Disclaimer: See chapter 1 (Spoiler, I own nothing in this story)
"Come on, come on, pick up, pick up," Xander repeated into his phone. When the answering machine answered for the fifth time, he knew he had to give it up. His first message said everything he needed. Despite that, he felt an almost desperate need to speak to his friends back in California, but that clearly wasn't going to happen now, so he hung up.
"No answer from Sunnydale?" Cordelia asked, still applying nail polish to her toes.
"Nope, nothing, and I can't stall any longer. If I'm going to spring the trap at the Ministry, I have to leave now."
"Well, don't die. I have a shopping trip next week scheduled and I need you alive to pay the bills," she clarified. Under the nonchalantness, though, was an undercurrent of worry, which Xander appreciated.
"I'll try not to disappoint." He would prefer to have the rest of the Scoobies as backup, but that wouldn't be possible. Taking a deep breath, he donned his mask, the last piece of his Darth Variace armor that wasn't already on him.
"I shouldn't be gone more than a few hours," Xander's distorted voice spoke. Cordelia nodded in acknowledgement, before glancing at Kreacher. The house elf was standing at attention, also in battle armor sized to the elf, next to the entrance door.
"Alright Kreacher, let's go," Xander commanded.
"Have fun storming the castle," Cordelia quoted. Xander's smile was hidden from the world, but she knew it would be their, that goofy grin.
Without any more delay, Xander took Kreacher's tiny hand in his own, and the elf used his magic to pop them both to the outside entrance for the Ministry atrium.
In the quiet of the Black house, Cordelia heard a dozen more elf pops echo through the empty halls. She slowly put down her nail polish, having finished three minutes ago. "It'll take a miracle."
When Corban Yaxley and Thorfinn Rowle arrived with the other aurors, moments after Professor Black left, Harry knew Hogwarts was in trouble. Death Eaters, both of them. He quickly pulled Hermione and Ron out of the hallway where the dozen red robed authorities were marching and into an empty classroom. Harry held his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture until the footsteps passed by towards the Great Hall.
"I recognize at least two of those aurors from the graveyard," Harry explained. No other words were offered nor required, but Harry could see the two shiver as a wave of dread swept through them. Hermione quickly pulled out the master coin they were using to send the messages to the others being tutored by Harry and sent an emergency message out. Once complete, the three carefully slid out of the room, peek around the corners to check for any other aurors, before using the secret passages to escape to the secondary entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. By the time they got there, Daphne, Katie, Susan, and the Twins were already waiting at the door.
"What's the big idea, if we weren't already in the middle of planning our biggest prank ever, we'd have been in bed sleeping. Where's the dragon fire?" George complained.
"The toad fought against Professor Black, and then I think he might have arrested her. She's unconscious now," Ron explained, but any further enlightenment was drowned out by the outburst from his listeners. It took Hermione whistling loudly to shut them up.
"That's not all. Aurors arrived, about a dozen of them. Professor Black said they were here to take over the school, but with Umbridge in trouble over the blood quills, who knows what's really going to happen. We do know that at least two of them are Death Eaters." Their eyes hardened at that information. Each one had a reason to hate the terrorists, and only their lack of actionable intelligence and loyalty to Harry kept them from running off half-cocked right that moment, if only just barely.
"We're not sure what they're actually going to do, but I don't think they'll arrest Umbridge. I think they might be after me, at least the death eaters will be," Harry continued.
"You need to hide, if you stay in the Chamber, they won't find you," Katie insisted, but Harry shook his head.
"If I do that, they'll just terrorize the younger students. Umbridge has made this place a powder keg, and who knows what'll spark it off. I need to face them and draw them away from the rest of the students before anyone gets hurt. You all need to get as many of the younger years together that will follow you and get them to stay in their common rooms. Most will still be in bed since breakfast is just being served now. They need to stay out of the halls and away from the aurors and me." Harry didn't include Ron and Hermione in his instructions, he knew they were going to be joining him, and his protests would be ignored.
"No way, we're watching your back," Fred declared, with head nods all around showing solidarity, except for Daphne who sighed in frustration and rolled her eyes before speaking in her Condescending Manner #6.
"Typical Gryffindors. You two and Katie, you haven't had combat training like the rest of us. You'll be more of a liability in the type of fight we need. Plus, you all are Gryffindors, your house is at the most risk. My house isn't going to be targeted by the aurors, they all hate Harry and wouldn't help him. Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are neutral, so they should be safe enough, though you should make sure they know what's going on, Susan. It's the Gryffindors that are most likely to do something stupid and get people hurt, both because you are all brash and the aurors will be targeting you. There is no time to lose, get going and keep your house safe. Move them someplace secure, your common room will probably be invaded by the aurors very soon, but you need to go now and keep them calm."
