A/N - JKR owns the idea, all of these characters etc.
A/N - Aidan, thanks for the poem. Creativity is always recognized here.
Chapter 31 Magical Map
Harry couldn't stop smiling even if he had wanted to. He was imagining the possibilities. Harry was adult enough to realize that some mean kids grew out of their childhood personalities but he knew that Draco Malfoy was different. Draco Malfoy had been truly glad that Voldemort had killed Cedric last year. He had been and probably still was glad that a good, kind and decent young wizard had met the killing curse and lost. Harry couldn't imagine a better outcome for today's events than the Slytherin seeker being caught in the middle of tonight's mission to capture dark wizards. He was glad that he and his two best friends could be a part of it.
Meanwhile, Ron had gone over to tell Krum and Hermione who had appeared on the map. All four of the giants were slightly confused why Harry and his friends were glad to see someone appear on the map but they soon understood when they heard some of the stories from last year.
After the initial joy of seeing the Malfoys on the map wore off, tedium once again set in. The group waited and watched. As the day turned to dusk, something finally happened.
BANG
All at once things started happening. The sky filled with smoke. The dots on the map tripled and started moving wildly around. There was a screeching noise in the air so loud that no one could talk to his or her neighbor. Harry couldn't seem to make up his mind between staring at the map and trying to look through the pea soup towards the prison.
"Harry, you can't see anything out there; just use the map." Hermione said being as practical as she always was. He knew she was right so he studied the map again.
He could sense in himself that he was spring loaded to send groups into battle and he knew that he had to restrain himself against over reacting. After all, Dumbledore had assigned teams to block the exits for a reason and Harry didn't want to be responsible for dark wizards escaping. He decided to wait and just keep watching the map.
He didn't have to wait long.
The map showed that wizards inside and outside the prison were in battle. (The map didn't show the exact battles but it showed when good and bad wizards were standing next to each other. Harry could surmise the battles from the proximities.)
The first important thing that Harry noticed was Peter Pettigrew outside of the prison running towards one of the groups. He alerted the group by shooting the number seven into the air. Because of the fog, however, he couldn't be sure that the right wizards would see it even though he could see it. Krum offered to go tell the group. Harry was grateful that Krum, at least, had thought to bring a broomstick.
Without anything better to do, Harry watched the map. He could see Krum getting closer and closer to the group that was about to meet the wizard who was probably in his animagus form. Harry didn't know whether or not Dumbledore had told all the groups about Pettigrew's ability to turn into a rat but he did know that Krum knew so as long as he spread the word to look for the rat all would be fine.
Harry saw that the map showed that Krum would easily beat the rat to the escape route so he wasn't worried. He knew that his attention was better spent focusing on how the rest of the battles appeared to be going, at least according to his magical map.
The map was presently showing no one inside of any of the cells. Apparently the dark wizards had at least succeeded in getting their accomplices out from behind bars. Harry was sure though that no one had yet escaped the grounds. He knew that some of the two and three man groups must be getting edgy, because he knew that in their place he would be, but so far it made the most sense to leave all of the teams where they were and wait patiently. He hated waiting patiently.
While Harry was waiting for something else interesting to happen, Krum returned with a familiar looking rat. Sully had offered to keep an eye on it so everyone else could stay focused. Harry had no problem with Sully's idea of watching the rat, which seemed to include standing on its tail so that it couldn't go anywhere.
Harry returned his attention to the magical map. He noticed that there were many more names that he either recognized as belonging to the dark side or didn't recognize at all, which probably meant they were dark wizards. Most of these new dots were either already inside the prison or heading that way. He knew that his side was facing overwhelming numbers so he decided to do something. He could tell that no one else was trying to escape so he sent every other set of guards into the fight.
He raised his want and shot the numbers three, five, seven and nine into the air above the prison. The smoke had thinned out enough that everyone should be able to see the numbers but Harry was watching the map to be sure that the four groups moved towards the prison to help out. The only good piece of news that Harry had to offer was that none of the dots had disappeared; not only did that mean that none of the dark wizards had escaped but it also meant that no one had died.
