Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter & the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers (though this plot here is mine J). I am not the original writer (though I wish I could be) & I do not wish to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued. So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah....forget it & let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
HARRY POTTER & THE POWER OF HOGWARTS
Chapter 11 – Giants & Wizards
Harry looked around to see the gates of the great hall come down with a crash. Outside stood a group of formidable foes – 2 death eaters and 3 giants. The scenario on hand had just gone from bad to worse to a nightmarish one.
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Harry looked around and saw everything as if someone had slowed time. At the teachers table, McGonagall, Flitwick and the other professors looked shocked. Even Snape's mouth was hanging open. The students, who had turned around, had stopped running and were staring at the newcomers. Some of the students had managed to get to a relatively safe position near to the teachers table but others were precariously close to the death eaters and the giants. The D.A. members also seemed to be too shocked to move a muscle.
Looking towards the uninvited guests, Harry gulped. The two death eaters wouldn't be much of a problem with all the teachers present but the giants were quite a different proposition. They had been previously told that it took about three or four powerful stunners from powerful wizards to take down a giant and Harry knew he could rely on his professors for the task. But what made this task extremely difficult was that there were 3 giants present out of which two could be termed HUGE. The bigger the giant, the more the force would be required and the more the number of people will be required for stunning it which, in turn, would mean that the other giants or the death-eaters would have more time to wreak havoc amongst the remaining people. Harry had faith in Dumbledore to take down a giant on his own and another one could be taken down by the teachers. That would leave the death-eaters and another giant. As this calculation came to an end in his mind, he gulped again. This was a nightmare.
Suddenly his mind came back to the reality as he heard a single word come out of the mouth of a death-eater "Crucio". Harry didn't notice anything else in the hall as all his focus was on one the first year girl who was in direct line of the death-eater unforgivable curse.
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"Severus, Minerva. You and the others take on the big giant on the left." Dumbledore said in a whisper to the teachers who seemed to be shocked out of their minds. Never in their lives had they thought that such a situation would arise at Hogwarts. But here it was and now they would have to face it.
"Ok" McGonagall's mouth was now a thin line as she knew that she would have to do everything in her power to keep the students safe – even if it meant giving up her life for it. Snape also regained his composure while little Professor Flitwick seemed to know exactly what was going to happen now. Professor's Vector and Trelawney also had their wands raised by now while Fleur seemed out of her wits. Her first evening at Hogwarts after such a long time was going to be an unpleasant one to say the least.
All of the teachers had raised their wands and were about to take on their opponents when they realized they had been too late. "Curcio" was all they heard as a jet of light sped towards one of the new students.
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"Think you fool, think." Neville was telling himself. This was the first time he was facing a situation like this as the leader of the D.A. He knew Cho would be thinking as well as to what to do now. At this moment, he was sure that none of the other D.A. members would envy his or Cho's position. Ultimately, the moment of attack would have to be decided by the leaders. One glance around and he saw that Harry was quite close to the giants. Harry did not have his wand in his hand and this surprised Neville to a great extent. Also, the other D.A. members seemed too shocked and almost none had yet drawn their wands. Giving Hermione a nudge brought her back to her senses.
A wave of nudge's followed around the hall as many of them drew their wands. Neville's eyes met those of Cho's and a silent agreement took place. Cho would attack from the right hand side, where she had rushed with many of the other D.A. members whereas Neville and the other D.A. members would take care of the left flank. All that was now needed was the green signal for the attack. Neville was about to give the signal for the attack when he heard the word which had changed his entire life – "Crucio"
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Harry saw that the teachers were too far away to save the first year girl. In the back of his mind, he knew the D.A. members were also too late to do anything. Knowing that he himself couldn't apparate to save the kid from what would be her most deadly experience, he remembered what he had heard form his phony Professor Moody – "Play to your strengths". A flick of his wrist ensured that the wand was on its way out of its holster. He raised his hand, which was pointed towards the girl, and catching his wand safely in his hand, he said the only words which came to his mind now – "Accio girl".
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A first year slytherin girl was standing relatively near to the giants and the other two hooded wizards whom she didn't know. Her feet were too numb to move even though she knew that her life depended on how fast her little legs could carry her. She didn't know what to do and when she tried to reach backwards to find some support, all she could feel was the walls of the great hall behind her. At that moment she knew she was alone and defenseless.
The girl was about to turn and run when she heard the word which she knew was an extremely cruel spell - "Crucio". Looking towards the person who had said that, her eyes went wide in horror – the jet of light was headed her way and she knew she would get hit. She watched on as the light came nearer and nearer to her. She closed her eyes shut as the light seemed a mere inch away. She felt a spell hit.
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Harry saw his spell had a chance to hit the girl towards whom the Cruciatus spell had been sent. He knew that if his spell reached the girl first, then she would come hurtling towards him and in the process, she would crash in to the many tables which were in the path. Knowing he would have to do something to save her from injuries, he said "Abutor Res Erectus."
This spell from Harry caused all the tables and the other objects to stand upright on one of their sides which, in this case, was the smaller side towards the death eaters. The tables and the benches on which the students had been sitting were all lifted on one of their edges and formed a kind of wall between the death eaters and the others. Harry knew that the spell from the death eater was already too close to the girl for any object to block it. Harry had to constantly focus on his spell to keep the objects in their places and was hoping that his spell would hit the girl first. Hoping against hope, he saw his spell hit the girl. Elated, and knowing what was going to happen, he got ready to catch the girl as she came hurtling towards him.
Harry saw the girl come flying towards him but at the same time, his concentration on the other spell broke. The girl had passed the Slytherin, Ravenclaw and the Hufflepuff tables and benches as they came crashing down but Harry knew she would crash into the Gryffindor table. Harry himself jumped forward towards the girl as she came closer and felt the loud thud as his house table came crashing down. Knowing that he had crossed the danger zone, he concentrated on catching the girl and he did so without too much trouble. Knowing she was safe with maybe a few bruises, he said the thing which came to his mind first – "Run".
Harry saw the girl scamper away as fast as she could and was about to run away himself when he saw Dumbledore standing at one end of the room and pointing his wand towards Harry. Before he could do anything, he saw a powerful streak of light coming towards at him at full speed.
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"Thank god" Minerva McGonagall said as she saw Harry catch the girl safely. As the girl scampered away, she saw Harry lose a few precious seconds as one of the giants seemed to have moved forward. As she looked on, she saw the giant raise his club and strike it down with his full force. At the same time she heard the voice of the headmaster say "Universitas Scutum" and saw a powerful jet of light emit from his wand end.
