Chapter 12 – The Increasing Threat
Marius marched quickly through the school corridors, being flanked either side by Heliopaths. Students before them parted like water as they'd done so often in the past, making way for the strained wizard as he headed towards Dumbledore's office near the center of the school. His mind was so enveloped with thought, that questions of confusion from both teachers and students alike regarding Hogsmeade, were promptly cast aside. Such the situation had become for him to ignore the very people he seemed desperate to protect.
Leaving his personal guard standing by the entrance, he whispered the password to the stone gargoyle and headed up the revolving staircase into Dumbledore's abode. Upon entering he neared the headmaster's desk and collapsed himself onto it, burying his face into his hands, and trying as he might to forget the dreadful events he'd witnessed mere moments ago. Hogsmeade was indeed a terrible loss, though inevitable in his mind. Nothing could have prepared the small town for this, no matter how much time they'd been allowed. But given it's destruction Marius turned his attention once more to the home front, where muggle awareness of Hogwarts' existence, was soon to be known. Was the school prepared for the onslaught? He didn't know… no one knew, despite having trained the students to their limits, Hogwarts' apparent isolation made aid almost impossible to acquire, leaving the school to stand alone as the last bastion of wizarding strength in Britain.
Behind him, green flames roared from the fireplace and he turned to watch Dumbledore take a hesitant step out of the fire, looking as immaculate as always in his robes of luxurious felt and silk, despite the fear that had gripped the school.
'Ah… Morheim.' He greeted the old man happily, extending his hand to shake, 'Still in command of the school I see. You haven't punished too many children I trust.'
Marius couldn't help but bare a small grin, knowing his own indifference to the students, so he took the headmaster's hand and shook vigorously.
'It's good to see you again old friend!' Marius said proudly, a slight sense of relief apparent in his voice. 'I was starting to wonder when you'd come back… did you manage the deal over there?'
Dumbledore looked back to him with that familiar twinkle in his eyes.
'Indeed I did. Master Weasley was most gracious in lending us assistance during this predicament. Given the length of the flight he has, he estimated it might take him some eight hours to reach us. He isn't used to bringing his companions half way across the world as you know.'
'Of course.' Marius chortled, 'Though I must relay my worry in this. Are you aware of Hogsmeade's destruction?'
Dumbledore solemnly nodded, frustration clear on his face.
'Yes old friend, I am…' he walked about to his desk and sat in his chair with an audible sigh, 'News travels quick in the wizard world, even across the channel I heard of everything within an hour of the event, from a reliable source of course. Though, I admit it is sooner than expected.'
'Yes,' Marius added quickly, 'I was thinking the same thing. All that we've been doing here is based on the assumption that we've got an extra three days under our belts to use… Now that advantage is gone. What can we do if they strike before Master Weasley arrives?'
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair thinking for a moment, his hands together as though performing a mantra of sorts.
'They won't.' he replied shortly, taking Marius by surprise. 'As strange as it may seem, news travels just as fast in the muggle world, as I found when I read one of their newspapers… Word of our existence has spread to the common people, and even as we speak thousands are eagerly awaiting more on how this battle turns out.' And he threw Marius a battered old muggle newspaper, which he read without twitching a muscle.
'Surprisingly,' he continued, drawing Marius's attention once more, 'The general population of muggles is opposed to this war taking place. They're more interested in learning of our culture than eradicating it, which does our situation benefit. Of course there are a few who fear us, largely politicians and religious fanatics, but their numbers are few and far between at any rate… My concern is of the military. We wizards don't have any uniform armed forces, most of our work is committed to by Aurors and professional hit wizards. Muggle history however has advocated the need for large professional masses of soldiers. You know of this Marius, we both remember your past. Yet taking the view of the people into consideration, I feel their military is acting on their own behalf. And I test my brain considerably to think as to why. Something is driving them.'
Marius stood silent momentarily, his own mind working on an answer to the problem.
'What of Voldemort?' he asked when his mind refused to work any harder. Dumbledore looked to him with his familiar sense of knowing, quite aware of what Marius was implying.
'Voldemort had crossed my mind on several occasions. Though I cannot see as to what end he wishes this castle destroyed… Releasing Grindelwald is one possibility, though there are other entities of powerful magical properties that exist within these walls as well. I don't believe we will know until it is too late. For that we must hold this castle as long as possible. Though Grindelwald is a attractive target, I find it unlikely he will wish to release it. The demon will, afterall, battle with him for power. And I know Riddle's desire for power is very strong indeed. No, there is some other reason behind this…'
Dumbledore tried his best though he couldn't discern exactly what was driving the muggle military's push against wizard kind. Perhaps the incident at platform nine and three quarters was just the reason they needed to do what they'd always wanted to do. It was all too complicated, and both he and Marius knew that so long as their attention must remain to the cause of Hogwarts, their ability to attain more information was severely limited. Marius felt just as helpless, but a thought struck him then.
'There's something else too that I should mention before we see the students headmaster.' Albus looked to him curiously. 'It's about Harry. You know he's been having dreams don't you.'
The headmaster nodded. Marius continued.
'Well… I dismissed these at first, but when I looked deeper into it, many of his visions are that of Grindelwald.'
Dumbledore's attention spiked suddenly, his attention becoming undivided.
'What has he seen Morheim?'
'It's eyes Albus, those terrible red eyes. I'd thought after half a century, your control of the creature would've quenched the fire behind them at last. Is it possible Grindelwald is starting to resist the charms you placed on it?'
Dumbledore became more concerned than Marius had anticipated, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
'With wards failing as they are, it is possible that my control over the demon is beginning to weaken.'
Marius looked rather surprised, not expecting this answer.
'I don't understand Albus,' he started, rather confused, 'The charms you placed aren't wards are they?'
'The charms themselves are powerful incantations that hold Grindelwald's spirit. But in order to cast them, they needed a foundation of ward magic to hold the charms in place. In my youth I was inexperienced in casting such complicated magic, I needed that foundation to support the level I was trying to achieve whilst I spoke the incantation. I have the knowledge now that I could have done it better, but to reapply the charms I must remove the old ones, which put us at risk of releasing the creature. It is possible that the foundation wards I cast so many years ago are beginning to crumble. There is a muggle saying "A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link…" and that holds true for this. The moment those wards crumble the charms that have held the demon will be no more. If Voldemort has indeed learnt Irovanai, the nullifying curse, then we are all in greater danger than we can foresee.'
A stunted silence enveloped the room then, Dumbledore's speech being clear in it's intention, and Marius could not help but get edgy at the thought of Grindelwald escaping, let alone whatever part Voldemort had to play in the matter. Hesitantly, Marius cleared his throat, breaking the silence.
'Perhaps,' he began, not really holding the headmaster's attention in any way, 'We should leave this matter to a later time. We are obviously working ourselves up over a problem that cannot be resolved within a few days. The students are no doubt formulating their own theories as to what Hogsmeade's destruction means. I think it's prudent we speak to them immediately. Who knows when the muggles will advance on Hogwarts, or when Master Weasley arrives?'
Dumbledore nodded acceptingly, knowing what must be done, so he rose from his chair.
'How could everything have come to this?' he asked under his breath, not expecting an answer, and he walked past Marius without so much as a whisper, formulating in his head exactly what he imagined the children needed to hear.
