Disclaimer: I own no part of Harry Potter or its associated canon nor, any other already copyrighted material.

(A/N): I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. When I sit down to write a story, long or short, more often than not, about 98 of the time, it's because I have one scene in my head and want to tell the story that leads up to and encompasses it. There are actually two scenes that drove me on this time around. This is the first. The second is the four chapter final battle which I already have mapped out and partially written. For now though, enjoy.

Chapter 16

The Beginning of the End

Appearing in the basement, Harry burst past the others and tore up the stairs, heedless of the noise he was making. Carelessly knocking boxes aside he grabbed his Firebolt and took the stairs two at a time. Skidding to a stop before the large front windows he tore back the curtains and looked past the town up to the school's gates. The last half hour of sunlight cast the buildings in deep shadows.

"Mother of god…" He recalled his uncle Vernon using that particular phrase once, but he never understood just what his uncle had felt until now. Much of the front wall of the courtyard was hidden behind a terrifying, formless mass of Dementors. He had no idea how many were in that group, but he noticed frost at the corner of the window and could see Hermione's breath as she skidded to a frozen halt to his right.

"Oh…no…" Her voice held raw terror as she stared at the black blanket covering the gates. He was jostled forward a half step as Ron crashed to a stop on his left.

"Ginny…" Ron took half a step to the door before stopping and turning back. "We have to go! Now!"

"You're right. Here." Harry pulled out the key and tossed it to Ron before heading for the door. Ron caught the key in one hand and jabbed the other out to block the door.

"Where are you going?!"

"Listen, lock this door behind me. I'm going to stall them. With any luck I'll distract them and give you two a few minutes. Obviously Ginny is getting the DA together and likely the rest of the school is gathered for the feast. You need to be there to help and guard the Hall if it comes to that." He pushed Ron's arm away and unlocked the door. He stopped while pulling it open as Hermione spoke behind him.

"Harry…" He turned wondering what she would say. A warning? Another plan? A stunning spell? "Be careful." He nodded.

"I will." He turned to Ron. "Take care of her." At Ron's nod he turned and ran out into the deserted street and took several long strides. Jumping, he mounted the broom and shot off toward the school. Just before taking flight he could hear the door shutting behind him. Flicking his arm out and letting his wand slide out into his waiting hand, he immersed himself in the memory of his parents, focusing all of his will on that one moment in his mind.

Leaning into the broom, he streaked across the Black Lake, a few feet above the water. Sparing a quick glance down, his reflection was deformed by the thinly frozen waves beneath him. Having had the time to think about it, he now mimicked the spells Dumbledore had cast last year that allowed him to enter the grounds at speed. More turbulence greeted him this time, but he passed it far more quickly on his own broom. He had only managed a temporary hole though and felt it snap shut behind him.

Closer to the castle he could make out individual Dementors. His heart froze at their numbers. There had to be a thousand at least floating toward the gates and flowing over the wall. Focusing on his memory and calming his fear he made a sharp turn and shot up the cliff and past the outer wall of the school. Spinning hard over the top of one of the numerous parapets that dotted the walls, he dodged past the Dark Tower and aimed for the gates.

As he closed in the effect of the Dementors became stronger and the last rays of sunlight did nothing to warm the icy wind as he flew. Half way across the castle he got his first full glimpse of the courtyard and his first surprise. Instead of being fended off right at the entrances as he had expected, the Dementors halfway across the courtyard had halted and turned around. A second later he realized most of the Dementors were focused on the main gate for some reason. The cloaks formed a roiling black sea surrounding and flowing over and around the wall.

Following their line of sight his eyes caught a glint coming from within a large crowd of black cloaks pressing in on the top of the gatehouse. A second later it was followed by an unearthly scream that should have knocked him away. A second later another glint, followed by another unearthly scream. Somehow he knew…it was the only thing that made sense.

Whatever was going on down there, Dementors were dying.

He rapidly trolled his memory trying to think of anything that would kill a Dementor. Even Hermione had never mentioned anything like that. You couldn't kill a Dementor…it wasn't possible. And yet… That must be the reason all the Dementors were focused on the gatehouse. Another glint, another scream and another. No…no one could survive surrounded by that many Dementors…one would kiss who ever it was for sure.

