Chapter 11
Avada Kedavra
Harry stepped out on to the deserted street. Squinting ahead through the rain, he could see dim flashes of light from up ahead, a battle was in progress. Perhaps this was where the Auror Headquarters was? He supposed he could go there and ask them for help… they couldn't very well refuse the great Harry Potter after all, but since he wanted the Death Eaters inside the shop to follow him outside, so he had to hang around a bit, to make sure they could see him.
He kept his hood up, and hurried down the alley past burning shops, avoiding the wreckage that was littering the street. He kept looking back occasionally to see if he was being followed, but there was no one behind. What were the Death Eaters doing? Wasn't he the big fish, weren't they supposed to come after him?
His heart clenched, what if they didn't come after him? Had he abandoned his friends? What if they thought he had fled, abandoning them, Apparating away to safety while they battled on? His ears burned at the thought.
Which led to another very interesting question, why didn't everyone Apparate away? Perhaps his friends couldn't, as they were under-aged, but he found it very hard to believe that old Fortescue didn't know how to Apparate. And there was the matter of the screams that he had heard, just when the Death Eaters began their attack. If the shoppers had known that their lives were in danger, why didn't they have the sense to escape while they could?
A vague idea emerged in his head, the more his logical side kept picking at it trying to find a flaw, the clearer the shape it took. Perhaps they couldn't Apparate, perhaps the wards that were laid before the assault included anti-Apparation ones as well. He remembered the feeling he got when he Apparated, there was some sort of resistance blocking him, but he had batted it away without a thought… If this indeed was the case, how had he overcome the wards so easily?
Never mind that now… where the hell were those Death Eaters? He panicked suddenly, almost deciding to head back, when he saw signs of movement … Ah, there they were… The first few Death Eaters snuck out of the now ruined ice-cream store, looking around warily for any sign of him. Finally!
On hindsight, it really hadn't been that long, perhaps just half a minute or so… but he had been so lost in his morbid thoughts that it seemed much longer. He smiled a little when one black clad figure jumped nervously when another tapped him on the shoulder. His smile dimmed when the other one raised a hand and pointed clearly at him. So, he had been seen… Good.
He was about to turn away and head further down the alley, he would lead them on a merry dance, and then perhaps end up at the other end of Diagon Alley, from where faint sounds of battle still came… when he heard the unmistakable sounds of Apparation behind him. Without a thought, blindly trusting his instincts, he threw himself on to the hard ground in a roll.
He was just in time. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of light hitting the ground where he had been a second before. He came out of the roll, his wand at the ready pointing at the two Death Eaters who had hoped to catch him off guard. "Stupefy! Stupefy!" he cried. One went down, but the other managed to conjure up a shield just in time.
Damn, he thought bitterly, furious with himself. Of course the Death Eaters could Apparate, the one who had keyed the wards would have made sure of that. It was careless of him not to have thought of that sooner.
He heard two more telltale pops behind him. Without turning around, he pointed his wand over his shoulder and shouted "Impedimenta!" It seemed to have worked, as he heard no spells being cast behind him. The spell wouldn't hold for long, so he decided to escape while he could, before more Death Eaters came. Discretion was the better part of valour after all… Falstaff had certainly got that one right…
He spun on the spot, concentrating hard on where he wanted to go. Madam Malkins' store seemed to be a good place… it was farther down the alley and out of sight from where they stood, so he would have a few minutes respite from the chase. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the Death Eaters fire a spell, but he refused to get himself distracted, he couldn't afford to end up splinching. Besides, it looked like the spell was going to miss…
He was partially right. The spell did miss him, but he felt it hit his cloak, which had billowed out as he turned on the spot. The next millisecond, Harry Potter Disapparated. After two seconds, the other Death Eaters were gone as well.
The chase had begun…
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Matthew Jugson was in a foul mood.
Born in one of the less influential, but nonetheless pureblood families, he had joined the Dark Lord's ranks immediately after leaving school. His dueling skills were better than average, so he had risen slowly, but steadily through the Death Eater ranks. After five years of loyal service, he was where he was now, the leader of a unit of sixteen Death Eaters, a team which was mainly used for assault operations.