Seven hours past by, and elsewhere in the castle, Marius's view of the student body was correct. From the windows of their dormitories the students could clearly see clouds of smoke rising from the horizon over Hogsmeade. Though the light outside was now non-existent, the flames that undoubtedly licked the ground lit up the smoke as it ascended into the air. It was extremely unnerving, most students shocked beyond belief that the "enemy" was very close indeed. Harry and Ginny, having seen the devastation first hand, returned to Gryffindor common room to a flurry of different questions from everyone there. Ginny seemed too distraught to speak to anyone, retiring to her chambers early to avoid questioning, Harry however, let fly with everything he'd seen, treating it as some kind of burden he wanted to release, though he cursed himself afterwards knowing that he was the kind of person who started many an unsavory rumor about such things and that the teachers themselves were sure to know of Hogsmeade's destruction by now. If they were not already wishing to inform the students of the state of affairs then they the children were truly dammed. But the damage was done now, and gossip of muggles coming to kill people in the night started to circulate amongst to students, which more often than not resulted in pitting pure bloods against muggle borns in some vicious contest of will.
Many scuffles took place once the rumors began and it was only due to the intervention of Hermione with her consoling linguistic talent, were many to be avoided. Until that was the question arose as to her own origins. Being muggle born herself did not seem to help things thereafter and she wisely opted to keep her nose out of that business.
Trust amongst the kids began to dwindle rapidly, with more than one student being suspected of affiliating with muggle spies on regular occasions. Ron himself was suspected by Colin Creevey of all people, and it looked quite likely for him to get the better of the red headed boy until out of sheer fury, Ron let his fist fly into Colin's face, shattering his nose and sending him packing to the hospital wing. No one bothered the Weasley boy again with the exception of McGonagall who loathed violence in any shape or form.
Harry tried as best he could not to think of Hogsmeade, but his mind continually wandered back to his own fond memories of the all wizard town. The snow topped buildings vibrant with life. The three broomsticks, Zonko's joke-shop and every other place he adored visiting there on school trips… And then he compared it to Hogsmeade today. Nothing but a lifeless husk. It's many buildings either destroyed or burning, reducing it's once grand image into a sweltering furnace he likened to hell. Again for the hundredth time he buried his face into his bed blankets. Not wishing to know anymore of what was happening outside.
"How could everything have come to this?" a little voice echoed inside his mind. Something which sounded oddly familiar, but summed up everything he'd experienced thus far. Exactly how could it have come to this? Never before had he really thought about it, not that he hadn't previously been given the time, but it was one thing or another he had to be doing. Whether it be defense training, or building stupid structures or having confessions being magically forced out of you by a teacher you loathe and fear at the same time. There was always something to take his mind of reality, and it was always easier to just follow instructions rather than think independently for himself.
Briefly touching on the subject in his head, Harry propped himself up and stole a glimpse out his window. Everything appeared the same as the last few occasions he'd looked. The horizon was still thick with smoke, illuminated by the flames that fed the billowing clouds, though to some retarded relief it had somewhat lessened over the past few hours, but the town was still a smoldering ruin. He cast his eyes over the grounds. The bright light from the castle's flaming torches cast an amber colored glow across the grass, extending the shadows of the "T" shaped structures to over twice the building's actual size, making them appear even more opposing than they had previously been before. Nothing had changed, as though he was expecting anything to anyway.
Deciding to take a small sleep, he prepared to lay himself down for the night when all of a sudden, a huge black shadow flew past his window at incredible speed. Harry went pale in surprise. "What the hell was that?!" he thought fleetingly. Pressing his face to the window he scanned the outdoors. He couldn't see anything. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light, what with the horizon almost burning he would not be much surprised if that were so. For a second he put it down to this and dismissed it attempting to lie down again, when another shadow just as large as the first flew past the window. This time he knew he'd seen something. And he wasn't the only one.
Without him realizing, Ron was also on his bed looking out his window, apparently attracted to whatever had caught Harry's attention so well.
'Bloody hell did you see that Harry?!' he said loudly to his friend who jumped in surprise. 'What you think it was?'
Harry stared out the window once more, waiting for something to catch his eye… and then he saw it. Flying just above the forbidden forest he spied a giant pair of leathery, black wings slowly beating the air.
'Perhaps it's a Thestral.' Harry said off the top of his head, as the light outside obscured his view. Ron took a side wards glance to him, shaking his head in disagreement.
'It isn't a Thestral Harry, I can see it too…' he turned his attention outside once more, curiously searching for anymore sign of the creature, whatever it was. A few tense seconds past and in an instant Harry saw it once more, the creature flying again over the forbidden forest, it's huge wings beating almost hypnotically as it steered it's massive bulk towards the castle. And with one final beating, two gigantic, clawed feet extended forth and grasped the top of one the "T" structures that the students has built earlier, it's enormous weight coming to an abrupt halt. Only now it had stopped did the two boys manage a good enough look at the creature.
Standing tall on the building it was easily a good twenty meters high, it's giant wings parting ever so slightly to reveal a scaly yet muscular body and above that, a long snake like neck and head. A sudden understanding dawned on the two at that moment, but before they could voice it, another creature not that dissimilar from the first flew in and landed itself on another of the "T" structures… Then another… and another, as though the castle was being overrun. Ten arrived in all, each landing on a separate "T's".
'Dragons!' the two voiced in unison, an unquenchable feeling of excitement pouring into them.
'They're using those "T" things as perches!' Harry stated proudly, his eyes as wide a dishes as he took in the deadly splendor of the giant beasts that were beginning to become erratic in nature, throwing their heads back violently and breathing long streams of fire into the air. Now it became clear as to what those structures were. Marius had obviously planned them built for the dragons to use when they arrived. At this he was happy he did a good job.
'Charlie!' Ron spoke in a barely audible whisper, beginning to grin his trademark smile from ear to ear. 'Charlie! He's here I can't believe it!' he pointed to one of the dragons that had lowered it's head. On it sat a well bound saddle by which the young red head jumped off, clearly glad to stand on solid ground again. Stretching his neck this way and that, he was greeted by Marius, who reluctantly took his hand in a vigorous shake. They spoke something to each other, though neither Harry nor Ron could discern what exactly, their minute forms to far away to be clearly seen by the naked eye.
Within moments, more students had flocked to the windows, wanting to see what Harry and Ron were shouting about. Their own stunned expressions mirrored Harry's thoughts, though he admitted to himself that he was none to happy to see dragons again after his encounter with one during the tri wizard tournament had left a rather painful mark on his shoulder that madam Pomfrey was never able to fully heal. He supposed the magic deep inside dragon hide must be the reasoning behind it. The views of the other students however weren't reflective of Harry's own. Some of them jumped up and down, dancing in crude circles around the bedroom, in clear joy that the dragons had arrived. Perhaps they were their saviors, that seemed what the majority of the kids were thinking, even Ron, who in a sudden moment of glory, stood tall with his chest puffed up in pride knowing that his brother had come to save them…
A long and arduous meeting was arranged in the great hall within an hour of the dragons landing at Hogwarts. Some of the teachers exchanged nervous looks about their presence on the grounds, so close to the student body. But many were just scared out of their minds at the thought of the Heliopaths, some of which had bastioned themselves about the hall to keep some resemblance of a watch over the crowd. Though it only served to intensify the atmosphere even more as the dragons outside made deafening roars that spiked the attention of the students.
Standing at the teacher's table with his commanding authority over the students, Dumbledore spoke to the crowd.
'Students of Hogwarts…' he began with an unusually shaky voice, 'It is with great reluctance that I inform you tonight of this castle's dilemma. Two things must be clarified immediately so as for none of you to wander the corridors under false information that may have been passed to you by your peers.' And he motioned a swift hand towards the door. 'Some of you, if not all may be aware of our guests this evening. Charlie Weasley, currently on hold from Romania has kindly offered to aid us in our predicament, by bringing us some of his organization's finest dragons.'
