Harry jumped up and grabbed the luggage rack to steady himself as the train came to a screeching stop. For some reason he doubted that they had arrived at the Hogwarts Platform quite yet. "Stay calm, don't do anything out of panic." He instructed quietly as the commotion of luggage and people could be heard from other compartments.
"What are we supposed to do then?" Neville asked in a dead quiet whisper. Harry could hear him shifting very uncomfortably in his seat. "The last time this train stopped a bunch of Dementors boarded it and scared everyone to death."
Someone rubbed the window in order to clear it up enough to see out off. "I can see a little movement out there, nothing very distinct though," Ginny announced as if merely talking about the state of the weather.
"You're in charge Harry. . ." Ron said ominously.
Harry stepped over to the window to attempt to get a view for himself. Nothing could be seen through heavy rain. He sighed and directed his power to create a blue and gold fireball to take the place of the lights in the compartment. "Right then. Hermione, Ron, you're the chief prefects so go and tell the other prefects to take charge over the train and keep everyone calm. Also if you can see if you can find out what's happened from the train driver and ask about the possibility of moving on."
Ron and Hermione stood up to go but Ginny stopped them for a moment. "Remember the Phoenix Rising rings that you got before we went to Tescaster? Use them to communicate with us. Just direct your thoughts to the ring and they'll relay it to everyone." She turned to Neville and Elizabeth, "Same with you two." Ron and Hermione nodded and left the compartment.
"What do we do?" Elizabeth asked in a semi-eager, semi-frightened tone.
Harry frowned as he stared thoughtfully into space, he finally answered. "Patrol the train. Keep everyone in their compartments. Keep anything from getting on the train without my permission. Don't let anyone off the train either. If anyone asks what's going on tell them that it's under control."
"What about us?" Ginny inquired as Neville and Elizabeth left the compartment wielding their wands as if expecting immediate attack. "What do we do?"
Harry grinned devilishly, "We get to go outside." The lid to his trunk suddenly flew open and his magical breastplate and cloak zoomed out and into his arms. "A little protection wouldn't hurt."
Ginny nodded in agreement and in a short period they were both armed. Harry extinguished the fireball and they used their power to transport them outside the train to in front of the locomotive. They quickly looked ahead and discovered the reason for the stop. "This train isn't going anywhere anytime soon," Ginny solemnly announced to Harry. They stood and looked at the track ahead.
Fifty feet ahead of the train sat what remained of a stone railroad bridge. Someone, or something had melted the stone to a sufficient degree that it no longer stretched the span over the wide gorge. A Muggle would describe what was left as a Neolithic ruin or some such sculpture like unto Stonehenge. "Backwards maybe," Harry suggested.
They turned around just as a horrific explosion burst from about a mile behind the train. From the looks of the flying chunks of stone and rail, the bridge that had taken them over the river was no longer a bridge. "Or not," Harry finished as a green dome began to spread far up in the sky and lowered to surround the train in a mile radius.
* "What happened?" came Hermione's urgent voice over their rings.*
* "To put it shortly," Harry replied, "we're trapped. Get ready to fight." *
Harry felt the temptation to let Miledy Faisia materialize in his hands. Whatever it was the staff would crush all opposition. Then of course, he would probably die as well. Harry suppressed the urge and attempted to bombard the green dome with his power. It didn't work. The dome was too powerful.
"Uh, Harry, we have a few Dementors coming this way. . ." Ginny pointed out quietly.
Harry spun around to see black forms materializing out of the surrounding forest as a black fog seemed to rise. There were a lot more than a few Dementors approaching. More like an army. The eerie green light from the dome seemed to reflect off the black fog in strange ways. Harry summoned his power and lashed out with a gold and blue version of his already powerful Patronus. When the Patronus got close enough to the steadily approaching Dementors to do anything, the power of the dome seemed to attack the Patronus and exterminate it.