Of course, the going hadn't always been smooth. There was the thing that had happened a little more than a year ago, at the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic. Mostly thanks to Lucius Malfoy and his thrice accursed son. They might have expected that Potter would have some company, he supposed, but never in their wildest dreams had they expected any kind of resistance. Which was partly due to dear Draco's assurances that Potter was no great shakes at magic and that his friends were no better. Damn the Malfoys with their swollen egos, the younger one must have had one the size of an Erumpent, to even consider giving an inaccurate report of Potter's abilities to the Dark Lord…
He still shuddered when he recollected the Dark Lord's rage afterwards. Not one of the Death Eaters who had been part of the ambush group had escaped unscathed from his wrath. Bellatrix Lestrange had come in for particularly severe treatment, something to do with the prophecy, he supposed, but had never dared to ask. He still wondered how she managed to remain sane after those extended bouts of the Cruciatus curse.
Perhaps she wasn't sane, perhaps her brain had become permanently addled after her stay at Azkaban… Her behaviour at certain times certainly gave this idea some merit…
Like what she had managed to do today…
Jugson's group was given orders to attack Diagon Alley, cause enough ruckus to bring a squad of Aurors hurrying to the scene, and engage them for some unspecified time until the retreat signal was given. In other words, they were to cause a distraction and keep the Aurors busy, while the Dark Lord pursued his plans elsewhere…
All in all, it was a pretty tame mission, there were four other teams apart from his who had been given similar orders, which came up to eighty Death Eaters. The Aurors would no doubt be at less than their full strength, thanks to whatever the Dark Lord had planned. And his commander had strongly hinted that they would have reinforcements of some sort… He just hoped they weren't vampires. The Dark Lord had managed to conclude some sort of alliance with them, and a few of them had visited their headquarters. They were undoubtedly creepy, with their pale faces, blackened lips and yellowish slit-like eyes, like those of a cat. He knew they were valuable allies, but that didn't mean he had to like them…
All was fine, until half an hour before their scheduled departure, Bellatrix Lestrange had sprung a small surprise. She had managed to get herself appointed as an observer for their group, presumably to oversee the entire operation. Personally, Jugson was sure that she was loath to pass up this opportunity to hex and torture a few people… She was a powerful witch and a valuable addition to their team, but an observer's orders could supersede his own, and he really didn't fancy being under the command of a nutcase like her…
Matters grew worse after they began their attack, in the form of unexpected resistance from one Nymphadora Tonks and from Remus Lupin, the werewolf, whom he knew from school. They had been subdued quickly enough, but then a mysterious cloaked figure from a shop entrance thirty feet away intervened before they could be killed. At the sight of the man, somehow he knew it was a man… warning bells went off in Jugson's head. Which was why, after Bellatrix, in her infinite wisdom, advocated storming the place regardless of the number of Aurors holed up inside, he objected strongly. In the end, he had his way, although she wasn't happy. He wanted to send for reinforcements, but his observer would have none of that.
His forebodings grew stronger after their first assault failed spectacularly. Not only did they lose two men, but they still had no idea of how many they were up against. They managed to get in the next time, but the first sight that met his eyes was the same hooded figure, eyes shining eerily in the darkness of the shop, crooning softly to a gigantic snake curled up on the ground. Jugson hated snakes, he avoided going near his master's pet whenever he could. Just as he was fighting the urge to run, something happened… a giant blue shield, the likes of which he had never seen before, materialized. There was precious little anyone knew about Parselmagic, he knew, which made it all the more dangerous.
And there was Harry Potter. There were so many ridiculous rumours regarding the Boy-Who-Lived-A-Charmed-Life that he had lost count. In any case, atleast one of them was true after all… he was a Parselmouth. The Death Eaters did not know what to make of Potter, who had escaped their master so many times, so consequently, his name had a vague sort of glamour attached to it. Some thought he was incredibly lucky, and that his luck would run out sooner or later, while others feared him, believing him to have extraordinary powers.
