A/N: Okay, I had a lot of problems uploading this chapter. While it looked
fine when I first uploaded it, somewhere in the transition ff.net decided
to delete all but 4 paragraphs of a 15 page chapter. *growls murderously at
the computer* Sorry to all those people who looked forward to this update
and then got so amazingly confused at the mess up there.
Yeah yeah yeah, I know it's been over two months. Sorry about the long wait, but in real life that's what happens. College really gets in the way of my free time. You're just lucky that I'm an insomniac, for I have been awake for the past 30 hours, and spent a good portion of that writing these next three chapters until my hands wouldn't stop shaking. Excellence through sleep deprivation!!
If you like this, I also write original fiction, mainly short stories, so just pop over to fictionpress and check out my other stuff. I'd really appreciate it, as I've just posted two new ones. It's posted under psychochick3.
November is National Novelists Writer's Month, so I'm trading off between working on this and a new original idea that I'm playing around with, and reading a wonderful story by my friend Raven. Hopefully the next post won't be two months away, but rather two days.
Thanks to aconite for being my 500th reviewer. That gave me the impetus to post this next chapter.
Hey mickeymoose, of course smoke inhalation can't kill Padfoot. Of course, neither could falling through a veil. *wink* And you never said anything about poison.
d.triksta, SerenityBliss, I am working on publishing my own work, such as what I have over at fictionpress. This is just for fun. Thanks.
Ashione, I especially liked my fic being compared to a car crash. Really made my day. Yeah, this is pretty dark, but that's what happens. You write what you know, and I know people with problems. I am people with problems. I can't write the sappy happy fics (as proven by my earlier attempts at fluffy chapters *winces*).
And thank you to all who reviewed and/or put me on their favorites lists, for you are my driving force at times, and my encouragement to keep going despite it all .Wish I could answer all my reviewers, but I simply don't have the time or energy.
Disclaimer: I'm not JRK, so I don't own Harry Potter. I'm surviving off rice and Ramen, so obviously I'm not making any money off of this. You recognize anything, then I probably don't own it. Anything you don't recognize is mine, and if I catch you using it without my permission, you'll find out why I'm called psychochick, and how I can write accurately about weapons.
Now where did I leave off? Oh yes . . . .
Chapter 31
The freezing October wind whipped around Harry as he swooned back, senses reeling in icy fog as the dementor closed in for its meal. *Fight . . . must . . . wand,* disjointed thoughts swirled in his numbed brain, but he couldn't move through his fatigue. Screams, both male and female, echoed in his head along with high-pitched laughter and the crackle of poisonous flames.
He was drowning, falling towards darkness blacker and colder than space, and could do nothing to stop his fall. The dementor clamped its hands tightly around his face and pressed its hideous gaping mouth to his. Even as he gagged on its putrid breath, the touch was a grim parody of that dream, with Eva . . .
Her smiling image flashed through his mind, bringing a sudden rush of clarity and instinctively he shoved away from the creature, feeling the jaws nearly rip from his as the first deadly inhalation scrabbled for him. Harry tumbled back to the hard ground, disoriented and winded, but still backed away from the dementor.
An inhuman sound echoed from it, frustrated at the denial of its prize, and resumed stalking him with icy menace that crawled over him in a suffocating wave. He continued to fall back, and then his fingers touched the wood of his wand. With Eva's face foremost in his mind, he whipped up his wand and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"
The silver stag erupted out to tackle the dementor straight in the chest, driving it back from Harry. The creature turned and fled into the woods, so the stag turned back to its creator with a bow before disappearing. Harry sat there for several long moments, gulping in deep breaths to fight the leftover nausea and wiping cold sweat from his face.
That had been too close. Looking down at his wand, he was surprised to see the watch on his wrist; the Weasleys' communicator charm. Remus needed to know about the dementors. Tapping it with his wand, he was relieved to hear his professor answer within seconds. "Lupin here."
"Remus, it's Harry." "Harry!" There was no mistaking the relief in his voice. "Where are you? I expected you back at the castle a while ago." Harry rubbed the back of his neck in consternation. "Yeah, well, I stumbled on a defense meeting and decided it'd be worth my while to help them out. Listen, I just ran into a dementor."
The Order's leader sounded shocked but mostly calm. "Did it have friends? Where was it headed?" "I'm not sure. I only saw the one, but more probably went past in the dark. I chased it into the woods, but I couldn't tell which direction." Remus made a small noise in the back of his throat as he thought for a minute.
"Hmm. Okay, I'll post a couple of guards up tonight on the castle, but you'll have to alert Hogsmeade. Keep a sharp eye out." "Will do," Harry promised, then tapped the communicator to break the link. Digging though his pockets, he found a slightly squashed Chocolate Frog to melt away the lingering dementor effects.
Wearily he forced himself back towards Hogsmeade and the Three Broomsticks. Hopefully Madame Rosmerta hadn't closed up yet. As long as she knew, she could alert the rest of the village to be on the lookout. The entire trip he kept his wand out, senses alert for dementors, but made it unhindered to the tavern where Rosmerta was just putting out the lights.
He knocked on the door, and startled she glanced through the windows with wand drawn. Catching sight of him, she lowered her wand and opened the door with a frown. "What's the matter?" "Dementors," he sighed. "Attacked me on the road. I managed to drive it off, but I'm not sure which direction they headed. Just wanted the people here to be on the lookout; they're hungry tonight."
Rosmerta took the news calmly, already scribbling notes and charming them to go flapping out the doors to their recipients. Harry wondered on the advisability of that; it worked fine for inside office buildings, but outside the notes could blow away, or often get sidetracked or lost. She must know what she was doing.
The message passed, Harry turned to leave again, stumbling slightly with fatigue as he headed for the door. But the barkeep saw that and grabbed his arm, steadying him. "Oh no you don't. You're too tired to trek back to the castle. I'll make up one of the rooms here for you tonight. You can go back in the morning."
He started to protest, but she cut him off. "No arguing, Mr. Potter. Besides, if the dementors do show you can help, but not if you're passed out on the road." A bit reluctantly he gave in, but was never more glad in his life when Rosmerta opened the door to a cozy room with a feather bed and crackling fire, a mug of hot chocolate steaming on the beside table.
Thanking her as she bid goodnight, he waited until her footsteps descended the stairs before collapsing on the bed and activating the communicator. "Hey Remus." There was a pause before Remus answered. "Harry, when are you headed back here?" The teen sighed. "Not tonight. Rosmerta's worried I wouldn't make it back up, so she fairly ordered me to sleep here."
"Are you all right?" Weary as he was, Harry was almost glad to hear the faint note of worry. "Yeah, just exhausted. I'll grab a few hours of sleep here then Apparate back. Right now I'm too tired to move." Remus chuckled. "I know the feeling all too well. Very well, sleep tight and come see me in the morning. Call if there's problems."
"You too," Harry warned, then took a sip of the hot chocloate. "If anything happens there, call me in. other than that, see you in the morning." "Night," came the reply, then the link cut out. Yawning, Harry kicked off his boots and stripped his cloak and outer tunic, then crawled under the warm covers.
Exhausted as he was, he still puzzled over the dementors. He expected them to show up with the demons, just like the battle at Auror Headquarters. Unless there were rogue ones, no longer under Voldemort's control? That didn't seem likely, but still . . . . which way had they gone? Perhaps they were lurking in the forest, waiting for a signal until they approached the human inhabited areas.
His thoughts crawled slowly as his consciousness fled the waking world, falling into dreamless sleep.
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Loud pounding on the door jolted Harry awake, and instantly he shout out of bed to the door, wide awake. Madame Rosmerta stood there, wide-eyed and shaking. "What?" he barked, and she focused on him, panicking. "Demons," she breathed. "They've breached the outer wards, heading this way! We . . . we can't defend against them!"
Harry swore softly to himself. He hadn't planned on demons in the village. He should have thought of that. All their planning from last night was essentially useless now. Suddenly a loud explosion rattled the windows from outside, and dust feel from the rafters. Rosmerta jumped, and Harry pushed past her to run down the stairs. Flickering red shadows gleamed through the windows, and he could just see the source.
A building that had once been a tea shop was now a mass of flaming rubble, and instinctively he ducked as flaming debris fell around the tavern. He stepped out the door to get a better view. Flashes in the near distance showed where the wards were under attack, and already a few dark shapes were loping up the street.
The crackle and pop of burning wood was punctuated by snarls and clanging metal, as well as screams from the few humans left in Hogsmeade. Harry ducked back inside and ran back up to his room to grab his clothes, where he found Rosmerta staring wildly out the windows. He grabbed her arm, snapping her back to reality.
