Chapter 15: A Few More Heroics

Harry came to later. He opened blurry eyes to see someone standing over him. He blinked repeatedly and the person came into sharp focus. He held back a yell. A Death Eater!

"I recognize you," said a woman's voice from behind the mask. What felt like an ice cube slid into Harry's stomach. The woman removed her mask and looked at Harry with a superior look on her face. "But I see that you don't recognize me."

"Lestrange," Harry spat.

If the woman was surprised, she did not show it. "Very good, Little Potter. I see you're not completely worthless."

"Unlike some in the immediate vicinity," Harry growled.

"Come now, Potter," Lestrange said casually. Harry suddenly found a wand in his face. "Name calling is so petty."

"Are you going to curse me?" Harry asked, staring at the wand in his face with no fear in his eyes.

"They told me you were bright," Lestrange said sarcastically. "But even I pale in comparison."

"You always have." Harry said. He wasn't going to show that he was afraid—not to Belatrix. "And do you honestly believe that I won't kill you before the words ever leave your mouth?"

"Big talk, Potter," she said, smirking. "Especially since I found you unconscious on the floor."

Harry had no response for this. Instead he said, "I suppose you met my welcome party?"

Harry had the satisfaction of seeing Belatrix scowl. "Those pathetic teachers did some damage."

"Your master isn't the only one with the ability to bring back figures from the past," Harry said smirking.

"Indeed?" Belatrix said. She actually sounded interested. "So you finally did it, eh? I wouldn't have thought you had it in you. Stealing souls seems so beneath you, Potter."

"There are other ways of bringing back the people of the past," Harry said, his smirk never leaving his face. "Ways that aren't dark magic."

"I'll have to tell my master of this recent development," Belatrix said musingly. She turned suddenly back to Harry. "But I shall have to kill you first. Goodbye, Boy-Who-Lived."

She raised her wand over her head.

"Expelliarmus!"

Bellatrix's wand went flying. Harry looked up to see it resting in the hands of a boy—a student!

"What—" Bellatrix asked in amazement.

"Expelliarmus!"

"Expelliarmus!"

"Expelliarmus!"

While one curse is rather harmless, repeated curses can cause serious damage. Bellatrix was flown against the wall and Harry winced when he heard her head crack hard. He looked to his rescuer and saw that the boy seemed to be only an accomplice to the spell caster. Hannah, the girl who had found out before any other that he was Harry Potter replaced her wand with a flourish.

"I learned that from the mysterious substitute," she said grimly to the unconscious form.

The boy pocketed Lestrange's wand and the two students looked at Harry with rather smug looks on their faces.

"Need some help?" the boy asked. He held out a hand which Harry took. Harry was pulled to his feet. He found himself eye to eye with the boy. The kid couldn't be more than 16—like the age Harry appeared.

"What are you doing out here?" Harry asked blankly, looking at the two. "You're supposed to be locked in you common room."

"And miss this?" the boy asked, raising his eyebrows. "Ow!"

Harry did not miss Hannah stepping on his toes.

"We were locked outside," Hannah explained. "We came out and couldn't get back in." She sent a warning look to her friend. Harry's eyes narrowed. They were leaving something out.

"How did you get out?"

The boy shrugged. "We just came out. It was a while ago. We were going to—"

"The kitchens," Hannah said quickly. "We were hungry."

"A coordinated effort?" Harry asked, his eyebrows raised. "I didn't think the boys could make it up the girls' staircase."

"I went up his," Hannah said. Suddenly she became defensive. "And it's good we did. Otherwise you would be dead about now."

"Thanks," Harry said grudgingly.

"What's happening?" the boy asked.

"Death Eaters," Harry said, looking at Bellatrix. "Nice work with the wand."

"Thanks," Hannah said, beaming. "You taught me."

"I seem to remember that you already knew the spell when we were in class," Harry said. "Anyway, I'm magic-less at the moment. You don't think you can tie her up, do you?"

Hannah looked nervous. "I—I've never really tried anything like that. Conjuring, you know."