Circling around again to try for a better look, he had to shield his eyes for a moment as a split second explosion of silver light erupted on the gatehouse. When he looked back, there was now a clearing in the mass of icy darkness where stood a lone individual, white shirt and silver blade shining in stark contrast to the black cloaks all around him. No…way… The Professor's eyes locked instantly onto Harry and he extended his arm in a motion Harry instantly interpreted as 'get me out of here!' A second later he disappeared behind a fresh assault of black cloaks, the occasional horrible scream the only indication he was still alive.

Harry hesitated for only a split second before diving from his circling pattern toward the main entrance to the keep. Pushing hard against the foot pegs, he forced the broom to break into the opposite direction, sliding to a halt a few feet from the door and the ground. Immersing himself in his memory and focusing all his will he aimed for the gatehouse through the mass of Dementors. Taking a last breath he shot off into the cold darkness.

"Expecto patronum!" Exploding in a silver jet from the end of his wand, the stag appeared directly ahead of him, running faster that a real deer ever could. Following the silver incarnation of his father, Harry headed for the gate. As it crashed into the edge of the Dementor mass, it blew through, cutting a path ten feet wide for him to fly. While the silver phantom threw black cloaks left and right Harry followed behind, streaking through the channel before the monstrosities to either side could react, his wand ahead of him, directing the assault. It only took a few moments for the gates to loom large in his vision and a leap by the stag cut a path to their top.

A final attack by the patronus cleared the area for a few critical seconds and Harry released it while jamming his wand back up his sleeve. Leaning again into the broom he held on with his left hand and lowered his right to catch the professor. Not quite seeing him in time, Keystone made a grab for Harry with his left and missed. Harry made another sharp turn back and tried again. As Dementors closed in the Professor turned and ran for the inside edge of the wall. Jumping from the ledge he turned in midair and caught Harry's extended arm, now swinging high above the Dementors.

The sudden weight jostled Harry and he felt something fall from his pocket as he streaked back toward the main door. The cup! Unable to make any move to retrieve it, he had no choice but to let the Horcrux fall. He was nearly knocked from the air a few seconds latter by a concussion wave that blossomed behind him. While still recovering from it his mind was nearly lost in the cacophony of screams coming from the mass.

Setting down near the gates before anything else could affect him; he tossed the broom aside as lightly as he could and turned, drawing his wand. Next to him the battle worn Professor Keystone held the swept back sword over his head with one hand and his wand in the other. His clothes seemed to be ripped and stained with dirt in places but his face was untouched and showed only a determined focus. A flash of the silver steel, that caught what little light there was to glint, flicked black ooze away from the weapon to land on the ground.

Though part of him wanted to continue watching the display, his eyes rapidly returned to the attackers. For a split second Harry though a large group of the beings had been removed from the center of their number, but it must have been the twilight because a solid wall was now bearing down on them. Dementors flowed freely over the wall now and were forming a nine foot wall of terror marching ever closer to them. It took every shred of his will not to give in to the horror trying to erupt within him.

"Nice stag Potter. I don't suppose you have a stronger memory by chance? I can't handle them all…and survive." Harry thought about it for a split second, trying to think of anything that would trump his parents. A heartbeat later, he had it.

"I…I think I do, sir."

"Well…no time like the present."

"Right…" Changing the image in his mind Harry took aim at the mass of darkness. When he felt the power of his feelings overcome the icy terror trying to crush his soul, he knew he was ready. Taking a deep breath he shouted, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" His vision blurred as his whole body shook with the power of the spell he was casting. For a moment he was afraid his wand was going to explode into a thousand pieces, but just as he felt it could hold no more, a silver jet erupted from the tip. Taking far longer than the stag had to form, whatever it was that he had summoned assaulted the Dementors with a cry that reminded Harry of an eagle.