Hoping that the shields would cover Harry before he was hit, she said a last prayer and did what she had been told – to take on one of the giants. With a fierce yell, unheard of any of the professors in Hogwarts, she attacked one of the giants. The other professors took on her lead and joined her in her attack even as Harry stood in his place, seemingly unaware of the blow which was about to strike him. The fight to save Hogwarts had begun.
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"Harry, move" Ron shouted as he saw the giant behind raise his club but Ron's voice was lost in all the screaming and other noises. He seemed lost about what to do when he heard Neville shout "Forget him and attack the death eaters."
"What do you mean? We have to save him." Hermione shouted.
"I said forget Harry. He'll take care of himself." Neville shouted back. "The other people have to be saved too." With that, Neville shouted off a stunning spell towards one of the death eaters and moved forward. Seeing no other way, the others followed Neville into the fight – a fight to save Hogwarts.
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"Thank god" Cho said to herself as she saw Harry catch the Slytherin girl and urge her to move away. But her happiness lasted only for a second as she saw Harry with his back towards one of the giants who had his club raised.
"Move Harry" Cho said desperately as she noticed a glint of light from the corner of her eye. Realizing that someone had sent a spell towards Harry or the giant, she stood there waiting for the outcome. In another fraction of a second, she saw Neville rush out, with the other D.A. members, and start to attack the death eaters. She knew it was time for their attack and without hesitating, she attacked the remaining giant. Even though she knew that Harry's life meant a great deal to her, she also knew that duty came before anything else. Taking her lead, the remaining D.A. members also started attacking the last giant. The fight had started and none of the D.A. members saw what happened to Harry Potter.
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Harry saw a jet of light speeding towards him. Even at such a great distance, he could feel the power behind it. "What is it? Why is Dumbledore targeting me with a spell?" were the questions which popped up in Harry's mind. Even as he saw the light speeding towards him, he saw a slight movement from the corner of his left eye and noticed a shadow which seemed to be closing in on him.
At that moment Harry understood that the real danger lay behind him. Not liking what he thought was about to happen, he decided he didn't want to be sandwiched between a spell from his headmaster and god-knows-what from his behind. Knowing he still had a split second to react, Harry rolled away from his position knowing fully well that rolling was much faster than jumping away. As he rolled away, he caught a glimpse of a huge club hitting the area where he had been just a split second ago. Dumbledore's spell reached the place just after the club had crashed into the ground. Whatever Dumbledore had tried to do, he had been slower than the giant.
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Soha Mentieva was too stunned for words. She had heard that Hogwarts was one of the safest places but it seemed that whoever had given her that information had been wrong. She was looking at the battle which had just started. She saw Harry save a small kid from a terrible fate and understood somewhat about why this boy was so famous. Though he had seemed quite cold when it had come to his personal life, he had been friendly towards her regarding matters related to Hogwarts. When they had talked on the train, she didn't feel as if she had been talking to one of the most famous person's in the wizarding world. But now, after seeing what he had done, and also how he had escaped the giants blow, she knew that this was what Harry Potter was all about. Her curiosity had peaked and she promised herself she wouldn't make the mistake of judging anyone before getting to know that person.
Even as Soha was looking at how Harry had rolled under the Gryffindor table and turned to face his giant foe, battle reigned in other parts of the great hall. The teachers were having a tough time taking on one of the giants as almost all of their spells got reflected of the giant's body. Snape had been hit by one of Flitwicks reflected spells while McGonagall had barely managed to move out of a spell sent by another professor. Even as the fight went on, the professors seemed to be gaining the upper hand – slowly but surely.
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"Stupefy" Neville shouted as he and the other D.A. members moved out to fight the death eaters. Almost simultaneously, he heard about another 10 voices say the same spell. They saw the death eater say something and a black shield came up.
Everyone of the D.A. instinctively jumped out of the way as their own spells rebounded back. They heard a few muffled cries from behind them as some of the rebounded spells hit other students.
"Rapid fire shields attack" Neville shouted as all the D.A. members with him stood in a straight line facing the two death eaters. This was one of the many moves which they had practiced over the summer. "Universitas Contego" shouted all the D.A. members on the signal of Neville and a shimmering shield of silver color appeared in front of them. This was a shield which blocked most of the spells and also allowed a person to shoot spells from behind it.
"Stupefy" shouted Anthony.
"Prodo Colligo". A spell which bound a persons hand's similar to what handcuffs did was sent on its way by Zacharias Smith.
"Petrificus Totalus" shouted Ron.
"Turbo Caput" Hermione shouted. This spell caused the victim to have a feeling as if their head was spinning, which in turn made them feel the world around them move faster and faster. The death eaters had a hard time evading this barrage of spells but somehow managed to do it.
The D.A. members under Neville split up in two groups to take on the two death eaters. Spells came out randomly from the D.A. members wands. The shields set up by the two death eaters seemed to weaken by the minute.
"Humus Fragosus" shouted one of the death eaters. The D.A. members quickly jumped back as the place where they had been standing caved in slightly.
"Electriano Claustrum" Hermione shouted the spell which caused an electric bolt to speed towards the death eater.
"Aqua Respergo" Neville shouted, knowing fully well that the combination of electricity and water could be deadly. To his dismay, the death eater jumped out of the way of both of them.
Meanwhile, the other death eater had taken on about 4 D.A. members with Ron shifting from one group to another. He was having a tough time keeping out the random spells, some of which were quite basic whereas others were very advanced.
"Fomeus" shouted Lavender, a spell which caused the person to be surrounded by a black colored smoke.
"Arguo Fomeus" came the immediate counter spell.
"Funis Intentio" Luna shouted as a set of conjured ropes shot towards the death eater. The death eater moved out of the way and muttered a quick "Expelliarmus". The spell missed Luna but hit one of the fourth year students who went flying back. The wand of the student hit Luna in the back who didn't even bother to turn around.
By now, the two death-eaters were fighting side by side. They had set up a strong shield with their combined forces and were shooting off spells whenever they got the chance. But facing the onslaught from the D.A. members was proving to be too much for them. Whatever their informant had said, it was not this.
Slowly but surely, their combined shield was getting weaker. They took one look at each other and decided on something. They dropped their shields and headed in the opposite directions. One of them ran behind one of the giants to avoid getting hit by the spells. The D.A. members got slightly distracted by this move whose advantage was taken by the other death eater.
"Avada Kedavra" came the shout which caused many in the room to freeze.
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Harry rolled out to the other side of the Gryffindor table after escaping the giants blow. With his wand out, he looked at the giant who was raising his club again.