More than anything, Harry wished that he could see how the battles were going. It was frustrating not being able to see anything besides the dots on the map. It wasn't too long before he noticed something else on the map that he had been watching out for. He could see the tiny little dot of Severus Snape moving towards Dumbledore. The headmaster seemed to be engaged against Avery and Harry wished he could do something to warn Dumbledore but he knew that there was nothing he could do so he refocused his attention on the map.
On the map he saw the rest of the dots moving every which way. Harry didn't have the time or the luxury to think about whether that meant the Death Eaters were winning and trying to get away or losing and trying to flee. All he had time to do was develop a quick plan to block them.
He had already shot the numbers four, six and eight into the sky to warn them that trouble was coming. (He had made the numbers blue this time like they had agreed upon earlier to ensure that those three groups knew to stay were they were and wait for the battle to find them. Additionally when he fired the numbers in the air he sent the numbers to a random place in the sky because he didn't want to give way their locations.) With the mass exodus of all the dots away from the prison, Harry was regretting his earlier decision to send the other four groups away from their posts.
He had no time to think of that now. What he did have to think about was how to make up for it. Hermione had already placed a fully body bind curse on Pettigrew so Harry didn't have to keep anyone here to guard him. He gathered his group around the map so that everyone could look at it. He was sending the group out in pairs to cover the areas where the groups three, five, seven and nine had been before he had initially sent those groups into the prison. Krum and Morgan volunteered for the post the furthest away since he had the broomstick. Ron and Joan were running to the northeast while Hermione and Sully were running to the northwest.
Tiny and Harry were studying the map. It looked like everything was going to be all right. At first it looked like the teams guarding the exits were going to be significantly outnumbered but the map showed that they were going to be helped by the Dumbledore and the rest of the wizards who made up the first wave. The prison was all but empty now and all the dots were heading for the borders. This was the time to focus on the map and be sure that no Death Eaters were going to escape.
Harry couldn't believe his luck. The little dots named Draco Malfoy and Lucius Malfoy were heading right for him. Apparently he and Tiny hadn't been seen yet after all. He and Tiny hid in the foliage, which was no small feat for the giant even if he was the smallest giant his age.
Harry was straining his eyes to try to see the two wizards but they simply weren't there. He had enough experience with this type of map to know that it was accurate so the Malfoys had to be under some type of invisibility spell or cloak. He strained his brain to try to figure out how he could catch them. If he tried to hex the place where he thought they might be, he'd likely miss and he'd give himself away in the process. No he had no other choice but to use Tiny as a decoy.
A few seconds later the giant started throwing large rocks in the area that the map indicated that the two invisible dark wizards were. The effect of this was that the dots on the map split up. Harry was silently cursing himself; there was little chance now that he was going to be able to stop both of the little dots. He didn't know why he hadn't realized they would split up but all he knew now was that he was going to be lucky to catch one of them.
Finally Tiny's small boulders must have hit close to home because Harry saw a spell shot at the giant. Harry didn't miss a beat. He had his wand out and at the ready waiting for this exact thing and Harry cast the full body bind curse at the spot where he had seen that the spell came from. It must have worked because the dot representing Lucius Malfoy wasn't moving any longer.
Now that his cover was blown, Harry knew that he had nothing to lose by trying to hex Draco Malfoy. He was hoping beyond hope that the younger Malfoy's ego would get the best of him and that he would stay in fight. But his luck wasn't that good today. He could see by looking at the dot that Malfoy was running away. As much as he wanted to go after him, he had to look after Tiny and he wanted to uncloak Lucius Malfoy. He used the map to find the Death Eater. When the map told Harry that he was getting close, he kicked around until his foot made contact with something solid. He reached down and took the cloak off the wizard lying on the ground. Lying on the ground beside Harry's feet was a Death Eater who was paralyzed except for his two eyes that were wildly shifting from side to side. Harry deeply wanted to stay and gloat over this but he knew he was needed elsewhere.
He found Tiny on the ground spread eagle behind some bushes. The giant was knocked out but alive and breathing. Harry didn't have any time to waste.