A soft hiss of student gossiping started to circulate about the room, hyped up by Dumbledore's own understanding of the creature's existence. Dumbledore continued.
'This arrangement has been made with great difficulty over the past few weeks, that I myself had to attend to. Nevertheless, I feel it is the obligation of the student body to pay as much respect to Master Weasley as any other teacher of our faculty. In saying that, I would like the students all to give Master Weasley a great round of applause for going out of his way to help us during these troubled times of ours.'
Dumbledore led by example, clapping his hands hard, and gradually the rest of the students followed themselves, some cheering. Charlie stood back behind the headmaster, somewhat abashed at being singled out this way, but smiled all the same. A slight tinge of red evident on his cheeks. Dumbledore made hushing motions with his hands, the clapping of the crowd dimmed to silence. He spoke again.
'Second topic of discussion tonight is a matter of very great importance. In the distance, some of you may have seen large clouds of smoke, rising into the air. Now… due to some students already releasing this information against my wishes,' he looked sternly in Harry's direction, who quickly sank low in his seat as far down as he could go, 'It is my regret to announce the this smoke is from Hogsmeade…'
Some scattered intake of breath enveloped the hall, many disbelieving faces turning to each other in fright. The Gryffindors mysteriously seeming very unsurprised by the news, though they did show some sign of concern at it.
'Earlier today, when the majority of students were sleeping, Hogsmeade was bombarded with fire by a muggle army. The attack was short, having lasted only fifteen minutes, but the town was completely annihilated. What remains is indistinguishable from piles of ash. This I hope will raise awareness of how dangerous things are becoming. And I fear that Hogwarts will be next. The wards that have protected this castle from muggle eyes for so long have been crumbling as many of you know. I estimate that within a day those wards will finally disappear leaving the castle visible at last. This is but one of the reasons we have chosen to employ dragons to aid. A muggle army is upon us. Some of you may express a form of disgust at the thought, but I assure you all that Hogwarts is a much stronger target than Hogsmeade was, and muggles are not stupid like so many of you believe.
'With Hogsmeade decimated, many of it's population were killed in the inferno. This is regrettable, and I know that there are some amongst you that had relatives living there. Though words alone cannot console you, I must say that not everyone was killed. Soon after the bombardment, the town was overrun by muggle soldiers. The ground is theirs now, but I can say with relief that some people survived the fires, and are coming here.'
Dumbledore looked about him, nodding every once in a while at the teachers, who began moving towards the end of the hall.
'Take heed of your teachers children, we will expect but an hour more sleep from you all, before you must be mobilized for the inevitable attack. The Heliopath army has already been organized accordingly and they will assist you where possible should muggles break through our lines. I am truly sorry. That must be said. Though I will not force you into battle, I leave the choice to you as to whether or not you participate in defending our castle. Your parents, wherever they may be want the best for you, and I know that doesn't include getting killed, as is quite possible. For the sake of it, only fifth years and above will be given the opportunity to mobilize as they have sufficient magic skills to ward off an attack. As for the other years, you will be accompanied by a teacher to a safe local beneath the castle. I will not see harm come to any of you if I can. With that you must sleep. And sleep well, for you will all be woken within the hour to prepare. I am sorry children, I truly am.'
And with one last disappointed look, Dumbledore walked out of the hall, being flanked by Marius and McGonagall on either side, leaving the mass of extremely perturbed students to sit in fear. How terrible it was, that this generation was unable to live and grow in some semblance of peace, but were to have adulthood forced upon them in the fury of war. Many considered this, and some thought their lives were nearing a premature end, as slowly the trickle of students headed to their dormitories, not really expecting to sleep as they'd been advised. Perhaps this was the end of Hogwarts, and the end of the wizarding civilization as they knew it.
In Dumbledore's office, the headmaster sat tapping his fingers impatiently on his desk. As though waiting for something to happen. Marius entered as well, McGonagall behind him, both with extremely anxious looks across their faces, hoping beyond hope that the brilliant mage had some extraordinary plan up his sleeve to end the war without bloodshed. They were very disappointed to discover otherwise, as Albus looked no more capable of pulling off some great feat, than he was at ending the second war entirely. His robes were looking more worn for ware, and that ever present glint in his eyes was dulled to merely a shadow of it's previous splendor. Dumbledore spoke again, his voice as shaky as the earth beneath Hogsmeade.
'Never in my time did I imagine this would happen,' he spoke to the ageing witch and wizard, their own faces shocked at his own guilty conscience. 'In all the generations that have passed through this school, not one has been forced into war. Every year was a peaceful one, where the learning and appreciation of magic was everything and second to none. Never did I foresee that my coming to this school would have the distinction of hosting a muggle, wizard war. Such a thing was unheard of…'
McGonagall spoke up, even though her own voice sounded rather more quiet than usual.
'Stop feeling sorry Albus!' she spoke in her familiar authoritive voice, catching Dumbledore unaware. 'You know very well that this could never have been avoided. If he who must not be named as indeed learned this old curse I keep hearing about, then we have to stick together as much as we can… To whatever end Dumbledore, whatever end!'
Dumbledore seemed slightly heartened by this, but seemed no closer to coming up with an answer to the problem than he was two minutes ago.
'What of the survivors Albus?' Marius piped up, referring to those who'd avoided the flames in Hogsmeade. Dumbledore looked up from his spectacles, an expectant look across his old face.
'I expect there will be a few. There are some very smart people from Hogsmeade, I know they'll have tried all they could to escape the bombardment…'
Marius looked rather dissatisfied at this. Speaking again.
'What I meant was, how are they going to get here? I saw soon after the attack the muggles were patrolling the main road leading to the town, I don't see how they're supposed to reach us through that. And if the fire places there have been rendered useless, then there's no way they can possibly escape.'
Dumbledore shook his head knowingly, surprising both Marius and McGonagall.
'I'm afraid your incorrect on that one old friend,' he stated as a matter of factly, looking the old man straight in the eyes, 'There is but one way, and that is an ill used path through the forbidden forest. Few use it these days out of fear of centaurs, but it is reasonably safe I guarantee that at least. Those with brains who escape the carnage in town should use that I expect.'
'You're sure they'll make it through unharmed, I mean if the muggles are…'
'Quite sure!' Dumbledore repeated himself, silencing Marius in an instant. 'They won't have any trouble, I'm certain of it.'
For that at least Marius seemed satisfied. But Dumbledore's disheveled appearance drew McGonagall's attention once more, seeming to aggravate her.
'Oh honestly Albus!' she said sourly, her temper rising, 'I would've expected more from you during this time of crisis, it's moments like these that we have to remember exactly who we are, and we have to remember our roots.'
And a stunt silence enveloped the room, Albus looked up most suddenly, quietly repeating to himself those last few words.
'Remember our roots?' he said to himself in a whisper, confusing McGonagall to a great extent. Then a sudden comprehension dawned on the headmaster, a small grin beginning to peak at the sides of his mouth, that all too familiar twinkle in his eyes returning. And he abruptly stood up to leave.
'Wh… where are you going?' Marius asked in confusion, whipping around as Dumbledore passed him swiftly. The old man turned to face Marius, his eyes holding him in an instant.
'We have to remember our roots! I know of something that could help this castle immensely. I'm going to the library.' And in another swift turn he left, leaving the two standing there with odd looking faces of puzzlement. It was consoling to know that even the headmaster wasn't above using the library to his own ends…
Meanwhile, far from the castle, lied a world shrouded in darkness. In silence, where none but the bravest people, or the wildest of animals dared to have a voice. This was the forbidden forest. A world that was generally untouched by wizards or muggles. Proud oak and cedar trees that had existed for generations, stood solemnly to attention, their huge trunks blocking out whatever light managed to pierce the forest canopy, leaving the ground a dark, featureless landscape with a gentle mist that hid it from prying eyes. Few dared ventured to this part of the forest, it was a place even centaurs feared to tread, and yet even so, there could be heard the sharp, twisting snap of twigs and the crunching of leaves as out of the gloom, a small number of wizards marched through the undergrowth, their wands out in expectation of wild animals or some unknown beast.