"I think that we're going to need a lot more than a Patronus," Ginny sighed. She lifted her hands and flung silver and blue lightning at one of the approaching forms. The lightning crackled as it lanced through the Dementor. A dry, piercing scream seemed to echo from the Dementor as it still approached. Ginny shot another burst of lightning at the Dementor this time holding the connection. After several second the Dementor fell to the ground and turned into black dust. "And a lot of lightning," Ginny said.
The horde of Dementors was now moving faster towards the train. "Mass production then," Harry instructed. He gathered his will and might power and shot multiple streaks of blue and gold lightning at the Dementors. Dry screams followed as nearly ten Dementors fell to the earth as black dust. Ginny followed suit and they soon were slowly taking out each and every Dementor that approached. The death of their comrades was angering those who followed until a dry cry of rage seemed to echo as wind in their ears.
Abruptly Harry felt a twisting sensation as he was painstakingly pulled into another realm of reality. "Ginny!" He rasped as darkness seemed to swallow him and mute the commotion back in the mortal realm. "Get Ron and Hermione to help!!!"
*
* "Get out here!" Hermione heard Ginny instruct in a commanding voice. Neville and Elizabeth, you stay in the train and keep the Dementors from getting in." *
Hermione and Ron quickly responded by Apparating to outside the train next to Ginny who was busy shooting streaks of lightning at the approaching horde. "What do we do?" Hermione asked as the dry yelling seemed to echo off everything.
"Shoot lightning, all you can, at them!" Ginny gasped as she took several more out.
Hermione nodded and concentrated on creating lightning, something she had never really attempted, and shooting it at the fast advancing line of Dementors.
"What's wrong with a normal Patronus?" Ron yelled to be heard as he buffeted the coming line with vast amounts of lightning. It didn't immediately kill but slowed and wore down their strength.
"They don't work!" Ginny shouted, "There's another power supplementing these that isn't scared by the standard Patronus, let alone an advanced one."
The fight continued and after about a half-hour the Dementors were all destroyed. With the death of the last one the green dome that had trapped everyone dissipated. Hermione quickly scanned the now dark terrain for any remaining Dementors. "Where's Harry?" she finally asked.
Instead of responding back to Hermione, Ginny looked up to the sky and shouted in an ear-piercing voice, "HARRY!"
It seemed to Hermione that Ginny's shout echoed off time itself and to all the world. Ginny stood and scanned the sky as if waiting for an answer. When none came after five minutes Ginny sank to her knees on the dry ground with tears in her eyes. "Take command," she whispered. "See that everyone arrives safely at Hogwarts."
*
Harry tumbled head over heels throughout the many realms of reality. He was being dragged forcefully to one of the two realms that was enmeshed with the realm of mortality. He was also being drawn away from the other realm that was enmeshed with the mortal world. His realm. His power. His strength. The light faded as he was taken from it. He felt his body lose its mortality for none who was mortal could remain outside the mortal realm for long. These truths seemed to quickly pass through his head as common knowledge as a veil was lifted from his mind. It was then that he was able to know where he was being taken too. He was being taken to the realm of his eternal enemy. The High Lord of Hell. Slowly as his strength seemed to drain away he tried to regain it. He would need it if he wished to escape.
*
Ron finished explaining everything that had happened to the group of assembled Order members who had quickly arrived as soon as they had managed to get word out to the world that the Hogwarts Express was trapped. Hermione had taken to directing the prefects in their efforts to calm the students and distribute snacks and blankets.
"What happened to Harry though?" Professor Dumbledore asked urgently. "What happened to him during the attack?"
Ron shifted his feet uncomfortably, "Err, we're not quite sure," he answered. "When we came out from the train he was already gone. We asked Ginny after the fight was over but all she did was, um. . . suggest that we see to everyone."
"Then where is Miss Weasley?"
"Well, we went to do what she 'suggested' and when we came back to see if she was okay, well, she wasn't there anymore." Ron explained. "I noticed that she was quite shaken up about Harry's disappearance though."
