Chapter Twelve: Answering the Call

September 24th

6:34am

Hogwarts, Scotland

Daphne

Harry and Daphne had just finished a vicious spar and were sitting down to nurse their minor injuries and wipe themselves down. Since they had begun sparring together nearly a year ago, not once had Daphne bested Harry, she had come very close several times only to fall short just before closing the deal. Even with the room's protections, scrapes, bruises and shallow cuts were ever present when they met in the mornings, no matter the outcome of the match.

"You know," Harry started as he tested how high he could lift his arm, "I really don't look forward to the day you beat me. I imagine that I'll be in a fair amount of pain then."

Smirking at Harry's covered wince she replied, "all the more reason for me to anticipate it." She ran her wand down her right leg and smiled as the small lacerations, courtesy of a hail of transfigured nails, closed up and the pain faded away.

"You're getting good with that," Harry noticed appreciatively.

Looking up, Daphne raised her eyebrow and smartly retorted, "considering our line of work I'm sure it will pay off," before returning to checking herself over. She nodded to herself after a moment, satisfied that she'd been healed properly and stood up only to mutter a curse and grab her back in pain.

"What's wrong?"

Daphne willed a mirror into the room and lifted the back of her shirt to see an angry purple and yellow bruise close to the centre of her back. "You're what's wrong, that's what. I think this was from the banisher that sent me into the wall."

She retrieved her wand and attempted to heal it herself but at such an awkward angle she couldn't cast the spell effectively. Daphne was becoming more and more visibly frustrated and on her third attempt she tried a wandless cast but to no avail. Daphne clenched her fists and prepared to vent her frustration out on the back wall when she was surprised by physical contact.

She had felt a hand rest gently on her shoulder and looked in the tall mirror to see Harry standing behind her with a kind smile. "Let me," he said earnestly, locking his gaze with hers.

She turned and immediately noticed their proximity and how she had to look up slightly to reach his eyes. He was pushing 5'10" now and she had seemed to stop growing after 5'8" which made their height difference a lot more noticeable when they were so close. He hadn't stopped looking into her eyes as he waited for her answer, nor had she broken the contact as they both felt their minds fall away and their stomachs churn.

She mustered her boundaries and replied, "you don't know how to cast episkey"

"Teach me," he replied simply.

'Merlin, why is he so gods be damned earnest? How the bloody hell am I meant to say no to those eyes?'

She nodded slightly and allowed him to guide her to a bench. "It's a circular wand movement and you have to visualise the after effects not the process," she instructed as he moved behind her.

"Daphne, I'm going to need you to lift your shirt," he said uneasily.

He couldn't see her smirk as she asked, "can you not cast with one hand and lift with the other?"

The mirror was in a good position to capture Harry's uncomfortable expression that turned to something akin to fear. However bravery was basically his whole personality so he crouched down slowly and lifted the shirt slightly to inspect the bruise some more. He quietly hissed when he got a good look at the damage he'd caused and noticed it travelled high up her back to just below her shoulder blades.

He was about to attempt his first episkey however there was but one problem, "ah… Daphne the bruise goes a bit—"

"It's fine, just heal it."

She felt his knuckles ghost across her back as he lifted the back of her shirt high and used a hand to hold it in place. She also felt his breath on her back as he gathered his courage and reached for the clasp on the back of her bra and began fiddling with it. After fiddling for over a minute, Daphne threw him a bone and reached over her shoulder to hold the shirt in place for him so he could use two hands to pull the clasps apart.

"Thanks," he said quietly, her help allowed him to make short work of the sports bra's clasp which elicited a slight gasp from the teenage boy.

'I suppose it would be hypocritical to tell him to not get any ideas considering they're probably the same as mine,' she thought humorously.

He took over holding the shirt once more and she felt his thumb brush against the nape of her neck occasionally as he cast, giving her delightful shivers down her spine and along her arms. She could feel the signature hot and cold effects of episkey as he worked his way down her back and reduced the swelling drastically.

When he was done, without a prompt, he clasped back up her bra and pulled her shirt down. Neither said a word for a moment as they looked at each other through the mirror.

"You're getting good with that," she said, breaking the silence and mimicking his words from before.

He chuckled slightly and replied, "you could say I have an excess of motivation."