"Fervens Aqua" A jet of boiling hot water came out of Harry's wand. Though the water was too hot for a human to survive, it wasn't a big thing for the giants. The water hit the giant in the eye just as he was bringing his club down. This caused temporary pain to the giant which effectively unfocussed him, making his blow fall well away from where he had wanted it to.
"Stupefy" came a voice from beside Harry which he recognized belonged to his headmaster. Harry saw a powerful beam of light hit the giant causing him to stagger back. Taking this opportunity, he moved back a little and called out "Dobby"
"Yes Harry Potter" Dobby said in a trembling voice. All the house-elf's in Hogwarts were frightened out of their lives at what was going on and Dobby was no different. Harry quickly took out his trunk from his back pocket and enlarged it.
"Take this to my dormitory as fast as you can. And if Tonks or Remus come back, ask them to join us here." Dobby nodded and vanished with the trunk knowing fully well that Tonks and Remus would portkey inside at the end of the day and it would have been a disaster if the trunk had not been enlarged.
"Good job sir" Harry said as his headmaster hit the giant with another spell which caused the giant to crash into the walls of the great walls.
"Thank you Harry." Dumbledore said. "But I don't think we are finished yet". Harry saw that indeed the work was not at all finished. The giant had got up and was proceeding to pick up his club.
"Accido Res" Harry's spell hit the club and it was destroyed into thousands of pieces. The giant, enraged to see his club destroyed, rushed towards Harry.
"Abutor Volatus Vis". Harry felt the hair on his neck rise as Dumbledore's spell raced towards the giant. The giant took the blow on his left shoulder but managed to retain his balance. From what Harry understood of the spell, its main purpose was to hit someone with great force. Precious seconds were gained by this and Dumbledore made full use of it.
"Harry" Dumbledore said "Go back and see if the others need any help or not."
"Ok sir." Harry said to Dumbledore. He knew that he didn't have to worry about the aged wizard who was more than capable of holding many giants on his own.
"Ferrum Ferratilis" Dumbledore said even as Harry was retreating. Harry saw a number of conjured iron chains bind up the giant. With concern written all over his face, Harry surveyed the scene of the battle.
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"Avada Kedavra". This shout froze many of the D.A. members. Knowing what the spell did was one thing but facing it in reality was quite a different matter. Hermione's eyes widened when she saw the green light emitting from the wand of the death eater. For a second, she thought she was in the direct line of fire until she realized that Ron, who was a few steps to her right, was the one who would get hit.
Suddenly it seemed like someone had cast a silencing charm on everyone. In silence, she saw the green light speeding towards Ron who was too shocked to even move. With a start she realized she had to do something to save Ron. With great agility, she threw herself in front of him and heard Ron scream "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
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As Harry looked around, he saw Cho and her group holding their own against one of the giants. With great satisfaction, he saw many of the other students, including some Slytherins, had come forward and fight alongside them. Even though the giant wasn't as big as the others, he seemed to have a lot of energy and stamina. Ginny was giving able support to Cho. They had divided themselves into two groups – Cho leading one from the left side of the giant whereas Ginny was leading others from the right flank. Slowly the giant seemed to be losing the battle.
Moving onto the other giant, Harry saw Professor Snape take a blow on his face. He crashed into one of the walls and slumped to the ground. Though Harry was pleased that Snape had been hit, he was silently cursing their luck. Snape was arguably one of the better fighters amongst the teachers and they really needed him. Still, he saw the other teachers fighting the giant admirably. He knew that what was delaying the victory of his professors was the fact that they were trying to capture the giant and not kill him. Sighing, Harry checked the scenario of Neville and his group.
Neville and his fellow D.A. members where fighting in a very organized manner. Neville was leading them from the front which greatly pleased Harry. Ron and Hermione were also using their full range of spells against the death eaters. Harry knew that they would be able to defeat the death-eaters if they fought as a team. He looked around to see that most of the students now had their wands drawn and everyone was firing of a spell from time to time. Even though he searched hard, he couldn't see Malfoy, Crabbe or Goyle. He was about to see whether any help was required by anyone when his head snapped towards the direction from which a single word was being said "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO". As he looked on, he realized that he was going to miss one of his friends – dearly.
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Hermione closed her eyes when she saw that her dive had been timed perfectly. She knew that she wouldn't last her first battle of the second war but she also knew that this was the way she would prefer to go. At least, her parents would have the consolation that their daughter died for a good cause. In a split moment, her whole life seemed to pass in front of her eyes – her days in a muggle kindergarten, her first days in a muggle school, receiving the knowledge that she was a witch, the wonderful life at Hogwarts, Harry as her friend and lastly, her first kiss with Ron. She would miss everything and everyone but she felt a strange calm inside her. It was time to move on.
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"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" This shout caused McGonagall to look around. What she saw made her blood freeze – her best student was facing death. She didn't move as a blow from the giant missed her by mere inches. She didn't know what to do. Almost subconsciously she knew that this time Dumbledore and Harry were not in a position to help Hermione. This time, they didn't have a guardian angel.
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Harry's mind had stopped working when he saw Hermione about to die. All of a sudden, his eyes widened – a solid block of stone had appeared out of nowhere in front of Hermione. The jet of green light hit the block of stone and it got blasted away. Both Hermione and Ron were hit with splinters from the blast but they looked ok. Harry felt relieved; it felt as if someone had lifted a huge rock from his chest. He looked around to see who had conjured the stone block and, for the first time since the battle had begun, his face broke into a grin.
"Tonks!" Harry said to the person who was standing near the teachers table with her wand still raised. Her hand seemed to be quavering slightly but she recovered soon. "When did you get here?" a beaming Harry asked.
"Now…Dobby." was all the explanation Tonks could give. Harry understood what she meant and wanted to thank her but knew now was not the time for it. He made a mental note about giving Tonks a party as she went over to join his professors.
Harry looked back to see that the death eaters were being almost driven out of the great hall gates but yet, they seemed to fight on. The giants also seemed to be losing but they too tried to hang on. This started puzzling Harry as a number of questions started popping up in his mind.
"Why did Voldemort send only 2 death eaters and 3 giants? Why didn't he come himself? Death eaters don't stay for long if they start losing then why are these guys hanging around?" Harry found no answers to these questions. His eyebrows almost touched each other as he tried to solve this mystery. He had seen enough of Voldemort to know that this was not an unplanned one. If something had been planned, then what was it? Why has the full plan not been put under implementation yet?
"Hold on" Harry said to himself. "What if the full plan is really under implementation? What if these death eaters are just…" Harry panicked as his mind raced to conclusions. With trembling hands, he opened the wizard radar and looked around the great hall. Everything seemed ok as all the wizards were been displayed. He even saw the name of Remus coming into view in the Gryffindor dormitory and felt slightly better until his eyes raced to another part of the castle map. Turning the 3D feature on, he saw something which made his eyes go wide.
