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Chapter 32- The Beginning of the End
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man as modest stillness and humility; But when the blast of war blows in our ears, then imitate the action of the tiger; Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage.- William Shakespeare, Henry V
The Order meeting was set for the next Friday at 10pm. Severus, Samantha and Harry sat around the table, listening to the clock in the hallway chime the hour. The floo flared green and Ginny stumbled out of the hearth, followed by Rachel and Remus. Samantha rose and took their cloaks, draping them over a broken chair that sat in the corner of the room.
"McGonagall's debriefing the Longbottoms, Luna and Flitwick now," said Remus. "They'll be here soon. Of course, we'll have to debrief everyone on these Horcrux things."
"Oh joy," said Harry, who sat at the head of the table, nervously tapping his fingers on the tabletop. The floo flared many times, spewing forth the Weasleys, Tonks, Kingsley, and a very ruffled Moody. The rest of the Order came through the floo soon after in smaller groups, as Remus had told everyone to avoid apparating if they could. After another fifteen minutes, the rest of the Order had arrived, including a very anxious Neville and a strangely alert Luna. Severus stood up and cleared his throat.
"Thank you all for coming tonight," he said. "And welcome to those of you who are new to our group. We have much to plan this evening. We have received news on another huge attack. The target will be Hogwarts."
"What?" gasped McGonagall. "He means to attack the school?"
"It's an enormous feat to attempt," said Arthur. "What purpose is there for doing this, when he could just as easily attack other, less fortified buildings?"
"Voldemort has always had a fascination with Hogwarts," said Harry. He looked to Severus, who nodded and retook his seat as Harry rose. "I have some things to tell you about what we've been doing for the past year since Dumbledore died. Actually, Dad and – sorry – Severus and I have been doing this since before Dumbledore died." Remus grinned at Severus, who simply raised an eyebrow at him. Samantha bit her lip to hide a huge grin.
Harry took a deep breath and exhaled, running a hand through his hair. Ginny grabbed his other hand, giving him a small smile. He kissed the back of her hand and began.
"Beginning after the battle at the Department of Mysteries, Dumbledore began gathering information on Voldemort when he was still known as Tom Riddle," said Harry. "He was looking for information on how to defeat him for good. He found that Voldemort had created Horcruxes, using his murder victims to split his soul into separate parts, so that if he was ever hit with a Killing Curse, he could be resurrected." An uncomfortable silence descended on the room. "We had to find all of these Horcruxes before we could kill Voldemort. Dumbledore found one inside Slytherin's ring summer before last and destroyed it. He found out that the diary Lucius Malfoy put in Ginny's cauldron her first year was also a Horcrux. I destroyed that one after killing the Basilisk. The night that the Dark Mark was seen--" Harry paused as Draco came rushing into the kitchen, breathing heavily.
"Sorry I'm late," he said to Severus as he took off his cloak and tossed it on top of the others in the corner. Harry smiled at him.
"It's okay, bro," said Harry, ignoring the shocked faces of McGonagall and Moody at the form of address. "I'm just filling everybody in on the Horcruxes."
"Excellent," said Draco as he sat next to Rachel, taking her hand in his.
"Now, where was I?" muttered Harry. "Oh. Right. So, the night the Dark Mark was seen over the castle, Dumbledore and I were off looking for another Horcrux, specifically a locket that Riddle's mother had in her possession. It had been passed down from Salazar Slytherin himself. We got the necklace and came back, but Dumbledore was in bad shape. We met Rosmerta in Hogsmeadeand heard about the Dark Mark. We rushed back to the castle."
"Albus had told me about the Horcruxes the summer before," said Severus. "I had to help him with a curse he suffered when he destroyed the ring. That was what happened to his hand. Meanwhile, I had sworn the Unbreakable Vow to Narcissa, which bound me to staying inside the Inner Circle."
"I had no idea about the Vow's contents," said Draco. "I thought that Dad was simply trying to steal the limelight in order to gain more favor with the Dark Lord. I told him nothing of the attempts I made on Dumbledore's life."
"Albus and I argued almost constantly all year," said Severus. "He made me promise to keep playing both sides, even if it meant killing him in the end so that Draco wouldn't have to and also so that we would have a way to know if Voldemort was aware of what we were doing with his Horcruxes. He made me Secret Keeper for the Order and Headquarters right after Christmas, just in case I needed to get Draco and any others into Headquarters for any reason. I didn't find out until a couple of months ago that Lupin was also made Secret Keeper."