"Enervate" Harry wished he could let Tiny rest but he needed him to carry the two petrified prisoners. It wouldn't do any good to leave Tiny here alone and besides the map showed that no one else was going to be coming this way. What the map did show was that the rest of the groups were probably still engaged and Harry knew they should go help. He felt stupid for not thinking about bringing his own invisibility cloak but at least he had Malfoy's cloak now. He draped the cloak over Tiny who was carrying a rat in one pocket and a Death Eater over his shoulder.
Harry was reading the map while they were running (Harry was running but Tiny wasn't even walking fast to keep up with Harry) to Dumbledore's location. He was trying to decide whether or not to turn into his animagus form but he didn't feel like he had enough experience with that and he decided he was better off just using the map in his present form. The information the map was giving him was making Harry's heart beat much faster than it should be.
Harry saw the Severus Snape dot near the headmaster and Lupin along with some names he didn't recognize. Even though Dumbledore had insisted on being the one to bring down Snape (Harry thought it was probably because of how betrayed he felt by the former Hogwarts professor after giving him a second chance), he still wanted to be there in case Dumbledore needed him. If he was being completely honest with himself he would also admit that he wanted to be there to see Dumbledore defeat the traitor who had given him, his dad, and Sirius so much grief.
Along the way he saw some friendly wizards looking pretty tired and beaten up but no one looked seriously wounded. He hoped that was the case with everyone but he didn't have time to dwell on that right now. He was getting more and more worried about his headmaster. Lupin's dot was a ways away now signifying that he wasn't in the battle anymore and Harry didn't like the odds that Lupin's mysterious disappearance left his headmaster facing. There was Dumbledore, the traitor Snape, and three other Death Eaters all in one little cluster on the map. He knew Dumbledore could take care of his own but four on one were bad odds for anyone even the experienced old wizard.
Harry was still rushing over to Dumbledore but he was starting to have more and more trouble shoving away disturbing thoughts from his mind. He wanted to stop and look for Sirius. He wanted to know that Hermione and the Weasleys were all right. He wanted to use the map to find his friends but he did none of those things. He forced those thoughts out of his head and focused on nothing else except reaching Dumbledore in time.
When Harry finally arrived at the battle scene, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
A/N -Share your thoughts with me.
Chapter 31 Magical Map
Harry couldn't stop smiling even if he had wanted to. He was imagining the possibilities. Harry was adult enough to realize that some mean kids grew out of their childhood personalities but he knew that Draco Malfoy was different. Draco Malfoy had been truly glad that Voldemort had killed Cedric last year. He had been and probably still was glad that a good, kind and decent young wizard had met the killing curse and lost. Harry couldn't imagine a better outcome for today's events than the Slytherin seeker being caught in the middle of tonight's mission to capture dark wizards. He was glad that he and his two best friends could be a part of it.
Meanwhile, Ron had gone over to tell Krum and Hermione who had appeared on the map. All four of the giants were slightly confused why Harry and his friends were glad to see someone appear on the map but they soon understood when they heard some of the stories from last year.
After the initial joy of seeing the Malfoys on the map wore off, tedium once again set in. The group waited and watched. As the day turned to dusk, something finally happened.
BANG
All at once things started happening. The sky filled with smoke. The dots on the map tripled and started moving wildly around. There was a screeching noise in the air so loud that no one could talk to his or her neighbor. Harry couldn't seem to make up his mind between staring at the map and trying to look through the pea soup towards the prison.
"Harry, you can't see anything out there; just use the map." Hermione said being as practical as she always was. He knew she was right so he studied the map again.
He could sense in himself that he was spring loaded to send groups into battle and he knew that he had to restrain himself against over reacting. After all, Dumbledore had assigned teams to block the exits for a reason and Harry didn't want to be responsible for dark wizards escaping. He decided to wait and just keep watching the map.
He didn't have to wait long.
The map showed that wizards inside and outside the prison were in battle. (The map didn't show the exact battles but it showed when good and bad wizards were standing next to each other. Harry could surmise the battles from the proximities.)
The first important thing that Harry noticed was Peter Pettigrew outside of the prison running towards one of the groups. He alerted the group by shooting the number seven into the air. Because of the fog, however, he couldn't be sure that the right wizards would see it even though he could see it. Krum offered to go tell the group. Harry was grateful that Krum, at least, had thought to bring a broomstick.
