Chapter 6: Payback
It was all Voldemort's fault. Voldemort was the reason Harry's entire life was the way it was. No family, untrustworthy friends, lying adults and mentors. It all came back to Tom Marvolo Riddle, Lord Voldemort, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, You-Know-Who. It doesn't matter what his name is, it was the same person who pulled the trigger. The same thing that had plunged his world into darkness. And by all the power he had, Harry would make him pay.
The hurricane in Harry's room had steadily grown stronger and more intent on destruction. Harry was the only thing left untouched. Filled with hate and the determination to destroy the monster which he hated, Harry strode to his bed. Once there he calmly sat in a cross legged position. He then proceeded to do what Voldemort himself had done; he broke into his nemesis's mind.
Using his Legimency skills and the connection through his scar, Harry willed himself inside the head of one of the most evil men alive. He succeeded.
Once again in an endless gray void, Harry realized the gravity of what he was about to do. He was about to access the complete list of every Death Eater. That list was currently kept in Voldemort's mind. Next he would uncover any plans the Dark Lord was cooking up. Finally, he would send a message to Voldemort. One that only he could send.
Suddenly a floating list of two categories appeared in front of Harry. The first was "Death Eaters" and the second was "Plans". Reaching for the first category Harry braced himself for the rush of knowledge that he knew would come. Taking a deep breath Harry made contact with the floating letters. A list of every Death Eater came flying into his head. He staggered under the enormity of it all. They appeared to be over three hundred strong!
About ten members of the inner circle were still alive and kicking. Another thirty were what seemed to be considered Lieutenants. Sixty Death Eaters were part of a Special Forces group. The worst part was when Harry found out there was two hundred forty seven regular Death Eaters. None of these numbers included captured or dead ones, which would have added another thirty to the total.
Looking at his watch to check the time Harry realized it was four thirty. He still had plenty of time before anyone became worried about him. Well, not him, more of his safety as a tool. Snorting at the thought Harry touched the remaining category.
Immediately plans of every kind went into him; attacks, deceptions, ideas. Harry soon sorted through the ones that were completed and the ones still in the thinking process. Before long, Harry found four major attacks that needed his attention right away. They happened to be at Durmstrange, Beaxubatons, Diagon Alley, and Hogsmead. The first attack would be at Beaxubatons, tonight! Apparently the school came into session on August 3rd and got out sooner than Hogwarts. Diagon Alley would be hit on September 1st while everyone's attention was on the safety of the students at Kings Cross. Hogsmead would be on October 31st and Durmstrange was scheduled to be 'turned' on November 13th.
Despite himself, Harry was impressed. Voldemort had really thought through each of these plans. Realisticly they could each be carried off tomorrow, everything and everyone was in place. He just wanted to leave enough time for people to fear his next move and join his side. Harry, remembering the attack scheduled for 5:30 tonight, looked down at his watch. 5:15, he had to leave! Willing his mind back in his own head, Harry found himself in the midst of a hurricane.
With a flick of his wrist everything settled down and returned to its normal position in the room. One more flick and the clothes he was wearing changed. Now Harry was wearing his white battle robes underneath the dragon hide battle robes Charlie had given him. He proceeded to put on both wands and then call Godric Gryffindor's sword to him. He opened the chest with the sheath and put it around his cloak. His last move was to check and make sure he had his griffin earring in and his two talismans under the cloak. Finally he donned his emerald green baseball cap and put it on backwards, giving him an unobstructed view.
Just before Harry portkeyed to Beaxubatons, he took out his mobile mirror Hagrid had given him. "All!" he shouted. Once Harry saw the faces of Remus, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron in his mirror he told them that an attack on Beaxubatons was going to take place in five minutes exactly. Before anyone could say anything he abruptly cut the connection and put the mirror in his pocket. He then grabbed the shield of Godric Gryffindor and attached it to his back, in an easily reachable position.
He then grabbed his watch and spoke clearly, "Beaxubatons."
