A/N: I thought about rushing this so I could finish before June 21st, but
when it came down to it, I couldn't. No matter what, I stick with the
integrity of the writing and story, and I've seen far too many rushed half-
assed jobs lately. So I will continue writing this and finish it up as
quick as possible, but without sacrificing quality. Besides, Book 5 doesn't
really matter to my plot. We all know this was AU to begin with. If you
stop reading this after reading OoTP, that's fine with me, although you
make me sad. *another Monty Python reference!!* I still appreciate any and
all reviews. I'm moving on to other things after this anyways, including my
own universal back story and a couple horror/fantasy shorts.
Sorry about jumping around a lot in this chapter. It's just one massive battle scene. Stick with me.
Disclaimer: Title inspired by U2. HP not mine. Book Five out tonight. Peasants rejoice.
Chapter 26
As the four student members of the Order raced toward Dumbledore's office, Harry quietly asked Ron, "Did you have any special plans for me?" Ron shook his head and they rounded a corner into the next corridor at a dead run. "No. You go do what you do best. Uncalculated mayhem and destruction."
Harry had to grin at that. "I do have a talent for that. Okay, see you later." With a pop he disappeared in mid stride, and the three remaining teens sprinted up to the Headmaster's office.
The Phoenix chamber had been transformed into a war room; screens on the walls flashed continuously with information, one showing the DMLE Auror headquarters and its defensive wards surrounded by a swarming tide of gray. At first glance it appeared that at least half the Auror corps was inside the building.
Dumbledore glanced over at them when the teens ran in and informed them soberly, "It started about five minutes ago. They tripped the outer perimeter early, so all the wards are active and holding. The building's in lockdown, and at last communication there are approximately 300 people inside, preparing a counterattack."
Ron spoke up bluntly. "Make sure they know not to attempt to leave the building until after the fourth ward's been breached. Any sooner and they'll set off the countermeasures themselves." The headmaster tapped a small watch on his wrist with his wand, and a female voice answered, "Black here."
Dumbledore relayed Ron's instructions and received an "Acknowledged, thanks." At Hermione's curious glance, Dumbledore explained, "The twins' latest, inspired by Muggle two-way radios, I believe. Portable, easier and more reliable than Floo." Ginny looked impressed. "Looks like they put that thousand Galleons to good use, and then some. Do they even sleep anymore?"
By now Ron was standing in front of the screens examining them critically, Snape hovering behind him. "All right, so far they're sticking to a basic swarm and overwhelm technique. Expected. Perfect."
Suddenly a bright green dot lined with white popped onto the screen right in the middle of the gray blob, and words materialized above it labeling it as "Wraith." Ron nodded. "Good, Harry's in, and the Aurors know the drill. Let's see what happens next."
He didn't have long to wait, for mere seconds later behind the gray, clumps of purple dots drifted in to circle the whole mess, and lingering on the perimeter were scattered red dots. Perplexed, Ron searched for the color key until he saw it. "Purple = dementors." He frowned as his mind raced to include this new development. "That adds a twist to it. Harry better watch himself."
"Literally. What am I doing now?" Harry asked as he walked in, startling Ron. "Wha-" he glanced back at the screen and relaxed. "Oh, Wraith sent you back?" Harry nodded and stood next to his friend, watching the screens updating with new information. "I may not be as good as you are at strategy, but I can give updates from Wraith and some insight. If he needs me, he'll recall me, but we want to try and avoid having my face seen outside Hogwarts."
Ron nodded distractedly, already focused on the battle and evaluating, analyzing the screens like a massive chess board. Without looking he called back to Dumbledore, "Is the Order ready to go in?" the headmaster looked up from his conversation with Hermione. "I've called them in, and they can go in five minutes."
Ron shook his head negatively. "Hold off sending them in just yet. We'll let the demons and dementors get inside the inner perimeter and separate from the Death Eater. There's no sign of Voldemort yet, so the Order can take the support forces first."
Harry let a small smile cross his face. This was definitely Ron's forte, and he seemed so comfortable with his leadership role, bossing even Dumbledore around when needed. Even Hermione, who bossed everybody around, didn't dare do that. He settled back into a chair, eyes on the screen as he tried to feel what his double was up to now, praying that whatever communication trouble they had before was gone now.
Over the next two minutes, the Order members gathered in the chamber and waited, watching Ron and the screens as the battle really began.
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Wraith threw himself to the ground as another blast of flame went right over him, taking one demon down with him and using it to kill two more. Scrambling back to his feet, his sword flashed around to decapitate two more.
Yet they kept coming, and he knew without looking that more were converging on the ward perimeter, trying to collapse it. Again and again magic flashed in the air to repel the invaders but their tenacity and resistance to magic allowed them to break through with a roar.
Wraith caught a glimpse of them sprinting across an open stretch of land, then one stepped on a small hassock and it erupted with fire and soil, throwing bloody bits of demon parts in the air. This was quickly followed by several more explosions which tossed the carcasses in every direction, most bleeding profusely or dismembered.
A minefield between the wards, with both Muggle and magical pressure- triggers, worked more effectively than any other shield barrier. Still, with the sheer number of demons here they would clear it soon and progress to the next line. Wraith kept fighting, doing his best to take as many down as possible and leave fewer for the Aurors to deal with.
The similarity of the situation to the night of the Minister's attack only fueled his rage; every stroke was an atonement for Sirius. If luck and Fate decided to cooperate and play nice for once, there was the hopeful possibility that they all might make it back alive tonight.
That hope dissolved in a wave of cold, and Wraith shook his head, momentarily distracted by the faint screaming and voices that echoed through his brain. Unfortunately, in the middle of a battle is not a good time to be distracted by the voices in one's head, and he paid dearly for it.
A demon came in close and slashed twice; the first drawing a line of fresh blood from a cut on his thigh, the second striking his side right above the left hip, only partially deflected by the dragon leather he wore and lodging against his pelvic bone several inches in.
Temporarily fogged by the blinding pain, Wraith stumbled and nearly fell, then wrenched away from the blade violently, which came away wet with his blood. Gritting his teeth, he swung his sword and chopped off its arm and on the backswing separated the top half of its body from the lower.
He had to get out of there. Once injured, he would slow and his chances of survival, along with the Aurors', would decrease exponentially. Before another demon could touch him, he focused his thoughts and Apparated out.
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Back at Hogwarts, Ron's eyes widened when he saw the Wraith dot disappear from the map. "What? What happened? He's not . . ." Harry spoke up, eyes unfocused as his mind was obviously elsewhere. "He's hurt. Last demon got him pretty good. He Apparated out to heal. Should be back in about two to three minutes." He didn't let them know that he was straining to feel even that much. The separation was back with a vengeance, for he could only pick up vague surface impressions. Unnoticed, he grimaced.
The Order sighed in unison, but Ron scowled. "That may not be good enough. They're advancing faster now with the dementors. I bet they're going to let the dementors in first to take the fight out of the Aurors. Unless . . ." he stared thoughtfully at the screens for a moment, then activated his own watch charm. "Tori, activate sequence one, now."
"Gotcha," came the response, then two seconds later the screens flashed with a brilliant light of magical disruption that had everyone bringing their hands up to shield their eyes. When it cleared, a huge hole had been carved out of the center forces of demons, like a mouse through a loaf of bread. "Whoa! That worked! But give us a minute to recover before you do another one of those," Tori exclaimed over the communicator.