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"Miss. Tonks, what are you doing here?" Minerva McGonagall was quite shocked to see Tonks firing off stunners from her left side.
"Saving you people" Tonks said in a grim voice.
"You shouldn't…" McGonagall was cut off by a scream.
"TONKS". Tonks looked around to see Harry racing towards her.
"What's the…" Tonks was stopped from speaking by Harry.
"Come on, we have to take the other giant." Harry said as he pointed to the other giant. Tonks eyes widened at the sheer size of the giant and at the prospect of her and Harry taking on him.
"Don't worry" Harry said understanding the cause for her alarming look. "Remus is here."
With that, Tonks and Harry raced off to where Dumbledore was fighting a heavily injured giant.
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"Stupefy" came a chorus of shouts from Cho and her fellow D.A. members. They had taken on the smallest of giants who had a not-so-small club in his left hand.
"Aim for his left hand." Cho shouted. "Enqueo Distinguo Castra". A spell which caused a person's body part to be temporarily paralyzed came from Cho's wand. Taking the hint, the other D.A. members shot off the same spell. But much to their dismay, all the spells got reflected from the giant's hand.
Soon a lot of other student had joined them. They started fighting side-by-side with the D.A. though they didn't know about the existence of the group. "Ginny" Cho cried out. Upon getting the attention of the red-haired girl, Cho said "Take some people to the right side and attack. I will attack from the left." Ginny gave a quick nod and asked some of the students to follow her.
The fighting raged on fiercely. The students were having a tough time with the giant. None of them knew how close Ron and Hermione had come to their deaths as they couldn't hear a thing over the din this giant was making with his blows. Finally, Cho understood that this was tiring them out more than the giant.
"Everyone – shoot the paralyzing spell on three." Cho shouted. "One…Two…Three - Enqueo Distinguo Castra". This time, all the spells shot out of their wands simultaneously and hit the giants left arm simultaneously, causing him to drop his club which had been poised for a strike. Enraged at being unable to move his left arm, the giant lunged forward and brought his right arm down fiercely. All Cho could do was watch the arm coming down – right on her.
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"Sir" Harry said as soon as he reached Dumbledore. "Go to your office." Dumbledore looked at Harry in a puzzled manner but soon realized that something was wrong. Even as he fired off another powerful spell towards the giant, Harry completed his explanation "There is another death eater near your office."
"Be careful Harry. You too Tonks." Dumbledore said as he rushed off with a grave expression on his face. Both Harry and Tonks shot off stunners at the giant but the effect was not even close to what Dumbledore had achieved. They had just sent off their third stunner when, instead of two streaks of light, there were three.
"Remus" Tonks said. "Nice of you to join us."
"I don't like it when I am not invited to a party." Remus replied in a serious voice even as a great thud announced that one of the giants had fallen. As Harry looked around, he saw some of his exhausted teachers rush off in different directions to help others. As the cloud of dust settled down in one corner, he saw that the giant who had been fighting his professors was down. "One down, two to go" Harry said to himself.
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Cho looked on as the huge arm came hurtling towards her. She tried to move but her legs rebelled against her. She thought of trying a banishing spell on the giant but knew it would be ineffective. Just as she had given up all hope, a huge hand came into view and threw her aside just as the blow landed. Crashing into a group of students, Cho looked up to see who her rescuer had been – Hagrid.
Hagrid and the giant got engaged in a fierce fight even though Hagrid was about half the size of the giant. What Hagrid lacked in strength, he made up for it with his stamina and heart. He didn't want to lose, rather, he couldn't lose. With Gwarp away, Hagrid had no choice but to take on the giant. And he gave everything in it.
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McGonagall and Professor Vector rushed to the aid of Neville and his group while the others went to the aid of Harry, Tonks and Remus. After a few minutes, a combined shout of "Stupefy" from Harry and his group finally managed to stun the giant. Looking around, Harry saw that Professor McGonagall and the other D.A. members had been able to defeat the death eaters who had finally portkeyed away. He took this as a sign that the death eaters had thought that their work was over. Taking out his wizard radar, he saw that Dumbledore was in his office and the other death eater was not present anywhere on the radar. Finally, he turned to witness the final fight of the evening – a fiery battle between Hargrid and the last remaining giant.
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The giant took on one of the fallen clubs and swung it at Hagrid. Hagrid ducked under it and kicked out with all his might at the giant, catching him in the ankle region. The giant stumbled but somehow managed to regain his balance again but in these few seconds Hagrid had picked another of the fallen clubs. Both of them now stood their ground with a club in their hand, waiting for the other to make the move.
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"Ok guys, lets stun him" Tonks said.
"No Tonks." Harry stopped her, much to the astonishment to the others present. "It's his fight. We'll go if he wants us to." Even the other professors didn't argue with the fact and watched the fight.
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The giant was the first one to lose his patience and he took a step forward and swung his club towards Hagrid. Hagrid brought up his club just in time to block the blow at the same time hit the giant with a powerful blow of his right fist. The giant staggered back a bit but then charged at Hagrid. Hagrid swung his club as the giant approached but the giant blocked it with his left hand. Apparently, the paralyzing spell on his arm had worn off. Hagrid looked stunned for a moment as he realized that the giants club was coming down at full force towards his. The club caught him flush in the ribs and he slid down almost to the edge of the great hall.
Hagrid got up clutching his ribcage. The giant watched Hagrid get up and charged at him again. This time Hagrid waited for him to attack. The attack came, a fierce blow aimed at his head which Hagrid barely managed to avoid. He took this opportunity and swung his club at the giant's legs. The giant jumped and Hagrid missed. As soon as the giant had got himself away from Hagrid's reach, he gave a fierce grunt. Hagrid also got up and grunted. Both of them gave a war cry. The onlookers, stunned into silence by this fierce battle, understood one thing – the next attack from each of them would be their final ones. Everyone moved back as much as they could.
The giant raised his club and started swinging it. Hagrid, on the other hand, remained calm and composed even though many of his ribs had been broken. The giant was now swinging his club with fierce power. With an ear splitting cry, he rushed towards Hagrid who had his back towards the wall. Hagrid saw the giant come and got ready for his attack.
The giant reached Hagrid at full speed and swung his club right towards his ribcage. Hagrid had been prepared for this and flattened himself to the ground. He knew that the power with which the giant had swung the club would force him to make a full turn of his own body. As soon as he felt the club move away, Hagrid got up to his feet and swung with his full force at the giants head.