"Go get the fire going downstairs. Everyone will be coming here; you need to evacuate them to Hogwarts. Got that?" he ordered, and she nodded firmly, momentary panic gone now, and ran downstairs. Checking his watch, Harry was surprised to see that it was nearly dawn, and he'd managed to get a fair amount of sleep. He'd need all his strength for the coming fight.
Harry threw on his clothes, then realized something important and cursed himself aloud. He couldn't very well fight a war with just a few knives and a wand. Most of his weapons were back in his room at Hogwarts.
Gathering concentration, he Apparated briefly up to his dorm and grabbed his weapons while the guys slept on obliviously. With another small crack he was back in the Three Broomsticks as if he had never left.
Strapping his weapons to their proper places, he tapped the communicator and yelled, "Remus!" Nobody answered, and cursing yet again he concentrated on conjuring the clone. Once Harry stood there next to him, he ordered him back to alert Hogwarts of the attack, and as the air cracked from Apparation behind him, he ran down to the bar, letting his disguise shift to that of Wraith.
Already the villagers were starting to trickle in, and the wards flashed as more and more demons punched through. Rosmerta stood by the fireplace, directing the evacuation and sending people through 15 seconds apart, the green light from the flames creating a counterpoint to the red outside.
Wraith shoved past a group of women just coming through the door and raced outside. Demons were starting to pour in, lobbing grenades in every direction ahead of them, and quickly Wraith cast a Banishing spell that flung them back over the hoard.
The explosions lit up the streets with staccato bursts of lightning. Spotting several more people running from the advancing army, he shouted, "Accio!" and suddenly they all came flying towards him.
They landed at his feet, and roughly he got them up and shoved them toward the tavern. "Get out of here," he growled, and they obeyed instantly. Just as the last one, who he recognized as Zonko in his purple robes, passed through the doors, another gigantic explosion rocked the streets and the blast shoved Wraith to the ground as a wave of scorching air rolled over him.
For one instant he feared it had been the Three Broomsticks, but a single glance confirmed the bar was intact, save broken windows from the shock wave. That explosion had been Zonko's shop going the way of Weasley Wizard Wheezes, scattering multi-colored flames over the town as his stock of Filibuster's Fireworks all ignited at once. Some hit the roof of Honeydukes, which smoldered before flames began consuming it and the building.
Wraith scrambled to his feet and sprinted away from the tavern; the battle lines had to be forward the evacuation point. Heat prickled his face, cooled only slightly by sweat as he stopped briefly to assess the situation, letting a predatory smile tug his lips. Adrenaline pumped through him, making his sense come alive, marvelously clear and sharp. This would be a fight worthy of a War Mage.
Wraith stood in the main street of Hogsmeade, backlit by Honeydukes as it collapsed completely in a shower of fire and smoke. The demons caught sight of him and snarled with recognition, clanging their weapons together in a hideous cacophony of noise, calling reinforcements. They gathered in a wall of stinking flesh and metal, and for a single moment all was still as the combatants sized the opposition.
Wraith made the first move - he smiled, cocked his arm and threw a small object into the crowd. It landed in one creature's hand, and it stared stupidly at the loaded Spell Sphere. Then it, and a dozen of its friends, disappeared in a violent explosion that threw demons into the buildings around them.
Wraith used the minor distraction to pull his staff and sword, then charged.
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Neville Longbottom never told anyone about his dreams; after all, unless your nightmares have you screaming so loudly the whole tower wakes up, no one asks. And most would assume that Neville's dreams were just like any other sixteen year old boy's. But Neville was blessed with a particularly active imagination that made his dream life very interesting. Tonight was no exception.
He dreamed of dinner in the Great Hall, with everyone talking and laughing just like they used to while eating the delicious food. The fact that Seamus was wearing a dress and Ron had purple hair was inconsequential. When Professor McGonagall started up a lively tune on the bagpipes, Neville asked Professor sprout for a dance, during which he never stomped on her feet.
This good atmosphere shattered when the denizens of the portraits vanished and demons started leaping out of them. Malfoy shrieked like a girl promptly before being ripped in half. Harry jumped to his feet, crying, "To your placemats!" Neville quickly snatched up a placemat from the Gryffindor table and swung it at a demon, which howled once before crumbling to dust.
Encouraged and enlightened, all the students followed his lead and grabbed the placemats from the tables, flapping them around everywhere. The demons couldn't touch the students for fear of the placemats, and Neville led the way in demolishing all of them. Thick grey dust settled over the entire Hall and Hermione started complaining how the house elves would have to clean it all up . . . .
A terrific BOOM shook Neville from his dream, Hermione's shrill voice fading away as he sat up wildly with a short yell. Confused mumblings and cursing let him know his roommates were awake, so the sound hadn't been imagined. He yanked the hangings away from his bed and stumbled over to the window, tripping over Trevor the toad and nearly landing in Dean's bed.
Ron was trying to untwist his bedcovers from his legs while demanding to know what was happening. Rubbing his eyes, Neville stared out the window. The predawn gray was giving way to a fiery red-gold, but not from the east. A pillar of smoke and flame rose from beyond the Forbidden Forest, and he had to blink several times just to make sure his eyes were working properly.
"Hogsmeade," he muttered stupefied, "the village's on fire." "WHAT?!?" There was a scramble towards the window as the other three pushed their way over to see for themselves. Wait, three? Neville glanced at Harry's bed; it hadn't been touched. Harry had never come in last night, but Neville was willing to bet he was down in the village right now.
He returned to the window, half-expecting to somehow catch a glimpse of his errant friend, but something else caught his eye. Dark shapes were starting up the path to Hogwarts from the forest, gliding across the lawns like malignant shadows. Behind them came more shapes, lumpy and hulking and stomping with tree-like feet as wicked clubs gouged the ground.
Finally, just visible in the dim gray dawn, the gates of Hogwarts gave way for more human creatures, the rippling wave of black robes only broken by bone-white masks. Neville had barely assimilated the fact that dementors, trolls, giants and Death Eaters were attacking when Ron yanked them back from the window, yelling "Come on! We have to go!"
Just then a loud siren sounded through the castle, wailing with enough force to waken any sleeper. The teens jumped, then scrambled into clothes, grabbed their wands and raced for the Common Room. Already people were flooding into it, wide-eyed and babbling in confusion and terror. Ron scanned the room for Hermione and quickly spotted her bushy hair by the fire place.
Just as he reached her side, the siren cut off to be replaced with Remus Lupin's amplified voice. "We're under attack. Professors and older students, report to the main entrance hall. Prefects, lead the younger students to the dungeons. You know the drill. Let's move!"
Ron breathed out a quick sigh of relief as the rising terror in the room was dampened by courage and determination, then raised his voice to get their attention. "All right! First through third years, follow Hermione. Everyone else, get going." He gave his girlfriend a quick kiss as the Common Room began to empty and said quietly, "I'll bring up the rear."
She nodded once and immediately took charge. "Keep together and stay alert! Now follow me." The small crowd diligently flocked behind her closely as they hurried from their tower and joined their classmates deeper and deeper beneath the school. Professor Trelawney and Madame Pomfrey took charge of them, and the prefects raced back upstairs to the main hall.
Seamus greeted Ron and Hermione with a frown. "Why aren't we in the Great Hall?" Ron shook his head. "Too exposed with all those windows and post openings. It's not defensible enough." Spotting the professors and the Order, he pushed his way to them and found Harry issuing some instructions.
The War Mage acknowledged his friend with a nod, then continued, "The guard on the roof have temporarily driven the dementors back, but they'll keep coming. I need to activate the school defenses now." Remus made the call on his communicator charm, then reported, "They're inside now." Harry nodded, grabbed Ron's arm and with a "crack!" the world about them shifted and reformed into the Phoenix Chamber.
Ron staggered and nearly fell, complaining, "Bloody hell! Warn me before you do that!" He wondered briefly if Apparation was always like that, or just because they were going through the wards. With their arrival a wall lit up to show the outside of the castle, then Harry tapped the marble table itself, and Ron watched, amazed, as a three-dimensional model of Hogwarts and the grounds rose up, including every living creature in animation.
The screens flashed with information as it was played out on the table. Harry let a small smile flicker as he saw Ron's enrapt face, then tapped the table again and said, "Activate Hogwarts defenses." A shuddering rumbled echoed through the castle, and Ron could nearly feel the magic shifting around him. The model Hogwarts now glowed golden and as they watched, several shaped detached themselves from the castle and set upon the invaders.