'Careful there,' one of them began, turning to help his friend, 'Don't know what kind of animals could exist here. Best not to attract attention.'
One named Angus peaked his head up, looking to the first with a sour appearance on his face.
'Yes, yes! I know already! You keep saying that every time we crunch a leaf under foot. And we haven't seen anything yet, so why don't you mind your own business and look ahead for a change.'
The first man, who's last name was Banks, scowled disapprovingly, turning himself and walking onwards.
'You'll all be sorry if something comes out an grabs you in the dark though, I know that much, you'd do well to heed what I say every now and then!'
Two wizards to the rear of the party made gross noises with their hands, which infuriated the first considerably.
'Do you two mind?!' he badgered them sourly. The two held back laughs at his frustration before one spoke up.
'Well, we're sorry Mr Banks. We had no idea we were offending you!' the boy next to him sniggered. 'Come on "Banksie"' he spoke with candor, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. 'Try to lighten up a bit, we'll be at Hogwarts soon enough. Oh just think of it! Hot roasts, vegetables, pies, muffins… I could go on all day. A feast awaits us I know it, none quite like Hogwarts that's for sure.'
Banks looked to him suspiciously but bowed his head in defeat.
'You're right Wilkinson, I have been a bit on edge lately. It would be nice to have a bit of food in our stomachs. How long have we been walking again?'
The other boy poked his head around.
'Too long I'm afraid, and we aren't there yet so get a move on!' he commanded eagerly. The others nodded in agreement, and prodded Banks with their wands. Reluctantly they shuffled on.
In all there were seven of them. Banks, Wilkinson, Angus, Charles, Dean and two women that were still shell shocked from the bombardment and had refused to give their names. The silent air in the forest felt disconcerting, and every time a twig snapped or a branch rustled, at least one of them spun around with wand outstretched trying to locate the source of the noise. It made the going slow, but they were gradually becoming careless as the journey progressed, their stomachs beginning to govern the speed of their steps.
Beyond their vision another twig snapped, Banks stood still, his wand pointed in the direction of the noise… Wilkinson came up to his side.
'Centaur do you think?' he asked curiously. Banks didn't answer. He stood poised to speak an incantation of sorts when he hesitated.
'No…' he spoke of a sudden, not sounding particularly confident in his words. 'No, it's probably nothing.' Wilkinson looked to him rather uneasily, but dismissed his doubts when he could see nothing ahead of them.
'Yeah I think you're right, it's probably nothing…' he chortled in agreement, patting his hand on Banks' shoulder. But the air amongst them seemed to have thickened somewhat. The others behind them looked anxiously into the dark, not entirely convinced. But the thought of food on the other side of the forest lured them to continue, if not slightly on edge. Gradually, the air thinned again, and the party was relaxed once more, trying as they might not to think of anything in the woods.
But the silence was broken when all of a sudden, a sharp crack pierced the air, followed by a coarse, wailing scream of pain. Banks turned quickly to see Angus's limp body fall to the ground and roll unceremoniously down a steep embankment.
'ANGUS!' he shouted in horror. The others turned suddenly to see the source of the noise, Wilkinson ran to Angus's aid.
'Don't worry boy!' Wilkinson yelled, a small fear apparent in his voice, 'Just hold on Angus I'll be there in a sec, just hold o…,' another crack sounded somewhere in the trees, Wilkinson faltered mid-step and keeled over, hitting the ground hard with an awful crash.
'WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!' Banks shouted throatily, the two women screamed in the shady. 'Quickly now, this way!' he urged the others onwards, taking out his wand and pointing it into the dark once more.
'STUPEFY!' he yelled. A bright red beam of light shot from his wand into the trees, apparently not hitting anything. But amidst the gloom he made out a brief spark of light as another crack split the air, followed by a yell of agony as Dean, who'd been accompanying the woman at a hurried pace, fell to the ground clutching his leg, shouting numerous obscenities at whatever had crippled him.
Not wanting to see what had taken the young man down, the women ran as fast they could, tripping every now and then on a stray tree root or the like, blindly fumbling into the darkness. Without so much as a light to guide them, they lost each other in the gloom, going their separate ways. Stopping for a moment, one of them bent over and breathed heavily, not used to running. The landscape about her seemed different, she hadn't been watching where she'd been running. The trees grew taller here and the dark seemed to consume everything around it. She had left the path entirely. Not a soul could live here she thought, and then, seemingly out of nowhere a strong hand grabbed her by the throat and lifted here from the ground. The last sound from her mouth being a blood curdling scream that resonated through the trees with a ghostly echo.
Banks and Charles looked around themselves. Both hand their wands out ready to attack, but fear had gripped them both and neither could concentrate hard enough on the situation, their hands shaking violently as they searched for whatever had reduced their group's number. A sudden shuffling noise caught Charles's attention and he turned in time to watch Dean get dragged into the bushes, his feet disappearing into the undergrowth.
'DEAN!' Charles shouted to him, and he gave chase into the bushes after what had taken the injured man.
'NO CHARLES NO! DON'T DO IT!' Banks yelled to him, but he was gone.
He inched forward slightly, watching and listening in the direction Charles ran… for a moment there was silence, and then a series of loud shouts sounded in the forest. The red glow of stunning spells lighting up the trees… And then a howl of pain reached Banks' ears until there was nothing. The trees standing about him almost mocking his stance, there alone in the woods with his wand uselessly pointing into the abyss. He was alone. The group had been torn asunder, and only he remained. His breathing getting heavier, he turned in every direction, wand still out. The slightest breeze grabbing his attention. Driving fear into his soul for every moment. Suddenly a strong hand gripped him from behind, covering his mouth, before he felt a cold, sharp object get plunged into his back.
The pain was intense, he could feel his life starting to drain from him as he flailed his hands about uselessly, before he was thrown, sprawling across the ground. Darkness slowly began to creep upon him, his vision becoming blurred by what he thought was probably blood, but in his last moments of sanity he looked up to see with an unending feeling of terror, exactly what had attacked him. Standing over him was a muggle. Dressed in dark, camouflaged clothes, he held in one hand a long, scoped rifle, the harsh smell of smoke still coming from the barrel. And in his other hand, a serrated combat knife, it's silver blade tainted by what appeared to be blood… his blood.
Wanting to scream, Banks lurched slightly, nothing but a muffled sound issuing from his mouth. The knife had pierced his lungs, he could feel it as his life began to drain from him. The muggle stood still above him, his face hidden behind a black mask. He quickly shot a look at Banks's wand that laid on the ground mere inches from his hand, and promptly stepped on it, snapping the piece of wood in two with a brief surge of sparks. Banks's only weapon was gone, he knew his life was over as he watched his wand crumble into dust, before looking once more at the muggle's obscured face.
He couldn't see his face, but he knew the man was looking at him beneath the mask. He had that feeling, even as his life-force threatened to part with him permanently. Kneeling towards him, the muggle waved his knife about, spinning it between his fingers, until at last with one final thrust, he came down on Banks with a vicious slash to the face.
And the wizard knew no more……………
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If you aren't hooked by this I don't know what will. I worked very hard on this chapter I hope you enjoy it. Tell one tell all, I need reviews, I can't keep writing this story with chapters this length without some incentive. Happy reading.