"You and Hermione have absolutely no idea whatsoever then?" Dumbledore asked in order to confirm that Harry and Ginny were beyond finding.
"Basically." Ron replied.
Dumbledore sighed heavily, "We'll need to discuss this later and privately Mr. Weasley. You and Miss Granger have done a marvelous job in attending to the students. I think that you two shall get a Special Services to the School Award."
"We're not even technically in session yet!" Professor Snape cut in.
Dumbledore calmly turned to Professor Snape, "The students on the train do represent the Hogwarts student body, therefore they have performed a service to the school." He then turned to Mr. Weasley. "Could you arrange for portkey transportation to Hogwarts now that your Aurors have confirmed the security of this location and the safety of transportation?"
"Of course," Mr. Weasley said. "It will be seen to right away. I'll leave it to you to question Ron and Hermione further as to what happened. Even the Department of Mysteries is baffled about this one. Perhaps you will be able to come up with an answer. I'll make sure that an eye is kept out for my daughter and Harry."
"That would be very good," Dumbledore replied. With that the gathered Order members dispersed to either go home or assist with the Portkeys. "If you and Miss Granger would kindly escort me, we'll go to my study to discuss what just happened here.
Ron contacted Hermione via the rings that they had in common and she shortly joined them. They quickly made use of a Portkey Dumbledore set up and they found themselves in the privacy of Dumbledore's office.
"Do you have any ideas as to what happened?" Hermione inquired in a worried tone.
Dumbledore shook his head in a negative response. "I'm afraid not Miss Granger. We are dealing with and facing very powerful forces. There may be some things that we do not understand. We can only deal with what we know. We are faced with the absence of the High Lord and Lady both at this point in time. What should we do?"
"Carry on?" Ron suggested.
Dumbledore nodded, "Yes, but how?"
"As if nothing has happened and everything is the same." Hermione quickly said. "We can't let people know about this terrible crisis. We should also make efforts to rectify the problem. Namely, finding Harry or/and Ginny."
"If the High Lord and Lady of Phoenix cannot take care of themselves no one else can," Dumbledore said dryly. "Other than that, your suggestion is rather sound.
"So Harry and Ginny didn't necessarily have a strong hand on the Ministry or anything right?" Ron said.
"Correct," Dumbledore confirmed. "He did give instructions to the Order and I though.
Hermione nodded, "So we just try to wing it Order-wise and hope that they pop up sooner or later. Whose in charge until they return?"
"You two," Dumbledore said gravely. "I believe that you are the presiding Lieutenant at this point Hermione. I however suggest that you listen and take my advice when making decisions. I have a stronger grasp on what is going on and on magic in general. I also know what Harry in most cases would order."
Ron sat up, "What do we do starting tomorrow?"
"Carry on and pray that the High Lord and/or Lady returns quickly," Dumbledore whispered.
*
Ginny quickly searched through the many chests that lay in the vault at Valahost Hall. There had to be more here that what she and Harry had originally taken from the vault in preparation for Tescaster. She quickly dismissed several dragon-hide boots and gloves. They would be of no use once she entered the other realms of reality. The objects that she took needed to have some magical base.
She unearthed a short and slim box from beneath one particularly large pile of golden coins. Bingo. It had been calling to her since her arrival. Nervously, she undid the small catches that held it shut and opened the lid. Inside the velvet interior lay a scepter wrought of pure sapphire. The Phoenix Rising symbol was inlaid in silver up and down the rod.
Ginny slowly picked it up and felt it warm in her hand. An old friend. One who could draw on the very power of the universe itself. She had wielded it before, that she knew, but where or when failed to come to her memory. Standing up she quickly checked that her breastplate was securely fastened. She then regally held the scepter out as if pointing a wand at an enemy. Light burst from the end and swirled before her to create a portal.
Ginny stepped through the bright portal. She would find Harry or die trying.