"Gargoyles with animation charms, like McGonagall's giant chess set. Direct them verbally or with your wand. We've got trap sequences similar to Auror HQ, but I'm not sure if they've got demons in reserves besides the ones in Hogsmeade. There are a few more modifications in the walls that self- activate. Keep people out of the towers. I'm going down there, so good luck."
Ron nodded acknowledgment of Harry's rapid-fire commands and instructions, then glanced at the screen showing Hogsmeade, where a single green-white dot was nearly overrun with gray. "Wait," he turned, "you're . . ." "Yeah. Later." Harry disappeared with a pop and his dot flashed into existence at the same time a little marble figure coalesced just behind the ranks of Dark creatures.
Ron shrugged and began directing the battle of Hogwarts.
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The stench itself was indescribable, flowing through the air like a living thing to choke the breath out of Wraith's lungs. He dragged in another breath, grimacing as he felt it burn, and shoved the demon corpse off his legs just in time to kick aside a sword flashing in a downward slash. His hand scrabbled for his sword, and with a quick thrust and twist the demon fell.
For the moment Wraith was clear, and he rolled to his feet as he surveyed the situation. He stood surrounded by piles of stinking poisoned flesh oozing blood to pollute the soil itself. Several buildings were gone, the structures and dreams within consumed by fire; the Hog's Head had gone up spectacularly as all the liquor caught fire.
He spotted about a dozen or so demons left, most closing in on the Three Broomsticks, but from the frantic hoots and shrieks in the Post Office at least one was in there partaking of a snack. Wraith narrowed his eyes, veins still thrumming with energy along with determination to erase this scourge.
His staff leapt into his grasp at his call, and as the ruby flamed brightly all the remaining demons were snatched into the air, one still trailing owl feathers. He directed them into a tight group beyond the village, hovering mere meters above the forest, then a burst of Elemental fire incinerated them, leaving a few stray ashes drifting on the wind.
Wraith wiped sweat from his brow and stalked back towards the Three Broomsticks as he activated his communicator charm. "Wraith here." "Lupin here." "Village secure. Inhabitants evacuated. Demons destroyed."
"Good. Now get back here. We're under attack." Startled, Wraith glanced up just in time to see a great gout of flame shoot up over the trees, and Remus breathed out an involuntary curse.
Wraith simply said, "I'm on it," cut off the charm, and Apparated into the battle.
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The forest was on fire, a ring of flames surrounding the trees bordering the Hogwarts grounds. Harry ducked then rolled forward as a massive club came within an ace of trimming his hair to the level of his chest. Unfortunately, this troll was smarter than the one in the girl's bathroom so long ago, and he scrambled away as the club smashed down, catching the edge of his cloak.
Cursing to himself, Harry leapt farther back, pulled out his boot knife and threw it with unerring accuracy into the creature's neck. The troll bellowed in pain once, then the poison kicked in and it fell with a crash, dead. Harry plucked the knife out on the run, heading for the group of trolls attempting to smash in the front doors.
The communicator on his watch shouted with Ron's voice, "Leave them! Concentrate on the dementors!" "Where?" he yelled back, skidding to a halt and scanning for the cloaked monstrosities. "Grouping by Hagrid's cabin. I'll handle the trolls." Harry wheeled around and sprinted across the lawns, spotting the dementors by the forest, back dropped by raging flames.
Suddenly he impacted something with bruising force and went sprawling backwards with blood streaming from his nose. Shaking his head to clear the stars from it, he sat up just as the person he ran into did the same, and through watering eyes recognized the brick wall imitator. "Wraith!" he yelled furiously, tapping his nose gingerly with his wand to heal it.
His counterpart rubbed at his split lip, scowling. "Aren't you running in the wrong direction?" "No." Harry pointed at the dementors gliding towards them. Wraith craned his neck round, smiled ferally and grasping his staff, shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"
Immediately the three gold animals charged the dementors, which faltered in their advance before behind hit. Wraith and Harry watched as they burst into flickers of dark flame, then turned back to the castle.
Ron had apparently figured out how to work the rest of the defenses, for Hogwarts was attacking back with a vengeance. Stones creaked and groaned as the gargoyles dispatched the last of the trolls, and the giants couldn't figure out how their weapons had suddenly been snatched from their hands by the rippling stone battlements.
Giant tentacles of some fibrous material snaked from the base of the castle to ensnare the invaders in place. One giant, a 20 foot tall make with a nose like a moss-covered boulder, roared out his frustration as he ripped at the vines, but for every one that gave way, three took its place. Soon he was wrapped tighter than a mummy, and the tentacles contracted and squeezed.
Great snaps like splitting logs echoed in staccato bursts, and the giant slumped boneless to the ground, thick blood leaking between his bonds. Meanwhile, some sections of the walls slid aside and withering flurries of arrows launched at the other giants, inciting thunderous roars of pain as point after point plunger deep into their skin and burrowed toward their vital spots. One by one they fell.
Within minutes, the only living beings outside the castle were Harry and Wraith, sitting sprawled on the grass watching the spectacle. Wraith took a deep breath, grimaced and asked, "What's burning?" Harry gestured behind them, and Wraith frowned. "Oh, we can't have that." He pointed his staff in the direction of the burning forest, and the flames sputtered and died out.
Harry sighed and shook his head. "That worked better than I though. Remind me to thank Professor Sprout for the Devil's Snare." Wraith arched one eyebrow. "Seems to me that was a lot of excitement over nothing." The sun chose that moment to pop up over the horizon and bathe them in pale gold beams of light.
Harry winced and shielded his eye, cursing. "Shit! That hurts! What is that?" Wraith squinted as he chuckled over the sound of Devil's Snare retreating back to it dark cavern in the dungeons. "It's called the sun Harry. You know, big ball of flaming gas, the thing that separates night and day? You've seen it before." "Well Mr. Sarcasm, it offends me. Turn it off."
"I don't think that would be the best plan of action for all concerned, Mr. I'm-So-Not-A-Morning-Person." Harry's rejoinder was cut off by a squawk from their communicators, and Lupin's voice called out, "Does anybody else think that was too easy?" Harry snorted and shot back, "Easy? You call that easy?" Then he paused. "Well, yeah, it was."
Wraith had stood up and was gazing around suspiciously. "Where'd the Death Eaters go? Did anybody see?" Ron's voice answered him, "We were a little busy. Last I saw they were heading into the forest. They're off my maps." Silence stretched for a minute, then he asked hesitantly, "Should I turn off the defenses?"
Wraith frowned. "No. Keep them up. Something's wrong." Harry nodded. "We'll search the edges of the forest, see if we can determine which way they went. But the students could probably use breakfast by now."
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Remus let a little smile tug his lips as he answered, "So could we all. Report in anything you find." A couple of clicks of acknowledgement, then he turned to the gather students who were watching him intently. He swallowed once, then announced, "We won this one," and then had to break off momentarily for the cheers, "but the Death Eaters are still out there. We don't know where they've gone, so stay alert. The house elves should have breakfast ready soon, so feel free to head into the Great Hall."
A ripple of released air signaled unconsciously held breaths freed into relieved sighs, then the students started chattering amidst themselves, a bit giddy with nervous adrenaline. Remus delegated the Head Boy and Girl to go collect the younger students and villagers in the dungeons, then with a glance at McGonagall and Snape, headed up to the Phoenix Chamber, followed closely by Hermione.
Ron glanced up when they arrived and gestured at the screens. "This makes no sense," he complained, "no bloody sense at all. I've replayed the battle several times now, and their tactics make not one bloody whit of sense." A house elf knocked on the adjoined door from the Headmistress's office and said, "I has brought some breakfast, good masters."
"Thank you," McGonagall told him, "You may bring it in here." After the elf had settled the tray and disappeared again, to be replaced by the rest of the Order as they came up from the Great Hall, Ron started up as if he'd never been interrupted, although now he was gesturing with a bagel in his hand.
"You see?" He tapped a screen and gave a running narration as the battle replayed. "The alarms were tripped early, and then they took their own sweet time actually getting up here. See, these trolls bumbled in far ahead the others, and the Death Eaters hung back to let them lead farther. If they had stuck together and struck swiftly, the castle would have been overrun before we were even awake."
He pointed at the marble battlerama, crumbs sprinkling down like snow before he irritably Banished them away. "Instead, they came in waves. The dementors first, but after the volleys of Patroni from the watches they withdrew to the forest. They didn't do that at the HQ attack, and there's more people to feed off of here. Then the trolls and the giants, largely untrained and uncoordinated. They were just sent to do some damage."