Marius marched quickly through the school corridors, being flanked either side by Heliopaths. Students before them parted like water as they'd done so often in the past, making way for the strained wizard as he headed towards Dumbledore's office near the center of the school. His mind was so enveloped with thought, that questions of confusion from both teachers and students alike regarding Hogsmeade, were promptly cast aside. Such the situation had become for him to ignore the very people he seemed desperate to protect.
Leaving his personal guard standing by the entrance, he whispered the password to the stone gargoyle and headed up the revolving staircase into Dumbledore's abode. Upon entering he neared the headmaster's desk and collapsed himself onto it, burying his face into his hands, and trying as he might to forget the dreadful events he'd witnessed mere moments ago. Hogsmeade was indeed a terrible loss, though inevitable in his mind. Nothing could have prepared the small town for this, no matter how much time they'd been allowed. But given it's destruction Marius turned his attention once more to the home front, where muggle awareness of Hogwarts' existence, was soon to be known. Was the school prepared for the onslaught? He didn't know… no one knew, despite having trained the students to their limits, Hogwarts' apparent isolation made aid almost impossible to acquire, leaving the school to stand alone as the last bastion of wizarding strength in Britain.
Behind him, green flames roared from the fireplace and he turned to watch Dumbledore take a hesitant step out of the fire, looking as immaculate as always in his robes of luxurious felt and silk, despite the fear that had gripped the school.
'Ah… Morheim.' He greeted the old man happily, extending his hand to shake, 'Still in command of the school I see. You haven't punished too many children I trust.'
Marius couldn't help but bare a small grin, knowing his own indifference to the students, so he took the headmaster's hand and shook vigorously.
'It's good to see you again old friend!' Marius said proudly, a slight sense of relief apparent in his voice. 'I was starting to wonder when you'd come back… did you manage the deal over there?'
Dumbledore looked back to him with that familiar twinkle in his eyes.
'Indeed I did. Master Weasley was most gracious in lending us assistance during this predicament. Given the length of the flight he has, he estimated it might take him some eight hours to reach us. He isn't used to bringing his companions half way across the world as you know.'
'Of course.' Marius chortled, 'Though I must relay my worry in this. Are you aware of Hogsmeade's destruction?'
Dumbledore solemnly nodded, frustration clear on his face.
'Yes old friend, I am…' he walked about to his desk and sat in his chair with an audible sigh, 'News travels quick in the wizard world, even across the channel I heard of everything within an hour of the event, from a reliable source of course. Though, I admit it is sooner than expected.'
'Yes,' Marius added quickly, 'I was thinking the same thing. All that we've been doing here is based on the assumption that we've got an extra three days under our belts to use… Now that advantage is gone. What can we do if they strike before Master Weasley arrives?'
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair thinking for a moment, his hands together as though performing a mantra of sorts.
'They won't.' he replied shortly, taking Marius by surprise. 'As strange as it may seem, news travels just as fast in the muggle world, as I found when I read one of their newspapers… Word of our existence has spread to the common people, and even as we speak thousands are eagerly awaiting more on how this battle turns out.' And he threw Marius a battered old muggle newspaper, which he read without twitching a muscle.
'Surprisingly,' he continued, drawing Marius's attention once more, 'The general population of muggles is opposed to this war taking place. They're more interested in learning of our culture than eradicating it, which does our situation benefit. Of course there are a few who fear us, largely politicians and religious fanatics, but their numbers are few and far between at any rate… My concern is of the military. We wizards don't have any uniform armed forces, most of our work is committed to by Aurors and professional hit wizards. Muggle history however has advocated the need for large professional masses of soldiers. You know of this Marius, we both remember your past. Yet taking the view of the people into consideration, I feel their military is acting on their own behalf. And I test my brain considerably to think as to why. Something is driving them.'
Marius stood silent momentarily, his own mind working on an answer to the problem.
'What of Voldemort?' he asked when his mind refused to work any harder. Dumbledore looked to him with his familiar sense of knowing, quite aware of what Marius was implying.
'Voldemort had crossed my mind on several occasions. Though I cannot see as to what end he wishes this castle destroyed… Releasing Grindelwald is one possibility, though there are other entities of powerful magical properties that exist within these walls as well. I don't believe we will know until it is too late. For that we must hold this castle as long as possible. Though Grindelwald is a attractive target, I find it unlikely he will wish to release it. The demon will, afterall, battle with him for power. And I know Riddle's desire for power is very strong indeed. No, there is some other reason behind this…'
Dumbledore tried his best though he couldn't discern exactly what was driving the muggle military's push against wizard kind. Perhaps the incident at platform nine and three quarters was just the reason they needed to do what they'd always wanted to do. It was all too complicated, and both he and Marius knew that so long as their attention must remain to the cause of Hogwarts, their ability to attain more information was severely limited. Marius felt just as helpless, but a thought struck him then.
'There's something else too that I should mention before we see the students headmaster.' Albus looked to him curiously. 'It's about Harry. You know he's been having dreams don't you.'
The headmaster nodded. Marius continued.
'Well… I dismissed these at first, but when I looked deeper into it, many of his visions are that of Grindelwald.'
Dumbledore's attention spiked suddenly, his attention becoming undivided.
'What has he seen Morheim?'
'It's eyes Albus, those terrible red eyes. I'd thought after half a century, your control of the creature would've quenched the fire behind them at last. Is it possible Grindelwald is starting to resist the charms you placed on it?'
Dumbledore became more concerned than Marius had anticipated, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
'With wards failing as they are, it is possible that my control over the demon is beginning to weaken.'
Marius looked rather surprised, not expecting this answer.
'I don't understand Albus,' he started, rather confused, 'The charms you placed aren't wards are they?'
'The charms themselves are powerful incantations that hold Grindelwald's spirit. But in order to cast them, they needed a foundation of ward magic to hold the charms in place. In my youth I was inexperienced in casting such complicated magic, I needed that foundation to support the level I was trying to achieve whilst I spoke the incantation. I have the knowledge now that I could have done it better, but to reapply the charms I must remove the old ones, which put us at risk of releasing the creature. It is possible that the foundation wards I cast so many years ago are beginning to crumble. There is a muggle saying "A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link…" and that holds true for this. The moment those wards crumble the charms that have held the demon will be no more. If Voldemort has indeed learnt Irovanai, the nullifying curse, then we are all in greater danger than we can foresee.'
A stunted silence enveloped the room then, Dumbledore's speech being clear in it's intention, and Marius could not help but get edgy at the thought of Grindelwald escaping, let alone whatever part Voldemort had to play in the matter. Hesitantly, Marius cleared his throat, breaking the silence.
'Perhaps,' he began, not really holding the headmaster's attention in any way, 'We should leave this matter to a later time. We are obviously working ourselves up over a problem that cannot be resolved within a few days. The students are no doubt formulating their own theories as to what Hogsmeade's destruction means. I think it's prudent we speak to them immediately. Who knows when the muggles will advance on Hogwarts, or when Master Weasley arrives?'
Dumbledore nodded acceptingly, knowing what must be done, so he rose from his chair.
'How could everything have come to this?' he asked under his breath, not expecting an answer, and he walked past Marius without so much as a whisper, formulating in his head exactly what he imagined the children needed to hear.