Ron exhaled as he smiled, then said, "Hey Tori, you have your Detection Parchment?" "Yes. Using it to watch what they're doing around us. It's not pretty." "I know. Dementors are going to encircle the building. Make sure that you send out Patroni first for the dementors, probably from an advance force, before you launch your own attack."
"Copy that, Red Leader," she replied, a smirk clearly heard in her voice, and he scowled. "Don't call me that."
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When Wraith popped back in, he was a little more cautious this time and appeared towards the back to evaluate, out of range of the Death Eaters he spotted lurking around the edges. It didn't look good. The dementors passed through the wards easily and had surrounded the building, searching for an entrance point. The demons had tripped the building countermeasures, but several were currently hunting down the traps and emplacements and destroying them.
A small group of Aurors stood on a couple of the watchtower balconies, casting silver shapes of Patronus down on the dementors, which scattered briefly but came right back when the spell wore off. Soon the wards would give way, and the Aurors would have to come out and fight. Wraith needed to even the score.
He ran forward and whipped out his staff, then used it to levitate himself 50 feet over the ranks to the edge of the ward. Concentrating fiercely, he shouted, "Expecto Patronum!" and watched as three golden animals charged the dementors. As the magical Marauders tore into the creatures, Wraith called on his wind Elemental and slammed the demons backwards several dozen meters with a hurricane blast of air. Some were hammered into the ground by the force, while others went cartwheeling to the sound of cracking bones.
He released his levitation spell and landed in a crouch between the demons and the dementors, a nice pocket of empty space around him to work in. By the faint light of the sliver of moon low on the horizon, he could see the shadowy dementors groping along the outside walls, projecting their horrid presence into the building and feeding off the emotions inside.
Wraith turned and drew his weapons as the demons picked themselves up and ran with supernatural speed at the single human standing in their way.
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Many jumped when Harry suddenly slammed his hands down on the table and growled "Damn it!" they looked from the screens to the War Mage as he stood up and announced, "I'm going." Before anyone could protest, he vanished with a pop signaling Apparation and with a shrug Ron turned back to his screen, where Wraith was currently being charged by a wave of demons. They would overtake him in less than a minute, and there was still the backdrop of dementors to worry about.
Eyes darting about taking in information for his brain to process, Ron tried to cover all possibilities to make victory possible. The red dots caught his attention, and a plan kicked into action in his mind. Before he could say a word, a second green and white dot appeared next to Wraith's, and suddenly there were two facing the demon onslaught.
The redhead dismissed them temporarily; he couldn't do anything about that right now. But those Death Eaters . . . "Okay," he spoke up authoritatively, "We need a scout force to take out the Death Eaters." He gave the room a cursory once-over. "Snape, Charlie, Arabella, Remus, and . . ." he chewed his lower lip for a moment, "and Ginny."
His sister looked startled for a second, then nodded determinedly. His mum, however, was not pleased one little bit. "Ron! No! She can't go in there! Ginny's not old enough!" Ginny threw her mum an irritated look, but Ron met Molly's eyes steadily. "She's old enough to be in this Order by her own merit. She can handle herself. Now," he turned to the scout force.
"Go in behind them. Each of you will take a different group. Be as silent as possible, neutralize the target, then stand by for further orders. Report in as soon as you're done and be my eyes." He turned to the headmaster. "Ginny'll need a Portkey."
Dumbledore nodded, and a few minutes later handed the young woman a small rock. "Password activated. Tap and say 'phoenix'." He handed the rest of the small group little pins. "Take these Portkeys down to Hogsmeade and Apparate to the battle." They complied silently, each one disappearing with a little swirl of color.
Before Charlie vanished, Bill called to him, "Hey, make sure to stay on target this time. No more old ladies." Charlie quirked a small smile at the reference to his failed Apparation test, then Portkeyed out with a slight pop of displaced air.
The Order watched the screens as the charge came, and demons started dropping around the two green dots. Ron frowned. "It'd be a hell of a lot easier if we could get that Apparation and Portkey ward down. Problem is, it's built into the building; every stone has the spell individually to reinforce the total."
He glanced back at Hermione questioningly. "Any way we could collapse it without vaporizing the building?" She thought for a moment. "Well, if they're tied directly to the stones, yes. But it's not really feasible. You'd have to disrupt each spell, so the easies would be to take out a chunk of every single charmed brick. We don't have the time for that." Ron sighed. "Well, it was a thought."
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Wraith and Harry fought back to back, moving in near perfect synchronization with matching swords and parvellahs. Slowly they carved an ever-widening gap in the ranks; too slowly, for now they were completely surrounded and so was the building they were trying to defend, with the Aurors trapped inside.
Harry shuddered as a wave of cold swept over him from the dementors, but couldn't spare the time to cast his Patronus. He could barely keep ahead of the constant attacks on him personally, let alone those on the Aurors, and he gritted his teeth in frustration.
This was getting them nowhere. They needed to change the plan, immediately. He shouted his intention back to Wraith, who simply nodded and ran a demon through the heart. Clearing himself a space, Harry levitated himself up, barely avoiding a blast from a flamethrower, and headed straight for the balcony where three Aurors stood.
Alighting on the stone floor, he nodded in greeting and asked, "What's your plan?" One big man that he tentatively identified as Robert spoke immediately. "The fourth ward just went down, so our counterattack should be coming from downstairs at any time. We stay up here to chase off dementors and any siege type attacks."
Harry nodded. "Just be careful of flying objects. They've got grenades. I'm going down." With a salute-like wave he dashed for the inner stairs and jumped down them four at a time. On the main floor he found two complete divisions armed and ready with a simply mind-boggling array of weapons, supplied courtesy of the scarily inventive minds of Fred and George.
The front few lines looked slightly pale and shaky under the dementors' proximity outside the doors, but still refused to let themselves falter. Tori was easy to fine, shouting out directions to her company. Harry ran over to her and asked, "How did so many get in here tonight?"
She scowled darkly, "A mole called in an emergency alert, and per orders any one who could reported immediately. We had just figured it out when the attack started and activated lockdown, so we're stuck here for now." She glanced involuntarily at the doors as they rumbled with a distant explosion. "We tossed the traitor out to the dementors. They Kissed him immediately."
Tori made a face to express exactly what she thought of that, then changed the subject. "You going to join us on this?" He nodded an affirmative, so she handed him one modified Uzi and a couple spare clips. "Give 'em hell. I'll be right behind you." He checked his weapon, then shouted out to the Aurors, "Wraith's already out there. Don't hit him, or he'll be mad."
Everyone nodded and tensed in anticipation, then Tori contacted the balcony team. "Patroni, now!" On the Detection Parchment the dementors retreated from the doors under the focused assault, and then the doors burst open. Aurors streamed out with a roar, opening fire instantly on any thing that moved.
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Ginny crept through the sparse foliage quietly, utilizing what little cover she could find to her advantage as she approached her target. Three Death Eaters stood five meters from her, simply watching the battle from a safe distance. Flashes of illumination lit up their masks sporadically, adding to the surrealism of the night.
Why did they always seem to attack at night? Perhaps they felt better committing their atrocities surrounded by darkness. Ginny shook herself to focus again on her objective, analyzing critically. The three men stood fairly close together in a slightly triangular arrangement, postures casual and even relaxed. They weren't expecting anything, and she smiled grimly.
Taking out a Spell Sphere and her wand, she waited for a particularly loud explosion to mask her voice as she armed it. Within seconds, she stood and threw it so it landed right behind the front man in the middle of the group.