"Nice. My turn. Expecto Patronum!" Though quieter, the professor's spell held all the intensity Harry's had. From the silver mist that exploded from the end of his wand wide webbed wings unfurled and thick scaled skin took shape. Harry's eyes widened as he watched it crash into the wall of black robes like an arrow tearing through a target.

"A…a Horntail?!"

"Long story." The professor's face was pure concentration as he directed the beast around the courtyard. "Not that yours is exactly small." Allowing his patronus to rise above the crowd for a moment, Harry got a clear look at it and nearly dropped his wand in shock. After staring at it for a heartbeat though, he knew it was right. "Nice griffin. Now….if you'd care to help me here…?" Harry immediately sent the silver winged beat back into the horde, scattering cloaks everywhere. Flashes of steel and fancy footwork followed by more unearthly screams wiped out the few Dementors that managed to reach the pair.

After the appearance of both incredibly powerful patroni it was only a minute before the remaining Dementors were in full retreat. Taking to his Firebolt, Harry harassed them until they were well away from the castle and had all fled into the coming night. It was hard to get an accurate count but it did in fact look as if the number of cloaks retreating was significantly smaller than the group that had first arrived. Returning to the courtyard he descended and found the professor wiping clean the blade of his sword on one of the now empty cloaks that littered parts of the area. Tossing the fabric aside he noticed something on the ground a few feet away. Picking it up, he tossed it over.

"Think you dropped this." Harry caught the golden double handled cup and stuffed it quickly back in his pocket before anyone else could see it and ask difficult questions.

"Thanks." Harry's eyes looked over the carnage that littered the grounds in the form of hundreds of discarded black cloaks. His eyes tracked to the sword that Keystone sheathed with a flourish and he gestured to the piles of destroyed Dementors. "How did you…?"

"Later Potter." He pointed toward the main doors. "Ask me later." Harry turned to find half a dozen Aurors surrounding Professor McGonagall as she strode across the courtyard, looking wide eyed at the cloaks strewn about. Her eyes grew even wider at seeing him standing next to the Keystone. Breaking free of the ring of Aurors she approached them. "Headmistress." Keystone bowed his head in acknowledgement.

"Alex…" Not knowing what else to say she turned to Harry. "Potter! What are you doing here?! You should be in the Great Hall with the other students! Do you have any idea how dangerous it was out here?" Harry didn't know whether she was genuinely angry or covering for his absence from the school in front of the Aurors. Either way he had little choice but to play along and look his characteristic defiant self. To his surprise it was Keystone who rose to his defense.

"Relax Professor. He's of age and you can hardly fault him for wanting to protect the school. And, as I'm sure most of the school will know by the time we get inside, he acquitted himself brilliantly." He glanced around at the collected Aurors. "How many of you could have cast a patronus that powerful?" A couple opened their mouths to respond but quickly snapped them shut, unable to match him. "The school is safe, no damage done. Now…with that many Dementors there are going to be a lot of terrified students. Potter, come with me. We'll help Madam Pomfrey hand out some chocolate." Taking a moment to collect his broom, Harry had little choice but to follow him past the group and toward the main doors, leaving the headmistress and her guard to follow behind.

Crossing into the school he followed the professor down the corridors toward the medical wing. "Give that here." He held out his hand and Harry handed over the Firebolt. Keystone waved his wand and the broom disappeared. "Sent it to your room. No sense carrying it around." As they went Harry noticed a few students through the open door of the Great Hall and various Aurors glancing at them…no, at him with admiration and…awe? "Congratulations Potter. You're a goddamn hero." A familiar flare of annoyance rose in him at the label.

"I don't want to be a hero. I just did what I had to." The professor glanced at him for a moment before jamming his thumb back toward the doors.

"Being a hero isn't for you. It's for them. They need someone they can look to as their champion. A symbol. Remember that when the weight of being their hero becomes great. You're doing it for them. Great and powerful men have been crushed by the title. It's a burden few can bear. You do so more easily than you realize." Harry stared at him in shock and nearly crashed into Madam Pomfrey who was carrying far more chocolate than she could actually control.

