newspaper taxi: hurt Malfoy? That would just be too easy, after all everyone's been underestimating him so far.

sweet as lemonz: well that would all depend on your level of pain tolerance, but yes it would probably hurt a fair bit (speaking as someone who's dislocated their shoulder before)

Chapter 21: Things Have Been Too Quiet

Things were quiet at Hogwarts for the few weeks after the bludger incident, almost too quiet. But it did provide the students with a good studying environment as it creeps closer and closer to exam time. I'd just finished writing the last of my exams and filed them away in a warded drawer so I could get McGonagall to look them over and approve them tomorrow when there's the sound of great commotion outside.

Going over to my window I look down to the grounds and see a sight that makes my blood run cold. There are Death Eaters all over the grounds duelling with the ministry Aurors appointed to guard the school in an attempt to gain access to the school. Without really even thinking about it I had my wand out and was running to the front doors.

Grandpa's magically amplified voice booms through the corridors, "All students are to proceed directly to the Great Hall in a calm and orderly fashion."

As I arrived at the top of the stairs leading down to the Great Hall I could see through the open front doors how close the battle had come to the school. Aurors Kingsley Shackbolt and Tonks had moved back so that they were positioned just outside the doors to keep all of the Death Eaters from entering the castle.

Professors were trying to get students not to panic as they filed into the Great Hall when they were on the verge of panicking themselves. Severus, who was the only calm looking one, had led his Slytherin's up from the dungeons and was directing them into the Great Hall, Draco Malfoy was not among them.

Suddenly the temperature seemed to drop twenty degrees and I looked outside to see a swarm of a hundred Dementors heading for the school.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

I silver stag charged the Dementors and I looked down to see that Harry had moved away from his fellow students and was standing just back from the main doors with his wand arm extended. I joined my Patronus with his and was surprised to see that I was not the only one. All the members of Harry's DA had joined him, wands raised much to the distress of the staff.

"Get in the Great Hall, all of you!" McGonagall exclaimed running over to them.

"Go," I said moving to stand next to Harry. "We'll handle this."

The only one who didn't move was Harry, he stood staring, like I was, at the battle looking for a currently absent Lord Voldemort. There was a flash of green light among the other spells and a body fell to the ground.

"All students get into the Great Hall and sit at your house table quietly," said Grandpa from somewhere behind me. "Professors get ready to close the main doors."

Then I saw a flash on the battlefield and Hagrids hut was on fire and I was out the main doors running towards it before I'd even thought about what I was doing.

"Adrian!" I heard Grandpa yell but I wasn't turning back, not until I knew that Hagrid was okay.

"GET IN THE GREAT HALL, POTTER!" Severus bellowed.

I was running a zig zag pattern in order to make myself harder to hit and as a beam of green light flashed by me, so close that I could feel the unnaturally cold feeling it gave off, I knew it had been the right decision. I heard the main doors bang shut and the sound of the bars being thrown to lock them making Hogwarts what every castle had been designed as, a fortress.

Putting out Hagrids hut with a jet of water from my wand I was relieved to see him stagger out with Fang under his arm.

"Get up to the castle," I told him. "And be careful you don't get hit by a stray spell."

"Dementors," he said and I spun around to see more Dementors rising from a gully between the forbidden forest and the main gates.

Casting the patronus charm I watched as my lion charged down the Dementors driving some of them back. Then a silver phoenix smashed into them sending them fleeing back in the direction they'd come from.

Looking up to the school I saw Grandpa standing in front of the main doors with his arms raised and robes billowing around him. That sight alone seemed to make some of the Death Eaters lose their nerve.

However I didn't head back to the school, instead I turned and headed for the location the Dementors had came from. Someone was directing the battle from down there, and it wasn't Voldemort since he would have showed his ugly face by now just for the purpose of scaring us. So it had to be one of the Death Eaters, and if I could do away with them I could drastically help us out.

I was almost there when something grabbed my arm. Whirling around I saw Severus standing there, I hadn't even realised he'd followed me.

"Let go."

"Adrian don't, it's not safe."

But I was determined and didn't listen. Pulling away from him I lost my balance and slid down the slope and bringing him with me. Scrambling to my feet at the bottom I found myself face to face with Lucius Malfoy.

"Well done Severus," he said with a cruel smile. "Well done."