AN: See Disclaimer in previous chaps; bla-bla-bla… please review, thank all reviewers; have fun reading, the author...

okay, this story is now officially AU, since I don't like HBP anyway>>>


37) The Battle II

And so it came. The bloodshed outside continued until the late afternoon, before both sides pulled back a little. Strategies had to be reconsidered and forces regrouped. Most witches and wizards all over the country had left for the Ministry or escaped overseas until further notice. Muggles had observed irregularities at the ports and train stations.

Fear had spread over the Wizarding society of Great Britain like a brush fire and everybody was anxiously waiting for news from the battlefield, sitting at the fireplace at home or at some relative's place. Especially the families with children at the castle were afraid. Most parents had apparated to the Ministry as soon as the news got out and demanded to be sent along with the aurors to save their children. And therefore more and more reinforcements on both sides joined the fight.

Inside the castle the students were gathered in their common rooms. The prefects were in direct contact with the teachers, who organized the castle defences. Thus far the Death Eaters had been chased with enchanted arrows that melted the moment they made skin contact and made the victim loose consciousness, a great achievement by Flitwick and McGonagall. Most of the staff members were positioned on the towers around the castle or at the entrances. The creatures had not yet joined the fight, but the message had arrived that they were ready to fight. Up to then, the Dark Lord had not been sighted.


Daphne looked up when Snape entered the room. Walking over to him, she addressed her concern and he nodded, before sending a silvery bird out of his wand.


"Miss Greengrass, Miss Bullstrode, Miss Parkinson, Miss Bole, please come with me," their head of house ordered and the seventh year girls followed. Snape led them up to the headmaster's office, where Dumbledore waited.

"Miss Bullstrode, Parkinson and Bole," Dumbledore addressed the other girls, "you have been accepted within these walls up to today. However we cannot risk your potential disloyalty any longer. Professor Snape will escort you to the North tower, you will depart from there by portkey. You are hereby expelled," the headmaster sounded grave.

But there was no reason to argue.

"Traitor!" Pansy hissed, as she passed by, but Daphne knew she had made the right choice.

When the other girls were gone, she turned toward the headmaster.

"Sir?"

"Yes, my child?"

"Are we going to be safe?" she asked concerned.

"You will be safe," the old wizard answered after a moment.

"And Harry?"

But he did not answer her. A loud bang came from outside and shook the earth. The headmaster rose from his chair and rang a bell that had hung from a perch behind his desk. A large bird she had not noticed before began to sing and from afar she heard more bells ring.


At the same time the prefects from four houses gathered their housemates around them and began to walk to the dungeon. The students walked in relative silence. Soon the crowd from Hufflepuff joined the students from Gryffindor and together they crossed the entrance hall, just when another bang came from behind the solid walls.

Everybody sped up a bit and they left the widely known passages behind, entering the deeper dungeons, where they encountered Ravenclaw on their way downstairs. Daphne had joined the students from Hufflepuff and was now searching for Harry, but her boyfriend was not there. Hermione Granger found her sitting on the rim of the fountain and they were soon engaged into a subdued talk, when they heard noises from the stairs. The Slytherins were coming, along with Professor Sprout. Her gaze flickered over to the badger at the fountain, just when the stone archway closed behind her.

"Now then," she smiled gently, "stay calm, nothing can harm us down here. Hogwarts is keeping us safe."


Percy was dashing through the woods. Kingsley and Charlie were somewhere behind him. The Death Eaters they had encountered had whisked away most of their comrades and now they were running for their lives. A green lightning bolt shot by his ear and he threw himself behind a tree. Charlie landed next to him and gave him a brief squeeze to show he was alright. They heard Shacklebolt shouting and curses flying, and suddenly the air was full of galloping hooves and battle cries. More curses flew and then it got silent again.

Peering over a dead tree trunk on the ground, he saw seven centaurs bowing over some crumpled mess on the ground. Gagging, he turned away. Charlie looked a little pale, but the auror dragged them on. Once they had reached the lakeside again, they came across another group of aurors and Order members. Lupin and Tonks were among them.

"Tonks!" he waved over and she smiled.