Crack. The sound was heard by each and every person in the hallway. The giant stumbled and fell to the floor, giving a full view of what damage Hagrid had caused. Almost all of them felt sick and a few threw up. In front of them lay a giant with his head cracked and giving them a full view of his brain tissue with the blood making the view even worse.
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"VICTORY" cried out Neville as soon as he saw Hagrid strike down the last of the giants. Soon everybody joined in the chorus of victory shouts. Everyone knew that this was their first victory over the dark side and they felt elated beyond description. All the D.A. members had surrounded Hagrid and were dancing around him. Even though Hagrid himself was in great pain, he also joined in the victory dance with a style of his own. Everybody seemed to be enjoying the moment and even McGonagall smiled at the antics of the others – a truly rare thing.
Harry took out his wizard radar for one last time to check whether everything was ok or not. The only movement he saw was that of Dumbledore coming towards the great hall. Apart from that, there was no sign of any death eater nearby other than that of Snape. He closed his radar and smiled – a smile of relief and joy. He hugged both Remus and Tonks and all three of them were jumping up and down when, all of a sudden, Tonks and Remus felt Harry's body stiffen. The next thing they knew was that they were pushed back and Harry, with his eyes closed, shuddering under some kind of force.
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Harry jumped and hugged Remus and Tonks. Even after this gruesome battle, he felt as happy as the time when he had caught the snitch for the first time. He knew that this victory meant a lot to everyone though he still had to ask Dumbledore as to what a death eater was doing near his office. That could wait for later, Harry said to himself, but what he saw next made his mouth dry and his pulse started beating at a rate he had never known before.
&&&&
Professor Snape had regained consciousness just as Hagrid had smashed the skull of the remaining giant. "Giants" he muttered to himself with loathing in his voice. He looked around and saw the others starting to dance around Hagrid. With a look of disgust in his eyes, he started to get up. Instantly his body told him that there were now more than 206 bones present in it. He gave a groan and somehow managed to stand. He started to head towards his dungeons when he noticed something which the others had failed to do – the giant who had been stunned by McGonagall and the other professors was moving.
With horror filled eyes, he saw the giant sit up and grab his club. Snape tried to lift his wand but his arm didn't seem to be pointing in the direction in which he wanted. He shouted to the others but no one seemed to hear him. He saw the giant stand up and raise his club when, thankfully, many of the professors finally noticed him. The professors shot off stunning spells but all of them rebounded off the giant. The giant then started to bring his club down on the nearest group of students who had finally noticed his presence. All of them saw a huge club coming down upon them and knew they had no chance of survival.
&&&&
Harry knew there had to be some way to stop the giant. But how? He knew Dumbledore would still take some time in coming down by which the massacre would have been done. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a limping Snape desperately trying to shoot a spell at the giant but failing to get his aim right. He knew that all that was needed was a shield (which would stop solid materials from passing through) to protect the students but none of them seemed to be in a position to do so.
Acting on a hunch and a gut feeling, he pushed away Remus and Tonks. Harry then tried something which he had never tried before – he tried to setup a shield over the students with the help of his glove. Mentally picturing the effect, he found that he had been successful in setting up the shield which had the property to resist any solid object from penetrating it. All Harry could do now was to wait for the blow.
&&&&
Remus saw the giant bring his club down with a fierce gutso. The power behind it was that of a persons (or a giant's) final attack. He saw the blow come down but, miraculously, it stopped inches above the heads of the students. The keen eyes of Remus revealed a few tiny sparks which were unnoticeable to the others. The giant raised his club again and stuck another blow. It was then that Remus felt Tonks tug at his arm fiercely.
Looking around, Remus saw that Harry was standing with his eyes closed, as if he was meditating or thinking deeply about something. But his thinking seemed to quaver every once in a while – the timings of which matched with that of the giants landing blows on the students. Remus understood that somehow Harry was protecting the students. How – to this he had no answer.
&&&&
Harry felt the first blow land on the shield and felt the shield cracking. He had never before setup such a huge shield, let alone the fact that it was far away from his body. He concentrated harder and the shield seemed to repair somewhat. Then he felt the second blow land which was even stronger than the first one. He felt the shield almost break apart and he knew that the giant would have felt 'something' give way.
Perspiring heavily, Harry concentrated harder on the shield. This time he put all his mental and magical power into it. Somehow he knew that his magic would help him and he didn't hesitate in using it. The third blow came but the shield held. Harry knew he had to hold on even as the fourth blow hit the shield. He felt his shield giving way under the brute force of the giant. He had to hold on a bit while the others managed to take down the giant. Just a bit more, just a bit more, Harry kept saying to himself.
&&&&
Everyone looked on in wonder as the blows of the giant were obstructed by some unseen force. The teachers kept firing stunning spells but even they were tired and their spells didn't have the amount of power they wanted to put into it. No one noticed the deep concentration in which Harry was as he was coincidentally blocked from view by Tonks and Remus.
"Remus, what should we do?" Tonks asked as Harry's face betrayed another emotion of pain as the giant landed another blow.
"We have to wait." Remus replied calmly.
"But…but look at him. What is happening to him?" Tonks was on the verge of crying.
"I think he is stopping the blows" Remus replied.
"But how?" Tonks eyes widened at this piece of information.
"I don't know" Remus replied, his voice very grim. "It's my guess."
"But…we…" Tonks could say no more as she broke into silent sobs as more perspiration broke out on Harry's face.
&&&&
Harry put his entire mental strength into the shield as the fifth blow fell. He didn't even know that almost half of the students had moved out of the danger zone. He also didn't know that the giant had also become obsessed with breaking the invisible barrier which was blocking his every blow. At the sixth blow he felt the shield crack a bit.
"Hold on Harry" he muttered to himself. At the seventh blow, Harry felt the cracks widen. Even as he tried to mend it, he wasn't able to do it. He didn't know what to do and as the eighth blow landed, he felt the shield almost shatter. Putting his last effort into the shield, Harry stood waiting for the blow which he knew would break the shield. It came and the last thought which passed Harry's mind was "Sorry I failed you". He knew no more as blackness covered him.
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"Harry, you did a great job"
"You think so dad?" Harry was again in the great white hall which seemed to have no boundaries.
"Yes dear. Both your mom and I think you showed great bravery." A smiling James Potter told his son.
"Harry" came the sweet and soothing voice of Lily Potter. "You have taken on enough burdens. Do you want to carry on?"
"I don't have a choice mom." Harry told her dejectedly.
"Everyone has a choice, my sweet one."
"No mom. I don't have one."
"You also have one Harry" his dad told him. "It's up to you to take it."
"But I don't see the choice dad." Harry said desperately.
"You will dear" his mom replied. "You will see the choice when the time is right."
