AN: This is both a standalone and an introduction to my longer WIP from Harry's POV. Reviews/tips/beta's are welcome!
Both chapters are rated for
unnecessary violence.

0o0o0o0

May 2, 1998 Just after midnight.

The group of wizards, hooded and clad in black, were gathered in a wide circle around their master who stood in the middle and gazed into the small fire in front of him. The soft crackling of the burning wood was the only sound in the air. The trees of the Forbidden Forest surrounding the clearing stood perfectly still in the dark night; there was not the slightest gust of wind in the air. It was as if the whole world were waiting for a move from the boy. In fact, everybody in the circle was.

Two unmasked Death Eaters were on their way towards the gathered people and their master. In complete silence they made their way through the pitch-black forest, both holding a wand in their hand at the ready.

Then, at once, their eyes caught on a glimpse of light. In the blink of an eye, both men pointed their wands towards the source and stepped away from the other to decrease their chances of being hit. It was clearly a well-practiced move. A long minute and a few careful steps further towards the light source, the Death Eaters stumbled upon their comrades around the fire in the middle of the large open spot.

Dolohov and Yaxley slowly entered the clearing which was covered in webs and bones from small animals, remnants of the giant spiders that used to live there. Rodolphus Lestrange felt the approaching men and didn't need to look away from his master to notice the entering Death Eaters. He knew who they were and where they came from and he, like every Death Eater gathered in the clearing, did not want his master to notice how anxious he was. He kept his head low and waited.

The unmasked men joined their mates in the circle, disappearing from his sight in the shadows cast by two huge grey giants. Typically the old Antonin, to find the darkest spot in a dark forest… and Corban, as usual, follows his example, Rodolphus Lestrange thought to himself.

Now they were complete, except for the main character of tonight. In silence they all stood, waiting.

It was almost time and there was still no sign of the Boy-Who-Lived. Rodolphus found it funny how half of the Death Eaters in the circle hoped the boy would show up so that the Dark Lord could kill him and end the last resistance there and then while the other half wished for a grand finale in the castle with lots of action and death. The second group consisted mostly of the Dark Lord's most trusted followers and some other Death Eaters that didn't bother masking their face; Rodolphus himself and his wife and brother, Avery and his father…

Lucius didn't wear his mask either but Rodolphus suspected the greying man to make a run for it when he and his wife found their son in the castle. Would be a pity if Alecto or Amycus took care of their boy first, or even more ironic, the dirty werewolf Lucius had introduced so proudly. Fenrir would take delight in taking Draco's pretty face. Rodolphus hoped the Dark Lord would go harsh on the Malfoys.

Fenrir Greyback sat outside of the circle chewing on his nails. Rodolphus loathed the filthy creature even more than he hated the giants, but they were far too useful to kill. The master needed them for his cause, for the greater good. His wife seemed not to mind using the creatures either. But Rodolphus knew that she would gladly kill them whenever they outlived their purpose.

It was time now. Everybody was restless as Harry Potter still hadn't shown up. He had had until midnight to show his face or the castle would be under attack from the Dark Lord's full forces. The master had promised the boy he could save them all by sacrificing himself as a martyr. It seemed that Potter had a knack for being a martyr, he just hadn't found the time to die yet due to an inhuman level of luck. The Dark Lord could ramble in himself for hours about the Potter's everlasting luck and anyone brave enough to interrupt him, the Dark Lord promised, would die on the spot.

Rodolphus wasn't sure if this was what happened to Severus but he expected so. The greasy-haired bat had interfered with the master's rambling once at Malfoy Manor which had resulted in him being treated with the Cruciatus for almost a whole minute. After that, the man had not changed his behaviour, and now Severus was not here with the rest… And according to Alecto, he was not in the castle either. A pity, Rodolphus liked the stoic man's lack of restraint in the face of their master.

The Dark Lord knew for sure that the Boy-Who-Lived would show up but Rodolphus was not so certain about it. What boy would gladly walk towards certain death? What boy would leave his protection to go looking for a group of Death Eaters with the Dark Lord in their midst?

Bellatrix began to speak but the Dark Lord raised his hand in a silencing motion and she closed her mouth directly.

"I thought he would come," said their master in his high voice. "I expected him to come.

