Chapter 21
… --- …
When Hermione had finished hugging her dad, Harry sat down, waiting for them to finish visiting. When she left to find Emma and Diane, Dan asked, "What is it, Harry?"
"I need your help." Those were hard words to say coming from a young man who was not used to asking for assistance.
"Go on."
"I need you to purchase two fuel tanker trucks. Remus told me that the larger home delivery trucks would hold 3,500 gallons each."
"Go on." Dan knew that Harry was formulating his plan as he was speaking and chose not to interrupt.
"I need them filled, preferably with kerosene, or number one diesel if you can't get the kerosene. When you get them, I need them delivered to the castle as soon as possible, hopefully by tomorrow evening. I'll need them with big dispensing hoses so the kerosene can be dumped in less than seven minutes. Remus told me that he could drive one of the trucks."
"Go on."
"This is really important. They have to be at the castle by Monday night or Tuesday morning at the latest."
"Go on."
"I was also hoping that you and Emma could come stay there for a few days. Dr. Turnbull would be welcome too."
"I'll ask Diane when she gets up. Can I ask?"
"We're pretty sure that Riddle is in the process of awakening an army of zombies. It's likely that he will use this army to try and storm the castle."
"OK, so what's the kerosene for?" asked Dan, who had half guessed the answer, but wanted to hear it for himself.
"Bonfire."
Dan took a deep breath, rubbed the bridge of his nose and said, "OK Harry, you have my undivided attention. What did you have in mind?"
"I'm planning on finding the direction that they are coming from, then soaking the grounds immediately before they arrive. When they are in the middle of the soaked field, I intend to light it."
"Harry, how many of these zombies are there?"
"I wish I knew. We estimate a hundred or so."
Dan shook his head, and said, "Harry, if your days are filled with these thoughts, I'd never want to live in your nightmares."
Harry replied, "My best dreams are of… never mind." They smiled at each other, and then Harry said, "Bill gave me these that you can use. He said not to lose them."
Dan looked at the envelope and saw that it contained a dozen certified Barclay's bank cheques with the amounts left blank. He had never seen open amount bank drafts guaranteed by a bank like that. Then again, he'd never known anyone nearly as wealthy as Harry. He simply said, "We'll be there tomorrow evening."
Harry replied "Thanks Dan."
… --- …
Fred grinned at Hermione as she looked around their workshop. The walls were scorched in places and there was a green slimy substance on the ceiling. It was about what she had expected. Except for the large cabinet that housed their potions ingredients. It was pristine.
"To what do we owe the honor, Miss Head Girl?" He asked offering her a seat. Hermione was not silly enough to sit down in a chair she could feel the charm radiating off of.
"Order business," she told him and he immediately got serious.
"What can I help with?" he asked.
She explained muggle accelerants and concluded, "We need a way of sparking a large quantity of it at once."
"I believe that you came to the right men, my dear. How long do we have?"
"Tomorrow," she replied. He nodded, not the least bit fazed by the deadline. She turned to leave after giving him a hug. He seemed surprised but hugged her back.
"You know," she said in a conspirator's voice while turning back. "If you were a little more surreptitious with the charm on that chair more people would sit down."
He raised his eyebrows in question at her. She smirked and pointed her wand at the chair. The magic stopped pouring off of it. He was shocked when she pushed him into it. His spell was still active and the ropes wrapped around him in a snap.
He was yelling for George to help him when Hermione left.
… --- …
Tonks shook her head and thought about his words for a moment. She scrunched up her nose, turned her hair lime green and said, "You're going to start a fire with seven thousand gallons of petrol?"
"Not petrol, kerosene," said Dan. "Petrol would blow up."
"That's my point! Are you sure that you're not going to accidentally blow up or set the castle on fire?"
Harry was adamant. "What if there are two hundred inferi rather than a hundred? The Order and the older kids in the DA might be able to handle fifty or maybe even a hundred inferi. I don't want another situation where we go up against two hundred of his creatures, kill or capture sixty or seventy and lose thirty of our people. I'd rather spend our way through this and make the score a hundred to nil."
"It's a bad idea Harry," replied Tonks, thinking of how fast the plan could go south. She looked at Hermione for support not realizing that it was mostly Hermione's idea.
"No. It's a gutsy move that has some risk," suggested Remus. "You'll need to have the fire far enough away from the castle to minimize the risk to the stonework. What you don't know is which direction they're coming from."
"True. Even if we guess wrong in the big area, I'm all but sure that they won't cross the ring of fire."
"You're probably right," said Dan, "but the kerosene won't burn for more than five or ten minutes."
"It's something," said Remus. "It would also illuminate the area enough to try to fight them through other means. How much will it cost?"
"Probably a hundred and fifty thousand pounds or so." He looked at Harry and asked, "Is that all right?"
Harry nodded. In truth he had expected the trucks alone to cost that much.
Dan quipped, "It probably makes sense to get used trucks. They might not last a very long time given your plans for them."
"It would be hard going back to the lorry shop telling them that some monster tore off the tires and ate them." For some reason, all three men found this to be hilarious. The women just shook their heads in disbelief.
"So how about those wedding plans?" asked Harry smiling at Tonks and trying to change the subject.
"We've decided to hold the ceremony on Boxing Day," said Tonks. She poked him in the side and finished with, "At least if I can get you bunch to hold still."
"Would you like to hold the reception here?" asked Hermione. From what she had seen of Tonks' guest list most of them had access to the house already so the Felidus charm would not be an issue. Portkeys could be issued to the rest.
"Yes, very much if you wouldn't mind?" replied Tonks. The lower level would be a wonderful place to hold a reception of the size that they were likely to have. She had hoped, but hadn't the nerve to ask Harry to use his home.
It suddenly occurred to Harry that a lot of people would be alive today if he'd made the same offer to Bill and Fleur. Hermione, who'd been thinking the same thing, looked at her lover and saw the unwarranted look of guilt in his eyes. She said, "It was their choice Harry. You had no say in the matter."
"I could have offered…"
"And they wouldn't have accepted."