With a crack and flash of light, all three were down on the ground, Stunned. Ginny raced forward to disarm and bind them, then floated them back among cover. The whole process took less than 15 seconds, and she breathed a silent sigh of relief as she cautiously looked around.
About 20 meters from her position she glimpsed Professor Snape before he disappeared back into the cloudy night. The flash from a gun illuminated Charlie's red hair for a moment, then he was gone. Ginny shrank back under cover, making sure she could not be seen before settling in to keep a tense watch on the battle and wait for orders.
She prayed silently for Harry, caught in the middle of that mess out there, and for her family, that they would all come back home.
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Jin the middle of the battlefield Wraith and Harry met up again as the Aurors repelled the initial wave of demons. As a united front they pushed back, weapons blazing, forcing the creatures to retreat farther and farther. One Auror, his face blackened from soot and blood, was especially proficient with one of the bazookas, firing streams of green fire into the demons to instantly vaporize them.
The Aurors pushed forwards faster. 100 more yards and they would be outside the standing ward perimeter, enabling them to Apparate out. Their efforts redoubled with the goal and salvation in sight.
But the dementors had other ideas. Drawn by the emotional fervor of battle, they avoided the few who retained the presence of mind for a Patronus and fell on the Aurors from behind like a sweeping Black Plague. Suddenly fighting a two front war with implacable foes, the Aurors faltered and their advance slowed, struggling for every step.
Some tried to run back to the relative safety of the building, but were blocked by dementors and some demons smart enough to flank them. Several managed to conjure a Patronus, but with the combined influence of over a hundred dementors feeding on them, many more fought the subsuming depression and failed, staggering as their fighting edge wore down.
Hungry, a few dementors swooped in with hoods lowered and Kissed five people before they could be driven back. More fell victim to the demons with this distraction, and the stench of the creatures soon mixed with the odor of red blood spilled with black on the field in equal measures.
Wraith looked around and grimaced eloquently. If they stayed there, they would all die tonight. Furious, he whipped out his staff and bellowed, "Expecto Patronum!" Instantly the three golden animals charged, throwing dementors in every direction and creating a hold in the lines.
Harry roared, "Back inside! Follow me!" He ran through the gap, using his parvellah and Uzi to discourage any demons from coming too close, and the surviving Aurors tailed him closely. Wraith brought up the rear, refusing to let anything by alive.
Eventually they raced back inside the doors, and Wraith slammed them shut behind him with a final sounding clang. Panting and grateful for the reprieve, he looked around dismayed at the attrition they had suffered. Less than half of the Aurors had made it back, and most were nursing fairly serious wounds.
Tori held a gash on her arm, blood running through her fingers as she barked, "Status report. What are our chances?" Someone did a quick head count. "There's 117 of us here, figure 80% casualties, and we're running out of ammunition." One man shouted out, "The cannon melted, several of the bazookas are out there still, and the trap sequences around the building aren't responding. Probably destroyed."
A woman nearby muttered, "We're dead." Tori glared at her as if she had just uttered a grave personal insult. "No Leigh. We are not. Let's think about this and we'll make it through. I'm not giving up."
As they organized and debated on a new plan of attack, Harry approached Wraith quietly. "We're drawing on the same pool of magical power, aren't we?" Wraith nodded. "That still remains the same." "So if we focus on something together, we could draw on more of that power at once and strengthen a spell, yes?" A wild idea began running through his head, and slowly he nodded. "Wales?"
Eyes met and agreed, so together they slipped from the room and ran up the stairs towards the balconies, ignoring the sudden screams behind them. They burst through the door, startling the Aurors still on duty up there, and together they vaulted the rain to free fall over 50 feet to the ground below.
Magic slowed their fall so they landed as soft as birds on the hard-packed earth, thankfully temporarily clear of Dark creatures. Within seconds though, demons rushed them. Those seconds were crucial, for Harry spun a shield with enough force to repel them, then both Wraith and Harry held the staff and concentrated together.
The earth rumbled beneath their feet, then rolled and bucked like a storm- tossed sea. Some demons found themselves impaled on sharp spires of rock thrust from deep underground, while others tumbled into open crevasses and hurled squealing into the depths. Still the building itself remained untouched as the land rippled around it furiously.
The dementors, however, were not daunted by the physical force of the earth and glided over the torn ground towards the two humans with one soul. Harry fought to focus through the fog and finish the spell, clinging to the staff for support. The ruby throbbed with power, and he tried to access a happy memory for a Patronus.
Failing, shaken to his bones, Harry collapsed to his knees unwillingly as cold rose in his chest and screaming echoed faintly in his head. Then Wraith's gloved hand was on his shoulder as he murmured, "Stay with me here," before he shouted once again, "Expecto Patronum!" this time using their combined strength to conjure it.
Harry breathed in a sigh of relief as the air turned warm again, and with help regained his feet. Looking around, he said, "Let's get them out of here before Voldemort decides to finish it." They reached the big doors and undid the Locking spells on them before shoving them open.
Instantly they froze as a hundred wands trained at their faces, but someone got a good look and yelled, "It's all right!" The Aurors relaxed fractionally as wands lowered, but they were still tense, tired, and edgy. Wraith announced, "We have an opening if we move fast. Run to the end of the wards and watch for dementors. Go!"
Clearly trusting him enough not to question, Aurors began to run out the doors in packs, guarding each other carefully. Harry glanced around, not hearing a familiar voice that he had expected. "Where's Tori?" A woman stopped and pointed somewhat despondently towards the staircase.
A still body lay sprawled over the last two steps, clearly alive but just as clearly not going anywhere. Harry swallowed hard. "What happened?" he croaked. "A dementor came in while the doors were open and hid up the stairs. It snuck up on her, and by the time we could drive it away, it was too late."
Wraith looked away with his eyes closed, muttering, "Aw, shit." Harry nodded. "George is not going to be happy."
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Remus skulked at the position Ron assigned him, trying to keep under cover as much as possible. Still, he had a great seat for the battle and especially the earthquake. Now he watched and waited, keen senses on the alert for the next move. In the distance, the doors flew open and small groups of Auror emerged, five at a time running while covering their backs.
Ron's voice crackled through their communicators. "Go and give them cover just in case reinforcements show up. The rest of us are on the way." Remus tapped his watch twice in acknowledgement and started towards the Aurors, but had only taken a handful of steps when a crackling noise behind him made him spin, wand already out and a spell on his lips.
Fortunately it was not more demons. Unfortunately, it was about a dozen Death Eaters with wands and weapons. Remus finished the spell and saw the red light send one flying, but the others were already casting their curses. With a lycanthrope's enhanced reflexes he dove and rolled back into the bushes he was using as cover, ducking as jest of light shot over his head.
Popping up and casting three curses in quick succession, he gave himself enough breathing room to yell into the communicator, "Death Eaters! Backup needed now!" Quickly dodging another curse which set the bushes on fire around him, Remus scrambled away from the flames, shot off a hex then took off running in an erratic pattern over the uneven ground.
Spells impacted the ground all around him, kicking up dirt, but none touched him yet. He chose not to push his luck and threw himself behind a huge mound of earth, watching the green light of the Killing Curse pass right through where his head had just been.
Glancing around, Remus realized with a sinking heart that he was trapped. He had jumped into what basically amounted to a hole, and if he tried to move he'd be an easy target.
The ground behind his head reverberated with the echo of running footsteps, and he gripped his wand tighter as he prepared himself. He may be dead, but he could be a very nasty corpse. He was going to take as many of them with him as possible. The wolf reared to the surface, snarling with the lust for blood and battle.