Over the years, Daphne Greengrass had acquired the moniker of Ice Queen of Hogwarts. How she got it, and why, and who gave it to her, were all speculation. Most of the rumors focused on the Ice portion of the name, but when Fred and George continued to argue against her, they all realized why she earned the part of Queen.
"Quiet you fools! You have a duty to your housemates, a duty that none of us can perform. You are respected, beloved, and feared by the younger years, and they will listen to you. They need you to be their leaders now more than Harry needs followers. You can keep them safe, the tricks and pranks you have at your disposal can keep the aurors out of your common room long enough for us to draw the aurors away, or let the younger Gryffindors to escape if you two are too slow in gathering up the younglings. They could be hurting them right now, this instant. So move it, and do what you do best while we do what we've trained for."
The others looked on, slack jawed, at the command Daphne wielded over the unruly twins. Gone were the jokes and objections in their eyes, replaced with fierce determination and resolve enough to rival their mother. If they were honest with themselves, over half of them were turned on by her display of authority. Quietly, Katie followed the twins down the hallway to help. Shaking himself from the stupor Daphne's speech had put him in, Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the Marauder's Map, tossing it to one of the twins as they passed by him. They caught it mid air without breaking stride, and the group was soon down to five.
"I'll stay here, and make sure anyone else from the DA that shows up knows what's going on. You focus on getting the aurors out of the castle." Susan Bones knew that there would be fighting in Hogwarts very soon, if there wasn't already, and she couldn't sit by and do nothing to help, and she couldn't run off like some hero without making sure everyone else was safe. It just wasn't her way. She was too much like her mother in that regard; always thinking of others first. If any of the aurors tried anything with her (unlikely given who she was related to), she had the skills to defend herself, but that was different than seeking out a fight. Hermione and Daphne understood that in a single look, and nodded in agreement. Harry and Ron simply nodded.
"Alright, let's go find us some death eaters," Ron declared, and the four moved out in a column formation, with Ron in the lead, then Harry behind and to the left, than Daphne to the right behind Ron, with Hermione bringing up the rear.
Xander stumbled out of the green fire and into the main entrance of the Ministry of Magic, wand and lightsaber ready for action. It was empty of any any movement or life, which for 8 am on a Saturday could be explained away as coincidence if someone wasn't paranoid. He very much was paranoid. All that was missing was the giant multi-colored banner declaring TRAP! to make it more obvious, but Xander concentrated on the Force instead of his fears. A small, almost familiar, pop next to him signaled Kreacher arrival.
"Alright Kreacher, I'll head down to where Harry said Voldemort is holding Sirius, you make sure there isn't a second or third part of the trap," Xander ordered before making his way towards the back of the Ministry. He had been surprised by Umbridge because he didn't think she would actually attack him in the school. He held no illusions of safety here, everything and everyone he met here would be trying to kill him, most likely. So far, he hadn't done anything illegal (though Cordelia seemed to think his armor was a crime against fashion), but entering the Department of Mysteries would be certainly pushing it, and given how upset they seemed to be in general, along with his spotty reputation with the ministry at present, the aurors might try to shoot first and ask questions later if he's found in a restricted area.
As the elevator doors closed, Xander thought he hear a meow coming from the entrance hall, but before he could investigate he was dropping floor by floor until the ding indicated he was at his destination. From here, things could only get worse. The moment the doors began to open, Xander executed a somersault roll out of the cage and popped back to his feet a couple of yards into the corridor to throw off enemy spellfire. Of which there was none. This floor, like the entrance hall above, was completely deserted. Xander was a little glad no one saw him perform a rolling maneuver through an empty room, it would've been slightly embarrassing. Then he remembered just how deadly his enemies were, and he was no longer embarrassed. "Constant Vigilance", Xander repeated what Harry had muttered under his breath dozens of times while they were training. It wasn't a bad mantra.
Carefully, he scanned the area, both with the Force and with his eyes. Unfortunately, there was so much random magic in the air, it was interfering with the Force. It wasn't just that, though, because Hogwarts had just as much magic in it. The ministry building itself was old, predating the iron age. Black carven stone polished to a glassy obsidian resonated sound with every footstep no matter how softly he tried to step. The way the light reflected off the glossy stone threw off his vision and cast shadows in corners there were hard to pierce with a glance. Even the smell threw him off. A smell of musty old books and tomes, among other ancient relics tickled his nose. All of his senses were limited, and that was not a situation he enjoyed being in. Cups of spilled drinks, coffee or tea, Xander wasn't sure, lay strewn around, so whatever cleared the Ministry did so in a hurry. Did wizards have fire drills?
