Harry Potter, Heir of Gryffindor

The Defense of Hogsmeade

After the twins had been sent back to their shop with a list of names and addresses of the first, second and those few third-year students who would not be spending the summer training and Mrs. Weasley had been contacted to help with the evacuation from that end, Harry, Ron, Neville and Ginny went into the Forbidden Forest to contact their elfish counterparts and to talk to Bane and Ronan about defending the forest. Ron, Hermione and Harry had spent many hours with the centaurs getting to know the forest through their eyes and learning about each of their individual strengths and weaknesses. On their way into the forest they stopped by Hagrid's cabin so that he could join them and fill them in on the acromantula's plans so that their presence could be factored into the equation.

When they entered the now familiar clearing Bane, Ronan and many of their top lieutenants were already waiting for them. "You are late, Harry Potter," Ronan said. "What took you so long?"

Harry smirked, shrugged his shoulders and looked confidently into the centaur's eyes. "That's a lot of people to sort out," he said. "They don't all have the same level of ability so we had to team them up according to their strengths and arrange for the evacuation of those who will not be staying the summer."

Ronan nodded his head. "Yes."

"Will you be contacting the wood elves this time, Harry Potter?" Bane asked.

Harry nodded. "Yes, and the high elves."

There was a sudden murmuring from two of their lieutenants and Harry looked up just in time to stop them from attacking a representative of the forest's snakes. "STOP!" he shouted. Don't shoot! This is a friend."

The centaurs eyed the snake nervously as it slithered into the clearing. Kneeling down at its approach Harry recognized it as one of the snakes he had been talking to on a regular basis. Slipping into parseltongue he looked it in the eye and said, "Greetings, Samson. Have you come to aide in our defense?"

The snake rose up and, nodding its head, hissed back, "Yes, Harry Potter, we have come to assist our friend in the defense of his castle."

Harry nodded. "Very well, Samson. We will include you in our plans but first we must summon some more of our friends."

Harry lowered his hand and let the snake slither up his arm and drape himself around Harry's shoulders and neck. Turning to Ginny he said, "Gin, While Ron and Neville and I are summoning the wood elves do you think you could call Mira, the pixies and the sprites? I really don't want to kill any of them . . . I mean, I know we are going to have to hurt and disarm them but I want to let Tom know what he's getting himself into one step at a time. If we can beat him before we reveal all of our weapons so much the better but somehow I don't think that's going to happen. We will try to leave the goblins, ghosts, ghouls, poltergeists and vampires out of it for now because I want to save them for the final push but if worse comes to worse . . ."

Harry left the thought unfinished because Ginny nodded her head in understanding. "You guys get the wood elves, I'll get the fairies, pixies and sprites." Five minutes later, Bane, Ronan, several of their top lieutenants, Emric, his top two lieutenants, Mira, Queen of the fairies, Darla, Queen of the pixies and Stephanie, Queen of the sprites were all either standing or hovering around a large map Ron and Neville had conjured of the Hogwarts grounds, the Forbidden Forest, Hogsmeade and the surrounding area. The map was very detailed and showed what they knew of Voldemort's planned attack and the human defenses that had already been set into motion.

Harry and Ginny, meanwhile, stepped to one side of the clearing and pulled out the starlight crystals they wore around their necks. Kneeling down, much as they had when they became soul mates, they removed the necklaces from around their necks, placed them together in their hands, bowed their heads, closed their eyes and began chanting a very peaceful and melodious elfish summoning charm. As they completed the song a blindingly bright white light enveloped them for several seconds. When it faded Harry was kneeling, knee-to-knee, with Ginny on his right and Eileen, Joseph's soul mate, on his left and Joseph directly across from him. Their crystals were once again dangling from the chains around their necks.

As he opened his eyes Harry couldn't help but smile. The feelings that accompanied this particular summoning charm were almost as wonderful as the feelings of peace and emotional prosperity he experienced whenever he heard the Phoenix Song. Reaching out and joining hands with the two young women on either side of him he looked up into the smiling eyes of his second elfish blood brother. "Welcome, Joseph." Then, turning to look into Eileen's eyes, he said, "And I welcome you too, Eileen. I wish that I could say that this is a social call but I fear that we are in need of your assistance. We have but a few, short hours to prepare our defense of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. I wish we had more time but I did not learn of this attack until this morning. Tom seems to be trying to play games with us. We know that he is planning a major attack for late in October but the planning of this attack comes as a complete surprise.