Just as he was about to jump up to face them, a rapid succession of gunshots rang out, followed by pain-filled screams and the thud of falling bodies. Then Arabella was there, panting as she swept her Tommy gun around in a quick search, then dropped down and offered him her hand.
Grinning he took it and got to his feet, then arched an eyebrow at her choice of weapon. She shrugged in return. "I liked it, so I kept it. Pretty handy." A crackled over the communicators jolted them back into action, as Charlie's voice reported in a strained voice, "Need help here. Got six right on top of me."
Arabella glanced over where flashes of spells barely illuminated the clocked figures and started running, Remus at her heels. He spotted a dead Auror with a gun and scooped it up as he sprinted past, checking the clip. It was a Weasley modification with half a clip left; he snapped it in place and chambered a round on the run.
Once in range, they both opened fire and raked the field, the staccato bursts mowing the Death Eaters down before they knew what was happening. Charlie was on the ground, and as they sprinted to him he gave them a painfully strained smile. "Thanks."
Arabella instantly dropped to her knees beside him, examining his leg which was bleeding everywhere. He had his fingers buried in his thigh, and she realized he was pinching off the artery to keep from bleeding to death. "What happened?" she asked urgently as she used her wand to seal off the blood vessel then wrap his thigh tightly with bandages.
Charlie winced briefly as the bandages tightened. "Took me by surprise, only got one down before one shot a curse that should have taken my leg off. It only grazed me, but it was enough." He tested his leg, flexing his foot back and forth. "Thanks for that." He examined his bandages one last time, then fished around in his vest and handed Remus another clip.
"Here, you're gonna need this. I'm heading back." The two professors nodded, and with a pop Charlie was gone again. They turned back to the main fight and rushed to rejoin the Order, who were currently surrounding the path for the Aurors to take out past the wards. But at the same time more Death Eaters were appearing all over the field, opening fire on the forces of Light.
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Wraith snarled as he dodged the Killing Curse and saw it narrowly miss hitting an Auror running for the exit point. Harry joined the Order in covering their retreat, defending the exit point but unable to move from their positions. Wraith was under no such restraints, ignoring his fatigue as he pulled his sword and his wand, drawing the attention of several black cloaked figures to him.
Digging deeper into his resources, he charged the Death Eaters with preternatural speed while casting a Stunning spell over his shoulder, which hit two Death Eaters who hadn't even noticed him. He leapt in the air to avoid a panicked curse, then landed and sliced one in half from crown to waist. The razor-sharp blade passed through with little resistance, and the body peeled apart in two directions to slump in a bloody mess.
Wraith dismissed it immediately as he turned to his next opponent, missing the look on Harry's face, and dispatched him easily with a sweep of his sword. He shouted a curse which shot over McGonagall's head and threw the Death Eater who had been sneaking up behind her to the ground with a hole in his chest.
Another group of Aurors came running out, spells flying as they dashed along the torn ground towards the Order and their departure point. The Death Eaters started to converge on the building, obviously hoping to finish those off inside while they were trapped. The Order couldn't move, could only watch helplessly and shoot some curses in their direction, but they were out of range and the Order was stretched thin as it was.
The remaining Aurors saw them coming and fought back ferociously like a cornered animal. But with the last few hours of constant anxiety and adrenaline rushing through their systems, they were already tired and worn down, while the Death Eaters were fresh and energized.
Some of the Order started running to give the Dark forces a two-front war, but Wraith bellowed at them, "No! Stay where you are! I'll take care of it!" They stumbled to a halt as the War Mage whipped his wand and roared, "Pyros Solem!"
A white-hot jet of flame shot out and enveloped the Death Eaters gathered at the doors, and seconds later they were falling to the ground, writhing and screaming in hideous agony as their flesh was consumed by fire. Wraith let a predatory grin cross his lips as he turned back to the main force still assaulting the Order and Aurors.
Before he could start a new attack, Voldemort stepped forward out of the ranks with cat-like eyes glowing crimson. He bared his own teeth in a horrible smile and called out, "Wraith, my elusive opponent. I had been a while since we last met." Wraith glowered at him. "Not long enough, you mutated son of a bitch." The Dark Lord scowled.
"Enough. Resistance is futile. Surrender now." Wraith scoffed, "Or else what? You'll bore me to death with your pompous pontifications?" That earned him an icy glare. "Or else every one of you will die tonight."
Wraith sneered at him, the blood spattering his face giving him a feral cast to match the wild gleam in his eye. "I have an offer for you," he returned. "Get your arses out of here, now, and I'll refrain from killing all your forces tonight. Refuse, and this place will swim in your blood. I swear it."
Voldemort actually threw his head back and laughed, a high cold screech that rendered the night air. "Don't toy with me, boy. You have no idea what you are facing." "Oh really? Then please, don't enlighten me. I like surprises." During this whole interlude, the Aurors kept coming and group after group transported out to safety even while suffering occasional losses. The Order was also sustaining casualties, with many wounded severely enough to have to retreat back to Hogwarts.
Wraith caught a glimpse of green light, then Arabella fell to the ground, unmoving. Remus was immediately beside her, calling her name as he gently shook her, but she wasn't responding and would never. A Death Eater took advantage of the distraction to cast the Cruciatus on Remus, but accustomed as he was to the pain of monthly wolf transformations, he simply gritted his teeth, aimed his Uzi and squeezed the trigger. Three Death Eaters jerked as blood splashed and they dropped, releasing the curse.
Suddenly Voldemort thrust a hand out to the side, and with a small yelp of surprise Harry was yanked out of his position to fly over and land roughly at this Dark Lord's feet in a heap. Instantaneously a long fingered hand was wrapped around his neck while a foot stomped between his shoulders to keep him on the ground. Voldemort glared at Wraith, ignoring the yells from the Order as he tightened his grip and Harry began to choke.
"How about this surprise? I know the two of you are connected somehow. Will you really let him die?" Voldemort's eyes gleamed fiercely as the teen in his grasp began to turn blue. "What would happen to you then, I wonder?" He yanked upwards slightly, and Harry winced as his neck strained and popped under the pressure.
Wraith thought frantically, knowing that Voldemort could block his spells long enough to break Harry's neck. What would happen to him then? Before he could think of anything constructive, a spell hit the Dark Lord from behind and knocked him off balance, his hand loosening for a crucial second. It was enough.
Harry twisted around a bit and arched his back so his feet came up and kicked Voldemort from behind. The creature pitched forward and Harry reversed momentum to throw himself unsteadily to his feet. The Dark Lord whirled on him, and the teen whipped his head down and around so that his hair, knotted back in a heavy braid, flew around and clubbed Voldemort in the face. He stumbled back with blood streaming from his flat nose and mouth.
Harry pulled a knife and threw it, and it lodged in Voldemort's shoulder. The Dark Lord looked from the knife embedded in his flesh to a furious Harry, who rasped menacingly, "Get out."
Voldemort narrowed his eyes, wrenched the knife out and threw it with lightning speed back at Harry, who snatched it out of the air easily. Then he disappeared with a pop, and the Death Eaters soon followed, but not before they launched a few grenades and mines to blew up the battle-scarred remains of the Auror headquarters. Fortunately all the survivors had escaped.
The Order and the last few Aurors ducked away from the explosion, and after the debris settled they surveyed the battlefield wearily, noting the scattered bodies of both comrades and enemies. Wraith shook his head as he approached. "Let's go before they decide to return. He's still got more demons."