Nobody spoke. They were at least as anxious as Rodolphus Lestrange, whose heart was throwing itself against his ribcage as though determined to escape his body. His sweaty right hand wrapped around his wand tightly. He craved for the one thing that would calm him down; action.

"I was, it seems… mistaken," said Lord Voldemort as if he was terribly sad about having misjudged his mortal enemy.

"You weren't," came the voice from the boy from the darkness. The Death Eaters, most of them still masked, rose their heads as one. Some laughed their cruel laughs, others just gasped in excited awe or terrible fear. Rodolphus saw his wife cry out in joy in a bout of insanity. The boy-who-lived just stood there, as if ready to die. It was clear the boy thought they would back off after killing him... as if their lord would truly spare the people at the castle. The naïve kid was, obviously, wrong.

The half-giant from the Order of the Phoenix began to shout at him, "No! No! Harry-" Rowle shut him up. Rodolphus didn't particularly like Rowle. The young Death Eater was a bit too uncreative; he did his job and shared most ideas, but like always, Rowle shut up the half-giant with a silencing charm instead of with something more interesting. The Dark Lord appeared not to mind this time.

The boy seemed to ignore them all as he studied Nagini's protective magical cage, then he seemed to decide he knew better than to attack the snake and looked at the Dark Lord - who had his head tilted to one side like a curious child - directly in the eyes. Nobody Rodolphus knew could watch into those red eyes for more than a few seconds at a time, except for maybe Severus. The boy held eye contact with Lord Voldemort as if it was nothing special.

"Harry Potter," the Dark Lord said softly, it was barely more than a whisper over the crackling of the fire. Then louder, in his clear and high-pitched voice; "The Boy Who Lived."

Nothing moved except for the fire. The two mortal enemies glared at each other as if the rest of the world didn't matter.

They were right, nothing else mattered. Not to them. The boy looked his certain death right in the eyes, and Death, in the shape of Lord Voldemort, stared right back at him with an evil smirk. Lord Voldemort drew and aimed his wand faster than a striking snake.

"Avada Kedavra."

The boy never even started the movement for drawing his wand as the green light hit him right in the heart. The Boy-Who-Lived fell facedown to the ground. He would not get up again…

In the same instant, the Dark Lord fell backward to the ground. Bellatrix's eyes glittered with tears as she ran towards their master. She spoke some soft words Rodolphus could not make out but was cut off by their master's cold voice;

"That will do," the other Death Eaters backed away at this sign and the Dark Lord got up on his feet as the circle was re-established. Again he cut off Bellatrix mumbling with a clear; "I do not require assistance."

Bella looked as if she was going to ignore the order but she knew better and stammered an almost soundless apology.

"The boy… Is he dead?" Lord Voldemort asked none in particular. No response followed.

The Dark Lord seemed not impressed by his followers' silence and ordered Narcissa to check on the body. Odd. The Dark Lord seemed… insecure? They'd all seen the boy get hit with the Killing Curse, there was no way he'd been alive still!

Narcissa got closer to the boy's body with only slight hesitation. Rodolphus noticed Lucius's face was even paler than normally as Narcissa made her way over. They had failed their master far too often in the past and would pay for that, everybody knew. The man should be glad his wife was quick enough for the Dark Lord's liking, dawdling on a direct command could easily result in the woman's death… And she took forever!

"He is dead!" Narcissa called to the crowd that didn't dare to gather closer around the boy who lay face down on the forest floor and their master who stood a few yards from the body with his wand still in his hand. Cheers broke out among the Death Eaters as the Dark Lord tortured the body with several bursts of the Cruciatus Curse.

"He is dead! Nothing can withhold us anymore!" Bellatrix sang happily while she hugged her husband who kissed her full on the mouth. Relief flooded through the Death Eater and he couldn't wait for the action to start for them too as finally, after all these years in Azkaban, the resistance lost their trump card. Finally, he could let his instincts take over; Merlin, did he miss the euphoria left behind by his and Rabastan's former killing-frenzies…

"Now we go to the castle and show them what has become of their hero. Who shall drag the body?" the Dark Lord slowly gazed over his followers, "No. wait..." laughter raised up when he pointed at the half-giant. "You carry him. He will be nice and visible in your arms, will he not? Pick up your little friend," he said cruelly after which he spat the half-giant's name, "Hagrid."