She smiled at the joke and stood to face him. 'If there was ever a time to bring whatever is developing between us up it is now. I can only hope what I've been noticing hasn't been my mind playing tricks on me,' she resolved.

"Harry I—"

"Hmphy!" a muffled shout came from a pair of Harry's trousers on a bench in the room. The pair looked around quizzically before returning their gaze to each other.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" Harry asked.

"I was going to say—"

"Harry!" came the shout more clearly this time. Harry and Daphne's eyes widened as they realised what was happening and Harry raced over to the trousers and pulled the communication mirror from a pocket.

"Sirius!" he called as the man in question's face filled the screen. He looked spooked, eyes wide and panting as though he had just run up a flight of stairs. "What's going on Sirius?"

"Tonks… phoo… patronus…. huh… giants… Scrimengour… phoo… come quick."

September 24th

7:37am

West Country, England

Harry

Deciphering Sirius' huffing and puffing was no mean feat, even easier than getting off school grounds which they had done to apparate to the chateau where they had met Tonks. Scrimengour had somehow figured out that she was under his command so she was sent to collect him. She side-along-apparition both Harry and Daphne to what he assumed was a some kind of temporary base to combat the supposed giants rampaging across the countryside. There were three tents, all magically expanded to accommodate the massive mobilised force Scrimengour had amassed of aurors, reporters and healers.

It didn't take long for Scrimengour to be on their case, in fact moments after they arrived they were escorted to the minister's auror command tent post haste. The last time Harry had seen the minister a look of defeat donned the grisly man's head but seeing the man leaning over the table he recognised a man in his element. The gears were turning in the minister's mind as he stared down at a live action map of the giant's locations. He wasn't so lost in his own world to not notice the dramatic shift in tone as Harry and Daphne walked in, heads high and eyes sharp.

"Six giants Potter," Scrimengour called out. "Ever dealt with a giant before?"

"Giants? No," Harry answered. "Big, magically resistant beasts is another story though."

"I have no time for stories, I need results, Potter." The minister slammed a fist on the table gathering the attention of the several ministry workers bustling around, "I want everyone out, Robbards tell your boys we're moving in at o-eight-hundred." The tent was cleared of ministry personnel until it was just Harry, Daphne and the minister.

"What's the situation?" Daphne asked wanting more details.

Scrimengour downed what looked to be some fire whiskey before replying, "at seven o'clock this morning there were reports of a hurricane over the West Country by muggles. Of course we sent two people to confirm it and when they hadn't returned by seven fifteen I sent two aurors to investigate." He moved to another desk in the tent which was littered with moving and unmoving pictures. He motioned to a set of unmoving pictures of what Harry assumed to be the primary investigators, "what you see before you is the flattened mess of human anatomy which use to be Ted Richards, father of two."

He pointed to another set, "Jessica Koop, mother of one and four days from a promotion."

He turned his hard gaze to Harry and continued, "they were crushed by what my aurors discovered to be a raiding party of giants who had been tearing up the Muggle countryside for almost an hour before we responded. They're currently in uninhabited land so we're moving in soon. You two are with me, I want to keep you close until I can gather what you're capable of first hand."

'That's a load of horseshit if I've ever heard it. You'd think by this point he wouldn't feel the need to test us anymore,' Harry thought bitterly. "Let's go then, the more time we waste here the closer they get to hurting someone else."

The mister nodded and motioned for them to leave. Outside the tent, Harry and Daphne did some last minute checks of their gear. "Have you got the skele-gro and blood replenishers from your dad?"

She pulled four vials out from her pocket, "here take one of each. Have you got your knife?"

He lifted his shirt slightly to show the sheathe on his belt, "remember, most magic is useless against these guys. We've gotta go for the eyes, neck and under the armpit with physical attacks. Try and stay out of range of their weapons too."

She nodded, "fear not, Daphne Greengrass will not be bested by these lumbering beasts."

"Aye, the ice queen is far above such beings," he joked.

She upturned her nose pompously before replying, "precisely." The two shared a smile before a booming voice was heard around the camp.

"AURORS MOVE OUT TO YOUR DESIGNATED CONTACT POINTS. MINISTER DETAIL WILL FOLLOW SHORTLY AFTER."

"Here we go," Harry said quietly to himself ready to test himself once more.