Nobody protested, and within seconds they all disappeared, leaving a draw. Nobody really won this one this time, but the Light had lost more. Over the now-silent and bloodied battlefield, a cold drizzle began to fall, the puddles gleaming red.
Sorry about jumping around a lot in this chapter. It's just one massive battle scene. Stick with me.
Disclaimer: Title inspired by U2. HP not mine. Book Five out tonight. Peasants rejoice.
Chapter 26
As the four student members of the Order raced toward Dumbledore's office, Harry quietly asked Ron, "Did you have any special plans for me?" Ron shook his head and they rounded a corner into the next corridor at a dead run. "No. You go do what you do best. Uncalculated mayhem and destruction."
Harry had to grin at that. "I do have a talent for that. Okay, see you later." With a pop he disappeared in mid stride, and the three remaining teens sprinted up to the Headmaster's office.
The Phoenix chamber had been transformed into a war room; screens on the walls flashed continuously with information, one showing the DMLE Auror headquarters and its defensive wards surrounded by a swarming tide of gray. At first glance it appeared that at least half the Auror corps was inside the building.
Dumbledore glanced over at them when the teens ran in and informed them soberly, "It started about five minutes ago. They tripped the outer perimeter early, so all the wards are active and holding. The building's in lockdown, and at last communication there are approximately 300 people inside, preparing a counterattack."
Ron spoke up bluntly. "Make sure they know not to attempt to leave the building until after the fourth ward's been breached. Any sooner and they'll set off the countermeasures themselves." The headmaster tapped a small watch on his wrist with his wand, and a female voice answered, "Black here."
Dumbledore relayed Ron's instructions and received an "Acknowledged, thanks." At Hermione's curious glance, Dumbledore explained, "The twins' latest, inspired by Muggle two-way radios, I believe. Portable, easier and more reliable than Floo." Ginny looked impressed. "Looks like they put that thousand Galleons to good use, and then some. Do they even sleep anymore?"
By now Ron was standing in front of the screens examining them critically, Snape hovering behind him. "All right, so far they're sticking to a basic swarm and overwhelm technique. Expected. Perfect."
Suddenly a bright green dot lined with white popped onto the screen right in the middle of the gray blob, and words materialized above it labeling it as "Wraith." Ron nodded. "Good, Harry's in, and the Aurors know the drill. Let's see what happens next."
He didn't have long to wait, for mere seconds later behind the gray, clumps of purple dots drifted in to circle the whole mess, and lingering on the perimeter were scattered red dots. Perplexed, Ron searched for the color key until he saw it. "Purple = dementors." He frowned as his mind raced to include this new development. "That adds a twist to it. Harry better watch himself."
"Literally. What am I doing now?" Harry asked as he walked in, startling Ron. "Wha-" he glanced back at the screen and relaxed. "Oh, Wraith sent you back?" Harry nodded and stood next to his friend, watching the screens updating with new information. "I may not be as good as you are at strategy, but I can give updates from Wraith and some insight. If he needs me, he'll recall me, but we want to try and avoid having my face seen outside Hogwarts."
Ron nodded distractedly, already focused on the battle and evaluating, analyzing the screens like a massive chess board. Without looking he called back to Dumbledore, "Is the Order ready to go in?" the headmaster looked up from his conversation with Hermione. "I've called them in, and they can go in five minutes."
Ron shook his head negatively. "Hold off sending them in just yet. We'll let the demons and dementors get inside the inner perimeter and separate from the Death Eater. There's no sign of Voldemort yet, so the Order can take the support forces first."
Harry let a small smile cross his face. This was definitely Ron's forte, and he seemed so comfortable with his leadership role, bossing even Dumbledore around when needed. Even Hermione, who bossed everybody around, didn't dare do that. He settled back into a chair, eyes on the screen as he tried to feel what his double was up to now, praying that whatever communication trouble they had before was gone now.
Over the next two minutes, the Order members gathered in the chamber and waited, watching Ron and the screens as the battle really began.
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Wraith threw himself to the ground as another blast of flame went right over him, taking one demon down with him and using it to kill two more. Scrambling back to his feet, his sword flashed around to decapitate two more.
Yet they kept coming, and he knew without looking that more were converging on the ward perimeter, trying to collapse it. Again and again magic flashed in the air to repel the invaders but their tenacity and resistance to magic allowed them to break through with a roar.
Wraith caught a glimpse of them sprinting across an open stretch of land, then one stepped on a small hassock and it erupted with fire and soil, throwing bloody bits of demon parts in the air. This was quickly followed by several more explosions which tossed the carcasses in every direction, most bleeding profusely or dismembered.
A minefield between the wards, with both Muggle and magical pressure- triggers, worked more effectively than any other shield barrier. Still, with the sheer number of demons here they would clear it soon and progress to the next line. Wraith kept fighting, doing his best to take as many down as possible and leave fewer for the Aurors to deal with.
The similarity of the situation to the night of the Minister's attack only fueled his rage; every stroke was an atonement for Sirius. If luck and Fate decided to cooperate and play nice for once, there was the hopeful possibility that they all might make it back alive tonight.
That hope dissolved in a wave of cold, and Wraith shook his head, momentarily distracted by the faint screaming and voices that echoed through his brain. Unfortunately, in the middle of a battle is not a good time to be distracted by the voices in one's head, and he paid dearly for it.
A demon came in close and slashed twice; the first drawing a line of fresh blood from a cut on his thigh, the second striking his side right above the left hip, only partially deflected by the dragon leather he wore and lodging against his pelvic bone several inches in.
Temporarily fogged by the blinding pain, Wraith stumbled and nearly fell, then wrenched away from the blade violently, which came away wet with his blood. Gritting his teeth, he swung his sword and chopped off its arm and on the backswing separated the top half of its body from the lower.
He had to get out of there. Once injured, he would slow and his chances of survival, along with the Aurors', would decrease exponentially. Before another demon could touch him, he focused his thoughts and Apparated out.
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Back at Hogwarts, Ron's eyes widened when he saw the Wraith dot disappear from the map. "What? What happened? He's not . . ." Harry spoke up, eyes unfocused as his mind was obviously elsewhere. "He's hurt. Last demon got him pretty good. He Apparated out to heal. Should be back in about two to three minutes." He didn't let them know that he was straining to feel even that much. The separation was back with a vengeance, for he could only pick up vague surface impressions. Unnoticed, he grimaced.
The Order sighed in unison, but Ron scowled. "That may not be good enough. They're advancing faster now with the dementors. I bet they're going to let the dementors in first to take the fight out of the Aurors. Unless . . ." he stared thoughtfully at the screens for a moment, then activated his own watch charm. "Tori, activate sequence one, now."
"Gotcha," came the response, then two seconds later the screens flashed with a brilliant light of magical disruption that had everyone bringing their hands up to shield their eyes. When it cleared, a huge hole had been carved out of the center forces of demons, like a mouse through a loaf of bread. "Whoa! That worked! But give us a minute to recover before you do another one of those," Tori exclaimed over the communicator.
Ron exhaled as he smiled, then said, "Hey Tori, you have your Detection Parchment?" "Yes. Using it to watch what they're doing around us. It's not pretty." "I know. Dementors are going to encircle the building. Make sure that you send out Patroni first for the dementors, probably from an advance force, before you launch your own attack."
"Copy that, Red Leader," she replied, a smirk clearly heard in her voice, and he scowled. "Don't call me that."