Taking an armful each, they flanked her as she made her way back to the Great Hall. When they appeared at the door the entire room fell immediately silent. Harry could feel the aura of fear in the room that had nothing to do with the decorations. The Hall was done up in its traditional Halloween regalia and the tables were set though empty, still awaiting the feast. The silence lingered for several tense moments. Then, in the back, one person started clapping. A second later the room exploded in applause and open cheers. Harry bowed a little and smiled, being what they needed at the moment, and moved off to the side to hand out the chocolate bars.

Splitting up the trio managed to cover the room in a few minutes and Harry dumped most of the remaining bars on the teachers' table and was mildly surprised Hagrid reached for one. "Some right nasty business 'arry. 'ear you did a thumpin' good job though."

"I did what I had to. Professor Keystone did most of it."

"Dementors…attacking here…Governors'll want to close the school after this."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." He noticed Hagrid looking at him oddly, as if he didn't quite recognize the student. "What?"

"Ye…ye just reminded me o' Dumbledore fo' a moment." Harry grinned at the compliment and having been compared to his mentor.

"Thanks." Nodding goodbye Harry grabbed a couple bars for himself and turned to search the room. Ron and Hermione were moving among the students, helping the teachers reassure the younger ones and making sure everyone got, if there was such a thing, a healthy dose of chocolate. Ginny though was seated at the near end of the Gryffindor table, along with her Gryffindor squad mates. Seeing him coming she nodded to each and they stood and headed down the table to check on others. "Hey."

"Hey." Harry dropped on to the bench next to her and handed over a bar which she quickly tore in to. Letting his frame fall forward he rested on his elbows and slowly tore into his own bar. As warmth flooded into him he relaxed, his eyes slipped closed and a small grin formed on his face. A moment later his eyes popped open at the touch of her trembling hand on his arm. He turned to face her, slowly grasping her hand. "What?"

"Harry…are you okay? I know you and Dementors…" He smiled a little and pulled her close, wrapping his arms tightly around her smaller frame. He could feel her hands steadying as he did so.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks to you."

"Huh?"

"I'll…tell you later. Now…are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah…I'm fine."

"Good." Letting his hands slip away he turned back to the table as the feast appeared at the Headmistress's command. While the students ate the Aurors and staff searched the school and secured it room by room. Ron and Hermione managed to join them a few minutes later, though neither wanted to risk talking about what had happened while surrounded by students. Half way through the meal, McGonagall declared the school secure, to the relieved sigh of many students.

Having rapidly stuffed themselves when the meal appeared, Harry and Ginny managed to slip out a few minutes after the Headmistress's announcement. The Aurors still guarding the door to the hall let them pass after only a moment's hesitation, apparently deciding Harry could handle whatever they might face. They had only gotten a couple of corridors away when Harry pulled her through a hidden passage masquerading as a suit of armor. Before she could question his actions he pinned her to the wall with his lips in a deeply passionate kiss broken only by the need to breathe. When he did relax to take a breath she took advantage to pin him to the opposite wall with a similar kiss.

Moments, or perhaps minutes, later they found a middle ground panting for breath in the middle of the passage, holding each other tightly. She spoke quietly, barely a whisper, against his neck. "I was so scared."

"I know. I was too. But it's okay now."

"What's going to happen?"

"Hagrid thinks the governors will try to close the school."

"They can't do that!"

"I know that, and you know that. The trick will be convincing them."

"We'll find a way. We have to."

"Yeah…" Harry pulled back to stare into her eyes, an odd calm coming over him as he did so. "So…how did things go otherwise?"

"Pretty well. All the students are safe at least."

"Good. Come on. We'll head up to Ron and Hermione's room. They should be there soon and we can run though what happened." At her nod they ducked back out of the passage and headed for the correct portrait. Making their way through they found the rooms empty. Sitting side by side they leaned back to the couch and watched the fire, waiting for the others.

A half hour later the pair arrived looking slightly haggard and gratefully fell into the other couch. With a slight grin Ron tosses Harry a small roll of parchment, sealed with the stylized M of the current Headmistress. "She was looking for you everywhere mate. Surprised she didn't break in here. Looked rather panicked too."