"I agree with your mother" James said. "We have to go now Harry. Stay well."
"We love you son" Lily Potter echoed the sentiments of both the parents. "We will always love you in whatever you choose to do."
"I love you too." Harry said, with a single tear rolling down his cheek.
&&&&
"I THINK HE IS COMING BACK". This shout from Tonks brought both Remus and Dobby to Harry's bedside. Looking down on the form of Harry, they saw what looked like tears running down his face.
"Is the great wizard Harry Potter crying?" Dobby asked in a tearful voice himself. Remus and Tonks didn't reply as they too were wondering what was happening to Harry.
&&&&
It had been one frightful moment when Harry had collapsed to the ground during his 'virtual' fight with the giant. Luckily for everyone, Dumbledore had arrived the moment Harry had collapsed and he had taken out the severely wounded giant with one of his most powerful spells which left scathing burns all over the giants body.
Seeing the state of Harry, Dumbledore had rushed him to the hospital wind where Madam Pomfrey informed them that Harry had had a tremendous flow of magical energy in to his mind and it seemed like he had used up almost all his magic to do 'something'. According to Madam Pomfrey, Harry was hanging onto a very tiny thread and what kept him alive seemed to baffle her. Patients in these cases normally didn't live but somehow Harry was managing to hold onto whatever he had.
Madam Pomfrey had said that Harry needed medication and rest for at least a week before she could give another report on his condition. Tonks and Remus had then insisted upon taking Harry with them but Madam Pomfrey would have none of it. It was only after an hour of arguing that Harry would receive the best of treatment that they finally managed to convince Dumbledore to let Harry come with them. Madam Pomfrey, seeing that she had no chance of keeping her favorite patient in the hospital wing, finally relented under the condition that she would be allowed to inspect his condition daily. Tonks and Remus relented knowing that the time spent in the trunk would be more than enough for that. Using their portkeys, they safely escorted Harry to the 5'th compartment and had used the medication, which was provided by the room, with great efficiency.
&&&&
"Harry, do you hear me?" Remus whispered. It had been 3 days in the trunk since Harry had been injured and Remus did not want to cause any untimely revival. A groan ensued from the mouth of Harry which caused all of them to smile. He was coming back after all.
Another wait of 30 minutes seemed like an eternity to Tonks. She had seen Harry take on each of the blows of the giant and knew that they had been very painful. Though his body didn't reveal the bruises of the giant's blows, Madam Pomfrey had said that his mind was in disarray and would need some time to recover to its full strength. From what both Tonks and Remus had heard, they couldn't help but appreciate how Harry had saved a small girl (He saved a Slytherin? Tonks had been shocked). Remus and Tonks didn't know what it was but the more they saw of what Harry was doing, the more they grew closer to him.
"HARRY!!!" Tonks was drawn out of her thoughts by a groan from Harry. Slowly, Harry opened his eyes and saw 2 persons and an elf looking at him with concerned filled eyes.
"Hello guys." Harry said with a weak smile. This seemed to brighten everyone up with Dobby starting his excited popping for the first time since Harry had come to Hogwarts.
"How are you feeling?" Remus asked.
"Ready for…" Harry stopped in his reply as he remembered what had happened. "How many?" came his question.
"How many what?" Remus asked.
"How many died due to that last giant?" Harry's voice was quavering as he asked this. One part of him wanted to know the answer to this while the other part of him was frightened to death at what the reply would be.
"None" Tonks replied in a gleeful voice. At this, Harry gave the broadest and most satisfied grin he could manage before falling asleep again, much against his own wishes. The strain had been too much for him and he needed more rest.
&&&&
"Hello Tonks, hi Remus" Harry said on the sixth day in his trunk. Tonks and Remus had just returned from an emergency meeting of the Order and the first thing they did was to check on Harry.
"Hi Har. How are you feeling now?" Tonks asked.
"I can take you on in a duel if you want to" Harry replied. Remus smiled at this – his godson was definitely back.
"No thanks" Tonks replied promptly. "Dobby" Tonks called out.
"What is Harry Potter's Tonkie wanting?" Dobby asked as soon as he popped beside Tonks.
"Did the great wizard Harry Potter take his medication timely?" Tonks asked with a smile.
"Yes. Harry Potter's Dobby making Harry Potter take his medicine." Dobby replied before adding timidly "Even though Harry Potter finds medicines tougher than bad giants." At this Harry smiled sheepishly at a glaring Tonks while Remus said "They really make those medicines terrible to drink."
"But they are for our own good" Tonks snapped at Remus. Remus said nothing in reply as he knew Tonks was right. He gave a wink at Harry before proceeding to his own room. Tonks also said a quick 'see you' as she went into her room to freshen up.
"Dinner" Dobby announced soon after. Harry, Remus and Tonks sat down to have a delicious dinner. After finishing it, all of them went by the fire and started to have a nice conversation when Remus turned to Harry.
"Harry, how did you stop the giant's blows?" Immediately Tonks shut up her mouth and turned to look at Harry.
"Remus, is it really important?" Harry asked, not wanting to reveal the secret of his glove. He knew that telling Tonks and Remus about the glove was not a problem but, somewhere deep down, he didn't feel like sharing this piece of information.
"No" Remus said instantly. He didn't want to breach Harry's privacy without Harry's consent. Tonks also went back to gazing at the flames which never generated more heat than necessary. Looking at their faces, Harry felt rather sad and started staring at the flames. After a couple of minutes, he looked up.
"What I am about to say to you and show you is one of the most important things in my life right now. No one is to know about it." With that, Harry touched a tiny green spot, which seemed more like a pimple than anything else, on the inside of his forearm. Both Tonks and Remus's eyes went wide at what they saw.
&&&&
8 hours had passed since the battle in the great hall which now bore no signs of it. Dumbledore had an emergency meeting of the uninjured staff members in his office and it was decided that classes would be suspended for the day. After that, Madam Pomfrey went on to describe the situation at the hospital wing of the school.
"Hagrid has broken all his ribs and his left hand is fractured. He is expected to recover by tomorrow. Professor Snape has broken both his arms and his right leg is also fractured. Added to that, Professor Snape's ribcage is also badly damaged. He will take at least 2 days to recover. All the other minor cases have been taken care of though I don't know anything about Potter" she finished off. Dumbledore thanked her for the service she was providing to the school as Madam Pomfrey went back to her patients. After another hour of discussions, only Professors McGonagall and Flitwick were left in the room.
"Albus, what was this all about?" McGonagall asked.
"Another trick of Tom's" Dumbledore replied.
"What trick?" McGonagall queried. "If this goes on, then he will be at our doorstep on any day."