Dobby walked in and said, "Harry Potter, sir."
"Hi Dobby."
"Mr. and Mrs. Weezey is here."
… --- …
Dan and Emma arrived Tuesday at noon. It had taken longer than expected to purchase the two trucks, fill them and drive them to the castle. Remus and Diane had driven the other truck and arrived at about the same time. Dan and Emma both enjoyed getting out of the house for a while. While it certainly was comfortable, it wasn't home.
At the castle Minerva passed them off as visiting physicians who were visiting with Madam Pomfrey and referred to them as Dr. Diane, Dr. Emma and Dr. Dan to avoid any leaks regarding their identity.
She also had a very stern talk with two of her Gryffindor students about keeping to their own business.
… --- …
When Emma, while researching Horcrux creation, had quietly mused out loud to her daughter that a chance to speak to Dumbledore would be invaluable she never dreamed that she would have the conversation. As she sat in the headmistress' chair speaking with a painting of the man she was having trouble wrapping her head around the concept.
The painting had all of Dumbledore's memories up to finding the ring. He knew how the live Dumbledore had planned to destroy the ring. He did not know what had gone wrong.
Flitwick listened to Emma question the painting and was treated to what Hermione would be like in a few years. While the younger Granger tended to ask questions about everything, Emma's questions were pointed, probing and a little better thought out. She had a muggle notebook full of notes and ideas and used them as a reference.
Dumbledore's painting was amused. In life Hermione had been a favorite of his. Her quest for knowledge had amazed the old wizard occasionally. The painting's eyes twinkled as the muggle woman interrogated him. When she finally wound down Flitwick chuckled a little louder than he meant to.
"Quite right. Dr. Granger, it is obvious where your daughter's love of knowledge came from. How are she and her friend Mr. Potter doing?" Dumbledore asked. If Emma was surprised by his inquiry she didn't show it.
"She is stressed out. Worried about Harry. He's… worried about everything," Emma answered.
"Minerva has told me of their relationship. I always thought they would be good together. Sometimes she is the only one he will listen to," Dumbledore said. The twinkle was gone from his eyes as he finished his thought, "Neither of them can even look at me when they are in the office so I make it a point to leave my frame. Will you tell them I asked after them?"
"Of course. Thank you for the information Professor," Emma said standing up.
"Thank you, Dr. Granger. I enjoyed our conversation. You are welcome to come speak with me anytime you wish," Dumbledore told her. His eyes were twinkling again. She smiled and wished that she could have had tea with the enigmatic old man.
… --- …
On Wednesday Emma and Diane followed Hermione through her day. They had charms in the morning and arithmancy in the afternoon. They found charms to be absolutely fascinating as the work was quite visual. The class was charming statues to dance. After Hermione's statue waltzed with Neville's it sat down and rubbed its toes.
Arithmancy with the theory of spell modification was dead boring to most of the students, but Hermione seemed glued to Professor Vector's every word. Emma found it interesting that Hermione, Padma and Lisa Turpin seemed to be the only students paying close attention.
While the ladies were taking in classes, Dan and Remus paced off areas for dumping the fuel and looked at likely paths that an approaching army might take. Noting the hills on the school ground Remus charmed the truck tires to not get stuck. Dan knew that in the muggle world the tankers would never be able to run on the uneven ground. In surveying the terrain it was apparent that they would either attack from the north or northeast.
… --- …
Diane was in her room preparing to address a group of students that McGonagall had asked her to speak with. All had lost friends and family to the war. Diane was horrified at the number of students in the group. She introduced herself and talked a little bit abut what she did. The children in the room assumed that she was a healer who specialized in head injuries. Through the conversation, she probed them a bit to understand how their basic needs were being met and asked if she could talk with them again.
She seemed like a nice witch, so they all agreed.
… --- …
Hermione watched as Emma and Molly were the last members of the research team to enter the room of requirements. Emma greeted her with a quick hug. Hermione offered her the chair she had been sitting in and Emma gave her a smile.
Hermione surveyed the group. Susan, Padma, Luna, Flitwick, Poppy, Arabella, Diggle, Molly and Emma were gathered about the table. Tom and Sprout were working on other order business. She had expected it so she sealed the door and they got down to business.
"I asked Professor Flitwick and Dr. Emma to each find everything they could on Horcruxe creation," Hermione began. "The Professor and I agreed that to figure out the best way to destroy them we would first have to understand how they are made."
Hermione had studied her mother's notebooks on Horcrux creation carefully. She had read Professor Flitwick's thesis sized report twice. She wished she had the time to read the books that they had referenced. Horcrux creation was fascinating in a macabre sort of fashion. She motioned to Emma to begin.
"Well as the Head Girl said, I've been reading up on Horcrux creation," Emma said giving her daughter a look for the use of her title. Hermione just smirked. Emma continued, "I began with only the knowledge that it takes a murder to create one."
I found the ritual of creation in a book called Immortality of Soul. There was no author indicated on the text and it was written in hieroglyphics and cuneiform. I translated the text," she said ignoring the looks that she received. "It's not surprising but there is much more to it than committing murder to create a horcrux. I didn't understand until I found a breakdown of the spells."
Emma slid a sheet of muggle paper to her daughter and asked her to put it on the white board. Then she approached the board and drew circles around two very complex portions of the arithmancy formulas.
"What is that?" Molly asked blinking a couple of times.
"It's the arithmanic break down of the spells that he used. The first one is the bond. Those are the words to the spell," Flitwick explained.
"Now I know why I love my kneazles," Arabella commented.
"Surprisingly enough both of the Arithmancy Masters I know are squibs that were educated in muggle schools. Professor Vector told me that muggle born students do best in her class," Flitwick said. Emma chuckled softly.
"Part of it is muggle science," she said nodding to the board. She continued, "The first part is Calculus, the muggle branch of mathematics that deals with limits among other things. The third part looks like physics to me, which is the science of matter and energy."
"You understand the arithmanic breakdown of these spells?" Diggle asked. His eyes were spinning like Moody's magical eyes.