"So," continued Harry, "Dad killed Dumbledore according to Dumbledore's own plan. If some of you doubt what we're telling you, I'm sure Headmistress McGonagall can arrange an appointment with Dumbledore's portrait for you." McGonagall shook her head, smiling at Harry.
"I knew Albus was up to something terribly important all year," said McGonagall. "He never would tell me what it was. Now I see why. I would have never let you go with him, Potter, had I known the extent to which Albus was involving you."
"You wouldn't have been alone," said Harry, looking fondly at Molly and Arthur. "Dumbledore allowed me to tell Ron and Hermione. They promised to help me look for the other Horcruxes after the funeral. The three of us decided that we weren't going back to Hogwarts until we had destroyed Voldemort. Dumbledore had told me that the locket, a cup that belonged to Hufflepuff, Voldemort's pet snake Nagini and another school relic were all used as Horcruxes, along with Voldemort himself being the final one. The locket we retrieved from the cave was actually a fake. It had a letter inside it signed with initials R.A.B. It wasn't until Mum and Dad looked at it that we figured out it was Regulus Black who had taken the real locket. That's when we went to Hogwarts to get more information on the others." Harry looked at McGonagall. "Sorry about breaking into your office, Professor." McGonagall waved her hand at him.
"Albus told us he had uncovered information about the cup being kept in Borgin and Burkes down Knockturn Alley," said Severus. "The locket we found here in the house among some things in the attic. Harry and I obtained the cup from Borgin's and brought it back here. Regulus had uncovered a potion that would destroy both of those objects. We brewed it and destroyed those Horcruxes in September."
"Through more research," said Harry. "We found out that the other Horcrux was actually a chest that had once belonged to Slytherin. He had given it to Ravenclaw before leaving the school."
Draco smirked at Harry, who returned it. "This chest had passed into the Malfoy family and was confiscated when the Ministry raided Malfoy Manor."
"And I mean to file a complaint about how that was done, by the way," said Draco, looking directly at Kingsley and Tonks. "The place was trashed. No consideration at all. And my furniture was gone. For Merlin's sake, the furniture could have stayed in the house!"
"Hang on," said Tonks slowly. "That break back in October, that was you?"
"That was us," corrected Harry. "Draco contacted us about spying for the Order the middle of September. That's when Ron and Hermione moved back to the Burrow. They didn't want to be around Draco, who was going to be here for spy training with Dad. We informed him about what we were doing, and he helped us break into the Manor to make sure the chest was really gone from the house. It was, but we triggered the alarms on our way out."
"There were alarm wards on all the outside doors, along with Anti-Apparition wards on the house itself," said Tonks. "But there was one door we couldn't ward from both sides. That must have been the door you went out."
"That door is voice activated and passworded," said Draco. "One of my grandfather's ideas."
"Right," said Harry. "We knew the chest had to be at the Ministry. We decided to wait on that one and try to kill Nagini first. Severus brewed a fast-acting poison that will disintegrate the snake. Sam put a time-release charm on it. Draco and I transfigured a vial of it and dropped it at a Death Eater meeting. I got the snake to eat it, so that one is taken care of."
"Wait just a minute!" cried Molly, her face red. "You mean to tell me that you both went to the meeting to drop this thing?"
"Well, I didn't really have a choice about going," said Draco. He shut his mouth, quickly realizing his error as Molly stood up sharply from the table, glaring at both of them.
"Molly, please calm down," said Samantha soothingly. "Severus and I both talked to the boys about their reckless behavior. They were punished, I can assure you." Draco frowned at her, feeling the top of his head.
"Right," sighed Harry in relief as Molly retook her seat. "So the snake will die as soon as the charm is cancelled. With the snake taken care of, Draco brought us information about the attack at Hogsmeade. After Ron and Hermione's funerals, we decided that we needed to find the chest before Voldemort found out what we were doing. We broke into the Auror files to see where in the Ministry it was stored."
"Bloody hell," said Kingsley, looking at Samantha. "Ives, you could be imprisoned for abusing your clearance like that."
"Believe me, Kingsley," said Samantha. "It gets worse." His eyes widened, looking to Severus's smug face.
"We found out where the chest was in the Ministry storage cells," said Harry. "Dad, Draco and I broke in and stole it back. Draco and I triggered the alarms when we disapparated out with it. Severus got back a few minutes later."
