Chapter 8

Charles and Ginny walked around the snow covered grounds of Hogwarts, a new engagement ring on her finger, Charles having proposed to her by the lake earlier that night. It was a tradition of the couple to go on a walk around the grounds at least once a week. It was an activity that they both enjoyed, as it allowed them to spend some quiet time together away from the prying eyes of the Hogwarts population. They've especially been going on more walks ever since the Army took over.

Every day Charles and Ginny would walk past the various fortifications, with the soldiers watching them with emotionless gazes as they passed. The castle had been turned into a fortress, with machine gun nests, mortars, lookout posts, and even a few pieces of heavy artillery aimed at the Forbidden Forest. There was also a constant stream of patrols through the halls and guards placed at all major points of foot traffic, as well as several empty rooms around the castle. By now the entire school had grown somewhat accustomed to the presence of the soldiers and their daily rituals.

Every morning, at six thirty sharp, they held their morning formation and flag raising. Then at 5 in the evening, they would hold final formation and lower the flag. They would also do morning exercises and inspections, much to the bewilderment of the school's inhabitants. However, the atmosphere of the school had been far from pleasant. The soldiers had been rounding up Death Eaters and torturing them for information. For the first several nights of the term, all that could be heard was the blood curdling screams of the Death Eaters coming from the seventh floor. The soldiers had chosen not to put up silencing charms, using the screams of the enemy as a psychological tactic to break the defiant demeanor of the pure bloods and any remaining enemies within the schools walls that had yet to be captured.

The man the school feared the most, was Harry Potter himself. He was without question the most zealous of all the soldiers at Hogwarts, having personally carried out several firing squads and public hangings of the young Death Eater students. Charles had once witnessed one of Harry's most horrifying executions. Harry had several prisoners line up in the main courtyard and get on their knees, some of them as young as 13, and then proceeded to shoot each and every one of them in the back of the head as he walked down the line, a sadistic gleam in his eyes as he did so. Charles had to admit that he found himself quite nervous in the presence of his twin, if not borderline terrified. From what he had heard from members of the Order, even Voldemort himself was surprised at the level of Harry's brutality and that he was publicly executing children, in a school no less.

It was well known what he had done to Draco Malfoy, having sent his head to the Dark Lord himself, his eyes gouged and his tongue cut out with a grim carved into his forehead. According to Snape, Lucius Malfoy was too overcome to shock to speak, while Narcissa broke down screaming with tears flooding down her face. Charles hadn't interacted with Harry since the start of term, with the exception of a few glares from Harry here and there, but otherwise Harry completely ignored him and his friends. He and Ginny watched from a distance as the flag was lowered and the soldiers took up their guard posts. News of muggle soldiers occupying Hogwarts had caused an uproar within the magical world, especially among the dark pure blood houses, whose children were being tortured and executed on a daily basis. The Daily Prophet had dubbed the killings "Potter's Purges" once it was discovered that the Boy Who Lived's brother was personally carrying out the killings. Lily and James had gone to Hogwarts immediately after hearing about Harry. Like Charles, they had also been ignored by Harry. James had tried to force Harry to speak with him, only to receive a dislocated shoulder and the barrel of a pistol pressed against the back of his head, as well as promises of death if he ever tried that again. After that, neither Lily or James had made any further attempts to speak with Harry. Charles and Ginny made their way back to the castle, once again meeting the cold gazes of the Grims. Once they were out of earshot, Ginny spoke.

"What are you going to do about Harry?"

"I don't know Gin, we can't even get him to acknowledge us long enough to hold a conversation. Though I know that he'd shoot me if he could."

"Do say that, he's your brother. You and him may have a lot of serious issues with each other, but he still cares about you, even if he doesn't even realize it."

"I really don't think that's true Gin, you've seen what he does to Death Eaters, and judging by the looks he gives me, I know what he'd like to do to me would make what he's been doing seem like acts of mercy."

Ginny sighed and held onto his arm as they walked towards the Gryffindor common room, passing by more patrols as they marched around the halls. Eventually they reached the Fat Lady's portrait and gave her the password, allowing them access to the common room. Once they reached the staircase leading to the dorms, they kissed good night and went to their respective dorms. Charles walked in to find Seamus, Dean, and Neville all playing Exploding Snaps. Neville waved him over and gave him a knowing smirk.

"Out with Ginny again were we?"

"Yeah that's right."

"Must have been a particularly good night considering the stupid grin plastered on your face."

"Well, I did just ask her to marry me."

The three boys went into a stunned silence at the announcement. It was Seamus that spoke up first.

"Well, what did she say?"

"Well, yes obviously. We're going to wait until after she graduates."

"Wow, congratulations mate, you're a lucky man."

"That I am Seamus. That I am. I just wish that the night wasn't spoiled by the Army."

"Mate, the Army has been spoiling everything this year. No quidditch, Hogsmeade visits, or any non-essential outings from school grounds. They've turned Hogwarts into a prison."

This comment drew murmurs of agreement from the rest of the boys and Seamus's face contorted into a deep frown.

"Don't take this personally mate, but your brother is barking mad. I'm no lover of You Know Who or his followers, but he just takes it to the extreme."

Neville gave his input.

"Yeah mate, I hate to say it, but Harry's gone off his rocker."

Charles sighed and looked down at the floor.

"I don't know guys, I can't even get him to say a word to me. It's not like I can just walk up to him and ask what's going on inside his head."

The other boys were silent, Neville simply shrugged and folded his arms. The issue of Harry Potter being prevalent on everyone's minds.

Harry stood guard at a sandbag post in the main courtyard, pulling on his coat, trying to keep warm in the freezing Scottish night. Honestly, he didn't mind the cold much, this was one of his favorite times on duty. The last few months, from his point of view, had been very successful. He and the other Grims had been rooting out more and more Death Eaters within the school, interrogating them, and then dragging them outside and executing them in front of the entire school. The support soldiers thought the Grims's methods to be extremely overzealous and down right barbaric.

Then again, regular infantry do things more by the book than the Grims. Being back at Hogwarts had been an uncomfortable feeling. Aside from his military duties at the school, the flood of bad memories he held from his time at the school made it extremely difficult to find any enjoyment from this assignment. The whole school thought he was insane, he wasn't, not really at least. He was acting under his orders to destroy the enemy. He had seen what happens when people against Voldemort refuse to kill, refuse to do what is required to achieve victory. His methods were barbaric and cruel, yes, but by employing them in killing all of those Death Eaters, he had potentially saved many lives and prevented countless heartaches and destroyed lives that would've been. As far as he was concerned, he was doing exactly what his job required of him, and for that he would not apologize. He knew how the school felt about him, fear, suspicion, hate. He didn't care. He didn't want or need their thanks or goodwill, just for them to stay the fuck out of his way. He was relieved when his "family", at least for now, ceased trying to speak with him. He had grown incredibly weary of their sudden interest in him, especially Charles trying to question him about the last year and his time in the Army. He found the whole thing incredibly confusing if anything. Why now? Why choose this time to learn about him? Whatever their reason, he had no desire to speak with them, ever. He shook his head and continued to scan his surroundings, mumbling to himself.

"Merry fucking Christmas to me."

AN:

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