He took a vicious bite of his bagel as his wand pointed at the human figures towards the back. "Meanwhile, the Death Eaters back here are setting fire to the forest, just for fun it seems. Bloody pyros," he muttered through his mouthful, and ignored Hermione's swat to his arm. "And here's where they exit, using the smoke for cover." Sure enough, the cloaked figures strolled away without a care in the world and vanish into the forest.
Ron exhaled unhappily and ran a hand through unruly red hair. "With the attack on the village, this was too many forces for a probe to test our defenses. But obviously they weren't serious enough for a real attack. And what the hell are the Death Eaters up to? Why didn't they use the demons on Hogwarts? If they really wanted in, all they had to do was let the demons in, rather than the giants. Like I said, it makes no sense."
Hermione frowned, finger tapping the edge of the table. "What was their goal here? It seems like it was a distraction, but for what?" She looked around questioningly. "What's in the Forbidden Forest? Is there anything that would interest the Death Eaters enough to plan this?"
McGonagall was tapping her chin, lips pursed in a thin line. "The only thing of interest for miles now is Hogwarts. Anything in the forest would have been driven off by battle or else approached secretly. You're right, Mr. Weasley, this makes no sense." Remus sighed. "That's just what we need. Death Eaters prowling about unseen."
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Monica Fiala didn't know that when she received her Head Girl badge that she would be reduced to shepherding the younger students around Hogwarts.
She led the way up from the labyrinthine dungeons, a vast crowd of chattering kids third year and under following, and scowled a bit to herself. It was too early in the morning for her to be dealing with them and Professor Trelawney, who was holding forth to a bunch of wide-eyed first years about how she received her gift of Sight from her great- grandmother, a famous Seer.
Rolling her eyes at the oft-repeated rubbish, Monica wished she could go back to her dormitory in Ravenclaw and sleep. But alas, she was awake with a job to do, and she was going to prove herself worthy of this badge pinned to her robes. But that didn't mean she had to like it.
Finally they reached the Great Hall, and Monica swiftly counted the students as they filed past her; wouldn't be good for her to leave someone behind. Then she frowned. Several first years were missing, along with a couple Hufflepuff second years and a handful of missed third years.
Gazing longingly at the tables piled high with fresh fruit and bangers and mash, she turned back to search for the absentees. She passed Michael Franklin, the Hufflepuff Head Boy, talking seriously with a group of adults she didn't recognize, and supposed they must have been the Hogsmeade evacuees. She stopped briefly to ask if they had seen the missing students, but Michael just shrugged. They headed back towards the Great Hall, drawn by a promise of food, leaving Monica alone again.
The staircases shifted around her as she descended towards the dungeons, and then a voice behind her made her turn. On the staircase above stood Ewan Clarkson, one of the second years she was looking for, and she breathed out a short sigh before calling up to him, "There you are. You were supposed to stay with the group. Now where are the others?"
He simply looked at her, unresponsive, and it was only then she noticed his wand drawn and pointed at her chest. "Ewan," she said warningly, but a sliver of dread was creeping along her spine. Maybe it had to do with the blank look in his eyes, like the light was on but nobody was home. It wasn't right. With curious detachment, he enunciated, "Petrificus totalis."
Monica dodged just in time, rolling down to the bottom of the stairs and hitting her elbow painfully before she got to her feet and pulled her own wand, instinctively shouting back, "Stupefy!" Ewan caught the blast full in the chest and fell, but a jet of red light came from the corridor behind her and grazed her shoulder with fiery hot pain.
Whirling, she caught a glimpse of a small girl, no more than a first year with her wand pointed like a sword, then dove out of the way as another spell was fired off. "What the hell are you doing?" Monica yelled incredulously, but the girl didn't answer, simply staring at her through vacant eyes. A soft voice behind her, however, did. "Why my dear, she is only doing what I tell her too."
Monica spun around yet again to find three black-cloaked figures standing casually with wands drawn. The one in the lead smirked through the bone- white death mask. "After all, Hufflepuffs are known for their loyalty, but not brains, which makes them ideally susceptible to Imperius."
His bragging proved to be his mistake, for while the Death Eater was talking, Monica's instincts kicked in. Her wand flashed as she Stunned two of them, blocked a spell each from the girl and the last Death Eater, then barely ducked away from the green flash of the Killing Curse. It hit the first year behind her, who fell without a sound.
Enraged, Monica cast a strong Banishing charm, throwing the Death Eater over the railings to tumble down through several stories of staircases, landing on the bottom floor with a sickening crunch. She heaved in a couple deep breaths, trying to blink away tears as her body shook from delayed adrenaline, and caught sight of a couple more Death Eaters creeping across the upper staircases.
Instantly she did the only thing she could; turning her wand on herself, she muttered, "Sonorus," then screamed at the top of her lungs, letting her voice echo through every stone of Hogwarts.
"DEATH EATERS ARE INSIDE!!! DEATH EATERS IN HOGWARTS!! THEY'RE INSIDE!!"
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Dumbledore looked up from his conversation with Tori and smiled. "Ah, Eva. So good to see you." Eva smiled a bit wanly as she approached through the grass, and Dumbledore observed that she obviously wasn't her normal self. "Hello Albus," she greeted him with a nod, then acknowledged Tori with a small smile.
Her eyes flicked around like an animal searching for danger, taking in her surroundings carefully. "Have either of you seen Death today?" Tori shook her head. "No. Lately we hear she's been shutting herself up in her library. I think Fate is here, though, and Chaos came over looking for the Weasley twins earlier."
Eva suppressed a grimace. "Thanks." She stood there, seemingly lost in thought until Dumbledore said gently, "Eva, are you quite all right?" She started, then glanced at the old man with something strange glinting in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and that singular apology conveyed for more than just momentary inattentiveness.
Tori exchanged a glance with Dumbledore, then asked quietly, "For what?" Eva gestured helplessly. "For . . . for this. For what's happening. For . . ." Her rambling explanation was abruptly cut off by a strident voice. "Eva, what are you doing here?"
Fate stalked up with cold fire blazing in her eyes, and immediately Eva seemed to gather strength, transforming into her usual self. "What's it to you, Fate?" she demanded. Fate glared daggers at her, biting out, "You're not welcome here."
Eva arched an eyebrow. "Oh really? Who made you the bouncer in this cantina?" She smirked. "Last I heard this was Death's realm, not yours. She can kick me out if she wants, but I'm still allowed back in. You should know; you set the terms of my isolation." Fate gritted her teeth as her hair rippled with angry red and black. "Haven't you caused enough damage already?"
"Haven't you?" Eva retorted with a sneer. "Don't you have your own job to do, instead of policing Death's?" she asked pointedly, and Fate clenched her fists. She seemed ready to throw her dice in Eva's face and leap on her, spitting and snarling. Dumbledore and Tori were hiding smiles, clearly enjoying what could turn into a catfight at any moment.
The argument was interrupted by another stern voice, and they all turned to see Death striding up to them, silver hair and black cloak streaming behind her. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded icily, glaring between the two. "Fate, your presence is required elsewhere. Leave now." Fate narrowed her eyes, nodded once sharply and stalked away before disappearing silently like a breath of air.
Death turned to Eva, and the two locked eyes, staring at each other for several long minutes in silent communication. Finally Death sighed imperceptibly. "Why do you pick fights with her?" Eva shrugged. "Once you understood. It's fun. Besides, she started it." Death shook her head. "It's not wise. What did you come here for?"
Eva simply looked at her evaluating, then smiled with no trace of humor. "I have a message. It's started. Get ready for a rush." Death maintained a perfectly calm exterior. "Very well." She reached out a slim hand and touched Eva's cheek, almost caressing it with a tender look in her silver eyes.
"So long has been our path, and I fear it shall only grow more treacherous." Eva cupped the hand at her cheek, remaining silent. "To what shall our end be?" Death whispered. "How will it come about? To destruction, or to completion?" Eva closed her eyes, then whispered, "I must leave." With a shivering sigh of eternity, she vanished.
Death stood there, a faraway look in her eyes as the two mortal onlookers were completely ignored, then turned back to her city, disappearing in the maze of buildings. Dumbledore looked after her, then turned back to Tori to see the same look of incomprehension on her face.