Without anything better to do, Harry watched the map. He could see Krum getting closer and closer to the group that was about to meet the wizard who was probably in his animagus form. Harry didn't know whether or not Dumbledore had told all the groups about Pettigrew's ability to turn into a rat but he did know that Krum knew so as long as he spread the word to look for the rat all would be fine.
Harry saw that the map showed that Krum would easily beat the rat to the escape route so he wasn't worried. He knew that his attention was better spent focusing on how the rest of the battles appeared to be going, at least according to his magical map.
The map was presently showing no one inside of any of the cells. Apparently the dark wizards had at least succeeded in getting their accomplices out from behind bars. Harry was sure though that no one had yet escaped the grounds. He knew that some of the two and three man groups must be getting edgy, because he knew that in their place he would be, but so far it made the most sense to leave all of the teams where they were and wait patiently. He hated waiting patiently.
While Harry was waiting for something else interesting to happen, Krum returned with a familiar looking rat. Sully had offered to keep an eye on it so everyone else could stay focused. Harry had no problem with Sully's idea of watching the rat, which seemed to include standing on its tail so that it couldn't go anywhere.
Harry returned his attention to the magical map. He noticed that there were many more names that he either recognized as belonging to the dark side or didn't recognize at all, which probably meant they were dark wizards. Most of these new dots were either already inside the prison or heading that way. He knew that his side was facing overwhelming numbers so he decided to do something. He could tell that no one else was trying to escape so he sent every other set of guards into the fight.
He raised his want and shot the numbers three, five, seven and nine into the air above the prison. The smoke had thinned out enough that everyone should be able to see the numbers but Harry was watching the map to be sure that the four groups moved towards the prison to help out. The only good piece of news that Harry had to offer was that none of the dots had disappeared; not only did that mean that none of the dark wizards had escaped but it also meant that no one had died.
More than anything, Harry wished that he could see how the battles were going. It was frustrating not being able to see anything besides the dots on the map. It wasn't too long before he noticed something else on the map that he had been watching out for. He could see the tiny little dot of Severus Snape moving towards Dumbledore. The headmaster seemed to be engaged against Avery and Harry wished he could do something to warn Dumbledore but he knew that there was nothing he could do so he refocused his attention on the map.
On the map he saw the rest of the dots moving every which way. Harry didn't have the time or the luxury to think about whether that meant the Death Eaters were winning and trying to get away or losing and trying to flee. All he had time to do was develop a quick plan to block them.
He had already shot the numbers four, six and eight into the sky to warn them that trouble was coming. (He had made the numbers blue this time like they had agreed upon earlier to ensure that those three groups knew to stay were they were and wait for the battle to find them. Additionally when he fired the numbers in the air he sent the numbers to a random place in the sky because he didn't want to give way their locations.) With the mass exodus of all the dots away from the prison, Harry was regretting his earlier decision to send the other four groups away from their posts.
He had no time to think of that now. What he did have to think about was how to make up for it. Hermione had already placed a fully body bind curse on Pettigrew so Harry didn't have to keep anyone here to guard him. He gathered his group around the map so that everyone could look at it. He was sending the group out in pairs to cover the areas where the groups three, five, seven and nine had been before he had initially sent those groups into the prison. Krum and Morgan volunteered for the post the furthest away since he had the broomstick. Ron and Joan were running to the northeast while Hermione and Sully were running to the northwest.
Tiny and Harry were studying the map. It looked like everything was going to be all right. At first it looked like the teams guarding the exits were going to be significantly outnumbered but the map showed that they were going to be helped by the Dumbledore and the rest of the wizards who made up the first wave. The prison was all but empty now and all the dots were heading for the borders. This was the time to focus on the map and be sure that no Death Eaters were going to escape.
Harry couldn't believe his luck. The little dots named Draco Malfoy and Lucius Malfoy were heading right for him. Apparently he and Tiny hadn't been seen yet after all. He and Tiny hid in the foliage, which was no small feat for the giant even if he was the smallest giant his age.