Without encountering anything, and that was a terrifying prospect for him, Xander reached the far wall where the door Harry described stood closed. He visually checked for traps, magical, mechanical, and anything in between, a full three times before approaching the door. He even wadded up a spare piece of paper and threw it at the door to make sure it didn't explode. Luckily, it just bounced off the wood and rolled a few feet back towards him. If he could manage it, he'd open the door with a pole, but the knob made that almost impossible to jury rig something in the time he had. Even as it was, he was rushing more than he'd prefer, and was still not going fast enough.
The door opened silently and smoothly, and Xander hit his forehead against his palm when he realized the behind the big scary door was a dozen other identical big scary doors. At this point, it was getting slightly ridiculous. There had to be a better way to trap someone, but then again, bad guys, even wizard bad guys, liked to complicate things with plans and plots.
When Xander closed the door, the room began to spin and the lights flickered, reminding him of the times at the Bronze when they hosted a rave. Jessie, Willow, and him had snuck in, but the bartender kicked them out after about an hour. Probably for the best, since most of the ravers were later victims of a 'PCP riot'. When the spinning stopped and Xander cleared his eyes of the light, he had no idea which door was which, but the Force did. Nine of the doors held very dangerous things behind them, of those three were intrinsically evil. Luckily, only one door called to him, pulling him forward. More of a nudge, really, but it ended up being the same thing. His curiosity was piqued at what he felt behind a few of the doors, and if he ever got the chance, he'd investigate, but he'd probably be thrown into jail if he ever tried.
It ended up being pretty close to what Harry described, shining bright lights and glittering glass surfaces. That, and a whole lot of messed up experiments with time, unless he was misinterpreting the thousands of clocks on the walls. There were many thing Xander would mess with, insult, mock, and joke about. Strange magics that messed with time wasn't on that list. Maybe in a few years, but not in the here and now. He carefully made his way to the back and to the sole exit out of this ticking cacophony. Slipping into the cracked door, the silence was nearly deafening. High vaulted ceilings held rows and rows of towering shelves, all holding glass orbs, each slightly smoky, though some were lit up faintly. Each one seemed to tremble slightly at his passing.
If there was a trap, and at this point there was no chance this wasn't a trap, this was the place it would be. The end room in Harry's vision. He knew the path Harry would have taken to get to Sirius, and knew that taking that path would leave him wide open to people seeing him moving. Instead, he'd take the route that didn't have footprints in the dust, and sneak around from behind. After going down the row, Xander's curiosity got the better of him, and he stopped to closely examine one of the glass orbs. Each sphere had a tag below it, the glowing one he chose said
W.U.D to I.K.B.
? ?
As he got closer, close enough to touch, the glass began to shake, and before Xander could pull away the little ball of glass went dark and crumbled to ash. He didn't know if it was supposed to do that, but figured he'd better stay away from them just in case. He continued to make his way down the aisles, pausing every few yards to reassess his surroundings. Despite his best efforts, though, when he saw Slayer listed on a whole row of orbs, Xander tripped over his own feet. His training, and help from the Force, kept the fall silent, but it took a few seconds for Xander to recover physically and mentally. He was torn between investigating the orbs and finding the trap laid for Harry, but after quieting his mind and opening himself fully to the Force, his path was clear.
"At least they were sticking to non-lethal spells," Harry mentioned as he rounded the corner. Several red stunner spells hit the far wall, and Harry, Daphne, Ron, and Hermione continued running towards the front entranceway. Their cardio training with Professor Harris helped keep them well in the lead, to the point they had to slow down a few times to make sure their pursuers could still chase them. Or at least, they had before the aurors pulled out brooms. Hermione's conjured flocks of birds hindered them enough to where it was an even race. The best plan they could come up with was to lead the Death Eaters in Auror clothing out of the castle and into the Forbidden Forest. Once there, they could slip back into the castle using Slytherin's escape tunnel from his Chamber, leaving the aurors to swarm the forest looking for him.
"Watch out," Ron yelled, diving into a roll to avoid a puce colored spell from the pair of aurors at the far end of the hallway they were running towards. They were almost trapped, the half dozen chasing behind and the two in front, but luckily there was a secret passageway in the middle where they could get to the fourth floor. If they could reach it. Hermione conjured another flock, magpies this time, to slow down the fliers while Daphne and Harry sent a series of spells forward, to distract the aurors and to give Ron time to conjure a gelatinous wall just past the secret entrance. Once that was done, they raced to the tapestry hiding the staircase up. Once they were a few dozen steps up, Harry froze the tapestry in place, literally, to prevent anyone else from following them without taking the time to thaw out his charm. It would buy them a few seconds, but combined with the prank traps Ron was setting, it would give them another half minute of time to escape. Once their rear was secure, mostly, the boys raced up the stairs, taking two or three at a time, to reach the girls who were making sure their exit was secure.