"No Minerva." Dumbledore replied as he adjusted his glasses. "You know that Tom can't come here. We can't afford him to get here."
"But the danger is too great" Professor Flitwick spoke up.
"I know and I am taking the necessary precautions" Dumbledore replied to the experienced charms teacher. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to go and address the students." With that, the headmaster left his office.
&&&&
"Hello Madam Pomfrey" came the greeting in a cheerful voice. Madam Pomfrey, who was going through some files with her back towards her office door, seemed to freeze as she recognized the voice which greeted her.
"Mr. Potter" she said in a stern voice as she turned to face Harry. "You should be in bed now. I knew they would mess up."
"No one messed up anything" Harry said with a smile. "I have recovered and I have come for your examination."
"Recovered?" Madam Pomfrey asked, her voice betraying her shock. Regaining her composure she said "Ok, we will see to that."
A smiling Harry lay down on a bed as Madam Pomfrey completed her checkup. Even though the school matron was shocked, she was happy for the fact that Harry had indeed recovered a lot. According to her, he needed to stay careful for the next few days so as not to use too much of his 'recovering' magic. Harry promised that he would follow her instructions and thanked her for all she had done.
&&&&
"Where's Harry?" Neville asked Hermione when she found no trace of heis friend.
"Don't know" Hermione said. "I saw him being taken to the hospital wing last night but didn't see him afterwards."
"Was he ok?" Ginny asked as she joined in the conversation.
"He didn't seem to be but I myself couldn't remain awake long enough to see properly." Hermione replied. She, along with Ron, had been admitted for her injuries caused by rock splinters and all that she had seen was Harry been brought in before falling in a dreamless sleep.
"He sa…" Ginny was unable to complete her sentence as a tall, girl with bluish hair came towards them.
"Sorry to interrupt you but have you seen Harry Potter?"
"And you are?" Ginny asked coldly.
"Soha Mentieva" came the reply.
"Sorry but we don't know where he is" Neville replied in a civil manner.
"Oh. Is he hurt?" Soha asked.
"Yes" Hermione said. "We think he is hurt"
"I am sorry to hear that. Thanks for the information." With that, Soha walked back to the Ravenclaw table.
"Isn't that the same girl who was in Harry's compartment?" Ginny asked as she saw Soha walk back to her place.
"Yes" replied Hermione. Before she could continue any more, she saw Dumbledore enter the great hall. At once, everyone became silent.
"I don't know whether saying 'good morning' would be the right thing to do…" Dumbledore began "…but what I can really say is WELL DONE". The whole hall broke into applause with even a few Slytherins joining in. "Yesterday was one of the most defining moments in the history of Hogwarts. Yesterday evening reinforced the fact that Hogwarts is impenetrable but mind you, a building cannot be impenetrable by itself. Hogwarts is impenetrable because of its occupants and yesterday the young generation stood up and showed that it was ready to carry forward the responsibility." Another round of applause followed.
"Since the events of last evening dragged into the early hours of today, I think all of you stand to gain some points." Furious whispers went round the hall at this. None of them had even thought that they would get points for what they had done yesterday but now the prospect seemed very exciting.
"To Slytherin, for showing that they are not at all different than any of the others and for fighting side-by-side with the others, I give out 200 points." The Slytherin table broke out in applause while the others remained still. Everyone seemed astonished as one single clap seemed to come from a place other than the Slytherin table and looking round, they located the source – Neville Longbottom. Slowly but surely, more and more people started to clap and soon, the whole hall was clapping for the Slytherins who themselves had been shocked into silence. A smiling Dumbledore raised his hand to silence everyone.
"To Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, I again award 200 points each." All the houses, except a minority of the Slytherins, broke out in applause. "Now for some individual points". Everyone waited with baited breath for the next announcement.
"To Cho Chang and Virginia Weasley, I award 25 points each for their extraordinary efforts" Both the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables broke out in applause. "To Neville Longbottom, for his presence of mind and decision making, I award 25 points." Soon Neville was rubbing his back as all the Gryffindor's within reach had thumped him on the back.
"To Hermione Granger, for her out-of-this-world action which can come from only a single emotion…" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled even as Hermione blushed deeply "…I award 50 points." The Gryffindor table broke out in applause again as they knew they had got a huge head start for the house cup.
"Last but not the least…" everyone went silent as some guessed what was coming "…to Harry Potter, who is unfortunately ill an…" Exactly at that moment Dumbledore stopped as he saw who had entered the great hall – a fit looking Harry Potter. He smiled at Harry who returned the gesture.
One small clap broke out from the Slytherin table and everyone looked around to see that it was the same girl whom Harry had saved. Soon, the applause started getting louder and louder, much to the irritation of Harry who didn't like all this attention. Dumbledore put up his hands to stop everyone but found no one co-operating with him. As Harry walked towards his 'new' seat, more and more people stood up. Finally the applause died when he had taken his seat.
"You can thank your gods that Professor McGonagall isn't here otherwise she would have taken points from all those who refused to listen to me" Dumbledore said with his eyes twinkling madly. A round of laughter followed this and even Harry couldn't suppress a smile.
"Well, for saving the life of a new flower in the garden of Hogwarts, I award 100 points to Harry Potter". The applause which followed this announcement was beyond description. Almost everyone joined in, with some minor exceptions from the Slytherin table. Even Ron came up to Harry and congratulated him. All the while, Harry kept on thanking those who came up to shake his hand or to thump him on his back.
"Please be gentle with him or you will have to explain your actions to Madam Pomfrey." Another bout of laughter followed this statement of Dumbledore. By now, all the teachers, with the exception of Snape and Hagrid, had joined Dumbledore on the teachers table.
"Now, I do have a few start of term notices to hand out. The forbidden forest is strictly forbidden for everyone though…" Dumbledore glanced at Harry before continuing "…many people don't think so. I will only say that one of our previous ministry appointed staff members is still at St. Mungo's for not understanding the meaning of the word 'forbidden'." Many of the first year students were astonished at the fact that their seniors started laughing and clapping at this.
"Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has kindly asked me to remind all students that there is to be no magic in the corridors and that the list of forbidden objects now covers all the astonishingly creative things produced by Weasleys Wizard Wheezes." There was a collective groan at this. "Also, Quidditch tryouts will take place in the second week of term, and all those interested in participating should see Madame Hooch, our flying instructor and Quidditch coach." This announcement cheered up many people.
"You will also be delighted to hear that Professor Snape will be your new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher." Another round of groans. "We have a new teacher amongst ourselves who is known to many of the senior students. She is Professor Fleur Delacour and she will brighten up the potions classes for you". Many of the boys seemed to be chatting excitedly at how informative the potion classes will be while the girls looked at them in disgust. Harry, on the other hand, understood why he had been allowed to take potions in spite of not getting an 'O' in potions.