"The faculty, staff and students are preparing for war and they are being made aware of their roles as we speak but I fear that this may not be enough. Albus is talking to the merpeople and asking them to help us by guarding the lake. Our friend, Hagrid has enlisted the aide of the acromantulas to assist us in guarding and protecting the forest. But it is a large forest so we have also turned to the centaurs, your cousins, the wood elves, and the snakes to help defend the forest as well. And still I fear it may not be enough.

"We have enlisted the aide of your cousins, the house elves, as well as the pixies, sprites and fairies to aide us in this time of need; but still I want to be sure. So we are turning to you in hopes that you will assist us as well."

Joseph looked across at his blood brother, his face framed with a silky curtain of dark brown hair that fell down around his shoulders and his bright green eyes dancing merrily in his elfish face, and laughed. "Oh, Harry," he laughed. "You are always so formal and polite. What are we going to do with you?"

Ginny and Eileen giggled at Harry's embarrassment as he blushed through several shades of pink but Harry simply kept his head down and shrugged his shoulders.

Joseph and Eileen stood gracefully and helped Harry and Ginny to their feet, still chuckling at Harry's embarrassment. As they made their way over to the others Joseph threw his arm around Harry's shoulders, being careful not to dislodge a very startled Samson, and said, "You know, Harry. All kidding aside, when this is all over we are going to have to take you and Ginny over to our realm for a visit so you can get used to our customs and traditions."

Harry looked up at Joseph, the excitement of possibly learning more about the high elves than could ever be conveyed through any number of books, evident on his face. "Do you mean that?" he asked.

Eileen laughed and Joseph nodded. "Yes, Harry, I mean it. The last two humans to visit our realm were Albus and Elizabeth and that was long before I was even born. I think it is time we invited you and Ginny to visit our world."

Ginny gave out a sudden squeak of delight and pulled Harry into a hug. "Oh, Harry!" she gasped. "Can we?"

Harry hugged her back and then let her down. "I don't see why not," he said as a loving smile played across his face. "The only problem is that we still have a certain dark wizard to deal with."

Ginny's enthusiasm could not be dampened so easily, however, and she very nearly danced back to the others while pulling Harry along behind her. Joseph and Eileen chuckled and laughed at their friend's predicament.

When they reached the map Harry and Ginny called Dobby and Winky, as well as a few of the more senior Hogwarts house elves, and once they had arrived they spent the next three hours planning and strategizing for the defense of both Hogwarts and Hogsmeade as well as the Forbidden Forest, the lake and the surrounding countryside. With two hours to spare runners were sent into Hogsmeade and most of the village was evacuated to the castle and the dungeons where they, too, would be evacuated to Diagon Alley so long as the Floo Network held up.

At dusk everyone and everything was set. The Hospital Wing was ready. Several healers had flooed in from St. Mungo's to assist Madam Pomfrey and Victor and several of Victor's sixth and seventh year students had made sure that the cupboards were well stocked with potions and neatly organized according to Poppy's exacting standards; Victor himself was heading up the airborne reconnaissance with twenty of the school's best flyers; the centaurs, wood elves, snakes and acromantulas were patrolling the Forbidden Forest, setting additional traps and checking for any possible gaps in their security measures; the high elves were patrolling the shores of the lake and the surrounding hills; the older students (fourth-year and above) we positioned at strategic locations in and around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade; and the fairies, pixies, sprites and house elves were stationed with their assigned groups, ready to start running messages and supplies wherever needed.

Harry and Neville, as the school's best dueling team, were stationed at one of the few intersections in the heart of Hogsmeade, lurking in the shadows, getting ready for what could well be one of the most decisive battles of the war. The sky above was heavily overcast so it was promising to be an exceptionally dark night, which would make fighting difficult at best. Neville and Luna were standing a few meters away talking in hushed whispers. Ron and Hermione were across the street holding a similar conversation, talking, Harry suspected, about love and encouraging each other to be strong.