Carefully the half-giant picked up the limp body. Their master smirked, "And the glasses, put on the glasses. He must be recognizable." One of the masked Death Eaters picked them up and slammed them down hard. With the glasses back on the corpse's face, it was time to march up towards the castle.

The distance between the pitch-black trees grew slowly but steadily as the parade of Dark wizards neared the edge of the forest. Just before entering the school's grounds proper, the herd of centaurs watched them pass from a safe distance. The half-giant yelled some insults and accusations in their direction. Apparently, the half-giant blamed the creature for the boy's death.

Another type of half-human we should eradicate, Rodolphus thought, but their master could not be bothered to pay attention to the creatures. They walked on until they stopped at their master's command at the edge of the forest where the dementors continued doing what they used to do under the ministry's command; they stood as sentinels to keep people from breaking out. But this time they were placed by the Dark Lord who promised more prey than the ministry ever could. Now, the creatures guarded Hogwarts instead of Azkaban.

0o0o0o0

Seemingly from out of nowhere, a giant - much smaller than their giants - appeared. It started to flail wildly at the Death Eaters. The Dark Lord's forces took it as their sign to launch the first attack.

"I'm going in," Bellatrix beamed at him in the playful tone she used to take on during the first war, before Azkaban. "Let's play! Hmm?"

Before Rodolphus had a chance to answer his brother grabbed his arm and asked wickedly; "Half humans count double?" as he turned away from the castle with a most mischievous smirk on his face.

"Whatever you want, I don't care about the giant," he countered, sending silent Blasting Curses towards the oaken doors, ready to storm inside at once.

"Me neither. Want to stay out?" Asked Rabastan while sending another Blasting Curse at the oaken doors.

"I'm going in," pouted Bellatrix.

"Then I'm going in too. But later honey," Rodolphus laughed at his beautiful wife. Finally, the doors exploded under the siege. "Save some for me will you?"

Bellatrix cried out in laughter and ran off shouting in her best girly voice; "No killing, just playing."

A group of Death Eaters under Bellatrix's leadership entered the castle, followed by the pointy-toothed Greyback and his pack of smelly, yet unturned, werewolves and a few dozen Snatchers. From the corner of his eye, Rodolphus saw the Dark Lord himself approach what was left of the oaken doors.

In the meantime, he and his brother prepared for action back at the forest's edge.

"So, what's the plan brother?" he questioned as his brother dragged him away from the castle.

"Hooves," Rabastan said simply. Only now did Rodolphus hear the sound of hoof clattering caused by the centaurs the half-giant had shouted at. "Those half-horses 'll show up any moment now."

Rodolphus smirked and spoke their old mantra: "half-humans count double…" He patted his younger brother on the shoulder. "Cheater."

His brother shrugged and shot him a lopsided grin. Still grinning he said, "It's not cheating if we set rules beforehand, now is it?"

"Screw you..." he shook his head disapprovingly but held up his hand anyway. "Deal."

The brothers clasped hands and took up their wands in wait for the centaurs' appearance from the forest in front of them. Their backs were protected by the dementors at the back of the Dark Lord's ranks.

Their waiting was rewarded not much later as a horde of centaurs entered the fight under the thundering sounds of clattering hooves and loud battle roars. The half-humans were armed with bows and spears and were without any armour. It made for a mighty sight when the herd galloped out of the forest. Rodolphus' battle instinct took over and he lost himself in a killing frenzy.

"Confringo, Confringo, Confringo!" Blasting Curses hit the centaurs at their feet, slowing them down while Rabastan whispered quickly under his breath; green shots burst from his wand at rapid speed, and at every hit a centaur fell down after which the ones behind it trampled over the body and tumbled over themselves... The half-humans faltered within mere seconds as their mates started to fall on the ground. Dead.

Spears were lowered and pointed towards the brothers while some in the rear sent arrows their way but they were no match for the battle-frenzied duo. In mere moments the vanguard was down. The brothers relished in the carnage.

Some centaurs had circled around the brothers and managed to pass by the dementors, reaching Hogwarts, and soon entering the castle.

"I'm going in! Send the spiders… And take care of the fleeing folks!" Rodolphus shouted at his brother who had paled considerably from firing so many Killing Curses in rapid succession. Rabastan had no time, nor enough air in his lungs, to shout a response as his equally bloodthirsty but less exhausted brother ran off towards the castle.