"Well, not all of it. The second pieces of each breakdown are magical indicators and I don't know where to begin with them," Emma paused a moment. "I've not taken a Calculus class since university. Even then I was hardly Isaac Newton. But I think these parts are key. This one is the splitting process and this one is the spell that embeds the soul into the object. One of the scrolls I transcribed said that if the object releases the soul it would return to its owner. So as we destroy the Horcruxes it will make Voldemort stronger."
No one spoke until Hermione cleared her throat and voiced the thought in each of their heads, "Unacceptable."
"The documents we found in the Chamber of Secrets included some of this. You have much greater detail in your analysis than I did. I agree with your conclusions on the keys to the spells," Flitwick said studying the board.
"I understand some of it. But I've never seen that one," Hermione said pointing to one that didn't seem to fit.
"That's the killing curse," Flitwick advised.
She stood up and approached the board. Flitwick, Padma and Luna came up next to her. They looked it over and began talking. No one had ever seen Luna that focused. Hermione grabbed the black marker and began to make notes over the spell breakdown. After a few minutes no one else in the room understood what they were talking about.
Emma turned to Molly and began speaking softly. She asked about Molly's boys. Molly asked about Hermione and Harry and their classes. Susan and Arabella began to discuss breeding cats and kneazles. Poppy asked Diggle about his family.
The group at the board continued as if they were the only ones in the room.
After twenty minutes Luna suddenly grabbed a marker. She charmed it to write in an aquamarine color that vibrated on the board. She drew a couple of lines breaking the spells in to shorter pieces.
"Ooooh. Brilliant, Luna. If we break this…" Hermione said as she made some more notes on the board. Padma nodded excitedly and picked up the blue marker. Flitwick levitated himself up and used his wand to point to different parts of the spells.
"If we reverse this part of the ritual using… What is the opposite for accipio?" Padma asked scribbling away.
"Recuso," Hermione and Flitwick answered in unison.
"And then…" Padma continued. She kept writing as the Professor and Hermione gave her suggestions. Finally they stopped.
"I believe that will break the fragment of Voldemort's soul from the physical objects and then banish it to the next world," Flitwick declared.
"I think we reinvented the wheel," Hermione commented uneasily as she looked at their work. She charmed the words at the top of the board. They had invented a new killing curse.
Avada recuso emoveo animus excessum
"Reject, to move away, soul, departure," Emma murmured roughly translating the Latin words. The avada part of the killing curse was what would rip the soul from the body or in this case the object.
"Brilliant," Padma declared.
"I agree, Miss Patel. 50 points to all three of you," Flitwick told them.
The girls smiled knowing that this year the race for the house cup was not an all-important thing. There were more important things in life.
"What about the Horcruxes that have been destroyed already? Were those soul fragments banished also?" Diggle asked.
"In viewing Harry's memory of the diary we believed that the basilisk venom was magical and poisonous enough to destroy it. Emma spoke with Dumbledore's painting earlier this week. He knew of the danger of the soul rejoining and was prepared to deal with it. If he was unsuccessful that part has already joined Voldemort's body. I believe he was successful or Voldemort would have known that we knew about the Horcruxes and the snake would have never been left alone," Flitwick explained.
They discussed it for a little while longer and then Hermione called for Dobby and asked him to find Harry for her. As they waited Hermione copied the white boards to parchment and then banished the boards. The room of requirements expanded as the rest of the order members joined them. After everyone was settled Hermione began.
"We have created a spell that should remove Voldemort's soul from the objects and break the Horcruxes. It also banishes the soul fragment to the next world. Four different people should be involved in the destruction of the Horcruxes. It should be done at the same time in the same location. If one person is hurt doing it then the others will be able to finish. A fifth and maybe even a sixth person should be there just in case. Who is going to destroy the Horcruxes?" Hermione asked. It was a question that Harry had been thinking about for a while.
"I thought I would ask for volunteers," Harry told them. He took a sheet of parchment and offered it to the group. Hermione immediately put her name down, as did eighty percent of the room. Discussion broke out around the room on who was best qualified. Finally Molly used her well-honed yelling skills to get everyone's attention.
"I think Professor Flitwick, Hermione, Luna and Padma should do it. They invented the spell," she told the group.
"I will make a decision later," Harry told them. He didn't want Hermione anywhere near the destruction of the Horcruxes but if she were best qualified he knew she would have to do it. He also wanted Flitwick on the wall if they needed a charms master during the fight.
Hermione was about to speak up when a house elf popped into the room and approached McGonagall. The headmistress spoke to the elf and then looked at Harry.
"Minister Abraxan is on her way. She said it is urgent," McGonagall told him. Harry nodded and McGonagall indicated to the elf that the minister was to be shown into the room.
Luna and Padma gathered up all of the parchment on the table and put it in Hermione's pack. Hermione watched them and then took her bag. She charmed it so that no one but herself could get in it.
Abraxan took in the group with a keen eye. She knew that she was looking at what stood between Voldemort and the wizarding world.
"A muggle couple was brought into Saint Mungos three hours ago. Apparently they ran into Death Eaters while hiking. They managed to escape with their lives only because they were more familiar with the area than the Death Eaters. Both are severely traumatized. The woman, Mary, is awake but not coherent. Her husband is still unconscious. I would like them brought to the hospital wing here. Saint Mungos is not secure," Abraxan explained.
"How did someone in the wizarding world take them Saint Mungos? I mean, how was it discovered that they were attacked by Death Eaters?" Dan asked.
"John Thomas sent someone to investigate spell signatures in an area that we'd been searching. The Aurors found them."
"There is space in the hospital wing but I think it would be better to give them their own room," Poppy told them.
"They can have the guest quarters next to Mr. Potter and Miss Granger's quarters," McGonagall said.
"Maybe we could get Dr. Diane to see them?" Harry asked Emma. Emma nodded agreeing to ask her.
"You said that the woman was not coherent. What was she saying?" Hermione asked.
"She was speaking English but the healers didn't know what she was saying. Something about 'zomblees' and 'horror movers monsters'," Abraxan answered.