The still silence enveloping them was broken by the echoing cry of a woman. "Padfoot! Prongs! You incomparable prats! Get back here and put this right!!" Lily's voice was furious, but held a deep undercurrent of affectionate amusement. Dumbledore chuckled softly. Some things never changed; for some things, there is no death, only a change of worlds.
Yeah yeah yeah, I know it's been over two months. Sorry about the long wait, but in real life that's what happens. College really gets in the way of my free time. You're just lucky that I'm an insomniac, for I have been awake for the past 30 hours, and spent a good portion of that writing these next three chapters until my hands wouldn't stop shaking. Excellence through sleep deprivation!!
If you like this, I also write original fiction, mainly short stories, so just pop over to fictionpress and check out my other stuff. I'd really appreciate it, as I've just posted two new ones. It's posted under psychochick3.
November is National Novelists Writer's Month, so I'm trading off between working on this and a new original idea that I'm playing around with, and reading a wonderful story by my friend Raven. Hopefully the next post won't be two months away, but rather two days.
Thanks to aconite for being my 500th reviewer. That gave me the impetus to post this next chapter.
Hey mickeymoose, of course smoke inhalation can't kill Padfoot. Of course, neither could falling through a veil. *wink* And you never said anything about poison.
d.triksta, SerenityBliss, I am working on publishing my own work, such as what I have over at fictionpress. This is just for fun. Thanks.
Ashione, I especially liked my fic being compared to a car crash. Really made my day. Yeah, this is pretty dark, but that's what happens. You write what you know, and I know people with problems. I am people with problems. I can't write the sappy happy fics (as proven by my earlier attempts at fluffy chapters *winces*).
And thank you to all who reviewed and/or put me on their favorites lists, for you are my driving force at times, and my encouragement to keep going despite it all .Wish I could answer all my reviewers, but I simply don't have the time or energy.
Disclaimer: I'm not JRK, so I don't own Harry Potter. I'm surviving off rice and Ramen, so obviously I'm not making any money off of this. You recognize anything, then I probably don't own it. Anything you don't recognize is mine, and if I catch you using it without my permission, you'll find out why I'm called psychochick, and how I can write accurately about weapons.
Now where did I leave off? Oh yes . . . .
Chapter 31
The freezing October wind whipped around Harry as he swooned back, senses reeling in icy fog as the dementor closed in for its meal. *Fight . . . must . . . wand,* disjointed thoughts swirled in his numbed brain, but he couldn't move through his fatigue. Screams, both male and female, echoed in his head along with high-pitched laughter and the crackle of poisonous flames.
He was drowning, falling towards darkness blacker and colder than space, and could do nothing to stop his fall. The dementor clamped its hands tightly around his face and pressed its hideous gaping mouth to his. Even as he gagged on its putrid breath, the touch was a grim parody of that dream, with Eva . . .
Her smiling image flashed through his mind, bringing a sudden rush of clarity and instinctively he shoved away from the creature, feeling the jaws nearly rip from his as the first deadly inhalation scrabbled for him. Harry tumbled back to the hard ground, disoriented and winded, but still backed away from the dementor.
An inhuman sound echoed from it, frustrated at the denial of its prize, and resumed stalking him with icy menace that crawled over him in a suffocating wave. He continued to fall back, and then his fingers touched the wood of his wand. With Eva's face foremost in his mind, he whipped up his wand and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"
The silver stag erupted out to tackle the dementor straight in the chest, driving it back from Harry. The creature turned and fled into the woods, so the stag turned back to its creator with a bow before disappearing. Harry sat there for several long moments, gulping in deep breaths to fight the leftover nausea and wiping cold sweat from his face.
That had been too close. Looking down at his wand, he was surprised to see the watch on his wrist; the Weasleys' communicator charm. Remus needed to know about the dementors. Tapping it with his wand, he was relieved to hear his professor answer within seconds. "Lupin here."
"Remus, it's Harry." "Harry!" There was no mistaking the relief in his voice. "Where are you? I expected you back at the castle a while ago." Harry rubbed the back of his neck in consternation. "Yeah, well, I stumbled on a defense meeting and decided it'd be worth my while to help them out. Listen, I just ran into a dementor."
The Order's leader sounded shocked but mostly calm. "Did it have friends? Where was it headed?" "I'm not sure. I only saw the one, but more probably went past in the dark. I chased it into the woods, but I couldn't tell which direction." Remus made a small noise in the back of his throat as he thought for a minute.
"Hmm. Okay, I'll post a couple of guards up tonight on the castle, but you'll have to alert Hogsmeade. Keep a sharp eye out." "Will do," Harry promised, then tapped the communicator to break the link. Digging though his pockets, he found a slightly squashed Chocolate Frog to melt away the lingering dementor effects.
Wearily he forced himself back towards Hogsmeade and the Three Broomsticks. Hopefully Madame Rosmerta hadn't closed up yet. As long as she knew, she could alert the rest of the village to be on the lookout. The entire trip he kept his wand out, senses alert for dementors, but made it unhindered to the tavern where Rosmerta was just putting out the lights.
He knocked on the door, and startled she glanced through the windows with wand drawn. Catching sight of him, she lowered her wand and opened the door with a frown. "What's the matter?" "Dementors," he sighed. "Attacked me on the road. I managed to drive it off, but I'm not sure which direction they headed. Just wanted the people here to be on the lookout; they're hungry tonight."
Rosmerta took the news calmly, already scribbling notes and charming them to go flapping out the doors to their recipients. Harry wondered on the advisability of that; it worked fine for inside office buildings, but outside the notes could blow away, or often get sidetracked or lost. She must know what she was doing.
The message passed, Harry turned to leave again, stumbling slightly with fatigue as he headed for the door. But the barkeep saw that and grabbed his arm, steadying him. "Oh no you don't. You're too tired to trek back to the castle. I'll make up one of the rooms here for you tonight. You can go back in the morning."
He started to protest, but she cut him off. "No arguing, Mr. Potter. Besides, if the dementors do show you can help, but not if you're passed out on the road." A bit reluctantly he gave in, but was never more glad in his life when Rosmerta opened the door to a cozy room with a feather bed and crackling fire, a mug of hot chocolate steaming on the beside table.
Thanking her as she bid goodnight, he waited until her footsteps descended the stairs before collapsing on the bed and activating the communicator. "Hey Remus." There was a pause before Remus answered. "Harry, when are you headed back here?" The teen sighed. "Not tonight. Rosmerta's worried I wouldn't make it back up, so she fairly ordered me to sleep here."
"Are you all right?" Weary as he was, Harry was almost glad to hear the faint note of worry. "Yeah, just exhausted. I'll grab a few hours of sleep here then Apparate back. Right now I'm too tired to move." Remus chuckled. "I know the feeling all too well. Very well, sleep tight and come see me in the morning. Call if there's problems."
"You too," Harry warned, then took a sip of the hot chocloate. "If anything happens there, call me in. other than that, see you in the morning." "Night," came the reply, then the link cut out. Yawning, Harry kicked off his boots and stripped his cloak and outer tunic, then crawled under the warm covers.
Exhausted as he was, he still puzzled over the dementors. He expected them to show up with the demons, just like the battle at Auror Headquarters. Unless there were rogue ones, no longer under Voldemort's control? That didn't seem likely, but still . . . . which way had they gone? Perhaps they were lurking in the forest, waiting for a signal until they approached the human inhabited areas.
His thoughts crawled slowly as his consciousness fled the waking world, falling into dreamless sleep.
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Loud pounding on the door jolted Harry awake, and instantly he shout out of bed to the door, wide awake. Madame Rosmerta stood there, wide-eyed and shaking. "What?" he barked, and she focused on him, panicking. "Demons," she breathed. "They've breached the outer wards, heading this way! We . . . we can't defend against them!"
Harry swore softly to himself. He hadn't planned on demons in the village. He should have thought of that. All their planning from last night was essentially useless now. Suddenly a loud explosion rattled the windows from outside, and dust feel from the rafters. Rosmerta jumped, and Harry pushed past her to run down the stairs. Flickering red shadows gleamed through the windows, and he could just see the source.
A building that had once been a tea shop was now a mass of flaming rubble, and instinctively he ducked as flaming debris fell around the tavern. He stepped out the door to get a better view. Flashes in the near distance showed where the wards were under attack, and already a few dark shapes were loping up the street.
The crackle and pop of burning wood was punctuated by snarls and clanging metal, as well as screams from the few humans left in Hogsmeade. Harry ducked back inside and ran back up to his room to grab his clothes, where he found Rosmerta staring wildly out the windows. He grabbed her arm, snapping her back to reality.