And then was the fact that Potter had disappeared for eight months, but he didn't seem to have wasted any of the time. Jugson hadn't even heard of the spell he had used on Bellatrix, but it did seem to be among the most arcane and Dark curses ever crafted. Add to it the fact that he was able to Apparate despite the wards that were laid down by Rookwood, and Harry Potter became a demigod in the eyes of the Death Eaters…
So, when Harry Potter made a graceful exit from the battle scene, forcing the Death Eaters to decide whether to go after him, or to finish the battle they would surely win… it was up to Jugson to make that decision. There wasn't much of a decision to be made really, it was obvious that they had to go after Potter, but it would come at a cost of a certain victory… and it wasn't certain that they would catch Potter either, what with his newfound skills and his ability to Apparate…
So, as mentioned before, Matthew Jugson was in a foul mood…
Well, he thought irritably, Best to cut one's losses…
He raised his wand and a series of loud bangs echoed through the ruined room. The Death Eaters stopped firing spells, and eyed their opponents warily. He met Lupin's eyes and spoke, "We'll finish this later, werewolf! Next time you won't be so lucky…"
"NO!" the red haired girl shouted, but Lupin silenced her with a look. She began to argue with him heatedly, and despite himself, Jugson took a good look at the people Potter was trying to save, perhaps with his own life in exchange. He had never understood this hero complex some people had, he had openly scoffed at the Dark Lord's plan, not at his face of course, of luring Potter into the Department of Mysteries by using Black as bait. But still, Potter had come…
His second in command, Kirsten sidled up to him and spoke in a whisper, "Is it really wise to go after Potter, Jugson? We mightn't catch him…"
Jugson stared at him and spoke forcefully, "If the Dark Lord knew that we let Potter slip through our hands, do you know what will happen?" He knew from experience…
Kirsten lowered his head and muttered, almost inaudibly, "He needn't know…"
Jugson craned forward until their faces were almost touching. When he spoke, his voice was a low hiss, "Do you really think you can lie to the Dark Lord and get away with it, Kirsten?" His second in command said nothing. Jugson spoke again, a little louder, "I will pretend I didn't hear that. Come, we have wasted enough time already!" As they left the shop, he heard someone mutter, "I really don't like this…"
Jugson agreed wholeheartedly…
He stepped outside, pulling his cloak closer to his body. It was raining heavier now, and air had turned chilly. His eyes swept the street and he saw Potter almost immediately, a lone figure standing further up the alley. He nearly groaned out loud when one of his men tapped another on the shoulder and pointed openly at Potter. So much for surprising him… Blasted amateurs… He'd have a word with them after this was over…
After a quick nod with Kirsten, both of them Disapparated, right behind Potter. But again, he was unpleasantly surprised by the speed of Potter's reflexes. Their spells had hardly hit the ground when Potter had dodged and sent back a couple of curses. His hastily made shield was just able to counter the curse, while Kirsten hadn't been fast enough…
More of his men popped in. Potter managed to freeze them in place, and began to turn on the spot, evidently preparing to Disapparate. "Sequor" he muttered desperately, aiming for the cloak, hoping that Potter wouldn't try to dodge it. It worked… Potter vanished almost instantly, but he now knew where he was…
The Sequor spell was a tracking spell, which had widespread use among safety personnel. The spell was placed on the person they were guarding, so that the caster always knew where his charge was at any time…
While someone Enervated Kirsten, Jugson closed his eyes, Potter hadn't gone too far, but where? He snapped his eyes open after a few seconds, "Up ahead… a hundred feet or so… Move!"
Potter was kneeling on the ground outside the robes shop, was he hurt perhaps? His eyes widened as he saw them, menacing dark robed figures surrounding him. He obviously didn't expect them to catch up so soon, Jugson felt a vague sort of satisfaction… his hopes that Potter was hurt diminished quickly as Potter rolled aside nimbly to avoid the green jets of light flying towards him. And… vanished.
Jugson ground his teeth in frustration. This could go on for a very long time…
And so it did. In the few seconds that they needed to pinpoint his location, Potter would disappear again. Sometimes they would be lucky enough to glimpse the edge of his robes whipping around, but never did they get a chance to hex him. And worse, while Potter kept well away from the ice-cream store, his movements were random and it was impossible to predict where he was going next. Jugson felt like tearing out his hair and screaming aloud in frustration, but he had no choice… he had to go on…
It ended rather suddenly. They found themselves outside the apothecary this time. Potter was staring down at a body lying on the ground. He almost didn't seem to notice them arrive, and was undoubtedly saved by the fact that his pursuers didn't expect him to be there either. The precious few seconds that the Death Eaters needed to compose themselves however, was enough. Jugson was startled by the boy's expression, his face was twisted in murderous rage. For a second, he thought Potter was going to stay and fight, but he Disapparated just as the hexes aimed at him struck the corpse, flipping it over. Jugson risked a quick glance at the body, who was it whose death had affected Potter so much? He half thought it would be Lupin or one of his friends, but to his great surprise, it turned out to be some fat old man he didn't know…
Jugson concentrated for a bit, and opened his eyes wide in surprise. Potter was at the ice-cream store again, just outside though… why had he gone back there? Had he decided that he wanted to join his friends again to fight with them? "Fortescue's," he told his men briefly. Some of them hesitated perceptibly before Disapparating, for they too had seen the wrathful look on Potter's face.