Seven hours past by, and elsewhere in the castle, Marius's view of the student body was correct. From the windows of their dormitories the students could clearly see clouds of smoke rising from the horizon over Hogsmeade. Though the light outside was now non-existent, the flames that undoubtedly licked the ground lit up the smoke as it ascended into the air. It was extremely unnerving, most students shocked beyond belief that the "enemy" was very close indeed. Harry and Ginny, having seen the devastation first hand, returned to Gryffindor common room to a flurry of different questions from everyone there. Ginny seemed too distraught to speak to anyone, retiring to her chambers early to avoid questioning, Harry however, let fly with everything he'd seen, treating it as some kind of burden he wanted to release, though he cursed himself afterwards knowing that he was the kind of person who started many an unsavory rumor about such things and that the teachers themselves were sure to know of Hogsmeade's destruction by now. If they were not already wishing to inform the students of the state of affairs then they the children were truly dammed. But the damage was done now, and gossip of muggles coming to kill people in the night started to circulate amongst to students, which more often than not resulted in pitting pure bloods against muggle borns in some vicious contest of will.
Many scuffles took place once the rumors began and it was only due to the intervention of Hermione with her consoling linguistic talent, were many to be avoided. Until that was the question arose as to her own origins. Being muggle born herself did not seem to help things thereafter and she wisely opted to keep her nose out of that business.
Trust amongst the kids began to dwindle rapidly, with more than one student being suspected of affiliating with muggle spies on regular occasions. Ron himself was suspected by Colin Creevey of all people, and it looked quite likely for him to get the better of the red headed boy until out of sheer fury, Ron let his fist fly into Colin's face, shattering his nose and sending him packing to the hospital wing. No one bothered the Weasley boy again with the exception of McGonagall who loathed violence in any shape or form.
Harry tried as best he could not to think of Hogsmeade, but his mind continually wandered back to his own fond memories of the all wizard town. The snow topped buildings vibrant with life. The three broomsticks, Zonko's joke-shop and every other place he adored visiting there on school trips… And then he compared it to Hogsmeade today. Nothing but a lifeless husk. It's many buildings either destroyed or burning, reducing it's once grand image into a sweltering furnace he likened to hell. Again for the hundredth time he buried his face into his bed blankets. Not wishing to know anymore of what was happening outside.
"How could everything have come to this?" a little voice echoed inside his mind. Something which sounded oddly familiar, but summed up everything he'd experienced thus far. Exactly how could it have come to this? Never before had he really thought about it, not that he hadn't previously been given the time, but it was one thing or another he had to be doing. Whether it be defense training, or building stupid structures or having confessions being magically forced out of you by a teacher you loathe and fear at the same time. There was always something to take his mind of reality, and it was always easier to just follow instructions rather than think independently for himself.
Briefly touching on the subject in his head, Harry propped himself up and stole a glimpse out his window. Everything appeared the same as the last few occasions he'd looked. The horizon was still thick with smoke, illuminated by the flames that fed the billowing clouds, though to some retarded relief it had somewhat lessened over the past few hours, but the town was still a smoldering ruin. He cast his eyes over the grounds. The bright light from the castle's flaming torches cast an amber colored glow across the grass, extending the shadows of the "T" shaped structures to over twice the building's actual size, making them appear even more opposing than they had previously been before. Nothing had changed, as though he was expecting anything to anyway.
Deciding to take a small sleep, he prepared to lay himself down for the night when all of a sudden, a huge black shadow flew past his window at incredible speed. Harry went pale in surprise. "What the hell was that?!" he thought fleetingly. Pressing his face to the window he scanned the outdoors. He couldn't see anything. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light, what with the horizon almost burning he would not be much surprised if that were so. For a second he put it down to this and dismissed it attempting to lie down again, when another shadow just as large as the first flew past the window. This time he knew he'd seen something. And he wasn't the only one.
Without him realizing, Ron was also on his bed looking out his window, apparently attracted to whatever had caught Harry's attention so well.
'Bloody hell did you see that Harry?!' he said loudly to his friend who jumped in surprise. 'What you think it was?'
Harry stared out the window once more, waiting for something to catch his eye… and then he saw it. Flying just above the forbidden forest he spied a giant pair of leathery, black wings slowly beating the air.
'Perhaps it's a Thestral.' Harry said off the top of his head, as the light outside obscured his view. Ron took a side wards glance to him, shaking his head in disagreement.
'It isn't a Thestral Harry, I can see it too…' he turned his attention outside once more, curiously searching for anymore sign of the creature, whatever it was. A few tense seconds past and in an instant Harry saw it once more, the creature flying again over the forbidden forest, it's huge wings beating almost hypnotically as it steered it's massive bulk towards the castle. And with one final beating, two gigantic, clawed feet extended forth and grasped the top of one the "T" structures that the students has built earlier, it's enormous weight coming to an abrupt halt. Only now it had stopped did the two boys manage a good enough look at the creature.
Standing tall on the building it was easily a good twenty meters high, it's giant wings parting ever so slightly to reveal a scaly yet muscular body and above that, a long snake like neck and head. A sudden understanding dawned on the two at that moment, but before they could voice it, another creature not that dissimilar from the first flew in and landed itself on another of the "T" structures… Then another… and another, as though the castle was being overrun. Ten arrived in all, each landing on a separate "T's".
'Dragons!' the two voiced in unison, an unquenchable feeling of excitement pouring into them.
'They're using those "T" things as perches!' Harry stated proudly, his eyes as wide a dishes as he took in the deadly splendor of the giant beasts that were beginning to become erratic in nature, throwing their heads back violently and breathing long streams of fire into the air. Now it became clear as to what those structures were. Marius had obviously planned them built for the dragons to use when they arrived. At this he was happy he did a good job.
'Charlie!' Ron spoke in a barely audible whisper, beginning to grin his trademark smile from ear to ear. 'Charlie! He's here I can't believe it!' he pointed to one of the dragons that had lowered it's head. On it sat a well bound saddle by which the young red head jumped off, clearly glad to stand on solid ground again. Stretching his neck this way and that, he was greeted by Marius, who reluctantly took his hand in a vigorous shake. They spoke something to each other, though neither Harry nor Ron could discern what exactly, their minute forms to far away to be clearly seen by the naked eye.
Within moments, more students had flocked to the windows, wanting to see what Harry and Ron were shouting about. Their own stunned expressions mirrored Harry's thoughts, though he admitted to himself that he was none to happy to see dragons again after his encounter with one during the tri wizard tournament had left a rather painful mark on his shoulder that madam Pomfrey was never able to fully heal. He supposed the magic deep inside dragon hide must be the reasoning behind it. The views of the other students however weren't reflective of Harry's own. Some of them jumped up and down, dancing in crude circles around the bedroom, in clear joy that the dragons had arrived. Perhaps they were their saviors, that seemed what the majority of the kids were thinking, even Ron, who in a sudden moment of glory, stood tall with his chest puffed up in pride knowing that his brother had come to save them…
A long and arduous meeting was arranged in the great hall within an hour of the dragons landing at Hogwarts. Some of the teachers exchanged nervous looks about their presence on the grounds, so close to the student body. But many were just scared out of their minds at the thought of the Heliopaths, some of which had bastioned themselves about the hall to keep some resemblance of a watch over the crowd. Though it only served to intensify the atmosphere even more as the dragons outside made deafening roars that spiked the attention of the students.
Standing at the teacher's table with his commanding authority over the students, Dumbledore spoke to the crowd.
'Students of Hogwarts…' he began with an unusually shaky voice, 'It is with great reluctance that I inform you tonight of this castle's dilemma. Two things must be clarified immediately so as for none of you to wander the corridors under false information that may have been passed to you by your peers.' And he motioned a swift hand towards the door. 'Some of you, if not all may be aware of our guests this evening. Charlie Weasley, currently on hold from Romania has kindly offered to aid us in our predicament, by bringing us some of his organization's finest dragons.'