"Zombies?" Harry asked.
"What's a zombie?" Molly asked.
"It's what a muggle would call Inferi. Horror movie monsters…" Hermione muttered the last words and then shivered.
"We need to know what they saw and heard but I don't want to add to their trauma. Let Dr. Turnbull talk to them before we make any rash decisions," Harry said uneasily. He was remembering Dumbledore questioning him after he had returned with Cedric's body.
Dan retrieved Diane from her room in the castle while Hermione and Emma set up the room for the muggle couple. Abraxan returned with the couple after an hour.
The man, Michael, was still unconscious. His wife watched as he was levitated into the bed. She seemed numb.
Diane watched as the woman looked around in fear. The room was quite dark and it was cold, as was the castle in most places. There was quite the crowd in the room.
"Hermione can you stoke the fire up? It's too dark and cold in here. How about some light? Everyone else, except Madame Pomphery needs to leave," Diane ordered not caring who was in the room.
Harry was amused as the minister of magic, the director of the MLE and the headmistress all obeyed the muggle woman without an argument. He stood up and followed them out.
Before Hermione left she told Diane that she would be right next door.
Three hours later Hermione left Harry sleeping in their bed to answer the door. Diane looked exhausted.
"I've told Mary about the pensive. She wants to see how it will work before agreeing," Diane said.
Hermione dressed in muggle clothes and then woke up Harry. Diane didn't seem to notice that they both came out of the same bedroom.
Diane introduced the teens to the muggle woman. The woman was clearly afraid of them. Hermione did her best to put her at ease by letting her ask questions and explaining what she could do to help. The woman was just beginning to relax when Hermione's head whipped towards the door.
"Someone's outside. I am going to go see what they want," Hermione told her. She saw the look on the woman's face and smiled softly, "I'm sure it's just one of the magical police inspectors wanting to question you. They can wait until you are ready."
Harry jumped out of his seat and followed her. They left the room and were back shortly.
"You're too nice Harry. They deserved detentions with Filch," Hermione was telling him. She explained, "Students out of bed after curfew."
"Filch retired, love. He can't make anyone clean the trophy room any more," Harry reminded her as he took his seat next to Mary's bed.
"Then detention with Hagrid. A trip in to the forest to meet Bane would cure them of mischief," Hermione grumbled. Harry laughed and it seemed to make Mary more at ease.
"Oh it cured us didn't it?" He winked at Mary. "First year we got into a spot of trouble and ended up with a detention with the groundskeeper. He took us into the Forbidden Forest to chase unicorns."
Hermione smiled more at the understatement than the memory.
"Unicorns?" Mary asked timidly.
"Beautiful creatures. Would you like to see one?" Hermione asked. Mary looked frightened and confused again. Hermione explained, "I can show you a memory of mine that includes unicorns. We studied them in our magical creatures class."
Hermione motioned to the pensive that she had set on a bedside table. Mary watched as the girl put a stick to her head and pulled a shiny substance from it. She put it in the bowl and then tapped it with the stick.
The memory showed a much younger Hermione. The animals were beautiful. But the memory continued past them. When Draco Malfoy made a snarky comment about the animals not wanting to approach Hermione because of how filthy she was Harry gritted his teeth.
One of the unicorns let Hermione pet it and she smiled at the memory. Then the memory ended.
Harry looked over at Mary and then nodded to the pensive. "It's as easy as that."
"We can also go into the memory. It's like standing in a movie. The trip in is a little disorienting though," Diane explained.
Mary was staring at the bowl. She asked to see one of Diane's memories and they watched as Dan Granger made a fool out of himself asking Emma out. Harry and Hermione got a good laugh at Dan's longer hair and mustache.
Mary agreed to share her memory. Hermione explained what she needed to do and carefully removed the memory of them hiking in the Scottish highlands.
Mary and Diane didn't enter the memory.
Harry looked around. The area seemed somewhat familiar. He saw the muggle couple not far from where they were standing. They were dressed for camping and standing by a lake.
"The water level is really low," Michael commented and Mary seemed to agree. They hiked a trail around the lake until they came upon two Death Eaters and a strange looking man that seemed out of place.
"Inferi," Harry said grimly. He scowled at Malfoy and then the former potions professor.
When the muggles were spotted Malfoy threw a bone-crushing hex at them. Mary howled as her arm shattered. The muggles took off running and eventually ended up in a cave. A large bush blocked the entrance.
"Where did they go?" the teens heard Snape demand.
"Maybe they apparated," Malfoy answered. He was breathing hard.
"They were muggles you foolish imbecile. Come on we need to get back to Dolohov's place. You will not mention this to anyone. The Dark Lord has been in a horrible mood since Potter stole his snake," Snape snapped at Malfoy.
"I can't believe he tricked us like that," Malfoy growled.
"You give Potter too much credit. The mudblood might have thought of it but she's too goody two shoes to act on such a brilliant plan. I'm positive it was John Thomas. He gave us a gift though. We now have a very good idea what the mudblood's parents look like," Snape explained as if Malfoy was slow-witted.
"You! Go back to your brothers and never speak of this," Malfoy ordered the two new recruits.
They heard the rustle of underbrush and then they heard Snape, "Incendio!"
"Think he'd listen to you?" Snape demanded just before he apparated away.
Hermione and Harry left the memory at that point. Harry left the room with a quick apology to the women. Hermione sat lost in thought. After a couple minutes she returned Mary's memory to her and thanked her.
"If you need or want anything tell Diane and she will find me. No one here will hurt you, I promise," Hermione told her before she left.
She found the people she was looking for in the room of requirements. McGonagall, Moody, Abraxan and Thomas were listening to Harry. As Hermione took her seat Susan, Dan and Emma entered carrying some maps. After a little discussion Thomas left to tell the Aurors the area to search.
He returned just before breakfast was to begin with news.