The Death Eaters landed with a splash, they had ended up in a great puddle of water outside Fortescue's shop. They looked around wildly for any sign, before spotting him. Potter was hovering around six feet up, he had evidently levitated himself… but why? He had his wand pointed, and screamed out, "Rayden Electra!" Jugson almost heaved a sigh of relief, the jagged vivid blue flash of lightning that emerged from Potter's wand was going to miss all of them… but warning bells in his head rang, as he saw Potter's face bear a satisfied smirk.
There was nothing he could do however… it was too late.
As the powerful bolt of electricity struck the water, Jugson felt a great jolt in his body, from legs down. His body jumped up of it's own accord and he felt the hair on his body and head stand on end. An odour of singed flesh filled his nostrils. What kind of sorcery was this? The spell hadn't hit him, why was he affected? His mind was still screaming for answers when he knew no more…
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Harry watched in grim satisfaction, as the last of the Death Eaters toppled over and lay still. Stupid purebloods… even a Muggle child knew that water conducted electricity… Really, for all the fuss they made about the purity of blood, one would expect something much better from them… By the looks of it, they had suffered second degree burns, but they would survive. Far more than they deserved anyway, he thought, as he gazed around. The rain was falling heavier, dark clouds were gathered in the skies, visibility was rather poor. His hood had come off with all the Apparating he'd done, and his long wet hair was stuck to his scalp. Some of it got in his eyes, and he shook it away impatiently. Perhaps he should have let Mrs. Weasley cut it back at Grimmauld Place…His eyes fell upon the ruined exterior of Fortescue's store interrupting his train of thought, and he hurried towards it.
His joints were screaming in protest with every movement he made, and worse, he felt a burning sensation in the muscles of his arms and legs. He had been putting up with the pain for a while, but the Athletos potion was really starting to take effect now. Without it, he doubted if he would have been able to dodge those curses and survive until now. He could practically feel his muscles stretching as his body grew more flexible… moving his elbow and knee joints seemed much easier, just as though someone had oiled it…
He burst into the room through a hole in the wall, looking around, hoping to see everyone safe and sound…
It was empty.
He stood there for nearly a minute, in silence, before scurrying about, looking around for some sign of what had happened. The snake was gone, Harry wasn't really surprised, a conjured snake, especially one that size, couldn't last for very long… There were numerous scorch marks on the floor and what was left of the walls, mute evidence to the battle that had occurred perhaps five minutes before. On the positive side, there was no sign of any blood, so maybe they were all safe, perhaps just hiding out somewhere else, in case the Death Eaters decided to return…
He made his way outside slowly, there didn't seem to be any immediate danger, so he could afford to relax a bit. He winced slightly, the pain accompanying the potion was pretty intense, Mendel hadn't been exaggerating…
A lump formed in his throat as he recollected the prone body lying outside the apothecary. Even though Mendel had been nothing more than a greedy merchant and certainly not a friend… despite the fact that he was on Harry's side just as long as he was well paid for it, willing to overlook a few laws if there was something in it for him, the fact remained that he had been one of the few people that he, Harry, seemed to have trusted. Trusted enough to keep his mouth shut and get the job done anyway… Murdered outside his own shop, with his face in the mud while the rain soaked his clothes… this was hardly a death anyone would want…
Lupin and the others could be anywhere now, he realized, so he might as well spend the next few minutes paying his last respects to a man he knew only briefly…
Harry Apparated back to the apothecary. Someone had turned the body over, Mendel was lying on his back, his dark beady eyes wide open, gazing on to the heavens above. Under different circumstances, Harry might have laughed, Mendel looked quite comical, his mouth slightly open, his chubby cheeks drooping down, he looked every bit like a rather surprised frog. As it was, Harry did not even remotely find it funny…
With a sigh, Harry closed the dead man's eyes. No need to leave him out in the rain, he thought, muttering, "Mobilicorpus." Mendel's body rose, and floated beside Harry as though on an invisible stretcher. As he levitated the corpse away, something caught his eye. A medium sized black box was lying on the ground, slightly flattened due to the heavy weight that was lying on it until a few moments ago. Harry carefully guided the body inside the store, which was largely intact. A few bottles had fallen off the shelf, shattering on the floor, forming a strange greenish-blue mixture. As Harry placed Mendel on his counter, he noticed that a number of bottles seemed missing
He went out and picked up the black box and brought it back in. It was probably Mendel's property, he opened it just to make sure. Inside were hundreds of tiny bottles, it was a moment before Harry realized that Mendel had shrunk as many of his more valuable ingredients as he could find, and had probably been carrying it away in search of a safer spot, when he had been killed.