September 24th

8:03am

West Country, England

Scrimengour

A loud crack in the cold morning air signified the arrival of the minister's detail at their designated strike point. Not a moment of silence was afforded to the newcomers however, thunderous roars and spellfire filled the air in a chorus of violence and despair. The giants had broken ranks and were wildly swinging clubs, maces and axes at aurors attempting to subdue them.

He had chosen a perfect place to attack, forest on the right and tall hill on the left, a basin for them to pin down the giant beasts and subdue or kill them if necessary. If his men had done what he ordered then they should be gone in time for lunch. But the scene before him was not a controlled ambush but rather a chaotic skirmish which meant someone was routed.

"Dawlish!" he called and the man jogged forward, "I want to know what's going on out there."

"Yes sir," the senior auror responded before apparating away. If Scrimengour looked closely enough he could see Dawlish appear at each team, gather intel then move on. It wasn't long before he had returned with a grave expression. "Auror Pritchard's team was eliminated almost immediately on account of apparating too close to one of the targets. Kingsley's team is trying to contain two giants at once but it's a deteriorating situation, already four more aurors are dead or incapacitated."

"Right," Scrimengour said, in his head the solution was obvious, "we'll fill in for Pritchard. Spencer, keep an eye on Joseph. When we arrive, spread out and focus on its eyes and try to disarm the bastard."

Spencer, an experienced auror put a reassuring hand on the rookie, Joseph's, shoulder. "Sir I must ask you to reconsider," Dawlish implored.

"Save it," Scrimengour commanded. "We will appear at the south end of the basin and will be taking the attention of a giant with a…?" he said, directing the question to Dawlish.

"A mace," he replied dejectedly.

"A mace," he reiterated. "Get ready to move in three."

"Two," he watched Potter stretch his neck and bounce on his feet.

"One," he witnessed Greengrass' jaw set and eyes narrow into a cold stare.

"Go!"

Those in the unit disappeared and reappeared with the sounds of the chaos much louder now. A new addition was the screams of injured aurors and the smell of death. The loud crack of apparating was enough to draw the giant's attention as it came lumbering forward.

With no time to check if Kingsley's team was fairing well enough he screamed, "spread out! Get that weapon out of its hands!" Spencer grabbed Joshua's cloak and pulled him slightly to the left, fanning out from the minister's position in the middle. They all kept at least ten metres of space from the giant at all times to stay out of the beast's reach which infuriated it to no end.

Several volleys of blasting and disarming curses hailed against the weapon and skin of the giant but no obvious effect was made. "The weapon is enchanted! Keep it up!" he screamed and added more power to his next blasting curse.

"We're not making a dent!" Joshua yelled in fear.

Scrimengour looked over to see the boy's wand arm shaking and his feet rooted to the floor. "Spencer!" he called out, "Spencer get Joshua back!"

Spencer noticed the boy's mistake and rushed to pull him back. However the boy was so frightened that as soon as Spencer made contact he jumped and fell to the floor. In his desperate attempt to stay standing he had grabbed onto his superior's robes bringing him down on top of him. The boy had passed out but was gripping Spencer's robes tightly as reflex, locking the two of them in place. Spencer struggled relentlessly to get out of the boy's grip but the giant noticed the blunder and stomped towards the two downed aurors.

Scrimengour, Dawlish and Daphne did all they could to distract it but he was out for blood. Scrimengour attempted a last minute blasting curse with all he had to destroy the mace but it went slightly wide and sailed into the atmosphere. The mace had reached its apex and was now coming down on the aurors and Scrimengour had all but accepted that he was two men down when he saw something that, whilst he'd never admit it, gave him hope.

Harry Potter slid under the giant and when he saw that the slide wouldn't take him far enough, rolled the rest of the distance and raised his wand high, generating a large magical barrier. The mace came down and Scrimengour half expected it to smash through the barrier but it held with a loud 'gong' sound, cracks appearing in the magical projection. The giant looked at his mace in confusion before smashing it against the barrier once more which caused Harry to cry out in pain.

"I have a plan," Greengrass called out. "You two get ready to cast several blasting curses at the weapon, ready?"

"Ready!" Scrimengour called out.

Sure enough, the giant smashed the barrier once more with his weapon and Harry fell to one knee. However when the giant went to draw back the weapon he found that he couldn't. Scrimengour turned to see Daphne shaking and straining as she pointed her wand at the weapon, holding it in place for as long as she could. A question of magical might versus physical that Scrimengour wasn't going to wait for the answer to as Daphne also fell to a knee struggling to contain the giant's strength.

