31) The Grave Of Thousands


In the shadows of Knockturn Alley six figures apparated into town. An old wench cried out and hurried into a shop. People around hurried away and soon the only other occupant of the street was a limping dog sniffing through the garbage in a corner. The six figures swept through and from one moment to the next they disappeared.

In Diagon Alley a witch heading from the ice-cream parlour complained loudly over today's youth as somebody bumped into her and she spilled her coffee. Seconds later wet footsteps appeared out of nowhere, but nobody paid attention.

Exactly four minutes later the three portals of Gringotts were blasted away by a gigantic bolt of light and six dark figures reappeared in the entrance of the Wizarding bank, throwing curses in all directions. Thirty-eight seconds after that the Goblins and customers were mostly dead or fleeing the building. Another five minutes later, a hundred aurors were securing the area and evacuating the people.

Half an hour later an uncountable number of subterranean explosions shook Wizarding AND muggle London. An underground train was smashed and hundreds of tunnels collapsed, burying thousands of galleons, sickles and knuts under the rocks.

In the middle of all this Percy Weasley was hidden beneath a counter and was coincidentally spared by falling stones or curses, albeit struggling to breathe under all the dust. Just then the first division storms the busted building and takes the six under fire. Within ten minutes the aurors are either dead, wounded or unconscious. The second divisions levitates the first out and the third and fourth is still occupied with stabilizing the building that is about to collapse.

But their power is weakening and the inevitable happens.

Between the clustered stones of the entrance hall lie two dead death eaters. One his still wearing his mask, the other is Rabastan Lestrange. Two are leaning heavily on each other, before they are whisked away by a portkey. The fifth is trying to help the sixth, who is half buried under a larger part of the ceiling. Desperately he is pulling at the sixth person, wand forgotten in the chaos. Helplessly he has to watch the aurors enter the building, before he cries out and disapparates.

The sixths is still trapped. Three aurors vanish the stones and a fourth stuns the man, before he is taken away by another portkey. From behind the auror brigades, a witch with a huge pink handbag is fervently writing with a frilly, green quill. Her name is Rita Skeeter.

To the same time a far greater number of death eaters appears in the centre of Hogsmeade. The inhabitants are either killed instantly or try to hide, fight or flee towards the castle. Almost instantly a large number of blue and red-robed witches and wizards apparate into the scene. Within two hours the number of fighters of each party doubles. Both counts however slowly decrease due to a rising amount of dead bodies clustered all over the usually peaceful village. Up in the school the students are locked away in the depths of the dungeon for preventative means. Some of the staff has departed to help to defend the village. The odds are not too bad, until Voldemort himself appears. The battle soon rages furiously as Albus Dumbledore joins the fight.

Nobody notices the figure lurking near the Shrieking Shack. At some point the aurors and the Order seem to have overpowered most of the death eaters as most of them appear to be rather inexperienced. Many former Slytherins are unmasked and sent off to face justice. The dark lord has not jet jointed the fighting, instead he seems to observe.

Until a new force appears.

Harry Potter floats in midair above the battle, a huge staff in hand. Suddenly everything is eerily quiet. The number of fighters has been reduced to about fifty in full possession of their powers and body parts on each side. Nearly everybody is staring at the boy on his broom.

Then the boy rises the staff and yells something. A stunner shots down on a bulk of death eaters and they are out instantly. Their comrades seems slightly worried. One disapparates.

His fate is sealed.

The dark lord raises his wand and a green bolt of lightning shoots by the flyer, who easily dodges it. To the surprise of (nearly) everyone involved, Harry Potter counters with a silencing charm. The dark lord is temporarily incapacitated. Even though the charm does not last, Harry Potter has bought himself time.

Time he uses well.

A searing shot of white light ignites Voldemort's robes. Aghast the crowd watches, as the dark lord is mocked by the boy-who-lived. Enraged, Tom Marvolo Riddle has extinguished the flames and the duel beings with full force. Potter's advantage of flying a broom is soon erased, when the floating spell is broken. But the boy is of course rescued by Albus Dumbledore, who joined the duel.

Despite the risk for his reputation the dark lord is soon forced to rely on help from his death eaters. Snape, who has suddenly turned up, is called up to join the duel under the pretence to hold up the fairness Gryffindors love so much. In the meantime new auror divisions from Diagon Alley have joined the battle and overpowered the remaining death eaters save for those few who could flee in time.

Snape soon starts to fire curses at Dumbledore, that have no effect. Dumbledore's shields are simply too strong. After some time Dumbledore manages to trap Voldemort with enchanted vines from the nearby forest. Potter lands another blow and the battle seems almost won when Snape suddenly turns on his lord and casts another binding charm.

Potter raises his staff again, when he is suddenly hexed from behind. In the gate to the shack a pale girl stands, wand risen and eyes red with fury. Nobody ever realized how strong the grip of darkness was on her. Her brothers and parents look in fear as she laughs like a maniac, before pulling a grimace. Just when she opens her mouth the power surge coming from Voldemort pulls the crowd's attention back to the duel. Dumbledore and Snape do their very best to control the raving maniac, while Potter comes back to his feet, but it's too late.

The bands rip and the dark lord's visible spirit escapes the bound, wrecked body. With a homicidal laugh he urges onwards onto the unsuspecting girl. She is helpless under his onslaught. He possesses her effortlessly. Her love is too weak, her hate sustains him.

With a feral leer she disapparates from the scene. Her mother cries after her, while other people hold the shaken family back. Bill, Arthur, Charlie and Molly are in shock.

Percy has managed to free himself from the ramble and has apparated to Hogsmeade. Still, he is too late. With wide eyes he observes how his mother goes to her knees. He does not know yet – soon he will. Fred and George are still helping with the wounded in Diagon Alley. They will come home that evening. And Ginny…

Our sweet, little Ginny – is gone.

Some metres away Severus Snape is leaning against a tree trunk, shaken to his bones.

Twelve hours later, on the thirty-first of May, the morning copy of the Daily Prophet brings a huge front-page issue:

A Grave Of Thousands

By Rita Skeeter…


Hey, I know - having read HBP as quickly as I could - (don't read on if you havn't!) that "he's" a bad guy, but I like him better being good, right! That makes this story officially AU now, but what the hell who cares!

Hey, I know - having read HBP as quickly as I could - (don't read on if you havn't!) that "he's" a bad guy, but I like him better being good, right! That makes this story , but what the hell who cares!