Harry felt himself land in what appeared to be the school's dining hall. He noticed they only had four minutes and that entire school, students and staff, were giving him astonished looks. Before anyone could do anything Harry spoke, "My name is Harry Potter. There is a Death Eater attack that will take place in exactly four minutes! You must all retreat to the safest location in the castle. Madame Maxine, I am not joking! This is your school and you know how to defend it, all I can tell you is that they will portkey onto the school grounds facing the front of the school. I will meet them there, but I cannot take on one hundred fifty Death Eaters on my own. I request assistance and have already sent for outside help!"
Sensing Harry good intentions, Headmistress Maxine rose and addressed the school, "You all heard him! Please remain calm. We do not have adequate time to relocate you so I ask that you all remain here. If the teachers fit for dueling will please follow us outside, the rest of you will stay with the prefects and guard the room; from the inside. We will lock you in once we all leave the room."
Before she had even finished her statement, Harry had stridden from the room. He drew Godric's sword in his right hand and held the shield in his left. He reached the doors and was outside faster than any other. With about two minutes remaining, Harry was joined by Madame Maxine and ten other professors. "Not very good odds if what you say is true, Mr. Potter," she remarked.
"Trust me, it's true." Taking a good look at his surrounding, Harry soon understood what a beautiful school this must be. To all sides were hills that shone with brilliance of a sunset. You could see a magnificent lake in straight ahead and little cottages in the distance. Then you could see nothing but a sea of black.
Harry had already sent five stunners, and very powerful ones at that, faster than any Death Eater or professor had registered the other's existence. The Death Eaters up front soon caught on to the disturbance and were firing at the ten figures like crazy. After thirty seconds of constant enemy fire, four of the professors were down. Five of the remaining professors were huddled behind a big boulder while Madame Maine tried to protect herself and the remaining teacher behind a huge wall she had conjured.
Harry was busy using Gryffindor's Shield to notice any of this. Without really thinking, he did a running summersault and landed in the middle of a group of Death Eaters. With a graceful spin, he had taken them out of the battle with his sword and shield, which he quickly found out could channel his magic as well. Sending a reducto curse at a group of oncoming enemies, Harry had already evened the odds to 120 to 7. Hearing screams and the sound of a boulder breaking into a million pieces, Harry had to redo his last count. 120 to 3 was a better estimate.
Deciding the students came first; Harry fought his way to the front of the doors into the school. He was now side by side with Madame Maxine and they were slowly becoming overwhelmed. Through their combined efforts and defenses, Harry and the Headmistress had reduced the number of opponents to ninety. The school was fairing much worse, though. The only part that seemed to not be destroyed was the dining hall. They knew that because what was once a huge palace was now only a small square.
Thinking of how this was a suicide mission to begin with, Harry was losing hope. He was sporting several injuries despite all his protections and Madame Maxine was about to collapse. Thank whoever was watching over them, that Harry's reinforcements arrived.
Fifty strong the Order of the Phoenix arrived behind the group of Death Eaters. Curses immediately flew and it took a moment for the Voldemort supporters to realize what was happening. Once they did the school became a war zone. Bodies were being thrown everywhere. Screams could be heard from every direction. Blood could be seen gathering on the grass. Yet still they fought.
They battled and they yelled. They cursed and they kicked. The Order was down to thirty seven left standing and the Death Eaters were still up at fifty two fighters. The Death Eaters didn't have Albus Dumbledore or Harry Potter, though.
Together they cut a deep path within the oncoming killers. Madame Maxine was finally taken down and the twenty Order members still fighting were blocking the entrance. That was when the Auroras finally showed up. With the combined forces of the Auroras attacking from the back, Order members from the front, and Dumbledore and Potter from the inside, the Death Eaters no longer stood a chance. They still fought with the violence and bloodshed they worshipped though. And the light paid dearly for their dedication to protecting the children in the school.
At long last the final Death Eater was brought down, brought down by a combination of seven stunners. Those seven stunners were all that was left of the Light side. Albus Dumbledore, Alastar Moody, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Amos Diggory, and Harry Potter were the only ones left standing. The Order members went into action tying up the Death Eaters while Diggory went off to tell the children. Lupin left to go bring back medical help and to call the rest of the Order here.