Harry was straining his eyes to try to see the two wizards but they simply weren't there. He had enough experience with this type of map to know that it was accurate so the Malfoys had to be under some type of invisibility spell or cloak. He strained his brain to try to figure out how he could catch them. If he tried to hex the place where he thought they might be, he'd likely miss and he'd give himself away in the process. No he had no other choice but to use Tiny as a decoy.
A few seconds later the giant started throwing large rocks in the area that the map indicated that the two invisible dark wizards were. The effect of this was that the dots on the map split up. Harry was silently cursing himself; there was little chance now that he was going to be able to stop both of the little dots. He didn't know why he hadn't realized they would split up but all he knew now was that he was going to be lucky to catch one of them.
Finally Tiny's small boulders must have hit close to home because Harry saw a spell shot at the giant. Harry didn't miss a beat. He had his wand out and at the ready waiting for this exact thing and Harry cast the full body bind curse at the spot where he had seen that the spell came from. It must have worked because the dot representing Lucius Malfoy wasn't moving any longer.
Now that his cover was blown, Harry knew that he had nothing to lose by trying to hex Draco Malfoy. He was hoping beyond hope that the younger Malfoy's ego would get the best of him and that he would stay in fight. But his luck wasn't that good today. He could see by looking at the dot that Malfoy was running away. As much as he wanted to go after him, he had to look after Tiny and he wanted to uncloak Lucius Malfoy. He used the map to find the Death Eater. When the map told Harry that he was getting close, he kicked around until his foot made contact with something solid. He reached down and took the cloak off the wizard lying on the ground. Lying on the ground beside Harry's feet was a Death Eater who was paralyzed except for his two eyes that were wildly shifting from side to side. Harry deeply wanted to stay and gloat over this but he knew he was needed elsewhere.
He found Tiny on the ground spread eagle behind some bushes. The giant was knocked out but alive and breathing. Harry didn't have any time to waste.
"Enervate" Harry wished he could let Tiny rest but he needed him to carry the two petrified prisoners. It wouldn't do any good to leave Tiny here alone and besides the map showed that no one else was going to be coming this way. What the map did show was that the rest of the groups were probably still engaged and Harry knew they should go help. He felt stupid for not thinking about bringing his own invisibility cloak but at least he had Malfoy's cloak now. He draped the cloak over Tiny who was carrying a rat in one pocket and a Death Eater over his shoulder.
Harry was reading the map while they were running (Harry was running but Tiny wasn't even walking fast to keep up with Harry) to Dumbledore's location. He was trying to decide whether or not to turn into his animagus form but he didn't feel like he had enough experience with that and he decided he was better off just using the map in his present form. The information the map was giving him was making Harry's heart beat much faster than it should be.
Harry saw the Severus Snape dot near the headmaster and Lupin along with some names he didn't recognize. Even though Dumbledore had insisted on being the one to bring down Snape (Harry thought it was probably because of how betrayed he felt by the former Hogwarts professor after giving him a second chance), he still wanted to be there in case Dumbledore needed him. If he was being completely honest with himself he would also admit that he wanted to be there to see Dumbledore defeat the traitor who had given him, his dad, and Sirius so much grief.
Along the way he saw some friendly wizards looking pretty tired and beaten up but no one looked seriously wounded. He hoped that was the case with everyone but he didn't have time to dwell on that right now. He was getting more and more worried about his headmaster. Lupin's dot was a ways away now signifying that he wasn't in the battle anymore and Harry didn't like the odds that Lupin's mysterious disappearance left his headmaster facing. There was Dumbledore, the traitor Snape, and three other Death Eaters all in one little cluster on the map. He knew Dumbledore could take care of his own but four on one were bad odds for anyone even the experienced old wizard.
Harry was still rushing over to Dumbledore but he was starting to have more and more trouble shoving away disturbing thoughts from his mind. He wanted to stop and look for Sirius. He wanted to know that Hermione and the Weasleys were all right. He wanted to use the map to find his friends but he did none of those things. He forced those thoughts out of his head and focused on nothing else except reaching Dumbledore in time.
When Harry finally arrived at the battle scene, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
A/N -Share your thoughts with me.