"Wotcher! Good to see you, Perce, where's the rest?"

He swallowed.

"Oh dear…" she sighed, "And the Death Eaters?"

"Centaurs. There is – only pulp left, I think," he felt slightly nauseous.

"Bleh!" she shuddered.

"Charlie and Shacklebolt are fine, though."

"Good. You an come with us. New orders from Dumbledore arrived. We are to let them near the castle-"

Suddenly there was a shockwave and they stumbled backwards.

"-to lure Voldie-Moldy here. So they can finally end it!" she screamed over the rouse.

"Who THEY?"

"Dumbledore and Harry, o'course." she answered while scanning the horizon.

"Harry? But he's just-"

"The Boy-Who-Lived, yeah, prophecy stuff and so on. Dumbledore and Snape will keep him safe. Could do it last time, too," she shrugged. He shook his head.


Harry stood behind the headmaster when the doors opened for them. The staff took care of every adverse object in a radius of fifty feet. Those senseless fools that had actually dared to near the castle were mown down by a hail of arrows from McGonagall's magical crossbow. The elderly witch growled darkly and sent out another storm of arrows. Screams came from the front when a whole hotchpotch of spells cleaned their path. Once outside Harry tried to look past the teachers, but did not see very much.

From above he heard Hooch giving a battle cry, before several bludgers went down on the unfortunate people on the ground. Another bang echoed through the mess when a searing hot shot of pain cursed through Harry's scar.

"Damn! He comes!" he whispered to Bill, who was guarding his right. At his left Snape pulled a grimace and handed him a potion. Drowning the eerie blue fluid, he instantly felt slightly better. He wanted to thank Snape, but just then the Potions master flared around and shot a curse at a rock. A small animal scrambled away from the splintered stone, but an arrow caught it through the body and with a shrill scream the traitor transformed back into his human self. Harry would have loved to take his much earned revenge, but there were more important matters at hand, like roasting that ugly snake of a dark crock.

And the itch was back. It seemed Snape's potion worked only so far. At least he could still think clearly. Trying to erect his mental barriers he somewhat managed to block the pain out. The group around him had come to a standstill and he could finally see past Dumbledore.


The ground she walked on was burnt with curses, drenched in blood or battle potions. Beside her Bellatrix gave a feral grin and her husband smiled coldly. After the dead loss last time it was high time for retribution. They had lost most of the youth in that battle and actually dared to duel her. And, holy shit, Harry and Snape had been go–now where did that come from?

Shutting the voices in her – dammit! HIS - head out, the Dark Lord let the dark mark rise from his wand to indicate the beginning of the real fight. Soon the troops would gather around her and… fuck it! HIS troops would gather around HIM, their almighty, godlike LORD, and she… argh! Where was Luna when she needed to talk – WHAT!

Breathing deeply once, he forced himself to concentrate on the battle and on killing Potter. Yes, hurting Potter was good!

The old fool and his little pathetic Hogwarts brigade had left the castle. His plan was working out. Kill Dumbledore, capture Snape for further first-class torturing, capture Harry for safekeeping in a dank, icy dungeon without window and possibly other enjoyments – okay, concentrate! – and either kill or subdue the rest. That would work out fine!

If only Harry would-

DAMMIT! Possessing that stupid bint was not as easy as it was supposed to be! Damn all Weasleys and their multiple children, aunts, uncles and other relatives. Yes, Weasleys would definitely suffer! And all the other blood-traitors, mudbloods, muggles, whelps, kitties, Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and squibs, too!

Merlin's balls, he needed a new body to possess!


Her flaming red hair stuck out from the black and green surrounding her. The Dark Lord's gaze was panning over the area and finally came to rest on them. Harry could barely suppress a shiver. Yelling could be heard from the battling wizards and witches all over the grounds, but over time it had become less and less. Dumbledore placed a hand on his shoulder, although his eyes never left their enemy.

