It's Time

The Place

Crookshanks yawned and stretched, feeling the tip of his tail twitch lazily in the kind of pleasure only a good nap and a stretch could bring. A low fire was burning in the hearth, bringing a cosy heat to the armchair he'd occupied. The feathered one was in the kitchen and the newcomer with twitchy ears who now kept his food and water bowls constantly refilled was both present and somewhere else at the same time.

It was time. Time to hunt, time to act. Humans were too good at fretting, worrying about everything and not ever poised to pounce when the fat mouse came within reach, so busy planning for the catch they would miss it. His human with the bushy hair, the one who had gone back in Time to find him, was especially good at this. The quiet one was better at observing and stilling his mind but he too was too caught up in his mind sometimes. They were lucky to have one such as Crookshanks to look after them, really.

He padded out to the kitchen. The bird hopped down to the back of a chair and cawed, tilting his head to look at Crookshanks with one beady eye. Crooks meowed again, his ear flicking once. As far as birds went, this one was not too bad.

A caw and meow later and the one with twitchy ears and large eyes appeared, twisting the cloth it wore in its hands.

"Bubbly listens. It is time? We go?"

Another meow later and with a snap of its fingers space turned itself inside out before depositing them near a tree somewhere else. Crookshanks' tail bristled in displeasure, magical travel made his whiskers want to tie themselves into a knot, but sometimes it was useful. That didn't mean he had to like it, however.

The bird cawed at him and flew up into a nearby tree. Crookshanks sniffed the air and slunk off towards the nearest building to investigate further. They had time; they were at the place.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Halloween

Godric's Hollow

Severus winced and rubbed his arm. The Dark Lord had Summoned them all to Godric's Hollow, apparently and perhaps for good measure not trusting his disciples' Apparition skills, and the call was so intense it felt his arm was almost literally on fire.

The small, sleepy hamlet was overrun by Death Eaters, all gathering on the main square and the streets around it. He couldn't see any other people about, neither Muggle nor magical. After some shuffling Severus found himself slightly off centre, not too far from the Dark Lord and Lucius. There was an odd space in between two houses in front of them, like a smeared oil painting. His former Hogwarts tormentor Pettigrew stood there near the Dark Lord, balancing precariously on a bench. If he'd had whiskers they would have been twitching.

The Dark Lord nodded at the rat-like wizard. One of the Knights near him shushed at the younger wannabe crowd who were whispering and giggling, apparently eager to get on with the bloodshed.

"The home of James Potter is at Number 26, High Street, Godric's Hollow," Pettigrew called out.

Suddenly the empty plot between two houses was no longer empty. A small stone cottage with a high pitched slate roof stood there instead, with flower beds below the windows and a lit pumpkin lantern on the doorstep. It looked terribly domestic. Dense hedges ran along the edge of the property, a wooden gate marking the entrance.

The Dark Lord gestured at the gathered Death Eaters to hide, and nodded at Pettigrew. It would be a quick raid. In, kill a family, proclaim victory over Wizarding Britain with all his followers as witnesses. No big deal, really.

"James? James, are you in?" Pettigrew's thin, reedy voice wavered a bit. He knocked on the door again. "Can I come in, James?"

The Death Eaters blended into the shadows, hiding behind bushes, a nearby car and Disillusionment charms. Severus moved closer to the corner of the house for a good vantage point. He pushed down his unease and concern behind his Occlumency shields. He couldn't afford to be emotional, not now when everything teetered on the edge, when he needed to be fast and decisive no matter what was about to happen.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Time To Go

Away From Home

Hermione's stomach had been in knots ever since the previous evening. She had forced herself to eat some toast that morning but the thought of anything else just made her queasy. Too much was hinging on the outcome of the upcoming night.

She had spent the day in Muggle London, telling herself she was looking for clues in the British Library which housed a decent Wizarding section in a far corner, trying to find anything to give them an edge over Voldemort and his minions.

There was no word from Severus when Hermione returned, but the house felt empty in a way it hadn't in a while. There was no trace of Crookshanks, Menace or Bubbly either. Menace was usually found in the kitchen while Crooks occupied the armchair unless there was a suitable box available near the fireplace.

It had begun. He had left, without a chance for her to say goodbye just in case. Hermione shuddered. No, she couldn't think like that. He would come back to her. They would go to Godric's Hollow, they would do … something … to stop the Dark Lord from killing Harry and his parents, and they would come back to the small, scruffy house on Spinner's End. Together.