They arrived to see Daphne using a dentist's mirror to peer out the bottom of the door.
"Filch and an auror are on the other side, to the left," Hermione whispered. Daphne nodded once then pocketed the tool. She did a three countdown with her left hand, gripped her wand with her right, and then burst through the hidden door with stunners flying. Three hit the auror, one of which was intended for the caretaker who was behind them. Filch dove for an open door, Harry thought it was a supply closet, but he wasn't sure, and the four raced on. They couldn't take the time to chase after and stun him, not with the sound of aurors catching up. They passed a gaggle of Ravenclaw first years being shepherded to their common room by Luna, who nodded silently and continued to herd the confused students into an empty classroom, where they should be temporarily safe, away from the chase. They stopped to catch their breath and allow their pursuers to catch sight of them again.
They realized they had waited a few moments too long when spellfire blazed past them, forcing them to duck and resume their running. There was a shortcut a short distance down the hall, and they sprinted through it to get away.
Kreacher surveyed the carnage from the back of Mr. Fluffypants, his loyal kneazle mount that had been training in the Jotunheimen mountains since the Lord Black returned. He patted the feline's flank in appreciation. Kreacher gathered the remaining dozen members of the Black Guard, the elite of the elite combat arm of the Black Elf Regime, to take stock of the battle losses. Seven of his brethren were downed by the Ministry's elves, all of which were members of the vile House Elf Alliance, and three kneazle mounts were ripped apart by the leashed Mokes their enemies used. While tragic to lose a comrade, their deaths were not in vain. Kreacher closed his tired old eyes and took a sip of water from his flask while his men and women secured the Ministry's House Elf Command Center, which controlled many of the wards that could be raised to prevent other house elves from entering and interfering with Ministry business.
From this room, Kreacher could keep the HEA elves out of the Ministry and let in his BER elves, all so they can complete the cleanse their master ordered. While Lord Black took care of the bad wizards, Kreacher would take care of the bad elves. He thought about vanishing the three dozen bodies of his enemies, but decided to save his magic. More bad elves would be coming to reclaim the Command Center, which would produce more bodies, and he'd need all the energy and magic he had to lead the defense until the rest of the Black elves arrived. Speaking of which.
"Rythelon, where are they now?" Kreacher asked. The other elf, caretaker of a German property was bleeding slightly from his arm, but it was superficial.
"Ten minutes out. They triggered a lockdown on the Popper network, and it will take a bit to undo it. Bright side, their reinforcements can not come in either. We only have to deal with the traitors already inside the ministry." Though his voice was soft, the germanic accent made it seem like he was shouting angrily.
"Work quickly. The rest of you, prepare yourselves for the second wave." Kreacher got back up on Mr. Fluffypants, feline armor spattered in the blood of the Oathbreakers and his sharp claws extended in anticipation. The old elf squared his back, drew his enchanted blade with his right hand, and readied his magic in his left. Many of the other elves in his initial wave were securing Elvish artifacts held by the Ministry, and he almost wished he could go with them, but as the Head Elf of House Black, his responsibility was to lead the battle, not the reclamation effort, and he would do just that.
When a few dozen shrunken mokes rushed into the Command Center, Kreacher led the charge, his magic flinging them into the air and Mr. Fluffypants killing them with fang and claw, along with his six other elves with their own kneazle mounts. It was a maneuver they had practiced and practiced for weeks, and the results were magnificent. The bad elves who charged in after the mokes seconds later, per the House Elf Alliance protocols in case of Ministry invasion, didn't have the backup they were expecting, and panicked at the sight of the unshrunk lizard corpses. Blades and claws flashed again, cutting down the scattered and retreating enemies. Some continued to fight, and another in his group fell, but in minutes the battle was over, and they had bought enough time to seal the doors to the room and ensure they controlled part of the Ministry.
While the others tended to the wounded, Kreacher moved back to Rythelon to check on the progress.
"Sir, the wards are realigning now. We'll be able to have our troops Pop in within seconds," the elf reported.