"And I would like to mention the fact that if certain spells are cast in there, the entire building would explode," said Severus sternly. "The Aurors have no idea what they've got in there, and most of the contents of that room are improperly stored."
"Well, we'll just bring you in and let you fix it for us," growled Moody. "You sure seem to be the resident expert on these kinds of things." Severus narrowed his eyes at him.
"We got the chest," said Harry forcefully, glaring at the two men, "and brought it back here. The magic was so strong that it killed Kretcher. Severus destroyed it last week, bringing us back to the attack on the school. As soon as we kill Nagini, Voldemort becomes just like any one of us, who can be killed in any number of ways."
The entire room sat in shocked silence. Draco reached over and picked up an apple out of the fruit bowl still on the table. He bit into it loudly. Rachel glared at him. Draco grinned at her as he took another loud bite. Suddenly, McGonagall chuckled.
"Good Lord, I'm getting too old for this kind of thing," she said. She took off her glasses, rubbing her eyes. She put them back on and gazed at Severus. "Severus, I owe you an apology."
"That will not be necessary," said Severus quickly, looking down at the table.
"It is very necessary," said McGonagall. "Some of us have done you a great injustice by not trusting your loyalty to Albus. I always thought Albus asked too much of you." Severus looked up at her, stunned. She smiled at him. "Yet, you showed more faith in Albus's plan than any of us ever did. And for that, we owe you everything." Severus sat back in his seat, flabbergasted at the many smiles coming his way.
"Wow," said Neville. "How did all of this go on, and no one know about it?" Harry smiled at him. "All those meetings you had with Dumbledore last year -- I remember Dean and Seamus talking about them one night, trying to figure out what you had done to be meeting with him. They would ask me if I knew, but I had no idea."
"And that, Neville, is the genius of a crazy old man," said Harry. "A crazy old man who was the most brilliant wizard I've ever had the pleasure of meeting." He looked down at the parchments that Samantha was spreading out on the table. "This will be the final battle between the side of Light and Lord Voldemort. I will take care of him, but I will need all of your help in taking care of everyone else." The occupants of the room exchanged meaningful glances and nods.
"Alright," said Arthur. "What's the plan?"
The Order members were broken up into teams, each with a specific entry point or main part of the castle to guard and protect. Arthur was to have his group guarding the dungeons, while Remus's group was to be stationed around the Whomping Willow. Flitwick's group would be in the secret passageway from Honeydukes; McGonagall, Neville and Luna's group would be on the seventh floor between McGonagall's office and the Room of Requirement. Madam Pomfrey was contacted to help with the wounded, along with a few friends of Order members and Augusta Longbottom, who had had some healer training. Harry, Severus, Samantha, Ginny and Rachel would be at the front doors, watching the gates.
In the weeks that followed the meeting, Draco's panther patronus became a common sight around the 12. Many of the missives were one-lined, written in hurried handwriting:
Wormtail's got a team entering from the Shrieking Shack. Tell Lupin to watch for him switching to his animagus form.
Told them about secret passageway from Potions office. Mr. Weasley to move into the office to keep them from entering the castle proper?
Bella to use passageway from Honeydukes. Tell Flitwick and McGonagall to disarm her quick.
A few days before the attack, Severus received a patronus during breakfast. He took the parchment off the tip of his wand as Harry watched him, finishing his eggs and toast.
I've been assigned to the Dark Lord's personal security detail for the attack. He's got a couple high-level curse breakers to work on the wards so that he can simply walk up to the front door. Won't he be surprised by the welcoming committee. He thinks the Order will not be there in time to stop him. I convinced him to bring the snake with him. That wretched thing is mine for the kill. I will join you after I dispatch our friend Nagini. We're only as strong as we are united, right, James?
See you next week. My love to you all,
Elias
"Damn," whispered Severus. He tossed the letter onto the table. Harry picked it up and read it quickly. He smiled and shook his head.
"Pretty gutsy move," said Harry. "Voldemort's going to be pissed."
"It is foolish to tempt Fate," said Severus sternly, pushing his empty plate away from him. "Anything could go wrong."
"You just have to trust him," said Harry. "He knows what he's doing. He wants to fight with us. And I'm not about to tell him he can't." Severus smirked at his own words being repeated back to him.
"And I thought bringing him here would make you more Slytherin," said Severus. Harry chuckled.
