start talking to
Lupin but sleep had overpowered her…
She
awoke to the sound of several loud thuds.
"Merlin
Alive!" She exclaimed recognising
Voldemort's hostages.
They
were all dazed and Severus Snape seemed to have been knocked unconscious.
She
collected herself and tried to identify them, there were 5 of them, three red heads,
the minister of magic and Snape. And
they were all filthy but seemingly unharmed.
Dumbledore
was the first through the door.
His
eyes widened in disbelief as he saw what had made the noises.
"How
has this been done?" He murmured. "Unless… Harry."
Molly Weasley forced her eyes open and seemed
extremely surprised when she saw where she was, weeping she sat heavily on the
bed.
"We're
out! Free, at last!" She sobbed.
"Arthur,
what happened?" Asked Dumbledore as Mr
Weasley stumbled to his feet looking as surprised as his wife.
He
regarded Dumbledore and the group who were gathering behind the headmaster
looking astonished for a second before swallowing and he spoke.
"Harry,
he must have cast some sort of spell, where is he? He's hurt."
Dumbledore
frowned. "Harry isn't here Arthur."
The
realisation was too much for Mr Weasley and he stumbled back onto the bed next
to his wife who buried her face in his robes.
There
was no time for further explanation, a terrible yell reached their ears from
outside…
"Hagrid!" Exclaimed Hermione, all colour draining from
her face.
~~~*~~~*~~~
Voldemort
stood before his army of Death Eaters smiling evilly, the dementors were
torturing the centaurs in the distance and the anguished cries of the pacifist
creatures created the perfect backdrop for Voldemort's orders.
"At
last my faithful, we will overcome our enemy!"
There
were fervent cheers from his hooded supporters.
"The
time has come to attack Hogwarts, Dumbledore will fall and the school will be
ours!"
He
cried and as he spun around and marched towards the castle in the distance, the
Death Eaters streamed after him a sea of black… A sea of death thought
Voldemort, and they have no Harry Potter to save them!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N
I
thought that would be a suitably horrible cliffie to leave you with, but don't
despair, I promise you wont have to wait nearly as long for the next part as
you did for this one.
And
for any of you who're interested, I had a great time in Newquay last week,
although I missed my computer!
I
can't help feeling that a thanks section would be beyond me at the moment, I
was up till 3:30am last night catching up on the fics I've missed updates on
whilst away… Took ages! Anyways, thanks
to those who reviewed my songfic, 'In The End' I'll probably get rid of the caps coz a few people said they didn't like
them, but I can't be bothered to re-do it… What can I say, I'm a lazy git!
Hope
you enjoyed this chapter…
BETEO
Love,
Jona
xxx