She had left the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black downstairs on a shelf in the sitting room, not wanting his company in the bedroom she now shared with Severus. The old cranky Headmaster usually spent most of his time elsewhere anyway, but when she turned to head upstairs she heard a slight cough coming from the frame.

"Leaving, Miss Granger?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "Yes, Headmaster. It is time to go."

The old Slytherin nodded. "I shall inform Hogwarts. Be safe, young lady. Hogwarts chose wisely, sending you here."

She smiled at him, feeling tears threatening to well up. "Thank you. I hope it was enough… will be enough."

Phineas Nigellus Black nodded once and then turned on his heel, stalking out of the frame.

Her beaded bag was upstairs, already loaded with everything she might or might not need. After a final look around the house she Summoned it and left, locking the door behind her.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Time To Fly

The Tree

Menace found a large ash tree with a good view over the area and soothed his feathers with his beak. It was getting dark. His eyes were not quite as sharp as the cat's in the dark but he would be able to see everything well enough, and as long as no magic user waved its stick too close to the tree he shouldn't be in danger.

From nowhere black cloaks suddenly appeared, swarming the area like a band of jackdaws settling in for the night although these were perhaps a bit less chatty. Menace tilted his head but saw no reason to move from his branch. The cloaks were focusing on an area near some ordinary-looking houses, but they seemed to blur in and out of focus in a strange way. Menace clacked his beak and tilted his head, peering at the row of houses.

Almost as if his vision sharpened there was suddenly a new house in the middle of the street, one which was obviously the target for the cloaks. Their leader was there, radiating a cloud of darkness around him almost like a very localised storm. Menace would make sure to stay far away, flying in thunderclouds was bad for one's feathers, and that one wasn't their target anyway.

Menace felt more than saw him there, the one who bonded with him, the one with proper raven hair and convenient hands whom he'd chosen as his wizard back in the horrible building he'd been in full of animals looking for a home. He was there somewhere, in the middle of it all. Menace cawed softly to himself. Raven hair would have to manage on his own, Menace wouldn't be able to make sure his human didn't dip his wings into fire this time.

No one had started flinging lightning bolts at each other with their sticks, yet, but it wouldn't be long now. The magpies in the nearby tree were starting to take notice, the young ones chattering between themselves about the cloaks disturbing their rest, a few of the older saying cloaks and sticks would lead to trouble.

There!

The one they sought was there, in front of the newly appearing house. Something still smelled slightly wrong, the time wasn't right, the shape wasn't right, but it was definitely their prey.

Menace shuffled closer, hopping to another branch in the tree. A sleepy crow swore at him for disturbing her rest but didn't bother chasing him away, so Menace ignored her.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Too Late

The Potter Cottage

The door to the Potters' cottage opened. A rather dishevelled James Potter stuck out his head, frowning at the company. He wore shabby grey house robes and woollen slippers, clearly not expecting company. "Peter? What's going on?"

"There were some people who wanted to meet you, James," Pettigrew said, ending in an odd giggle. "I hope you don't mind."

The Death Eaters chuckled, a rather eerie sound when none of them could be seen. The Dark Lord waited.

Potter raked a hand through his very messy hair. "What do you mean? Peter? What have you done?"

Pettigrew giggled again. "You and Padfoot always thought you were so much better than poor little Wormtail, didn't you. Always sending me to do all the boring and dangerous tasks while you got the rewards. Peter can you keep watch so Filch doesn't see us here with the witches in the alcoves, Peter can you trip up McGonagall in the hallway, Peter this Peter that. You didn't think I could do it, did you. I was the one who figured out we could become Animagi, not you! I was the one who figured out how to track people on the map, not you! And now it's Lily this and Lily that and Sirius here and Sirius there and where is Mooney anyway but you haven't even tried to invite me in months."

Potter shrugged. "I thought you were past that by now, Wormtail. We're not at Hogwarts anymore, the rest of us have moved on from those childish antics. I've got a family to care for, I can't spend all night drinking at the pub and talking about who did what at school!"

"Perhaps you should have, James. Perhaps you all should have, but now it's too late." Wormtail tittered again.

The Death Eaters took a collective step forward. James must have noticed some of them because he froze for a moment before smiling at his former friend. Severus was almost impressed by his calm demeanour. Seeing his two former enemies argue was very conflicting. He despised both of them but for rather different reasons, Potter was rich and popular but Wormtail was just a poor and unpleasant little slimeball, basking in whatever glow and glory he could get from Black and Potter.

Potter turned towards the house. "Lily, we have company! Accio cloak!"