Harry and Ginny were sitting in silence, with their backs to the wall and holding hands, simply enjoying each other's company. In the closing moments of the day Ginny broke their comfortable, companionable silence. Sensing that something was bothering her boyfriend and soul mate she squeezed his hand and said, "What's wrong, Harry?"

Harry looked up and across the street at his two best friends who were currently locked in a passionate embrace then turned his face towards Ginny, his beloved angel for whom he would do anything or give any amount of money if only she would return to the castle and stay safe. But at the same time he knew that he couldn't ask her to do that because this was as much her war as it was his and he knew that she would never forgive him if he even tried to shelter her from this storm. "This isn't it you know," he said softly, looking into her gently loving eyes. "I can't kill him. I know it's up to me to get rid of him but I don't want to become a murderer."

Ginny squeezed his hand even tighter and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I know," she said softly. "But the prophecy didn't say you had to kill him. If I remember correctly the prophecy only said that you have the power to vanquish him. That doesn't mean you have to kill him. There are other ways to vanquish someone you know. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve death because in all likelihood he does but there are other ways to vanquish someone."

As she said this Harry's mind raced back to the duel between Albus and Tom in the atrium at the Ministry of Magic the previous year. "There are far worse things than death, Tom," Albus had said. But what did he mean. Then he remembered everything Bill and Fleur had told them about the Purgatory Charm and he realized that a life in purgatory, such as the life Tom had created for himself, would be far worse than death. All they had to do now was find that missing element and make it work.

Getting to his feet and turning to help Ginny to hers he heard the first pops as Death Eaters apparated into Hogsmeade. Pulling Ginny into his arms he kissed her deeply then whispered into her ear, "Just do me one favor, Gin. Try to stay safe and if you get in trouble use your portkey."

Ginny hugged him fiercely and buried her face in his chest. "I will, Harry. But you have got to promise me that you will too."

Harry kissed the top of her head. "I will," he whispered. "I promise. I will."

Pulling back and looking up into his eyes she whispered, "You had better!" then turned loose of him and ran across the side-street to join with Ron, Hermione and Luna who were getting set to defend the intersection.

Harry looked across at Ron and Hermione and, even though he could just barely make them out in the deepening gloom, could see that they were smiling nervously back. After giving them his most reassuring smile he turned to Neville and said, "Disillusionment charms, don't you think?"

Neville smiled grimly back and nodded his head. "Yeah."

Moments later Harry opened the communications charm between himself and Victor. "How are you doing, Victor?" he asked.

"Ve are doing fine, Harry."

"Disillusionment charms in place?"

"Da."

"Then I don't suppose you could give us a little light down here could you?"

"Da. Vun light show coming up."

Turning one last time towards Neville Harry said, "You ready for this, Neville?"

"Yeah," Neville said, a determined edge in his voice. "Let's do this thing."

As the first round if Weasley's Whiz-Bang Fireworks exploded over the streets of Hogsmeade Harry and Neville threw themselves out into the main street and the fight was on. They were so used to fighting as a team that they didn't even need to see each other to be effective. And they were moving so fast and in such erratic patterns that they would have been hard to hit even without the disillusionment charms in place. As it was, however, they were nearly impossible to see and all but impossible to hit. And they weren't just going for disarming their opponent; they were going for disabling them. Some of the ancient curses and hexes they were using shattered bones and cooked the flesh of those they hit. They weren't Unforgivables but a few of them were awfully close.