"Good job. Alright Elves, listen up. B and C squads, stay here with the wounded and hold the room. With us controlling the wards, they shouldn't be able to breach, but if they do, cut them down. A and D squads, once we have confirmation that the wards are ours, we go out to meet our reinforcements. Pinky, you will take Troop Four and clear out levels one through three. I'll take Troops One through Three and search the lower levels. Capture if they surrender and swear The Oath, eradicate if they don't, but number one priority is securing the Elf Stones." Kreacher looked around at those elves who had proven themselves loyal to House Black and to the House Elf cause. He felt pride swell up at their dedication and resolve. He nodded once and turned back to Rythelon before he could tear up.
"Sir, the Ministry is ours. I've given the signal for the rest of the elves to Pop into the Atrium in one minute." He adjusted one of the ward stones slightly to rebuff an attempt by the House Elf Alliance to take the wards offline. There wasn't a wizard, goblin, or house elf within three thousand miles that knew more about wards, especially Elf wards, than Rythelon. During the Long Isolation when House Black had no master, Rythelon only had his property's library to keep him occupied, and his particular German property happened to have the most extensive and esoteric collection of books on wards. Needless to say, Rythelon's knowledge was vast when it came to this particular topic, which is why Kreacher included him on the advanced team.
"Alright, let's go," Kreacher ordered once he mounted Mr. Fluffypants. The others, already on their kneazles, followed the Head Elf as he charged through the door, opened remotely by Rythelon, bowling over the Oathbreakers that had gathered to try to retake the Command Center. His blade, along with those of his troops who followed him, cut them down before Rythelon resealed the door behind the last exiting elf. It would be close, but they would be able to make it to the Atrium before the first reinforcement Popped in. Kreacher smiled gleefully at the prospect of being the Head Elf who'd finally bring an end to the elvish abomination that bowed to the Ministry. He couldn't help himself, he let out a wild whoop, which was soon echoed by those behind. They charged towards victory, glory, and redemption.
It had taken some time, but he finally arrived at the site of the ambush. Well, in view of the site of the ambush. Well, on top of a shelf that was close to a view of the site of the ambush. He had had to climb, very carefully, over fifty feet (only seven glass balls had disintegrated while he did so), but he now had a perch where he could easily see a small group of death eaters spread out, waiting for Harry Potter to arrive so they could surround him. What Xander couldn't see, though, is why this charade, why the middle of the Ministry, why not someplace easier to ambush. Not knowing bothered him, He was missing critical piece of information, which is why he was watching, trying to glean any sort of insight into Voldemort's plan. He knew he couldn't wait much longer before acting. After casting a shield charm on himself, Xander centered himself and embraced the Force before moving.
Silently running along the top of the shelf, leapt into the air and executed a near perfect swan dive into the spot Harry said Voldemort was torturing Sirius. It was, of course, empty of Sirius, but the death eaters surrounding the site made it too good of a place not to land. At the last moment, Xander used the Force to soften his landing and to punch the ground, creating a Force assisted concussive blast. The effect was more than Xander had expected. Hundreds of the glass orbs, all nestled in their shelves with their organized tags, became shrapnel as they exploded outwards, catching more than one death eater by surprise. Two of the shelves began to totter precariously, but luckily didn't start off a game of giant dominos. Half of the death eaters were on their backs, from the blast or the glass shards he didn't know, but the other half looked calm and prepared. Not a good combination for an enemy, especially an enemy that had wands pointed at him. Without pausing for more than single moment, Xander Force Jumped off to the side.
Xander saw six distinct spells pass through the area he just left, three splashing off his shield, and he knew he didn't catch all of them before his jump took him out of line of sight. His senses couldn't be enhanced by the Force here, at least not enough to give him an advantage. Too much magical interference. He silently cursed. He had only scouted out five death eaters, and now he knew there was at least twice that many, probably more. He drew his lightsaber and struck down two of the death eaters that he had knocked down previously, before dodging and deflecting with his wand more spellfire sent his way, half of which were disarming spells. It seems like whoever was leading this party wanted prisoners, not corpses. Xander wondered how long that would last, given he wasn't going easy on the mass murdering rapists.
He rolled, using the Force to extend the move to last over a dozen yards to reach another group of death eaters, when they suddenly apparated in columns of black smoke. The others in view followed suit, moving several shelves away and out of his sight. There was only one death eater remaining, apparently unarmed, staring at him from down a row. It was a trap, certainly, but it was also an opportunity to gather some information. When the death eater removed his mask, Xander was surprised, though he shouldn't have been. The face of Lucius Malfoy stared at him. Even startled, he held his wand and lightsaber ready for combat.