A particular item caught Harry's gaze, it looked like a very tiny grey tooth. He took it out carefully and enlarged it. The tooth swelled up until it was nearly eight inches long, and Harry was able to clearly see what it was… an Erumpent horn. He had read about it in 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," he remembered. They were filled with a kind of fluid that leaked out when the horn pierced something, and exploded… completely destroying whatever the horn had pierced…
It certainly would come in useful now, he thought wistfully, placing it back in the box. Stealing from the dead didn't appeal to him, however… but perhaps he could buy it from him? He had no idea how much Mendel would have charged for such a purchase… it certainly was illegal in any case… He shrunk the horn again and carefully placed it in the inside pocket of his robes, vowing to pay an appropriate sum of money to Mendel's next of kin…
He hurried out of the shop, his duty done. He paused on the street, wondering where to go. Perhaps his friends had gone to the Aurors to ask for help, just as he had thought of going? If he had learnt anything about them after a week of knowing them, it was that they would probably be searching for him this instant.
Well, he supposed he'd better set off. Best not to Apparate right in the midst of the Aurors, he thought, lest they thought he was a Death Eater, from his cloak and from the mere fact that he could Apparate. He ended up at a place further up the alley, where the sounds of battle weren't just faint cries anymore…
He noticed that the damage was much more substantial here. Broken glass littered the street, and some shops were still burning, despite the heavy rain. He saw no one, and thankfully, no corpses as well, and if anyone saw him, they didn't call out…
Sticking close to the line of shops, he crept further closer to the battle, which he saw, was taking place just outside Gringotts. He could make out Kinsgley's tall heavyset figure, dressed in blue robes, engaged in a duel with two Death Eaters simultaneously. From the looks of it, the numbers of the Aurors and the Death Eaters seemed about the same, and the Death Eaters were definitely the worse off. Then, something happened that made both sides stop fighting…
The sky grew darker still, and there was a thin white mist beginning to form. All sounds ceased suddenly. Harry peered ahead impatiently, cursing the visibility, what was going on? He started to hurry forward towards where he saw Kingsley last, it was best to make a move when there was no fighting going on…
He was halfway there when he heard it… a very familiar sound. A deep rattling breath which seemed to suck more than the air in… one of the few sounds he heard while in Azkaban. Through the darkness, he could vaguely see a few tall, cloaked figures…
Dementors…
There was a weird sort of ringing sound in his head… It was funny, if he concentrated really hard, he could almost hear a woman's screams, which seemed rather muffled and far away... Had it always been like this? Harry supposed so… he had always thought he could hear screams from fellow prisoners, but perhaps they were due to the proximity of the Dementors?
Why did everybody stop fighting? So what if these creatures made the surroundings dark and cold? It wasn't pleasant, but it certainly was tolerable… Why did everyone seem to fear Dementors so much?
"EXPECTO PATRONUM," a voice bellowed, Harry recognized this to be Moody's. A silver light glowed suddenly, a beacon of hope in the enveloping darkness… Harry could vaguely make out the shape of a dog of some sort. But unbelievably, the dog drove the Dementors away! More shouts of "Expecto Patronum" were heard, and in the sudden light, Harry could make out the dark shapes of Dementors. They seemed to be emerging from some black hole, which a Death Eater seemed to carry high above his head. A portal… Harry guessed, had they managed to open a portal from Azkaban to Diagon Alley? Other Death Eaters were surrounding the portal carrier in a defensive formation, there was one group just in front of him, with a yellowish shield around them, their aim clearly being to prevent any attack on the man… The portal was to remain open…
The Dementors seemed to keep well away from the Death Eaters, they swooped down on the Aurors, but were driven away by the Patroni. The silver animals didn't last long, though… and for every Dementor driven away, two more seemed to take it's place. The Aurors were quickly being worn down, Harry realized, they would soon be defeated at this rate…
He managed to reach Kingsley and tapped the broad Auror on his shoulder, only to find a wand at his face. "Harry!" Kingsley asked incredulously, as he lowered his hood, "What are you doing here? Where are Lupin and the others?"
"I was hoping they would be here… We got separated, it's a long story."