"Go get the fire going downstairs. Everyone will be coming here; you need to evacuate them to Hogwarts. Got that?" he ordered, and she nodded firmly, momentary panic gone now, and ran downstairs. Checking his watch, Harry was surprised to see that it was nearly dawn, and he'd managed to get a fair amount of sleep. He'd need all his strength for the coming fight.
Harry threw on his clothes, then realized something important and cursed himself aloud. He couldn't very well fight a war with just a few knives and a wand. Most of his weapons were back in his room at Hogwarts.
Gathering concentration, he Apparated briefly up to his dorm and grabbed his weapons while the guys slept on obliviously. With another small crack he was back in the Three Broomsticks as if he had never left.
Strapping his weapons to their proper places, he tapped the communicator and yelled, "Remus!" Nobody answered, and cursing yet again he concentrated on conjuring the clone. Once Harry stood there next to him, he ordered him back to alert Hogwarts of the attack, and as the air cracked from Apparation behind him, he ran down to the bar, letting his disguise shift to that of Wraith.
Already the villagers were starting to trickle in, and the wards flashed as more and more demons punched through. Rosmerta stood by the fireplace, directing the evacuation and sending people through 15 seconds apart, the green light from the flames creating a counterpoint to the red outside.
Wraith shoved past a group of women just coming through the door and raced outside. Demons were starting to pour in, lobbing grenades in every direction ahead of them, and quickly Wraith cast a Banishing spell that flung them back over the hoard.
The explosions lit up the streets with staccato bursts of lightning. Spotting several more people running from the advancing army, he shouted, "Accio!" and suddenly they all came flying towards him.
They landed at his feet, and roughly he got them up and shoved them toward the tavern. "Get out of here," he growled, and they obeyed instantly. Just as the last one, who he recognized as Zonko in his purple robes, passed through the doors, another gigantic explosion rocked the streets and the blast shoved Wraith to the ground as a wave of scorching air rolled over him.
For one instant he feared it had been the Three Broomsticks, but a single glance confirmed the bar was intact, save broken windows from the shock wave. That explosion had been Zonko's shop going the way of Weasley Wizard Wheezes, scattering multi-colored flames over the town as his stock of Filibuster's Fireworks all ignited at once. Some hit the roof of Honeydukes, which smoldered before flames began consuming it and the building.
Wraith scrambled to his feet and sprinted away from the tavern; the battle lines had to be forward the evacuation point. Heat prickled his face, cooled only slightly by sweat as he stopped briefly to assess the situation, letting a predatory smile tug his lips. Adrenaline pumped through him, making his sense come alive, marvelously clear and sharp. This would be a fight worthy of a War Mage.
Wraith stood in the main street of Hogsmeade, backlit by Honeydukes as it collapsed completely in a shower of fire and smoke. The demons caught sight of him and snarled with recognition, clanging their weapons together in a hideous cacophony of noise, calling reinforcements. They gathered in a wall of stinking flesh and metal, and for a single moment all was still as the combatants sized the opposition.
Wraith made the first move - he smiled, cocked his arm and threw a small object into the crowd. It landed in one creature's hand, and it stared stupidly at the loaded Spell Sphere. Then it, and a dozen of its friends, disappeared in a violent explosion that threw demons into the buildings around them.
Wraith used the minor distraction to pull his staff and sword, then charged.
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Neville Longbottom never told anyone about his dreams; after all, unless your nightmares have you screaming so loudly the whole tower wakes up, no one asks. And most would assume that Neville's dreams were just like any other sixteen year old boy's. But Neville was blessed with a particularly active imagination that made his dream life very interesting. Tonight was no exception.
He dreamed of dinner in the Great Hall, with everyone talking and laughing just like they used to while eating the delicious food. The fact that Seamus was wearing a dress and Ron had purple hair was inconsequential. When Professor McGonagall started up a lively tune on the bagpipes, Neville asked Professor sprout for a dance, during which he never stomped on her feet.
This good atmosphere shattered when the denizens of the portraits vanished and demons started leaping out of them. Malfoy shrieked like a girl promptly before being ripped in half. Harry jumped to his feet, crying, "To your placemats!" Neville quickly snatched up a placemat from the Gryffindor table and swung it at a demon, which howled once before crumbling to dust.
Encouraged and enlightened, all the students followed his lead and grabbed the placemats from the tables, flapping them around everywhere. The demons couldn't touch the students for fear of the placemats, and Neville led the way in demolishing all of them. Thick grey dust settled over the entire Hall and Hermione started complaining how the house elves would have to clean it all up . . . .
A terrific BOOM shook Neville from his dream, Hermione's shrill voice fading away as he sat up wildly with a short yell. Confused mumblings and cursing let him know his roommates were awake, so the sound hadn't been imagined. He yanked the hangings away from his bed and stumbled over to the window, tripping over Trevor the toad and nearly landing in Dean's bed.
Ron was trying to untwist his bedcovers from his legs while demanding to know what was happening. Rubbing his eyes, Neville stared out the window. The predawn gray was giving way to a fiery red-gold, but not from the east. A pillar of smoke and flame rose from beyond the Forbidden Forest, and he had to blink several times just to make sure his eyes were working properly.
"Hogsmeade," he muttered stupefied, "the village's on fire." "WHAT?!?" There was a scramble towards the window as the other three pushed their way over to see for themselves. Wait, three? Neville glanced at Harry's bed; it hadn't been touched. Harry had never come in last night, but Neville was willing to bet he was down in the village right now.
He returned to the window, half-expecting to somehow catch a glimpse of his errant friend, but something else caught his eye. Dark shapes were starting up the path to Hogwarts from the forest, gliding across the lawns like malignant shadows. Behind them came more shapes, lumpy and hulking and stomping with tree-like feet as wicked clubs gouged the ground.
Finally, just visible in the dim gray dawn, the gates of Hogwarts gave way for more human creatures, the rippling wave of black robes only broken by bone-white masks. Neville had barely assimilated the fact that dementors, trolls, giants and Death Eaters were attacking when Ron yanked them back from the window, yelling "Come on! We have to go!"
Just then a loud siren sounded through the castle, wailing with enough force to waken any sleeper. The teens jumped, then scrambled into clothes, grabbed their wands and raced for the Common Room. Already people were flooding into it, wide-eyed and babbling in confusion and terror. Ron scanned the room for Hermione and quickly spotted her bushy hair by the fire place.
Just as he reached her side, the siren cut off to be replaced with Remus Lupin's amplified voice. "We're under attack. Professors and older students, report to the main entrance hall. Prefects, lead the younger students to the dungeons. You know the drill. Let's move!"
Ron breathed out a quick sigh of relief as the rising terror in the room was dampened by courage and determination, then raised his voice to get their attention. "All right! First through third years, follow Hermione. Everyone else, get going." He gave his girlfriend a quick kiss as the Common Room began to empty and said quietly, "I'll bring up the rear."
She nodded once and immediately took charge. "Keep together and stay alert! Now follow me." The small crowd diligently flocked behind her closely as they hurried from their tower and joined their classmates deeper and deeper beneath the school. Professor Trelawney and Madame Pomfrey took charge of them, and the prefects raced back upstairs to the main hall.
Seamus greeted Ron and Hermione with a frown. "Why aren't we in the Great Hall?" Ron shook his head. "Too exposed with all those windows and post openings. It's not defensible enough." Spotting the professors and the Order, he pushed his way to them and found Harry issuing some instructions.
The War Mage acknowledged his friend with a nod, then continued, "The guard on the roof have temporarily driven the dementors back, but they'll keep coming. I need to activate the school defenses now." Remus made the call on his communicator charm, then reported, "They're inside now." Harry nodded, grabbed Ron's arm and with a "crack!" the world about them shifted and reformed into the Phoenix Chamber.
Ron staggered and nearly fell, complaining, "Bloody hell! Warn me before you do that!" He wondered briefly if Apparation was always like that, or just because they were going through the wards. With their arrival a wall lit up to show the outside of the castle, then Harry tapped the marble table itself, and Ron watched, amazed, as a three-dimensional model of Hogwarts and the grounds rose up, including every living creature in animation.
The screens flashed with information as it was played out on the table. Harry let a small smile flicker as he saw Ron's enrapt face, then tapped the table again and said, "Activate Hogwarts defenses." A shuddering rumbled echoed through the castle, and Ron could nearly feel the magic shifting around him. The model Hogwarts now glowed golden and as they watched, several shaped detached themselves from the castle and set upon the invaders.
