Chapter 28
"Ron." Harry muttered, and moved to stand when Hermione's grip tightened to the point of bruising and she leaned over to him.
"Wait Harry. He's here for a reason, who knows how he'll react if he sees us."
"He's my best friend Hermione! I've got to go and-"
"No Harry. Wait." Harry glared at her angrily and barely resisted the urge to roughly tear his arm from her grasp. Then he remembered how Hermione, after everything they had all been through, would be the last person to lead him astray. So he remained seated where he was and focused intently on the figure who had just closed the door lightly and paused, as though suddenly completely unsure of what to do. "Are you sure it's him?" She hissed, staring just as keenly as Harry and he nodded affirmative.
The figure, Ron, was covered from head to toe in a long brown, mangled jacket that almost reached to the floor. It had a hood that was pulled up over his head, hiding the face beneath it because Ron was intent on looking down at the floor. He was taller then Harry remembered, even with his shoulders slumped in uncertainty, and he desperately wanted to see his friends face, just to have absolute assurance that it was in fact him. Then Ron began to move to the front of the great hall, directly towards the staff table, passing right by Harry and Hermione without a glance at any of the Gryffindor's.
By this time the sound in the hall had dwindled down as students and faculty alike had noticed this new and rather imposing character, whose walk was only heard because of the swishing of his dampened jacket. He was at the head table in no time at all, his long legs (hidden by the torn jacket) eating up the distance easily.
"Who's this guy?" A student down the table asked quietly, looking around. Harry ignored the gazes that looked to him for an answer, choosing instead to stare at his friend. He walked stiffly, Harry had noticed, and he had hugged his torso a moment before dropping his arms to his side to show he was unarmed. Snape was glaring at him suspiciously while most of the other teachers present looked on in curiosity. This wasn't the first time a stranger had entered the great hall unannounced, but the fact that he had been omitted into the school without anyone noticing was cause for concern. Ron kept his head bowed as he walked right in front of Dumbledore, stopped and mumbled quietly. There was, Harry realized, a garble spell in place, no doubt by the headmaster himself, so that the students wouldn't understand what was going on and he glared with frustration. He moved to get up again but Hermione pulled him down.
"Wait." She hissed, and though he felt wound as tight as a spring he forced himself to still, calling on his minimal Auror training and patience. A moment later when Ron looked up and the suddenly shocked professors began to look concerned, Fudge made to stand; he froze before he even pushed up from his seat. Harry, who was used to being aware of his surroundings despite his target of attention, saw the movement out of the corner of his eye and was puzzled when the minister suddenly refrained from interrupting the intense conversation. Then he saw Snape casually tuck his wand back up his sleeve and turn back to the conversation with a threatening glint in his eye, staring at Ron with full attention. It was a full minute more, interspersed with dramatic hand gestures and intense questions before Ron turned and began heading straight back to the door, his head bowed once again, obscuring his face. Then he was gone. Just like that. The great Hall erupted in excited conversation and Harry leapt to his feet, suddenly panicked as he had lost sight of Ron.
"Harry!" Hermione yelled as she leapt up with him and they rushed away from the table to follow the footsteps of their friend.
"I'm not letting him leave again." He growled as he stormed his way up the isle, oblivious to the startled gazes he was receiving and not noticing how several students leaned closer to the table to avoid being in his way. He was almost at the door when Dumbledore's powerful voice called out over the great hall, stopping all chatter in an instant.
"Mr. Potter, I would bid you come and speak with us a moment before rushing out to greet your friend." Harry slowed but he didn't stop as he was almost at the door.
"I'm sorry Headmaster, but this is a matter I have to attend to."
"Indeed it is Harry, but wait until the moment is right. Rushing into things may cause more harm then good." That stopped him dead in his tracks as he vividly recalled the night he had rushed out to save Sirius, not knowing it had been a trap. His intentions had resulted in the death of his godfather. He whirled about and glared angrily at Dumbledore, making sure the threat was in his eyes, but the wise wizard merely smiled at him kindly.
"I won't let him disappear again." He all but growled, to the shock of most in the room. Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder but he barely felt it.
"He will be outside, trust me. He is not going anywhere tonight." Harry stared at him a moment, and then nodded. He changed direction and marched up to the staff table with just as much energy as he had been heading to the door. When he stopped he stood to the side and waited, for he knew that something very serious was taking place and it would only be moments before the powerful headmaster announced his intentions. He waited barely two seconds before Dumbledore addressed the entire room.
"It has come to our attention that a threat is upon our school. I will ask that you all remain calm and listen to me carefully a moment. Prefects, you will take your houses to the dungeons at once. There is plenty of room down there for all of our students. Do not be alarmed, the dungeons are the safest place to be at the moment. Headboy and Girl, I want you to check that all students are safely escorted and not lingering anywhere else in the school, make sure we have no stragglers if you will." Dumbledore turned and looked at the assembled group of guests. They were quite the group, some looking ready for any threat while others seemed to almost cower in uncertainty at the situation. Fudge looked outraged at not being informed of why all these decisions were being made without his consent.