"Her school was just attacked Ronald. And despite the Aurors, it was a new professor and Harry that defended it." Ron just shrugged in response. Shaking his head at the pair Harry unrolled the parchment. Ginny leaned in and under his arm to read it as well.

Harry,

The Hogwarts Governors have called an emergency meeting
tomorrow morning at 9 AM in my office. I believe they intend
to close the school. Your presence may prove helpful in
dissuading them.

Headmistress McGonagall

"What is it Harry?" He tossed it over to Hermione. As she unrolled the small piece, he smiled a little at seeing Ron lean it to read as well, neither of them seeming to notice the proximity. "A meeting?"

"Looks like I won't be sleeping in tomorrow. They just barely kept the school open at the beginning of the year, after this…"

"You want us to come with you? It helped with the parents." Harry nodded slowly at Ron's question.

"Yeah. I would. Unfortunately, I think this is something I have to do myself. Besides, having you two out and about like nothing is wrong will help reassure the younger students. Keep an eye out if any parents show up to take their kids while I'm with the governors. Try to stall them."

"Will do." Silence fell as each of them considered the implications of what had happened. Without the school… No…Harry banished that thought from his mind. What ever it took, Hogwarts would stay open. After a few more moments he turned to Ginny.

"So…what happened while we were gone?" The other's focused on her as well, obviously having wondered themselves. She sat up straighter at the attention and sorted out her thoughts.

"Well…after you left I spent a little while checking the Map. I didn't find anything amiss so I headed out and walked around for a while, checking the common room, the Hall and whatever else. I did notice professor Keystone seemed to be patrolling and was more on edge than usual. I never did figure out why. Anyway, everything was normal until about half past four. About half the students had gathered in the Great Hall for the feast.

"Neville noticed it first. He was coming in from the entry way and he felt a wave of fear. A moment after he told me I noticed a bit of frost on the windows. I wasn't sure, it could have just been a cold evening, but I thought better safe than sorry. Collecting the few DA members around I sent them off to their houses to bring everyone to the Hall. Professor Keystone seemed to notice that and he came up to ask a few why they were leaving. They must have made up good cover stories, though since he let them go.

"A few minutes later, most of us could feel…something… It was then that I activated the coins. It was a good thing I did too. A minute later Hagrid came flying in shouting 'Dementors!' at the top of his lungs. Before any of the other teachers could respond, Professor Keystone had leapt the teacher's table and drawn his sword. That got everyone's attention real quick."

"I imagine it would."

"Right…so he turns back to the Headmistress and shouts, 'Get the students in here, I'll hold them off!' McGonagall looked at him shocked for a moment before responding, 'Wait! You don't even know how many there are!' He mumbled something I didn't catch but according to Luna it was 'Yeah, I do.' He didn't wait any longer before turning away and dashing down the center of the dodging students, his sword trailing behind. I managed to piece together a few people's stories from when they were coming down with their collected classmates. Apparently he made straight for the entrance, had Filch lock the doors behind him and ran out to the courtyard. After that…know one knows."

"We must have arrived a few moments after that," Hermione cut in. "We just caught up with the stragglers when we reached the Great Hall."

"Right. They sealed the doors behind a guard of Aurors after that. By then I had all the DA squads together and placed around the room, should Dementors get in." Harry noticed Ron nodding approvingly at her actions. "After that all we could do was sit and wait. Even in the Hall we could make out horrible screams. Lots of them. What was that?"

"Dementors. Dying." All of them looked surprised at Harry's words, Hermione perhaps most.

"But…Harry…you can't kill a Dementor."

"That's what I thought. But it happened."

"Anyway…a little after the screams stopped, I'm guessing that's when you and the Professor drove them off, McGonagall raced out with a guard of Aurors and couple minutes later…you showed up." She paused for a moment. "So what did you do? Hermione told me you took off on your broom…alone I might add…but what happened then?" The others turned their attention on him as well. Harry was unsure how to explain it exactly, but he struck upon the perfect way to show them.