A cloak sailed out of the house. It looked oddly familiar to Severus but he didn't see why Potter bothered with it as nothing happened when he put it on, pulling up the hood over his head as if thinking he would be invisible. He looked around theatrically before tiptoeing towards the side of the building, away from Severus. It looked, frankly, ridiculous.

The Death Eaters still weren't moving, awaiting the signal from the Dark Lord, but their amusement was practically palpable.

The Dark Lord finally stepped forward. "Ah. One of those who have thrice defied me. How tedious."

He didn't even try to make a show of it. With a flick of his wand and a silent flash of green, James Potter fell to the ground with a thud. Pettigrew squeaked and ran closer, stopping two steps from the Gryffindor brat's fallen form before twisting to look at his Master with apparent horror.

The door burst open again and to Severus' consternation a war cry went up. Several Order members welled out and started fighting the Death Eaters who by now had dropped their illusions. Severus quickly dashed around the corner, trying to make his way to the kitchen entrance of the house. Lily, where was Lily?

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Busy

The Graveyard

Hermione Apparated to the graveyard after pulling up a few memories of it from her disastrous trip there with Harry during their time on the run, feeling a bit morbid when most of the memories were centred around his parents' grave which obviously wouldn't help in the current situation. Hiding behind a tree she pulled Harry's cloak tight around her body before venturing out. It wouldn't do to have someone discover her due to a stray lock of hair floating around in the air. Very cautiously she made her way out of the graveyard and rounded the church for a better overview, aiming for the small alley that led to the town square.

The small town of Godric's Hollow was completely overrun by Death Eaters. Black cloaks swarmed the area like a plague of rats. Severus was most likely somewhere in the thick of it and she had absolutely no way to find out where he might be. They didn't appear to be attacking anyone yet, the air was still with anticipatory tension and no hexes lit up the buildings like perverted fireworks.

Hermione pulled back again towards the church, her heart hammering in her chest. Suddenly the reality of the situation struck her. This was real, this was the Battle of Hogwarts all over again. People would start dying very very soon, as soon as the first open confrontation began. Where was the Order, were the Aurors already called?

She'd gone to see the Prewetts again what felt like another lifetime ago, detailing the plan. They had agreed she would stay out of it however, not wanting to risk discovery in case the worst happened. Now when reality was about to hit she wasn't sure the plan would hold up, or rather, how soon it would start to break down. This was also a Muggle area so if people didn't stay away it would get very nasty very fast.

No, she needed to move, to find out what was going on. Taking another deep breath and making sure the cloak was secure around her she tiptoed around the corner, one hand securing the cloak and the other with a tight grasp on her wand.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

A Bad Time

The Thick of Things

The Death Eaters howled again and took off in all kinds of directions. Most went for the Order members but a surprising amount of them took off in other directions and started flinging hexes indiscriminately at buildings, trees, fences and anything else in their way. Severus hoped all inhabitants had the sense to stay indoors if they couldn't Floo or Apparate out, or the night would see a lot of hurt. He hadn't been able to locate Lily and had moved away from the Potter house, trying to figure out a plan.

Severus Stunned two junior Death Eaters from behind and swiftly ducked behind a shed. He had no idea how the fight was going overall and the smart thing would probably be to stay undercover for as long as possible, but he couldn't stand the thought of being feared and targeted by those he was trying to help. He pulled the wretched mask off his face and removed the cloak, stuffing them behind a water barrel. It felt like freedom. Taking a deep breath he jumped up on the roof of the shed to get a better view of the area. He hoped Hermione was far away, not somewhere in the thick of things, but given her propensity for trouble he suspected the opposite was true.

Birds cawed in the trees nearby. Severus pulled a Notice-Me-Not over himself and started looking for targets.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Not Quite Yet

The Tree

Just as Menace expected the lightning bolts started to fly and the black cloaks were running back and forth, facing off with others who were running out from the house or from the surrounding houses. He could sense his human moving to the side of the house but staying away from the worst of it. Menace clacked his beak in approval. Finding a good human was not easy, it would not do to lose this one to carelessness.

The magpies had burst from the tree like a noisy cloud once the lightning bolts started, startling all the other birds in the area. The crows and jackdaws were indignant over getting their rest disturbed, but kept arguing about what to do about it while the smaller birds simply fled for calmer bushes farther away from the houses.

The witch who lived with them was just a short flight away, hiding from view but easy enough to spot from Menace' vantage point. She was the one who had led raven hair to him, so Menace felt she was almost as worthy of respect as his bonded wizard. She talked a lot when she was nervous, but she helped keep his food bowl full. Most of the black cloaks were heading in a different direction, away from her.