"Gargoyles with animation charms, like McGonagall's giant chess set. Direct them verbally or with your wand. We've got trap sequences similar to Auror HQ, but I'm not sure if they've got demons in reserves besides the ones in Hogsmeade. There are a few more modifications in the walls that self- activate. Keep people out of the towers. I'm going down there, so good luck."
Ron nodded acknowledgment of Harry's rapid-fire commands and instructions, then glanced at the screen showing Hogsmeade, where a single green-white dot was nearly overrun with gray. "Wait," he turned, "you're . . ." "Yeah. Later." Harry disappeared with a pop and his dot flashed into existence at the same time a little marble figure coalesced just behind the ranks of Dark creatures.
Ron shrugged and began directing the battle of Hogwarts.
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The stench itself was indescribable, flowing through the air like a living thing to choke the breath out of Wraith's lungs. He dragged in another breath, grimacing as he felt it burn, and shoved the demon corpse off his legs just in time to kick aside a sword flashing in a downward slash. His hand scrabbled for his sword, and with a quick thrust and twist the demon fell.
For the moment Wraith was clear, and he rolled to his feet as he surveyed the situation. He stood surrounded by piles of stinking poisoned flesh oozing blood to pollute the soil itself. Several buildings were gone, the structures and dreams within consumed by fire; the Hog's Head had gone up spectacularly as all the liquor caught fire.
He spotted about a dozen or so demons left, most closing in on the Three Broomsticks, but from the frantic hoots and shrieks in the Post Office at least one was in there partaking of a snack. Wraith narrowed his eyes, veins still thrumming with energy along with determination to erase this scourge.
His staff leapt into his grasp at his call, and as the ruby flamed brightly all the remaining demons were snatched into the air, one still trailing owl feathers. He directed them into a tight group beyond the village, hovering mere meters above the forest, then a burst of Elemental fire incinerated them, leaving a few stray ashes drifting on the wind.
Wraith wiped sweat from his brow and stalked back towards the Three Broomsticks as he activated his communicator charm. "Wraith here." "Lupin here." "Village secure. Inhabitants evacuated. Demons destroyed."
"Good. Now get back here. We're under attack." Startled, Wraith glanced up just in time to see a great gout of flame shoot up over the trees, and Remus breathed out an involuntary curse.
Wraith simply said, "I'm on it," cut off the charm, and Apparated into the battle.
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The forest was on fire, a ring of flames surrounding the trees bordering the Hogwarts grounds. Harry ducked then rolled forward as a massive club came within an ace of trimming his hair to the level of his chest. Unfortunately, this troll was smarter than the one in the girl's bathroom so long ago, and he scrambled away as the club smashed down, catching the edge of his cloak.
Cursing to himself, Harry leapt farther back, pulled out his boot knife and threw it with unerring accuracy into the creature's neck. The troll bellowed in pain once, then the poison kicked in and it fell with a crash, dead. Harry plucked the knife out on the run, heading for the group of trolls attempting to smash in the front doors.
The communicator on his watch shouted with Ron's voice, "Leave them! Concentrate on the dementors!" "Where?" he yelled back, skidding to a halt and scanning for the cloaked monstrosities. "Grouping by Hagrid's cabin. I'll handle the trolls." Harry wheeled around and sprinted across the lawns, spotting the dementors by the forest, back dropped by raging flames.
Suddenly he impacted something with bruising force and went sprawling backwards with blood streaming from his nose. Shaking his head to clear the stars from it, he sat up just as the person he ran into did the same, and through watering eyes recognized the brick wall imitator. "Wraith!" he yelled furiously, tapping his nose gingerly with his wand to heal it.
His counterpart rubbed at his split lip, scowling. "Aren't you running in the wrong direction?" "No." Harry pointed at the dementors gliding towards them. Wraith craned his neck round, smiled ferally and grasping his staff, shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"
Immediately the three gold animals charged the dementors, which faltered in their advance before behind hit. Wraith and Harry watched as they burst into flickers of dark flame, then turned back to the castle.
Ron had apparently figured out how to work the rest of the defenses, for Hogwarts was attacking back with a vengeance. Stones creaked and groaned as the gargoyles dispatched the last of the trolls, and the giants couldn't figure out how their weapons had suddenly been snatched from their hands by the rippling stone battlements.
Giant tentacles of some fibrous material snaked from the base of the castle to ensnare the invaders in place. One giant, a 20 foot tall make with a nose like a moss-covered boulder, roared out his frustration as he ripped at the vines, but for every one that gave way, three took its place. Soon he was wrapped tighter than a mummy, and the tentacles contracted and squeezed.
Great snaps like splitting logs echoed in staccato bursts, and the giant slumped boneless to the ground, thick blood leaking between his bonds. Meanwhile, some sections of the walls slid aside and withering flurries of arrows launched at the other giants, inciting thunderous roars of pain as point after point plunger deep into their skin and burrowed toward their vital spots. One by one they fell.
Within minutes, the only living beings outside the castle were Harry and Wraith, sitting sprawled on the grass watching the spectacle. Wraith took a deep breath, grimaced and asked, "What's burning?" Harry gestured behind them, and Wraith frowned. "Oh, we can't have that." He pointed his staff in the direction of the burning forest, and the flames sputtered and died out.
Harry sighed and shook his head. "That worked better than I though. Remind me to thank Professor Sprout for the Devil's Snare." Wraith arched one eyebrow. "Seems to me that was a lot of excitement over nothing." The sun chose that moment to pop up over the horizon and bathe them in pale gold beams of light.
Harry winced and shielded his eye, cursing. "Shit! That hurts! What is that?" Wraith squinted as he chuckled over the sound of Devil's Snare retreating back to it dark cavern in the dungeons. "It's called the sun Harry. You know, big ball of flaming gas, the thing that separates night and day? You've seen it before." "Well Mr. Sarcasm, it offends me. Turn it off."
"I don't think that would be the best plan of action for all concerned, Mr. I'm-So-Not-A-Morning-Person." Harry's rejoinder was cut off by a squawk from their communicators, and Lupin's voice called out, "Does anybody else think that was too easy?" Harry snorted and shot back, "Easy? You call that easy?" Then he paused. "Well, yeah, it was."
Wraith had stood up and was gazing around suspiciously. "Where'd the Death Eaters go? Did anybody see?" Ron's voice answered him, "We were a little busy. Last I saw they were heading into the forest. They're off my maps." Silence stretched for a minute, then he asked hesitantly, "Should I turn off the defenses?"
Wraith frowned. "No. Keep them up. Something's wrong." Harry nodded. "We'll search the edges of the forest, see if we can determine which way they went. But the students could probably use breakfast by now."
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Remus let a little smile tug his lips as he answered, "So could we all. Report in anything you find." A couple of clicks of acknowledgement, then he turned to the gather students who were watching him intently. He swallowed once, then announced, "We won this one," and then had to break off momentarily for the cheers, "but the Death Eaters are still out there. We don't know where they've gone, so stay alert. The house elves should have breakfast ready soon, so feel free to head into the Great Hall."
A ripple of released air signaled unconsciously held breaths freed into relieved sighs, then the students started chattering amidst themselves, a bit giddy with nervous adrenaline. Remus delegated the Head Boy and Girl to go collect the younger students and villagers in the dungeons, then with a glance at McGonagall and Snape, headed up to the Phoenix Chamber, followed closely by Hermione.
Ron glanced up when they arrived and gestured at the screens. "This makes no sense," he complained, "no bloody sense at all. I've replayed the battle several times now, and their tactics make not one bloody whit of sense." A house elf knocked on the adjoined door from the Headmistress's office and said, "I has brought some breakfast, good masters."
"Thank you," McGonagall told him, "You may bring it in here." After the elf had settled the tray and disappeared again, to be replaced by the rest of the Order as they came up from the Great Hall, Ron started up as if he'd never been interrupted, although now he was gesturing with a bagel in his hand.
"You see?" He tapped a screen and gave a running narration as the battle replayed. "The alarms were tripped early, and then they took their own sweet time actually getting up here. See, these trolls bumbled in far ahead the others, and the Death Eaters hung back to let them lead farther. If they had stuck together and struck swiftly, the castle would have been overrun before we were even awake."
He pointed at the marble battlerama, crumbs sprinkling down like snow before he irritably Banished them away. "Instead, they came in waves. The dementors first, but after the volleys of Patroni from the watches they withdrew to the forest. They didn't do that at the HQ attack, and there's more people to feed off of here. Then the trolls and the giants, largely untrained and uncoordinated. They were just sent to do some damage."