As the night wore on the battle grew more and more intense. By eleven o'clock most of the buildings in Hogsmeade were either burning or had been destroyed The Shrieking Shack had, thus far, been spared but the train station had sustained heavy damage. The casualty counts were high, particularly among the Death Eaters who found themselves out manned and out maneuvered at every turn. Screams of the dieing could be heard coming from the Forbidden Forest as Death Eaters were met by the bites of venomous snakes, the hungry pinchers of giant acromantulas, the poisoned darts of the wood elves or the swords and arrows of the centaurs and high elves. There were, however, several casualties and a few deaths among the student body as well

. As the battle leaked into the early morning hours Harry and Neville both heard the high-pitched, mocking laughter that had haunted both of them for a year. Glancing quickly at each other they turned back to the Death Eaters they were dueling and finished them off with two rather powerful bone breaking curses and raced, side-by-side in the direction of Bellatrix LeStrange's mocking laughter. They found her in an alley leading out of town, towering over Ron and Hermione who were guarding Luna who was working feaverishly on a badly injured Ginny. "So," Bellatrix was cackling, "I've found four of the six! Where are the other two? Potter and Longbottom? I was so hoping to meet them tonight because I gave a gift for them from my master."

Harry and Neville glanced at each other and, with a nod, transformed into their animagus forms. Harry, in his panther form, crept up behind her as she continued to taunt their friends. When he was close enough he sprang and, digging his claws into her shoulders, drug her to the ground. She went down screaming and Ron and Hermione cringed at the amount of blood that was spilled in that one attack and turned to shelter Luna and Ginny from the flying crimson liquid. But Harry and Neville weren't finished.

As Bellatrix started to get up and began staggering to her feet Neville caught her with his horns and threw her into the air. When she came down he caught her under the chin with the tip of one horn and drove it threw her skull. For the next five minutes, as all of the pain and anguish they had suffered at the hands of this woman coursed through their veins, Harry and Neville so totally dismembered Bellatrix LeStrange's body that by the time they were finished the largest recognizable piece of her body that could be used to identify her as having once been a human being was a fingernail.

When they were finished, although they were not proud of what they had done, they transformed back into their human forms and ran over to their friends. "Are you all right?" Harry asked urgently.

Ron and Hermione both looked very pale and Harry and Neville could both see that they were bleeding. With tears in his eyes Ron shook his head. "Ginny needs help," he whimpered.

As Harry ran to Ginny's side Neville shook Ron and Hermione's shoulders and screamed at them. "Use your portkeys and get out of here! We'll take care of Ginny! Now go!'"

Ron and Hermione mutely nodded their heads and, activating their portkeys, were gone in a flash.

Kneeling over Ginny, Harry looked at Luna, desperation evident in his eyes. "How is she?" he asked.

Luna grimaced. "She'll live, Harry. But I'm afraid the portkey might kill her." Cradeling Ginny's head in his arms he began crying softly. "Oh, Ginny. Please hold on. I don't think I will be able to live without you. Please hold on."

Ginny moaned softly. Harry looked into her face and for a moment thought he could see her eyes start to flutter open. Then they relaxed and she was peaceful once more. As Neville stood guard Harry leaned over and gently kissed Ginny on the lips. They were still warm so he knew that she was alive but he knew that she needed help. Standing up he screamed, "Dobby! Winky!"

With two almost simultaneous cracks the two house elves appeared at his side. "Yes, Har . . ." Dobby began but was cut off.

"Take Ginny and Luna to the Hospital Wing. But be careful, too much stress might kill Ginny."

Dobby and Winky took one look at Ginny and, without saying another word, snapped their fingers and were gone, taking Ginny and Luna with them. As Harry and Neville turned to leave and get back into the fighting the burning building they had been standing next to collapsed in upon itself.

Half an hour later Harry and Neville were still going strong. They knew that they should be getting tired but, as Albus had cautioned them all to expect, in the heat of battle your adrenaline will kick in and you may exhaust yourselves without even knowing it. The streets were already littered with bodies, mostly Death Eaters but with a few locals and students thrown into the mix. The Death Eaters who had died had died from their injuries and not as a direct result of any curses. The students and others who had died had died because they had panicked and not reacted quickly enough to get out of the way of the Killing Curses that were being sent their way.

Towards dawn, as the battle raged at one end of the street, a loud explosion was heard at the other end of town and all fighting temporarily stopped as a high-pitched laughter echoed hauntingly through what was left of Hogsmeade. Turning around Harry glanced at Neville and dryly said, "Cover my back. This one's mine."