"Then let's have an emergency lesson," Harry said. "You—" He said to the boy.

"Ricky," the boy said helpfully.

"Ricky," Harry agreed. "Keep a watch, will you? And keep your wand out. Maybe by some freak chance you can protect yourself if you need to." Ricky nodded and pulled out his wand.

"Okay," Harry said, turning to Hannah. He wavered a little as his legs buckled under the sudden movement. He grabbed the wall for support. "Wand," he said. Hannah's wand was already in her hand.

"The spell's corde," Harry said. "It's honestly one of the easiest spells to do. A ton of people in my time could do it without even saying the words."

"I think I'll try it with the words first," Hannah said uneasily.

"Good idea," Harry heard Ricky mutter from where he stood keeping watch at the other end of the hall.

Hannah either didn't hear him or ignored him. "And I'm conjuring ropes, right?"

"Just do it!" Ricky hissed.

Hannah glared at him. She took a deep breath. "Corde!" she said louder than Harry would have liked. To all three people's utter astonishment, cords flew out of the end of Hannah's wand and wrapped tightly around the unconscious woman.

"Come on," Harry said hurriedly.

Hannah didn't move. "I actually did it," she breathed. "And the first try! That's never happened to me before!"

"We still have to move!" Harry said, snapping her out of her astonishment. She nodded and, with a last look at the bound Belatrix, turned to Harry. "Where are we going?"

Harry thought for a minute. At the moment anywhere seemed better than where they were. "The hospital wing," he said after a minute. "All the students should be locked in their dorms. The hospital wing will be unprotected."

Hannah and Ricky nodded and the three of them headed in the right direction. Harry had only walked a few paces before he was breathing hard. Ricky and Hannah were forced to support him if they planned to make any headway.

"Harry—Mr. Potter, sir," Hannah said suddenly. "Why exactly is it that you don't have any magic?"

Harry cringed. He shushed her hurriedly. "If they don't know that I don't have magic and you don't tell them, they'll think I'm still a threat!"

"Sorry," Hannah said meekly. After a few more minutes, Hannah asked again, though more quietly.

"I used it all," Harry said simply. "I haven't got it back yet."

"How do you use all your magic?" Ricky asked, a trace of fear coming into his voice that he tried very hard to hide.

"Too many big spells at once," Harry said simply. "Don't worry about that though. You've got quite a long ways to go before you reach that level."

Ricky snorted. "Like I can ever do anything like you can do."

"You can," Harry said firmly, though the affect was rather diminished by the fact that he had to say it in between tired breaths as his tired legs attempted to support him.

Ricky didn't say anything more about it, though he looked as though he thought Harry was being stupid.

"Sorry for asking," Hannah said suddenly as they attempted to climb a staircase. "But if you're not protecting the castle, who is?"

"Don't you worry about that," Harry said, trying to sound encouraging. "I've got it under control."

"How does one have a Voldemort attack under control?" Ricky asked disbelievingly. Then, as though he remembered who he was talking to and why the person he was talking to needed the support of two people to help him walk, he swallowed hard.

"I called in reinforcements," Harry said simply. "It was a last minute plan, really, but I think it will work fine."

They said no more on the subject. Soon they arrived at the hospital wing. Harry waved them away irritably and the two students quickly released him to walk on his own. He carefully pushed open a door.

The white room looked as it should. Nothing was out of place.

A squeal came from the bed.

"Harry!"

Harry blinked as he recognized the small figure on the bed—Elizabeth Wently.

Harry hushed her quickly and tried to appear not to lean on the door too heavily. "Make me a promise?" Harry asked hurriedly.

"I have!" Elizabeth said happily. "And I've been trying to work on it! I was doing good yesterday! My frog—"

"Not that promise," Harry said quickly. He felt rather bad when she looked hurt but he couldn't take it back now and this was important. "There are very bad men here and I want you to be as quiet as you possibly can so they don't know you're here."

Elizabeth's eyes went wide and she nodded. "I promise."