"We have no time for this. You should leave now, things are looking bad…"
"Listen, Kingsley," Harry spoke urgently, "There's no use casting one Patronus after another, you need to shut down that portal…"
Kingsley gave a bitter laugh. "Think we don't know that? See them?" He pointed at the group Harry had noticed before, the ones surrounded by the yellow shield. "That's a runic shield. We can't get through them…"
Harry observed the group in silence for a while. There was a ring of eight Death Eaters, each facing in a different direction. In the middle was the ninth one, the rune magician. He was continuously chanting, his wand above his head, occasionally tapping one of the many strangely shaped runes floating above his head. It was obviously he who was keeping the shield up… As he watched, a number of spells hit the shield, only to be deflected away. Why didn't the Aurors try something stronger?
Just as the thought entered his head, a familiar jet of green light flew towards the shield, and hit a conjured brick head on, shattering it to pieces. So, the eight other Death Eaters were there only to protect the rune magician from the few spells that could get through the shield… Harry noticed that none of the pieces hit any of the Death Eaters, so the shield seemed to be for physical objects as well. Harry was impressed… it was a powerful bit of magic. He looked closely at the shield for a flaw, but could see no weak points. It was very similar to the one he had conjured using Parselmagic, cylindrical and tall…
"Maybe…" he said slowly, almost to himself, "Maybe… from above… yes, it might work…"
"What? What'll work?" Kingsley asked eagerly. Harry turned to him with a smile. "This," he said, and vanished with a pop.
Harry reappeared, ten feet above the circle of Death Eaters. "Stupefy," he cried, his wand pointing straight down. The rune magician looked up in surprise, he had no time to even flinch as the red light of the Stunner hit him directly on the face. Simultaneously, several things happened…
The yellow shield flickered once… and died. Harry landed on one knee, right on the fallen Death Eater's chest. As though in slow motion, Harry could see the other eight Death Eaters whirl around when they saw the shield gone, wands pointed at him. Just as he saw the fatal words starting to form on their lips, he knew he was in trouble. He didn't have time to get up, so he couldn't Apparate away.
Suddenly, something clicked in his head… there was something he could do…
"Fuujin Tempesta," he cried, his wand pointing straight up at the sky. The effects were instantaneous. His hair began to rise up like a wave and started to sway wildly, as a sudden wind whipped up. The next second, there was a small whirlwind, with Harry at the center. The Death Eaters were swept off their feet and into the air as the wind picked up, as though they weighed nothing more than a piece of paper… but since Harry was in the eye of the storm, so to speak, he was buffeted in all directions by the wind. So consequently nothing happened to him, he emerged when the winds died down looking very windswept, but overall unscathed…
Some of the Death Eaters had managed to complete the words, and the deadly jets of light few wildly around, but thankfully most of them seemed to be heading for the stars, unless some unfortunate bird got in their way…
Harry looked up as the dark shapes of Kingsley and Moody hurried over to him. "That was the most reckless thing I have ever seen. NEVER do it again!" Kingsley bellowed at him. Moody simply looked hard at Harry and said gruffly, "Good thinking there Potter! But the next time you…"
Kingsley continued, "How is it you are able to Ap…"
"HARRY!" Harry jumped, and turned around looking for the source of the voice in the foggy surroundings. The next moment he found himself surrounded by his friends… Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna congregated around him, all chattering at once. Lupin and Tonks were exchanging quick words with Kingsley and Moody. Even old Fortescue was there… beaming along happily.
"Thank Merlin you're safe!"
"Where were you?"
"What happened to the Death Eaters?"
"Where are the Dementors coming from?"
Harry suddenly noticed that Ginny was looking dreadfully pale. Ron was holding Ginny rather tightly, and when she spoke, it was a little more than a whisper, "Harry…"
"Yes?" he prompted.
"Never do that again, all right?"
He knew they would be angry with him for running off like that, playing the hero, so he had prepared some excuses like he never really had been in any danger, since he could Apparate, and that it was a necessary thing to do… Looking at Ginny's worried face however, all those excuses vanished from his head, so he simply nodded his head, saying "All right…"
"INCOMING!" somebody yelled. Harry turned around, the Aurors were still casting Patroni, but he could see that they were in trouble, many of them were sweating profusely, and a few had given up. Looking at the portal, Harry was dismayed to see that it had widened considerably, and Dementors were swarming in like locusts.
"Ginny!" Ron was holding her tightly, her legs had given way, her eyes had rolled back in her head, and she was shaking violently. "No…" she whimpered piteously, "No, Tom, don't make me do it… Please!"