"It's hard to really explain… I flew in from the back of the castle and found the professor holding off all the Dementors himself. Before you ask, I don't know how. Between the two of us we managed to drive them off. It turns out he has an aptitude for the patrronus charm. I can't really tell the story…but I can show you."

"How?" Harry tapped the side of his temple in response.

"The pensieve. We can just relive the memory. We'll be spending Christmas at Grimmauld. You can see it then." They each nodded in response. Ginny, however, wasn't done digging.

"So what about your trip? Did you find it?" Harry grinned a little and nodded. Retelling the passage of the day from the moment they left the school, he told her everything that had happened and the others what he had been doing during their 'appointment'. He had to pause for a moment as she chuckled over the ruse Hermione had cooked up. Harry glanced over and noticed the other pair had suddenly grown very quiet and were throwing furtive glances at each other. A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth on seeing this.

Diving back into the story he was helped with details by the others and they again heard something new as he explained his conversation with the snake. Harry carefully left out certain parts, knowing it was not his place to reveal certain things. Hermione had to bury her nails in Ron's arm to keep him from filling in the parts Harry had intentionally left out. He finished the tale by pulling out the cup and setting it on the table before them. Gingerly Ginny picked it up and looked the double handled gold cup.

"I almost lost that. It fell out of my pocket when I was flying. Fortunately I got it back before the Aurors or McGonagall noticed it."

"Bit dingy isn't it?" Harry furrowed his brow. Dingy? It had been good as new when he had claimed it from the pedestal. Holding out his hand he took it back and examined the piece. To his surprise it was now indeed dingy and beat up. The edge was chipped in a few places and the handle cracked. The gold itself seemed worn and older as well. Focusing on the cup he felt for Tom's magical signature.

"What the hell?"

"Harry? What is it?"

"It's…the magic…it's gone. I can't feel anything here." Hermione held out her hand and also examined the cup. Though not able to feel magic, she could see that it was significantly worn from when she had first seen it just an hour ago.

"How could this have happened?"

"I…I don't know… It was only out of my pocket for a couple minutes and the only things around…were…the Dementors…" He trailed off, his eyes leading his head in turning to the side. It took a few moments, during concerned stairs from the others, for everything to click. It had taken this long but his mind finally put together pieces it had been collecting since third year into one scenario, the only one that made sense. He was brought back into focus by Ginny's hand on his arm.

"Harry…what about the Dementors? What happened?" To her surprise, he grinned and actually started to chuckle. She glanced over to see if they knew what the joke was, but they both looked as concerned as she did. "Harry?"

"The Dementor's Kiss."

"What?"

"There was an explosion behind me after the cup dropped. They must have triggered whatever traps he put on it." She still didn't understand what he was talking about. Neither did Ron. Hermione though was staring, comprehension appearing on her face.

"Of course…"

"Harry…what are you talking about?" As he answered he counted off the points on his fingers.

"Horcrux have a piece of soul trapped within them, a Dementor's kiss destroys the soul of anyone they touch, Tom would have placed traps on his Horcrux, the cup dropped out of my pocket into a crowd of Dementors and a moment later there was a massive explosion behind me." Recognition dawned on her face.

"You mean…?"

"We're halfway there." Harry laughed and fell back against the couch. Still chuckling, he rose and held out a hand for Ginny. "Well…I think I'll call that a day. I've got a morning meeting and I don't want to be late." Pulling Ginny to her feet he led the way out the portrait hole and out to the corridors. Walking along with a slight spring in his step he followed her up to Gryffindor tower. Out of nowhere she spoke.

"Justin was telling me that he saw you in the courtyard. Somehow he evaded the Aurors long enough to catch a glimpse of you casting the patronus charm. He said you cast two different forms. The second was…a Griffin."

"Yeah. That was a bit of a surprise. Turns out I had a happier memory than my parents." Leading into the deserted common room she turned near the stairs and stopped him.

"What?" He smiled and leaned close to her.

"You." With a quick kiss he slid around her shocked form and up the stairs. Melting into a smile a moment later, she headed up to the girls' dorms.

(A/N): If you feel it is warranted feel free to review. I welcome any and all opinions.