"Ministers and officials, I will have to ask that you accompany the students to the dungeons. I will rely on you to keep them safe." The unspoken acknowledgement that Dumbledore's defences might fail seemed to startle the entire school, a suddenly nervous and frightened energy engulfed the room, but nobody panicked yet.
"Headmaster, I hardly see why…"
"I'm sorry minister Fudge, but this applies to you as well. Hogwarts is under my jurisdiction only, and I'm afraid that the safest place for you will be with the children." Fudge looked nervously at the students seated throughout the large room but said nothing more. "Now, if you will all follow my instructions please, a teacher will come and let you know when it is safe to go back to your dormitories." The prefects stood and herded their tables out the door one at a time, doing their best to reassure the younger children and to quiet the unsettled conversation of the older students. Filch appeared by the door and glared at them as they quickly strode by, his cat, Mrs. Norris, was nowhere in sight. Harry turned sharply to address the teachers, who had moved from their chairs as one and were gathering around the Headmaster.
"What is going on and why can't I see my best friend." Harry demanded, his voice deceptively calm for the anger and agitation he was feeling. Dumbledore turned to him then, his eyes very serious.
"This is a very hard time for you Harry, and I understand that, but you must realize that these last few years have not been kind to our dear Mr. Weasley, not kind at all. Right now he has broken his solitude to warn us of an attack that will take place very soon, and I fear that him knowing you are here will distract him from this battle."
"Battle?" Harry demanded, not liking what he was hearing at all.
"It appears that an associate of Voldemort's has been preparing a secret army these last few years, one that none of us had imagined possible. This wizard has recently learned that his leader has fallen, and he has decided to exact his revenge where he has learned it will do most harm. I am assuming Hogwarts is his target because we currently have so many powerful leaders gathered here at this time."
"We can't possibly fight off an army of dragons, we'd be best to hide in the dungeons with the rest of the lot." Severus hissed even as he clenched and unclenched the wand in his fist, preparing for a fight.
"That might be true, but I will not stand for the children of this establishment to suffer the evils that approach us, not when we can stop it."
"There's no time for reinforcements, we need to head to the roof now so we can await their approach. I'll gather as many brooms from the shed that I can." And with that McGonagall twirled in her majestic emerald green robes and disappeared quickly out one of the halls side doors.
"I'll see if there are any potions that might be of use." Snape bustled off in the other direction, his mood as black as his cape.
"Well, I suppose I'll accompany you to the roof then." Flitwick announced strongly, though he looked nervous and a bit pale.
"I'll join you." Remus Lupin announced and Harry whirled around in surprise to stare at his friend who had also been missing these last few months. Remus was as pale as always, and he looked harried and tired, as though he had spent the last day traveling.
"We'll be glad to have you." Dumbledore announced and as one they left the great hall and headed to the winding stairway that would lead to the castle's large roof. Harry found that he had never been down the few hallways they took to get to the secret staircase, but that fact was at the back of his mind as he tried to fully understand what was happening.
The castle was under attack and Ron had somehow known about this and had come specifically to warn them. Dumbledore had promised that Ron wasn't leaving again that night, so he must be somewhere on the school grounds, waiting for the dragons to come. It wasn't how he had planned on spending his Thursday evening, but the prospect of having his friend back made him glad it was happening. What were a few dragons anyway? Harry had managed to get by one in his fifth year, and Charlie and the other dragon workers hadn't had too much difficulty with them. He was beginning to feel confident that they would win this battle even before he had breached the door leading to the frigid roof. That was until Hermione decided to speak up.
"If this was just a few dragons you wouldn't be so worried."
"You're right of course." Dumbledore answered, not even winded by the long tunnel of stairs they were racing up. "Young master Ronald was very specific in stating that these dragons are no longer natural beasts of the mountains, but have become something much more sinister. Magic is not as strong when dealing with them, and basic curses do not affect them. We will need to use all of our strength and cunning this night." With those grave words they pushed through a heavy wooden door and stepped out under the cloudy night and into the icy drizzle. Harry pushed forward to the lip of the roof, noticing immediately that it stretched a lot further then he had originally thought. It was at least half the length of the quidditch pitch. Looking around he noted that the far corners were doted with a cluster of old gargoyles, while there were single gargoyles spread every four meters or so. Several stone shack like buildings protruded across the expanse, and there was a wall good distance away that he couldn't see behind, but other then that it provided very little protection.
"We need to meet them further from the school." Harry stated, unhappy with the conditions that surrounded them.