With a last shudder Ginny fainted. Harry looked around in alarm, there were more than a hundred Dementors congregated around, swooping around like oversized bats. It grew steadily darker as Aurors found it more and more difficult to cast the Patronus charm. Soon, it was pitch black, and he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. He heard someone collapse next to him. "Ron? Hermione?" he called out in alarm, and was panic-stricken when he heard no reply. "Neville! Luna! Where are you? WHERE IS EVERYONE?"
There was no sound… except for the rattling breathing by a hundred Dementors. Harry had never felt so lonely before in his life… not even in Azkaban. This was stupid, he thought suddenly. "Lumos!" the wand light flickered on briefly and was extinguished almost immediately… what was it with Dementors and darkness anyway? In the fleeting light however, he saw that the others had collapsed as well. He knelt down and felt around until he touched someone's face. The breathing was in short gasps, as though the person was suffering some horrible nightmare…
Harry suddenly let out a cry and fell to his knees. There was this awful feeling in his bones as the potion continued to work it's magic, he was sure they were stretching slightly. He wanted nothing more than to just lie down and sleep, to forget about the pain… but he knew he couldn't. For some strange reason, he was the only one able to think and walk, he couldn't just let everybody down.
Harry forced himself to think rationally. He staggered to his feet unsteadily. Light, he wanted light… he needed hope…
He remembered suddenly, how he had thought of the Patronus as a beacon of hope in the darkness. A spell which provides both, he realized. Should he try to perform the charm then?
Suddenly, a memory arose in his head, emerging from the dark abyss where he was forbidden to enter…He was standing in a classroom, it was late evening, the sun's slanting rays fell across the room, giving a strange golden hue to the desks and floor. With a start, he realized that Lupin was speaking, "You need to think of something happy, Harry. The happier the thought, the stronger is the Patronus produced…"
So he needed to think of something happy… What was the best thing that could happen now? He smiled suddenly, he had just the thing… what he wanted most was for his friends to survive this… for them all to be together and happy…
"Expecto Patronum!" he cried, concentrating hard on the image of the six of them at Grimmauld Place, sitting around by the fire, playing a game of Exploding Snap. A brilliant white light emerged from the tip of his wand, he screwed up his eyes, the light was absolutely blinding after the darkness…
It was a stag, he saw… and the Dementors fell away from the path of the galloping stag, utterly vanquished. The stag galloped around in gradually larger circles around Harry, it seemed to last much longer than the other Patroni he had seen… In some cases it was just in time, some Dementors were holding the Aurors up and seemed to be peering into their faces, Harry had no idea what they were doing, but he was sure that it wouldn't be a good thing…
In the light, he saw the lone other figure standing… the Death Eater who was holding the portal open. An endless stream of Dementors was still pouring out. He was still conscious, for some strange reason, despite the proximity of the Dementors, perhaps he shared Harry's immunity? He watched as Harry stumbled over towards him, and smirked, "On your last legs, Potter?"
Harry stared at the hidden face in front of him, the voice seemed familiar somehow. "Your name…" he said slowly, "is Avery…"
"Very good, Potter, you have a fine memory. In any case, it's over now. You've put up a good fight…"
Harry lost his temper suddenly. He had no time to be chatting with a filthy Death Eater now. His Patronus was still active, but it was doubtful for how long it would last… "Enough," he barked out. "Close the portal…"
The Death Eater smirked again. What the hell was he thinking? Both his hands were holding up the accursed portal, he couldn't even defend himself…
Harry moved a few steps forward, and stopped suddenly. He seemed to have encountered an invisible barrier of some sort. He moved back a few steps, it was to be expected, he supposed. They would hardly leave such an important person defenseless…
He sent a Stunner at Avery, but it rebounded off the strange invisible shield so rapidly that if it weren't for his newfound agility, he surely would have been hit. "Rayden Electra!" he tried again, and was forced to duck again, as the jagged blue bolt of lightning bounced back. The shield seemed to take a vague shape now… it looked somewhat like the head of a giant dog… with glowing red eyes. The head snarled at him dauntingly. He started to lose hope again, and almost on cue, his Patronus started fading…. With renewed vigour, the Dementors redoubled their efforts, the stag was hard pressed to keep them at bay…
What was he to do now? The thrice damned Death Eater was openly laughing at his helplessness. He needed to close the portal somehow… then perhaps another Patronus would drive the remaining Dementors away… As long as those creatures from hell kept pouring in like that, he had no chance at all…
A dark voice seemed to whisper in his head… There is a way…
No! There had to be something else he could do…
Bah, the voice sneered, your friends are going to die… Didn't you swear to yourself that you would do everything in your power to save them?