"Come now, Lord Black. You may drop the disguise. Lord Voldemort discovered your ruse fairly quickly." Lucius requested. He looked relaxed, though Xander could tell it was a forced relaxation. A million questions surged through his mind, like why would Lucius serve the monster that was indirectly responsible for the death of his wife? He pushed those thoughts down, though, focusing on the here and now.
"What is this place?" Xander asked. He didn't remove his helmet, not wanting to lose the protection it provided, magical and physical.
"Very well, we can pretend you aren't who you are. This place is called the Hall of Prophecies. Each glass ball is a prophecy, collected by innumerable methods, some of which are unknowable. After a prophecy is fulfilled, the ball's light goes out. They say when all the prophecies are fulfilled, the end of times will happen. But there is one prophecy the Dark Lord is interested in, one that can only be obtained by the one who the prophecy is about. In this case, it is about the Dark Lord and his most deadly opponent. For a time, he thought it was about the Potter boy, but then he thought you might be the one the prophecy talks about. He orchestrated this event for you, or the Potter boy, to be here to retrieve the prophecy for him." Lucius explain. As he talked about the prophecy in question, he motioned to a particular shelf and backed off. Xander, wary, walked forward. Like all the other shelves, this one had hundreds of orbs, but one stood out because of it's label.
S. P. T. to A. P. W. B. D.
Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter
"You know, prophecies and me don't get along at all," Xander joked. "What if it isn't about me?"
"The fact that you are here, proves it is," Lucius answered. "Aren't you the least bit curious?"
"About prophecies? Nope. But I am interested in why Voldemort puts all his faith in hearsay and supposition. Doesn't he know how stupid that makes him?" Xander paused, mind processing the situation before he was interrupted.
"How DARE you," screeched the voice of Bellatrix Black (formerly Lestrange). She appeared from the shadows behind Lucius. Her time away from Azkaban had done her good, she looked healthier and fuller than when he visited her in prison. Not that that was a good thing.
"I dare, Aunt, just like I did the first time we met. You didn't meet the deadline I set back then. Pity. I guess all that gold wasn't enough motivation for you," Xander taunted. He really shouldn't have, but he hated what she had done, and was doing now that she was free. She was technically a Black now, since he had dissolved her marriage like he threatened to, and thus she was his responsibility. He hadn't gotten around to kicking her out of the family officially. The amount of paperwork required for that was staggering.
Lucius saw his bait, and saw that Bellatrix would take it, so he quickly grabbed her wrist before she could react. A quiet whispered word wasn't enough to calm her, but was enough to stop her from attacking. Hatred poured off her, and malice, and strangely sadness. Though Lucius' grip loosened, he didn't take his hand off her arm. Xander's wand twitched as he prepared to cast another shield charm on himself.
"Really, Lord Black, was that necessary?" Malfoy chided. "Let me offer a trade, Bellatrix for the prophecy. My master will revoke any claim over her, and hand her over to your custody, and in return you will work as hard to get her pardoned as you did your uncle, as well as pick up and hand over to me the prophecy."
Bellatrix blinked and reeled back in shock, as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard. Apparently Voldemort had decided to sacrifice his rook without telling her. He must have thought the payoff worth it to lose on of his most ardent follower. She didn't object verbally, though, which was interesting. Not enlightening, but definitely interesting. It led him to one conclusion.
Trap. Had to be a trap. No way it wasn't a trap. Worst of all, it was the best laid trap of all, because the bait was so tempting. To reign in Bellatrix, that was a mark on his family he longed to wipe away. Not to mention removing a powerful and loyal follower of his enemy that would certainly cause devastation to innocents if he didn't take the deal.
"As an additional incentive, I know the location of a prophecy related to your mother, Satele Shan Black. Most remarkable woman. You may not care about prophecy, but this one was already fulfilled, and from my understanding it is part of your heritage. While touring here several years ago, I noticed her name on one of the prophecies. Naturally, when you showed up in the Daily Prophet, I investigated it. I'll add it into the bargain as well, just give me the prophecy." Lucius looked composed, unlike Bellatrix who was seething and actually foaming at the mouth. She didn't object, meaning it was likely Voldemort who had authorized the trade, making it even more of a trap. How she knew it wasn't just Lucius clearing the chessboard, Xander wasn't sure.
"Show me her prophecy, Bellatrix makes an witch's oath to go directly into the Black Cottage, directly and quickly, mind you, and not leave that place without my direct permission, and then I'll hand the the prophecy over to you." Xander countered. He hated to make the deal, but it had to be done.
"There isn't time to go retrieve her prophecy now, it is quite some ways away. I will tell you where it is, and you can go to it afterwards. Is that satisfactory?" Lucius countered.