A soft hiss of student gossiping started to circulate about the room, hyped up by Dumbledore's own understanding of the creature's existence. Dumbledore continued.
'This arrangement has been made with great difficulty over the past few weeks, that I myself had to attend to. Nevertheless, I feel it is the obligation of the student body to pay as much respect to Master Weasley as any other teacher of our faculty. In saying that, I would like the students all to give Master Weasley a great round of applause for going out of his way to help us during these troubled times of ours.'
Dumbledore led by example, clapping his hands hard, and gradually the rest of the students followed themselves, some cheering. Charlie stood back behind the headmaster, somewhat abashed at being singled out this way, but smiled all the same. A slight tinge of red evident on his cheeks. Dumbledore made hushing motions with his hands, the clapping of the crowd dimmed to silence. He spoke again.
'Second topic of discussion tonight is a matter of very great importance. In the distance, some of you may have seen large clouds of smoke, rising into the air. Now… due to some students already releasing this information against my wishes,' he looked sternly in Harry's direction, who quickly sank low in his seat as far down as he could go, 'It is my regret to announce the this smoke is from Hogsmeade…'
Some scattered intake of breath enveloped the hall, many disbelieving faces turning to each other in fright. The Gryffindors mysteriously seeming very unsurprised by the news, though they did show some sign of concern at it.
'Earlier today, when the majority of students were sleeping, Hogsmeade was bombarded with fire by a muggle army. The attack was short, having lasted only fifteen minutes, but the town was completely annihilated. What remains is indistinguishable from piles of ash. This I hope will raise awareness of how dangerous things are becoming. And I fear that Hogwarts will be next. The wards that have protected this castle from muggle eyes for so long have been crumbling as many of you know. I estimate that within a day those wards will finally disappear leaving the castle visible at last. This is but one of the reasons we have chosen to employ dragons to aid. A muggle army is upon us. Some of you may express a form of disgust at the thought, but I assure you all that Hogwarts is a much stronger target than Hogsmeade was, and muggles are not stupid like so many of you believe.
'With Hogsmeade decimated, many of it's population were killed in the inferno. This is regrettable, and I know that there are some amongst you that had relatives living there. Though words alone cannot console you, I must say that not everyone was killed. Soon after the bombardment, the town was overrun by muggle soldiers. The ground is theirs now, but I can say with relief that some people survived the fires, and are coming here.'
Dumbledore looked about him, nodding every once in a while at the teachers, who began moving towards the end of the hall.
'Take heed of your teachers children, we will expect but an hour more sleep from you all, before you must be mobilized for the inevitable attack. The Heliopath army has already been organized accordingly and they will assist you where possible should muggles break through our lines. I am truly sorry. That must be said. Though I will not force you into battle, I leave the choice to you as to whether or not you participate in defending our castle. Your parents, wherever they may be want the best for you, and I know that doesn't include getting killed, as is quite possible. For the sake of it, only fifth years and above will be given the opportunity to mobilize as they have sufficient magic skills to ward off an attack. As for the other years, you will be accompanied by a teacher to a safe local beneath the castle. I will not see harm come to any of you if I can. With that you must sleep. And sleep well, for you will all be woken within the hour to prepare. I am sorry children, I truly am.'
And with one last disappointed look, Dumbledore walked out of the hall, being flanked by Marius and McGonagall on either side, leaving the mass of extremely perturbed students to sit in fear. How terrible it was, that this generation was unable to live and grow in some semblance of peace, but were to have adulthood forced upon them in the fury of war. Many considered this, and some thought their lives were nearing a premature end, as slowly the trickle of students headed to their dormitories, not really expecting to sleep as they'd been advised. Perhaps this was the end of Hogwarts, and the end of the wizarding civilization as they knew it.
In Dumbledore's office, the headmaster sat tapping his fingers impatiently on his desk. As though waiting for something to happen. Marius entered as well, McGonagall behind him, both with extremely anxious looks across their faces, hoping beyond hope that the brilliant mage had some extraordinary plan up his sleeve to end the war without bloodshed. They were very disappointed to discover otherwise, as Albus looked no more capable of pulling off some great feat, than he was at ending the second war entirely. His robes were looking more worn for ware, and that ever present glint in his eyes was dulled to merely a shadow of it's previous splendor. Dumbledore spoke again, his voice as shaky as the earth beneath Hogsmeade.
'Never in my time did I imagine this would happen,' he spoke to the ageing witch and wizard, their own faces shocked at his own guilty conscience. 'In all the generations that have passed through this school, not one has been forced into war. Every year was a peaceful one, where the learning and appreciation of magic was everything and second to none. Never did I foresee that my coming to this school would have the distinction of hosting a muggle, wizard war. Such a thing was unheard of…'
McGonagall spoke up, even though her own voice sounded rather more quiet than usual.
'Stop feeling sorry Albus!' she spoke in her familiar authoritive voice, catching Dumbledore unaware. 'You know very well that this could never have been avoided. If he who must not be named as indeed learned this old curse I keep hearing about, then we have to stick together as much as we can… To whatever end Dumbledore, whatever end!'
Dumbledore seemed slightly heartened by this, but seemed no closer to coming up with an answer to the problem than he was two minutes ago.
'What of the survivors Albus?' Marius piped up, referring to those who'd avoided the flames in Hogsmeade. Dumbledore looked up from his spectacles, an expectant look across his old face.
'I expect there will be a few. There are some very smart people from Hogsmeade, I know they'll have tried all they could to escape the bombardment…'
Marius looked rather dissatisfied at this. Speaking again.
'What I meant was, how are they going to get here? I saw soon after the attack the muggles were patrolling the main road leading to the town, I don't see how they're supposed to reach us through that. And if the fire places there have been rendered useless, then there's no way they can possibly escape.'
Dumbledore shook his head knowingly, surprising both Marius and McGonagall.
'I'm afraid your incorrect on that one old friend,' he stated as a matter of factly, looking the old man straight in the eyes, 'There is but one way, and that is an ill used path through the forbidden forest. Few use it these days out of fear of centaurs, but it is reasonably safe I guarantee that at least. Those with brains who escape the carnage in town should use that I expect.'
'You're sure they'll make it through unharmed, I mean if the muggles are…'
'Quite sure!' Dumbledore repeated himself, silencing Marius in an instant. 'They won't have any trouble, I'm certain of it.'
For that at least Marius seemed satisfied. But Dumbledore's disheveled appearance drew McGonagall's attention once more, seeming to aggravate her.
'Oh honestly Albus!' she said sourly, her temper rising, 'I would've expected more from you during this time of crisis, it's moments like these that we have to remember exactly who we are, and we have to remember our roots.'
And a stunt silence enveloped the room, Albus looked up most suddenly, quietly repeating to himself those last few words.
'Remember our roots?' he said to himself in a whisper, confusing McGonagall to a great extent. Then a sudden comprehension dawned on the headmaster, a small grin beginning to peak at the sides of his mouth, that all too familiar twinkle in his eyes returning. And he abruptly stood up to leave.
'Wh… where are you going?' Marius asked in confusion, whipping around as Dumbledore passed him swiftly. The old man turned to face Marius, his eyes holding him in an instant.
'We have to remember our roots! I know of something that could help this castle immensely. I'm going to the library.' And in another swift turn he left, leaving the two standing there with odd looking faces of puzzlement. It was consoling to know that even the headmaster wasn't above using the library to his own ends…
Meanwhile, far from the castle, lied a world shrouded in darkness. In silence, where none but the bravest people, or the wildest of animals dared to have a voice. This was the forbidden forest. A world that was generally untouched by wizards or muggles. Proud oak and cedar trees that had existed for generations, stood solemnly to attention, their huge trunks blocking out whatever light managed to pierce the forest canopy, leaving the ground a dark, featureless landscape with a gentle mist that hid it from prying eyes. Few dared ventured to this part of the forest, it was a place even centaurs feared to tread, and yet even so, there could be heard the sharp, twisting snap of twigs and the crunching of leaves as out of the gloom, a small number of wizards marched through the undergrowth, their wands out in expectation of wild animals or some unknown beast.