"Professor Delacour has just completed her apprenticeship in Potions and has successfully submitted her thesis. Professor Trelawney has joined us again and she will take Divination as usual. Professor Firenze will be the healing teacher for the 6'th and 7'th year students." It was now the turn of the girls to drool and the boys to get jealous.
"The last piece of information is that today's classes…" Dumbledore paused as he saw the faces of all the students drop "…are cancelled." This caused an uproar in the hall. Everyone was speaking as to how they would spend their day when Dumbledore spoke again. "Before you do anything, please collect your class schedules from your house heads." With that, Dumbledore sat down to start a late breakfast.
&&&&
"Damn" Ron said as he got her class schedule. "Double DADA with Slytherins"
"Look on the bright side, we have double potions with Ravenclaw. At least, we will have some fair competition this time." Hermione said, not noticing the disbelieving look which Ron gave her.
"Yes" Neville added. "I think I will be able to pass potions after all."
"What does Harry have?" Hermione queried as she saw Harry sitting in the corner of the common room and checking his schedule.
"The same thing which you must be having" Ron replied. "But you might have more classes than all of us put together" he added after a moment of thought. Hermione blushed at this and said nothing. As everyone started to relax on their first full day at school, Hermione couldn't help but wonder what had happened to Harry over the summer which had caused him to change so much.
&&&&
"We did it." A jubilant Cho informed the D.A. members who had been called for an emergency meeting in the Room of Requirements. Neville was also beaming along with Cho.
"We have been assigned the task of looking after security measures of the castle" Cho continued. "Also, we have the right to stop any fight and if someone disobeys our legitimate orders, we have the right to take off points from them."
"Great" Ginny exclaimed. "Now we can put that Malfoy in his righteous place."
"No Ginny" Neville said. "Nothing is going to be done on a personal basis. But yes, I agree with the fact that Malfoy will be docked points whenever he crosses the line."
"Which will be very often" Anthony added from behind and the others agreed with him.
"Also, we will have to prepare the A.D.A. for which we can put up notices around the castle" Cho carried on from where she had been interrupted. "Also, if we want to patrol the castle, we will have to submit a schedule beforehand to the headmaster." Cho finished off.
Soon the D.A. decided that patrols would come later on. The A.D.A seemed to be the primary objective and they decided to hand over notices to each of the house heads. They also made a charter of discipline measures and the number of points to be docked for each measure violated. The meeting lasted for over 2 hours after which everyone was finally able to go off to enjoy the 'holiday'.
&&&&
"May I come in Professor?" Harry asked at the entrance of the staff room where McGonagall was seated.
"Yes Mr. Potter" McGonagall replied.
"I wanted to say something to you. I won't be playing quidditch again." Harry said.
"WHAT?" Professor McGonagall shot up from her seat. "Do you know what you are saying?"
"Yes ma'am." Harry said. Professor McGonagall was seething with anger at what Harry had said. Almost all of the main players of the Gryffindor team had passed out and their two beaters had dropped out of school and now, their seeker had just come up and was giving in his resignation. But Professor McGonagall then noticed something she had never seen before in Harry – there was a deep sadness in his eyes. She then realized that this had been a very tough decision for him to make as the whole school knew that Harry loved nothing better than catching the snitch.
"Is this your final decision Harry?" McGonagall asked in a softer voice.
"Yes ma'am. But I would also like to ask you for a favor." Harry said. McGonagall gave an affirmative nod at which Harry continued "I don't want anyone to know that you wanted me to be the captain. Can you ensure that?"
"Ok Harry." Professor McGonagall understood that Harry had thought deeply about this matter.
"Thank you Professor" With that, Harry left the room.
&&&&
September 2'nd passed away in a blur. Harry went to his bed in the dormitory not feeling like going into the trunk. Thinking about what had happened in the past day and a half made him feel mentally tired. He meditated for about 20 minutes before finally going to sleep. Soon he found himself in a dark dungeon.
"You failed me Wormtail" Harry heard himself say.
"M…Ma…Master…The others didn't gi…give me enough…time" Wormtail said in a trembling voice.
"I don't like excuses" Harry's thought his voice seemed very cruel but he couldn't find a way to change it.
"I won't fail again master" Wormtail replied in a whisper.
"Just make sure you remember your promise" Harry said as Wormtail bowed before him. "I almost forgot Wormtail..." Harry said as he raised scaly fingers which held a wand made of yew wood and a phoenix core "…Crucio"
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A/N:
Ok guys, here's the 11'th chapter. I don't know whether I have been able to match the fight sequence of Azkaban (chapter 6) but I did try a lot.
If you guys are disappointed, then just say it in your reviews. And thanks to everyone who read this.
Important Note: I have finally decided on the finale. I have come up with a solution which is quite unique. And yes, Harry won't kill Voldemort using either love or hate (will Harry kill Voldemort? scratches his head). That's not the secret as many say. At least, it's my interpretation. Also, I will explain later on why Dumbledore didn't kill Voldemort in the DoM. It might be in this fic or in it's sequel but the idea has been fine-tuned :D.
n6uos – I beg to differ. Harry spent the first 11 years of his life at Privet Drive without his friends. He has to be mentally strong after all.
TimGold – I will keep your offer in mind.
Cyn Wraith – I have been writing this fic around June 24'th thinks. It was taken down for grammatical and spelling mistakes. That's why I had to put it up again.
Anyway, all this is being written now. I will start on the next chapter in a few days. It's hard to get enough time in between working hours.
As for the reviews, I am happy as long as those who read it are happy :).
BferBear – Grey? Don't know. Haven't thought about it that way.
Szihuoko – A false Moody in the fourth year is just a small case. Think about the first book where Voldemort is in Hogwarts!!! What else can I say about the security at Hogwarts? Also, you forgot the troll.
As to why Hogwarts didn't change hands, all I can say is that if Dumbledore had not been there, then who knows…
skeeter007 – Ok…ok…I am reducing it a lot. After all, I will try to write what you guys enjoy.
Slacker1 – Don't worry, Mark is not related to Harry here. He is important for Harry in some ways. Wait and watch.
TuxedoMac – Since I am writing this from Harry's POV, I won't be explaining things which Harry can't see or verify later. These will be minor and you will be easily able to guess it.
One more thing, the gate of Hogwarts was not broken. Rather, it was the great hall door.
And all the other guys who reviewed - Thanks for your reviews. Please know that they are very much appreciated and give me a real kick-in-the-back to continue writing. Also, I have a yahoo group – hppowerofhogwarts.
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