While all this was going on, Harry just stood there. He was too exhausted to do anything else. He ended up leaning against his sword as Remus arrived. He was followed by what looked like all of St. Mongos and ten Order members. What surprised Harry most was when Ginny, Ron, and Hermione showed up as well. Everyone was moving about the battle field securing Death Eaters and healing anyone who wasn't one. Ginny was the first to spot him and ran over, placing ropes around any Death Eaters she passed.
"Harry! Thank god, you're alright," she muttered as she flung her arms around him. Noticing how he staggered backward over a simple hug she asked, "You are alright aren't you?"
"Yea, just a bit woozy right now. I think I need a nap and my talismans are starting to burn."
Rushing over, Hermione gave Harry a pepper-up potion to help. "Oh, Harry. You have so many cuts I'm surprised you're still standing at all. I'll fix up as many as I can, but I can't do anything for your dislocated shoulder."
Smiling weakly Harry replied, "I forgot I dislocated that. At one point a Death Eater released what looked like a hundred bludgers at Madame Maxine and me. My shield blocked most of them, but it still makes an impact if they hit you fifty times."
"Let me see your talismans," Ginny instructed breaking Harry's dry humor. Doing as she said, Harry took the talismans from under his shirt and handed them over. As soon as Ginny's hands wrapped around them, Harry felt some of the pain slip away.
"Thank you," he whispered and laid his head atop hers. He felt the exhaustion in his bones but didn't dare leave yet. With so many Death Eaters just lying around, Harry did feel safe going home to rest.
Just as this thought occurred Dumbledore spoke. "Everyone please step back. If you are taking a patient to the hospital, please leave now." About twenty five portkeys were activated. "Now will all the Order members stack the Death Eaters in one neat pile." Suddenly all the people left lying on the ground flew together in a single sitting group. The group was then tied with about a hundred feet of rope. "Thank you. Now please step back. Corpas Monumentas Aparentathis!" Dumbledore shouted. The group of Death Eaters suddenly disappeared. With another flick of his wand, the grounds cleaned themselves up of the blood, yet the palace was beyond repair.
Dumbledore continued to issue instruction, "As the school is beyond repair, I would like the remaining Order members to hand out these portkeys." He held up a bag filled with meaningless things. "The portkeys are to take a group of twenty students each, plus the Order member back to Hogwarts. It is the safest place at the moment. Now, if I may have a word with Mr. Potter you can all start with the distribution of the portkeys."
Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione stood their ground as Dumbledore headed towards them. An unspoken agreement seemed to have been reached between the once Golden Trio and they were standing proud.
Reaching them, Dumbledore was the first to speak, "First off, Harry, I would like to thank you. You managed to inform the right people of the attack and warn the school. Besides that you were able to single handily destroy have of Voldemort's attack force and create a huge dent in his plans. I believe what you did here was a great accomplishment, yet I also want you to look at the bad side of things."
Too tired to speak, Harry let his friends do the talking for him. "No offense, Headmaster, but if Harry hadn't shown up here hundreds of students would have died tonight. Not just the death of every person present at the school, but then the families would suffer from their losses and the Death Eaters would be a hundred and fifty people stronger," Ron spoke with such conviction in his voice that Harry knew whose side Ron will always be on. His.
Hermione continued, "I understand we had losses, Professor. Every battle has losses and this is war. But everyone who came here tonight volunteered to put themselves in danger and fight the darkness. These students, many of which are nothing but children, have not chosen to fight in this war. True we must all fight, yet they are so young and innocent the responsibility is not yet theirs to bear." Harry now had both his best friends back he thought with a smile.
Ginny was the last to voice her thoughts, "If you tell Harry what he did was wrong, than I don't understand what is right. He did what needed to be done in a time of crisis and because of it the innocents are safe. If your Order had been quicker in their response time, less casualties we might have faced. We do what needs to be done, Professor Dumbledore, and that is all that can be expected."
Harry was openly smiling at this point. "Now, Albus, if you'll please excuse us. I would like to head back to Privet Drive and rest. Ron and Hermione, you are welcome to join me and I don't believe Ginny will take no for an answer. Good night, sir."
With that said and done, Harry had them all touch his watch and they landed in his bedroom back in Surrey. "So what do you think guys? A nice long nap will do wonders I'm believin'."