"Indeed, but the school is their target and we don't know how many will be attacking. We could stop a few if we were to meet them halfway, but many would pass us by and arrive here unhindered with no one to stand in their way. At this height we will be able to understand more of what we are dealing with and take the appropriate actions." Harry didn't like this explanation at all, he didn't want to be stuck on the rooftop; he wanted to be out there with Ron, helping him.
"Where's Ron?"
"I'm afraid that I do not know. He left without telling me where he was going." Dumbledore stepped up beside Harry and looked over the edge into the distance a moment before turning back to the group. McGonagall had landed and was passing brooms around with a face filled with determination. Harry took a school broom and laid it along the wall until he needed it. Snape was just coming through the door, slightly out of breath from running, but he still managed his ever-present air of irritation. Professor Flitwick was almost lost among all of them as he was so short. The defence against the dark arts teacher, a heavier man in his mid forty's who had a red cheeks and jolly features, was standing stonily beside Hermione, his wand at the ready. Lupin was gazing out at the horizon as though he knew exactly what he was looking for, and Hermione had pulled her hair back into a pony tail and had broken the heels off of her elegant shoes.
Madame Pomfrey was there, but she was ordered to stay close to the stairs. She would deal with the wounded as they came. Madame Hooch had rolled up her lavender sleeves and gripped her wand with an air of readiness that she had so often held when refereeing quidditch matches. They were all, with the exception of Lupin, dressed in their formal dress robes. Hagrid had gone down to his hut, intent on gathering what tools he could use to fight, seeing as he couldn't really use magic. Hopefully he was gathering some of his more dangerous creatures to help as well, though in all likelihood they would probably attack the people instead of the dragons. And then, to complete the group, were two minister's of different height but with surprisingly similar facial features who had decided to follow them up the stairs regardless of Dumbledore's orders. One was Irish, and the other taller one was from the Netherlands if Harry remembered correctly.
They all stood a moment in utter silence and looked upon each other, a heavy sense of foreboding and comradeship filling the air. This, Harry thought offhandedly, is how he had imagined the final battle with Voldemort would be: everyone standing together and waiting for the attack as though it was never going to come. The fear they felt was pushed far back in their hearts because fear, at a time like this, muddled the mind and slowed ones reflexes. Harry wasn't sure whether it was worse to know that you were possibly about to die and have time to prepare for it, or if he preferred to be thrust into the thick of it without a moments notice. The battle with Voldemort had been spontaneous, and it had ended as well as it could. Perhaps time to prepare would work in their favour as well.
"I thank you all for your bravery on this night. It is much to ask to lay down your lives for that of others." Dumbledore's voice rasped deeply, icy clouds forming in the air with his every breath as he looked at each of them. "Such acts of courage shall never be forgotten, nor wasted." With that he dispatched them in groups to different areas along the roof in order to spread their defence, and then he stood alone with Harry. Together they looked out upon the dark horizon, and waited.
TBC
Well, there's not much left now! I hope that was a good little Hermione and Harry interlude for those of you who requested our favourite bushy haired know-it-all! She's great, but as I said before I can only place so many characters in the story and unfortunately I don't feel her when I write, so I try to avoid ruining her character ;)
Scribhneoir, I love hearing which lines you enjoy and the reasoning. It's often the shortest lines that carry the characters so far. I'm glad the perspective change worked well. As you're probably aware it's difficult to shift from one characterization to another and make it work. I often find that, when attempting this, the characters personalities blend together and loose their individualization. Does that make sense?
Saqutcheway, no I'm not trying to kill you or any other wonderful people reading this story (though you're not the first to accuse me of it). As for thinking this might have turned into a slash fic: It is a friendship based fiction and that was my intent from the start, though I have to admit that there are scenes in this story which (for those who want to) can be manipulated to suit their own interests. I have nothing against slash and find all genres interesting as long as they are written well, but I hold to the fact that this story is based on Friendship.
Harry Lvr, you're awesome, though as far as hinting for more Charlie goes...well, the story is complete and you're just going to have to see what happens :) ha ha. I, however, am delighting in everybody's anticipation. Ha ha. Ohhh, I'm probably in trouble for mocking you all now. Oh, and what did I tell you in chapter 3? Was it the werewolf thing? Or the apparating? I'll have you know I do nothing on purpose and everything for a reason. And you can write as much as you want in your reviews. Reviews make me happy :)
Madam Whitbrook, thank you.
Joruby, than you for not harming Harry Lvr. I don't know how I'd cope with her loss. Sorry it took so long to post this, but it's still the 16th and that damn life thing got in the way :)
Well, both chapters were short, but there were two of them. I hope you enjoyed it! I hope you're enjoying the wait even more! Mwa haaaaaaa ha…cough.
Your reviews have been terrific. Thank you.
Next Update: Monday 19, 2005