"No, you and Mum did that," said Harry. "It is dear Elias who was corrupted with Gryffindor recklessness." Harry's smile slipped slowly from his face. "No more deception. No more double lives. Voldemort is mine."
Severus stared at Harry, silently amazed at the determination and the hardness in the young man's gaze. He nodded.
"I think you've earned that right, James," he said softly. "You've more than earned it."
The day of the battle dawned bright and clear, the model of a perfect day for the middle of March. The House banners atop the Quidditch stadium stands fluttered gently in the light breeze. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stood tall against a sky blue background, the grounds eerily quiet. Inside, however, the castle was teeming with activity.
"Severus, we're going to need more blood replenisher and wound-cleansing potion," said Samantha as she took final counts of the medical supplies for Madam Pomfrey. Severus pulled large flasks out of his enlarged case, setting them on the table next to Samantha as Remus burst in the door.
"Sami, have you seen Doge? I'm trying to get my team set up outside, but I can't find him anywhere. I gave Ginny the Map."
"I think I saw him in the kitchens earlier," said Samantha. "The elves were going crazy since there were people in the castle again." Harry sat up from the bed he was lying on.
"The elves!" he cried, smacking himself on the forehead. Severus and Remus looked at him in confusion as Samantha finished her inventorying. Harry jumped up from the bed.
"DOBBY!" he shouted. A strangely dressed house-elf appeared immediately.
"Does Harry Potter be needing something?" said Dobby. Harry knelt down in front of the elf.
"Yes, Dobby," said Harry. "I need something very important. I need your help."
"Dobby will do anything for Harry Potter, sir!" cried Dobby, his eyes shining with tears.
"I need you and the other house-elves to help us fight the Death Eaters," said Harry. Dobby swallowed visibly. "We will need all the help we can get. If they get in, we will be in very bad trouble. Get the elves to spread out all over the castle. We need them all captured. Do you understand?"
"Dobby will get the others to help," said Dobby, nodding his head emphatically. "Yes, we will help Harry Potter."
"Thank you, Dobby," said Harry. He stood back up as Dobby disappeared with a loud crack. Remus shook his head ruefully.
"The boy is brilliant," said Remus.
"Of course he is," said Severus disdainfully as Remus ran out of the room. Harry grinned at Severus, who returned the smile and winked at him. Harry jumped when Draco's patronus shot through the wall. Severus received the patronus.
10am. Be ready. It will be swift.
Severus pointed his wand at his throat.
"EVERYONE TO THEIR ASSIGNED PLACES IMMEDIATELY," said Severus, his voice magically magnified throughout the school's halls. "THE ATTACK WILL BEGIN IN LESS THAN FIFTEEN MINUTES." He pointed his wand at his throat once more, canceling the charm.
"To the entrance hall," said Severus. The sun pouring in through the windows of the infirmary reflected brightly off the dagger hanging by his side as he slipped on his wand holster and ran out of the hospital wing. Harry and Samantha followed him closely as he jogged down the halls towards the entrance hall. Ginny and Rachel were standing guard with Kingsley when they arrived.
"I'll be nearby," said Kingsley as the others arrived. "As soon as the protective wards go down, our altered Anti-Apparition wards should spring up immediately, but I'll personally make sure that the ones between here and the gate at reinforced."
"Thank you, Kingsley," said Severus as Kingsley disillusioned himself and made his way down the path towards Hogsmeade.
"We ready?" asked Rachel, keeping her eyes on the gates down the road. Harry drew his wand and stood next to Ginny, watching the Map.
"We'd better be." He looked up, pointing to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. "They're here early." Ginny tapped the Map, folding it and placing it in her pocket. A great boom was heard from above them, the shock shaking them where they stood.
"What the hell was that?" cried Ginny, looking up. A bright red tinge was spreading rapidly from the top of the towers down towards the doors.
"The protection wards," said Severus grimly. Harry turned quickly at the sound of fighting in the hall behind him. He flicked his wand at a black cloak, sending them hard into the wall behind them, while Rachel hit another with a stunner as house-elves came pouring out from the Great Hall to help. Severus could hear Arthur's yelling directions over the crashing of spells. After only a scant thirty minutes, the wards around the castle fell with surprising ease. Severus grabbed Harry's shoulder, pointing with his wand down past the gates at the four black-cloaked figures who had just appeared and werewalking unhurriedly down the road from Hogsmeade to the castle.
"He is here," said Severus.