"Now's our chance Dawlish! Light it up!"

Scrimengour and Dawlish unleashed a dozen blasting hexes and curses and were unable to shatter the mace. The giant realised that if he couldn't pull back the weapon he would instead put all of his weight down onto the magical barrier below him. From his kneeling position, Harry raised his empty hand and his shield shone with such brilliance as he poured his magic into holding it together.

"Scrimengour, hurry up!" Daphne called out in anguish.

The minister turned to his bodyguard, "at once Dawlish, aim for the tip," both Dawlish and the minister centred themselves and prepared to cast powerful blasting curses, "release!"

Their two spells flew together and connected with the mace splintering it into a thousand pieces. The giant looked at his weapon in confusion once more which quickly turned to anger. Its feral gaze snapped to the perpetrator of the loss of his weapon and he drew his arm back. Scrimengour's eyes widened realising what was about to happen, half of a giant mace was barreling towards him much faster than he could react.

The wood was barely a metre from his face when his body was thrown to the side by a large weight crashing into him. The weapon continued into the forest behind them and ripped up several trees which could have just as easily been him. His rescuer stood and helped him up, Daphne Greengrass had saved his life at the risk of her own which surprised him to no end.

His surprise was short lived as he heard the beast roar in what he assumed to be rage. As he turned back to it he could see that he was wrong, somehow Potter had climbed the beast's back and plunged a magical blade into one of its eyes. The black flames snaked across the giant body and the beast thrashed around violently as he was burned from the inside out.

He could see Potter holding on for dear life to the giant's hair as the huge humanoid stumbled backwards before crashing to the floor, unmoving. Greengrass rushed towards their fallen foe to find Potter but it was unnecessary. As the dust settled from such a colossal being falling into the dirt, a lone figure climbed on top of the beast's belly and strolled towards them.

'Dramatic but that's not without its perks,' Scrimengour thought as he saw several flashes from the forest tree line of reporters' cameras. Daphne approached him first and the two shared a hushed conversation and laughed at a joke.

"Good kill," Scrimengour complimented when they had gotten closer before growing serious, "thank you for saving myself and my men."

"You're welcome," Harry and Daphne said in tandem.

"Sir, Kingsley's team hasn't been able to stabilise. We should move to assist," Dawlish suggested. The man had no visible indicators he had just been in a fight besides a slight sheen of sweat on his upper lip, a stark contrast to the rest of their unit.

"We've got this," Harry said. "You should get Joshua and Spencer off the battlefield, and Dawlish you need to escort him. We'll handle Kingsley's team."

Scrimengour scrutinised them, 'without these two, today would look very different. I have no right to ask more of them but they're eager to help so why not put them to use?'

"Alright. Dawlish, get Spencer up and activate Joshua's emergency portkey." Scrimengour turned back to Harry and Daphne and continued, "you saved my life today, something I will not soon forget. If you need anything, anything at all, just ask and I will see what I can do."

Scrimengour regrouped with his men and they all disapparated back to the base. A loud boom reverberated through the valley and the pair turned to see Kingsley slinging curses together, ferociously attacking his giant as the rest of his team had either fallen or had retreated.

"Ready for round two?" Harry asked Daphne.

"Always."

A/N: Chapter Twelve! I've been anticipating this one for a few weeks now. It's probably fairly obvious that I like writing the combat stuff and this was an interesting challenge considering the giant's might. I pretty much wrote this all in one sitting and then edited over two separate sessions but 90% was down in one go cause I was so invested in my own story lol.

The first part was meant to be a lot shorter, so short in fact that it wasn't even in my story plan so much as 'introductory part before call to help.' However the idea of the whole healing Daphne popped in my head and I ran with it and ended up really liking it.

Which of course took away from some of the battle sequences. Initially they were going to have a hand in killing all of the giants but I wanted to give them more credit when I got to it. If they could cause such destruction to be likened to hurricanes, are magically resistant and constantly courted for war by interested parties then they've gotta be good killers.

This chapter's recommendation is going to be a Game of Thrones fic that I love called 'Kingdoms at War' by death walker. A Robb Stark/Margaret Tyrell AU that is really fleshed out but unfortunately unfinished.

Hope you all enjoyed :)

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