He looked as exhausted as the rest of them felt as he spoke, "There were signs that a group had recently been in the area and walked away. A broomstick Auror battalion, patrolling the area to the northeast of here was fired upon yesterday from the ground. We believe the two events are related. We found a small burnt area next to a hidden cave. We found a short sword in the ashes."
"Any indication of the number of Inferi?" Harry asked.
Thomas replied grimly, "Most likely a few hundred. If they marched all night and made camp in the morning to stay out of the sun they could be here…" He looked at the map again and said, "The evening of October 31."
"So much for a quiet evening," quipped Harry who was sounding more like her dad than Hermione had previously noticed.
Hermione thought of the fire plan and swallowed hard. It was a lot easier when they were dealing with the theory of battle. She had to keep telling herself that the Inferi were not really alive.
McGonagall closed her eyes thinking about the children and parents who had put their trust in her to keep them safe. What if the castle was attacked? It had always been a possibility but with the Order systematically eliminating death eaters she thought that the threat had been abated. The children must be protected.
Emma wanted to grab Hermione and Harry and demand that they leave so that they could remain safe. Her mothering instincts were taking a beating by common sense.
Harry sighed heavily and began giving orders. Abraxan would pick up the two campers in the morning and have their memories modified.
… --- …
The week was progressively more nerve wracking for Harry with each passing hour. He wasn't doing well in any of his classes. Flitwick and McGonagall took the situation into consideration and scheduled labs for the week. Members of the fifth, sixth and seventh year DA took shifts of one hour each in pairs to circle around the castle about a mile and a half out and 400 feet up on brooms. The job was pretty easy during the day, but bone chilling at night. Hooch took eight of the shifts herself, rotating on and off each hour. Several additional Aurors took up temporary residence in the castle.
… --- …
Friday at sunset Hooch spotted them. She held her position to get an estimated count then silently swept off to the castle. Landing she ran into the great hall. Dinner was in full swing.
Harry and the others saw her go to McGonagall and knew that the time had come.
Minerva wasn't a great leader, but she was dead calm in the midst of a crisis. She stood and said, "May I have your attention? I need the first through fourth years to go to your common rooms immediately."
They had drilled this several times in the last month. There was no panic as they left. The little feet got up and within a minute had cleared the room. McGonagall looked around, sealed the doors, and said, "Mr. Potter, you have the floor."
"Madam Hooch, how far are they?"
"About three miles to the northeast. I counted about twelve hundred." Those in the research group winced hard at the number. They'd anticipated an army of at most only a few hundred. Harry wished that he'd gotten a third truck. He immediately put those thoughts away and went into command mode. He said, "Alyx, contact the Minister immediately. The Aurors will need to evacuate Hogsmeade."
"They're welcome to come here," said Minerva.
"No, the castle was infiltrated last time. Suggest sending them to Avebury. Bring in only those that you personally know. Be back in five minutes. Go. Madam Hooch, get the flyers ready. Richard, please go collect Hagrid. Gunner, get Fred and George. Tonks, go get Remus and Dan. Everyone put your body armor on. Horcrux team, be ready on my word. Go."
The group stood as one for battle without a word.
… --- …
The Division reached the edge of the forest a few minutes later. Riddle and about fifty Death Eaters met up with them by the train station. Riddle said, "Now is the time to fulfill your debt Commander. Storm the castle and kill all within who resist.
Tutui nodded. He looked at Riddle and said, "Win or lose, at the end of the battle, my men and I will have our peace. What will you have, soul-less one?"
Riddle's red eyes glinted as he spoke. "You have your orders. Do your job."
… --- …
The main body of eight hundred men line up in sixteen rows of fifty men. Slightly ahead of the main body at either side like the top points on a W were two groups of a hundred men, each in ten rows of ten men. The remaining two hundred men were centered behind the main body in reserve. They had fashioned ladders for scaling the walls of the castle. Most carried bows as well.
Within the main body six hundred of the men were foot soldiers carrying the short sword. The other two hundred were skilled archers capable of pelting a targeted area with a blanket of deadly arrows.
Within a surprisingly short time, the men were in formation and began marching the final two miles to the castle.
… --- …
As the army made its way to the castle, the Death Eaters torched several dozen of the buildings within Hogsmeade. When they had arrived, the entire town had already been evacuated, though in reality, the last residents had been evacuated only seconds earlier.
Snape and the newly recruited Death Eaters helped themselves to some gold and a few bottles each from the Three Broomsticks. They hurried back to join the army.
… --- …
The broom riders were doing an excellent job. They were silently flying at 400 feet and were disillusioned to avoid being seen from the ground. In the growing darkness, they remained unseen, each reporting back to the Astronomy tower every few minutes.
When it became certain that Hogwarts was the target and the attack on the village was merely a feint, Dan and Remus got into the trucks. Each was aided by several Order members; they drove around dumping their load of kerosene as they went. Remus, Bill and Alyx were in one truck. Remus drove in a circle around the castle about a hundred yards out. Alyx and Bill held the big hoses as they poured the kerosene onto the ground. It took longer than they had expected. Several times they were hurried on by the flyers. Since they had extra fuel, they also made a quick pass about two hundred yards out by the area that Dan was soaking.
Dan drove the other truck back and forth in and area about 200 yards wide and about fifty yards deep. Like the other truck, the broom riders who knew that the army would be there at any moment hurried them along. He drove over a wider area than originally planned to accommodate the larger army and hoped that it was being applied thickly enough to be effective.
Taking Dan's suggestion, after being unloaded, both trucks were shrunk, picked up and carried into the castle. After the six of them had come in, the massive oak doors were closed and the cross pieces were put in place. The DA was divided between being in the courtyard in case the main door was breeched and up on the battlements to ward off the attackers. They hadn't been advised of the kerosene plan, but were simply told to do nothing until commanded.
… --- …
The Folgards, a handful of the shop owners and Rosmerta were directed into one of the classrooms and told to remain there. Harry was happy that they were safe but didn't need the distraction.
Fred asked George and Neville to help him move the huge boxes of fireworks up to the battlements at the top of the castle's outer wall. "Aye, be careful with them Neville. They'll make our last little firework display seem like nothing." Neville and George carefully carried the boxes up the winding stairs.