Harry's eyes flickered. Those words...they struck something in his memory. He shook it off. This wasn't the time for reminiscing.

"Isn't that cute," said a voice behind Harry. In an instant, Harry had slammed the door shut and his wand was in his hand. He whirled to face his opponent.

"Malfoy," Harry said calmly. His eyes swept over the two bound and gagged teenagers on the floor. Hannah was glaring at Malfoy and struggling to get in a sitting position. Malfoy noticed her and kicked her hard in the side. She stopped struggling and curled up.

"Has some Gryffindor, that one does," Malfoy commented. His eyes fell onto Ricky who seemed to be trying hard to be still. "And some Slytherin in the other."

Harry's eyes hardened though Ricky didn't seem to see the insult in it, though his eyes narrowed at the tone in Malfoy's voice. Apparently Hermione's quest to promote good interhouse relations paid off.

"They're Potters," Harry said. "Both of them." He remembered suddenly which class he had had them in.

"Potter, eh?" Malfoy said, a smirk coming to his lips. "Looks like our dear hero got rather ambitious if he's already achieved a house under his name."

"You seem to be a little behind on the time," Harry commented. "Happened long after I was dead."

"Indeed," Malfoy said. "Still, I have not come to chat. I have come to kill you."

Harry sighed as though the subject was wearisome. He spoke his next words in a monotone as though he was repeating them for the hundredth time. "And what makes you think that after your wonderful master couldn't do it, you can?"

"Because I know how much magic it takes to bring a portrait's spirit into a body," Malfoy said, smirking. "And I also observe the fact that you are clearly trying to hide. You're leaning heavily on that door."

Harry's eyes hardened but he did not remove himself from the door. He twirled his wand idly between his fingers. "If you believe that a simple spell such as the one I performed to bring the portraits out of their frames is enough to rob me of all my strength, then you are quite clearly a bigger fool than I originally took you for." It was true. Harry could have performed the same spell for every portrait and still have enough magic to fight Voldemort—if not necessarily win.

Malfoy's smile did not falter. "And I suppose you defeated Belatrix by hitting her repeatedly with the Disarming Charm? Doesn't seem your style, Potter. Besides, I heard your little conversation with these two troublesome students. You cannot convince me of something other than what I know to be fact."

"For one as powerful as me," Harry said, he suddenly sounded quite dangerous. "A few minutes is all the time it takes for me to regain enough magic to wipe the floor with the likes of you."

Malfoy's smirk faltered but he hitched it back instantly. "You think I am a fool? I have already—" The next second Malfoy yelled.

Through a coordinated effort, Ricky and Hannah, from their spots on the floor, had kicked as hard as they could as Malfoy's legs, cause his knees to buckle and fall to the ground.

Harry was ready in an instant and had cursed Malfoy before his hit the floor, knocking him unconscious. He let out a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He should stop using his magic and give it time to build up again. That had been necessary though. He fell to his knees and untied the tiny bonds on the ropes binding the two students.

Hannah rubbed her wrists when she got out.

"Good work," Harry said approvingly.

Ricky rolled his eyes. "We only kicked him. Apparently that's how Muggles fight all the time."

Hannah nodded.

"She's Muggle born," Ricky said simply. "She knows these kinds of things."

Harry nodded, then he blinked. "And without magic, how do wizards fight?"

"Technology," Ricky said as though it was obvious. "Of course, I don't see how we can do it now, seeing as how you've screwed up the entire electronic system."

"So Muggles are still kicking while the wizards are using technology," Harry said blankly. "Does that make sense and I just missed something the first time you said it?"

Hannah shook her head. "Don't ask me. They do things weird here."

Harry shrugged as well. He looked at the unconscious form of Lucius Malfoy. "Tie him up, will you?"

Hannah nodded and pulled out her wand.

Ricky fidgeted impatiently. "How long is this battle thing going to last anyway?"

"Until someone wins?" Harry said, in what he knew was an unhelpful way.

Ricky sighed. "And they outlawed Quidditch because of violence..."

Harry had to grin.