Xander pondered it, thinking through the angles. He didn't care about Voldemort's prophecy, didn't care what it said or that it existed, but that was besides the point. Voldemort did care, and if he wasn't mistaken, Dumbledore cared as well. Did his apathy justify giving Voldemort what he wanted? Was this a slippery slope? He tuned out all distraction as he focused, listening for the second time in ten minutes to the will of the Force.
"Agreed. First, Bellatrix makes her oath." Xander hoped he wasn't making a mistake, but he didn't think so. Or rather, he hoped so.
"I solemnly swear upon my magic that I will go to Black Cottage directly and quickly, and will await there until the Lord Black gives permission to leave, unless Lord Black does not deliver the prophecy to Lucius." Bellatrix had to bite out the oath, but the flash of magic indicated that Magic accepted the promise, as angrily as it was given. With jerky movements, evidently Magic was forcing her to comply, she began walking away, towards the exit.
"And now the location of my mother's prophecy?" Xander demanded.
"I think it is your turn to show good faith. After all, you have killed two of our number here, while we have not thrown a single lethal spell your direction. I think it is time to, how do you say, pull your own weight". Lucius smiled as he reasonably countered Xander. Xander had no choice but to comply, or he would negate their arrangement. They may not have an official magical contract, but he wasn't sure about that. Reneging might have unintended, and potentially fatal, consequences for him.
"Alright, I can do that," Xander agreed. If everything happened as he expected, this would get really interesting, really quickly.
In a swift movement, Xander summoned the glass ball to his hand with the Force, then tossed it to Lucius, who scrambled to catch it. The damage was done, though. The light of the ball extinguished the moment it came close to Xander, and before it reached its zenith on the way to Lucius, it began to dissolve like the prophecies Xander had gotten near earlier. By the shocked look on his face, Xander suspected Lucius didn't expect that to happen. By the time the half gone prophecy reached Malfoy's hands, where it promptly completed the dissolution, Xander Force leapt to the top of the shelf. He avoiding the four stunners, all aimed at his back, but they instead hit Lucius, knocking him off his feet, unconscious.
Xander took a chance and threw his lightsaber while mid-leap, still disguised as a silver longsword, at the grouping who had attacked his rear, while casting a blasting hex towards another group that had been moving to flank him. Two of them didn't apparate in time, and now wouldn't be a threat to anyone thanks to his attacks. He used the Force to retrieve his weapon, but was hit with some puce colored spell before it reached his hand. Xander's muscles spasmed uncontrollably for a moment, dropping him to his knees. The light saber faltered, colliding with the shelf. He growled, accepting the pain in, and Force choked the death eater who cast the spell at him. The sudden inability to breath broke their concentration, and the spell, allowing Xander to hit them with his own curse specially designed to incapacitate vampires. On non-vampires, the result was sometimes much more messy. Still sore from the after effects, Xander collected his lightsaber without further interruption. He jumped to another shelf before his weight would collapse the severely damaged structure.
Xander closed his eyes and extended his senses outwards, picking up on the sliminess of the death eaters. He activated the camouflage option the goblins told him about on his armor, and raced over the top of the shelves towards the closest target. At the Force's guidance, he lept over several sections of the shelves, and continued his sprint, spell fire trailing after him in a steady staccato, and once again leapt from above, crushing his target with his mass from at least a fifty foot fall. A summoning charm and a sweep of his arms, and another death eater fell in pieces.
As he often did of late, he took a moment's break to ask himself if he was wrong to kill the death eaters. They were human, not vampires or demons. In response, the Force gave him insight into the innumerable screams and cries of pain the death eaters were responsible for, and the pain and suffering they would cause should he allow them to live. As before, his resolve remained unbroken and his conscious remained clear enough for him to continue. He leaned to the left to avoid a spell cast at him, but before Xander could retaliate, the opponent apperated away. Xander continued running towards the exit, where the death eaters seemed to be headed.
Halfway there, he was forced to duck down another corridor when more spell fire blocked his path. Too late, he realized it was a trap as magical runes inscribed in the floor glowed for a microsecond before exploding, knocking the nearby shelves askew and right on top him. His armor took the brunt of the damage, with his charmed cloak was now ripped and burnt. He himself seemed to be mostly alright. His wand, which he had been holding in his left hand, however, was in splinters, and the glamor over his lightsaber was gone. If Harry and his friends had been here and triggered this, they would have all been killed. He struggled to push his way out of the wreckage, but finally succeeded.