"Put them over there, and cover them with this," said George, handing him a tarp.
Neville asked, "What else can I do?"
George replied, "Just wait, like everyone else."
… --- …
Tutui marched the division up to the castle in a surprisingly short amount of time. The centurions had done their jobs well directing their individual groups of men. Anticipating that the enemy within the castle would shoot arrows at them or pelt down rocks or other projectiles at them, the men clustered together with the men in the front row holding their rectangular shields in front of them while the men in the middle held their shield over their heads. The classic tortoise defense had served them well over many battles, though it did tend to block their ability to see what the enemy was doing. As such the different pods were positioned quite close to each other as they marched double speed onto the front lawn.
Harry, Fred and George watched carefully as the division crossed the outer ring then was walking onto the soaked field. So far the plan had worked exactly as planned. The main body was dead center in the soaked ground and the leading groups were just approaching the fringes.
At about the same time Harry and Tutui each shouted, "Fire." From the ground arose a blanket of arrows flying upward. The first volley hadn't yet hit their targets when the second volley had been launched.
From the castle flew a dozen fireworks. Several were aimed skyward to illuminate the area while the others were fired at seemingly random areas on the ground.
… --- …
Severus Snape hadn't become a Potions Master without some physical skills to back him up. Standing in the back with Riddle and the Engineers, he caught the feint aroma of kerosene. A moment after Tutui said, "Fire," he saw the fireworks ignite and the realization of the trap that they had walked into hit him. Grabbing Riddle's arm he hissed, "Run."
Whoosh!
The fireworks exploded onto the ground simultaneously starting hundreds of fires that linked up into a gigantic fire wave within a single second. The flames were easily twenty feet high. The heat wave knocked Fred and George off of their feet.
Riddle and Snape had almost reached the outer fire ring at the instant that it ignited. With their shoes and the hems of their robes soaked in kerosene, both men were badly burned as they crossed the final fifteen feet of the fire.
… --- …
The main body of the army was not so lucky. Within seconds, over nine hundred of the inferi were on the ground in flames. Those that fell to the ground soaked themselves in the flaming liquid sealing their fate. Because of the forward and rear rings that Lupin had made, the fire was seemingly everywhere. No one knew how to escape.
The sight and sounds were horrible. Several of the students had ignored Harry's call to get down and were shocked by the massive carnage clearly visible in the bright firelight. The painted birch shields ignited like kindling, cremating those that were in the middle within a few minutes. A hundred yards away up on the battlements Harry and the others' faces felt like they had a bad case of sunburn.
… --- …
Most of the fifth, sixth and seventh year students were in the open courtyard or on the various battlements. At least a dozen of the students had been hit by the first hail of arrows. The second stream of arrows had been just as accurate, some hitting new students, most hitting students with a second or third arrow.
The Healer group of the Order quickly went to work, gathering up those who had been hit. Emma was out in the courtyard helping Molly with Allie and Katlyn when she saw Hermione get hit in the back from a flying arrow.
To her absolute astonishment, the arrow bounced off and entangled itself in the hem of her robe. She made a note to herself to tell her daughter to ravish the young man who had bought her the body armor. Hermione conjured stretchers for Katlyn and Allie and rushed them up to the hospital wing. Both had been hit with arrows and had punctured lungs.
… --- …
On the ground, Tutui's swordsmen were in a panic. A few tried to run through the fire, while most tried unsuccessfully to avoid it. Some of the engineers and most of the archers were substantially unhurt, while the footmen were almost all dead. "Keep firing," shouted Tutui. They loosed another flight of arrows. For nearly two minutes they fired a continuous flight of arrows until they had fired a third of their supply. The reserves were mostly archers who were commanded to fire with the others, though at a slower pace.
… --- …
On the battlements, Harry and two dozen others hunkered down. Harry had created a metal shield like the one that McGonagall had taught them. One arrow glanced off of it while another hit it with a solid clang. When the arrows had subsided, Harry stood and shouted, "Reducto."
The laminated birch shields were no match for the magical blasts and the spells had nearly the same range as the archers who were disadvantaged due to having to fire upward forty feet. As the flames subsided and the darkness grew, the engineers carried the great ladders up to the castle. Of the ten ladder teams four had made it as far as placing the ladder against the castle. Several of the soldiers had reached the top only to be blasted with Reducto charms. Flitwick vanished the ladders causing the soldiers to fall to the ground.
… --- …
Riddle watched in mounting rage as the majority of the inferi and almost all of his Death Eaters were killed in the first thirty seconds of the battle. His legs were as badly burned as Snape's. Lucius, Draco and Dolohov had been in the rear hiding some gold that they had found at the Three Broomsticks and hadn't been injured.
… --- …
Hermione was focused on the wounded students so intently that she had not noticed the ache in her back right away. She had just returned from taking the Greystone sisters to the hospital wing when she realized that she was hurt. Ignoring it she rolled her shoulders and kept moving.
She changed positions from the courtyard to one of the battlements. The DA and Order members in the courtyard had shielded themselves adequately and the injuries were becoming fewer.
The darkness made it extremely difficult to work. They could not create light as it would give the archers a target to aim at. She couldn't even identify the student that was at her feet. She made a snap decision and grabbed the student closest to her and quickly explained.
Lisa Turpin nodded at the head girl and grabbed her transfigured shield. They both moved away from the edge of the wall and Lisa sat down with her shield blocking most of her body.
Hermione conjured a small blue bell flame and an area of a one-foot circle was illuminated. Lisa levitated it out over the battlefield and Hermione pointed her wand at it once more. The flame grew. They could see the battlefield again and there was almost enough light to see what they were doing.
Hermione immediately went back to the wounded. She was ready to transport Dean, who had been hit in the leg, when Harry was suddenly beside her.
"It's time," he said. Hermione took a deep breath and then nodded. She handed Dean off to Sprout. The older woman had heard Harry and knew what was about to happen.
Hermione touched Harry's cheek gently.