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When Wraith popped back in, he was a little more cautious this time and appeared towards the back to evaluate, out of range of the Death Eaters he spotted lurking around the edges. It didn't look good. The dementors passed through the wards easily and had surrounded the building, searching for an entrance point. The demons had tripped the building countermeasures, but several were currently hunting down the traps and emplacements and destroying them.
A small group of Aurors stood on a couple of the watchtower balconies, casting silver shapes of Patronus down on the dementors, which scattered briefly but came right back when the spell wore off. Soon the wards would give way, and the Aurors would have to come out and fight. Wraith needed to even the score.
He ran forward and whipped out his staff, then used it to levitate himself 50 feet over the ranks to the edge of the ward. Concentrating fiercely, he shouted, "Expecto Patronum!" and watched as three golden animals charged the dementors. As the magical Marauders tore into the creatures, Wraith called on his wind Elemental and slammed the demons backwards several dozen meters with a hurricane blast of air. Some were hammered into the ground by the force, while others went cartwheeling to the sound of cracking bones.
He released his levitation spell and landed in a crouch between the demons and the dementors, a nice pocket of empty space around him to work in. By the faint light of the sliver of moon low on the horizon, he could see the shadowy dementors groping along the outside walls, projecting their horrid presence into the building and feeding off the emotions inside.
Wraith turned and drew his weapons as the demons picked themselves up and ran with supernatural speed at the single human standing in their way.
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Many jumped when Harry suddenly slammed his hands down on the table and growled "Damn it!" they looked from the screens to the War Mage as he stood up and announced, "I'm going." Before anyone could protest, he vanished with a pop signaling Apparation and with a shrug Ron turned back to his screen, where Wraith was currently being charged by a wave of demons. They would overtake him in less than a minute, and there was still the backdrop of dementors to worry about.
Eyes darting about taking in information for his brain to process, Ron tried to cover all possibilities to make victory possible. The red dots caught his attention, and a plan kicked into action in his mind. Before he could say a word, a second green and white dot appeared next to Wraith's, and suddenly there were two facing the demon onslaught.
The redhead dismissed them temporarily; he couldn't do anything about that right now. But those Death Eaters . . . "Okay," he spoke up authoritatively, "We need a scout force to take out the Death Eaters." He gave the room a cursory once-over. "Snape, Charlie, Arabella, Remus, and . . ." he chewed his lower lip for a moment, "and Ginny."
His sister looked startled for a second, then nodded determinedly. His mum, however, was not pleased one little bit. "Ron! No! She can't go in there! Ginny's not old enough!" Ginny threw her mum an irritated look, but Ron met Molly's eyes steadily. "She's old enough to be in this Order by her own merit. She can handle herself. Now," he turned to the scout force.
"Go in behind them. Each of you will take a different group. Be as silent as possible, neutralize the target, then stand by for further orders. Report in as soon as you're done and be my eyes." He turned to the headmaster. "Ginny'll need a Portkey."
Dumbledore nodded, and a few minutes later handed the young woman a small rock. "Password activated. Tap and say 'phoenix'." He handed the rest of the small group little pins. "Take these Portkeys down to Hogsmeade and Apparate to the battle." They complied silently, each one disappearing with a little swirl of color.
Before Charlie vanished, Bill called to him, "Hey, make sure to stay on target this time. No more old ladies." Charlie quirked a small smile at the reference to his failed Apparation test, then Portkeyed out with a slight pop of displaced air.
The Order watched the screens as the charge came, and demons started dropping around the two green dots. Ron frowned. "It'd be a hell of a lot easier if we could get that Apparation and Portkey ward down. Problem is, it's built into the building; every stone has the spell individually to reinforce the total."
He glanced back at Hermione questioningly. "Any way we could collapse it without vaporizing the building?" She thought for a moment. "Well, if they're tied directly to the stones, yes. But it's not really feasible. You'd have to disrupt each spell, so the easies would be to take out a chunk of every single charmed brick. We don't have the time for that." Ron sighed. "Well, it was a thought."
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Wraith and Harry fought back to back, moving in near perfect synchronization with matching swords and parvellahs. Slowly they carved an ever-widening gap in the ranks; too slowly, for now they were completely surrounded and so was the building they were trying to defend, with the Aurors trapped inside.
Harry shuddered as a wave of cold swept over him from the dementors, but couldn't spare the time to cast his Patronus. He could barely keep ahead of the constant attacks on him personally, let alone those on the Aurors, and he gritted his teeth in frustration.
This was getting them nowhere. They needed to change the plan, immediately. He shouted his intention back to Wraith, who simply nodded and ran a demon through the heart. Clearing himself a space, Harry levitated himself up, barely avoiding a blast from a flamethrower, and headed straight for the balcony where three Aurors stood.
Alighting on the stone floor, he nodded in greeting and asked, "What's your plan?" One big man that he tentatively identified as Robert spoke immediately. "The fourth ward just went down, so our counterattack should be coming from downstairs at any time. We stay up here to chase off dementors and any siege type attacks."
Harry nodded. "Just be careful of flying objects. They've got grenades. I'm going down." With a salute-like wave he dashed for the inner stairs and jumped down them four at a time. On the main floor he found two complete divisions armed and ready with a simply mind-boggling array of weapons, supplied courtesy of the scarily inventive minds of Fred and George.
The front few lines looked slightly pale and shaky under the dementors' proximity outside the doors, but still refused to let themselves falter. Tori was easy to fine, shouting out directions to her company. Harry ran over to her and asked, "How did so many get in here tonight?"
She scowled darkly, "A mole called in an emergency alert, and per orders any one who could reported immediately. We had just figured it out when the attack started and activated lockdown, so we're stuck here for now." She glanced involuntarily at the doors as they rumbled with a distant explosion. "We tossed the traitor out to the dementors. They Kissed him immediately."
Tori made a face to express exactly what she thought of that, then changed the subject. "You going to join us on this?" He nodded an affirmative, so she handed him one modified Uzi and a couple spare clips. "Give 'em hell. I'll be right behind you." He checked his weapon, then shouted out to the Aurors, "Wraith's already out there. Don't hit him, or he'll be mad."
Everyone nodded and tensed in anticipation, then Tori contacted the balcony team. "Patroni, now!" On the Detection Parchment the dementors retreated from the doors under the focused assault, and then the doors burst open. Aurors streamed out with a roar, opening fire instantly on any thing that moved.
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Ginny crept through the sparse foliage quietly, utilizing what little cover she could find to her advantage as she approached her target. Three Death Eaters stood five meters from her, simply watching the battle from a safe distance. Flashes of illumination lit up their masks sporadically, adding to the surrealism of the night.
Why did they always seem to attack at night? Perhaps they felt better committing their atrocities surrounded by darkness. Ginny shook herself to focus again on her objective, analyzing critically. The three men stood fairly close together in a slightly triangular arrangement, postures casual and even relaxed. They weren't expecting anything, and she smiled grimly.
Taking out a Spell Sphere and her wand, she waited for a particularly loud explosion to mask her voice as she armed it. Within seconds, she stood and threw it so it landed right behind the front man in the middle of the group.
With a crack and flash of light, all three were down on the ground, Stunned. Ginny raced forward to disarm and bind them, then floated them back among cover. The whole process took less than 15 seconds, and she breathed a silent sigh of relief as she cautiously looked around.