He ruffled his feathers against the chilly night. They had a purpose, he needed to keep his claws ready for their target.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Time To Make A Difference

The Battleground

The little town of Godric's Hollow was completely overwhelmed by black cloaks, and still the Death Eaters kept coming.

There was a fierce battle already in front of the Potter home. Hexes were flying left and right, Voldemort standing in the centre like a spectre, illuminated by the light from all the spells. He wasn't attacking, or even defending himself. Hermione didn't want to get too close to him but he didn't appear to be paying much attention to the fighters. She wondered where Severus was and hoped he had enough common sense to seek cover.

The Order had arrived, at least, or perhaps some other affiliation. Hermione didn't see any Auror cloaks but several fights had broken out between Death Eaters and others, and she thought she recognised Longbottom. After a moment's indecision Hermione ran closer, dodging combatants and stray spells and trying to keep her cloak shut with one hand. She couldn't just stand by while others fought.

A witch laughed a little further down the street. A high-pitched uninhibited laughter Hermione had hoped to never hear again. She froze. Bellatrix. Wasn't she behind bars, arrested after the Diagon Alley raid? If the Ministry had released the previously captured Death Eaters already their hope of winning was already slim to none.

There was a stone plinth nearby with a bronze statue of some Muggle man on top. Not letting herself think too much she put her bare hand on the stone and tried to seek that sense of connection she'd found at Gringotts. The stone, the Bank as an almost living entity, everyone inside of it contributing to its collective consciousness. It was much more distant now, a lot fainter and less precise, but it was there. Would the Bank help?

Someone crashed into her from behind, almost causing Hermione to fall. Black cloak, heavy breathing and a smell of stale ale like a cloud around him. Before they could figure out what invisible thing he'd hit she ran, letting her feet and the vague sense of belonging guide her down the streets. It felt like the bedrock itself pulled her in a certain direction, so perhaps Gringotts did have a hand in it after all. Godric's Hollow wasn't a large town, but tonight it felt huge. She ducked and weaved under spells and debris until she in turn crashed into someone. A Death Eater, black cloak and silver mask showing they were high up in the ranks. This one was faster than the previous one and managed to snag a part of her cloak, causing it to slide off her face. Her wand was already in her hand. There was no time for finesse. She'd learned that much in her original time.

~oo~oo~oo~oo~

Time To Fight

The Mess

Severus moved as if on autopilot. Even without the cloak his robes were black, allowing him to blend into the shadows and take out Death Eaters before they realised what had happened. He left most of them incapacitated, using Petrificus Maxima if he could get away with it, a Stunner if he was in a hurry. Some of them would inevitably perish before anyone could think to rescue them, like the two he just happened to take down in a cloud of Garrotting Gas someone had put in their path, but he couldn't really muster enough empathy to care. Sometimes spells came uncomfortably close to hitting him but luck or skill kept him on his feet, moving towards the church where it appeared some of the opposition had gathered.

He rounded a corner and almost crashed into a duel between Hermione's Auror friend Shacklebolt and Yaxley. The blond wizard wasn't wearing a mask so he was easily recognisable. Without missing a beat he cast a Sectumsempra at the Death Eater, hitting the wizard's shoulder and making him lose focus for a moment. Yaxley instantly turned towards Severus, eyes widening when he recognised him.

"You bastard!" Yaxley bellowed, flinging a hex at Severus. It went wide, hitting a tree on the corner instead.

Kingsley took the opportunity to fling another series of hexes at the Death Eater.

"Duck!"

The shout came from behind. Severus had no time to see who it was before throwing himself to the ground and immediately rolling to the side. A great fireball roared past, just over his head. The heat was intense and he had to blink a few times to clear his vision from the residual images. He immediately fired off a Stunner in the general direction it had come from before checking who had called out.

Caradoc Dearborn lay on the ground in front of him, his robes still burning from the fireball he'd apparently not bothered to duck despite telling Severus to do so. He was beyond help already, his eyes staring straight ahead without seeing anything and a trickle of blood running from his mouth. Severus took a few steps towards him but stopped when Shacklebolt pushed past him and knelt down to close the older wizard's eyes. Yaxley was down, either Stunned or killed.

"You!"

From around the corner Mad-Eye Moody appeared, glaring between Caradoc on the ground and Severus.

"I'll get you for this! You won't get to kill another good wizard!"

Severus didn't bother answering. He turned and ran instead, in the direction the fireball had come from.