"I love you," she told him softly.
"And I love you. Please be careful," he told her. She nodded again and put her wand to her throat.
"Sonorus," she said. She saw her mother fighting with a large wound on a student.
"Team H, meet me inside. It's time," Hermione shouted. Emma looked up and their eyes met.
The DA members had no idea what she was talking about and ignored her. Padma, Hagrid, Luna, Susan and Bill started for the door. Hermione grabbed Harry and kissed him hard and then left quickly. Both her parents and her Godmother had heard her and each said a short prayer for the six people leaving the battle.
Hermione pulled a piece of parchment out of her robe and let each member memorize it. Then she held up her arm and motioned to her bracelet. The portkey took them to the hills outside Hogsmeade.
"What is this place?" Padma asked as they entered the cave.
"The hideout of Sirius Black," Hermione told her as she approached one of the walls. The concern of Voldemort summoning the Horcruxes had been overwhelming. Moving them from the castle had happened in the middle of the night. Only she and Harry knew that they had been moved.
She tapped it in six places and an opening not unlike the one in Diagon Alley appeared.
The Horcruxes were all there. Harry had been stunning the giant snake twice a day. Hagrid stunned the beast again.
As planned they laid them out in a wide circle on the floor. Bill set up a series of protections around the circle. Then he and Susan took up positions at the opposite ends of the cave. They held their wands at the ready.
Hermione nodded at each of the others and then took a deep breath.
"Avada recuso emoveo animus excessum"
She spoke the spell and moved her wand in the form of the infinity symbol as they had practiced. In her mind she was thinking of all that had been lost. Intent was not an issue in this spell making it even more dangerous than the killing curse.
A greenish light flew from her wand. It was not the same shade of green as the killing curse. This spell was more blue than green. It hit the putter's head, which broke into large chunks.
The others watched as a burst of magic flew at Hermione. The wards Bill had set up stopped most of the magic but a small portion broke through. Hermione had begun to move seconds after she cast the spell. Voldemort's protection missed her by inches, instead hitting the wall behind her.
The wall exploded. Gravel and dust flew everywhere. A large chunk of rock hit Hermione's cheek. It was her only injury as her armor protected the rest of her body.
Hermione wiped her face and got to her feet. Above the putter floated a hazy image of a young Tom Riddle. The blue light of the spell surrounded it. The green part of the spell surrounded the pieces of the putter's head. Tom looked around and then began to scream as the blue light imploded in on him. It sizzled to a small ball of light and then with a loud bang it vanished. The green light faded.
Bill reinforced the wards.
Padma went second. The locket snapped open. Tom Riddle as he must have looked twenty years ago was before them. Having seen what happened to Hermione, Padma made it a point to fall down the second she finished the spell. The killing curse missed her by a wide margin. The wall behind her exploded into dust.
The bang sounded the same as it had before.
Luna stared at the cup for a moment. She moved her wand and spoke the spell with the same far away look that she always wore. The cup shattered into tiny pieces except for the handle. A just graduated Tom Riddle floated up surrounded by blue haze.
Luna dived left when the spell was complete. A ball of fire flew at the spot Luna had been. Her shoes were scorched. Again Tom Riddle disappeared with a bang.
Hagrid pointed his wand at the snake. The wand was newly acquired since his being cleared of all charges. Hagrid had an apology signed by the Minister of Magic hanging on his wall.
He spoke the spell and watched as the snake burst into flame. His large body moved at what seemed to be a horribly slow pace as he tried to move out of the way of the path of whatever would be coming. Then nothing happened. Everyone watched the Voldemort that they were familiar with rise. The blue light cast a glow around the room. This time the bang was more pronounced.
"Guess he thought that keeping the snake with him would be enough protection," Bill said without humor.
Hermione conjured a wooden box and banished the horcrux remains to it. Bill shrank the box and pocketed it. He was about to speak again when they heard a loud rumble.
"Apparate to Honeydukes," Hermione shouted as the walls began to cave in.
Six pops were followed by a roar as the cave collapsed.
As luck would have it, Honeydukes, one of the few buildings still standing, was deserted. Padma examined Luna's slightly burnt legs and feet while Susan looked over Hermione's cut. They took the portkey back to the school and ended up in the Great Hall. Bill gave Hermione the box.
Hermione rushed out with the others on her heels. The group burst onto the battlement less then ten minutes after they had left. They each took up their previous positions without a word to those fighting around them. Hermione found Harry firing a series of reducto curses at the battlefield.
"It is done," she told him after he finished.
"Everyone okay?" He demanded looking her over.
"Nothing life threatening," she reported. He nodded and looked relieved. With one more look he turned back to the battle and she went back to the wounded.
Lisa Turpin was still holding the light in place. She was shaking from the effort. Hermione broke the spell and then conjured a stretcher for the exhausted girl. She hoped that the ten minutes of light had helped.
A few minutes later she levitated Lisa and three other students to the hospital wing.
…---…
Suddenly Riddle felt dizzy. Despite his burns he sat down. For several minutes he could remember nothing. Finally he shook his head and made an effort to focus. He saw the flames and the castle and remembered, 'Potter. Potter was the enemy.' His hatred brought everything into clarity. He pointed his wand at the battlement and fired the killing curse. He fired it again. The jet of light didn't seem to be quite as bright as the previous one.
Malfoy and the others saw the Dark Lord firing at the castle and began doing the same thing. After ten minutes they too had tired slightly and took a break.
Snape got up and carefully aimed his wand before muttering "Reducto." From 200 yards the spell's aim was nearly true. It hit the stone battlement inches away from Harry sending stone chips at him at bullet velocity. He was knocked off of his feet having been hit with at least a dozen of them, but got up a few seconds later, grateful for the protective armor.
Seeing that he was all right, the other Order members and the DA members on the battlements fired Reducto charms in the direction that they had seen the lights come from. One hit Travers just below the hip shattering his femur and hit an artery. He bled out within a minute before Snape could reach him.