Anger, tempered with the serenity he knew he desperately needed from the Light side of the Force during a fight, flared. He adjusted his grip on his lightsaber to allow for two handed use. Without his wand, he would have to rely on his Jedi training alone during the fight. He wished he had taken the time to build a second lightsaber. Wandless spells were beyond him. He fed his emotions, both of the Light and of the Dark, into the Force as Revan taught him to do, allowing him to not only be clear headed to reason and strategy, but also to draw upon greater power. He took a deep breath, then released it in a Force shout that knocked out of the air three death eaters in the process of apparating away. Their smoke solidified on the ground, momentarily stunned, and Xander removed their arms and destroyed their wands before they recovered completely.
Xander was about to kill them when the Force screamed out a warning to him, but he recognized it too late. Before he could do more than blink, a large piece of marble slammed into his back, most likely conjured and banished at him, knocking him twenty feet into another shelf. Still alive but definitely bruised, with a possible broken arm, Xander cut through the stone with his lightsaber and dodged the follow-up rock slab attack. He used the third as a springboard to flip in the air and landed three shelves over, away from the door sized battering rams. He couldn't stop the conjuring and banishing casters, not without allowing the bulk of the death eaters to flee. Ignoring the pain he was in, Xander continued towards the exit.
Three times he deflected spells cast from side corridors with his lightsaber, and he now recognized the delaying tactic the death eaters were using. He was forced to choose between attacking and neutralizing the few death eaters that were left behind, or continue forward to stop the fleeing majority. The Force pushed him onward, urging him to hurry, he was needed ahead. Xander ignored for the moment the thought that those currently attacking him might be innocents imperiused into providing a distraction. Thick ropes sprang after him, and it took him a precious second to realize they were snakes, not ropes. He cut their heads off half of them in mid flight with casual ease, and banished the rest into the distance, but he had to break his stride to do so. Precious seconds lost.
Finally, he burst through the door leading to the time experiments just in time to notice two things. First, he had almost caught up to the apparating death eaters, as evidenced by the last bits of the black smoke cloud exiting the far door. Second, there was another trap in the room, and he had just triggered it.
"Oh, crap."
It was going to be one of those days.
"Right flank, three more," Kingsley Shaklebolt yelled to Mad Eye Moody, who proceeded to cast several spell chains towards the attacking vampires, who promptly burst into flames. They had gotten separated from the rest of the Order of the Phoenix when they heard a classroom of children screaming for help. The combined and coordinated vampire and werewolf attack was unprecedented; seven muggle elementary schools in Reading were hit by clans they suspected were allied with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
When Severus had notified Dumbledore of the pending attack, the Ministry had been notified almost immediately. An attack this large was not something the Order could handle by itself, but the Ministry response time was slow and the orders from the Minister were more for containment and damage control than for saving the muggles. They were more worried about the Statute of Secrecy than children's lives, which was not surprising in the least. The whole Order was called in to try to repel the attack, and try to strike a blow to Voldemort's forces, but for the most part they were just trying to save as many muggles as possible. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough of them to save them all. He just hoped they could save enough.
Though they were all breathing hard, the silencing charm prevented the aurors/death eaters hunting them from hearing them. They were ensconced in a semi-hidden burrow Daphne had discovered her third year, just inside the Forbidden Forest. The mad dash from the castle to the forest had been terrifying, so much open ground to cover while dodging the spells being thrown their way, but they had all made it. Neville and Ginny had helped with that, leading others in a silent protest by blocking the Entrance Hall so the aurors had to take time to get around them without hurting the students with politically connected families. It had bought them enough time to make it to safety, though they heard shouts and spells being cast behind them as they fled. Whatever had happened, they couldn't worry about it now.
"So, now what?" Harry asked, less out of breath than the others, but just barely.
"Well, we can't go back to the castle, we'll never reach the forest entrance to the Chamber before they catch us. The aurors are crawling over the forest, so we can't stay here long or they'll find us," Daphne summed up. "Once we catch our breath, we can draw them towards Hogsmeade. If we can get to one of the shops, we can use the floo to get away. They won't be able to track us easily then, but they'll know we're out of the school."
"I don't know if we can make it. We barely made it here, and the village is a lot further away, and with a lot less cover," Ron countered.
Harry nodded in agreement to both, but didn't have another solution. Hermione was silent as well. A nearby rustle made the four of them turn around and look up, but Ron and Hermione couldn't see any aurors poking around. The hiding spells they've cast should keep them safe, but who knows what counterspells the aurors knew. Daphne and Harry turned to each other and smiled, though, both having the same thought..
"How do you feel about horseback riding, Hermione?" Harry asked as innocently as possible. Daphne's evil grin made Hermione and Ron very, very nervous. Outside, invisible to the half of them that were not smiling, a small herd of Thestrals grazed on squirrels.