Neville glanced back at the intimidating presence of Lord Voldemort. His black cloak billowed in the unnatural wind that seemed to surround him; his white reptilian face and bony hands reflected the flames of what was left of the burning buildings that had once stood at that end of town; and his red snake-like eyes seemed to glow from within. Neville had heard Harry's descriptions of him and had seen images of him in Harry's crystal but to actually see him in person was quite different. There seemed to be an ice-cold aura of anger and hatred that surrounded him. Neville didn't know How Harry had faced him five times and still come out alive. In that moment he felt a new form of respect welling up in his heart for the man, for Harry Potter was indeed a man, he called friend. "Yeah, sure."

As Harry approached his nemesis, stepping over the many bodies that littered the street, he noticed a much shorter wizard standing beside him. Wormtail. There was no mistaking it. His silver hand was glowing in the firelight. "Hello, Peter, Tom," Harry said calmly as he approached his prey. "And how are you this fine morning?"

Peter was about to respond but Voldemort cut him off. "What did you call me, Potter?" Tom screamed. "I thought you would have learned never to use that accursed muggle name in my presence after what happened last year!"

Harry calmly pocketed his wand. He wouldn't need it for this; and besides, their wands had the nasty habit of not working against each other. Smirking he said, "I don't know, Tom. I guess I'm just not a very fast learner am I."

Voldemort screamed once again and started to raise his wand. But Harry raised his empty hands and, with an almost imperceptible twitch of the little finger of his right hand, forced Tom's arm back down to his side.

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, I don't think so, Tom. You see, I'm an unarmed wizard and in order for this to be a fair fight I would have to have a wand. But the sad fact is that our wands won't work against each other. You do remember what happened the last dime we dueled don't you?"

Tom was fuming. Harry had him in a full body bind and he couldn't get out of it. Turning his head towards Wormtail he screamed, "Kill him! Kill him, Wormtail and prove your loyalty to me!"

Harry shook his head again. "Sorry, Tom. Won't work. You see that nice, shiny magical hand you gave him two years ago won't work against me. And his wand is even more worthless. I'll tell you what though, Mister Riddle. I'll let you go this time because I have something special planned for you. You want immortality? I'll give you immortality. You may not like what it brings you but I will give you immortality. So, until we meet again," he said, turned around and started to walk away.

He hadn't gone more than a few steps when he felt Tom recovering from his shock and outrage. "You'll pay for this, Potter!" Tom screamed. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Harry immediately erected his shield and activated the charm but it wasn't needed because no sooner had these words left Tom's mouth than he heard Wormtail scream, "NO!" and felt him throw himself in front of the curse.

Whirling around Harry once again placed the full body bind on Voldemort and walked up to look him in the eye. As emerald green met blood red, blood red began to quiver with fear. Glaring into Tom's eyes Harry growled, "You had better learn to fear me, Tom! Do you want to know why Peter's hand and wand were useless against me? I'll tell you! I saved his life three years ago so he owed me a life debt. Now, if you are finished I have some business to attend to and I would appreciate it if you didn't get in the way." And with a flick of his wrist he threw the startled yet seething Tom Marvolo Riddle through the air and into a grove of trees several kilometers to the south and on the other side of the railroad tracks.

As the sun began to peek over the eastern horizon Harry looked down at Wormtail's lifeless body and, shaking his head, said, "Be glad it wasn't Moony, Peter. I'd hate to see what he would have done to you."

Looking back up the street he watched as the few remaining Death Eaters apparated away and his friends turned to watch him in stunned silence. Levitating Peter's body in front of him he made his way up the street, carefully stepping over the bodies of the fallen and grievously injured. When he reached the end of the street Neville looked at him curiously and then looked down at Wormtail's body. "Peter Pettigrew," Harry said. "I'm going to take his body up to the castle to prove to Remus that the traitor is finally dead. I'd appreciate it if you guys could go through the bodies to see if there are any survivors." Neville and the others nodded mutely. "Right then. I'll see you later"

As Harry made his way up to the castle he was aware of the stares and looks of awe and amazement he was receiving but, personally, he was too tired to care. He just wanted to deliver Peter's body to Remus, find out how Ginny was doing and go to sleep.