… --- …
Shortly before midnight it was obvious that Tutui's division had been decimated, and the five wizards left the battlefield to heal themselves. Riddle made no effort to find the other Death Eaters, instead he left them on the ground to get back on their own, die or be captured.
Snape, both Malfoy's and Dolohov figured that the Dark Lord would take his anger out on them. All of them were shocked and relieved when instead, Riddle went to his private room to heal himself and didn't return.
… --- …
The battle raged through the night with arrows and spells passing each other back and forth. Tutui lacked the forces to storm the castle and their only offense was that of the highly skilled archers.
The stench of flaming flesh and the burning kerosene was overpowering and seemed to waft skyward. The archers continued firing even as their numbers were slowly diminished.
About midnight Fred and George let loose an almost continual barrage of fireworks. Harry had positioned everyone who could fire a Reducto charm on the battlements. As one they took aim and launched the explosive charm against anyone that was in range. One of the blasts hit Tutui severing one of his legs just above the knee. In the rear third of the division when the fire started, he had been badly burned by the fire. By three AM only a few dozen archers remained. The swordsmen had mostly taken up bows from those who had fallen as their swords were on no use against the thick walls.
At four AM six of the remaining swordsmen had silently put the last of the ladders up against the castle. Three of the soldiers made it to the top of the battlement. Neville fired a blast as Dan emptied his pistol at the approaching soldiers knocking two of them off of their feet. Unfortunately they had tried to stop the same soldiers. The third reached Neville and hit him in the side with a slicing motion before Remus finished them off with Reducto blasts and vanished the last of the ladders.
Remus ran up to Neville who was on the ground bleeding. He shouted, "Healer!"
Neville opened his eyes and winced. He was in pain.
"Don't move, Neville."
Dan ran over to help. He'd seen the exchange and expected to see the teen on the ground disemboweled. Instead there was a pound note sized red mark on the left front side of his white shirt. He smiled and asked, "Neville, are you wearing one of those sets of wonderful body armor?"
Neville nodded.
Dan said, "Good. You'll live to thank Harry for them. He gave me one too and it came in very handy."
Pomfrey ran up the stairs as fast as she could and saw Longbottom on the ground. For a moment, her heart leapt until she surveyed the scene. Like Dr. Granger, she smiled when she saw him feet away from the other three soldiers. Dan removed his shirt and Remus opened the vest. There was a skin deep cut about five inches long across his abdomen. With three careful waves of her wand Healer Pomfrey cleansed and closed the wound. She looked at him and said, "Normally I'd put you in a hospital bed for the rest of the evening Mr. Longbottom, but given the circumstances, you'd best remain at your post."
She shuddered as she looked at the three fallen soldiers, fascinated by their garb, yet revolted by the thought of what they'd become. Ten minutes later, Neville was back guarding the battlements with the others. Harry and several others came over, alerted by the sound of Dan's pistol, saw that things were under control and went back to their own areas.
… --- …
On Harry's suggestion, Minister Abraxan had kept the Aurors away from the castle, instead having them guard the displaced residents of Hogsmeade. There was too much risk of friendly fire in the darkness, and it had become apparent that there was little real risk of the castle being breached. She had used the floo to firecall several times, but stayed away as they had recommended.
… --- …
Word had reached the Daily Prophet that Death Eaters had destroyed the village of Hogsmeade and a few survivors had been moved to safety. Reporter Whiteheart had been dispatched to Avebury to interview the suffering citizens to find that the Aurors had already provided them with temporary shelters and food. Abraxan and John Thomas had done a fantastic job planning for the event.
Thinking that she had the main story, she stayed there until just before dawn when she overheard two of the Aurors talking about that attack at the castle.
She immediately apparated to Hogsmeade station.
… --- …
With the first light came the renewed moaning of the wounded and burned that had lasted through the night.
At seven there was enough light to distinguish colors and see detail. Harry made the decision that the Order would go out and finish off the mortally wounded.
Despite McGonagall's threats of detention, several hundred students made their way to the battlements and the astronomy tower. As such they witnessed the end of the Triarii division. Harry, Remus and a dozen of the fighting team opened the massive castle doors and walked outside.
"Harry, finish them off," said Remus quietly. "They don't belong here and you would be doing them a favor."
"I know," replied Harry. "Give me a minute." He had never executed anyone before.
Commander Tutui saw the exchange and did his best to stand. Helped up by his archers, he held out his sword, presenting it sideways with both hands, palms up, by the blade to the young commander in a sign of surrender.
"Take it," said Remus.
Harry walked up to the commander from two millenniums past, made eye contact and held out both hands to accept the sword. Tutui handed Harry his sword, nodded as one commander to another and his men lined up side by side next to him.
Remus, Lee, Neville, Dan, Alyx and the others walked up to the defeated soldiers and accepted their arms. Each nodded to his or her counterpart. They took a few steps back, nodded one last time and fired their spells or in Dan's case the muggle gun. Up in the battlements several students had been taking photos of the exchange.
… --- …
While Harry was outside with Tutui, McGonagall was watching closely from the front door. Bodies were littered all over the front lawn of the castle.
Abraxan and all of the Aurors along with what appeared to be half of the Ministry portkeyed to the closest spot. She watched in absolute fascination at the final exchange between Harry and the Inferi Commander. After Tutui and the others had been hit, the bodies of all of the inferi began to rapidly decay. Within a few minutes their armor and swords had rusted into dust. Only the weapons that Tutui and the other soldiers had personally handed over remained in pristine condition. Within five minutes the only bodies remaining on the lawn were the blackened remains of the forty-five Death Eaters.
The smell of burnt flesh remained.
Up in the battlements, Molly, Diane and Emma watched in absolute fascination as her daughter's lover ended a magical battle. As Harry and the others turned to walk back to the castle, Hermione, Luna and a dozen others raced out and hugged their loved ones.
"Harry, you were brilliant!" screamed Hermione. "I was so scared for you."
From above came the sound of 350 cheering students joined in by all of the others.
Harry and Hermione held on to each other tightly. Neither wanted to let go and face what was yet to come.
… --- …