About 20 meters from her position she glimpsed Professor Snape before he disappeared back into the cloudy night. The flash from a gun illuminated Charlie's red hair for a moment, then he was gone. Ginny shrank back under cover, making sure she could not be seen before settling in to keep a tense watch on the battle and wait for orders.
She prayed silently for Harry, caught in the middle of that mess out there, and for her family, that they would all come back home.
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Jin the middle of the battlefield Wraith and Harry met up again as the Aurors repelled the initial wave of demons. As a united front they pushed back, weapons blazing, forcing the creatures to retreat farther and farther. One Auror, his face blackened from soot and blood, was especially proficient with one of the bazookas, firing streams of green fire into the demons to instantly vaporize them.
The Aurors pushed forwards faster. 100 more yards and they would be outside the standing ward perimeter, enabling them to Apparate out. Their efforts redoubled with the goal and salvation in sight.
But the dementors had other ideas. Drawn by the emotional fervor of battle, they avoided the few who retained the presence of mind for a Patronus and fell on the Aurors from behind like a sweeping Black Plague. Suddenly fighting a two front war with implacable foes, the Aurors faltered and their advance slowed, struggling for every step.
Some tried to run back to the relative safety of the building, but were blocked by dementors and some demons smart enough to flank them. Several managed to conjure a Patronus, but with the combined influence of over a hundred dementors feeding on them, many more fought the subsuming depression and failed, staggering as their fighting edge wore down.
Hungry, a few dementors swooped in with hoods lowered and Kissed five people before they could be driven back. More fell victim to the demons with this distraction, and the stench of the creatures soon mixed with the odor of red blood spilled with black on the field in equal measures.
Wraith looked around and grimaced eloquently. If they stayed there, they would all die tonight. Furious, he whipped out his staff and bellowed, "Expecto Patronum!" Instantly the three golden animals charged, throwing dementors in every direction and creating a hold in the lines.
Harry roared, "Back inside! Follow me!" He ran through the gap, using his parvellah and Uzi to discourage any demons from coming too close, and the surviving Aurors tailed him closely. Wraith brought up the rear, refusing to let anything by alive.
Eventually they raced back inside the doors, and Wraith slammed them shut behind him with a final sounding clang. Panting and grateful for the reprieve, he looked around dismayed at the attrition they had suffered. Less than half of the Aurors had made it back, and most were nursing fairly serious wounds.
Tori held a gash on her arm, blood running through her fingers as she barked, "Status report. What are our chances?" Someone did a quick head count. "There's 117 of us here, figure 80% casualties, and we're running out of ammunition." One man shouted out, "The cannon melted, several of the bazookas are out there still, and the trap sequences around the building aren't responding. Probably destroyed."
A woman nearby muttered, "We're dead." Tori glared at her as if she had just uttered a grave personal insult. "No Leigh. We are not. Let's think about this and we'll make it through. I'm not giving up."
As they organized and debated on a new plan of attack, Harry approached Wraith quietly. "We're drawing on the same pool of magical power, aren't we?" Wraith nodded. "That still remains the same." "So if we focus on something together, we could draw on more of that power at once and strengthen a spell, yes?" A wild idea began running through his head, and slowly he nodded. "Wales?"
Eyes met and agreed, so together they slipped from the room and ran up the stairs towards the balconies, ignoring the sudden screams behind them. They burst through the door, startling the Aurors still on duty up there, and together they vaulted the rain to free fall over 50 feet to the ground below.
Magic slowed their fall so they landed as soft as birds on the hard-packed earth, thankfully temporarily clear of Dark creatures. Within seconds though, demons rushed them. Those seconds were crucial, for Harry spun a shield with enough force to repel them, then both Wraith and Harry held the staff and concentrated together.
The earth rumbled beneath their feet, then rolled and bucked like a storm- tossed sea. Some demons found themselves impaled on sharp spires of rock thrust from deep underground, while others tumbled into open crevasses and hurled squealing into the depths. Still the building itself remained untouched as the land rippled around it furiously.
The dementors, however, were not daunted by the physical force of the earth and glided over the torn ground towards the two humans with one soul. Harry fought to focus through the fog and finish the spell, clinging to the staff for support. The ruby throbbed with power, and he tried to access a happy memory for a Patronus.
Failing, shaken to his bones, Harry collapsed to his knees unwillingly as cold rose in his chest and screaming echoed faintly in his head. Then Wraith's gloved hand was on his shoulder as he murmured, "Stay with me here," before he shouted once again, "Expecto Patronum!" this time using their combined strength to conjure it.
Harry breathed in a sigh of relief as the air turned warm again, and with help regained his feet. Looking around, he said, "Let's get them out of here before Voldemort decides to finish it." They reached the big doors and undid the Locking spells on them before shoving them open.
Instantly they froze as a hundred wands trained at their faces, but someone got a good look and yelled, "It's all right!" The Aurors relaxed fractionally as wands lowered, but they were still tense, tired, and edgy. Wraith announced, "We have an opening if we move fast. Run to the end of the wards and watch for dementors. Go!"
Clearly trusting him enough not to question, Aurors began to run out the doors in packs, guarding each other carefully. Harry glanced around, not hearing a familiar voice that he had expected. "Where's Tori?" A woman stopped and pointed somewhat despondently towards the staircase.
A still body lay sprawled over the last two steps, clearly alive but just as clearly not going anywhere. Harry swallowed hard. "What happened?" he croaked. "A dementor came in while the doors were open and hid up the stairs. It snuck up on her, and by the time we could drive it away, it was too late."
Wraith looked away with his eyes closed, muttering, "Aw, shit." Harry nodded. "George is not going to be happy."
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Remus skulked at the position Ron assigned him, trying to keep under cover as much as possible. Still, he had a great seat for the battle and especially the earthquake. Now he watched and waited, keen senses on the alert for the next move. In the distance, the doors flew open and small groups of Auror emerged, five at a time running while covering their backs.
Ron's voice crackled through their communicators. "Go and give them cover just in case reinforcements show up. The rest of us are on the way." Remus tapped his watch twice in acknowledgement and started towards the Aurors, but had only taken a handful of steps when a crackling noise behind him made him spin, wand already out and a spell on his lips.
Fortunately it was not more demons. Unfortunately, it was about a dozen Death Eaters with wands and weapons. Remus finished the spell and saw the red light send one flying, but the others were already casting their curses. With a lycanthrope's enhanced reflexes he dove and rolled back into the bushes he was using as cover, ducking as jest of light shot over his head.
Popping up and casting three curses in quick succession, he gave himself enough breathing room to yell into the communicator, "Death Eaters! Backup needed now!" Quickly dodging another curse which set the bushes on fire around him, Remus scrambled away from the flames, shot off a hex then took off running in an erratic pattern over the uneven ground.
Spells impacted the ground all around him, kicking up dirt, but none touched him yet. He chose not to push his luck and threw himself behind a huge mound of earth, watching the green light of the Killing Curse pass right through where his head had just been.
Glancing around, Remus realized with a sinking heart that he was trapped. He had jumped into what basically amounted to a hole, and if he tried to move he'd be an easy target.
The ground behind his head reverberated with the echo of running footsteps, and he gripped his wand tighter as he prepared himself. He may be dead, but he could be a very nasty corpse. He was going to take as many of them with him as possible. The wolf reared to the surface, snarling with the lust for blood and battle.
Just as he was about to jump up to face them, a rapid succession of gunshots rang out, followed by pain-filled screams and the thud of falling bodies. Then Arabella was there, panting as she swept her Tommy gun around in a quick search, then dropped down and offered him her hand.