He took a vicious bite of his bagel as his wand pointed at the human figures towards the back. "Meanwhile, the Death Eaters back here are setting fire to the forest, just for fun it seems. Bloody pyros," he muttered through his mouthful, and ignored Hermione's swat to his arm. "And here's where they exit, using the smoke for cover." Sure enough, the cloaked figures strolled away without a care in the world and vanish into the forest.
Ron exhaled unhappily and ran a hand through unruly red hair. "With the attack on the village, this was too many forces for a probe to test our defenses. But obviously they weren't serious enough for a real attack. And what the hell are the Death Eaters up to? Why didn't they use the demons on Hogwarts? If they really wanted in, all they had to do was let the demons in, rather than the giants. Like I said, it makes no sense."
Hermione frowned, finger tapping the edge of the table. "What was their goal here? It seems like it was a distraction, but for what?" She looked around questioningly. "What's in the Forbidden Forest? Is there anything that would interest the Death Eaters enough to plan this?"
McGonagall was tapping her chin, lips pursed in a thin line. "The only thing of interest for miles now is Hogwarts. Anything in the forest would have been driven off by battle or else approached secretly. You're right, Mr. Weasley, this makes no sense." Remus sighed. "That's just what we need. Death Eaters prowling about unseen."
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Monica Fiala didn't know that when she received her Head Girl badge that she would be reduced to shepherding the younger students around Hogwarts.
She led the way up from the labyrinthine dungeons, a vast crowd of chattering kids third year and under following, and scowled a bit to herself. It was too early in the morning for her to be dealing with them and Professor Trelawney, who was holding forth to a bunch of wide-eyed first years about how she received her gift of Sight from her great- grandmother, a famous Seer.
Rolling her eyes at the oft-repeated rubbish, Monica wished she could go back to her dormitory in Ravenclaw and sleep. But alas, she was awake with a job to do, and she was going to prove herself worthy of this badge pinned to her robes. But that didn't mean she had to like it.
Finally they reached the Great Hall, and Monica swiftly counted the students as they filed past her; wouldn't be good for her to leave someone behind. Then she frowned. Several first years were missing, along with a couple Hufflepuff second years and a handful of missed third years.
Gazing longingly at the tables piled high with fresh fruit and bangers and mash, she turned back to search for the absentees. She passed Michael Franklin, the Hufflepuff Head Boy, talking seriously with a group of adults she didn't recognize, and supposed they must have been the Hogsmeade evacuees. She stopped briefly to ask if they had seen the missing students, but Michael just shrugged. They headed back towards the Great Hall, drawn by a promise of food, leaving Monica alone again.
The staircases shifted around her as she descended towards the dungeons, and then a voice behind her made her turn. On the staircase above stood Ewan Clarkson, one of the second years she was looking for, and she breathed out a short sigh before calling up to him, "There you are. You were supposed to stay with the group. Now where are the others?"
He simply looked at her, unresponsive, and it was only then she noticed his wand drawn and pointed at her chest. "Ewan," she said warningly, but a sliver of dread was creeping along her spine. Maybe it had to do with the blank look in his eyes, like the light was on but nobody was home. It wasn't right. With curious detachment, he enunciated, "Petrificus totalis."
Monica dodged just in time, rolling down to the bottom of the stairs and hitting her elbow painfully before she got to her feet and pulled her own wand, instinctively shouting back, "Stupefy!" Ewan caught the blast full in the chest and fell, but a jet of red light came from the corridor behind her and grazed her shoulder with fiery hot pain.
Whirling, she caught a glimpse of a small girl, no more than a first year with her wand pointed like a sword, then dove out of the way as another spell was fired off. "What the hell are you doing?" Monica yelled incredulously, but the girl didn't answer, simply staring at her through vacant eyes. A soft voice behind her, however, did. "Why my dear, she is only doing what I tell her too."
Monica spun around yet again to find three black-cloaked figures standing casually with wands drawn. The one in the lead smirked through the bone- white death mask. "After all, Hufflepuffs are known for their loyalty, but not brains, which makes them ideally susceptible to Imperius."
His bragging proved to be his mistake, for while the Death Eater was talking, Monica's instincts kicked in. Her wand flashed as she Stunned two of them, blocked a spell each from the girl and the last Death Eater, then barely ducked away from the green flash of the Killing Curse. It hit the first year behind her, who fell without a sound.
Enraged, Monica cast a strong Banishing charm, throwing the Death Eater over the railings to tumble down through several stories of staircases, landing on the bottom floor with a sickening crunch. She heaved in a couple deep breaths, trying to blink away tears as her body shook from delayed adrenaline, and caught sight of a couple more Death Eaters creeping across the upper staircases.
Instantly she did the only thing she could; turning her wand on herself, she muttered, "Sonorus," then screamed at the top of her lungs, letting her voice echo through every stone of Hogwarts.
"DEATH EATERS ARE INSIDE!!! DEATH EATERS IN HOGWARTS!! THEY'RE INSIDE!!"
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Dumbledore looked up from his conversation with Tori and smiled. "Ah, Eva. So good to see you." Eva smiled a bit wanly as she approached through the grass, and Dumbledore observed that she obviously wasn't her normal self. "Hello Albus," she greeted him with a nod, then acknowledged Tori with a small smile.
Her eyes flicked around like an animal searching for danger, taking in her surroundings carefully. "Have either of you seen Death today?" Tori shook her head. "No. Lately we hear she's been shutting herself up in her library. I think Fate is here, though, and Chaos came over looking for the Weasley twins earlier."
Eva suppressed a grimace. "Thanks." She stood there, seemingly lost in thought until Dumbledore said gently, "Eva, are you quite all right?" She started, then glanced at the old man with something strange glinting in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and that singular apology conveyed for more than just momentary inattentiveness.
Tori exchanged a glance with Dumbledore, then asked quietly, "For what?" Eva gestured helplessly. "For . . . for this. For what's happening. For . . ." Her rambling explanation was abruptly cut off by a strident voice. "Eva, what are you doing here?"
Fate stalked up with cold fire blazing in her eyes, and immediately Eva seemed to gather strength, transforming into her usual self. "What's it to you, Fate?" she demanded. Fate glared daggers at her, biting out, "You're not welcome here."
Eva arched an eyebrow. "Oh really? Who made you the bouncer in this cantina?" She smirked. "Last I heard this was Death's realm, not yours. She can kick me out if she wants, but I'm still allowed back in. You should know; you set the terms of my isolation." Fate gritted her teeth as her hair rippled with angry red and black. "Haven't you caused enough damage already?"
"Haven't you?" Eva retorted with a sneer. "Don't you have your own job to do, instead of policing Death's?" she asked pointedly, and Fate clenched her fists. She seemed ready to throw her dice in Eva's face and leap on her, spitting and snarling. Dumbledore and Tori were hiding smiles, clearly enjoying what could turn into a catfight at any moment.
The argument was interrupted by another stern voice, and they all turned to see Death striding up to them, silver hair and black cloak streaming behind her. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded icily, glaring between the two. "Fate, your presence is required elsewhere. Leave now." Fate narrowed her eyes, nodded once sharply and stalked away before disappearing silently like a breath of air.
Death turned to Eva, and the two locked eyes, staring at each other for several long minutes in silent communication. Finally Death sighed imperceptibly. "Why do you pick fights with her?" Eva shrugged. "Once you understood. It's fun. Besides, she started it." Death shook her head. "It's not wise. What did you come here for?"
Eva simply looked at her evaluating, then smiled with no trace of humor. "I have a message. It's started. Get ready for a rush." Death maintained a perfectly calm exterior. "Very well." She reached out a slim hand and touched Eva's cheek, almost caressing it with a tender look in her silver eyes.
"So long has been our path, and I fear it shall only grow more treacherous." Eva cupped the hand at her cheek, remaining silent. "To what shall our end be?" Death whispered. "How will it come about? To destruction, or to completion?" Eva closed her eyes, then whispered, "I must leave." With a shivering sigh of eternity, she vanished.
Death stood there, a faraway look in her eyes as the two mortal onlookers were completely ignored, then turned back to her city, disappearing in the maze of buildings. Dumbledore looked after her, then turned back to Tori to see the same look of incomprehension on her face.
The still silence enveloping them was broken by the echoing cry of a woman. "Padfoot! Prongs! You incomparable prats! Get back here and put this right!!" Lily's voice was furious, but held a deep undercurrent of affectionate amusement. Dumbledore chuckled softly. Some things never changed; for some things, there is no death, only a change of worlds.