'Careful there,' one of them began, turning to help his friend, 'Don't know what kind of animals could exist here. Best not to attract attention.'
One named Angus peaked his head up, looking to the first with a sour appearance on his face.
'Yes, yes! I know already! You keep saying that every time we crunch a leaf under foot. And we haven't seen anything yet, so why don't you mind your own business and look ahead for a change.'
The first man, who's last name was Banks, scowled disapprovingly, turning himself and walking onwards.
'You'll all be sorry if something comes out an grabs you in the dark though, I know that much, you'd do well to heed what I say every now and then!'
Two wizards to the rear of the party made gross noises with their hands, which infuriated the first considerably.
'Do you two mind?!' he badgered them sourly. The two held back laughs at his frustration before one spoke up.
'Well, we're sorry Mr Banks. We had no idea we were offending you!' the boy next to him sniggered. 'Come on "Banksie"' he spoke with candor, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. 'Try to lighten up a bit, we'll be at Hogwarts soon enough. Oh just think of it! Hot roasts, vegetables, pies, muffins… I could go on all day. A feast awaits us I know it, none quite like Hogwarts that's for sure.'
Banks looked to him suspiciously but bowed his head in defeat.
'You're right Wilkinson, I have been a bit on edge lately. It would be nice to have a bit of food in our stomachs. How long have we been walking again?'
The other boy poked his head around.
'Too long I'm afraid, and we aren't there yet so get a move on!' he commanded eagerly. The others nodded in agreement, and prodded Banks with their wands. Reluctantly they shuffled on.
In all there were seven of them. Banks, Wilkinson, Angus, Charles, Dean and two women that were still shell shocked from the bombardment and had refused to give their names. The silent air in the forest felt disconcerting, and every time a twig snapped or a branch rustled, at least one of them spun around with wand outstretched trying to locate the source of the noise. It made the going slow, but they were gradually becoming careless as the journey progressed, their stomachs beginning to govern the speed of their steps.
Beyond their vision another twig snapped, Banks stood still, his wand pointed in the direction of the noise… Wilkinson came up to his side.
'Centaur do you think?' he asked curiously. Banks didn't answer. He stood poised to speak an incantation of sorts when he hesitated.
'No…' he spoke of a sudden, not sounding particularly confident in his words. 'No, it's probably nothing.' Wilkinson looked to him rather uneasily, but dismissed his doubts when he could see nothing ahead of them.
'Yeah I think you're right, it's probably nothing…' he chortled in agreement, patting his hand on Banks' shoulder. But the air amongst them seemed to have thickened somewhat. The others behind them looked anxiously into the dark, not entirely convinced. But the thought of food on the other side of the forest lured them to continue, if not slightly on edge. Gradually, the air thinned again, and the party was relaxed once more, trying as they might not to think of anything in the woods.
But the silence was broken when all of a sudden, a sharp crack pierced the air, followed by a coarse, wailing scream of pain. Banks turned quickly to see Angus's limp body fall to the ground and roll unceremoniously down a steep embankment.
'ANGUS!' he shouted in horror. The others turned suddenly to see the source of the noise, Wilkinson ran to Angus's aid.
'Don't worry boy!' Wilkinson yelled, a small fear apparent in his voice, 'Just hold on Angus I'll be there in a sec, just hold o…,' another crack sounded somewhere in the trees, Wilkinson faltered mid-step and keeled over, hitting the ground hard with an awful crash.
'WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!' Banks shouted throatily, the two women screamed in the shady. 'Quickly now, this way!' he urged the others onwards, taking out his wand and pointing it into the dark once more.
'STUPEFY!' he yelled. A bright red beam of light shot from his wand into the trees, apparently not hitting anything. But amidst the gloom he made out a brief spark of light as another crack split the air, followed by a yell of agony as Dean, who'd been accompanying the woman at a hurried pace, fell to the ground clutching his leg, shouting numerous obscenities at whatever had crippled him.
Not wanting to see what had taken the young man down, the women ran as fast they could, tripping every now and then on a stray tree root or the like, blindly fumbling into the darkness. Without so much as a light to guide them, they lost each other in the gloom, going their separate ways. Stopping for a moment, one of them bent over and breathed heavily, not used to running. The landscape about her seemed different, she hadn't been watching where she'd been running. The trees grew taller here and the dark seemed to consume everything around it. She had left the path entirely. Not a soul could live here she thought, and then, seemingly out of nowhere a strong hand grabbed her by the throat and lifted here from the ground. The last sound from her mouth being a blood curdling scream that resonated through the trees with a ghostly echo.
Banks and Charles looked around themselves. Both hand their wands out ready to attack, but fear had gripped them both and neither could concentrate hard enough on the situation, their hands shaking violently as they searched for whatever had reduced their group's number. A sudden shuffling noise caught Charles's attention and he turned in time to watch Dean get dragged into the bushes, his feet disappearing into the undergrowth.
'DEAN!' Charles shouted to him, and he gave chase into the bushes after what had taken the injured man.
'NO CHARLES NO! DON'T DO IT!' Banks yelled to him, but he was gone.
He inched forward slightly, watching and listening in the direction Charles ran… for a moment there was silence, and then a series of loud shouts sounded in the forest. The red glow of stunning spells lighting up the trees… And then a howl of pain reached Banks' ears until there was nothing. The trees standing about him almost mocking his stance, there alone in the woods with his wand uselessly pointing into the abyss. He was alone. The group had been torn asunder, and only he remained. His breathing getting heavier, he turned in every direction, wand still out. The slightest breeze grabbing his attention. Driving fear into his soul for every moment. Suddenly a strong hand gripped him from behind, covering his mouth, before he felt a cold, sharp object get plunged into his back.
The pain was intense, he could feel his life starting to drain from him as he flailed his hands about uselessly, before he was thrown, sprawling across the ground. Darkness slowly began to creep upon him, his vision becoming blurred by what he thought was probably blood, but in his last moments of sanity he looked up to see with an unending feeling of terror, exactly what had attacked him. Standing over him was a muggle. Dressed in dark, camouflaged clothes, he held in one hand a long, scoped rifle, the harsh smell of smoke still coming from the barrel. And in his other hand, a serrated combat knife, it's silver blade tainted by what appeared to be blood… his blood.
Wanting to scream, Banks lurched slightly, nothing but a muffled sound issuing from his mouth. The knife had pierced his lungs, he could feel it as his life began to drain from him. The muggle stood still above him, his face hidden behind a black mask. He quickly shot a look at Banks's wand that laid on the ground mere inches from his hand, and promptly stepped on it, snapping the piece of wood in two with a brief surge of sparks. Banks's only weapon was gone, he knew his life was over as he watched his wand crumble into dust, before looking once more at the muggle's obscured face.
He couldn't see his face, but he knew the man was looking at him beneath the mask. He had that feeling, even as his life-force threatened to part with him permanently. Kneeling towards him, the muggle waved his knife about, spinning it between his fingers, until at last with one final thrust, he came down on Banks with a vicious slash to the face.
And the wizard knew no more……………
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If you aren't hooked by this I don't know what will. I worked very hard on this chapter I hope you enjoy it. Tell one tell all, I need reviews, I can't keep writing this story with chapters this length without some incentive. Happy reading.