Yes, but…
Then do it… the voiced hissed, and became silent.
Harry took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to do. He would save his friends… no matter what the cost. He smiled sadly at the Death Eater, and spoke softly, "Goodbye, Avery…" He pointed his wand at Avery's heart and screamed, all his rage bursting out… his hate for Voldemort and his Death Eaters… those monsters who had killed his parents… killed Sirius… and most unforgivably, were trying to kill his friends…
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Harry watched in fascinated horror as the jet of bright green light burst forth from his wand and sped towards Avery, cutting through the shield as though it were butter… Avery's eyes widened in surprise, he certainly hadn't expected Harry to do that…
As the light struck him, Harry could feel the life rushing out of Avery… He felt a sudden rush of power… which sent the blood rushing into his head. However, this was quickly overwhelmed by the strange feeling he had… something inside him was ripping itself in two, and a part of him… a part of his very essence… sought to leave him forever. He fought hard to keep it in… it was the part of him that was disgusted by what he had done, that was trying to escape… He finally succeeded, but he was left feeling hollow inside except for some strong emotion that wasn't quite sadness, but probably came very close…
Harry watched as the dead man fell on to the ground. What he had done seemed to be an effective solution in any case, he thought dully, as the portal closed rapidly. A last Dementor tried to get through, but let out a terrible screech, as the portal closed around it, slicing it in two. Harry gazed at the black piece of cloth in interest… could Dementors possibly be killed this way?
To his surprise and alarm, the black cloak began to move… he thought it was the wind at first, but when it started to scuttle along the ground like a deadly shadow, his suspicions were confirmed. A Lethifold? Was this how they were created in the first place?
The Lethifold crept out of sight when the stag vanished, causing the Dementors to come surging forth. If they were capable of giving vent to cries of joy, Harry was sure they would have. He sighed once… he was so tired…and cast the Patronus charm for what he hoped was the last time…
The stag emerged again, in all it's glory… Harry found that he could guide it with his thoughts. Naturally he motioned it over by the fallen bodies of his friends to make sure they were all right, but to his horror, he found that the Lethifold had wrapped itself around Ginny's face and seemed to be suffocating her… The deadly black shroud scuttled away just as the stag drew closer. Harry left it to it's own devices and hurried towards Ginny. He knelt down beside her, taking her head in his hands. "Please, Ginny…please don't be dead…"
She was still deathly pale, but seemed to be breathing normally now. The air grew slightly warmer as Harry felt a surge of hope, as the stag shone in the darkness magnificently… Slowly but steadily, the Dementors vanished and Prongs stood proudly in the battlefield… his job done.
The sun peeked out of the clouds, as the stag shimmered away into nothingness… Harry smiled, all was fine now. At last… he could rest.
When Albus Dumbledore accompanied by the rest of the Order popped into Diagon Alley a minute later expecting the worst, he was relieved beyond words to see Harry lying on the ground, his hand holding Ginny's… with a smile on his face and sleeping soundly…
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A/N: Howdy folks! Whew! Another very long chapter… (for me!)
To clear things up… Erumpents and Lethifolds are magical creatures, whose full descriptions are given in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them… Anyone interested may visit www . hp-lexicon . org to find out more… And as you can probably see… there's a lot of non-canon magic stuff here… this trend is likely to continue… so do keep an open mind!
For those interested… Sequor is Latin for follow… And can anyone guess where I got the spells Rayden Electra and Fuujin Tempesta ? No latin in this one! Hint: Think video games!
Megalamer: I was slightly confused and a teensy bit worried after your review… but everything cleared up when I visited your profile! Are you a fan of Gundam Seed by any chance?
Deepthoughtz:Kamon aache! Good to see you too!
How was the whole Jugson PoV thing? I thought it would be fun to write things from the point of view of a Death Eater… and yeah, it was! Should this trend continue in future chapters? I'm sure many of you would love to read a Dumbledore PoV ! Tell me about it in your reviews… along with your thoughts about this action scene… whether it was too slow… or boring… whatever you thought about the chappie…
Next chapter onwards, the whole mystery starts to unfold itself (slowly!)… I think I've kept you guys guessing long enough!
T'sall… so long!
shadylion