Grinning he took it and got to his feet, then arched an eyebrow at her choice of weapon. She shrugged in return. "I liked it, so I kept it. Pretty handy." A crackled over the communicators jolted them back into action, as Charlie's voice reported in a strained voice, "Need help here. Got six right on top of me."
Arabella glanced over where flashes of spells barely illuminated the clocked figures and started running, Remus at her heels. He spotted a dead Auror with a gun and scooped it up as he sprinted past, checking the clip. It was a Weasley modification with half a clip left; he snapped it in place and chambered a round on the run.
Once in range, they both opened fire and raked the field, the staccato bursts mowing the Death Eaters down before they knew what was happening. Charlie was on the ground, and as they sprinted to him he gave them a painfully strained smile. "Thanks."
Arabella instantly dropped to her knees beside him, examining his leg which was bleeding everywhere. He had his fingers buried in his thigh, and she realized he was pinching off the artery to keep from bleeding to death. "What happened?" she asked urgently as she used her wand to seal off the blood vessel then wrap his thigh tightly with bandages.
Charlie winced briefly as the bandages tightened. "Took me by surprise, only got one down before one shot a curse that should have taken my leg off. It only grazed me, but it was enough." He tested his leg, flexing his foot back and forth. "Thanks for that." He examined his bandages one last time, then fished around in his vest and handed Remus another clip.
"Here, you're gonna need this. I'm heading back." The two professors nodded, and with a pop Charlie was gone again. They turned back to the main fight and rushed to rejoin the Order, who were currently surrounding the path for the Aurors to take out past the wards. But at the same time more Death Eaters were appearing all over the field, opening fire on the forces of Light.
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Wraith snarled as he dodged the Killing Curse and saw it narrowly miss hitting an Auror running for the exit point. Harry joined the Order in covering their retreat, defending the exit point but unable to move from their positions. Wraith was under no such restraints, ignoring his fatigue as he pulled his sword and his wand, drawing the attention of several black cloaked figures to him.
Digging deeper into his resources, he charged the Death Eaters with preternatural speed while casting a Stunning spell over his shoulder, which hit two Death Eaters who hadn't even noticed him. He leapt in the air to avoid a panicked curse, then landed and sliced one in half from crown to waist. The razor-sharp blade passed through with little resistance, and the body peeled apart in two directions to slump in a bloody mess.
Wraith dismissed it immediately as he turned to his next opponent, missing the look on Harry's face, and dispatched him easily with a sweep of his sword. He shouted a curse which shot over McGonagall's head and threw the Death Eater who had been sneaking up behind her to the ground with a hole in his chest.
Another group of Aurors came running out, spells flying as they dashed along the torn ground towards the Order and their departure point. The Death Eaters started to converge on the building, obviously hoping to finish those off inside while they were trapped. The Order couldn't move, could only watch helplessly and shoot some curses in their direction, but they were out of range and the Order was stretched thin as it was.
The remaining Aurors saw them coming and fought back ferociously like a cornered animal. But with the last few hours of constant anxiety and adrenaline rushing through their systems, they were already tired and worn down, while the Death Eaters were fresh and energized.
Some of the Order started running to give the Dark forces a two-front war, but Wraith bellowed at them, "No! Stay where you are! I'll take care of it!" They stumbled to a halt as the War Mage whipped his wand and roared, "Pyros Solem!"
A white-hot jet of flame shot out and enveloped the Death Eaters gathered at the doors, and seconds later they were falling to the ground, writhing and screaming in hideous agony as their flesh was consumed by fire. Wraith let a predatory grin cross his lips as he turned back to the main force still assaulting the Order and Aurors.
Before he could start a new attack, Voldemort stepped forward out of the ranks with cat-like eyes glowing crimson. He bared his own teeth in a horrible smile and called out, "Wraith, my elusive opponent. I had been a while since we last met." Wraith glowered at him. "Not long enough, you mutated son of a bitch." The Dark Lord scowled.
"Enough. Resistance is futile. Surrender now." Wraith scoffed, "Or else what? You'll bore me to death with your pompous pontifications?" That earned him an icy glare. "Or else every one of you will die tonight."
Wraith sneered at him, the blood spattering his face giving him a feral cast to match the wild gleam in his eye. "I have an offer for you," he returned. "Get your arses out of here, now, and I'll refrain from killing all your forces tonight. Refuse, and this place will swim in your blood. I swear it."
Voldemort actually threw his head back and laughed, a high cold screech that rendered the night air. "Don't toy with me, boy. You have no idea what you are facing." "Oh really? Then please, don't enlighten me. I like surprises." During this whole interlude, the Aurors kept coming and group after group transported out to safety even while suffering occasional losses. The Order was also sustaining casualties, with many wounded severely enough to have to retreat back to Hogwarts.
Wraith caught a glimpse of green light, then Arabella fell to the ground, unmoving. Remus was immediately beside her, calling her name as he gently shook her, but she wasn't responding and would never. A Death Eater took advantage of the distraction to cast the Cruciatus on Remus, but accustomed as he was to the pain of monthly wolf transformations, he simply gritted his teeth, aimed his Uzi and squeezed the trigger. Three Death Eaters jerked as blood splashed and they dropped, releasing the curse.
Suddenly Voldemort thrust a hand out to the side, and with a small yelp of surprise Harry was yanked out of his position to fly over and land roughly at this Dark Lord's feet in a heap. Instantaneously a long fingered hand was wrapped around his neck while a foot stomped between his shoulders to keep him on the ground. Voldemort glared at Wraith, ignoring the yells from the Order as he tightened his grip and Harry began to choke.
"How about this surprise? I know the two of you are connected somehow. Will you really let him die?" Voldemort's eyes gleamed fiercely as the teen in his grasp began to turn blue. "What would happen to you then, I wonder?" He yanked upwards slightly, and Harry winced as his neck strained and popped under the pressure.
Wraith thought frantically, knowing that Voldemort could block his spells long enough to break Harry's neck. What would happen to him then? Before he could think of anything constructive, a spell hit the Dark Lord from behind and knocked him off balance, his hand loosening for a crucial second. It was enough.
Harry twisted around a bit and arched his back so his feet came up and kicked Voldemort from behind. The creature pitched forward and Harry reversed momentum to throw himself unsteadily to his feet. The Dark Lord whirled on him, and the teen whipped his head down and around so that his hair, knotted back in a heavy braid, flew around and clubbed Voldemort in the face. He stumbled back with blood streaming from his flat nose and mouth.
Harry pulled a knife and threw it, and it lodged in Voldemort's shoulder. The Dark Lord looked from the knife embedded in his flesh to a furious Harry, who rasped menacingly, "Get out."
Voldemort narrowed his eyes, wrenched the knife out and threw it with lightning speed back at Harry, who snatched it out of the air easily. Then he disappeared with a pop, and the Death Eaters soon followed, but not before they launched a few grenades and mines to blew up the battle-scarred remains of the Auror headquarters. Fortunately all the survivors had escaped.
The Order and the last few Aurors ducked away from the explosion, and after the debris settled they surveyed the battlefield wearily, noting the scattered bodies of both comrades and enemies. Wraith shook his head as he approached. "Let's go before they decide to return. He's still got more demons."
Nobody protested, and within seconds they all disappeared, leaving a draw. Nobody really won this one this time, but the Light had lost more. Over the now-silent and bloodied battlefield, a cold drizzle began to fall, the puddles gleaming red.