"The time has come; use your resources well," the blue eyes flickered over to him for a second, before the headmaster let go of him and stepped aside. In a distance of approximately a hundred feet, Voldemort and his closest followers had fought their way through the struggling teachers, beasts and aurors. It was now or never…

Placing his fist above his heart, Harry felt the smooth metal under his palm. Concentrating on the emanating magic, he felt a pulse of power beating through his veins, surging through his mind and body directly at the pendant. Ripping the chain from his neck, he murmured a low "Nekrad!" and the metal elongated in his hand. The ripple of pure force let his skin prickle as he put a step forth. Snape had not left his side, nor had Dumbledore. Bill and Remus were guarding their backs.

Around them most of the fighting had stopped and many were anxiously looking at the opponents. The air was buzzing with emotions; hate, revulsion, anger and resentment, apprehension and unease, tension and nervousness painted on every face.

Well, mostly.

The Dark Lord had moved to the front of the group of death eaters around him. His vengeful, red eyes distorting Ginny's beautiful face. Her once so innocent and sweet mouth was pulled into a grimace and her usually flat hair windswept and dirty with something that looked suspiciously like blood.

Beside the Dark Lord, Bellatrix Lestrange stared grimly over the crowds. She was the only one beside her master who did not wear a mask. Her black hair was pulled into a tight plait, and she looked fiercer than ever.

Staff in hand, Harry made another step. Beside him Snape growled deeply and a menacing air built around him, his dark gaze directed at the people on the opposite side of the battle ground. Baring his teeth, the Potions master flared his nostrils like an enraged animal ready to strike.

There was a moment in which the air did not seem to move…

And then hell broke loose.

A curse flew by his ear while Snape surged forward. To his right, Dumbledore was chanting something while golden light evaporated from the tip of his wand to form a transparent globe around them. Barely avoiding an second hex, Harry finally found his rhythm.

Shooting a blinding curse with his wand, he used the little time he had won to put his treasured weapon away and took the staff with both hands. Dodging a Furunculus and throwing off a wayward Imperius, he neared his enemy. Feeling horribly out of place, he looked around to find Snape, at last spotting the Potions master in a fiery duel with Rodolphus Lestrange. Bellatrix joined in when her husband stumbled, and she fired her own curses at Snape. Harry shot a stunner in her direction while evading a green bold of light shooting by his ear.

That had been close!

Focusing, he saw her falling in the corner of his eye. Her husband threw something, most likely a portkey, at her and her body disappeared. Just then Snape threw Avada Kedavra and it hit Lestrange straight in the chest. With wide eyes Harry saw the man stumble and fall. Another curse would have hit him, but the globe Dumbledore had erected let it bounce off. Instead it hit another Death Eater, who started to howl immediately and seconds later burst into flames. His charred remains were left as a black heap on the ground, the white mask lying eerily between the ashes.

Harry jumped away from a hex from behind, about to reply when he felt a presence entering his mind. Shutting his mental barriers immediately, he pushed against that force and eventually it pulled back. Turning around, he saw Voldemort approaching him. A curse flickered by, but he barely noticed it. Ducking another, he let a third bounce off the shield. Raising the staff, he quickly observed the Dark Lord as he narrowed his eyes. But with a blink the signs of recognition where gone. Instead those rosy lips formed a deathly curse and Harry narrowly avoided it, before firing back a rather nasty muting spell.

It hit and Voldemort growled as he realised he could not throw it off.

His eyes narrowed momentarily, before he put his wand away and rose his hand. An invisible ball of air hit Harry square in the gut and he stumbled back. Slightly nauseous, he go back to his feet, but something had changed. While his sight cleared quickly, all noises were fuzzy and dimmed. Glaring at the realisation, he quickly reconsidered his choices. Deciding not to try to break the deafening spell, or whatever it was, he urged on, this time using the staff in a different way.

Swinging it once, the blades loosened from the top and within moments he was wielding the whip-like thing he had first seen on that picture in the wand-shop. Voldemort swirled back when the long tendrils shot at him, cutting everything in pieces that got in their way.

For a moment Harry was wary of that force he was wielding, but then something swapped over him and cold determination settled in his mind and heart.


AN: Well, I hope you wonder what will happen next. I still have holidays, but I'm pretty busy,s o I don't know how soon I'll update. Won't be too long, though. reviews are always highly welcomned. What did you think of HBP? Angry, frustrated - hopefull?

LCCY